The first Quidditch match of the season was here, and Samantha was very ready to get out onto the pitch. Although Slytherin had the better brooms, Gryffindor had the better players. It was muggy, wet, and cold out, but Oliver had made the team practice in every weather imaginable, so they would be prepared. Samantha was confident they would win.
She now sat in the changing room in her scarlet robes, next to Harry and Katie. Not insanely interested in Oliver's pep talk, she was only slightly paying attention while he spoke.
What did catch her interest, though was, when he said, "Get that Snitch before Malfoy, or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've just got to."
Samantha raised her eyebrows. "Bit harsh for a school Quidditch match, don't you think?"
"We've got to prove that you can't just buy your way onto the team," Oliver explained.
They walked out onto the pitch, met with the cheers of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor and the boos of the Slytherins. Madam Hooch gave them a countdown, and they were off, soaring through the sky.
Samantha wasn't paying too much attention to what was happening around her until she almost fell off her broom while dodging a Bludger. After regaining herself, she looked around for the twins, finally spotting them far above the goals, beating the other Bludger away from Harry, who it seemed to be focusing on.
She heard Madam Hooch's whistle blow, signaling a time out, and flew down to her team.
"What's going on?" Oliver asked. "We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when that Bludger stopped Angelina from scoring, or nearly knocked Samantha off her broom?"
"We were twenty feet above, trying to keep the other Bludger from killing Harry," Fred answered, annoyed.
"Someone's fixed it, it won't leave Harry alone," said George.
"Impossible. The Bludgers have all been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practice, and nothing was wrong with them then," said Oliver.
"Well, something's going on with that one," said Fred.
"Listen. With you two flying around me all the time the only way I'm going to catch the Snitch is if it flies up my sleeve. Go back to the rest of the team and let me deal with the rogue one," Harry said.
"Harry, it'll kill you," said Samantha.
"Oliver, this is insane," said Angelina. "You can't let Harry deal with that on his own. Let's ask for an inquiry-"
"Then we lose to Slytherin," Harry said. "We can't lose just because of a crazy bludger."
"You shouldn't die just because of a crazy Bludger," said Samantha.
"'Get the Snitch or die trying'- what a stupid thing to say to him," George said angrily.
"Ready to resume play?" Madam Hooch asked, walking up to them.
Oliver looked at Harry. "Alright," he said. "Fred, George, you heard Harry. Leave him alone and let him deal with the bludger on his own."
The team kicked back up into the air. Samantha could see Harry doing everything he could to keep himself on the broom and away from the Bludger. He looked rather stupid, but at least he wasn't hurt and they had a chance at winning.
A few minutes in, she heard a crack, and dropped the Quaffle in surprise. Turning around, she saw Harry leaning towards the Snitch with his left hand, his right arm hanging limply at his side.
His fingers closed around the glimmering ball, and he started plummeting towards the ground. Samantha made to descend, but the Bludger that had targeted Harry seemed to think that it should finish off both of them, and came flying towards Samantha. She saw it too late, and it crashed hard into her left arm, and she heard the same nasty crack.
Now only holding the broom in her right hand, then flew to the ground next to Harry, slipping off her broom and into the mud as well.
"Aha," Harry said, looking at the Snitch. "We've won." Then he passed out.
People began to walk over, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and some teachers.
"Sam, come on," Max said, holding his hand out to pull Samantha up.
Samantha took it, thankful to be out of the mud. "It broke my arm," she said softly.
"Ah, I can fix that!" said a cheerful voice.
Samantha turned to see Lockhart standing behind her. She pulled her wand out of her pocket, pointing it at him. "Don't even try," she said threateningly, ignoring the white hot pain in her left arm.
"It's really a very simple spell-"
"I'll Crucio you and I mean it," Samantha said. "Come on Max, let's go to the Hospital Wing." Stuffing her wand back into her pocket, she and Max began to walk away from the pitch.
As they walked up to the castle, Max brushed against her arm and Samantha gasped.
"What's wrong?" Max asked immediately.
"That hurt," Samantha said, touching her arm gingerly and wincing.
Max looked at Samantha's now-swollen arm. "Let's walk faster," he suggested.
The two picked up the pace, and Samantha held her arm tightly to her side as they began to jog, trying not to move it. She was thankful that the Hospital wing was on the first floor.
"Madam Pomfrey?" Samantha asked as she walked in.
"Yes, dear? What can I- broken arm?" she asked, seeing how red and swollen the bottom of Samantha's arm was.
Samantha nodded.
Madam Pomfrey disappeared for a second and came back holding two bottles. "Drink this for the pain. After I mend the bone, this goes on for the swelling," she instructed.
Samantha nodded again and drank the first of the potions, feeling the searing pain in her arm fade. Madam Pomfrey then took out her wand and pointed it at Samantha's arm. Samantha was pretty sure she could feel the bone fusing back together.
"Thank you," she told Madam Pomfrey gratefully.
"Of course, dear. It's no problem. Now, put this on," she said, handing Samantha the other potion.
Just as Samantha was about to leave, Harry walked in. "What took you so- oh!" she said, seeing Harry's arm. It looked like a poor rubber substitute for an arm. "What happened!" she cried.
"Lockhart," Harry muttered angrily. "My bones are gone."
"You can do that?" Samantha asked in astonishment.
"Apparently," Harry groaned.
Lauren, Hermione, and Ron had all joined them, and Samantha took a quick shower to wash off the mud as Ron helped Harry change into pajamas.
"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione?" Ron asked.
Samantha sighed, not listening to Hermione's response. "Let's go," she whispered to Max.
He looked at her, meeting her eyes, and nodded. "We'll be heading out now," he said.
"Yeah. Harry, hope your bones grow back alright. We'll see you tomorrow morning," Samantha said.
'Oh- alright, bye," Harry said.
Samantha and Max walked out of the hospital wing.
"Where should we go?" asked Max.
Samantha shrugged. "I don't feel like going to the Common Room. Wanna wander around a bit?" she asked.
"Sure," Max agreed.
The pair strolled around the castle, going into random classrooms. They accidentally walked into Flitwick's office and ran away laughing without letting him see them.
"Ooh, what's in here?" Max questioned, pointing to a door.
Samantha's heart stopped. In their laughter, she hadn't realized where they had ended up. Max was pointing towards her study room.
"I don't think I've ever seen that door before. Come on, let's go check it out," said Max.
"Should we really-?" Samantha asked, but too late, Max had opened the door.
"Whoa, what's this for?" he asked.
Samantha peeked over his shoulder and saw the room was completely different. Instead of the usual cheery room Samantha went into, this one had a darker, almost romantic feel to it.
"I have no idea…" Samantha said slowly.
She felt the bedsheets. They were a smooth silk, very different from the quilt that was on the bed in Samantha's study room.
"It's so nice," Max said. There was a window, too, overlooking the Quidditch pitch.
"The view is pretty," Samantha commented, striding next to Max.
"Yeah…" Max said dreamily.
Samantha turned and saw he was watching her, and she blushed. "Why is this here?" she asked, moving to the bed.
"No clue," said Max.
"It's so… out of place," said Samantha.
"Definitely," Max agreed.
Samantha met Max's eye and grinned.
"You're beautiful," Max said, moving closer to Samantha.
"You're not too bad yourself," Samantha replied. Max smirked, and put his arm around Samantha's back, pulling her closer to him.
The next morning, Hermione woke Leslie and Samantha up early.
"What's going on?" Samantha asked quietly.
"Colin Creevey's been attacked," Hermione answered breathlessly.
"Petrified or… dead?" Samantha demanded.
"Petrified. We've got to go work on the potion right now," said Hermione.
"Right, let's go," said Leslie.
The three girls ran down the stairs, meeting Max and Ron at the bottom. They left the Common Room and hurried to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Samantha and Max hand in hand.
They chose the largest stall and crowded inside. They lit a fire in the toilet bowl and set the cauldron on top.
A few minutes in, the bathroom door swung open.
"It's me!" Harry called, and Hermione dropped her wand.
"Harry, get in here!" Samantha said, unlocking the stall door.
"There's not much space…" Harry said.
"Well, none of us can vanish a wall yet, and this is the largest stall, so just make it work," said Samantha.
"Maybe that's a spell you should begin working on," Harry suggested bitterly as he shoved himself inside.
"We'd've come to get you but we needed to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," said Ron.
"Guys, Colin was attacked," said Harry.
"We know, we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick," said Hermione.
"How do you know?" asked Samantha.
"I saw McGonagall and Dumbledore bring him in. He was holding a camera, and whatever Petrified him completely melted the camera," said Harry.
"That's powerful," said Leslie.
"Definitely," Max agreed.
"There's something else," said Harry. "Dobby came to visit me last night."
"What'd he say? Anything more about going home?" asked Samantha.
"He said I had to go home. Sam and Lauren too, but mostly me. It was his Bludger, and he stopped me and Ron from getting on the train. He still couldn't say who had been opening it, though. It's so strange. The Chamber's been opened before," said Harry.
"I know," Samantha said simply.
"You know?" Hermione asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"We thought Binns told you!" Leslie responded.
"Nah, he said the whole thing was a rumor," said Ron. "What else do you know?"
"It was all super hushed up. My parents wouldn't say who did it, or who caught the person. Said the accused was innocent," Max responded.
"You've got to get it out of them!" Hermione said. "Go home for the holidays, and pressure them until they tell you."
"They won't do it," said Max.
"You've got to try! They don't want more innocent people petrified or killed, do they?" Hermione asked.
Max sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll go home for the holidays and try to pressure it out of them," he agreed. "But you guys have to tell me if you find out anything about Draco Malfoy."
"We will, I promise. I'll send Athena right away, after we finish," Samantha told him.
"Perfect," said Max.
"What I'd like to know is what the monster is," said Ron.
"Me too," Leslie agreed. "And how is it hiding itself?"
"Maybe it can make itself invisible," Samantha suggested.
"Ooh, or maybe it can disguise itself, as a suit of armor, I've read about Chameleon Ghouls-" Hermione started.
"You read too much, Hermione," said Ron.
They continued working on the Potion that morning. That afternoon, they found out the school was in chaos.
First years moved around in tightly knit groups. Ginny and Lauren seemed absolutely distraught, and Fred and George's idea of cheering them up by jumping out from random places covered in boils wasn't helping much.
Unbeknownst to the teachers, there were garlic cloves, amulets, and other so-called protective devices being sold around school. Everyone was on edge.
The second week of December came around, and Max sadly signed up to go home. Surprisingly, Leslie signed up too.
"Les? What're you doing?" Samantha asked.
Leslie sighed. "Jack's been writing to mum about what's happening and she wants us home for the holidays, no matter that we're halfblood," she explained. "I just found out this morning."
"So I'm gonna be alone?" Samantha asked.
"Harry, Ron, and Hermione will be here. Plus the Weasleys, and Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle," Leslie pointed out, reading the list.
"How delightful. I can't wait to spend Christmas with those three. They're just the life of the party." Samantha wrote her name down as staying. "Looks like Bella's staying too. Everyone else is going. Oh, hang on, Damon's staying, too."
"Ooh, good luck dealing with him," said Leslie. "You'll have to keep him off your trail."
"Great. Maybe we'll just knock him out for a few hours."
"A little harsh," said Leslie.
"He can't know what we're up to. Too many people knowing isn't good. Then teachers have a greater chance of finding out. Besides, I already get the feeling Snape can read minds. Imagine if you, me, Elias, Connor, Damon, Max, Ellie, Hudson, Bella, and Riley all knew about it? Maybe I can keep him out of my mind, but they sure as hell can't," said Samantha.
"Snape can read minds?" Leslie asked.
"I think so. Once it felt as if he was doing it, and I visualized pushing him out of a door and he asked how I learned Occlumency," Samantha answered. "I really need to look into that."
Leslie shuddered. "Definitely. Then teach us all," she said.
"That'll be the first thing I do," Samantha promised.
"What we need," Hermione said briskly as the six of them sat in the bathroom discussing how they would get the powdered horn of bicorn and the boomslang skin, "is a diversion. Then someone can sneak into Snape's private stores and take what we need."
"We'd better do that," said Leslie.
"Yeah. I mean, if Harry or Ron get into any more trouble, they'll be expelled," said Max.
"I'll do it," said Samantha. "Alone."
"You can't cause a diversion and get into the stores alone!" Hermione said.
"I might have a way," said Samantha. "Leave it to me. Don't do anything stupid. I won't be caught, and no one will ever have to know what happened," Samantha said.
Leslie looked at her apprehensively before sighing. "Fine. If you feel you can do this, then let's go for it. When?"
"I should have it by tomorrow. I've got a plan…" said Samantha.
That night once everyone had gone to sleep, Samantha made her arrangements. She took the Invisibility Cloak out of her trunk and laid it on the bed. She put her wand in her pocket, made sure her Time Turner was around her neck, then put on the Invisibility Cloak and slipped out of the portrait hole.
Double checking no one else was on a late night stroll, she turned back once. After feeling the similar flying backwards sensation, Professor McGonagall walked by, not seeing Samantha hidden under the Cloak.
Samantha set off to the dungeons, walking fast but silently.
She got there and then made her way carefully inside. Her detention of rearranging the ingredients had turned out useful, as she knew exactly where to go to get the boomslang skin and powdered horn of bicorn.
After grabbing just enough of each, she rushed back up to Gryffindor Tower. She had to take off the Cloak to talk to the Fat Lady, but she was let in, and put the Cloak back on.
It had only taken around ten minutes, but Samantha could risk nothing going wrong. She waited silently and patiently for herself to leave the dormitory, then snuck in, hid the ingredients and Cloak, and got in bed.
It had worked perfectly, and if anyone came to check on her, she'd be in bed, so there would be no way that she could have stolen anything.
The next morning, Hermione rushed up to her, waking her up.
"What d'you want, 'mione?" Samantha asked, yawning.
"Did you get it?" Hermione whispered urgently.
Samantha stood up and walked to her trunk, pulling out the jars she had wrapped in a sweater. "Right here," she answered.
"Great. Let's go now, come on," said Hermione, and rushed Samantha out of the dormitory.
"Hang on, what about Leslie, Ron, Harry, and Max?" asked Samantha, holding Hermione's arm so she couldn't run farther down the stairs.
"Right…" Hermione said. "I'll get the boys, you get Leslie."
Samantha rushed back up the stairs and shook Leslie awake. "I got the ingredients. We're adding them to the potion."
"Okay," said Leslie, standing up.
The pair met Hermione and the boys in the Common Room and snuck out to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"It'll be ready in two weeks," Hermione said happily after adding the boomslang skin and powdered horn of bicorn to the potion.
There was no response, as everyone was keeping their eyes on the potion. Samantha watched it bubble, hoping that if she caught whoever was doing this, Lauren might talk to her again.