Author's Note: I only recently found out that Gilderoy Lockhart was in fact sorted into Ravenclaw. I wrote this story on the assumption he had been a Slytherin and many events from this story are based on that assumption. In this story it is assumed Lockhart is a former Slytherin student.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.
Harry Slithers-in; Chamber of Secrets: Chapter 3: Greengrass Manor
Harry and the Malfoys headed out into Diagon Alley. Mr. Malfoy had indicated he had business to attend to and took Draco along with him while Mrs. Malfoy took Harry to Gringotts before going to Fortescue's ice-cream parlour where they were to meet the Davis'.
Mrs. Davis arrived just as Harry and Narcissa were settling down to eat the ice-creams Narcissa had bought. Tracey and Robert had lagged behind but when Tracey saw Harry she hurried toward him. As she sat down the two women held a short conversation before Narcissa left. Robert told Harry he had been appointed as a prefect and showed off the badge he was wearing. Tracey said he'd been bragging about it ever since the letter had arrived. Mrs. Davis bought ice-creams for her children before saying she was going to leave them for a while. They were to meet again outside Flourish and Blotts at 1pm.
"What was it like at the Malfoys?" Tracey asked.
"Amazing," Harry replied. "I didn't realise how wealthy they really were until I got there. They're not exactly the best company, though. Mr. Malfoy especially seemed somewhat aloof even with Draco."
"Oh well. I think you'll like Greengrass Manor better. They have their own swimming pool so make sure you've got your swimming trunks with you," Tracey replied.
"Um, I don't have any swimming trunks," Harry said.
Tracey seemed surprised. "We had better get you some, then. It would be better to buy them from a muggle shop, though. We'll have to talk to mum about that."
Harry bought a few items for school while he and Tracey wondered around the Alley. At one point they ran into Hermione Granger and her parents and, after introductions, they agreed to wait for the Weasley family to arrive. When they arrived Mrs. Weasley introduced them to her husband and Ginny, the Weasley's youngest child and only daughter. When Harry's name was mentioned Ginny let out a surprised squeak, stepped backwards and tripped over Percy's foot. Percy helped her to her feet while her brothers laughed and Mrs. Weasley scolded them for teasing her.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked Ginny whose face by now had turned bright red. She nodded.
Since everybody would be going to Flourish and Blotts that afternoon the children split into several groups after the Weasleys had been to Gringotts. Ron and Hermione decided to joint Harry and Tracey in exploring the Alley. Tracey showed the others where they had gone for Harry's birthday party before the group found a small café where they had lunch. After eating they headed toward Flourish and Blotts where they were to meet the others.
As they approached they realised there was a large crowd outside the shop. Mrs. Davis was standing a little away from the crowd with Robert and when she caught sight of them she called them over. Ron and Hermione said goodbye and went to locate their respective families while Tracey and Harry joined Mrs. Davis.
"I've changed my mind," she said. "We will not be getting your school books today after all. Apparently Gilderoy Lockhart is signing autographs and he will be here all afternoon. We shall have to get them another day."
"Is the shop too crowded?" Harry asked. Tracey laughed.
"No," Mrs. Davis said. "I remember Lockhart from when I was a student at Hogwarts. He was a Slytherin student two years ahead of me and incredibly arrogant even then. He always seemed able to charm people into giving him what he wanted, including good grades. I seriously doubt he has done any of things he claims he's done in his books because, quite frankly, he seemed like a bit of an idiot."
"So you don't want to be anywhere near him then," Harry said.
"That's only part of the reason, Harry. You see he had a high opinion of himself and he felt he could get anything he wanted, including dates with any girl he liked. One day he asked me and I said no. He didn't take very kindly to it and became rather insistent, so I punched him on the nose."
"You what?" Tracey.
"You punched Lockhart?" Harry.
"Really mum?" Robert. All three spoke almost simultaneously.
Mrs. Davis looked embarrassed. 'Yes, you heard me right."
All of them started laughing. "You know that was the only detention I received in seven years at Hogwarts," Mrs. Davis continued. "Unfortunately Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house at the time, saw me. He was not happy and told me off in no uncertain terms. Still, considering what has become of Lockhart since then, I do not regret my actions."
"So, you don't like Lockhart, then?" Tracey asked.
"You might put it that way. We had best go wait for Cyril and his family. I hope you both remember to thank him for looking after you over the next couple of weeks. If he wasn't doing that I would have to take time off work." Mrs. Davis was speaking to Tracey and Harry exclusively.
Harry wondered why Robert had been excluded from that discussion and why Robert wasn't being asked to look after Tracey and himself. He was 15 and a prefect but, apparently, Mrs. Davis didn't think he was responsible enough. He soon learnt the reason why, though. Robert would be visiting his new girlfriend and intended staying there for the remainder of the holidays.
After a brief visit to muggle London so Harry could buy some swimming togs the group returned to Diagon Alley. Apparently the Greengrasses felt somewhat differently about Lockhart; Daphne had one of the first to line up for an autograph and the family had then stayed in the shop while Lockhart signed more autographs. When they finally arrived Daphne had some news for them.
"Guess what happened at Flourish and Blotts during Lockhart's autograph signing session," she began.
"Lockhart's quill exploded and he got covered in ink?" asked Tracey.
"Did someone tip a bottle of ink over him?" Mrs. Davis asked.
"No!" Daphne sounded offended by the questions. "No, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy got into a fist fight right there in the shop."
"Really. What happened?" Tracey asked. She sounded excited.
"Mr. Malfoy was being his usual arrogant self, you know, about the Weasleys being poor and only being able to afford second-hand books and robes and the like. Then he said something about the company the Weasleys kept, I think he was referring to that Granger girl and her family being muggles, anyway Mr. Weasley attacked him. Several books were knocked over, the Weasley girl's cauldron was knocked out of her hands and they ended up on the floor. Then Hagrid showed up and separated them before dragging Mr. Weasley out of the shop. I think he was bleeding, and Mr. Malfoy had this massive bruise on his eye. Of course Lockhart decided it was great publicity. I think he said something about how his fans were fighting over who could get his autograph first. He's going to send each family a full set of his books, all autographed. I wish dad had gotten in a fight with someone, too."
"Well, I imagine the Weasleys would be happy about not having to pay for a full set of Lockhart books. They're not cheap and whoever the new DADA teacher is he or she is obviously a big fan of his," said Mrs Davis.
"Oh yeah, that's the other thing," Daphne continued. "Lockhart announced that he was the new DADA teacher at Hogwarts this year. This year is going to be great."
"Is Dumbledore out of his mind?" Mrs. Davis asked. "Why is he hiring that idiot?"
Daphne was shocked. "Lockhart's not an idiot. Look at all the things he's done."
"It seems we're stuck with him now anyway," Robert said. "I hope he is at the very least competent, I've got my Owls this year."
Harry and Tracey left with the Greengrasses while Mrs. Davis headed off home. The next day Harry and Tracey returned to Diagon Alley to purchase their text books. Mr. Greengrass escorted them while the rest of the Greengrass family stayed behind. It turned out that Mr. Greengrass had a low opinion about Lockhart but Mrs. Greengrass agreed with Daphne. Fortunately the family agreed to disagree about his abilities so no family argument ensued over their differing opinions.
Harry enjoyed his stay with the Greengrasses. Like the Malfoys they were an old family who could date their ancestry back to the days of the Vikings but, although wealthy, they had nothing like the wealth of the Malfoys. Harry was telling the girls (including Daphne's sister Astoria) about Malfoy Manor.
"The house and grounds are comparable in size to this estate," he began. "They don't have a swimming pool but they do have their own Quidditch pitch as well as tennis and other sports facilities. They have many more objects d'art than I've seen here, especially old statues and the like. They seem to have busts of all their ancestral heads of family stored in the Manor as well as paintings."
"The Malfoys always want to flaunt their wealth," Daphne put in. "To them, being rich is something that should be lauded over others. We Greengrasses, however, feel that wealth is something to be shared rather than locked away."
"I hear the Malfoys use some their wealth to try and influence the Ministry of Magic into passing or overturning certain laws," Tracey added.
"Anyway," Harry continued, "I spent most of my time there with Draco. The other Slytherin boys from our year came over at least once, Crabbe and Goyle several times, so we spent our free time either playing Quidditch or wandering around the grounds. Only when it was raining did we stay indoors."
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun there," Tracey said. "I hope you managed to finish your assignments."
"Yeah, I got them done. I was able to compare notes with Theo and I think I'll do ok."
"Then you can help Tracey and me finish our assignments," Daphne said.
"Hey, Harry's here to have fun," Astoria complained. "Come on, Harry, let's go swimming. Astoria took hold of Harry's arm and almost dragged him from the room.
They ended up swimming almost the whole afternoon. Harry wasn't a good swimmer, the Dursleys had never offered him swimming lessons after-all, but all three girls were willing to help him improve. It turned out Daphne was quite a strong swimmer as well as a patient teacher and Harry found he enjoyed working with her, with the others always nearby.
Harry managed to find enough time to help Tracey and Daphne complete their assignments before the end of the holidays and on the 1st of September they traveled together to King's Cross station where they met Mrs. Davis before crossing onto Platform 9&3/4 where they caught the Hogwarts express. As soon as the train had left the station Harry, Daphne and Tracey changed into their school robes before anyone else found them. Then they sat back and waited for Robert who they knew would come looking for them eventually. He arrived along with his girlfriend, a Slytherin 5th year named Louise Belmont, just in time for lunch which they ate together before Robert and Louise left.
Soon after Draco turned up followed, as usual, by Crabbe and Goyle. They mentioned that they had encountered an obviously Muggleborn 1st year who had a camera and was photographing everything he could find, much to the annoyance of many older students. Harry decided to try and avoid this boy, the last thing he wanted was a photographer dogging his footsteps all the time.
Before reaching Hogsmeade Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger stopped by their compartment. Ron said that the 1st year boy with the camera was asking about Harry. They thanked Ron for the warning and invited him and Hermione to stay for the remainder of the journey.
When they reached Hogsmeade the five of them shared an apparently self-propelled carriage like the ones Harry had seen at Christmas the previous year for the ride to the castle. Harry had been right, this was a much more comfortable method of travel than the boats had been.