A Potter/Black Alliance
31st October 1992
Unfortunately Sirius and Marlene's meeting with the School Governors did nothing to change Dumbledore's opinion on Professor Lockheart. He instead backed Lockheart as a competent teacher and refused to fire him.
It was a fairly chilly Saturday morning as Harry, Joe and Katie were sat at the Gryffindor table eating their breakfast eagerly anticipating their first Hogsmeade trip.
They were dressed in their Gryffindor jumpers and jeans.
"I can't believe you guys will be spending the day in Hogsmeade while were stuck in the castle" said Susan who was sat next to Alex.
"Yeah well, we had to wait two years for this, you guys have to do the same" said Joe.
"Yeah, at least next year we'll be able to go there as well, hope you guys have a good day at least" said Alex.
"Oh we will" said Harry.
They finished their breakfast before Professor Mcgonagall stood up.
"Will all the students who are attending Hogsmeade please line up in the courtyard outside, myself and Mr Filch will escort you down to the village" said Mcgonagall.
"We'll see you guys later then" said Katie as she, Harry and Joe stood up and walked towards the doors.
"Hey Harry" said a voice from the table near the doors.
Harry turned to see Astoria looking at him with a few sickles in her hand.
"What is it Tori?" said Harry.
"Could you please get me some Sugar Quills while your there?" said Astoria.
"Yeah, I'll get you some" said Harry.
Astoria smiled and held the money out towards him.
"No need, I'll pay for them" said Harry.
Astoria looked slightly shocked.
"I can't let you do that Harry, you don't have to spend your money on me" said Astoria.
"Its okay Tori, I'll pay for them, you can keep your money" said Harry.
Astoria smiled at him.
"Thank you Harry" said Astoria giving him a hug which he returned before she went over to join Daphne at the Slytherin table.
Harry and the others went and stood in the queue for Hogsmeade before Mcgonagall came out and led them down to the village with Filch.
Upon reaching the village the three along with most of the other third years gasped in awe.
Dozens of shops lined the cobble streets like Diagon Alley selling a variety of products. They passed through the entrance to the village where Mcgonagall turned to face them.
"Welcome to Hogsmeade Village, you are free to spend the day as you wish, provided you do not leave the village unless it is to return to the school, I expect you all to be on your best behaviour as you are representing the school, anyone who breaks these rules will be punished, understood" said Mcgonagall sternly.
Everyone nodded.
"Enjoy yourselves" said Mcgonagall before she walked off into the village.
Harry, Joe and Katie separated from the group of students.
"Where do we go first?" said Harry.
They looked at the shops in awe before Katie caught sight of a particular shop.
"Why don't we go to Scrivenshaft's first, I need a new quill" said Katie.
"We'll start there then" said Joe.
The three walked into the shop and got Katie's new Eagle feather quill before heading out to explore the other shops of Hogsmeade.
They visited Honeydukes sweet shop with Harry and Joe getting a large supply of sweets including Honeydukes chocolate, Jelly Slugs and Bertie Botts beans which would last for a month as well as a few packets of Sugar Quill's for Astoria.
The three visited Zonko's next where they bumped into the Weasley Twins and Lee.
They were looking over the various joke products thinking of ideas for their next prank.
"What about this?" said Harry picking up a small bottle and showing it to George.
"Inner animal transformation, transforms the drinker into his/her inner animal for up to 2 hours depending on the dosage" said George.
"I think I'll get some of this, it will come in handy" said Harry.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" said George.
"Oh yeah, might be a bit late to use it tonight, but we could use it soon, maybe on multiple students" said Harry.
"Harry, you are a genius" said George.
Harry picked up six bottles from the shelf.
The two made their way over to the till as the others were waiting in a queue with a variety of joke products in their hands.
"By the looks of it, we have enough pranks until the Christmas Holidays" said Joe.
"Good, then there's more fun to be had" said Fred.
The young sales witch was extremely shocked at the large amounts they were purchasing.
Once they were outside with their bags Harry called Kreacher to come and take their bags up to their rooms.
They parted ways with the Weasley Twins and Lee before heading to the Three Broomsticks for some lunch.
The dark blonde haired Landlady Madam Rosmerta made her way over to them with their drinks.
"Its nice to finally meet you Mr Potter, your Father and his friends were always some of my best customers, even after they finished school" said Madam Rosmerta as she placed Harry's drink in front of him.
"Thank you Madam Rosmerta" said Harry giving the woman a small smile.
"Enjoy your drinks, someone will be out shortly with your food" said Madam Rosmerta.
With that she walked back to the bar.
The three talked about what pranks they could pull with their new products while they had their lunch. They stayed at the Three Broomsticks for a few more drinks before walking around the village once again.
At the end of the visit they made their way back up to the castle slightly exhausted.
They made their way up to their rooms where Harry retrieved the Sugar Quill's he brought for Astoria.
Making his way downstairs he saw Joe and Katie sat with the Twins and Lee.
He saw Astoria sat with Ginny on one of the settee's.
She looked up at him as he made his way over to her.
"Here you go Tori" said Harry handing her the bag of sweets.
Astoria looked inside the bag and smiled.
"Thanks Harry, I owe you one" said Astoria.
"No problem" said Harry.
He noticed that Ginny looked extremely tired and slightly pale.
He dropped to his knees in front of her placing one of his hands on her clasped hands. She froze for a second before looking at him confused.
"Are you okay Miss Weasley?" said Harry sounding concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine, just a little tired that's all" said Ginny.
Harry was not convinced.
"Are you sure Miss Weasley, you look like something's bothering you" said Harry.
"Nothings bothering me" said Ginny hotly.
Harry recoiled slightly removing his hand from hers.
"Ginny, you don't look fine, is there something wrong, you can tell me if there is, I won't tell anyone else either" said Harry.
"I'm fine, thank you for your concern" said Ginny slightly icily before standing up and heading up to her room.
Harry looked at Astoria who just shrugged her shoulders.
"She's been acting-" said Astoria before a shout cut her off.
"What the hell did you just do to her Potter?!" shouted Ron who came striding over to him accompanied by Neville and Hermione.
All of the other students turned to look at Harry.
"I did nothing Mr Weasley, I only offered your Sister help because she looks rather unwell, instead she snapped at me" said Harry hotly.
"Rubbish, you obviously did something to her, she was fine before you talked to her" said Ron.
"Harry only tried to help your Sister Weasley, perhaps you should get your facts straight before jumping to conclusions!" shouted Astoria.
"Stay out of this Greengrass, your cold hearted Sister won't protect you in here" snarled Ron causing gasps and snarls to be heard around Gryffindor house.
Astoria was taken aback causing Harry to growl.
Unbeknownst to Ron, Hermione decided to walk away from him and Neville while Neville had a look of disappointment etched on his face at his best friends actions.
"You better watch what you say Weasel, insult my friends again and you will not like the consequences" snarled Harry.
Ron paled slightly before shakily pulling out his wand.
Harry sighed.
"Don't try it Ron, whatever you are thinking of doing will not work" said Harry.
Ron quickly put his wand away and turned to look at Neville and Hermione who were looking at him in disappointment.
Nearly all of Gryffindor house were now staring at Ron with glares of anger.
Ron turned and ran up the stairs to his room.
Neville sighed before following him shortly after.
Harry turned to Astoria.
"Are you okay?" said Harry.
Astoria nodded.
"I'm fine, just shocked that's all, I knew he was hotheaded and rude, but I didn't think he'd insult my Sister in front of the house" said Astoria in slight shock.
"I know, it does make me wonder if he has forgotten what happened on Halloween last year, especially after what myself and the rest of this house did the next day" said Harry as Joe, Katie, the Twins and Lee made their way over to them.
The Twins approached Astoria with looks of extreme disappointment and anger on their faces.
"Miss Greengrass, we sincerely apologise for our idiot brother's behaviour" said George.
"We will be having words with him ourselves" said Fred.
Astoria looked at them.
"Thank you, but you should not apologise for him, he should apologise for his own mistakes without others there to do it for him, though I do not envy what Daphne will do to him when she finds out what happened" said Astoria.
"She's going to really hurt him isn't she?" said Joe.
"Yeah, and my Sister is a lot of things, but she's not cold hearted, she only acts frosty at times so other people in Slytherin won't bother her, she'll be fuming when she finds out what Weasley did" said Astoria.
"We're going to have a chat with him now, we'll see you guys at the feast" said Fred.
Harry nodded.
"We'll wait down here for you" said Katie.
The Twins went upstairs to talk to Ron while Lee walked over to Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were sat at one of the tables.
"What exactly did Weasel get angry with you for Harry?" said Joe.
Harry told them about his conversation with Ginny and how unwell she looks before she snapped at him.
"She's been acting strange ever since the start of term, I don't think she gets much sleep since she always seems to be tired in the morning, me and some of the others are worried about her" said Astoria.
"We'll talk to the Twins, they should be able to help her, you're not the only ones to notice that Ginny does not look entirely well, Alex noticed it as well, but she just said nothing was wrong" said Katie.
"I don't know, something's not right, but maybe its best for her brothers to talk to her instead of us, she's more likely to open up to them" said Harry.
They kept talking until Fred and George returned from their talk with Ron with looks of disappointment still etched on their faces.
"He's still convinced you did something to Ginny" said Fred.
"And we don't think he realises what he's just done, even Neville told him that Daphne will be out for his blood now but he wouldn't listen" said George.
"I don't get it, I thought after what happened last Halloween he'd learned to be careful what he said to other people, he obviously didn't learn that lesson" said Katie.
"We know" said Fred.
"We even told him we won't help him against Daphne and to face the consequences for his actions, but he still does not listen" said George.
"He's really angry and slightly scared that we have decided not to help him, Neville is staying up there with him, even he's disappointed at Ron" said Fred.
Harry sighed.
"He has to learn his lesson sooner rather than later, come on lets go down to the feast" said Harry.
The group left Gryffindor Tower and headed for the Great Hall.
20 minutes earlier…
Neville opened the door to his dorm room and slowly walked inside.
An angry Ron was sat on his bed.
He turned towards Neville.
"Oh its just you, I thought it might be my brothers or Potter" said Ron.
Neville said nothing as he walked over and sat on his bed looking at Ron in disappointment.
"What in the name of Merlin did you do that for?" said Neville.
"Potter insulted my Sister, she was fine before he went over to her" said Ron.
"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about why you just decided to insult Daphne Greengrass in front of her Sister, most of the students down there are angry with you" said Neville.
"So what, she should keep out of business that doesn't concern her" said Ron.
"They don't call Daphne Greengrass the Ice Queen for nothing Ron, what do you think she's going to do to you when Astoria tells her what you said about her" said Neville.
Ron snorted.
"What is she gonna do, that Ice Queen stuff is just a bunch of rubbish" said Ron disinterested.
Neville shook his head.
"Ron, I may not like Daphne Greengrass, but I know her far better than you do, and trust me that stuff about her being the Ice Queen is true, and she isn't cold hearted either" said Neville.
The door opened once again.
Fred and George walked into the room with looks of anger on their faces.
"Congratulations Ickle Ronniekins, you've just managed to make an enemy of the entire house" said George.
"And not to mention you have just angered the Ice Queen who will now be baying for your blood" said Fred.
Ron paled.
"Can't you guys do something to help me?" said Ron.
Fred and George looked at him with anger.
"Do what?" said Fred.
"I don't know, protect me from her or something, I am your brother" said Ron shakily.
"I don't think so, you got yourself into this" said Fred.
"Brother or no brother, it's about time you faced the consequences of your actions for once" said George.
"Do you know what she is going to do to me?" said Ron sounding scared.
"Yes we do, and we won't tell you, we only hope that you start to grow up before you shame Gryffindor House even more, especially after what you did last year" said Fred.
"But" spluttered Ron.
"No buts little brother, we will not help you against Daphne" said George.
Ron growled.
"Now lets talk about your reason for shouting at Harry" said Fred.
Ron scoffed.
"What's there to talk about, he insulted Ginny" said Ron.
"Did he?" said Fred.
"Because we spoke to both Harry and Astoria who both swore that Harry did no such thing, that he was concerned about her and only tried to help her" said George.
"And you believe them" said Ron.
"Yes we do, we know Harry far better than you do" said Fred.
"We know he would never do that to Ginny" said George.
"How do you explain what happened then?" said Ron.
"We can't, but we will talk to Ginny to find out her side of the story" said Fred.
Ron scowled.
"Fine, but don't blame me when she tells you how Harry was upsetting her" said Ron.
Fred and George just shook their heads.
"You need to be more careful little brother, you have another five years at Hogwarts after this, surely you do not want to spend them being hated by the rest of this house" said George.
"You may be our brother, but we will not protect you from students when you go to far, so don't bother asking for our help about this, you will not get it" said Fred.
"And you better pray to Merlin that Daphne does not hurt you too much, which is highly unlikely" said George.
"You mean you won't help me?" said Ron sounding shocked.
"No we won't help you, you got yourself into this, I suggest you man up and face the consequences" said Fred.
"Think about that little brother" said George.
The two left the room.
Neville looked at Ron who was staring at wall with a a slightly angry and scared look on his face.
"Come on, lets go down to the feast" said Neville.
Ron scowled.
"Not hungry, maybe later" said Ron in annoyance.
Neville looked shocked.
"Are you sure?" said Neville.
Ron nodded.
"Okay, I'll stay up here with you until your ready to go down" said Neville.
Back to present time…
Harry, Joe, Katie and Astoria walked into the Great Hall with the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan.
Dozens of candlelit pumpkin heads floated above the house tables which contained various food ranging from simple meals to Halloween specific food.
Astoria noticed Daphne, Tracey and Blaise making their way towards the doors and walked over to them.
Harry followed her a few moments later.
When he reached them he saw that Daphne was starting to get really angry.
"You told her then" said Harry.
"Yeah" said Astoria.
"Weasel is going to really get it this time" snarled Daphne.
Harry thought for a few moments.
"Meet me outside the Great Hall tomorrow before breakfast Daph, I've got something that can help you with Weasel, bring your bag as well" said Harry.
"Okay" said Daphne.
"Forget about that idiot for tonight Sis, lets go and enjoy the feast" said Astoria.
Daphne calmed down slightly before nodding.
She gave Astoria a tight hug and whispered something in her ear before walking of with Tracey and Blaise.
Harry and Astoria walked over to the others.
They all sat down at the Gryffindor table.
As they were eating they noticed that Neville and Ron did not come down to the feast and still hadn't by the time they finished their desserts.
After everyone had finished eating Professor Dumbledore stood up.
"Ah what an excellent feast, now that it is over Prefects lead your houses back to your dormitories please, good night all of you" said Dumbledore.
Harry and the others stood up and followed the other Gryffindors out of the Great Hall.
Alex was walking back to Ravenclaw tower with the rest of the Ravenclaws. They rounded the corner before gasps broke out from the front of the students.
Alex managed to get to the front before freezing in shock.
Neville and Ron were stood looking at them. They were stood next to a torch handle with the still form of Mrs Norris hanging by her tail. On the wall opposite Neville and Ron there was large red writing.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE
The students from the other houses arrived and pretty soon gasps and muttering were the only sounds that could be heard in the otherwise quiet corridor.
"Oh my god" said Alex.
"Is this bad?" said one of the first year female Ravenclaw students.
"Very bad" said Alex.
"What's going on here, come on make way, make way" said Filch pushing through the crowd to where Neville and Ron were stood.
He looked at Neville and Ron.
"Longbottom, what are you?" said Filch before he saw Mrs Norris.
His face dropped with shock.
"Mrs Norris" said Filch shakily before turning back to Neville.
"This wasn't-" said Neville.
"You murdered my cat" said Filch cutting him off.
"I didn't do this" said Neville.
"I'll kill you" said Filch grabbing Neville's shoulder.
"I'll kill ya" said Filch angrily.
"Argus" said Dumbledore who made his way through the crowd with Mcgonagall and Snape.
He looked at the wall and paled in shock.
"Everyone, return to their dormitories immediately" said Dumbledore.
Most of the students did not move.
"Do as the Headmaster says, now" snarled Snape.
All of the students carried on walking down the corridor to their dormitories.
As they were walking away Alex caught part of the conversation.
"She's not dead Argus, she has been petrified, but by what I am not sure" said Dumbledore.
Filch started muttering about Neville and Ron being behind this.
Alex made his way back to Ravenclaw tower and sat down on one of the settee's with Anthony and Padma.
"I thought the Chamber Of Secrets was a myth" said Anthony.
"Looks like it might be true" said Padma.
Alex rubbed his eyes.
"It was opened 50 years ago, apparently they never caught the person who did it either" said Alex.
"How do you know?" said Anthony.
"My dad, he says my Grandmother told him about it, I think she was in her 7th year when it happened" said Alex.
"Do you really think its true, that its been opened again?" said Padma.
Alex sighed.
"It looks like it is true, there's no way someone has done this as some sort of joke" said Alex.
"My mums big on history, I'll write to her and see if she knows anything about the Chamber" said Anthony.
Alex nodded.
"I'm going to get in touch with my dad, he might know more about this than I do" said Alex.
Alex stayed talking to them for ten minutes before walking up to his room.
He opened his trunk and got his two way mirror out of it.
"Padfoot" said Alex.
Sirius and Marlene's faces appeared in the mirror moments later.
"Hey Pup, having a good Halloween" said Sirius.
"Hey Mum, Dad, and it was until about half an hour ago" said Alex.
"Why, what's happened, are you okay?" said Marlene.
Alex shook his head and proceeded to tell them about what happened.
By the time he had finished his story Sirius and Marlene were looking at each other with worry.
"This isn't good, we need to do something about this?" said Marlene.
"Listen Pup, I want you to put this at the back of your mind for now, I'll be up there tomorrow with Amelia and a team of Auror's, we'll get to the bottom of this" said Sirius.
Alex nodded.
"You should've seen Dumbledore, he went completely pale" said Alex.
"No wonder, he was the Transfiguration teacher here last time it was opened, seeing that again will have shocked him and maybe even scared him as well" said Sirius.
"You mean, when he saw the writing it probably brought the memories of the last time back, Merlin this is bad" said Alex.
"Yeah, but don't think about it now, your Father will be there tomorrow to sort this out" said Marlene.
Alex nodded.
He said goodbye to them before putting the mirror back in his trunk.
1st November 1992
Harry was stood near one of the torches outside the Great Hall with Joe and Katie.
A few minutes later he spotted Daphne who made her way over to him accompanied by Tracey and Blaise.
Harry opened his bag and pulled his folded up invisibility cloak out holding it towards her.
She looked slightly puzzled at first but a nod from Harry encouraged her to take it and put it in her bag.
"All of Gryffindor House except for Longbottom is shunning him, they're really pissed about what he did" said Harry.
"Good" said Daphne.
"Why don't you three join us for breakfast, who knows it might scare Weasel" said Joe.
Daphne and the others smirked.
"Of course" said Daphne.
They walked into the Great Hall together and found some seats near Astoria and Ginny.
She locked eyes with Ron who was sat a bit further down the table. She fixed him with an icy glare causing him to go pale and move further along the table putting more distance between himself and Daphne.
Harry smirked as he started to eat his breakfast.
Alex and Susan were watching the whole scene with interest from the Hufflepuff table.
"I wonder what that was all about" said Alex.
"Ron seems to be terrified of Daphne" said Susan.
"Yeah, I mean I know he hates Slytherin's but I've never seen him get scared like that" said Alex.
"Do you think he did something to her, maybe that's why he's scared" said Susan.
"Probably, we'll ask her after, I wonder what happened, but whatever it is, it must be bad" said Alex.
Susan nodded as the two continued eating their breakfast.
Ron and Neville were walking to their Potions lesson after breakfast.
Daphne followed them covered under the invisibility cloak.
"Thank you Harry, this is too easy" thought Daphne.
She pointed her wand out through the cloak and aimed for Ron's back.
"Stingonia" whispered Daphne.
The mild stinging jinx hit Ron in the back causing him to pull his wand out and spin around.
"Who was that?" snarled Ron.
"What happened?" said Neville looking at him.
"Someone just hit me with a spell" said Ron angrily.
Neville looked around.
"Are you sure, because we're the only ones here" said Neville.
"Yes, I'm sure" snarled Ron.
"I bet its Potter, defending his little girlfriend after what happened" snarled Ron.
Daphne snarled.
"Friggio" said Daphne angrily.
The spell caught Ron off guard and hit him in the genitals causing him to drop to the floor in pain.
"Eat Slugs" said Daphne hitting him with another spell causing him to start vomiting slugs all over his robes and the floor.
Daphne put her wand away as Neville hauled the still vomiting Ron to his feet and dragged him along the corridor heading to the Hospital Wing.
Once they were gone Daphne pulled the cloak off and put it back in her bag.
"Thank you Harry" said Daphne before walking off to the Potions classroom.