Chapter 4
Harry and Draco met Paige, Alexandra, Neville, and Blaise in the library, where they explained their frightening experience with Hagrid's spiders.
"It all makes sense!" Alexandra exclaimed, pulling open a book that detailed basilisks and how spiders feared them.
"If it's a basilisk in that chamber..." Draco trailed off worriedly. "How on Earth did it come slithering around the school to petrify everyone? Why didn't the students die?"
"It's here," Paige explained, underlining a portion of the text with her finger. "If the students only saw reflections of the snake, they'll just be petrified, rather than killed. Justin Finch-Fletchey probably saw it through the ghost, Colin Creevey through his camera, and Penelope Clearwater through her mirror."
"As for how it travels through the school... we have no bloody idea," Blaise shrugged.
"Hold on," Alexandra paused, looking closely at Draco and Harry. "Didn't you mention that a student died the last time the Chamber was opened?"
"Yes," Harry affirmed. "By the way, Draco, forgot to ask. How did you know that Hagrid was the last person to have opened it? Which, apparently, he didn't."
"My father," Draco gritted out. "He was at the school when it happened."
Alexandra and Paige looked at each other, thinking the same thing.
"Is it just me, or does it seem like too much of a coincidence that the journal was found there, in the bathroom, which is consistently haunted by Moaning Myrtle?" Paige asked, and Alexandra nodded.
"She must have been the student who died - she's the only ghost who wears Hogwarts robes," Alexandra deduced.
Neville blanched, looking like he needed to throw up, and ran out of the library, probably to the bathroom.
"C'mon," Harry said determinedly. "Let's go ask her."
Soon enough, Hogwarts was being shut down, and the five students slid down the pipe after their rather useless teacher, Professor Lockhart, who screamed after they pushed him.
"PIPES!" Alexandra shouted suddenly, so that all turned to look at her. "Of course, the snake travelled through the pipes!"
Lockhart, being the intelligent man he was, tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction, uttering an Obliviate charm, only to be thrown back by Paige's impressive shield. Rocks crashed down all over them, so that Harry was separated from the rest of his friends and his stupid Professor.
"We shouldn't have taken him," Draco cursed, brushing rubble off of his robes. "Now look at him, the Obliviate charm rebounded towards himself! Completely vacant, with the same amount of intelligence he had before."
"I'll go on," Harry murmured. "Find a way to clear all the rubble, if Hermione and I come back."
"Harry!" Paige yelled, and then suddenly quieted. "You will come back. I know it."
"Before you go," Alexandra managed to fit the black journal through a crevice between the rocks. "I don't know if that's useful, if you can use it as a bargaining chip or anything, but it might come in handy. Destroy it, if you can."
Harry took the journal. "Thanks."
The wait was horrible. Not only were they bored, but all were frightened, having seen the molten skin of the giant snake. Blaise was desperately trying to calm Alexandra down, without much success. Paige was incredibly quiet, furiously working at arranging the rocks with her magic so that there would be a way for Harry and Hermione to work their way back here. Draco, however, was absolutely inconsolable.
"Draco, mate," Blaise tried, after being unsuccessful with Alexandra. "It's not like you knew your father gave her that journal."
"I should have bloody recognized it!" he shouted angrily. "I'd seen it before, and I knew my father was altogether too happy after we met Hermione's parents!"
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Lockhart said dreamily as he slowly came to. "Don't worry. Be happy!"
"Someone shut him up, or so help me, I'll kill him," Draco snapped, so that Blaise sent a Silencio towards his professor.
It seemed like hours before they had managed to make a reasonable space through the pile of rocks, and just then, Harry and Hermione limped around the corner of one of the pipes, pale and exhausted. In Harry's hand was the black journal, a hole stabbed right through it, the Sorting hat, and a massive sword. Fawkes flew behind them, hovering almost protectively just above the pair.
"Hermione! Harry!" Paige shouted, running to attack the two in a tight hug.
"Merlin, you guys are okay," Alexandra breathed, relieved. Blaise patted her on the back, waiting for their turns to greet the two second years.
"Let's get back," Harry smiled tiredly, grabbing onto Fawkes' tail feathers.
The rest of second year passed without many mishaps, though Draco was fairly incensed when Harry caught the snitch miraculously every game. Dumbledore, again, hurried to find another DADA teacher, as the professors seemed to drop out within the first few months. Needless to say, the all of the DADA classes learned a considerably more amount than they would have under Lockhart's tutelage.
Harry reluctantly returned to the Dursleys, but now with two additional friends to write to. Ron invited him over the summer, and though he didn't have any particular desire to spend additional time with Ron, he couldn't deny the chance to see some of Fred and George's pranks. Besides, it was time better spent, as opposed to living with the Dursleys as normal. Ron even had the audacity to invite Hermione, with a cheeky wink drawn onto the parchment. In Harry's correspondence with Hermione, they both decided they might as well, since Hermione's parents were busy this summer with her grandparents' health problems.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were incredibly excited that Harry would leave before Aunt Marge's arrival, so that he couldn't cause any trouble. Harry rolled his eyes at their excitement. What was he going to do? Blow her up?
So, at the end of the summer, he was glad to see his other friends, his head aching from the enormous amount of bickering that had exploded between Ron and Hermione.
"Draco, Blaise," Harry greeted as he entered the train compartment. "Who's that in the corner?" Harry looked over at the scraggly man, who was passed out in a rather uncomfortable position.
"No clue," Draco shrugged. "Not living on a comfortable salary, just judging on his appearance. He was just here, and Blaise and I came late today, so this was the last compartment not occupied by utter nincompoops. I hope you don't mind. We could go find elsewhere, but he's not bothering us... and it appears we're not bothering him."
Harry shrugged. "This compartment's fine. I'm so glad to see you. My ears have been ripped off all summer, listening to Hermione and Ron go back and forth at each other. It's been worse, now that Hermione's got a cat."
"Weasley's overprotective of his stupid rat," Blaise rolled his eyes. "Honestly, what good is the dumb animal? It's so old, it ought to be put out of its misery."
"No idea why he keeps it around." Harry looked around the compartment. "Seen Neville or the girls?"
"Neville's been hanging out with Ginny and Loony, more recently," Draco mentioned. "I saw them sitting together when I was looking for compartments. He just waved to me, and I wouldn't dare sit in the same area as that loonybin."
"On first name basis with Weasley's sister?" Blaise asked incredulously. "When did that happen?"
"Hermione and Paige," Harry answered. "They kind of took Ginny and Luna under their wings - Ginny, the poor girl, was completely unsure of herself last year. Though I have to agree... Luna's rather odd."
The compartment door slid open, and in came Alexandra and Paige, who were dragging Hermione and her cat from a very loud fighting match. Draco and Blaise both winced at Hermione's shrill voice, though Harry seemed to be desensitized to it.
"Sit down!" Alexandra commanded, pushing Hermione into her seat. "The Weasel's not worth it, you know it! Why do you keep engaging him?"
"Ugh!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air. "He's constantly pestering me, and I'm sick of it. 'Hermione, don't you dare let your mangy beast anywhere near poor little Scabbers. He's defenceless, against that ball of murder. Hermione bloody Granger, why on Earth did you open up the Chamber of Secrets last year? How could you attack all of those innocent people? It's not like you're a pureblood or anything. Hermione Hermione Hermione why do you have to be such a swotty know-it-all!?' UGH!" Hermione mimicked Ron's squeaky voice, angrily wanting to punch something.
"Violence isn't the answer, at least with Ron," Paige dropped in her advice, shaking her head. "Can you believe this girl? She actually slapped Ronald across the face!"
Harry, Draco, and Blaise stared at Hermione, wide-eyed.
"What?" she asked irritably. "It's not like I'm always the perfect little goody two shoes."
"Uh, yeah, you are," Draco laughed. "I wish I could've seen Weaselbee's face when you slapped him. That would have been priceless."
"Do not encourage her!" Paige said sharply, glaring at him.
The train suddenly stopped, the compartment going dark. And as the doors frosted over, Harry heard his mother scream, while the rest of his friends met their newest DADA teacher.
"I need your advice, Draco and Harry," Blaise began anxiously. "For Hogsmeade... do you think I should ask someone?"
Draco quirked an eyebrow. "And who might this someone be?"
"Erm..." Blaise paused, struggling with himself. "Alexandra," he choked out.
"Do you fancy her?" Harry asked, though a bit preoccupied with the latest attacks from Sirius Black.
"Well... yeah. I guess so," Blaise admitted softly.
"About time," Draco snorted. "Thought you'd never own up to it."
"Is it that obvious?" Blaise asked fearfully.
"To us it is," Harry replied, still mulling over The Daily Prophet. "But we do know you best. Relax, it's only Alexandra."
"I don't want to ruin our friendship, or anything. I'd hate for it to be awkward," Blaise added, fiddling with his quill.
"Just do it mate. Worst case, it'll be awkward for a few days, but it will get back to normal, after that," Draco scoffed.
"But-"
"Man up, all right?" Harry demanded, irritated. "We have more important things to be worried about."
"Like what?" Blaise asked, rolling his eyes.
"Like how Sirius Murderin' Black is out to kill me!" Harry shouted, slamming his hand on the table. Several other students turned to look at him, and he flushed angrily. "What? Don't you all have a Transfiguration essay to write?"
Blaise got up, fed up of Harry's attitude. "Okay, mate, I get it. You're stressed, there's a murderer out on the loose, and it's scaring the hell out of us. But the world doesn't revolve around you, okay?" he snapped.
"No, you don't get it!" Harry retorted. "You're not the one who bloody survived Voldemort, and suddenly someone's out to murder you every single year of your life!"
Blaise's eyes hardened.
"You. Know. Nothing," he spat, and walked away from the table, carrying his books with him.
"What's he got to complain about?" Harry huffed. Draco narrowed his eyes.
"Lots, Harry, trust me. Lots," Draco stated, before getting up, too.
Out of spite, Blaise refused to ask Alexandra to Hogsmeade, but sulked for such a length that Harry finally apologized.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Harry asked exasperatedly. "I lashed out, and that wasn't okay. But you shouldn't let me get in the way of your happiness, all right?" Blaise still refused to look at Harry.
But Draco had had enough of this drama. They weren't bloody girls, for Merlin's sake.
"Just punch him, all right? Punch each other, settle it like a bunch of proper blokes! Until you stop sulking and sobbing like a bunch of girls, count me out!" Draco hissed, before seeking out Neville, of all people.
Draco hadn't walked five meters when Blaise finally punched Harry on the shoulder mildly, and then grinned. "Now, are we done here? I have a girl to ask out."
Daphne Greengrass was not a popular girl. Quiet and self-contained, she easily faded into the shadows and kept her nose in a book, certainly far away from anyone else's business. Her younger sister, Astoria, however, was the exact opposite.
So when Daphne entered the common room to find her sister arguing loudly with a mildly hysterical Alexandra, it wasn't exactly surprising. The only surprising thing, in this whole situation, was that Alexandra, normally levelheaded with a library of sharp comebacks, was actually stricken by whatever the younger Greengrass girl had said. Plus, as nosy as Astoria was, Astoria typically knew not to mess with the asian girl. But somehow, this time, the rules didn't apply.
Daphne sighed. Since Astoria was her sister, she supposed that it automatically made this argument her business. Although Daphne was increasingly disinclined to be involved in any way, shape, or form.
"You're telling me, that after your fucking boyfriend murdered our headmaster, that you're recruiting for an army under Dumbledore's name?" Astoria asked disbelievingly. "Obviously this is some sort of revenge, or repentance," Astoria hissed. "What, weren't you good enough in bed for your darling beau to take you along to the Dark Lord's service? Working against our beliefs, now, are you? Just because he dumped you?"
"This has nothing to do with Blaise!" Alexandra snapped back. "I'm talking about basic self-defence, all right? We are all going to be in situations where we'll need a means to protect ourselves! Dumbledore's Army is just a name, for Merlin's sake. The point is, learn how to keep yourselves alive, isn't that the goal? It doesn't matter which side wins, so long as you're alive and with your loved ones! Learn how to protect yourself and others, why don't you?"
"Oh yeah, loved ones like your darling Blaise?" Astoria retorted. "You so put out, and he so dumped you after he got what he wanted. Or maybe it's the opposite, hmm? You didn't catch him, because you're a little prude."
"Spending a little too much time with your virtuous Gryffindors," Pansy added from another side of the common room, grinning evilly.
"It's called self-preservation," Alexandra replied coolly. "And I though all Slytherins list that as their first priority."
"You're just doing this to get back at Blaise, since he left you for the Mudblood. It stings, doesn't it? That he ditched you and left you at Hogwarts, in this utter dump, while he gallivanted off with the Mudblood by his side and has come into power, real power, at the side of the Dark Lord," Astoria taunted. "No, my fellow Slytherins. She's the most Slytherin of us all, but she's a weak, vengeful little bitch."
"I believe," Draco Malfoy stated from behind Daphne. "That that would be you."
"Why you," Astoria sputtered.
"See, Astoria seems to forget a very critical, or shall I say, hypocritical, point," Draco drawled slowly to his classmates. "Astoria, here, continuously threw herself at Blaise, countless time over the past couple of years. And yet, every single time, she was rebuffed. Why? Because he had a girlfriend, and they were perfectly happy together. Now, what Blaise did unfortunately cost him his relationship with Alexandra, but that does not mean that she did anything wrong. Alongside the Dark Lord, I doubt that Blaise has any time for romance, as we all might suspect. So, it appears then," he said slowly, turning to face Astoria, who was now trembling with anxiety and rage, "that you are the one trying to get back at Alexandra, since Blaise never looked at you when he was enamoured with her. It stings, doesn't it? That he ditched you and left you all alone, while he gallivanted off with Alexandra by his side?" Draco asked maliciously, echoing her previous words.
Astoria was beyond words, and so, sent a hex flying towards Draco, that Alexandra easily deflected with a flick of the wrist.
"Oh bitch, you did not just attack one of my friends," Alexandra said heatedly, rounding on Astoria.
"Only friends?" Astoria taunted. "I'm sure that after both of your crushes deserted you, you found much more than friendship with each other."
"Oh, if only I had fallen in love with that man over there," Alexandra sighed wistfully, sending a series of hexes in fast succession towards Astoria, who barely dodged each one. "Would've been much easier, and smoother. You and Blaise should've gotten together. You deserve each other," Alexandra hissed.
The Slytherin common room watched in awe as the two girls duelled, bright flashes of light shooting back and forth faster than one could blink. Alexandra had to admit, Astoria was a formidable dueller.
Astoria successfully caught Alexandra with an Expelliarmus, and the students all groaned, believing that the duel was over. As Daphne turned away, she was surprised to see Draco smirking, as if it wasn't over yet. And as soon as Astoria was pinned to the wall, silenced, and bound with ropes that gave her boils on every body part they touched, the entire Slytherin House realized that Alexandra knew both nonverbal and wandless magic.
"Thanks for the practice," Alexandra smiled mock sweetly. "I needed to get back into shape."
Draco grinned as Alexandra turned to the rest of the students gaping on the sidelines. "So," she smiled innocently. "Who wants to learn that from Dumbledore's Army?"
AN: Please review! Sorry we haven't updated in a while!