"Is it too late to get a puking pastille from Fred?" Harry whined. It was time for dinner in the Great Hall, and being Samhain night there would be a magnificent feast underneath the full moon in the night sky illusion ceiling.
"You know full well that doing such thing would only postpone the detention, and not get you out of it completely." Hermione said dully not even looking up from the book she was reading while walking down the corridors.
"It could be worse." Draco said grinning.
"How?" Harry asked skeptically.
"You could be in Henry Potter's shoes." Luna said dreamily.
"He got himself and his friends invited to Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's death-day party."
"How do you know that?" Blaise asked incredulously, unfortunately they didn't receive anything more than a secretive smile from her.
"Who is Sir Nicholas.. err.. de Meesy-Pantinus?" Harry asked tilting his head to the side while biting his lip.
"I don't think that is what she said." Pansy said giggling.
"Mimsy-Porpington." Daphne corrected with a smirk.
"Whatever, who is he?" Harry asked exasperated.
"The Gryffindor Ghost." Theo informed him.
"Why in Merlin's name is he going to a ghosts birthday?" Harry asked aghast.
"Death-day." Luna corrected.
"Oh sorry, Death-day." Harry amended sarcastically.
"Apparently Sir Nicholas roped him to it." She shrugged.
"I can't see that being fun." Harry snickered, but he stopped when they reached their destination. The classroom that had been turned into a dueling room and an office for the senior Potter male.
"Oh joy, I have reached my demise."
"Harry it won't be that bad." Hermione said soothingly.
"Do you want to do it for me?"
"Oh good Merlin no! I would rather go swimming with the giant squid." She denied shaking her head vigorously. Glaring Harry stomped over and opened the door, turning around to send one last forlorn look at his friends before entering.
The office wasn't what he was expecting, there were two large windows on either side of the room, one looked out over the Black Lake; the other looked out over the courtyard in the middle of the school. The walls weren't covered in red and gold either, but instead a light blue, dark blue and a bright yellow. It gave a warm and open appearance, there were no chairs and tables like in most classrooms, instead the room was open and empty, giving room for duels to take place. James Potter was sitting behind an oak desk which sat to the side of the room beside the window overlooking the lake, he hadn't noticed Harry's arrival yet, giving the young Slytherin the chance to appreciate the room. Not that he would admit that, that was what he was doing. Rolling his eyes and bracing himself, he cleared his throat. Potter startled and looked up at him.
"Oh, you're here." He looked at the magical clock on the wall beside the window pane; it was a clock that would show the time and what he had booked written under it, and sure enough it read; 6:00pm. Supervising Detention of Hartford Riddle.
"Yes Sir." Harry nodded. As much as he hated the senior Potter; he wasn't going to give the man reason to put him in more detentions. He softly snorted, Hermione would be so proud of him.
"Detention will run through dinner, in an hour a House Elf will bring you some of the feast." Potter said firmly before conjuring a single desk and chair in front of his and motioning Harry to take the seat.
"Yes Sir." Harry responded monotonously as he sat down.
"What am I meant to be doing Sir?" He asked when he realized he hadn't been told what this detention would consist of.
"In a minute." Potter said, not looking up from the papers he was marking. Apparently his classes weren't just for practical lessons but theoretical as well. Shrugging Harry leant back in his seat, his head flopping back, green eyes looking up at the ceiling blankly.
"I saw at lunch today that my daughter Rose joined you and your friends." Potter said unexpectedly. Harry tensed, this couldn't be good.
"How is she coping?" Potter asked looking up from the papers briefly, but it was enough for Harry to see the concern in the man's browns eyes.
"Why haven't you asked her that?" Harry asked snidely before he could catch himself, so much for not winding the man up. The man's lip curled in anger, eyes flashing, he stood up with his hands curled into fists by his side.
"I don't know why I even bothered asking a little bastard like you. You can't understand." And then out of nowhere the anger and self-righteousness vanished. He sat down looking defeated; head bowed, shoulders hunched, and his hands running through his messy black hair.
"I have asked. But she only said fine, I am worried she thinks I am not happy with her sorting. I may not like you but she does." Harry inwardly sniggered at the disgusted sneer on the man's face at the thought of Voldemort's son being friendly with his only daughter.
"She loves Ravenclaw and her friends." Harry sighed reluctantly, as much as he wanted to mess with the man, he had grown to care about Rose over the small amount of time he had known her. Although he had could never have prepared himself to see this human version of James Potter. The man was grinning slightly from the news that his daughter was adjusting well at Hogwarts even if she wasn't in his old house.
"Good. Good." He murmured.
"Now, you will be writing today." James said standing up and grabbing a piece of parchment, an inkwell and quill.
"That's it?" Harry asked incredulously, he had thought the man would've come up with something more creative than that to punish him.
"What am I writing?" Harry groaned when James placed everything needed on the desk in front of him.
"An essay on why fighting and dueling is forbidden at Hogwarts." James said smirking. He was turning around when a piece of paper fell out of his robes without the man noticing. Curious Harry bent over in his chair and picked it up, he felt his mouth drop. The picture contained a younger James Potter holding a messy haired, chubby and grinning baby, he was laughing as he tickled the squealing child; the baby was only about nine or ten months old but was already the splitting image of James Potter with one major difference. The baby had bright green eyes, the shade of the killing curse.
"RIDDLE!" James screamed when he looked up and saw the boy staring at a photo, his hands went to his robe pockets and he felt his heart sink when they were empty.
"You.. dropped this." Harry whispered in shock.
"IT ISN'T YOUR'S TO LOOK! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!" He screamed, spittle flying as he snatched the photo back. Wide eyed Harry scuttled out of the room and came to a stop in the hallway. His mind wouldn't stop racing, for once nothing made sense to him. Catching his breath, he headed off to the Great Hall, he nodded to Lily Potter as he passed her, the woman heading to her husband's room.
…
The halls of Hogwarts were filled with chatter and feet patter, as the Halloween feast came to an end. The students walked down the main corridor cramped together, it would be awhile before each house could veer off towards their own common rooms. Harry had rejoined his friends halfway through the feast and was now full and warm, despite hating that they celebrated Halloween instead of Samhain, he did enjoy the food served for Hogwarts feasts and the warm fires that burned throughout the castle.
"So what happened in detention?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I don't want to talk about it out here, I will fill you in when we reach the common room." Harry answered. He couldn't risk the wrong person overhearing their conversation. Although there wasn't much of a chance, considering the noise that was being released by the student body, he still wouldn't chance it.
"Well, you can take pleasure in knowing that Potter and Weasley never made it to the feast. They must of been stuck with the ghosts all night." Blaise chortled.
"Would hate to be him tonight." Draco gagged.
"Would hate to be him point stop." Blaise sneered back, shuddering horrified.
"What about the other two? Did they not join them?" Harry asked curiously.
"Nope, Finnigan and Thomas were at dinner with Neville." Theo said shaking his head.
"Some friends." Daphne scoffed delicately.
"They are only friends because they believe Potter is the savior, they want a piece of his fame." Hermione said disgustedly.
"The light proclaims they are better than us, but they do nothing but lie and cheat and steal to get their way." She continued.
"Well, we have each other, and our families. We love and care so much deeper, everything is more powerful, stronger, and so much, well more in the dark." Harry said grinning, throwing his arm around his sister's shoulders. Despite the anger and hurt he still felt on occasion, he still wouldn't change how this happened, for he found everything he could or would never need within the dark.
Suddenly everything got very quiet and they stopped moving. Sharing a look, Harry and Hermione pushed their way to the front with their friends right behind them. There hanging from a torch bracket, by her tail, was Mrs Norris, the beloved cat of Argus Filch. She was stiff as stiff as a broom and her eyes wide, unblinking. Henry Potter and Ronald Weasley stood next to it faces white and eyes wide, above them on the wall were foot high words, shimmering from the light coming from surrounding torches.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been Opened. Enemies of the Heir Beware." Hermione read aloud, green eyes tracking the message. Harry felt his heart sink, this couldn't be good.
"Is.. is it written in blood?" He asked. The hall was so quiet that even those at the back could hear them talking.
"I think it is." Pansy confirmed.
"How the hell has the Chamber been opened?" Harry whispered lowly to his sister as everyone else broke into terrified chatter.
"It shouldn't be. We are the only heirs since Father took up the Lordship. No one should be able to even get inside, let alone open it."
"This can't be good." Harry said, feeling another shudder work up his body.
"What's going on here?! What's going on?" Harry smirked when Potter and Weasley went white at the sound of the voice belonging to the Hogwarts Caretaker. Argus Filch came shouldering through the students, when he saw Mrs Norris the old man reared back clutching his heart in horror, his popping eyes landed on Potter and Weasley.
"YOU!" He screeched.
"YOU'VE MURDERED MY CAT! YOU'VE KILLED HER! I WILL KILL YOU!" He reached out, his hands going for their throats.
"Argus!" Everyone parted to the side when Albus Dumbledore arrived with the Professor's Snape, Mcgonagall, Potter, Evans and Lockhart behind him. Dumbledore gently took the cat off the wall, and turned to look at Potter and Weasley.
"Come Argus, you too Mr Potter and Mr Weasley. Everyone else, to your common rooms."
"Mr and Miss Riddle as well." Potter snarled, his eyes glaring at them.
"What?!" They chorused.
"Very well." Dumbledore sighed. Lockhart stepped forward eagerly causing the four students to groan before glaring at each other.
"My office is nearest, Headmaster, just upstairs, feel free to use it."
"Thank you Gilderoy." Albus said jovially, he turned and lead the group away from the rest of the curious students. Reluctantly Harry and Hermione waved to their friends to go, and followed the Headmaster, Professors and two Gryffindors. When they reached Lockhart's classrooms, they watched in disgust as the portrait Lockhart's hurried out of their frames, their hair in curlers. Harry couldn't help but snigger at the real Lockhart's blush and stammering. With just a flick of his wand Dumbledore enlarged a polished desk for them to gather around and placed Mrs Norris on the table to examine. Shrugging Harry sat down in a chair followed by Hermione and watched as Dumbledore waved his wand around the cat, murmuring to himself. Harry crinkled up his face as Dumbledore leant so far forward that his crooked nose was barely an inch from the dead cat.
"How bad do you reckon that cat stinks right now?" Hermione whispered to Harry causing him to snort and choke on his laughter. They received glares from Mcgonagall, Potter and Evans for the comment, but Harry swore he saw a slight smirk on Severus' face even through the shadows that encased the man. Of course Lockhart hadn't noticed, he was too busy giving useless and unwanted advice, and Filch was softly crying beside Dumbledore. Harry had never thought he would feel sorry for the cranky and terrible mannered caretaker, but the man genuinely cared for Mrs Norris, and was mourning her.
"It was definitely a Curse that killed her." Lockhart said nodding his head.
"Probably the Transmogrifian Curse." He continued oblivious of Filch's whimpering.
"I have seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would've saved her." Harry rolled his eyes at the man. He knew no bounds.
"I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadougou." Harry groaned, leaning forward and burying his face into his hands as the fraud kept talking.
"A series of attacks, the full story is my autobiography. I, of course, was able to provide the townsfolk with amulets, which cleared the matter right up." Finally the man seemed finished, and Dumbledore stood up and placed his hand on Filch's shoulder.
"She is not dead. Argus." Harry, Hermione, Henry and Ronald's faces all split into grins when Lockhart's face went white and his jaw dropped.
"But, she… she is all stiff." Argus sniffed.
"She has been petrified." Dumbledore said softly.
"Ah! I thought so." Lockhart declared, but the stupid man was ignored by all.
"But.. How? I cannot say." Dumbledore finished thoughtfully.
"Ask them!" Filch shouted in anger, pointing his finger at Potter and Weasley.
"Argus, no second year student could do this. It would take dark magic." Dumbledore soothed the man.
"But.. but the boys hate me, and they.. They know I am… a squib." Harry and Hermione almost missed the last bit with it being whispered so quietly, but their hearts went out to the man. Their Grandmother Merope Gaunt had been only slightly more than a squib herself and had been mistreated by her family for years before their Grandfather rescued her.
"We never touched Mrs Norris!" Henry cried loudly with Ronald nodding his head furiously.
"We know that boys." Dumbledore said smiling at them.
"Do we?" Severus asked stepping forward.
"You claim no second year could do this, yet you allowed Potter to bring two of my Slytherins. Both of which were actually at Dinner tonight unlike Jr and Weasley." He sneered from his new position, behind Harry and Hermione, his hands on their shoulders. James puffed out his chest, eyes narrowing as he got ready to yell, it was like a different man from the calm and lost man in detention. But before he could open his mouth, his son spoke again.
"We were at Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party! There were hundreds of ghosts there that can vouch for us."
"Then why did you not join the feast afterwards? I can't imagine a Deathday party having much to eat for the living." Severus smirked as the Gryffindors shared a look of panic.
"We weren't hungry." Ron said quickly, blushing when his stomach rumbled giving away his lie.
"Innocent until proven guilty Severus, but I do not believe any of these four had anything to do with this." Dumbledore said firmly, but his blue eyes were watching the Riddle twins carefully."My cat has been Petrified!" Filch shrieked, his eyes popping again.
"I want to see some punishment!"
"We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore patiently.
"Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."
"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in.
"I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep"
"Excuse me," said Severus icily.
"But I believe I am the Potions master at this school." There was a very awkward pause which had Harry trying to not laugh at Lockhart.
"You may go," Dumbledore said to Henry and Ron, they went, as quickly as they could without actually running.
"Professor?" Harry asked looking at Severus for help. Surely the Headmaster wouldn't change his tune now and claim they did it.
"Headmaster, I do not understand why my students are still here." Severus said.
"They can't of done this. Not only are they only twelve, but their whereabouts are accounted for."
"You can't know that! They still could've done it!" James snapped. Dumbledore stared at them over his half-moon glasses.
"We cannot condemn them just because of your dislike for Slytherin." Dumbledore said finally.
"I am sorry you were dragged along with this Mr and Miss Riddle."
"Of course Professor. But Sir, has the Chamber really opened?" Hermione asked, blinking her eyes open and wide as if scared.
"We can't know for sure." Dumbledore replied gravely.
"But what do you know about the Chamber?"
"Not much." Harry said scrunching up his face in thought.
"Grand.. Grandfather used to tell us stories though." He said, stuttering over his Grandfather, it was getting easier, but the pain was still very raw.
"He was only a first year when the Chamber was opened the first time, but he said he remembered how terrifying it was for students back then, and that a young girl tragically died before it was closed." Hermione said slowly as if racking her brain for the memories. It was sad how easy it was to spin things to the light idiots.
"Yes, I remember Cygnus Black. I am truly sorry for your loss." Dumbledore said before nodding goodnight and walking out with a furious James and Lily behind him.
"Come on you two." Severus said leading them out and down towards the dungeons.
"I will be contacting your Father as soon as I can without suspicion." He whispered.
"Thanks Uncle Sev."
"Now run along, get back to the common room. Your friends will be waiting for you I am sure." nodding they both headed off quickly whispering to each other as they went.
….
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy the newest chapter =) I apologize for any mistakes. Let me know what you thought and feel free to share what you would like to see. See you all next update darlings! xx