6 - Threats on Hogwarts

Hermione managed to stop her trolley before colliding with Harry.

"Harry," she exclaimed, barely managing to cover Nyx's frantic cheeping. "What happened ?"

"I don't know, I couldn't go through the barrier," he replied, straightening his owl's cage.

"I'll try," she said.

Harry stepped aside and let her pass but her trolley was also stopped by the barrier.

" Is there a problem ?" asked Mr Granger.

Hermione's response was interrupted when a group of students came by.

"What's going on here?" asked a boy.

"We can't go through the barrier," replied Hermione.

"Let me try," said a witch who must have been the boy's mother.

The witch walked towards the barrier. When she noticed the passage was indeed closed, she took out her wand and tapped it on various places on the barrier. Now a large group of people had gathered. Harry looked at his watch: ten to eleven. A thin, near-bold, red-haired man walked through the crowd.

"Hello Beth, is everything all right here?" he asked.

"Oh, hello, Arthur," replied the witch. "We have a problem."

She explained the situation to him and the wizard tried, in turn, to use his wand on the barrier.

"There's nothing to do," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm going to the Ministry," said Beth. "But I'm afraid it's already too late. We won't be able to delay the train departure."

"Good idea, I'll send word to Hogwarts. In the meantime, it'd be best to leave the station before catching the Muggles' attention. Percy, watch over your sister."

Beth and Arthur disappeared into the crowd. It was eleven past fifteen when they returned to announce that they hadn't been able to delay the Hogwarts Express. The students had to get to the Leaky Cauldron where they would be able to floo to school. The first group of students left for the pub. Harry and Hermione left with the next one. When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, the students had started to form a line in front of the imposing fireplace.

"What do you think happened with the barrier?" asked Hermione.

"I think the elf tried to stop me from going back to Hogwarts," said Harry thoughtfully.

"It's a bit farfetched. Don't you think ?"

"I know. But, look, the barrier worked fine until I tried to go through it. I saw the group walking in front of us go through the barrier without a problem."

"Do you think the elf was telling the truth? That there really is something dangerous waiting for us at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know. But after what happened last year, we should be careful."

Harry and Hermione arrived later in one of the Great Hall's large fireplaces. They greeted Professor Flitwick who wrote the names of the students on a long piece of parchment. Then they dropped their luggage along the wall from where the trunks disappeared one after the other to reappear in the dormitories. Only two tables had been set for lunch. Padma and Parvati were seated a little further away and waved at them.

"Hello Padma, hello Parvati," greeted Harry, taking a seat next to Hermione and opposite the two sisters.

"Were you two blocked by the barrier too?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," replied Parvati, "and our parents to drop us to Hogwarts."

"Really ?" asked Harry.

"We Apparated from London to Hogsmeade and they walked us to the castle," replied Parvati, horrified. "Do you realize? They could have left us at the gate."

"I think they were right," interrupted Padma. "You heard what dad said. It could have been some dark wizards' doing, planning on attacking students. It could have been dangerous."

"Do you think ?" asked Hermione worried, exchanging a look with Harry.

"I don't know," replied Padma. "Dad talked about the war, he said that even You-Know-Who had failed to attack either Hogwarts or the Hogwarts Express but there are still wizards who are loyal to him. That it could be an attack."

"But we're safe at Hogwarts," assured Parvati. "There's nothing to fear with Dumbledore here and with our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Do you know who's the new teacher?" asked Harry.

"Gilderoy Lockhart himself," she replied, a big smile on her face.

"He announced it during his book signing," said her sister.

"Oh," exclaimed Hermione. "I've already read all of his books. It's a shame we missed the signing session."

"Of course you've already read all of his books," said Parvati.

"Don't listen to her," reassured Padma. "She's read them too already."

"He lived so many adventures and he's so brave," exclaimed Parvati, her voice was full of admiration.

"And he has such beautiful eyes," continued Padma.

"Uh ..." started Harry with uncertainty, looking at the three girls.

"He's so attractive," added Hermione with a dreamy sigh.

"What?" exclaimed Harry. "I thought you were going to bring some constructive criticism to his work, not talk about ... that!"

Hermione startled and looked at him as if she had just remembered he was there. Her cheeks took on a bright red colour and she quickly looked down at her plate.

"You're right," said Hermione, her eyes still on her plate. "Do you think he'll make a good teacher?"

"I hope so," he replied. "I think his books lack details, especially when it comes to the practical approach of spells he used. I wrote down a few questions. I look forward to hearing from the author himself."

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk. A fire was crackling softly in the hearth. He glanced at the clock: ten-thirty. Three sharp knocks were given on the door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and Snape came in.

"You wanted to see me, Albus?" said the Potion Master.

"Please, sit down Severus," replied the Headmaster.

Snape took a seat in one of the armchairs facing the desk. He shook his head when Dumbledore presented him with some candy.

"Have you seen the Necromancer since our last chat?" asked Albus.

"I only met him once this summer but according to my contacts he was spotted many times in Knockturn Alley."

"Did he make other victims?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Do you have any clues regarding his activities, his intentions or his identity?"

"No, I don't. He's always very discreet. However, he seems to be in contact with a vampire who goes by the name of Edward Whitley. Other than that he has very few contacts."

"Whitley? Was he in Tom's ranks?"

"No. Whitley's just a smuggler of little influence."

"Well, well…" continued Dumbledore with a serious look. His hands were clasped in front of him. "Severus, I would like you to keep an eye on your Slytherins."

"Do you seriously think the Necromancer is one of them?" asked Snape dryly.

"You already know that one of them is a descendant of the Necromancers."

"You can't believe it's him? He's twelve."

"I don't know Severus, but I'm worried. Especially after what happened at King's Cross this morning."

"He managed to get on board," interrupted Snape.

"It might have been to cover his true intentions," replied Dumbledore. "And before you interrupt me again, I know full well that this morning's incident may have nothing to do with the Necromancer. Some of your old acquaintances might have tried to attack the students."

"A pity I wasn't invited."

"Now, isn't the time, Severus. We must be grateful all the students have returned safe and sound."

"How went your meeting with Fudge?"

"He ordered an investigation. The Aurors have no leads for now."

"Don't tell me it surprises you?" snarled Snape disdainfully.

"And that's why I need you, Severus," replied the Headmaster not taking note of the teacher's retort. "When we had to set up the floo connection with London, the wards were weakened. Anything could have entered the school. Tom managed to get in last year under our nose and another threat has emerged in the meantime. We have to be vigilant."

" Fine. I'll keep my eyes open."

Harry had hopes. Hopes of having a competent Defence professor. Unfortunately, these hopes were crushed on the second day of class. Harry arrived early at his Defence class and he was the first to enter the classroom. He was putting his books on the table when Lockhart came to stand in front of him.

"Ah, Harry Potter!" he exclaimed with his trademark smile. "Finally, we meet. Ah, Harry, Harry, Harry. I must admit that I didn't expect to see you in Ravenclaw."

"Uh..."

"Don't think it's a bad thing. I am delighted to see that you are a member of my former House. I think you're perfectly right to dedicate your young years to your education. You'll have plenty of time to go on adventures later on. But I know the faults of Ravenclaw house and you shouldn't stay all day in your books. There's nothing like real-life experience to shape a wizard."

"Yes, I..." tried to answer Harry.

"I don't want to brag, but I'm myself, what you could call, a man of action and a defence expert. And I'd like to offer you private lessons if you want to."

"Thank you, it's…"

"But I'm also ready to offer you advice in other areas. You are famous Harry and if you want my opinion, you shouldn't neglect this aspect of your life. It could be very useful once you leave Hogwarts. And I know it can be difficult to manage celebrity. Harry, I solemnly tell you today, if you need advice I'm here for you."

"Thank you, sir."

"No, Harry, don't thank me."

By the time their conversation was over, the other students entered the classroom. Lockhart began the lesson by giving them a test to complete. It was the dumbest and the most irrelevant test Harry had ever had to complete. After that, the second part of the lesson was devoted to the re-enactment of a chapter of Travels with Trolls. Harry wanted to ask some of the questions he had but he ended up playing the troll.

Harry had just left the Great Hall with Hermione. They were about to climb the stairs towards the library when a young boy stopped at their side. He wore some Gryffindor robes and held a camera.

"Hello Harry, I'm Colin Crivey. Can I take a picture?" he asked without catching his breath.

"A picture?" asked Harry without understanding.

"Of you. To prove that I met you. I know everything about you, how you killed You-Know-Who, your scar, everything. It'd be great if I could have a picture of you, so I'd send it to my parents. They're muggles, you see. Do you think your friend could take the picture? So I'd be with you on it. Oh, and would you like to sign it for me?"

"What..?" started Harry puzzled.

But then Lockhart appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did I hear right?" asked the professor. "Harry, are you signing pictures?"

"NO! I…" replied Harry vehemently.

"That's such a great idea. And you know what is an even better idea? Let's make it a double portrait! We'll both sign the picture for you. What do you say Mr Crivey?"

"I'm not sure…" said Harry.

But Harry couldn't finish his sentence. Lockhart came to stand next to him, one hand on his shoulder, and Harry was suddenly dazzled by the camera flash.

"Thank you, Harry, thank you, Professor," said Colin smiling widely before leaving for the Great Hall.

"Ah, Harry, Harry, Harry," began Lockhart.

He turned to face the boy and put one hand on each of Harry's shoulders.

"I blame myself, you know," he went on. "I know it's my fault. This is all because of the chat we had about celebrity. Harry, Harry, Harry ... It was much better for me to be with you on the picture. Otherwise, your friends would have thought that you were looking to put yourself forward. A little advice, signing picture at this stage of your career isn't very wise. But the day will come when, like me, you'll always need to carry pictures of yourself in your pockets. But I think you're not there yet. And don't forget, I'm here if you need advice."

"Thank you, but I have to go to the library," replied Harry hastily, wanting to flee the teacher's company as soon as possible.

"Oh, yes, of course," said Lockhart with a smile. "See you, Harry."

The professor turned on his heel and left for the Great Hall.

"Do you think I can have a picture too?" teased Hermione.

"This isn't funny," said Harry defensively. "I don't want to sign pictures."

"I know," she replied, laughing. "You should have seen your face."

"I thought we could practice duelling this afternoon," he said to change the subject of the conversation.

"Great idea," she replied.

September went quickly and calmly. The only downside was Harry's new "fan club": Colin Crivey who followed him everywhere and took his picture constantly, and Ginny Weasley who, when she wasn't with Colin, spied Harry in the library. He had caught her several times. She was sitting at a table hidden behind a book. When she felt Harry's eyes on her, she left the library, running, her face a bright red colour and her book forgotten behind her.

But it was from the end of October that a series of strange events took place. The first one occurred one evening when Harry was walking back to the Ravenclaw tower with Terry.

So hungry ... waited for so long ...

Harry froze and motioned for Terry to stay quiet. The voice seemed to move. Harry rushed into the corridor, leaving one startled Terry behind him.

I smell blood ... kill...

Then as suddenly as it appeared, the voice disappeared.

"Hominem revelio," cast Harry.

But, except for and Terry, the corridor was empty.

"Uh, Harry?" asked Terry. "Is everything alright?"

"Did you hear it?" replied Harry hastily.

"Heard what?"

"A voice. It was right here"

"No, I didn't."

Terry was now looking at him with a worried expression.

"You're right, it must have been the wind," justified Harry quickly.

The second strange event happened on the morning of October the 31st. Harry had left his dormitory before dawn. He had gone, hidden under his invisibility cloak, to the edge of the Forbidden Forest where he had picked up the ingredients he needed. He then headed towards the vegetable plots that lay near Hagrid's hut. He hoped to find a few nightshade berries growing along the vegetable rows. Harry stepped between two rows of pumpkins and then froze. There was someone walking towards him. He followed the figure with his eyes. He then recognized Ginny Weasley. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon and she did not seem to register what was around her. The girl turned towards the henhouse. Intrigued, Harry walked around the pumpkins and followed her. He stopped at a good distance when Ginny stopped in front of one of the pens.

"Immobilus," she said in the direction of the hens.

She put her wand away opened the door, and walk across the enclosure. She stopped suddenly and grabbed the rooster by the neck. She put her other hand a little higher on the animal. There was a sharp crack when she broke its neck. She dropped the animal, which fell limply to the ground, turned around and left the enclosure. Then she did the same in the nearby enclosure. Harry was absolutely still. He didn't dare to move until Ginny was back to the castle and far away enough.

Harry didn't have to wait for long to see the third strange event. The same evening, after the Halloween feast, he left the Great Hall with Padma, Terry and Hermione. It was still early and they had time to do part of the way with Hermione before leaving for the Ravenclaw tower. A small group of Gryffindor students preceded them on the grand staircase chatting and heckling. There were only a few steps left to climb for Harry when he heard it again.

It's time to kill...

He stopped and turned sharply in the direction of the voice. But there was no one.

"Harry?" called Hermione from the second-floor landing.

He pulled himself together and walked quickly towards her. He was still listening but the only voices he could hear now were those of Padma and Terry and those of the students who walked in front of them and who had just disappeared around the corner. Then there was complete silence. When they, in turn, reached the nearby corridor, a crowd had formed there. All eyes were on the same section of wall. An inscription in red letters had been written there. Harry could not make out the words where he stood. He managed to come nearer and he froze. The corridor was partly flooded. The large puddle was reflecting the dancing light from the torches. On the wall he could read:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED

ENEMY OF THE HEIR, BEWARE

Mrs Norris hung stiffly by its tail from the nearby sconce. Harry turned and went back to his friends. He was in the middle of telling what he had seen when the teachers arrived.

"Stand aside," said Professor McGonagall sternly.

She made her way between the students followed by Dumbledore and Filch.

"What happened to my cat?" cried Filch. "My cat was murdered. I want the culprit punished."

The whispers doubled among the students despite Dumbledore's reassuring words. The other teachers arrived and the students were sent back to their dormitories.

The archives were in a separate room from the library. Harry and Hermione were the only students there. Centuries of newspapers and yearbooks were lined up on the shelves. Harry was sitting at a table, a yearbook opened before him. Tom Riddle had not been hard to find. Harry looked at the black and white picture again, but he had another idea in mind. His parents, they had to be here too, in these records.

"Did you find something else?" asked Hermione.

She was seated at another table. Old issues of the Daily Prophet were spread before her.

"I found Riddle," he replied. "I wonder if my parents are here."

Hermione replied something but Harry was not listening to her. His eyes travelled to the edges of the books. The shelves creaked. There was some movement above Harry's head that caught his eye. He quickly looked up. His cry of surprise died in his throat. The bookcase was collapsing. He saw the books falling. Then the world went black.

He was in pain. It was the first thought that crossed Harry's mind when he regained consciousness. He could hear voices around him. He tried to open his eyes but the light was too bright. It made him feel like his head was going to split in two.

"Everything's fine, Mr Potter," said Madam. Pomfrey's voice, which seemed to come from the bottom of a deep well.

He sank into darkness again. When he opened his eyes, the matron was leaning over him.

"How are you feeling, Mr Potter?" she asked.

"In pain...," he replied with a groan.

"Quite understandable given the extent of your injuries. I'll be right back with a potion."

"Is it serious?"

"Broken collarbone, dislocated shoulder, and a concussion," she explained. She helped Harry sitting up and gave him a potion vial. "Nothing I can't cure. You'll be fine. But I warn you right away, you won't be leaving this place for a few days."

Harry drank the potion and sank back into his pillow. In a few moments, the heat of the potion spread through his limbs and he dozed off.

Pop

Harry opened his eyes. He was still in bed, in the hospital wing. There was a candle on his bedside table. Harry saw it's weak light and the dancing shadows it created on the ceiling. He turned slowly and startled when he saw a pair of big, protruding eyes watching him.

"Dobby?" he whispered as he sat up.

"Harry Potter shouldn't have come back to Hogwarts," the elf whispered. "Dobby warned Harry Potter."

"Oh, no," Harry cut him in dismay. "Don't start with that nonsense again."

"Why didn't Harry Potter go back home after he missed the train?"

"So it was you, I knew it. You made some big mess by blocking the barrier. Do you know the Ministry's investigating?"

"Yes, Dobby knows and after that Dobby had to burn his hands with an iron," announced the elf, showing him his fingers wrapped in bandages.

"The danger you told me about, does it have anything to do with the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Harry.

"Dobby can't say anything."

"Well, let me tell you what I know. If the Slytherin heir is at Hogwarts and if he wants to follow his ancestor's path, chances are he's targeting muggle-borns. But I'm no muggle-born so I'm not directly threatened. And so there's no reason for me to leave Hogwarts."

"No, no, Harry Potter must understand, it's dangerous. Harry Potter has to go home. Dobby thought the library incident would be enough, but ..."

But the elf didn't manage to finish his sentence. Harry grabbed him by the pillowcase he was wearing.

"So that was your doing too," he exclaimed in a furious whisper. "Did you try to kill me? I thought you wanted to protect me."

"Dobby thought that if Harry Potter were badly injured, they would send him home," the elf said timidly.

"It's over now, Dobby."

Harry let go of the elf's pillowcase and forcefully grabbed the creature's neck. Dobby yelped in surprise. Harry slid his other hand under his pillow and drew his wand, which he pointed at the elf's head.

"I don't have the patience to play riddles with you," he went on. "So you're going to talk. You're going to tell me who's after me. That way I can kill them before I get killed, by them or by you."

The elf's hands tried in vain to loosen Harry's grip and an expression of terror crossed his eyes.

Pop.

Dobby was gone. Harry sighed and sank back onto his pillow. He had a headache again. He was too angry to fall back asleep right now. He remained for some long minutes contemplating the ceiling.

In an instant, he was out of bed, wand in hand.

I can smell the blood ...

The voice. It was back. It was there, so close.

"Lumos," said Harry, walking through the hospital wing.

He pointed his wand in the voice's direction.

"Hominem revelio"

But there was no one.

It's time to kill ...

The voice was moving away. Harry tried to follow it but it went silent. He slowly returned to his bed. He no longer knew what to think. Things were getting really strange.

Harry was about to go back to sleep when the door of the hospital wing opened. He quickly drew the covers over his head and turned towards the door. Dumbledore entered backwards. He was with Professor McGonagall. They carried what looked like a statue and placed it on a bed. Professor McGonagall quickly walked through the hospital wing and returned a few moments later with Madam Pomfrey.

"What happened ?" she whispered.

"There was another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found Mr Crivey on the stairs."

"Petrified?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore then leaned over the boy and snatched the camera he was holding in his petrified hands.

"Albus," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you think he could have taken a picture of his attacker?"

The headmaster opened the device. A jet of steam came out, and a burning smell spread through the room.

"Albus?"

"The film has completely melted. Unfortunately, what I feared turned out to be true. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again."

Madam Pomfrey let Harry leave the hospital wing two days later. He found Hermione in the archive room of the library. He began to tell her what he had learned from his first night in the hospital wing.

"Yes, I know," she said when Harry announced that the Chamber of Secrets had already been opened.

"How?" he asked.

"I came across the story by chance. I wanted to find out why Riddle received his reward. I went through the newspapers of that year."

"And?"

"It appeared that several students were petrified during the year, the same message was written on the wall. But this time a student died, a muggle-born girl. The article said they couldn't find the cause of death. It was quite the scandal. The headmaster at the time, a certain Dippet, was in very bad posture. They talked of shutting down Hogwarts. And that's where Riddle comes in. He solves the mystery, hunts down the monster and finds the culprit, and he receives his reward."

"Who was it?"

"This is where it gets really weird. Hagrid's the culprit. He was thirteen at the time and he was expelled for that. And the monster was an acromantula."

"It doesn't make sense," replied Harry. "When Hagrid told me there were acromantulas in the forest, I read about them. Their venom is deadly but I've read nowhere that they can petrify. And they should have found bite marks on the corpse. And Hagrid, the heir of Slytherin, really? The students who were petrified, did they confirm that this was what attacked them?"

"No," replied Hermione. "Only one of them agreed to give an interview for the Prophet. He didn't know what attacked him. He said he was attacked from behind. He remembers seeing the reflection in the window of something big standing behind him. That's all. And you want to know the worst? No one asked the other victims. No one has sought confirmation of Riddle's accusation."

"What if Riddle was the attacker then?"

"You think ?"

"Yes, why not? Voldemort makes no secret he wants to see all muggle-borns and squibs dead. He used Hogwarts as some sort of training field. Even if we can't prove he's Slytherin's descendant, he is the heir to his ideas."

"It's an interesting idea. And Hagrid?"

"He accused Hagrid so he could cover his tracks."

"And the Headmaster didn't question the accusation because if they couldn't find the culprit, he could lose his place and the school would be shut down."

"So we're looking for another monster."

Harry was disappointed. He had read with interest the parchment pinned to the notice board in the common room. A duelling club had just been created. Harry was practicing hard at duelling with Hermione but he was anxious to take on other opponents and to receive practical advice from experienced duellists. After all, Flitwick was a former champion of the discipline.

Unfortunately, when Harry entered the Great Hall, there was no sign of the Charms teacher. Lockhart, meanwhile, stood on the platform that had been erected in the centre of the room. Snape stood by him and Harry figured it might not be that bad. The Potions Master spent his classes ignoring Harry and taking points from him for absurd reasons, but at least he was a competent wizard.

"Come closer," said Lockhart. "Does everyone hears me? Does everyone see me? Perfect! Welcome. I will host this duelling club with my assistant, Professor Snape."

Lockhart went on his explanations under the murderous eyes of Snape and Harry concluded that Lockhart was really stupid not to run away. This feeling was confirmed when the Defence professor was ejected from the stage by a simple expelliarmus and struck the wall before collapsing limply on the ground. When he got back to his feet, his hair stood on end, and his robes were wrinkled.

"Now it's your turn," said Lockhart when he reached the stage, tottering. "You are going to disarm your opponent, and I mean disarm, only."

With the help of Snape, he divided the students into teams of two. Harry disarmed his opponent on the first strike. Then he took the time to watch what was going on around him. It was chaos: spells flew in all directions and some thick smoke rose in a corner of the Great Hall. Then someone screamed. Harry turned to the sound and saw Hermione. She was wearing a satisfied smile on her face. Her opponent, a Slytherin girl, held her face in her hands, sobbing.

"Stop!" shouted Lockhart, who was losing control of the situation.

Snape walked over to Hermione and she quickly lost her smile.

"Ten points from Griffindor," said Snape. "Miss Parkinson, take Miss Busltrode to the hospital wing."

"I think I should teach you how to neutralize hostile spells first," said Lockhart back on the stage. "Let's have two volunteers. Mr Potter? And…"

"I would like to suggest a student from my house," Snape cut him off. "Mr Malfoy, come over here."

"Great idea," said Lockhart. "Harry, Mr Malfoy, over here please."

Harry sighed. He climbed onto the stage and joined the professor.

"This is what you are going to do," said Lockhart. "Draco will try to disarm you, Harry, and you will block the spell. Let me show you how."

The Professor took out his wand and performed a series of complicated movements until his wand slipped out of his hand.

"Thank you, professor, I got it," replied Harry hastily.

He didn't bother listening to what Lockhart was saying as he picked back up his wand. He walked over to his side of the stage. At the other end, Snape was whispering something into Malfoy's ear who then gave Harry a defiant look. The professor gave the signal and the boys raised their wands.

"Serpensortia!" cast Malfoy.

"Protego!" cast Harry.

Harry watched the long black snake come out of Malfoy's wand and fall onto the platform. The animal stood up and watched its environment. It was an interesting spell, Harry thought, but Malfoy could have used it better by throwing it at Harry instead of dropping it in the middle of the stage. The crowd of students backed away with cries of terror. Harry was tempted to throw the snake at Malfoy or at Lockhart but he changed his mind.

"Where am I?" hissed the snake.

Harry froze. He had just understood. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier?

"I'll take care of it," said Lockhart, who was standing behind Harry.

He walked toward the centre of the stage, but Harry still had his shield raised in front of him and the Professor collided with it. The action pulled Harry out of his musing. He lowered his shield and pointed his wand at the snake.

"Confringo!"

The snake exploded. The animal's half-charred shreds flew in the air and Malfoy cried out when some of it hit his face.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry took Malfoy by surprise and the Slytherin's wand slipped out of his hand. The Ravenclaws quietly clapped as Malfoy glared at Harry and picked up his wand.

"Excellent!" said Lockhart. "Very good demonstration."

But Harry was not listening to him. He climbed down from the stage and spotted Hermione standing a little further.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered to her when he was by her side.

"But it's not over yet," she replied.

"I need to talk to you, it's important."

They quietly left the Great Hall and Harry checked that they were alone before speaking.

"I found it, I know what's in the Chamber of Secrets," he said hastily. "The monster is some sort of snake."

"A snake?" asked Hermione.

"According to the legend, only Slytherin was able to control the monster. He was the only parseltongue in Britain at the time. If the monster is a snake then he was sure he was the only one who could control it. And that's why I was the only one to hear it."

"You heard the monster?"

"I might not have told you everything. Right before they brought Colin to the hospital wing, I heard the monster. And before the attack on Mrs Norris too."

"And you're only telling me that now?"

"I was the only one to hear it!" replied Harry. "But above all, it means that Voldemort is also a parselmouth."

"Could he really be Slytherin's descendant?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know, he lived a thousand years ago, I'm not sure I'm his descendant myself."

"And now? Who opened the Chamber? Do you think it could be him again? Voldemort?"

"We can't throw this possibility out. He would have managed to possess someone. He could be using that person to open the Chamber. But last year I felt his presence. I haven't felt anything this year."