A/N: This story should be no more than about a dozen chapters left at average. Either way, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!
I was working on my studies in the common room for the disguise mask. There was a lot to take into consideration in making this mask. Face mask lock, morphing features. Not piercing your skin to change your features. Think that would definitely not be worth using if that was the case.
Then I turned around to see Harry, Hermione, and Ron walking in.
"We've got news. Dobby came to visit me last night. He's the one who blocked us off at the train and told me that the Chamber has been opened before," Harry explained
"He wasn't lying that there'd be danger. Students and animals alike are being petrified. Hopefully Malfoy really is the Heir of Slytherin," I said with an immediate interjection from Ron.
"Hopefully? The ferret practically admitted it to us! 'You'll be next Mudbloods!'" Ron mocked.
"He may have said this, but that doesn't exactly incriminate him. Yes, he was excited to find the message, but that doesn't mean anything. He has the subtlety of a red dildo," I said, making the 3 of them look at me in confusion. "If you don't know about it, you don't need to yet. You get my point of what I meant though."
"We'll just have to wait until the potion is done. Or you finish your little project," Hermione told me.
"It depends on the research I can acquire in the near future. Until then, we stick with the Polyjuice. Did any of you visit Severus for the ingredients?" I asked them.
"Yeah. Got them this morning. They're with the Polyjuice Potion in a bag," Hermione told me.
A week later, we learned that a dueling club has been started.
"What do you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" Ron asked rhetorically, but he looked at the sign with interest.
"Could be very interesting. I've read a bunch of spells. Never had to opportunity to practice them," Harry noted.
"How much you want to bet Lockhart's going to be teaching the club?" I said, making Harry groan. "Just suck it up. And make an impression."
"I'll do my damndest. I just hope someone more competent will also be helping with the teaching," Harry said.
"Someone said Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was younger. Maybe it'll be him," Hermione told me.
"Better him than Lockhart. If we wanted hair care tips, we would've read his books," Ron said.
We went down to the Great Hall and like I predicted, Lockhart was walking onto the dueling stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum and accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black.
Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called ' "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!
"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works," Lockhart said, making me roll my eyes. It's always an attempt for publicity with this guy.
"Now, let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"
"Snape would wipe the floor with him," Harry said evenly. He knew this was fact, ad so did I. Lockhart was all bark. Snape was all bite.
Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.
"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."
"I wouldn't bet on that," Harry murmured, watching Snape baring his teeth.
"One - two - three -"
Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: "Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.
"Done in by a simple disarming charm. You've got to be kidding," I said, face palming. Hermione stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a better look.
"Do you think he's alright?" she asked.
"Who cares?" me, Harry, and Ron said at the same time.
"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown - yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see . . ."
Snape was looking murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed, because he said, "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me -"
They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Snape reached Harry and Ron first.
"Time to split up the dream team, I think," he sneered. "Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Potter -"
Harry moved automatically toward Hermione.
"I don't think so," said Snape, smiling coldly. "Mr. Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Potter. And you, Miss Granger - you can partner Miss Bulstrode."
Malfoy strutted over, smirking. Harry didn't even acknowledge Malfoy as he made eye contact with Snape and the cold smile he had turned into a smirk. Harry smirked back and it's like those 2 were communicating telepathically. But then Snape addressed me.
"Well, we can't have the Muggle with nothing to do. Morgan, lets see what you make of a 6th year. Marcus Flint, up here. Lets see what you make of our Muggle student," Snape said, gesturing him up here.
Flint stood up and climbed onto the stage with a confident smirk on his face. I didn't even face him as I walked back to dueling distance.
"Want me to hold back?" Flint said mockingly. The other Slytherins laughed, but I disregarded them.
"If you wish," I said evenly.
"Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents - only to disarm them - we don't want any accidents - one ... two ... three -"
Flint disregarded Lockhart's instructions and instantly started off with a quick Funnunculus curse, but I was already moving on three. I went into a long slide across the stage under his curse and Flint was already quickly firing off rapid stunning curses to which I rolled and used a flip to quickly get myself up. By then I was in his face.
When I was, grabbed him by the front of his robes and threw him onto the ground so hard, he was launched back in the air to which I hit him with an uppercut that launched him higher in the air before I jumped in the air, grabbed him, and threw him back down to the ground with his wand lost in the crowd during the middle of all of that.
"One mind, one body," I said, going into a karate pose with my arms aligning in a diagonal direction. The crowd began murmuring and looked impressed at my feat. Flint seemed have difficulty getting up before looking at me in a distasteful expression.
"Whatever. I held back," Flint told me, getting to his feet.
"So did I. If I wasn't, you'd be bleeding profusely on multiple wounds," I said before offering a hand to him. He rejected it and stood up himself. I knew he was going to do that, but it was good sport of me to offer.
I looked over to Harry who look absolutely bored with Draco. He was flicking his wand with pure laziness, deflecting everything he shot at him.
"Fight back Potter!" Draco said in frustration as he kept casting spell after spell.
"If you say so," Harry said just as lazy as his movements, after deflecting another one his spell and flicked his wrist which disarmed Draco instantly. What was more impressive is that he didn't even need to say the spell.
Snape went over to Flint and gestured him back to the stands. The look on his face was one of absolutely disappointment, which was one Flint did not look happy to see.
"I think Id better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," said Lockhart, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. He glanced at Snape, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away. "Let's have a volunteer pair - Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you -"
"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," said Snape, gliding over like a large and malevolent predator. More accurately, a bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville's round, pink face went pinker. "How about Malfoy and Potter?" said Snape with a twisted smile.
"Excellent idea!" said Lockhart, gesturing Harry and Malfoy into the middle of the hall as the crowd backed away to give them room.
Harry ignored Lockhart, who tried to give him advice on what to do. Harry and Draco faced each other and with their wands in front of their face.
"Scared, Potter?" Draco asked Harry.
"Shaking," Harry said in a deadpan voice. They then backed up off of each other and prepared to face each other.
Lockhart started counting down, but Malfoy started on 2. He quickly raised his wand and bellowed, "Serpensortia!"
The end of his wand exploded. Harry watched as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them, and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor.
"Don't move, Potter," said Snape lazily. "I'll get rid of it ...
"Allow me!" shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.
Harry walked toward the snake with a confident stride and spoke in a hissing voice that I'm sure was Parseltongue. I looked at Harry with a more curious look than before. I never heard him mention this particular trait.
"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and before Harry could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.
Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Snape looked at Harry curiously who looked back at him evenly. Ron attempted to escort Harry outside of the Hall, but Harry simply shrugged his hand off.
"I know I'm a Parselmouth. I'm not ashamed of it," he said evenly. A bunch of whispers sprung out among the Hall, and Harry didn't even care as he decided it better to walk out.
We headed back to the common room and Ron got right down to the nitty gritty.
"Why didn't you tell us you were a Parselmouth?" he damn near demanded. Harry simply raised an eyebrow at him.
"Since when would it come up in a conversation? And it's not that important," he said.
"That's not how everyone else will think," Hermione said.
"Everyone will probably think I'm Slytherin's Heir because I speak Parseltongue. Yeah, I got it. Dumbasses," Harry said, his tone pissed off.
"Prepare for people to be afraid of you," I told him.
"If they want to do that, that's their choice," Harry said evenly.
"I hope you don't plan on acting like things are going to be all well and good after this," I told him. The 3 of them looked at me confused.
"What do you mean by that? If Malfoy really is the Heir of Slytherin and he gets caught, they'll know it wasn't Harry. It'll be fine," Ron said, making me face palm.
"They're scared. They're not thinking straight," Harry said.
"Not thinking straight? Your first year here, they damn near worshipped the ground you walked on. Now when things get tough, they want to turn their backs on you. Don't act like you're friendly with them. After this, when they tell you they're sorry, tell them to piss off. And I guarantee you that'll happen. If they'll turn your backs on you now, they'll turn your backs on you later. Don't give them the opportunity," I explained to him.
"I mean... are you sure?" Harry asked me.
"Stick to the people who believe you. Those are the people who'll be by your side through thick and thin. But tell the fake fan boys and girls to just piss off," I told him. "You really want them to turn your back on you again?" Harry's face seem to harden and his face seemed to come of one of understanding.
"You're right. They are being fake. Acting like nothing happened would be weak I suppose," Harry said.
"It's not being weak. It's being forgiving," Hermione said, making me hate how innocent she sounded. I believed in the real world, and forgiving people easily was foolish. Not since...
"You ok?" Harry asked, looking at me in concern. I shook my head and got back to the task at hand.
"I'm sorry. I trailed off there," I said.
"Well, you looked... haunted. Did you remember something terrible?" Hermione asked me.
"It's nothing. But just remember what I said," I told him. "But for now, let's focus on making the Polyjuice and keeping our heads down."
A/N: There's a difference you'll see. Remember at the end of the book when Harry acts like nothing happen after damn near everyone shunned him? That bothers me. But we're going to change that.