Diary of a Hidden Girl
by Ash-Caro-Lynn
Chapter VII : Of Cameras and Caution
Date : 8 November 1992
"Good morning, sun-" I stopped in skipping and greeting my brother as my gaze was drawn to the bed next to him, where another boy lay.
He lay still as a statue, his hands out as if holding something and his eyes wide.
Said boy was Colin Creevey - the exact same one who had tried to get a signed photograph of Harry. I sat myself down in the chair next to Harry's bed.
"Yeah," he replied. "They brought him in last night."
"He's Muggleborn, isn't he?" I asked curiously, peering intently at the petrified boy as if his appearance would confirm my suspicions. Harry nodded.
"He was holding a camera," he replied, "and they tried to look at the film... but it was all burnt and melted."
"So, he tried to snap a picture of whatever attacked him and it melted the film?" I mumbled under my breath. "What did they say?"
"Dumbledore said that this confirms his fears," replied Harry. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again."
"Again?" I repeated. "This has happened before?" I paled as I thought of it. "But... I thought Salazar Slytherin's monster aimed to kill, not to immobilize."
"Maybe this is supposed to be a warning?" suggested Harry.
"I don't know," I replied, "but I know for sure that I'm not liking the feel of this. What's going to happen to him now?"
"Well, apparently, Professor Sprout is growing Mandrakes," replied Harry.
"And the mature Mandragora can be cut up and used to make Mandrake Restorative Draught," I recited. I cast a glance at his arm, now out of the cast it had been in last night. "Well, you're free to go now, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he replied, getting up from the hospital bed. "Good as new."
"Well, come on, you're going to miss breakfast!"
Date : 15 November 1992
I tend to wake up earlier than the other girls in my dormitory. This meaning that the only first year Gryffindor that ever had a chance of waking up before me was Hermione Granger.
On this particular day, however, she failed to do so, and so I was the first to see the notice plastered on the bulletin board in the common room of our year.
"Duelling Club," I read aloud. "Meet in the Great Hall at seven pm if interested."
"What's this?" asked Hermione, coming up behind me. I flinched at her sudden making her presence known, making her laugh. "You're really too jumpy, Willow."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, pick on the easily startled," I replied, rolling my eyes. "They are holding a Dueling Club tonight at seven."
"Oh, that sounds splendid!" exclaimed Hermione. I shook my head in disagreement.
"Au contraire, my dear Hermione," l replied. "Dueling is part of Defense Against the Dark Arts, so guess who's going to be hosting it?"
"Honestly, Willow, I know you don't like him, but he is quite the capable wizard," reasoned Hermione.
"Capable wizards don't vanish bones. Capable wizards don't unleash pixies and have their students put them back. A capable wizard would have taught me more about fighting the Dark Arts than Quirrell, who had the very embodiment of the Dark Arts sticking out the back of his head." My words were quiet, but my tone was deadly. "So next time you talk about him being competent, remember that actions speak louder than words." And with that, I left the common room, the portrait slamming shut behind me.
"I don't wanna go," I moaned into the arm of the couch.
"Come on, Willow, it'll be fun," said Harry, poking my side. I yelped and jumped away, and somehow because I had my head on the arm of the couch managed to flip myself off the aforementioned piece of furniture. His eyes widened before he burst out in laughter. I crossed my arms over my chest.
"He's trying to kill me, I swear," I muttered. "Come on, then, Harry." His laughter finally faded away.
"You're really too jumpy, Willow," he teased. I scowled at him.
"You're going to need to do better than that if you want me to come to the Dueling Club, Harry," I replied.
"Come on, Willow, it won't be that bad," tried Hermione. "I hear Professor Flitwick was quite the accomplished duelist back in his day."
"But I don't want to unleash my full arsenal of hexes and jinxes and the like on you guys," I replied. "I kind of like you."
"Aww, thanks," said Harry sarcastically. "With your luck, you'll be paired up with a Slytherin and you can make them vomit slugs or snort out bats or whatever strikes your fancy."
I contemplated it for a moment before breaking out in a wide grin. "Lead the way."
"Come a little closer now... can everyone hear me? Can everyone see me? Splendid!"
"No," I muttered. "Not splendid. This is the last thing I want to see. Where's Flitwick? I know he's short, but I should have seen him by now..."
"He's not here," replied Harry. I turned to stare at him as Lockhart continued to blab on.
"Now, I'd like to introduce my assistant, your lovely Potions professor, Professor Snape!" exclaimed Lockhart dramatically. "Now, we will be doing a demonstration..."
"Yay," I said with a grin. "Bet you a Galleon Lockhart makes a fool out of himself."
"Bet you two-"
"You two," said Hermione, interrupting us. The moment she turned, I turned back to Harry.
"Ten Galleons Snape beats Lockhart before he can cast a spell," I muttered quickly. He nodded and we turned back to the stage, where Snape and Lockhart stood on opposite ends, each with their arms up in dueling stance.
"One... two... three!" counted Lockhart.
"Expelliarmus!" called out Snape immediately, and Lockhart was thrown back against the wall and his wand flew into Snape's hand. I held out my own hand and felt coins placed in it. I grinned, and clapped for a moment before awkwardly realizing nobody else was applauding.
"Smooth," mumbled Harry, and I smacked him, quickly placing the coins in my coin purse as Hermione turned around to shoot us a glare.
"Now, now," said Lockhart, brushing himself off as he got up, "I let Severus win that one, of course..." I rolled my eyes. "Now, we'll split you into pairs..." I immediately nudged Harry, who nudged me back.
"Now, that just won't do," drawled Snape, observing the crowd. "Let's see here... Potter with Malfoy, Granger with Bulstrode, Weasley with Crabbe... Leavitt with Parkinson."
"Who's Parkinson?" I mumbled, looking around the Great Hall. Harry gestured a girl whose face immediately reminded me of a pug, who was sizing me up with a look of contempt. "Remember, Sardina Fremitus."
"Wait, what's that do?" asked Harry as I got my wand out.
"Sardine Hex," I replied simply, walking towards my partner and standing across from her.
"Remember... Disarming only!" called out Lockhart. Parkinson shot me a smirk that told me she certainly didn't intend to listen. "And, begin!"
"Tarantellegra!" she said automatically, and I swiftly moved to the side to dodge.
"Rictusempra!" I shot back, and she dodged as well, responding with a hex of her own.
"Colloshoo." I jumped the Stickfast Hex, narrowly missing it. I cast a glance around, where Malfoy and Harry were dueling not unlike ourselves, and Millicent Bulstrode, a giant girl from Slytherin, seemed to have tossed her wand aside and had Hermione in a headlock.
"Mucus Ad Nauseam!" I cast quickly, and Parkinson was too slow to dodge it.
I grinned as she immediately developed a cold and started to sneeze, gasping out, "Lacarnum Inflamari."
A jet of flames shot out the tip of her wand and immediately went to the edge of my robes. I screamed, trying to stamp out the flames as she shot another hex, which I narrowly ducked, muttering, "Titillando."
"Locomotor Mortis!" she called out quickly just before the Tickling Hex hit her and she fell to her knees, gasping out laughter. I couldn't dodge the Leg-Locker and fell to the ground, at which point Snape intervened.
"Finite Incantatem," he said, and I regained control of my legs as my robes stopped burning while Parkinson stopped laughing, but continued to sniffle.
"Very good, you two ladies!" exclaimed Lockhart. "Perhaps you'd like to demonstrate?"
Before I could argue, he had seized one of my arms in one hand and one of Parkinson's in the other, pulling us to the front. I frowned, but took my place at one edge of the stage, turning to face my opponent.
"Bow to your opponent!" I gave a curt nod of the head that could hardly be classified as a bow, but as Parkinson did the same, Lockhart didn't protest. "And... begin!"
"Expelliarmus!" I cast quickly, but she dodged, leaping to the side and casting, "Fernunculus!"
"Locomotor Wibbly!" I called back, dropping to the ground and rolling to the side to dodge her low shot. She jumped the hex, and Professor Snape mumbled something in her ear.
My eyes widened as she nodded at him, immediately pointing her wand and shouting, "Serpensortia!" A long black snake formed seemingly from midair, and I yelped, leaping back as it tried to snap at me.
Lockhart, noting this, lifted his own wand and mumbled some sort of nonsense that launched the snake into the air. When it landed, it was considerably angrier, and set itself on a Hufflepuff boy whose name I could not remember for the life of me.
"Stop it!" I shouted at the snake, and it turned to me, seeming to have understood. My eyes widened as its locked with mine. "Leave him alone!" I added, and the snake slithered away. As Snape cast a spell that successfully vanished the snake, I was made aware of almost everyone in the Great Hall staring at me, eyes wide.
"You are dismissed," announced Lockhart, and confused, I leapt off the side of the stage, meeting up with Ron, Hermione and Harry.
"What's up?" I asked, as Ron and Hermione were staring at me. "Harry?"
"No clue," he replied.
"No clue?" repeated Ron. "You - you talked to the snake!"
"Well, yeah," I replied. "What? I was trying to get him away from... oh, what's his name..."
"Justin Finch-Fletchley," supplied Hermione, "and you succeeded."
"Well, yeah," I replied. 'What are you getting at?"
"We didn't hear you trying to get him away from Justin," said Ron. I looked at him, quite flabbergasted. "We heard hissing."
"Hissing?" I repeated. "I was hissing? Harry, was I hissing?"
"Don't ask me, I heard you just fine," he replied, his hands held up in surrender.
"Really?" said Ron. "You - that's not a normal thing!"
"Hold on a second," I said, holding up a finger. "Are you saying that we're Parselmouths?" He nodded fearfully. "Like Salazar Slytherin?" He nodded again. "So the reason everyone's staring is because they think I'm the heir of Slytherin?" He nodded once more. "What a load of bullshit."
"Miss Leavitt," said Snape, coming up behind me. I jumped, turning around. "Please come with me."
I cast a nervous glance over my shoulder as I followed him out of the Great Hall and through the corridors to his office. The moment I entered, the door shut behind me and Snape turned to me. "Miss Leavitt, who is your mother?"
"What?" I asked confusedly.
"Leavitt isn't a wizarding name, and you aren't a Muggleborn. Who is your mother?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you need to know?" I asked curiously, trying to stall my answer. He didn't know who I was, and I had no intention of changing that.
"Just answer the question," he replied, just as the door swung open. I thanked my lucky stars as Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the scene before him.
"Excuse me, Severus, I'm afraid I seem to have interrupted," he said.
"Oh, don't worry, headmaster, Professor Snape and I have discussed all that needs to be discussed," I replied, leaving before either one of them could protest.
That was close.
