AN: "Do you know who I am!? I'm the man who's going to burn your house down! With the lemons!" -Cave Johnson, Portal 2
Classes were going well for Harry, except for the rumors that he was the heir of Salazar Slytherin. Yet again, Luna showed her loyalty, and so did the pictures that saw Harry running to the scene.
Many were curious about the Chamber of Secrets, and many people thought of asking, but many were too afraid to ask. In Transfiguration, Luna asked McGonagall the question that they had been dying to ask.
"Professor, what, exactly is the Chamber of Secrets?" The room became silent. Everyone abandoned their various attempts at transfiguration and focused entirely on the conversation taking place. McGonagall seemed to be stealing herself for what she was about to say.
"There are those among the faculty that do not wish me to tell you about the chamber. I, however, do not care. You need to know as it involves many of your lives. There are reliable historical documents that say this much. Hogwarts was founded, as you know by Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. The four lived in relative harmony for a while, but it is speculated that a bad experience with a Muggleborn caused Slytherin to become more selective with who he wished to teach magic. Slytherin, one day, began to only want to train pure magic families. The other three disagreed and, in a single argument with Gryffindor, Slytherin decided that he would forever leave the school. However, rumors spread rapidly among the students that Slytherin had, before leaving, built a secret chamber called the Chamber of Secrets. Its purpose was as follows.
"It has only been open twice so far, if you include the most recent event. Only the heir of Slytherin can open it. So far as we can tell, judging by the pattern of attack, the chamber contains a horror within that only the heir can control. This horror, if used according to the beliefs of Slytherin, will be used to kill off every single last Muggleborn in the school, and probably the squibs and non-purebloods as well." At this point, many were staring at Harry, even McGonagall looked somewhat curious, but Harry said,
"Well, that seems to exclude me then. I have a friend that's Muggleborn."
"But you can speak parseltongue, Harry." A random student asked,
"Yes, I could be the heir of Slytherin, but there's no way that I'm stupid enough to just go waltzing about and petrifying people while everyone knows that I could be the heir. Not only have that, but even the pictures of the school admitted that I was nowhere near the scene of the crime when it took place. Because of this, from the perspective of an unbiased observer, it is highly unlikely that I am the one who opened the Chamber, whether or not I'm an heir of Slytherin. That is, unless you call every painting in the school and Luna a liar, something that a very biased person would do."
"But it's still possible?"
"Of course it is. Someone could be walking about looking just like me, meanwhile the real me is off petrifying cats and Muggleborn, but considering that that is extremely unlikely, I highly doubt it. Especially since Luna would have to be in on it, too, because we share a bond that is complex enough to allow her to know exactly where I am at every moment of every day."
McGonagall interrupted this, saying "Well, hopefully everyone listened to that. Good, now back to the lesson…."
The class ended and some people said 'sorry.' when they passed him to leave. The next class that became interesting was Lockhart's. He was asked to give a demonstration of his defeat of a werewolf and called Harry up to be a werewolf. How coincidental.
"Professor, are you going to demonstrate on a human form? Or, can you let Luna cast a spell on me to have me appear a werewolf?"
"Whatever works, Harry."
The whole class looked curiously at Luna and Harry as they both went to the front of the classroom. Luna drew her wand and Harry just stood there, looking at Lockhart. Lockhart readied himself for whatever was about to happen and Luna provided the necessary wand movements for the complicated spell, yet didn't say the words, as if she was casting it silently. Harry then allowed his change to come. It was rather gruesome, actually. The students saw Harry grow larger than he once was, saw the teeth fall out of his mouth to be replaced by new ones, and the same with the nails. Fur covered his entire body and his brilliant green eyes drew the attention of anyone looking at him.
Harry detected a small flash of fear in Lockhart's eyes. He was hiding the fear with his face well, but not his smell, which told Harry that Lockhart was about *this* close to blasting Harry with the first deadly spell that came to mind. Lockhart knew that Luna only pretended magic at this point, as the teeth and nails wouldn't have fallen out and the change wouldn't be so slow. Lockhart said simply,
"Very realistic transformation, Luna, well done. Very real appearance as well. It's as if you really are a werewolf. Well, I don't think I need to enact this, as the purpose of this would only be to teach a practical lesson to the class. Now, what I did was pin him down on the ground and cast the highly complex Homorphus Charm, like so."
And when he said this, he made several complex movements with his wand and Harry felt something hit him in the chest, only it didn't do anything. Then, after doing nothing for about a second just to scare the students and the teacher, Harry obligingly transformed again. When he was done, several students appeared scared of him, but the teacher was calm. The room stank with fear. Harry felt a near-wolfish sense of humor in enjoying it. The class ended quickly and Lockhart stopped him on the way out, saying,
"Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood. Please join me in my office." Harry waited until everyone else was gone and then entered the office, followed by Luna. Lockhart, who had broken out a bottle of firewhiskey, asked them patiently,
"What exactly was that?"
Harry answered, "What do you mean?"
"I mean your blatant disregard of avoiding public attention. The fake magic thing with Luna was good, it actually came as a pleasant and scary surprise, but that thing you did at the very end…..How many people in that room do you think have seen that spell performed?! One? Two? Because if there was any at all, you can guarantee that there'll be at least a dozen people that now pay attention to what happens to you every month!...Now I recognize why you have that silver ring on, because it's obviously enchanted with a glimmer, but the stupid thing won't hide your paleness. Will you allow me to improve it for you?"
"Yes." Harry gave him the ring. When it came off, scars all over Harry's body showed. Lockhart flinched. Then, he briefly muttered at the ring while pointing his wand at it and gave it back. Harry put it back on and the scars went away again and he returned to his normal color as well. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because I have a friend who goes through the same thing. He isn't as well known as most werewolves, but he is treated horribly by most that find out."
"I'm sorry."
"Yes, me, too. Anyway, stay safe, Harry. Good day to you."
"Good day professor."
-oOoOo-
A few days later, Harry was thinking about other things as he was doing work in his and Luna's common room. He wondered if he could use unarmed magic while in his wolf form. Taking a trip to the room of requirement, he opened the door with the thoughts; I need to practice unaided magic in my wolf form. It gave him a forest clearing and tons of bookshelves full of books along the entrance. Luna said,
"I was wondering, Harry, have you gotten into that book on Light Magic, yet."
"No." When he said this, a bookshelf appeared full of books on light magic. Another one appeared full of books on altering spells for different variations of its effects. Then, he felt something that wasn't human briefly poke his mind, and the room expanded very rapidly into a room that was about three times larger than the great hall. Luna commented
"Wow, I can't think of any reason as to why the room expanded to this size. Maybe your patronus is huge?"
"Perhaps." Said Harry, looking at the books in the bookshelves. One book, being the largest in the shelf (5,813 pages, written on extremely thin paper in extremely small ink), caught his eye, called The Most Complete Guide on How to Alter Your Spell's Properties and Effects. Harry picked the book up, as well as a magnifying glass on the same shelf, and turned to a random page to read. Despite being quite a few pages in, the title of the page said, an introduction into altered spellcasting.
The basic theory of changing a spell is to use your imagination. The famous 'Expelliarmus' can be altered in many ways. In its most basic form, it simply knocks any object your opponent is carrying out of their hand and out of reach. However, with your imagination you can do that with their arms instead, or add a minor 'punch' to the spell, likely knocking your opponent over. The Patronus Charm is another famous example. Both its aided and unaided forms can be altered for various uses, simply by using your imagination. Let's say I cast a patronus. I can just have a regular patronus, or I can have two or three with that one spell. Also, if your patronus is corporeal, you can project it as a beam of light instead. (This doesn't repel a dementor, but it has been known to set people on fire in a way that is near-instantaneous and unblockable, causing an explosion of fire-less heat that set other objects on fire upon impact, and release all of the souls that a dementor has contained in them when the shock wave passes through them.) The same charm, when unaided, forms a shield around you, protecting you from almost all physical and magical harm, and can even send out waves similar to that sent out from a significantly powerful patronus, though they do not ward off dementors. However, with your imagination, you can use this same charm to make patronus copies of yourself or cast it in a beam of light as mentioned before.
Despite this, there are some charms that cannot be molded as easily with the mind. These spells are typically too specific anyway, such as 'Rictusempra' and 'Avada Kedavra.' Barely anyone has ever recorded testing the last one, as it always kills your target. However, there are reports that this spell can be altered to allow your target to 'briefly visit the other side', something that many want to do, but only a few want to risk. This modified spell is the only spell that has been known to change color when cast, the color in question is a blinding white. However, many who are hit by the modified spell frequently do not come back, and those that do usually enter a vegetative state in which, if they recover, they later report various uncomfortable experiences upon dying. Whether the varied results are caused by the target's choice to 'stay dead' has not been verified. In the few sources available for study on how to cast this spell, it is said that "Instead of feeling an overwhelming sense of murder, one must feel an extremely powerful form of love for the person. This love must not be accompanied by any other emotion except peace and joy, and must be rooted in complete understanding of the target." - Excerpt from 'A Journey to Death's Door - By Albus Dumbledore, Co-Authored by RoR.'
This field, as it is based on your imagination, is comically vast and ever-changing. As a result, this book will only have known spell variations of the day this book was written (June 10, 1990), and even then will not contain all known spell variations, though will contain all of the spell variations of the spells that it lists. For proper use of this book, use the table of contents, which have been organized alphabetically by spell name and have been written in the book in the same order for research purposes.
"OK." Said Harry quietly, flipping to the table of contents.
"What is it?" Luna asked.
"This is a book on how to alter your spells. It has alterations on pretty much every spell we know and more. It said some interesting things on the Patronus Charm."
"Can you read it out loud?"
"Of course, Luna." Then, Harry found 'Patronus Charm' under 'Defensive magic that require emotion' and turned to the page, reading out loud,
The Patronus Charm is an especially powerful charm that has many known variations. We will spare you the details of description, as that would make this book too long. The original spell is capable of forming an animal that represents one's greatest desire, or, if not powerful enough, only a mist
Shield (wand only): is capable of protecting from dementors, physical injury, and spells. More difficult to sustain when hit with spells, physical objects, or dementor's aura. Is easier to sustain than full patronus, but harder to sustain than mist. Simply imagine a funnel-like shield coming from your wand to alter original spell.
Patronus Armor (Unaided only): Is capable of protecting from most forms of physical and magical harm. If powerful enough, can radiate waves of emotion or form a second layer of shielding in the form of a sphere around the caster, both of which cause the caster to also fly. Cannot repel dementors. In fact, they have been known to feed on it, especially if the caster is radiating waves of emotion.
Dementor Patronus (wand only): Creates a black patronus in the form of a dementor. Dementor causes dementor aura, but cannot deliver dementor's kiss. Highly useful against Light Magic users. You are immune to its aura, but not the aura of other dementors. Feel an extreme emotional emptiness instead of happiness to alter spell.
Dementor Aura (unaided only): siphons life energy from all life around caster, as well as all happiness. Caster doesn't gain any siphoned happiness, but does gain life energy in either the form of healing or energy. Feel an extreme emotional emptiness instead of happiness to alter spell.
Patronus Beam (less powerful for unaided): Is incapable of repelling dementors or protecting from dementor aura, but is the only known spell capable of freeing souls from a dementor. Souls freed from a dementor can return to the body they belong to if the body is still intact, but will otherwise pass on from this realm. A wand strengthens the effects, acting as a projectile that explodes, radiates like patronus armor, causes severe structural damage, and sets anyone close enough on fire. The unaided version is simply a beam that burns anyone in its path. Simply imagine a beam of light coming out of your wand or hand when casting.
Feedback Patronus (wand only): Form of patronus powerful enough to radiate emotions like patronus armor. The difference is, you now receive the effects of said emotion, causing the patronus to become exponentially more powerful. Has been said to disintegrate dementors and release the souls within them. To cast, simply feel a sense of joy intense enough to add on that effect, then imagine the effect taking place.
Patronus clone (unaided only): Form of patronus armor that forms patronus clones of you. These patronuses are self-sustaining, self-actualizing, and sentient. They are capable of anything you are capable of, except for evil and dark magic. The only requirement to sustain these clones is to be alive. When these clones die, causes an explosion very similar to a Patronus Beam cast by a wand, but includes a beam of light that points upward. To stop clones from existing, imagine the clones becoming mist and then you absorbing them. To cast, imagine your patronus armor flowing off of you and becoming another you. Can do this a potentially infinite number of times. They have no affect on dementors but they do stop the dementor aura from spreading anywhere near them, offering protection to anyone relatively close to them.
"That could be useful," said Luna.
"Definitely. Want to try them out?"
"Yes." She said, starting first, whispering, "Expecto Patronum." Out of her wand came a patronus in the form of a werewolf.
"Is that me?" Harry asked.
"I believe so, Harry." She said, smiling at him. There was a sense of complete joy and love crossing into Harry's side of the bond from Luna's, which made it that much easier to cast his.
"Expecto Patronum." He whispered, and out of his wand burst an adult dragon. Norwegian Ridgeback, to be exact.
"I guess that explains why the room got so big." Luna said, smiling at him. They held hands and just watched the dragon and werewolf, and then Luna asked, "If our veela bond is more powerful than our mother's love bond with Norberta, then why do you have Norberta as a patronus?"
Harry simply waved his wand at the dragon and it condensed to take on Luna's gently smiling form. "Because it's not Norberta, it's you." Harry said. Despite not casting a feedback patronus, they both fed into each other's emotions, which increased the power of both of the patronuses before them. The werewolf and Luna patronuses sat together. The werewolf lay down in front of Luna, who gently stroked the werewolf's fur. Eventually, their patronuses got so powerful that it radiated their emotions back at them, creating a feedback loop of emotion that made both Harry and Luna feel emotions so powerful and so pure that to say that they were peace, love, and joy would barely scratch the surface of the true meaning and quality of their feelings. It took quite a few hours for them to stop this, and, at about 11PM, they went to bed, deciding to learn the patronus' variations sometime in the future.
-oOoOo-
Harry woke next to Luna on a day of a Quidditch match. They got up and got dressed. Harry showered as he always did in the morning because every month he had to shower in the morning after the full moon anyway. Breakfast was the usual bacon, eggs, hash browns, and, on Harry's account, the tenderist bloody meat he had ever tasted. They added some spices that made it taste amazing without overpowering the taste of blood. Harry's wolf, Asmund, had some bloody steak and Luna's boa constrictor, Cuddles, had nothing, as he had eaten several rats only yesterday and was still digesting, and was currently resting on the table, coiled up under the light. Luna and Harry shared deep bonds with the two of them. So much so that they swapped pets because Luna had a thing for wolves and Harry had a thing for snakes. At this point their bond was so thick that they were now capable of sharing certain magical talents, such as parseltongue, so Harry being able to speak parseltongue was no longer a reason to have a snake rather than a wolf, but they swapped anyway.
After finishing his meal, Harry asked, "Why do you think we eat in here instead of in the great hall, Luna?"
"Well it's obvious, isn't it? You're a werewolf, so you need bloody meat, something that they don't serve in the great hall, and if they did you would be the only one that would eat it, something that would tell everyone around you that you are not entirely human. I am a veela, something that everyone knows but still, the food that I need to properly function isn't served in the great hall, either, so I eat here. Not that I would part with you even if they did serve my food, of course."
"Hmm. Good point" and then Harry resumed eating
Luna laughed a little and said, "I think I have a perfect nickname for you."
"What is it?" Harry asked, ignoring his meat for a while
"Furry Potter." She said, laughing again. Harry laughed, too.
"Yeah, because wolves don't have hair, they have fur, and my original name is Harry."
"Yes." She said, her laugh slowly dying down. They returned to their food.
A few seconds later, Harry stopped eating and asked, "Hey, I wonder if I'm still a werewolf by definition?"
"Probably not. For one, we found out that you can use unaided magic while in wolf form. For another, you don't lose control of yourself when in wolf form. For another, you are able to transform at will, and the full moon only tempts you to transform. Also, since you've found out a way to transform instantly, you are probably closer to an animagus than a werewolf."
"Yes, but there's a spell that the ministry uses to detect werewolves."
"I know that charm. Should we try it out now?"
"Sure," said Harry.
Luna got out her wand and said, "Lychanus." Harry briefly glowed blue. "That's strange. It's supposed to turn you red according to wizarding law."
"Yep. Officially not a werewolf. Funny how that turns out. Do you think I could declare my condition now?"
"Whether or not you are a werewolf by law, many would still see you as one. I don't think we should risk it."
"Could we at least tell the teachers and our friends?"
"I think we could. Especially Lockhart, Snape, and Dumbledore, see what they have to say about it."
"Hmm. Perhaps we should hold a private meeting with only them?"
A picture above the fireplace of a Hogwarts Headmaster that used to be in Ravenclaw asked, "Would you like me to tell Dumbledore?"
Luna spoke up as Harry tucked into his meat. "Yes. Can you ask Dumbledore for a meeting between us and Lockhart, Snape, and him about Harry's Lycanthropy as soon as possible?"
"Of course, madam."
-oOoOo-
Harry and Luna had a meeting minutes later with Dumbledore, Lockhart, and Snape. Dumbledore spoke first in a calm and patient voice, "Alright, Harry, Luna, Why exactly are we here?"
Harry spoke first, "I am no longer a werewolf."
Snape asked, "How can that be possible?"
Harry looked at Luna awkwardly, looking for an answer, Luna said, "I discovered what caused Harry to lose his self-control in wolf-form and tore it out of his mind."
Lockhart interrupted, "How? Many people have already tried."
Luna answered, "I visited his hiding place on a full moon. For some reason-"
Snape cut in, "That could have gotten you killed!"
Luna spoke, "Yes, and it almost did, but it didn't. Anyway, for some reason the part of the disease that makes you lose control when you transform turned out to be caused by a highly inactive part of the brain, at least it is inactive when not transformed. When transformed, the normal parts of your brain that make up 'you' is isolated when in human form, just like the werewolf portion of the brain, so I just caught him while he was in wolf form and tore out the part of his mind that blocked the two portions from communicating. This allowed him to keep his powers and even allowed him to control when to use them, while not sacrificing the ability to control his actions when he is using them."
Dumbledore spoke to Harry, "What is the state of your transformations now?"
"I can control my actions and emotions. I can change on command. The change is more like an animagus transformation than a werewolf transformation. Full moons only tempt me to change. The werewolf identification charm identifies me with a blue glow rather than a red glow."
Lockhart spoke, "It seems you have cured Lycanthropy, Luna. You have no idea how many people are going to want you to see them on the full moon now."
"I'm glad to help, but it would be best for me to teach a few people within the werewolf community how to cure it instead of doing it myself. Unfortunately that means that I'll have to see a few young werewolves."
Lockhart spoke again, "Why do they have to be young?"
"Because….um, Harry?"
"Ah, yes. It's because she did it using an active form of Spirit magic that is almost indistinguishable from mind magic, except mind magic can only alter memory and spirit magic can alter everything about a person. Adults, for some reason, cannot use several different forms of Unaided Magic effectively, including Spirit Magic."
Lockhart said to Harry, "Well, usually you can't find werewolf children, but most werewolves are required to show up at meetings that occur one night before the full moon and then again at the same place at the full moon. But then there's the problem of the werewolves attacking you. Perhaps you could teach Harry the trick, Luna?"
Harry spoke, "Oh, I already know what she did. I can do it."
"How do you already know?"
"We can share thoughts and memories."
"Then why did you guys have to refer to each other?"
"Simply choosing to be polite." Harry said, Dumbledore smiled at this, saying,
"I'm glad the bond is coming on well."
"Us, too." They said in unison. Snape was reminded of the Weasley twins.
-oOoOo-
Harry attended his first Quidditch match of second year because his ring now allowed him to go into public near the full moon without looking suspicious. The combination of not cheering on the team and looking very sick almost every match would make a lot of people suspicious, but since he didn't look sick, they could just take his silence as introvertedness. After all, barely anyone saw Harry outside of classes nowadays. Things were going good. Harry had taken Cuddles with him to watch as well. Hey, everyone already knew that he could speak parseltongue, why not? Gryffindor was winning and everything. Harry wasn't cheering because he felt sick. Then a bludger came out of nowhere, hitting him on the head and cracking his skull. He remembered part of his vision turning red, and that terrible feeling of being pulled down….down….down. The last thing he remembered is about half a dozen screams in his mind when those that he was deeply bonded to realized that he was rapidly losing consciousness.
-oOoOo-
Harry felt like he was coming to the surface of a body of water, and was slowly gaining awareness again. The first thing he became aware of is the anxious mood of everyone in his mind, all of them waiting for him to wake. Moments later he sensed relief from them, but they stayed mysteriously quiet, as if he needed his privacy. At about the same time he was aware of a heavy, coiled weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to see what it was and was met instead with the frosty blue eyes of his most beloved.
"Luna." He said, and his head immediately exploded in pain, and the others in his mind felt it, too. The left side of his face didn't work right. Neither did his left arm. Or his left leg. Strange. Instead of saying it, he tried asking with his mind, "What hap-OH!" His mind exploded in pain again, except worse. None of them answered. Not a single thought or feeling from any one of them. Then, Madam Pomfrey spoke to Harry from a distance,
"You've received a major blow to the head from a rogue bludger. It impacted your skull so hard that the skull fragments punctured your brain, damaging brain tissue. I can heal a broken skull in a second, but brain tissue is gonna be harder, more painful, and takes much longer. The damaged portions of your brain are on the right side and related to language and motor control, which means that trying to move your left side or communicating with language will cause a massive migraine. Though that may slightly speed up the process, the pain isn't worth it." Then she went away to treat another patient.
Luna spoke now, "Harry, squeeze my hand if you're ok." She said, holding Harry's right hand. He squeezed. "Squeeze my hand if you want me to stay with you." He squeezed, she seemed pleased. Luna sat down on a chair to the right of his bed and the thing on his chest moved into view as it slithered to rest on Luna's shoulders, revealing itself to be Cuddles. Luna resumed talking, "We have no idea who made the bludger attack you, which made Cuddles very defensive of you. As far as we knew, someone was trying to kill you. She wouldn't let anyone touch you. I had to carry you here myself, then I had to convince her that Madam Pomfrey wasn't trying to finish the job. Madam Pomfrey was a little surprised that I could speak parseltongue, too."
Harry simply laughed a little, which made his head twinge in pain. Madam Pomfrey came back with a potion of some pinkish grey potion that tasted like fat, so Harry drank it eagerly. Madam Pomfrey was surprised, saying, "Most people think it tastes terrible! You are a strange one, Harry Potter."
Luna responded with, "Yes, he is." in a far away voice that told Harry that she was thinking about all of the ways that he was strange. Harry laughed a little again and, surprisingly it only slightly hurt. He wondered why until he began drifting off into sleep. Just before he passed out he wondered if he had been given a sleeping draught.
-oOoOo-
Luna eventually put her hand in Harry's and fell asleep at the bed, Cuddles standing guard. Day turned to night and then Dobby the house elf apparated into the room with a 'SNAP!' which woke Luna, but not Harry, from rest.
"Hello," said Luna, slightly tired. Dobby looked at Harry, then asked,
"Why is Harry Potter, sir, still at school?"
"Because he's not dead. I doubt the Dursleys would allow him to come back early, even if he was dead. Why are you here? Who are you?"
"My name is Dobby. I'm here because something bad in the school is going to happen and Harry can't be here because he's in danger. Harry can't be at school."
"Wait….you caused this?" She asked in her usual, calm voice.
"Yes, Madam, I-"
"You came very close to killing him, do you know that?"
"Yes, I-"
"And do you know that if you do kill him, I die with him?"
"Yes, but-"
"Dobby, I need you to stop trying to save his life, because all you are going to do is kill him, and by extension me, and if Voldemort ever comes back, you will be responsible for every life that he takes that Harry and I could have saved had we been alive. I appreciate your concern, but we don't need you to interfere. In fact, we need you to not interfere. Do you understand?"
"But-"
"Dobby, if you say anything instead of 'OK' and stop trying to get Harry out of school, I will personally make sure you die." She said in her usual, spacey voice which, when combined with the death threat, sounded very sincere and even more threatening than it should have.
"He's going to kill Harry, Luna."
"Who?"
"I can't tell anyone the name." He said, making a big 'V' with his arms.
"Is it about the Chamber of Secrets?"
"I can't tell you." He said, while vigorously nodding his head, causing his ears to flap comically.
"Well, I'm sorry you can't tell me anything." She said, smiling and mouthing the words 'thank you'. Dobby disappeared with a 'Pop!' and then Luna settled down to sleep again. Right after she began to settle down, she heard a group of two quietly enter the room, then something really heavy was put on one of the beds. Dumbledore whispered,
"Get Madam Pomfrey, Minerva." Professor McGonagall hurried past Harry and Luna out of sight. Luna heard urgent voices, and then the professor swept back into sight with Madam Pomfrey, who was pulling on a cardigan over her nightgown. She gasped.
"What happened?" Pomfrey whispered.
"We don't know. Dumbledore found him this way, just outside. We think he was trying to sneak in to give Harry grapes." McGonagall said. Luna got up and crossed the room to them, seeing the three of them surrounding a bed with a petrified Colin Creevey, who happened to have a camera up to his face.
Dumbledore looked over with a slightly shocked expression, "What are you-?"
Madam Pomfrey interrupted, "Oh, she's here for Harry. You know, the bond and all, I figured arguing with her would be useless."
Luna spoke calmly, "The most curious elf showed up telling me that Voldemort is trying to use the monster within the chamber to kill Harry. Apparently, Colin was at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, I have a hunch on what the monster may be."
"Do tell us, Luna," said McGonagall.
"Something related to snakes. He's the only one we know of, except for me, that can speak parseltongue. At the time of the last attack, he heard a voice that only he could hear, and I couldn't because I couldn't speak parseltongue back then. Also, it has to be able to lay dormant for many years for obvious reasons."
Dumbledore said grimly, "Sounds like a basilisk. That isn't good. Why hasn't anyone died….Oh, because they didn't look directly into its eyes. It was the water with the cat and the camera with Colin. The camera…." Dumbledore took the camera from Colin's petrified hands and opened it, as if trying to get at a photo of it. When it opened, a puff of black, putrid smoke came out of it.
"It was worth a try" Said McGonagall.
Dumbledore said, "We need to find that chamber and kill that basilisk. I feel that the board might have us empty the school if it attacks again. I'll try to keep the press off of us, but I don't know how long that will last. Luna."
"Yes?"
"I need you to investigate the location of the chamber with Harry. The very moment you find it, you need to come and tell us, do you understand?"
"Why can't you search for it professor?"
"Because the board thinks that if a headmaster or teachers go looking for the chamber of secrets, then they must clearly be wasting time as well as insane, which gives them a really good reason to fire them. That's how I became headmaster. After the first death because of the chamber of secrets, the headmaster started looking for the chamber and got fired for it."
"Did Lucius Malfoy have anything to do with it?"
"Obviously."
"Good thing we ended up with you instead of some puppet, Dumbledore."
"Thank you, Luna. Now, we better get out before Harry wakes from the noise." And they left. Luna went back to Harry.
-oOoOo-
Harry recovered nicely and left with Luna and Cuddles in the morning. Word got out about a dueling club, so Harry and Luna went back to the Ravenclaw common room, taking Cuddles and Asmund. The announcement board had nearly empty signup sheets for said club and they both immediately signed up, staying there to catch up with Hermione afterwards. They noticed that a lot of people had signed up after Harry and Luna had signed up. They went back to their own common room and Harry enchanted Cuddles with several protective spells, planning on using her for the dueling club, which is happening after Christmas.
Harry and Luna, before dinner, began to get ready for the werewolf meeting, as it was happening that night. They heard a knock on the door, signaling their first visitor. Harry looked at Luna and asked,
"Would it be okay if I answered the door?"
"Yes." she said simply, Harry answered the door, finding Lockhart.
"Ah, Hello, Harry. Do you still want to come with me to the werewolf meeting?"
"Can I bring Luna?" Harry asked. Lockhart had a slightly pained expression, but said,
"Yes, can I come in?"
Harry glanced back at Luna, who nodded. Harry turned back and said, "Of course, Lockhart." He came in slowly and sat on the big couch and sniffed the air, saying,
"Luna, you smell like a werewolf."
Luna responded, "Well that could be as a result of my closeness to Harry all the time."
"Yes, that would do it. Anyway, you guys need to know some basic werewolf culture."
Harry interrupted, "I have already read Lupin's book on the subject, and have shared my knowledge and thoughts on the matter with Luna."
Lockhart looked a little deflated, as if he was just getting excited about something just to find out that it was all rather pointless. "Ok, well, there's another thing. I'm a werewolf." He said, taking off a ring to reveal several scars and an extremely sick complexion.
Harry, and Luna by extension, wasn't very surprised. He actually expected it, considering that he didn't have a veela/werewolf wife bonded to him and that he wasn't a veela himself and was still going to the meeting. That and the fact that he smelled werewolf on Luna "Wow. So that thing with the werewolf in the phone booth didn't work out too well as you wrote, did it?"
He half grinned, "No, that actually did go well, but the mother of that werewolf wanted revenge, so she placed herself right outside my window on another full moon a few years back, and I woke up with my arm all torn up and chewed on. Bleeding profusely. It wasn't a very good night for me. Had to kill the poor misguided lady." He seemed to grimace at this. "Anyway, any questions?"
"How do you think I should proceed curing the other werewolves?"
"Tell them about it and show off at what you can do in wolf form. Many of them, even Greyback, will be intrigued at the idea of being able to control their mind and their transformations. I bet he would love it. Then, the next day when the group meets again and they transform, just start curing as many as you can."
"And what if I challenge Greyback?" Harry said, knowing that he supports Voldemort.
"And why would you do that?"
"If he advocates for Voldemort, for one. If he tries supporting the idea of purposely infecting others for another."
"Well….be impressive about your control of it to him. Talk about the rush and the ability to avoid danger while wreaking havoc because you are no longer mindless. Talk about how he could now become a werewolf every day instead of once every twenty eight. Then, when he seems to hunger for it, make the price of such a gift that he and his pack must renounce all allegiances to Voldemort and must stop purposefully infecting other people."
"And how do I make him keep his promise?"
"Simple. A wizard's contract. All you have to do is hold your wand in the air and say 'I,' in this case, 'Fenrir Greyback do swear that I renounce all allegiances and loyalties with Voldemort and that I will no longer infect another being with Lycanthropy if they don't want to be.' The thing is, unlike an unbreakable bond where it kills you if you break it, you simply can't break this contract. Every time he will try to infect another or have positive relations with Voldemort or any of his followers, they will find it impossible to do. These contracts come in the form of signing parchments as well, one form of contract that Dumbledore used to keep the Room of Requirement secret so that you can hold lessons there."
"Impressive. Do you think I could do that in parchment form, then?"
"Yes, I believe so. It would probably be better. I think it would be best if signing the contract causes them to be knocked out in wolf form until they are cured, just to keep them docile until you can act."
"Sounds good. Can you get that to me now?"
"Of course." He said, pulling out a really long piece of parchment and writing some words on it, then muttering the words as he pointed his wand at it. "There you go. Make sure not to tear the parchment up or anything." He said, rolling up the big parchment into a scroll and giving it to Harry. "Another thing, Harry. You are an Alpha."
Luna broke in, "Why am I not surprised?"
Harry smiled at Luna, saying, "OK, Lockhart, tell me more about being an Alpha."
"Well, if you've already read Lupin's book, it's pretty exhaustive. As in, being 'Alpha Material' isn't too complicated. The only thing you truly need to worry about is the twisted reality of those around you. You are twelve now, only a pup to them, yet you are also Alpha Material, meaning that they feel that they need to respect you, despite being only twelve. Of course, you have grown quite a bit since being bitten and actually have the body of an athletic fifteen year old, but that's only going to throw some madness into the mix. They're really going to want you to challenge one of the current Alphas just to get you out of the way. They're going to do whatever they can to throw you off. They could challenge you to a few duels, wrestling matches, and if you don't keep Luna close, they'd probably try to damage the relationship in more ways than one."
Harry said, "I seem to be very good at dueling. Haven't tried wrestling, but it sounds fun. I've trained Luna well enough to be able to destroy a whole city if she so wished, so I'm not worried of someone harming her, and she knows to be careful about what she ingests. I'm absolutely loyal to Luna, no doubt about that, and she's loyal to me, which would have even less doubt if it were possible. Anything else we need to know about?"
"Yes. Be humble, say little, but don't tolerate insults. Especially if someone tries to call you an Omega. Physical violence is what is expected when Alpha Material is called an Omega, and if it isn't used then you are typically looked down on by those around you until you can redeem yourself."
"Well….I don't care much for public opinion, but I want them to listen to me. So, how much physical violence?"
"Just enough to make a point, Harry, I'm not asking you to kill anyone."
"Very well, when should we leave?"
Lockhart looked at his clock, raised his eyebrows, grabbed a bag he brought with him, and started walking through the door, "Um, right now, actually."
AN: Please comment! How's the story going? What do you think about certain things going on? Is there anything that I could change or improve? Is there anything you absolutely love or think it is intriguing? Say what you need to say! :)
AN: I've made a new community with all of my favorite Harry Potter Fanfiction, do any of you want to join it and put their favorite ones down as well? If so, please tell me.