As the Great Hall grew more crowded, panic began to spread. The attacker everyone had been speculating about had finally been revealed, but the news clearly did nothing to reassure them. It only made them more afraid.
The young witches and wizards huddled close together, talking in low voices.
It seemed this was the only way they could draw a pitiful scrap of reassurance from their companions.
The slightest disturbance set their frayed nerves on edge, especially words like "Chamber of Secrets," "heir," and "slaughter" coming from the Slytherin students.
The half-blood and Muggle-born students shrank back like frightened quails, trembling with their heads tucked down. But the Slytherin students looked no better.
Whether it was the attack on Ginny or the class that had just been attacked, Slytherin students had been among the victims.
There had even been several supporters of extreme pure-blood ideology among them, which left some of the remaining extremists furious.
We support purifying the school too! Why attack us as well?
This Heir of Slytherin who opened the Chamber of Secrets must be mad!
Almost instinctively, several members of the club gathered together and sat cross-legged against the wall, their heads bowed.
Cho Chang buried her face in her knees, sobbing quietly-several of her friends happened to be among those attacked. Hermione and Parkinson stayed beside her, murmuring words of comfort.
The others stared blankly as the professors counted and checked the students again and again.
Harry and Ron were clearly intensely curious about the Chamber of Secrets, enough to swallow their pride and ask Malfoy about it.
Draco leaned against the wall, looking rather grim, but he still spoke quietly.
"I don't know much either. I only heard Dad mention it once or twice when he was talking about Slytherin. I think it was...