Hands behind the back of his head a figure wandered a somewhat quiet hall. There were a few people but not enough to be called a crowd. It was a quiet day like any other in this school and the young wizard was just a bored as ever. He wished Holli was here so that they could do something, or anyone actually. As long as he had someone to talk to.

Then from down the hall what appeared to be crying was heard. He stopped dead in his tracks and listened without moving. He had no idea whether he was suppose to go near or to move away... So he kind of stood there waiting for a sign on what to do with this awkard moment that no one else seemed to hear. He got that idea because everyone else ignored the sound.

Hazel had been hurrying down the less-then-crowded hall, wondering exactly where she was. She hadn't been this way that many times, it wasn't part of her familiary wanderings of the school.

Blinking her grey eyes around the corridor, she thought she heard something that sounded like a girl crying. She frowned, Who could that be?. She looked around at the slowly decreasing amount of people moving around the room and spotted Kyle... the boy from the library the other night.

She bounced over, "Hello Kyle!" Hazel beamed, but then looked around, "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah I did..." Kyle answered as he noticed the library girl coming towards him. with his hands in his pockets and his bookbag at his side he looked like he had just gotten out of class. In reality he didn't like leaving valubles in his room and kept them with him at all times.

"By the way did you get away from that librarian alright? I'm sorry I left you there like that." He said with a sly grin and shuffled his feet. He still heard the crying and it was starting to tick him off. It was starting to cause him to grind his teeth.

"Oh err... yeah, I got off alright. Snuck out well she was yelling at some other girls to keep quiet." Hazel grinned, rocking back and forth on her feet. She frowned at the noise.

"Wow, that person must be really upset... do you think we should go see who it is, Kyle?" Hazel felt concern for this person, it was only her first nature to do so. She liked looking after people, instead of being the person looked after all the time.

Kyle smiled because he was glad she didn't get in trouble for that whole thing. He would have felt bad to learn that she got detention or something like that. He had yet to get caught at anything despite the various fires and night travels he made. He had taken an interest in mapping the castle like in a table top game and labeled as many rooms as he could find. It was exhasting work but he liked it.

Then she asked if he wanted to go check on the crier and he raised his arms in a suggestion that he didn't care. "Might as well. I have nothing better to do at this moment." With that he turned to the door and pushed it open to find what was inside.

Hazel followed into the room after Kyle, looking rather disappointed at what she found. A wet, slightly dirty girl's bathroom. "Euuck... it's gross in here...." Hazel said quietly, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

She looked around the crying sound was still very loud. "Eerr..." Hazel said awkwardly. "Are you okay, whoever's in here??" She frowned, looking at Kyle, shrugging a little. "Somebody's pretty upset..." she mumbled raising her eyebrows and looking at the wet tiled floor.

Kyle walked in and also felt slight disgust at it. "Girls are even dirtier than guys... This is horrible..." He proclaimed irritated and realizing that this place sucked and he wanted to leave already. And that crying noise was bothering him tool. What on earth could be so bad that they have to sob for so damn long.

"Hazel this seems like a girl type thing... I'll stand by and watch." He said not really wanting to get involved with this. He had no idea how to comfort anyone this upset.

Hazel made a face at Kyle. "The girl's don't -use- this bathroom just so you know--"

She crossed her arms when he suggested that -she- go check on whomever it was further into the bathroom, and that he would stand there and watch. She pouted, she was alittle intimidated by the loud wailing, but she started to march forward towards where the crying was comming from, one of the stalls.

Hazel looked uneasily back at Kyle, then took a deep breath in, clearing her voice loudly and knocking on the stall door. "Hello? Are you alright?" her tiny voice rang out, trying to be heard over the sobs.

The only responce was a louder wail.

Hazel cringed.

"Maybe... But its still your bathroom either way." He said simply with a bit of a grin. He thought this was interesting even though he felt uncomfortable here for some reason. Whoever was behind that stall must not being having a very nice day.

Then he felt rather bad that he was letting Hazel do everything alone and walked along and stood beside Hazel. He didn't know what to do but watch since he wasn't a very emotional person. But he had to say something.

"Hey, we are only trying to help. But if you have nothing to say then we will take our leave." He said with a bit of a threat at the end. Not a mean or spiteful one but it was there.

( I think I'm up to play Myrtle if that's allowed? xD)

A rather dreadful looking ghost of a girl drifted through the stall door, looking at Hazel and Kyle through her pearly glasses.

"What are you doing in here?" She shot at Kyle. Her voice was dreadful and whiney. "You're a boy!"

"Yes he is-- but we were just wondering why you were so upset? You were crying awfully loud..." She said, trying to sound kindly.

The ghost girl gave an awful wail, turning away from them to sob somemore.

"Fine..." Kyle said like he had been slapped. "I was going to offer my help but obviously I'm not wanted." He gave a huff and stepped away to let Hazel deal with this whiny ghost. He hadn't even registered the fact that it was a ghost, but then again he wouldn't have cared either way. He was used to dealing with the specters and in reality he had a rather negative outlook on them.


"Stupid ghost girl. Maybe I should exorcise her right to wherever spirits go..." He thought with a vengeful type echo in his head. He didn't like being looked wrong at, especially when he honestly wanted to help.

Hazel frowned when Kyle backed off right away. But the ghost seemed to round down on Kyle, screeching in her whiney voice.

"Help!? How are you supposed to help me?! I'm dead if you haven't noticed." The ghost finished with a disparing sob and covered her face with an arm.

Hazel had a strange look on her face, between pity and exasperation. "Well, you are crying an awful lot. Kyle and I are just asking if you need any help... right Kyle?" Hazel shot a look to the Slytherin boy.

The ghost cried, "I saw that look! You've both just came in here to MAKE.FUN.OF.MEEEE!"

"So your dead... I know a sure fire way to put you out of your misery if you want me too..." Kyle said turning around with a crooked grin as he pat his wand beside him. Then he laughed a little and walked a little closer.

"First of all how can we make fun of you when we don't even know who you are? If you really have a problem speak up and we might know a way to fix it." He offered not sure if the whiny ghost would even listen. She already got on his nerves and he had just gotten in here. Maybe this was the reason this place was deserted... who else would dare try to deal with this?

"Maybe we should just go, Kyle..." Hazel mumbled in his ear. She didn't want him drawing his wand on the ghost. She didn't know -what- would happen. "I get the feeling she doesn't want us here---"

"WHY WOULD I WANT YOU HERE IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO INSULT ME!?" the ghost cried.

Hazel frowned, "No one insulted you, you silly girl!"

It was the first time Hazel had had to raise her voice at Hogwarts. Hazel was normally very soft spoken.

The ghost's bespectacled eyes glared at Hazel, "Silly!? Girl!? I have a name, you know."

"What is it?" Hazel asked, with a tone of annoyance.

"Murtle." She said, stopping her crying for a moment. "This is my bathroom."

She seemed to have lost interest in screaming at Kyle for a moment.

"Murtal? The turtle!" Kyle laughed mentally as she gave her name. But he kept it inside and didn't say a single thing to her about it because he was glad there was no crying right now. He did step forward and decided that he wanted to know what all the crying was about and would prod questions at the ghost and see if he could get something out of her.

"Your bathroom? What makes you say that?" He asked nicely even though he was plotting with this questions. Girls were possessive so she would hopefully give him a good response with a little emotion. That might make her slip out something important to know.

"What do you mean!? Of course it's my bathroom!" Murtle whined at Kyle.

Hazel winced, sending him a look of 'why'd you have to go and make her yell again...'

Murtle continued without warning, "Its myyyy bathroom because I died in that very stall!" She wailed, poiting a transparent finger at the stall behind her. "See!?"

Hazel frowned, "So you...haunt the toilet??" She almost covered her mouth instantly, knowing she should have kept it shut.

"OBVIOUSLY!"

Kyle grinned at the girl seemed to take serious offense to these things and he thought it was hilerious actually. So he decided to mess with her some more.

"Wow... thats kind of sad. Your like the the bottom of the haunting peaking order huh? Poor thing I would cry and whine too if I had to spend purgatory in this god forsaken place." He laughed a little as he drew his wand before she could open her mouth to scream.

"Silencio!" He demanded to shut the ghosts mouth before it carried on again. He had seen people caste spells on the Peeves ghost dude so he thought it might work here too.

"Now down to business... One nod for yes, two nods for no. Got it?" He asked shaking his head in the same way to get her to agree with him. Then he went on with the humiliating questioning. "Now what the hell are you crying about constantly? Mind you one nod for yes and two for no... wait you can't answer a responsive question with yes and no... Lets try this. Did someone kill you in here? You can answer to that one." He said spinning his wand in his hands as he interrogated the suspect.

(wow this is evil but I can't pass up the chance)

(I kinna see a darkside to Kyle anyways. xD but who could resist shutting Murtle up??)

Murtle had started to wail and scream at Kyle again. Hazel frowned, her hands on her hips. But then Kyle drew his wand...

Hazel frowned and gapsed when Kyle used his wand on Murtle. "Kyle! Kyle, oh Kyle, you're going to get us in trouble don't---" She whined, tugging at his robe's sleeve a little.

Murtle looked incredibly shocked and scandalized. She appeared to be continuing to scream, but no sound was comming out. Murtle glared at him, seeming to refuse to want to awnser. Hazel was frowning, her arms crossed. "Kyle, she doesn't have to awnser you, she could just be silent forever--"

Murtle appeared to not like -that- conclusion to the story. She frantically waved, drawing Hazel's attention back up to her.

"Oh, sorry, so you'll awnser Kyle then?" Hazel hadn't been trying to force Murtle into awnsering, but it seems that's what she had done.

Murtle nodded at Hazel, and then turned to Kyle, nodding, grinning. She made a gesture like one of cutting someone's throat with her hand and then made a 'dead' face to add to the affect.

Kyle nodded happily to her cooperation. He was glad someone actually did what he said even though he had to be kind of hard about it. "Alright Murtle I'll unsilence you on promise that you won't scream. Ok?" He said with a soft smile that had replaced the look he had on before. Then with a twist of his wrists the spell was dispelled and the ghost got her voice back.

"I'm sorry about that really... I just can't stand screaming." He said still holding his wand just in case she started up again. He would silence her forever, or at least until someone freed her but with how she screamed he couldn't see anyone complaining much.

"So someone killed you? Do you know the identity of the person? Remember to please not scream, I'm wanting to help but I can't stand it." He said nicely with a soft voice. He even looked back at Hazel and gave a smile saying that he had everything under control.

Murtle gave another nod, this one less enthusiastic. She didn't seem too excited about not being able to yell and scream, but she'd put up with it.

Hazel smiled weakly back at Kyle, wondering exactly what the Slytherin boy was up to. It worried her a little bit, but she trusted Kyle, as little as she did know him, she felt she could trust him atleast this much...

"Finallly..." Murtle said when she regained her voice. She was still whiney, but she wasn't screaming. "Oh yes, I was killed in that very stall. Dreadful it was."

Hazel made a face, hoping Murtle would have enough sense to ignore it. Hazel didn't really want to hear about her 'dreadful' death. How bad could it have been at Hogwarts? Did she die at the Battle of Hogwarts? But that wouldn't make any sense, why would she have been killed in the toilet?!

"I'm sure it was dreadful... Any death is. And I'm sorry that you had to face the end in such a crummy fashion. If you don't want to tell me any more than I'm fine with that." He said still with a comfortable smile that seemed interested and kind. He was just interested in who or what killed her himself because he had a hard time imagining another student killing her in a bathroom. That was kind of sick and twisted... Or maybe something else killed her. He wanted to know but he didn't want to drag it out of her.

Murtle seemed to thrive on this conversation. She was smiling, in her own awful way and floating closer to Kyle. "Ohh, it was so terrifying... I heard someone come into the bathroom... and he, well it was a boy, I could tell by the voice, he said something in a funny language. I didn't undertsand, but I came out to tell the boy to get out of the girl's toilet and when I opened the stall--" She paused for dramatic effect.

Hazel blinked, "...and?"

"And I died." Murtle said, as if it was a pleasant happy ending. Hazel frowned.

"That's it?"

Murtled frowned, "That's it!?"

Kyle closed his eyes as he wondered what kind of thing could just kill without someone not knowing what did it. He was curious of course.

"So you don't know exactly what happened? But the thing spoke in a strange voice... How odd..." He seemed drawn away as he walked around them towards the stall that the ghost seemed to haunt. It was old and hadn't been used in a long time but he couldn't help but run his fingers over the door trying to pick up some vibe or piece of the past. He had never attempted to read energy without from touching an object and as he felt the wall he didn't really feel fear or anything. Obviously the girl died without really knowing that she was going to die. But whatever it was killed her on site instantly.

"Murtle this voice and its funny language... what did it sound like? Like did it remind you of anything in particular?" He asked wondering if it had been some creature that got a hold of her or something.

Hazel had no idea what Kyle was doing. She hung back, close to the exit of the bathroom, watching curiously. Murtle was floating ominously behind Kyle.

"Ooh yes. Well, if I think back, it kind of reminded me a snake. Made an awful hissing sound."

Hazel didn't understand. "So a boy came in the girl's washroom, hissed, and you died?"

Murtle shot Hazel a dirty look. "Yes." But she then turned back to Kyle, smiling. "What are you doing?"

Kyle nodded as he heard something about a snake. So it wasn't something human that came in here... He finished tracing the door and turned around to face the whiny ghost.

"I'm trying to get a premonition and see if I can see what happened here. But I couldn't get anything except the feeling of death. You died instantly without knowing who or should I say what killed you." He said placing his hands back in his pockets and began to walk across the bathroom too look into the mirrors. His eyes were pale after doing that and he knew that he needed to practice more and he could do much better.

"I'm sorry Murtle that you died but it wasn't a boy that killed you. Some kind of snake did... Hazel do you remember any stories about this castle in response to some kind of giant snake? I know that this Syltherin guy had some pretty nasty reptilian but do you know that can kill you with its eyes?" He asked her since he wasn't from this culture. And maybe Hazel had heard some stories about this school's past and what not from family or stories.

"Well..." Hazel started, before Murtle could interupt and go on about herself. "A few of my sisters were in Slytherin, right? The school tries to keep it hush hush, but Faylinn told me the story. There's a Chamber of Secrets, and there was a horrible monster legend to live there-- I think Harry Potter defeated it when he was in school. I mean-- well. There was a basiliks(sp) in the school... Heir of Slytherin set it out on Muggleborns..."

Hazel rambled on, but hoped that Kyle would get the gist of what she was saying. "A basilik is like a snake." She finished, raising an eyebrow at Kyle, then looking to Murtle.

"No one told you how you died?"

Murtle shook her head, looking at Kyle admiringly.

"Well that solves that mystery... Though it still doesn't help the fact your dead." Kyle said feeling kind of silly after he said it. Instead he looked at Murtle and gave a smile. "I'm sorry that you went through all this and I hope you find peace. Also sorry about Silencing you earlier." Then he turned back to Hazel and continued to smile.

"I wished I could see this creature. Maybe we should take a trip into the Chamber of Secrets and see if there is anything else hidden down there." He said now shifting to slyness. His hands were in his pockets and they were twitching slightly. He was excited to see something of secret... Plus the path this Harry Potter took through this school seemed to interest him too.

"Well that sounds like a lovely adventure." Hazel said sarcastically. "A horrible, dank, dark underground chamber where a giant slimey snake used to live. Lovely." She smiled, "Such a shame we don't know where it is--"

But Murtle was quick to interupt. "I know where it is." She smied, supposing she sounded impressive. "Harry Potter and his friend went down through the sink when they were in school. He saved that girl." Murtled frowned, as if Harry saving the girl was some kind of personal insult to her.

Hazel frowned, "Down the sink? Well that makes perfect sense..."

"No no! He spoke the same non-sense that the snake did. He hissed. It opened." Murtle nodded.

Kyle scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Can't say I know snake... So it won't open for me. I guess this adventure hit a snag..." Kyle was disappointed of course. He wanted to see this Chamber of Secrets himself but it didn't look like he would be making the trip anytime soon.

"Well Hazel what do you think now? I'm out of idea other than to blow the sink up but that might get us in trouble." He said still slightly irritated. This Harry Potter figure was starting to get on his nerves. Kyle felt jealousy for some guy that he had never met and never would. But why was he jealous of some guy who went to school years before he did? Why was this whole thing driving him completely crazy?

Hazel frowned, "Why do you want to go down there so badly?" The Hufflepuff girl didn't seem entirely keen on wondering around in the Chamber of Secrets. "Say we do get down there, Kyle, what if we get lost?"

Murtle shook her head, "They always came back."

"Who?"

"Harry Potter and his friends of course! His two friends came in here during the Battle..." Murtle said. "The red-headed boy was able to open it, and he couldn't speak Parseltongue."

"Oh right, it's not called 'snake', Kyle, it's parseltongue. And it's the mark of a dark wizard, normally..." Hazel said, shvering a little. She thought Kyle might just want to know that.

Murtle floated over to the sink, where a small emblem of a snake was. She blinked staring at it. "They always just hissed..."

Kyle yawned a little as they spoke to show that he really didn't want to right now. Maybe another day but not today. "Because Hazel its something important in Hogwarts past and I for one want to see all the secrets for myself. But not today cause trying to read this place exhasted me a bit." He said rubbing his eyes a little and then stuffing his hands back into his robes.

"Murtle things for tell me all this and I promise I'll be back sometime this year to check this place out. Also I wish you peace in your wanderings, it would make me sad to know you continued to cry." He was trying to be nice of course and began to walk away himself. And once he walked out of the bathroom and it shut behind him, he waited for Hazel. This little adventure needed a debriefing of course.

Hazel looked incredibly relieved when Kyle started explaining how he didn't want to go exploring. Well, today anyways. She didn't understand his yearning to know everything, but she would support him in it anyways. It was very interesting to Hazel as well, she also wanted to know as much as she possibly could about her world, but she didn't need to go intot he Chamber of Secrets, necessarily.

Murtle couldn't seem to think of anything to say to Kyle, seeming to be so shocked by his kindness. That made Hazel very sad to see that the poor girl had never had someone say kind simple words like Kyle's. However, all she could manage was to say a small goodbye. She knew she'd come back and visit Murtle...

Hazel excited the bathroom shortly after Kyle, blinking at him.

"What?" He asked as Hazel blinked at him in an odd stare. He wasn't sure what she was looking at himself. It wasn't like he did much more than weasel info out of some dead little girl. He hadn't done it honestly to be nice but to get information of that Chamber of Secrets that he had suddenly became interested in.

"So I can't be nice to a poor girl?" He said with a shrug like he had done nothing at all. He didn't want Hazel to think any different of him. He wanted to be the good guy but selfish ambition got in the way of doing that.

"Err, I guess you didn't do anything really wrong--" Hazel scratched her head. Naive, and easily swayed, she wouldn't push him any further. Not that she had on the first place, but she supposed the look on her face had been enough.

Hazel didn't really think any less of the Slytherin boy. He was one of the only friends she had met outside of her house right now, and she didn't want to shake him off by yelling at him for being a little rude to a ghost who was being perfectly rude right back.

"I really do feel bad for her. Dying in such an crappy way and by a snake at that... I can't imagine..." He shrugging his shoulders even with his hands in his pockets. "But then again she was loud but I shouldn't have silenced her... Even though she was much more helpful after that than before. The whole "you boy" thing got kind of old." He said rather irritably. But he was still in a good mood. The ghost seemed reasonably nice to him despite the fact he had been a jerk in the beginning. Maybe she would be helpful the next time too... that would be a victory too.

"So Hazel what do you want to do next?" He asked smiling and ready to do something else. He was too tired to tunnel trek but he wasn't too tired to do something else.

Hazel listened to him talk about Murtle, and nodded in responce. "It must have been a horrible way to go." Was all she could manage.

When Kyle brought up the question of where to next, Hazel blinked. Now that was a rather good question... She didn't really know. She definetly wasn't ready to head back to the Hufflepuff Den.

"I don't know... you find any neat places in the school yet?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Hazel had been itching to explore the castle and grounds a little more.

"Well..." He thought wondering rather curiously. He wasn't sure what would be interesting to visit next. "We can always... wait thats not any fun. Or how about... no that doesn't work either." Kyle's eyes were now wandering around as he obviously had no idea what to do next. And that wasn't very good either because he normally had an idea all the time.

"Well we can always do homework? I'm not sure what you have to do but I'm falling behind in my History of Magic class. I can't seem to get a hang of a culture I wasn't born into." he said with his hand behind his head and a small laugh. As interesting as it all was, he had a hard time thinking of it as real history. To him it all felt like a really deep fantasy role playing game with him as one of the characters. Kyle laughed a little to himself as he thought of himself playing a Sorcerer class character from D&D. Now he just needed to learn to throw fireballs and turn his enemies into frogs and he would be on the road to being a true warrior.

(I am so sorry about how long this has taken me)

Hazel looked at Kyle quietly, listening to him think out loud. When he fell quiet, she took her chance to respond. "Oh well, I could help you with your History of Magic class no problem, Kyle. But-- do you really want to do homework? I really don't like the librarian."

Hazel smiled at him a little, thinking about when they first met. "But if you really want to do homework."

The Hufflepuff shrugged, looking the hall up and down.

"No not really..." Nope homeworks sounded like it wouldn't be any fun either. Then again he looked at his watched and saw that he had another class coming up and he needed to get moving or be late.

"Sorry Hazel but I've got an appointment. Maybe I'll catch you later? How about after dinner we take an outdoors walk or something?" That was code word for the forest but he figured even if she didn't figure that out he could surprise her with it.

But before she answered he ran off quickly down the hall trying not to be late. Today had been fun and he had a new place to investigate soon... Maybe more snakes lived down there.

(finished this on my end)