"Hey, how'd it go?" Daphne asked as Tracey entered their dorm and flopped on her bed.
"I know it was the right thing to do," Tracey sighed. "But I feel so awful now that it's done. You should have seen him. He looked like a beaten kneazle. Gods, I'm a horrid person."
Daphne slipped off her bed and went to sit next to her best friend.
"You're not horrid." Daphne said, pushing Tracey over so she could sit down. "So, tell me what happened?"
"Well, I caught him just as he was leaving the Great Hall." Tracey said, sitting up on her bed. "I told him we had to talk, and his eyes got real big, like he was excited. We walked to the Transfiguration corridor, and I told him that I was sorry. Oh Merlin, his face."
Tracey shook her head, and Daphne noticed her blonde friend had tears in her eyes.
"He looked like I'd just smacked him. I told him everything, you know? How I didn't like him in the romantic sense, and how kissing him was supposed to make a point, and not to show I liked him or whatever. He just stared at me for a few moments before he just sort of crumbled. His shoulder's sagged and his head fell. I felt like I'd been stabbed in the heart."
"Oh, no." Daphne said, wrapping a comforting arm around her friend.
"I completely crushed him, Daph. He said that he should have known, and why in the world would any girl like him. I told him that I thought he was a good guy, but that he needed to grow up a bit if he ever wanted a girlfriend. He just sort of shrugged."
"No wonder you feel so horrible. I can't even begin to imagine facing the same situation, or what I would have said."
Tracey leaned into her best friend. "I wish I did feel something for him."
"No, you don't." Daphne said firmly. "You're just feeling bad because you had to break his heart. He'll get over it eventually, and maybe he'll be better off for it."
"Maybe." Tracey shrugged.
"I suddenly feel like a terrible friend." Daphne said, looking guilty.
"What? Why?" Tracey asked looking up at Daphne, who was now slipping off Tracey's bed.
"I've spent all this time talking about Harry and getting your help with him, and this whole thing with Ron made me realize that I have no idea who you fancy!"
Tracey smiled slightly. "To be honest, I don't know that anyone has really got my attention anymore than anyone else. Though, I do kind of like the Weasley Twins."
"Really? Which ones?" Daphne asked a bit surprised.
"Why do I have to choose? Why can't I have them both?" Tracey gave a very sultry smile, and winked at her best friend.
"Oh gods! I don't need that image in my head." Daphne said, snatching up her pillow and flinging it at Tracey.
The door to the Hog's Head Tavern opened and Albus Dumbledore stepped into the dingy pub, with a slight smile on his face as he took a seat at the bar.
"Good evening, Abe." Albus smiled
"Al." the barman nodded, pulling a dirty glass from under the bar and pouring the Headmaster a decent shot of brandy. "Knew you'd be coming by tonight."
"I thought you might." Albus smiled gratefully as he took the glass and sipped the drink. "I heard you did a fair bit of business this afternoon."
"As if you weren't aware." Abe scoffed at his older brother. "What exactly is going on up at that school of yours?"
"Dark times, I'm afraid." Albus sighed.
"Well, far be it for me to advise the Great Albus Dumbledore," Abe said haughtily. Albus chuckled as he sipped his drink. "But, I think it's time you let the boy in on the big secret, and start preparing him for what's coming. Screw the Ministry. They're obviously too idiotic to recognize the threat, or too afraid. Either way, you need to do what's right, and stop protecting the kid. I saw him there today, Al."
Abe nodded towards the back corner where earlier in the day, Harry Potter had convinced other students to join him in learning to fight. It had been Aberforth's first experience watching the boy, and he'd been very impressed with the famed savior of the magical world.
"He's as charismatic as you were, and people will follow him, whether they believe his story or not. All those kids that were here with him…he had them eating out of his hands."
"Harry deserves to have a childhood. He deserves to be happy. I cannot even think of burdening him…"
"BULLSHIT!" Abe said angrily, pounding his fist on the bar. "Damn it, Al. The kid's never been happy. If you truly wanted him to have a happy upbringing, you would've done whatever it took to make sure Black never went to prison." Aberforth Dumbledore held up his hands before his brother could argue. "I know you were only trying to protect him, but even you need to realize that you screwed up. I've talked to Hagrid, I know about what his life was like at that place. And don't get me started on that damned tournament."
Albus frowned a bit, not surprised his trusted gamekeeper had told Harry's tale.
"Give him a fighting chance for a happy future, Al. Those people who sat with him today. That girl.' Aberforth shook his head, the tiniest hint of a smile appearing for the ghost of a second on his weathered face. "I'm no expert, Al, but even I could see that there was something special there."
"He's only fifteen." Albus sighed, looking at his younger brother, who only shook his head.
"And from what I've heard, much more a man than most. Al, you owe it to him to teach him. We aren't going to be around forever, and once you're gone…"
Silence fell between the brothers, and Albus Dumbledore, arguably the wizarding world's most brilliant being felt completely lost. This argument had been repeated between the two brothers for several years, though in the last year, it had become a much more heated debate. But tonight, as he sat in his brother's pub, Albus Dumbledore slowly began to realize that perhaps his younger, more impetuous brother was indeed correct. Perhaps it was indeed time to begin helping the savior of the wizarding world for his reckoning.
Harry and his friends had spent Sunday searching the castle for a suitable place where they could secretly learn to use defensive spells to no avail. Every place they looked was too easily located, or to easily breached.
"Harry, What about the chamber?" Hermione asked while they were wandering through the corridors Sunday afternoon.
"What chamber?" Tracey asked.
"You're not serious Hermione." Ron said rather horrorstruck. He had joined Harry and the group after lunch. Things were tense between the redhead, and Tracey, who had remain uncharacteristically quiet all during their search.
"You can't really be serious." Harry said, backing his estranged friend.
"It's actually a good idea. How would anyone get in there without your help?" Hermione said pointedly as she stared at Harry.
"What chamber?" Daphne asked.
"We don't even know what else is down there." Harry pointed out.
"So, we go down there and look. Make sure it's safe."
"What chamber?" Tracey and Daphne asked together, finally gaining the attention of the Gryffindors.
"The Chamber of Secrets." Harry said looking at Daphne. Both Slytherin girls eyes went wide.
"You actually know where it is?" Daphne asked, taking Harry's hands and staring into his emerald green eyes.
"Yeah, I fought the Basilisk there." Harry said, still looking at Hermione.
"Can we go there? Like right now?" Tracey asked. Hermione began smiling, while both Ron and Harry looked uncomfortable. Neville simply looked confused.
"How about it, Harry?" Hermione smiled. "I never got to see it."
"Come to think of it." Ron started but Harry turned to face him.
"Not you too?"
"What? I was busy with Lockhart, and trying to clear the cave in so you could get out. If I'm going to be honest, I am a bit jealous that I didn't get to see the place." Ron shrugged.
"Let's at least take a look and rule it out as a possibility." Hermione said.
Harry looked at all their expectant faces and then began to lead them to the second floor and Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Hermione, and Tracey went in first to make sure the restroom was empty. Once they got the all clear, Harry and the others entered the bathroom, and Harry went right to the sink with Slytherin's mark. Taking a deep breath, Harry whispered the command to open in parseltongue.
Just as it had three years ago, the sink slipped aside, and Harry and his friends looked into the deep dark hole that led to the cavern that held the Chamber of Salazaar Slytherin.
"That's gross." Daphne said as the horrible odor of decay and waste hit them all in the face.
"It's not any better down there." Harry said flatly. "Come on, you wanted to see it."
Taking out his wand, Harry was the first to slide down the large drain pipe and down into the dark. Once he landed at the bottom, he held his wand up, lighting the tip so he could see. One by one his friends joined him, each lighting their wand tips, and following Harry further into the cavern
They found the entrance to the great chamber open, just as Harry had left it all those years before, and one by one they cross they threshold into the Chamber of Secrets.
"It's really dark in here." Neville said softly, as if frightened of disturbing anything that might be waiting for them.
"There's some torches on the wall." Harry said. After a few incendio spells, the Chamber was lit up by firelight, and Harry and the others laid eyes on the rotting corpse of the serpent king.
"I can't believe you really fought this thing." Daphne said, using her sleeve to cover her nose and mouth.
"Is this the entire chamber?" Tracey asked looking around. The room was quite spacious, with the focal point being the giant stone head of what Harry could only guess to be Slytherin himself.
"I never really explored it." Harry said. "I was rather preoccupied the last time I was here."
"Well, it certainly fits our size requirements." Hermione shrugged.
"Yeah, but don't you think Filch, or someone might get a bit suspicious when they see some thirty odd student all going into the girls loo? Especially boys? And then what happens when they go in to investigate, and no one's there?" Harry said, looking pointedly at Hermione, who must have just realized the flaw in her plan.
"That would look more than a little suspicious." Daphne agreed.
"So, we're sunk?" Neville asked, disappointment in his tone.
"No!" Hermione said, coming up beside him and allowing her new boyfriend to envelope her in his arms. "We just haven't found what we need. There's a solution to our problem, we just need to find it."
"In the meantime," Tracey said, looking at the entrance to the Chamber. "We might have another problem. When everyone turned to look at her, she gave a weak smile. "How exactly do we get out of here?"
"Oh." Harry looked very confused. "I didn't think of that. Last time, Dumbledore's phoenix got us out."
"Well, there's got to be another way out of here." Hermione said, pulling away from Neville. "Where did the Basilisk hide?"
"He came out of the statue's mouth." Harry said heading over to the statue, and commanding it to open in Parselmouth. The mouth slid open as Harry had seen it do when the last Heir of the founder had ordered it to. Harry lit up his wand, and climbed into the open maw of the statue.
"Harry, be careful." Daphne urged.
"There's a room in here." Harry called out. Harry was soon joined by his friends in a large circular room. There was a total of two doors. The first was the one they had come through that led into the chamber. The second was a very large opening in the floor. It was filled with black water, which Harry guessed might lead to the black lake.
"So, no secret stair case, huh? Tracey remarked.
"We could swim." Ron said, looking distastefully at the black water."
"We can't be sure where it leads." Hermione remarked.
Harry suggested they go back and see if there were any other rooms. They spread out in the main chamber, but couldn't seem to find any other doors. They finally reconvened in the main hall next to the corpse of the serpent king.
"Seems odd that this place is called the Chamber of Secrets, when the only secret is the dead snake." Tracey said disappointedly.
"It does seem strange." Hermione agreed.
"It's really disgusting down here." Ron said, wrinkling his nose. "Do you think the House Elves don't clean in here because they don't know where it is?"
"House elves…" Harry whispered, his eyes suddenly wide. "DOBBY!"
There was a loud pop, no doubt amplified by the vastness of the chamber, and there before them was a dobby the House Elf, his eyes shining with pride as he looked at Harry.
"Dobby is overjoyed to be seeing the great Harry Potter once again. Dobby has been wanting ever so much to visit with Harry Potter, but Harry potter has been so busy. But Dobby is now being called to serve the great wizard. How happy this is making Dobby!"
"Um, what's going on?" Daphne asked, staring at the little elf with the large bat like ears and the tennis ball sized eyes.
"This is Dobby." Harry smiled. "He used to belong to Malfoy until I helped free him.
"I don't get it." Tracey looked confused. "How could you free Malfoy's elf?"
"It's a really long story." Harry said, turning back to Dobby. "Dobby, We're in a bit of a pickle here. Can you help us get out of the Chamber?"
"Of course I can, Harry Potter, sir. Where would you like me to take you?"
"Dobby?" Hermione asked, stepping forward. "Is there anyplace in the castle that we could use to learn magic without anyone finding us?"
Dobby began bouncing on his little feet, a broad smile on his face. "What miss needs is the Come and Go room. It is a wondrous room becoming anything you could ever need. We elves be using it when we need extra cleaning supplies. "
"The Come and Go room?" Harry asked puzzled, but something seemed familiar. "Could this room become a bathroom if someone really needed one?"
"Absolutely, Harry Potter, sir." Dobby smiled brightly. "Shall I be taking you all there now?"
Dobby instructed them all to hold hands tightly, and then he took Harry's hand with a chirp of excitement. The group landed in a pile in a familiar hallway.
"Where are we?" Ron asked.
"The seventh floor." Neville said, sitting up and helping Hermione.
"How do you know that?" his girlfriend asked.
"That's the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy."
"Dobby, I thought you said you were taking us to the Come and Go Room?" Harry asked.
"Dobby has, sir. It is here, waiting to be called." Dobby was still smiling as he watched the teens get to their feet. "Harry Potter must think hard of what he needs and walk in front of this wall three times."
Harry looked skeptically at his friends before concentrating on a large room where they could learn defense. He paced in front of the portrait, just as Dobby had instructed. On the third pass, Harry noticed the faces of his friends lighting up with wonder. Harry turned to see what had so caught their attentions when he saw a door that had not been there before.
"The Room of Requirement, Harry Potter, sir." Dobby said with a bow.
Harry stepped forward to open the door, his friends following him inside the door. What they beheld filled them all with amazement. The room was vast. On one side of the room was a large bookshelf that was filled with hundreds of books on defense books. There was also a large shelf that held all kinds of defensive items, and a Foe Glass, much like the phony Moody had had in his office the previous year. On the opposite side of the room were several training dummies. There was a crate full of mats and pillows, and also a large cabinet filled with healing items.
"This is amazing." Hermione said as she drifted over to the books. Ron and Neville had gone to look at the training dummies, while Tracey checked out some of the sneak scopes.
"This is brilliant." Harry smiled. "Thank you Dobby."
"Dobby is always happy to help the great Harry Potter sir." Dobby bowed. "If ever you be needing Dobby, just call out."
With a pop. Dobby left to go back to his duties.
"Look at all this stuff." Tracey said, examining the medical cabinet. "Everything we could ever need to learn how to fight is here."
"These books are full of really useful spells." Hermione said as she flipped through the pages of A to Z jinxes. "There also some books on Muggle fighting styles."
"That explains this." Neville said, holding a large staff. "There's a whole armory of weapons back here."
"Look at this!" Ron said waving a large broadsword.
"RONALD PUT THAT DOWN!" Hermione screamed, just as Neville ducked one of Ron's wild swings.
"That could be really useful." Daphne said, pulling Harry along with her towards the armory. "Centuries ago, wizards sometimes used swords in duels. It's why Godric Gryffindor had a sword. Supposedly, all the Founders had them, but only Gryffindor's is still around."
"Really?" Harry asked.
"I don't know why wizards stopped using them, but maybe it was to hard to hide them, or it was just easier to carry a wand around."
"Maybe they wanted to distance themselves from muggles a little more, seeing as how Muggles would have been using swords at the time as well." Harry pondered.
"It's very possible." Daphne nodded.
Neville had been correct, there was a very large selection of medieval type weaponry.
"It would be good to learn how to use some of this stuff. No Death Eater would be expecting to face anyone wielding something other than their wand." Harry said. "And some wizards can't stop using their fists anyway." Harry turned to look at Ron who was still swinging the broadsword, not paying attention to the others.
The group finally managed to get Ron to give up the sword, and said goodnight to one another before heading back to their common rooms for the night. Daphne and Tracey immediately headed for the showers as they both smelled quite disgusting from the Chamber.
Harry and his Gryffindor mates all made it back to the tower. Hermione bade the boys goodnight and Harry opted for retiring to bed early as well. After a long hot shower to clean off the stench of decay, he climbed into his four poster and laid down. He felt good about things at that moment. They had found a place to learn, and he would begin preparing himself and his friends to face the dangers that awaited beyond the safety of the castle walls. Nothing was going to stop them.
BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS
All student organizations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded.
An organization, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.
Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).
No student organization, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and
approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organization, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.
Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor
"How could she have known?" Neville asked as he and Harry stared at the parchment that had been tacked to the notice board. "Do you think someone ratted us out?"
"It's possible, but who?"
"There were a lot of people there. Anyone could have done it. Or maybe Umbridge just overheard someone talking about it." Neville shrugged.
"I wish Hermione would get down here. She's going to be furious."
"We're still going to do it, right?" Neville asked, looking worried.
"Of course we are." Harry said firmly. "I'd say it's a bit important, unless you'd rather lay down and let Voldemort win."
"No way. I'm behind you one hundred percent."
Harry couldn't help feel a swell of pride at Neville's words. Hermione came down from the girls dormitories and was truly astonished to learn that Umbridge had disbanded every club in the school.
"She knows." Hermione whispered. "But how?"
"It must have been someone from the meting." Neville said, shaking his head.
"I can't have been. We took precautions."
"Precautions?" Harry looked at his friend with a humored expression. "Hermione, you all but advertised it."
"No. Everyone signed the contract."
"Wait a minute." Harry and Neville said together. "What contract?" Harry finished their thought.
"Daphne, Tracey and I thought it might be good to protect ourselves, and everyone who came to that meeting, and joined us. We came up with something to just that. The parchment was charmed. Anyone who signed it entered into a binding contract."
"You tricked them?" Harry looked appalled. "Hermione Jean Granger, what is wrong with you?"
"Oh stop it!" Hermione shouted back. "It had to be done, and need I remind you that I wasn't the only one involved. We all felt it was the best way to protect what we were doing."
"What happens if someone tells?" Neville asked.
"Let's just say that whoever opens their mouth will make Eloise Midgeon's acne look like cut freckles in comparison, and we'll know exactly who sold us out." Hermione folded her arms looking at the two boys proudly.
Harry only shook his head. He wasn't sure that he liked tricking people into keeping their silence, even though he recognized the need for security. But everyone should have been told. They should have known what they were signing. Harry decided he would talk to Daphne about it, and get her side of the story.
Harry, Neville and Hermione headed for the Great Hall, along with Ron who had joined them just as they were leaving the common room. It was quite clear when they reached the Great Hall how impact the latest decree was. Every student seemed to be talking about what this meant for their favorite clubs. Harry was unsurprised to learn that all the Quidditch teams had been disbanded along with every other club. Angelina Johnson had told Harry she would be speaking to McGonagall and then Umbridge about reforming the team.
"Professor Umbridge didn't even hesitate to allow the team to reform." Drawled Malfoy as students began lining up for potions. "She knows my father of course. He's always stopping by to see the Minister. She was very nice, you know."
"Don't listen to him." Daphne said as she took Harry's hand. "He's just trying to make you angry."
Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly, releasing his urge to lunge at Malfoy and beat some humility into the ferret.
"At least we know no one blabbed." Tracey smiled.
"Yeah, about that." Harry said, as he turned towards his girlfriend. "Why didn't you tell them what it was they were signing?"
"Because no one would have." Tracey said instantly. "Right now, no one trusts anyone else from the other houses. We're all going to be building trust in each other as we study together. If we'd come right out and told them about the contract, things would have been much worse."
"We're sorry we didn't tell you, Harry." Daphne said softly. "But Hermione said you wouldn't have agreed to it, and we knew we had to protect you. If someone told Umbridge, she'd come after you, regardless of the fact that we all were in on it."
"Fine." Harry sighed. "From no on, no more secrets. No more tricks."
Daphne gave a soft smile, and kissed his cheek. "I promise."
Potions turned out to be one of the hardest lessons they'd had yet, and it took every once of concentration Harry had to keep from melting his caldron. In the end, his Strengthening solution looked quite weak.
When the class ended, the students began to head out for lunch when Snape called out for Harry to stay behind. Harry made his way over to the potions master's desk, and waited for Snape to address him. The greasy haired man didn't say a word until every last student was gone, and he'd shut the door with a flick of his wand.
"The headmaster has asked me to teach you Occlumency, Potter." Snape said without any preamble. "You will report to me Thursday night at seven, and you are to speak of it to no one."
"What?" Harry gaped.
"Are you deaf, or are your ears in need of cleaning?" Snape spun on his heel to glare at the Gryffindor. "If asked, you will only say that you are taking remedial potions, is that in anyway unclear?"
"Not. I'm just…What exactly is Occlumency?" Harry asked truly bewildered.
"I have no time to explain it to you now. Thursday, at seven. Do not be late."
Snape waved his wand and the door opened. Harry knew he was being dismissed. He felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders. He was going to be having private lessons with Snape, and he had no idea what he was going to be studying.
"But, I have three days to find out." He vowed.