"I smell blood… KILL!"
Harry broke into a run, turning a corner only to gasp in surprise. A second-year student, Justin Finch-Fletchley, was lying on the ground, petrified, while the clearly petrified form of Nearly Headless Nick floated in front of him. What was going on? There was another attack? He had to inform a teacher! He needed to get Professor Flitwick at once.
As he turned a corner, he crashed headfirst into a bunch of second-year Hufflepuffs.
"Oh, sorry," apologised Hannah, as she got to her feet. "What's wrong, Harry?"
Just then, they heard a scream of panic. They turned to find Wayne Hopkins and Ernie Macmillan looking at the petrified forms of Justin and Nick.
"T-There has been another a-attack," squeaked Hopkins, looking terrified. "We need to get the teachers."
When they turned around and hurried towards Professor Sprout's office, Harry's heart began to race. What was that voice? Whatever he had followed had led him to the petrified victims. Then Dobby was right; there was a Chamber of Secrets. And there was probably a monster inside which was hunting the Muggle-borns. He quietly made his way to the Defence classroom for his detention, lost in thought. How was he able to understand the monster? Did the creature speak English?
...
Two weeks before the winter holidays, a sheet of parchment appeared on the notice board outside the Great Hall. Harry casually walked towards it, not bothering to talk to anyone. Suddenly, he had been the scrutiny of intense speculation because somehow, news had gotten out that he was the one to find Justin in the corridor and had been attempting to flee the scene when he ran into the Hufflepuffs. Harry didn't bother dignifying such stupidity with a response. Some of the students were looking at him with terrified expressions on their faces, but the others were quite indifferent. Harry must have been the first person to stumble onto the scene, end of story.
The notice informed them of a Duelling Club that was to be held that very evening. Harry was quite surprised and excited by that. He knew that Professor Flitwick was an International Duelling Champion, having won the adult championship several times. Being the winner of the Under-13 tournament, he was quite eager to learn from someone who had taken part in the circuit himself. There was also the fact that he greatly admired Professor Flitwick. So that evening, he found himself joining more than half the school in the Great Hall, where they stood surrounding the duelling podium that had been erected in the middle.
"Where's Flitwick?" asked Daphne in confusion. That's when she saw someone she didn't want to see at a duelling arena.
"Oh, Mother Magic, have mercy," muttered Harry. "I can't believe Dumbledore let this fool teach us duelling. This idiot can't even hold his wand right, so how is he going to teach us battle spells?"
"Maybe he knows something about duelling?" suggested Neville, sounding hopeful.
"Trust me, Neville, that buffoon can't duel to save his life," Harry replied, rolling his eyes. Several girls around them who had heard him gasped in outrage. He mentally snorted. They'll know the truth one day. If he hadn't been so busy studying for his fourth-year exams which were just two weeks away, he might have actually done something to get rid of the man.
"Do you think we can get out?" asked Blaise Zabini quietly.
"I doubt it," answered Daphne.
Harry nodded as he looked at the doors of the Hall which were closed. "She's right. We'd draw too much attention to ourselves and the last thing I need is to piss off Snape before my O.W.L.s. What was Snape thinking coming here anyway? I thought he hated students and teaching in general, so shouldn't that make him not agree to be Lockhart's assistant ?"
Just as the words left his mouth, his attention was diverted. Snape fired a disarming spell at Lockhart, sending the other man flying away as he hit the end of the podium. Theo choked as he bit back a laugh, but Tracy began laughing outright.
"That was not a graceful landing," smiled Neville.
"He's probably embarrassed," said Susan, grinning widely. "Oh, look! He's trying to save face! I wonder why he didn't use a shield charm when he saw the incoming spell."
"That's probably because he doesn't know how to cast a shield," Daphne smirked.
"The Disarming Spell; an excellent demonstration, Professor Snape," Lockheart boomed, giving the audience a fancy yet pained smile. "Let's pair everyone off, shall we? Let them experience how it is to be guided by Gilderoy Lockheart himself! And of course, you, Professor Snape…"
A pair of dark eyes narrowed dangerously as he spotted the bored looking Potter scion.
....
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