Arriving in the great hall to a mass of 100 screaming parents, reporters, ministry officials, and the entire teaching staff was not quite what Harry expected on his first day at school. Dumbledore was trying to calm the crowd down, but when they saw Harry coming down the grand staircase there was nothing to stop them aside from magic. The reporters streamed to the front first.
"Mr. Potter, how does it feel to have nearly been killed by the supporters of You-Know-Who?"
"Harry, do you think Hogwarts has failed in its mission to protect the students?"
"Potter, quick word for witch weekly? What is your favorite color? Do you like party girls or the shy type?"
The barrage came on randomly without giving Harry any time for a single word, when a man in a bowler hat stepped forward shouting, "SILENCE!" He came forward towards Harry, with Dumbledore on his heels. The bowler-hatted man quickly introduced himself to Harry as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. He looked incredibly tired, with bloodshot eyes, slightly shivering hands, and he wasn't able to look entirely straight for very long. As the crowd gathered, many other students had begun to come down. One woman seemed to see her son and rush forward to grab him, but Dumbledore calmed them down, commanding the group to enter the great hall where he would address their concerns.
Harry and Ron quickly learned that the crowd was in an uproar concerning the attack on the Hogwarts Express. Parents had come to take their children home for fear of the loose Death Eaters. Several ministry departments were dispatched to make an inspection of the train and the school. So many owls had been sent to the ministry that morning that the minister himself had felt obliged to make an appearance. So it resolved that on September 2nd, 1991, school started late as the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and the Headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore made a public address. Fudge began the proceedings.
"For all gathered here today, the facts as they are known to the auror office and the ministry at large stand thus. After the arrest of Narcissa Malfoy on July 31st due to known association with the late Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, a cabal of free Death Eaters began to plan an attempt to kidnap Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. From interrogating the 6 death eaters we captured yesterday it appears their plan was to make a grand show before Mrs. Malfoy revealed their identities to the ministry, and to get the most effective hostages available." Dumbledore pulled out his wand and 6 full-bodied images appeared in the air before them. They appeared to be made of silvery dust, but their features were very clear.
"These are the 6 death eaters we know escaped from the Hogwarts Express. Their names are Alecto Carrow, Amycus Carrow, Edward Nott, Henry Multox, Walden Macnair, and Cosmo Antonescu. "
"I have been up all night discussing the situation with Professor Dumbledore here." Started Fudge again, "and we have agreed that the only proper course of action is to set up a guard around the school." Dumbledore looked especially grieved when Fudge said this.
"I am in full belief that Hogwarts is fully capable of repulsing any attack by these criminals, but for the peace of mind I know this action will give, I am willing to allow a small contingent of dementors to guard the gates and skies outside of the school grounds. It is our hope to capture these last vestiges of Voldemort's followers and get back to our busy lives as normally and quickly as possible." The collective wince at Voldemort's name being spoken was audible to everyone in the room, but the announcement of guards was mixed. Some seemed horrified at the presence of dementors, and some seemed relieved that their children would be better protected.
"What are dementors again?" asked Vim, suddenly popping out of the ground. "I know the bearded one mentioned them last summer."
"They guard Azkaban Prison you git. I've never seen one, but they're supposed to make you feel like you'll never be happy again. They wear black cloaks and muggles can't see them."
"They sound like Shinigami then. I wonder if we're distant cousins or something…?"
Hermione managed to show up before the end of the speech, annoyed at having found nothing in the library, and equally annoyed to have missed so much of the speeches. But the school year needed to begin properly, and so the teachers rounded them up and shuffled them all off to class.
Classes that first day were like a dream come true for Harry. Actually getting to perform real magic with his own wand had seemed impossible up until the point he actually saw the feather floating in the air. He had expected to find Professor McGonagall a bit stuffy after seeing her at the sorting, but she turned out to be a highly sarcastic and enjoyable professor. Sadly Defense against the Dark Arts was painfully boring, with the stuttering professor Quirrel barely able to get through the introduction of their textbook. The day ended with the class that he had really been looking forward to, Study of Magical Books. He and Hermione said goodbye to Ron, and went off to the Library.
The Hogwarts library was tremendous, with stacks of dizzying heights in a huge vaulted room on the third floor. Some of the shelves were sculpted to look like trees, some were painted in ever shifting colors, and others were locked away in a restricted section. Through the bars leading into it Harry could see huge tomes locked to the shelves in chains, some even shaking violently. He and Hermione made their way to the annex where they would be having their classes. Because it was a new class and an elective, the first and second years of all four houses would be together in one class. The entire group was made up of about 15 students, including Cho Chang and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. Harry recognized a few other first years from the sorting, but he didn't know any of their names. Cho came right over to sit with them.
"So how are you enjoying your first day at Hogwarts?" Cho asked with a grin. "Not getting too lost I hope."
"Only a couple of times." Harry admitted. "A ghost directed us once when we made a wrong turn on the 4th floor. She pointed us behind a tapestry and that got us where we needed."
"Yeah this place can be difficult but you'll get used to it soon."
"So what have you heard about this Professor Pince, Cho?" Hermione asked.
"Well if she's anything like here aunt Madam Pince, then she'll be dreadful. You haven't met her yet have you? She spends all her time trying to make sure that we don't do anything terrible to 'her' books. She hates the Ravenclaws the most because we're in the library more than the rest of the school."
Professor Pince made her way into the Annex. She had tied her long red hair into a braid that day, and was wearing standard black robes instead of the fancy violet ones from the Start of Term feast. She plopped down a pile of ten books she had been balancing in her arms on her desk, and addressed the class.
"Good afternoon everyone! I'm 'Professor Pince', but just call me Christina if you feel like it. I'm still not used to this who professor thing. So, if you can all bring out your textbooks "Magical Bookkeeping" and "History of Magical Writing". In this class you will be learning how to properly work with magical texts, how to create your own books, and learn about proper and respectful disposal. Now can anyone tell me the definition of a magical book?" Hermione's hand shot up immediately.
"Miss…" Professor Pince looked down at her roster, "Granger. Yes?"
"A magical book is any book that has had a charm, curse, transfiguration, or dark arts spell placed upon it. This can range from the simplest color-changing text to books that are alive."
"Quite right. 10 points to Ravenclaw. One of the primary aspects of magical books though, is that the spells are often nominally permanent. Most spells dissipate if the witch or wizard is not concentrating, but due to the fundamentally magical nature of words, spells tend to be more powerful and long lasting when attached to a book." She took out her wand, a medium length pinewood, and said, "Disillusio". The book in front of her looked as if the color was being leeched out of it in a gradient, until it was nearly invisible. "This book here is now under the disillusionment charm. It is often used to make simple cheap invisibility cloaks, but as I have cast it on a book, it is likely to hold for decades rather than weeks." She waved her wand again and said "Revalio", which undid the charm.
"Now, we are all beginners in this class, and so we will be starting mostly with the history of the art, but if we have time towards the end of today's lecture, we can begin to practice enchanting our copies."
They spent the next hour discussing the earliest scribes of wizarding Egypt, and how they discovered the magical properties of writing. By the end of the lesson, everyone knew they liked this young professor a lot. She gave points out without much effort, she was exceptionally good at getting a Gryffindor boy named Neville to speak, and didn't give any homework. They all tried the disillusionment charm a few times before they left, but only Hermione, Cho, and a Hufflepuff girl named Natsumi had managed it by the end. She gave each of them another 20 points for that and sent them off.
"That was amazing wasn't it Harry!" Hermione had loved it, as could be expected.
"She's really cool. I've got to get the hang of that disillusionment charm." Harry instantly saw the use of having that spell in his arsenal, especially for hiding the DeathNote better. He practiced halfway through the night, and eventually managed to get the notebook as invisible as Professor Pince had made her book.
The next day began with Magical Games, and things instantly were not as simple as Ron had expected them to be. Professor Selwyn was a former Quidditch and Football player (one of the only wizards to play in the muggle leagues), but he was a very strict teacher, and valued the theory far more than your average athlete.
"Now I know you came to my class expecting to just play games." He began. "But this is not just a fluff class. Here, you are to be trained in the ways of magical games and sports, how they are administrated, and how they are properly conducted. I expect you to turn in an essay a week, and we shall be reading extensively." Ron seemed crushed. Their first assignment was to read the entirety of "Quidditch through the Ages", and to write about how the sport had changed into its modern state.
"I can't believe the books class was easier than this!" Ron pouted as they left. "Why is it that you got the cute teacher, and I'm stuck with the drill sergeant?"
"So you think Professor Pince is cute Ronald?" Fred and George had shown up behind them.
"Does Icke-Ronikins the Ravenclaw think the librarian is cute?"
"Shove off." Ron tried to just walk off with Harry, but the twins pulled him back.
"Now how's that for you George? Our own brother. How are you Harry? Sorry you couldn't be in Gryffindor with us, but that's just the way it is. Enjoying being stuck with Ron here a bit longer?"
"Yeah, everything's going good." Harry smiled as Ron's brothers gave him a quick hair ruffle and wished them luck before heading into their own Games class."
"I hope Professor Selwyn gives the third years 2 essays a week." Ron said as they walked back to the Ravenclaw common room.
The trio finished their first week in Potions with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Snape was the worst type of person Harry could have imagined for a professor. Constantly mocking Harry's 'fame' and taking points off of him for no adequate reason. Harry knew he would need to drop that class as soon as he could…
The first week also involved something Harry was completely used to by now: Bullies. Draco Malfoy, flanked by what appeared to be two gorillas in robes, decided to make it his life's joy to see Harry suffer. He sicked his two cronies Crabbe and Goyle to try and beat him up a couple of times before they were put in detention, but kept up a consistent string of insults. It actually seemed highly pathetic most of the time, and so Harry made sure to give him as little attention as possible. Sadly he was stuck with the Slytherin boy in Herbology and History of Magic, the two classes that it was easiest for a snide comment to avoid detection. Hermione often offered to hex him, and Ron jokingly suggesting using the DeathNote on him (getting only glares from his two friends) but one day managed to trip Malfoy into a patch of gelatinous slime covered mushrooms. He turned around and saw Hermione instead of Ron, and shouted out,
"You'll get it for that you mudblood!"
Everything went mad after that. Ron leaped down at Malfoy, and Professor Sprout had to enchant two venomous tentacula to keep Crabbe and Goyle from beating Ron into a pulp. Sadly for Slytherin House Professor Sprout heard his comment and took 30 points away for his insult, though she also took 10 from Ravenclaw for Ron's attack.
"It was worth it. Can you believe that little spoiled brat?" They were walking away from the greenhouses.
"What was it he said anyway?" Asked Harry.
"Basically the most racist, foul thing someone can say to a muggle born person. It was worth it losing those points for getting to punch his effing face a few times."
Having Vim float around after him to his classes was less trouble than he expected. The shinigami truly did love to sleep more than 18 hours a day, so she was often away. She actually managed to be a help every once in a while, showing Harry where a class was or grabbing him some food from the Kitchens in the basement.
Things stayed much the same for the first two months of school. There was a huge to-do when the injured students finally came back from St. Mungos in Mid-October, and there was a special sorting for the new first year Terry Boot, who was sorted into Ravenclaw and moved into Harry's dorm. The excitement in the school was tactile as they approached Halloween, as another feast was to happen, and then soon after the Quidditch season would begin. Harry was excited to see that his friend Cho had made it onto the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, this year as a chaser, even though she really wanted to be a seeker.
"You should definitely come to the next practice Harry. It'd be nice to have a friend there watching." Cho seemed to be a very popular girl, but without a lot of close friends. Harry was glad to see that someone besides Ron and Hermione were making an effort to be his friend, and he made a pledge to hang out with her more often.
The Halloween feast was a tremendous event. Hundreds of great pumpkins hanging in the sky, all of the students' black cats running around. Professor McGonagall had conjured a swarm of bats to decorate the hall. Finally, a major change occurred that set the school screaming.
"Troll in the dungeon!"
Professor Quirrel ran into the Great Hall screaming, and promptly fainted in front of the headmaster. All of the students tried to run for the doors, but Dumbledore managed to calm everyone and have the prefects bring the students back to the dormitories. Harry was about to leave the hall when Cho came wheeling up to Harry.
"Harry! Marietta is still in the bathroom! We need to get her before we go back upstairs!" Harry vaguely recalled that Marietta was one of the many girls that followed Cho around.
"Alright, but let's hurry." The four of them quickly rushed off to the first floor bathroom where Marietta was supposed to be. As they ran Harry heard a strange voice coming from nowhere and everywhere at once.
Kill
Oh So Long Since a Kill….
Come to me little one. Oh Flesh and Blood.
Kill!
"Oh god what is that stench?" Ron asked, plugging his nose. At the same moment harry heard this awful voice, they were all struck by a terrible smell, something like a combination of feces and rotten meat. "That can't be the bathroom can it?" The bathroom was at the end of the long hallway adjacent to the dungeons, and they heard a loud groaning coming from within the bathroom. As they approached, the smell was obviously coming from the bathroom. That's when a low scream came, and a wave of red liquid shot under the door. Hermione pulled up her shoes and said, "It's BLOOD." They barged into the room, and saw a gruesome site.
Lying in a pile on the floor of the bathroom was the troll, which looked to have been torn apart by some large bladed weapon. The troll was nearly 12 feet tall, and the wounds in its chest were still bleeding profusely. Lying next to the body was a crumpled girl with reddish blonde hair.
"Marietta!" Cho rushed towards her friend, and turned her over. Her eyes were wide open and glassy, but she seemed unconscious. Cho shook her repeatedly but she wouldn't move. Harry had to pull Cho off of Marietta while Hermione and Ron went off to find the teachers. Harry's body was shivering nearly as much as Cho's. His hands were sticky with the troll blood, and he felt like he needed to vomit. Vim was surveying the scene and making snide comments, but Harry had to hold back everything he could not to yell at her for talking at that moment. Harry kept repeating that everything was going to be ok, until the teachers showed up soon after. Madam Pomfrey took Harry and Cho to the Hospital Wing.
"You children are in shock. Take this." She proffered them a ladleful of green liquid that helped with the shaking. She took them in back separately to clean off the blood, and gave them hospital gowns to wear instead of their blood soaked clothes.
"I've never seen a more horrific site, and I was here during the last war." Madam Pomfrey was busying herself with Marietta who still couldn't move. "What could have happened to make this poor girl petrified like this. And that troll…"
"You will be able to help her won't you?" Cho asked. She was still worried sick, even after the medicine stopped her sobbing.
"Sadly there's not much I can do with what I have here, Ms. Chang. Petrification like your friend Ms. Edgecombe has suffered is beyond the realm of the medicine I have here. But she is in fine condition for having been near that troll and whatever happened to it. I am certain she shall make a full recovery.
Harry and Cho stayed in the Hospital Wing overnight, where Hermione and Ron came to visit.
"So what did you guys think that voice was?" Harry asked.
"What voice Harry?" Cho asked.
"The one going 'Kill' before we found the Troll. I don't think trolls can sound like that can they?" They all looked at him like he was crazy.
"What? So you didn't hear anything?"
"No mate, nothing." Ron looked at Harry closely. "Are you sure you're feeling ok?"
"I think he's gone a bit mad. Most DeathNote users do, I've heard." Vim had chosen to wake up for that conversation. Ron gave her a shifty look when Cho was looking away.
So what was that voice then? Harry thought, later that night. He sat awake in the Hospital Wing, considering what he saw. Even after everything else, this still surprised him. The wing was very quiet in the early morning. Looking out the window, he saw Hedwig pecking against the window. He got up and let her in, where she promptly cuddled up next to him.
"You've come to visit have you? Well come over here." He took the bird over to his bed where he could stroke her feathers as he tried to get to sleep. He looked over at Cho, asleep, and felt incredibly awkward. He had just made it a point to get to know her better, and then one of her best friends nearly dies. I'll have to get her something nice. Cheer her up so she isn't too freaked out to play in the Quidditch game next month.
The next few days of school were cancelled so that an investigation could take place. It was ascertained that somehow Marietta had been cursed into paralysis, and she would need to be taken to a Mandrake farm in Greece for the remedy, as the treatment was very difficult and the ingredients very rare. It was uncertain how the troll had gotten into the building, or how it had died, but the gossip was that Marietta herself had used some curse that killed the creature but rebounded onto herself. Only the most skeptical believed that version of the story, but no one else had any legitimate theories. . Harry thought good and long about who or what could have done this, even spending an afternoon with Hermione in the library researching but came up short. He knew he would have to leave it at some point, as his homework was piling up again. I'll figure this out someday. Whatever happened, this isn't over yet.
In the deep dungeons beneath the lake…
You Foolish Boy!
Draco read the words with fear. He knew that it was his fault the plan had failed, but couldn't admit that for worry about what would happen.
"How was I supposed to know that a Troll would get in? It's not like that normally happens you know?" He wrote furiously, doing his best to get out of these chambers as fast as possible.
You shut the book! How am I supposed to control the beast if I cannot speak to it! A pathetic whelp like you could never hope to learn the art of parseltongue without me!
"Ok! What do you need me to do?" Draco's scrawl was sucked into the book faster than usual, as if the diary was impatient to finish the conversation.
For now, we wait. Continue to write in the diary. I can give you more power the more you write. You do want the power I possess, do you not?
"Yes of course!"
Then for now we lie in wait. Wait until the middle of November. By that time, we will have a chance to make a grand statement. To tell the world to fear the Heir of Slytherin. To let them know that he Chamber of Secrets is open again.
Around Draco slithered the great basilisk. A slithering voice was constantly issuing from the open diary, keeping the beast at bay. Every once in a while it's fangs would drip sizzling poison onto the stones of the chamber, and give Draco a shiver of fear. He would continue to write. He would take the power of Salazar Slytherin himself, and become the new Dark Lord. Soon enough he would control the great snake himself, and then he could ditch this diary down the drain.
In Professor Quirrel's Office…
The Chamber has been opened…
"But how is that possible my lord? I thought the chamber of secrets was a myth?"
Of course not fool. Do you doubt the power of the founder of our house? No, the chamber is real, but only I should be able to open it. Somehow, someone in this school has managed to steal my power, and I'm going to find out how. We must move quickly, my faithful servant. Time to accelerate our plans.