Chapter 9: Chamber of Secrets
AN: Welcome to Chapter 9, guys!
I am glad you guys are enjoying my story so far.
Please continue leaving your reviews and giving me feedback. Every bit of advice on how to improve my writing is deeply appreciated.
Enjoy!
The recognizable sections belong to JKR
Chapter 9
September 1st, 1992
Harry sat in his compartment while the Hogwarts Express traveled through the wild Scottish scenery. In his mind, he was reviewing his summer and the amazing time he had spent with Flamels.
They promised to exchange letters and help Harry in case he needed support to continue his studies. So far, he had experienced no difficulties. He had spent the last week since his return from France at the Leaky Cauldron, which just like last year, allowed him to practice magic.
Since he already finished all of his schoolwork before leaving for France at the beginning of summer, he had enough time for his personal studies and to continue where he left off after leaving Nick and Penny.
This year, however, besides studying (and outperforming Granger), he needed to solve some of the other mysteries in his life.
Again, he looked at his list of To-Do-List
1. Research connection to Peverells – Any other family relations?
2. Elder wand and Stone of Resurrection
3. Find more about strange symbol (Reflection's ring, Chest Emblem)
4. Who was the blonde woman from the Mirror? Dummy for a future wife or an actual person? (France)
5. Progress with Parselmagic
6. Improve Dueling Skills
7. Get Map / Parchment from Twins
8. Learn more of Hogwarts' Secrets
9. Survive the year and Dobby's warning
It was admittedly, a very ambitious list; however, Harry was confident that he would at least be able to solve a couple of the mysteries. Not wanting to waste any time he opened up his Parseltongue book and continued reading. The content was still very difficult. Harry barely understood half of what Herpo the Foul was writing about.
It seemed that most of the magic described in the book was either Blood Magic, Soul Magic or very old, advanced runes and rituals. According to the author, Parseltongue was an ideal medium to combine different runes and create powerful wards. For example, certain wards required a password to enter. Choosing a Parseltongue password was an easy, yet very effective way to keep out any undesirable visitors.
Harry was also very interested in rituals. According to Herpo, a ritual was like a permanent enchantment to the caster's body. One had to sacrifice something of equal value for the desired effect to take place. There were rituals about strengthening the mind, body, and magic of an individual.
Those did however require very special ingredients and usually involved runes that were far too advanced for Harry's liking. However, he would continue looking for easier ones.
Blood and soul magic were very complicated and dangerous. They could go horribly wrong and more often than not permanently change the caster personally. Harry decided to learn more about them, but be very careful about the sort of magic he was dabbling in.
Finally, the train arrived at Hogsmeade station and Harry exited his compartment. Unlike last year he made his way over to the carriages with the other non-first-year students. He stood in line waiting for a carriage to take him up to the Castle when suddenly his eyes grew wide.
Large, black, skeleton-like horses were tethered to each carriage. They were slightly taller but thinner than normal horses with black leathery skin and wings above each hip. For some reason, all the other students seem to ignore the horses. The magical animals themselves seem to have noticed Harry. The one right in front of him lowered his head and nibbled at his right arm, right where his robe hid his wand holster.
Finally, Harry managed to make the connection. Of course, Harry thought, those horses must be Thestrals and they are so interested in me because of the hair that acts as a core for my wand. Harry then remembered why he could suddenly see them when he was unable to see the hair for his wand a year ago. Was it the death of the troll or the death of Quirrell that allowed him to see the majestic animals?
He realized that he was holding up the line of students and quickly made his way into the next carriage to get up to the Castle.
The sorting was nothing spectacular. The Hat switched up his song ever so slightly and the new students got sorted without any delay.
Dumbledore introduced Lockhart as the new DADA teacher and Harry could swear a couple of the older girls almost fainted at the chance to have him around for an entire year.
The food was excellent, and he was about to exit the hall to go to the Ravenclaw dormitories when Professor Flitwick caught up with him:
"Mr. Potter," the charms Professor said against the babbling of students.
"The Headmaster would like to see you in his office. The password is Lemon Drop."
Harry nodded to his Head of House and made his way to the seventh floor. The gargoyle jumped aside and allowed Harry to enter the stairs up to the Headmaster's office. He knocked and was allowed to enter the spacious room. As he crossed the doorstep, he noticed the familiar feeling of wards going up and his eyes slightly narrowed at the Headmaster.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk. Surrounded by small, interesting silver items that span around seemingly randomly and puffed smoke from time to time.
"Ah, Harry, thank you for joining me tonight!" I was hoping we could have a little chat before you undoubtedly prepare for tomorrow's classes." The old man says with a twinkle in his eyes
"Very well Headmaster, what would you like to talk about?"
"How about you tell me why you lied to me about the Stone? You could continue by telling me where you have spent all summer? People were quite worried about you Harry. It's not wise to disappear without telling anyone where you will be staying."
Harry snorted at that: "And pray tell me who might be worried about me, Sir? My relatives certainly were not. They most likely celebrated that I left them alone for another couple of weeks! Don't think you know anything about my relationship with them, Sir!"
"I know that it was not pleasant growing up with them, Harry, but I wasn't referring to your relatives when mentioning people might be worried. I was talking about myself."
Harry was surprised at the blunt honesty: "Why would you be worried about me, Sir? You have a school year to prepare for, not to mention like three other jobs in the political world. Why would you care about what any of your first-years get up to over summer?"
"Because I think we both know that you are not just any of my first years. Besides, I am your magical guardian and I have been ever since your parents unfortunate passing. But enough of that. Tell me, why did you lie to me about the Stone?"
"You did not manage to keep it safe the first two times. Why would I just hand it right back to you, Sir? It was almost stolen the day after my birthday from Gringotts and you let Quirrell get far too close at the end of the last school year. I didn't know if I could trust you a third time, Sir."
"And what did you decide to do with the stone Harry?" The grandfatherly smile was gone now.
"I gave it back to its owner, Sir," Harry grinned.
"You have met Nicholas and Perenelle?" Dumbledore seemed speechless.
"To me, they are Nick and Penny." Harry laughed at Dumbledore's dumbstruck expression. "But yes, you could say that I met them, Sir."
Dumbledore seemed at a loss for words: "Very well then, Harry. I am glad you chose to be responsible and hand back the stone. Trust me when I say that there are much more beautiful things to enjoy on this earth than chasing immortality."
"I am not interested in living forever, thank you, Headmaster. I do wonder though, how did you realize I lied to you about the Stone? I didn't feel you enter my mind?"
"Magic always leaves traces, Harry, as I am sure you noticed when entering my office. Don't worry, the wards are simply to notify me should someone step in front of my door..."
"Now where was I? Oh yes, the destruction of something as powerful as the Sorcerer's Stone would have left enormous amounts of residual magic down in that chamber. At first, I simply thought it was deluded due to the simultaneous destruction of the Mirror of Erised and the disgusting amounts of dark magic."
"However, after returning down there at the beginning of summer, I did not manage to feel any traces of the Stone's residual magic. The only logical explanation was that you had lied to me. An exceptional feat if I may say so. During all my time at Hogwarts, only one other student ever managed the same."
The Headmaster's expression darkened at that thought and Harry wondered what former student he might be thinking about?
"Well, I guess that is all for tonight, Harry. Off to bed you go and enjoy your new school year! Remember, if there is anything you want to talk about, I will always have an open ear."
Harry thanked the older man and made his way over to Ravenclaw Tower. The conversation went quite well. Luckily Dumbledore didn't try to pry any further into his activities over summer. He seemed to trust Nick and Penny enough to take good care of him. Thinking once again about his amazing summer, Harry went to bed. He wanted to be in excellent shape for his first day of school tomorrow after all.
Harry woke up the next day, jogged around the lake and made his way to the Great Hall for Breakfast. He noticed that something was going on. A lot of people were staring at him and started whispering to their friends.
Harry went to sit at the Ravenclaw table, when suddenly a group of upper-year Slytherins, including Markus Flint, the quidditch captain, blocked his path.
Harry narrowed his eyes and analyzed the group. Four students, all between third to sixth year by the looks of it. He could probably take them on individually, but as a group, it might be difficult. He noticed that Snape and Dumbledore were watching the interaction from the Head Table.
"How can I help you, gentlemen?" Harry asked innocently.
"You could tell us what the fuck really happened to Quirrell, Potter! I will sit my OWLs this year and could have gotten an easy Outstanding under Quirrell. Instead, you somehow offed him and now we have to deal with Lockhart!" Warrington, a fifth-year, replied angrily.
"What happened down there is none of your business, now move aside before I make you!"
The Slytherins roared in laughter: "And what is a tiny second-year gonna do to us if we refuse?"
"I am gonna beat your ass so bad that you won't have to worry about your OWLs anymore." Harry calmly replied, but his eyes brightened ever so slightly.
"Not here guys! Not in front of the professors!" Adrian Pucey interfered as Warrington pulled his wand on Harry.
"You're going to regret that, Potter. Dumbledore won't always be there to protect his golden boy." With that, the Slytherin retreated to their table.
Harry noticed a dumb founded expression on the majority of faces in the Great Hall. The other students obviously didn't expect him to handle the conversation the way he did. This would likely be not the only occurrence of that sort. Quirrell wasn't particularly popular, but he gave easy grades and did not assign much homework. He was well-liked among the upper-year classes, which used the additional time to study for exams, quidditch training, and house duties. Harry would have to be careful. His popularity certainly did not increase due to last year's events.
The rest of the week continued without any interference, though the Slytherins often gave him suspicious looks. They were planning something, and Harry made sure to always have an escape route ready in case they somehow cornered him. He kept his invisibility cloak on him at all times and used it twice already when a group of fifth-year Slytherins wandered the hallways together seemingly looking for something or someone.
He needed a plan of action; he couldn't continue things the way they were. It became too annoying to continue hiding from them and it was against his nature to avoid the confrontation.
Harry basically had three options.
Run to Dumbledore, snitch his heart out, and hope the old Headmaster would somehow interfere.
Provoke a confrontation in front of the teachers and enough witnesses to get the Slytherins in serious trouble.
Or, send a message to the Slytherins by showing that their actions will be met with equal force and hope to intimidate them
Harry chose option three. The best defense was a good offense. He waited for the particular group of fifth years after their charms class while Harry himself had a free period. He needed to isolate their leader and make an example of him, otherwise, the group would retaliate against him even stronger.
Under his invisibility cloak, he cast a quick Diffindo at Warrington's leather book bag. The bag ripped and his books, parchment, and bottles of ink fell to the ground.
"You guys go ahead. I'll just fix this really quick. Just tell Lockhart some bullshit lie, it's not like I'm going to miss anything important anyway." Warrington told his friends.
Perfect. Harry thought he would be alone and isolated in the corridor.
Warrington repaired his bag with a simple Reparo and started putting his schoolwork back inside. He was momentarily distracted and put his wand on the floor next to him.
"Expelliarmus" Harry shouted still under his cloak. Warrington's wand flew towards Harry's end of the corridor before his victim realized what just happened.
"Who is there? I warn you; I am a Prefect! Any move against me is a move against the entire house of Slytherin"
"I am not scared of some slimy snakes Warrington. I am here to teach you a lesson." Harry replies as he pulls down his invisibility cloak and steps from behind his corner
"You and your little friends have annoyed me quite a lot over the past week. I will put an end to that now. I will give you a choice: swear an oath that you and the rest of Slytherin will leave me in peace and I will let you walk away from here unharmed."
"You have no idea what you just got yourself into Potter. I will enjoy inflicting pain upon you. Now give me back my wand or I will report you to Snape."
Harry chuckled: "I don't think you've yet understood the position you're in Warrington, perhaps a demonstration…"
Harry cast an Impedimenta at Warrington, who dived below the spell just as Harry expected. His Incarcerous hit the fifth-year square in the chest and bound him in thick ropes.
"Now there are a couple of spells I really wanted to test. This seems to be the perfect opportunity."
Warrington screamed in pain as the first Bonebreaker hit his ring finger.
"No no no… We can't have you making so much noise now can we? What if your little friends found me? Silencio!"
The Slytherin's lips continued moving but no sound left his mouth. Harry decided to break more fingers on the other hand and one of Warrington's ribs before stunning the fifth-year and levitating him.
He walked over to a staircase that led into an unoccupied corridor before he dropped Warrington at the bottom of the staircase.
To add more credibility to the scene and make it look like an accident, he lubricated the top few stairs with a water spell and added some soap into the mix as well.
Anyone who would stumble upon the scene would most likely think that Warrington simply lost balance on the slippery steps and fell down the stairs. Satisfied with his work he undid the ropes that still held Warrington tight in place.
He placed Warrington's wand next to him on the floor and cast an Ennervate after hiding understood his cloak.
Warrington slowly gained consciousness. How much would he remember?
The Slytherin's eyes widened in fear as he found the position he was in and he winced in pain when moving his torso due to the broken rip.
Slowly he got up and made his way towards the Slytherin common room.
Harry followed him under his cloak. Halfway to the dungeons, they run into the Prefect's friends.
Perfect Harry thought. Let's see how this plays out.
"Cassius, where have you been? We just finished the class with Lockhart and you didn't show up at all? What happened to your hand, man?
"I don't know Adrian. I woke up at the bottom of the staircase at the end of the charm's corridor, but I don't even know how I got there. The stairs were slippery so I must have fallen down the stairs. For some weird reason, I remember a confrontation with Potter though…"
"Potter?" Markus Flint asked perplexed. "Second-year Potter did this to you?"
"We have to report him!" Pucey chimed in.
"No!" Warrington intervened. "He is a teacher's favorite and I don't want Slytherin house to know I was ambushed by a second-year student. We are Slytherins. Let it rest for now. We will have our revenge when the opportunity presents itself. We will have three more years with Potter here at school. Let's not rush things. Remember we are the house of the cunning!"
Perfect just what I was hoping for, Harry thought as he made his way back to the Great Hall for some lunch. The Slytherins would hopefully leave him alone and the other three houses including his own were not nearly as aggressive to openly attack him. He would deal with them too, if necessary. For now, he hoped to have gained some peace and quiet.
31st October 1992
The weeks since his confrontation with Warrington had passed without any further annoyance from the Slytherins. Harry was still cautious and never let his guard down. He continued practicing his spell work, getting his workout done in the morning, and putting up a brilliant performance in his classes.
As predicted Lockhart was a complete failure as a teacher. Harry refused to even give answers to the questions in his pop-quiz and instead spent some time reading his other schoolbooks. At the end of their first lesson, Lockhart released a couple of dozen Pixies in the class, lost his wand and fled from the room to let his students deal with the Pixies.
The majority of students just started screaming and running after Lockhart. Only a couple remained, including Susan Bones, her friend Hannah Abbot, Terry, Harry's roommate, and Harry himself. Harry taught the other children the Impedimenta jinx and together they used the escaped Pixies as target praxis. Testing a variety of spells.
Since he pretty much knew most of the second-year material McGonagall and Flitwick usually gave him some additional, more difficult, tasks after he finished the original goal of the lesson. He still remembered when Granger tried to snitch on him for "doing something he wasn't supposed to".
The entire class was trying to transfigure their beetles into buttons. Harry managed the task on his first try and instead animated his buttons to act like beetles and chase each other around his table.
When Granger complained that Harry was distracting the class and not following the instructions, McGonagall took five points from her and told her to mind her own business while giving 20 points to Ravenclaw for a brilliant combination of charms and transfigurations.
His outstanding performance in classes isolated Harry. The other well-performing students were jealous of him since there was basically no point in competing with him anymore in the core subjects.
The general student population was still scared of him after it had been announced that he killed the troll and a teacher at the end of last year. Harry did not much care about them. He enjoyed his peace and quiet and was able to concentrate on his studies.
He started a tentative friendship with the Weasley Twins after sneaking into the kitchen together and spiking the pumpkin juice for the Slytherin table with a hair color potion. The Twins were a lot smarter than they seem, but instead of using their brains for classes, they chose to invent prank items and have