I ended up waiting by the castle entrance for a while on Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They had barely set foot in the cool entrance hall when a voice rang out, "There you are, Potter - Weasley." Professor McGonagall was walking toward them, looking stern. "You will both do your detentions this evening."

"What're we doing, Professor?" said Ron, nervously suppressing a burp.

"You will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr. Filch," said Professor McGonagall. "And no magic, Weasley - elbow grease."

Ron gulped. Argus Filch, the caretaker, was loathed by every student in the school.

"And you, Potter, will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail," said Professor McGonagall.

I nearly snorted.

"Oh n- Professor, can't I go and do the trophy room, too?" said Harry desperately.

"Certainly not," said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows. "Professor Lockhart requested you particularly. Eight o'clock sharp, both of you."

I suppressed my giggles until the woman had gone.

Harry and Ron slouched into the Great Hall in states of deepest gloom, Hermione behind them, wearing a well-you-did-break-school-rules sort of expression. Harry didn't seem to enjoy his shepherd's pie as much as he'd thought he would. Both he and Ron felt they'd got the worse deal.

"Filch'll have me there all night," said Ron heavily. "No magic! There must be about a hundred cups in that room. I'm no good at Muggle cleaning."

"I'd swap anytime," said Harry hollowly. "I've had loads of practice with the Dursleys. Answering Lockhart's fan mail... he'll be a nightmare..."

"But Harry," I managed past a grin. "He requested you particularly."

Hermione didn't catch my attempt at humor. "I think you're getting off easy, Harry. And really, do you know how many students would love to spend time alone with him?"

"Yeah, particularly the older girls in need of a good grade," I muttered. None of the trio seemed to get my joke.


The next morning Harry told me about the voice he had heard in Lockhart's office. "It wanted to kill someone!"

"And you say Lockhart didn't hear it?"

"No, he thought I was nodding off, which to be honest I nearly did a few times. The man never shut up!"

Harry's wide eyes and earnest face made me laugh. "Well, I'm sorry about your evening..."


October arrived, spreading a misty, damp, chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid red hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire. Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of the garden sheds. Oliver Wood's enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry and I were to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.

Even aside from the rain and wind, it hadn't been a happy practice session. Fred and George, who had been spying on the Slytherin team, had seen for themselves the speed of those new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. They reported that the Slytherin team was no more than seven greenish blurs, shooting through the air like missiles.

As we squelched along the deserted corridor we came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as we were. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, "...don't fulfill their requirements... half an inch, if that..."

"Hello, Nick," said Harry.

"Hello, hello," said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking around.

I really didn't feel up to conversing, so I excused myself and headed to my dorm for a shower.

Caterina, one of the two new Blacks, was sitting in the common room with a roll of parchment in front of her, her head in her hand. She let out a huge sigh.

"I'll never get this essay done." She moaned.

"Not with that attitude," I commented. "Tell you what, let me get changed and rinse off, and then I'll help you, okay?"

Caterina nodded enthusiastically.

I darted upstairs and took a quick shower, throwing my hair in a bun held together by my wand. I may not feel like talking, but my housemate needed help. It was the least I could do since I took meals with my friends at other tables unless absolutely necessary.

"So what subject?" I asked.

Caterina moaned. "Potions. I don't think Professor Snape likes our house."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry. Snape doesn't like anyone who is not Slytherin. I don't know of any reason he would have to hate the House of Black specifically."

I was suddenly hit with the smell of dog and heard a shout as a vision of a terrified younger Snape flashed across my eyes.

I inhaled sharply. That was the first time I had had a vision interrupt a conversation. Usually, it was more like dreams as I was fading in and out of consciousness at bedtime.

Caterina looked at me curiously, but the episode seemed to have been brief enough not to cause concern. I would need to owl Remus tonight.

"Well, tell me what this essay is about?" I redirected her attention.


The days seemed to fly by, and Harry told me about his promise to Nearly Headless Nick.

"Sorry about missing the feast Harry, but you shouldn't let people guilt you into things so much. I'll try to save you some food, I'm sure a party for the dead won't have much."

Harry groaned at that, clearly not having thought about that part.


The feast was much better than last year, with no teacher's calling about trolls in the dungeon. I made sure to fill several napkins with food for the trio in the dungeon. I couldn't imagine, celebrating your death like that.

Caterina and Daniel were chattering about how one of the fourth year students had let a bat loose in Herbology, and Cedric Diggory caught it with his bare hands. From the sounds of it, Caterina had a crush on the boy, and Daniel was horrified. Girls had cooties at this age.

I shook my head and laughed at the pair, then waved at the Weasley twins across the room.

"Forest later?" I mouthed.

They eagerly nodded, it had been a while since we had gone out in our animagus forms to play.


When dinner was over, Dumbledore gave a goofy speech about things hiding in the dark, and the students left in a large group. The twins slid over to me, more agile in the crowd.

"Hey, I've just got to drop this food off with the others and I will be ready to go."

George grinned at me. "Excellent. We will-" He cut himself off, eyes wide as we turned the corner.

Foot high words had been written on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the candlelight.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

A large puddle of water covered the floor and hanging beneath the message, stiff as a board, was Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. And even worse, standing beneath the spectacle, were Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Oh no."

There was a shout through the silence. "Enemies of the heir beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" It was Draco.

"Shut it, Draco!" I hollered back as Filch himself appeared through the crowd...