Author's Note:

Hello again. For me this chapter was about showing that even though Harry is head and shoulders over just about everyone else, it doesn't necessarily mean that he is without the help of others. I like the special relationship that I am crafting between Harry and his followers and while I certainly have plans for Harry's intelligence to show up soon, I wanted to focus on what I thought was a tender moment in the beginning of this chapter.

Here is my disclaimer that says I do not own anything Harry Potter related. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except in universe 47837. Probably.

Ginny's breath caught in her throat.

Up until a few weeks ago that Diary and that boy that resided within it had consumed nearly ever aspect of her life during the first half of her first year at Hogwarts. Most of the fall and winter months had been spent obsessing over the growing attachment that she felt with Tom and desperately wondering if and when he would reply back to her.

Her addiction to those worn pages had been strong, but in a moment of brief clarity she had been able to call every ounce of her fiery willpower that growing up in a family of boys had instilled in her to try and sever the connection.

Only, once she had become free of the Diary she had immediately crossed paths with another boy – and the similarities between the two were endless.

However, this new boy was different; and he would always be different to her.

The Boy Who Lived had changed everything about the world that Tom had sucked her into. In fact, Harry had given her life a second chance by freeing her from Tom's thrall and though it had taken her some time to work up the courage to approach the outwardly quiet boy again, it was something that she had known that she needed to do. For Ginny desperately wanted to reach the potential that she believed she had inside of herself.

To her, it didn't matter that many would have said that she had traded one form of control for another.

Because she knew – more than she had ever been sure about anything – that Harry would never allow him, or anyone else, to use her like that again.

In fact, she was positive that Harry would never let anything bad happen to her if he could help it. It was the reason why she had given herself so freely and completely to him, and why she would follow Harry and support him.

No matter where that took her. Because Harry was now hers to protect and care for, and she would do so willingly.

In the end, that made all the difference in her mind.

Which was why the still-wet letters upon the castle wall bothered her so much. Not because of any fear that she had of what Tom could do to her, but because of how Harry had reacted to the sudden appearance of those glistening red letters. Ginny understood, the same with Neville and Justin, that Harry's magic needed Tom's; that something inside of him was incomplete without it.

It was a need that they couldn't understand or comprehend, but that didn't matter to any of them. For they had each felt what Tom's magic had made their Harry experience. They had felt it so strongly and so deeply that they knew it was inevitable for Harry to see this through. Harry needed to see it through.

A fact that was no more evident than it was in this moment as Ginny felt the strain in his magic beside her. Harry's incredible well of power was struggling to contain itself within his sleight frame while he continued to stare at the announcement that the chamber was still open. It didn't matter that Ginny had only recently become in tune with the indescribable pull of Harry's power, all it had taken was for her magical energy to sync with his for her to be able to know Harry almost as well as she knew herself.

Almost.

And he needed his followers, now more so than ever by the looks of things. For a moment she felt helpless as she watched him attempt to understand why and how the red letters had reappeared on the wall.

The appearance of that bloody missive had thrown Harry so completely, and his followers were not used to seeing him so unsure of the world around him.

It frightened them.

'It can't be…' Ginny heard him say.

But what Ginny didn't know – couldn't know – was what was going through Harry's mind. Though, that didn't matter; for as she stood there, trading glances with Neville and Justin as the crowd around them began to grow she knew that she needed to do something sooner rather than later.

Luckily, Neville and Justin had each arrived at a similar conclusion and without needing to say anything the three began to act in unison to get Harry out of there before his magic, already teetering on the edge, was set free.

Which would have been very bad and something that Harry would not have been happy with.

As it was, the hairs on each of their skin were standing upright in response to the magic that Harry had already leaked out. Who knew how much longer they had until the rest exploded outwards from his center.

Therefore, while Neville and Justin slowly made their way to stand in front of Harry, Ginny carefully extended her left hand to Harry's shoulder and moved to stand very close at his side.

"Harry," she said quietly, hoping that her voice would be sufficient to make Harry come back to his senses.

Thankfully her voice was enough and on cue Justin and Neville began to lead them unnoticed through the crowd that was currently clamoring to get a better view of what was written. None of them spoke as they made their way to a quieter part of the castle.

Soon the four of them were alone and standing in a small alcove next to the entrance of the kitchens.

Immediately, Harry moved to rest his hand against the wall and the other three began to wait anxiously to see if he would be okay. Neither of them knew where to start and so they waited until Harry turned to them and spoke.

"Thank you," he said in an atypical voice.

While there was a bit of uncertainty that they had never heard before in how he spoke, it didn't make them think that Harry was weak. If anything, it made them think that his potential for greatness was even higher because there was also appreciation in Harry's voice and in the way his characteristically green eyes looked them over.

"You were quick to react and I appreciate the way that you got me out of there with as little attention as possible."

Each of them were over the moon at the praise, knowing that they had served their Harry in his time of need, but they were even more concerned with what it all meant and the effect that it was so obviously having on their Harry.

"This, Tom…" he sighed for lack of a better term, "clouds my judgment. I just wish that I knew why I respond to him the way that I do. The mere thought that he had escaped from both the Diary and the chamber was enough to thoroughly distract me, almost ruining all of the hard work that I put into hiding who I really am."

The others just stood there; not used to Harry sharing so much of his internal thought process. However, they realized that perhaps Harry was speaking to them as a way of working things out for himself.

"What if my magic had leaked out?"

They patiently waited as Harry continued on, working through his feelings about what an escaped Tom Riddle would mean and how that had momentarily frozen him.

However, the more that Harry made sense of that line of thought with a sharper and more clear mind, the more convinced he became that Tom had had nothing to do with the writing on the wall. For one, it just wasn't the boy's style given the glimpses that Harry had seen into the other boy's mind and how he had behaved.

Unless of course it was a distraction since Tom was aware that someone like Harry existed – but Harry was sure that if Tom had gotten free that the last thing he would have done was to give Harry a reason to suspect that he was missing.

Not with how a simple check to see if the Diary still contained Tom's essence would have immediately been the smart thing for Harry to do and the last thing that Tom would have wanted. At least, as far as Harry would have reasoned given how they did tend to think alike based on what he knew.

Which was the very thing that happened next – and a half hour later Harry and his friends had returned to the same spot next to the kitchens knowing for a fact that Tom was still sealed in his book at the bottom of the chamber.

Each of them had felt the tantalizing sensation that wafted up from below without even needing to see it in the flesh.

Harry had been even able to resist the burgeoning desire of meeting Tom face-to-face; in large part because he knew that, deep down, he wasn't ready.

Once back from their trip to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the group had stopped at the kitchen since they had needed more time to think in addition to the simple fact that they were very hungry.

While they picked through some of the sumptuous food that the elves had so graciously whipped up, Harry's mind logically went through the myriad circumstances that could have explained the sudden appearance of this new writing.

"A ruse," Harry said at last to break the silence.

The others looked up from their late dinners, and Justin was the first to swallow his food in order to respond.

"Harry?"

"It's a ruse," Harry explained with a sudden understanding.

"The writing on the hall wasn't put there by Tom – as evident by the fact that he is still in the chamber. So… the question is who then wrote those letters on the wall and why."

Harry paused as he let his words sink in. Though each of his companions were intelligent – or else he otherwise wouldn't be able to stand their presence – he was interested to see if any of them would be able to go onto the next step.

And their responses made him pleased, very pleased.

"Do you think they knew that the chamber had been sealed then?" Neville inquired before smartly adding, "or if they knew that Harry had been the one to seal it."

"Even if they knew that there was no longer any threat – why would they want to bring this back up and risk more scrutiny? I think that would rule out Malfoy," Ginny emphasized with venom.

Harry and her had already discussed where the Diary had most likely come from and she was not altogether happy that Lucius' ploy had nearly killed her.

Of course, it had led her to Harry so she couldn't complain too much.

"True," Harry smiled.

While they had been focusing on making the leap to the motive behind the letters appearing, Harry's mind had already processed several possibilities.

He would have to make sure that his obsession with Tom didn't impact him like that again, because he was much too fond of his advanced mental faculties.

"It wouldn't make any sense for him to call attention to the very reason that he had used in removing Dumbledore from the castle."

Ginny's insides felt warm at the acknowledgement of her thought process. Here again was more proof in just how different Harry treated her compared to Tom.

"So it comes down to whether the person – or persons – either knew that the chamber was closed or they were just trying to have a spot of fun and rile up people's emotions."

With that it was Justin's turn to add his two cents to the conversation.

"There are several mischief makers capable of pulling the later off, and at this point I would more inclined to think that it was a prank. Besides, if someone did know about how the chamber, Tom, and Harry all fit together then we don't have enough to try and work that all out. Plus," he added as he too desired to make Harry proud, "if someone did know about all of that then what is to say that they don't know more about us, and you Harry, than we even realize. For all we know they could simply be listening in at this very moment."

The words left Justin's tongue and echoed softly off the walls of the small alcove. The others set their food down and looked around curiously, as if trying to make sure that no one was spying on them.

But Harry's demeanor hadn't changed in the least. In fact, he was smiling as he responded to Justin open-ended question.

"That is something that I considered a while ago and since then have gone to great lengths in learning about what magic can and cannot keep secret. I would be surprised if someone had managed to get around my attempts at privacy without at least being alerted to the fact that someone was nearby."

Neither Justin, Neville, not Ginny were stupefied with that given what they knew about Harry.

"Nevertheless," he continued, "it is something that we should strive to be more careful about in the future while we try and learn more about who is now writing in blood on the castle walls and why."

With the conversation effectively over, the four finished their meals before saying goodbye to Ginny who headed back to Gryffindor.

In the weeks that followed the apparent reopening of the Chamber of Secrets the entire school was again on edge. Just the mere notion that this unknown heir of Salazar Slytherin was taunting them with whatever monster lied within was enough to guarantee that the student body talked about little else.

Musings on who the heir could be and why they hadn't petrified someone else were just a few of the many questions swirling around the Hogwarts rumor mill. Though, not everyone in the castle participated in these public conversations since Harry and his friends kept all of their discussions on the matter private.

But while Harry may not have enjoyed wondering whether it had been the work of a prankster or someone who knew far more than he would have like him or her to, he did not have a problem with all of the added work that it likely meant for Severus.

Harry could only imagine all of the owls and late-night floo calls that the irritable and unhappy man had to be responding to.

However, as time passed with no further developments, the student body predictably began to lose interest in the chamber around the beginning of March. Just as the halls began to move onto other topics another sensational and bloody announcement conveniently appeared on the walls.

At this point Harry was nearly certain that it was the work of an individual just trying to have a spot of fun, and again he found it amusing to see how Severus was forced to react to it. He hoped that the man loathed every minute of the tedious act of assuaging the fears of either the Minister or Lucius Malfoy.

Again the school exploded with modified and salacious tales about the chamber and who the next victim would be. This time, unfortunately, the frenzy was also accompanied by having to be escorted to and from their classes by the teachers. Something that not everyone was appreciative of.

Harry was especially irritated since it made it harder and harder for him to meet with his growing circle that now included a Gryffindor. Justin and Neville could easily continue their instruction with him in the confines of Hufflepuff House, but Ginny had so much to catch up on that every once and a while he risked late night excursions to train them all in his secret place.

But the infrequent sessions did not stop any of their progress. In fact, it only made his followers try harder to learn more for their Harry, and Ginny in particular was rarely seen without a book in her hands.

Something that Fred and George were quick to blame solely on Percy for unduly influencing a minor with more work than was necessary.

In either case Harry was more than pleased with how natural Ginny was with a wand, and although she was obviously behind the advanced dueling skills of Justin and Neville, Harry knew that one day she would be a force to be reckoned with.

It gave him something to focus on besides the appearance of a new missive in the first week of April that, like before, roused the student's interest in the Chamber of Secrets. At this point there was no doubt in Harry's mind that whoever was behind these repeated declarations that the chamber was still open was just doing this for attention.

To be honest, Harry was getting sick of the constant reminder about the chamber since that naturally led him to think about what, or rather, who was down there that he very much wanted to meet.

Because his longing over finally meeting this other boy – this Tom – in the flesh was threatening to distract him from preparing all of the magic and skills that he knew that he would need to be able to stand on equal footing with the other boy.

So Harry did his best to drown out the whisper mill of Hogwarts and focus on his friends and on his quest to learn as much magic as possible. Aside from that he was also quite looking forward to finally being reunited with his fourth follower. To that end he had begun to pester Professor Sprout on a near daily basis for when the Mandrakes would be ready so that Cedric could be revived.

The boy was his older buddy after all, and Harry played that angle with his Head of House as much of possible. Of course, Cedric meant so much more to him than anyone could know, but that fact didn't matter since Sprout was all too pleased to see her that one of her puffs was demonstrating just why the buddy system had been put in place to begin with.

Harry had even tried to coax her into hurrying up the final cultivating of the Mandrakes by offering to help, along with Neville and Justin, but since it was the end of April Sprout had assured them that they only had to wait a few weeks more.

Satisfied that Cedric would soon be returned to him, Harry toyed with the idea about focusing on trying to predict when more words would appear on the castle's walls since the last three episodes had been spaced almost a month apart. However, Harry wasn't about to waste what precious time that he did have in training the other three with waiting under his Invisibility Cloak for something that may or may not happen.

Incidentally, the first few days of May came and went and nothing out of the ordinary happened, and he was happy that he hadn't of wasted any time.

In fact, Harry was just beginning to think that perhaps the mysterious prankster had lost interest when the most unexpected thing happened.

It was a Tuesday and Defense Against the Dark Arts was dragging on like it usually did.

Lockhart was in the front of the class, reenacting one of his favorite scenes from Year with the Yeti; his performance came complete with authentic mountain boots and a magical parka.

The man had been acting more and more unusual as the year had gone on and Harry had become convinced that it was because more of his adoring fans were becoming disillusioned with the man. Which had the apparent effect of making Lockhart think he could win back their adoration by trying even harder to remind everyone of his amazing exploits.

"It was freezing, mind you," the insufferable excuse of a teacher began just like he was doing Shakespeare in the park.

His arms were outstretched in front of him and shivering, in what Harry guessed to be the man's version of a dramatic rendition of being cold.

Most of the students were shifting uncomfortably in their seats, though there were still a few in the front that were as captivated by the man as they had been on the very first day.

Harry, however, just kept his face neutral and did his best not to react to the incompetent professor who had yet to teach them any magic whatsoever.

The same could not have been said for Neville and Justin. Although one would have thought that Harry would have minded the fact that either one of their eyes were currently and obviously twitching because of the man, Harry couldn't blame them for their reaction.

Besides, he knew that they were able to his keep it together when it really mattered and so he had given them leeway to keep their sanity in Lockhart's classroom in the best way that they saw fit. At least they were not asleep at their desks like some of the Gryffindors were.

Harry could only imagine the various ways that his boys were fantasizing about teaching Lockhart what a wand was really capable of, and those thoughts naturally led Harry to consider what his own torture of the man would be. After all, Harry liked this class less than Potions because while Snape was a prick at least he knew his subject matter.

"For one of the first times in my life I was afraid," Lockhart continued on with his tale.

"I had run out of food and was sure that I was going to starve; however, it was at that precise moment when I stumbled upon a most rare creature."

Lockhart's ramblings about his encounter with an otherwise benign mountain giant were lost on the majority of his class, though Harry did have to give the man the tiniest bit of credit. After all, not a single person could say that Lockhart lacked commitment in trying to win back his fans after the episode with the Cornish Pixies; even if the man's energies would have been far better spent on actually trying to learn any of the material that he was actually getting paid to teach.

But that would have been too much to ask for and so Harry was about to let his mind wander onto curses when he realized that Lockhart was looking his way more than he normally did.

In fact, now that Harry was paying attention to the man's constant glances towards where he sat, he realized that they were accompanied by a strange look in Lockhart's eyes that Harry couldn't put his finger on.

If he had to guess he would have said that they looked torn between remorse and satisfaction. Which was a very odd combination and gave Harry something to focus on for the rest of the class.

Indeed, twenty minutes later and the man was now practically directing his reenactment entirely at Harry; though, that also could have been because most of the others in the class had fallen asleep, save for Lockhart's core fan section in the front.

It was starting to make Harry curious, very curious as to why Lockhart seemed to have eyes for him and him alone.

Ten minutes later and Harry couldn't take it anymore. It was then that he did something that he probably wouldn't have done with any of the other teachers: he entered Lockhart's mind intent on finding out just what was going on.

The first thing that he noticed was that Lockhart's mindscape was peculiar. It was unlike anything that Harry had ever been in before – which was saying something considering that he had been inside the chaotic expanse that housed the limitless experiences that Luna Lovegood was subjected to every waking minute.

And yet, it was exactly the sort of layout that Harry should have expected. Someone who talked about themselves and their alleged accomplishments and personality nonstop should have had a meticulously laid out arrangement of memories to call from at a moment's notice.

At the same time it was also devoid of any unique personality, something that Harry would never have associated with someone like Gilderoy. The man was practically a walking character of narcissistic personality disorder.

However, there was a medium-sized section of memories off to the side that resembled what the minds of both Neville and Justin's had looked like before he had made a point to ensure that they protected what they knew.

So Naturally, Harry went over to this area and looked around. It didn't take him long to realize that these were the memories that Lockhart had actually made for himself, while at the same time exposing that all of his books were full of things that he had never actually done but had claimed credit for.

'So you can actually perform magic,' Harry said in mild disbelief.

A small part of him had actually questioned whether or not the man had been a squib, but he now had ample evidence that proved the man had in fact excelled at Memory Charms.

But that still didn't explain why the man couldn't do anything else.

Harry was just about to devote further thought to the matter when something out of the ordinary caught his eye. The fact that it was moving didn't bother Harry since that typically indicated that the memory was something that Lockhart was likely currently thinking about it.

What made Harry pay attention to this meandering collection of thoughts was that it wasn't the source material that Lockhart was currently drawing from to reenact his absurd classroom theatrics; for those were clearly coming from a different section of Lockhart's mind.

A gleam quickly passed through Harry's eyes at the sight of these other memories; could this explain why the man had been focusing on him more so than usual?

It took only seconds for Harry to catch these floating thoughts and a few minutes more for him to learn what had Lockhart acting even stranger than usual.

But what he saw caused his blood to turn ice cold. It took every ounce of willpower that Harry possessed for him to not react at what he saw. Did Gilderoy Lockhart really think that he could do that with Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood, his Luna.

Harry was so enraged with the man that he barely noticed the way that the mere thought of harm coming to Luna affected his magic. His only concern was that he was not going to let Gilderoy Lockhart get away with it.

Harry was furious and in this moment he wanted nothing more than to unleash the full weight of his power on this pathetic excuse for a professor of magic. The only thing that kept Harry from reacting was that he had gone into Lockhart's mind to see what was going on with the sole goal of not being detected. Since that had been at the forefront of Harry's mind he had been able to contain his rage and that allowed his mind to then rapidly assess what he would do with this information instead.

But there was really only one scenario that Harry's mind gave any serious thought to and followed through to completion. Just thinking about the many ways that he could use this to his advantage caused the ends of his mouth to curl upwards.

In fact, it gave him just the sort of delicious opportunity that he had been waiting for. Ever since his life-changing talk with Luna Lovegood over the winter holidays Harry had been meaning to let bits and pieces of the real him show. He had an unlimited future to get to and this was too good a chance to pass up on his way to making that happen.

Therefore, with complete control over both his emotions and his magic, Harry returned from Lockhart's mind unnoticed. Not even Neville and Justin had noticed anything strange and that was a good thing.

Because, for the rest of the class Harry worked out all of the details that would accompany the downfall of Gilderoy Lockhart, as well as gain himself another follower.

Two weeks had passed since Harry had become aware of what Lockhart had been planning. Of course, neither of his friends had any idea about the man's plan or had noticed Harry acting abnormal in any way whatsoever. They had been too concerned with their studies, and also because Harry hadn't wanted them to know anything. Yet.

So instead, Neville, Justin, and Ginny were currently in the packed library preparing for finals under the supervision of one of the faculty members given the uncertainty still lingering about the Chamber of Secrets.

Of course, each of Harry's followers were more than confident that they would achieve nothing lower than an Outstanding in any of their subjects.

But they weren't just learning magic for grades.

They were learning magic to support their Harry, and nothing was more important to them than that.

In fact, they had been applying themselves nonstop for the past few weeks; the only difference was that tonight Harry had excused himself right after dinner because he had needed to speak with Luna Lovegood about something. Who were they to question what he did?

Harry always provided for them and in turn they would do anything to support him. Besides, they were learning to love magic and all that it could do nearly as much as Harry did – so much so that the time went by quite quickly that evening.

Soon it was nearly time for curfew but just as the three were about to go their separate ways as they exited the library a loud and chillingly familiar scream echoed throughout the castle. It was eerie and the sound seemed to come from the direction where all of the announcements regarding the Chamber of Secrets were made.

Naturally, it made them instantly think of their Harry, for this was the first time that they had experienced that unsettling sound without him.

Although each knew that he would have preferred them to react logically at times like these, there was something about this moment that filled their minds with worry. It was almost like something had made them jump to conclusions.

'Harry,' Justin was the first to mouth what the others were feeling.

Even if they each knew that Harry could take care of himself – no matter how unlikely it was that Harry would have even allowed himself to be in that situation - their greatest fear was that they would lose him. Harry was everything to them and with a shared understanding they took off towards the second floor.

Their hearts pounded as they raced up the steps and passed Myrtle's bathroom, and just as they were about to round the corner to where those bloody letters had first appeared, McGonagall's voice boomed throughout the castle's corridors.

"All students are to return to their house dormitories immediately. Heads of Houses will report to the second floor near the portrait of Sir Paddington at once."

However, it wasn't just the announcement that stopped them in their tracks, for they were so close to that very spot that they soon could hear the worried whispers of McGonagall and the other teachers who were beginning to assemble. Fortunately, the three of them were able to hide within an alcove just as the sound of the rushed footsteps of another professor passed them.

And what they heard next chilled them to their bones and caused their magic to seize within their chest.

"Minerva! Severus!" Sprout gasped as it had been her that had just run by them.

"What … oh no … whose skeleton?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Snape spit out.

The trio didn't need to see the Potion's Master face to know that he was severely annoyed, but what surprised them was the notes of concern they also picked up in his voice

"Severus…" Minerva mildly reprimanded the Headmaster, acknowledging some of the feelings that Snape was likely dealing with.

"It's Luna Lovegood," Minerva answered Sprout with sorrow in her voice.

"One of her characteristic orange shoes was also left behind."

She pointed to Luna's trademark and whimsical taste in footwear that were left underneath the dripping red blood.

"We, we must search the school immediately," Sprout countered as Filius Flitwick arrived.

After Ravenclaw's Head of House was filled in, he agreed with that assessment and the four professors each went in different directions to search every nook and cranny.

Once the area was clear, Harry's followers slowly emerged from their hiding place to see the writing on the wall for themselves.

"The heir should have been believed; now her blond skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."

A look of dread covered each of their faces and they didn't have to say anything to know that each of their thoughts centered on Harry. After all, he had been with Luna this evening. It didn't matter that they each knew that the chamber was sealed. What mattered was that Harry was not with them, and they wouldn't rest until they knew that their leader was safe.

The only problem was that the castle was exceptionally large and the simple truth was that Harry could be anywhere.

"Wait!" Neville exhaled in a sigh of relief.

They were overthinking the problem.

"What if we used our connection to Harry's magic to find him?"

"Neville, that's brilliant!" Ginny gushed.

"But we have to hurry…"

Justin was agitated and the only thing that would calm him was to be in Harry's presence again.

"All right," Neville took the lead at once, "join my hands and focus on his magic. Feel it wash over you just as if he were here."

Each grasped the other's outstretched hands and closed their eyes and relived the exquisite sensation of Harry's magic lifting them to places that their own magic couldn't take them by itself. At first it was hard to recreate that exact feeling because nothing could compare to the real thing. But they didn't have to get it exactly right, however, as they just needed to be focusing entirely on whom they had pledged both their lives and magic to. Suddenly, a faint pulse could be felt calling to them on the other side of the castle.

"Harry!" each breathed in a relieved unison and a second later they were off.

Their feet were moving underneath of them, carrying them to the source of what they what knew had to be Harry's core.

The fact that it was deep within the bowels of the castle was disconcerting and none of them could help where the fear in their minds took them: what if Harry really was in trouble?

No amount of logic or reason that they possessed allowed them to recognize how absurd and unlikely it was that Harry was actually in trouble. Instead, a red hue began to frame their field of vision and they were now moving through the castle with a speed that only magic could allow. In no time they descended the many flights of stairs that brought them near to where the boats delivered the first years before the sorting ceremony.

Time itself began to slow down as they arrived at their destination and the renewed closeness to Harry's core filled them each with a new sense of connectedness that would remain with them until their dying breath.

Sensing each other with their magic was now effortless and they knew exactly where Harry was on the other side of the closed door. And he was alive. Their magic, however, also told them that there were two other people that were with him. One was very much in tune with the warmth and power of Harry's magic – as well as their own – but the other instantly registered as someone that needed to be dealt with.

Immediately.

Without even needing to speak Ginny blew open the door and Neville and Justin quickly entered as if they had rehearsed this a thousand times. Their eyes didn't even need to see their target to know which direction to send their curses at; and spell after spell quickly left their wands in quick succession and pummeled the man into the wall, where he sank to the floor and never moved again.

Only after the rage that had flown through their veins subsided did they recognize the pathetic and limp form of Gilderoy Lockhart dead on the floor.

"Lockhart!" Neville yelled in rage, unaffected by the fact that he had just had a hand in killing a person.

"I can't believe he would even dare!" Justin seethed in agreement.

But then he turned around to come face to face with the most important person in his world.

"Harry!" Ginny was the first to express her relief at seeing him alive.

He was tied to a chair and Luna Lovegood was at his side; both of them had dirt and blood on their faces. The sight made Harry's rescuers angry and want to bring Gilderoy back to life just so that they could punish him all over again for daring to hurt their master.

Only there was no worry or dread anywhere in Harry's features. His emerald eyes were radiating their delight and glee at what he had just witnessed.

"My friends!" he emphasized with a very content grin.

"You have made me most proud tonight, and I will explain everything about this later. Just know that each of you has far surpassed my expectations and I couldn't be more pleased with how well you found me and with the progress you are making with your magic. But I have a feeling the teachers will soon be here and you can't be found out of your houses."

Neither Justin nor Ginny, and certainly not Justin, had ever felt happier at seeing Harry in such good spirits and lavishing his rare affection on them. They had made him happy and that was the most important thing they could do. Again, who were they to question the how and the why?

Each knew that all would be revealed soon.

"Here," Harry said as his Invisibility Cloak floated towards them.

"I trust that you know how to work this and remain unseen, and know that I will come for you as soon as I can."

With an encouraging caress of his magic that washed once more over his followers, the three disappeared under Harry's cloak and he had no doubt that they would find their way back undetected.

"Yes, I am becoming more and more sure about that future, Harry Potter," Luna said airily once they were alone.

"You were not ready before but I am glad that the Nargles convinced you to embrace your destiny."

Harry raised a single eyebrow at the charismatic insanity that was Luna Lovegood.

"I am glad they convinced me, too," Harry said; even if he didn't really understand what she had meant but then again he didn't really care either.

Because he could never be anything less than appreciative of her company and what she had done for him, and he knew by the way his magic felt that her core had pledged her support to his own.

"I am even more glad that you agreed to help me out tonight and thank you for trusting me to keep you safe."

Just then Luna laughed in her ethereal and whimsical way.

"Oh, Harry Potter, I don't doubt that you will keep those loyal to you protected, but I don't know if you've seen the bigger picture yet. Your magic's shape will soon become complete and with it a chance to redeem your sins."

As Harry had come to expect with his interactions with the girl over, some of the things that she said he just didn't know how to process. In this instance, however, that was a good thing since they still had another part of Harry's plan to fulfill.

So Harry quickly changed the course of their conversation to prepare for what was to come.

"You ready for the next part?"

Luna tilted her head and smiled at him before transforming her facial expression into a little girl who was very much afraid at being tied to a chair with a dead body before her.

Harry responded to her act with a slight smirk before sending out a shockwave with his magic that caused the very foundations of the castle to shake. As expected, the teachers were able to trace the powerful blast and in a few minutes began to enter the room.

Professor McGonagall was the first to enter and Headmaster Snape was right on her heels.

"Gilderoy!" her Scottish brogue choked out.

The sight of the dead man with a single trail of blood coming from his mouth was not something that she had expected to see. Nor was the sight of a second and a first year who had both been bound to chairs with terrified expressions on their face.

"Professors!" Harry cried out while Luna chose this moment to begin to cry.

"It was Lockhart!" Harry nearly yelled in partial relief that Luna and him had been found.

"He was the one behind the chamber, the one who petrified Cedric, and he was going to use me to, to…"

But Harry was going to draw this out, to make his performance as effective as possible. In truth he had never expected his followers to have killed Lockhart – though in hindsight he supposed he had overlooked their absolute devotion to him – and so he had prepared memories within the man to back up what he was about to say.

With the man dead, however, he knew that his words would be treated as absolute.

Though, they would have to wait as the professors rushed to untie them. Strangely, Severus was the one to free him and Harry was going to use this unexpected development in every way that he could.

And once his bonds were cut, Harry practically lept into Severus' arms and clung to his body as if there was no one else that he were happier to see.

Truthfully, this was turning out better than he had planned because he knew this would be ten times more effective.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Harry cried as his hands clenched onto the man's robes.

What Harry wouldn't have given to see the man's face in this moment.

"Shh, shh! it's all right," Harry could hear McGonagall sooth into the equally clingy Luna who had duplicated Harry's performance once she had been freed.

"No, no it's not," Harry hiccupped expertly.

"Lockhart was going to kill Luna and blame it all on me. He told us all of the horrible things that he had ever done in his life and how this would propel him to even more fame and that there was no doubt in his mind that he would soon become the next Minister for Magic."

Harry tightened his hold around Severus' neck at this part, something that he was sure the other man loathed.

"He said, he said that he had it all planned out how he would make the story seem as if I had been opening the Chamber of Secrets and hurting people all along, and how he had been the one to eventually save the day."

"It's true," Luna sobbed!

"That evil man told us how he had done this before to gain fame at other people's expense. He… he," she choked out, "went on and on about how the world had never appreciated his talents and so he turned to spells of the mind to make people believe what he wanted them to. All of his books were the works of other people and he had been content with his life before coming to Hogwarts… before he met the Boy Who Lived and saw how much further his fame could take him."

She took a slight pause before continuing.

"He was just about to use a powerful Memory Charm on Harry to implant those fake memories of opening the chamber in his head when something went wrong and he was blown backwards into the wall and then he never got up and we were alone."

At this point Luna descended into hysterics and buried her face into McGonagall's robes.

Harry thought Luna's performance was perfect and that she had done everything that he had asked for and more. But he knew that his own performance wasn't finished and that his path towards his future could be even easier and less suspicious if he continued to play the next few minutes perfectly.

When Harry lifted his red and blotchy face from Snape's robes, there were tears in his eyes but he could clearly make out the forms of both Sprout and Flitwick who had just entered the room.

But Harry focused his words almost exclusively at Snape, whose black eyes were filled with both compassion and annoyance.

"Lockhart was jealous of my title," Harry confirmed in a low voice.

"He said that from the moment he came to the castle he knew that there was still more fame for him to achieve. Lockhart even bragged just a few moments ago…" Harry to look pointedly at the man's dead body before returning his attention to Snape with even more pain in his eyes before continuing, "about how he would turn me into his next book."

Harry's voice was hollow and everyone in the room was captivated by the pain in his voice.

"Why would anyone be jealous of someone whose fame came from their parents being murdered?"

No one could answer him.

"Lockhart told us that he had been the one to open the chamber, the one who had used something called … The Gorgon's Stare … to petrify Cedric – my older buddy - and the one who would save the castle by blaming it all on me."

The adults were stunned with what they were hearing. They couldn't believe that it had been Lockhart all along but the evidence being presented left no doubt in their minds.

However, Harry didn't want them to fixate on the facts too long. He had another angle to play.

"Why do these things keep happening to me?" He just about whispered.

It was Harry's final lament and he rested his tired head on Snape's shoulder, his body exhausted.

Snape didn't even flinch when Harry's head sought comfort against his body, and it was then that he knew that he had them right where he wanted them.

"I'm sorry, professor," Harry said as his tears resumed falling on Snape's shoulder.

"For what?" Snape – to his credit – managed to reply in the most non-threatening voice that even McGonagall had ever heard the man use.

"For not being a better student; for always ending up in these situations. I'll try harder, sir, to not be a dunderhead."

If Harry could have seen the exchange between the Headmaster and McGonagall then he would not have been able to resist the cackle of delight at how effective both his and Luna's performance had been.

It was all he could do to keep up his act when he felt Snape's hand touch his back as if to provide comfort to him.

Not only had he gotten the opportunity to punish Lockhart for even daring to think that he could use him in that way, but he had also been able to give a very compelling reason for why his achievement in the classroom would suddenly begin to increase exponentially.

He was pleased – very pleased – and he managed to suppress his laughter at how easy it all had been to play everyone as both him and Luna were carried from the room and taken to the hospital wing.

A few days later Cedric's eyes fluttered open. His first thoughts centered on how uncomfortable his body was and how difficult it was to see; but then a feeling of calmness passed through him and his senses relaxed. It told him that everything would be okay and that he was safe.

"Cedric," he heard a familiar voice say.

And without even needing to think Cedric responded.

"Harry," he sighed as the world began to come into focus.

"Everything will be okay," Harry told him.

And then Harry smiled and Cedric drifted back off to sleep. Harry then stood up and turned to leave as he allowed Cedric's body to deal with the trauma of being petrified and the residual effects of the restorative Mandrake Potion.

Luna and Ginny were standing on one side of the exit and Neville and Justin were standing on the other, waiting for their leader to join them. As he passed through into the hall they followed him and Harry finally felt relief that his core now had five distinct points. Cedric had come back to him and he had even managed to acquire Luna.

As the five of them headed down to breakfast two other magical cores inside the castle began to stir because it wouldn't be long now until Harry's magic was complete and these unknown individuals added their power to his.

And when that happened the world really didn't stand a chance.

Let me know what you think! We are now at the end of year two and I have outlines for the next 6 chapters that will encompass year three.