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 12: Quidditch, Kitchens and New Subject Selection
Harry's plan to spend more time on solving the mystery were disrupted almost immediately. The next morning Marcus Flint cornered him and said they were stepping up training for the Quidditch match against Gryffindor which was only a couple of weeks away. They knew that if they were to have any chance of taking out the Quidditch cup they would need to win this match.
The weekend before the match Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff by 180 - 90. This meant that if Slytherin beat Gryffindor all houses would have had one win and one loss and all teams would still be in the running. A Gryffindor win, however, would mean they would be odds on take the title.
Because of this Slytherins were now training five times a week which left Harry with only enough time for his homework. There wouldn't be time for extra research until after the match.
The morning of the match against Gryffindor dawned cold and calm. A thin mist hung over the grounds as the Slytherin team finished breakfast before heading down to the pitch. As they left the Great Hall their own housemates cheered them but boos and hisses could be heard from the other tables.
The team changed into their Quidditch robes and walked out onto the pitch where they met Madam Hooch. A moment later they were joined by the Gryffindor team. Harry recognised six of the players but the seventh, a tall, solidly built boy was unfamiliar to him. When Lee Jordan, the commentator, introduced the players he said gave the new boy's name as McLaggen.
Once airborne Harry set off looking for the snitch with McLaggen closely tailing him. Harry put on a burst of speed, racing to the other end of the pitch before shooting up high into the sky. McLaggen tried to follow but was unable to match Harry's speed and agility.
Below him the match was turning into a typical Gryffindor v. Slytherin match with plenty of penalties and a lot of dirty play. Both teams played aggressively and several times the match was stopped to allow injured players to be tended to. Both captains, Flint for Slytherin and Wood for Gryffindor, required treatment but both insisted they could continue.
After nearly 50 minutes, and with scores tied at 80 each, Harry finally caught sight of the snitch. He turned toward it but kept his speed low until he was nearly level with McLaggen. He then put on a quick burst to pass him and then dived for the snitch, catching it just above the ground and giving Slytherin a 230 - 80 win.
That evening there was a party in the Slytherin Common Room. Everybody was happy and they enjoyed the celebration well into the evening. Even Malfoy seemed to have forgiven Harry for taking his position on the team.
"Good catch, Potter," he said as they at together. "You do realise that you will need to do that in every match from now on, of course. One slip up and I'll be taking that position off you again."
"I don t doubt you will," Harry replied. "Competition always brings out the best in me, though, so I look forward to it."
Next day, a Sunday, Harry was in the library finishing off his homework. As usual Tracey sat with him while Daphne, Theo and Blaise had joined them as well. While they were finishing up Harry noticed Ron Weasley sitting nearby with Neville Longbottom. The Gryffindors seemed to be watching them. Harry guessed they wanted to speak to Tracey and him but were unwilling to approach a table full of Slytherins. Harry excused himself and approached their table.
"Weasley, Longbottom. I take it you want to speak to Tracey?" he asked.
"If we can," Weasley replied. "Preferably alone, though."
"I'll be back soon," Harry said before returning to the Slytherin table.
"Tracey? Can I speak to you alone for a minute?" Harry asked when he returned.
Tracey stood up and Harry pointed at Weasley and Longbottom. Tracey got the message and moved to the other table. Harry joined her.
"You said you wanted to know how to get into the kitchens," Weasley said as they sat down.
"That was part of it," Tracey said, "but I also want to know how your brothers are able to get away with so many pranks. They must know about some secret tunnels or other shortcuts. Still, I'll accept any information you give me now."
Weasley glared at her before saying, "Go down the hallway toward the Hufflepuff Common Room. On the wall are several food related pictures. One shows a bowl of fruit. If you tickle the pineapple it will turn into a handle which will allow to get into the kitchens."
"Thank you for that. Neville, I really appreciate your help with Herbology and could you please tell Hermione I appreciate her help, too."
"Sure," Neville said. "When will you consider we are all square?"
"After the exams in June," she replied. "The same applies to Hermione and you, Ron, will be in the clear when you bring me that information about secret tunnels and shortcuts."
When Harry and Tracey returned to their own table Daphne asked, "What were you talking to those Gryffindors about?"
"Nothing important," Tracey replied. "We were just trying to be friendly with them."
"Why bother?" Theo asked. "They're only Gryffindors after all."
"We are trying to improve inter-house relations. That's all," Tracey said before returning to her homework.
Early the following week Professor Snape told the students he would soon be speaking to each 2nd year individually about their career plans when they left Hogwarts. They would be advised of their appointment times by a note on the Common Room notice board within the next few days.
Starting in 3rd year all students were required to choose a minimum of two new subjects out of a pool of five subjects that were taught to older students. Draco in particular told Harry to be very careful with what he chose.
"No Slytherin in their right mind takes Muggle Studies," Draco began as he threw the brochure for that subject into the fire. "And divination is for losers so that's not really an option either, unless you're Crabbe or Goyle." Several older snickered quietly as Crabbe and Goyle looked around, confused.
"I think that's a bit harsh, Malfoy," Blaise said. "Some of us might want to take it. It's supposed to be an easy subject."
"Which is why I said it's for losers. Anyway, either you are a seer or you aren't. You can't learn to see the future just by going to some class."
"That's true," Pansy put in. "Generally seers inherit their talent from a family member so, unless there is a seer in your family, Divination is a waste of time."
"All that means is there are realistically only three subjects to choose from," Draco said. "Care of Magical Creatures is pretty straightforward so that's always a good option, especially if you want to get out of the castle. Arithmancy is similar in some respects to Divination, although it is a requirement for some career options such as banking. The most useful, and most complicated, subject is Ancient Runes. It's like studying a new type of magic and a new language at the same time. It comes in useful when warding a place or building magical constructions." Harry listened intently to what the others were saying. Having been raised by muggles he really had no idea of what he should do upon graduation.
Harry's appointment time came and he made his way to Snape's office, knocking on the door and waiting until Snape invited him in.
"Sit down, Potter," Snape said without looking up.
"Good afternoon, sir," Harry said as he waited.
"Have you any idea what you want to do when you finish your education?" Snape asked.
"No, sir. I was raised by muggles and really have no idea what career I would like."
"I am aware of your family situation. Have you not asked your friends what your options are?"
"Yes sir. They told me about some of the different options and I have read the pamphlets about the extra subjects. I was hoping you might be able to help me."
Snape looked closely at Harry, who got the impression Snape was trying to read his thoughts. "If you have no idea what to do then I can hardly point you in the right direction. I would suggest you take whatever subjects you feel comfortable with and in three years time, when you have your career interview, you decide where your interests lay."
"Wouldn't be better to find out now what subjects suit which career?" Harry asked.
"Why don't you ask your friends that? I know Miss Davis' brother is choosing his career path at the moment; perhaps you should talk to him?"
"Yes sir; I'll do that."
"You may go," Snape finished, immediately turning back to the scrolls on his desk.
Harry left the office feeling disappointed. His conversation with Snape hadn't helped him in the slightest with choosing his subjects for next year. He returned to the Common Room where Theo caught up with him.
"How did it go?" Theo asked.
"It seemed rather pointless," Harry said. "I was hoping to get some advice but all he said was to talk to Robert Davis or to ask my friends their opinions."
Theo snorted. "Complete waste of time, then. He told me much the same thing, too. I don't think Snape really has much interest in offering career advice."
Beverly Runcorn passed them on her way to Snape's office for her appointment. "You expected Snape to help you?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, I did," Harry said.
"Dream on, Potter," she said as she left.
Harry decided he would talk to Robert. He recommended taking Ancient Runes because it was a very useful subject that gave the most options for the future. He also recommended Harry take whatever subject he felt most comfortable with as his second option.
Harry also decided to talk to Marcus Flint who suggested he might consider a career as a professional Quidditch player. "I'm in talks with the Tutshill Tornadoes about becoming a chaser for their reserve team. They watched our match against Gryffindor and were quite impressed," Flint said.
Ultimately Harry chose Arithmancy and Ancient Runes for his new subjects. Arithmancy could lead to a career in banking while ancient Runes offered the largest number of potential career choices. Coincidentally, Tracey and Daphne chose the same subjects.
(The students in Harry's year chose the following; Theodore Nott chose all three:
Ancient Runes: Davis, Greengrass, Malfoy, Nott, Potter, Runcorn, Zabini
Arithmancy: Bulstrode, Crabbe, Davis, Goyle, Greengrass, Nott, Parkinson, Potter
Care of Magical Creatures: Bulstrode, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Nott, Parkinson, Runcorn, Zabini)
With that sorted and no Quidditch training until after Easter Harry was able to put more effort into trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. Several theories were competing in his mind for the most likely cause of the problem but none of them seemed to fit the evidence.
Why were the spiders behaving the way they were? What could be causing them to seemingly flee in large numbers? Could it be that this event was somehow related to the Chamber? What creature could petrify people and how could it move around unnoticed?
Harry wondered if they should approach Hagrid. The diary certainly pointed to him being the culprit but it was obvious he wasn't. If he was he would not have been allowed to remain at Hogwarts. Indeed, it was more likely he would have been sent to prison for murder. He agreed entirely with Tracey's assessment had Hagrid had been framed but he wondered if Hagrid would be willing to talk about it.
Instead he decided to look at it from a different angle. Were there any common features that all the attacks had? Had they occurred at the same time of the day, or on the same day of the week? He thought about the locations where the attacks had taken place and suddenly realised they did have at least one thing in common; they had all taken place near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
But why had all the attacks taken place near Myrtle's bathroom? Harry wondered how Myrtle had died, and when.
It was that last thought had suddenly made him realise there must be a connection. As soon as possible he was going to need to speak to Myrtle. He suddenly had a feeling that she might hold at least some of the answers to his many questions.