New Chapter :)

I am sorry it took me so long. new Job, Covid and a new puppy is a lot in a year.

Hope you enjoy it.

Harry Norwood

Chapter 16

When Harry awoke again his whole body ached. He noticed he was in a comfy bed and covered with a light blanked. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was in the hospital wing.

"A finally you're awake" said a voice next to him. Harry turned his head around in pain. Cedric was in the bed next to him.

"What happened?" Harrys voice was hoarse.

"Well from what I was told you crashed into the ground after catching the snitch."

"Did we win then?" Harry wondered. Cedric nodded.

"Yeah we did but the most important thing is that you're okay." In that moment madam Pomfrey walked in.

"Ah I see you are awake Mr. Norwood good to see. How are we feeling?" She asked him waving her wand over him.

"Everything hurts" was all Harry said.

"Well that is to be expected. Luckily you only fell from about a meter and a half but still. Bruised rips and a concussion not to mention the head wound that I already fixed." She explained before she handed him a cup. "drink this. It stops the aching and pain. You will have to spend the night here." Harry gingerly took the cup and drank. The taste made him gag but not throw up luckily.

"What happened to Grant?"

"Well Mr. Potter took a harder fall than you did. The bludger hit him in the arm breaking it in multiple places. He also has a concussion and bruised rips. He is still out" Harry nodded simply. "Dinner will be served soon" with that madam Pomfrey left again. Harry turned to Cedric again.

"How long was I out?"

"Quite a while. Maybe three or four hours?" Harrys eyes widen in shock. They spent the rest of the evening going over the game. Cedric was quite impressed with what he was told. "Looks like I made the right decision with you then." Harry blushed a bit at that. With dinner came another potion for Harry to take. A dreamless-sleep-potion. Soon after he was in a deep slumber.

When he awoke the next morning he felt better than ever. Sure his chest still hurt a bit but he hasn't slept this well in ages. Grant was also awake now and congratulated Harry on his catch. It sure was weird that he was being nice and polite. After breakfast both Harry and Cedric were released. When they arrived back in the common room there was a loud cheer and chants of "HARRY HARRY HARRY" all over the room. Everyone wanted to shake his hand. Harry felt like a little kid on Christmas and couldn't stop grinning. Even Professor Sprout showed up and congratulated him and the rest of the team. There Harry found out that while he was chasing the snitch the chasers managed to score 6 more goals. The total outcome was 330 to 160 for Hufflepuff. This meant that they won the Quidditch cup. The party went on the rest of the day. There were snacks and drinks, music, games and laughter all around. The rest of the year went by quickly. Due to their Quidditch win Hufflepuff came in a close second in the house cup right after Gryffindor. Dumbledore behaved and nothing out of the ordinary happened. The strangest thing was that Grant seemed to be a bit nicer and politer while Ron was still annoying. Both of them still had a giant ego though.

From his correspondence with both Ginny and madam Bones Harry found out that it was indeed Malfoy who gave Ginny the diary but nothing happened to him unfortunately since he is such a close friend with the minister. Harry was pissed at this. They all were. Daphne explained that this is normal for old pureblood families to get away with most things. Especially if they are close with the minister. Harry sure was glad that Daphne and the other pureblood decided to teach them everything they need to know. By the end of the year they had somewhat learned how to properly behave and it made quite a difference in their interactions especially with the Slytherins. They now understood why they acted the way they did. Of course they still had to be discrete about it.

Madam Bones also informed him that the Auror department would do a complete sweep of the castle during the summer. That way it was safer for the children. Harry was invited to the ministry that summer. The person who inspected the diary wanted to meet him. Especially after Harry entrusted madam Bones with his secret that he could talk to snakes.

Summer started of great. The weather was good and they had gotten a new pool which meant that Harry and Bella were in there almost everyday all day. Ginny had wanted to invite him over to say thanks but they were traveling to Egypt to visit her oldest brother. Harry was a bit jealous at that but hoped she would have some fun. During the second week Harry was invited to the ministry by madam Bones request.

He was amazed by the size of the ministry. The deep green tiles made it look quite mysterious and a bit scary but still amazing. She let him down to level nine. Some place called department of mysteries. There he was introduced to an older man names Saul Croaker. A senior member of the Unspeakable's. Harry learned that unspeakable's work for the ministry but no one really knows what they do. But research is one of their tasks. Madam Bones had given him the diary and apparently something concerned him so he wanted to speak with Harry. Also with the approval of Harry, Croaker was told that he could speak with snakes.

"I can't really tell you what I have found but know this. There was some incredibly dark magic inside that diary. And when madam Bones told me of your ability I just had to meet you." he sounded kind of excited. Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

"What does my ability have to do with this?"

"Well you have been able to figure out what went on at Hogwarts so let's see if you can put this together as well" he smiled. Harry shrugged and simply nodded. "Well I just told you that I got interested in you after I checked the diary right?" Harry nodded again. "Madam Bones tells me you can talk to snakes" Harry nodded again. "You found out what creature hides inside the chamber, presumably but I believe you to be right" again Harry just nods. "And last but not least you know who the diary belonged to right?" again Harry only nodded."Well...any ideas?" the man smiled at him. Madam Bones just looked confused but interested at the both of them.

Harry thought and he thought hard. 'The diary belonged to Tom Riddle. He opened the chamber 50 years ago. There is a basilisk inside the chamber. A basilisk is a giant snake. I can understand snakes. Was Tom able to understand them too?'

"Tom Riddle was a parselmouth just like me right?" Harry asked carefully. Croaker smiled wide and nodded.

"You are correct Harry. We have to assume he was or still is. Tell me Harry do you know what an anagram is?" Harry nodded again. "Wonderful. I am myself a bit of a puzzle fan and like to do crossword puzzles and anagrams so I thought why not try it with Tom Riddles full name. I know you might wonder why but I just had this nagging feeling in the back of my head. You see when you rearrange the letters from Tom Marvolo Riddle it can spell I am Lord Voldemort" Harry and madam Bones both gasp at this. "Paired with the kind of magic I detected in this diary it makes perfect sense."

"So You know who was behind all of this? But isn't he dead?" Harry had so many questions in his head and madam Bones seemed curious too.

"Well that is a difficult subject and not one for you to worry about but the magic in the book was placed there 50 years ago when he was still young. Some magic, especially dark magic, can last that long." Harry nodded and noticed that madam Bones was writing frantically in a notebook. "Tell me Harry does anyone else in your family speak to snakes?" Harry shook his head.

"No sir. I am adopted."

"Well parseltongue is a hereditary gift. Meaning it is passed down from parent to child. If you are ever interested in finding out about your birth family I suggest a visit to the goblins" Harry nodded.

"I know. I am saving up for the test. Please don't tell my parents." Croaker nodded.

"Now I know it is summer and you probably want to go back to enjoying it but before you leave I would like to run some diagnostics spells on you just to make sure the diary didn't mess with you okay?" Harry looked unsure. "They won't hurt. You won't feel a thing" Harry nodded at this. "Okay please stand still" Croaker waved his wand around Harry a few times in silence. Strange coloured lights appeared around him.

"Interesting. Very interesting. I was expecting some results but not this high. Especially not higher than with miss. Weasley."

"You've did this with Ginny too? What does this mean?"

"Well most dark magic leaves a mark on people it affected. It could be wounds, rashes, mental problems anything really. Miss. Weasleys readings I expected as she spent month writing into the diary but yours are extremely high like you're still being affected and have been for years, even though the dark magic has been destroyed. Tell me Harry do you have unusual markings on your body? wounds you can't explain? memory loss? sleeping problems? anything like that?" Harry thought again. He had the scar that they removed years ago, the nightmares that bothered him since early childhood but nothing new. He told this to Croaker.

"Hmm...Interesting. You don't happen to know where you have gotten that scar do you?" Harry shook his head. "And the nightmares could you explain them to me?" Harry went on explaining the returning nightmare of the green light and screaming. Croaker and madam Bones shared a look. "Let me run another test real quick" Again he waved his wand around Harry this time longer. "As I feared. The same dark magic as in the diary. Somehow it must have attached itself to you when you were a baby"

Harry was shocked to hear this. "But how? And why?"

"Well I can't really explain it since I wasn't present in that moment but I can only presume that your parents, your birth parents that is, were killed by the killing curse, most likely by Voldemort himself, and you were injured somehow and the dark magic attached itself to you"

Madam Bones wrote all of this down eagerly.

"WHAT?" Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. His birth parents might be dead? How did he end up outside of the orphanage then? Could the dark magic be removed from him? He voiced his questions to Croaker.

"Well I can't answer the first two questions. For the first one we would need to know who they were first. But it were crazy times back then. About removing the dark magic well that is possible but I never seen this type of magic on a human. Usually one uses objects for this. I will have to research this further. I hope this is okay for you?" Harry slowly nodded.

"Won't the dark magic hurt me?" Harry was concerned by all of this.

"I don't think so. It hasn't done so so far" Croaker replied.

"This is a lot of information. Information that I don't want everyone to know. Best to keep this between us three for now." Madam Bones spoke in a commanding tone. Harry and Croaker nodded. Madam Bones pulled out a pice of parchment. She wrote something down and handed both her quill. "Please sign this contract. I want to make sure you keep your word." Croaker signed without hesitation. But Harry looked confused.

"How will a pice of parchment keep me from talking about it?"

"It is a magical contract. Let's just say if you break it you will be instantly punished." Harry nodded at this and gulped as he signed his name. "Good. I think we are done here for now?" the other nodded. "We will let you get back to work now Mr. Croaker. Please keep me updated." He bid them a farewell and Harry and Madam Bones.

"Will you keep me updated as well?" Harry asked curious.

"On some parts yes. You shouldn't have to worry about these things" Harry understood this. They parted ways shortly after. Harry didn't really know how to feel after all of this. On one hand he didn't much care for his birth family. He had a great one and he loved his parents dearly but knowing that his birth parents might be dead made him feel kind of empty. And to add the dark magic on top...he was overwhelmed by all of this. His mind was racing. He hoped to get some answers soon.

The third week of summer holiday went by quickly. Harry finished all of his homework and spend some time reading books about history and politics. Any normal person his age would find this boring but he rather liked it and it felt strangely normal for him. At the end of the third week he got a letter from Neville inviting him to his birthday. Of course Harry invited him to his as well. In the fourth week Harry received news about the chamber. There was indeed a basilisk in there. Madam Bones had hired a parselmouth from Asia to open the chamber for them. Then some skilled creature handlers and curse breakers took over. They slayed the beast and checked the entire chamber. They didn't find much but there was some sort of privat chamber. It was filled with very old furniture and lots of books. Most of them unfortunately in parseltongue but they could get more parselmouths to translate them, though it would take month maybe years. Harry got quite interested in the fact that there are more parselmouths out there and decided to research it more.

In the fifth week Harry meet his friends in Diagon alley after they had gotten their letters. The shopping list wasn't long. Harry only needed to buy six books. For his electives he had chosen Care of magical creatures, runes and arithmancy.

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 by Miranda Goshawk

Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

The Monster Book of Monsters

Numerology and Grammatica

Spellman's Syllabary

The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts by Arsenius Jigger

Harry had also grown quite a bit so he needed new robes. While they were inside Flourish and Blotts he also searched for more books about parseltongue and was surprised to actually find one. Their lunch was spent eating ice cream. Of course Harry had filled his friends in about the basilisk. They all found it quite fascinating but scary. To think that a beast like that lived in their school. No one wanted to really think about that. A week later Harry received a special version of the daily prophet. On the front page he saw the entire Weasley family smiling in front of the great pyramids. He was happy for her. After everything she has been through she deserved this.

Summer went by quicker than it came. Harry and his friends met up at 10am at the station. He had invited Ginny as well but she wasn't there yet. While finding a compartment they found a sleeping figure near the end of the train. Not wanting to interrupt they quietly walked passed it. Though they did wonder who it was. Ginny arrived with only five minutes to spare. She was nervous and felt out of place but everyone assured her that it was not her fault. Daphne also informed them about all the things she learned over the summer about politics and such. Harry was very eager to learn. They chatted and played games.

When it turned dark things got weird. The train came to a halt. It was raining buckets outside and it got ice cold inside the train. Then the light went out. Screaming could be heard from all over. Ginny grabbed Harry's hand. "What is happening?" Neville wondered. They all looked around. Hannah, who sat by the door, opened it slightly to poke her head out. As quickly as she opened it she closed it again.

"Dementors." was all she said, her voice shaking. Some gasped and some shrieked. Ginny started pulling Harry closer.

"Demen what?" Harry was confused.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. They guard the wizarding prison Askaban and they can suck your soul out." Susan explained. "My Aunt has been trying to get rid of them for years. It is inhumane even for the worst criminals." she added. Harry didn't like the sound of that.

"What are they doing on the train then?" he asked but he didn't get an answer as just then the door opened. Standing in the doorway was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, greyish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water. He didn't know what was happening but his constant nightmare flashed before his eyes. Then everything went black.

Again really sorry it took me so long. Will try to work on it.