Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 01
By David
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter characters are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling. I am writing this fic strictly for fun.
Author's Notes: I am doing a rewrite of 'Ninja Wizard' that I wrote a few years ago. One of the biggest mistakes I made was doing 'Chamber of Secrets' in just two chapters! This time round I am doing it justice, with newer material and more action. Please review, and be kind in your comments. Feel free to point out any mistakes I make or just comment in general. Us authors do listen to comments and reviews, it tells us that folks are reading our stories. Having said that, please enjoy.
Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 01
"A New Year"
The first sign of potential trouble was the house elf standing in the middle of the living room of the flat he was staying in, courtesy of the goblins at Gringotts. Harry stood there in the doorway of the bedroom in just his fundoshi having gotten out of the bath. One moment there was nothing there and then the next there it was. Before Harry had a chance to react the elf threw up its hands.
"Dobby come to warn Harry Potter!" the elf cried out, and Harry moved out of the doorway, still holding onto the slender throwing knife.
"Harry Potter is in mortal danger if he goes to Hogwarts!" Dobby cried out once more as he trembled in obvious fear.
The elf was terrified of something and Harry had to find out what.
"I'm in danger of what?" Harry asked as he slowly approached the elf.
"Terrible thing!" Dobby squeaked once more. "I cannot say! I am forced to keep Master's secrets!"
"You need to tell me, Dobby. What is the danger?" Harry spoke softly, not wanting to scare off Dobby.
"Dobby wants to tell but can't," he began to sob, great tears rolling down his face.
This master of his must be DE, Harry immediately thought.
"Harry Potter must promise not to go back to Hogwarts!" Dobby whimpered. "If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts he will die!"
Okay, that was more than enough to really get Harry's attention. Harry really needed to know now, so he decided to try and reason with the elf named Dobby.
"Dobby, I have to go back to Hogwarts if I am to become a great wizard. Can you tell me why I can't go back? I promise you I'll tell the headmaster Dumbledore," Harry attempted to bargain with Dobby.
Dobby shook his head violently as he cut loose with fresh tears. "I can't!" he howled. "Master will kill me! Harry Potter must not go!"
Harry was more than a little bit spooked by now. The deranged elf was losing control.
"HARRY POTTER WILL NOT GO!" Dobby shouted at Harry.
Harry raised his hands and slowly backed off. The elf was on the verge of flipping out.
"I will stop Harry Potter from going. Harry Potter will understand," the trembling and crying elf said softly and then popped away before Harry could say anything else.
Harry went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea and turned the situation that had just occurred over in his mind. He slowly sipped the tea as he tried to make heads and tails out of it. Eventually he put the problem away into a drawer of the filing cabinet he kept in his head and labeled the drawer 'Dobby'. He washed out the cup and then headed back to the bedroom to finish getting dressed for the day. He was headed back to Hogwarts this morning and needed to be at platform nine and three quarters before eleven as the train was due to depart then. Harry pulled on a pair of faded blue jeans, a black t-shirt, strapped on his wand holder to the inside of his left forearm, put on a light blue long sleeved button up shirt leaving it unbuttoned, pulled on tabi socks and then his black tabi boots. He went to the dresser and strapped on his Japanese Navy Seal dive watch, reached for his jade dragon pendant and put it on round his neck. Harry studied his reflection in the mirror for a moment and decided he was ready to go. He went out into the living room and found his pack by the door to the flat he had been staying in that he had packed last night before going to bed and made sure everything was in there. Then he reached for the door to open it and discovered it wouldn't open. Dobby had been as good as his word to stop Harry. Harry smiled at the first attempt. He brushed a finger over the Potter Family ring he wore and whispered the password that would get him into Gringotts bank that was just down the street. As the portkey took effect Harry's vision swam for a few seconds and what had been the living room now became the portkey point for Gringotts bank. It had worked.
Harry walked out of the bank into the warm summer morning. He checked his watch and noted the time. He was supposed to meet Hermione and her parents at the rail station. He walked through the Leaky Cauldron and out into London. He hailed a cab at the cabstand, the cab sliding to a stop in front of him. Harry got into the back.
"Good morning, the rail station at King's Corner please," Harry informed the driver where he needed to go.
"A good morning to you, young sir. Gonna be a warm one again today," the cabbie remarked as he floored it and shot out into traffic.
Harry braced himself as the cab went flying down the street. He wondered if this guy had ever been on the Knight Bus. Harry gave the guy twenty pounds for getting him there in one piece. Harry swung his pack onto his back and entered the rail station. He glanced up at the big clock and it was now ten to eleven. Harry made his way to the barrier and on the way there bumped into Hermione and the Grangers.
"Hi Harry!" Hermione called out.
Harry grinned as he saw them. The day just got better. Harry walked up to them and greeted them. "Hi, Hermione, Dr. and Mrs. Granger."
"Good morning Harry," Dan shook his hand. "Ready for the new school year?"
"Sure," Harry said. "I'm hoping it will be a good one."
They talked as they headed down to the barrier. Harry saw a number of wizards and witches going through the barrier until he was sure that he and Hermione would be the last ones through. Harry walked up to it and put up his left hand to go through it and didn't. The barrier had closed. Harry stepped back and tried again. Hermione was next and she had no luck either. Harry looked up at the clock and it was now two minutes to eleven. Hermione tried again and still no luck. Harry quietly cursed knowing Dobby was the cause of their not getting through.
"Retreat," Harry called out and they moved off to a nearby bench.
Harry glanced at the clock, it was now one minute past. They had missed the train.
"What do we do now, Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry sighed. "Simple. We retreat to the Leaky Cauldron, write letters to McGonagall and Flitwick, send them by owl, and hope they reply."
The three Grangers agreed to the plan and they led Harry back to their Range Rover. Harry liked the Range Rover because it was a sturdy and dependable car. Harry helped Dan get Hermione's trunk back into the back and they climbed in. Harry relaxed as they drove out of there for the Leaky Cauldron. They took a booth once they got there and both Harry and Hermione wrote their respective letters and took them to the owl post office inside the alley and sent them off. Now all they had to do was wait. Harry saw this opportunity as a chance to get to know Hermione.
"How was your summer?" Harry asked her as they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to wait.
"It was lovely. We went to the south of France for a few weeks," Hermione said and then gave him a rundown of what she saw.
Harry listened to what she had to say and she did have quite a bit to say.
"Sounds like you had a great time," Harry said when she finished her monologue.
"The Wizarding world there was just as interesting," Hermione said. "What did you do, Harry?"
Harry considered his events of the past three months and wisely kept quiet about most of it. "Oh, not much."
Hermione nodded and Harry was sure she wasn't buying that line. They reached the Leaky Cauldron and joined the Grangers in their booth. Old Tom was talking with them and it sounded like an interesting conversation. Tom excused himself when some people came into the bar. Dan turned his attention to Hermione and Harry.
"Letters sent off?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Yes Dad. Now we wait for a response."
"Hope it won't take too long," Dan said.
And it didn't.
It was perhaps a half hour later that a response from professor Flitwick arrived. Harry opened the letter. "Mr. Potter, you are to floo to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and then walk up to the school from there. The both of you are to report to me and Professor McGonagall on your arrival."
Hermione turned to her parents and told them what Hogsmeade was and where it was in relation to the castle. Harry shrunk her trunk and put it in his pack for her. It looked like a used trunk and that gave him an idea for a birthday present for Hermione. He smiled as he turned back to them.
"Ready for the ride Hermione?" he asked her. "Real simple. A sprinkle of the floo powder into the fire and when the fire turns green call out your destination and step right in. Won't get burned. You will get pulled right into the system and it will deliver you right to where you are going."
"Sounds simple," Dan said.
"It is," Harry agreed. "Right after you Miss Granger."
Hermione giggled and then followed Harry's directions to the letter and off she went.
"We'll send you a note when we get there," Harry said as he took his turn.
The floo system pulled him in and off he went on the ride to the Three Broomsticks. As he got to the end of the ride he remembered Flitwick's advice about riding the floo network and managed to come out into the Three Broomsticks on his feet.
"You made it, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed when he saw her.
"Fun ride," she commented and that drew a laugh from the onlookers.
Harry checked the time and nodded. It was barely going noon now. "Fancy a bit of lunch, Miss Granger?"
"Why of course, Mr. Potter," Hermione grinned.
Rosemerta appeared out of nowhere and showed them to a private booth in the corner and presented them with menus. They ordered lunch and then spent the next hour there trading life stories. Harry was careful to modify his so as to not give up any secrets. The time wasn't right for that and Harry wanted to be sure of her before giving up any of his secrets to her. She would have to learn how to protect her mind first, and Harry had the feeling that wouldn't be so hard to do.
As it was now coming up on one they needed to get to the castle. Harry and Hermione stopped in at the Hogsmeade owl post office and sent out an owl to Hermione's parents to let them know they were just fine. As they strolled up to the castle they continued their conversation and Harry was discovering that Hermione shared quite a few opinions that Harry held on certain subjects, two of them being about Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley. Other shared opinions were about History of Magic, Runes, Arithmancy, and life in general. By the time they reached the castle they had a good start on their friendship. Harry turned to one of the portraits and asked the lady there if there were any messages from Flitwick and or McGonagall.
"Of course, young man. You and the lady are to go see them in McGonagall's office," the lady informed them.
"Thank you gentle lady," Harry bowed.
They headed up the stairs to McGonagall's office and found the professors in McGonagall's office.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, at last!" Flitwick exclaimed.
Harry smiled. "You look well, sir. Holiday agree with you?"
"It did, Mr. Potter, very well. Very rested and ready to take on new challenges," Flitwick stated.
"Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," McGonagall greeted the both of them. "According to your letters, the both of you were unable to get through the barrier."
Harry set his pack on the floor and sighed as Hermione took a chair.
"Yes, that's what happened. But the story does start with me," Harry said and then informed them of his encounter with Dobby and his morning so far. "So that's why we retreated back to the Leaky Cauldron to write the both of you and ask for advice."
"Well done Mr. Potter. Twenty points for Ravenclaw for handling the situation well," Flitwick said.
"And you as well, Miss Granger. Well done," McGonagall said. "The train isn't due for a few hours yet so why don't the both of you go and settle in?"
Hermione led Harry to Gryffindor Tower and showed him the commons room. Harry liked the looks of it and got her trunk out and expanded it. One of the Hogwarts elves popped up and took Hermione's trunk to her second year dorm. They agreed to meet at the great hall just before the Welcoming Feast and Harry headed to Ravenclaw Tower go get himself settled in. He set up his trunk at the foot of his four poster bed and then went down inside the trunk to make sure everything was still in place, and they were. He grabbed a cold ginger ale from the refrigerator and went to his war room to move the Dobby memory to his Pensieve for further study later on. He put the memory of Gilderoy Lockhart into the Pensieve and photographed it. Harry went to the Hogwarts staff wall and removed Quirrell's picture from the wall and replaced it with Lockhart. He stepped back and studied the picture for a moment and then picked up a marker and wrote a few things on the wall next to the picture. First word was conman. Harry had the feeling that Lockhart was a con artist, all flashy and a showoff. Harry perched on the corner of his worktable and stared at the picture for a bit and then sighed. He had the distinct feeling that this was going to be an interesting year.
Harry went down to the great hall slightly before the appointed time to meet Hermione. He had napped for about two hours, as he knew it would be late before he got to bed and he wanted to be rested for the evening. Harry removed his long sleeved shirt in exchange for his Ravenclaw robe after using the bathroom to freshen up a bit. He left the robe open and headed down to the great hall. Just as he walked up to the doors, a snarling Professor Snape emerged.
"Good evening professor," Harry said respectfully.
Snape stopped and glared at Harry for a moment before softening up a little. "A good evening to you, Mr. Potter."
"Have a good summer holiday sir?" Harry asked.
"It was… productive," Snape said slowly.
Harry beamed. "That's great, sir! Make any new discoveries in potions?"
Snape's left eyebrow went up. Perhaps Potter wasn't like his father after all.
"Possibly, I am watching a potion at the moment," he revealed.
"What is it going to do sir?" Harry asked.
"I am attempting to improve the potion that neutralizes the effects of the Crucio Curse," Snape informed Harry.
"Yes, I've read about that particular curse, sir. A real nasty one," Harry said.
"It is, Mr. Potter, a very nasty one," Snape found himself agreeing with Harry.
Harry nodded. "Good luck with the research sir."
Snape inclined his head. "Thank you Mr. Potter. I do believe that Miss Granger is waiting for you inside."
Snape swept off towards the dungeons and back to his potions. Harry turned and entered the great hall to find it brightly decorated for the Welcoming Feast. Harry went to his table as the first group of students arrived. The noise level in the hall grew as people filed in and joined their house tables. A few minutes later McGonagall walked up the steps onto the stage where the head table was. The hall grew quiet.
"Good evening. In a few moments the first years will be joining us for their sorting. As they will be joining your house we do ask that all of you older student try to assist them in getting used to being here," she said and motioned to the double doors in the back to let in the new students.
The doors creaked open wide and the first years walked in up to the half way point between two of the tables. McGonagall turned to the hat and tapped the brim. The hat slowly came to life and stretched. He turned left and right to look round the room and then a slight smile crossed its face. Dumbledore just groaned, as he knew what the hat was going to do this year and he was right. The hat did his song in opera style, getting a laugh from people. Dumbledore sighed once the hat was done and it turned round and smirked at Dumbledore. Then he turned back to face the hall and went to work sorting the first years. This year there was a good balance of first years in all of the houses. Dumbledore stood up and approached the podium.
"Good evening to all," he began his speech. "I am delighted to see the new students here, welcome to all of you, and I am happy to see the students returning for another year. First thing I would like to do is to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart."
The girls in the hall swooned and a lot of the older boys growled at that. Apparently Harry wasn't alone in his opinion of Lockhart.
"I need to remind all that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden to go into, as there are very dangerous creatures in there," Dumbledore said.
Harry couldn't agree fast enough.
"I have asked the prefects to deliver the rest of the announcements later. So having said that, let the feast begin," and Dumbledore waved his hands over the hall.
Gasps of surprise were heard as all kinds of food appeared. The evening was off to a good start. At the tail end of dessert Dumbledore stood up and the hall went quiet, wondering what was up.
"As this is Saturday night and classes formally start Monday morning, I thought a little dance would be nice to start the year off. So I went and hired a little band to come and entertain us. Do enjoy," Dumbledore waved his hand at the red velvet curtain covering the stage right and it opened to reveal a band. They kicked off the dance with an old muggle disco tune and the evening went from there. Harry did get the chance to dance a few times with some of the girls there and danced with Hermione a few times too. By the time eleven rolled around people were ready to call it a night. The band ended the evening with one last slow dance.
Sunday started off with a late breakfast going from nine to eleven. Harry did a hard workout to try and burn off all those calories consumed from the feast last night. He went down to the great hall for a late breakfast and got his copy of the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. The only thing that was worth noting was last night's Welcoming Feast and the dance afterwards. Harry was feeling a bit lazy but he didn't want to stay in as it looked like a really nice day out. He went back to his dorm in the Ravenclaw Tower and got into his black Speedos, a tank top, shorts, and flip flops. He grabbed a small bag and tossed his towel, sun block, and a new book he was reading and headed out to the beach down at the lake.
"Hey Potter, where you heading?" someone called out.
Harry stopped at the door. "Going down to the lake. Too nice to be indoor today."
Harry left the Ravenclaw Tower and went down to the beach at the lake, unaware that Dumbledore was watching him. The old man stood there for a time watching Harry walking towards the lake. He turned around and went back into his office and took the big chair that resembled more like a throne behind his desk. It made him feel powerful sitting on it. He reveled in the glorious feeling it gave him and he laughed for a moment and then turned his mind to the problem of Harry Potter.
"Oh my dear boy, whatever shall I do with you?" Dumbledore said out loud. "You certainly are becoming a problem, and those damned goblins at Gringotts certainly messed things up for me discovering my plan to dismantle the Potter Estate. I will need a new plan to get the rest of their money, and a plan to avoid Bones should she find out. Perhaps she needs to have an 'accident'. Shouldn't be too hard to arrange."
He laughed out loud and Fawkes shivered from the evil he sensed coming from Dumbledore. He was seriously reconsidering his decision to be Dumbledore's familiar. The pictures hanging on the wall of past headmasters and head mistresses were horrified by Dumbledore's words, but there wasn't a thing they could do about it as Dumbledore hexed them all to never speak of what went down in his office. Once more he did not see the elf dressed in black slip away. The elf had much to report to his master.
Harry dropped his bag on the grass just above the sand and stripped off his tank top and kicked off his sandals. He turned to the dock and jogged down it and did a dive into the water and when he surfaced struck out for the floating platform fifty feet away. By the time he got there the first couple of Ravenclaws were showing up by the lake. Harry got out of the water and sat there on the floating platform and watched more people show up. It didn't take long for the majority of Hogwarts to show up, get settled down, get the volleyball nets set up, and start having fun. The giant squid that lived in the lake came up to the surface and a group of the first years swam out to it and started sliding down its tentacles while it used another one to gently drop the first years into the water. Harry laughed at their enthusiasm at the game. He stood up and dived back into the water and headed back to the shore. He did a few laps out to the floating platform and back to the docks a few times and then sat in the shallow water and watched the other kids having fun. Harry noticed one little kid being a bit timid about going into the water.
"Do you know how to swim?" Harry asked the little boy.
He looked up. "I'm Sam, first year Hufflepuff. No I don't."
"Harry Potter, second year Ravenclaw. Can I teach you how to swim?" Harry asked Sam.
Sam brightened up. "Okay!"
Harry spent the next hour teaching Sam how to float on his back and to master the dog paddle. Once Sam got the hang of it Harry went up to his blanket and stretched out on a conjured lounger and retrieved his book from the bag and started reading. He heard laughter off to his left and looked up to see people playing with a chess set half the size they were. McGonagall would like that bit of transfiguration. He smiled and turned back to his book. From somewhere behind him someone started up a stereo and dance music was heard. Harry turned to look and a few of the muggleborns were dancing on the grass to the music. Harry turned back to his book and read a few chapters before dozing off. The call to lunch woke him up and he discovered the Hogwarts elves had set up a table with build it yourself burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches. That idea got a lot of approval from everybody there. Harry settled back down on his lounger with a pair of burgers. Hermione joined him with plate of food.
"Great idea of yours, Harry. It really is too nice to be indoors today, and it gives everybody a chance to relax a bit before starting the school year tomorrow," she said.
"I plan on doing this every weekend before it get too cold, and then keep on doing it in the room of requirement," Harry informed her. "We need a break from studies every now and then or we'll all go crazy."
They heard laughter and they looked over at the Weasley twins hamming it up again.
"Oops, too late," Harry said, cracking up Hermione.
Hermione looked at what Harry had been reading and that started a discussion over the contents of the book. Harry discovered that Hermione had some interesting ideas about things and their conversation drifted off into other directions. Harry did get back into the water and did a few laps more after Hermione got pulled into something else. The day ended when people started drifting back to the castle. The evening was fairly quiet, people scattered round the Ravenclaw common room talking in low quiet tones. Harry sat in one of the numerous overstuffed chairs scattered round the room and considered the recent events and Dobby as well. Ever since he had gotten back here to Hogwarts there hadn't been anymore of the strange occurrences that kept him from doing anything. Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy hadn't crossed his path yet and he considered that strange. It was barely the beginning of the year so he didn't count them out just yet. The only thing interesting from the Weasley Family was Ginny Weasley being sorted into Gryffindor. She was a bit shy around him and Harry wondered if she was one of those fangirls that pined after Harry, as he knew there were quite a few Harry Potter fangirls there. He sighed and then decided to call it a day.
Harry had worried for nothing as he heard Malfoy and Weasley yelling at each other the next morning as he approached the great hall for breakfast. He moved around the crowd that had formed around them to watch the newest confrontation between them and went into the hall. He watched McGonagall heading out to confront those two and turned back to his table. Flitwick stepped up to Harry and handed him his schedule for the year.
"No electives this year, Harry?" Flitwick asked.
Harry shook his head. "Nope. I really don't have any interesting in divination and care of magical creatures. I rather focus on the things that will benefit me."
"Good man," Flitwick said. "I can tell you for a fact that second year charms will be a challenge for you as you will be learning some new spells there."
"You do teach a good class sir," Harry complemented Flitwick.
"Thank you Mr. Potter," Flitwick smiled. "By the way, I like your new look."
Harry reached up to touch his earrings. "Thanks. You are the only one who's noticed and said something to me about them. I kind of like them too."
Someone else showed up and Flitwick went to talk to them. Harry turned back to the paper and his breakfast. Harry had wondered if Dumbledore had seen them yet and the old man had. Dumbledore had, and so did other people. The word slowly got around the castle about them and people were looking at Harry closely to see them. Dumbledore decided to have words with Harry over them. He met Harry outside the great hall as Harry left the hall to go get his books for his first class of the day being transfigurations.
"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore called to Harry as Harry walked past him. "A word with you, please."
Harry had a feeling what it was going to be about and followed Dumbledore into a room close by the hall. The door closed behind him.
"Harry my boy," Dumbledore began. "I am most concerned about you as it seems that you are going dark."
"Not that again!" Harry exclaimed. "I am not going dark!"
"Then why the earrings?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry leaned against the wall next to the door. "Because I like the idea of wearing them. They aren't just for girls to wear. Boys wear them too. I like these plain gold hoops, as they are the best ones to wear and not the more outlandish ones. This is as far as I go. There won't be anything else. Wearing them and the tattoo doesn't make me dark. What makes a person dark is the intent they carry in their hearts. People have to choose what road they are going to walk. Why should I walk the dark path when it was responsible for the deaths of my parents?"
That bit of logic knocked Dumbledore back for a loop. Deep down he knew that Harry was right but he was too stubborn to admit it.
"I'm sorry sir, but I need to get to class," Harry said, heading for the door.
Dumbledore fell back on his most trusted tactic. Sending somebody on a guilt trip.
"I wonder how your parents would react to this, Harry. I imagine they would be disappointed in you and ashamed of you," Dumbledore attacked.
Harry stopped at the door and turned around to face Dumbledore. "I really wish you would leave my parents out of this, headmaster. Stop trying to send me on a guilt trip. I imagine that my parents would be truly angry with you for doing this, for attacking me with your guilt trips. As nicely as I can say it, please leave me alone."
And with that, Harry walked out of there and closed the door behind him. Dumbledore stood there for a time, shocked that Harry had turned his attack back around on him. Dumbledore sat down in a squishy chair and sighed. What to do now?
Of course Harry's first day in class wasn't without words of wisdom from the great Ron Weasley whose aim in life was to make Harry's life miserable.
"I see the dark lord wannabe is back," Ron's opening salvo was fired at Harry. "So what's with the earrings, Potter? Turning queer?"
"Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall's voice carried through the room. "What is the meaning of that kind of talk?"
Ron sneered at Harry, obviously thinking that he'd succeeded in getting Harry into trouble. "He's wearing earrings, Professor McGonagall. Only queers wear them."
"Mr. Weasley, I'll have you know that there are a number of wizards who wear them, my late brother included, and he is more wizard and man than you will ever be. Twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention with me for such talk. I think a letter home to your mother is in order," McGonagall informed Ron, as he turned pale.
Harry wondered what that was about and watched the other Gryffindors in the room hiss at Ron. McGonagall leaned in for a better look at Harry's earrings. "At least they are in good taste. Those fit you well."
That really surprised Harry. He took his seat as McGonagall headed to the front of the class and started off the school year with a talk about what was to be accomplished. Harry took notes and asked a few questions about certain things she said. Other people followed Harry's example and asked really good questions too, which made her happy. By the end of the day Harry felt he had accomplished something. He went over his notes during dinner and a few owls appeared delivering things and letters to various people, and one owl in particular caught his attention. It was carrying a large red envelope. Harry knew from his reading and having seen a few from first year that they were nasty. Anyone who got one usually tried to out run the owl or silence it always failed to, and Ron was doing his best to try and leave the Gryffindor table and was unable to. Harry watched in fascination as the owl drifted downwards and then crash land in Ron's bowl of chili. Ouch. Harry knew from experience that chili beans and owls did not mix as the resulting owl farts proved to be deadly, and people that were sitting round Ron were already edging away from the mess. The owl emerged from the large bowl of chili and stood in front of Ron for a moment and then shook off the mess, creating an even larger mess. Then it extended the leg with the red letter to Ron. Ron sat there totally frozen and Harry could tell the kid was scared out of his mind. The owl griped momentarily and then leaned down to chew the string off. The letter dropped to the table in front of Ron and then started to swell up. People started sticking their fingers into their ears and Harry had the feeling the thing was going to be a very loud one.
"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING? WE TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT? JUST WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU MOUTHED OFF TO HARRY POTTER LIKE THAT? HE IS TO BE SHOWN RESPECT AND NOT JUST BECAUSE HE IS THE BOY-WHO-LIVED! HE IS TO BE SHOWN RESPECT FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT HE IS A HUMAN BEING JUST LIKE THE REST OF US! THE NEXT LETTER HOME I WILL COME OUT THERE AND YOU WILL REGRET IT!" the female voice shouted.
Nobody came near Ron for the rest of the evening.
Not much happened for the first three weeks. Harry went to classes, worked with the house Quidditch team to get ready for the new season, worked out in his training rooms down in his trunk, and spent time with Hermione, his first real friend. Oh Harry knew a lot of people by name, but he couldn't point to any one of them and say that they were his friends. Hermione was the only one he could say that about. Harry quickly discovered she was a virtual walking, living, breathing library she knew so much. While he didn't mind that so much, it did get a bit too much at times, and her devotion to those in authority was astounding. Harry decided he needed to find a tactful way to talk to her about it. But before he could, Dobby struck again. Harry woke up one morning a bit early as he normally did to find the elf standing on his bed at the foot of it.
"Harry Potter did not listen to Dobby. Dobby will take care of you," the elf whimpered, and before Harry could do anything, he suddenly found himself lying on his back in the middle of a very different room.
Harry got to his feet and looked around. The walls were made out of stone. He looked up towards the ceiling and noted a window way the hell up there. He went to the wood door and tried it, finding it locked. Harry tried using his wandless magic to open the door or break it down. Nothing worked. Harry sighed as he leaned against the cold stone wall. It was cool down there but not hot so he was somewhat comfortable in just the fundoshi. Harry growled as he tried the portkey function on the Potter Family Ring but that didn't work. Harry needed another way out. Harry paced round the cell like room for a few minutes and as he did he studied the stone wall. It suddenly occurred to him that he could climb out of there as the stones stuck out from the wall. Harry conjured up his climbing claws and fastened them to his hands and feet. He picked a spot and started climbing. He was glad he had learned rock climbing from one of the older ninjas back home, as the man was an avid rock climber, and eager to teach Harry how to do it. Harry had gotten interested in the sport and went at least once a week with the man to the various mountains surrounding the hidden village and had even climbed the Japanese Alps every year with the man. Now he was glad he had done so as those skills were now paying off. But this time it wasn't for fun, as Harry needed to get the hell out of there. Rock climbing, or wall climbing, as Harry was now doing, is not as easy as Harry had thought the first time he saw it done. It was hard work, and Harry had broken out in a sweat a quarter of the way up. He had to dig into the wall to ensure his grip, as some of the stones did not stick out far enough to get a grip on, and the stones that did stick out made the climbing job easier. Harry was moving, but not as fast as he wanted to. Harry pushed on, getting closer to his goal inch by inch and he eventually got to the window. It was plenty big enough for him to sit on the ledge comfortably. He took advantage of the break to rest a bit and look around. First thing he did was to look down. He grinned when he saw how far it was down to the ground. He could climb down to the ground without any trouble, as it was at least two stories down. Harry climbed down to the ground and relaxed once he had his feet on the grass. He was feeling a lot better now. He banished the claws away and conjured up a pair of pants and a t-shirt and got dressed. Harry glanced at the big clock just inside the grand foyer and noted the time. He had spent nearly all of his two hour workout time with the job of climbing out of there. Harry used what dark shadows he could to get back to the Ravenclaw Tower and inside. He activated the moving stairs and used the ride to rest a little. He got through the warded door and to the second year boys dorm. From there he went into the shower and got ready for the day. Charms was first today and he didn't want to be late for that one.
Harry was there early enough to tell Flitwick about what happened to him that morning. Flitwick frowned as he tapped his fingers on the desk.
"Keep me informed of every incident involving this elf Mr. Potter and I will notify the headmaster," Flitwick ordered.
Harry nodded. "Yes sir."
He took his seat as the rest of the class arrived. Hermione joined him as she always did. Apparently Gryffindor House didn't mind as Ravenclaw and Gryffindor houses had a friendly rivalry between them for as long as anyone could remember. Harry noted the slightly disheveled look to Neville Longbottom as he stumbled in. He was looking a bit upset. Hermione sighed and leaned towards Harry.
"Ron or Draco must have gotten to him again," she whispered.
Harry frowned at that. He had talked to Neville on a few occasions here and there but now he decided it was time to start dealing with Neville's confidence problem. He wondered if Neville had the right kind of wand, and if he didn't, he needed to talk Neville into going to Diagon Alley with him to get the right kind of wand for him. He watched Neville trying to get the wand to work as they were working on learning the Wingardium Leviosa spell. Harry had no problem with that one and neither did Hermione. Harry turned to Neville and worked with him on the spell. He noted that the wand didn't seem to be working that well for him even though Neville had the pronunciation right and the intent clearly was there. It definitely was the wand. Right after class Harry held Neville back and Flitwick wondered what was going on.
"I know why you're having problems Neville," Harry began.
Neville blinked in surprise. "You do?"
Harry nodded and Flitwick crossed his arms. "It's your wand."
"What about my wand?" Neville asked, and then sighed. "Well, it's really not my wand. It's my Dad's wand."
Neville then told the story behind his having it and Harry felt his spirit weep at the poor boy's story. He had been given his father's wand before his first year because the Lady Longbottom pressed it upon him saying that his father would have wanted it. His parents weren't dead, they were long term patients in St. Mungo's long term spell damage ward, having been driven insane due to the number of Crucio spells one Bella LeStrange had used on his parents in an attempt to find out what had happened to Voldemort a few days after Voldemort's attack on the Potters. Harry's jaw tightened at that and mentally placed a black mark next to the names. They had just gone to the top of his people to kill list. Now he had to convince Neville to go to Ollivander's in Diagon Alley for a new wand that would be a good fit to him. Flitwick took that out of his hands.
"We need to get you your own wand," Flitwick said. "Your grandmother needs to understand that not all wands are compatible with people. Yes your father's wand is something special and should be kept as a sentimental treasure, which it is. Do you have your mother's wand?"
"Yes, in my trunk," Neville said.
"Good. Here's what we do. I shall speak to your head of house about getting you your own wand," Flitwick said.
"I'll pay for it," Harry spoke up.
"I will conjure up a nice trophy box to keep your parent's wands in as a memorial to them," Flitwick continued.
"And we shall teach you how to use your new wand Mr. Longbottom," McGonagall said as she glided into the room, having heard the conversation. "Twenty points to Mr. Potter for attempting to help a friend."
The end result was that McGonagall took the both of them on a trip to Diagonal Alley.
To Be Continued…
And there is the first chapter of book two, Chamber of Secrets! Please review and tell me what you thought of it.
