The Potter Timeline
Chapter 32 - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Harry's Nimbus was standing straight up in the middle of the room, its tip upward, and the sweep hovering a few inches above the floor. The mere sight of this was strange enough. But even stranger was the sight of Harry's textbooks lying one on top of the other, all sitting perfectly balanced...on the tip of the broom! None of the objects moved and there was no sound inside the dorm.
The five Gryffindors were dumbstruck.
"How did this happen?" Harry quizzed his dorm mates.
Dean shrugged.
"We don't know! We came in here to put up our satchels and...found it just like this!"
Harry looked at Hermione who gave him a worried look. The twelve-year-old then stepped up to his broom. Staring at the books on top, it seemed impossible for them to remain perfectly balanced on the tip. Curious, Harry reached out to grab the handle. But before his fingers could touch it, the textbooks fell.
BLAM!
Harry jumped back as they collapsed onto the floor in front of him. Then the broom itself fell over and he caught the handle. The boy stared at the Nimbus and textbooks in confusion. He turned to look at his stunned friends and was just about to say something.
BANG!
All five jumped as the window to the room, which had been open, suddenly slammed shut. Harry's heart hammered and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. There had been no wind or breeze to cause such a thing.
"What's going on in here?" Neville asked with fright.
"I have no idea," Harry answered, "look around and see if you notice anything else strange."
The five searched the room but found nothing out of the ordinary. Still mystified, they helped Harry pick up his textbooks and place them on the table next to his four-poster. They then headed back to the common room, discussing what could possibly have occurred.
"Perhaps it was a prank," Dean answered, "maybe Peeves did it."
"But Peeves isn't allowed inside Gryffindor Tower," Seamus said, "Sir Nicholas and the Bloody Baron agreed to that, from what Fred and George told me."
"Not to mention whenever Peeves pulls a prank he's always nearby to laugh or make fun of someone," Harry added, "he wants people to know it was him. It had to be someone else, most likely someone who isn't dead."
"But you four are the only ones, outside of Percy, who can get inside your room through the door, Harry," Hermione stated, "the only other way in is through the window."
"Do you think someone might have flown in? On a broom, perhaps?" Harry asked.
"Well...you did, last year," Hermione mentioned, "was it open when the four of you left your room this morning?"
"Yeah. Seamus opened it to let in some fresh air," Dean answered.
"But why go through all the trouble to pull a cheap trick like that?" Harry wondered, "it wasn't very funny and though it was spooky, nothing much really happened."
"I don't know," Hermione replied with a frown.
None of them had an answer to this mystery and as the five went off to various activities that afternoon, the issue faded from mind...for the time being.
The next couple of days passed without incident. The Gryffindors found themselves so busy with schoolwork they barely had time to look up. But then, in the middle of the week, another bizarre incident occurred.
After Dean, Neville, and Seamus had already gone to bed, Harry, exhausted after studying late with Hermione and spending a solid two hours in the Spellroom, crawled under his covers and closed his eyes. No sooner had he fallen asleep than he suddenly found himself in the hall of the same manor house from his previous nightmare. Astonished, he tried moving his body or turning his head but again felt paralyzed. Then, the voices from the room along the corridor started up. But this time, Harry heard something coherent.
"...they'll think he did it. They'll never suspect the truth..."
Someone answered this in the strange language Harry heard the first time. Then, Harry heard the hissing sound. His heart raced as he gazed at the doorway through which the orange light shone. He jolted in terror when the same large snake curled into the corridor from the doorway and with another evil hiss, attacked him...
Harry shot up in bed, his heart beating wildly, his breathing intense, and sweat on his forehead - his scar burning like before. But this second nightmare seemed even more real than the first. Recalling the presence by his bed from the first incident, Harry glanced at the curtains of his four-poster.
They were perfectly still.
He listened for any sound in the room.
Nothing but silence.
But the boy was burning up and needed fresh air. He grabbed his wand, opened the curtains to his bed, and stepped onto the cool floor with his bare feet.
"Lumos!" he uttered quietly.
The bluish-white light partially lit the space around him. Harry then walked to the window and opened it partway. Cool, night air from outside poured in and enveloped him. He gazed up at the night sky to see a beautiful swath of stars across its expanse which gave him some peace after the terrifying images he saw in his sleep.
Feeling much better, Harry walked to his bed and was about to crawl back into it when he received another jolt. Quickly stepping past his bed, he held out his wand toward the center of the room and was stunned to find the curtains to the other boys' four-posters wide open and each was sound asleep...hovering three feet above their beds! Harry gasped.
"Dean! Seamus! Neville!" he yelled out.
But they didn't stir. Harry ran over to Neville and gazed at him in wonder. The kid was lightly snoring above his mattress as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Harry reached up to grab Neville's arm. But before he could touch the sleeve, Longbottom fell and landed with a soft thud on his bed. At that same moment, Dean and Seamus did the same. Harry was stunned. His dorm mates awoke.
"What's going on, Harry?" Dean asked groggily, with seemingly no clue he was hovering in midair only moments earlier. Seamus and Neville stared at Harry as though he'd rudely awakened them for no reason.
"Um...I don't know," Harry muttered in bewilderment.
"Harry, turn the light off, will you?" Seamus said perturbed. He turned over with a huff and threw his covers up over his head to get back to sleep.
Dean and Neville did the same as Harry stared at the three in wonder.
"Nox!" he said quietly.
His wand went out and the room darkened once more. Harry went back to his bed, got in, and tried to go back to sleep. But the images of his second nightmare and the creepy thing he saw after kept him awake. Tossing and turning, Harry wouldn't fall asleep until later that morning.
~HP~
"Harry! You need to tell Professor Dumbledore about this! This is getting frightening!" Hermione uttered to the groggy twelve-year-old as quietly as possible.
As they ate breakfast in the Great Hall, Harry looked a right mess as he'd barely been able to sleep - his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were red.
"I know, Hermione," he replied with a frown, "but what could he actually do about it? I don't even understand what's happening myself!"
The girl gave him a worried expression.
"I'm not sure. But based on the exchange between him and Professor Snape, they seem to know something about the snake you saw. Maybe he can at least tell us about that. Maybe it has something to do with your scar burning as well."
Harry nodded.
"Right. But what does the snake in my nightmares have to do with my broom and books standing on end in the middle of the dorm, not to mention all my dorm mates hovering over their beds?"
"I don't know," she uttered in concern, "but we have to figure this out. I'm worried about you."
Harry smiled weakly at the girl. The pair finished their breakfast and headed off to class.
~HP~
When the second-years entered Defence Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, they were surprised to find Professor Snape sitting at Lockhart's desk. The man was engaged in paperwork and didn't bother to look up as the students entered the room. The portraits of Lockhart on either side of the desk seemed afraid of the potions professor and quietly busied themselves - one of them continuously straightening his clothes and combing his hair while the other kept arranging Lockhart books in different configurations on a shelf above a fireplace mantel.
After everyone sat down, a pall of silence came over the class as they waited for the professor to explain what was going on. Harry and Hermione exchanged puzzled looks. After a few moments of flatly ignoring the pupils, Snape stopped writing, frowned, and addressed the class without even looking up from his parchment.
"Your dear Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was apparently called away to deal with a ghoul problem at the mansion of a prominent wizarding family. As such, I will be your substitute professor for the day..."
Groans erupted from most of the class. While it was a relief to not see Lockhart's shining teeth for once, having Snape as substitute seemed like going from one ridiculous extreme to the other.
"Silence," the raven-haired man let out sternly as he stood from the desk.
"Now, everyone turn to page 53 in Mr. Lockhart's Traveling with Trolls. I want you to read it and answer the following questions..."
Snape walked to the chalkboard and wrote.
When Lockhart was surrounded by the three mountain trolls, what precisely distracted them and how did the spell Lockhart used render them all unconscious at the same time?
Harry and Hermione again threw puzzled looks at one another.
"Begin now," the man said.
Everyone pulled out the book and some sheets of parchment. As Harry read the page, he came across the passage in question.
"...I was completely surrounded. The pale green monsters with their foul odor loomed over me like dark shadows. One held an enormous, gnarled club, another a large stone, and the third raised a broken tree in its hands that had been wrenched from the earth in its entirety. The ugly beasts threatened to pound me into mush right then and there. But before they could carry out their barbarous deed, I remembered the game of cards with the old man back at the pub and the prize I won from him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the sparkling rubies and tossed them before the trolls with their raised weapons. The three were bedazzled by the bright color of the shiny jewels gleaming under the midday sun. Seizing the moment, I pulled my wand, and with a quick utterance of 'Stupefy', the pugnacious trolls fell to the earth all at once, their weapons falling beside or on top of them. I, Gilderoy Lockhart, had conquered my foes yet again..."
Harry looked at Hermione. The girl was in deep thought before plunging into her answer on the parchment in front of her. Harry did likewise, answering that the red color of the jewels distracted the trolls and the spell radiating outwards from his wand hit the trolls square in the head, similar to the immobilization spell Hermione used to freeze the Cornish pixies. It seemed simple enough, based on what Lockhart wrote. Harry wondered why the professor was making a big deal about it.
"You may, if needed, consult other textbooks for your answer," Snape uttered while gazing up from the desk briefly. He then resumed his paperwork. This threw Harry's answer into doubt. Apparently, the man was looking for something more specific. But the only books Harry had with him were A History of Magic, The Standard Book of Spells - Grade 2, and Lockhart's Traveling with Trolls. Glancing through the charms book, Harry found no spell with the incantation 'Stupefy'. It was most likely not taught until a later year.
After twenty solid minutes of perusing his books and staring at his answer on the parchment, Harry shrugged, not able to conceive of anything better than what he'd written. The professor looked up.
"Turn in your answers now."
The shuffling of parchments was heard as the students got up and deposited their work on the desk before the man. After everyone returned to their seats, he went through them. The students watched with apprehension. Snape placed the stack down after reading the final parchment.
"It appears that no one in this class could answer both my questions correctly and only two of you answered one of them correctly. Would you care to explain, Miss...Brockelhurst, how the trolls were distracted by the jewels?"
Mandy's face turned pink, but she straightened up to answer.
"We don't know, sir."
Snape stared at the girl.
"Very good. And why don't we know?"
"Because, according to The Monster Book of Monsters, mountain trolls are color blind. Professor Lockhart might as well have thrown ordinary rocks at the trolls' feet."
For the first time ever since meeting the man, Harry was astonished at seeing a smile break across Snape's face, even if it was only a half-smile.
"Correct, Miss Brockelhurst. Five points to Ravenclaw. And as for the other answer?"
At this, the professor glared at Hermione, his face showing annoyance. He was clearly tired of the second-year always having an answer, though he begrudgingly had to acknowledge it. Hermione straightened up.
"The stunning spell is directed magic," she answered.
"Meaning?" Snape asked while gazing around the room at the other pupils.
"Meaning, sir, that Lockhart couldn't stun all three mountain trolls at the same time. He'd have to stupefy each one after the other, and by the first one, it might be too late."
The students gawked at one another.
"Correct...Miss Granger," Snape finally said and the Gryffindors expected the man to award Hermione five points as well. They were disappointed.
"Class dismissed," Snape informed them while returning to his paperwork.
Puzzled by all this, the students gathered their belongings as quietly as possible and exited the room.
"What was that all about?" Harry asked Hermione. The girl's brow furrowed in thought.
"More inconsistencies with Lockhart's claims, it would seem," she answered, "Snape clearly sees it and apparently wanted to know if we noticed too."
At that moment, Mandy joined the pair.
"I certainly did. Something is up with our DADA professor, and I want to get to the bottom of it," she said with a determined look.
"Me too," Hermione answered the girl, "I've been doing some research in the library already. If you have some free time, Mandy, maybe we can get together and compare notes."
"Definitely," the Ravenclaw said.
Harry chuckled. With the two smartest second-years on his trail, Lockhart was in big trouble.
~HP~
Saturday was the big day - the first Quidditch match of term, and the first match between Gryffindor and Slytherin since the lions beat the snakes the previous term. Every student was eager to see this competition unfold as last year's matches ended with some controversy - Harry getting hit by a magically directed Bludger in the first and Terence Higgs helping Harry grab the Snitch after the Boy-Who-Lived took a Bludger hit for him in the second.
The stands were packed with students and staff. Scattered among them stood the Ministry Aurors, gazing over everyone. Most likely no one would try to cheat or tamper with this match as long as these highly trained witches and wizards kept watch.
After Oliver reviewed the Gryffindors' strategy one last time, the team exited the changing room onto the pitch floor. Cheers erupted from all Houses except Slytherin. But the House of the snakes exploded with applause when their own team entered the arena and met their opponents at the center where Madam Hooch awaited them.
"Now, I want a nice clean game. Any funny business from any one of you and I'll pull you from the match faster than you can say 'Bludger'. Is that clear?" she intoned with a stern look at both sides.
The lions and snakes nodded. Hooch seemed satisfied and grabbed the Quaffle from the trunk beside her.
"Right then. Mount your brooms!" she uttered and both teams complied, everyone taking their place in the air.
Harry flew up to his usual position a hundred meters above the pitch floor and Malfoy matched him, the Seekers sitting opposite one another some 40 meters apart. The blond-haired Slytherin glared unflinching at Harry. But Harry wasn't concerned about Draco...yet. He was gazing at his Gryffindor teammates below, eager to see if his strategy would actually work against the faster Slytherins.
He just barely heard Hooch's whistle when the match began. The serpents swung into aggressive mode as their captain, Marcus Flint, snatched the Quaffle right after the referee flung it into the air. At first, it seemed the Gryffindors were overwhelmed and discombobulated. Flint and his Chasers zoomed right past Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, reaching the Gryffindor hoops in record time. Fred tried with everything in his power to knock a nearby Bludger at the Slytherin captain, but the latter's broom sped past the deadly ball with ease. Before anyone knew it, the lead snake flung the Quaffle over Wood's outstretched arm right through the upper hoop.
"...and Slytherin starts the match with a ten-point score!" Lee Jordan yelled out over the loudspeaker.
A quarter of the spectators jumped and cheered while the rest stood silent. Harry frowned and now wondered if all the practice they'd put into his strategy would actually make a difference. But within mere moments, he got his answer.
Wood tossed the Quaffle to Angelina who sped off toward the opposing team's hoops with Katie and Alicia on either side. The snakes' Chasers - Flint, Pucey, and Corbin - headed straight for them, ready to knock the object out of Angelina's hands and retake possession. But just before the Slytherins reached their prey, the girls swerved into a diagonal, ninety-degree angle and fired upwards. The Slytherins suddenly found no one in front of them! Stunned, Flint, Pucey, and Corbin looked back to see the girls disappearing toward the Slytherin hoops.
Fred, George, and Oliver laughed. Harry's face lit up.
The serpents had been racing so fast it took extra-long to slow down before they could pull 180s and return to their side of the pitch. By then, it was too late.
Angelina, Katie, and Alicia now faced the Slytherin Beaters - Perkins and Moreland. The latter held a vicious expression while smacking his club against his hand, ready to take one of the girl's heads off. When the Gryffindors were within 10 meters, Katie yelled out.
"DUCK!"
The three girls did so just as a Bludger passed across them horizontally, missing by mere inches. Then Moreland, with his big, muscular arm, pounded another Bludger at them. It now seemed impossible the girls could get past the Slytherin Beaters at such close range. But following Harry's strategy, the Chasers...flipped upside down and flew under both Beaters and the Bludger! The Slytherins were stunned again. The girls flipped upright once more.
Miles Bletchley was now the only obstacle in their path. With fierce determination, he gripped his broom hard, ready to knock the Quaffle from Angelina's hands. But when the Chasers reached the five-meter mark, Angelina tossed the Quaffle to Katie. A wide-eyed Bletchley fired off his 2001 like a rocket towards her. But Katie slung the Quaffle over him and Angelina to have it land in Alicia's hands. Bletchley was moving too fast to turn and stop her.
The girl tossed the Quaffle right through one of the lower goals.
"GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Jordan let out with excitement. Cheers exploded across the stadium.
"YES!" Harry shouted with a fist pump, his heart racing at the sight of his strategy coming to fruition.
He glanced at Malfoy who watched this unfold with disgust and astonishment. The snake glared at his opponent in anger. So much for the 2001s giving Slytherin an advantage! But there was no time to contemplate this further as the Golden Snitch suddenly shot in between the Seekers and headed toward the pitch floor. Both were now in hot pursuit.
Malfoy's Nimbus raced ahead of Harry's by five meters in mere seconds. The Snitch was only an arm's length from the blond but remained just out of reach speed-wise. As Harry followed his opponent, he kept an eye not only on Draco and the Snitch but also the other players.
"...and Gryffindor scores another ten points!" Harry heard Jordan exclaim as he noticed the steep maneuvers his teammates used to outflank and swarm the Slytherins, making the snakes' brooms seem an impediment and the snakes themselves seem clumsy.
The boy with the lightning-shaped scar grinned from ear to ear. His strategy was working! Now, if he could only outwit Malfoy and take the Snitch, it would all be over with.
When the golden orb flew along the spectator stands where Gryffindor and Hufflepuff sat, Harry glanced over to see Hagrid standing above the second-years who were cheering and shouting Harry on. Occasional flashes of light indicated Colin Creevey was in form, taking pictures just as he promised the boy with the lightning-shaped scar. Harry then spotted Hermione whose face was red from so much yelling and beaming at the Seeker. Harry smiled back. But when he caught a glimpse of the person standing behind her, that smile faded instantly.
Harry was stunned to see...the same, dark-haired Slytherin student from the Great Hall! A jolt of terror ran through him. The young man stood perfectly still, following Harry with a grim gaze as he flew past the stands.
His heart racing, Harry turned back to Malfoy who was just ahead of him. But as the Snitch hurtled toward the center and flew through the melee between the teams, Harry looked back at the stands. The Slytherin was still there, right behind Hermione who, along with everyone else in the vicinity, seemed oblivious to the young man's presence. Harry grew worried and struggled to focus on the task at hand. But the Snitch then veered back toward the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff section with Draco just behind it.
As they flew close to the stands, Harry turned his gaze to the spectators. The Slytherin was still there and to Harry's horror, the snake looked down at the girl in front of him, pulled a wand out of his robes, and pointed it right at her head.
"NOOO!" Harry shouted.
He veered from his chase with Draco and flew straight at the spectators, his heart racing and his eyes locked on the student who was now mouthing an incantation. The spectators around the student, including Hermione herself, stared in shock at the Seeker bearing down on them. The Slytherin looked up at Harry just as he leapt from his broom.
CRASH!
The crowd jumped back and gasped as Harry tackled the student to the ground. The commotion caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity, including two Aurors standing nearby - James and his protégé Tonks.
Breathing hard, Harry sat up, grabbed the Slytherin's robes, and reared back with his fist, ready to knock the intruder out cold. But when he gazed down at the person beneath him, he froze in shock. Instead of the dark-haired Slytherin in his grasp, Harry found...Justin Finch-Fletchley! The trembling second-year was staring up at his attacker in utter fright. Harry let go of the boy, lowered his fist, and stood, gazing at Justin in disbelief.
Where did the Slytherin go?
Everyone, including Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ron Weasley and his pals, looked at Harry with their own disbelief, wondering what in the world was going on. Harry looked at Hermione to find equal confusion.
"...Malfoy has just taken the Snitch!...Slytherin wins!" Lee Jordan shouted over the loudspeaker.
Astonished Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs now turned their gaze to the pitch to see Draco yelling and shaking the Snitch in his palm as his teammates joined him with fist pumps and high-fives. The Slytherin spectators were ecstatic.
"No..." Harry muttered wide-eyed in horror.
"Ow!" Finch-Fletchley let out as he tried to sit up, apparently hurt in the incident.
"What's going on, Harry?" a strong voice uttered behind the second-years.
Harry turned to see the head Auror looking down at him and Justin, Tonks standing by her mentor's side with a stern look. But there was no time to answer.
"Step aside, please! Step aside!" the voice of Professor McGonagall came through. The students complied and the woman appeared along with Snape, Flitwick, Sprout, and Lockhart. McGonagall nodded at the Aurors briefly and they stepped back, acknowledging the deputy headmaster's authority.
"Oh dear!" the witch in emerald robes uttered, lowering herself to help Justin sit up, "someone fetch Madam Pomfrey from the faculty section! She should be nearby!"
Sprout nodded and took off. McGonagall, holding the injured second-year by his shoulders, looked at Harry.
"What happened here?" she asked strongly.
But Harry was still too stunned.
"I...I don't know...professor," he muttered in confusion.
"I do!" Justin rang out in anger, glaring at his fellow second-year, "Harry bloody Potter attacked me, that's what happened! What are you about, Potter?!"
At this, everyone stared at Harry in wonder. Snape threw him that suspicious gaze, the two Aurors looked at one another puzzled, and Lockhart shook his head frowning, as though he already believed Justin. Harry's face turned red.
"But...I didn't mean to! I...I thought I saw..." he started to explain but then realized how ridiculous it would sound to say that a strange student from Slytherin, standing where Finch-Fletchley had been, was about to kill Hermione and then...disappeared without a trace. The boy dropped his shoulders in perplexity. McGonagall frowned at him.
"Well, whatever happened, once I get Flinch-Fetchley..."
"Finch-Fletchley!" Justin uttered with a perturbed look.
McGonagall frowned.
"...once I get this young man off to the hospital ward, I expect to find you, Harry, at my office, ready to explain yourself. Is that understood?"
He gave the woman a sad frown.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a low voice.
Harry looked at Hermione again. The girl was puzzled and worried.
"The match is over!" Snape shouted to the crowd who had gathered around this spectacle, "everyone return to the castle...now!"
Students and staff slowly filed out of the stands as Madam Pomfrey arrived to help McGonagall take Justin to the hospital wing. Harry's friends and classmates gave him a curious stare before leaving the stands en masse, the staff leaving with them. Purvis and Tonks remained momentarily, however. Harry glanced up at the man and his violet-haired partner. But they said nothing. James gave the boy a small grin and nod, Tonks giving him a larger smile before they headed off behind the others.
Harry turned to Hermione with a sad face. The girl said nothing either as she reached out and took his hand with both of hers, giving him a warm look of support despite the situation. Harry managed a weak smile back. He then grabbed his Nimbus still hovering near the edge of the stands, and the pair left for the castle without a word.
~HP~
Harry sat down in one of the chairs before Professor McGonagall's desk. Oliver sat in the one next to his, the sixth-year saying nothing while looking at him with a mixture of concern and puzzlement. The rest of the Gryffindor team stood around them. Angelina was behind Harry with both hands resting on his shoulders while Katie and Alicia stood next to her. Fred and George seemed less bothered by this bizarre incident than the others but also seemed unable to conceive of a reason for Harry's behavior, either good or bad. Professor McGonagall was stern as usual, though Harry didn't feel any particular sharpness from the woman toward him.
"Now then," she started, "before we discuss this turn of events, I want to say first that I'm not upset Slytherin won this match."
She looked directly at Harry to make sure he understood this. She went on.
"Though our loss is distressing, they won the match fair and square this time. But there will be other matches. Let's put this one behind us and focus on the future. As an aside, I must say, the six of you played brilliantly, despite the Slytherins' new brooms."
Everyone smiled at each other, then looked at Harry, recognizing their new strategy was his idea and it had worked beautifully. However, no one said a word. McGonagall continued.
"As for today's incident, would you care to explain, Harry, why you jumped off your broom and attacked a spectator?"
Any smiles the team had vanished, and all eyes fell on the twelve-year-old. Harry felt ashamed and embarrassed, wondering how to answer the woman without sounding mental.
"I..." he started before pausing and looking at his teammates around him.
"I...thought I saw someone behind Hermione pull a wand on her...like he was going to kill her. So I...leapt from my broom to stop him."
Everyone stared at him like he had indeed gone mad. Harry's own words sounded ridiculous to himself, and he frowned. McGonagall's lips pursed as she stared at the boy.
"Well, perhaps you were seeing things, Harry," she said, "Mr. Flinch...Finch...Fetchley...or whatever his name is!...said he was about to tap Hermione on the shoulder to ask her something when you attacked him from your broom. Perhaps it appeared to you he was pointing a wand at her instead?"
Harry swallowed hard and nodded.
"Perhaps it did, ma'am," he answered sourly. She frowned.
"Well, young man, perhaps Madam Pomfrey should give you a check-up and see if your glasses need strengthening. As for your response to what you thought you saw, what you did out there was highly dangerous, both to the pupil in question and yourself, regardless of your good intentions. And I seem to recall having this very same discussion with you about your instincts exactly a year ago, did I not?"
Harry remembered her stern lecture after he punched Malfoy in the eye his first term. He nodded solemnly.
"Yes, ma'am."
The witch frowned at him again and then looked at the others.
"The rest of you are dismissed. I wish to speak with Harry privately."
The Gryffindor team all nodded at the woman. Oliver gave the kid a pat on the arm and a faint smile. Angelina squeezed his shoulders, and the other girls gave him a simple wave goodbye. Everyone exited the office and closed the door behind. McGonagall leaned in over her desk.
"Harry, I know you've been going through a lot with all this Chamber of Secrets business, your nightmare, and the unfortunate fire incident with Miss Granger. As such, I can understand the pressures you're under, not to mention your schoolwork. However, be that as it may, due to the nature of this incident, I cannot simply dismiss it as you losing control of your broom and falling into the spectators by accident. Everyone saw you raise your fist at...Finch after."
Harry looked down with a frown and nodded once more. She continued.
"Therefore, I must deduct fifteen points from Gryffindor..."
Harry's shot an astonished look at the woman.
"...and you must serve detention, the nature of which will be determined in the next few days. I am not, however, suspending you from the Quidditch team, if you were about to ask that question. But I will require you receive a vision check-up from Madam Pomfrey before you engage in another practice session. Is that clear?"
Harry breathed out, realizing it was futile to fight this. He nodded one last time.
"Yes, ma'am. It's clear," he spoke in defeat.
Professor McGonagall's shoulders sank as she threw the boy a look of motherly concern. Harry could sense the woman hated to do this and he was grateful for her sympathy, even if the circumstances were odd.
"Very well. You may go," she finished while clasping her hands together on the desk.
Harry slowly rose and slouched out of the woman's office, closing the door quietly behind him. As he headed toward Gryffindor Tower, the boy contemplated everything that happened and his actions in the matter.
Did he really see the Slytherin student or was his vision just messed up at the moment, like McGonagall suggested?
Perhaps he was going crazy with all the things the professor mentioned and those she knew nothing about - the second nightmare, the paranormal happenings in his dorm room, and hearing the voice of someone or something in the castle. Or perhaps...he was simply imagining it all.
Regardless, Harry felt the lowest he had in a while. Things weren't looking good for the twelve-year-old.
~HP~
After entering the common room, Harry received stares from several of his fellow House mates. Parvati and Padma, along with Lavender, all gazed at him curiously then quickly resumed their private discussion. A few fourth-year lions were playing a board game in one corner, stared at Harry as well, then went back to playing and whispering to one another. He could only guess what that was about. But before heading up to his dorm room, he saw Hermione in a chair by the window, reading Gadding with Ghouls. He walked over to her and plopped down in the opposite chair. Her eyes went wide, she slammed the book shut, and leaned in close.
"There you are! How did it go?" she asked quietly.
Harry grimaced and leaned close to her.
"Okay, all things considered. Professor McGonagall is requiring me to get my glasses checked before I can play again. And I also lost fifteen points to Gryffindor and have to serve detention of some kind for attacking a spectator during a Quidditch match."
The boy shook his head.
"I can't believe I'm actually saying that!" he uttered.
Hermione became angry, though not because of Harry.
"I don't know what happened, Harry, but knowing you, I highly doubt you're at fault. But speaking of which, what exactly did happen?"
Harry breathed out and looked at his friend with a frown. He had nothing to lose now by telling her.
"Remember the day after Filch and his cat were...attacked, when Dumbledore had the big meeting in the Great Hall, and I asked you who a certain student was at the Slytherin table?"
"Yes."
"Well, when we looked back, he was gone. Then, last week, I saw him again at the High Table, sitting in between Sprout and Filtwick. Both times he was staring at me with a rather vicious look, but as soon as I looked away and glanced back again, he was gone. The reason I jumped from my broom is I saw him standing behind you with his wand pointed at your head. I was trying to stop him before he could do something bad. But when I finally realized what happened, the Slytherin wasn't there, it was just Finch-Fletchley!"
Harry looked away, then back again.
"Am I going crazy, Hermione? Am I imagining these things all of the sudden? We lost the match because of me, and a student is lying in the hospital wing right now all because I thought he was a phantom or something. I've lost it, somehow."
Harry's shoulders slumped forward, and his face became downcast. Hermione leaned in closer and lifted his chin with her hand.
"Harry Potter, you listen to me. You're not crazy and I don't believe you're imagining things! Whatever is going on in this school, you seem to have some connection with it and it's manifesting itself to you in strange ways. But that doesn't mean you've lost it."
Hermione stared right into his emerald-green eyes.
"I believe in you, Harry," she said with a firm expression.
The boy gazed back into her pretty brown eyes and gave her an expression of deep emotion. He couldn't be more grateful for his friend. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it affectionately.
"What would I do without you, Hermione? Thanks," he told her softly.
The girl's face turned beet red as she smiled back warmly, squeezing his hand in return. But then curiosity took over.
"By the way, what did this Slytherin look like?" she queried.
Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"He had dark brown, wavy hair, neatly combed to one side, though his hairdo looked kind of old-fashioned. He had a very smart face, though, and his robes seemed...old-fashioned as well, though they're clearly from Slytherin House..."
Before Harry could say another word, Hermione sat upright and threw him a wide-eyed, astonished look.
"Harry! You should have told me this sooner! That's exactly what Tom Riddle looked like when I saw him in the mirrors inside the Hall of Reflection!"
Harry sat back in the chair, his jaw going slack while gazing at the girl.
"So, it's Tom I've been seeing this whole time! How have I been so daft?" he wondered, finally putting two and two together.
But Harry lit up at a new realization.
"Then I'm not imagining things! He's appearing to me like he did to Ginny Weasley! That could also explain the presence by my bed after the first nightmare, the broom and textbooks, and...Dean, Neville, and Seamus floating above their beds!"
The pair contemplated this in silence for a moment, but then Harry's face scrunched up.
"But how is he doing this? I don't have his diary like Ginny did!"
Hermione was in deep thought.
"I don't know, Harry," she answered perplexed.
Suddenly, a thought crossed Harry's mind and he shot up from his chair, Hermione following suit. The boy remembered what happened the night he spent at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hang on! Perhaps...I actually do have the diary!"
"What?!" Hermione asked in complete confusion, "how is that possible? Professor McGonagall said someone else took it."
He grimaced.
"Think about it, Hermione. All those strange things, except seeing Tom, happened in my dorm room. And I have a hunch where it might be. Come on!" he exclaimed quietly, and the pair bounded up the steps to his room.
"Penny-farthing!" Harry uttered and the door to the room unlocked.
The boy opened it and the two went inside. The room was empty as his dorm mates were elsewhere in the castle. Harry marched over to his trunk and knelt beside it. Upon opening the lid, he rummaged among clothes, the spyglass he bought for himself last Christmas, his Quidditch racing goggles, and a few of Lockhart's books. When he reached the bottom, the twelve-year-old froze and stared wide-eyed at something. Hermione was on pins and needles.
Harry reached down and pulled out a thin, black book that was worn on the edges and looked very much like a diary. On the front cover, in small, gold-flaked letters, the year '1942' was de-bossed. The pair exchanged astonished glances. Harry then opened it to the first page. On the upper right corner of the page, they saw the words in smudged ink.
T.M. Riddle
Both their hearts raced. Harry stared hard at the volume in his hands.
"Well," he began with a gulp, "now we know where the diary went off to."
"Yes, we do," a very stunned Hermione replied, "but how did it get into your trunk?"
The boy thought back to that night at the Leaky Cauldron once more. He looked at the girl with a frown.
"I think I have an idea how."
He placed the diary on the floor and rummaged through the trunk for something else. When he found it, he drew it up and held it toward the girl next to him.
It was the silver Galleon Dobby gave him. Hermione was perplexed.
"Dobby? But...why?"
"There's only one way to find out," Harry answered while standing.
The girl rose with him and watched as he flipped the coin once. He then flipped it a second time, the silver object landing in his palm on the 'heads' side. Both of them looked around the room but saw no one. They exchanged puzzled looks and Harry wondered if he'd done it right or if the thing even worked as the House Elf claimed.
POP!
The second-years jumped as Dobby suddenly materialized behind them next to Harry's four-poster. They spun around to face the creature.
"Harry Potter called Dobby?" the elf said meekly.
"Yes, I did," Harry let out, perturbed at him.
He reached down and picked up Tom's diary. Dobby shrank back in fear at the sight of it.
"Did you put this in my trunk?" Harry questioned. Dobby meekly nodded as though Harry was about to beat him.
"Dobby must admit, 'yes'. Dobby followed the Weezy girl and found it in the toilet. Dobby then hid it in Harry Potter's trunk."
"Why?" Harry questioned further.
"Harry Potter must not be angry with Dobby. It was for his own good! And for others too!"
"My own good? Do you know what's happened because of this...'thing' being in my room?" he pressed the elf while shaking the diary at him.
"Dobby is sorry for that. But Harry Potter had to see! Harry Potter must face him - he must face the Dark One! Bad things are planned!"
"Yes, we know that, Dobby!" Harry spat at him, "but why not give this to the headmaster?"
Dobby stepped forward and placed a hand on Harry's arm.
"The Dark One won't reveal himself to Dumblydore! But he will to the great Harry Potter!"
"But why do I need to face him?"
Dobby now shook with fright and glanced around as though his master might be in the room listening. He then looked at Hermione and placed a thin hand on her shoulder.
"The Grangy girl is in danger! The Weezy girl has done it! She's done it!"
Dobby leaned over and started crying.
Harry knelt down to the elf's level.
"Dobby, listen to me. Professor Dumbledore will know what to do. We're taking this diary straight to him..."
"NO!" Dobby shrieked with fright, "Harry Potter musn't! He has to face the Dark One himself!"
"But why?" Harry pressed the pitiful creature in frustration.
"Bad things will happen! An innocent will be blamed! Harry Potter must know! He must stop him!"
Harry and Hermione exchanged worried looks. The House Elf shrieked again in fright as though he suddenly became aware of something neither second-year could see.
"Dobby must go!" he uttered and before either could say another word, the elf snapped his fingers and disappeared.
"Dobby!" Harry let out to nothing but air.
He looked at the diary again, then turned to Hermione, giving her a certain look. She stared at him fiercely.
"Harry, no! I know what you're thinking! That thing is dangerous! You saw what it did to Ginny, what it made her do! We need to take it Dumbledore right away!"
"But Hermione, you heard what Dobby said. He said an innocent will be blamed. Dumbledore said the same thing when we talked to him last, remember? He said that if we can prevent the terrible thing from occurring, more than one innocent life would be saved. And, in my second nightmare, the voice said that they'll think 'he' did it. It sounds to me like Voldemort and his supporter plan for someone to take the fall if anything else bad occurs at the school. We need to stop both from happening."
Hermione crossed her arms and frowned at the boy. He continued.
"Besides, I have the sneaking suspicion that all that's been happening, seeing Tom Riddle and the spooky events in here, Tom is trying to get my attention. I think he's trying to tell me something and I need to find out what."
"But Harry, that's even more dangerous! It could be a trap! What if he ends up getting you to do something awful, like Ginny, and...they blame you?"
Harry hadn't thought about this - perhaps he was the one the voice referred to. But Harry knew what he needed to do. He frowned at his friend.
"That's a chance I have to take. If in talking to Tom, we're able to find out what he's up to, who attacked Mrs. Norris and possibly Filch, we might be able to turn the tables on him. And if he does reveal what he's up to, I promise, Professor Dumbledore is the first person I'm going to."
Hermione looked at the ground for a moment, and then back at him.
"If you're going to do this, Harry, then I'm going to be there with you."
"Great! I wouldn't want to face Tom all by myself anyway."
"I'd say the Spellroom is the best place for it, then."
"Right. Let's go."
~HP~
Harry and Hermione placed two chairs by the teacher's desk inside the Spellroom. Harry then placed the diary on the desk and the pair sat down before it. The twelve-year-old opened it to the second page which was blank and seemed brand new, despite the age of the diary. Remembering what Ginny Weasley recounted at the meeting with Dumbledore, Hermione pulled a quill and ink bottle out of her school satchel. She then handed the quill to Harry and pulled out her wand.
"If something weird happens," she told him pointedly, "I'll blast this diary into oblivion, or at the least, knock you away from it. Agreed?"
"Agreed," he said with a bit of uncertainty.
She gazed at the open book with worry.
"I really don't like this."
Harry gazed down at it as well.
"Neither do I. But right now, there's no other way."
The girl nodded and Harry dipped the quill into the small ink cauldron. He then lowered the tip over the page and paused. Taking a deep breath, Harry began writing.
Hello, Tom.
This is Harry Potter.
The pair watched anxiously to see what would happen. And for a moment, nothing did. They stared at one another puzzled. But shortly after, they were astonished to see the ink vanish into the page. Then, not a moment later, the ink reappeared into different words. Chills went down their spines at what was written.
Hello, Harry Potter.
I've been waiting for you...