Chapter 8

Harry quickly settled back into life at Hogwarts, classes were still a bit of a chore but he was willing to let that slide for now. It wasn't as if he had expected it to be any better in his first week, after all he and his friends had studied ahead a fair amount last year.

He was eager to get back into the swing of his little study group, it had been far too long since he had met up with everyone. Also he had next to no hope again for defense against the dark arts, considering Lockhart pranced around his modestly sized classroom more than taught, there was little hope for the lessons to be productive.

He had been mortified to find out that Tracey and Daphne thought highly of Lockhart, he had never taken them for avid 'witch weekly' readers. Actually most of the female students he saw or knew seemed to at least tolerate the buffoon, even Susan and Hannah.

After his last astronomy lesson of the week, he had been assaulted by another small piece of parchment, it was from Yaxley again, telling him the meeting time and place. So on their first day off Harry and Daphne found themselves in the dungeons at the crack of dawn, at least it wasn't winter yet or else Harry would have found it very hard to find the motivation.

A portrait of a noble looking knight watched them approach, his armor glistened in the reflected dragon fire he dutifully ignored. "Well met young sir and lady. What brings you down this long forsaken path." his voice boomed with self importance, and the dragon tried to swat him with its tail. "Hurry, fools."

"Perfection." Was Daphne's curt reply, Harry had come to link this stern side of Daphne with things she was eager to do, she wasn't one to half ass something. Harry found it slightly intimidating, Daphne had a cold self assurance when she set her mind to things, not to mention the way her blue eyes seemed to stab him with their urgency. Oh right… he had been dawdling.

Harry entered first, he held his hand close to his wand just in case, it was never a bad idea to be cautious. The small room was as bright as the great hall, despite having no windows, there were a few plush chairs scattered around the outer edge. A large platform was raised in the center of the room, it looked almost exactly like a dueling stage, Harry didn't know what to make of it.

Daphne brushed past him and made her way towards Yaxley, he was lounging in a small recliner reading a tome from ages past. He closed the book and gave the two a small smile, he rose to his feet in a slow but graceful way.

"Arrived early, good idea." His eyes flickered to the third year students, Harry saw them tense up as they watched on. "They tried to make us wait on them, they learned better quickly enough."

Harry didn't like the sound of that, it sounded all too much like what his worst fears were. If Yaxley were anything like his father, or his father's friends, a little torture and unspeakable crime were of little concern.

"You see, giving that jumped up little toad the password was the completion of a magical contract between yourselves and Slytherin house itself." Harry narrowed his eyes and looked to Daphne, who was almost completely unchanged, except a fist shook beside her hip.

"Mainly for secrecy you'll understand, that and a certain amount of obedience." Yaxley continued, Harry tried not to gulp, there were very few ways to shake off a magical contract, and he didn't think he could scrape up a few decades of curse breaking knowledge out of thin air.

"You are here to learn, some ancient magic from Salazar Slytherin himself, some even older. You will, eventually, will be tasked with shaping this noble house. And as such we will prepare you for that, among other things."

"What do you mean, how did we enter this 'contract' if we didn't know about it?" Harry asked, venom dripping from his tone.

"How do mudbloods get enrolled in the school, how do wands exactly work." Yaxley said with a hint of amusement, Harry knew his face betrayed his anger at that term. "Magic is very old Potter, it would do you well to respect that."

Daphne swore quietly, but she still stepped up to Yaxley adamantly. "So what do you want?"

"Nothing nefarious little viper." He said with a laugh, he whistled sharply to the third year students. "Just a little test."

Both third years climbed up onto the dueling stage and watched them with a hint of eagerness in their stance. Harry looked at Yaxely who merely nodded to the platform, Harry climbed up ahead of Daphne. She followed behind him, but she didn't seem eager about how things had turned out.

"What is the goal? What are the rules?" Harry asked Yaxley.

"I think that's something you need to decide with Gladwell and Sivvers." Yaxley's grin made Harry feel sick.

And then the spell hit him, he was thrown to the ground and had the wind knocked out of him. He could hardly move, but he could hear Daphne casting some defensive spells, like that had done in practice last year.

Harry struggled up. His breath was still hard to come by and his entire front side ached. But he stood. He could see the pair of third years casting some nasty curses at Daphne, but she was blocking them with an expertise he hadn't expected.

Her movements were precise and fast. He found himself watching, until a jet of yellow flew past his head. He didn't need a third warning to get him into action.

He tried to rely on what had worked before, he had not practiced for a fight in a while. His 'aguamenti' spell was countered by a sudden gust of wind blowing it off to the side. Harry knew these students were fighting for more than fun after that.

They cast a few spells that made Harry feel sick, Sivvers he thought it was, threw a bone breaking curse at him. Harry was nimble enough to avoid it, but if he hadn't seen it he would have been in trouble. Daphne had been casting less defensively since Harry had rejoined the fight and it showed she gave almost as little mercy. Harry saw a blasting curse just miss Sivvers after her spell had missed Harry.

Harry tried to cover for Daphne for a bit and allow her to get the third years on the back foot. His protego charm was weak and unpracticed, but it still blocked a spell when needed. He was still much better at transfiguring things. He just wished he had anything to transfigure.

A crackling red light smashed into Sivvers and she went down in a thump of dead weight, Daphne had managed to land a stunner on her. Harry rushed forward to put more pressure on Gladwell, but when he got closer he shot off his own stunner at Harry. A quick roll got him out of the way and he began going on the offensive.

A cutting curse hit Gladwell on the hand and a tripping jinx knocked him over. Harry tried to cast a stunner but was hit by a blasting curse and fell back, his leg ached with the pain. He caught a glimpse of Daphne laying face down on the platform, also stunned.

Harry tried to stand but his foot exploded in pain, he dared not look to see what was damaged, and how bad it was. Gladwell stood and smirked, his wand slashed through the air. Blood burst from Harry's left arm, and a scream echoed in the small room.

Harry felt his wand as he gripped it as tightly as possible, he staggered to the side and tried to get some distance between him and Gladwell. He needed more time to react to his spells without Daphne to help him. Gladwell's wand twitched, and Harry moved more by instinct than anything.

He threw himself to the ground under the bone breaker curse, and fired off a tickling hex, followed instantly by a body bind curse. He countered the hex with disdain but the body bind slipped through and hit him. Harry watched as Gladwell got stiff then stopped moving all together.

Harry sighed, his leg burned with pain, and his left arm was still bleeding though he couldn't feel much pain. He tried to roll over but gave up pretty quickly. He heard Yaxley jump onto the platform, before long he heard him cast an 'rennervate'. Harry tried again to scramble up, but his leg refused to work.

A hand gently brushed his head as he was rolled over, Daphne looked down at him with a good deal of concern on her face.

"Little help?" he asked with an attempt of a grin.

Yaxley appeared over her shoulder and cast a spell at Harry, suddenly his arm felt sore, the pain shot up his arm and into his very being. And as quickly it left. He could move his left arm freely and not hurt.

"You're lucky that wasn't something more dangerous." Yaxley said, with some disdain. "Professor Snape doesn't enjoy having to heal students who are stupid enough to run at their opponents. That foot will need madam Pomfrey though. Greengrass will take you."

"Thanks." Harry muttered, Daphne helped him to his foot and cast a cleaning charm on his robes. Yaxley moved on to help the third year students. Harry and Daphne hobbled out of the room.

"Same time next wednesday." Yaxley called, Daphne swore again as they left the room. As they walked down the hall they ran into the seventh year members, who looked Harry and Daphne up and down.

"You beat them?" The head boy asked. Daphne answered and the two shared a look. "Yaxley will be so smug after this. Get Potter cleaned up. I'll have a book sent to your room Greengrass, you'll enjoy the contents… make sure you both take the time to read it."

Harry watched the girl, she had beady eyes and red hair, and a look that made him feel like he needed to wash. She didn't blink at his mangled foot, or at the fact that they won their… duel. But when Head Boy mentioned a book her eyes flashed with unmistakable anger.

As they stumbled on their way, Harry found himself leaning on Daphne more and more for support, she never complained though. He tried many times to bring some of the questions he wanted to ask up, but each time he felt the words catch in his mouth.

It wasn't until they had been seen by Pomfrey and had her forcefully align his foot back to where it was supposed to be, and she cast her healing spell, and then gave him a potion for the pain… it wasn't until all that that he felt like he could ask Daphne about it all.

"Daphne, is the magical contract thing true, is that possible?" Harry asked, he had never paid much attention to legal and more bureaucratic aspects of the wizarding world.

Daphne nodded, then sighed. "I tried to tell Pomfrey that a third year student had done it, but I couldn't. So I had to say we had been messing around with new spells. I had a much better lie thought up, but something made me take the blame for it." She was silent for a few seconds. "I don't like this Harry."

He could almost believe she was afraid if not for the rage in her expression. He grabbed her hand. "Me either, we will figure this out." He replied and gave her a comforting squeeze.

Pomfrey bustled back in and told them to get out, with a stern warning about messing around with magic they didn't understand. Harry was quite happy to be walking on both feet so quickly, he had been fearing skele gro would be needed.

As they walked Harry asked the other question he had been burning to ask. "Thats Petir Gorall, no idea about his family, apparently he's from some balkan country but Durmstrang would make more sense then." Daphne replied. "The girl is Selice Runcorn. Before you ask, I have no idea if her father was a supporter. After today I don't doubt it."

Harry met her eyes and nodded, they had walked head first into a pit of cobras and got out with only a small injury. The memory made him shudder, Daphne squeezed his hand and gave him a teasing smile.

That was when Harry realized, he was still holding her hand. It was nothing compared to a kiss, but considering how Daphne usually showed affection he found his heart racing.

After he had gotten a shower and fresh clothes he met Daphne in the common room, she was pouring over a book. Harry couldn't make anything out as her hair fanned out around it in an almost protective way. When he got her attention she gasped and looked around.

"This book has some spells my father refused to tell me about, let alone teach them." Her voice held awe and fear in equal parts, Harry felt his mood drop, that sentence was terrifying to hear. "This book has to be illegal Harry."

Harry gulped. He felt a pull towards that book, one he couldn't fight. "Who wrote it?" He asked hesitantly.

"The heir of Slytherin." Daphne scoffed. "The Slytherin line has been effectively dead for too many generations, this book is way too recent for that." Harry nodded, it was a brave boast to call yourself the heir of Slytherin, one many might try if it gained them enough.

Maybe Susan would know something about magical contracts. He deeply hoped she did, considering the pages Daphne was reading were about compulsion magic he couldn't shake that feeling drawing him in, after all this book was certainly illegal.

In the weeks that followed Harry had not managed to ask Susan about magical contracts, the words died as soon as he thought them. Harry had begun to get pretty frustrated with the situation.

The following meeting with the 'Slytherin Elite' as they called themselves was much more tame, they had shown their structured side, with the upper years practicing some serious dark magic. Harry couldn't believe these students had the desire to learn such spells.

However when Gorall called on them to demonstrate what they had studied out of the book he had sent Daphne, Harry and Daphne performed some of the spells flawlessly. They had stuck to the more practical ones, Harry assumed Daphne agreed to that to make him feel more comfortable, after all he came from a famously 'light' family.

It made him uncomfortable to be learning those spells, but he couldn't shake the pride that flooded him when they were applauded by the 'elite'. Each older member heaped praise on them and made a good show of being decent people, well except for Gladwell and Shivvers.

They had apparently been relegated to the lowest of the low, the hate filled looks they cast Harry and Daphne, he knew it wouldn't be long until there was another altercation.

An altercation he had been expecting was with Draco Malfoy, but the boy had been quiet and surly, perhaps he had taken the lack of invitation to the 'Slytherin Elite' to heart but Harry didn't think Draco was able to give up so quickly. He embodied ambition. It just so happened that after a month back at school Draco hadn't even tried to curse him from behind yet.

Harry would have been feeling pretty secure about it if not for the hate filled looks Malfoy gave him. No, there would be trouble soon, he was sure. Other than quidditch training, classes and extracurricular activity things had settled down one way or another.

He had been flown ragged at least twice a week in the name of quidditch by Pucey and the rest of the team, Harry grudgingly accepted the workload was paying off big time. He had learned to spot certain set plays from a way away, and Pucey claimed he was improving well. The first game against Hufflepuff couldn't come quick enough.

His mum had warned him about showing off, apparently his dad had been quite the showman, so Harry did not boast or make silly bets. All he knew was he would have to wait a little while longer before getting any kisses from Susan and Hannah after the game was over.

Harry had been trying to keep an eye out for his younger sister too, after all kids could be mean, he was happy to see her in the company of a few first year girls at all times. He was not ready for Rosie to have any boyfriends yet, he knew all too well what boys were like.

It seemed like she had formed a group similar to his, with only Slytherin missing from her group. Harry didn't blame her, outside of Daphne and Tracey his own year was a rather miserable lot. No matter how often he tried to get conversation out of them, he was met with sullen resistance.

Malfoy had friends so loyal they should have been sorted into Hufflepuff, it seemed like Nott was the only one with any mind of his own. But that was hardly a good thing considering who his father supported.

Classes had gotten a bit more challenging after the first week, to the point that once he failed to complete his transfiguration in one class and had gotten a stern look from McGonagall. Harry didn't feel like he had been falling behind his study group friends, so either they were holding back or things had gotten harder.

Harry stood in the changing room at the quidditch stadium, the early morning breeze helped calm his anticipation. His broom bobbed around in his grip while he waited, Harry saw Malfoy looking just as eager to fly, despite being up against Diggory, well Malfoy was used to fighting against overwhelming odds. When the curtain was opened they strode out onto the pitch, and the roars from the stands welcomed them.

Harry darted off to his goal hoops as fast as possible after the whistle blew. He had learned in practice what dawdling could do, his team had gotten possession of the quaffle so he could study the players.

The beaters for Hufflepuff were a pair of brutish and smart boys, they knew who to aim for, and so far they were focusing most of their hits at the Slytherin beaters. They seemed to be trying to even out the playing field a bit, they clearly didn't think much of Slew and Pucey, both of whom were eager to prove themselves. The newest chaser was a fourth year girl called Perkins, who could fly very well, her skills were a bit on the rough side but Slew grew into her first game very well.

After Hufflepuff conceded three goals without even testing him, they changed their plan. Slew was dodging bludgers for a long time after that, Pucey tried as hard as he could to keep some stability but he was overwhelmed. Which meant Harry got overwhelmed too.

After letting his third goal in he swore and kicked out at the air, he had managed a few saves but there was always another chaser trying to score. Perkins had been a bit shaky and lost the quaffle a lot, he could see the nerves getting to her big time. It wasn't until they had fallen to 40-80 that Pucey called a timeout.

Harry called for more attention on the beaters, they had taken Slew out of the game even without knocking her out. The others agreed, Pucey still pulled Malfoy aside to give him some instruction. As they rose into the sky again things went well again, they scored twice to catch back up.

Harry kept making saves, it was much easier without five or six chasers right next to him. He stretched far to reach a shot that was going into his leftmost hoop, his fist managed to punch it away, only for a bludger to crash into his elbow.

The stab of pain rocked him off his broom, Pucey managed to catch him before he fell, but his arm was hanging limp beside him. He couldn't play like this, but if he went off the team was sure to lose, there was no backup keeper.

Madam Hooch tried to recommend trying to get help from Pomfrey, but it would take too long, he soared back up with one hand trying to steer and maneuver his broom.

He still made a few saves, but he struggled to reach the quaffle and the far hoops. His teammates tried as hard as they could to take the pressure off him, but they could only do so much, before long the score had gotten close to unfixable. Hufflepuff were up 180-100, only some very clever play from Pucey and Slew kept them close.

DIggory and Malfoy had been quiet so far, Malfoy had tried a few sudden dives for the snitch, but they were all feints that Diggory didn't fall for. That made the game drag on a while, which made Harry suffer more and more. The quaffle slipped past his hands a few more times and Harry felt the urge to vomit rising up in him.

This was meant to be his chance to prove his worth to the whole school, instead he was being humiliated. Even if he was injured he felt he should be able to play better.

Malfoy went for another dive as the Hufflepuff chasers swarmed onto his goal, that was the plan Pucey must have told him, to try and divert attention away. Harry cried out in joy when he caught the quaffle in one hand, he quickly threw it to Perkins, who immediately spun and shot off.

The bludger than crashing into his stomach nearly made him cry from the pain. A bloody hippogryph wouldn't have hurt as much. As he fell he could see Malfoy holding the snitch in his hands, waving it wildly. The impact was dull but still enough to send a spasm up his arm.

The hospital wing was a great place for a large gathering, what with Madam Pomfrey glaring at anyone who did anything, and the obvious suffering of Harry. So when his friends and teammates all tried to comfort him, all he could think of was an animal in a muggle zoo.

Then Madam Pomfrey started giving him his potions, she started with one for the pain this time though. It didn't take long for his teammates to go celebrate, not that he could blame them, the halloween feast would be starting in a few hours.

Daphne and Tracey stayed behind to keep him company, Harry felt himself smiling like an idiot, it was nice to know they cared. Before long the door opened and his sisters walked in followed by Susan and Hannah. Harry sat up to give them a decent greeting, the bandages Madam Pomfrey had wrapped him up in made it hard going but he managed.

"You idiot, why didn't you quit." Rosie said as she rushed up and threw her arms around him.

He patted her hair and then gave her a warm hug. "I had to show what us Potter's are made of."

"Clay I presume?" Daphne asked, Tracey and Hannah laughed.

"Something like that." He replied.

"You did really well today, Wood even complimented your play." Jasmine said, Wood knew a great deal about quidditch and was known for his talent so Harry puffed his chest out a little.

"Oh stop Jasmine, we don't need his ego getting any bigger." Susan said warmly.

"Yeah last time we had to ask Flitwick for a head shrinking charm to bear being around him." Hannh added.

"Wasn't that the cranium shrinking solution from Snape?" Tracey asked.

"No that was…" Susan tried to say.

"Harhar very funny girls." Harry snapped.

They all laughed after that, Harry enjoyed all of them in small doses, but together they were unbearable. They chatted for a little while before Daphne and Tracey went to the common room to get changed for the feast, Susan and Hannah stayed around for a little while longer. Rosie's friends came to collect her and rushed her off to the feast.

Harry and Jasmine talked about little things, avoiding the big halloween thing, it wasn't a touchy subject or anything but Jasmine got surly when being reminded of the night HE had come for her. Harry had no idea what must have been going on through her head but he would be there for her.

Even if he were the one in the hospital bed, being treated like he had dragon pox, by a woman old enough to be his great grandmother. After a while Madam Pomfrey let him leave, she clearly liked having people stay in her hospital wing otherwise she wouldn't keep them so long to be sure they were fine.

"You want to catch the end of the feast?" Harry asked

"I'd rather not. Somehow eating piles of sweets hardly sounds enticing."

"I dunno, not like you've got a boyfriend to impress."

"You prat Harry." She hit him, gently and on the arm that wasn't just mangled. But still, he was only just out of that place.

Kill… Rip… Tear…

Harry gulped and looked around, he caught Jasmine freeze too.

"What under Merlin's robes was that?"

"I'm not sure Jasmine, maybe we should go back."

He heard it again that same but somehow more urgent, and Jasmine took off in the direction it came from. Harry had to sprint to keep up, it didn't take long until he was splashing in a flood of water.

The corridor was soaked, and there on the wall written in something a little bit too red was a message. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware." Harry wasn't sure if he or Jasmine had spoken the words, his eyes fell on a rigid shape that looked like a cat. He knew they had to leave, being caught here would do neither of them any favours.

As soon as he grabbed Jasmine to make her move he heard splashing coming from down the hall. Before long at least half the school was crowded around them, pointing and murmuring about the message, Harry met Daphne's eyes in the crowd who looked stunned and afraid.

Then it hit Harry, 'the heir.' He really had to get away right now. Then Filches voice boomed out, the janitor stumbled up in filthy robes and brushed his fingers along his cat. He rounded on Jasmine with a threatening fist balled up, Harry darted in front of her.

"Argus!" Dumbledore's voice was filled with cold purpose. He looked over the scene and sent teachers off to dismiss the crowd, his eyes glued Harry and Jasmine to the spot.

"What happened?" He asked them.

"Nothing Professor, we just got out of the hospital wing and were talking. Then we found this." Harry said evenly.

"We didn't see anyone on our way here." Jasmine added. Harry was relieved to hear her not add more.

Dumbledore watched them; he looked as if he were waiting for them to confess. "You had better return to your common rooms, I have no doubt you'll have a lot of questions to return to, you'd better get a good head start."

They murmured their thanks and took off, Harry had no intention of speaking to anyone, anyone except Daphne. He barely noticed when Jasmine left, his mind was racing with unpleasant thoughts.

When he entered the common room he saw most of the house gathered, even Snape was there. Snape had been talking to Yaxley and Runcorn, when Harry entered he looked as if he wanted to round on him but swept off and began talking to Malfoy. Harry couldn't see Daphne anywhere, he walked down the pathway to the girls dormitories, he had no idea which one was Daphne's.

He knocked on a few, there was no reply from inside anyone, eventually his knock was answered. Daphne's Blonde hair and blue eyes looked wild from the crack of the door that she opened, when she took in who it was she grabbed him and pulled him inside.

His eyes fell on the bed, lurking in the middle of the small room, Harry stood awkwardly realizing that this was Daphne's bedroom. A little bit late for that, he mused.

Daphne rounded on him. "Please tell me that was your idea of a bad joke." Her voice held a dangerous edge, and not in a fun way.

"No way… I'm freaking out…"

Daphne pulled that book out from her small desk, there was nothing remarkable about it, from the outside at least.

"I've looked through this." She waved the book at him. "There's nothing about the Chamber, but I'm convinced it's the same Heir. They were saying that it was opened once about fifty years ago, it's all over the common room."

"That book could be fifty years old. I've never heard of a book opening legends though." He said.

"You need to read more then." Daphne said tartly.

Harry sighed, the start of the year was already going awful. Daphne continued her pacing, judging by her muttered words he figured she was thinking along the same line as him.

"We need to learn more about this Harry, this 'Heir' and this so-called magical contract. Both are urgently important, I just hope they aren't linked." She said once she calmed enough to sit on the edge of her bed.

Harry couldn't help but notice her room's disheveled state, he never would have believed Daphne to be so messy, what with how her hair was always immaculate. He realized he had been silent too long when she crooked an eyebrow at him and turned.

Her wand flashed and a bundle of clothes flew into a basket near the attached washroom. Harry could have sworn he had seen a flash of colourful underwear, the glare Daphne cast him made him gulp.

"At Christmas I'll ask my uncles, they aren't as stupid as they act. Maybe mum will know something."

"We need it a little faster than that Harry. This is serious. We could be linked to this." Daphne said darkly.

"Yeah, I'll do my share of research dont worry."

"Make sure you do. You had better leave, and don't be seen, rumors spread like fiendfyre around here." Daphne said, sounding a little dazed towards the end.

Harry backed out and found himself watching his housemates gossiping about the Chamber. It turned out most of the upper years seemed pretty glad that the 'mudbloods' were getting theirs, Harry stalked out of the common room to his own bedroom to rest for the night.

When he opened the door he was assaulted by an urgent piece of parchment, the usual kind from Yaxley, so he settled down at his desk and opened it up. He expected admonishment, but it was just a summons to an emergency meeting that night.

With a sigh Harry burned the piece of parchment and kicked off his shoes, he may as well get some reading done before everything went completely pear shaped.

The self proclaimed 'Slytherin Elite' were as baffled by the day's events as the rest of the school. Apparently the contract ensured that they couldn't lie in an emergency meeting, as such Yaxley and Gorall were convinced by what they heard.

"You are all tasked to watch your entire year group. I hardly think a first year could find the Chamber of Secrets, let alone open it." Gonall said sternly.

"Watch for those acting out of character, especially those who are more confident." Yaxley added.

It didn't seem that they were too concerned about the Chamber itself, more that they had missed who it was who opened it. They were upset Harry could tell, despite them not showing it on their faces, their intense gazes told him enough.

Daphne agreed with his conclusion, she gave him an odd weighing look that made him feel a foot or two shorter. Harry could forget he had been top of most classes last year when she looked at him like that, but he had always been aware of how she listened to things that weren't said.

It had scared him a little at first, it was a sign of something sinister in his mind. But it was how Daphne was, she was cautious and ready to get any advantage she could, and if her enemies offered that information up she would absorb it.

Harry smirked at her, Daphne just turned and walked off, leaving him to rush to catch up to her.

Any book in the library linked to the Chamber of Secrets was checked out of the library for at least a month in advance, so Harry and Daphne joined the long line of disappointed students. Hermione had been a blessing in disguise, as she had checked out a copy of Hogwarts A History not an hour after the message on the wall had been written.

She had been unimpressed to learn that the so called enemies were muggle born students, Harry wished he could give her some good news there but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her about it. He would talk to his mother about it, if anyone knew what might help it was her.

Daphne had been a surprising source of comfort, she had reminded Hermione that anyone wanting to get to her would have to go through the rest of them. Harry hadn't expected that, but the confident assurances from Tracey, Susan and Hannah were expected.

Their study group had shrunk a little as they started to practice spells together more frequently, there was a vast amount of talent on display in the group Harry was pleased to see. Neville and Tracey were by far the least confident, but even they were capable, regardless of what they said.

Harry sat with his other year mates, they were gathered in the library trying to decide on their next set of spells worth learning. Hermione never liked to learn anything used to attack with, Harry was more than happy to stick with that line of thought, especially since he and Daphne had been learning from that book.

If things were going the way he thought, this little group might look out for each other regardless of house enmity, which would mean learning defensive spells would be very beneficial. Neville as usual liked to explore more obscure aspects of magic, mostly herbology related.

Susan had been talking to her aunt about what was worth learning, so her recommendations carried some serious weight. Hannah had taken him back behind the greenhouses once or twice, so she was very much in his good books. He wondered if Susan knew about those times, that thought gave him a cold chill.

Tracey and Daphne entered the library followed by a tall pale Ravenclaw student, Tracey laughed at something he had said. When they reached their table, Daphne introduced him oddly.

"Harry here he is, everyone else this is Archie Montague, he's a third year." She said and then introduced everyone else to him. Harry could have sworn he had said something about preferring if it were his sister who had been asking for him, funny that.

Before long he sat down and settled in to the rest, he took a quick look at the books gathered and scoffed. "You kids are way out of your depths here. The Protego charm isn't easy, not to mention this transfiguration text. McGonagall would stripe your hides if she knew you were reading that."

Harry felt a swift kick hit him, he tried not to react, he had known Daphne was up to something. And a kick was pretty mild for her.

He gave his wand a delicate swish over a book. The incantation still felt odd on his tongue, but he still made it work, he really needed practice with the spell though. One of the books sprouted legs and began to run around the table aimlessly, with more practice he could control it's direction.

"As you can see, Harry didn't want you here for your opinions." Daphne said harshly, but Montague was staring wide eyed at the book. "Archie, your family is old, surely you know something about the Chamber."

"I doubt he couldn't know, the Montague's are well respected by most families." Tracey added, sounding a touch breathy. Harry had never noticed how Tracey had a strong enticing confidence, not to mention her pretty eyes.

It wasn't until Montague coughed that Harry tore his eyes off Tracey, Archie had a slight blush on his cheeks but he nodded slowly.

"I know something, the Chamber of Secrets was opened once before, recently too. My mother said it was fifty years ago, her first husband had been at school when it happened." He said.

Archie looked around slowly then lowered his voice. "She said Hagrid was expelled back then for the death of a girl."

Everyone at the table gasped.

Archie leaned back importantly and continued. "I say it's only a matter of time until he's arrested, don't know what Dumbledore was thinking keeping him around this long."

With that he overstayed his welcome, it was subtle, but Harry saw it. Susan pulled away from him and Hermione had picked her wand up off the table. Neville looked puzzled, and Hannah was disapproving, but Harry could tell the damage was done.

Tracey laughed like he had made a brilliant joke, she even laid a hand on his arm and sighed. Then it hit Harry, she was flirting with him, she liked this idiot. Harry had no idea what to make of that, he hadn't seen Tracey show any romantic interest in anyone. Harry started to stand up, then Daphne firmly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you so much for your help Archie, we will escort you back to the Great Hall if you'd like." She said.

Harry gaped, Archie gave Tracey a shy smile and nodded and rose.

"Potter's been attacked by the heir." A voice yelled out. Harry idly heard Madam Pince hiss her usual warnings. But Harry blew past everything between himself and the tall sixth year in the door to the library. His beady little eyes bulged when Harry grabbed him and demanded where she was.

"I dunno, the hospital wing I guess." Harry sprinted down the corridors. He heard running behind him but ignored it.

The distance to the hospital wing had never seemed so bad. His legs burned long before reaching it. After a while he heard a buzz of voices, as he rounded the corner he found a large group of students gathered around the entrance to the hospital wing.

He didn't care who he barged into, before long he was at the front, and saw Jasmine. She sat on the floor outside the hospital wing holding her head in her hands. Rosie… He hadn't considered Rosie could have been attacked.

Jasmine looked up at the yells from the people he had barged out the way. She looked confused at seeing him, he had to look a right mess. Why was she confused?

"What happened? Is Rosie… Is she okay?" He gasped out, he hadn't realized how out of breath he was. He prepared himself to lose that last breath when Jasmine opened her mouth.

"Harry, it's terrible." A short blur of red hair rushed at him. Rosie sobbed into his chest and he weakly wrapped his arms around her. Jasmine just watched him.

"What happened?" He found himself asking weakly.

"Colin was attacked, Jasmine found him not ten minutes ago. They are saying he's been petrified too." Rosie said between sobs. Harry hated the relief that flooded him, but he had feared the worst. He doubted whoever Colin was would agree what the worst was.

When the drama died down Harry sat with Rosie giving her some comfort, Susan sat beside her talking to Ginny Weasley who had been in a state too. Hermione sat awkwardly on her other side, she might have had a rough relationship with Ron Weasley but she wouldn't leave Ginny to cry without helping.

A few of Jasmine's friends had escorted her out, trying to convince her it wasn't her fault. Harry was just trying to calm himself, he had been expecting the worst. Jasmine dead. He was shocked at how much it affected him, just the thought was almost too much. He could never manage his dad's bravado with his jokes about him trying and failing to kill Jasmine.

It wasn't until the food appeared at the great hall that Harry began to feel a little more human once again. The hall was loud and an excited but fearful buzz gripped the room.

Daphne had been watching him, he had tried to ignore it, but it was hard not to squirm under that piercing blue eyed gaze. Harry must have tensed because Tracey leaned over the table and patted his hand and gave him a soft smile. Then all the events before flooded back to him.

He turned to look at Daphne, she looked paler than usual, was it some kind of makeup to allure that Montague boy? Harry couldn't shake the looks that Tracey had given him, and the way Daphne had behaved… He had to be missing something.

"What was the deal with Montague?" He hissed.

"He's from a well connected family, and we needed answers. We got those answers." She spoke quietly but firmly. Harry was aware of the closeness between them, and it was odd that she sat next to him at meals. She usually sat opposite him, with Tracey swapping sides occasionally.

"And?"

"Ughh fine. He has a… reputation… So I asked Tracey to flirt a little." Her cheeks had started to fill with red, Harry could feel his own burning.

"What about my part? What was that for?" He asked, he was still leaning in closer to her, and she didn't pull away.

"Simple. That way I could manipulate him, and it looks like you were the one doing it."

Harry stared at her. It took him a few tries to process her words.

"What?" His elegant reply sounded a little hoarse in his ears.

Daphne leaned in slightly and brushed her hair out of her face. "This way he thinks it was your idea, your plan. If any rumors come from it people will know that you're the shrewd one."

Harry began to protest but she cut him off with a glare. "You want that, it lets me do things my way without suspicion. I still need information on magical contracts Harry, this is all important to me, to us. We need every edge we can get."

Harry frowned, Montague clearly knew something of the Chamber, but it hadn't solved anything.

"But what did we learn from that, nothing useful?" He asked.

"Plenty Harry, we learned someone died, a girl. We know when it was, and we can be pretty sure it wasn't Hagrid." She pulled back and gave him a small smile. "I know you got a scare, but I need you functioning."

Harry nodded. "Sorry Daphne, yeah I'll sort myself out soon."

"Don't apologize, just focus." She said, sounding an awful lot like McGonagall. "Something is happening in this school right now, Petrification is very dark magic, outside of some obscure magical creatures."

"Yeah no kidding." He agreed, he nodded. "Thanks Daphne." A thought occurred to him suddenly. "Why is it good if people think I'm the evil mastermind?"

She gave him a warm laugh at that. "Because it gives you a bigger reputation, which is growing in case you hadn't heard. And I can suffer my own reputation lowering, it's better if they underestimate me. Let them think of me as Parkinson to your Malfoy."

Harry nodded slowly, he could see the benefit. And it certainly didn't hurt him much, until someone was to do something about the 'evil' potter. Tracey coughed into her hand, Daphne instantly pulled away and gained a demeanor of anger. Harry blinked… How much of this did Daphne and Tracey plan, how much had they manipulated with him…

Tracey gave him a warm grin, much like the one she had given Montague…

Harry groaned.

AN: Well here's the next chapter, this is setting up for a lot of the things that got me really excited to start this fic, so i hope you all enjoy it too.

I've always loved Slytherin Harry fics, as I prefer things edging towards the darker side of the norm. But one massive frustration was how every single eleven year old child randomly acted like a politician in those fics. And how nearly none of them had an ounce of cunning or ambition or whatever. So that's a big goal of mine, to create an environment that feels like a good mix of subtle and clever Slytherins and cannon Slytherins.

Please ask me about any concerns, and let me know what you think so far. Thanks so very much for reading.