Harry staggered into the Chamber of Secrets, his hands filled with boxes of obscure magical components.
"I've gotten what you've asked for!" yelled Harry, dropping the boxes gently onto the cobblestone flooring of the chamber.
It had been just more than two weeks since the start of term, and had gone by rather fast for Harry. The leaves that were once a luscious green now littered the Hogwarts Grounds, colours varying from yellow to red. A gentle breeze had begun to develop, serenely caressing anything that went against its current.
The first of the several special events of the year would be taking place today. It was currently two in the morning, the date September 17th. Last night all of the students had been told that their Head of House would lead them to breakfast at seven tomorrow (which was unusually early for a Saturday), in order to meet the Auror guards. Salazar had wanted Harry to attempt his first ritual today, stating that he would be more than ready for breakfast in a few hour's time.
Harry had come up with a schedule that would allow him to spend around six hours with Salazar, learning under his tutelage. He would sneak out at night every evening, returning a few hours before class started. On the weekends, Harry would spend nearly twelve hours with the portrait. He would also sneak in for an hour or two across the day, whenever he had free time.
This was thanks to an old spell Salazar had taught Harry when the portrait noticed Harry was barely remaining awake. The spell allowed Harry to only need a few hours of sleep, so long as he remembered to cast it on him before he dozed off. As a matter of fact, the only thing that had kept Harry from entering a deep sleep was Salazar's constant swearing. The portrait seemed to curse quite a bit more than he should, something that was definitely not mentioned in the History books.
Luckily for Harry, Ron had not seemed to notice his 'best mate' constantly disappearing. Instead, the redhead spent most of his time telling anyone who would listen about how he would be the next great Hogwarts Champion. While Harry privately found the idea absurd, many others seemed to follow his train of thought, all believing they would be judged worthy to fight for their school. Harry had heard from Dean that every single one of the Gryffindor first years had planned on competing in the tournament, much to the annoyance of Professor McGonagall.
It seemed as though nearly all of the Gryffindors seemed interested in the tournament, even Neville and Hermione (although the latter was more interested in the different types of magic they might see than they were the actual tournament).
Harry had walked into the Gryffindor common room one evening to find the entire house listening to Cormac McLaggen, who was reading aloud news clippings from 1529 through 1684, all editions on the Triwizard Tournament's first task. Apparently, the first task had a particular theme of using dangerous magical creatures.
"'The first task of the 1634-1635 Triwizard Tournament involved stealing a highly valuable treasure from a Gryphon.' " read McLaggen, "'The champions were all told that they were allowed to keep the treasure, should they succeed in stealing it. The treasures were all valued at around five hundred galleons.' That's like fifty thousand galleons with today's currency!"
The Gryffindors had all cheered loudly, many hugging the person beside them. They had all seemed less enthused, however, when Harry had snatched the news clipping and continued to read, "'Regrettably, all three champions died during the task, leaving none capable of claiming the treasure.' "
He had been scorned by the other Gryffindors for a bit after that one. Particularly Ron, who was upset Harry was trying to 'discourage his chance at making a name for himself', or something equally absurd.
Hermione, on the other hand, had immediately noticed Harry's disappearances, the only others who noticed being the three Quidditch Chasers (though they rarely commented on it). She had initially noticed when Harry suddenly started performing much better in his academics; Harry was now the first to complete all magic involving assignments in Transfiguration, Charms, Defence and Runes. While his written work in his classes was still fairly average, everything that involved using magic had suddenly improved, earning immense praise from all of their professors (except Snape, of course).
Hermione had not seemed to like the change, and had chosen to spend much more time in the library studying, likely hoping to be the best once more. She had also been rather annoyed at Harry lately; perhaps she was not used to being second at anything. Harry didn't understand her reaction; she was still far ahead of him on the academic leaderboard, even if he was showing skill in using magic.
This was, of course, thanks to the teachings of Salazar. The portrait was very knowledgeable in all forms of magic, telling Harry that it was a side effect of living in a castle with Rowena Ravenclaw. Harry had realised that he was actually fairly talented when it came to magic, but never knew due to a lack of trying. He was not anywhere near the top of his classes, sadly, as using magic only made up half of their grade (with written work making up the other half). He had, however, jumped up the rankings by quite a significant amount.
Harry would ask Salazar for help on essays at another date; he was much more interested in actually using magic, as opposed to writing about it.
Harry quickly organized the boxes of magical components before Salazar could jump over to his portrait frame in the chamber. Just as he finished doing so, Salazar appeared. The portrait gazed critically over the boxes of materials, before having Harry pull off each component to do a head count.
"Powdered Unicorn Horn?"
"Check."
"Sphinx Claw?"
"Got it. That one was hard to get, by the way, I was only able to get it because one of Potter Businesses involves Sphinxes and Gryphons, and some other dangerous creatures."
"I was wondering how you planned on getting that one." said the portrait, "I thought you did not have access to your fortunes yet?"
Harry smiled mischievously.
"Technically, I don't. But I found a loophole when it comes to businesses, specifically the ones under Potter ownership, since it's my birth name. Apparently the Potter family had a lot of warriors, and so we have a lot of businesses involving magical creatures. Turns out I own loads of magical creatures, even if I can't actually do anything about it until I'm emancipated . . . but I can still take out stuff from the business inventory, without having to worry about getting arrested. I mean, I am the owner."
"Yes, the Potters were quite the warriors. I once knew a Potter, when I was alive." Salazar reminisced. Harry looked questioningly at Salazar, who shook his, saying, "It is a story for another time. For now, we have work to do. Fairy Wings?"
"Yup, got them." replied Harry.
"Put them in one pile. We will be doing rituals today, those are the components for the first of the two."
"Two rituals?" questioned Harry, "I thought you said we'd be doing one ritual today, for my first one?"
Salazar shrugged.
"The two rituals are fairly similar anyway, so they can be done at the same time."
"Do you plan on telling me what the rituals do?" asked Harry as he organized the now pile of selected materials.
"They are both normal rituals, and will affect the body you possess, rather than your blood or soul." began Salazar, "The first of the two will restructure your physical characteristics, organizing them as perfectly as possible, defining them just as much. In essence, it will make you more physically appealing. The ritual is known as the 'Decorum'."
"Absolutely not." said Harry, eyebrows raised, "I'm not Malfoy, I'm not spending my time in front of a mirror."
"You said that you are very well known in the magical world, yes?" Harry nodded slowly at that, starting to see where this was going (which happened to be in a direction he did not particularly like), "Then you must look your best, give a good impression. This Tournament you told me about, you said millions wizards and witches will watch. You will definitely be spotted on that Recorder Glass, given who you are, and you must live up to your name." the portrait lectured, only continuing when he was sure Harry was listening.
"Besides, it is a fairly simple ritual, which is incredibly unlikely to go wrong. A good one for a beginner; it is very worth it considering the near impossible chance of failure."
"Fine, but I want to know a few things about the ritual first." said Harry, continuing when he got approval from Salazar, "I thought you said it would reorganize my features. Wouldn't that end up making it symmetrical, rather than - well, appealing?"
"Symmetrical is physically appealing, in case you haven't yet realized." the portrait said in a monotone voice. Harry supposed the portrait was right about that, at least from what he had seen.
"Did Riddle ever use the ritual?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"No, he did not. The ritual is fairly painful for the duration it takes to fully develop, which can take anywhere from a week's time to three. It will continue to work at a much slower pace for a few years, but at the point the changes are similar to the normal changes a person might experience through puberty, and are therefore not particularly painful or noticeable. Riddle thought himself physically appealing enough that the pain simply was not worth it. He did, however, use the other one."
"Before you tell me about the other one, can I ask you one more thing? Without you cursing at me in Parseltongue, preferably?"
The portrait's eyes narrowed slightly, but he still nodded his head.
"Why did you never use the ritual?" asked Harry in an immensely cautious tone.
Salazar rolled his eyes.
"The ritual is most effective during one's teenage years. It is not good for one too young, as all rituals require the user to have a certain level of magic. Past a certain age, your features are too firmly developed to be changed safely."
"Oh, er - alright then." said Harry nervously. He quickly cleared his throat, before going on, "There's only two ingredients left, so I'm assuming they're both for the second ritual?"
"Your assumption would be correct. Frozen Ashwinder eggs, as well as ten Veela hair. Do you have any knowledge on either component?"
Harry paused for a second, before his eyes narrowed.
"According to my copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', frozen Ashwinder eggs are used in love potions. Veela weren't in the book, but I know about them because my friends won't stop talking about them. They're like some magical creature that looks like a witch, but more attractive. According to Hermione, Veela have some sort of allure that attracts all magicals that are naturally attracted to females. I got the hairs via Owl Order from some shady part of Knockturn Alley, on yoursuggestion, because it was the only component I couldn't find. What are you trying to do to me?"
"You know very little, Harry." replied the portrait, completely ignoring Harry's last question, "If you wish to understand rituals and their creation, you must understand the components you use. Veela are not magical creatures, but women with an extra set of abilities."
"So, they're witches, but are ridiculously beautiful and have an allure that attracts others?" asked Harry, not entirely convinced.
"That, as well as being automatic fire elementals, as well as having an alternate form that they might potentially transform into when enraged."
"If they're witches, why am I using a part of them for the ritual? Shouldn't it be part of a magical creature?" asked Harry, confused, "And tell me that you're not giving me some sort of allure."
"Rituals use magical components, which are any object that is magically charged. The hair of a Veela is indeed magically charged, and is therefore suitable."
"That's great, now answer my second question." said Harry hurriedly.
"No, it will not give you an allure. There is a difference between attributes and abilities. Attributes are typically much simpler, and are therefore permanent. They are more natural, while abilities are more supernatural, magical is a good word. The allure is an ability that can not be stolen or replicated, but is still an ability, and therefore follows its rules. It uses magic to create a desire for one to impress." said Salazar in a bored voice.
"And what will this do, if it's an attribute? How would it be more 'natural'?"
"Instead of creating some sort of magical allure that attracts people to you, it will make traits that one might find valuable more obvious to the eye. If one found confidence valuable, they might notice your confidence more easily. You must, of course, actually possess the trait for it to be seen. If you are not confident, the person will not notice. The ritual essentially points at appealing traits that already exist within you, making them more obvious to the eye. It is known as the 'Cupiditatem'."
"And that's 'natural'?" asked Harry skeptically.
"It is indeed. Unlike the allure, people see something within you that truly exists. The allure simply attracts them to you, with no reason as to why they might be attracted. Make any sense?"
"A bit, I suppose. Is it possible for one to fight off the magical effects of the ritual."
Salazar sighed.
"For the last time, my dear boy, it is not nearly as magical as you think it to be. Simply put, people will have an easier time seeing you for what you are. Your traits will be easier for them to observe. Does that help rest your conscience?"
Harry nodded, still thoroughly put out. But when phrased that way, the ritual didn't sound nearly as bad as it had originally sounded, "Are there any other effects of the ritual?"
"Yes." The portrait replied, "It will help with the development of certain personality traits that you might find important. Should you feel a certain trait would be helpful, or desirable, you will notice that the trait grows more easily within you. It may be especially useful, as it could potentially help with the most basic steps of Occlumency, which I will brief you on at a later date."
That was more than fine with Harry, as it sounded rather useful.
"You said Riddle used this one?"
"He did." replied Salazar in the same dull tone he always used when talking about Voldemort, "It was the reason everyone thought him to be so charming. Everyone finds a charmer appealing, and so they easily saw it within him."
"Will it be the same with me?" asked Harry.
"You seem to know your manners fairly well, and are reasonably polite, so potentially, I suppose."
"Then I don't want to do it." Harry quickly said, "If it makes me like Riddle, I'd rather not do it."
"Tom Riddle was a boy, as are you. Does sharing a particular trait with him automatically make you bad?" asked the portrait scathingly, watching as Harry slowly shook his head, "You must think with your head, rather than your emotions. We'll have to begin working on Occlumency soon, to help with that. I had a rather similar problem before I learned Occlumency." The portrait paused for a moment, before asking, "Do you wish to continue with the rituals?
Harry nodded firmly, trusting his ancestor.
"Then bring out your wand. You have many runes to draw."
Many hours went by, Harry continuing to draw runes with his wand all the while. He barely understood anything he had written down, though Salazar assured him that he would be at a level where he would understand in a few month's time.
The stern portrait had Harry redraw any rune that was even slightly messed up, stating that a mistake in a ritual was not something one would be interested in experiencing, something which Harry agreed with wholeheartedly. After what felt like an eternity, Harry stood up, having just finished the final rune pattern.
Salazar scanned over his work for the next twenty minutes, checking for errors. When he found none, Harry moved over to his work, observing as he waited for instructions.
There were thousands of runes, most of which were part of one of two circles. The two circles connected similarly to a venn diagram, leaving a space in the middle where Harry would sit during the ritual. Inside each of the two giant circles were a number of smaller ones; two in the left one, and three on the right. This was where Harry was to place the magical components.
Salazar instructed Harry to place each of the ingredients in the smaller magical circles, based on which ritual they were a part of. After Harry did as told, Salazar quickly checked the rune work one more time before instructing Harry to place his wand out of the area and stand in the opening between the two larger circles.
"When you are ready, take a seat. That will begin the ritual." said Salazar, for once appearing slightly uneasy, "It may be a little painful."
Harry took a deep breath, before sitting down gently.
Salazar, you son of a bitch.
It was much, much more than 'a little painful'. Every bone in his body felt as though it were on fire. They seemingly burnt down to ash, before rebuilding themselves and repeating the process. Harry wouldn't even be surprised if that really was the case.
His jaw, as well as his cheekbones burnt as well; the pain in his eyes were so much that he forced them shut. He had previously thought the pain he felt in the woods of the World Cup was the worst he would ever feel. He hastily corrected that. Whatever this was, it was hundreds of times worse.
The pain suddenly stopped, leaving nearly every part of his body just as quickly as it arrived. What had been pain was now replaced by an uncomfortable burning sensation. His eyes, however, burned just as badly as before, perhaps slightly less.
He pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the ache of his muscles.
"Salazar, I'm going to burn your portrait for this one." Harry hissed in Parseltongue.
"Ahh, you're awake!" Salazar's voice came from somewhere in front of him, "You've been sitting there for about half an hour now, I was wondering when you would be done."
"Why are my eyes still burning? It's like the ritual hasn't even ended for them." asked Harry.
He was met with silence for a few moments, before he heard the portrait's voice, which was uncharacteristically filled with curiosity.
"It appears as though the ritual is trying to fix your sight."
"What? Will it work?" Harry asked excitedly. It had always been horrible, having to depend on glasses for everything. The moment he lost them, he would be easily defeated. It was pure chance that he hadn't yet lost them when in a dangerous situation.
"I am not sure." replied the portrait hesitantly, "The fact that it is burning as badly as you describe indicates that the ritual is having a tough time fixing it. We will have to wait, perhaps for maybe an hour or so until the feeling subsides. Then, we might find our answer."
It was undoubtedly one of the longest hours Harry had yet lived, which truly meant a lot considering his childhood largely comprised of being locked within a pitch-black cupboard. He lay down on the cold stone floor of the chamber, occasionally making small talk with the portrait. Salazar had helped him find his wand, and given him the incantation to a spell that lessened the pain quite a lot. After quite a while, the pain vanished entirely. Harry informed Salazar of the occurrence when it happened.
"Slowly open your eyes. That will give us our answer." said the portrait.
Harry did as he was told, awaiting the potential results of the ritual.
It's still blurry.
"It didn't work." groaned Harry in poorly concealed disappointment, "If anything, my sight is worse than it was before."
Salazar let out a stream of joyful curses in Parseltongue, before reverting to English moments later.
"Your glasses are on, my dear foolish Gryffindor! Take them off!"
Harry yanked the glasses off his head, his eyes growing wide. He could see everything in perfect detail, from Salazar's portrait all the way to the dead basilisk corpse.
"I love magic." Harry whispered in awe, before spending the next several minutes observing the chamber in full detail.
"Incredible, what ritualistic magic can do, isn't it?" asked Salazar happily. Harry nodded eagerly, before turning back to the portrait.
"My body burns a bit, but you said that it would last for the next week or so. It was worth it, so that's fine. Do I look any different to you? Besides the lack of glasses, I mean?"
Salazar studied him carefully, before replying, "You look much more intelligent, and more cunning. More confident as well. Though I only noticed because you asked, mind you."
Harry nodded slowly, before transfiguring a small stone on the floor into a hand-held mirror. He picked it up, casually observing himself in the reflection.
Salazar was right; he did indeed seem more intelligent, as well as more confident. When he flashed a smile at the mirror, it was just as charming as the smile Tom Riddle once had, although it was completely different. Besides that, Harry had yet to spot any differences in his appearance, although he knew those would form over time.
"Won't people notice a sudden drastic change in my appearance?" Harry asked curiously.
"Possibly. The ritual will work top to bottom, so your face will be done within the week. However, the changes will appear to be very different, yet very similar. It's truthfully quite hard to explain. They will, however, notice your lack of glasses immediately, maybe a small portion of the effects from the second ritual as well. The people you converse with that know you well may notice certain traits within you that they did not notice before.."
"Both guys and girls?" Harry asked. Regardless of how useful this evidently was, Harry did not enjoy the idea of attracting unnecessary attention. He knew it was better this way, as he would attract attention either way, but still disliked it.
"Yes. This is not some form of love potion, it is natural. All it does is makes traits of yours more obvious. People will still reach their conclusions on you entirely on their own. It has nothing to do with sexual or romantic attraction. It is simply easier for them to notice traits they find valuable within you. Whether or not they are attracted to you is entirely up to themselves, there is no magic behind that." the portrait said, "Besides, it works both ways; if someone truly wants to find a poor trait within you, they will likely be able to do so with more ease than before."
"This is all very confusing." said Harry in a tired voice.
"It's ritualistic magic, it should be confusing." replied Salazar, "Your more pressing problem is the sudden lack of glasses."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll just say I got contacts."
"Con - what?" asked Salazar, confused.
The two of them spent the next ten minutes engaging in a discussion on muggle contact lenses.
"So, to recap," started Salazar, "Muggles put miniature, circular, glass pieces in their eyes to help them see?"
"Essentially, yes."
"That explains quite a lot, actually. Now I know why I have almost never had a muggleborn in Slytherin, and why they always seem to end up in Gryffindor. Who else could possibly think that is a good idea?"
"One more word about my house and I'll set fire to your portrait."
Harry went down to Gryffindor common room with the rest of his dorm mates a few hours later. He had avoided talking to people, in a fear that the changes in their behaviour might be drastic. Fortunately, Salazar had been correct. They had not instantly looked at him; in fact, nobody seemed to notice much of a difference in him, although he had caught a group of fifth and sixth year Gryffindor girls looked twice at him as they all sat in the common room.
I must be rather unattractive to be pleased when someone looks at me twice.
Harry knew that he wasn't painful to look at, but it was still an interesting thought. They were all waiting for McGonagall to bring them to breakfast (they had a more formal schedule for the day, since they were to meet the Auror guards).
He had, however, received many comments on the distinct lack of glasses. Many people had unknowingly given him an insight as to the workings of the second ritual; Angelina had told him that he looked brave and charming without his glasses, something that both Alicia and Katie agreed with. They had all assumed the change was caused by the sudden lack of glasses, as opposed to the effects of the second ritual.
It was a fairly nice feeling to receive such a compliment. He remembered that Salazar had said a trait would only appear if it truly existed. Bravery was quite a nice trait to have, according to Harry.
Hermione and Ron had also both noticed the change, with Hermione telling Harry he looked more intelligent. He and Hermione had quite a fun time explaining the concept of contacts to Ron, whose reaction was comparable to Salazar's.
Just as they had finished their explanation, Professor McGonagall entered the common room. She stood by the portrait hole, waiting for them all to quiet down.
"Organize yourselves by your years, youngest at the front. We leave in one minute." she said, her voice crisp. The students did as they were told, and within a minute they were exiting the common room.
It was rather unusual to see the entirety of Gryffindor house acting so serious for once. Perhaps it had something to do with the guests that were most likely waiting for them in the Great Hall. he had heard that one of the guests would be Madam Bones, the aunt of Susan Bones.
According to what Harry had heard, the Auror Guards had finally arrived. They would be discussing safety plans today, and likely other related subjects.
Harry was more than certain that the ministry officials would at least do a quick look over to try and find him. He was, after all, the most famous teenager in the magical world, regardless of the lack of public information on him. The thought annoyed him, but he knew there was little he could do about it.
Harry felt a slight burning on his cheekbones, feeling as they slowly shifted upwards. It appeared as though the first ritual worked one at a time, as opposed to all features at once. The pain was quite annoying, as Harry could literally see his cheekbones shifting upwards, although it was just barely
The House of the Brave made their way into the Great Hall a short while later, the other houses already seated. Harry got a few looks of interest from the seated houses, particularly from those his age and older. Harry's cheekbones had finally stopped burning a minute prior, much to his relief. Just as Harry was about to take a seat, he casually swiped his hair to the side, revealing his scar.
Salazar had told him earlier that he could not, and should not hide from who he was. If he wanted to become powerful enough to be left alone by others, he would have to be seen first. It was unfortunate, but Harry could tell that the portrait had spoken words of truth and wisdom.
Harry looked over to the staff table, which had every seat filled except for the Headmaster, who was standing behind his lectern. To Dumbledore's left stood the lady Harry assumed to be Madam Bones, another man standing by her side. Behind them stood twelve witches and wizards, all wearing Auror clothing.
Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore cleared his throat and began to speak.
"As you may have realised from the rather peculiar schedule for our fine Saturday morning, we have a few announcements regarding safety protocols that we wish for you to hear. Beside myself stand Madam Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office . . . "
Harry soon lost any semblance of interest, instead choosing to observe the Auror guards. There were the same number of males as they were females, a six and six split. He recognized two of them, both of whom stood at the back of the group. He was fairly certain he had seen both of them at Hogwarts as a first year.
The first was an attractive young witch with bright magenta hair, easily separating herself from the others. Harry was fairly certain her name was Tonks, or something similar. As for the witch to the side of her (who was equally attractive), she had long brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Harry didn't particularly remember her name, but was fairly certain both her and the Tonks girl had been in Hufflepuff.
Just as Harry was about to look away, he caught both of their eyes. After pausing slightly, Harry sent them the charming smile he had recently developed, ignoring the burning sensation that had developed around his lips. He was surprised to see they had both blushed, seemingly not realizing who he was. Just as he went to turn his head back to Dumbledore's direction did they finally see his scar, their eyes widening.
I'm heavily questioning why Salazar developed two rituals heavily linked to attraction.
He didn't have a particular problem with the rituals. After all, they only made use of what he already had, so it was agreeable with his conscience. But much more importantly than the attraction, it had been the first time in years someone had looked at his face or in the eyes, rather than his scar.
Harry found it particularly interesting that both he and Riddle had used the same ritual for reasons other than the intended one, if what Harry suspected was true. Harry was finally able to escape his fame (as people would now be more likely to focus on who he really was as opposed to his legend), and Riddle was able to use it to con others, potentially giving him valuable information.
Unfortunately, it seemed as though Riddle no longer held the effects of the ritual; Harry had not found anything about the face under Quirrell's turban to be even slightly decent.
Twenty minutes later, Harry noticed many people had suddenly turned to the left side of the Great Hall. Harry followed their lines of sight to see Hedwig flying right at him, nothing in her claws.
She landed gently on Harry's shoulders, nibbling at his ears affectionately. Dumbledore smiled slightly, but did not stop his speech. Regardless, quite a few people noticed. Harry noticed the surprise that adorned the faces of those who looked upon him. It was hard not to be surprised, given the very obvious lack of glasses.
A few people were even staring at him with interest, although it wasn't necessarily positive. Harry was starting to get used to the feeling; people had always been interested in him, the type of interest simply changed from time to time.
The next half hour felt nearly as long as the time he spent lying down in the chamber earlier. Scrimgeour was apparently going over safety plans for the school as well the activities and duties of the Auror guards. Madam Bones took over to explain how the Triwizard Tournament would affect the plans. Most people finally started listening at that point.
Harry, however, was not one of them. He had chosen to sit with his head down, trying his hardest to ignore the burning sensation spreading through his body. He had previously underestimated the after pain the ritual might cause; it was not something he would be doing again. He had moved Hedwig over to his lap, where she was rubbing her head against his chest reassuringly, clearly sensing something was wrong.
The only times he had ever raised his head were to either listen when one of the speakers said something that sounded particularly interesting, or to flash an occasional smile at the brown and magenta haired Aurors. Harry reasoned that it definitely wouldn't hurt to have a few friends that were among the Auror guard; it might help him if he got caught on his nightly visits to the chamber.
I probably should have listened to the safety plans. Harry realized, They might have said something about the places that would be patrolled more frequently.
Harry would have to ask Hermione about it later, having no doubt missed his chance. After another ten minutes had passed, the safety announcements had been finished. Madam Bones and Scrimgeour said a farewell to the students, before leaving the hall with Dumbledore. The tense atmosphere quickly reverted back to that of a typical Saturday morning: relaxing, leisurely, and perhaps slightly playful.
The Auror guards left the Great Hall, supposedly going off to their respective posts. The magenta hair girl waved happily at Harry as she left, before shortly crashing into the smiling brunette beside her. Harry smiled at that: if he was to befriend a few Aurors, he had a feeling he would be more than fine with those two.
It was now Monday afternoon, two days after the Safety Announcements. Harry had just left the Chamber of Secrets, as it was now five minutes before his next lesson. He said a quick greeting to Myrtle, before pulling out his cloak and stepping out of the bathroom. Once he was sure that nobody else was there, Harry removed his cloak and stuffed it back into his bag.
He proceeded to run down the empty halls at breakneck speed, hoping desperately that he would not be late. He had Defense Against the Dark Arts, and had a feeling Moody would not take well to tardiness.
Besides, if I entered the classroom late, he might think I'm a dark wizard trying to kill him. I can't see a way that might end well.
Just as Harry sped into a hallway on the fourth floor, he nearly crashed into a group of students. He immediately stopped himself, opening his mouth to apologize. Before he could, however, one of the students in question opened his mouth.
"If it isn't Potty!" snarled the student. Harry mentally groaned. It was the group of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students that he had run into several times prior, most of the time ending with them insulting him in some way.
Harry tried to get up and push past the boy, but soon found his path to be blocked.
"Think you own the school, eh Potter?" said the boy, snarling slightly.
Harry froze, confused. As far as he knew, people rarely saw him around the school these days. In fact, he rarely spent time outside of the Gryffindor common room, classes, the Great Hall, or the Chamber of Secrets.
To be fair, they do remind me of Dudley's friends. They weren't exactly the brightest of the bunch either.
Harry was jolted out of his thoughts when he noticed the student's hand enter his cloak. By the time the Hufflepuff student could bring his wand out, Harry's wand was already between his eyes.
Before either of the two could say anything, a voice rang out through the hallway.
"And what, exactly, is going on here?"
Harry turned to the opposite side of the hall. Walking towards them were the two Aurors Harry had smiled at previously, as well as two others. The magenta haired one, Tonks, had spoken, in a sarcastic tone quite similar to Salazar's. Harry immediately flashed her a smile, pocketing his wand in one swift movement.
"Nothing of importance. We were simply on our way to our classes." said Harry, his voice smooth.
"Well, hurry up then. And to make sure none of you get distracted on the way there, we'll be accompanying you." She indicated to herself and the other three Aurors, who nodded.
A minute later, Harry was on his way to Moody's with Tonks and the pretty brunette.
"I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be the nice ones." Harry muttered quietly.
"They typically are." replied the brunette, having heard him, "Tonks and I were in Hufflepuff. I'm Hestia Jones, by the way."
"Harry Potter."
"As if I hadn't realized."
"I didn't think you had, in the Great Hall the other day." Harry noted.
"She didn't," Tonks informed him, "And neither did I. You look different than we thought you would. You're supposed to look exactly like your father, but with your mum's eyes. Glasses, too."
"Until a few months ago, I did. But I got contacts for the glasses, and the rest changed, I guess."
"That explains it. How'd your friends react when you told them what contacts were?" asked Hestia.
"They were horrified that muggles would stick miniature glasses in their eyeballs."
Tonks sniggered.
"You should have seen my mum's reaction when my dad showed her a telephone. She tried to send a letter with it, nearly killed our owl. Absolutely barmy."
"You've got Defense with Moody, right?" asked Hestia.
"Yup. He's the barmy one, not Tonk's mum. He told us he's trying to get Ministry approval to use the Imperius Curse on us, just so we know how it feels."
"That sounds like Moody." commented Tonks, "He taught the two of us though, and he really was brilliant at teaching us how to become an Auror. You know, with stamina and reflexes and all that stuff."
"Didn't you crash into the other Aurors when you waved at me Saturday? He can't have taught you that one." Tonks' eyes narrowed playfully, while Hestia laughed in the background.
The group eventually stopped just outside of Moody's classroom.
"If what I've heard about you is true, we'll see you soon. Unless you plan on avoiding trouble." Tonks said.
"For the record," Harry started, "I don't go looking for trouble, it just finds me."
"I'm sure it does." Hestia chuckled.
Harry waved goodbye, pleased to have at the very least made two new friends.
The following class was not nearly as fun as the journey there. Professor Moody had taken it upon himself to demonstrate all three Unforgivables on a spider. Neville appeared to nearly pass out upon watching the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, not that Harry could blame him. Besides, he felt the same way after seeing the crazed Auror demonstrate the killing curse.
Harry was rather surprised by Moody's choice of material for their fourth year class. If he taught the younger students the same thing, Hogwarts might have to open a counseling ward.
After the demonstration, Moody began testing them on their knowledge of dark curses, and teaching them the counter-curses. Although Salazar had not yet taught Harry how to use any dark curses (Harry had firmly declined the offers), the portrait still muttered enough about them for Harry to pick up a thing or two about them.
It was certainly enough for him to accurately answer all of Moody's questions, which, in hindsight, was probably not the best idea.
Hermione had been very curious as to how he had so much knowledge on dark magic, how he improved so suddenly, and where he kept vanishing to. Harry had refused to tell her.
He wasn't particularly interested in explaining to his friend about Salazar and the chamber. Even he wasn't that foolish.
Bam.
Harry looked up to find Ron sporting a black eye. He had apparently attempted one of the counter curses Moody had taught them, but had not checked which side of his wand was which.
Maybe Ron would be stupid enough to tell her.
"Sorry, what was that?" interrupted Salazar as Harry answered the portrait's question. The both of them had agreed that it would be prudent that Harry had a proper understanding of his abilities, lest he accidentally cause a scene in public.
Unfortunately, that did not mean Salazar was willing to teach Harry how to use his wandless magic. The portrait had stubbornly stated that the majority of his improvement would revolve around his skill in Occlumency, and that it was unwise for him to start learning Occlumency without a proper understanding of his emotions, which he had not yet developed.
"Er - I'm a Parselmouth?" repeated Harry.
"No, before that."
"I'm a Partial Metamorphmagus?"
"That does not exist." declared Salazar, his eyebrows raised.
It was now Harry's turn to be confused.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry, "Of course it does, I can change my appearance and all without a wand."
"Go ahead then." said Salazar, watching as Harry readied himself. Sure enough, Harry's features become slightly more rough, making the change rather apparent.
"I still stand by what I said.'' said Salazar once Harry had returned to normal, "There is no such thing as a Partial Metamorphmagus. You either are one, or you are not. It is more likely that you are using wandless magic, rather than you being a Metamorphmagus."
"Then why did the goblins say I was a Partial Metamorphmagus?"
Salazar's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"The goblins do not truly understand wizard magic, just as no wizard understands goblin magic." reprimanded the portrait, "Take the words of anyone, even your own, with a grain of salt. Just because something has been said does not mean it is correct."
"There's definitely a difference between myself and a full - sorry, a normal Metamorphmagus." noted Harry, "I've seen Tonks changing her appearance, it's much more significant that what I can do."
"Exactly. Then you are not a metamorphmagus, but rather you are using wandless magic. Even if you were a weak metamorphmagus, then you would simply have a lesser potential with the skill than she does." said Salazar, "That does not make your ability anything different than hers. Is a person less magically powerful considered a partial wizard?"
"I think I remember Malfoy calling Neville that once." muttered Harry to himself.
"Why does it matter what that boy says?" asked Salazar, "What did I just tell you?"
Take the words of anyone, even your own, with a grain of salt.