XIV. Obscure
Not clear or plain, ambiguous, vague or uncertain.
The next day, Jayla sighs, waiting for everyone to leave the classroom and walks to Lockhart's desk as he stands collecting his notes. "Professor, I was wondering if you could… sign this for me, it's my friend's birthday soon, and I know she'd really love your signature." Jayla lies through her teeth with a grimace.
"Of course! I'm always happy to sign anything," Lockhart replies, and she hands the pieces of folded parchment, which he eagerly signs with a goofy grin. "I hope she enjoys her birthday present. Which friend is it?"
"She lives in America. She's read all your books." She lies again with a fake smile, walking out the door to see her friends waiting for her. Jayla unfolds the parchment, revealing the Library's Restricted Section consent form.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The Golden Quartet quickly hurry to the Library during their lunch, beginning to look for Moste Potents Potions. Jayla looks around the Restriction Section while the others wait for her in the central area downstairs, and the young Hieress finds the book, quickly leaving to join her friends.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Jayla finds them waiting for her at a desk between the stacks and flips to the correct page. "Here it is," Jayla announces, reaching them. "The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform themselves temporarily into the physical form of another."
"Do you mean, if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron questions, looking at her in shock.
"Yes." She answers sharply.
"Wicked! Malfoy'll tell us anything," He grins from ear to ear.
"Exactly," Hermione agrees, and the young Heiress looks at the book, memorising the page.
"But it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion. I'll have to review it more carefully during my extra potions lesson on Saturday." Jayla warns them, being the best at potions out of the group.
"Well, how long would you say it would take to make having a look at it now?" Harry asks her.
"A month." She answers, surprising the boys.
"A month?! But Jayla," He yelps at her but lowers his voice, "if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then."
"I know that." The Darkmore Heiress snaps, looking at her best friend. "But it's the only plan we've got."
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Eleven o'clock approaches and the school goes down to the Quidditch stadium the following Saturday. It's a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. Ron and Hermione hurry to wish Jayla and Harry good luck as they enter the locker rooms. The team pull on their scarlet Gryffindor robes, then sit down to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk. "Slytherin has better brooms than us," Oliver begins. "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 weathers —."
"Too true." George mutter. "I haven't been properly dry since August."
"- and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." He finishes his speech, and his chest heaves with emotion before turning to Harry. "It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."
"So no pressure, Harry." Fred jokes, winking at him.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
As the Gryffindor team walk out onto the Pitch, a roar of noise greets them, mainly cheers, because Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are anxious to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins in the crowd make their boos and hisses heard, too. Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, asks Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they do, giving each other threatening stares and gripping somewhat harder than is necessary.
"On my whistle," Madam Hooch says. "Three… two… one…" With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rise toward the sky. Harry flies higher than any of them, squinting around for the Golden Snitch and is joined by Draco.
"All right there, Scarhead?" Malfoy yells, shooting underneath him as though to show off the speed of his broom. Harry doesn't have any time to reply. At that moment, a heavy black Bludger comes pelting toward him; the ravenette avoids it so narrowly that he feels it ruffle his hair as it passes.
"Close one, Harry!" George shouts, streaking pass with his club in his hand, ready to knock the ball back toward a Slytherin. Harry sees him give the Bludger a mighty whack in the direction of Adrian Pucey, but the Bludger changes direction in midair and shoots straight for the younger boy again. Harry quickly drops to avoid the Bludger, and George manages to hit it hard toward Malfoy. Once again, the ball swerves like a boomerang and shoots at Harry's head.
Harry puts on a burst of speed and zooms toward the other end of the Pitch. He can hear the Bludger whistling along behind him.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
"Blimey, Harry's got 'imself a Rogue Bludger!" Hagrid exclaims, looking through his binoculars.
"Rouge Bludger?" Ron questions, looking for his large friend.
"Look fer yerself! It's bin' tampered with!" He yells, watching Harry execute a series of zigs, zags, loops and rolls, trying to shake the Bludger, but it's relentless. When Hermione's hand intercedes, Ron instinctively draws his wand to protect his best friend. She glances knowingly at his fractured wand.
"You're joking, right? Besides, even with a proper wand, it's too risky. You could hit Harry." Hermione warns him as Harry frantically dips and dives while Malfoy cruises.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Jayla flies off and smashes into the side of Flint as he takes the Quaffle from another player, and the ball falls from his grip. Angelina flies off; The Heiress sees one of the other players about to go for her teammate and smashes into his side, sending him off. She looks up to see a Bludger zooming towards Oliver, knocking into his broom, shattering Wood's broomstick and sending him flying toward the ground, and Pucey flies past. Jayla tails him, smacking the ball out of his hand as he tries scoring, and she zooms faster, catching the ball, keeping it under her arm and throwing it in time, scoring Gryffindor a point.
Fred Weasley waits for the Bludger at the end of the Pitch when Harry ducks as he swings at the ball with all his might, and it is knocked off course. "Gotcha!" Fred yells happily, but he's wrong; as though it is magnetically attracted to Harry, the Bludger pelts after him again, and the ravenette is forced to fly off at full speed.
It starts to rain, and Harry feels the heavy drops fall onto his face, splattering onto his glasses. He doesn't know what is happening in the rest of the game until he hears Lee Jordan, who is commentating, say, "Slytherin lead, sixty points to thirty."
The rain falls heavily now, and Harry kicks hard into the air and hears the telltale whooshing of the Bludger behind him. Higher and higher, Harry climbs; he loops and swops, spiralling, zigzagging, and rolling. Slightly dizzy, the raven-haired boy nevertheless keeps his eyes wide open. The rain specks his glasses and runs up his nostrils as he hangs upside down, avoiding another fierce dive from the Bludger. Harry can hear laughter from the crowd, he knows he must look foolish, but the Rogue Bludger is heavy and can't change direction as quickly as he can. He begins to roller-coaster ride around the edges of the stadium, squinting through the silver sheets of rain to the Gryffindor goalposts, where Adrian is trying to get past Wood.
A whistling in Harry's ear tells him the Bludger has just missed him again, and he turns right over and speeds in the opposite direction. "Training for the ballet, Potter?" Malfoy yells as Harry is forced to do a stupid kind of twirl in midair to dodge the ball and flies. The Bludger trails a few feet behind him and then glares back at Draco in hatred. He sees it - the Golden Snitch. It hovers inches above Malfoy's left ear - and he's too busy laughing at Harry to see it.
For an agonising moment, Harry hangs in midair, not daring to speed toward Draco in case Malfoy looks up and sees the Snitch.
WHAM!
Harry stays still a second too long. The Bludger has finally hit him, smashing into his elbow, and he feels his arm break. Dimly, dazed by the searing pain in his arm, he slides sideways on his rain-drenched broom, one knee still crooked over it, his right arm dangling uselessly at his side - the Bludger comes pelting back for a second attack, this time zooming at his face - Harry swerves out of the way, one idea firmly lodged in his numb brain: get to Malfoy.
Jayla sees the Bludger hit Harry in the arm, making her wince in sympathy, but she throws the Quaffle in time before Flint smacks into her. She tries keeping her grip on the broom and bumps into Marcus before flying toward Alicia to help her.
Through a haze of rain and pain, Harry dives for the shimmering, sneering face below him and sees its eyes widen with fear. Malfoy thinks Harry is attacking him. "What the -!" Draco gasps, careening out of his way. Harry takes his remaining hand off his broom and makes a wild snatch, feeling his fingers close on the cold Snitch, but is now only gripping the broomstick with his legs, and there's a yell from the crowd below as he heads straight for the ground, trying hard not to pass out.
With a spattering thud, Harry hits the mud and rolls off his broom. His arm is hanging at a bizarre angle, riddling with pain, and he hears, as though from a distance, a good deal of whistling and shouting. Lee shouts into his mic. "Harry Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!" Jayla stops, glad and flies down towards Harry as he focuses on the Golden Snitch clutched in his good hand.
"Aha," Harry mutters. "We've won." And he faints when the crowd breaks onto the Pitch. Teachers and students watch as the Bludger comes down, heading for the unconscious boy, and Hermione calmly strides forth, pointing her wand at the ball.
"Finite Incantatem!" Hermione casts and a purple light strikes the Bludger causing it to explode. Jayla gets off her broom, letting it fall to the ground as she runs with Hermione and Ron towards Harry. They reach their friend along with everyone else.
Harry comes around, rain falling on his face, still lying on the field, with someone leaning over him. He sees a glimmer of teeth. "Oh, no, not you." Harry moans.
"Doesn't know what he's saying," Lockhart replies loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressing around them. "Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm."
"No!" Harry yells. "I'll keep it like this, thanks…" He tries sitting up, but the pain is terrible. He hears a familiar clicking noise nearby. "I don't want a photo of this, Colin."
"Lie back, Harry." The DADA Professor assures him soothingly. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times -."
"With your luck, you'll mess it up," Jayla says, getting mixed looks from the crowd.
"Why can't I just go to the Hospital Wing?" Harry asks through clenched teeth.
"He should really, Professor," Oliver agrees, who can't help but grin even though his prized Seeker is injured. "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say -."
"Stand back," Lockhart says, rolling up his jade-green sleeves.
"No - don't -." Harry protests weakly, but the man twirls his wand and directs it straight at his arm a second later.
"Brackium Emendo!" He casts the spell, and a blue light envelopes the boy's arm; he feels a strange and unpleasant sensation start in his shoulder and spread all the way down to his fingertips. It feels as though his arm is being deflated. He doesn't dare look at what is happening. Harry closes his eyes, his face turning away from his arm, but his worse fears are released as the people above him gasp, and Colin Creevey begins clicking away madly. His arm doesn't hurt anymore - nor does it feel remotely like an arm. "Ah," Lockhart stutters. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Harry, just toddle up to the hospital wing — ah, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, would you escort him? — and Madam Pomfrey will be able to — er — tidy you up a bit."
"Sleep with one eye open, Lockhart," Jayla warns him, helping Harry to his feet with Ron.
As Harry gets to his feet, he feels strangely lopsided and takes a deep breath, looking down at his right side. What he sees nearly makes him pass out again. Poking out of the end of his robes is what looks like a thick, flesh-coloured rubber glove. He tries to move his fingers. Nothing happens. Lockhart didn't mend Harry's bones. He removed them.
Madam Pomfrey isn't going to be at all pleased.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The Golden Quartet make it to the Hospital Wing with Draco somehow beating them there after the match, who won't stop groaning in pain, asking for attention from his friends who crowd around his bed. Jayla stands with her friends and teammates around Harry's bedside as Madam Pomfrey comes rushing into the room with a bottle of Skele-Gro. "Oh, Mr Malfoy, stop making such a fuss. You can go." Madam Pomfrey snaps at the boy. "Out of my way. Out of my way!" She pushes through the others to Harry's bedside cabinet, placing the bottle down. "Should've been brought straight to me. I can mend bones in a heartbeat - but growing them back…."
"You will be able to, won't you?" Hermione asks with worry, and Jayla holds her hand for comfort.
"Oh, I'll be able to, certainly. But it'll be painful. You're in for a rough night, Potter." She warns the boy, pouring him a glass of the medicine. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business." The nurse hands him a glass with the clear liquid, and he takes a sip before spitting it out over the others, who all groan in disgust. "Well, what do you expect? Pumpkin juice?" He wipes his mouth in disgust, and Jayla can't help but laugh a little.
"We should get Lockhart to drink this stuff," Jayla jokes, getting hit in the bruising side by Hermione, making her yelp though the others seem to agree with her and from the look on Madam Pomfrey's face, she too agrees.
"Are you hurt, Miss Darkmore?" Madam Pomfrey asks, looking at her.
"It's just a bruise." She shrugs it off.
"Go sit down. I'll mend it quickly." The nurse gives her a scornful look, and she complies, sitting on the bed next to Harry's.
"Yes, ma'am." Jayla replies.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Night falls over Hogwarts, and Harry remains in the Hospital Wing overnight because of Lockhart's mistake, and Jayla can't stop thinking about the voice she heard on Halloween that Harry also heard. It would have to mean the voice is only one thing. An animal's voice, right? She can understand all manner of creatures, which she learned about over the summer, and the young Heiress wonders how it's possible, Harry can understand them and, more importantly, where is it coming from?
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Harry sleeps in the dark Hospital Wing alone when a foul whisper reaches his ears, coming closer, waking him. He jumps from his pillow and pops on his glasses, looking around the large empty room, and his eyes fall on a very familiar House-elf standing in front of him on his bed. "Hello!" Dobby greets the injured boy happily.
"Dobby?" Harry frowns, wondering if he's dreaming, seeing the House-elf standing at the foot of his bed.
"Harry Potter should have listened to Dobby! Harry Potter should have gone back home when he missed the train." He warns the ravenette.
"It was you… you stopped the barrier from letting Ron and me through." Harry realises, looking at the Magical being.
"Indeed. Yes, sir." Dobby admits to the offence, feeling terribly upset with himself.
"You nearly got Ron and me expelled!" Harry yells at Dobby angrily in a hushed voice, not to wake Madam Pomfrey.
"At least you would be away from here. Harry Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make Harry Potter see that -." He reveals something too far.
"Your Bludger? You made that Bludger chase after me?" The injured boy asks him in shock.
"Uh, Uh... Dobby feels most aggrieved, sir. Dobby had to iron his hands." The House-elf shows his small, badly bandaged hands that have smouldering burns on the showing skin.
"You'd better clear off before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you!" Harry threatens the Magical being, who jumps off the bed and slips onto his back; the raven-haired boy follows, getting up from his bed and walking toward Dobby around the bed.
"Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home." Dobby comments.
"I don't suppose you could tell me why you're trying to kill me?" He asks the House-elf. Stalking towards him slowly, the Magical being cowers away, circling the bed to the cabinet on the other side.
"Not kill you, sir, never kill you! Dobby remembers how it was before Harry Potter triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We House-elves were treated like vermin, sir. Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin." The House-elf begins crying loudly and blows his nose on the rags he wears.
"Why do you wear that thing, Dobby?" The ravenette asks him, seeing what the poor Magical being is wearing.
"This, sir? It is a mark of the House-elves' enslavement. Dobby can only be freed if his Master presents him with clothes." Dobby explains, and they hear a noise startling the House-elf, and he jumps onto the bed, motioning for Harry to come forward. "Listen. Listen! Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts. Harry Potter must not stay here, now that history is to repeat itself."
"Repeat itself? You mean this has happened before?" Harry asks him, intrigued by this slip of information.
"Ah! I shouldn't have said that!" The House-elf holds his hands in over his mouth but decides to pick up the bottle of Skele-Gro on Harry's bedside cabinet and hit himself over the head with it. "Oh! Ah! Dah! Bad Dobby! Bad!" He cusses himself out, but Harry snatches the bottle off of him.
"Dobby, stop it! Stop it! Stop, Dobby! Tell me, Dobby." The injured boy demands, grabbing the rags of the poor House-elf. "When did this happen before? Who's doing it now?"
"Dobby cannot say, sir. Dobby only wants Harry Potter to be safe." The House-elf replies while stroking Harry's hand affectionately.
"No, Dobby. Tell me. Who is it?" Harry commands, but the noise grows closer, and they look over at each other, hearing the Hospital doors open, and Dobby snaps his fingers before disappearing. Harry looks confused for a second before he sees shadows approaching the Hospital wing and jumps into his bed quickly as Madam Pomfrey, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall walk inside, carrying Colin Creevey on a stretcher.
"Put him here." Madam Pomfrey motions to the nearest bed, settling him on the cot as she moves around. "What happened?" She questions, looking at the poor boy.
"There's been another attack," Dumbledore answers the obvious, walking to the Petrified boy's bedside.
"I think he's been Petrified, Madam Pomfrey," McGonagall whispers as the men gently place Colin on the hospital bed. "Look! Perhaps he managed to take a picture of his attacker." The Headmaster takes the camera from the boy's hands to see his face, eyes scrunched up in fear. Dumbledore moves the latch from the back, popping it open, causing a poof of smoke inside the camera, destroying the photos. "What can this mean, Albus?"
"It means... that our students are in great danger." Dumbledore answers.
"What should I tell the staff," She asks, scared for the students.
"The truth. Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe. It is as we feared, Minerva. The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again." He answers, seemingly unaware of Harry wide awake, listening to everything in fear for everyone within the school a few beds away.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The weekend ends, and Harry makes it out of the Hospital Wing as his bones have completely grown back, and he finds himself in the 2nd-floor girls' bathroom at lunchtime with Ron, Hermione and Jayla. "This year has been havoc already, and it's only November." Jayla comments when Harry explains what happened on Saturday night with Dobby and Colin as Hermione brews the Polyjuice Potion in the middle of the room.
"Again?" Hermione questions. "You mean the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?"
"Of course. Don't you see? Lucious Malfoy must have opened it when he was at school here. And now he's taught Draco how to do it." Ron theorises, and Jayla shakes her head.
"I don't think that's it because that would make me also the Heir, and I think my mother would have mentioned it," Jayla reminds him, tilting her head to the side, challenging him.
"Maybe. We'll have to wait for the Polyjuice Potion to know for sure." Hermione says, and Jayla adds another ingredient.
"Enlighten me. Why are we brewing this potion in broad daylight, in the middle of a girl's lavatory? Don't you think we'll get caught?" Ron asks the girls, not knowing the gossip about the abandoned bathroom.
"Heh... no. No one ever comes in here." She tells him, but he looks confused as the girls as they add more ingredients.
"Why?" The redhead wonders.
"Moaning Myrtle," Jayla answers, but he looks more confused.
"Who?" Ron asks again.
"Moaning Myrtle," She answers again, spotting the grumpy ghost girl come out from one of the stalls.
"Who's Moaning Myrtle?" He asks, and she floats right behind him.
"I'm Moaning Myrtle!" The ghost girl exclaims, startling the redhead, who backs into the end of the wall in fright, and Harry looks at her in surprise as Myrtle floats up over the sinks. "I wouldn't expect you to know me! Who would ever talk about ugly, miserable, moping, Moaning Myrtle?" She sulks a little and cries out, flying off towards the toilet and diving in, causing the water to explode.
"She's a little sensitive." Hermione excuses the poor lonely ghost, looking at the boys.
"She's a real delight." Jayla jokes, and the boys share a small laugh as they make the Polyjuice Potion.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Friday, 18th December 1992
My darling family,
How are things at home? I know I haven't kept my promise, but recently, Quidditch tryouts and my first official match have been a bit chaotic at school. Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine and unharmed.
I'm sorry, Yazz, this week has been relatively quiet now, but yesterday was so ridiculous. At around lunchtime, Professor Idiot Lockhart started a Dueling Club, it was the first one, and I had Quidditch practice.
Hermione wanted to watch her idol, and the boys wanted to watch Lockhart make a bigger fool of himself than he already has with every class he teaches.
Mason, you'll love this, so here it goes. We're in the first Dueling Classroom, which has a line of tables with a blue cover that shows the moon cycle. Lockhart walked on the tables, gaining our attention….
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
"Gather 'round, gather 'round! Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?" Lockhart shouts, walking across the table, and Jayla walks with her friends around the tables as the Hogwarts student crowd the room the day before. "Excellent! In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves, as I myself have done on countless occasions -."
"Only in your books!" Jayla coughs, trying to hide it, but still, people laugh or glare at her though Lockhart ignores it as he takes off his flashy cape and throws it towards some girls who fight to catch it.
"- for full details, see my published works." Lockhart continues, looking around the room.
"That Lockhart's something, isn't he? Awfully brave chap. Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hufflepuff." The kid next to Harry introduces himself with a broad smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm -." Harry goes to introduce himself, but Justin cuts him off.
"I know who you are. We all do. Even us Muggle-borns." Justin says, smiling back, and Lockhart continues the dramatics.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape." Lockhart introduces his opponent, and the students close to the table lean over to see the gloomy Potions Master walking up the steps onto the Dueling platform, looking all the more miserable than usual but slightly happy, probably because he'll get to knock the pompous Professor on his ass.
"Beat him, sir!" Jayla cheers, earning some strange looks from some students around her.
"He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now, I don't want any of you, youngsters, to worry - you'll still have your Potions' Master when I'm through with him, never fear." Lockhart winks into the crowd, making Jayla cringe as he gets his wand out and meets Snape on the platform. The men draw their wands and hold them up to their faces before sharply placing their wands at their sides before bowing to each other. The Professors turn away from each other, walking a few steps and facing each other again in their preferred positions. "One. Two. Three!" Lockhart counts down, but Snape casts his spell before he can utter a word.
"Expelliarmus!" Snape yells, and light beams out of his wand, hitting Lockhart and sending him flat on his back with a cry of surprise, and the students laugh, not at all surprised, as Gilderoy tries to get up.
"Do you think he's all right?" Hermione wonders, worried for her dear idol.
"Who cares?" Ron replies with a grin as they watch Lockhart get to his feet and walk over, facing the relatively smug Potions Master.
"An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious - ah - what you were about to do. And if I wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy." Lockhart plays it off, walking towards the sullen Professor.
"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor." Snape snides at the DADA Professor, a total fake, as the men share a tight smile.
"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape! Ah..." Gilderoy walks across, glancing around the crowd. "Let's have a volunteer pair!" Students raise their hands across the room. "Um, Potter, Weasley, how about you?" The boys begin to move, but Snape stops Ron.
"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own home? Malfoy, perhaps?" He requests but doesn't care for the answer and turns around, pointing at Draco, signalling for him to get up, and Draco climbs onto the platform as Harry walks up, passing Lockhart.
"Good luck, Potter," Lockhart whispers.
"Thank you, sir!" Harry replies.
"Wands at the ready," He yells at the arch enemies, and the two boys hold their wands to their faces.
"Scared, Potter?" Draco asks him smugly.
"You wish," Harry replies, and the two meet in the middle of the platform, swiping them to their sides, facing away from each other, walking a few paces away, meeting each other, and getting into a defensive position.
"On the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent - only to disarm. We don't want any accidents here. One. Two. -" Before Lockhart can get to three, Draco casts his spell.
"Everte Stadium!" Draco yells, and the spell hits Harry, sending him flying back, and he lands on his side with a groan. Jayla cringes, feeling the pain, but the raven-haired boy gets up.
"Harry, are you all right?" Jayla asks, stepping toward the platform as he stands.
"Yeah." Harry mutters and turns around. "Rictusempra!" He casts his spell back at Draco, sending him flying and falls on his ass, looking up at the disappointed Head of Slytherin, who hulls the blond up by the back of Draco's robes to his feel.
"I said disarm only!" Lockhart yells, but it falls on deaf ears.
"Good one, Harry!" Jayla cheers, clapping as she watches the two of them.
"Serpensortia!" Draco casts, and a serpent pops out his wand onto the floor, slithering around, somewhat confused.
"Don't move, Potter. I'll get rid of it for you." Snape announces, walking over and passing an eager Draco.
"Allow me, Professor Snape," Lockhart says, approaching the snake. "Alarte Ascendare!" He waves his wand, not sending the snake away but up into the air, and it angrily falls back onto the platform.
"Wrong one again, sir!" Jayla yells.
"Yes, thank you, Miss Darkmore. Enough of your cheek." Snape says, looking at her with a warning stare.
"Sorry, sir." She replies and sees Harry in a daze-like state as the reptile cusses everyone out, making the crowd step away, and the boy steps closer to the snake that zeroes in on Justine.
"Leave him. I said. Leave him!" Harry speaks to the snake, but Jayla hears the undertone of a hiss like with many other reptiles, and then it clicks. Parselmouth.
"Vipera Evenesca." Snape casts a spell at the snake after nudging himself out of his surprise, and the spell hits the reptile in the middle, turning it into ash while everyone looks at Harry in surprise and fear.
"What are you playing at?" Justin demands, looking at Harry, who glances around the room, seeing the fear in everyone's eyes. Jayla jumps onto the platform to grab Harry by the arm and pulls him off onto the floor before rushing out of the room with Ron and Hermione tailing them while the room remains in shock and fear at the latest discovery to do with the Chamber of Secrets.
"Bugger off!" Jayla shouts before exiting the room.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Jayla roughly pulls Harry into the Gryffindor Common Room with Ron and Hermione behind them. "You're a Parselmouth? Why didn't you tell us?" Ron questions rudely as he pulls Harry to a stop, making Jayla slightly jerk.
"I'm a what?" Harry asks, confused, and Jayla keeps forgetting he knows little to nothing about the Wizarding World.
"You can talk to snakes," Hermione answers, and he looks at his friends, even more confused but not entirely shocked by what she said.
"I know. I mean, I accidentally set a python on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once." He reveals and sees the shock on Hermione and Ron's faces while Jayla giggles. "Uh, once!" He tries to justify himself, looking at his friends' stunned faces. "But, so what? I bet loads of people here can do it. We know one who can talk to animals. Jayla!" He points at Jayla, who nods but even then.
"No, they can't. It's not a very common gift, Harry. This is bad." She warns him, and they share a look with the others.
"What's bad? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin." Harry defends himself, but the others don't seem to buy it.
"Oh, that's what you said to it!" Ron bleats in surprise, waving his arms around and wishing Harry had told them.
"You were there! You heard me!" Harry exclaims, trying to defend himself.
"I heard you speaking Parseltongue. Snake language!" He yells at his best friend in frustration.
"I spoke a different language? But - I didn't realise I - how can I speak a language without knowing I can?" The raven-haired boy asks them, and Jayla sympathises with him as she can speak to other animals, but people can understand her when she does.
"I don't know, Harry, but it sounded like you were egging the snake on or something. Harry, listen to me." Hermione warns him, trying to tell him what it sounded like those that can't talk to animals.
"There's a reason the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent; Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. he could talk to snakes, too." Jayla explains to him and sees that he seems to be getting it a little.
"Exactly! Now the whole school's gonna think you're his great-great-great-grandson or something." Ron summarises over dramatically.
"But I'm not. I can't be." Harry denies.
"He lived a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be," She informs him, looking at him with pity. "I heard you, Harry. I know what you said." Hermione and Ron look at her as if she's grown another head. "Did you forget that I speak to animals as well?" She asks them jokingly, and Hades walks towards them from the girls' dorm just in time.
"Jay, that disgusting rat keeps talking, and it's driving me insane," Hades complains, and Jayla picks the cat up into her arms. "That mean old rat needs to pack his bags."
"I hear you; what's the mean ugly rat been saying this time?" The Darkmore coos to her and looks at Ron.
"Hey! Don't talk about Scabbers like that!" Ron argues as if she cares.
"Hades just told me he's been saying some mean things about you," Jayla tells him, and he storms up to his dorm as Hermione comes over, tickling Hades behind the ears.
"Don't worry, Harry; we'll figure it out." Hermione assures him.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Later that night, Jayla sits with Harry in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hades sleeping in the ravenette's lap as he mulls over the events of the day. "Hermione's right, Harry; we will figure this out."
"Thanks, Jayla. You always seem to be on my side." Harry comments.
"Well, you and I can talk to snakes together now." She jokes, making him laugh.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
…When we got back to the Common Room, I could see the fear in Harry's eyes, and I was wondering, Dad, would you know anything about a book on British Wizard family trees? Harry is terrified of all this new information, and everyone fears him. I know it's not him, Mum. There's no way it could be.
I hope to see you soon, but I have a rather upsetting request to ask of you….