HARRY POTTER AND THE SECRET ENEMY
Harry Potter and all associated characters and situations are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no claim to ownership.
And we're back!
CHAPTER 24: Family Dysfunctions (Pt 1)
27 October 1992
Somewhat surprisingly, Jim's month long detention passed without incident other than the boy's obvious signs of exhaustion. Rather stoically, he'd incorporated ten hours of detention spent mainly scrubbing various parts of the castle into his weekly schedule without dropping anything else, including schoolwork, twelve hours of Quidditch practice, five hours of ping pong practice (he was getting rather good at the game), and two hours spent on exercise every morning. He also became more diligent in his studies and actually regained almost half the fifty points his prank had cost Gryffindor House. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he also continued to spend an hour a day meditating on the exercises contained in the Occlumency book he'd gotten from Peter Pettigrew. Those exercises helped him remain calm in the face of the hostility he still drew from his fellow students, but he had to visit Madame Pomfrey three times for potions to soothe the burning sensation he now continually felt in his stomach and chest. He had also taken to discreetly purchasing Pepper-Up Potions and Calming Draughts from an enterprising Seventh Year Ravenclaw who was happy to brew such potions in his spare time if the price was right.
Ironically, it was for Harry that the month of October suddenly became more stressful. The week after the boggart incident, he met again with Snape and his mother for lunch. However, while she had been content with small talk and personal questions of a mundane nature during their first meeting, the second saw the woman diving headfirst into some very probing questions about how the Dursleys had treated Harry. Admittedly, the questions were presented in a style that Gryffindors might consider subtle, but to any Slytherin worthy of the name, they were blunt and invasive. Halfway through the meal, Harry made an excuse to leave early. He also made excuses to avoid every subsequent request by his mother for follow-up lunches. Eventually, Harry finally approached Snape who, with some embarrassment, admitted that he had revealed to Lily Potter the existence of an auror's report about his last night with the Dursleys, one James Potter had apparently concealed from her. Snape and Harry both assumed that her sudden interest in his upbringing meant she now knew that he had been intentionally thrown out into a doxy swarm by the head of the family in whose care she had left the boy all those years ago. While Harry's vindictive side took a certain amount of pleasure in whatever guilt Lily might feel over the matter, his more pragmatic side did not want Lily or anyone else looking too closely into what might have influenced Vernon in his homicide attempt.
On October 25th, Jim's detention ended. With obvious reluctance, McGonagall returned his cloak, admonishing the boy that if he were caught using it without a very, very, very good reason, he would earn a historic number of point deductions. She also advised Jim that Mr. Filch now knew of his cloak and that Mrs. Norris would likely be able to detect him even if he were invisible. He accepted her comments gracefully and passed the news about Filch and Mrs. Norris on to his friend Ron who shook his head once more at the unfairness of it all.
Today, both Harry and Jim were summoned to the Headmaster's office just after their DADA class ended - apparently, Lockhart had not been sacked over "the werewolf lecture" after all. The password, to Harry's bemusement, was "Jelly Babies." Dumbledore's sweet tooth and its effects on his password choices were well-known among the Slytherins. The two entered his office together, and they were both surprised to see Lily and James Potter present along with McGonagall and Snape. All of them, including the Headmaster, looked rather grim.
"Thank you both for coming so promptly. Harry, Jim, please take a seat." The old man gestured to two empty chairs. As he sat, Harry examined everyone's faces. Snape's, of course, was an impassive mask, but everyone else showed signs of varying degrees of emotional strain. Finally, Dumbledore spoke.
"Harry, we asked you here today to discuss some matters pertaining to the Dursleys."
The boy stiffened, his Occlumency shields smoothing his own face down into a mask of self-control that mirrored his Head of House. "I don't see what's necessary to discuss, sir. I assume that everyone here has some knowledge of how the Dursleys treated me. But I don't live with them anymore, and I'll be perfectly content to not ever think of them again."
"I fully understand that, my boy," Dumbledore said. "However, we all felt it important to make you aware of ... recent events."
"Recent events, sir?" he said suspiciously.
Dumbledore nodded over in James's direction, and the younger man addressed his son with obvious reluctance.
"Harry ... Vernon Dursley passed away late last night."
There was a yawning chasm of silence that lasted for almost four full seconds, interrupted only the soft whirring of various devices and doodads on the shelf behind Dumbledore's desk.
"... What?" Harry said in a flat voice.
"It appears to have been a second heart attack, Harry," Lily said. "He was ... a very sick man who nearly died after his first attack in July. And it seems that he didn't do a good enough job of following his doctor's orders about taking care of himself, particularly where his medication was concerned. This is actually fairly common among older Muggle heart attack patients, and especially obese ones."
"You said it appears to have been a heart attack," Harry said in a low quiet voice. "Has he been checked for ... other causes?"
James and Lily looked at each other for a second before James spoke. "Yes, Harry. In light of ... your history with him, I thought it best to arrange a discreet magical examination of the body. He shows no signs of curses or hexes, nor any signs of magical poisons or potions of any kind. Diagnostic spells simply show that he failed to take his medication as he should have, which is vitally important for Muggle patients with his symptoms and history. And there would have been signs if his failure to take his medication was due to a Confundus or an Imperius."
Harry said nothing. Finally, Lily spoke once more.
"Harry, about your last ... encounter with Vernon. The auror who interviewed Vernon said..." She paused and looked at James helplessly. He seemed just as tongue-tied. Harry steeled himself mentally and then sliced the Gordian Knot in two.
"On the 4th of July, Vernon Dursley tried to murder me. I was already safe inside the house's wards when the doxies got to it, but the sight of them clawing at the windows frightened the Dursleys and caused Vernon to go berserk. He hit me hard enough to nearly knock me unconscious and then threw me out the back door to be stung to death and then devoured. Any questions?"
Save Snape, the other adults simply stared at Harry in total shock for the matter-of-fact way in which he laid out the facts. Jim was left speechless with his mouth hanging open.
"Why ... why didn't you tell us any of this?" said James in horror.
Harry shrugged. "Whatever our ... relationship, I saw no upside to dragging the House of Potter into a scandal, which is what would have happened if it had gotten out that Lord and Lady Potter left their Heir with abusive Muggles who eventually tried to kill him in one of the most painful ways to die known to the wizarding world. I survived. I was completely healed. And I would never have to go back there again. So I let it go." Harry fixed his father with a firm gaze. "Which I assumed you knew since you had access to the auror report."
James swallowed and glanced at his wife who was visibly angry with him. "You're right. I knew most of the details, though I left that part out when I told Lily and Jim."
"Dad!" exclaimed Jim in shock.
"I'm sorry, son, but Harry was right. If the truth had gotten out, the scandal would have been all over the papers. When Harry never pressed the issue, I assumed that the trauma of the doxy attack had caused him to block out the memories, so I decided ... to let sleeping dogs lie, I guess." He turned towards Harry. "So, now that we all know what we all know, what do you want to do about it, Harry?
"I see no reason to do anything different... James." The man winced slightly at Harry's refusal to call him dad, but he wasn't particularly surprised. Evidently, Lily had discussed that with him. "Vernon is dead, and I see no reason to bring a scandal down on the family when there's not even a possibility of punishing the person responsible for my ... for my injuries. As long as I never have to set foot on Privet Drive again, the sleeping dogs can continue to lie as far as I'm concerned."
If Harry's cold pragmatism was upsetting to any of the adults in the room, none of them spoke of it, though Lily, McGonagall, and Dumbledore all looked at him with concern.
"Do... do you want to go to the funeral?" asked Lily hesitantly. "Maybe get some closure?"
Harry looked at Lily as if she'd gone insane. "Absolutely not. I don't need ... closure for Vernon Dursley."
"Harry," interrupted Jim uneasily. "He's your boggart-fear." Then, Jim flinched from glare Harry gave him. "I mean, maybe going to the funeral will help you get over your fear of him."
"Why? Are you all expecting a storm of doxies to come flying out of the casket at me?" Harry turned towards Dumbledore. "Headmaster, thank you for alerting me to these developments. Was there anything else we need to discuss?"
The old man sighed. "No, Harry. You're free to go."
Harry stood, nodded respectfully towards Snape and McGongall, and left without another word. Once outside, he took a moment to calm and center himself. Nearby was a mirror hanging on the wall, and Harry paused to check his appearance. Then, he stopped and merely stared deeply into the reflection of his own green eyes.
"You killed him," he said softly to himself. "You might as well have slit his throat." Then, he took a deep shuddering breath and walked away.
29 October 1992
"You want us to what?!" Astoria Greengrass asked in amazement.
"Look," replied Ginny. "I promised Luna I'd come, but it'll only be for an hour. After that, we can skip out and catch the end of the Halloween Feast."
"If Sir Whatshisname ..." said Amaryllis Wilkes.
"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington," interrupted Ginny.
"... Whatever. Anyway, if he invited Luna Lovegood to his, and I can't believe I'm saying this, Death Day Party, and she asked you along as her 'plus one' or whatever, why do you need us to go with you?" Amy finished expectantly.
Ginny paused and then made a face. "Because except for us, it'll be all ghosts and it'll be kind of creepy. So I wanted some backup."
Amy smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought, Weasley. I just wanted to hear you admit it. I'm in."
"You are?!" squeaked Astoria.
"Sure! It's Halloween!" replied Amy with a laugh. "What could be more appropriate than a Death Day Party full of all the castle's ghosts! Besides, like Weasley said. We'll be there an hour and then make the Halloween Feast. What could go wrong?"
Tori looked doubtful but eventually agreed. Ginny was pleased, although the way Amy said "What could go wrong?" suddenly reminded her uncomfortably of Blaise's constant lectures about the gods of irony.
30 October 1992
On Friday, Harry and Theo made their way down to the edge of Black Lake where Neville was waiting under the tree that was their usual meeting spot. '
"What's up?" Harry said. "Theo said you wanted to talk to me about something personal."
"Yeah," said Neville with a wry smile. "Actually, the truth is ... Theo wanted me to talk to you. He said you were being moodier than normal since you heard about your uncle dying, and he thought you needed to speak to someone you could actually trust without all the Slytherin bullshit. His words, not mine."
Harry turned towards Theo, who merely shrugged. "It's the truth, isn't it?"
Harry frowned at his two best friends in annoyance, and then he sighed and sat down next to Neville.
"I'll leave you guys to it then," said Theo as he started to head back to the castle.
"Stay,Theo," said Harry. "I want you to hear this too. Honestly, I need to get this off my chest to ... somebody, and there's really only four classmates I trust here at Hogwarts. But Hermione doesn't know any Occlumency, and Blaise ... well, he's a friend, but his mum has some sort of weird prophetic agenda for me, so I can't trust him with anything really sensitive. And this ... is really sensitive."
Harry's best friends looked at each other. Then, Theo sat down on the other side of Harry who surrounded the trio with the most impressive privacy charms he knew before telling them everything. About how the Dursleys had treated him. About how every Muggle treated him. About how Vernon had deliberately tried to kill him with the doxies. About how, in Harry's mind, both Vernon's actions and his death were almost certainly the result of the stress of sharing a home with Harry and his mysterious fear-inducing aura.
"Harry," said Neville, "you can't think that way. Even if something's been done to you that affects Muggles, it can't have been anything you did. You must have been a baby when it started."
"I know, Nev," said Harry as he stared out at the lake, idly rubbing his scar. "But ... I hated Vernon Dursley for so long. There were times when I wished him dead. And now it's happened, but only after I learned that it may never have been his fault at all. I'll never know what the real Vernon was like or how he'd have treated me if I didn't have this... whatever it is." He turned to look at his friend. "And that's without addressing my M... I mean, Lily. How am I supposed to tell her that there's some ... defect in me that may have driven her sister partially insane and may have killed her brother-in-law? And should I tell her while things are still so bad between me and James? I don't believe for a second that he's really accepting me. He admitted that he had Vernon's body checked for dark magic. I have to assume that if he'd found anything magical in Vernon's death, he'd try to pin it on me."
The trio was silent for a moment. Then, Theo spoke. "Harry, this ... condition you're talking about. Does Jim have it too?"
Harry looked at Theo in surprise. "I don't know. I've never seen Jim around Muggles for any length of time."
"Well it seems to me that if you both have it, James can't possibly claim it's something exclusively bad about you. Not to mention, I think it would be easier to find a cure or counterspell or whatever if the healers have a pair of twins to compare and study."
"Theo's right," said Neville excitedly. "If it affects him too, then it's probably some sort of Boy-Who-Lived thing that you just got caught up in. You said you can see the effects on Muggles almost immediately. See if you can arrange for Jim to talk with some Muggles for a few minutes and watch their responses."
"How I am I supposed to do that?" Harry asked irritably.
Neville shrugged. "I dunno. You're the Slytherin mastermind, not me."
Harry snorted. He'd consider his friends' suggestion. Perhaps over Christmas break, he could arrange such a meeting. In the meantime, it felt good to be able to talk to someone his own age.
31 October 1992
Halloween
To Harry's surprise, it only took until Saturday to get some persuasive data. Just after breakfast, Jim came down wearing a Muggle-style suit that looked profoundly uncomfortable on him. He was joined in the foyer by Lily Potter, who was wearing a conservative black Muggle dress. The two left to walk to Hogsmeade where they would join James, and then the three would apparate together to Vernon's funeral. That Vernon Dursley's funeral was on Halloween was strangely appropriate in Harry's opinion.
When the trio returned two hours later, Jim was sporting a black eye.
Apparently, they'd been at the funeral service for less than two minutes when Dudley saw Jim, assumed he was Harry, and screamed out "MUM! THE FREAK'S HERE!" loud enough for the whole room to hear. Despite the Potters' protests that Jim was not Harry and that Harry chose not to come, Vernon's grieving sister Marge started screaming obscenities and moved to strike Jim with her cane. Things quickly spiraled out of control, and the Potters were forced to withdraw, but not before Jim and his father both took some licks, including a haymaker punch to the head for Jim courtesy of his hysterical and brutish cousin.
After returning from Madame Pomfrey, Jim relayed the whole sordid affair to the Gryffindor Common Room, and Neville quietly passed the information on to Harry while on the way to dinner. Harry was thoughtful the rest of the day as he contemplated the news. Though he didn't say so to Neville, there was a part of him ("The Nidhogg part of my brain," as he called it) that really wanted to see a pensieve memory of the whole fracas.
That evening, the Halloween Feast lived up to its usual hype, though Harry was surprised that Ginny, Amy and Astoria were absent. Harry was also surprised when Ron showed up slightly out of breath just after the food appeared. Given the boy's eating habits, he was usually already waiting with knife and fork in each hand and with his mouth hanging open long before the food arrived. Other than that, the meal passed without incident, and at its conclusion, the students left to head back to their dorms, which was when the strangeness started.
Most of the students' paths out of the Great Hall led them past a set of stairs leading up to the First Floor, stairs which were now flooding with water coming from a disused lavatory on the floor above. And from that direction, Harry could hear the sounds of shouting, some of which was coming from his three missing firsties. Bounding up the stairs and round the corner (with several classmates following behind), he found Ginny, Amy, and Tori huddled together and trying to put on a brave face while being harangued and threatened with torture by an enraged Argus Filch.
"MONSTERS! MURDERERS! KILLERS OF CATS!" he ranted.
"We didn't kill anything!" Ginny yelled back furiously. "Mrs. Norris was like that when we got here!"
"LIES! MRS. NORRIS NEVER DID NOTHING TO ANY OF YOU! YOU ALL JUST HAVE TO BREAK THE RULES ALL THE TIME!"
At that point, Harry noticed that the poor feline was apparently dead or at least very, very stiff, and suspended by a cord from the ceiling. He also noticed in the dim light some writing on the wall behind the cat. It looked like a dark red paint – or at least, Harry hoped it was paint – and spelled out the following cryptic message:
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED!
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE!
and below that in even larger letters
SLYTHERINS RULE!
Harry glanced around and noticed that Jim and Ron had moved up to stand next to him and take in the scene.
"Anything you want to share, Little Brother?" he asked mildly.
Jim looked back and forth between the writing and his brother. "What? This wasn't me, Harry, I swear! I'm done with pranks. I promise."
"Mm-hmm," Harry said noncommitally. Then, both brothers were distracted by a rude laugh from a few feet away.
"Ha-ha! Enemies of the Heir beware!" laughed Draco. "You'll be next ..." he stopped abruptly, coughed and then pulled at his collar, "enemies ... of the Heir... whoever you are!"
Harry rolled his eyes. By that point, Dumbledore, Snape and Lockhart had made their way to the front to examine the cat. Then, the Headmaster moved to console the man.
"Mr. Filch, Mrs. Norris is not dead, but merely petrified. She can be restored through a potion that Professor Snape can prepare from distilled Mandrake root just as soon as the Mandrakes growing in the green houses reach maturity. As for these young ladies, I assure you that whatever force petrified your cat was well beyond the skill of any First Year. Indeed beyond the skill of most Seventh years."
At that point, Luna Lovegood came around the opposite corner, stopped, and took in the scene, which included a crying man clutching a petrified cat, a wall covered in a threatening message possibly written in blood, and a large mass of Hogwarts students with expressions ranging from curiosity to horror. She winced slightly as her eyes passed over Harry and Jim standing next to one another. Then, she turned to her three Slytherin friends.
"I see why you left early," she said brightly. "This looks much more exciting than Sir Nicholas's poetry reading."
Soon after, the Headmaster commanded that all the students return to their dorms for the evening. As they left, Lockhart pulled Dumbledore and Snape aside.
"How much distilled Mandrake root is required for the depetrification potion?" he asked.
"It varies," replied Snape, "according to body weight. For a human, from four to six drams depending on size. For a cat, one dram will likely suffice, though we have none at all in stock."
"I have five drams," Lockhart responded. "I keep it on hand for my lectures about pixies and other creatures with paralytic attacks, though this appears to be much more ... aggressive than any of the creatures I'd prepared for."
"We would be appreciative of your donation, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore. "It would mean a great deal to Mr. Filch if Mrs. Norris can be restored immediately instead of months from now."
"Well, Headmaster, that's the thing," said Lockhart after looking around to be sure no one was listening. "Do you really want to use my limited supply now on Filch's cat? Or are we sure that this isn't going to happen again? Only next time with a student?"
Dumbledore and Snape merely looked at one another pensively.
Thirty minutes later...
Harry stopped in front of the entrance to the Prince's Lair with Draco, Blaise, Theo, Missy and Marcus all following behind him.
"Moldy Shorts!" Harry said authoritatively.
Draco looked at him sharply. "Really?!"
"I'm sorry, Draco," Harry replied testily as he crossed through the black entryway into the Lair. "Does my lack of respect for your father's old boss offend you?"
Draco said nothing as Harry walked around the table and flicked his wand towards the fireplace. In response, the enchanted logs within burst into flame. Then, he and everyone else took a seat, leaving the Hydra Throne empty. Harry turned to face his classmate.
"So, Draco, here we are again. Of course, I can easily change that password if you don't see any benefits to having access to this room."
Draco looked around at the massive library. According to Harry, most of the books were still warded against touch, but not all. Of course, the books were only a practical benefit. Even a fool could see that this room was where all the power in Slytherin House would reside, at least as long as Harry Potter was around to command it. "Go on."
"The Heir. What do you know?"
Draco's eyes widened. "You don't know about the Heir of Slytherin? Remarkable, considering how you've been lording your princely status over us all."
"No, Draco. I've just been lording my natural superiority over you and the other Death Eater spawn. As far as most people are concerned, I'm a kick-ass Chaser and all-around smart-ass who's otherwise flying under the radar." Draco's forehead creased in confusion at the mention of "radar." Harry sighed. "Never mind. Let's just say that I'm generally discreet in my actions, a concept which is still beyond you. I mean seriously?! Would you really have blurted out 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!' in front of three professors and dozens of fellow students if you hadn't taken an Unbreakable Vow forbidding it?!"
Draco blushed slightly at having his lack of discretion pointed out. Meanwhile, Harry turned his attention from Draco to the vacant throne to his left. Then, he hissed loudly at it, and the Hydra's nine heads sprang to life. To everyone but Harry, it was still a startling display. Harry conversed with several of the heads – mainly the cobra and the three-headed runespoor, it seemed – for about a minute before turning back to his fellow Slytherins.
"Right, the Hydra's never heard of anyone who claims 'the Heir of Slytherin' as a title. In fact, the runespoor is quite certain that there hasn't been a student who could legally claim to be one of Salazar Slytherin's heirs since 1588. Also, something about King Phillip II and the Spanish Armada. Blaise, could you do a bit of research on that in the next day or so?"
"On it," Blaise said as he pulled out some parchment and made himself a note.
"Now then, Draco, do you have anything useful to add?" asked Harry with some asperity.
Draco started to say something insulting but then thought better of it. "There was a story my mother told me when I was a child. When my grandfather Abraxas Malfoy was at Hogwarts, there were a number of ... incidents in which several Mud ... Muggle-borns were attacked, and eventually one was killed. There were no more incidents after that. According to the story, the attacks were by a monster that had been left by Salazar Slytherin in a secret room called the Chamber of Secrets so that one day his rightful heir could use it to purge the school of ... Muggleborns." He hesitated and thought. "Obviously, though, that's inconsistent with the man you say that Salazar Slytherin was."
"Yes," said Harry firmly. "Yes, it is." He turned back to the Hydra and hissed back and forth with it some more. Towards the end, Harry's hissing became a bit heated, and in response, the runespoor's responses became noticeably aggressive. Then, Harry turned back to the group.
"Hmm. Apparently, there is or at least was a Chamber of Secrets, but information about it is limited to actual Princes. I don't have full access, so the Hydra won't tell me anything beyond the fact of the Chamber's existence. Draco, when did these events from your grandfather's story take place."
Draco thought for a moment. "Late 30's to early 40's, I suppose."
Harry stood up and examined the list of prior Princes. "The Throne was vacant from 1914 to 1943, but the last Chamber opening might have been during the tenure of ... Tom Marvolo Riddle." He paused and then looked around the group. "Anyone recognize that name? Riddle's not a Pureblood name, is it?" No one else had heard of any wizards named Riddle. "Right, Theo, while Blaise is doing legal research, I'd appreciate it if you hit the old Prophet records, from 1937 through 1943. Merlin knows this school hides its secrets, but surely if a student died at the hands of a mysterious creature, it would have made the papers."
Theo nodded and took notes of his own while Harry moved back to his seat. "Now then. It seems to me that there's two possibilities. Either someone is actively trying to make Slytherin House look bad. Or some idiot is unintentionally working to make the House look bad. So let's figure out what this is all about and put a stop to it before it gets serious. Questions?"
"Are we sure it's not the Git-Who-Lived?" asked Flint. "I mean, 'Slytherin Rules' is the sort of crap he'd use in a prank to frame us for it."
Harry shrugged. "He's on my short list, but he denies it, and he's a terrible liar. Also, Dumbledore said that whatever petrified the cat had some powerful and highly illegal magic behind it, and I don't think that describes Jim at all. I'm thinking it's one of the dumber Slytherins trying to intimidate the other Houses, one of the dumber Gryffindors trying to make us look bad, one of the smarter Slytherins trying to frame Jim by leaving a clue so obvious that only an idiot would assume we did it, or one of the smarter Gryffindors trying to frame Jim the same way. He's made quite a few enemies in his own House lately."
"No Puffs or Claws?" Marcus asked.
Harry shook his head. "No Hufflepuff would perform a prank that involved petrifying a cat and hanging it up by its tail. And if a Ravenclaw figured out a petrification spell that flummoxed even Dumbledore, he wouldn't have used in a prank - he'd have published a journal article about it." The others laughed. "Anyway, we have a place to start, so let's get to it first thing tomorrow. Well, those of us not stuck doing ... say, what does Lockhart have everyone doing tomorrow?
"Cross-referencing the runic structure of a portkey and a banishment Charm," said Missy.
"Researching the history of Memory Charms in the 19th Century," said Blaise.
"Reviewing my happiest memories in a pensieve before we start Patronus work," said Marcus.
"Ping pong," said Draco almost bitterly.
Harry chuckled. "You sound disappointed, Draco, but I am really curious to see what the heck Lockhart is up to with that. Oh, and by the way, I was rough on you earlier, but thanks for your help tonight."
Draco's mouth twitched slightly. "Don't mention it. Anything for the House."
With that, the group broke up and headed to their respective rooms, leaving the Prince's Lair empty once more.
1 November 1992
Just before dawn the next morning, Jim rose before his dorm-mates as was his practice. It was a Sunday, but the Hufflepuffs had the Quidditch pitch today, so for once, he had some early morning free time. Given the previous night's excitement, he'd decided that he would find Harry today and insist on doing something with his brother. After the drama of Vernon's funeral, Jim felt he had some insights into how awful it was for Harry to grow up with that family, and he wanted to do what he could to help Harry work past it. More importantly, he wanted to reassure his brother that he had nothing to do with that prank from the night before involving Filch's cat and the graffiti on the wall that implicated the Slytherins. Jim was sure that if the two pooled their resources, they could get to the bottom of the mystery quickly. Then, he laughed at the thought of Harry and himself getting together to solve a mystery. At last, they really were like the Hardy Boys.
As he got up to head to the bathroom, however, he noticed something odd. The lock on his trunk was open. He looked around the room. His fellow Gryffindors were all still asleep, even Ron, the loudest snorer of the five. Jim opened the trunk and lit up a Lumos with his wand to see if anything was missing. There was. Jim normally stored his father's invisibility cloak within a moleskin pouch at the bottom of his trunk. The pouch was now gone, and in its place was a piece of parchment that had been folded over and sealed. Slowly, he removed the paper and broke the seal. By the light of his glowing wand, Jim read the message it contained.
Dear Git-Who-Lived:
I so enjoyed your little prank last night. How you must have thrilled to see three little firsties (one of them your only real friend's little sister) cowering in fear of Argus Filch and nearly in tears over your handy work. Such a fine specimen of Gryffindor chivalry.
Anyway, since it's now clear that your lack of honor is exceeded only by your lack of style, I thought it best to deprive you of your number one pranking aid, lest you embarrass our family name any further. Good luck proving it was me.
Sincerely,
You-Know-Who
P.S. Slytherins Rule. Gryffindors Drool.
P.P.S. Poof!
As Jim read to the very last word, there was indeed a sudden poof as the letter in his hand disappeared in a gout of green flame. Jim stood there, still with a glowing wand in one hand, as he stared down into the trunk where his family's heirloom cloak was supposed to be. His gripped his wand so tightly that his knuckles cracked. Then, he pushed that anger within him deep down into the pit of his stomach like the Occlumency book said. This time, however, he was surprised to find that there was just no more room, and the slow burning brush pile he'd been maintaining for weeks now suddenly ignited into a blazing inferno.
"I'll kill him," said the Boy-Who-Lived with an eerily calm voice that belied a rage that was already completely out of control.
The next chapter will be posted on Friday, December 11, 2015. "Family Dysfunctions (Pt. 2)" in which Harry and Jim's relationship deteriorates even further, Hermione's study group focuses its attention on the Chamber of Secrets, and Lockhart tries his hand at discipline in his own inimitable style.
AN 1: For the foreseeable future, updates will be posted every Friday. If I reach my target goal of getting ten or more chapters ahead, I'll consider returning to my former twice-a-week schedule, but not until then.