Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
No Friend of Mine
By breakfast, no one was talking about the funny behaving bludger. With the sunlight of the new day came the information of another mysterious attack. Colin Creevey, the Gryffindor first-year, had been found petrified in the halls late last night; holding his camera. George, freshly released from the hospital wing, told Fred and me all about it. In a narrow window of time, he and Harry had just managed to slip back into their beds when the hospital wing doors opened to admit the latest victim. He told us about how Dumbledore had whispered to McGonagall and Pomfrey, "Hogwarts is no longer safe. The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened once more." And how Adrian had slept through the whole thing.
Speaking of Adrian, he too was released this morning. I could see him over at the Slytherin table with the Carrow sisters sitting close to his sides and Ginny across from him. Probably pressing them for information about everything the staff had said about the chamber reopening. It was good to see him up. We'd be able to talk during class today.
"We have to help him", Hermione said, pulling me out of my thoughts as she, Ron, and Harry joined us triplets at Gryffindor table. They sat down across from us. Harry was looking sheepishly at us like he was trying to apologize for his bushy-haired friend. But I'm not sure why. Fred, George, and I knew he wouldn't keep this a secret from our little brother and Hermione. Honestly, I'm surprised they hadn't approached us earlier than now. Though Ron didn't seem overly concerned as he busied himself with a bowl of porridge. It was only Hermione acting like an eager beaver as she leaned towards us, bracing her arms on the tabletop as she did so. "It's so awful. To be possessed-"
"Keep your voice down", Fred hushed, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Just because you three know doesn't mean the whole school needs to."
But Hermione wasn't one to be dissuaded. Though she did lower her voice to a more private volume. "We should tell Dumbledore or McGonagall. They could save him before anyone else gets petrified".
And, really, what she was saying did make sense. We knew what was endangering Hogwarts. "And tell them what?" I asked her. Telling the adults in charge would be the obvious next step. But then we ran into the problem of explaining how we knew what we knew. Harry hadn't asked us too many questions. Maybe because we were standing in an unused classroom after hours with a house-elf. Or maybe because we hadn't given him much opportunity to think and come up with questions. But the teachers and Dumbledore, especially Dumbledore, would have plenty to ask us. How did you know the diary was filled with dark magic? Why didn't you tell anyone sooner? Did you know it was tied to the chamber of secrets? The half-truths we fed Harry wouldn't be enough to satisfy the adults. And we wouldn't be able to feign ignorance like we had when we 'stumbled' upon Pettigrew. "That a seemingly normal incompetent teacher is actually possessed and is responsible for writing messages in blood on walls and putting a student and a cat into comas." Of course, that's exactly what we should tell the adults. But I had phrased it in such a stupid and farfetched way, that the obvious answer becomes no.
Thankfully, second-year Hermione hadn't grown into her full inquisitive potential yet. So, she didn't immediately pick up on what I was trying to do. "Professor Lockhart isn't incompetent", she said in an indignant voice.
Ron snorted loudly into his porridge; earning himself a glare from his female friend. "What have you learned in defense this year, Granger?" George asked; sharing our little brother's sentiment. Because if the second-year lesson plans were anything like the fourth-year's, then they have been doing a lot of reenactments.
Hermione didn't like being proven wrong. She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders as she sat with her arms on top of the table with her fingers laced together. "We learned how to handle Cornish Pixies".
I rolled my eyes, and Fred and George scoffed. "Hermione,'' Harry said. His voice was coated in disbelief. "He didn't know how to handle them! Lockhart made us put them back and get Neville down for the chandelier".
Hermione pursed her lips; not happy to not have a counterpoint. "Look", I broke in before the topic got completely sidetracked. I leaned in, causing Fred, George, and the golden trio to do the same. "It's now a fact that Lockhart is dangerous. Like horror movie dangerous". Fred, George, and Ron all opened their mouths at the same time. Probably to question me about what exactly a movie was, but I gestured with my hands to signal that now wasn't the time. "So no one should be caught alone with Lockhart. You three focus on figuring out how to free Dobby", I whispered. "Fred, George, and I will figure out how to get the diary".
Ron finished swallowing a mouthful of porridge before he dropped his spoon into his near-empty bowl. "But we want to help with the diary", he objected. "If that's what causing the attacks, then that's what's-"
Harry was already nodding along with his best friend when George interrupted, "No". He spoke for all of us triplets. Although few things had worked out this school year as we had hoped, we still considered it an accomplishment Ginny wasn't in the midst of all this. We'd lose that victory if Ron took her place. "If we need help with the diary, we'll ask".
"Right now, we don't know where Lockhart's keeping it", Fred took over. It goes to show just how serious we were taking this. Considering that Fred and George were talking to Ron without making any jokes at his expense. "No point in all of us sticking our necks out until we know more". Though their lack of motivation to bring humor to our dark situation may also be because George had just sustained a head injury from our efforts, and Fred still wanted to back out as soon as it was feasible for us to do so.
"Besides', I said before any of the second-years could express their thoughts. "Dobby could be a very useful ally, but only if he's free". Because no matter how much Dobby wanted to help us, he was limited in what he could do if one word from a Malfoy could take away his free will. "Until he is free, he's a liability, so freeing him would help us a lot".
"It's also the right thing to do", Self-righteous Hermione Granger stated with her eyes boring into me.
I rolled my eyes again. "Yeah, that too".
Having finally gotten to a point where everyone agreed with her, Hermione regained some of her confidence. "But even if you get the diary back, what are we going to do about the chamber and the monster from the legend? It'll still be open". She spoke lowly; making sure that no one would overhear us. This conversation wasn't really suited for the breakfast table, but at the moment we weren't too concerned. Everyone was sitting with their heads bent together as they discussed what happened to Collin and what could possibly happen next. In that aspect, we were blending in nicely.
And damn it all. Hermione was right. Even if we managed to stop the Horcrux via Lockhart from petrifying anyone else, the basilisk had still been awoken. I didn't know enough about how You-Know-Who's power over the giant snake worked. It was unclear what would happen if we took the diary out of the picture. What would happen to the basilisk if the diary was destroyed before it was killed? Would that be enough to put the basilisk back into hibernation? If the basilisk stayed awake in the chamber, did it still have access to the school through the plumbing? Or did Lockhart have to open the chamber every time for the basilisk to move? I was not prepared to face the Medusa of snakes. Neither were Fred and George. Our original plan was to avoid the chamber of secrets altogether. But that became impossible the moment Dobby had taken the diary from us.
Now, we'd have to figure something out. What? I had no idea. Maybe we'd figure out a way to get Harry to learn he can speak parseltongue. Then we'd make up some excuse for how we know where the entrance to the chamber of secrets is. Harry could open it, and then we could... drop a humongous amount of roosters into the bowels of the chamber.
The sounds of breakfast continued all around us. Buttered knives scraping against toast. The rustling of the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. I barely noticed any of it as I stared at Hermione. As an adult, I never liked precocious children. To me, they always came off as arrogant and bratty, which grated on my nerves. That part of my personality hadn't changed in this life. But as I looked at Hermione looking at me, I started to feel discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance. She knew she had gotten me on a point I hadn't considered yet. I found that extremely annoying. But as I looked at her, I knew that the parts about her that rubbed me the wrong way now would grow into a young woman whose cunning would help a lot of people in the future. And I couldn't fault her for that. When I didn't say anything right away, and probably due to the blank expression on my face, Fred stepped up. "One riddle at a time, Granger ''.
This entire semester, I've entered the defense classroom with a sort of resigned boredom; knowing I would be spending the length of a class period pretending to read a book I didn't care about. The only thing that made it okay was knowing I'd be sitting next to Adrian. However, now knowing what had control over Lockhart's mind, entering the classroom was like walking into a house of mirrors. Everything felt misleading, and I didn't know what my eyes could trust.
In the book and the movie, Ginny had only lost control of her body during attacks. Or at least, I think that's correct. There wasn't any mention of her not being in control when she was in class or when she was around other people. I think. What I could remember was the books stating that Ginny lost time when she was possessed. Like she'd blackout and wake up in weird places with big time gaps. So, most likely, the man standing in the front of the classroom wearing lilac robes was Lockhart and not Tom Riddle in Lockhart's body. Bloody hell, this was feeling a whole lot like a Quirrell situation. Except, this time we don't have to worry about You-Know-Who breaking into our minds. I hoped.
"I thought today we'd mix things up a bit with a demonstration", Lockhart said with his usual showmanship. He started walking down the aisle of desks, smiling at the students who made eye contact with him. As soon as he passed Fred and George's desk, my brothers turned around in their seats and locked eyes with me. Both had raised eyebrows. Other than the pixie incident with the second-years, Lockhart had kept his instruction limited to bookwork. So, was this out of character? Or a fluke?
As Lockhart passed Adrian's and my desk, I shrugged at my brothers. We really didn't know enough about Lockhart to know the difference between normal and out-of-character behavior. I turned my head in Adrian's direction.
We'd been discussing Flint and my actions in the hospital wing prior to Lockhart starting class. Adrian wasn't particularly thrilled with me kissing him as a way to make a point, but he wasn't against it either. What was really interesting was when he told me I had somehow garnered Flint's respect. But before I could question more about what exactly that meant, Lockhart started talking and we both had to switch gears.
At Lockhart's announcement, Adrian was looking just as surprised as the rest of us. "I know you are all just dying in anticipation to see how I one-up the villain in Holidays with Hags". Lockhart reached the end of the classroom. He turned with a swirl of his robes before strutting back to the front of the classroom. He was all smiles as he stood in front of the blackboard and faced all of us. "Of course, I'll need someone to play the role of the hag. Any volunteers?"
Since it was November, we had sat through months of Lockhart's teaching methods and displays of narcissism. The intrigue of having a celebrity as a professor had worn off and no one was enthused by Lockhart's proposal. Every hand in the room stayed down as we all looked at each other, trying to guess who would be the poor sap that got pulled into Lockhart's lesson. All except for one hand.
"Ooh ooh, me!" Lee exclaimed as his hand shot up into the air and he started to wave it around. "Pick me! Pick me!" He was probably reading this situation as the perfect opportunity to put on the hat of the class clown. Under normal circumstances, Fred and George would be right beside Lee, competing for the chance to mess with a teacher. From her seat next to Lee, Alicia covered her eyes with her hands and shook her head. Probably experiencing second-hand embarrassment.
Lockhart's gaze traveled right over Lee as he scanned the class. Whatever this was, it was making the little hairs on my arms stand on end. Usually, he would have lapped up Lee's enthusiasm; fueling his ego. "How about", Lockhart said slowly before his eyes landed on me. Crap. "Miss Weasley".
Fred and George were shooting me worried looks over their shoulders. "Pass", I said flatly as I sent my brothers a small shake of my head. I wasn't sure why Lockhart was calling me out. Maybe it had something to do with me pointing my wand at him at the quidditch game. But other than humiliating me in front of my peers, there really wasn't much he could do to me in a public setting.
Lockhart beamed at me and something glinted in his eyes. I wouldn't call it sinister. I wouldn't call it nice looking either. But it forced me to recall the same sensation I had experienced back on the pitch. "Miss Weasley, I must insist. You wouldn't want me to dock participation points, would you?"
Oh, well we wouldn't want that, would we? I bit my lip to keep the overly sarcastic comment inside my head. I had to remember that Lockhart was possessed by a Horcrux and I didn't want to become the next petrified victim. But, seriously. Why did teachers think taking away participation points was a big enough threat to get students to cooperate? Unless you are terrible at homework or taking a test, you can pass a class without participation points.
Meanwhile, Lee was still bouncing in his seat with his hand in the air. "Why not call on Lee, Sir?" I asked apathetically. "It looks like he wants participation points".
Something shifted in Lockhart. Was it his stance? Or how he was holding his shoulders? Maybe it was the gleam in his eyes? Whatever it was, it was subtle. I probably wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't paying closer attention to the man than I ever had before. A dry sort of chuckle came out of Lockhart's mouth. "Now, Miss Weasley", he said as if I had been humorous. "We can't ask Mr. Jordan to play the role of the hag. You are much more suited for the honor".
A string of tittering sounded from the Slytherin side of the room while my fellow Gryffindors appeared to be offended on my behalf. Feeling a shift in the atmosphere, Lee lowered his hand and remained still. The only Slytherin who didn't laugh was AdrianInstead, he tensed next to my side like a python waiting to attack. While the loudest Slytherin could only be Stimpson from the back of the classroom. This bastard.
Clicking my tongue, I stood slowly with my hands balled into fists. I was used to being insulted by teachers…. Okay, I was used to being insulted by a teacher. Snape was always lacing his lectures with barbed comments aimed at Gryffindor pride and our individual failings. Lockhart's insult felt different. Maybe it was because he didn't make them often or maybe because it was only directed at me. But it felt like he had crossed a line that Snape never had.
I moved stiffly with everyone's eyes on me as I came to stand next to Lockhart in the front of the classroom. He relaxed and fell back into his usual mannerisms. "Excellent", he said before clapping his hands together. "Alight! Now, as you've all read in my book, a hag is a magical creature that lives off the flesh of children, possesses rudimentary magical abilities, and resembles an old crone". More cackling from my Slytherin classmates. All except for Adrian who was looking at Lockhart with a countenance that depicted an act of violence. "Most hags aren't dangerous to wizardkind, but there are a few exceptions. When faced with such a hag the best thing to do is to knock them off their feet. Remember they won't have wands, so you already have the upper hand", Lockhart explained as he started moving. "Miss Weasley, stand right here", Lockhart said as he gestured me into the spot he'd had been standing just moments ago. Here, I was in a position for all my classmates to get a good view of me. As if that was foreboding at all. Lockhart moved back down the aisle. He stopped midway and turned as he pulled out his wand from his robe pocket. "There are many ways to subdue a hag. But can anyone tell me how I defeated the hag in my book?"
Stimpson's hand shot up into the air. "The knockback jinx, professor", she answered gleefully when Lockhart called on her. I clenched my hands into tighter balls.
"Very good Miss Stimpson. Five points to Slytherin", Lockhart awarded as he raised his wand; eyes locked on me. I barely had a moment to brace myself. "Flipendo!" Lockhart exclaimed. There was a loud bang as blue light streaked out of the tip of Lockhart's wand.
It made contact with my abdomen. Air flew out of my lungs, giving me the impression that I had been hit with a bowling ball. My feet were knocked out from under me as I flopped backward a couple of feet and landed on my rear. The knockback jinx is a first-year spell and not a strong one, but I still felt disoriented for a few seconds after as I sat on the classroom floor with my lungs straining to regain regular function.
After those couple of seconds passed, the first thing I registered was laughter. "Very good, Miss Weasley", Lockhart said, beaming at me. I flushed as if forced myself to my feet. What made it worse was that I couldn't decipher if Lockhart's praise was stupidly genuine, like it had been all year, or spoken to mock me. At least it's over now, I thought as I started to make my way back to Adrian. But I didn't even make it one step before Lockhart said, "Just a moment, Miss Weasley". I halted and looked back at Lockhart with narrowed eyes. What now? Lockhart addressed the class once more. "The knockback jinx is a very useful spell, as everyone just saw. But if you want it to be very effective it's important to make sure your wand movement is precise and fluid".
I didn't like where this was going. Not one bit. Glancing away from Lockhart, I found my brothers. George was staring at me with sympathy; his lips pressed together in a thin line. While Fred glared at Lockhart with bubbling anger. If Lockhart wasn't a teacher and we weren't in the middle of class right now, he'd probably have already received some sort of retaliation. Weasleys don't like it when you mess with other Weasleys.
"Pay close attention to my movement", Lockhart instructed. "Flipendo!" Lockhart cried again. Without much warning, the bowling ball feeling returned and I was slammed backward again as another loud bang echoed throughout the classroom. I landed on the stone floor, gasping for air. "Who can tell me what I did differently this time?" Lockhart asked the class as I angrily climbed back to my feet; already feeling a little sore. My right hand itched to pull out my wand. But I couldn't. I may have gotten away with pointing my wand at a teacher during the quidditch match when everyone was distracted by the injured. However, I wouldn't be that lucky in class with a whole audience of witnesses. Especially since some of those witnesses were enjoying watching me fall on my arse.
Lockhart continued his instruction on a jinx everyone had learned when we were eleven. He had my classmates analyze his posture, pronunciation, and focus as he cast the knockback jinx thrice more. With me serving as his practice dummy each time. In a way, it was a good thing it was Lockhart casting the spell and not someone else. Although Lockhart was a fully grown wizard, even I could tell he wasn't using the jinx to its full potential. He wasn't charging up his magical energy in between casts, and the result wasn't as strong as it could have been; probably sparing me from some nasty bruises and side effects.
Still, after being hit with the jinx five times in a row; my body ached, especially my bum, and my chest was heaving from the effort of trying to hold on to my breathing, I was feeling nauseous, and my blood was boiling. Knowing how anger is reflected in my family, I probably resembled an enraged tomato. Assuming my face had turned scarlet from my pent-up emotion. I don't think I have ever been this close to committing homicide. Fred and George weren't far behind me; their expressions murderous. Whether or not Lockhart was in control of his own actions and feelings, he had just declared war on us and we were going to destroy him.
For the sixth time that day, I pulled myself to my feet; swaying slightly as my body protested. Right now, what I wanted more than anything (other than scalping Lockhart) was to lie down and not move for several minutes. Instead, I steeled myself as Lockhart raised his wand again. This time to show the class, "an excellent example of footwork", when a hero stepped forward.
"Everyone in this room knows how to cast the knockback jinx, Professor", Adrian said as he stood up from behind our shared desk. His grey eyes appeared darker, like the moon on a foggy night as he moved away from our seats. With his wand still raised and pointed at me, Lockhart looked at Adrian with confusion, like he couldn't understand why Adrian was interrupting him. "You don't need to take up so much class time to cover it". Adrian's voice sounded cross as he moved in front of me, blocking Lockhart's wand from my view. "Perhaps we could move on to the rest of the lesson?" Adrian's manner was cordial, but his tone was anything but.
Lockhart cleared his throat. I peaked around Adrian; my face still flaming with rage and embarrassment, but I was glad to see that Lockhart had finally lowered his wand. "Um, yes", the professor agreed. "Perhaps you're right".
Adrian didn't wait for Lockhart to say anything else. He turned so his back was facing Lockhart and the rest of the class. His face was stone as he whispered to me, "Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"
Behind Adrian, Lockhart started some weak explanation about proper spell casting footwork to save face. I got a quick glimpse at his face before he turned completely from Adrian and me. The look in his eyes, the same one from before… It was still there. I shook my head and quickly glanced over to my brothers. They were sitting rigidly but seemed like they were breathing easier now that a wand wasn't pointed at me. "No", I whispered back; voice coming out like a wheeze. To leave the classroom now would mean admitting a defeat.
Adrian nodded as he took one step closer to me. Instead of offering me his arm like he normally does, Adrian took matters into his own hands. He wrapped a solid and dependable arm around my upper back at the base of my shoulders, supporting most of my weight, and ushered me back towards our seats. Since we always tend to sit near the front of the classroom, we didn't have far to go. But we didn't end up returning to our original seats. When we reached the corner of our desk, Adrian gently pushed me forward. Signaling that I should take his seat close to the wall, and he'd take my seat on the aisle. I didn't argue or question his intentions. Adrian had prevented any more knockback jinxes from being used against me. He could have led me into a room filled with obnoxious Stimpson clones and I would have gone willingly.
Lockhart finished his explanation right as Adrian and I started sitting down. Adrian gripped my elbow tightly to aid me in the transition even though I wasn't suffering any loss of motion. "Thank you, Miss Weasley", Lockhart said with delight. "You made a wonderful hag". There was another bout of tittering from the Slytherin side as I slumped against Adrian; my head resting on his shoulder. Adrian didn't complain and bore it in silence as Lockhart continued with his lesson on hags. In the class time that we had left, I lost Gryffindor twenty house points for not paying attention.