The next day they were sitting in Herbology. Then Professor Sprout came.

"Good morning everyone." Then she tapped her wand on the table. "Good morning everyone!" she said louder.

"Good morning Professor Sprout." they said together.

"Welcome to Greenhouse three today, chaps!" she said. "Now today we're going to repot Mandrakes. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" Hermione raised her hand. "Yes Ms. Ganger."

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," said Hermione, sounding as usual as though she had swallowed the textbook. "It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Hermione's hand narrowly missed Harry's glasses as it shot up again.

"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," she said promptly.

"Precisely. Take another ten points," said Professor Sprout. "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young. But they'll knock you out for several hours which is why I gave you a earmuffs. For complete protection. Now if you'll please put them on."

Everyone started to put them on as told.

"Flaps tight down and watch me closely. You grasp, your mandrake firmly. And take them right outside the pot."

Then it started to cry and everyone covered their ears.

"And then put them in the other pot and put some soil to keep them warm."

It continued to cry making Neville fall and pass out.

Professor Sprout sighed. "Longbottom's been neglected by his earmuffs."

Seamus looked down at him then looked back at his Professor. "No ma'am, he's just fainted."

"Yes well, just leave him there. Right on you go. Grasp your mandrake and pull it out!"

Then everyone pulled them out and looked at it. Ron's was very fat and Malfoy was playing with its chin. Then his finger was in its mouth. He pulled it out, whipped it on his top and put the mandrake down.

A few hours later they were sitting there at the table doing homework when they heard someone.

"Hi Harry!" Then light came out of nowhere.

Harry and Tracey were shocked.

"I'm Colin Creevey! I'm in Gryffindor to." Colin said.

"Hi Colin, nice to meet you." he said.

"Do you mind if you leave? We have some paper to finish." Tracey said.

"Oh, of course." Then he took another picture and left.

"Thanks." he said.

"No problem." she said.

After that they were in Defense Against the Dark Arts waiting for their Professor. Then the door opened and everyone looked up.

"Let me introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,me. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award — but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!" he said chuckling a little.

Hermione and someone leaned on their books in dreamland. Then he took out his wand.

"Now- be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."

Then he uncovered what was under the blanket. They were going all over the lock.

Cornish pixies?" Seamus said.

"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."

Seamus started laughing.

"Devilish tricky little blighters they can be! Let's see what you make of them!"

He opened them and then everyone jumped up from their seat. Two of them took Neville's ears and pulled him on the top light.

"Please get me down!" Neville said.

"Come on now — round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted.

"Get off me!" Hermione said while a pixie pulled her hair.

"No stop hold still!" Harry said and hit it with his book.

Then Lockhart looked around and took out his wand. "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"

Then before the spell worked a pixie took it. When it got to the top it hit the dinosaur bones down and another one was on the back.

"Yeeehaaaa!" it yelled.

At the top Lockhart hurried over to a picture of himself while another took it. He pulled it to try and get it but lost it.

"I'll ask you three to just, nip the rest of them back to their case!"

Then he left the room.

"What do we do now?" Ron asked while Harry and Tracey used a book to get them away.

Then Hermione stood up and took out her wand. "Emirbulus!"

Then they stopped moving and started floating.

"Why is it always me?" Neville asked while he was stuck.

Early the next morning Harry was woken up by Wood.

"What?" he said.

"Come on, quidditch practice now." Wood said.

"Oliver, It's barely bright out!"

"Exactly. It's part of our new training program. Come on, grab your broom, and let's go," None of the other teams have started training yet; we're going to be first off the mark this year-"

"Alright I'm up." He started to yawn and sat up.

"Good, be there in fifteen minutes."

"Alright."

Then he got up and got ready. A few minutes later he was outside listening to Wood.

"I divided a whole new quidditch program. We're gonna train earlier, harder and longer." Then they saw some other people. "Wha- I don't believe it."

Ron, Hermione and Tracey saw them coming.

"Where do you think you're going Flint?"

"Quidditch practice." Flint said.

"I booked the field for Gryffindor today."

"Easy Wood, I've got a note." he said and handed him the note.

"Uh oh, I smell trouble." Ron said and closed his book.

"Same here." Tracey said.

"I Professor Severus Snape here by give you permission to practice according to the case of having a new seeker." He put the note down. "You've got a new seeker, who?"

Then Malfoy came out of behind Flint.

"Malfoy?" Harry said.

"That's right, and that's not all that's new this year." Malfoy said.

They looked down and saw new brooms.

"Those are nimbus 2001, how did you get those?" Ron asked.

"Gift from Draco's father." Flint said.

"You see unlike some my father can afford the best." he said.

"At least nobody on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They've got an all pure talent." Hermione said.

Malfoy looked at her. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little mudblood." Everyone went wide.

"You'll pay for that one Malfoy." Ron said pulling out his broken wand. "Eat slugs!"

Then it rebounded and Ron was on his back. Everyone but the Slytherins ran to him. Harry, Tracey and Hermione bent down next to him.

"You OK Ron?" Hermione asked.

He just knelt there with his mouth shut.

"Say something!" Tracey said.

Then a slug came out of his mouth.

Then a flash appeared. "Wow! Can you turn around Harry?" Colin asked.

"No Colin get out of the way!"

Then another one came and Harry helped him stand up.

"Let's take him to Hagrid. He'll know what to do!"

So they headed to his hut while the Slytherins laughed.

When they got there Hagrid had him sit down and brought him a bucket.

"Well, this calls for specialists equipment. Nothin' to do but wait till it's done I'm afraid." Then another one came out. "Better out then in. Who'd Ron try to curse anyway?"

"Hermione." Harry said.

"He called her, sorry to say it again Hermione but you know I don't mean you." Hermione nodded. "He called her a mudblood." Tracey said.

"He did not!" Hagrid said shocked.

"Yes." Hermione said.

"Well I can tell ya this, they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do," said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione go a brilliant shade of magenta.

"It's a disgusting thing to call someone," said Ron, wiping his sweaty brow with a shaking hand.

"Yeah." Tracey said nodding.

A few hours later Harry was on his way to dinner when he heard something in the wall.

He put his ear and hand on the wall.

"Come . . . come to me. . . . Let me rip you. . . . Let me tear you. . . . Let me kill you. . . Kill, kill, kill!"

"Harry!" Hermione said.

"Didn't you hear it?" he said.

"Hear what?" Ron asked.

"That voice!"

"Voice, what voice?" Tracey asked.

"I heard it on my way to dinner."

"Blood... Must get, blood."

"It's moving, I think it's going to kill." Then he started running.

"Kill?" Ron said.

"Harry wait!" Hermione said.

"Not so fast!" Tracey said.

Then they started running to.

When they met up with him they saw spiders.

"Strange." Hermione said.

"I've never seen spiders act like that." Tracey said.

"I don't like spiders." Ron said. Then he looked down. "What's that?"

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened... Enemies of the heir be wear... It's written in blood. Hermione said.

"Oh no." Harry said.

Then the other three looked up and saw something. Hermione and Tracey gasped.

"It's Filch's cat! Mrs. Norris." he said.

Then everyone else came and saw him standing there next to her. Madam Pumfrey gasped.

"Enemies of the heir be ware?" Malfoy said then looked at them. "You'll be next mudblood."

"What's going on here? Come on make way make way. Potter, what are you-" he looked up and saw her. "Mrs. Norris." He looked at Harry. "You've murdered my cat."

"No."

"I'll kill ya." He started to put his hand on his shirt. "I'LL KILL YA!"

"Argus! Argus I-" Dumbledore started and saw the writing. "Everyone will precede to their dormitories immediately." Everyone started to turn around. "Everyone except, you four he said pointing to Harry, Tracey, Ron and Hermione.

"She's not dead Argus, but she has been, petrified."

"Ah! Thought so, so unlucky I wasn't there. I know the exact counter curse that could have spared her." Lockhart said.

"But how she has been petrified I can not say."

"Ask, he's the one who did it. You saw what he wrote on the wall."

"It's not true sir I swear. I never touched Mrs. Noris." Harry said.

"Rubbish."

"If, I might headmaster, perhaps Potter is in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the circumstances are suspicious. I for one, don't recall seeing Potter, at dinner." Snape said.

"I was my way to dinner when I found Mrs. Noris." Harry said.

"That's why Ron, Tracey and I were looking for him. We just found him when he said," Hermione started.

"When I said I wasn't that hungry. We were

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus."

"My cat has been petrified. I wanna see some punishment!"

"She will be able to be cured, Argus. Professor Sprout said she has mandrake which will be able to cure her. However, I strongly recommend caution, to all." he said.

While they were on their way to the common room Hermione thought of something.

"It's a bit strange isn't it?"

"Strange?" Harry said.

"You hear this voice, a voice only you can hear. It's just, strange."

"You think I should have told them? Dumbledore and the others I mean."

"Are you mad!" Ron said.

"No Harry, even in the Wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign."

"She's right you know." A painting said. Ron looked at but kept going.