Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

This chapter is dedicated to BlueMoon-Tenshi, who gave me the idea for the Dueling Club scene. Thank you! :)

Chapter 11

I didn't sleep very well that night. Something about re-growing bones in your sleep…it just isn't as easy as it sounds. After a while though, I did manage to fall asleep. It wasn't long afterwards that I was woken up again, but this time it wasn't from pain - there was a loud pop that went off in the room.

I sat up quickly, ignoring the stabbing feeling that I felt in my arm and leg to see what was in the room. In between Harry's bed and my bed stood a small creature that had huge, green eyeballs.

"Dobby?" I said.

I saw Harry staring at him too, wondering why he was there.

"Harry and Emily Potter came back to Hogwarts!" he squealed. "Even after Dobby warned them, even after Harry and Emily Potter missed the train!"

"How did you-" Harry started.

"It was you!" I said. "You blocked the entrance, didn't you?"

Harry's head shot right in Dobby's direction, anger in his eyes. Dobby looked down at the ground, guilt in his large eyes.

"Why would you do that?"

"Dobby had to stop Harry and Emily Potter!" he squealed. "Dobby never thought that they would find another way!"

I looked over at Harry, who looked as though he wanted to hurt Dobby for what he had done. If it wasn't for his arm then he probably would have strangled him.

"Harry and Emily Potter must go home at once! Dobby thought that when his bludgers hit both of that-"

"YOUR bludgers?" Harry asked him. "They were YOUR bludgers?"

"Dobby was only trying to make Harry and Emily Potter leave Hogwarts. There are great dangers here this year! Dobby cannot let Harry and Emily Potter to stay here while history repeats itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open again-"

"Again?" I asked. "What do you mean again Dobby?"

"Does that mean that it's been opened before?" Harry asked.

Dobby remained silent and looked horrified that he had told us that much.

"Who is it Dobby?" Harry asked him.

"Who opened the Chamber of Secrets last time?" I asked him.

"Dobby must leave," he said.

Then, with a single snap of a finger, Dobby was gone. Then I heard voices coming from the door to the hospital wing. Immediately, Harry and I laid down and acted as though we were still asleep.

I opened my eyes slightly so that I could watch what was happening only feet away from me. In the room stood Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore carrying what looked like a statue. They set this statue on a bed and began to talk to Madam Pomfrey.

I looked back over to the statue and saw a familiar face on it. It was Colin Creevey, the boy that always had that camera.

"Petrified?" Madam Pomfrey asked when she looked at Colin.

Both McGonagall and Dumbledore nodded and looked over at Colin.

"Do you think that he could have gotten a picture of his attacker?" McGonagall asked pointing to his camera.

They walked over to the petrified body of Colin and took the camera from his hands. When they went to open up the camera, it let out smoke.

"It was melted…" Dumbledore said.

"What does this mean?" McGonagall asked.

Dumbledore let out a sigh and set the camera down slowly.

"It means that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more."

McGonagall looked shocked.

"But…who could have opened it?" she asked.

"It isn't a matter of who, Minerva…it's how…"

I woke up the next morning with both an arm and a leg that once again had bones. It still felt a little funny, but at least everything was back where it was supposed to be. Both Harry and I were released from the hospital wing later that day.

When we found Ron and Hermione, we quickly told them everything that had happened the night before.

"So…it's been opened before?" Hermione asked us.

"I guess so…" Harry said.

"That's what Dumbledore said," I told her.

"It has to be Malfoy then," Ron said. "His dad probably opened it before and then told him how to do it."

I sighed. I still didn't think that it was Malfoy, but Ron did have a point. Draco's father went to Hogwarts and was also in Slytherin - along with the rest of his family. Draco Malfoy, even though he is a prat, could possibly be the heir of Slytherin.

"So, I guess we are going to have to get a move on with this Polyjuice Potion," I said.

"Well, I've already been gathering the ingredients…" Hermione said. "There are still more that we are going to need though and I was thinking that we could probably get them from Snape's office tomorrow during double Potions."

"Good idea."

Throughout the rest of the day, the only thing, or person rather, that was on everyone's mind was Colin Creevey. Everyone was terrified that they were going to be next.

A lot of the students were getting all kinds of things that were supposed to protect them from things like this. I saw Neville during lunch that day wearing an odd looking onion around his neck.

"Neville, I thought that you were a pureblood," I said. "The monster is only going after Muggle-borns."

"I know that, but you never know," he said. "They did go after Filch…"

"He's also a Squib," I told him.

"I'm not that far from being a Squib…" Neville mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Well, I'm not very good at magic."

"That doesn't mean that you're a Squib!"

"I know my Gran said that she was convinced that I was going to be one when I was younger. I didn't show any signs of magic for a long time."

In mid-December I had nearly finished making the potion. I was only missing a few ingredients, but Hermione assured me that she would be able to get them from Snape without him knowing it.

Considering that all of us had signed up to stay during the Christmas holiday, Malfoy also decided to stay which was a little suspicious, we decided that it would be best to take the potion then so we could disguise ourselves as some Slytherins that weren't there.

Then Monday came along and we had double Potions. We had to make a Swelling Solution in class, one that I had already read the instructions to in the book that Hermione had given me for Christmas the year before. We decided that it was best if Harry and Hermione took from the store because they sat closer to Snape's office.

"Potter, your potion is far too runny…" Snape sneered at Harry. "Maybe if you had actually read the instructions, you would have gotten it right."

I could tell that Harry wasn't really paying attention to what Snape was saying and was just waiting for the signal from Hermione. Fred and George had given me one of the fireworks that I had helped them with and had given it to Harry to throw into someone's cauldron to create the distraction.

Right when Snape turned around, I saw Hermione nod and Harry pulled out the firework. He lit it with his wand and quickly threw the firework into Goyle's potion on the other side of the aisle without anyone else noticing.

BOOM!

Goyle's Swelling Solution splattered in every direction and got on everyone in the area. I felt some of it hit my hands as Harry and Hermione ran into Snape's office.

"Everyone calm down!" Snape yelled. "Anyone that was hit, come over here and take the antidote."

By the time I made it over to get the antidote, my hands were the size of baseball mitts. It was ridiculous. On my way back to my desk, my hands were now their normal size, I noticed Harry and Hermione back at their desks with their robes bulging from the ingredients that they had stolen.

"What is this?" Snape snarled as he pulled out the firework from Goyle's cauldron.

Everyone went completely silent and looked around, trying to see if anyone would come forward.

"If I find out who did this, I will make sure that they are expelled!"

Once we got out of class, we practically ran back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to finish the potion. Harry and Hermione handed me the last of the ingredients and I quickly threw them together in the cauldron and stirred everything up, making sure to follow each step perfectly.

"Now we just have to wait two weeks for it to be finished…" I said.

"Why do we need a Dueling Club?" I asked.

We were all gathered around in the Gryffindor common room reading a flyer that said that this club was starting.

"You never know, it could help," Seamus said.

"It couldn't hurt I guess," I said. "Should we go?"

We all went into the Great Hall that night to see what this club was going to be all about. Apparently, a lot of people were wondering about the club too because a lot of people showed up. All of the tables had been put up and where they had been sat a large stage.

"I wonder who the teacher is going to be," Hermione said.

"As long as it isn't Lockhart," I muttered and immediately was disappointed.

Walking on the stage was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart wearing purple robes and the same obnoxious smile on his face. Following behind him was Snape wearing black as he usually did.

"Welcome all!" Lockhart smiled. "I have been given permission to start a little dueling club to teach you young ones a little about fighting. I know that you may be intimidated by my amazing skill-" Ron, Harry, and I all snorted. "- but that is okay, you are all students!"

He smiled down at all of us and then motioned towards Snape.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," Lockhart said. "He claims to know a little about dueling himself and will be helping me with a little demonstration! Don't worry though, you'll still have your Potion's teacher when I'm finished with him!"

Lockhart laughed and looked back at Snape who had a dead expression on his face.

"Hmmm…let's make this a little interesting, shall we?" Lockhart said.

Snape looked over at Lockhart with a look that suggested that he had absolutely no idea what was going on. He looked around in the crowd and his eyes stopped on me.

"Emily Potter!" Lockhart smiled at me. "Would you be willing to help me with something?"

I looked around and then back at him, wondering what he wanted.

"Now?" I asked him.

"Of course!" Lockhart said.

"I'm good…" I said. "I think I can just watch…"

"You three, get her up here," Lockhart asked some of the older kids that were in the front.

Three seventh year students came over to me and half-forced me up onto the stage. Snape gave me a questioning look, but I was just as confused as he was.

"What is he doing?" I whispered to Snape.

"No idea…"

Then Lockhart turned over to us and smiled.

"Now, we are going to do a little reenactment now, okay?" he said to us. "As you all remember from my book Battling Against the Dark, I had to save several people from a dark wizard that was trying to enslave them. What we're going to do here is show you what happened!"

I looked off the stage at Harry and Ron who were rolling their eyes and at Hermione who looked extraordinarily jealous that I got to be up here with Lockhart.

"Snape here is going to act as the dark wizard that I attack and Emily is going to be the one that I am going to save!"

Snape and I looked at each other and back at Lockhart.

"Why are we doing this?" I asked him.

"Oh, just go with it!" Lockhart said. "You're the innocent and defenseless little girl, which isn't that far of a stretch actually! Go over there now!"

I walked to where he was directing me and crossed my arms. This was ridiculous.

"Let's make this a little more realistic, shall we?" Lockhart smiled.

He pointed his wand at me and waved it in the air, out of it came several ropes and a chair. The ropes tied themselves around me and attached me to the chair. Then, with another flick of his wand, my outfit transformed into a pink dress.

"Excuse me!" I yelled. "I didn't sign up for this!"

"Be silent, child!" Lockhart said. "I'm coming to rescue you!"

I was completely humiliated.

Lockhart began to pounce all over the place, looking like a complete idiot. Snape just stood there in front of me, looking entirely bored with the entire situation. Then Lockhart and Snape stood in front of each other and bowed.

"You must let the girl go!" Lockhart said, attempting to act out the scene.

Snape rolled his eyes and raised his wand, Lockhart copying this motion.

"Now, on the count of three we will both cast our first spell, not trying to kill of course - something that I had to do in the real scenario!"

"One - two - three!"

"Expelliarmus!" Snape cried.

Before Lockhart could defend himself, a flash of red light hit him square in the chest and he was thrown backwards and fell flat on his face.

I couldn't hold back a laugh when I saw Lockhart hit the ground and the Slytherins cheered.

"Can I leave now, this is ridiculous!"

Snape waved his wand once and the ropes and chair were gone and I was free to go. With a second flick of his wand, the dress that I was wearing transformed back into my Hogwarts uniform.

"Ah, the Disarming Spell! I was completely prepared for that, I just wanted you all to see its effects," Lockhart said as he stood up. "Excuse me, Emily! The demonstration isn't over."

"Actually, it is," I said as I walked off the stage.

Lockhart went to say something else, but Snape stepped forward and gave him one of the most threatening looks that I had seen from him, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"What was that about?" Harry asked me when I got over to them.

"You tell me," I said. "Lockhart is a complete idiot! I have no idea what he was trying to prove there."

"Okay, well that will be all the demonstrations for now then…" Lockhart said. "How about we get into pairs?"

We all stood around, looking for partners. Ron and Harry were together and Hermione went with me.

"I don't think so," Snape said to Harry and Ron. "Potter, you go with Malfoy, Weasley with Finnigan."

Snape's eyes flickered in my direction, but he continued to walk.

We started our duels, both Hermione and me were practicing the disarming spell that Snape had showed us. Then we turned to see Draco and Harry fighting. A snake had come out of Draco's wand and was making its way towards Harry and looked like it was going to attack him.

"Stop!" Harry said.

Everyone went silent and stared at Harry. Then the snake slithered over to Justin, the kid from our Herbology class, and began to hiss at him.

"Leave him alone!" I said to the snake.

It looked over at me and people's mouths dropped as they looked from Harry to me.

I then noticed that the entire room was all staring at us with fear and confusion in their eyes. What was wrong with everyone?

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