A/N: Sorry for the longer wait between updates, been rather busy irl recently so haven't had as much time to write. Anyhow, the chapter begins with some lighthearted exposition and fluff; followed by Harry's rematch against Slytherin, and like it was in canon, the deck is stacked against him with the Slytherins riding Nimbus Dobby's (un)timely intervention, Harry narrowly avoids death by bludger like CoS.

Chapter 29 The Rogue Bludger

"Guys wait up! I'm coming with you!"

Severus paused in his step and turned around to face the familiar voice. Harry waved at him and smiled brightly, falling into step with Severus and Lily just as the pair were about to exit the castle.

"Hiya Harry, we haven't see much of you recently," Lily chuckled.

Harry gave a sheepish smile. "I've been a bit busy," he confessed. "And I know I haven't been hanging out with you two as much as I should have, but I'm here now."

"We're off to see Hagrid now—" Lily began

"—I figured as much," Harry cut in. "And I've been meaning to pay him a visit recently, but with Wood's crazy training, I haven't really had the time to do so. Say…he's still looking after Merlin, isn't he Severus?"

"Merlin is still there, for now," Severus replied, giving a single nod.

"Probably for the best," Harry commiserated.

"Yeah," Severus muttered, though his sad eyes revealed just how much he missed his tabby.

"We should get going soon, don't have much time left before dinner," Lily said quickly, pulling the attention of both boys to her.

Harry and Severus both nodded and the three stepped out into the dying light of the evening and set off on the beaten path towards Hagrid's Hut. On the way, they discussed the day's events and talk soon shifted to Severus' cat Merlin who'd taken up residence with the Groundskeeper. They arrived at the door to the cabin and Severus raised his hand to the wood to knock. Severus rapped his knuckles on the wood three times, and a booming voice told them to 'come in' from the other side. Severus then pried open the door only to see a small fire in the hearth, and a widely-smiling man standing by his kitchen table holding a pot of tea.

"Evenin', you lot," Hagrid's voice boomed. His beard partially hid his smile, but his dark eyes danced with delight. He'd hardly had any visitors since the start of the school year, other than Severus and Daphne, of course.

"Good evening, Hagrid," Lily replied, smiling.

Severus and Harry echoed her greeting themselves.

They all walked over to Hagrid's table and sat down in three of the empty, smaller seats. The lone, large one was claimed by Hagrid himself, who when he sat down with a thud, rattled the very foundation and structure of his large hut.

"So," Hagrid began with a tired smile. "What brings you to see little, old me?"

The three friends chortled with laughter, Lily placing her hands on her knees to brace herself from falling forwards off her chair. "I'm not so sure we've ever referred to you as little, Hagrid," Lily laughed.

Hagrid's smile broadened in turn.

"You'd be right 'bout tha' Lily," Hagrid chuckled.

Over in the corner of the room, Merlin lifted his head off his paws and meowed upon seeing his owner and his friends sat at the table. Severus' head swiveled in the direction of the noise, his eyes widening.

"Merlin!" he said brightly. "C'mere boy!"

The dark-blue, tabby cat stood up and shook himself a couple times, some loose fur falling off his coat before hopping down from his perch on top of the sofa and prancing across the floor of the hut to Severus. Merlin meowed again and jumped up into Severus' waiting lap, brushing his head against Severus' palm and purring with delight.

"Oh, I've missed you too, buddy," Severus grinned. "You've been getting along with Diana?"

"Who's Diana?" Harry asked confusedly.

Severus realized his slip, but with the cat out of the bag, he had no choice but to explain. "Oh—err, that's Daphne's cat. She decided to bring her cat to Hagrid too after what happened with Mrs. Norris, worried for her safety and all," Severus explained.

Harry nodded once and then lifted his cup of tea to his lips for another sip.

"Speaking of Diana, where is she?" Lily asked Hagrid.

Hagrid waved a meaty arm out the window towards the forbidden forest. "Oh, she's out and about huntin' I s'ppose.

"But to answer your question, Severus, they've been getting along jus' fine."

Severus smiled at Hagrid then lowered his gaze to the feline in his lap. "You've been playing nice then, huh Merlin?" he asked as he stroked the cat's fur.

Merlin continued to purr contentedly which Severus presumed to be his way of saying 'yes.'

"So, about this Mrs. Norris business, Hagrid…you don't happen to know anything about—"

"—I know nuthin'," Hagrid said firmly, shaking his head. "I know well enough tha' you lot had nuthin' to do with it either," he added, giving them a meaningful look. "But as fer how that mangy pest got petrified, I don' know fer certain."

"But what about this whole 'Heir of Slytherin' business?" Lily asked curiously, causing Hagrid to blanch. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Now where have ye heard that?" Hagrid asked quietly, wearing a guarded look.

"I saw it briefly mentioned in Hogwarts, A History," said Lily. "Though the mention was very brief when they were talking about the Chamber of Secrets."

"Professor Binns also mentioned it in History of Magic," Severus added.

Harry nodded in agreement. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor shared History of Magic classes after all.

"Well it's an old legend with no basis in truth," said Hagrid assuredly. "You'd best be along not meddlin' with stuff like tha', it's all codswallop, believe me."

The three second years all nodded in unison, though doubt swam about in their eyes.

"Anyhow, I hope ye've been keepin' busy with yer studies an' activities?"

"For the most part," Lily said grimly. "Professor Snape cancelled mine and Sev's brewing sessions on the weekend."

Hagrid wore a look of shock, his gasp startling Merlin whose claws dug in painfully into Severus' lap. "Now why would he do that?" he asked confusedly.

Lily shrugged. "Dunno, to be honest. He mentioned something about being busy…but nothing beyond that."

"Hmm…it might be to do with that Mandrake business," Hagrid surmised, surprising his guests with his unusual display of forethought.

"Wha' about you then, Harry? How's yer Quidditch and studies been?"

Harry's smile instantly brightened. He took a swig of his tea, then set down the cup on the table. "We've got our match against Slytherin coming up next week," he said, grinning. "And I'm definitely hoping to catch the snitch early. I don't know if you've been told, Hagrid, but Malfoy's dad bought the entire time Nimbus 2001s, they're one of the best brooms around at the moment."

"Well, tha's hardly fair!" Hagrid roared, outraged.

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered back, rolling his eyes. "But I'll still be trying my hardest to beat 'em, regardless. We lost last year 'cus I didn't catch the snitch, so I've gotta make up for that this time around, 'specially if it's against Malfoy."

"You'll get 'em this time, Harry, I just know it," Lily said assuredly, patting Harry's hand gently.

Severus nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, I'm sure things'll be just fine, Harry," Hagrid chimed in, lending his support to his young friend.

Harry smiled, grateful to have the support of his best friends.

With only a week to go before Harry's match, the distance Anthony had put between himself and the group was more apparent now than ever. Ever since Halloween night and the discovery of Mrs. Norris' inexplicable petrification, Anthony had kept away from Severus, Lily and the others that had come across the cat's petrified body. He still interacted occasionally with Mandy from time to time, but beyond that, kept his interactions with the rest to a minimum. His subsequent ingratiation with Michael and Terry's little group came as no surprise to many after he'd given Severus, Lily and the rest the cold-shoulder. When he wasn't with the other boys, he was training with the Ravenclaw team and helping them prepare for their first match of the year against Hufflepuff which'd come a couple weeks after Slytherin and Gryffindor. Severus lamented the distance Anthony put between them, but if that's what his friend wanted then so be it, he still had the rest of the group to call friends so he wasn't all that bothered by it. He did wish that Anthony was at least willing to talk, though, but he had a pretty good hunch as to why Anthony had distanced himself from them—minus Mandy.

The day of Harry's match, however, Severus finally had the chance to confront him.

"Anthony."

The boy paused in his step, turning slowly as people cascaded them out of the castle towards the pitch. Anthony's look was guarded.

"Severus?"

"So, you remember me," Severus said sarcastically. "Seriously, man. What's been up with you?"

"Nothing," Anthony said evasively.

"So, you haven't been avoiding us," Severus replied flatly, speaking as if it were a statement not a question.

Anthony shrugged placidly. "I've gotta go," he muttered. "Sitting with the team to watch the game."

"Sit with us," Severus blurted out quickly.

Anthony gave Severus a tired look, perhaps there was a little regret in his eyes too as he shook his head. Without a word, he turned once more and followed the sea of people streaming out into the sunshine. Severus lingered, but followed a moment later. He eventually met up with Lily and Mandy in the Ravenclaw section of the grandstands, but on the periphery of Gryffindor's section. They were soon joined by Ron and Hermione who greeted them with smiles.

"Anthony's still AWOL?" Hermione asked with a frown.

Lily and Severus nodded, the former sadly, the latter grimly while Ron and Mandy just looked confused.

"Unfortunately, yeah," answered Severus.

He nodded further along the grandstand at where Anthony was sat with the Ravenclaw team. He had a notebook and self-wetting quill out, ready to take notes. He wasn't in a starting role this year, but next year, he would be on the team. He was still earning his stripes as it were. From what Severus and Lily witnessed, Anthony had ingratiated himself rather nicely into Captain Martha Jorkins' good books.

"So," Mandy began excitedly, her gaze fixed on Ron. "What're the odds for today, chief?"

"Hmm," Ron replied, stroking his chin in mock-thought. "Let me think about that for a mom—nope! I don't need a moment! Gryffindor wins by one-hundred! You heard it here first, folks!"

Hermione rolled her eyes but couldn't resist a small smile. Lily and Mandy shared a pair of grins at Hermione's reaction, but nodded their approval of Ron's bold prediction. Severus, however, looked hesitant.

"Gryffindor by a hundred?" Severus asked dubiously, his eyes twinkling with skepticism. "Why d'ya think that?"

Ron cleared his throat, eliciting another eye roll and sigh from Hermione. "Simple. Slytherin's got better brooms, so I still think they're gonna beat us—as in Gryffindor at scoring the Quaffle. They'll be up by fifty points or so when Harry catches the snitch, I think."

"And you're certain that Potter is gonna catch the snitch?" another boy asked, a third year Ravenclaw sitting adjacent to their little group with his own band of friends. "Why's that? He didn't catch the snitch last year against Higgs, did he?"

"For one, Higgs is better than Malfoy, and two, he's got more experience," Ron reasoned with the third-year Ravenclaw. "Higgs nearly got beat by Harry in his first year, after his broom was tampered with and was nearly thrown off by Quirrell. So, Harry was even better than Higgs was, who himself is even better than Malfoy!"

The boy actually seemed to ponder Ron's line of thought, before shrugging and turning back to his friends. Ron smirked as he turned back to face his group of friends. "See? I've got another believer already. As good as Wood is, I think Slytherin's gonna get the better of us at scoring the Quaffle, but I've got all the confidence in the world that Harry is gonna beat Malfoy to the snitch."

"Well, Ron. I hope you're right," Lily said earnestly, Mandy, Severus and Hermione nodding in agreement.

"Look, here they come now," Hermione said, pointing to the pitch.

"Oh, boy. Here we go," said Lily in reply, just as the two teams made their way onto the pitch.

Just as the group turned to follow Hermione's arm, a massive roar erupted from both the Gryffindor and Slytherin sections of the grandstands. The rambunctious Gryffindors were just adjacent to Severus, Lily and their friends; so the uproarious cheer from hundreds of rowdy and screaming Gryffindors was almost deafening. Mandy had enough foresight to pack a pair of earmuffs and plopped them down on her head, whilst Severus and Lily had to contend with the noise by covering their ears with their hands.

"Remind me to pack my own earmuffs next time," Lily bemoaned, covering her poor eardrums as best she could as the noise mercifully died from the prideful Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"Sure thing girl," Mandy grinned, before lifting her earmuffs off her head and setting them down.

Twelve Slytherins and Gryffindors mounted their brooms at the edge of the pitch and took to the skies whilst Oliver Wood and Marcus Flint walked over to where Madam Hooch was stood. The Flying instructor briefly spoke with both captains, who then shared a brief and contentious handshake before mounting their brooms and taking to the skies after their airborne teammates. With all fourteen players now airborne. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and released the quaffle, then bludgers, and at last, the snitch into the air. Harry soared straight upwards and came to a halt high above the Quidditch pitch, his eyes darting every which way in search of the elusive snitch.

"All right there, Scarhead?" yelled Malfoy, who when Harry turned, saw was rapidly ascending his way.

Harry hadn't any time to reply, for at that very moment, a heavy, black bludger came pelting towards him. He avoided it so narrowly that he felt it ruffle the hair on his head as it passed.

"Close one, Harry!" said George, streaking past him with his club in hand, ready to knock the bludger back towards a Slytherin.

George wound back his arm, and then swung his bat at the bludger, sending it flying towards one of the Slytherin chasers. The bludger was sent flying but then abruptly turned in mid-air and hurtled back towards Harry again. Harry dropped to avoid it, and George took another swing, smacking it towards Malfoy. Once again, the bludger swung back around like a boomerang and flew back towards Harry in yet another attempt to take his head off.

Harry pushed his broom handle down and took off for the other end of the pitch, aiming to put as much distance as possible between himself and the bludger. To no one's surprise, the bludger whistled right past George and Malfoy without a care in the world and came hurtling after him.

What was going on? Bludgers never concentrate on person like this…it's their job to try and unseat as many people as possible.

Harry flew right towards Fred at the other end of the pitch with the bludger in hot pursuit. He dove out of the way at the last second allowing Fred to smack the troublesome ball away, and then let out a triumphant yell.

"Gotcha!" Fred yelled happily, but he was soon sorely disappointed.

The bludger was knocked off course and Harry let out an audible sigh of relief as he turned his attention towards searching for the snitch. Alas, his relief was short-lived as the bludger pelted back towards him yet again and he was forced to swerve out of the way.

Far away in the stands, Ron was shaking his head. "Something's very wrong," he muttered. "Bludgers aren't supposed to do that."

Severus and Mandy nodded grimly in agreement, but Hermione and Lily remained confused. "Y'mean the one that's been following Harry?" Lily asked.

"Mhmm," Severus mumbled.

Lily sighed and looked over to the far end of the field where Harry was. "I hope he'll be all right."

Just then, the clouds above opened and rain started pelting down on them. The dejected voice of Lee Jordan called out the score, Slytherin was leading by sixty to zero thanks to their superior brooms.

With the rain pouring down, Fred and George took up flanking positions on Harry's three and nine o'clock, both boys bravely doing their best to keep the mad bludger away from him. But with every swing they grew weary, and the bludger kept coming back for more and more with a vengeance.

"We can't keep this up forever," Fred yelled over the rain.

George nodded his agreement and signaled for Wood to take a time-out. Wood got the message loud and clear and promptly asked Hooch, who nodded and suspended play.

"They've got to do something about that Bludger. It's definitely been tampered with," Ron grumbled.

"Maybe Madam Hooch can take a look at it?" Mandy posed thoughtfully.

Far away on the Quidditch pitch, the Gryffindors were in the midst of a heated discussion.

Sure enough, as both the Gryffindors and Slytherins huddled together in their time-out, Hooch went over to inspect the Quaffle and the two Bludgers. The snitch, of course, continued to soar about unimpeded. Hooch's focus lingered on the mad bludger, which now sat dormant on the ground as if it were an inanimate object, but outwardly there appeared to be nothing wrong with it. After a few minutes, Madam Hooch blew her whistle once more, signaling that the time-out was over and for the teams to take to the skies again. After all fourteen players were airborne, she released the quaffle and bludgers. Naturally, the mad bludger took off in hot pursuit of Harry. Harry zipped up and down the pitch in an effort to evade the bludger, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Harry eventually came face-to-face with Malfoy once again, who glared at him sneeringly as he attempted to avoid the bludger.

"Training for the ballet, Potter?" he taunted.

He flew away on his shiny, new broom, but in his raucous laughter, Malfoy had failed to notice that the snitch was right there; hovering just a few inches above his ear. Harry's eyes widened in surprise but he'd remained still for too long as the bludger smashed into his side.

WHAM!

A searing pain shot up Harry's arm as the bludger crashed into him. The crowd let out an audible gasp above the rain and the stadium fell mostly-silent as Harry clutched onto his broom with his good arm for dear life. Groaning, he barely ducked out of the way as the bludger returned again for another attack, this time aiming directly for his head. Harry rolled out of the way and bludger sailed by harmlessly. His right arm was surely broken, intolerable pain shooting up and down his limb as it hung limply by his side. All of a sudden, Harry decided to throw caution to the wind, his team was down, the clock was ticking, and he needed the snitch now. He pushed down on the broom and shot off towards Malfoy, who at first glared at him, but his animosity quickly turned into horror as Harry barreled towards him with all the grace of a runaway freight train.

"What the—" Malfoy dove out of the way as Harry careened past him, his left arm briefly leaving the broom as he made a desperate snag for the snitch.

Relief shot through Harry as he felt his fingers close around the cold metal of the snitch, but said relief was replaced by terror as he realized he was heading straight for the sodden ground of the pitch. Harry resigned himself to his fate and braced himself for impact as he crashed into the muddy pitch with a thud. Gasps of shock rang out across the stadium, none louder than Lily and Hermione's. Harry was sprawled out on his back, his right arm bent at a very awkward angle as his left still clutched the fluttering snitch.

"We beat Slytherin," he whispered hoarsely.

And then he fainted.

He didn't hear Lily's shrill cry of Harry, nor the many gasps of shock that rang out from across the stadium as he hit the ground. When he came to, the last person he wanted to see was staring down at him, his pearly-white teeth a dead giveaway as to his identity.

"Oh, no," Harry groaned. "Not you."

"Doesn't know what he's saying!" Lockhart said loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressing around him. "Not to worry Harry, but I'm about to fix your arm."

"No!" said Harry. "I'll keep it like this, thanks."

"Professor Lockhart, please, you heard him. Let Madam Pomfrey fix this," Harry's friend and teammate, Katie Bell pleaded.

"Oh tosh, Miss Bell, I'm perfectly qualified. The poor boy's just hit his head too hard, that's all," Lockhart replied flippantly.

Harry tried to sit up when he heard a familiar clicking noise coming from next to him. "I don't want a photo of this, Colin," he said loudly.

"Lie back, Harry," Lockhart said soothingly. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times—"

"—Why can't I just go to the Hospital Wing?" Harry said through clenched teeth.

"Professor, he's right. Madam Pomfrey's more qualified to fix this," Katie pleaded again, her brown eyes wide and beseeching. It was of no use to Lockhart, who withdrew his wand and pointed it at Harry's awkwardly-bent arm.

"Stand back," said Lockhart as he rolled up his jade-green sleeves.

"No—don't—" Harry said weakly, but Lockhart was twirling his wand and a second later had directed it Harry's arm.

A strange and unpleasant sensation started at Harry's shoulder and spread down his arm to his fingertips. Beside him, he heard Lily and Severus gasp in astonishment, but he daren't open his eyes to inspect the outcome of Lockhart's healing spell. It felt as though his arm was being deflated, the pain going as the spell took effect. Soon, Harry heard several more gasps from the students gathered around him and his worst fears were realized. His arm didn't hurt anymore—but it didn't feel much like a normal arm at all. Harry opened his eyes, and he, too, gasped.

"Ah. Well, you see…that can sometimes happen. But the point is—the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind, so—"

"—Well, of course they aren't broken! There's no bones left at all!" Severus yelled, startling the amassed students and Lockhart himself.

He cringed when the gazes of the Gryffindors around him swiveled to him in shock. "There's—what on earth did you do?" Ron added, staring in shock at Harry's—well, what once was an arm. '

"Perhaps you'd better go see Madam Pomfrey—she can help—err—tidy that up," Lockhart stammered, before beating a hasty retreat in a swirl of jade-green robes.

Ron and Severus stepped forward to help Harry to his feet, with Lily and Hermione quickly following both boys to their stricken friend.

"Up you get, Harry," said Severus.

"Madam Pomfrey'll have you all fixed up in a jiffy," Ron chimed in.

With Severus and Ron standing either side of him, supporting, Harry slowly got to his feet. Raucous applause rang out from the congregated Gryffindors and Harry managed a grim smile in response.

Harry received a bevy of hugs from his six teammates before tossing the fluttering golden snitch to Wood with his good hand, giving the captain a wink. "We got 'em," he said tiredly.

"That we did, Potter, that we did," Wood muttered back, wearing one of his rare smiles.

Harry grinned back, but he soon found the smile wiped off his face when he came face-to-face with an angry Madam Pomfrey.

"You should have come straight to me!" she raged, holding up the sad, limp reminder of what was once a fully-functioning arm. "I can mend broken bones in a heartbeat, but growing them back is an entirely different proposition altogether."

"You will be able to, won't you?" Harry asked desperately.

"I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "Boys, set him down right here, I'll see to your friend in a second."

"Sure Madam Pomfrey," Severus replied.

Severus and Ron walked Harry over to one of the empty beds, and helped him sit down. Harry quickly changed out of his filthy Quidditch uniform and into the set of pyjamas Madam Pomfrey had left for him. All the while, Severus and Ron stood at the foot of the bed quietly conversing with one another. While Harry had little trouble putting his trousers and pants on, he asked for Severus' help to put his rubbery, boneless arm through the pyjama top's sleeve.

"You'll be staying the night, Potter," said Madam Pomfrey, who bustled back and waved her wand over Harry in a lazy pattern. "But if all goes well…you'll be out by tomorrow morning."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, the doors swung open and in came Lily and Hermione with Anthony trailing in their wake.

"Harry," Lily murmured thickly, quickly shoving open the privacy curtain around Harry's bed and storming past Severus and Ron. She all but collapsed into Harry's arms in a firm hug, her powerful embrace all but forcing the air from Harry's lungs in a manner very reminiscent of Mrs. Weasley.

"What're—how are you? Is Madam Pomfrey gonna be able to—"

"—He'll be fine, Lily, stop mothering the poor bloke," Severus scowled with a roll of his eyes.

Lily shot Severus a pointed glare for all of one second but then quickly turned her attention back to Harry. "You just rest up, y'hear? Just get well, and we'll get to the bottom of this," she promised him.

Harry shrunk out of Lily's hug and flopped down against the pillows with a sigh. With his good arm, he lifted his limp one and placed it across his lap.

"I just need some rest and then I'll be fine by tomorrow, guys. Thanks for the support today."

Hermione smiled. "Any time, Harry. Like Lily said, we'll try to figure out how Malfoy jinxed that Bludger, y'hear?"

"That'd help a great deal, Hermione," Harry said gratefully.

Hermione blushed slightly and then shuffled to Harry's side to give him a hug. Harry blinked in surprise, knowing that Hermione wasn't usually one for hugs…or for most forms of physical contact for that matter, but he wasted little time returning his friend's affectionate hug.

Madam Pomfrey returned moments later holding a bottle of a liquid named Skele-grow.

"You're in for a rough night, Potter—move—" Ron and Lily scurried out of the Matron's way as she made space at Harry's bedside. Severus and Hermione shuffled two steps backwards to accommodate them. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business," Pomfrey went on, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to Harry.

Despite his dire situation, Harry gave Pomfrey a grim smile. The Matron blinked in confusion at the sight as Harry raised the steaming beaker to his lips and took a long swig. He coughed and spluttered, but he did manage to drink the entire beaker in a couple of minutes. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with a tissue, cleaning away the last remnants of the nasty liquid that was Skele-grow, and then placed the empty beaker down on his bedside.

"It's grim stuff, Harry," Lily muttered. "And I'm pretty sure that's from the batch I brewed last month."

"You made this?" Harry spluttered, gesturing to the empty beaker within which a few drops of the repulsive liquid remained.

"Yeah," Lily said grimly.

"Here's some water," Hermione said, offering Harry a glass.

As if they were watching an animal at the zoo, Severus, Lily, Ron and Hermione all came closer again and eyed Harry intently as he greedily gulped down the entire glass, quenching his burning throat. When he asked for some more, Lily was quick to volunteer her help and conjured some more water for Harry with a handy Aguamenti. Once more, Harry drank all the water in the second glass in record time, but instead chose to set it down on his bedside table when done.

"Thanks, Hermione, Lily," Harry said gratefully, wiping at his mouth.

"You're welcome, Harry," both girls replied as one, chuckling slightly when they finished speaking.

"Listen, Harry—erm, we'd better go before Madam Pomfrey kicks us out," said Severus, sounding regretful. "We'll catch up tomorrow, man."

"We'll get to the bottom of what happened," Hermione said softly, nodding at her good friend in reassurance. Hermione's solemn expression also assured Harry that she was deadly serious.

"And I'll be sure to save you some food from breakfast tomorrow when we visit you," Ron joked, grinning at Harry, whose shoulders shook with laughter in response.

"All right guys," said Harry, as he leaned back into the pillows. "Well, don't let me keep you."

Lily's smiled broadened and she nodded. "We'll see you real soon, Harry." She stepped forward from the group and offered Harry a second hug, one far more gentle and soothing than her usual bone-crushing.

Lily eventually withdrew from her hug, and Harry soon found that he missed her warmth in his arms, like a cold wind had just gusted through the room.

"Thank you guys, all of you," he said warmly. Harry's gentle gaze came to rest on all four of them in turn. "You're the best friends I could've asked for. I really mean that."

Hermione's eyes watered so she dabbed at them with her handkerchief. Ron grinned soppily, Severus rolled his eyes but couldn't resist a small upward twitch of his thin lips, and Lily had a couple tears in her eyes too. As Severus and Ron opened their mouths to say something, the door to the infirmary barged open and in dashed the Gryffindor Quidditch team, having changed out of their muddy quidditch uniform and gear into fresh sets of robes.

"You did it, Harry, we beat Slytherin!" Fred cheered.

"Amazing work, Potter, you've earned your friend a try-out," Wood smiled.

"How's your arm? You feeling a bit better now, Harry?" Angelina Johnson asked, grinning slightly.

They had brought cakes, sweets and bottles of pumpkin juice. But they'd only just placed those items down on Harry's bedside when Madam Pomfrey came storming back towards them with fire in her eyes.

"Out, out! All of you, out! This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow!"

His six teammates beat a hasty retreat, and though Severus, Lily, Hermione and Ron lingered a couple moments longer than his teammates, they too were forced to leave. But not after giving Harry a couple last-second smiles and well-wishes. Lily was the last to leave, she paused in the doorframe and turned back to face him one more time. Wearing a soft smile and giving a slight wave, she, too, left, and Harry could only flop down on his pillows with a sigh.

Many hours later, Harry woke quite suddenly in the pitch blackness and gave a small yelp of pain. His arm now felt full of large splinters. For a second, he thought that that was what had woken him, but he soon realized he was sorely mistaken. Someone was sponging his forehead in the dark.

"Get off!" he said loudly, and then, "Dobby!"

The house-elf's eyes were peering at Harry through the darkness. A single tear was running down his long, pointed nose.

"Harry Potter came back to school," Dobby said sadly. "Dobby tried to keep him away, but the Great Albus Dumbledore's magic was too powerful for poor Dobby to—"

"—If you don't leave now, then the Great Albus Dumbledore will be here in a second, and he'll wring your neck!" Harry hissed.

Dobby cringed, but didn't move away. "Dobby tried, but until today, his magic was kept from interfering with Harry Potter. D-Dobby had to try something, to get you away from school, from the terror, the danger that's already arrived."

"The terror? D'you mean…the petrification…Mrs. Norris."

Dobby nodded severely as he wetted the sponge again and brought it to Harry's face. "No Dobby, you've done more than enough," he said curtly.

Dobby hung his head and nodded. "I am, sorry, sir, that you remain here at Hogwarts. You really must leave, for your own good, sir. To protect you from what is here."

Harry's green eyes widened in the gloom, prompting Dobby to take a couple steps backwards. "And what is, here, Dobby," he said carefully. "Tell me."

"I—I can't. I cannot—it's impossible. But Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts! Dobby thought that his bludger would scare him away, but it didn't—"

"—Wait a moment, your bludger?" Anger coursed freely through Harry's words. "Are you saying you charmed that bludger to kill me? You'd better get lost before my bones regrow, otherwise I might strangle you."

Dobby smiled weakly.

"Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home."

"Well, you count this as number six," Harry said bitterly, though Dobby's statement took much of the bite out of his words.

"I am sorry, sir. Dobby never intended to kill Harry Potter, only to wound, and to encourage him to leave Hogwarts," Dobby explained despairingly.

"And I've told you before, Hogwarts is my home. I'm not leaving. Not now, nor ever," Harry said firmly.

Dobby heaved a resigned sigh, but before he could say anything, Harry was speaking again. "Now, I need to ask you, Dobby, and this is the least you can do after you nearly killed my with that bloody bludger of yours…but do you know anything about what is coming? What is it that your master has planned? Why are you so sure that it's dangerous for me to be in school?"

"It's—Dobby's master…th—the he's—"

"—Slowly, Dobby…tell me everything you know," Harry said calmly.

Dobby took a deep breath and slowly began to recount to Harry the series of events that'd transpired after Voldemort's first defeat in 1981, how life improved for most house elves in Britain—minus himself and a few unlucky others—and how he was seen as a savior by most of them. What really struck Harry's interest, however, was when Dobby let slip that the Chamber of Secrets was indeed real and that it was open once more. His slip-up led Dobby to start bashing his head against a water jug on Harry's bedside table. Harry tried to stop him, but was unsuccessful, only when the door swung open to the hospital wing did Dobby stop. With widened eyes, he vanished into thin air with hardly a sound, leaving Harry alone in his bed as a group of shadowed figures stepped into the hospital wing.

Harry laid flat down on his bed but cracked open an eyelid only to see Albus and Professor McGonagall both stepping into the wing, carrying what appeared to be a statue between them. Together, the two professors heaved the statue onto one of the empty cots, Albus raised a wrinkled hand to his face and wiped some sweat off his brow.

"Get Madam Pomfrey," he told McGonagall, who nodded and brushed past him to the Matron's quarters.

Harry laid quite still and pretended to be asleep, all the while straining his ears. Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall hurried back into his field of vision and hearing a minute later, both standing by the cot's side. Harry listened closely with his eyes shut trying to make out whatever it was they were saying.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Albus, bending over the statue on the bed.

"Another attack," said Albus. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said Professor McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

"But that's not all," said Albus. "Miss Evans was…also, at the scene of the attack."

Harry paled and he brought his hands up to his mouth to stifle his gasp.

"Lily?" McGonagall squeaked.

"Yes," said Albus. Harry couldn't see his guardian's darkened features, but he wasn't even sure if he wanted to judging by the darkness in Albus' tone. "But she was a corridor behind Mister Creevey, and thus, only heard what happened ahead. I think that she too was hoping to visit Mister Potter tonight, but was lucky to find herself not on the receiving end of…whatever it was that attacked Mister Creevey."

Colin? Harry thought. Colin was coming to visit me? And now he's petrified and Lily is…Lily was caught up in it too…but Albus says she's all right.

"Where is Miss Evans?" Madam Pomfrey asked quickly, snapping Harry from his thoughts.

"She's in her summer quarters as we speak. Speaking of which, I had better head back there to see if the calming draught I've given her has taken any effect. Severus…Professor Snape, that is, is with her at the moment."

"And she wasn't petrified like Mister Creevey?" Pomfrey pressed with urgency.

Dumbledore shook his head. "She wasn't. As I said, she was a corridor behind and only heard, not saw, what befell Mister Creevey. She was almost catatonic when I found her though, which initially lead me to believe that she too had been petrified by Mister Creevey…only her shallow breathing told me otherwise," he said gravely.

"What does this mean, Albus? Creevey is petrified…frozen just like Mrs. Norris…and with Miss Evans fortunate to avoid such a fate, what does this mean?"

"It seems…Minerva, that our worst fears have been realized," Albus said softly, yet resignedly. "The Chamber of Secrets has been reopened."

"But who, Albus?"

Harry strained his ears intently, he was only barely able to make out Albus' next statement, but what he heard chilled his very bones, even the small splinters in his right arm that'd only just started to reform.

"The question is not who, but how," said Albus, his sad eyes resting on Colin's frozen form. He pried the camera out of his stock-still hands and set it down gently on the boy's bedside table. "For Mister Creevey's sake, and Miss Evanses too…we shall need all hands on deck to ascertain what has happened."

From the expression that Professor McGonagall wore, it was evident to Harry that she was just as clueless as he was.

Colin is petrified…and Lily nearly was too, or worse yet, she could've been killed. And the Chamber is real. What is going on?…

A/N2: Lily had a close brush with death there, didn't she? No camera would've saved her had she caught up to Colin. Anyhow, more and farther deviations from canon to come, and I hope you all enjoyed reading the chapter!