Although Harry did not want to leaf through a thousand pages on the history of Hogwarts, he found himself sat in the library with Draco doing exactly that. The moment the Slytherin boy summoned Hogwarts: A History to their table, Harry recognised it as a more beaten version of the book he was looking through on the train. He remembered it being long, dwindling and going off on tangents that were entirely pointless; and his heart sunk a little at the thought of reading it again.
Luckily, Draco knew the book back to front and flicked through the pages to relevant passages quickly. He copied those onto a spare piece of parchment without much effort – charming his quill to write the notes for him. Harry peered over his shoulder as it was happening, noticing that the information on the parchment was rather limited.
"Obviously, it would've been discovered already if it was blatantly stated in this book." Draco said when Harry mentioned it. That got the Gryffindor more excited, imagining being one of the first people to enter the Chamber in a thousand years. "Someone has opened it around fifty years ago though, so there has to be something here that would've let them discover it."
"Wait, what? What happened fifty years ago? Are there any accounts of the incident, they could have relevant clues?" A small ball of disappointment formed in Harry's chest at the thought of someone already being in there before him.
Draco disappeared between the rows of books, coming back with stacks of old newspapers. It took a long while, but he copied the relevant articles and the two boys peered over them carefully. Harry scanned the pages, listening to Draco's summary while trying to see if anything on the page stood out to him.
"It happened in 1943, there were attacks on the school and the last one resulted in the death of a student." Draco said, pointing to the copy of an article talking about the incident. It mentioned how Hogwarts was to be closed down if the culprit was not found. "There's not much else said in these. Just quotes from concerned parents."
"These just mention the attacker being found and that Hogwarts remained open." Harry muttered, shuffling between a few articles – they were no more than small snippets, nothing concrete. "Why are these so short? Shouldn't these be considered big news? A murderer is found at Hogwarts and all these newspapers published barely a sentence or two."
"I don't know…a cover up maybe?" Draco guessed, pulling up the full archived newspapers rather than the copied articles. "I cannot imagine parents would stand for it though. What else was happening at the time?"
"Muggle World War One. The hunt for Grindelwald. Albus Dumbledore didn't defeat him until 1945." Harry said, pointing out a passage in one of the newspapers talking about the continued effort of Hit Wizards attempting to capture and put an end to Grindelwald. Draco's eyes lit up in recognition and he searched for another newspaper – this time an ancient Witch Weekly. The front-page news was a plea for Professor Albus Dumbledore to apprehend Grindelwald, claiming that he was the only one powerful enough to stop him.
"Professor Dumbledore currently resides at Hogwarts as the Head of Transfiguration…" Draco read out loud. "Which means he was at the castle during the attacks. He was Headmaster until he died in 1981, I didn't know he was a teacher for that long though."
"It's a shame we can't just ask him…"
"I mean, we could. He has a portrait in the Headmaster's office, but I doubt that he would tell us much. It's clear that everyone was trying to cover it up."
The two boys fell silent, trying to process everything they just found out. Both of them were having a second look through the newspapers, in hopes of finding something they may have missed.
"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy it's fifteen minutes until curfew. I believe it's time for Mr Potter to head back to his dorm and don't you have Head Boy duties to attend to Mr Malfoy?" Madame Prince appeared from behind the bookshelves, making the two seventh years jump. "I'll return these newspapers to their shelves, don't expect this next time though."
Draco quickly gathered all their notes and copied articles and duplicated them, handing one stack to Harry. They left the library with a thank you and goodnight to Madame Prince and hurried towards Gryffindor Tower – Draco electing to escort Harry back to his dorm. They were around half way there when Draco stopped in his tracks, with a look of epiphany on his face.
"I think my Grandfather was at Hogwarts in 1945." Draco said to Harry, who quickly understood what that meant. "I'm not entirely sure, I can't remember when he graduated but it was around that time. I'm not sure how much he'd know, or be willing to say, but it's a lead."
Draco agreed to owl his Grandfather, asking for information. He hoped that the man would be willing to say anything without Draco having to wait for Christmas Holidays to visit him in person. "Grandfather lives in France for most of the year, so it might take a few days for him to owl us back." Draco said as they reached the painting of The Fat Lady.
"Right, I'll see if I can decipher anything else from what we got. We haven't really gone through the notes from Hogwarts: A History so I'll start there."
"Don't forget about our wager," Draco teased with a wicked grin. Harry rolled his eyes at him.
"I won't. I've got this in the bag."
"Sure you do." Draco said as he walked off. When he disappeared from sight into another corridor, Harry turned around and entered the common room after a quick conversation with the Fat Lady and telling her the password. Inside he was greeted with a pleasant buzz of conversation between the Gryffindors; and Hermione sitting by the fire and staring expectantly at the portrait hole. She formed a pleased expression on her face, similar to a cat who got the cream, when she saw the portrait shut behind Harry.
"You're three minutes late." Hermione commented, shutting the book that was in her lap.
"I was finishing my conversation with Draco outside." Harry said.
"I suppose I'll let you off. Do finish your homework on time, you only have a week left to do it. Also, don't forget to pack your textbooks for tomorrow – we have Defence first thing in the morning." Hermione rattled off, thrusting the books and parchment Harry abandoned three hours earlier into his hands. "I'll be heading to bed soon, I suggest you do the same."
"Alright Hermione," Harry smiled warmly. "I'll see you at breakfast."
Soon after Hermione headed up to her dorm room, Harry decided to do the same and see what the rest of his dorm mates were up to. Harry ended up joining their game of Exploding Snap that continued late into the night. At some point they ended up betting on it using Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and when they were finally calling it a night, Harry lost half of his box to Seamus. Ron ended up finding out what Belly Button Lint tastes like, and Neville had the unfortunate pleasure of bolting to the bathroom after getting Liver flavour.
…
Even with the late night, Harry woke up at dawn. Groaning, he stretched underneath the duvet and let his body sag into the mattress for a moment longer. He wasn't all that happy about being up so early, but he knew that he couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard he tried. There was no helping it.
He didn't feel like getting out of bed just yet though. The sinking feeling of homesickness overwhelmed him again and he wished it would pass soon. He knew from experience that it will take a couple of days if he keeps busy, which looks like he will be. Between the classes, the Transfiguration bet, the search for the Chamber of Secrets, and actually getting to know his classmates; Harry certainly had a lot on his plate.
Somewhere on that train of thought, he remembered that he should owl his parents. It would help with how he was feeling and keep him busy until he felt ready to get on with his day. Pulling out parchment and writing utensils from the school bag he discarded by his bed, he propped the parchment up on his History of Magic textbook and penned the letter.
Dear Mum & Dad,
How's everything at home? Everything is fine on my side – you guys were right about Hogwarts, it's amazing so far. The castle is beautiful and I'm hoping to figure out some of its secrets that dad hasn't already.
You're probably wondering what house I got sorted into. Why didn't you tell me about the Sorting Hat? It's an incredible magical artefact and I only just find out about it…I can't believe you guys sometimes. I'm going to have to figure out where they keep it when it's not sorting students. Purely for research purposes, of course. I got into Gryffindor by the way, so there's that.
Somehow, I made friends with the Head Girl and Boy – mum, I think you'd like Hermione, she reminds me of you a lot. Just a bit more uptight. Like you, but from the stories dad told me from before you two got together. She's also in Gryffindor, and is trying to keep me in check. I don't think that will last long. The Head Boy is Draco Malfoy. Seems like a nice bloke. Him and Hermione have a strange friendship.
The rest of the guys in my dorm are cool too – we stayed up last night playing Exploding Snap and betting with Bertie Bott's, which I'm regretting very much right now. On that note, can you send me more Every Flavour Beans? I'm running low.
Most classes are just as boring as expected. History of Magic is a joke – why is the entire syllabus on Goblin Wars is beyond me. I know Binns is a ghost and you should respect the dead, but someone should exorcise him just so we could have a chance of getting a decent education. I don't think Professor Babbling (Ancient Runes) likes me very much, which has nothing to do with me not paying attention in class, mum!
So far, the best class is Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall starts with mind-numbing theory, but at least we have a practical each class. We're learning about Free Transfiguration right now, and I made a bet with Draco. The spell we're learning apparently can transfigure items into weak magical creatures, so if I manage to do that before next week's class, Draco has to announce in the Great Hall that he thinks that Gryffindor is the superior house and that he wishes he got into it (he's in Slytherin). I'm sure this will be a piece of cake, it can't be that hard to do.
I also explored the castle for a bit yesterday. Ended up in the Library – don't act so surprised. It's different to search for hidden room in an occupied castle. Mostly annoying as people kept changing things over the years. Draco and I got ourselves a pet project exploring the castle for some specific rooms. On a completely unrelated note, you don't happen to know anyone who was at Hogwarts in 1945?
I miss you guys a lot. I also miss Cairo and Rowan. Can't wait for this year to be over, so I can go back to treasure hunting. I bet Rowan got lost in some ancient tomb without me already.
Harry
…
Harry felt a lot more like himself after breakfast. He visited Hedwig in the Owlery and sent her off with the letter, then sat down in the Great Hall while looking over his notes on the Chamber of Secrets. The mystery got his blood pumping again, and he couldn't wait to work on it again with Draco. The latter boy wasn't early for breakfast that morning, so Harry ate alone until everyone else arrived. Not that he minded, he was in his own world for a while.
Defence took place on the third-floor, and two distinct clusters of students made their way up towards it. Gryffindors took the lead, poor Neville tripping on one of the trick steps. Seamus managed to grab one of Neville's arms and keep the boy from hitting the stairs face-first. The Slytherins were trailing after them, with Draco in the front. Harry ended up trailing behind the Gryffindors to talk to him and his companions – Pansy, and the boy from Transfiguration that he didn't know the name of.
"Morning. Did you get a chance to owl your Grandfather?" Harry asked.
"We've only just had breakfast, Potter." Draco rolled his eyes as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder. "But yes, I did. I sent the owl just before I headed to the Great Hall."
"What's this about your Grandfather, Draco? You barely speak to the man." Pansy inquired, eyebrows raised in mild curiosity.
"Potter and I are working on a small project, so to say. We're hoping Grandfather will be able to help us with some information we need."
"You and your projects. We've only been back a day." She rolled her eyes, flipping her short hair back.
"Does he have a lot of these projects?" Harry asked out of curiosity.
"A lot would be an understatement. Ever since we've known him, Draco has been working on something. Never seems to want to share with the class either." The Slytherin boy between Pansy and Draco looked pointedly at the Malfoy heir. The latter's eyes sparkled with mischief that Harry thought was a very good look for him. "We haven't been formally introduced yet, I'm Blaise Zabini."
"No, we haven't. Harry Potter." The two of them shook hands, and Harry found himself pleasantly surprised at all the Slytherins he has met so far. None of them seemed to have judged him about being in Gryffindor, or any such nonsense. It could have something to do with Pansy and Blaise being friends with Draco, thus sharing similar ideologies.
"Perhaps with you around, we'll actually figure out what Draco is up to this time." Blaise sent him a blinding smile.
"Maybe." Harry agreed, although he seriously doubted it. He had a feeling that anything that Draco wanted to be kept secret, he would find a way of keeping it as such. The look that the Head Boy gave him only affirmed that.
The door to the Defence classroom was already open when they reached it. It was a large room, with a large, raised platform at one end of it. Windows were bringing in dimmed light into the room from behind the platform, and various parchments depicting diagrams and ink drawings were hung from strings between the platform columns. The desks were organised to be facing the platform in a half-circle. Tapestries of wizard duels and magical creatures covered the remaining walls, with a side entrance to the classroom on the left of the platform.
The two houses split themselves into opposite sides of the room, Harry grabbing a seat in the middle of the semi-circle. He ended up sharing a desk with Ron, with Hermione in front of them. To Harry's right, the rows of Slytherins started. Draco and Pansy took the table beside Harry's, with Blaise not far behind. The class settled in, pulling out parchment (presumably their summer homework) and the textbook (Defence and You: Further Self-Protection Strategies by Quentin Trimble). Harry was the only one without the parchment beside him, which he hoped wasn't something he'd have to make up later.
Harry was just about to turn to ask Ron about it, when the side entrance opened.
Professor Quirrell was the sort of man whose mere presence demanded attention. Harry noticed that during meal times, but it became even more clear in a contained space such as the classroom. He confidently strode onto the platform, with the grace that shouldn't belong to someone that thin and pale. He stopped when he reached the middle of the platform, his robes billowing around him as he turned to face the class. Harry noticed that he switched the robe he wore during meals to a set of battle robes. The set looked like a custom job – perfectly cut to fit the Professor, with dragonhide parts and deep purple heavy cotton that glistened when the light caught it from the enchantments weaved into the fabric.
"Welcome to your final year of Defence class. I see you have your summer assignments ready, you will receive your feedback next class." Professor Quirrell pulled out his wand and with a quick swish, the parchments levitated from the desks and stacked themselves neatly on his desk at the back of the platform. "Mister Potter, as you are a new student, you will not have to catch up on this assignment. Consider that your welcome gift. I'm Professor Quirrell, if you're not aware of that yet."
Harry nodded when his name was mentioned, his shoulders sagging in relief that he wouldn't have to play catch up. He had a feeling that not all Professors would be this generous. Professor Quirrell let out a small smile, noticing the relief rolling off his student, before addressing the whole class again.
"We have covered a good majority of what you're required to know for the NEWT exams last year, this year we will be concentrating on using the skills you already know for real-life application. There is no point in having a NEWT in a subject and not actually knowing what to do with it after graduation. We will be alternating classes on the NEWT curriculum with battle magic and real-life application practise. You are seventh year students, you can handle this." An excited murmur rumbled through the class, before quickly falling silent. "Mister Potter, I will give you a list of subjects we covered last year so you know where we're up to. I expect you to catch up quickly. Everything is either in your textbook, or one of your classmates will know it. My office door is always open if you require further help though. Naturally the latter goes to all of you, as you should already know."
Professor Quirrell raised his wand again, and black curtains flew over the windows. The room dimmed, enough for a magical projection to be clearly visible on the wall behind the Professor when he flicked his wand again. Harry scanned the information on the projection and couldn't help but smile.
"Dark Artefacts." Professor Quirrell's voice boomed in the dim light. "Are as old as magic itself. Who can tell me what gives an Artefact the 'Dark' classification?"
Harry saw Hermione's hand shoot up in the air at the same time as his. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few Slytherins raise their hands too.
"Mister Potter."
"It gains the classification when Dark Magic is used to bewitch it. It doesn't necessarily have to have a Dark outcome." Harry had a fair few run ins with such artefacts in the past, most of the time they weren't pleasant. He had a feeling that he knew where the class was going, but the way Professor Quirrell spoke surprisingly kept his attention. Much more than Transfiguration did anyway.
"Good. Three points to Gryffindor. Mister Potter is quite correct, a Dark Artefact doesn't have to curse you or have a negative result for it to be considered as such. The ritual, or spell used to bewitch or craft the item gives it the classification. Now, can anyone give me an example of a Dark Artefact that isn't necessarily evil itself? Mister Malfoy?"
"Hand of Glory." The projection switched, and it now showed a drawing of a shrivelled hand with a candle implanted on it.
"Ah yes, the Hand of Glory. Quite the popular Dark Artefact, which due to its properties has not been banned by the Ministry. The Hand of Glory gives light, but only to the owner. A perfect little item to have if you're a thief – or an Auror. The Ministry likes to keep a few of these on hand for their law enforcement." Professor Quirrell laughed softly at his own wording. "It's a curious artefact, with plenty of rumours surrounding it. Some say it opens any locked door it comes across, some say it immobilises anyone who looks at it. In reality, it gives the holder the ability to see in perfect darkness and not much else. Doesn't sound too evil, does it? Unless you decide to use it for some nefarious deeds. Three points to Slytherin as well, Mister Malfoy. Yes, Miss Granger?"
Hermione, who's hand was in the air throughout the entire explanation, lowered it finally.
"In the same way, would regular Artefacts that haven't been made with Dark Magic, be considered not Dark even if they are harming people?"
"Good question. What do you think?"
Hermione opened her mouth and paused for a moment, pondering. "I think…I think I would consider them Dark if they have negative effects on people."
"That's a good way of thinking about it. According to the Ministry laws, they are not Dark objects. Dangerous, and some restricted, but not Dark. It's an odd way of classification, however luckily there aren't many of these artefacts around. Most objects that are harmful to you would be bewitched with a Dark spell."
The class continued, with Professor Quirrell holding the undivided attention of most of the class. Harry, although initially captivated by the teaching, quickly became restless. He started to space out when the lesson moved onto spells that one would use to recognise and protect themselves from a Dark Artefact. Harry knew most of them, quickly earning points for Gryffindor when it came to the practical part of the class by successfully casting them.
He perked up when Professor Quirrell showed him, and a few of the students who caught up on the spells quickly, a few spells that he either invented himself or learned during his sabbatical. The latter spells came from wizards that lived in isolated settlements, who never bothered to publish their findings and passed on their knowledge via word of mouth.
Harry had a harder time with the new spells, but still picked them up rather quickly. The Defence class was a double slot, and by the end of it Harry managed to cast all three of the new spells correctly. He still needed more practise, but he made some hurried notes on the incantations and wand movement to go over later. He already decided that Defence was the best class he would have during Hogwarts, since Professor Quirrell wasn't strictly keeping to the curriculum, and was enhancing it with things they would actually need to know.
Unsurprisingly, Hermione and Draco were on the same level as Harry in the subject. Blaise was also not far behind them, and Dean and Neville had a surprising aptitude for the spells they covered. Harry couldn't help laughing when he saw Blaise showing off in front of Pansy, which triggered the witch to send a Stinging Hex at him behind Quirrell's back.
"Mister Potter, please wait after class."
Harry hung back when the bell rang for the session to be over. The other seventh years left the room in high spirits, most of them having a free period before lunch. Harry had Arithmancy, but he didn't mind missing out on the beginning of that class. Studying it with Rowan was dull enough, and after Ancient Runes he lost hope on the teacher making the subject interesting.
Professor Quirrell organised the classroom with a flick of his wand, any chairs that weren't properly pushed behind the desks straightening out. Loose parchment and broken quills disappeared with a pop, and a sponge appeared above the stain where Seamus blew up his bottle of ink and started to scrub it clean. He then stepped off the podium and joined Harry by where he was stood. The Professor was holding a piece of parchment, that he handed to Harry.
"As I mentioned, here are the subjects you missed. I assume you covered them already, but it doesn't hurt to have a refresher." Professor Quirrell started. Harry scanned the parchment, noting that he did in fact go through everything on the list. He thought that he should still ask someone about them though, if Professor Quirrell had the habit of teaching extra-curricular, but relevant spells.
"From your behaviour during class, I can see why you chose to go the Apprentice route. Yes, Professor McGonagall has informed us of why you are only joining us now." Professor Quirrell explained, noticing the look in Harry's eyes. "As much as I understand you, I do expect you to pay attention. You have undoubtable talent for Defence strategies and I will not have it go wasted. I will be challenging you with more difficult material. If your Master taught you correctly, you should know everything required for NEWTs already."
"That sounds great," Harry said honestly. Professor Quirrell was a fountain of knowledge, and he wasn't about to waste an opportunity. Hopefully he will be learning more practical things over theory.
"Good." Professor Quirrell smiled mildly, leaning back against one of the desks. His arms were crossed over his chest. "I think you'll find next class more to your liking, Mister Potter. Now go, I wouldn't want Professor Vector after me because I kept you here for too long."
…
Arithmancy was, as predicted, a mind-numbing class. Professor Vector looked like she got an unsavoury taste in her mouth when Harry walked in late. She didn't bother listening to his excuse, instead glaring at him until he shuffled into the first open seat. The class was half-empty, with the walls covered in number charts and deadly quiet. After Professor Vector stopped talking, no one dared to speak or ask questions and instead got on with their tasks. Harry hated every moment of it, from the terribly complicated numerology quiz they were taking, to how every student besides Hermione looked like they lived in fear of the Professor. Harry felt elated when he could escape the class for lunch.
The rest of the day, as well as the next one, passed in a blur. Harry went to class, spent time doing homework at Hermione's insistence, and practised the Free Transfiguration spell with not much improvement. He couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong, but he was too stubborn to ask anyone for help and he wasn't stuck enough to go searching for an answer in the library yet. The Chamber of Secrets reading was put on the back burner, until Draco's owl would return with his Grandfather's reply.
Somewhere amongst all of the work he found himself doing, Harry did find a moment in the late afternoon to distract Hermione for long enough that Ron and Seamus could smuggle a crate of butterbeer from the kitchens (and a bottle of Firewhiskey, courtesy of Ron's twin brothers, that he refused to say how he smuggled in) to the boys' dorm without the Head Girl knowing. They hid the bottles underneath Neville's bed, as he was the least suspicious one, and decided to leave them for after Harry wins the bet with Draco. After all, the Slytherin's admission would be one worth celebrating.
…
Harry,
DO NOT STEAL THE SORTING HAT
Congratulations on getting into Gryffindor! We are so proud of you. Your father was so excited when he found out that he slipped on the rug and knocked over the lamp Petunia gave us for our wedding gift. It ended up in pieces, and we momentarily forgot the incantation for the Mending Charm, so it ended up in the bin. I hope you weren't too attached to it.
I'm glad you are making friends – hopefully your new Head Boy and Girl friends will keep you out of too much trouble. I don't want an owl home from Professor McGonagall within the first month. Hermione and Draco sound lovely, I've sent you some Coconut Ice to share with them and your other friends. These are made to be a variation on Pink Coconut Ice that I'm working on with Mr Flume – they change colours and whatever colour hits your tongue has a slightly different taste. Do let me know what everyone thinks of them. I've also sent you some more Bertie Bott's like you asked – don't eat them all at once!
If you need some extra help with the Tranfiguration bet, do owl your father. He said he knows what to do, but we know you'd rather figure it out yourself.
I can't think of anyone who was at Hogwarts during that time, sorry darling. Some of the teachers might have been students at the time, but I'm not certain. Your father wants to know what is that you're researching that you need it for. He seems to find it hilarious that you've been at Hogwarts for barely a day and you're already elbow deep in some mystery.
We miss you so much too. I can't wait for you to be back for the holidays. Sirius and Remus are planning to take you somewhere during the break, but I'll be damned if I don't spend lots of quality time with my son. Expect owls from them soon, Sirius was reading your letter over James' shoulder.
Mum and Dad
P.S. I know for a fact that this is not on the Marauder's Map and your father seems to be very cross with me now that he's reading this, but if you go to the painting of Marcelline Blanchet and ask her about the party of 1703, you might find something interesting. Ask the Fat Lady about where it is, she's good friends with Marcelline. Consider this a 'Congratulations you're finally at Hogwarts' gift.
P.P.S OWL ME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE PAINTING – Dad
…
A/N: I have no excuse, just 5000 new words, a reignited fire for the Harry Potter work (you can thank Fantastic Beasts), and a friend who'll bully me into writing. Would love to read your opinions on this continuation.
Also in the coming days I might be updating the previous chapters, purely just to get rid of the typo's and such.