When she came home the next day it was to a happy yet concerned Sirius. " Oh pup" he started " I was worried to death when I found out you were hurt, I can't believe that barmy old man let such a dangerous person teach at the school."
Guilt began to fill her chest as he fretted over her, will he hate her when he does find out what she did. Will he understand that she did it for him and their families future, with the old ways returned then they will be free to practice their magic.
She smiled up at the man who has given her everything and silently promised to be the one to tell him, even if he does end up hating her for it. He deserves better than a daughter like her.
Over the next few weeks Marvolo trained her as promised, he went over magical theory which she struggled to understand but with his guidance it started to make sense to her.
She finds that the man would make for a excellent teacher, if the whole dark lord thing doesn't work out.
Sometime in mid July he started to teach her dueling techniques, he mainly targeted her left side much to her frustration but she persevered, she began to learn to use her other senses such as her hearing to doge a spell as it came barreling at her from her blind side.
" Excellent " Marvolo would say " Remember by using your surroundings and even reaching out with your magic you will always know where your opponent lies in wait."
In her free time she would go over to Malfoy Manor to practice quidditch with Draco, sometimes her father would join to give them a few pointers, they both hoped to make it on the Slytherin team this year, her as seeker and he as chaser.
She was confident in their chances for both her and Draco were natural fliers.
Time went on and before she knew it her twelfth birthday quickly approached.
Two days before her birthday found her in the study that the Dark Lord commandeered, sitting across from said Dark Lord as he discussed the current politics in the Wizengamot.
" Lucius informed me that they are proposing on yet another bill restricting the rights of dark creatures" he sneered " At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if they easily flocked to my ranks, the werewolves would be easy to gain their loyalty but the vampires are a whole different story."
Harri spoke up and said " Well the muggles have a sort of blood bank for their sick and wounded that gets donated by others, you could take from that idea and promise them a blood bank of their own."
Marvolo looked at her with a contemplative frown and said " A interesting idea Harriet, but where would the blood come from? Even the dullest of wizards know the dangers of blood magic, you would find most would not be willing to donate their own."
Frowning back she said " Well that is true, but I didn't say anything about wizards donating blood, we could easily form a blood bank in the muggle world, they need not know that it's going to a clan of vampires instead of a muggle hospital."
Smirking the Dark Lord replied " Well there's an idea."
He then looked at her and said " Your birthday is in a few days times is it not Harriet?"
" Yes I'll be twelve in two days Marvolo" she replied.
" Ah" he began and then pulled out a sliver wrapped package from his inner robe pocket and said " I suppose I'll give this to you early then since it's on the weekend."
Her eyes lit up and she tentatively grabbed the package saying " Thank you sir."
She then gently tore the paper off to reveal a worn brown leather book and as she flicked through it Marvolo said " Take very good care of that Harriet, it's a book on parselmagic written by Salazar Slytherin himself."
She looked at him with shock amazed that he would give her such a priceless treasure, especially coming from his ancestor.
In a quiet voice she said " T-thank you my lord."
He nodded his head and replied " You are welcome my dear, read through that book and then by Yule I can begin to add parselmagic to your lessons."
Giddiness filled her at the prospect of finally learning such a rare and dark art and she said " Don't worry sir I'll be ready by Yule."
He chuckled at her enthusiasm and before he could reply he was interrupted by his snake familiar Nagini " Tom " she began as she slithered up Harri's chair " You didn't tell me my hatchling was here, such a good hatchling she gives the best scratchs."
Giggling Harri reaches under Nagini's chin and scratched at her scales and said " It's good to see you Nagini, I'm here for grandfathers lessons but he had to end it shortly, something about cousin Andromeda's daughter stumbling into a cursed family heirloom. I'm sure she will be fine."
The snake gave what probably would be a hissy laugh and said " Silly two-leggers should be more careful. Where is Beau? I wish to hunt with him."
" He's off snoozing away in the sun somewhere as usual." Nagini rubbed her snout against her cheek and said " I'll see you later my hatchling" and she slithered off and out the door in search of her friend.
Marvolo rolled his eyes and began to read a book that he plucked from the shelf, Harriet snuggled deeper into her chair and began to read her new gift.
A few days later she awoke on her twelfth birthday to a giddy Sirius once again barking as Padfoot on her bed.
Giggling she shoved him off and said " Good morning dad."
He turned back and said " Happy Birthday! Oh your growing up too quickly! Twelve years old and going into your second year!"
Then he held his hand to his heart and said " Your making me old kid " he pouted as she laughed at him then he got his revenge by yanking her out of bed and saying " Come on pup! Birthday breakfast awaits then off we go to Diagon with your Dragon."
By the time she finished her breakfast and managed to put on a nice casual robe, Sirius was calling for her downstairs, the Malfoys' were here and it was time to head out.
She took the stairs two at a time and beelined her way to her cousin startling the boy as she jumped him from behind.
With a yelp the boy said " Don't do that Harri!"
Laughing she got off of him and said " Oh don't be a spoilsport cousin dearest."
She then giggled at his pouting face and said " You ready to go to Diagon? I heard they released the new nimbus two thousand and one out."
He immediately brightened and said " Yes I've heard it far surpasses that pheasants broom that you got cousin, father has promised to get it for me if I make it onto the team."
Sirius gasped his hand in his hair and said " I just realized! This whole time I've been training the opposition!"
Draco puffed out his chest and said " Gryffindor can say goodbye to the cup for the next six years."
Harri smirked deviously and said " And it's all thanks to you father."
The children laughed at his forlorn face and merrily made their way to Diagon.
To their dismay the ally was packed, more so than usual and they didn't know why until they made their way to the overfull Flourish and Blotts.
Apparently today the famous and ever charming adventurer Glidory Lockhart was signing his new book Magical Me inside the shop, witches young and old excitedly filled every corner of the shop and Harri and Draco made their way to the upper levels to avoid getting trampled by the overeager witches.
From above they could see the man himself in gaudy violet robes posing for a camera that flashed brightly as it took a shot of his wide beaming smile that showed his too white teeth.
As soon as the second flash settled the man looked into the crowd to see Charlus Potter. His smile went impossibly wider as he yelled out " Could it be, Charlus Potter!"
The boy made his way closer and Lockhart reached out to grab him and pulled him to his side, he said something to Charlie but Harri could not tell what, then they both looked up to the camera with beaming smiles as it flashed a few more times.
The man then reached down to grab a tall stack of books and shoved them into Charlie's arms and said to the crowd " When Charlus Potter came into this store to purchase my books he did not expect to receive not only my entire collection free of charge."
The camera flashed again and the crowd clapped, when they settled down he continued " But I am pleased to announce that this year at Hogwarts he will be getting the real magical me as his new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor."
He beamed as the crowd went wild and Draco and Harri looked at each other and groaned. Looks like once again they will have a mediocre teacher for defense.
" I can't believe Dumbledore hired that imbecile to teach us" Draco ranted " Does anybody actually believe he did all those things he says he did in his books?"
Before Harri could reply a scoff sounded behind them, turning around they saw Hermione Granger as she opened her mouth to say " Of course he did! He's the greatest wizard alive sans Professor Dumbledore of course."
Sneering at her Draco replied " Of course someone like you would believe that Granger."
Behind them a voice said " Is there a problem here Malfoy?"
Turning around Harri saw her brother Charlus giving her cousin a look full of loathing.
Draco sneered at him " I bet you liked that back there Potter, can't go a week without your face hitting the front page can you."
Harri dug her elbow in Dracos side and hissed " Behave, lets get out of here."
Charlie looked at her and frowned " Been having a good summer hanging with baby death eaters sister."
" Charlus James " a voiced screeched behind him, it was his mother Lily Potter " Apologize to your sister right now!"
Sighing the boy turned to her and rubbed the back of his neck and said " I'm sorry Harri, Malfoy here just brings out the worse in me."
Harri sniffed and said " It's no excuse to be rude though brother mine." She then lifted her chin and said " I wish you a happy birthday " and then grabbed Draco and left the shop before something bad could happen.
Despite her best efforts though as she and Draco were leaving uncle Lucius and her father got into a fight with Lord Potter and a balding red haired man she assumed must be Weasleys father Arthur, the dark lord informed her that he's been conducting raids on family's suspected of having dark artifacts in their homes.
They were broken apart by the towering figure of Hogwarts keeper Hagrid, who lifted the men by the scruff of their necks as easily as one would a kitten.
In his booming voice the giant asked " Jus wha yer lot thin yer doin! Fightn in this crowd! Should be ashamed of yerselves."
Uncle Lucius straightened up his robes and said in a drawl " You should be more careful James, I would hate for you to lower yourself further like the muggles you so adore."
James Potter just scowled at the proud lord before him and replied " Well at least I'm not some slimy death eater like you Malfoy."
Lucius sneered and said " Come back when you have more than school boy insults Lord Potter."
The children quickly made their way over to them and said " Come on lets get out of here before you get us into more trouble."
James frowned when he saw the crowd his daughter was with and called out " Harri" she spun around as she was about to leave and he pleadingly told her " Becareful with them, they will only hurt you."
She sneered at him and left with her family in tow.
The rest of the trip was made without anymore trouble and at the end Sirius treated them to a ice cream at Fortescue's, which brightened all their moods from the drama of earlier that day.
It was the day before she left for Hogwarts when she was summoned to the study of the dark lord.
The man was currently working on some paper work and peered at her when she stepped in.
He set his quill down and motioned for her to take a seat, as she sat down he said " So tomorrow you leave for Hogwarts."
Nodding her head she replied " Yes sir."
He smiled and said " Very good, now I know you will be busy with your studies within school and I do not want you to slack on them. But also please remember to continue what you have learned from me so far, and continue that book if you still wish for me to teach you parselmagic come Yule."
She nodded her head and replied " I won't let you down Marvolo!"
" See that you don't my apprentice " he said firmly.
He then leaned forward and said " I will also give you this mission while you are in school. It has no time limits, Salazar knows it took me til my fifth year to find it myself. "
He lifted his elbows to rest on the table and rested his chin upon the tip of his fingers and asked " Have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets?"
Frowning Harri thought back and replied " I think there was a brief mention in Hogwarts A History but it didn't really specify what it was."
The dark lord hummed and said " It is a chamber that Salazar Slytherin himself built." At this her eyes went wide and he continued on " Only a parselmouth can access it, that's the reason why no one has ever found it in a thousand years, until me."
His smile was sharp when he said " I want you to discover it for yourself, before you graduate from Hogwarts in six years time. I'll give you a hint since I'm a merciful lord." At this he chuckled and went on to say " A carving of a snake rests at the entrance of where it is hidden."
Smirking he then said " Also, word of warning once you discovered the chamber keep your eyes closed until the beast knows you are a ally and deems it safe for you."
Curious and a little bit scared she said " There is a beast down in there?"
Marvolo nodded and said " Yes, but he will not hurt you once you speak to him."
Leaning back further in her chair curious of why he wishes her to find this chamber she then asked " What do you want me to do once I find it?"
He leaned back resting his hands on the arms of his chair and replied " Whatever you desire my dear, Salazar's study is within that chamber, you could discover more than what I ever had the chance to do myself. "
Grimacing he continued " When I opened it fifty years ago I allowed the beast to roam free and he petrified some of the students, eventually killing one toward the end of the year."
Harri gasped and said " What ever happened?"
Humming Marvolo replied " It was a complete accident, the girl was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. After that I knew I could not open the chamber again for Dumbledore was suspicious of me. They were going to close down the school but luckily that oaf Hagrid had a fondness for monsters as pets, so I framed him and his pet acromantula. He was expelled, but Dumbledore showed him mercy by hiring him as gamekeeper" he shrugged.
So that's why Hagrid was expelled from school, she remembered her brother telling her that he and Ron tried to ask him but he refused to tell them.
Grimacing she surely hoped that they killed that acromantula and he didn't run into the forbidden forest.
She then looked at Marvolo with a mischievous smile and remarked " I'll try and not to cause too much trouble my lord."
Huffing out a laugh he replied " If you do, try and not link it back to yourself my dear." Sighing " You would do me no good if you get yourself locked away in Azkaban."
Cackling as she was dismissed she said " I'll see you come Yule Marvolo."
Shaking his head at his apprentices antics he muttered under his breath " Too much like Arcturus."
The next day found her on the train ready for another year at Hogwarts.
As she was catching up with her friends over their summer activities the compartment door opened to reveal the frowning face of Charlus's best friend Hermione Granger.
" What can I do for you Granger? Charlie is not in this compartment" Harri asked as politely as she can.
The bushy haired Muggleborn asked " Have you seen him at all? I've been up and down this train for the past hour and he nor Ron is anywhere to be found."
Harri stilled and said " Have you talked to Weasley's brothers?"
Granger nodded her head and replied " They said Charlie spent the night at the burrow last night and went with them to the platform, they were running extremely late. Oh you don't supposed they missed the train do you?"
Harri pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed " Who knows with my brother, he manages to get into all sorts of trouble, maybe Mr. and Mrs. Weasley is already with them and informed the headmaster." Shrugging her shoulders " Honestly there is nothing we can do being stuck here on the train but wait til we get to school to inform a professor."
Sighing Granger said " I figured as much, well goodbye then Black."
After she left Draco and Blaise sniggered at each other and said " Who wants to take bets on them arriving in some flashy manner only to get suspended?"
Theo shook his head and said " No they won't get suspended just some points docked off, I'll put five gallons on that."
Harri rolled her eyes at her friends as bets went around on what her brother was up too.
Turns out he did arrive in a flashy manner, apparently they missed the train by a minute. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already apparrated back home and left their enchanted car back at the station to pick up later.
Besides sending his owl, Charlie and Ron thought it'd be a good idea to take it for a joy ride across the country to Hogwarts, where they then crashed into the whomping willow.
Five muggles spotted them as they flew into the sky endangering the statute of secrecy. But of course instead of being suspended they both received a week of detention and lost fifty points each.
Harri was greatly amused the next morning when a howler came for Weasley, his mother's shrill voice filled the great hall berating the young embarrassed boy who was trying to sink further into his seat.
She thought Draco was going to choke on his pumpkin juice he was laughing so hard.
Their first class of the day was defense with Lockhart, Harri would be dammed to call that peacock a Professor.
When they all settled in, Charlie and his friends were sitting in the front while Harri and the rest of the Slytherins sat as far in the back as they could, Lockhart dramatically made his way in fuchsia colored robes billowing behind him as he went.
Harri and Draco rolled their eyes at each other as the man began with that beaming smile " Welcome to defense against the dark arts, I am as you know your Professor Gilderoy Lockhart!"
He began to strut through the rows of students as he continued on " Order of Merlin third class, on the dark defense league and of course my most favorite of accomplishments, five time winner of Witch Weeklys most charming smile award."
He flashed his white teeth in a broad smile chuckled and said " Though I didn't vanquish the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him."
Harri leaned in to whisper to Draco as the fool continued to prattle on about himself " I thought banshees were only females?"
Draco shrugged and said " Dunno, I'll ask father."
They didn't pay anymore attention until he flourished a stack of parchment in his hand and said " Now, I shall pass around a test to see just what you know."
He handed the stack to a blushing Hermione Granger who took one off and passed it down her row.
When the now smaller stack reached Harri she scoffed at what she read " Is he seriously going to pass out a test based on him?" She whispered to Draco.
Draco sneered down at the paper and said " How am I supposed to know what his favorite color is?" he asked in return.
Blaise smirked beside them and said " Just make something up, for example, the answer to number four, what is Gilderoy Lockharts ideal birthday gift? Is obviously a new brain."
" My, my Blaise I didn't know you knew so much about our esteemed Professor" Draco said with a smirk.
Blaise just rolled his eyes and threw a rolled up piece of parchment at the blonde.
After the quiz was done Lockhart sat down at his desk and his wide smile slowly dimmed the more he read through the answers to his test.
" I am rather disappointed in you lot, nobody got the answer right that my favorite color is lilac" he said chastisly.
Then when he flipped to the next test his smile brightened and said " Well a Hermione Granger here seemed to know that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between the magic and non-magic peoples, though a bottle of Ogdens finest fire wiskey wouldn't hurt either" he winked at the class.
Looking around he asked " Who is Ms. Granger?"
Hermione who's face was as red as Weasleys hair lifted her hand up. Harri and Draco sniggered in the back.
He winked at the Muggleborn and said " Well done Ms. Granger, it seems you got every question correct, ten points to Gryffindor."
He then stood up from his desk and then gestured to a covered cage that wiggled every so often.
" Now ladies and gentlemen it is my duty as your Professor to prepare you for the horrors of the world. In this cage here you will find the most terrifying beasts this side of the channel" Lockhart said with a serious expression upon his face.
The class seemed to hold its breath as it prepared to face whatever monster the Professor has brought before them today and after a flourish of his hands he pulled the cover off to reveal several tiny blue winged creatures who were currently showing off rude gestures toward the students.
" Cornish Pixies!" Laughed out Seamus Finnigan " What's so dangerous about them!" At this the whole class laughed with the Gryffindor much to Lockharts dismay.
Then with a smirk the Professor said " Laugh all you want Mr. Finnigan, Let's see what you make of them now!" And the fool opened the cage letting out the devious little pixies out.
Chaos ensued as the pixies began to rip the classroom apart, books were torn and thrown, ink pots smashed into the walls and poor Neville Longbottom was being pulled by his ears.
Harri and Blaise were hitting what they could with their books knocking them away, then Lockhart said " Come on! They are only Pixies!" Then he pulled out his wand and said ' Peskipikisi Pesternomi' which did nothing to the annoying little beasts.
One pixie yanked Lockharts wand out of his hand and tossed it out the window laughing at him in a shrill giggle.
The Professor grimaced and said " Well I suppose you lot can round up the rest" and then he took off and fled back to the safety of his chambers.
Annoyed by the uselessness of their new Professor she grabbed Draco and Blaise and said " Come on let's get out of here, that fool can clean up his own mess."
Ducking and holding tight to what was left of their school things the Slytherins hightailed it out of there.
Charlus, Ron and Hermione was all that were left, determined to wrangle the mess that their teacher made Hermione lifted her wand and shouted " Immobulus" which stilled all the pixies in their spots.
Looking to her in awe Ron said " Your bloody brilliant 'Mione."
As Charlus and co were wrangling the pixies up Harri and her fellow Slytherins were headed to their next class.
Harri was annoyed and frustrated, she cannot believe what a disaster defense has become.
Sighing she thought to herself she should write to Marvolo and see if he knows anything about that fool Dumbledore hired, there is no way she can suffer the rest of the year with that dunderhead.
Smirking as plans formed into her mind she continued on to her way to Herbology.