It was the day of the first Quidditch match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. During the game, Harry saw the snitch behind Draco as he paused in front of him to tease him. Harry ignored him and went after the snitch. Draco saw what Harry was doing and dodged him before noticing what Harry was doing. He chased after it as well. Out of nowhere, a rogue bludger started to chase after Harry. Everyone besides the house of Slytherin was concerned. Harry noticed that the bludger was after him. He did his best to chase after the snitch and avoid the bludger. At one point the snitch was within arm's reach and somehow he managed to escape the bludger, he tried to grab it. Without paying attention to his surroundings, the bludger hit his right arm and the snitch narrowly escaped. Harry held his right arm close to his chest and navigated himself with his left arm. When he was close enough to the snitch, he took his remaining hand off his broom and made a wild snatch; he felt his fingers close on the cold snitch but was now only gripping the broom with his legs, and there was a yell from the crowd below as he headed straight for the ground, trying hard not to pass out. With a splattering thud he hit the mud and rolled off his broom. His arm was hanging at a very strange angle; riddled with pain, he heard, as though from a distance, a good deal of whistling and shouting. He focused on the snitch clutched in his good hand. He laid back onto the ground and heard, "Harry Potter has caught the Snitch. Gryffindor wins!" He smiled but it quickly diminished as he looked up to the sky and saw something that looked like it was falling and saw that it was the rogue bludger. He waited until the last minute and moved out of the way as it hit the ground and went back up in the air. He looked up and saw that it was going to come down again and dodged it again.
Hermione ran towards where Harry was and took out her wand and pointed to the rogue bludger and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!" The bludger burst into pieces.
Harry was relieved and looked towards Hermione, "Thank you."
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"No," he responded and looked down at his arm. "I think my arm is broken."
Lockhart was running towards him and said, "Not to worry, Harry. I will fix that arm of yours straightaway."
"Not you," Harry said.
"Boy doesn't know what he's saying," Lockhart said.
"Lockhart! Leave him alone!" Ella screamed.
Lockhart ignored her, took out his wand and said, "This won't hurt a bit…."
"Lockhart! Don't even…" Edward said as he grabbed his hand to stop him from doing anything to Harry.
"I suggest you leave, Lockhart, before I do anything to you," Ella said. "Come on, Harry." She helped him stand up and helped him to the hospital wing. Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Gryffindor team followed Ella and Harry.
Pomfrey had come into the hospital wing with a potion and heard Draco's supposed groaning, "Mr. Malfoy, stop making such a fuss. You can go," she said as she walked passed him. "Out of my way," she told the students who were crowding him.
Pomfrey was stressed when she learned what had happened to Harry's arm. "Miss Cullen, I'm relieved that you brought him in here right away."
"As am I, Madam Promfrey. His arm would have been worse had I not," she replied.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Lockhart was going to do a spell that would have made his bones disappear instead of mending it," she said with a scowl. Madam Pomfrey stood there, appalled.
"Well, you're in for a rough night, Potter," Pomfrey said. She was thrilled that someone on the teaching staff and otherwise knew what to do. She picked up a bottle that had brown paper wrapped around it into a glass and gave it to Harry. He drank from it and immediately spit it out, "What do you expect? Pumpkin juice?"
That night he fell asleep with Ella watching ever so closely over him, making sure that everything was all right. Hours and hours later, she was reading her book, when Harry woken up as they heard a voice calling out. They couldn't place it but it sounded like it wanted to kill and wanted blood. "Harry, stay in bed. I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore about this." Harry nodded. Ella walked off as soon as she put her book on the chair. As soon as she left, Dobby had appeared on the edge of Harry's bed.
"Dobby, what are you doing here?"
"Harry Potter should have listened to Dobby. Harry Potter should have gone back home when he missed the train," he said.
"It was you. You stopped the barrier from letting Ron and me through," he said.
"Indeed. Yes, sir."
"You nearly got Ron and me expelled!" he exclaimed.
"At least you would be away from here. Harry Potter must go home. Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make Harry Potter see—"
"Your Bludger? You made that Bludger chase after me?" he asked.
"Dobby feels most aggrieved, sir. Dobby had to iron his hands," he said, showing his bandaged hands.
"You better clear off before my bones are fully mended, or I might strangle you," he threatened.
Dobby got off the bed and started to walk backwards as soon as Harry got out of bed and stalked him, "Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home.
I don't suppose you could tell me why you're trying to kill me?"
"Not kill you, sir. Never kill you. Dobby remembers how it was before Harry Potter triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We house-elves are treated like vermin, sir. Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin," by now they were on the other side of the bed from where they started.
Harry gave a full look-over at Dobby and said, "Why do you wear that thing, Dobby?"
"This, sir?" he asked, pointing his only piece of clothing, "It is a mark of the house-elf's enslavement. Dobby can only be freed if his master presents him with clothes." He jumped onto the bed and said, "Listen. Listen! Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts. Harry Potter must not stay here, now that history is to repeat itself," he warned.
"Repeat itself?" he asked. "You mean this has happened before?"
"I shouldn't have said that," he said and took the bottle from the side table and started to hit himself. Harry fought him off and put the bottle back on the side table.
He grabbed Dobby's clothes and said, "Tell me, when did this happen before? Who's doing it now?"
"Dobby, cannot say, sir. Dobby only wants Harry Potter to be safe," he said.
"No, Dobby. Tell me. Who is it?" Dobby immediately disappeared. Harry heard a noise and saw a couple of shadows and went back into bed, feigning sleep.
Pomfrey was leading everyone, "Here," she said as she pointed to one of the beds. Filch and Dumbledore had put the victim on the bed, "What happened?"
"There's been another attack," Dumbledore said.
"I think he's been Petrified, Madam Pomfrey," McGonagall said. Madam Pomfrey left to gather all the necessary items to help him be un-Petrified. "Look. Perhaps he managed to take a picture of his attacker," she said. Ella managed to take the camera out of the boy's hands and opened the back of the camera. When she did, there was a loud pop and the film was destroyed, "What can this mean, Albus?"
"It means that our students are in grave danger," he said.
"What should I tell the staff?" she asked.
"The truth. Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe. It is as I feared, Minerva. The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again," he said.
"What would you have my family do, Professor?" Ella asked.
"Since you and Harry are the only ones to hear the voice, I'm afraid everything will rely on you. Harry should not be burdened with this. I need you to figure out who this voice belongs to and pinpoint where it's coming from. I want your family to help you with this," he said.
The Friday before the weekend, his arm was well-mended and Madam Pomfrey had checked and checked to make sure that his arm was functioning well and properly. Once she was satisfied, she informed him that he could leave. The first thing that he did was go to Ella's home. He had to talk to her about what he learned from Dobby that night he came to visit. He knocked on her door and was checking the window to see if she was there. He saw her coming to open the door, "Harry, what are you doing here?"
"Madam Pomfrey let me leave just now after making sure that my arm is mended. I need to talk to you. It's important," he said in a hurry.
"Of course, come in," she said as she opened the door wider for him to walk into. As soon as he walked into the house, it was bigger than before. He then realized that she had magically made it bigger to fit all of her family into the house. She noticed his apprehension, "Do you want to talk alone, Harry?"
"No, it would be best that I tell everyone at the same time. It concerns all of you in some way," he responded.
Ella immediately became worried, "Harry, what is it?"
"Maybe it would be best if we all sat down for this?" Harry suggested. Everyone gathered into the family room. Carlisle and Esme on the love seat with Edward and Ella at the single seat couch. The rest were sitting on the big couch. Alice had brought a chair from the dining room for Harry to sit on. He sat on it and took a deep breathe. "I'm sure that everyone is well aware that Ella sat with me during the first night that I was in the hospital," he started off. Everyone nodded. "Well, I woke up in the middle of the night, when both Ella and I heard a voice talking about wanting to kill something or someone and wanting blood. Ella left to inform Dumbledore about it. As soon as she left, Dobby, the house-elf appeared at the edge of my bed."
"He showed up again?" Ella asked. Harry nodded. She saw that Harry was going to ask her something, "I already informed my family of the first visit, so they know about it," she answered his un-asked question. Harry nodded and somewhat relieved that he didn't have to tell the story again.
"I admit that I was surprised to see that Dobby had appeared at the edge of my bed but I was even more surprised with what he said. He said that I should have listened to him and that I should have gone back home when I missed the train. That's when I figured out that he had blocked the barrier from letting Ron and me through and he almost got us expelled too."
"What did he say about that?" Jasper asked.
"He said that at least I would have been away from here and that I had to go home. Then he started to talk about the Bludger during the Quidditch game," he said.
"He controlled the rogue Bludger?" Rosalie asked
"Yes, I know I was shocked myself. He showed me his hands and they were bandaged up."
"Why was it banged up?"
"I don't know but he said something about having to iron out his hands," Harry commented.
"I don't want to know," Ella replied.
"Of course, I threatened him, but he said that he was used to threats and he gets them five times at home. Have you any idea as to who he belongs to?" Harry asked, looking at Ella.
"I don't know, Harry. I assumed that it was going to happen once and not a second time. I'm not too sure if I should bring Dumbledore into this," Ella answered. "But I fear that somehow he has a role in this whole situation. So far, it sounds like either his master is trying to make you go home because he despises you or Dobby somehow escaped to warn you."
"I did ask him if he was trying to kill me but he said that he wouldn't kill me because I had victory over Voldemort. Then he said that house-elves were treated like vermin and how he's still being treated like one, if only you saw what he wore. He had a piece of cloth over his body."
"He had what?" Alice asked. Everyone else had rolled their eyes. Harry looked around and didn't understand what was happening.
"Harry, about Alice, she has a passion for shopping and will find any excuse for it," Jasper explained.
"I do not!" Alice exclaimed
"Yes, you do, Alice. Stop denying it," Esme scolded her. Alice was about to say something but she knew she was right and didn't say anything.
In some odd way, he felt somewhat relieved but hoped that he didn't have to subject himself to her shopping excursion anytime soon. "Anyway, he said that it was a mark of a house-elf's enslavement. The only way for them to be free is if his master presented them with clothes," Harry said.
"Could we give him clothes?" Alice asked as everyone else groaned.
"No, he cannot accept clothes from other people, Alice. In the magical community, house-elves are not allowed to accept any kind of gifts or charity from other people," Ella answered. Alice sat there, scowling. The hopes of shopping for another being had been dashed away.
"But he did say that terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts and that I mustn't stay here. He did say that history was going to repeat itself. He wanted me to be safe and that's why he's been trying to get me to leave Hogwarts. Plus you heard what Dumbledore said when Colin Creevey had been brought in."
"You were still awake at that time?" Ella asked.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep but I was pretending to sleep so that I could hear what was happening," Harry admitted. "So is it really true that the Chamber of Secrets is open again?"
"It appears so, Harry, even though I was around at that time, I wasn't involved with the Magical World until I met your parents, which was about 15 years ago. Based on what Dumbledore and McGonagall discussed, it's true. It's something that we're all concerned about. Trust me, Harry, Dumbledore isn't just sitting around and doing nothing. He's doing what he can based on what he knows. He was there 50 years ago when it first happened. I'm sure that he's trying to collect as much information as possible and decide what to do once he has what he's looking for. Right now, all you can do is focus on your studies. If I know you, you're probably going to find more information about what Dobby told you, aren't you?" Harry looked away, ashamed. "Harry, there's nothing to be ashamed about. You're only human and you're curious about what's happening especially since you can hear this voice and Dobby coming to you. I do believe that this may be related to you and Voldemort."
"Do you really believe that, Ella?" Carlisle asked.
"I believe so. The signs are there but I am convinced that he's not back in a physical form, not yet anyways. I mean based on how Harry and I saw him before summer, he isn't in any kind of physical form."
"When do you think that'll happen?"
"I don't know. Who knows, he could be back in physical form next week, next month or even next year. No one knows but I strongly believe that he will find a way to come back physically to fight you," Ella said. "And what's been happening lately is a series of obstacles to prepare us for Voldemort's return. Also, I believe that it's going to test us emotionally, physically, mentally and every other way possible." They spent the rest of the afternoon just talking and getting to know each other.
After class, Harry walked into Dumbledore's office and noticed that he wasn't in there. "Professor Dumbledore?" he called out as soon as he walked up to his desk. He looked up and saw the Sorting Hat on the top shelf.
"Bee in your bonnet, Potter?" it asked.
"I was just wondering if you put me in the right house," Harry commented.
"Yes. You were particularly difficult to place. But I stand by what I said last year. You would have done well in Slytherin."
"You're wrong," he said stubbornly. He looked around and saw a bird on standing on a standstill. He looked at it carefully and then Harry jumped back as he saw the bird burst into flames.
"Harry," a voice called.
"Professor. Your bird. There was nothing I could do. He just caught fire," he said.
"And about time too. He's been looking dreadful for days. Pity you had to see him on a burning day," he said, walking down the stairs "Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. They burst into flame when it is time for them to die and then they are reborn from the ashes," they both leaned down and saw a baby bird being born from the ashes, "Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads. Their tears have healing powers."
Hagrid had immediately walked in and started saying, "Professor Dumbledore, sir! Wait! Listen! Professor Dumbledore, sit, it wasn't Harry. I'd be prepared to swear it in front of the Ministry of Magic." Ella was right behind him, trying to calm him down.
Dumbledore had his hands up, motioning him to calm down, "Hagrid! Relax. I do not believe that Harry attacked anyone."
"Of course you don't," Hagrid said, and then took a moment to register what he had heard, "Oh. Right. Well, I'll… I'll just wait outside then."
"Yes," he said as he waited for Hagrid to leave, "Miss Cullen, I ask that you stay for this particular conversation." Ella nodded and stayed behind as Hagrid closed the door behind him.
"You don't think it was me, professor?" Harry asked.
"No, Harry. I do not think it was you. But I must ask you, is there something you wish to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Harry.
"No, sir. Nothing," he said after a moment.
"Very well, then. Off you go," he told him. He waited for Harry to leave and turned to Ella, "There's something bothering him."
"Yes, there is," she responded. She knew that it was worthless to try and hide this information from Dumbledore. She knew that he was going to find out one way or another.
"Without betraying the trust between both of you, what can you tell me?" he asked.
"He's been getting warning signs from an anonymous source and I'm trying to find out where he's coming from. I fear that the person who has chosen anonymity has left us no clues as to how to find him. I fear that he has a role to fulfill and I don't know if it will go well or not," she told him without giving too much away.
"Has Harry asked him?"
"Yes, but every time he gets close, he immediately shuts his mouth and leaves. I'm hoping that this person will visit again and leaves some kind of trace," she informed him.
"And what of the voice? As I recall that you heard it," he asked.
"Yes, I did. It's most definitely Parseltongue and whatever it is, it's connected to Voldemort," she said.
"It is as I feared. The monster in the chamber will only listen to Voldemort," he said.
"What would you like me to do, Professor?" she asked.
"Keep an extra close watch over Harry. I fear that something will go ill."