Note: Yeah this was originally supposed to be part of
the "A romantic Tour" Chapter but I had to save it on another disk and
it got all messed up and so to get the full effect read the two one after
another….oh screw it just read the damn story……and if you would like to
be really really nice you could review it too!
o yeah just a reminder this takes places during Harry's
second year at hogwarts!!! important to remember!!!
**********************************************************
"And over here is the entrance to the Ravenclaw house."
Oliver said, pointing to a wooden staircase leading up to a large blue door with hundreds of doorknobs that sparkled in the sunlight trickling though the widow behind Chloe and Oliver. Chloe stared intensely at the staircase and the hallway from where they had just come from. She was trying her very hardest to remember it all, but Hogwarts was so big, she had become completely lost after they left the common room.
"So where exactly is Gryffindor tower from here?" She asked trying not to sound too unsure.
"Well it's not that far actually, you just have to go down the hall and turn left at the door that is red, not the green one though cause that'll lead you right to the dungeons. After the red door you can either go up the staircase with one missing railing –but be careful of that one cause the third step is a disappearing one-" Oliver warned, "or you can cut though the Transfiguration hall to get to the Entrance Hall. And from there you just go up the stairs and take a left, and you'll be at the fat lady."
Chloe felt for the first time in her life a surge of utter panick. She would never be able to find her way around here. She would be going to class one day and become completely lost. She would starve to death and no one would ever be able to find her body, they would just assume that she ran away. Then in a few years another new student would get lost and end up in the same room she had died in and would find her skeleton. Chloe shuttered at the thought. She was glad to see that Oliver, who was surveying the hall didn't seem to notice her nervousness.
"Ok next we go to the Great Hall, I am starving, if we're lucky we can get a snack."
Oliver walked over to the wall behind Chloe who turned to watch what he was doing.
"Open! He commanded.
A panel in the wall swung open reviling a long hall with different size doors lining the sides. As they walked down the corridor Chloe noticed a small door that looked like it had come out of a cartoon. Finally they reached the end of the hall, in front of them was a large black door with a silver knob.
"Wait," Chloe said before Oliver could reach for the door, "let me guess, you have to tickle it in order for it to open."
Oliver smiled at her and reached out his hand and turned the knob and pulled the door open.
"Or you could just do that." Chloe said feeling quite stupid.
Oliver laughed as he gestured for her to go through the door first. Chloe's mouth dropped open at the sight of the Great Hall. From the stone walls hung beautiful tapestries depicting scenes from all over Hogwarts. As Chloe looked closer she noticed that the tapestries were changing before her very eyes. She looked at the one with "The Great Hall" embroidered on it. In the middle of the tapestry stood two figures one was a girl and the other a boy. Chloe fixed her eyes on the tapestry and lifted up her arm, the girl in the picture did the same. This gave her quite a start. Above the tapestries were four great long stained glass windows each bearing the depiction of what seemed to be very distinguished wizards. Five long tables were place around the hall. Each had an engraving of and animal on it. These must be were people from the different houses sit, Chloe thought. She and Oliver made there way over to the table with a Gryffindor engraved in it. They only moved a few steps at a time because every few seconds Chloe would see something that amazed her so much that she had to stop. Finally they got to the table and sat down. Chloe began to worry, she didn't have any money, how was she supposed to get any food she certainly didn't want to make Oliver pay for her. She needn't have worry though for the moment they sat down plates and glasses appeared before them.
"I think that I am going to have a nice turkey club."
Oliver said licking his lips. Then all of a sudden and savory turkey club appeared on his plate, complete with chips and pickles.
"And some pumpkin juice to drink." He added and as he did his glass filled with a sparkling orange liquid. "Well, aren't you going to have something."
"Ah, well I guess so. What do you have here?" Chloe asked
"Everything you can imagine, just say what you want."
Chloe though for a moment and then leaned toward her plate.
"I, um, would like some french-fries. And a –ah- diet Coke" She said uncertainly.
Sure enough her plate filled with steaming greasy fries and her goblet filled with sparkling diet coke. She took one of her fries and looked it over suspiciously.
"It's not poisonous." Oliver said trying not to laugh. Chloe looked unconvinced. "Here I'll prove it to you."
He reached over and snatched a fry from her plate. He popped it in his mouth and chewed with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Defiantly not poisonous, a little on the salty side, but not poisonous."
Reassured Chloe ate the fry that was in her hand. It was indeed far from poisonous, in fact it was the best french-fry she had ever had. She began to eat them up rapidly. With all the worrying about finding her way around she had forgotten how hungry she was.
"So," She said between mouthfuls, "Where to next?"
Oliver swallowed the bit of sandwich he had in his mouth and took a gulp of Pumpkin juice. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe and said,
"I thought that we would go up the main staircase and then up to the divination tower."
"What!" Chloe cried "More stairs I swear that if I go up one more flight of god-damn stairs my feet will fall off! For Christ-sake just how many staircases do you have in this place?"
"A hundred and forty-two." Oliver said before taking another swig at the pumpkin juice. "I suppose we could go down and I could show you the dungeons. Nah that wouldn't be a good idea."
"Why not?" Chloe asked, the idea of seeing some creepy old dungeons sounded very exciting.
"Well the caretaker, Filch, remember I mentioned him before?"
She did remember. Filch was almost as hated as Snape. Flich would patrol the halls looking for students who he thought were up to no good and punish them. Chloe gathered that he was not a man to cross paths with if it could be avoided.
"Filch's cat got attacked down there about a week ago he stays down there jumping at anyone who comes down and protests endless that they were responsible for the attack."
"Well does anyone know who is responsible?"
"Well kinda, we have a name but not a face"
"Huh? Sorry I don't understand." Chloe looked at Oliver hoping he would divulge more.
"The same night that the cat was attacked some one wrote on the wall that the "chamber of secrets" had been opened. That's supposedly a room that contains a monster that would attack anyone who was an enemy of the heir of Slytherin." Oliver added seeing the confusion on Chloe's face "Anyways the person threatened the "enemies of the heir of Slytherin" so basically we know that the person who considers themselves the heir is the culprit. We just don't know who the person is yet."
Chloe nodded. She looked again around the hall, the figures in the Great Hall tapestry were now sitting down at a table. Oliver finished his sandwich.
"Well ready to go?"
Chloe stretched and looked up. She gasped in amazement. Were the ceiling of the hall should have been there was the clear open winter sky. White clouds drifted through a light blue sea and the crescent-moon could be seen behind some whips of white. The dull orange sun was receding towards the horizon. Oliver, noticing Chloe's fixation, followed her gaze upward.
"Oh, you know what that is don't you?" he asked.
"The sky." She replayed.
"Well sort of, it's the ceiling. It has been bewitched to look like the sky outside. That gives me an idea!" Oliver said as he grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her out of her seat.
"Wh-what?" Chloe asked, feeling shivers of excitement run down her arm to her the pit stomach as Oliver pulled her toward the door of the Great Hall.
"I'll show you the grounds! They really are beautiful and they're less confusing then the castle itself."
They ran outside and down the front steps of the castle.
"See the forest over there?" Oliver asked as he stood behind Chloe and pointed her in the right direction, she nodded. "That's the forbidden forest. All sorts of magical creatures live there."
The edge of the forest trickled into the clear green a little bit, but expanded endlessly in the other direction.
"That's Hagrid's house." Oliver said pointing to a little hut on the edge of the forest.
Oliver led Chloe down the stairs and on to the green. They walked away from Hagrid's hut towards a beautiful lake that so calm it reflected the sky like a mirror. Oliver told her how the first years would sail in from the train-station instead of taking the carriages like the rest of them. The walked around the lake, Chloe excitedly pointed to some exotic looking birds gliding across the lake's surface. The sun was almost touching the horizon.
"Damn." Oliver said looking up at the now lavender sky.
"What?"
"I was hopping to show you the Quidditch field, but it's too dark now."
"What's a Quidditch field?" Chloe asked
"It's where you play Quidditch." Oliver acted as if the answer was obvious.
"Oh right." Chloe looked around the grounds and then turned back to Oliver. "Um, what's Quidditch?"
"WHAT'S QUIDDITCH??????" Oliver nearly toppled over.
Chloe shrunk back. She quickly tried to think of something to say.
"I just have you, never really heard of it…I mean it sounds a little familar"She said reaprochfuly
"You've, you've never heard of Quidditch?"
Chloe was getting the idea that Oliver didn't catch on to things too quickly. She was about to answer him when he straightened up and looked at her.
"Sorry about that, I just can't believe that you've never heard of Quidditch the best sport in the universe (muggle and non). Well I guess that I am just going to have to fix that."
"Fix it?" Chloe asked apprehensively.
"Yes. I'll explain the game to you on the way back to the common room and then you must come to the first game at the end of the week." Chloe opened her mouth to protest but Oliver pressed on. "I will NOT take no for an answer, as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team it is my duty to educate those not aquatinted with this marvelous sport."
"Oh that's where I remember hearing it!" Chloe suddenly exclaimed. "Katie and Angelina told me this morning that you were the captain of their team."
"Yes, they are chasers" Oliver explained as he and Chloe walked back up to the castle
"Chasers?"
Oliver looked scandalized. He shook his head and said,
"I better start from the beginning."
The two of them walked up the stairs and into the main hall immersed in the details of Quidditch. The more she that heard about it the more complicated the game seemed. Four balls; all of the players on broomsticks; games that went on for months! All this seemed very strange, but Chloe didn't care, for the first time since she arrived at Hogwarts she wasn't worried about anything. She would have been perfectly content to listen to Oliver talk all night. However, their conversation ended as they entered the Gryffindor common room.
The room was packed with students finish homework, playing cards and chess, chatting, and some were even sleeping. As Oliver and Chloe entered she spotted Hermione. They walked over to her.
"Hey!" Chloe greeted her friend.
"Oh hey, how was your tour?"
Chloe shot a glance as Oliver and smiled.
"It was great."
George and Fred had just entered and they came running to greet Oliver and Chloe.
"Hey Oliver, Hey Chloe, I am George." George said pushing Oliver aside
"And I am Fred." Fred did the same to George.
Chloe who was a little overwhelmed by this overflow of attention stammered a response as Hermione tried hard to suppress laughter.
"They are the beaters on the Gryffindor team." Oliver, who had inched his way back to her side, said.
"Oh really wow. Oliver was just telling me how Quidditch works." Said Chloe
"Yes and she's coming to our first game of the season."
Chloe smiled, she had forgotten all the apprehension she had felt about going. George shot a look at Oliver that clearly said, "how in the world did you get her?" Oliver just smiled.
"Care to join us for a game of exploding snap?" Fred offered.
"Exploding snap?" she asked Hermione.
"It's a really fun game, maybe Harry and Ron will join us." She turned around and called her friends, "Oy! Ron, Harry come play exploding snap."
The two boys looked at each other and agreed. With in minutes the seven of them were off in a corner enjoying a playful tournament. Even Chloe got a chance to play though she lost in the first round. By the time they finished it was well past 1 am. Harry stretched and yawned.
"Well I suppose that it is time for be-be-bed" Harry said unable to suppress a yawn.
Everyone agreed and the cleaned up and said their good-nights. After much deliberation Chloe walked over to Oliver.
"Night, Oliver. Thanks for showing me around today." She said.
"It was nothing, I do it again anytime." He smiled.
Without thinking Chloe put her arms around his neck and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. She and Hermione then hurried upstairs to the girl's dormitory. Oliver, quite unable to move stood still with his mouth wide open and his face red as a strawberry. The twins, Ron and Harry looked at him with a mixture of amazement and tremendous jealousy. Eventually they all came to their sense and were able to make it to the boy's dormitory and feel asleep.
To be continued………