"Oh, definitely real. I hear their ghosts still hang around the Hill, too." Said Tonks, idly twirling a strand of long, blue hair around her finger.
"Remind me never to go there."
"Noted."
Harry and Tonks weren't anywhere near the library. They had gone up to fetch Solieyu, but he hadn't been there. When they reached the main stairway again, they saw traces of pink smoke sifting out from the Great Hall and decided it was in their best interest to not return. And so, they had finally decided to simply search the castle. After all, Solieyu had to be somewhere in its walls, didn't he?
Since they were on the fourth floor, Tonks suggested they search all the way down first, then go back up. It would be faster that way. And if, for some reason, it wasn't, it still gave them time to just be by themselves. Anywhere was better than in the Pink Hall with Lockhart.
Along the way, Harry had decided to strike up a conversation regarding something he had been reading about. Namely, the Pendle Hill witches. Tonks seemed to know much more on the subject, which Harry wasn't really surprised about. Despite how she acted, the girl could definitely impress him at times with what she knew. Of course, a great deal of this knowledge seemed to be about random and pointless things... But knowledge it was, no less.
"Hey Tonks?"
"Yeah?"
"We have to name the Tower."
Tonks blinked. "It already has one, Harry. It's called Ra-ven-claw To-wer."
Harry scowled as she drew each syllable out, as if he were a little boy or something. "Not that Tower!OUR Tower! It seems stupid to call it 'our secret Tower,' so I thought we should name it. But I'm terrible at things like that, apparently. Any thoughts?"
"Not a one." Tonks stated. "But I'll give it some thought."
"...No trolls so far. We must be in luck."
"Don't jinx it." Tonks laughed. "The night isn't over yet."
"No, but it's slowly getting there." Harry said, crossing his arms and nodding solemnly. "Something could still happen."
"Like what?" Tonks asked.
Rounding a corner, Harry had his mouth open to reply, but fell silent. Tonks, who had kept her eyes on him, stopped a few steps ahead of him.
"Like that." Harry said, nodding once.
Tonks turned around, following Harry's gaze. She gaped at what she saw. Mrs. Norris, Argus Filch's cat and general nuisance, was strung up to a torch on the wall. Her body seemed as stiff as a board. But she wasn't alone. It wasn't hard to tell whose body was laying nearby, even though the person was in a prone position. In addition, a message was written on the wall in what appeared to be blood. Harry paid this little mind, however. He knew who was on the ground.
Harry took off in a sprint, Tonks catching up quickly, as he rushed to Fred Weasley's side, skidding to a halt as he dropped to his knees.
"Fred! Oi, Fred, what's..." Harry began, turning the twin over. The look on Fred's face, however, was frozen in confusion. Nearby, a small box - filled with round devices with the lettering "HH" on them - had been overturned. It was almost as if someone had knocked him out with a Petrificus spell. Harry tried using Finite on him, but his petrified state wouldn't revert.
"Remind me to keep my big mouth shut in the future." Harry whispered. "Go get someone, Tonks. Dumbledore should still be in the Great Hall..."
"Right..." Tonks said, turning and rushing back up the corridor.
Harry carefully set Fred down and walked over to the box of round objects. Picking one up, he inspected it closely to see if it might have had anything to do with the current situation. But it seemed to be little more than one of the twins' random pranks. It was quite shiny, almost to the point of being reflective and, on the back of it, the words "Halloween Haunts" were written. Harry wasn't sure what they did, but he was almost positive that they weren't meant to petrify a person.
A number of minutes later, Tonks returned. With her were Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, along with George Weasley and Argus Filch. Harry wasn't thrilled to see the cranky caretaker, but as it was his cat hanging from the torch, he figured that he couldn't do anything about it.
"What, exactly, has happened here?" Asked Dumbledore as he surveyed the scene.
"I don't know..." Harry said. "We were looking for Leon and... well, we just found them like this..."
"Indeed?" Dumbledore said, walking over and inspecting Mrs. Norris closer. Filch was right beside him, eyes wide as he got a good look at his cat.
"He's killed her..." He gruffed out a second later, turning his head and staring down at the petrified form of Fred Weasley. "I always knew someone would wind up dead because of them!"
"Of course he didn't kill her!" George replied, sounding cross. "Fred's the same way your stupid cat is, isn't he?"
"Probably knew it was better to do himself in than wait for ME!" Filch growled.
"Calm yourself, Argus." Said Dumbledore, putting a hand on the enraged man's shoulder.
"What are those in the box, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked, stepping forward.
"These? Dunno. George, you have any idea what Fred was doing?" Harry asked, looking up.
George sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... He was going through the school, rigging up the Halloween Haunts. Around midnight, they would've sent cold winds, fireworks, and wailing moans through the whole school. Said he was going to start from Gryffindor Tower and work his way down..."
McGonagall shot her student an exasperated look, but said nothing.
"Looks like he didn't get a chance to finish. Wonder what he looks so confused about." Harry wondered aloud, glancing down at the odd expression on the petrified Weasley's face.
"Dunno. Maybe it had something to do with that." George said, motioning towards the bloody writing.
Dumbledore seemed to have already noticed, but McGonagall went a few shades paler than she had been. Filch was too busy trying to get Mrs. Norris' tail from around the torch.
"Albus, that's..." McGonagall began.
"Yes." Was all Dumbledore said in reply. Despite his outwardly calm appearance, there was no mistaking the strange tone of his voice. Something was definitely wrong here. Harry had a feeling that Dumbledore and McGonagall knew exactly what had happened to Fred and the cat. The real question was why weren't they saying it...?
"Mr. Weasley, if you would be so kind as to collect your brother and take him to the hospital wing. I believe Minerva and I need to find Pomona and ask her about the Mandrakes she's growing..." Said the headmaster, turning and giving McGonagall a pointed look over his spectacles. Glancing over Dumbledore's shoulder as George levitated his brother into the air, McGonagall nodded.
Before leaving, Dumbledore pulled his wand, murmured an incantation that Harry couldn't catch, and freed Mrs. Norris' tail. "Argus, if you would bring her to Poppy, as well...?"
Filch nodded as he slumped off up the hall, cradling the cat in his arms and murmuring soothing things to her.
George looked over his shoulder at Harry and called back, "Do us a favor and round those things up, would you? Wouldn't want them to fall into anyone's hands. Be a bit of a mess if they all got loose at once."
Harry nodded. He wasn't sure how George could act so calm, considering his brother had been petrified by an unknown assailant. He heard the redhead muttering things in Fred's general direction as the two headed off, but...
"That all went by quickly, didn't it?" Tonks asked, causing Harry to jump. He had forgotten that she was still there.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Hogwarts wasn't the place to be if you had a secret. Between loose lips and nosy portraits, talk spread like wildfire. George had been threatening anyone who even dared breathe his brother's name with a punishment from The List. Filch was yelling at random students as he shuffled aimlessly through the halls.
The morning after Halloween, Dumbledore had made an announcement regarding Fred and Mrs. Norris. His explanation was that a prank backfired and landed the two in the hospital wing. With a handful of the already-panted Haunts having gone off at midnight as planned, this seemed almost like a normal explanation. Harry stole a glance at George during this. While the redhead's face remained emotionless, he was gripping the Gryffindor table so hard that his knuckles were white. Clearly, he didn't care for the headmaster's version of events any more than Harry did.
Unfortunately, other students had wandered across the writing on the wall before it had been vanished. This lead to even more holes in the headmaster's story. But the general majority of the students believed him - the man did give off an air of confidence and truth, even when he was lying through his teeth.
Figuring the headmaster simply didn't want to needlessly worry anyone, Harry didn't comment on the situation. He did, however, take note of how very worn-out Professor Sprout looked that morning. Her hair, which was never tame in any sense of the word, was extra-frazzled. She also had deep bags under her eyes. She must have been up later than everyone else. Must have had something to do with those awful Mandragora plants that Harry's group had been forced to deal with in Herbology.
It was only natural, though. Mandrakes were well-known to reverse the effects of petrification. The real problem was the source. What would both take out Fred Weasley, who had been armed to the teeth with pranks at the time and was normally very aware of his surroundings, as well as write something in blood on the wall?
It was all very annoying to Harry. Another mystery was beginning to unfold in front of him. And, as usual, he was left with too many pieces of the puzzle that just didn't seem to fit anywhere.
Solieyu had turned up that morning, as well. If Professor Sprout looked bad, Solieyu looked worse. His hair was hanging free and his eyes were almost red, they were so bloodshot. He seemed paler than usual, which was really saying something. And he seemed to be shaking slightly, something that Harry couldn't remember seeing him ever do before.
"Bad night?" He asked a few minutes after his friend had taken his usual spot.
"You have no idea." Breathed Solieyu, propping his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands. "It's really bright in here this morning..."
"Mm. You look like hell. What happened?" Harry said, pushing his plate of food aside.
"Did something happen last night?" Asked Solieyu, pointedly avoiding Harry's question.
"Yeah. You've managed to avoid the rumor mill so far?"
Solieyu nodded slightly. "I've tried keeping away from noisy places. I was... sick last night, and I'm taking the brunt of its effects this morning."
"Sick, huh?" Asked Harry in a tone of blatant disbelief.
"Yes. Sick." Solieyu said, making a point of clearly stating the word. One of his eyes was visible through his fingers, issuing an outright glare towards Harry.
Leaning forward, Harry whispered, "Bigger things are going on than that. Listen, Fred and Mrs. Norris were attacked last night. They're both in the hospital wing, petrified. Where we found them, there was bloody writing on the wall that spoke of a 'chamber of secrets' and warned 'enemies of the heir' to beware."
"The ruddy hell does that mean?" Solieyu asked in a tired voice.
Harry raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like his friend to swear. Even so minorly. "No idea. I know you... can tell... certain things..." He said, choosing his words carefully. Solieyu was obviously in a testy mood. "You didn't happen to pick up on anything strange last night, did you?"
"I felt something." Replied Solieyu a few moments later. "It was like the troll last year, only..."
"Only...?"
"Only it felt much, much worse. Darker, somehow, if that makes any sense. If I had to sum up how it felt in one word, I'd use 'polluted'... Whatever I sensed, it was... foul somehow." Solieyu explained.
"Lovely. Something worse than a troll." Harry scowled. He took up a position much like his friend's, closing his eyes and trying to work out just what the devil was happening in the school this time.
"Wotcher." Whispered a voice from just above his air a few minutes later. Harry jumped, nearly falling over backwards. Turning, he glared at Tonks, who had finally decided to come down and eat. She enjoyed sleeping as late as she could get away with and seemed to alternate between wanting to eat as soon as possible and sleeping in. It was annoying, but Harry had quickly adjusted to her bizarre schedule, knowing automatically when not to wait for her.
"And a good morning to you too." Harry grumbled, sitting up straight. "Have a good lay-in, did you?"
"I did. And what's got your buttons, eh?" Tonks asked, snaking her arms out to collect a healthy dose of food.
"Dumbledore seems keen on covering up what happened." Harry said. "And Leon over here has a hangover and senses something evil."
Tonks looked between the staff table, Solieyu, and Harry before speaking. "Come again?"
Harry launched into an explanation of the morning's events so far. When he was through, Tonks looked as annoyed as Harry felt.
"Should we go checking the faculty's hair for second faces, then?" Asked the girl around a mouthful of bacon.
"I don't think Voldemort's behind it this time." Harry said, idly taking note of the faint winces the people around him made. Lowering his voice, he continued, "Besides, why would a teacher attack Mrs. Norris and Fred? And then leave evidence behind? I only wish there was a way to trace who or what that blood belonged to. It had to come from somewhere, didn't it!"
"Another mystery for our resident detective." Tonks said, grinning.
"Oh, shut up, Nymmy."
"Oi!"
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"He's WHAT!"
"Yeah, that was my first reaction, too."
Harry gaped at Tonks. It was almost a week after Halloween and the news that Professor Lockhart was going to be establishing a Dueling Club was making the rounds.
"You've got to be kidding. If he tries dueling anyone, half the student body will be turned to mush..." Harry groaned, setting aside a book on werewolves and shaking his head.
Tonks flopped down on the chair's arm, stretching. She had just gotten back from a late dinner (she had to finish a Potions essay) and had brought the hideous news with her. "I know. ...Want to go watch?"
"Sure, why not?" Harry answered with a roll of his eyes. "After all, I'm sure we can protect ourselves from whatever he might try. And on the bright side, whoever he duels against is sure to make a right arse of himself."
"Heyyy... What if it's Snape?" Tonks said, grinning.
"Ohh... Ohh, come on, Tonks. There's no justice in the world that sweet..." Harry said. Though he wasn't grinning back, there was a twinkle in his eyes.
"Hey, we can dream, can't we? It's Lockhart, Harry! Who else would he pick? He isn't going to pick on Flitwick, is he? He'd want to attempt to show off against the best in the school."
"And that's Snape?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well... I don't know. But I'd wager this year's Christmas presents on it. I mean... It's Snape. Doesn't helook like he could hex you into oblivion before you even drew your wand?"
"He wasn't doing so bloody good last year." Harry scowled, thinking back to the fight against Quirrell.
"...Point. ...I still wonder if he was a Death Eater, though. Why else would he freak out over Voldemort's face?"
"Well it isn't exactly normal to see a guy with two faces. But yeah, Snape seems much tougher than that. Don't think there's any real way to find out, though. I know I'm certainly not going to come out and ask him."
Tonks snorted. "Yeah, I bet he'd show you whether or not he really is a good duelist if you pulled a stunt like that."
"I'll leave him to Lockhart, thanks." Harry said, picking his book up again. "Care to curl up and read with me?"
"Don't have any books handy." Tonks pointed out.
"So read over my shoulder... or... from beside my shoulder. Or... uhm... well, you know what I mean, blast it all." Harry said, flushing slightly.
"Yes, yes, I know what you mean." Tonks said, biting back a giggle. "Go on, then. Open it back up."
Harry did so, feeling Tonks shift over so that she was leaning against his left side. It made it slightly awkward to hold the big book up at an angle that the two of them could read it at... But Harry weighed the options and found that he really didn't mind the awkwardness.
And besides, the last time he had tried working something different out, Tonks had promptly hopped on his lap with her legs dangling over the arms of the chair, telling him to let her hold the book. She wasn't able to properly finish the sentence before she started laughing. Apparently, Harry had lit up like a Christmas tree and wasn't able to form a coherent sentence. Thankfully, Harry had blocked out most of the memory. It had been wholly embarassing, after all. Nice, in a strange sort of way, but embarassing nonetheless.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I can't keep doing this. I can't. It hurts too much."
"You're a strong boy. Your emotions are j--"
"No, I mean physically. It hurts too much physically. For the last twenty hours or so, my body's been in more pain than I care to admit."
"Hm? Describe the pain for me."
"There's no proper way for it, I'm afraid."
With a weak laugh, Solieyu leaned back against the closed door to Madam Pomfrey's office. The matron of the school's hospitalwas sitting behind her desk, thumbing through a handful of books, scanning their pages at a frightening pace.
"Well," She finally began, looking up at the boy through her eyelashes. "You can't say I didn't warn you it would happen, dear."
"I know. And I'm sorry." Solieyu murmured, staggering forward into a chair on his side of the desk. "I just thought... I had gotten strong enough to overpower it."
"Tch. There's no doing that, I'm afraid. Your condition would only get worse. And you know what would happen if it got into the danger zone..." Said the nurse.
Solieyu winced. Hard. "Yes. I can't let that happen, but... Damn it all, I wish there was some other way!"
Madam Pomfrey ignored Solieyu's outburst and offered him a wan smile. "So do all who get inflicted with such maladies. You aren't the first, and I'm sure you won't be the last, that I see pass under my care. And I wish I could offer you more hope... Or better yet, a cure."
Sighing, Solieyu ran a hand back through his hair. "I know... And I'm greatful for the care you have provided. It's just... It's hard keeping up appearances sometimes. And..."
"And?"
"I think someone knows."
The nurse's eyes sharpened as she focused on the boy in front of her. "...Who?"
"Harry. Harry Potter."
Madam Pomfrey scowled. "Ah, yes. Him. The only boy other than you I seem to see regularly. FIVE times last year. Five! And he's already come in once so far this year... I honestly wish Severus would TEACH you children rather than just giving you instructions and leaving you to your own devices!"
Solieyu offered a dry chuckle to the nurse's fury.
Clearing her throat, Madam Pomfrey then continued, "So... You think he knows? How so?"
"He asks me things. I've done too many... unusual things... around him. I would have been much better off if we hadn't have had to deal with that troll last year. That gave away quite a bit on its own." Solieyu explained. "I've caught him trying to follow me at times, though he's stopped ever since I asked him to wait until I was ready..."
"So he suspected, confronted you, and... you gave him proof that his suspicions were correct?"
"...Well, when you put it like that..."
Shaking her head, Madam Pomfrey stood and began closing and filing the books on her desk. It was getting late, after all. "Well, dear, I'm afraid there's not much to do about it, then. As troublesome as Harry is, he's trustworthy. Albus seems to think so, anyway."
"Yeah... He's a pretty nice guy. He didn't even seem to flinch when I told him to wait for me to say something... It's like..."
"Like he doesn't care what you are?"
Looking up, Solieyu nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, like he doesn't care. ...I'm still not sure I trust him on that, though. So far, only adults have given me pity."
"It's not pity. Not here." Corrected the nurse. "You should know that by now."
"Yes. I'm sorry. I meant... adults outside of Hogwarts. Friends of my mother, mostly. They... Well, they don't come out and say it - that would be too rude. But I can see it in their eyes. I can feel it, almost. Acute senses aren't fun to have most of the time."
Finishing her task, Madam Pomfrey walked off into her storeroom. "Most gifts aren't, you'll find. Always some downside to them, no matter how great or little."
"I suppose so." Said the boy, getting shakily to his feet as well. "Are you sure there isn't any other way?"
An apologetic tone to her voice, Madam Pomfrey replied, "I'm afraid not. I know you hate it. I'm not thrilled with it, either."
Walking back out, the nurse handed out a vial of red liquid to the boy. "But it's all that can be done."
Solieyu sighed quietly, taking the vial and holding it to eye's level. "For now."
Smiling sadly, Madam Pomfrey nodded, placing a hand on Solieyu's shoulder. "For now." She agreed.
Uncorking the top, Solieyu took one last look at the contents, squeezed his eyes closed, and forced himself to drink them in one quick gulp.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Aha! First strike! Bet no one saw me taking out one of the twins, did they? Especially this early. Mrs. Norris is evil, and I like writing a grumpy Filch, so she's still victim 2. And yes, I do have a reason for why Fred didn't get killed by the basilisk. All will be revealed at the end. Sorry about taking so long. My sleep schedule has been...atrocious. And I've kinda been sick this week. I must've eaten something LAST weekend that hated me, 'cause I've been feeling totally blech ever since. My sister's birthday is the 22nd, so that's also had me running around a bit. Ach. So much has delayed this two-parter.
But things are FINALLY in motion! And the DUELING CLUB is next chapter! My favorite part of both book AND movie. I'm gonna have some fun with it, since Ravenclaw-Harry is much more booksmart than Gryffindor-Harry. I like Harry using his brains.
And we get our complimentory Honks moment! Yeah, I COULD have written about the lap moment in flashback... but where's the fun in that? Use your imagination to picture how poor, poor Harry looked. Aww, Tonks likes teasing the poor guy.
And Hangover-Leon! Anyone care to wager a guess on why HE'S feeling all haggard this chapter?
Aside from the Dueling Club, next chapter will also have the explanation of what the Chamber is. I'm pondering changing the place up a bit. What do you guys think? I'm already changing the victims list, the bit with Riddle, the WHOLE basilisk fight, what the Sorting Hat will spit out, etc. Might as WELL make the place look different, huh? I didn't care for the movie's version, anyway.
And why is it Secrets? Why is that word a plural? What did Salazar keep in there? I figure Half-Blood Prince will answer a few of those. I'm hoping it will, anyway. I can't help but wonder if there's OTHER creatures kept there. Me, I want to see a Stolas appear. Things are creepy as hell, if ya ask me. In any case, I'll stop blathering now and get on with writing something relevant. Chapter 9, here I come.
(Oh, and I hope no one minded the Leon bit finishing the chapter out. A bit of filler, but I needed to pad this one to flesh it out more. Call it character development, since I never really say what the hell the poor guy's feeling or doing much.)