Chapter Four: Secret Saiyan, Secret Chamber

Gohan's eyelids slowly slid open. His head felt like it was exploding. The whole room was a blur, but he heard voices.

"Why can't you heal the wound?" Snape was saying, "Son's going to bleed to death-"

"I Know!" A woman's voice shrieked hysterically. "There's some sort of toxin within the wound that's preventing the incantation to take."

Gohan murmured. He heard Snape's voice. "Say that again, Son."

"Snake venom," he managed. Gohan heard Snape's voice.

"Keep giving Son blood restorative. I'm going to Dumbledore. We're going to need Fawkes." Gohan heard steps and swishing receding.

"Fox?" Gohan asked feebly, trying to blink the blur away.

Someone was stroking Gohan's hair. The woman answered. "Fawkes is a phoenix, Gohan. Just hold on, dear."

After a long silence, Gohan sensed the familiar ki approaching. "They're coming," he said to nobody in particular.

"Who's coming, dear?" The door burst open. Two sets of footsteps approached and a melodic cry burst forth. Gohan felt a small gush of wind; something landed on the edge of the bed and made its way up the bed in a hopping one-two gait. Its presence was large, bird-like, and majestic. It made another melodic cry.

"Hurry, my friend," Gohan recognized Dumbledore's voice. Gohan felt something wet and warm hit his wound. It sizzled but not unpleasantly. Gohan's vision began to return. The first thing he saw was a fire-red bird with beautiful crimson plumage. It burst into a mournful, melodic keen.

Gohan grinned stupidly. "Hello. You're a pretty bird. My name's Gohan." The phoenix chirruped in reply.

The woman shook her head. "The boy's befuddled."

"Give him a moment, Poppy. He may need some time to regain his bearings." Gohan blinked, watching as the wound sealed itself.

Gohan's focus returned and he nodded seriously at Dumbledore. Dumbledore turned to Madame Pomfrey. "Excuse me, Poppy. I need some time with Mr. Son."

"Poppy" stared at Dumbledore. "Albus, does this have anything to do with the fact that Gohan has a tail?" Gohan winced.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I see that I'll need a word with you, later. But right now it's important that I speak with Mr. Son." The woman said nothing more and left.

Dumbledore turned his gaze toward Gohan. Gohan met his eyes. For the first time, Gohan noted the remarkable likeness that the aged headmaster had with Piccolo. Like Piccolo, he, too, had a penetrating stare. Gohan smiled at the comparison. Dumbledore chuckled.

"You think so? I'm flattered that you would compare me to the former Guardian of the Earth."

"Huh?" Gohan stared in awe. But Dumbledore's expression returned to seriousness.

"I need you to tell me what happened."

Gohan nodded. Professor Snape sat on an adjacent bed as Gohan began. "Hermione Granger and I were headed toward the portrait when I sensed it-"Gohan looked at Dumbledore, waiting to see if the old man had any questions, but the old man nodded.

"Continue."

"It was big, long, and it was moving through the walls. Its Ki felt evil. I told Hermione to leave quickly. I ran to the other stairs and made it to the top when it appeared. It was a giant snake."

Snape's eyebrows rose. Dumbledore nodded.

"It kept doing something with its eyes. There was some strange energy beam that it kept trying to aim for my eyes. I tried to block it with an energy shield, but only part of the beam bounced off. The rest came through the shield. I almost got hit. It kept trying to hit me like that, so I closed my eyes and tried feeling out its Ki.

"I sensed other Ki approaching, so I led it away from the staircases. The snake spoke."

Snape jumped, staring at Gohan in disbelief, and Dumbledore nodded. "Continue."

"It said, 'Let me kill you.' I told it to try it. It stopped for a moment. It asked me if I was an heir."

Dumbledore's eye twitched, but he nodded.

"Then it called me a mudblood and told me to prepare to die. It lunged at me. It struck at me with its tail. I was defending quite successfully until I felt her."

Dumbledore sat up. "Her?"

"A girl was there. She approached the snake. At first, I yelled at her to run away. But as she got closer, I noticed something weird…something I haven't sensed since my fight with Cell.

"She had two Ki signatures."

Dumbledore's forehead wrinkled, but he nodded Gohan to continue.

"That familiarity distracted me, so I didn't notice the attack from the monster. It bit me. As soon as it bit me, the girl said in its language, "It's over. It will die soon. Come." The snake followed her, and I tried to make my way back to the Gryffindor common room for some sensu beans. That's when Professor Snape found me."

Dumbledore nodded. "Can you describe what the girl looked like?"

"She was short. She had long hair, and she had red eyes. I didn't sense any emotion at all. It was like she was dead." Dumbledore stood.

"Thank you, Mr. Son. Your information was most helpful. I want you to keep this incident quiet from all of the other students. However," he added. "You may eventually have to tell Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, and Mister Potter about yourself. It's only a matter of time before they discover your secret. Especially now that I have no choice but to question Miss Granger on the incident. You may go."

The next morning during Charms, Professor Flitwick told Hermione to report to the headmaster's office. Casting Harry, Ron, and especially Gohan a knowing look, she left the classroom. Gohan looked from Ron to Harry, then turned away blushing. They already know her half of the story.

...

Hermione stepped off of the revolving step. She hesitated and softly knocked on the door. "Come in, Miss Granger." She entered the room. It was circular, filled with strange whirring instruments. The headmaster smiled and invited her to sit.

"Miss Granger, something most unusual occurred last night. In order to clarify, I would like you to do something. Please tell me, with as much detail as you can, about the last moment you spent with Mr. Son." Hermione hesitated. Although she didn't know Gohan very well, she still didn't want him to get into a lot of trouble.

Dumbledore smiled encouragingly. "I assure you, Miss Granger, that Mr. Son isn't in any trouble."

Hermione nodded. "Okay. Gohan and I were heading back from the dining hall. We were on the stairs when Gohan stopped. He looked shocked.

"He said, 'What is that…thing?' He jerked his head toward me and told me to go to Gryffindor common room. I was confused, so I said his name. But his face was so frightful, he looked so afraid. He yelled at me, and I ran. I didn't see him again that night."

"Did you see anything or hear anything else unusual that night?"

Hermione winced. She, Harry, and Ron had discussed the very thing. Harry had said that he heard something moving through the castle and that it said something like rip, tear, kill. But how could she tell Dumbledore that? She couldn't betray her friends' confidence. "No, sir."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Very well. On a different note, I would like to ask you something else. Have you ever read the book called Beasts Moste Foul and Frightening?"

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "No, sir. I don't believe I have." Dumbledore searched her eyes. The curious stir he found behind them seemed to satisfy him.

"Very well, you're excused. Off you go."

Hermione now spent half of her free library time trying to research Gohan and the other half studying the book Dumbledore had mentioned. She took notes in her private study journal. As Halloween quickly approached, both Gohan and Hermione spent countless hours in the library. On the eve before Halloween, however, Hermione saw something unprecedented: Draco Malfoy in the library.

Not bothering to put his books away, Malfoy left the table, smirking in a self-satisfied way. Curiosity overpowering her anger, Hermione checked to make sure Malfoy had left the library before collecting the books and returning to her own table. She examined the book on top. Notable Muggles and Other Non-Majicks? What's Malfoy doing with that? She looked at the other books. History of the World Martial Arts Tournament and Complete Indexed Chronicle of the Demon King Piccolo.

Hermione was confused. Why was Malfoy interested in Muggles all of a sudden? She checked the books out of the library.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Gohan, along with other Hogwartians, were making their way toward lunch.

"Hey, Son!" Gohan turned reluctantly to see the sneering face of Draco Malfoy. He grinned malevolently. He held something in front of Gohan's face. "Want a banana?" His goons chuckled.

"No, thank you," Gohan said politely.

"Oh, come on! I was trying to be nice, but if you can't handle it…I thought your kind loves this fruit. Oh well, your loss. By the way…nice belt, monkey boy."

Gohan paled as the boys cackled and roughly pushed Ron and Harry out of the way.

"Ignore those idiots, Gohan." Harry said angrily. Hermione stared at Gohan's midsection, saying nothing. Catching her eye, Gohan quickly buttoned the front of his robes.

Flushing, Gohan sat at the table and ate in silence. Dean noticed Gohan's attitude.

"What's wrong, Gohan?"

Harry jerked his head toward the Slytherin table. "Malfoy, who else?"

Dean looked over at Malfoy, who was scratching under his armpit and head, grunting and making ape noises to the amusement of the second year Slytherins. Dean's eyes widened. Gohan had told him most of his history, including the Saiyans. Dean glared at them. "How'd that git find out?"

Gohan shrugged, suddenly becoming extremely interested in his chopsticks. Hermione laid her hand gently on Gohan's. "Are you okay, Gohan?"

The noise at the Slytherin table got louder. Gohan shook with anger. His hair began standing on end. Hermione gasped and withdrew her hand as Gohan's temperature boiled. His eyes gleamed green. He closed them and raced from the Hall, the door closed behind him. His hair shot up and shone gold; his eyes became piercing emeralds. His muscles tightened beneath his robes.

Just then, the Ravenclaw girl with long dark-blond hair and dreamy look approached. "Hello, Gohan Son," she said in a dreamy soft voice. "Having a bad day." It was more of a statement than a question.

Shocked that she had approached him in Super Saiyan form, Gohan destabilized and untransformed. She continued.

"I was late to lunch, because I was looking for my favorite shoes. They have mysteriously vanished."

"Uh," Gohan said. The girl smiled pleasantly.

"Yes, in case you are wondering, my name is Luna Lovegood. Anyways, I suspect Nargles are behind it."

Gohan jumped back in surprise. "Hey! Narglea..that's a Namekian word!"

Luna smiled. "Of course. You are quite knowledgeable about that, Gohan Son. But I am not surprised…considering your background."

Gohan stared. "You know about me?"

Luna nodded. "Of course. You're almost famous. You would be famous if Hercule Satan hadn't taken credit for defeating Cell." Gohan stared.

"Well, I'm going to eat. I hope I didn't miss the pudding." Gohan gaped as the girl skipped to the large doors and disappeared behind them.

Because Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to some sort of "Deathday" party, Gohan spent the Halloween feast with Dean, trying to ignore Malfoy's taunts. Gohan didn't understand why it made him so angry. He had come to terms with his father's Saiyan identity years ago. Maybe it was because of his father's death, or maybe it was because he was Saiyan himself, and Malfoy was making fun of part of who Gohan was. Whatever the reason, Gohan fought fiercely against his anger. Gohan left the hall before the students were dismissed; as he entered the entrance hall, he met a strange sight. Harry was hugging a wall. Gohan looked on, bemused, until he felt the familiar Ki sparking. Gohan rushed toward the three. Ron and Hermione started when they saw him.

"Listen!" Harry said with a sense of urgency and leaned toward the wall again.

"…kill…time to kill…" Gohan followed its Ki as it slithered upward. Harry did too, but he followed the voice.

"This way!" Harry shouted, and he and Gohan sprinted up the stairs, Hermione and Ron followed. Harry was huffing, but Gohan trotted along easily.

"Harry, what're we-"Hermione began.

"SHH!"

Harry strained his ears, listening. He shot a double take at Gohan, who seemed to be following something invisible with his eyes. Suddenly, Harry and Gohan heard the voice:

"…I smell blood…I SMELL BLOOD!" Growling angrily, Gohan shot up the next flight of stairs.

"It's going to kill someone!" Harry shouted, and followed after Gohan. They hurtled down the corridors of the second floor until Gohan stopped them.

"If you sense movement of any kind," he growled, "Close your eyes. Don't look it in the eyes." Gohan shut his eyes and whipped around the corner. The creature had just turned the opposite corner. Gohan opened his eyes and sighed. "It's gone."

The others walked behind Gohan, following him up the deserted corridor.

Ron wiped sweat from his brow. "What was that all about? I couldn't hear a thing-"

"Look!" Hermione gasped.

There, in large, bold, shiny, red letters said the words:

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

Below the words, a small furry thing was hanging from a torch bracket. It was Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat. As the others argued about what to do, Gohan used his Ki sense to detect life within the animal. How strange! I can sense its energy, but somehow its energy is encased in some sort of barrier. The energy from the barrier seems familiar to me. It's just like…it's just like the energy from that monster's eyes! So that's it! Gohan became distracted when he saw Harry slip on a large water puddle. It was then that Gohan spotted them: spiders…

Gohan was brought from his thinking by a boy's shout.

"Enemies of the heir, beware? You'll be next, mudbloods!" Draco Malfoy declared loudly.

Gohan balled his hands into fists and glared down the corridor which the snake had vanished. "You…monster!" He said so shakily that it was only audible to those standing close by. Hermione and Harry glanced at Gohan concernedly. Gohan's eyes flashed green electricity. Harry and Hermione backed away, looking at each other.

A shuffling sound distracted them.