The Mystic Eyes of Harry Potter
The Returning
September 1st
4:00pm
We took the carriages to the school; the first years were the only ones who took the boats across the lake to see Hogwarts for the great viewpoint. I glanced at the translucent skeletal horses pulling the carriages. Hermione and Ron didn't see them at all, and even Draco I could tell from a distance didn't see any of them. Maybe his eyes were closed when that incident happened in the Forest.
Sitting down in the Great Hall was perfect; there were fluffy cushioned seats, warm air flowing from the candles to all of us, and then Dumbledore introduced the first years into the Hall.
The Sorting went as it did last year, except I was a spectator this time round. The older students watched which students would be sorted into their own houses; cheers went up for each person, though there were slightly more hisses whenever a Slytherin was selected.
Ginny was chosen for Gryffindor, much to her delight with the rosy cheeks flushed from all the excitement.
I saw that mysterious girl, Luna, put the hat on, and saw its eyes roll several times before finally choosing Ravenclaw. She floated over to her tables and just nodded at her new housemates, then proceeding to ignore everyone and stare at the ceiling.
Meals were delivered instantly to the desks, after the warning on not to enter the Forbidden Forest. As I ate, I glanced up at the teachers' table and saw Snape and Ciel talking, though it appeared that the latter was chattier than him. His sneering face barely nodded in response to her words.
It was no secret that he wanted the job of Defence Against the Dark Arts, but he couldn't get the job so long as someone was employed in it.
To my knowledge though, there was no way he would be able to compare to Ciel.
The rest of the evening was a blur as we learned the new password for the Fat Lady to get into the Gryffindor Tower, and adjusting our personal spaces near our beds. The timetables for the new term would be distributed tomorrow, so we were ready for the next few weeks.
The first years were huddled together in their bedroom, which Hermione decided to help out by bring down Ginny from the girls' section into the Common Room, only to be the centre of attention as she was a female Weasley, and getting teased mercilessly by the twins. Percy did try to calm them down, which only led to more mayhem and laughter.
There was a weird kid watching me, and he even had an old Muggle camera, which was nice to see given how much I miss the non-magical stuff you get used to on a daily basis when living away from the wizarding world. He didn't come to speak to me though, something I found peculiar, but maybe he was too shy. He did hide away whenever I stared at him, perhaps I scared him?
Ron was still eating, having packed some extra food away from the banquet, and being scolded by Hermione for acting like a pig.
Me? I retired early for the night. The reminder of that horse pulling the carriage a sign that I had seen death in my life. When I look at the Weasley siblings, Hermione, and my teammates on the Quidditch team, they looked so happy and carefree. Shutting my eyes, I thought back to the last time I was happy, and struggled to find anything of note.
Actually, when Petunia stood up for me to Uncle Vernon... That was a time I felt good about myself.
Still, I need to find my own happiness, whatever that may entail...
Closing my eyes, I felt inside my robes for the family dagger. Pulling it out of its sheath, I then looked at my own reflection from behind my glasses, and found them oddly distant and lifeless.
Hiding it away under my pillow, I turned over and slept.
September 3rd
Professor Sprout told us to head for Greenhouse Three, and we were introduced to new plants. Mandrakes were strange, their scream could kill you instantly, though those young ones we spent the whole time replanting would thankfully only knock you out for an hour. They were useful however by producing lots of valuable ingredients which could be used in various potions.
The class was messy, entailing our need to shower quickly before heading for McGonagall's Transfiguration lesson, which was difficult in it itself.
Lunch went by fast since we were famished from fighting those mangy little roots, which refused to get into the pots. It was hard to not notice how nervous the Second Year Gryffindors were, but there was a justified reason for it.
It was going to be our first class was with Ciel since last year.
I personally was looking forward to it. Ron and Hermione were pale as they entered the room, and indeed as were the rest of the class.
No one could forget their last lesson with her when she introduced to us the concept of vampires and their tendencies, with the bloody images as well.
Placing a hand on both of their backs I whispered, "Ciel said she will take it easy on us. No more scary lessons."
Swallowing loudly, Ron nodded nervously, "So, I don't need to take the anti-vomit medicine I got from Madam Pomfrey?"
"No, but it won't hurt to have that at hand..." I smiled at his shaking reaction.
Hermione moved closer to me, "Are you sure, Harry?"
"Yes, she promised me. I've spent enough time around her to know that she isn't one to back down on her own vow."
"Welcome class!" Ciel began, getting everyone's attention. I checked the class and saw some of them were already beginning to cower behind their textbooks.
"We're going to start off with a simple query. Though Professor Quirrell had an, unfortunate affliction, last year" Her wink was a little inappropriate I felt, "he did teach you the basics of Defence Against the Dark Arts."
A cage we had only noticed began to rattle loudly. It was covered by a sheet so we couldn't see what was inside it.
"Can anyone tell me what this is?" Removing the covering, half the class ducked under their desks, whilst the rest shielded their faces.
Hermione after a second or two raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Is... Is that a pixie?" I could see her shivering. Maybe she expected it to turn into a bat of some sort and bite her.
"Correct, ten points to Gryffindor!"
Overall, the lesson went remarkably tamely, without any terrifying visions. Ciel taught us of the main vulnerability of the pixie with a specific spell, demonstrating it to us. She then warned that the pixies learn and can adapt to the spell's effects, afterwards requiring a Freezing charm, Immobulus.
Giving us a chance to practise on one, we all managed to stop the pixie from escaping and causing havoc. Just as she said, the anti-Pixie spell stopped working after three attempts, so Immobulus was needed to subdue it.
The class were cheerful, having seen how the creature reacted to the spell and that it was even able to adapt to its counter-curse. Once Immobulus used, it then allowed another three more anti-Pixies usages.
Ciel said that none of the spells would harm it properly, only to calm it down and make it feel tired, as if it had run a mile. Immobulus as we knew meant that the target would be immobilised.
Hermione was the expert, having managed to even get a fourth counter-curse to affect the pixie, something only perfectly executed spells could do. Ciel granted another ten points for that feat. Ron and I struggled, but our Freezing charms were more than enough to take it down.
Leaving the classroom, we were in good spirits, Ron staring at Hermione for how she did so well in the lesson.
"You've got to teach me how you did that."
She turned to face him, her frizzy hair bouncing lightly, "It's a matter of hand movements, and timing your words with the twisting flick."
Showing her movements to Ron, he could only stare back, "But... That's what I did..."
She frowned, "Maybe you were off by a second, I don't know..." We began to approach the dorm, "I'll check with Miss Ciel about it later."
Next day
September 4th
Having gotten back into the standard routine of dressing, eating and going to classes, we had been introduced to more advanced spells, plants and potions which would be used throughout the year. Though the mandrake hell was over, Professor Snape coincidentally mentioned a potion which they could be used for. It could only be done when mandrakes were mature enough in May sometime.
Since Hermione already knew about my summer, I took it upon myself to speak to Ron, alone in our room when everyone else was downstairs eating in the Great Hall. I made him bring up some food so that we could leave much earlier than the rest.
He reacted the way I imagined he would.
"Bloody hell..." He rubbed his head, "I don't even get this any more, you're a Demon Hunter? You killed some Sidhe, and even entered an Unplottable location?"
"That's about the size of it, yes." I smiled at his boggled eyes.
"I don't know what to say, Harry." He leant back on his bed, "Dad has mentioned in the past about the creatures that live around us. I knew about gnomes, elves, centaurs and whatnot, but they were relatively common." He looked at me seriously, "The Sidhe is one of those rare and mystical creatures. Dad said they almost never appeared in public any longer, and it was thought that they were dying out, since so little contact has been made with them. Wizards and witches have tried for generations to communicate with them, to offer support, lands they can freely live in, but on those few meetings there was no change at all."
"Guess I've made things worse then..."
I never thought about the consequences of my actions. Petunia only told me about the threat to the neighbouring villages, and that was the reason for my taking action to stop any more deaths. That the Sidhe were an ancient species and near extinction never came into the picture.
"Sorry, Ron, I didn't mean to upset you." I could tell he was affected by all this.
"Don't be, you had a job to do." He immediately perked up, "If they were hurting people, then even the Ministry of Magic would have been called in to stop them." He moved closer to the edge of his bed, "I've always wanted to see one, but we only had sketches of them, poorly done, before photos came around."
Describing what the queen looked like, Ron closed his eyes and I could see him drawing it in his mind.
"Wow... Wish I could have seen her too."
"Yeah, if I knew I would have taken a photo of her, but I was a little busy saving my skin." My grin was laced with bitterness.
"Still, you spent a load of time with Ciel. It sounded great learning all those moves from her."
"It was different than with Petunia, and I had fun too."
Keeping in mind my promise to Ciel, I didn't mention anything to do with her immortality or the vampire that used to possess her.
However there something else I wanted to share, but I couldn't do it at the moment.
"We'll talk later." I heard someone yawning as they came up the steps.
"Hey Harry, Ron..." Seamus Finnigan stretched his arms and patted his belly, "Time for my post-meal nap lads..."
Flopping onto his bed, and kicking his shoes off, he started snoring almost straightaway.
"Some things never change..." I said quietly as Ron nodded with me, "By the way, here you go..."
Handing him the two new quills I bought back in Diagon Alley, I saw his hand shake.
"Y-You didn't have to..."
"I know, but I wanted to." Pushing it into his hand I went on, "You helped me a lot last year, it's the least I could do."
"Th-Thanks mate..." I saw him stroke the feathers before hiding it away in his bag, "I won't forget this."
Seeing his eyes grow a little damp, I was glad to see what a little gesture can do.
Later that evening
The common room slowly grew quieter as the students started getting sleepy, heading back to their rooms.
Soon it was just me, Hermione, Ron and Ginny sitting in the large sofa and armchair in front of the crackling fire. The skies outside were dark since the sun had already set an hour earlier.
"Okay, I'm going to sleep." Ginny got up wearily, from the cosy armchair. "I have a lesson in the morning with Professor McGonagall. I don't want to be late for it."
"Are you okay?" Hermione held her arm for a moment, "You don't look well."
Now that she mentioned it, Ginny did seem to have a strange complexion about her. Her skin looked tighter, as if she wasn't eating enough. Even her freckles, which were prominent in all the Weasley family, were muted. The black bags under her eyes served to enhance her gaunt state.
"Is anyone bullying you, Ginny?" Ron asked.
"No, nothing like that." She smiled thinly, but I could see that it wasn't sincere from the way her eyes panicked, "Just a lot of work to catch up on."
"Sleep well then," Hermione lightly rubbed her back, "But please come see me if you are having any problems."
I thought it would be fair to chip in here, "If you can't sleep, Madam Pomfrey might be able to help. I know she has some medicine that can knock you out instantly."
"Thanks everyone." The spring in her step returned, "I will think about it if it gets worse. Nighty night!"
Tiptoeing up the steps to the girls' section, so as not to wake anyone up, she left the common room.
"I'm worried about her, even the twins can't get her to laugh as much..." Ron mumbled.
"It's probably nerves..." Hermione said, "We were all nervous in the first week or two."
"You were fairly relaxed though, no?" I asked.
"Yes, well, that's beside the point," She huffed, "Not everyone is comfortable being at a boarding school. Maybe she misses your parents Ron, isn't it the first time she's been away from them for a while?"
"That's true..." He admitted, "She was always at home with Mum... Maybe I'll owl her to send her some home-cooked stuff."
"That'll be a nice gesture." I said, "I'm sure Ginny will appreciate it." Seeing as we were by ourselves now, it was the best time to tell them, "Wait here for a minute, I got something to show you both."
Watching them see me off to the staircase, I returned in a minute with a small box.
"Ciel gave me this gift for my birthday." Opening it up, I showed them the Black Key.
"Is this...?" Hermione stared at it, "I remember you telling me about it over the phone."
"You said that Ciel uses this when she trains you?"
Picking up the hilt, I turned it around to let them see it closer, "She made me swear to only show this to you two, since no one outside the Church should be holding this."
"How do you activate it?" Ron was trying to see it from all angles.
Moving it to the side, I grasped it with my hand, "Ciel said this is a training device for novice Church members, and that I had to concentrate my magic power in my hand. It's almost like using a wand, except that it doesn't fire spells, it only forms the blade." Shaking it lightly, I frowned, "So far, I haven't managed to do anything with it."
"Let me try..." Ron held out his hand.
"Point it away from us, okay?" Hermione leant away.
Rolling his eyes, Ron took the Black Key and held it like me, only to find that nothing happened.
"What did she mean by concentrating the magic power in your hand?" Ron put his other hand onto the hilt and started to wield it like a sword.
"That's all she said!" His frustration became my own, since I couldn't feel my magic power, let alone control where it goes.
His face merged with his hair colour as he struggled to make it work.
"No physical strength is needed, and don't bother, I've been trying every day for a month."
"Why would she give you an impossible task?" Ron panted, "Here you take it Hermione, worthless thing..."
Since it landed in her lap, she reached over to pick it up and looked down the hilt at the fire, "It's beautifully made... If the Church built it, there must be some holy blessings invoked in it."
Pretending it was a wand, she casually made a movement reminiscent of Wingardium Leviosa.
A poignant shriek of metal echoed in the room as Hermione could only stare at the now fully activated Black Key.
"Wh-Wha...?" She was frozen in place, staring at the way the fireplace glinted in the smooth metal.
"How did you do that Hermione?!" I took it from her trembling hand gently. Like the hilt, the unlocked Black Key was as light as a feather.
"That was amazing!" Ron touched the blunt edge of the blade, "It's warm..."
The magic began to dissipate, the blade disintegrating into the air, returning it to just the hilt again.
"It's supposed to do that, if not in the hands of the user who unlocked it or not used in an attack." I commented.
Ron and I tried again to activate it, but with the same lack of success as last time.
Hermione looked at it in a strange way, and then her hand.
"Here you go, Hermione."
Passing the key to her, she moved it to one side, and without any type of wand movement, she activated it again, and with a lot less noise as before, a single click of metal.
"That's exactly the same way Ciel does it..." My smile grew, "No wonder you're the best witch in our year."
"No... That's not true, Harry." She tried to wave us off, only to nearly cut us with the Key, "Oh, sorry..."
"Can you deactivate it? It should be possible for you."
A few seconds later, the Black Key's blade vanished much in the same way as before, but much faster since it was willed by the owner.
"Ahh..." Hermione blushed, "Please take it, Harry."
Accepting it back, I put the hilt back into its box, "Looks like I have some training to do if I need to keep up with you."
"Sorry..." She hid her hands into her robes, "I didn't mean -"
"Don't be sorry. You're a natural at this!" Patting the box I went on, "Most trainees in the Church take a month to get it to work, but you did it in less than a minute..."
She remained still and just stared off into the fire, her cheeks remaining flushed.
"My mum and dad are Catholic. We didn't go to church that often, but maybe that has something to do with it."
"Maybe," She had a point, "But I'm sure that doesn't affect anything." Standing up, I nodded to myself, "I'm going to talk to Ciel about this. Maybe you would be better working more with her."
Ron chuckled as Hermione flailed her arms, "No, please don't! I'll be embarrassed!"
"It'll be fine..." Tapping my glasses once helped, "Some of us have talents, and if they're useful, then they have to be refined, wouldn't you say Ron?"
"Oh yeah, definitely!" His eager nods were lapped up by Hermione, "You should see what else you're capable of!"
"But..." Her bushy hair was frazzled from the emotion, and now shielded her face, "I'm just a little good at magic, nothing more..."
Sitting down again, I leant in to both of them, "And I'm just a little good at killing... What makes you think you're not special?"
Her brow furrowed again, "Look, Harry, I know you mean well, but I don't think I'm ready for this -" She trailed off, trying to find the word she was looking for.
"Responsibility?" Ron offered.
"That's right, responsibility!" She shook her head, "I can't accept this power!"
"What is it you're afraid of, Hermione?" My eyes scanned hers, as they flitted from side-to-side, trying to find an escape route somehow.
"I..." Her eyebrows rose near the bridge of her nose, and she clenched her eyelids shut.
I could see traces of tears on her lashes.
Covering my face, I leant back, realising what I had just done.
How was it when I learned about my power long ago when I met Miss? Did I just accept it as it was? Probably, because she gave me these glasses, which prevented me from seeing the lines whilst wearing them.
But this time, I was telling Hermione to use her power right now, to speak with Ciel, to decide her future for her basically, all within the space of ten minutes.
That kind of pressure would crack anyone. When you're pushed into a corner, the only thing you want to do is get out of there as fast as possible. You're not even thinking of the words the other person is saying, even if they make perfect sense.
And I had just imprisoned her there, not allowing any opinion contrary to my own.
"Sorry, Hermione..." I extended my hand palm upwards to her, "I didn't mean to force you like this. I got caught up in the moment..."
Sniffing, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve before a tiny smile slipped past her lips, "Th-That's okay, Harry." She rested her hand atop my own.
"L-Let's head off to bed, we have some potions tomorrow and I don't want Snape boiling my eyeballs again."
Ron managed to get a chuckle out of me with his interjection.
Getting up from the sofa, I patted Hermione on her back as another apology.
"Harry..." She turned to me before we left the common room, "I'll think about what you said. Just... Just give me a little time."
"Take as long as you need." I smiled back at her, but my eyes were down given the guilt I felt, "See you tomorrow."
"Night, Harry..."
And with that, the rest of the evening was left to slumber for the next day.
September 5th
Quidditch Field
8am
Mornings are always horrible, especially when you need to learn something. In this instance, it had nothing to do with schoolwork, just Quidditch.
I say 'just Quidditch', but there was no denying that I really loved the sport, it was exhilarating to feel the air all around your body, your trusty broom beneath you, as you try to defeat the other team. As the Seeker, I had potentially the hardest job to locate the Snitch. Last year it was quite difficult for me, especially since one match my broom was cursed.
Suffice it to say, I did well in that situation.
Thanks to the extra training from Ciel and even Petunia this summer, I knew that my eyes would be able to track any object now provided it wasn't invisible. Even if there was an item no longer in the visible spectrum, I would be able to determine where it was by the displacement of wind and so on, but it would take a lot longer.
Oliver Wood, our captain, was adamant that he wanted to win again this year. Even though we won the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup last year, he wanted to continue this streak.
Hence the dawn training, of which none of us were interested in listening to two hours of his advanced tactics. I didn't bother to tell him that I could win a match now in seconds, nullifying all his ideas.
As we got onto the pitch, Ron and Hermione were in the stands watching us, and I could see the heat rising from Ron's croissant from here, making my stomach complain loudly.
"What the hell?" Angelina, one of our Chasers, walked forwards sharply, "Oi! What are you doing here?!"
She wasn't talking to the bystanders, but was directing her voice at the approaching team in green.
"Slytherin?" Oliver said, as they stopped in front of us, "Flint, I have permission from Professor McGonagall to use the pitch today."
"Is that so?" Marcus Flint, the ogre-like captain of Slytherin grinned showing his lopsided teeth, "I have a note from Professor Snape stating that exact same thing, due to extenuating circumstances."
He held out the parchment, which Oliver took nervously, "'Training a new seeker' is it? Who did you pick?"
From behind the team came who I expected it to be.
My mouth moved on its own.
"Malfoy."
It wasn't said with any evil intent, or even mild hostility. I realised also that I had actually nodded at him respectfully, which he returned faintly.
It was a greeting to a fellow student.
Steps came from behind me and I turned to see Ron and Hermione running up fast, I guessed they saw who was there and wanted to say a few words. Within a minute, I knew things were going to kick off badly, and I wasn't in the mood this early in the morning to have a war of words.
I guess I'll have to stop them in their tracks.
"The Slytherin team is training Malfoy to be a Seeker." I said a little loudly to the Gryffindors, which got everyone's attention. I saw that Ron had closed his mouth, probably about to say something rude, "Oliver," I turned to my captain, and flicked my eyes over at Flint too, "Let's do general practice today using one side of the pitch. Slytherin can use the other side for Malfoy."
This time, I ensured that both of them saw how I looked when I lowered my glasses.
"That satisfactory, Marcus?" I asked.
"Uhh... Y-Yeah, should be fine."
Wood was speechless until Angelina poked his side, "Come on Wood, let's warm up."
As the Slytherin team went away, I could sense that they were deflated; perhaps they wanted to rile ourselves up for no reason.
I couldn't help but notice that Malfoy glanced back at me before he went off to the other end of the pitch.
Ron got closer to me, "What was that about, Harry?"
Hermione shook her head, "You shouldn't have scared them like that..."
"I just didn't want another worthless fight. You know how that is." I looked over seeing the green shirts flying about with a test snitch, one which could be deactivated or ordered to return to someone when done, "Besides, it looked like Malfoy wasn't going to say anything."
Wood finally shook his head and spoke up to me, "Harry... You didn't have to step in like that."
"Yeah, I did. Besides..." I saw how sleepy the rest of the team were, the twins were practically using their brooms as makeshift beds, "I don't think we're awake enough to try out your advanced techniques."
He stared up at the Slytherin team, "Looks like they got new brooms since they're moving a lot faster, so they'll be much harder to beat this year."
My smile was enough, "I'll win every match this year, just you wait."
That evening
My bones ached...
True, fighting at top speed and leaping from wall-to-wall is excruciating on my muscles, but I was used to that pain.
Brooms were different in that the vast majority of the energy is produced by the broom itself, the rest provided by your exertions to command it to tilt, rotate, pitch up and dive.
My movements were so used to split second decisions that my flying was erratic, and a little imprecise. Speed wasn't an issue; it was all to do with manoeuvrability. Though the Nimbus 2000 was famous for stopping suddenly, it took issue with my own impulses.
Thus I had to compensate by toning down my reactions to allow the broom to keep up with me. Oliver said I needed more training since I hadn't been practising during summer. He was aware that I lived in a Muggle neighbourhood.
If only he knew the real reason.
A piping hot shower later and my entire body was rosy red from near-scalded skin. I could feel the tension in my shoulders from hunching over the broom fritter away, and my leg cramps from criss-crossing them for so long had faded. The heat from the shower would keep me warm for hours, since it permeated deep, so I lay down in bed.
Perhaps it was the unique exercise I had today, in keeping my abilities lowered to the standards expected by broom manufacturers but my head was pounding. It wasn't a migraine, nor was it the normal pain I used to get when I didn't have these glasses.
Then, I heard a voice.
Finally freeee...
After soooo long...
To rip and tear…
Angry, I shut myself away, clamping my hands over my head to push away whatever I was experiencing. I thought I had it sealed away, that terrible side of me...
I didn't dare pull out my dagger to look at my own face, in case it grinned back at me.
Cursing my own lack of self-control, I turned over and tried to drift off to sleep.
1 month later
Boring...
This year has been dull so far, no excitement.
Quidditch has been going along without any problems, and I noted that there weren't any more schedule conflicts with the Slytherin team. Rain and wind did hinder most of our early morning flying, but it was good to fight against resistance, since it would make us a lot faster when it came to the actual match.
Ron did owl his parents as he said he would, and a gift package arrived for Ginny within the week with some treats and other things from home like a new knitted jumper for the chilly autumn. The way she smiled brightened the Gryffindor table, and once again I felt her face grew a bit livelier as people asked her what she got.
Our studies had increased, and we were still in the process of using last years' spells and potions, and fortifying them or using them in larger spells. Overall an interesting change to the first year.
Hermione was still the best at everything, if she didn't get a spell right the first time, it would be right the second. Ron had problems constantly; I couldn't help but notice his wand did look a little tired for its age, so maybe that was the issue.
My magical studies were moving smoothly along, though I debated as to the point of it. I knew that my talent was, sadly, in killing. Whatever cursed me with these eyes made me deadly with a knife, or any sharp object. Even my own fingernail could kill were I to apply enough pressure on the right lines. The spells they taught us, whilst fairly fast in their speed, are something I could dodge without much effort on my part. Potions would be something I was more vulnerable to, since I doubt I could kill a poison spreading through my body.
Then again, I never had an opportunity to test it out. I knew that I could kill physical things easily. The troll last Halloween was one obvious victim. When I first arrived at Hogwarts, I recalled checking out the ghosts that inhabited the castle, and Peeves the poltergeist.
They too had lines I could cut.
From experience, I knew they had no physical presence, as they would just float through us without any ill effect.
Did that mean that I could kill things that didn't have a physical form? What would death for a ghost be, moving onto the next world? The Sidhe were real, but their bodies were liquid in many areas, and I could still cut them as if they had normal limbs.
Perhaps I could cut liquid? Even as it courses through a body?
I know that I've been warned not to use my Eyes too often, since it would be detrimental to my health. Yet I had to know, even if it was useless knowledge, it might help me in the future someday.
During Snape's Potions class, we had to deal with a particularly viscous material, harmless to the touch and lacking any type of poison. When his back was turned, I spilled a little bit on the table.
Ron saw this and rapidly got a towel, only for me to stop him.
"Give me a second..."
Picking up a clean stirring spatula, I lowered my glasses and saw lines on the liquid itself. Tracing them carefully, I saw how it separated and refused to form a whole again unless I chose to stir it. It reminded me of the plasticine I used to play with when younger.
We managed to clean it up without any points being deducted for Gryffindor.
The next week, I tried something else. We had finished concocting a potion which could help crops to combat pests, essentially a magical pesticide. The reason I chose this was because Snape was going to test our solution on some bluerot infected plants kindly donated by Professor Sprout.
The instructions were perfect, and I followed them to the letter, and it had the same consistency, colour and smell with Hermione's version. Ron's was a little similar, but the acrid smoke meant there was something off with it.
When it came to our turn, like with the rest of the class, Snape smelled and shook the vials, and using a pipette, he took in some liquid and spread the droplets on the blue-purple maize.
Hermione's potion eliminated all traces of the bluerot within ten seconds. Snape just stood there and spoke quietly.
"Adequate work, Miss Granger, everything seems normal. Now for Mr Potter."
Whenever there was a problem with other students' potions during the first phase, such as the colour being off, he would state it immediately and not bother to waste the potion on the plant.
My potion passed that inspection without comment. Using the pipette, he then applied it to the infection.
Only for nothing to happen.
He frowned once, and returned to neutral in two seconds, before applying a second dose.
"Is there something wrong, Professor?"
My voice was curious, and I think it was acted out nicely. Even Hermione furrowed her brow at my vial and couldn't see any difference with her own.
"It appears, Mr Potter, that although your solution matches all known trademarks of the Bluerot Vanquisher, it has no effect on the bluerot itself." He looked at me directly, "It is inert and is not functioning."
"C-Can that happen?" I asked worriedly, inside I was gleaming with joy.
"No." He turned to Ron, "Next, Mr Weasley... Oh dear... You must have added the nirnroot five seconds later than expected during the fourth stirring session."
Ron's potion by now was bubbling furiously and the smoke was getting worse. A quick spell by Snape and it was gone from the vial.
The funny thing was that Snape didn't vanish my own potion; he moved it behind him, away from the failures and the successes.
So, my potion was neither one nor the other. It was an unknown quantity. I'm sure that Snape was going to investigate into the matter a little bit more, but I knew the reason why.
I had cut its lines.
It was hard to reach them from the thin opening of the vial, but I did so. Since the liquid was moving around, it did manage to connect normally, and there weren't any separated sections like the viscous mercury-like potion. I did see other lines form when it was still, but a lot fainter than before.
This confirmed though that by severing the connections in the lines, I managed to remove any harmful effects. Though it was a restorative potion for the crops, it could also be said to be poison for the bluerot, so I instead 'killed' the poison before it was even applied to the maize.
The cutting seemed to work, but I was sure there had to be an easier way to kill it, other than slicing lines. My next thought would be to try to cut the lines on the poison on the maize, but I knew it would be a lot harder to attempt without Snape finding out I was doing something bizarre.
I told Ron and Hermione what I did, and they reacted with amazement and disappointment respectively.
When I felt was the right time, I would let Ciel know what I did, in case Snape started making awkward inquiries.
October 31st
Dinner
More time flew by, I hadn't attempted anything else with my Eyes, but I would try again soon, one small step at a time.
As last year, floating pumpkins with candles inside made for very nice mood lighting during the evening Halloween meal as almost the entire student body were there eating up the freshly made soup and treats. I did see a few of the older students coming into the hall and talking hurriedly to themselves, looking up at the teachers' desk, but I couldn't make out what they said.
A minute later, a small sparkler went off, and our attention was drawn to Dumbledore.
"I am glad to see you are all healthy. I would like to inform you of an incident that occurred a few minutes ago. I have already informed your prefects about this." Now everyone had stopped eating and stared up at him, "Mr Filch's cat, Mrs Norris was petrified on the second floor. The cause is yet unknown, though there was a message left behind by the perpetrator on the wall beside it." He paused here, "We have been unable as of yet to remove it, but are focusing our efforts on that. We have instructed your heads of houses to take any measure they feel are appropriate in this instance." He saw the entire room silent, "That will be all."
My eyes moved over to Ron and Hermione, and we all nodded. Instantly, we rose from our seats, leaving our half-eaten meal behind, and exited the Great Hall jogging all the way. Behind us we heard the rest of student population about to do that same thing from the way the benches scraped.
We made up one floor before a problem started.
"Quickly, before the steps rotate!"
As I spoke, the staircase, as all the others with a mind of their own, chose to move to another floor and corridor, thus making our journey harder. Hermione and I leapt the gap in short moments, only to see Ron stumble just before the edge, only one foot on our level.
Reaching out, I grabbed his hand and pulled him in quickly, before his weight dragged the both of us down the two storeys.
Soon, we were the first students there, however there were already two observers, Mr Filch was scowling at the wall, and we could hear the grinding of his teeth from where we stood.
Ciel was there, her eyes scanning the wall. I could see the cat-like irises from here, same as Ron and Hermione.
"'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware?'" I said out loud.
The scrawl of writing looked like it was daubed in blood, but since the teachers were having trouble to vanish it away, some other spell must have been applied to it.
"You!"
The foul breath of Mr Filch tingled my nose as he stormed over to stand in my face, "It was your doing! I can see it in your eyes!"
I had to step back, his stench of rotten fish baked in sulphur almost made me gag. It is hard to be accused of something when you know you are innocent.
Before I could stammer out an apology or denial, Ciel placed her hand on his shoulder.
"We talked about this, Argus..." Her eyes were even glowing now, "There is no use in blaming the students for this without any evidence. I recommend you don't make any more accusations without first running it by me or Professor Dumbledore."
"A-As you wish, Professor..." His face shifted to that of obedience, and he shirked away from us, leaving the corridor entirely.
"Ciel, is Mrs Norris alright?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, a simple petrification, but one that cannot be undone with a spell. We need to use the mandrakes you have planted, but they won't be ready for several months."
The stampede of footsteps was on the floor above us thanks to the irrational staircase, so we were running out of time.
"Ciel, what is the Chamber of Secrets?"
She shut her eyes, "It's something from the past of Hogwarts, but nothing you should concern yourself with for now." Her hearing sensed the flood of students, "In the meantime, stick close to each other and report to me with any unusual occurrences."
Soon the corridor was filled with almost the entire student body. We had seen what we came for, so we slid away to the Common Room. The Fat Lady was shocked as well since the paintings spoke to each other with gossip.
The fireplace crackled away as if it was never put out, and we were alone in the room again.
"The Chamber of Secrets...?" Hermione thought back, "I read 'Hogwarts: A History', but found no mention of it there."
"Then maybe it's something that is more recent?" Ron suggested, "Assuming it happened before."
"You could be right..." My mind was foggy for some reason, "It might not be something people wanted to document as well."
"The only thing we can do is ask about it, but I don't think Professor Dumbledore is going to tell us."
"Ciel was tight-lipped as well, but she had heard of it from somewhere."
Ron folded his arms, "I'm going to owl my dad tonight, maybe he knows more about this... He's in the Ministry; he should have something for us."
"Good idea..." I thought back to my summer, "I wonder if Dobby was warning me about this?" The portrait opened that moment and the Gryffindors entered all talking at once, with Percy and the other prefects trying their best to calm things down, "Let me know what you find out, I'm going to do my own research."
November 4th
Four days and there was no news, either good or bad. Mrs Norris was still in the Hospital Wing frozen in place, unable to eat or drink, and we weren't even sure if she could breathe when we paid her a visit.
Madam Pomfrey assured us that her vital signs would also be considered to be paused, and when she is cured of the petrification, she would awake as if no time had passed for her.
Ron said that his dad cleverly dodged the question by getting his mum to send lots of food for him and Ginny. Aside from telling him to be careful, there were no other clues.
Hermione spent that majority of the week in the library, scouring the books for any indication of what the Chamber could relate to, but there was no mention of any potential room like that in the school. There was also a rush on 'Hogwarts: A History' from all the other students, but Hermione already ruled that out from her own copy.
Professor Dumbledore was hard to locate since he was away from his office, so I had little choice but to speak to Ciel again. Nevertheless, no matter what I tried with her, she refused to budge and said nothing more to me.
I had considered contacting Petunia, but given she wasn't ever a student at the school, it would make little sense.
Just as we were running out of ways to do proper research, Hermione took action.
"Professor Binns, I wonder if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"
A clever idea, asking a teacher, who then died and became a ghost, that had been in the school for many years.
From then on, the room went crazy as he revealed what he knew.
"Harry..." Hermione said quietly once she was mollified from his answers, as more hubbub grew in the unsettled class. Ron moved in to join in the conversation too.
"Yeah?" My quill left a large ink splotch on the achievements of Jareth the goblin king, forcing me to write it again.
"It would be best to talk to Ciel about training." Her eyes were burning, "Mrs Norris won't be the last, and I won't be caught unawares like that time with the troll..."
"The Key..." I nodded, "I'll talk to her soon, I promise."
Ron smiled, "It would be good to have more firepower."
Professor Binns shouted finally, putting a stop to all the inquiries made by the others.
Smiles were shared amongst the three of us; this was a big help, knowing about the history of the Chamber. We knew that this information would spread through the school faster than lightning generating more rumours and potentially more leads.
Now, what the hell could we do with this knowledge?
Author's Notes
Not much MEoDP action here, but we're gearing up for the year to come, so be ready for it. As you can see, relationships between the characters are changing already, but I'm still trying to ensure there's enough conflict for there to be interesting plot progression.
Let me know what you think.
J