October 12, 1996
It had been a little too long for Harry's liking since Carlisle had been acting like himself. The whole situation with Amelia seemed to not be improving despite Draco admitting what he had done. It had been a rather shocking moment when Carlisle had charged into the Great Hall, grabbed Draco by the front of his robs and dragged him away. Harry had followed, mainly to enjoy Draco getting what he deserved but also to make sure Carlisle didn't go too far.
The older Malfoy shook his younger brother as he screamed at him. Harry had never seen Draco look so hurt before, but the fury that was coming out of Carlisle showed the pain he was feeling.
Carlisle absolutely adored Amelia, he loved her with every feeling he had, and Draco had played a hand in ruining it. When Carlisle stopped yelling—which only happened when Harry stopped him—Draco ran. Carlisle's face was red, and there were tears in his eyes, but he pushed Harry away and disappeared himself. The few students that had tried to watch the argument between brothers all started to shuffle away as they realised that what had happened wasn't something to enjoy.
That had been less than a week ago, but Harry was done with watching his friend suffer. It was time that Carlisle's sense and determination were knocked back into him. He was a Slytherin and should have the ambition and determination to get what he wanted, and that was Amelia. Harry just needed to remind him of that.
Carlisle had been rather set in his routine for the past few weeks; he would get up, go to breakfast, classes, then lunch, classes, then dinner, before disappearing into the Slytherin Common room. He didn't seem to be socialising with anyone. Jenna had confirmed that Amelia wasn't as withdrawn, but her icy exterior was up in full force; a few of the younger Slytherin's who had gone to talk to Amelia, looking for a Prefect to help them, had received a chilly response and left worse than when they had arrived.
Harry and Jenna decided that it was time to give the couple a nudge, and Carlisle was Harry's target. The Saturday morning was his perfect opportunity. Carlisle never came to the Great Hall for breakfast, so Harry headed downstairs to the dungeons. As he stepped off the last step, he spotted his best friend looking worse for wear. Carlisle was too busy looking at his feet to notice Harry at first, but Harry walked over slowly and said, "You look like shit."
The comment cracked a smile on Carlisle's face. He looked up and said, "Thanks."
Harry leant against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "You and Amelia still aren't talking?"
Carlisle shook his head. "She won't even look at me."
"Have you tried to talk to her?" Harry asked.
Carlisle huffed. "What's the point? She made it very clear that it was my name that she loved."
Harry scoffed. "Stop talking bullshit. You know that she was just lashing out; whatever crap Pansy filled her head with has her saying shit she doesn't mean."
"What if it isn't bullshit?" Carlisle pushed away from the wall and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Maybe it really was only my name. I'm a pureblood, the perfect match for someone like her."
Harry reached out and grasped Carlisle's shoulders. He made his friend turn to him and said, "You seriously going to spout out that crap. Amelia couldn't care less if you are a pureblood. Her parents might have some fucked up mindsets, but Amelia is smarter than that. You both are."
"Maybe we were just kidding ourselves." Carlisle's head dropped with defeat.
Harry shook his head. "Carlisle…"
Carlisle's head snapped up, and he knocked Harry's hands off him. "What? What do you want me to say? That I love her? Because I do." Tears welled in his eyes. "I have loved that girl from the moment we met, and I thought I was going to marry her."
"And you will."
"You don't know that. You don't know anything."
"Carlisle…"
"NO!" Carlisle grasped Harry by his shirt and shoved his finger in his face. He pushed him back against the wall and said, "You stay out of my relationship. I don't need advice from someone who can't even have a normal relationship with his parents, let alone a girl. Just keep your opinion to your fucking self." With another shove, Carlisle released Harry and walked away.
Harry watched his friend go. He knew that Carlisle was hurting; like Amelia, he was lashing out. It was the same thing that Harry had done the year before when he cracked, and everything spilt out. Harry hoped that something would get through to Carlisle because the longer it took for one of them to take the first step, the harder it was going to get.
"He didn't mean what he said."
Harry turned to see Amelia standing at the end of the hall. Her cheeks were wet, her eyes red. She had a black cardigan wrapped tightly around her body. She sniffed and slowly walked over to Harry.
"I know," said Harry.
"I broke his heart." Amelia sniffed and wiped her cheeks.
"Perhaps, but you can still mend it."
"Can I?"
"Yes. I might not completely understand how a relationship works, I know that the one I have with Fleur is very different from the one you two share, but I do know that it can be tricky. Fleur makes me feel so much, and for me, the guy who spent most of his life suppressing his emotions, it scares the crap out of me."
"I'm scared." Fresh tears fell down her cheeks.
Harry wrapped his arms around her and hugged her against his chest.
"I don't want to lose him."
"Whatever anyone else has told you, your parents, your sister, Draco. Whoever and whatever they said is complete bullshit. Carlisle loves you completely. I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you, and when he talks about you, that stupid grin of his lights up his face. And I could always tell when he's been with you because he is always stupidly happy, never could ruin his mood."
Amelia trembled in his arms. She gripped his shirt and, between sobs, said, "I'm such an idiot."
Harry shook his head. He lifted up her head and wiped her tears. "No. Not yet. But you will be if you don't try and fix this."
She nodded. "You're right."
Harry smiled. "Of course I am."
Amelia smacked him lightly on the chest.
Harry laughed softly. "Now, go and knock some sense into your other half. He is hopeless without you."
"I can't argue with that."
The two of them left the dungeon together. Amelia headed off towards the Great Hall, hoping to find Carlisle, while Harry headed back to his room. He had gotten a letter from Fleur the night before, and he needed to write back to her before the Quidditch game at noon.
Harvey was nervous. He had hoped after playing quidditch the year before he wouldn't be so nervous for his second year. Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, had been fuming when their practices had been interrupted, more than once, by the Slytherin team. He was determined to win, but Harvey was concerned about facing a whole team mounted on the fastest racing brooms gold could buy. It made Harvey want to win all the more, not only because he wanted his team to win, but he wanted to prove to all of these Slytherin's that the broom didn't matter.
By the time the game approached, the sunny morning weather had turned muggy and dark clouds were rolling in. Ron and Hermione had walked with Harvey down to the changing rooms before wishing him luck and parting ways. Harvey had hoped to see Harry beforehand; his brother had taught him a lot about playing Quidditch over the summer and was hoping for a last-minute tip that might give him a confidence boost. But Harry was nowhere to be seen.
Harvey changed into his scarlet Gryffindor robes before sitting down with the rest of the team to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk.
"Slytherin have better brooms than us," he said, "no point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weather's, and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team."
Harvey sighed as Wood's eyes turned to him.
"It'll be down to you, Harvey, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harvey, because we've got to win today."
Harvey swallowed. "So no pressure, then."
The Weasley twins chuckled.
Fred said, "None whatsoever."
The team collected their brooms and headed towards the pitch. Mounting up, they were greeted by the roar of noise coming from the mix of students, teachers and parents. Most of the roar were loud cheers from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as they flew up and over the pitch. But the Slytherin's boos and hisses could be heard within the mix.
Wood met Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, and Flint in the centre. Hooch asked the boys to shake hands, which they did, sending nasty glares at one another as they did.
"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch, "three… two… one…."
Harvey pulled himself upwards, going higher than the rest of the other plays that rose to their starting positions. He glanced around for the Snitch as the players beneath him took off after the quaffle.
"All right there, Scarhead?" yelled Draco, shooting underneath Harvey with a cackle.
Harvey tried to ignore him, and tried to spot the golden Snitch.
At that very moment, a heavy black Bludger came pelting towards him. Harvey quickly pulled back his broom and managed to avoid the speeding ball but felt the cusp of it ruffle his hair.
"Close one, Harvey!" cried George, streaking past him with his club in hand. He was ready to knock the Bludger back towards a Slytherin. George gave the Bludger a powerful whack in the direction of one of the players, but the Bludger changed direction in midair and shot straight for Harvey again.
Harvey moved to avoid the Bludger; he dropped lower quickly as it shot past. George moved to redirect it again, this time hitting it towards Malfoy. But once again, the Bludger swerved like a boomerang and shot at Harvey's head. Harvey pushed his broom forward and zoomed towards the other end of the pitch. He could hear the whistle of the Bludger as it shot along behind him. He didn't understand what was happening? Bludgers weren't supposed to concentrate on one player; it was their job to unseat as many people as possible.
Harvey passed Fred, who was waiting for the Bludger at the other end. Harvey ducked as Fred swung at the Bludger. He knocked it off its course.
"That's done it!" cheered Fred.
But he was wrong. The Bludger corrected itself and pelted at Harvey once again, forcing Harvey to fly as fast as he could to escape it.
As Harvey tried to run from the Bludger, the rain started to fall. The water splattered against his glasses. He wasn't sure what was happening with the rest of the game until he heard Lee Jordon's voice echo across the field.
"Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero."
Harvey huffed. Clearly, the Slytherin's superior brooms were doing their job, and meanwhile, the mad Bludger was doing all it could to knock Harvey off his broom. George and Fred were now flying close beside Harvey, keeping an eye on the Bludger as it continued to fly at him.
"Someone's tampered with this—" Fred swung his bat at the Bludger. "—Bludger."
"We need a time out," said George. He waved his arm to signal Wood, who got the message.
Madam Hooch's whistle rang out, and they all dived for the ground, still trying to avoid the mad Bludger.
As they touched the ground, Wood said, "What's going on?"
The Gryffindor team huddled together.
"We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when the Bludger stopped Angelina from scoring?"
"We were twenty feet above her," said George, "stopping the other Bludger from murdering Harvey, Oliver!"
"Someone's fixed it—it won't leave Harvey alone," added Fred.
"It hasn't gone for anyone else all game," finished George.
"Someone on the Slytherin team?" asked Angelina.
Wood frowned. "But the Bludgers have been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practice, and there was nothing wrong with them then."
Madam Hooch marched over to the team.
Harvey spotted her as she came nearer. He said, "Listen, with you two flying around me all the time, the only way I'll catch the Snitch is if it flies up my sleeve."
The twins scoffed.
"Go back to the rest of the team and let me deal with the rogue one."
"Don't be thick," said Fred.
"It'll take your head off," said George.
"Oliver, this is mad. You can't let Harvey deal with that think on his own. Ask for Hooch to check the bludger," said Angelia.
Harvey frowned. "If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit. We are not losing to Slytherin because they decided to cheat."
George threw his arms up in the arm. "This is your fault," he snapped at Wood. "'Get the Snitch or die trying'—what a stupid thing to tell him!"
Madam Hooch finally reached them. "Ready to resume play?" she asked.
Wood glanced at Harvey, who nodded.
"All right," said Wood, "Fred, George, you heard Harvey—let him deal with the Bludger."
The Twins protested but did as asked.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded as play resumed, and the rain was starting to fall heavier. Harvey kicked back into the air and heard the tell-tale whoosh of the Bludger behind him. Higher and higher, Harvey climbed. He turned, twisted, looped and swooped. He did everything he could to avoid the Bludger. The faster he went, the more he turned, the more the Bludger seemed determined to get him. But even as he started to feel slightly dizzy, Havery didn't stop. The rain smacked against his face and smeared across his glasses and up to his nose as he hung upside down to avoid another shot from the Bludger. He pulled himself back upright and twisted to head the other way on his broom.
Harvey was faced with Draco, who laughed and yelled, "Training for the ballet, Potter?"
Harvey was ready to tell him where to go when he spotted a gleam of lighting fluttering behind Draco's head. The Snitch. Harvey paused mid-air and watched as the Snitch danced around Draco, almost mocking him as the youngest Malfoy took no notice of it. Harvey would have laughed if the whooshing of the Bludger didn't catch his attention.
A twist to the right avoided the Bludger before Harvey headed towards Draco. The blonde headed idiot's smirk disappeared, and a look of shock replaced it as Harvey shot towards him with the Bludger right behind him. A shriek left Draco as he ducked. Harvey stretched out his arm to grasp the snitch. As his fingers clenched around the cool metal, the Bludger shot ahead of Harvey and cut him off. The small black ball turned sharply, and WHAM! The Bludger smashed into his arm. A loud crack was followed by a searing pain shooting up Harvey's arm.
Harvey cried out as he slid sideways on his rain-drenched broom. He used his good arm to grip his broom as he started to sail down towards the pitch. His other, now useless arm dangled at his side with the snitch barely clasped in his fingers.
The Bludger came back at him for a second attack. Harvey managed to vier his broom away from the Bludger as it flew past, but he went too far right and slipped off his broom. He fell the last few feet and hit the ground. His broken arm radiated with pain, but he could still feel the cold metal against his palm.
Harvey smiled as he laid there. "We won."
The world around him went all hazy, and though he could hear the sounds of screams, followed by an explosion. It took a moment, but Harvey closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he opened his eyes again, a blurry blonde figure was above him. Harvey squinted and groaned when a sparkle of teeth caught his eye.
"Not you," he groaned.
Lockhart huffed. "Doesn't know what he's saying."
A crowd of Gryffindors were pressing around them.
"Not to worry, Harvey, I'm about to fix your arm."
"No!" Harvey cried. He tried to sit up, but the pain throbbed violently.
A familiar clicking caught his ear.
"Colin, I don't want a photo of this," he groaned.
"Lie back, Harvey. Relax. I've done this simple charm countless times," claimed Lockhart.
Harvey pushed himself up and away from Lockhart. "No, I'll just go to the Hospital Wing."
"He really should, Professor." A mud-covered Wood knelt down to help Harvey stand. "Great catch, by the way, Harvey; you were spectacular."
Harvey would have smiled and thanked Wood if he didn't want to pass out from the pain.
"Stand back," declared Lockhart, who was rolling up his sleeves.
"Lockhart, if you cast that spell, I'm going to remove every hair from your head."
Harvey sighed with relief when he heard Harry's voice. His older brother pushed through the Gryffindors and past Lockhart to look at Harvey's arm.
"This is nonsense," said Lockhart. "I can fix Harvey's arm right up. You are letting him suffer for no reason."
Harry glared at the Defense Professor. "Madam Pomfrey will fix his arm, not you."
The rest of Saturday, the rouge Bludger was all anyone talked about, and how even with the Bludger constantly after him, Harvey was able to catch it and win. The Slytherin Quidditch team were in quite a mood at their loss, and the Gryffindor's were celebrating while Harvey was sitting in the Hospital Wing having his arm mended; they had all stopped by to check on him and congratulate him on a fantastic catch.
Harry had left his younger brother under the close eye of Madam Pomfrey once he was certain that there was no permanent damage. He had only caught the second half of the Quidditch game but had been shocked to see that a Bludger was chasing Harvey. He was impressed by Harvey's ability to still catch the Snitch when something obviously had been done to Bludger, and he had taken great satisfaction in exploding the ball as it had sailed towards the ground to take one final shot at his partially unconscious sibling. He had taken a moment to see if he could find any guilty-looking parties on the Slytherin team, but besides the absence of Carlisle, nothing seemed off. And without the Bludger in tack, it wouldn't be possible to determine what type of jinx had been placed on it. That left the guilty party free to try something again if they had the balls to even try it. It also meant that Harry wasn't too sure how he was going to explain the whole thing to their Mum and James.
Harry didn't have time to dwell too long on who had been after Harvey; Snape had requested his assistance marking the latest work he had collected from his students over the past week. He spent three hours following the match, down in the dungeon with the Potions Professor. By the time he was freed from his duties, most of the students were headed for dinner. As Harry left the dungeons, he decided it would be best to check on Harvey before grabbing his own food. He was certain that Harvey's friends would have already checked in on him, but he wanted Harvey's opinion on the Bludger and who might have done it.
As he walked along the corridor, Harry stopped when he heard a heavy breath. He paused and frowned but spotted no one around him. He took another step, but as his shoe clicked against the ground, he heard a voice.
"Kill…let me kill…."
Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket. He could hear the faint sound of students talking, coming from the direction of the Great Hall, but there was no one else. And that voice sounded strange. It was raspy, like someone was struggling to breathe.
"Kill!"
The voice grew loud behind Harry. He spun around…nothing. The voice faded and then went silent.
A laugh from a student grew louder, and as Harry turned, Hermione and Jenna came around the corner. They stopped when they stopped him.
Jenna asked, "You okay?"
Harry frowned. "Not sure."
"Why do you have your wand out?" asked Hermione.
"I thought I heard someone." Harry slipped his wand back into his pocket.
"Paranoid much?" teased Jenna.
He rolled his eyes. It clearly hadn't been anything otherwise Jenna and Hermione would have also heard it.
"You coming to dinner?" asked Jenna.
He nodded. "Yeah, but I just want to check on Harvey first."
"He's fine," said Hermione. "Just bored. Madam Pomfrey wanted to make sure his bones were completely healed before she let him go."
Harry nodded. "He should be glad that is all he had to do."
"God knows what would have happened if Lockhart had healed him," chuckled Jenna.
Hermione frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Harry wanted to groan. It seemed that Hermione was still a little taken with the galoot of a professor. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll see you later."
As he parted from the girls, Harry couldn't help but listen for that voice. It was possible someone had just played a prank, but Harry had also never heard a voice like that before. It was strange and almost not human. He tried to shake it off and not let it bother him.
He made his way to the Hospital Wing but frowned when he reached the doors. Peering through the doors of the Hospital Wing was a House Elf, a familiar-looking one. Harry approached the creature and stopped behind it. He cleared his throat, and the small creature let out a squeal.
"Dobby, what are you doing at Hogwarts?"
Dobby was one of the Malfoy's House Elves. He had seen the little elf enough over the years to know that Dobby wasn't your normal elf. He tended to stick his nose where it didn't belong.
"Master Black!" cried Dobby.
"Dobby."
"Dobby didn't hear you coming, sir."
"Obviously. Why are you here?" Harry asked.
"Oh, Dobby was just…Dobby was just looking for Master Carlisle, sir."
"What for?" Harry pushed.
"Dobby was told to deliver a letter, sir."
"Narcissa would have sent an owl, as would have Lucius. What are you really doing here?"
Dobby squirmed.
"Dobby?"
"Dobby was checking on Harvey Potter, sir."
"Why were you checking on Harvey?"
Dobby glanced left and then right.
Harry huffed and grabbed the eld by the sleeve of his sack and dragged him into the Hospital Wing. The elf cried out as they passed the empty beds towards Harvey, who was sitting up with a book in his lap.
"Harry, what is going on?"
"Harvey, this is Dobby. He was concerned for you," said Harry.
Harvey frowned. "Hi."
Dobby whimpered. "Hello, Harvey Potter."
"Why were you so concerned for me?" asked Harvey.
"Great question. What are you up to?" Harry nudged Dobby's arm.
"Nothing, sirs." Dobby scratched the back of his head.
"Dobby, you wouldn't be here unless you for no reason. And considering the type of punishment you are likely to get if you are caught lurking about by Draco, it has to be important. So stop trying to lie and out with it."
Dobby whimpered and then blurted out the truth. "It's not safe for Harvey Potter at Hogwarts this year. Hogwarts is dangerous. Dobby was just trying to keep Harvey Potter from coming to Hogwarts; Dobby thought Harvey Potter would go home if he couldn't get through the barrier. And when that didn't work, Dobby tried to scare Harvey Potter, but Dobby went too far and hurt Harvey Potter instead."
"Why wouldn't Hogwarts be safe?"
Dobby shook his head and cried out.
Harry frowned. "Dobby!"
"Wait, you are the one that stopped Ron and I from getting through?" asked Harvey.
Dobby nodded.
"And you jinked the Bludger?"
Dobby cried and buried his face in his hands. "Dobby is sorry, Harvey Potter. Dobby never wanted Harvey Potter to get hurt, but Dobby didn't see another way to get you sent home. If only you knew, sir, what you mean to us, House Elves. Dobby remembers how it was when He Who Must Not Be Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elves were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir." He wiped his face with his sack. "But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He Who Must Not Be Named. Harvey Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harvey Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the dark days would never end, sir…and now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harvey Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more—" Dobby froze, horror clouded his face.
"The what?" asked Harvey.
Harry frowned. Why did that sound familiar? The Chamber of Secrets?
Dobby reached for the water jug beside Harvey's bed and cracked it over his own head. The elf collapsed to the floor and began to mutter to himself, "Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby."
"Dobby," Harry reached for the elf and pulled him up. "How do you know all this?"
The elf squirmed and whimpered. "No! No! Don't ask Dobby that. Ask no more of poor Dobby."
Harry sighed and released the elf.
"You must go, Harvey Potter. You must both go home for dark deeds are planned for Hogwarts, and none are safe." The elf whimpered and disappeared with a pop.
"I don't understand half of what just happened," said Harvey.
Harry frowned. "Elves do my head in, especially that elf."
"Why did he smack himself in the head with the jug?" asked Harvey.
"He said something he shouldn't have, so he punished himself," explained Harry.
"Can't he come back so that I can do it one to him?" grumbled Harvey.
"Harvey!"
"What? He sent the Bludger after me and broken my arm," Harvey snapped.
"Yeah, that wasn't nice, but he seemed really freaked out."
Harry couldn't help but ponder what Dobby had said. The Chamber of Secrets. He was positive he had heard it somewhere before but no sure where. It concerned him that Dobby had gone to such lengths to keep Harvey away from the school, but there hadn't been any reason for concern. Nothing bad had happened.
"What do you think The Chamber of Secrets is?" asked Harvey.
"Not sure," said Harry.
Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to walk in. "Harry, here to collect your brother?" she asked.
Harry said, "I was just checking on him."
"Can I go, though?" asked Harvey.
Madam Pomfrey nodded. "You should be fine to go to dinner. Come back if you feel any sharp pains."
Harvey nodded. "Promise."
"Then you can change and go."
The two brothers left the Hospital Wing and started for the Great Hall. Harry couldn't help but ponder what the Elf had said. It was strange enough that Dobby would risk showing up at Hogwarts. And he had tried twice to keep Harvey away from the school.
As they walked, Harry said to Harvey, "Don't mention anything about Dobby to anyone."
Harvey asked, "Why?"
"Dobby shouldn't have been at Hogwarts; if Draco was to overhear you, he would tell his father, and Dobby would get one hell of a beating. Even if the elf has some extreme methods, best to keep it between us," explained Harry.
Harvey seemed to ponder it for a moment. "Alright, but he better not try and chase me off again."
Harry shrugged. "No guessing what he will do."
"What about this Chamber of Secrets? Do you think it's a hidden room in Hogwarts?" asked Harvey.
"I have no clue."
The two brother's walked closer to the Great Hall. It was Harry who noticed it first and reached out to stop Harvey. Shining on the wall ahead of them foot high words had been written across in a red liquid. It read: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, BEWARE.
Harry frowned. It couldn't be a coincidence.
"Um…Harry." Harvey tugged on Harry's sleep.
"What?" Harry turned to his brother.
Harvey was pointing to the left of where the writing had been left. Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide open.
"Is she dead?" asked Harvey.
"I don't know."
The sound of feet caught their ears, and around the corner came a group of students. Draco was in the front, his lackeys just behind him. The students paused as they took in the sight of Harry and Harvey standing in front of the frozen cat and straight writing on the wall.
More students appeared around the corner; Hermione and Ron pushed through and moved over towards them.
Draco smirked, "Enemies of the heir, beware. You'll be next, Mudbloods."
Harry stepped towards the youngest Malfoy. "Watch your mouth."
Draco sneered at him but stepped backwards.
"What's going on here!" Argus Filch pushed through. "What's going on?"
He took in the students and Harvey, who was standing closest to the hanging Mrs Norris. His mouth fell open, and his eyes went wide.
"My cat!" he cried. "You murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll murder you for this!"
"ARGUS!" Dumbledore's voice boomed over the students.
Filch stumbled back, his hands shaking; tears had sprung out of his eyes. "He killed my cat," he cried.
The students stepped aside and allowed Dumbledore, followed by Snape and Minerva. All of them stopped and took in the wall and the hanging body of Mrs Norris. Snape walked over to the cat and said, "She's not dead; looks like she's petrified."
Harry stepped back towards Harvey and said, "Headmaster, Harvey and I came upon Mrs Norris on the way to the Great Hall."
Dumbledore nodded. "Argus, Mr Potter, Mr Black, would you please come with me. Severus, if you could bring Mrs Norris. The rest of you, go back to your dorms."
The students that had gathered all seemed to hesitate.
"Now," said Dumbledore.
The students scattered. Hermione and Ron glanced at Harvey, but he just told them to go. Harry and Harvey followed behind Dumbledore towards his office. McGonagall walked just behind them. No one spoke as they walked, but the portraits seemed to watch them with concern as they were led along.
As they arrived at the statue that guarded Dumbledore's office, Lockhart appeared. He beamed his white teeth and said, "Apologies if I missed all the excitement; I was…busy."
"Oh, Gilderoy," said McGonagall, her face curled into a smirk. "Your expertise could be useful at a time like this."
Lockhart hummed. "I'm sure I can."
The buffoon joined followed them up the stairs and into Dumbledore's office. Argus followed Snape, who laid Mrs Norris down on a table; he sniffled as he looked at his cat. Dumbledore moved over to the table and bent down. He looked at Mrs Norris closely, his nose barely an inch from her fur. His long fingers gently prodded and proked.
Lockhart placed his hands on his hips and declared, "It was definitely a curse that killed her—probably the Transmogrifian Torture. I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there. I know the very counter-curse that would have saved her."
No one acknowledged Lockhart as he rambled. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and started muttering spells under his breath and tapping Mrs Norris. But nothing happened; she continued to look like she had been stuffed.
"…I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadougou…" continued Lockhart.
Harry huffed. "Would you shut up?" he snapped.
Lockhart's eyes went wide with shock. "Excuse you?"
Dumbledore straightened and said, "She's not dead."
"Not dead?" asked Argus.
"Impossible," said Lockhart.
"As Severus suggested, she has been petrified. But how, I cannot say…" explained Dumbledore.
"Ask him!" screeched Filch. He turned his blotched and tear-stained face to Harvey.
"No second-year could have done this…" said Dumbledore.
"Or him," Filch pointed at Harry. "He's clever, isn't he."
"This is dark magic, Argus. Something I doubt neither Mr Potter nor Mr Black would have ever seen before." Dumbledore grasped the caretaker's arm and patted his shoulder.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harvey spoke up.
The teachers all turned to Harvey, who was half hiding behind his brother after Filch had started accusing him.
"Yes, my boy."
"What is the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Harvey.
The grave look on Dumbledore's face told Harry he needed to know. Dobby had been right to be worried about the Chamber, and something bad was going to happen at Hogwarts.
The crackling fire in the Slytherin room dormitory was the only sound. Carlisle was sitting on the sofa facing the fire and was holding the day's edition of the Daily Prophet in his hands. He had picked it up and sat down to read the paper but hadn't managed to read a single word. His mind was running a mile a minute; it wouldn't settle, as thoughts and doubts screamed and yelled at him.
You need to fix things with Amelia.
She hates you; why bother.
Harry is your friend; he wants to help.
What would he know? He is the most emotionally unstable person you know.
On and on they went, constantly circling and making it hard for him to do anything other than dwell on the pain in his chest. It had been present ever since Amelia had stormed into the Great Hall that day. She had torn his tear into pieces before him and then stamped on it. His mind played her words over and over, making what was left of his heart crumble even more.
Throwing the paper onto the table in front of him, Carlisle sagged back into the couch. He rubbed his face and wondered if Snape would give him a potion to help him sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he got a decent sleep.
Carlisle stood to head to Snape's chambers but froze as he turned to see Amelia. She was standing a few feet away, her arms wrapped around herself. Never before had she looked so uncertain, so scared.
They both stared at one another for a moment. Both of them knew that they should speak, but neither knew what to say.
Carlisle cleared his throat, and a croaked, "Hi," came out.
Amelia smiled tightly. "Hi."
Carlisle asked, "You heading up to bed?"
"Even if I was, I wouldn't get any sleep," she said.
He frowned. "You're not sleeping?"
She shook her head. "Not really, no."
"Same."
They both fell silent again. Their eyes looking away from each other.
"Look, I'm sorry—"
"No, I'm sorry." Amelia walked towards Carlisle and grasped his face. "I said things that I didn't mean, that I would never think."
Carlisle lifted his hands and placed them over hers.
"I was so scared that what Pansy had said was true that I wanted to hurt you before you hurt me," she said.
"I would never do that to you," said Carlisle.
"I know that. But I'm stupid, and I let my self-doubt cloud my judgement. When what I should have done was listen to what my heart was telling me all along." Amelia ducked her head; tears started to fall down her cheeks.
Carlisle grasped her chin and made her look up at him. "And what is your heart telling you?"
Amelia sniffed. "That I love yo—"
Before she could finish, Carlisle kissed her. He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her close, reminding them both what they had been missing the past few weeks. It was deep and loving, and it brought tears to both their eyes. When Carlisle broke the kiss, he lifted his thumbs to wipe away Amelia's tears.
"I love you," she said again.
"I love you too."
