"Look, he's here!"
"Isn't he England's new chaser?!"
"But he's so young…"
"He's just a boy!"
"So disgusting how he got all those women pregnant…"
"Whatever, he's probably not even that good…" a rather deluded first year yelled over the crowd of people gathered at platform nine and three quarters gawking at Harry.
Harry walked passed them casually, forgoing his glamour charm keeping his identity a secret, with Archie and Stephanie by his side.
"Are you just going to ignore everyone?" Stephanie asked with a frown as Harry walked passed a rather cute young girl asking for his autograph, not caring at all that he had probably broken her little heart "not all of them are the vulture types" she mumbled, patting the little girl on the head as she started to tear up.
Harry didn't seem to care though and just shrugged, not caring in the slightest.
"Hey, you're ignoring us too now?" Archie asked, with a frown.
Harry's answer was just a raising of the eyebrow and stuffing of his long, black, woollen coat's pockets.
Archie eyed Harry up and down before frowning at him "What are you, a Quidditch player or a model?"
Stephanie looked to him too with a contemplative look on her face as Harry looked himself over; knee length black coat, tight jeans, tight leather gloves, cashmere scarf and fairly expensive dragon hide boots.
"What's the matter?" he asked, a frown marring his features "I threw something on, I like looking good, so what?"
"For who?" he asked sarcastically "your adoring fans?" he motioned towards the little girl they had just passed.
"Narcissa Malfoy" Harry answered, or Archie assumed answered to his question. If Archie and Stephanie had been drinking anything, he was sure they would have spit it out on instinct to avoid choking.
"What the hell are you…" Archie began but was interrupted by a regal and elegant voice speaking over his protests.
"You must be the famous Harry Potter" she said with a raised brow "I must confess, I am no Quidditch fan, but I expected…" she eyed him up and down, like a snake eyeing its prey "more" she finished, a small smirk on her face, as if expecting something.
Harry mirrored her raised brow while Stephanie and Archie gawked at the scene; the wife of the Lord Malfoy casually addressing Harry on the middle of platform nine and three quarters without her husband's company? The chances of that happening normally are as high as the chances of Harry going back to that little girl and giving her a piggy back ride around the platform – not high…
"I am afraid I have yet to purchase a pimp cane like your husband's, so I may come off as lacking" he said, with faux regret "fortunately for you though, Mrs Malfoy, if that and strapping young men are what get you off, I will make it my top priority to rectify that as soon as possible" he said, with a mocking bow.
If Archie and Stephanie weren't shocked before, they definitely were now – Harry was flirting with an influential lord's wide, adangerouslord who is suspected of being an ex-death eater.
"As crude as your father with a wit to match your mother's" she said with narrowed eyes, though the slight smirk on her lips completely ruined the effect.
"I take it you would appreciate the gesture then?" he asked "I will put in an order as soon as possible then, I've always wanted a cane, now that you mention it…"
"I hope, Mister Potter, that you do not need one to compensate for something you may or may not be lacking, unlike my husband" she said with a wink; Harry snorted in amusement at her joke, or statement of amusing facts…
Archie and Stephanie looked to each other, confused whether they should be laughing at the ridiculous situations Harry always seems to find himself in, crying because this certainly meant nothing good, or running because Armageddon draws near.
"Be careful, Mrs Malfoy, keep inflating my ego like you are and you'll be in trouble" he said in a serious voice, causing the Lady to pause in surprise, not expecting Harry to be so serious "I hear my sperm is very potent and I'm quite the whore, I think being the father of seventeen is more then enough" he sighed as Narcissa laughed elegantly at his joke.
"Quite" she agreed "You can call me Narcissa, Mister Potter" she said, extending her gloved hand to him, as Harry swiftly took it and brushed his lips over her knuckle.
"Narcissa it is then, so, what is it I can do for you?" he asked, all amusement aside "your sore loser of a husband is surprisingly missing, I didn't think he'd leave his trophy wife by herself for so long…" he trailed off, eyeing his companions.
Narcissa eyed them too before turning to Harry, with a guarded look in her eyes. Harry sent a brief Legilimency probe at the woman, surprised to find himself meeting resistance before Narcissa's eyes widened in surprise. She allowed him a quick scan to read her intentions before pushing him out of her mind again.
"Stephanie, Archades, go find a compartment, I'll meet up with you later" he said, dismissing them politely.
"You sure, mate?" Archie asked, while Stephanie looked concerned.
"I'll be fine, Archades" he assured, his right side turned away from Narcissa, so he could easily show them his wand poking out of his sleeve. That was enough to convince them as they departed with polite nods and boarded the train.
Making sure no one was near earshot, Harry turned to Narcissa, letting the elegant woman know she had his attention.
"Legilimency skills as good as yours for one so young is extremely rare, Mister Potter" she praised, after a short silence "I don't believe my husband's old master could even boast such an achievement" she said, and Harry took notice of the fact that she didn't call him her master too.
"I try" he conceded "forgive me for the lack of pleasantries now that we are alone, but I am not the biggest fan of your family's" he said, with narrowed eyes. Narcissa flinched at the mention of her family.
"Might I inquire as to which one?" she asked, while looking down.
"Take your pick" he said, his voice lower, as Narcissa nodded.
"I will make this brief then" she said, after regaining her composure "as you may know, my husband has our esteemed minister very much in his pocket, and the two often converse over the Floo, sometimes, even, when they are not aware of my presence…"
Harry kept silent, allowing her to continue.
"I overheard the two plotting something nefarious for this year – I didn't hear much less I be discovered and obliviated, but your name was mentioned" she paused "that and the mentioning of some chamber, but that's all I heard" this information got Harry's attention. Could the Malfoy lord be planning something with him and the chamber of secrets?
"Nothing is free in this world, Mrs Malfoy; what is it you wanted for such information?" he asked, arms crossed with his wand ready to be brought out in a flash if need be.
"You're not interested as to why I'm giving you this information?" she asked, perplexed by the turn of events.
"No" he answered simply, wanting to board the train as soon as possible. He didn't detect deception or any ill intent from the Malfoy lady, but he wasn't going to trust her any time soon, or ever.
"Say, should my husband's old crowd decide to organize a reunion with their old club leader, I merely ask for sanctuary and protection from yourself, Lord Potter" she asked with a bowed head "my views on mud…muggleborn witches and wizards will most likely never change" she conceded "but I am no murderer, let the lunatics be destroyed for their beliefs, our world runs just fine the way it is" she explained.
Harry resisted the urge to snort in amusement at her views of the world, but what she was asking wasn't particularly hard for him to accomplish – and he could gain valuable information from her. Should she get caught, well, he honestly didn't care too much. He really had nothing to lose.
"I thank you for your warning, Mrs Malfoy, I'll do my best to aid you should your fears ever prove warranted" he replied with a nod "should you ever happen across any other important information, I'm sure you can contact myself or my guardian, I'll let him know of our arrangements" he said with a nod, as he began to board the train when he saw Lucius Malfoy approaching.
"Lord Potter, what a…pleasant surprise" he said, with obvious forced politeness "dear, what were you and the lad discussing?" he asked, severely interested.
"Your lovely wife merely congratulated my on my new position on the English team but confessed her less then stellar knowledge about the sport" he interrupted easily "I was merely explaining to her my gruelling schedule and some of the finer points of the game" he answered, impressed that Narcissa didn't show any outward sign of emotion, though it was expected of and ex-Slytherin and someone of her status.
"Indeed" he replied, looking to his wife "I can only hope you will do this country proud boy, and not cost us yet another cup" he said, while looking down on Harry.
"Of course not, Lord Malfoy" he replied with his own forced smile "I intend to be…very good… at the games I play, as you well know" he said, noticing Malfoy's eyes twitch in annoyance at the mention of his defeat.
"Indeed, well, run along now, you wouldn't want to miss your train" he said, dismissing Harry and leading his wife away by the elbow.
"Of course not" he then boarded the Hogwarts express, ignoring the masses of students asking for his autograph expertly while looking for Stephanie and Archie.
Archie and Stephanie watched with amused expressions as Harry entered the compartment with a scowl marring his features.
"Annoyed there, love?" Archie asked with a snort. Harry just glared at him before plopping down across from his two friends.
"I was only talking with Narcissa for five minutes after you guys left, the rest of the time was me making my way here, trying my hardest not to conjure glaciers and ramming them up people's arses" he said, looking out the window as he tried to calm down.
"You can do that?" Archie asked with a nervous chuckle – Harry was scary when he was angry. Stephanie had other things interesting her though.
"So it's Narcissa? I guess you really are into older women, first Professor Vector and now Narcissa Malfoy?" she asked with a coy grin which Harry merely raised a brow at.
"My, my, Stephanie, such an interest in my love life, how does yours go by the way?" he asked, glaring at the girl who was still smirking at him.
"No need to snap at her Harry" Archie said with a frown "she's only making fun."
"Whatever" Harry looked back out the window "I'm not in a good mood."
"Lady Malfoy say something to upset you?" Stephanie asked, hoping Harry wouldn't snap at her again.
"No" Harry denied "those little maggots out there ogling at me, stopping me every three seconds to touch me or ask for my autograph, and tripping over themselves in front of me" he said with a growl. Archie and Stephanie noticed, to their amusement, Harry fingering his wand.
"The next person that I don't know that so much at looks at me funny is going to regret…" his threat was interrupted as the compartment door was slammed open, revealing Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley.
"It's him" the red headed boy said in awe. Stephanie and Archie wanted to explode in laughter right there as Harry narrowed his eyes at the boy and jabbed his wand in their direction.
Archie and Stephanie actually did break down laughing when Harry launched a Quaffle sized ball of water at the three second years, sending them reeling back into the corridor completely drenched.
"Oh Merlin" Archie gasped out as he laughed "that was priceless!"
"That'll teach them from entering someone else's compartment without knocking" Stephanie said as she giggled.
Harry grumbled under his breath as he looked out the window, tucking his wand under his arm – just in case.
It wasn't long after Harry blasted the three second years out of their compartment when a knock interrupted the three once again.
The girl on the other side of the door waited politely for Archie to nod so she could enter. The girl had long blonde hair and a dreamy expression about her.
"Excuse me, are any of you Harry Potter?" she asked, while playing with her necklace made of sea shells and other weird trinkets.
"Who wants to know?" Archie asked warily, eyeing Harry who was now fingering his wand yet again.
"My name's Luna Lovegood, Professor Lockhart asked me to deliver this to Harry Potter, he said he was in this compartment" she said while looking into space as if seeing something that wasn't there. Harry wondered if she was alright in the head before taking the folded bit of parchment from her outstretched hand.
Without waiting to be dismissed, the weird girl skipped out of their compartment while humming a tune. Archie and Harry looked at each other while Stephanie simply looked confused.
"I'm going to go and see my friends, I guess" Stephanie said, as she started towards the door.
"Oh Stephy, you don't even like them" Archie whined, not wanting to see the object of his affection leave so early on in the trip.
"That may be true" she conceded "but I do have to live with them, so being civil does help I guess" she said with a shrug as she left, leaving Harry and Archie alone.
Archie looked to Harry who was reading the letter with a frown.
"What's it say?" Archie asked, wondering why Harry looked upset.
"He says that he wants to meet with me before we arrive at Hogwarts" he said, before pulling out his wand and flicking it a few times "something about becoming friends and celebrities like 'us' sticking together" he shook his head in disgust as the parchment glowed blue for a few moments before fading back to a regular piece of parchment. Casually tossing the paper towards the door, Archie was surprised to see Harry jab his wand at it, transfiguring the piece of paper into a small bird… a REAL bird… before it flew away, presumably towards Lockhart.
"Harry?" Archie called to his friend, after several moments of silence.
"Mm?" he didn't see it fit to use words, as he was engrossed in a book.
"Did you just transfigure that piece of paper into a real bird?" he asked, in awe.
"Yes" he answered "I also charmed it to shit on his head before turning back into his letter."
Archie remained silent, as if processing what he had just been told before erupting in uproarious laughter.
"How the hell does it know when to change back into the letter?!" he asked, through his laughter.
"It'll stop flying when it reaches our new professor, when that happens, it will change back."
"So you made sure it will shit on him before it lands?" Archie asked and Harry nodded.
"Oh man, that's brilliant" he said, sniggering lightly as Harry smirked.
Harry and Archie, after sharing a carriage with two Hufflepuff fourth years, arrived at Hogwarts and immediately went to the great hall to have dinner. The hall looked spectacular as usual when the opening feast was being held, with the hundreds of floating candles, charmed ceiling, and golden cutlery covering each table.
Archie tried and failed miserably to suppress his giggles when he spotted their new defence professor glaring at Harry covered in white marks that could only be considered bird poop. Professor Vector and Sprout, who were seated to his immediate right and left, inched as far away from him as possible, not wanting to be anywhere near the poop covered man.
"Why hasn't he cleaned it off yet?" he heard Archie ask him.
"That's not regular bird shit" he said with a grin "it will vanish on its own in about a day" he clarified as Archie snickered.
"Been a victim of that one then, have you?" he asked, referring to his famous pranking guardian.
"Shut up" Harry said with a glare, which only increased Archie's mirth.
As Archie conversed with the other Ravenclaws seated near them, Harry looked around the room, completely ignoring people trying to start conversations with him, whispering about him and staring at him in the process. He noticed, much to his amusement, Longbottom, Granger and Weasley engaged in a furious whispered conversation while glaring daggers at him.
"I would like to welcome you all back for another year of school at Hogwarts" the voice of Albus Dumbledore rang out to the hall as he made his yearly announcements for the benefit of the first years mostly.
"I would also like you all to give a warm welcome to the new 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' professor, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart" he said, prompting a loud round of applause, mainly from the women in the room. Despite his shit covered appearance, the women still seemed to be swooning, and much to Archie's dismay, professor Sinistra seemed to be one of them.
"How could she not see him for the fraud he is?" he hissed in dismay "she's too beautiful to be stupid" he whined pitifully.
"Why don't you prove how incompetent he is then, I'm sure we can have some fun with that" Harry said, smirking.
Archie brightened up at that and cackled evilly "Harry, my good man, this year is going to be fun!"
Harry shook his head at his friend's antics.
School hadn't become any less annoying for Harry ever since classes started. He attended his weekly training sessions with the England team, learned of the players names and begun tactics training with his fellow chasers – who were more then happy to have Harry input in some of the tactics as well, which surprised him.
When he wasn't training or doing his homework, Harry could often be found lounging around in his dormitory with a good book and his wand out, practising the movements. Sometimes, when there weren't many people out in the common room, he would head down and read in front of the fire with a glass of Butterbear, mourning the loss of his precious coke.
The Ravenclaw Quidditch team and the rest of the house were less then pleased, to say the least, when they discovered Harry wasn't permitted to play for the team anymore. If he was one to care of what people thought about him, he was sure their remarks behind his back or to his face would have gotten to him by now.
"Look, there's Potter, the traitor" one very uninformed second year student whispered very loudly to his friend as Harry came down the stairs from his dorm.
"How is he a traitor?" the boy's friend asked, perplexed.
"He quit the house team, knowing he was the best player we've had in centuries as soon as he got his contract to play for England during the summer" he informed, as a third boy spoke up.
"And now that Malfoy had his daddy buy the entire Slytherin team a set of 'Nimbus 2001' racing brooms, we could have used him" he said, glaring at Harry.
"Traitor you say?" Archie's voice sounded out to the entire common room "your logic is that, Harry" he said, pointing to the spectacled youth "by accepting the contract offer from England, which states that he can't risk injury by playing school Quidditch" he clarified, emphasising the fact that it was school Quidditch "is a traitor to our house?" he asked "I suppose to the fact that he's representing our country in an internationally followed sport which will bring great prestige to us should he win crossed your minds?"
Harry was surprised that Archie was standing up for him; he really didn't care what people said, if they wanted to sneer at him and call him a traitor, let them talk. After all, it really didn't mean much to him, especially when he received his ever increasing bank statements monthly.
He had continued with trying to open Slytherin's diary by trying random passwords, each more ludicrous then the last, yet nothing seemed to work. That didn't mean he would stop trying, for he knew its contents would be well worth the frustration he was feeling.
Archie had seen him on a few occasions hissing at the book with the serpent head lock on it, and though he had no idea what it was, Archie wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing. He may have mostly ignored him when he was hissing the passwords, but the fact that he wasn't asking questions about it pretty much told Harry that he had a very good idea; that and the fact that he had told the legend of the Serpent Staff and who else had been researching it to him.
'Defence Against the Dark Arts' was almost as much of a joke as it was last year, however this year, at least they could understand the professor when he spoke, and at least when he did, he actually mentioned some dark creatures and where you could find them. Quirrel was just useless in general, but even though it was a step up, it was painfully clear to everyone, especially the Ravenclaw females who had been infatuated with him previously, how much of a fraud he was. Archie took great pleasure in seeing Stephanie looking sour about a particular class they had with him where he had her act as a werewolf while he 'demonstrated' how he dealt with it. He had wanted to use Harry initially for the werewolf, but much to Archie's amusement, as soon as his name was called, the Quidditch star simply walked out of the class, ignoring the Professor's shouts.
It's not like he needed the class anyway, nor any class in their year level save for Runes or Arithmancy. Archie knew very well that the well dressed teen could literally only attend those two classes in the whole year and still finish at the top of the year in marks like usual.
"I could do better if I wanted to, probably take number two every year" Archie admitted "but to do that, I'd have to lock myself up and read as much as you do, and even though I love reading about Potions, I don't much like the other classes as much to kill any more of my free time" he had said to Harry when they were talking about the issue.
All too soon, Halloween arrived and the customary feast that accompanied it. Instead of avoiding the masses like usual, he figured he'd accompany Archie and his housemates to get something to eat – after all, training had left him incredibly hungry and the Halloween feasts were notoriously good.
Harry sat across from Archie and beside Davis as he ate his dinner. The great hall was decorated for the occasion with floating pumpkin heads, hollowed out to have candles fitted within; thousands of bats were perched around the hall, most toward the ceiling, where the velvety, clouded darkness that was the ceiling at the moment hid them perfectly, as if they were outside. Also, orange, flaming streamers decorated the ceiling while pumpkins the size of garden sheds were lining the walls. Dumbledore sat in his throne like chair at the head of the staff table, smiling down at all of the students as they conversed with each other and enjoyed the feast.
Harry was amused to notice Lockhart chatting with an annoyed looking Vector and a flustered looking Sprout. Harry chuckled into his pumpkin juice, it seemed that Lockhart's 'charm' didn't extend to every female witch – there was hope.
Taking a sip from his juice, Harry made a face as he swallowed it.
"What's the matter?" Archie asked, having noticed Harry's apparent dislike of the beverage.
"I don't know how people drink this" he said, motioning to his orange drink "it's disgusting" he made another face at it, while taking some mashed potatoes from the platter between them, he liked the mashed potatoes.
"Where did this come from?" Archie asked "you've never complained before…" he frowned, trying to recall if he ever had "now that I think about it…I only ever see you drink that muggle drink during the summer…awful taste, if you ask me" he shrugged, as Harry gaped at him.
"You're telling me, you prefer this disgusting soup drink to the awesomeness that is Coca Cola?" Harry asked, aghast "it's pretty much a thinner pumpkin soup; it hardly even counts as a beverage!"
"What's wrong with it?" he asked, defensively, as he took a swig of the orange liquid "no one's forcing you to drink it, you know."
"The only other thing they offer here is water" Harry said with a frown "and you've never even tasted Coke, so I don't know why you're calling it awful…"
"Well that's because you'd…" he noticed people listening into their conversation, so he chose his words wisely "beat the shit out of me if I ever tried to even take a sip" he defended.
"That's because it's my personal stash you would be drinking" he reminded, impressed that he had the foresight to not mention he would actually curse him with his wand and not resort to physical violence "we could always go into muggle London if you wanted to try some, or get some decent food" he said, motioning towards the food around them in general.
"Now you got something against the food we get here?" Archie frowned "you're starting to sound like a woman with all your bitching."
Harry promised to hex him later for the remark against his masculinity "There's nothing wrong with the food in general, just the variety" Harry said "there's more to food then mashed potatoes, chicken, peas and what not" he motioned towards the standard meal constantly placed on platters around them. Though it was Halloween and the meal was slightly different to a regular dinner at Hogwarts; all that really differed was the kind of meat served…
"That's no better then Moony Nights' menu though" Archie said with a frown as people watched the two bickering like a married couple.
"We stock what the people want, we're not going to bulk buy sushi because I have a random craving" Harry said with a shrug.
"What the hell is sew-shee?" Archie asked with a puzzled frown, testing the foreign word on his tongue.
"Wow" Harry exclaimed, faux amazement lacing his voice "sheltered, much?"
"Hey douchebag, just because I don't go around to fancy restaurants and order overpriced Australian food, doesn't mean you're better then me" he said, crossing his arms over his chest, looking incredibly pleased with himself.
"It's Japanese you moron and you don't even know what a douchebag is, stop stealing my insults" Harry said with a smirk while some girls around them were glaring at them for being so vulgar while most of the guys remained clueless.
"I know what a douchebag is" Archie defended as Harry listened expectantly, this would be good "it's something you use to clean your face!" he said, after a few moments of thought. Harry nearly choked on his food while several people around them boggled at the brown haired youth.
"I guess it's possible to use one like that" Harry said with amusement "though, completely appropriate for you, especially because you seem to have Stephanie's vagina mostly in your brain…" Harry ducked under the table to avoid Archie's attempt to spray him with his dinner.
"No talking about Stephy's…privates at the dinner table!" Archie said, pointing his fork at Harry, apologizing to the disgusted students who he had accidently hit when he spat out his mashed potatoes.
Harry mentally chuckled at the weird direction their conversation had taken before turning to Davis, who looked like he wanted to say something to him.
"Hey Davis, you get a replacement yet for the match coming up next week against Gryffindor?" he asked the new Quidditch captain, being the most appropriate for the job after he quit and the others graduated.
Roger sighed and ran a hand through his hair "How can you honestly expect me to replace you Harry?" he said, sounding depressed "we just replaced Ellwood you know, we're practically going to be running a rookie chaser team" he said with a sigh.
Harry grinned and thumped him on the back. He didn't mind Roger, having played Quidditch with the handsome boy for a few years, he was one of the other Ravenclaws in his year he wouldn't completely ignore.
"Yeah mate, you're not going to be able to outfly the Gryffindor chasers, they're a real good team" Harry sympathized.
"And they're all smoking hot" Archie piped in helpfully as the other boys listening nodded sagely in agreement.
"And they're smoking hot" Harry repeated "your only chance of winning with two rookie chasers is to have Chang get the snitch before Longbottom, which shouldn't be too hard – he's not that great…"
"Yeah, these two kids are alright for rookies, they'd be fairly decent in a few years with experience" he conceded "but they just don't have the raw talent Ellwood or you had, it just makes things hard" he said, rubbing his face as he groaned pitifully.
"Cheer up Davis" Archie said from across the table "Harry's right, Chang can outfly Longbottom any day of the week, just have her get the snitch as soon as possible" said girl, sitting not far from them, was blushing a brilliant shade of crimson at having two of the better looking boys in her house, one of them being a recent Quidditch superstar, compliment her flying skills.
"Is ickle Cho embarrassed?" Davis asked, with a teasing tone in his voice as said girl just tried to sink down under the table as all heads turned to her. Harry chuckled as he took another –forced – sip of his pumpkin juice.
Suddenly, Dumbledore rose from his chair to make an announcement to the hall. Mere moments after he rose, the noise created in the large hall by the hundreds of students talking hushed as he rose his hand to get their attention.
"Our head girl for the year, miss Hawking" Dumbledore said with a smile, as he motioned to the Gryffindor seventh year who had a pair of stylish spectacles, a freckled face and light brown hair, she was smiling widely "has put forth a proposal to the staff and I, and we have accepted. This year, as we seem to have lacked such a function for quite some time, Hogwarts will be hosting a ball that will only be held for fourth years and above…" immediately, excited chatter, mixed with pitiful groans filled the hall. Dumbledore waited patiently for the excited chatter to die down "yes, I'm sure we're all quite excited" he said jovially "miss Hawking has informed me to let you all know that the ball will be a formal event, so dress robes will be required, and will be held on the last evening before the Christmas holidays" he said with a twitch of his beard as his eyes locked with Harry's "dates will be strongly encouraged as a professional band will be hired on the evening to provide entertainment" Harry didn't let any emotion show on his face as several of the girls in the hall squealed and looked to his direction; the urge to reach for his wand and hex the headmaster was extremely overpowering.
"Now, this wonderful evening is unfortunately coming to an end, so I'll ask you all to head back to your common rooms please" he said with that ever present twinkle in his eyes as the students began to file out of the great hall in excited chatter.
As Harry stood, pointedly ignoring anyone that wanted to so much as start a conversation with him, he was followed by Archie who kept up with his brisk pace, trying to hide his smirk, as they headed towards Ravenclaw tower,
As they made their way to the tower, the majority of the students were met with a scene that completely put the excitement of the upcoming ball out of their minds. Nearly three hundred students halted in their tracks at the sight that met them. Harry froze as the words registered finally in his mind:
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS OPENED.
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.
Hanging below the words from on of the corridors torches was a stiff looking Mrs Norris – Filch's demon cat. At the scene of the crime, stood a shocked group of second year students, namely Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom looked to want to be anywhere other then where they were now.
"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!" a voice broke the silence that seemed to have enveloped the entire corridor. Draco Malfoy's normally pale, cold face was flushed and gleeful as he looked at the immobile and hanging cat.
Harry frowned and discreetly cast a charm at the tool. It was a minor vanishing charm on his pants, and given the fact that there was literally over two hundred students crammed in large corridor, there was no way they could pin it on him. That and probably half the school wanted to hex him right now anyway.
Malfoy shrieked girlishly as he used his long robes to cover his chicken legs and ran away, though no one laughed, the situation was too grave.
"What's going on here? What's going on?!" came the annoyed shout of Argus Filch as Harry sighed irritably – this wouldn't end well. The squib, attracted no doubt by Malfoy's yelling, pushed through the crowd and stopped dead at the sight of his cat, his face was contorted in shock and horror.
"My Cat! Mrs Norris! What's happened to Mrs Norris?!" he shrieked as his hysterical eyes zoned in on Longbottom.
"You!" he hollered "You!You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll…"
"Argus!" Dumbledore's stern voice, seemingly devoid of the cheerfulness he had been expressing earlier, called out to the enraged caretaker. Dumbledore swept passed the man and immediately unhooked Mrs Norris from the wall and turned to Filch.
"Come with me Argus" he said to the distraught man "you too, mister Longbottom, miss Granger, mister Weasley."
Lockhart stepped forward, looking as pompous as ever. Harry wondered if he learned it from the Malfoys, but he reasoned that Lucius was much better at it.
"My office is closest Headmaster, just upstairs, please feel free…"
"Thank you, Gilderoy" Dumbledore interrupted impatiently as Archie snickered from beside him; Harry too, couldn't help but smirk in amusement.
The silent crowd of students parted for the group of professors who had arrived on the scene as they left, supposedly to Lockhart's office, to discover what happened; the three students and Filch following close by.
After Dumbledore had climbed the stairs and gone out of sight, no one saw the need to stay around any longer, especially now that the writing on the wall had been erased before Dumbledore left. Avoiding the large puddle of water that seemed to be coming from the girl's bathroom, Harry and Archie headed to their common room, followed by their housemates, who were now eagerly talking about the ball again, as if tonight's events were a distant memory.
Harry, on his way to the common room, remembered the warning Narcissa Malfoy had given him and couldn't help the frown marring his features. He didn't believe in coincidences.
It had been a week since the announcement of the ball and the heir's attack on the caretaker's cat. More so then ever, groups of girls would be walking around the school, giggling and squealing in delight as more and more couples were formed and guys asked girls to be their dates for the ball. Harry thought it was utterly disgusting how they would waste so much of their time doing practically nothing.
He reasoned that he may be over judgmental as of late, but he was much more annoyed as of late also. In the seven days since the ball's announcement, he has had three girls on average, per day, approach him and ask for him to accompany them to said dance. More often then not, they were reduced to tears as he simply ignored them or answered with a flat no.
Sure, it wasn't vert tactful, and nowhere near nice, but he wasn't 'nice' and the sooner they learned that, the better.