Harry Potter and Slytherin's Secret

Part Two of the Time's Avenging Angel Series

Chapter 10: The Unwanted Helper

Ginny tossed and turned in her sleep. Her dreams, nightmares really, were filled with strange feelings of love and hate. She fought to make sense of it, but her struggle to understand what she was experiencing only seemed to make it worse. Through all of it, she strained to hear a voice that seemed to call her from far away. When she finally heard it clearly, the message made no sense.

"I walk the lonely path…

One made seven and all less than the last.

Terror and fear made me…

Love can heal me…

Love can protect from me…

And love can kill me.

I walk the lonely path.

I was…

I am…

I will be again!"

Snapping awake as if someone had just hit her with a powerful stinging hex, Ginny looked around the room. At first she could not remember where she was; but as she calmed down, she recognized the room as being at the Den and everything slowly came back to her. She remembered Harry being attacked and injured, then her family coming to stay with Harry's uncles as they waited for him to wake up. It was a shock, though a very good one, when Harry suddenly did just that the night before.

"Thank God he's alright," she thought to herself.

Ginny was so happy now that Harry was awake. As the dream slowly faded from her memory, another one took its place. It was a dream she had often had before her fall out with Harry the previous summer and one that always filled her with hope for the future. In that dream she was several years older and Harry had just proposed to her. Later, they would get married and finally have children. Ginny loved that dream.

Looking out the window next to her bed, Ginny saw that it was bright and sunny outside, the sunlight sparkling off a newly fallen layer of pure white snow. She climbed out of bed, slipping on her slippers and robe before making her way downstairs for breakfast. At the sight of the hallway she giggled, as it was obvious that Sirius had redecorated again. Instead of the cold dark hallway, she saw a bright and cheerful space filled with light and warmth. She thought the pictures of happy dancing house-elves was a bit over the top, but then it was Sirius' house and he was free to decorate it any way he saw fit.

As she entered the kitchen, Ginny saw her mother busy making breakfast and Madame Pomfrey sipping a cup of tea. Since her visit to the hospital ward, Ginny had been talking with the matron several times a week about her eating problems. Ginny had thought it would be easy to go back to the way things had been, but time had proven her wrong. It was hard to make herself eat and the image of herself in the mirror just did not look right to her, always seeming just a little too chubby to please her. Only Harry was able to really make her feel good about herself, but there were just some things that Ginny could not bring herself to talk with him about.

"Good morning, Ginny," said her mother with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Miss Weasley," Madame Pomfrey added. "How are you feeling today?"

"Morning, Mum. Morning, Madame Pomfrey," Ginny said as she sat down at the table. "I'm feeling much better now that Harry is awake."

Madame Pomfrey chuckled softly at that and smiled at Ginny. "Yes, that boy surprises me constantly. I examined him earlier and he seems to be in absolutely perfect health now. I was worried when he was attacked, and worried every moment he was unconscious, but once again he has proven me wrong and shown just how special he truly is."

"Harry really is a remarkable boy," agreed Mrs. Weasley as she started frying bacon. "We were all so worried about him. I'm so glad he's finally awake."

Madame Pomfrey nodded and took another sip of her tea before looking back at Ginny. "How about other than Harry waking up, Ginny? Are you doing better with your other problem?"

Ginny looked up at her mother, feeling a bit nervous about discussing her eating problems in front of her. Madame Pomfrey glanced over at Mrs. Weasley, understanding how it might be difficult for Ginny to talk around her mother. The school matron was just about to make the suggestion that they take a walk when, much to their surprise, Molly pulled her wand and cast a silencing charm on the doors, followed by a mild aversion charm. Another wave of her wand over the stove stopped the food from cooking.

"Ginny," Molly said as she poured herself a cup of tea. "Did I ever tell you about my last year at Hogwarts?"

Ginny shook her head and watched her mother sit down at the table. "In many ways, it was the best and worst year of my life. Your father and I had been seeing each other for quite some time at that point. I had always known that Arthur was the one for me, but I was afraid of losing him. You see I had always been, I believe the term now is "voluptuous", as I grew up and it had not changed while I was in school."

Molly took another sip of her tea before continuing. "I was very self conscious about the way I looked and I was afraid your father might find someone thinner and prettier than me. In fact, there was one girl in my class that seemed determined to get her hands on your father. The sneaky little wench."

"Really?" asked Ginny. "What did you do?"

Molly sighed and looked out the window over the sink with a faraway look in her eyes. "I did the most foolish thing possible. Thinking that I had to lose weight quickly, I quit eating and started taking weight loss potions. Now this was back before they monitored those potions like they do now. You could order them through owl-post as easily as ordering candy and I ordered them by the dozens."

"Oh, Molly," gasped Madame Pomfrey. "Those potions were horrible back then. No one monitored their quality. Half the time you were just getting vials of colored swill, which would make you horribly ill."

"I know that now," agreed Molly. "However back then, I didn't care. Within days I had dropped all the weight and loved how I looked. I suddenly had this tiny little waist and kept all the rest of my curves. I was in absolute heaven. Arthur was concerned, but he accepted that I was in control of the situation."

Molly took another sip of her tea and laughed softly, a slight flush covering her cheeks now. "I loved all the attention I was suddenly getting, and Arthur seemed very appreciative as well. Soon I was strutting around the school as if I was God's gift to the world. At least I was at first."

"What happened?" asked Ginny, leaning forward and worried now.

"I kept taking the potions and soon my figure vanished," sighed Molly. "I was nothing but skin and bones, almost literally. I started fainting whenever I exerted myself. Arthur was horrified and I nearly lost him because of it. He demanded that I stop taking the potions, but I just couldn't do it. I was afraid I would gain all that weight back and he would never be able to love me."

Ginny listened to what her mother was saying. It was strange to think that her mother might actually know exactly what Ginny was going through. Stranger still was the thought that she had almost lost everything because of a desire to be something she thought Harry wanted.

"I was finally rushed to the infirmary after fainting in Potions class," Molly continued. "I hadn't eaten more than a few bites in weeks. The potions had made me feel full, but had not provided me with any protein or vitamins. I was so sick and got even sicker when they made me stop taking the potions. It took a month of bed rest and constant care to repair the damage I had done to myself."

Madame Pomfrey nodded and glanced over at Ginny. "Those potions, the ones that worked at all, were horribly addictive and would eventually start eating away at organs, bones and muscles. People died of starvation on them and many times no one even knew the victim had been taking them until it was far too late."

"Arthur came to see me one night after I had been in the hospital wing for two weeks," Molly said softly. "He told me he loved me just the way I was, extra weight and all. I felt so foolish and I promised him I would never do anything like that again. When I finally got out of the hospital wing I was still very weak, but Arthur stayed by my side through it all. One of the first things he did when he got his job at the Ministry was to draft the law that required the weight loss potions to be approved for quality and stopped them from being sold to underage witches. Truth be told, I think writing that law and getting it passed by the Wizengamot was the only reason Arthur even went to work for the Ministry. He never did seem all that eager to be there after that."

"I remember that," said Madame Pomfrey with a smile. "The Purebloods fought that law tooth and nail all the way. It turned out the companies that made those potions were all owned by very old Pureblood families. The law only passed when one of the families changed their minds and backed it."

"One of the only times I ever thanked a Malfoy," chuckled Molly.

"Malfoy?" asked Ginny. "You mean Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father?"

"Actually no," said Molly ruefully. "It was Lucius' father, Octavius. His company was one of the few that met the quality standards of the new law. He knew he would make millions of Galleons if he was one of the only suppliers of weight loss potions."

"I remember the interview he gave the Daily Prophet," added Madame Pomfrey. "It was right before his death and he was so cocky and arrogant. When they asked him why he did it, he said, 'There will always be witches vain enough to buy my potions. I'm just making sure they get what they pay so much for.'"

"He died shortly after that," continued Molly. "His wife killed him only a few days after the law's final approval by the Minister. As it turned out, for years he had been forcing the poor woman to take some rather dangerous potions to keep her looking young. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement officially called it a bad potion interaction leading to a psychotic episode on her part, but everyone knew what really happened. She came home one night and found him shagging his eighteen year old office assistant. I guess that was the final straw for the poor woman. She turned her husband into a plate of bacon and then forced the poor girl to eat it. Rather ironic really, but the poor girl spent months in Saint Mungo's before they finally just had to modify her memory of the event and move her out of the country."

Madame Pomfrey shook her head and mumbled what sounded like, "Better than she deserved. Home wrecking harlot."

"Maybe she was, Poppy, but she didn't deserve to be made into a murder weapon," Molly said quietly as she sipped the last of her tea before standing up. "That is beside the point. Ginny, dear, don't ever think I can't understand what you are feeling. I know exactly how it feels to think you aren't what people think you should be. Just remember that if people really care about you, then it doesn't matter what you look like because they will love you no matter what."

"She's right, you know," said a woman's voice from behind them.

Ginny turned and saw Tonks standing in the doorway with her wand in hand and a bashful grin on her face. The young woman still looked like a fashion model, which caused a pang of jealousy in Ginny. What was unusual was the sad look in her eyes, despite the grin on her face. Ginny had seen that same look in her own reflection often enough to know the pain that went with it. If they could both feel that type of pain, Ginny had to wonder if there was more in common between them than she had originally thought.

"Didn't mean to snoop," said Tonks, hanging her head and shuffling her feet. "Just when I noticed the aversion charm, my training got the better of me."

"It's alright, dear," Molly said with a smile. "We were just having a bit of girl time before the boys wandered downstairs for breakfast. Sit down and have a cuppa with us, won't you?"

"I'd really like that, Mrs. Weasley," Tonks said looking up with a genuine smile, but still that look of sadness in her eyes. "Before I do though, I need to show you something."

Ginny looked at Tonks, trying to figure out what the older girl wanted to show them. At first, she thought it was a trick of the light as Tonks seemed to shrink in on herself. Tonks' body slowly shrunk down to not much taller than Ginny's, though it kept most of the same proportions. Then Tonks' hair changed from being vibrant gold to a mousy brown. Finally Tonks' face rounded out a little, seeming to take on a more heart shaped appearance that suited her well. Oddly, Ginny thought Tonks looked even prettier like this than she had when she was trying to look like a swimsuit model.

"This is the real me," Tonks said softly. "I'm just plain and unattractive like this. I get so tired of people ignoring me, so I try to look more attractive. Harry always gives me a hard time about it. He says I'm pretty the way I am naturally. I know he's right, but I keep hoping someone else will think so."

Tonks began to change back, but Ginny stopped her. "Don't, Tonks. You really are prettier like you really are."

"She's right, dear," agreed Molly and Madame Pomfrey as one.

"You really think so?" asked Tonks with a vulnerable look in her eyes as she reversed the change and stood before them as her real self.

"Definitely!" exclaimed Ginny. "Oh my God! We can share outfits now! You should stay like this today and see just how much people like you for who you really are."

"Deal!" agreed Tonks with a wide and heartfelt grin on her face. "I'll stay like this on the condition that you let me do your hair today. I just love the color and length of it."

"Deal!"

The two girls spent the next half hour giggling and whispering together, only stopping long enough to say farewell to Madame Pomfrey when the woman left. It was not until Harry walked into the kitchen that they finally stopped speaking in half whispers and extended fits of giggling. Much to Tonks' obvious surprise, Harry gave her a big smile and hug before he sat down next to Ginny and did the same thing. Ginny almost felt jealous, but the fact that Harry took her hand in his and leaned over to kiss her cheek quickly erased any such notions from her mind.

"It's good to see you laughing and smiling so much," he said smiling at Ginny, before he turned and smiled at Tonks as well. "It's also good to have my cousin back and not the stranger that's been staying in her room."

Tonks stuck her tongue out at Harry and winked at Ginny. "Watch out for this one, Ginny. He's a charmer."

Several days later, after returning to Hogwarts, Ginny was sitting in the Great Hall, eating breakfast thinking about what her mother and Tonks had told her. She looked around at the other girls and realized she had been foolish for trying to fit into such a narrow image of what she thought a girl should look like. The thought alone made her snicker to herself.

"What's so funny?" asked Harry as he sat down beside her, grabbing a plate and fixing himself something to eat.

"I just realized how stupid I've been," answered Ginny. "I was trying to look like other people, but they're also trying to look like other people. I have to wonder if anyone really looks like themselves."

Harry nodded as he filled his plate. "I know what you mean, but I think some people do try to just be themselves. I mean, look at Hermione for example. She's not out to look like anyone but herself."

"But that's Hermione," objected Ginny with a giggle. "Oh don't look at me that way, Harry. I didn't mean she was ugly or anything. If she did something with her hair and teeth, Hermione would be even prettier than she already is. That's the point though. She's comfortable with herself. I think that makes her even prettier."

She watched as Harry glanced over at where Hermione had just sat down between Ron and Neville. Ginny could almost see as Harry appraised the bushy haired young witch. Then, with a smile, he turned back towards her. Taking Ginny's hand in his, Harry leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Hermione is pretty in her own way, I'll give you that," whispered Harry in her ear, "but you're prettier."

Ginny felt her cheeks heat up as she ducked her head. "Thank you, Harry."

They chatted quietly as they ate lunch. Their main concern was trying to figure out who had attacked Harry before the Christmas break, but they still had no solid leads. Ron thought it must be someone from Slytherin house, but Neville argued that it could be anyone from any house. Ginny listened as they talked and felt a cold dread at the very thought that someone was trying to harm Harry. Overpowering her sense of fear though was a burning rage that Harry was in danger. If she had her way, she was going to do everything in her power to protect Harry. By the time they finished eating, Ginny was firm in her resolve to make sure that no further harm came to him.

"Come on, Gin," Harry said as he stood up. "We can't sit here all day chatting. We've got to get to classes."

Ginny took the hand Harry held out for her and together they walked out of the Great Hall side by side. They walked in silence, not feeling the need to fill the air with mindless chatter. She could hear footsteps close behind them and turned to glance over her shoulder. Neville, Ron, and Hermione followed closely behind them, their wands in their hands ready to defend themselves at a moment's notice. Ginny knew they were there in case anyone tried to attack Harry again and it made her feel better to have them close by.

"My bodyguards," Harry chuckled softly when he noticed Ginny looking over her shoulder. "I can barely go to the bathroom without them."

"They just want you to be safe," Ginny assured him.

"I know," sighed Harry. "Just gets a bit old after a little while."

Ginny was about to say something more, but suddenly Harry pulled her to the side, pinning her to the wall, and shouted, "Everyone! Down! NOW!"

No sooner had Harry spoken than a sickly green beam of light shot past them, barely missing Harry as he continued to shield her with his own body. She was unsure what the spell had been, but just seeing the sickly green spell had sent a deadly cold shiver down her spine. Looking past Harry, Ginny saw her brother and friends down on the ground rolling towards the walls. Harry pulled Ginny behind a column before peeking out to see if any other spells were headed his way. There was a small explosion as the green spell hit the wall at the far end of the hallway and Ginny realized that it had barely been a second since Harry's warning, yet it seemed much longer.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall shrieked as she ran towards them from the direction of the Great Hall. "What happened here? Was that what I think it was?"

"If you mean was that the Killing Curse, then the answer is yes," Harry calmly answered the now pale faced woman. "Someone at the far end of the hallway cast it. I only avoided it because I saw the color as it traveled the distance. Trust me, that's a color I'll never be able to forget. If they had been closer, I would have been hit."

Ginny heard the cold certainty in Harry's voice and knew he was right. She buried her face in Harry's robes and began to silently cry. Harry immediately wrapped his arms around her and began stroking her hair. He continued to speak with the professor, but Ginny could not force herself to listen as she replayed the attack in her mind over and over again. It was only when a new voice joined them that she looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing with them.

"We need to immediately inspect everyone's wands, Albus!" Professor McGonagall was saying.

"Let's not rush to accuse someone, Minerva," countered the Headmaster. "We're not yet sure what happened here.

"Albus!" shrieked the Deputy Headmistress. "How can you say that at a time like this? Someone tried to kill Mr. Potter, again! Every second we wait just gives his attacker that much more time to clear the spell from their wand!"

"Forget it, Professor," Harry said coldly. "The Headmaster isn't interested in catching whoever cast that spell."

Albus Dumbledore looked outraged at Harry's accusation. "I assure you that I am most interested in finding the person who attacked you, Mr. Potter!"

Ginny watched as Harry suddenly pulled out his wand and pointed it at the floor. In a matter of seconds he had cast several harmless jinxes, charms, and hexes at the floor. Harry then handed his wand to Professor McGonagall with a hard humorless smile on his face.

"That was seventeen spells," he said matter-of-factly to the stunned woman. "Sirius was an Auror and told me how the Priori Incantatem spell only picks up the last fifteen spells cast with a wand. I added two more just for demonstration purposes and did it in less than thirty seconds. If the Headmaster had really wanted to catch my attacker, he would have already acted, but he didn't. What does that tell you about his priorities? Are those the actions of a man that wants to find out who attacked me?"

Dumbledore looked furious now, glaring at Harry as if at any moment he would attack him. Ginny immediately stepped in front of Harry to protect him, but realized she was not the only one to react. Professor McGonagall, along with Neville, Hermione, and Ron, all took up positions in front of Harry. Dumbledore looked even angrier for a moment before spinning around and stalking away from the small group.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall sighed as she handed Harry back his wand. "I don't know what's gotten into Albus recently. He seems determined to turn a blind eye towards the events going on around you."

"It's not your fault, Professor," replied Harry with a smile.

"If there is anything I can do to help you, Harry, just let me know," Professor McGonagall said with a tone of firm resolve.

Harry thanked her and watched as the older woman walked away. "She's a good person."

It seemed that word of the second attack on Harry spread through the school faster than wildfire. Only the Slytherin students seemed upset that his attacker had failed, though they never said it out loud. Professor Flamel made it clear that if she found out anyone in her house was involved in the attack on Harry, then the Ministry would be the least of their worries. That earned the Potions Mistress a great deal of respect in Ginny's book.

However the attacks continued unabated, even with all of the professors doing their best to find the culprit. Luckily there were no more killing curses cast at Harry, but there were other more subtle attempts. Ginny had watched a suit of armor attack Harry with a large sword only to be destroyed by a Reductor Curse cast by Neville. After that, there was an incident involving a staircase that suddenly vanished from below Harry's feet as he was standing on it. Only Hermione's quick Levitation Charm saved Harry from falling to his death four floors below. The most terrifying, at least in Ginny's opinion, was the most recent one. While playing in a fairly normal Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, one of the Bludgers had suddenly gone rogue. Ginny had watched in terror as Harry streaked around the pitch with the Bludger hot on his trail the entire time. Fred and George had done their very best to protect him, but eventually Harry told them to leave him alone so that he might catch the Golden Snitch and finish the game. Grudgingly they had agreed. Sure enough Harry had caught the Snitch only a few minutes later, but the price for his victory had been a broken arm when the Bludger tried one last time to unseat him. Thankfully Professor Lockhart had run out onto the field and destroyed the Bludger with an unknown spell before he had hurriedly taken Harry to the hospital wing. It was what happened while Harry was in the hospital wing that was the really interesting part of the mystery surrounding the attack.

"I'm sure it was Dobby," Harry had told Ginny and the others later that night when he got back from having his arm healed. "Madame Pomfrey had just healed my arm when I saw him looking out of her office. He had those same strange eyes and was wringing his hands so fiercely that I thought he was going to rip the skin right from his fingers."

"Why do you think he was there?" Hermione had asked.

"No idea, but if I had to guess I would say he was still meddling, even after Mr. Knight told him not to," Harry said with a growl. "I told Professor Lockhart and Flamel about it. I'm not sure what they can do as long as Dumbledore is dragging his heels. I can only hope they can get the message to Mr. Knight and maybe he can get Dobby to stop."

Evidently the professors had not been able to get in touch with Harry's benefactor as the attacks continued. The attacks, though never seeming to be anything other than completely accidental, were so frequent that it was soon apparent to everyone in the school that Harry was living under a dark cloud. It was Ron that finally pointed out to them all that Dobby was only ever spotted right after one of these "accidents" and that was enough to convince everyone of the house-elf's guilt. It also lead to the notion that probably they were looking at two separate attackers. While Dobby seemed content to merely torment Harry, someone else wished to do truly permanent damage to him. "But why would he be after Harry?" Ginny asked as they all sat in the common room a few nights before Valentine's Day. "And who in the bloody hell is out to kill you?"

"Language, Ginny," corrected Hermione.

"Bugger that, Hermione," replied Ginny, playfully sticking her tongue out at the older girl.

"Ginny's right though. That's the big question, innit?" growled Ron. "Mr. Knight told Dobby not to muck about with Harry and I can't imagine anyone going against Mr. Knight. He might be trying to scare Harry, but so far none of his attacks seem to be meant to kill him. On the other hand, we've got a series of attacks that seem aimed at nothing less than Harry's death. We have the attack before Christmas, then Killing Curse in the hallway, and finally the stairs moving out from under him. Those attacks were serious and deadly."

Fred and George looked at each other thoughtfully, and then began speaking. "You all know that someone memory charmed us this summer."

"Least that's what we know from what Fred and I overheard Mum and Dad saying over the holidays," continued George.

Harry nodded and leaned forward so they could hear him better. "And Sirius was talking about how he thought it wasn't human magic."

"So, maybe it was Dobby?" asked Ginny. "But what would he be trying to hide from us that he had to erase the memory of?"

'"I think I know," answered Harry. "The night your Dad came and got Sirius was the same night your mother was going to deliver a letter I had written to Ginny."

"I never got any letter," objected Ginny.

Hermione had been writing their theories down and looked up with a wide smile. "He was trying to keep you two apart! I think he took that letter and I expect he was the one that tampered with the one Harry sent right after Ginny returned home this summer!"

"Makes sense," agreed Neville. "House-elves have a lot of magic at their command. Tampering with a letter or erasing someone's memory does not seem that far-fetched."

"So why is he trying to keep us apart?" Ginny asked, scooting over closer to Harry.

"We know that something bad is supposed to happen this year from what Mr. Knight told me," said Harry softly, causing the others to lean in around the table. "Maybe this has something to do with that. So far, other than someone trying to kill me, I don't think we've actually seen how bad it can really get."

"But is Dobby trying to cause that to happen, or is he trying to prevent it?" asked Neville. "I mean think about it, why try and warn us this summer if he wanted to hurt us?"

"So, he's trying to stop this bad thing from happening," stated Fred.

"And he thinks he can do that by separating Harry and Ginny," finished George.

"Lovely way to protect someone," snorted Neville. "Put them in the hospital wing to keep them safe."

Everyone was looking at Harry and Ginny now. Ginny could see the confusion in their eyes and knew that it matched her own. Ever since she and Harry had reconciled, she had felt that something was wrong. At first she had thought it was mere guilt concerning the way she had treated Harry for so many months, but then she realized there was something else. Her increasingly strange dreams combined with odd flashes of memory that made no sense convinced her that something else was going on that only she was aware of. She had tried to discuss it with Harry on several occasions, but Ginny never seemed to be able to find the right words whenever she tried.

"So, we have to figure out what has been going on that is out of place," stated Hermione, rousing Ginny from her thoughts. "Anyone?"

"I've got someone trying to kill me, again," Harry said with a dry chuckle. "Does that count?"

"Yes, I've already got that on my list, Harry," replied Hermione dryly. "I meant anything else."

"Well we were all Obliviated this summer," supplied Ron, pointing to himself and the twins.

"There's possibly a crazy house-elf trying to separate Harry and Ginny," added Neville.

"We've got two Professors at school this year that are associated with Mr. Knight," said Harry.

"My 'diet'," Ginny added so quietly that no one seemed to notice.

"Someone attacked Filch's cat," murmured Fred.

"Not to mention that odd message about the Chamber of Secrets," continued George.

Hermione wrote all of these down on her list, adding "I'm trying to find out more about that but so far I can't find anything. I wish I hadn't left my copy of Hogwarts: A History at home."

"Leave that to us," Fred said with a grin.

"We'll have a copy in your hands by the weekend," finished George.

"I'll ask Professor Flamel about it as well," offered Ginny.

"Good," Harry said, looking at Ginny with a smile. "I'll send a letter to Sirius and Remus to see if they know anything. They might also be able to get in touch with Mr. Knight. Maybe he knows something."

"Good idea, Harry" beamed Hermione. "And I'll ask Professor McGonagall as well. We should all ask our professors."

"Don't bother trying to ask Dumbledore," growled Harry. "I've got a feeling he would hinder us more than help."

Over the rest of the week, the group of young Gryffindors spread out around the school asking questions of the staff. Fred and George surprised everyone by showing up the day after their chat with a brand new copy of Hogwarts: A History for Hermione to look through. Hermione was torn between disapproval that they had obviously snuck out of school to purchase the book and a desire to find out about the Chamber. In the end it was her desire to learn something new that won out.

Professor McGonagall was another surprising source of information. Not only did she tell Hermione all about the legend of Slytherin's alleged Chamber of Secrets, she also signed a slip allowing Hermione access to the Restricted Section of the library in order to investigate there. Then, just for good measure, the Transfiguration teacher offered to let Harry and his friends use her classroom as a private meeting place to discuss what they were discovering away from any prying ears in the common room. She even joined in their discussion after hearing their theories.

"Normally I would not encourage this type of behavior, but this is not a normal situation," she told Harry the first night they all gathered in her classroom. "The Headmaster seems determined to turn a blind eye to the strange events going on this year. I cannot allow his pigheadedness to sway my own desire to see the guilty brought to justice."

"I'll take any help I can get right now. Besides, I'd rather work with you than behind your back, Professor," Harry told her, and everyone agreed.

Much to Ginny's surprise, Gwen and Colin had refused to take part in the meeting. Ginny's friends had been very distant since her reconciliation with Harry. It confused Ginny, but any attempt on her part to talk to them about it was met with hostility on Gwen's part and a sense of betrayal on Colin's. After several attempts to make peace with her two former friends , Ginny had finally given it up as a bad idea. The loss of her first two friends at Hogwarts hurt her deeply, but she could see no way of repairing the damage if she did not know the cause of it in the first place.

"So, the Chamber was opened at least once before? Fifty years ago you said?" Harry was asking the Transfiguration teacher. "Can you tell us anything else?"

"I wish I could, Harry," apologized McGonagall. "Unfortunately all I know is that it happened about fifty years ago. All the records recording the incident are sealed in Albus' office and he refuses to let me see them or tell me about it. It was years before I started and he and Professor Binns are the only remaining faculty from then."

"Binns is not talking," growled Ginny, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms tightly over her chest in frustration. "I tried to ask him about it and he refused to talk. I think Professor Dumbledore told him not to. I can't be sure though, but he hinted that the Headmaster would not be pleased if he said anything."

"I can confirm that, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said with a note of irritation in her voice. "I am, of course, ignoring his instructions based upon the danger to Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said with a grateful smile.

"So, let's see if we got this right," began Fred.

"The Chamber is real and has been opened before," continued George.

Neville picked up from there adding, "and it's rumored to contain a monster that only Salazar Slytherin's true heir can control."

"Don't forget that in the last thousand years that no one had been able to find it," added Ron.

"Not only that but it is widely accepted that Slytherin's line died out, though no one can be sure," continued Hermione. "Still, given the large span of time, it is possible that anyone, even one of us, could be related to him and not know it."

Harry nodded as he listened to all of this, concentrating on the details. "What do we really know about Slytherin, other then he was one of the founders of Hogwarts and a raving pure-blood loony?"

"He and Godric Gryffindor were best friends until shortly before Salazar left," supplied Professor McGonagall. "He was also a very talented wizard, though he was said to be obsessed with the Dark Arts."

"Was he a Dark wizard?" asked Neville.

"There has never been any proof of that," answered McGonagall. "It can be assumed that if he wasn't a Dark wizard before he left Hogwarts, he eventually became one before his death."

"Okay, what else do we know about him?" prodded Harry.

"He kept his private life very secret," Hermione spoke up. "There are hardly any records of him after leaving Hogwarts, other than to mention his Chamber. Even those are sketchy at best."

"He was a Parselmouth," Ginny said suddenly, unsure why she said it.

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"It's the ability to talk to and understand the language of snakes," supplied Professor McGonagall.

"Big deal," sighed Harry. "I can do that. Lots of other witches and wizards probably can as well."

The gathering had gone silent though and it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. Ginny watched as everyone came to terms with Harry's announcement. It was sort of funny, really. They all looked like house-elves that had just been handed clothes.

"What?" asked Harry, looking confusedly around at his friends and professor.

"Harry," began Hermione nervously. "Being a Parselmouth is extremely rare. Only descendants of Salazar Slytherin are thought to have the ability."

"It's also considered to be a sign of being a Dark wizard," added Ron.

"Nonsense," stammered Professor McGonagall, looking just as shocked as the rest of them. "There is no proof of that."

"It's just another language, innit?" asked Harry. "I mean it's like speaking French. Just because I can do it doesn't make me rude."

"You can speak French?" asked Hermione, sidetracked by the new information.

Harry nodded and laughed. "Yeah, Sirius had me learn it, but that's not the point. So I can talk to snakes? Big deal. I'm never going to go Dark, no matter what language I speak."

"Too right," agreed Fred.

"That's our little Harry," George said with a grin.

"Still, it might be best if you didn't spread that information about, Harry," Neville said. "We don't want people thinking you are the Heir of Slytherin or something foolish like that."

"True," agreed Harry. "It would just give Dumbledore something else to use against me."

"Professor Dumbledore, Harry," corrected McGonagall, though she did not seem that upset by his slip.

"Yes, ma'am."

They broke up their meeting shortly after that, agreeing to meet again should any new information arise. As always, Harry was escorted back to Gryffindor Tower by his friends. Ginny walked silently by Harry's side, his hand holding hers and thought about why she had mentioned Slytherin's ability to talk with snakes. Honestly, she could not remember where she had learned about it, so why had she mentioned it at all? It was a mystery to her.

When they reached the common room, everyone split up to go their own way. Harry kissed her cheek, then said good night before heading up to his dorm. Ginny watched him go and wondered how she had gotten so lucky as to meet him and then have him forgive her after abandoning him. A small portion of her wondered if Harry had really forgiven her. Was it possible he was still angry but chose to hide it from her? Did it really matter?

"God, why am I always asking myself questions?" she thought as she climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm. "See! I'm doing it again!"

Opening the door to her dorm, Ginny saw Gwen waiting for her. Gwen was sitting on her bed across from Ginny's with a scowl on her face. The raven haired girl looked as if she had been waiting for Ginny and, considering the drapes were closed on the other beds, it looked like no one wanted to be part of this conversation. Taking a deep breath, Ginny stepped inside and closed the door behind her. From the look of things, she did not think this was going to be a very friendly conversation.

"Did you and Harry have a good snog?" Gwen asked, with a sneer on her face.

"I wasn't snogging Harry," retorted Ginny, her face reddening as her temper began building.

"Oh, so you were off snogging someone else?" replied Gwen, her tone cold and nasty. "Starting a bit early at being the school tart, aren't you?"

Wand forgotten, Ginny flung herself at her former best friend, wanting nothing more than to rip the girl's hair out. Gwen had been ready though and met Ginny in the middle of the room. In moments they were rolling around the floor, hissing and spitting at each other between blows and kicks. Soon Ginny could taste blood and she already knew her uniform was ruined, not that it mattered to her. All that mattered was making Gwen pay for hurting her and ruining their friendship.

The two girls continued to fight for maybe five minutes until they were both so exhausted that they were left trading halfhearted slaps. If it were not so frustrating to Ginny, she would have thought the whole situation was funny. As it was, every time she struck Gwen's face, Ginny felt as if a piece of her soul was breaking off. How they had ended up in a situation like this was completely beyond her understanding.

"What?" Ginny suddenly thought to herself. "Why are we really fighting? Is it because she called me a tart or because she hurt my feelings?"

"Stop!" screamed Ginny, pushing away from Gwen. "Why are we doing this? You're my best friend and we're acting like enemies. I want to know why?"

Gwen rolled away from Ginny, holding her torn blouse closed in an attempt to cover herself. Ginny looked down and sighed when she realized her own blouse and skirt were shredded. She scooted back to rest against the foot of her bed, picking up her discarded wand, and began trying to repair what was left of her clothes.

"Can you tell me the spell to do that?" asked Gwen from where she sat against her own bed.

"It's Reparo," answered Ginny. "Care to tell me what's crawled up your bum recently?"

Gwen looked down at her shirt with a blush and started repairing a long tear before she spoke. "You weren't the only one to dream about Harry. Ever since I read about him this summer, after I found out I was a witch, I dreamed about meeting him."

"I've known him almost two years now, Gwen," replied Ginny as she mended her blouse. "I know I wasn't talking to him for awhile, but that was all just a misunderstanding."

"I know," was Gwen's meek reply. "It's just when we first met, you were so angry with him. I knew you missed him a lot, but I guess somewhere down deep I wished he would notice me instead of you. I knew when he waved or smiled in my direction, it was you he was really looking at, but I told myself it was me he was looking at. It really felt good."

Ginny nodded and looked up at Gwen. "Harry does that to people. Just being around him makes you feel safe and warm, like he's protecting you. And that's just being near him. When he holds my hand or hugs me, it's a thousand times better."

"You're so lucky, Ginny," Gwen said in a watery voice. "I just wanted to feel that way, even if it was only once. I'm really sorry I've been such a silly bint, Ginny. I really am."

"I'm sure you will feel that way someday, Gwen," Ginny assured the crying girl. "So, we know what's bothering you, but why is Colin upset with me?"

Gwen suddenly let out a snort of laughter. "Umm…sort of the same reason, really."

"What? Colin likes me?" asked a very shocked Ginny.

"Not exactly, Ginny," replied Gwen with a giggle.

Ginny thought about that for a moment, then gasped when the answer came to her. "He likes Harry?"

"Close," answered Gwen laughing now. "Actually, he likes you BOTH."

"OOOOOOH…"

"Yeah…" giggles Gwen again.

"Wow…"

Gwen nodded, "I know…"

"Isn't he a bit young for that?" asked Ginny, wondering how Colin could know something like that already.

Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "He says he's always known he likes boys and girls."

"Lucky him," chuckled Ginny.

"How so?" asked Gwen, looking confused.

"Well think about it," answered Ginny, standing up and grabbing her nightclothes. "I mean he's got twice as many chances of finding his true love."

Gwen thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "True. Lucky him."

Ginny stepped into the bathroom and laid her things down on the counter before turning on the water for a bath. Checking the mirror, she saw several scratches and the start of a black eye. Harry would be upset, right along with her brothers, but Ginny considered it a price worth paying if it meant that she and Gwen were friends again. As she stepped into the bath, Ginny was a little concerned how to patch things up with Colin, but that was something she could not think about right now.

"Both of us," Ginny giggled as she thought about it. "At least he has good taste."

Stepping out of the bath twenty minutes later, Ginny was surprised when someone, or something, handed her a towel. A shriek died on her lips when she recognized the tiny figure as belonging to none other than Dobby the house-elf. Grabbing the towel, Ginny wrapped it around herself before rounding on the elf.

"You," she hissed. "You're the one that's been trying to separate Harry and me. Bet you're the one that's been trying to hurt Harry as well! Aren't you?"

"Never, Ginny Weasley!" shrieked the shaking elf. "Dobby would never intentionally hurt Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the greatest wizard ever! Even the great King respects Harry Potter!"

"But you are the one that Obliviated my family and tried to keep Harry and me apart, aren't you?" accused Ginny.

Dobby hung his head, wringing his hands so fast they were nearly a blur. "Dobby was trying to protect Harry Potter's Wheezy. Dobby thought if Harry Potter's Wheezy was sad that she wouldn't come to Hogwarts and she would be safe. If she was safe, then maybe Harry Potter would be safe as well."

"So you Obliviated my family and hurt Harry and my feelings to keep me safe?" growled Ginny, desperately wanting to strangle the crazy elf. "You've got a really messed up idea of what's safe and what's not."

She took a step towards the disturbed elf to do just that when Dobby began banging his head against the stone wall. Horrified, Ginny leapt forward and pulled Dobby from the wall. The elf struggled to continue, crying with deep body shaking sobs. Ginny was only able to hold him back with the greatest of efforts.

"Stop that!" she hissed. "Didn't Mr. Knight tell you not to hurt yourself? Now tell me what this is all about."

"Dobby understands Harry Potter's Wheezy," sobbed Dobby. "Dobby sees why Harry Potter loves his Wheezy so much. She's just as great as Harry Potter."

Ginny felt her cheeks turn bright red at the elf's words thinking, "Harry loves me?"

"Dobby didn't want to hurt Harry Potter's Wheezy," continued the elf. "Dobby is learning that dark deeds is planned for Hogwarts this year and Harry Potter's Wheezy is in danger. Dobby just wants to protect her!"

"But why am I in danger, Dobby?" asked Ginny, standing and straightening her towel.

"Bad, nasty Dark wizards is wanting to hurt Wheezy's family," blurted Dobby, yanking his ears so hard he yelped. "Bad, Dobby! Must not speak badly of Dobby's family!"

"Stop that, Dobby!" commanded Ginny. "So you found out your family wanted to hurt my family and you decided to warn us? Is that right?"

Dobby nodded his head looking nervous, but Ginny continued before he could speak. "I'm guessing you can't tell me who your family is, so I won't ask. What I really want to know is if I'm still in danger? Is Harry in danger still?"

"Dobby doesn't know, but Dobby thinks you are safe for now," whispered Dobby. "Harry Potter is…"

There was a sudden knock at the door and Dobby vanished with a loud pop. Ginny cursed out loud in frustration as she stalked towards the door. Opening it, she saw a stunned looking Gwen standing there. Not even waiting for Gwen to speak, Ginny grabbed the startled girl's hand and began dragging her towards the dorm's door.

"We need to talk to Harry, right now!" hissed Ginny.

"Ummm…okay…" replied Gwen, but she suddenly planted her feet to stop Ginny from reaching the door. "But you might want to get dressed first. Not that Harry would mind seeing you in just a towel.

As if to prove a point, Ginny's towel picked that exact moment to come loose and fall to the floor. Ginny blushed beet red, letting go of Gwen's hand and dashing into the bathroom. Gwen could not stop from laughing as Ginny streaked away.

"He probably wouldn't mind seeing that either, Ginny," Gwen called after her friend.

Author's Note: Fifteen is an arbitrarily picked number for the Priori Incantatem spell limit. I assume that the spell cannot include every spell ever cast by the wand, though when it comes to Harry and Voldemort's wands this may be incorrect.