Howdy folks, there's an author note in Chapter one explaining what's going on. Cheers!
The rogue bludger, the first casualty, the duelling club: Chapter 16
As Dumbledore had correctly guessed, the gossip around the castle had intensified as students and staff alike discussed what had occurred on Halloween night. It came as a shock that the resident castle cat had ended up petrified from an unknown source. The only evidence at the scene had been the writing on the wall, and a puddle of water just below where Mrs Norris had been hung up. There was some talk amongst the houses that it was the Potters who were responsible, however whispers of such accusations in Gryffindor tower were quickly put down by those who knew the Potters best. Percy had made it his responsibility as Prefect to squash any gossip towards the Potters, going as far as deducting points from Gryffindor's who argued with his demands. Soon, only the other three houses would discuss gossip related to the Potters, although it still made its way back to the Gryffindor common room.
Rose was distraught more than Harry, as that was her nature, being the sensitive person she was. But that didn't mean that she didn't dish out her own harsh retorts when the Slytherins made uncouth remarks about her or her brother. Harry in the meantime tended to brood over the gossip, annoyed that people who had seemed to be friendly towards him last year, like Susan Bones or Ernie Macmillan, were now avoiding him like the plague. He tried to put all thought of the manner behind him, however he struggled as he received a vast more amount of attention this year than he did his first year. He found himself snapping at his friends more than once, and unfortunately his sister was not safe from his foul moods. The first and only time he snapped at her; Rose gave her brother a verbal beating before storming off to her dorm rooms. It had seemed to have done the trick, as Harry made a rather miraculous recovery in mood the next morning.
The month dragged on and soon enough, by mid-November, the gossip around the Potters had died down to low mummering's from the Slytherin's. Harry's mood further improved as the first Quidditch game of the season came approaching. Of course, with the date of the match further approaching, Oliver subjected his team to even more training then thought necessary. Harry had fortunately been spared form any serious injuries, though a week before the game, he had come down with the flu from the previous night of training in the rain.
"Oh Harry, what are we going to do with you." Rose cooed as she sat by his bed, applying a wet cloth to his forehead.
It turned out that the girls had access to the boy's dorms, as Rose had discovered one day when she followed Harry up one night.
"Ugh…I feel like I've been hit over the head by a rock." Harry moaned as he winced in pain from is aching bones.
Rose just tutted as she brushed her fingers along his fringe. "I still think you should go see Madam Pomfrey. She'd be able to look after you better then I can."
Harry waved off her suggestion. "Nonsense, you're doing great. Besides, I'll be alright by tonight, I just need some sleep."
"You're lucky it's the weekend, otherwise you'd have to catch up on classwork too. I can't imagine that anyone but McGonagall would be sympathetic, seeing as it's Quidditch related." Harry mumbled out a reply as he shut his eyes, "You just get some sleep alright Harry, I'll let everyone know you're not going to be down today. I love you, you big boof."
"Thanks, Rosie, I love you too. Now go have fun alright?"
Rose smiled down at her brother as she leaned down to kiss his brow as he would normally. "I will, you just try to get some sleep."
Fortunately, Harry did recover later on that night, but Rose still fussed over him as he sat with his friends at the Gryffindor table at dinner that night. "Rose, honestly I feel fine, I just need some food in me." Harry had said, swatting his sisters' hand away from his head.
Rose gave him a frown as she turned back to her own food. "Fine, but don't blame me when you come down with flu again."
Harry rolled his eyes as he looked around at his friends, noticing the Ginny was absent. "Hey Rose, where's Ginny?"
"She didn't sleep very well last night, we let her stay up in her room to have a snooze, we promised we'd bring her back some food." Rose explained, a small frown appearing on her face.
"She seemed quite distraught this morning, she asked if we had noticed her sleep walking." Luna added in her airy voice.
Ron snorted. "Ginny sleep walking, that's new, sure she isn't just sneaking off."
"Honestly Ron, your sister obviously isn't well and you're making jabs at her." Hermione scolded him as she elbowed his side.
Ron let out a yelp at the sharp pain, casting a glare back at Hermione, about to retort when Harry interrupted. "I've noticed it too, she seems slightly paranoid, and always brushes it off when we ask about it."
"I tried to talk to her the other day about it but she just changed topics entirely." Rose added.
"We should keep an eye on her then shouldn't we, make sure she isn't off doing something unsafe." Hermione added.
Before the group could continue any further however, Hagrid came walking into the great hall with a frown plastered on his face. "What's got you down Hagrid?" Alec called out.
Hagrid stopped and turned to look at the group of friends. "Somethin' killed all me chicken las' night, caused a right ole' mess, got none of them left now."
"What do you reckon did it?" Ron asked.
Hagrid gave a shrug. "Dunno, woke up this mornin' and found the whole pen layin' on the ground with their necks wrung."
Harry grimaced. "Poor things, you don't think it could be student, do you?"
The table shot him a look as Hagrid replied. "Dunno, it's possible I guess, could be someone from the village too course. 'bout to tell Dumbledore 'bout it now so sees what he says."
Harry and his friends nodded as the groundskeeper continued on up to the staff table to talk with Professor Dumbledore. "That was a bit odd don't you think?" Alec asked the group.
Everybody nodded their heads in agreement. "I could understand if the chickens appeared to be killed by an animal like a fox or cat, but to strangle a chicken…." Hermione shuddered.
"And this whole business with enemies of the heir beware, it's making things mighty spooky." Ron added.
"You would think that after last year we'd have a normal year this time." Harry added solemnly.
Rose petted her brother's hand. "Couldn't leave you to have all the fun years." Harry only snorted and rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back towards his dinner.
Thoughts and discussions on what might have happened to Hagrid's flock of chickens continued on during the night, and all the way up to the Gryffindor common room where they found Ginny snoozing on one of the many couches. Rose had roused her and gotten her to eat some food whilst the rest of them sat around her filling her in on what they'd heard from Hagrid. For whatever reason, Ginny certainly didn't want to be part of the conversation, and tried desperately to steer the conversation onto other matters. This of course hadn't gone unnoticed by the two Potters, who confronted her as she tried to make an escape up to her dorm room.
"Ginny, are you feeling alright?" Rose had asked softly, her brother not far behind her.
"What? Oh yeah, fine, fine, I might get an early night that's all." Ginny replied.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows in worry. "Are you sure you're alright Gin, you can tell us if you aren't."
"I'm fine Harry, I already said so, just leave it." Ginny snapped back, unusual behaviour for her, especially towards Harry.
"A-alright, if anything isn't, you can tell us." Harry tried to reassure her, a lump forming in his throat.
Ginny only waved her hand off as she stormed up to her dorm room. "I'll talk to her, see if I can't get what's wrong out of her." Rose told her brother as she followed the young Weasley up the stairs.
When she entered the dorm room, she found Ginny sitting on her bed, her face in her hands. The young Potter approached with as much care as possible as she sat down next to her best friend and placed an arm over her.
"You know, when I first met you, I had no one else but Harry. You were my first friend and someone who I can call my best friend without regret." Rose told Ginny.
Ginny sniffed as she wrapped an arm around her friend. "I've been having these…laps in memory. I don't know what's happening but I'm scared. I don't remember what happened last night…did I kill Hagrid's chickens?"
"I can't say for sure, but I highly doubt that you did." Rose said.
"But how can you be sure, I mean, do you remember me getting up or doing anything last night?" Ginny started to panic.
Rose cut her off before she could continue. "Ginny! If I noticed anything, I would tell you and I can tell you now that I haven't noticed anything other than you not sleeping well." Rose took a deep breath as she tightened her hold on her friend, "I don't know if you're sleep walking or something, but what I do know is that you're brushing off your friends and I'm concerned okay?"
Ginny let out a sob as she buried her face into Rose's neck. "I've royally screwed up with Harry, haven't I?"
"Don't be silly, Harry's not about to cast you aside for getting a bit antsy, otherwise we would be at each other's throats." Rose told her friend, "Now come on, let's get you into bed, you've had a rough couple of days."
Ginny merely nodded her head as she let her friend remove her robes, stripping her down to her undies. Rose laid the sheets around Ginny as she climbed into bed, smoothing them out and tucking her in nice and tight to fend off the cold of the dorm room.
"You just get some sleep now okay Ginny. Luna and I will be up in a bit, we're just going to talk to the guys a bit longer alright?" Rose reassured her.
Ginny nodded and bit her lip slightly. "Can you tell Harry I'm sorry?"
"Of course, you silly billy, not that there's anything to forgive." Rose chuckled. "Just shut your eyes now okay, I want to see you asleep when we come up alright."
Ginny nodded and tucked her head into her pillow. As Rose was leaving, Ginny called out one last time. "Thank you Rose, I couldn't ask for a better friend."
Rose smiled as she closed the door, relieved that she didn't have to force her best friend into telling her what was wrong. Making her way back downstairs, she was greeted by the sight of the group sitting around chatting quite happily, the only exception being Harry, who was sitting on an armchair with a brooding look on his face. When he saw his sister however, he jumped up from his chair.
"How is she?" Harry blurted out.
Rose smiled at her brother. "She's fine, she's just having a bit of trouble mentally at the moment. " Rose bit her lip for a moment, "She thinks that she killed Hagrid's chickens."
"What? Why the bloody hell does she think that?" Ron cried out.
"Ronald! Language." Hermione chided.
"Oi, shush you two." Harry interrupted, "Rose, go on."
"Thanks, as I was saying, she thinks she's killed Hagrid's chickens because she's having these laps in memory and having trouble sleeping." Rose told them, "Personally I think she's just struggling being away from home and isn't sleeping well. It would explain her memory lapse if she's too tired to be remembering everything she's done."
"That would be the logical conclusion, have you noticed if she's slept walked?" Hermione asked.
Rose shook her head. "No, she hasn't done anything like that, has she Luna?"
"Ginny does tend to thrash around in bed a bit, but I haven't noticed anything unusual." Luna told them.
"So, what's gotten into her then?" Alec asked.
Rose finally sat down on the arm of her brother's chair. "I don't know, but I do know that we need to keep an eye on her."
"Agreed, now, if you'll excuse me, I think Ron owes me a game of chess." Harry said.
The month continued on as the group of friends continued on with their school work, socialised and kept an eye on Ginny. Said Weasley was rather subdued in her interaction with the 2nd years, especially Harry, who tried to tell her on several occasions that he wasn't mad at her. Luna and Rose had kept an eye on her at night, trying to keep an ear out as they slept and so far, they either didn't notice anything or nothing happened, as their nights were peaceful. Ginny seemed to be perking up as well, despite her concerns still lingering. However, as the first Quidditch game of the year arrived, everyone's mood increased. The morning of the game, Harry sat with his team mates and friends as they discussed what could happen in the game. Luna was sporting a very flamboyant set of burgundy robes which she had apparently asked for from her father for such occasions, in order to show 'house pride.'
Soon enough it was time to head down to the pitch in order to start the match. As usual, Oliver did his usual pep talk before the match started, telling everyone to try their hardest no matter what. The twins merely laughed and poked fun at the older boy's expense as they had heard the same speech multiple times. As the team made their way out onto the field, the crowds greeted them with a cheer that went throughout the stadium. The Slytherins were already waiting for them on their side of the pitch, itching to start the match. Madam Hooch made Flint and Oliver shake hands before the match, each captain desperately trying to break the others hand.
With a whistle blow from Hooch, the players kicked off into the air and the start of play began. No one could deny that the Slytherins had the advantage in the game that day, their new Nimbus 2001's were vastly superior to all the other brooms on the field that day. The Gryffindor's may have had the experience and skill, but they lacked the sheer broompower. Katie and Alicia had already been taken down by bludgers, and Oliver was down after a bludger hit by Flint knocked him out cold. It was down to the twins, Angelina and Harry to win the game. Harry observed the game from a distance as his team was decimated by the snakes, and Malfoy circling him, taunting him didn't help things either. However, he kept concentrated on the game, keeping an eye out for the snitch.
Harry would have most likely found the snitch much sooner had it not been for one particular bludger that would not leave him alone. It had continued to follow him after it knocked Oliver out of the match. Harry had to continually fly around in order to avoid the bludger, who fortunately also hit Malfoy as well, making him shut his trap for a few moments. Back in the stands, Harry's sister and friends had been observing the game, Rose watching with her muggle binoculars. At some stage, Hagrid had come along to watch with them.
"Howdy you lot, how's the game goin'."
"We're getting absolutely smashed, and Harry's got this bludger chasing him." Alec answered.
Rose passed Hagrid her binoculars. "Here, have a look for yourself Hagrid."
"Ta Rosie. Blimey! Tha' bludgers been tampered with tha' has!" Hagrid exclaimed.
"Tampered? Who would tamper with the bludger though?" Hermione asked.
Ron let out a snort. "Probably those bloody snakes, couldn't risk Harry catching the snitch and winning it for us."
Hermione gave Ron a glare, and was about to retort when Ginny called out. "LOOK! Harry's onto the snitch! GO HARRY GO!"
Harry had spotted the snitch hovering over Malfoys head as he prattled on and on, allowing Harry to seize the opportunity. Draco had been temporarily dumbfounded as Harry sped straight towards him, forcing him to move out of the way. Unfortunately for Harry, the rogue bludger had continued to chase him as Harry made out like a bat out of hell, racing for the snitch. The golden orb led the young seeker down into the superstructure of the stadium, the bludger not far behind, smashing into limbs and supports of the seating above. Malfoy had also caught up at some point, racing forwards to be neck and neck with Harry.
"Give it up Potter! You'll never match me!"
"In your dreams Malfoy!"
Unfortunately, Malfoys broom was just that little bit faster, allowing the snake to pull ahead in the straight stretches of the underworks. Harry however had skill and experience on his side, allowing him to duck and weave gracefully in between the supports, giving him the advantage in the denser parts of the stadium. Eventually the snitch pulled out and raced out into the open once more, causing the two seekers and the bludger to head back out onto the open pitch. Before Harry could get out into the open however, the rogue bludger smacked into his arm with such force that a horrible snap could be heard. Harry gritted his teeth in pain as he pressed on, determined to get the snitch.
Flying low to the ground, Harry had the advantage over Malfoy with his superior skill in being as aero dynamic as possible. Lying flat onto his stomach, Harry pushed on low and fast along the ground, too low for Malfoy to possible keep up or manoeuvre without problems, which was exactly what happened as Draco smacked straight into the ground with a thud as his broom plunged itself into the ground. Harry was now alone in the hunt for the snitch, and allowed himself to reach out for it, however with one arm out of commission Harry had to do the unthinkable. Using his uninjured hand, Harry pushed himself up onto his broom as if he was riding a muggle surfboard. Balancing with his legs, Harry made full sail for the snitch, reaching out with his spare hand.
Finally, Harry caught the golden orb with his hand, but not before his own broom came into contact with the ground, causing him to front-flip through the air and land with a thud on the ground. Harry clutched the snitch in his hand, and allowed himself a small moment of rest for catching the little sucker.
"Harry! Harry! Are you alright!" Came the voice of his sister as she pushed her way through the celebrating crowd.
Harry let out a grimace as he peered over to his broken arm. "I've seen better days."
"Out the way! Out the Way! Teacher coming through." the all too familiar sound of Lockhart came resonating through.
"Oh, Merlin no please not him." Harry muttered,
Kneeling down next to Harry, Lockhart shoved Rose away as he took out his wand and looked over Harry's arm. "Ah, looks as though you've broken your arm there Harry, that's alright, easy fix!"
"No please…not you…" Harry tried to protest.
Lockhart let out a chuckle to the Gryffindor's now surrounding him. "Poor boy doesn't know what he's on about."
"Professor, we need to take him to the hospital wing!" Ginny tried to argue.
"Nonsense, I can fix him up right here, now just lay back now Harry." Lockhart tried to reassure.
Harry looked around as he tried to struggle out of Lockhart's grip. The twins were busy wrestling the bludger back into the box, whilst Oliver was being tended to by Angelina. Katie and Alicia were off on the sidelines, cradling their heads as they accepted congratulations. All of a sudden, he felt a horrible sensation course through his arm, before he felt nothing at all. Looking over, he almost fainted as he viewed his arm go floppy in the grip of Lockhart.
"Ah…yes well that can happen sometimes. The good thing is, is that the bones are no longer broken!" Lockhart said cheerily.
"Broken! He's got no bones left you bloody idiot!" Alec shouted out in exasperation.
The Professor made a quick getaway as Harry's friends lifted him up and rushed him as quickly as possible to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was in full swing by the time they got there with Harry, treating Malfoy and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Oh, be quiet Mr Malfoy, your bones aren't even broken." Madam Pomfrey snapped at the Slytherin as he did his best to wither away on his bed, "You should have brought him straight to me, broken bones I can mend easily but growing them back is another thing altogether." She told Harry as she made her way to his bedside with a steaming goblet of potion.
"You can grow them back, though right?" Harry asked with a whine.
"Of course, but it's going to be a very painful night for you Mr Potter, you're going to have to drink some Skellegrow." Madam Pomfrey told him, "And if you've got a problem with that you can take it up with your ancestors, after all they invented it."
"Huh, I never knew that, hear that Harry, your ancestors are condemning you from the grave." Ron tried to joke, earning him a glare from his best mate.
Hermione, Ginny and Rose had stationed themselves as close as possible to Harry's bed whilst Madam Pomfrey did her work. "You're going to be alright Harry; I know you will be." Hermione tried to reassure him.
"Oh yes you'll be alright Mr Potter, but this is going to be very painful, now hurry up and down this goblet." Madam Pomfrey insisted.
Holding his nose, Harry tried to chug the goblet of potion down, only spluttering mildly as the foul taste hit the back of his throat. "Bloody hell! That stuff is foul!"
"What were you expecting, pumpkin juice? Now down the hatch with the rest of it Potter." Madam Pomfrey instructed.
Almost at once, Harry could feel sensations going down his arm where his bones use to be, like little pins and needles sticking into him all along his arm. Rose stood ever vigilant over her brother; her eyes full of concern for her brother. "How do you feel Harry?"
"It's weird, it's like pins and needles more than anything."
"It'll get much worse by tonight so best be prepared Mr Potter." Madam Pomfrey added, "Now I must insist that the patient get some rest, you can visit him tomorrow, off you go now!"
Rose made to argue with the healer until Harry grabbed her hand with his still functioning one. "Go on, I'll be alright, don't go worrying over me alright."
Rose just nodded her head as she gave her brother a smile. "Alright then, I'll come see you after dinner if I can, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow."
With a squeeze of her hand, Harry said goodbye to his sister and friends as they all left to go off to do their own thing whilst Harry stayed and rested up. Not very long after Harry's friends left, Malfoy got released from the hospital wing, whinging about how his father would hear about his lack of attention and other rubbish. Harry couldn't help but smirk at how even though his arm was broken, and he was being chased by a rogue bludger, he still managed to outsmart Malfoy. By the time dinner time came around, his arm was starting to cause him some significant pain, as the bones now reached the stage they would have been when he was only a small boy. Rose had come back with Luna just after dinner to keep him company, informing him that Ginny had work to catch up on and the 2nd years were being interviewed by McGonagall about today's incident.
"How come they're being interviewed?" Harry asked his sister.
"McGonagall wants to know what exactly caused you to lose your bones, when she found out Lockhart had performed the charm, she went off her rail." Rose giggled, "I don't think those two are particularly fond of each other."
Luna hummed in agreement. "I haven't seen any of the professors take kindly to him, I think it's because he's infested with Nargles."
Harry and Rose gave each other a look. "So, how are you feeling anyway?" Rose asked her brother.
"It's…alright, it's not too painful, just uncomfortable." Harry replied.
Rose squeezed her Brothers healthy hand. "You'll be alright, do you know when you can get out of here?"
"Madam Pomfrey said I could leave tomorrow at lunchtime, if everything goes well."
Luna was watching something off in the distance when she spoke up. "You're rather lucky that you weren't killed Harry." She looked down at him, "I doubt your sister or friends would appreciate you doing that."
"Ah…yeah. I'm rather happy that I'm alive too." Harry gulped, "But I mean, Dumbledore wouldn't let me get seriously hurt, it's only because of Lockhart that I'm in here."
Rose nodded her head. "You're still lucky Harry, McGonagall was telling us today how the bludger was charmed with some impressive magic." Rose gulped, "If you hadn't caught the snitch and enacted the end of play magic, the bludger would have kept coming after you without a doubt."
Harry let out an unsteady breath. "Well, good thing I'm the best seeker to have ever existed."
"Obviously you haven't lost your ego then." Rose snorted.
"Oh well, you know me, always drawing attention to myself." Harry joked sarcastically, "So, what'd I miss today?"
"Nothing much besides what I've told you." Rose told her brother, "Ginny's acting a bit odd still but I don't really know what to make of that."
"I've noticed that too Rose, perhaps we should disinfect her bed of all the wacksprouts." Luna added casually.
Rose raised her eyebrow. "I mean, if you think it'll help."
"I'll get to it right now, then shall I?" Luna asked.
"Sure, go on and get started, I won't be long here." Rose told her friend.
Jumping up from her spot, Luna hurried out of the hospital wing and back up to Gryffindor tower to begin her work on ridding Ginny of her wacksprout infestation.
"Well, now that Luna's gone, what do you really think is wrong with Ginny?" Harry asked.
Rose gave a shrug of her shoulders as she twiddled with a lock of her hair. "I don't know honestly, and any time I try to find out she just brushed me off like there's nothing wrong." Rose chewed on her lip for a moment, "I honestly think there is something wrong with her but I'm not sure what to do, I mean, what if I'm getting the wrong idea and she gets upset at me?"
Harry tenderly squeezed his sisters' hand. "Rose, we'll sort this out together alright, for now let's just keep an eye on her. Besides, I think we have bigger problems coming up, like who's out to get me this year and who is going around writing messages on the wall."
"I agree, but still, she's my best friend, and I don't want anything happening to her." Rose sighed.
Harry nodded. "I know, and she means a lot to me to, don't you worry. Ginny will be okay, and if she needs help, she can come to us, she knows that."
Rose nodded her head and laid herself carefully next to Harry. "I worry about you, not even half way into the year and you're already hurt."
"Tell me about it, at least this time I'll only be in for the night." Harry chuckled.
"Just don't make a habit of it alright?"
"Don't worry, I don't intend to. Hey, it's almost curfew time, best you head back to the tower now, don't want to keep Luna waiting now do you." Harry chuckled as he ruffled his sister's hair.
"Yeah, you're right, anyway, I'll see you in the morning, try to get some rest Harry."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes mum, go on now, get outta here."
Rose waved her brother off as she disappeared into the hallway and back into the heart of the school, leaving Harry on his lonesome once more, as he shut his eyes in order to try and get some sleep. Only about half an hour into his restless sleep, Harry was brought out of his slumber by the sound of scuttling feet making their way across the floor. Opening his eyes and reaching for his glasses, Harry let out a yelp when a small figure jumped up onto his bed.
"Oh, Harry Potter Sir, you didn't listen to Dobby's warnings Sir."
Harry had to blink a few times until he recalled who was sitting in front of him. "Dobby! What are you doing here?"
"Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter that he must go home!"
Harry tried to sit himself up but the pain from his arm quickly put to rest that idea. "Dobby, I already told you, I'm not going home."
"But Harry Potter Sir! You must go home, or else a bludger is the least of youse worries."
Harry rolled his eyes. "And last year facing down Voldemort wasn't bad enough?"
Dobby yelped and jumped a fraction. "Harry Potter Sir! If youse do not listen to Dobby, then Dobby is having's to do much worse than spell a bludger."
As if realising what he had just said, Dobby clamped his hands over his mouth. "You mean you tried to kill me Dobby!" Harry cried in outrage.
"Not kill Sir, only maim! Much better than Harry Potter being killed!"
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dobby, as much as I appreciate the concern, I would rather you try and not protect me, understood?"
Before Harry could get an answer, the sounds of a party making their way down the hallway came echoing down into the hospital wing. With a click of his fingers, Dobby disappeared. Quickly falling back down onto his pillow, Harry ripped his glasses off and placed them on the side table and feigned sleep as the party came rushing into the room.
"Albus, is he…is he dead?" The voice of McGonagall cried.
"No Minerva, merely petrified, much like Mrs Norris." Dumbledore reassured.
"But Albus, does this mean that the chamber truly has opened?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
Harry cracked his eyes open a smidge in order to see what was happening, wishing he hadn't taken his glasses off now. From what he could see though, was three figures standing over the body of a student in black robes. Harry however did notice a muggle camera which could only mean that the boy was none other than Colin Creevy.
Opening the muggle camera up, Dumbledore was met by a bright flash and a plume of smoke as the muggle film went up in flames, disintegrating.
"Albus, what does this mean?" McGonagall cried in worry.
"It means that Poppy is right, the chamber has opened, and our students are in grave danger."
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Talk around the school that Colin had been petrified spread like wildfire, and everywhere Harry turned someone was talking to their friend about the poor first year Gryffindor. Harry had naturally told his friends what had happened, visibly shaking most of them, except for Hermione who immediately went into think tank mode. Ginny by far had the worst reaction to it, hiding up in her dorm room and refusing to come down even for dinner. Rose and Luna had managed to grab her some food so that she could eat something, but the youngest Weasley wasn't in any kind of state to eat by all regards.
As for what the staff were doing about the situation, Dumbledore had enforced a policy where no student should be alone by themselves, having to stick in pairs or groups or by the side of a teacher. Another action taken by the staff was the forming of a duelling club for all students, run by none other than their very own DADA professor. It was on the following Wednesday that the first class would be held, and talk was already spreading about how fun or exciting it would be. Harry, Rose and their friends expressed their doubts, all except Hermione who continued to defend Lockhart as being competent.
"I'm telling you Hermione; Lockhart is going to get himself killed taking on Snape. He can hardly face a group of Cornish pixies let alone the grease king himself." Ron tried to persuade Hermione as the group of friends made their way down the stairs to the great hall.
"Honestly Ron, Lockhart is far more competent then you make him out to be, I mean, why would he write about all his accomplishments if he didn't actually perform them?"
Rose clicked her tongue. "Sounds rather fishy to me to be honest, maybe he's a liar."
"Rose! You can't just say that about a teacher!" Hermione gasped.
"Can and did." Rose said nonchalantly.
Making their way into the Great Hall, the group of friends found themselves amongst the majority of the school, which was now crowding around a central table that ran the length of the hall. Atop it, a runner and table cloth of deep purple ran covered it, whilst the enchanted roof of the hall displayed the starry night outside.
Huddling into the crowd of their peers, the group began to survey the room as the rest of the school pooled in. Eventually, all eyes turned towards the two professors who decided to enter at the same time. Lockhart's fancy duelling outfit, including a number of medals strapped to his chest, screamed out pompousness, whilst Snape donned his traditional batlike black cloak that flurried behind him as he swept into the room. Making their way onto the stage, the two professors greeted each other cordially before Lockhart turned to the room at large,
"Good evening everyone, and welcome to the official Hogwarts Duelling club, where I." Lockhart paused and coughed dramatically, "Professor Lockhart, will be teaching you how to defend yourselves in a wizarding duel."
"Professor Snape has kindly volunteered to be my helped and partner for tonight, and to start off the night, we shall be demonstrating the disarming spell, Expelliarmus." Lockhart continued.
Surveying the room around him, Lockhart continued to sport his cheesy trademark smile as his eyes roamed over the young witches who squealed in delight, "Now, Professor Snape, shall we begin?"
"Cert-ainly professor." Snape sneered as he prepared himself.
"On the count of three then Severus, one, two, three!"
Lockhart barely had a chance to raise his wand before Snape sent a blue hued spell straight towards the DADA professor with a clear cry of Expelliarmus. Lockhart was thrown a good couple of meters as his wand spiralled into the air, landing in the outstretched hand of Snape.
"Yes! Well! Good show Severus, um…why don't we have a couple of students have a go now hey?" Lockhart said as he dusted himself off and retrieved his wand.
"What an excellent idea Professor, any volunteers from…Slytherin?" Snape asked coolly.
A number of hands raised themselves, and Harry couldn't help but notice that Malfoy was the first to shoot his hand up. "Eager are we Draco, come up here then." Snape said.
Lockhart looked around nervously, looking for someone who could represent him in the student match. Unfortunately for Harry, the professor's eyes landed on him and within a split second, his grin was back.
"Harry! Come on up here, I thought I saw you raise a hand up, you cheeky devil you."
Harry eyed his friends as they gave him a shrug before someone behind him pushed him to the front, "But professor, I didn't volunteer!"
"Nonsense Harry, I saw your hand go up as soon as I called for volunteers." Lockhart said casually.
"But you didn't call for volunteers!"
Before Lockhart could reply, Malfoy shot out an insult from across the table. "Scared are you Potter, don't worry, I knew you wouldn't be able to face me."
Harry growled as he eyed the young Slytherin. "In your dreams Malfoy."
"Excellent! Now boys remember, disarm only! Now, bow to your partner." Lockhart instructed.
Malfoy and Harry bowed towards each other as they both took their wands out and prepared for the duel. "Now, on the count of three I want you to disarm your opponent, understood? One…Two…."
Before Lockhart had even finished saying two, Malfoy shot out a tickling jinx straight towards Harry, who had no time to duck as the spell hit him straight on, sending him sprawling onto the floor into fits.
"I said disarm only!" Lockhart tried to shout.
Harry ignored his Professor as he sent a jelly legs curse straight towards Draco, causing him to buckle as his legs wobbled. When he recovered, he sent a boils curse straight towards Harry, who managed to duck in time before he shot off his own leg locker curse. Harry's aim was dead on as the young Slytherin came tumbling down onto the side of the duelling platform. Before he could get up, a young Pansy Parkinson came running up to Draco and whispered into his ear, causing the two to smirk before Draco got to his feet and prepared himself.
"Serpensortia!" Draco cried out before a fully-grown snake shot out from his wand and onto the floor.
The snake made quick headway over to a stunned Harry, only to stop half way as Lockhart tried to dispose of the snake. "Don't worry Harry, I'll sort this out"
Lockhart's spell only seemed to upset the snake even further as it was launched into the air before coming back down with a thump, hissing angrily at the student in front of him. Harry tried to recall a name, thinking it was something along the lines of Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff. Without thinking, Harry cried out for the snake to stop.
"STOP!"
As if by some miracle, the snake turned its head around and peered at the student, "Why ssssshould I?"
"Because he didn't do anything to hurt you, it was that buffoon there." Harry told the snake, pointing to Lockhart.
Before the snake could reply, Snape shot a curse at the snake, causing it to disintegrate into nothing, before staring at Harry in both a confused and worried manner.
"What was all that about!" Justin cried out, bringing Harry's attention back towards him.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked,
Justin shook his head. "You're mental you are!"
Before Harry could get a straight answer, the Hufflepuff and his friends quickly departed the hall, as did many other students. Harry's friends and sister quickly got him off stage and out of the hall, rushing along the halls before stopping in an alcove far enough away from everyone.
"What the hell was that Harry!" Rose cried out.
"What!? What did I do!" Harry cried out in frustration.
"You never told us you were a Parselmouth!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry leaned himself against a wall as he rubbed his hands over his face. "First of all, what is a Parselmouth, and second, how am I one?"
Hermione stepped up and cleared her throat at this point. "Parselmouths are people who have the ability to talk to snakes, parseltongue, and that is exactly what you just did back there Harry."
"What? I was just talking normally though!"
Rose took hold of her brother's hand. "Trust me, whatever you thought you were saying, it sounded like snake".
"This is bad news guys, the only known parselnmouths are all dark wizards, what the hell is the rest of the school gonna think!" Alec exclaimed.
"Relax guys, I was only trying to tell the snake to stop." Harry explained.
"I'm sorry mate, but it sounded like you were egging it on to attack Justin." Ron added.
Harry groaned as he leaned his head back against the wall. "Great, just one more thing that I need to be known for."
"Hey, think of it this way, you ever come across to Australia, you don't have to worry about the snakes!" Alec said, trying to lighten the mood, "No? That wasn't' funny?"
Rose shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "Come on Harry, let's just get you back to the tower and into bed, we can talk about this all tomorrow."
"Agreed. I tell you this though guys, we need to get down to the bottom of whoever or whatever is causing these attacks!"
Hermione clucked her tongue lightly, "I think I may just have a solution to that."