Author's Note:

Hope you enjoyed that Remus and Tonks interlude.

For those of you asking — I am a Hinny shipper so, yes, Harry will eventually get together with Ginny, but not any time soon. Patience, my loves, patience.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the lovely scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, that is the lovely JKR but as usual, I might have tweaked it a bit.

Reviews and Comments: To E-Dett: Yes, it was nice to see Remus pull his head out of his ass LOL. Thank you. To darkhk: I know, yes, finally! Thank you! I love that you've been waiting so long for it. To The Goode Ravenclaw: Thank you! Remus was weirded out about his feelings too, but Tonks is nineteen now and he's finally accepted it. To alix33: Thank you! It is funny that Tonks decided to invite Hugh and Sirius was like do it, it will drive Remus mad. If only he knew by how much… LOL. To nesciamema: Thank you! That conversation is still a while off. To Sleepyhawk502: Thank you and yes, he really does need to learn, doesn't he? To WarMunger98: Thank you and thank you for supporting Hinny! To ginnyweasley777: Thank you! Yes, I know, finally!

To coloredwords: You're welcome and thank you! I am glad Remus and Tonks finally got their shit together as well. Second year should be fun! To Queen Helen: So glad to see you back! Thank you! The tension was thick, but they've finally found their footing! To geekymom: Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! I'm so glad this story gave you a new love for the Remus/Tonks ship. To Guest: Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! I love Remus and Tonks, too!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE:

The One Where Harry Meets His Fanboy

The letter from Sirius arrived at breakfast and Harry looked at the wrapped box in interest. It was rare for Sirius to send him anything outside of a letter. He quickly tore open the envelope and unfolded the parchment.

Harry,

I've been thinking that I would like to have a better way to communicate with you when you're at school.

When I was in fourth year, my home life was kind of bad and your father knew how much I hated to go home and stay with my family. So, we found these old looking glasses in the attic of his house and we charmed them into two-way mirrors so that we could always communicate. I used to get teased all of the time for carrying a mirror around something about me being vain, but it's actually a communication device.

I meant to send this last week, but here it is nevertheless. I found your dad's in the Potter vault. I will always carry mine with me. If you ever need me for anything, all you have to do is hold the mirror to your mouth and say my name.

Try it out sometime today and we'll chat.

Love,

Uncle Sirius

Harry opened the box rather intrigued and carefully tugged out the rectangular mirror. It was a little bigger than his hand and had a thin black frame around it.

"A mirror?" Hermione asked in interest, looking over Harry's shoulder.

He nodded. "It's from Uncle Sirius. He said that it belonged to my dad; something the two of them charmed in fourth year."

He looked at it a moment longer before he carefully placed it in his pocket for later. He was going to be late for class.

It wasn't until after dinner that day that Harry finally found the time to tug out the mirror and inspect it. Ron and Hermione were in the library working on their Potions essay and Harry had gone back to his dorm to find his Potions textbook, which he had misplaced. Seeing the dormitory deserted, he decided to try out the mirror.

He sat on his bed and pulled it from his pocket, taking in the rectangular appearance that fit so well in his hand. The black frame around it glimmered in the light and he carefully used the cloth to wipe the surface before he brought it to his lips and said: 'Uncle Sirius.'

The mirror shimmered before him and Sirius Black's face appeared in front of him, making him grin widely.

"Uncle Sirius!"

"Prongslet!" Sirius exclaimed with a grin. "Busy day?"

Harry shrugged. "Classes. I'm supposed to be working on my Potions essay with Ron and Hermione, but I forgot my textbook. Then I remembered the mirror. It's brilliant."

"James and I thought so," Sirius told him with a smile. "If ever you need me for anything, all you have to do is say my name. I will always have it with me. It will vibrate in your pocket if I'm trying to reach you."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

Sirius smiled. "How's Ginny liking Hogwarts?"

Harry shrugged. "I think okay. I don't see her too much."

Sirius frowned. "Remember she was your first friend, Harry; don't let her flounder alone."

"I won't," Harry said.

"Good. I'll let you get back to your studies. I love you, Prongslet."

Harry smiled at him. "Love you, too."

Sirius' face vanished from the mirror and Harry smiled. It was definitely a pretty cool device. He stuck it in his pocket and grabbed his Potions textbook as he made his way down the stairs.

He almost ran over a tiny, blond, curly-haired boy who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You're Harry Potter!"

"Er, yeah," Harry said, carefully stepping around him and into the common room.

"I know all about you and how you defeated He Who Must Not Be Named when you were just a baby and how you survived with a lightning bolt scar on your forehead and how your parents died and it was tragic, but it ended the war and you're famous and how you flew a flying car to Hogwarts this year and I heard that you fought You Know Who last year too and won and wow you're completely brilliant and famous and I've always wanted to talk to you and I'm Colin, Colin Creevey," he said all in one breath.

Harry stared at him completely dumbfounded for a moment. "Hi, Colin."

Colin beamed at him. "Do you think that I could take your picture, Harry?"

"Erm, not right now. I'm meeting some people."

Colin nodded in understanding. "Of course. We'll talk later."

Harry only nodded and hurried away from him. He ran into Fred and George outside of the portrait hole. "Hey, I was looking for you guys."

Fred smiled. "And here we are."

"What can we do for you, young Harry?"

Harry smiled at them. "Not for me. I just … I noticed the other day that Ginny seems a bit off. She's not her usual energetic self and I thought maybe you two could cheer her up."

George pat Harry's shoulder. "Gladly. Thanks for looking out for our little sister."

"Sure."

He hurried off to the library to work on his essay feeling a little better.

~ ASC ~

It had been a full week since Remus and Tonks had found themselves in bed together. Remus had never been happier in his entire life and he kept waiting for something to happen that would remind him of why he couldn't be this happy. He hadn't spent the night with her since that first night, but they'd been together every night since and he was running out of excuses as to why he couldn't stay the whole night.

It wasn't like with other women, who had known that he was only shagging them. This was Tonks and they both knew that it was something more than that.

He carefully extricated himself from her bed so as not to disturb her and found his clothes. He had just opened her bedroom door when her voice made him stop in his tracks.

"Sneaking out again, are you?" she asked him, her voice sleepy.

Remus turned to look at her. The soft light from the night sky illuminated her just enough so that he could see her creamy skin and the subtle curves of her body and just the sight of her made him hard again.

"I have to head home."

Tonks stood up, stretching and walked towards him. She stood on her toes to kiss him softly. "Stay with me."

Remus kissed her back, his mouth trailing down her chin, over her neck and nuzzling her shoulder. "I shouldn't."

Tonks' fingers trailed down his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she went with a small smile on her face. "If I have to seduce you again, I will."

He smirked at her. "That hardly seems fair when I only have to look at you to be seduced."

She blushed at his words. "If that's true then why won't you stay?"

Remus kissed her brow, his hands on her hips. "I don't sleep well and I don't want to keep you awake."

Tonks only smiled and popped open the button on his jeans. "I'm okay with staying awake. I'm sure that we can find some ways to occupy ourselves," she said with a grin, her hand slipping into his jeans to find him.

"You — you need to sleep, Nymphadora," he breathed, trying to come up with a reason to leave her.

Tonks ignored him and shoved his jeans and boxers down his hips. "I will sleep," she said, falling to her knees in front of him. "After you come back to my bed."

Then those plump lips, the ones that he'd imagined for years, wrapped around the tip of his length and he had to grab the doorframe for support as he tried to will himself not to just come immediately in her mouth.

"Dora," he groaned, his fingers in her hair.

Tonks only smiled up at him, her lips trailing along him and then up his stomach to his lips. "Come back to bed, Remus."

Remus watched her saunter back to the bed and he just stood there for a moment with his shirt unbuttoned, his jeans at his ankles, and his erection pointing at his stomach. He figured he looked quite the sight at the moment. He stepped out of his jeans and underwear and pulled his shirt off, climbing back into the bed with her. He slapped her butt lightly and she giggled.

"You are the most beautiful creature in the universe," he said, roughly, his mouth moving to her breast.

"That seems a little far fetched," Tonks said on a laugh, sighing as his tongue did wicked things to her nipple.

Remus smirked at her. "No, it's the truth." He kissed each breast lightly and then took her lips, deepening the kiss as her hands buried themselves in his hair. "So beautiful."

"I can make myself more beautiful. Change my body if you want me to?" she asked, hesitantly.

Remus' eyes met hers. "Don't you dare. You are perfect the way you are. I don't know how I got so lucky for you to want me."

Tonks' hand slid down his back, the taut muscles there and the soft bumps of his scars making her ache. "I saw you and I thought that I had never seen a more beautiful man in my life. Strong, handsome, sexy… a warrior's body, all lean muscles and full of scars, soft golden eyes that seem to look into my soul… intelligent, patient, kind… other than the fact that he's a stubborn arse, that is."

He chuckled against her neck. "You wore me down." He kissed her neck, rolling her with him so that she was straddling him. "That gold dress… I could barely make it home in time before I had to give myself a good wank. I imagined you were there and I felt so dirty."

Tonks smirked and kissed his chest. "Yes, yes you're a dirty man," she said teasingly. "So, now that you have me, what kind of naughty things do you want me to do to you?"

Remus' arched a brow at her. "That's not a road that you want to go down, Miss Tonks."

Tonks grinned at him and teased his left nipple with her thumb. "Teach me something naughty, Remus. Let me please you." Her hand slid lower on his abdomen, down through the soft curls and wrapped around him. "Did you like it before when I put my mouth on you?"

He made a growling sound in his throat that made her grin and bite her lip.

"I've never done that before," she told him as she stroked him, "and you're quite big, but I'd like to try it again."

Remus could only nod as she slid down his body and those gorgeous lips wrapped around him once more. She was teasing him with her tongue, her hand still wrapped around the base of him, rubbing slowly while her tongue explored his length in little licks and nips before she wrapped her mouth around him and sucked on his tip. She let go, smiling at him and kissed the head of him.

"Am I doing it right?"

"Merlin, Nymphadora," he gasped as her head bent down to take him again.

This time her teasing tongue lapped at him as she sucked and her tongue lightly teasing as she lapped. He felt his balls tighten in response.

"Dora, Dora, stop," he hissed, his fingers gripping her hair as she lifted her head up.

"Why? Was that wrong? I can't take all of you, but I can try harder."

Remus stared at her. Her swollen lips were wet from him and her eyes wide and full of desire. Her bright hair was tousled around her and she was still the most incredible beauty he had ever seen.

"No, no, it was amazing but I … if you keep that up, I am going to come in your mouth."

Tonks grinned cheekily at him. "Exactly."

Then she bent her head and took him once more and he cried out her name as he came, doing his best not to jerk his hips into her mouth as he saw stars. When his eyes finally met hers, she slowly slid her lips off of his cock and then she swallowed. He only stared at her in amazement and then she was kissing his stomach, his chest, his shoulders and he started to gain his concentration back again.

Remus tugged her up his body, kissing her deeply, tasting himself in her mouth as he deepened the kiss, his hands on her breasts. He slid one hand lower, finding her ready and she gasped in his mouth as he worked her, bringing her to the edge and teasing her mercilessly until she begged him for release. Then he gave it, flicking his thumb over her and she erupted in his arms, crying his name in pleasure.

He nuzzled her neck as she snuggled up against him, her arms around him tightly. "Stay," she murmured.

Remus didn't know how to say no to her.

And as he lay there listening to her soft breathing he knew that he had no plans of going anywhere.

~ ASC ~

By the end of the week, Harry was pretty convinced that the weird voice he had heard in Lockhart's office was just a sign of how overtired he had been. Plus sitting there and listening to Lockhart go on and on about his fans and telling him about all of the people who loved him was bound to make anyone feel a little loopy.

September turned into October and a heat wave seemed to strike them, the cool autumn breeze of September disappearing. They spent time in the sun on their breaks and did their homework outside by the lake.

They learned about Mandrakes in Herbology, practiced turning mice into water goblets in Transfiguration, and Wood increased Quidditch practice to four nights a week. Snape sneered at him while he tried to brew a Forgetfulness Potion and he glared at Neville so hard that he knocked his cauldron right off of the table, spraying potion all over Crabbe and Goyle. Harry jumped to his feet to help Neville clean up his mess, elbowing his friend lightly when he saw that his hands were shaking.

"It's okay, Nev. It was just an accident."

Neville only shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together.

If it was possible, Snape seemed to be even meaner this year.

The fact that Harry and Ron hadn't been expelled after the flying car incident seemed to have put him in a serious rage. Harry lost points for everything from arriving to class right on time, to using red ink in his notes, to cutting his ingredients too slowly. Nothing he did made Snape happy.

In fact, Harry was pretty sure that he had lost points today for breathing.

Neville was trying to stop being so afraid of Snape. Harry had heard him muttering under his breath more than once Sirius' words — that Snape's bark was worst than his bite — but he knew how terrified Neville was of the Potions professor. He helped him clean up the spill, ignoring Snape who took another five points away from Gryffindor for neglecting his own potion.

When they left class, Hermione hurried off to the library, dragging Ron with her since he needed her help with his Transfiguration paper. Harry walked beside Neville, eyeing his friend.

"Are you going to be okay, Nev?"

Neville shrugged, looking at Harry helplessly. "Sometimes, I don't understand how the hat could have put me in Gryffindor. I'm not… I'm not brave. A teacher scares me. I'm pathetic."

Harry scoffed at him. "Don't be daft! The hat always puts you where you belong. I mean, mostly." His ears flushed red as he leaned in closer to whisper. "The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I didn't want to go, so it chose Gryffindor. Do you think I'm in the wrong house?"

Neville looked at Harry in surprise and he shook his head. "No! Harry, you're so brave! You — you went up against You Know Who last year!"

Harry blushed. "Well, in my defence, I just thought it was Snape."

Neville grinned. "That would scare me."

They both laughed and headed up the stairs to their dormitory.

"Seriously, Nev, don't let Snape bully you. Look at me, I lost what, thirty points today basically for breathing? He's a prat and a bully. You're really smart and I know that you can do well in Potions if you just try to forget about him. He's a teacher. He can't hurt you," Harry told him. "The best way to beat him is to do well in his class."

Neville nodded, tossing his book bag on his bed. "I promise to try, Harry."

Harry grinned at him. "Good and I'm always there if you need reminding."

They grinned at each other and headed down the tower to go to dinner. Harry saw Ginny sitting in the large chair by the fire in the Gryffindor common room and he urged Neville to head down without him. He moved around the couch and squeezed himself into the chair with her.

"Hey, Gin!"

Ginny half-smiled at him. "Hi, Harry."

She turned back to look at the fire and Harry frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Harry poked her in the ribs and she squirmed. "Tell me."

"Nothing's wrong!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Tell me or I'll keep poking you."

Ginny glared at him, shoving his hands away. "I got into a fight with a friend."

"Which friend?" When she didn't respond, Harry rested his chin on her shoulder. "Ginny, you know that you can talk to me, right?"

Ginny sighed, turning to look at him. "It doesn't matter. It's just… he said some hurtful things and I'm starting to wonder if maybe he's right. All of the girls in my dorm are just so… boring and… it's hard to make new friends."

"You have us old friends around. What about Luna?"

Ginny smiled. "She's around as well. Harry, you don't understand… there are these two girls in my dorm who are so annoying and they practically worship you because you're Harry Potter — The Boy Who Lived."

Harry groaned and she laughed.

"Don't worry, I told them that you were nothing special when they asked me to join your fan club."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, making her grin. "There's that smile," he said as he smiled back. "I've been missing it lately. Come on, it's almost Halloween and the Halloween feast is always really spectacular. You'll love it. But right now, you should come down to the regular feast. I bet you're hungry."

Ginny clutched her notebook and a small black diary to her chest. "I will. I just want to finish writing to Bill first."

Harry nodded and climbed out of the chair. "All right. I'll see you later, Ginny."

She smiled at him as he hurried off. When the portrait hole closed behind him, he felt a little lighter. Ginny would be okay and writing to Bill would most definitely cheer her up.

But what had she meant about his fan club?

He was pretty sure that he didn't want to know the answer to that.

~ ASC ~

The day of the Halloween feast, Harry couldn't wait to see what the house elves had prepared for them. But after talking with the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower, otherwise known as Nearly Headless Nick (who had prevented him from getting detention from Filch after he had tracked mud through the halls after Quidditch practice) he had been invited to a Death Day party. He hadn't known how to respond to such a statement and promised Nick that he would of course love to attend.

Harry decided to drag Ron, Hermione, and Neville with him. After the entertainment of the Headless Hunt, seeing that all of the food provided was rotten for the ghosts, and utterly freezing in the dungeons, the four of them decided that it was time to make a quick escape. Ron suggested that if they hurried they maybe could make the feast in time for pudding.

They were halfway to the Great Hall when the mysterious voice came through the walls again. Harry was convinced that he could hear someone muttering the words: Rip, tear, kill. The sound of it made his blood run cold. He froze mid run and Ron turned to look at him, his eyebrow lifted in question.

"What's up?"

Harry held up his hand as he heard the words 'must kill' echo down the corridor. "Don't you hear that?"

Neville turned around to stare at Harry. "Hear what?"

"I don't hear anything. Come on; let's head to the feast," Ron said, turning to move again.

"That voice!" Harry exclaimed, straining his ears to listen. It sounded like it was moving now.

"I smell blood… kill! Kill! Kill!"

"It's going to kill someone!" Harry shouted, starting to run now.

Ron and Neville looked at Hermione, who looked just as bewildered as they felt, before they chased Harry past the Great Hall and down the corridor.

"Ugh," Neville said in disgust as he stepped in water. "It smells like a toilet."

Ron nodded, grimacing as his shoes sloshed in the water. "I think it is toilet water."

"Moaning Myrtle must have flooded the girl's bathroom again," Hermione said in annoyance as Harry shushed them.

The three of them crashed into Harry when he stopped suddenly.

"Mate, is that… blood?"

Neville peeked around Harry's shoulder, his eyes wide as he stared at the words dripping across the corridor wall in blood. "'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, Enemies of the Heir of Beware.' What does that mean?"

Ron was pointing now just past the message. "And what is that hanging there?"

Harry took a step closer, squinting at it. Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring. "It's Mrs Norris."

"Filch's cat?" Ron exclaimed in surprise.

"We have to get out of here, Harry," Hermione said, quietly.

For a few seconds, they didn't move.

"Shouldn't we try and help —" Harry began awkwardly.

"Trust me," Ron insisted. "We don't want to be found here."

But then the rumble of feet echoed across the corridor informing them that the feast had just ended. The chatter grew louder and students began to appear en mass from both ends of the passage. Then the noise suddenly died and the silence seemed to echo in the hall as people noticed the hanging cat.

A familiar drawl yelled out from the crowd as he pushed his way to front. "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

Draco's shout had alerted the caretaker and Filch began to push his way through to the students. Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked before his popping eyes fell on Harry. "You!" he screeched, taking a step towards Harry, his hands outstretched.

And before Harry could do anything, the caretaker had both hands wrapped around his neck.

"You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you!"

Harry gasped for breath, the familiar feel of it bringing back memories of Uncle Vernon and he looked desperately at his friends. Ron and Neville were each tugging on Filch's arms, but to no avail. In his anger, the man's strength seemed immovable. Black spots started to form in front Harry's eyes and he blinked desperately.

"Argus!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Incarcerous!"

Harry fell to the ground, choking for breath as Neville and Ron each grabbed an arm.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Neville asked in alarm.

He attempted to swallow and winced from the pain of it. "Yeah," he croaked.

Hermione linked her arm with his when he got to his feet and looked angrily at Dumbledore who still had Filch tied up.

"Come with me, Argus," Dumbledore said calmly. "You, too, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, Mr Longbottom."

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly. "My office is nearest, Headmaster — just upstairs — please feel free —"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," Dumbledore said.

Lockhart, looking excited and important, led the way to his office as the crowd remained silent. They were quickly followed by Professors McGonagall and Snape.

As they entered Lockhart's darkened office, there was a flurry of movement across the walls. Harry saw several of the Lockharts in the pictures dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers. The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore lay Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into the chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.

Dumbledore released Filch from the ropes that were binding him. He urged him to sit down.

McGonagall moved over to Harry, taking his chin in her hands and examining his throat. "This is going to leave a nasty bruise, Potter, are you sure that you're all right?"

Harry nodded, his eyes on Mrs Norris. "I'm fine," he croaked. "Is Mrs Norris dead?"

The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur as he examined her critically through his half moon spectacles, using his long fingers to gently prod and poke the cat. Professor McGonagall moved over and bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: It was as though he was trying hard not to smile.

And Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions. "It was definitely a curse that killed her — probably the Transmogrifian Torture — I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very counter curse that would have saved her…"

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs. Norris, his face in his hands. Much as he detested Filch, Harry couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him, though not nearly as sorry as he felt for himself: If Dumbledore believed Filch, he would be expelled for sure.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand, but nothing happened: She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

" …I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadougou," Lockhart said, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once…"

The photographs of Lockhart on the walls were all nodding in agreement as he talked. One of them had forgotten to remove his hair net.

At last Dumbledore straightened up. "She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.

"Not dead?" Filch choked, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all — all stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," Dumbledore said.

"Ah! I thought so!" Lockhart declared triumphantly.

"But how, I cannot say…"

"Ask him!" Filch shrieked, turning his blotched and tearstained face to Harry.

"No second year could have done this," Dumbledore said firmly. "It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced —"

"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what he wrote on the wall!"

"If I might speak, Headmaster," Snape said from the shadows, and Harry's sense of foreboding increased. He was sure that nothing Snape had to say was going to do him any good. "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"

Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione all launched into an explanation about the death day party for Nearly Headless Nick. "…there were hundreds of ghosts, they'll tell you we were there —"

"But why not join the feast afterward?" Snape asked, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight. "Why go up to that corridor?"

The three of them looked at Harry.

"Because… because…" Harry said, his heart thumping very fast; something told him it would sound very far fetched if he told them he had been led there by a bodiless voice no one but he could hear, "because we were tired and we wanted to go to bed."

"Without any supper?" Snape said, a triumphant smile flickering across his gaunt face. "I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties."

"We weren't hungry," Ron said loudly as his stomach gave a huge rumble.

Snape's nasty smile widened. "I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful," he said. "It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off of the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

"Really, Severus," Professor McGonagall said sharply, "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter has done anything wrong!"

Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look. His twinkling light blue gaze made Harry feel as though he were being X rayed. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said, firmly.

Snape looked furious.

So did Filch.

"My cat has been Petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"

"I think you punished an innocent boy enough tonight, Argus," McGonagall said, sharply. "You almost strangled him! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Filch made to protest and then clamped his mouth shut, simply nodding at her.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore said patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep —"

"Excuse me," Snape said, icily. "But I believe I am the Potions Master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause.

"You may go," Dumbledore said to Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione.

They went, as quickly as they could without actually running. When they were a floor up from Lockhart's office, they turned into an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind them.

Harry squinted at his friends' darkened faces. "Do you think that I should have told them about that voice I heard?"

"No," Ron said, without hesitation. "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign."

Something in Ron's voice made Harry ask, "You do believe me, don't you?"

"'Course I do," Ron said quickly. "But — you must admit it's weird…"

"I know it's weird," Harry said, defiantly. "The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber Has Been Opened… What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, it rings a sort of bell," Ron said, slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once… might've been Bill…"

"We'd better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else," Harry said, quietly, as the clock chimed midnight.

Hermione linked her arm with his. "Are you sure that you're all right, Harry? Your throat looks… does it hurt?"

Harry shrugged. "A bit. I'll be fine."

It did hurt, but it also felt familiar, and he knew that when he closed his eyes tonight, memories of Uncle Vernon were going to be there.

And as scared as he was of having a nightmare, the disembodied voice that no one else seemed to have heard scared him even more.