Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

AN/ I'm going to be trying my hardest to keep updates weekly but I thought I'd warn you just in case so: this might be the last update for a couple of weeks because I am quite busy work-wise and am also potential going to be laptop-less for two weeks. Sorry in advance in case that does happen.

Also I've rewritten chapters 2 & 3 so if you want to keep continuity I'd suggest rereading them - though there's not much change so you can probably get away with not. [Just a couple of timeline changes and extra information - I'll try and rewrite chapter 4 asap (I'll probably do chapter 4 first then chapter 15)]

Halloween

"It can't be worse than last year."

"Why in Merlin's name would you say that Harry?" Anthony replied, affronted. "Are you trying to jinx it?"

Harry laughed. "You're saying that this year is going to be worse than last year, when a troll broke in to the school, and almost killed a student?" He asked, rubbing his forehead, as though that would make the headache that had been growing since he'd woken up go away.

"Well," Anthony paused reluctantly before continuing, "No-" Anthony paused again, too superstitious to give a definitive answer either way. "Well... no,- well... maybe! There's no point in jinxing it either way, Harry." He told him, his tone a mixture of exasperation and half-sounding as if he was reprimanding Harry.

"Never realised you were this superstitious, Ant." Terry intervened and Anthony rolled his eyes at the nickname.

"Stop calling me Ant. I'm not an Ant - I'm taller than you." 'Ant' protested.

"It's nothing about your size." Terry retorted quickly as they made their way into the Great Hall.

The excitement hadn't been at all reduced since last year, the last week had been spent anxiously awaiting this day, the Halloween feast - and hopefully this time it wouldn't be interrupted by a troll.

"So much nice- AHH!" Terry ducked quickly as a miniature flying witch - like the ones from muggle storybooks - that had been animated for the feast dive-bombed him. "Shut up." He groaned quietly as Harry, Anthony and Michael all dissolved into laughter at the site of Terry ducking for a cackling, green, tiny, witch.

Harry waved across the hall as he caught sight of Neville. The two hadn't had as many interactions this year, Neville spending more time in his newly-found friendship with Ron and Hermione. Harry was glad, not only because now he didn't have to pursue a friendship with the overbearing Hermione, but also because Neville had found good friends within his own house - not that Nev hadn't been friendly with Dean and Seamus last year, but they were friendly, not friends, and there was a huge difference. Plus it also meant that at least this year Hermione wasn't crying in a bathroom about to be attacked by a troll. That was definitely a good thing.

Harry however was not having as good a time as last year. (not that last year had been that great, finding out his true identity, and the threat of there being a troll in the castle wasn't exactly his definition of ideal) His head was pounding and the thought of eating food made him want to throw up.

Would it be too hard to have a good Halloween?

Apparently Halloween was a cursed day for Harry, and it had been since he was a baby. See, it was Halloween the day when Voldemort murdered his parents. Killing them point blank before trying to kill Harry as well.

None of the Halloweens with the Dursleys had even been good, they'd involved spiders and cobwebs sure, but that was Harry's daily life in the cupboard under the stairs. Harry knew that Dudley got to go trick or treating with some of his friends, going around the houses on the their streets, and then the next street over, and then the next street over again. He also knew that Vernon and Petunia would buy enough to give away from their own house that there would always be leftovers that Dudley could steal to add to his own collection. But for Harry? Nothing - except the teasing of Dudley from outside the cupboard door about how many sweets he'd gotten. Not that Harry cared too much (or at least he tried to convince himself that) these Halloweens only seemed to help attribute to Dudley being severely overweight.

"Harry?" Terry asked waving his hand across Harry's face in a clear attempt to get his attention. They were now sitting at the Ravenclaw table, sitting with platters laid out in front of them, filled with the usual sweets and more sweets combo as opposed to actual food of any nutritional value - not that anyone was complaining, if somebody really wanted real food they could go to the kitchens, or go apple bobbing at the back end of the hall. (no surprise that no-one went apple bobbing except for one lone Hufflepuff first year)

"Huh?" Harry replied - if you can call that a reply.

"You alright?" Terry seemed concerned, his voice softening slightly from the impatient tone it held before. "We've called you three times. Lost in thought?"

Harry nodded his hand reaching to his forehead as he pressed into his temple, as if that would be effective in alleviating any of the pressure that was building there. "I think I'm going to go." Harry said reluctantly. "My head." He told them as they shot him inquisitive looks.

"Well," Terry paused, "I'll come with you." Terry moved as if to get up but Harry just placed a firm hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his motions.

"No. Stay." Harry protested. "You've been waiting for this all week, enjoy it." He half-ordered Terry who nodded slowly.

"Alright." Terry replied, reluctantly relaxing back into his seat.

"See you all later." Harry said waving goodbye, before making his way down the rows of tables, ignoring as several students sent him confused looks as he left the feast early - confused as to why anyone would leave one of the top events of the year before necessary.

The last time he'd felt this sick, Harry mused as he lay on bed, restlessly turning around beneath the covers, unable to stay still and focus on getting to sleep as his head pounded, now accompanied with an anxious stomach, had been before the first quidditch match of the year.

He hadn't been able to eat before the game, much to Terry and Anthony's pestering that he "needed to at least have a slice of toast". The nerves had only grown as he stepped out on the field, the crowd roaring around him, his broom gripped tightly in his hand - a Nimbus 1700.

It was a gift from his father as a reward for making it on the team. (and when Harry had not-so-subtly mentioned the poor quality of the school brooms) The broom was a good quality, it wasn't the top of the market, but due to the release of the Nimbus 2000 at the start of Harry's first year and then the release of the Nimbus 2001, it was affordable (Luke Reynolds was never known to be frivolous with his money), its prices having been dropped as people flocked to the newer models of Nimbus, which according to Quidditch Through the Ages (a book that was quickly becoming Harry's equivalent to the bible) was the most exciting up and coming broom company.

The broom wasn't as good as a Cleansweep 7, which the Davies brothers both possessed, but it was better than the Cleansweep 5, and any of the Comet brooms. Their first match of the season was against Gryffindor - who whilst they were a decent team, with the Weasley twins as a killer beater pair, Wood an astonishing keeper and three chasers who were solid, were nothing compared to Slytherin. Slytherin weren't a tactically good team, or especially skilled. Their captain, Marcus Flint, would prefer to knock his opposition of their brooms, injure them, then just score a goal. But this year they were a proper threat. All because of Draco Malfoy.

It wasn't that Draco Malfoy was an exceptionally good seeker - he was alright, Harry would be the first to admit, but Harry was better - no, it was that Draco Malfoy's rich daddy had bought the entire team Nimbus 2001s the newest nimbus model. The brooms were the fastest in the world, they had exceptional acceleration and were agile, with good manoeuvring skills. The actual broom was shorter than the Nimbus 2000 but the tails were longer and thicker. They had large stirrups as well which enabled the rider to be able to sit in different positions on the broom - which might not seem like much of an advantage but when you a seeker, an extra inch of reach can be the difference between a game-winning catch or a crushing defeat.

The Nimbus 2001 was good enough to turn an average seeker like Draco Malfoy into dangerous competition. Luckily Harry didn't have to face Draco this game, instead having to walk towards the Gryffindor seven, all much older and much taller than Harry was.

The game had started well, Ravenclaw scoring a quick two goals due to the pace of Cho Chang, who'd adapted well after being rejected as a seeker, and the accuracy and experience of Chester Davies. Then had come the confusion as Roger, Chester's younger brother and the third chaser, clearly not used to playing with Grant had ducked out of the way of the quaffle Grant had passed him, mistaking Grant for one of the Weasley twins - which Harry couldn't blame him for, Grant's hair was red enough and messy enough to be one of the Weasleys - resulting in the team losing possession and the other two chasers being out of position.

"Roger, what the hell was that?!" Chester had angrily called to his younger brother.

"I thought it was one of the Weasleys." The younger brother had replied to the cackling laughter of Fred and George, who had looked gleeful with Roger's mistake, yelling around about how seven Weasleys was enough, they didn't need to add an extra.

The Gryffindor chasers had capitalised, Katie Bell passing to Alicia Spinnet who passed to Angelina Johnson who scored, Grant stood no chance.

That had marked a turn in the game, Roger losing his confidence and Chester growing in anger at his brother, soon the Gryffindors led 70-30, much to the (extremely biased) commentator, Lee Jordan's joy. ("It seems like the Davies brothers don't quite have the same chemistry as Fred and George do - though at least you can tell them apart!") - Harry had to admit, his commentary was quite interesting. Unique for sure. What was almost just as amusing was McGonagall's attempts to wrestle the microphone of him whenever he made a lewd or overly biased comment.

Soon the score read 110-50, and the Ravenclaws were officially getting trounced by the Gryffindors, Harry could almost feel the collective sigh radiating from the Ravenclaw portion of the crowd as they accepted that perhaps this wasn't their season - after all if they couldn't beat Gryffindor, they stood no chance against Slytherin. All the pressure now clearly lay on Harry, the chasers wouldn't be able to bridge the points deficit, but if Harry could catch the snitch that'd be 150 points and a win.

Being a seeker is hard enough on the training grounds, you have to spot a tiny golden ball and then catch it before your opposition could. It was much harder on the pitch when the Weasley twins seemed to be making it their personal mission to bludger you off of your broom. The twins had realised that Harry would be the only chance for Ravenclaw to win, and as such had turned their full attention onto him, and the Ravenclaw beaters were too busy protecting Harry to be any use in helping the chasers out.

The game had been going on for nearly two hours, the Ravenclaw chasers trying their hardest to make sure the Gryffindors - whose confidence was only growing and with it their skill - didn't get so many points that the snitch wouldn't be enough to win it, but the impenetrable wall that was Oliver Wood was making this quest very hard to complete. The score lay at 230-100, and Harry's nerves only grew. The Ravenclaw portion of the crowd were clearly deflated, their cheering and chants having stopped at about the hour mark, the only cheerer left remaining in blue was Luna Lovegood, who seemed impervious to the disappointment and sadness that the rest of the 'claws felt.

The Slytherin section were more avid in trying to support the Ravenclaws - the snakes would do anything to ensure the loss of Gryffindor - though their chants focused more on insulting the Gryffindors than encouraging the Ravenclaws.

Suddenly Harry had caught a glimpse of gold out of the corner of his eye, he'd turned slowly, trying to make sure he didn't alert the opposing seeker to the potential presence of the snitch. Scratch that, to the definite presence of the snitch. The snitch, clearly having enjoyed its freedom but now being ready to return to where it slept in its cage, stood at the edge of the field, near the Slytherins in the crowd.

The Gryffindors' seeker was definitely closer to the snitch which meant Harry would have to be very careful about his next move. Thinking quickly Harry began to race in the opposite direction to where the snitch fluttered, speeding towards the Gryffindor portion of the crowd. Harry's competition quickly raced after him, clearly trusting that Harry had seen the snitch - or at least not willing to risk that he hadn't. Harry made sure to slow down his pace enough that the Gryffindor seeker could catch up to him, without it being too obvious what his plan was.

He caught sight of Neville and gave him a quick wink before making a sharp 180 and bursting the other direction, his eyes scanning the area before landing on the golden snitch, which thankfully hadn't moved too much in his little excursion. The Gryffindor seeker, clearly thinking Harry was playing another game with him floated in the air, resting on his broom without realising that every second was a second wasted, and a second closer to Harry getting the snitch.

As Harry approached the snitch it seemed to realise what he was doing, and had decided that it no longer wished to rest, the snitch darted and Harry had to quickly change direction, carefully following the snitch's movements. By this point the Gryffindor seeker had realised his mistake and the chase was well and truly on - though Harry still had a good head-start. ("It's not a game this time - Ravenclaw's seeker has seen the snitch!")

Harry grinned as the snitch fell into his trap, having successfully predicted the movements of it he managed to reach it now, the snitch a fingertip away - if Harry was on a Nimbus 2001 he'd have easily caught the snitch earlier, but alas, you work with what you have. Harry made a quick roll of his broom to avoid the bludger one of the Weasley twins sent his way, his hand still outstretched, close enough to feel the movement of the wings, but not quite close enough to grab the broom yet.

Just as the opposition's seeker had managed to catch up, Jason Samuels shot a well-aimed bludger in his direction, causing him to have to drop, creating distance between him and Harry once more. Harry edged forwards on his broom carefully - he wasn't about to do something stupid and jump whilst he was around 20ft in the air, he knew that that sort of reckless endangerment wasn't worth a quidditch game, but he trusted his own abilities, and his instincts, in that he was able to adjust himself on the broom. The extra inch he got and he once more felt the wings of the snitch flapping furiously against his fingertips, he opened his hand, leaning forwards on his broom, before quickly snatching on the snitch.

He pulled his broom up sharply with a victorious smile on his face, realising he was now right in front of the Slytherin crowd, he held out the snitch triumphantly and the Ravenclaws and Slytherins cheered - one cheering for their own success, the other cheering for the defeat of their rivals. Looking forward he made eye contact with Draco Malfoy, who looked irritated at Harry's success, but was unwilling to lose an opportunity to mock the Gryffindors - Harry wasn't that important to him. The aforementioned blonde was cheering (or more like jeering in the direction of the Weasley twins) though he nodded briefly in Harry's direction, almost as a warning, a hint of menace in his silvery-grey eyes. You might have beaten them, but you won't beat me, he seemed to be saying.

At that moment the common room door burst open anxiously, Harry torn out of his recollections as Terry, Michael and Anthony stumbled inside, wide-eyed and breathless as they moved towards Harry, who was lying in his bed.

"You won't believe what happened!"

"Mrs Norris, Finch's cat-"

"She's dead!"

"Not dead, just petrified-"

"Whatever."

"You should have seen-"

"Woah." Harry interrupted, trying to take a hold of the racing conversation before him. "Anthony, you start." Harry instructed him, Anthony seeming the most calm out of the trio, and the boys sat down on Harry's bed, crowding around him.

"Well. The Halloween feast had just happened. We were all walking towards the common room when we heard Mr Filch wailing." Anthony paused and Michael sat up straight, taking this as a cue to continue the story.

"We all went round the corner to see Mr Filch in the corridor, Mrs Norris hung up on the wall in front of him." Michael shook his head. "It was really creepy," He continued, "But that's not even the most creepy part." He added dramatically before pausing, allowing Terry to take up the mantle.

"There was a message on the opposite wall it said 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies-" Terry paused an irritated expression on his face as Anthony noisily opened a sweet wrapper he'd taken out of his pocket, ruining the dramatic nature of the moment.

"Sorry." He apologised sheepishly, popping the sweet into his mouth.

"It read: 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware." Terry continued and the group faded into silence.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked. "What's the Chamber of Secrets?"

"No idea." Terry replied, and Michael nodded to show he also didn't know.

Anthony looked at Harry accusingly. "This is all your fault you know?" Harry looked at him confused, it wasn't as if he'd been the one to open the chamber, he'd been in the dormitory all the time. "You jinxed it." Anthony admonished him and Harry rolled his eyes. "All that talk about how this year couldn't be worse than last year. All your fault." Anthony continued, though the jest was clear in his tone. Trust Anthony to always lighten the mood - though not even Anthony could lighten the gravity of what was coming. The Chamber of Secrets had opened, and nothing would be the same ever again.