Hi everyone.
I'm sorry for the long time between this chapter and the previous one. I took some time off during the holidays, but I'm back now. You get quite a long chapter as some form of compensation now.
LILY X
The stadium was filled to the brim. Students, professors, other staff members and guests left no empty seat as the match was about to begin. Lily had been there last year, in the same place, for her son's first match. She had Molly Weasley and her daughter Ginny by her side back then. Today, Ginny was probably in the benches below, among the sea of red and gold flags, scarfs, and streamers. Three quarters of the crowd was obviously favourable to Gryffindor. Lily imagined that students were more than fed up to see Slytherin win every year. By her side, Molly was now sitting with her husband, who finally managed to attend one of his sons' games.
"It's been so long since I came here," he said when they met outside the gates. "I wonder if I'll recognize the pitch."
Arthur seemed quite at his ease though, talking with other parents, especially those who happened to be Muggles. From what Lily could tell, the father of one of the Gryffindor Chasers was a Muggle for certain.
"Hello, everyone. I am Lee Jordan, and welcome to Hogwarts' first Quidditch game of the season. Today, Slytherin versus Gryffindor."
The voice of the student who acted as commentator was heard by everybody through the stadium. Everyone, including Lily, stood up to cheer the players as they entered the pitch, flying on their broomsticks.
Lily quickly spotted her son, flying higher than his comrades. The twins, Fred and George Weasley, were hard to miss as well, and Molly and Arthur both encouraged them as they flew by them and raised their bats to show they were ready. Harry also waved his hand at her.
"For Gryffindor, the team from last year, who should have won the Quidditch Cup if it hadn't been for..."
"JORDAN! No favoritism!" Minerva interrupted the student. Arthur was laughing next to Lily.
"Lee, really? Always the same. I had forgotten how having him comment the matches was entertaining," he said.
"Sorry, Professor," Jordan said in the microphone. "So for Gryffindor, back from last year, the same excellent team Oliver Wood put together, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell as Chasers. Oliver Wood, the captain, as Keeper. Fred and George Weasley as Beaters. And as Seeker, Harry Potter!"
Lily joined the roaring of the crowd as the players of Gryffindor were raising their hands and arms under the support they received.
Lee Jordan was much less enthusiastic when he called the names of the other team.
"For Slytherin, the captain Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey and Graham Montague as Chasers, Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Boyle as Beaters. Two new additions this year, Kevin Bletchley, brother of last year's Keeper Miles Bletchley, at the same position, and Draco Malefoy as their new Seeker. "
Most of the crowd shouted down the Slytherin team, but Lily could also clearly hear the cheers coming from behind the goalposts of Slytherin. Both team captains shook hands, then returned to their respective positions. The Bludgers and the Golden Snitch had already been released. Madam Hooch approached the central circle, and threw the Quaffle in the air.
"THE GAME BEGINS!"
Everyone cheered as both sides rushed on the red ball. Slytherin got it first.
"Flint got the Quaffle... He sends it to Pucey... A Bludger sent by Fred Weasley makes him lose it... Johnson recovers it... She passes to Bell... Bell loses it to Montague... He avoids a Bludger... He avoids Spinnet... He shoots... Wood stops it... The Keeper sends it back to Spinnet... She catches the Quaffle from behind... Flint takes it back... He passes to Montague... He scores!"
The green wave of Slytherin supporters exploded while the rest of the crowd booed them.
"Wood recovers the Quaffle... He passes to Spinnet once more... She avoids Flint... Then Montague... She throws the Quaffle to Johnson... Pucey intercepts it... He rushes to the goalposts... He passes to Flint... Flint kicks the Quaffle... He scores."
20-0 for Slytherin. Things were really not looking great. Gryffindor recovered the Quaffle again, and this time, it seemed everything was going well. Angelina Johnson carried it on a certain distance before she gave it to Alicia Spinnet. Spinnet expertly avoided two Slytherin players, then dove to avoid the third one, and sent back the Quaffle to Johnson. Angelina was about to score when a Bludger came in her direction. She avoided it at the last moment. It gave the opportunity to Marcus Flint to take the Quaffle from her hand. The captain of Slytherin then travelled through the pitch, right to the goalposts. He entered the scoring area, and Wood was there to stop him, but Flint stopped and made a pass towards Montague who was behind. Montague hit the Quaffle with his closed fist and score in the left ring. Slytherin now led by 30-0.
It became evident that the Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones that the Slytherins flew were faster than any of Gryffindor's broomsticks.
"Come on, Gryffindor, you can do it!" Jordan shouted in his microphone, earning him many supports in the crowd. However, Oliver Wood had just sent the Quaffle to Katie Bell that she lost it due to a Bludger and two Chasers rushing on her at the same time. And Graham Montague scored.
"Come on!" Lee Jordan at the same time than the crowd booed and complained about the advance of forty points Slytherin just got. "Where are Fred and George? What are they doing? Wait... Wait a minute. What's going on up there?"
Lily wasn't sure about what he was saying, but she looked up to fall on the sight of Harry, far over the rest of the game as usual, looking for the Snitch. Only there was something strange. One of the Bludgers kept targeting him. It became obvious after a few moments. the Bludger rushed on her son, was deviated by one of the Beaters who hit it hard towards another player, but the Bludger always rushed back towards Harry. The two Gryffindor Beaters were, as a result, busy protecting Harry while the Slytherins Beaters could focus their efforts on the Chasers.
"What's going on with that Bludger?" Lee Jordan asked. No one interrupted him, and no one answered him.
In the meantime, a new cling meant that Slytherin had scored once more. Lily saw Oliver Wood throw the Quaffle in frustration, and it was intercepted by another Slytherin Chaser who scored again.
"Slytherin leads, sixty points to zero," Jordan announced.
In the meantime, the Bludger kept stubbornly targeting Harry. Lily didn't understand. Bludgers were supposed to target all players, not only one. She never witnessed this in all the matches she saw in her life. But then, a whistle blew. Oliver Wood had called for a time out. As Fred, George and Harry headed towards the ground, the Bludger kept attacking them. Lily was relieved when they reached the grass and the Bludger finally left them alone. The grey clouds started to let rain fall at this moment.
"What's going on? Why is a Bludger only targeting Harry?" Arthur asked.
"I'm asking myself the same question." She remembered what happened last year, against the same team, when her son's Nimbus was cursed. "Someone must be tampering it."
"How?"
"I don't know. But I think I'll try to find out."
"Lily, where are you going?" Molly asked, but Lily was already going down the stairs of the tower. This made no sense. Quirrell was dead. It couldn't be him. And Dumbledore assured her that they took extra precautions to ensure that no teacher could smuggle Voldemort inside the castle within his own body. How could this happen now? Who could curse a Bludger so that it would only target Harry?
A name came to her mind immediately, of course. She kept it in mind, but she couldn't let suspicions blind her judgement. She hoped to arrive on the pitch so see what was going on, but by the time she reached the end of the stairs, the time out was over, and both teams went flying again.
"The match resumes," Lee Jordan commented. "Gryffindor takes back the Quaffle... Wait... Potter is no longer protected..."
Lily watched in horror as Harry flew high and the rogue Bludger rushed to him once more. He avoided it narrowly. Then again. And again.
"HARRY!"
The scream came out of her mouth despite herself. She was in the lower benches now, among Ravenclaw students from what she could tell due to their blue scarfs. Some turned to look at her when she screamed, but many more kept looking up to what Harry was doing to avoid the Bludger. In the meantime, Lee Jordan continued commenting.
"Oh, wait! Fred and George are back in the game! Look! They caught a Bludger."
Lily couldn't stop herself from looking at the Beaters. Why weren't they protecting her son? Instead, they were throwing at each other the second Bludger, while one of Gryffindor's Chaser flew behind them, the trio heading straight to the Slytherin goalposts at high speed. Marcus Flint almost caught the Bludger into his face when he tried to approach the Gryffindor Chaser. When they neared the Slytherin's Keeper, Fred and George split, and the Chaser behind them shot strongly in the right ring. For the first time today, the cling indicated a goal for Gryffindor, and the crowd erupted for Gryffindor.
"First goal for Gryffindor! First goal!" Lee Jordan was shouting. "The Weasleys' special move. One shot, one score. Efficiency of one hundred per cent, much higher than for Slytherin. Well, Bletchley, perhaps your Nimbus Two Thousand and One is not made for Keepers."
"JORDAN!"
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall. 60-10 for Slytherin."
The Slytherin went back to the offensive while Harry kept avoiding the rogue Bludger. Lily thought about throwing a spell to the iron ball. She didn't mind that it was against the rules. This ball was clearly tempered with, and someone was clearly trying to hurt Harry. However, she soon realized she could never have a clear line of sight, or target the Bludger appropriately. If she cast a spell, she risked injuring her son. She debated about what to do internally as the match continued.
Marcus Flint was heading towards the goalposts of Gryffindor, avoiding all obstacles, until Fred Weasley hit the normal Bludger on him. He lost the Quaffle which was recovered by Alicia Spinnet. She avoided Montague by flying under him, then passed to Johnson, who immediately passed to Bell when seeing Adrian Pucey running on her. Katie Bell continued her road for a time until Flint caught up with her and took back the red ball. He flew in the other direction, but both Spinnet and Johnson arrived on him. He avoided Spinnet by flying on his right, but fell immediately on Angelina who stole the Quaffle from his hands. She avoided the normal Bludger, but when she shot to the Slytherin goalposts, Bletchley stopped it this time and returned it to his captain. Flint flew through the terrain once more. He avoided all three Chasers from Gryffindor and arrived before the goalposts, inside the scoring area, but the normal Bludger once again made him lose his balance. He ended up making a pass to Montague, behind him, but he made it wrong, forcing Montague to extend his hand to try to catch the Quaffle. It was intercepted by Katie Bell, but Pucey hit the Quaffle with his fist while she rushed towards the other side of the pitch. As a result, the Quaffle ended up back with Montague, who hadn't moved. He shot and scored. Oliver Wood failed to catch the Quaffle by a few inches. 70-10 for Slytherin.
Despite this, the game was obviously taking another turn. Harry, to Lily's relief and increasing worry, kept dodging the Bludger. Her son went as far as flying just over the Slytherin section of the crowd. Shouts of fear came out of the students, although the Bludger hit none of them. If the person who tampered with the Bludger was on Slytherin's side, he may regret it now. Also, it was obvious that now that Gryffindor's Beaters were working with the Chasers, the tide of the game had turned. Gryffindor wasn't dominating, but from what Lily could see, Slytherin was no longer a dominant force on the field either. Their brand new broomsticks allowed them to fly faster, but it didn't increase the cohesiveness of their team. In fact, Lily noticed that each player was almost playing for himself, while the Gryffindors were playing together. As a result, a sequence of passes perfectly executed by Angelina, Alicia and Katie led to another goal for Gryffindor, making the score 70-20. Now, Gryffindor was scoring for each time Slytherin scored. The Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones didn't make the Slytherin team better than the Gryffindors. It only gave them an advantage in speed and reaction that allowed them to compete with a better team who used brooms of lesser stock.
Harry was now slaloming between the towers. The Bludger was flying though the structures, creating huge holes with them. Lily was glad that she had gone down, in some way. In the meantime, Adrian Pucey and Graham Montague put together some team effort. With a few combined passes, they reached Wood's goals. But when Montague shot, Wood stopped the Quaffle, and returned it to Alicia right away. Alicia didn't keep the Quaffle for long though. She barely made a few feet that Flint took the red ball from her. This time, when he shot, he scored, bringing the score to 80-20 for Slytherin.
The Slytherins cheered, but not for long because Harry rushed towards their benches at this moment, the rogue Bludger on his tail. He rose up at this very moment and the Bludger smashed the structure right below the Slytherin supporters who screamed in terror. Right at this moment, Gryffindor counter-attacked. And the rogue Bludger, which just came back to the pitch, was hit by one of the Weasleys when it was only a few feet from Flint. The captain of Slytherin got it right in the back, and almost fell from his broomstick.
"Bell got the Quaffle..." Jordan said. "She passes to Johnson right next to her... Oh, Montague just got a Bludger in his stomach... Johnson is rushing forward... Pucey comes behind her... Johnson passes to Spinnet who is way ahead. She arrives before the goalposts... A pass to Bell... She scores!"
The crowd exploded, making the stadium shake. Lily saw the Ravenclaws raising their hands in encouragement as the three Gryffindor Chasers raised their hands in unison. It was 80-30 for Slytherin.
"Wait, is that...?"
No one ever knew what Lee Jordan wanted to say. From the corner of her eyes, Lily saw the infamous Bludger rush to her son, and almost hit Draco Malfoy, the Seeker for Slytherin, by the same occasion. This interrupted Jordan's commentary. The boy and her son were not moving, facing each other. And Lily noticed something shining right next to Draco. Harry rushed towards him, and Draco screamed in terror. He probably thought Harry was attacking him. But he was wrong. Harry wasn't attacking Draco. He was rushing on the Golden Snitch that just happened to be next to Draco. When the Malfoy boy realized what was going on, he rushed to the Golden Snitch, but it was too late. Harry was ahead.
Slytherin had gotten back the Quaffle, but Lily focused her attention on her son as he was after the Golden Snitch. Draco closed the distance between them and hit Harry hard with his arm as he flew past him. The Bludger was after them.
"The Snitch narrowly evades Malfoy!" Jordan shouted. "Potter is going for it. And... WOW! They're in the trench surrounding the pitch."
What? Lily pushed the students in order to look below. She barely saw the red and green trails in the trench, followed by the rogue Bludger which ruptured a beam on its way. That couldn't be. Was it even legal? Could the Golden Snitch really go into that place?
In the meantime, Slytherin had lost the Quaffle after another failed attack. Gryffindor countered and got very close to the goalposts. Angelina Johnson shot, but Bletchley deviated the Quaffle just enough for Graham Montague to recover it and bring it all across the terrain, barely avoiding Alicia in the process who tried to stop him. However, his shot was blocked by Wood who returned it immediately to Angelina. The young female Chaser avoided with dexterity the two Slytherin Chasers who tried to block her way by diving down both times, and also avoided the normal Bludger, but Pucey took away the Quaffle from her by hitting it with his fist. Montague recovered the Quaffle before Katie Bell could take it. He then headed for the Gryffindor zone, and made a short pass to Pucey when Alicia tried to grab the Quaffle away from him. He avoided Fred or George Weasley when one of the two tried to block his way. Then Angelina came from a higher altitude and tried to take away the Quaffle from him, but Flint blocked her. Pucey scored. 90-30 for Slytherin.
Lily spotted Harry flying just over the trench on the other side of the pitch, before he disappeared underneath it again.
"Wood sends the Quaffle to Johnson... She avoids Montague... Makes a pass to Spinnet... Spinnet gives it back to Johnson... She avoids a Bludger... Pucey is behind her... She passes to Spinnet... It is intercepted by Flint... Who loses it immediately to Bell... Bell to Johnson... The path is clear in front of her... But Pucey is gaining ground... He gets a Bludger on the tail of his broom... Bell is going forward... She shoots! She scores! 90-40 for Slytherin, who cannot increase their advance it seems."
Indeed, the play of the Slytherin became more erratic. Their Keeper made a pass too quickly. It landed in the hands of Angelina Johnson who scored, bringing the score to 90-50. Lily saw Marcus Flint who looked like he was screaming after his players.
"Things are not getting better for the Slytherins, it seems. Flint is now screaming to his teammates. And Bletchley sends the Quaffle to... Wait! In the trenches. We see Malfoy and Potter! They're after the Snitch, shoulder to shoulder! Just over the trenches!"
Lily searched for them, and she saw them on her left, coming her way just over the trenches, like Jordan said. The Bludger was nowhere to be seen, but then he came out of nowhere and rushed in the face of the two boys. Lily screamed in fear, but Harry just ducked the iron ball by flying under it. Draco Malfoy didn't react quickly enough. He only avoided the Bludger at the last minute and hit a beam. Lily could hear the scream of the boy as he flew in the air, his broomstick gone, and fell hard on the pitch. He tumbled a few times before he came to a stop, and stayed flat on the back.
"MALFOY IS DOWN! MALFOY IS DOWN! THE SEEKER OF SLYTHERIN IS DOWN!"
Lee Jordan was shouting in his microphone. Lily barely heard the attempts from Minerva to calm him down, as the action on the pitch became more frantic. Graham Montague, probably distracted by the news of his Seeker's downfall, lost the Quaffle to Johnson, who pushed it out of his hands before recovering it herself. She then headed quickly towards the goalposts. Despite the fact she wasn't riding a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, she flew through the pitch very quickly, and as the Slytherins were probably still recovering from their loss, she threw the Quaffle and gave ten more points to Gryffindor. Slytherin's advance had melted down to a small thirty points.
But Lily didn't give much attention as she saw Harry flying after the Golden Snitch, his right hand only a few inches away from the small ball. It was then that Lily watched in horror the rogue Bludger coming back to attack. Harry didn't see him this time. The iron ball got his right arm hard.
Lily covered her mouth. Harry was barely holding on his broomstick. He extended his left arm, and made a wild snatch while he dove to the ground. He raised his hand just as he crashed on the ground.
"Harry Potter got the Snitch! Harry Potter got the Golden Snitch. GRYFFINDOR WINS! Gryffindor: 210 points. Slytherin: 90 points."
Lily barely heard the final score as she watched her son crash on the ground. At least, he didn't tumble like Malfoy. He slid on the back in the sand under Gryffindor's goalposts. She ran to get down the benches as screams of victory roared all around. When she finally made it to the pitch, she saw with horror, on the other side of the pitch, the rogue Bludger rushing on her son down on the ground.
She ran, drawing her wand in the process. But she was too far. The Bludger smashed on the ground where her son was. And again. Three times. She was still too far away.
"Finite Incantatem!"
She heard the spell. It didn't come from her. It streamed into the air and hit the Bludger right when he was about to smash her son on the ground for the fourth time. The iron ball exploded in the air. Seeing Hermione brandishing her wand, Lily thanked heavens that Harry and this girl were friends. A crowd quickly gathered around her son. Everyone was running towards him, from the public to the other Gryffindor players who landed next to him. Even Hagrid was there.
"Hey, Lily!" he shouted, but she was too busy pushing aside people to get to her son. Rain was falling on them, and Lily was completely wet, but she didn't care. All that mattered for now was to make sure her son was fine. When she finally caught a glimpse of him, she saw him lying on the ground, his face covered with mud. Gilderoy Lockhart was next to him.
"Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm," the teacher said.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Gilderoy looked up, and a huge, stupid smile appeared on his face. "Mrs Potter! How are you today?"
"Get away from him. You're not a Healer!" She pushed him, and he stumbled back among other students. Lily didn't care. She only looked at her son. "Harry. How are you? Where are you injured?"
"Only the arm, I think," he said. He writhed in pain when he tried to stand up though.
"Okay. We need to get him to the hospital wing," she said.
"On it!" The Weasley twins walked forward, and each seized her son by the arm. It caused him to writhe in pain further. Someone was taking photos in the background.
"Don't take him by his right arm! That's where he's injured, idiots!" Lily would probably have said the same thing if Hermione hadn't done it first.
"That's alright. I've got the situation under control," Lockhart said, trying to get close to Harry again. "I can fix his arm within seconds."
"You're an author, Lockhart. Not a Healer." Lily positioned herself between Lockhart and her son, cutting his way. Gilderoy didn't seem to be bothered at all by her intervention, as he kept smiling stupidly. Lily returned her attention to Harry as Fred and George carried him away, under applauses from the crowd around them. She followed in their footsteps.
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey was fixing her son's arm.
"You did the right thing by bringing him here," the Healer who saved Lily's life eleven years ago said. "It's best to leave it to people who know what they're doing. A professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts is not best placed to give the proper treatment." Madam Pomfrey turned back her attention to Harry. "It should be fine now. Try to stretch it quietly."
Harry did so. He stretched his arm slowly in all directions, opened and closed his fist, turned the wrist in all directions.
"Very good," Madam Pomfrey decided. "Just avoid abrupt movements for the next twenty-four hours. He may leave," she added for Lily.
The Healer walked away to take care of other people, including Malfoy who was complaining in his own bed.
"Well, it seems I manage to catch the Snitch no matter the surprise against Slytherin," he said, laughing.
"It's not funny," Lily cut short to her son's laugh. First it was his broomstick last year, now a Bludger. What would it be the next time? Still, a smile crept to her face. "All that being said, nice catch."
He smiled in return. He stood up. "I think my friends are waiting for me."
"The opposite would surprise me."
She let her son leave his bed and head to the door. Lily remained a few feet behind. The moment he got out of the infirmary, a small waiting crowd welcomed him with loud cheers. She watched Harry being carried away by a red wave made up of his Quidditch partners, friends and other Gryffindor students. If things were anything like in her time, the Gryffindor common room would be bursting with festivities for the rest of the day.
Harry waved his hand at her as he was carried away, and she waved hers at him. He more than deserved some good time after what happened during the match. Lily, on her side, had a few people to meet.
It wasn't long before she stood in Dumbledore's office once again, this time with the headmaster but also with Madam Hooch and Minerva.
"What should I expect next year? A Golden Snitch trying to get into his eyes to make him blind? A Quaffle that turns into a bomb the moment it gets close to him? Or a tower falling on him while we're at it?" she asked the small assembly.
"Rolanda," McGonagall intervened before Lily could go further, "do you have any idea what happened with this Bludger? How did it come to target Harry and only Harry?"
The referee and flying teacher shrugged her shoulders in lack of understanding. "I don't know. We never had any problem with that Bludger. The Gryffindor team used it for their practice yesterday, and it was behaving normally. I asked Mr Wood myself, and he confirmed it. And both Bludgers remained locked in my office until the beginning of the game."
"Well, someone must have tampered it in the meantime," Lily stated.
"Impossible!" Madam Hooch said conclusively. "My office wasn't entered. I verified."
"It might be helpful to examine that Bludger," Minerva began, "but I'm afraid Miss Granger's counter spell was too efficient. Is there enough left of it to examine it?"
"There's nothing left of it," Madam Hooch burst. "I'll have to command another Bludger now."
"Well, I will not miss this one," Lily countered, looking straight at Madam Hooch. "You must have realized that this Bludger wasn't behaving normally. Why didn't you stop the game?"
"Because I can't," she retorted. "It's against the rules."
"Well, the rules are stupid. These are children who are playing, not professional athletes who make a million Galleons per year." Sometimes, she found the people's infatuation and passion for Quidditch really stupid, borderline suicidal.
"Rolanda." Dumbledore spoke for the first time. "Please verify with the maker that there was nothing wrong with that Bludger. And get a new one for our teams. They will need it. You may leave." Rolanda Hooch left on the spot, obeying Dumbledore's orders. "I'm really sorry, Lily. Again."
"I can't believe that I thought this year would be normal. First, the wagon. Then this Chamber of Secrets. And then a rogue Bludger. I thought that without the Philosopher's Stone, things would be normal at Hogwarts."
"Things are never normal at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall stated in a regretful tone.
"We're doing everything we can to protect our students, Lily," Dumbledore assured her. "Your son and all the others. But Hogwarts has its secrets, and even us don't understand them completely."
She looked straight at them. "What's this thing with the Chamber of Secrets? I know the legend, but is there really a monster currently wandering across the school?" she asked.
"Lily," Minerva tried to reassure her. "The Chamber is a myth that has existed for centuries. The castle was searched thoroughly by generations of headmasters, professors and students. No one ever found it."
"For now, only a cat was Petrified, and we don't have enough proofs to be sure that the Chamber was opened again," Dumbledore stated.
Lily caught the word. "Again? What does that mean?"
Dumbledore looked guilty. Minerva was looking at him, eyes wide open. "The Chamber of Secrets was opened, fifty years ago, and a young girl, who was Muggle-born, was murdered."
Lily looked at Dumbledore as if she saw him for the first time. "The Chamber of Secrets is real? It exists?"
"It exists," Dumbledore confessed. "And we have no idea where it is."
"But it was different at Halloween," Minerva intervened immediately. "No one was killed. Only a cat was Petrified. No one was Petrified the last time, isn't it, Albus?" she asked the headmaster.
"In fact, people were Petrified, until a victim was found dead. It is still possible that whoever wrote this on the walls just wants to mislead us. It might be someone else, someone with great powers who Petrified Mrs Norris, and who wrote this on the walls just to distract us. Anyway, I don't understand how the Chamber could have been opened once again. Nor how."
Lily sighed, and looked away. She couldn't believe it. "So we have a wagon detaching itself from a train whose wagons are magically tied together and supposed impossible to separate, a Petrified cat, and a Bludger who keeps attacking the same player. Why do I get the impression that Harry is being targeted once again?"
"Harry was not there when Mrs Norris was Petrified," Dumbledore said. "He was with you at Godric's Hollow. This had no link with him. As for the train, we found out that someone somehow managed to break the magical links between the wagons. Magic left a trace. The Bludger will require investigation as well."
"Well, you better find out who tampered with it, because I'm about to remove my son from the Quidditch team if this keeps happening."
"Lily, it will not protect him," McGonagall said. "If someone really tried to hurt him, he would have found another way if Harry wasn't Gryffindor's Seeker. It would be unfair for him to stop playing."
"Find out who did this."
"We will," Dumbledore stated. Lily wished she believed him.
She didn't see Harry again this day. He was probably busy partying with his friends in the Gryffindor Tower, and she didn't want to interrupt them. Her son deserved some good time after everything that happened. She did see Molly and Arthur talking with their son Percy in the park, and she went to join their conversation for a little while. However, Lily didn't stay long. She had some revisions to do before another test next Tuesday. She left after half an hour.
Lily apparated back into the entrance hall of the building where her apartment was located. Someone left by the same way she arrived just a few seconds later. She climbed the stairs until she arrived into her apartment. The moment she closed the door, a shrill voice came from behind her.
"Lily Evans."
She turned right away, her wand brandished. But there was no one to be seen.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
She wondered how someone managed to get into her apartment, but she would find out later. For now, she had to deal with the intruder, whoever she was. The voice was too high-pitched to be that a man. It had to be a woman.
It turned out that she was wrong though. The person who spoke was neither a man nor a woman. He came from behind the counter, and the moment he saw Lily, he bowed so low that his nose touched the floor.
"Lily Evans... It is such a great honour to meet you."
The creature was small, the top of his head barely reaching Lily's waist. He had large ears in the shape of bats, big green eyes the size of tennis balls, and wore a dirty pillow slip where holes had been made to allow his tiny and frail arms and legs out. Lily recognized what it was.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"Dobby, kind lady. Dobby the house-elf."
Lily lowered her wand for a moment, but she straightened it right away. She knew that name. It was the house-elf who had come to visit Harry during his summer vacations, who begged him to not go to Hogwarts this year. She never thought that a part of herself might now agree with that elf.
"What are you doing here?" she repeated. She wouldn't take off her guard. Elves were very powerful magical beings, although they seldom used their powers because their masters forbade them to do so.
"Oh, yes, good lady. Dobby has come to..." The elf looked quite inoffensive like that, and Lily almost pitied him. Harry told her how miserable he looked when he paid him a visit, but this creature nonetheless entered her apartment against her wishes. "It is very difficult, good lady... Dobby wonders where to begin."
"Okay. In this case, just answer my question first. Why are you here?"
"To... To warn you... Dobby wanted to tell the truth to Lily Evans... He believed that... When he saw that Harry Potter... Dobby doesn't want any harm to come to Harry Potter..."
"Okay, I get it. You came here before. My son told me everything..."
"Harry Potter talked about Dobby to his mother?" His eyes were full of water, but Lily didn't think it was out of fear at the wand she pointed on the small elf, or even because he was sad. He looked about to cry out of joy. "Dobby never thought... Dobby never hoped that Harry Potter would talk about Dobby... to anyone. Even less his own mother, the great Lily Evans."
He burst into tears. Lily found it more difficult to keep her wand pointed at him, but her experience and her training as an Auror taught her that appearances could be deceptive.
"Dobby!" The elf seemed to come back to his senses in some way. He stood up again, but still keeping his hands together, as if pleading. "Why are you here? If there is something you want to tell me, you should tell me now."
"Oh, yes... Good lady, Dobby is really sorry..." She then noticed there were heavy bandages around his fingers. "Dobby just came..." He fell on his knees. "Dobby is begging the good lady Lily Evans to take Harry Potter back home. She must take him out of Hogwarts before it is too late."
For the first time, she took the elf seriously. That couldn't be a coincidence. The wagon, the Petrified cat, the rogue Bludger... Too many strange events happened to her son since the year started. What if this elf had really been trying to warn Harry?
"Dobby tried to keep him away," the elf continued. "Dobby thought that Harry Potter would go back home when he detached the wagon."
Lily's eyes widened, and her heart jumped. "It was you. You detached that wagon?"
"Yes, good lady." He looked to the ground
"Do you realize what danger you put my son in?" she shouted. She was targeting him with her wand very intently now. "And what about all those other children? Some of them are barely ten. You put them all in danger by doing this."
"Dobby is really sorry, good lady. He didn't know what to do. He just wanted to find a way for Harry Potter to get back home, to not go to Hogwarts. When Dobby heard that Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, good lady... But Harry Potter must go home... Dobby thought that his Bludger would be enough to make..."
"Your Bludger!" Without thinking, Lily seized the elf by the neck and tackled him against the wall. "It was you, today! Do you realize you almost killed Harry with that thing!"
The elf was crying so loudly. Lily wondered if he heard her screams. "Dobby doesn't want to kill Harry Potter. He just wanted to save him. Better to send him home, grievously injured, than remain at Hogwarts, good lady! Dobby only wanted Harry Potter hurt enough to be sent home!"
She let him fall. This elf disgusted her by his stupidity and his actions. Harry could have died today because of his recklessness. She pointed her wand on him, ready to cast all the spells she could imagine to make the creature even more miserable than it already was. "I guess it was you as well, the writing on the wall? And the Petrified cat? You did that as well, just to scare him off the school."
"No... No... Dobby swears, he had nothing to do with what happened to that poor cat... The cat is why Dobby came to Hogwarts and made the Bludger attack Harry Potter... Dobby knew there was no time to be lost... Now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more..."
The elf froze, his face showing utter horror. The elf went running against the wall, and started to hit his head again and again against it.
"Bad Dobby! Very bad Dobby! Very very bad Dobby!"
Lily looked in utter stupor at the elf punishing himself as she tried to process what he just said. Now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more. He used those very words. Lily seized him, by his pillowcase this time, and tackled him against the wall again.
"Dobby! You're saying that the Chamber of Secrets is open?" The elf began to pound the back of his head against the wall. Lily took him in the air. He couldn't hurt himself with anything now. "Dobby, listen carefully. You did detach the wagon? You did tamper that Bludger, didn't you?" The elf nodded in affirmation. "But you didn't Petrify Mrs Norris? You didn't open the Chamber of Secrets." He shook his head very quickly. "Are you really telling me the truth, Dobby?"
"Good lady Evans... Dobby swears he is telling the truth... Dobby only wants Harry Potter to be safe!"
The creature was crying uncontrollably. And despite everything she knew that elf did, Lily found herself pitying him. She put him back on the floor as softly as she could, then looked straight in his eyes.
"Okay. I'm going to believe you, Dobby. I'll trust you, but you will need to trust me."
"Dobby trusts Lily Evans, good lady. It is true," he looked at her begging. She had a hard time reminding herself to not trust anybody during an interrogation. Her Auror training took over.
"Very well. You came to my son this summer. You warned him to not go back to Hogwarts. You already knew about the Chamber of Secrets then? You knew that it would be open this year?"
The creature shook his head. "Dobby can't tell, good lady."
"Why?"
"Dobby can't!"
He proceeded to hit himself against the table leg. Lily had to stop him again. She had to see it like any other interrogatory. Dobby was willing to say some things, but there were others he couldn't. Why? And why was he ready to come here to warn her or Harry about the Chamber of Secrets?
"If you can't tell me anything, why did you come here?"
"Because Dobby needs the good Lily Evans to put her son in safety. She needs to take Harry Potter out of Hogwarts before it is too late."
"Okay, but why are you telling me this? Why do you want Harry to live so much?"
Dobby looked at her. "Does the good lady Lily Evans remember how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers?"
"Of course, I do," she replied. Her throat tightened at those memories when everything seemed lost, and people died every day.
"We house-elves were treated like vermin, good lady. Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin. But mostly, life has improved for my kind since you and Harry Potter triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn for all of us. Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the dark days would never end... Harry Potter must not stay at Hogwarts... He cannot die..."
The poor elf crumbled to the floor, weeping uncontrollably. Lily had heard more than her share of people saying that she and her son had given them back hope when everything seemed lost, when Voldemort was defeated. But most of these people were saying it too seriously or too pompously. It was an abstract for them, some kind of official version. The elf, on the other hand, really seemed to believe it. She understood now why Harry really pitied that creature. Judging from his general state, the way he was clothed, the marks of his injuries, it was obvious that he wasn't treated well.
She knelt next to him. "Dobby, I want to protect my son, me too. There is nothing more important in my eyes."
Dobby looked up hopefully at her. She was counting on that reaction, truth be told. "The good and kind lady Lily Evans will bring Harry Potter back home?"
She couldn't tell him that. "I need your help first. From what I understand, there are certain things you cannot tell me. I'm right?"
"Yes, Lily Evans, you are right. Dobby cannot betray his masters. He cannot say evil things about them."
So this meant that the elf's master were involved. She knew that elves were not to speak ill of their masters, or to disobey their orders. She had to thread carefully. She needed answers, but there were some Dobby would never provide.
"Okay, I get it. Dobby, do you know what is the monster inside the Chamber?"
"Dobby doesn't know that, good lady. Dobby barely knows anything. He only knows that Harry Potter is in great danger. Dobby wants to keep Harry Potter safe."
"Do you know how the Chamber of Secrets can be opened?"
"I... I... Bad Dobby!"
He went after smashing his head once more. Lily struggled to stop him from hurting himself.
"Dobby," she almost pleaded. "Stop that! Who opened the Chamber of Secrets? And why is Harry in danger? He is not Muggle-born."
"Dobby must go back home. Dobby must go back home!"
''No, Dobby. Tell me."
"The good Lily Evans must save Harry Potter. Lily Evans must save Harry Potter."
In a loud crack, the elf vanished. He had apparated.
Lily would have cursed if she wasn't better raised. She just lost her best opportunity to discover who was behind the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, to discover who was threatening her son this time. Well, in some way, she had answers to a part of her questions. Dobby did endanger her son, with the strange objective of protecting him. Or so he said. While following their Auror training, they were taught how to interrogate people, but also warned about never taking any information they got from a source for granted. However, judging from the distress state of the elf, he seemed genuine in his desires to protect Harry. If he really wanted to harm Harry, why come to see both Lily and her son, and insisting on removing Harry from Hogwarts? And the events seemed to give reason to the elf. Something terrible indeed seemed to be happening at Hogwarts. For now, only a cat was assaulted, but if next a student was...
Lily had to consider all eventualities. Could the elf have been sent by his masters to harm Harry? It could explain the wagon and the Bludger, but not why he warned Harry and Lily. No, this didn't make any sense. Perhaps his masters ordered him to harm Harry. Perhaps they asked Dobby to detach that wagon, to tamper with the Bludger. Though this wasn't what the elf said. He said he did that to stop Harry from getting to Hogwarts, to send him back home. Why lie? The answer to this question came instantly.
"To protect his masters."
She said the words. This was what the house-elves lived for. They had to serve their masters, obey their orders, protect them and their secrets. That was why even Death Eaters spoke freely about their evil plans in front of their own elves. Antonin Dolohov was captured and partly convicted on the basis of a testimony extracted through torture from his elf, who confessed he heard his master boasting about how he murdered wizards Fabian and Gideon Prewett, along with many other Muggles.
If Dobby was unable to tell her who opened the Chamber of Secrets, then it must have been because his masters were somewhat involved. Perhaps they were the ones responsible for what was going on in Hogwarts. And if they ordered Dobby to harm Harry, then they were responsible for what happened today as well. In all cases, Lily had to find out who were Dobby's masters. And there was one place in the world where she could get that information. However, she hesitated before she went there. She thought of Dobby, the elf who hurt himself for talking about masters who clearly mistreated him. What would happen to him? However, her thoughts were quickly replaced by today's memories of Harry being chased by that rogue Bludger, of that iron ball breaking his arm, crushing him on the ground. If that was what Dobby called saving someone...
Her decision was made. She took some Floo powder, threw it in her fireplace, and walked through it.
"Ministry of Magic," she stated clearly. A few moments later, she was in the atrium. The place was much quieter than during days of the week. They were Saturday, and although many employees of the Ministry of Magic worked during weekends, they were far from being as many as during the week. As a result, she had no problem getting into a lift. It only stopped at level seven before it headed straight to the level Lily was looking for.
"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
Lily didn't listen to the rest of what the voice had to say. She walked out of the lift straight away. She could hear noises made by all kinds of magical creatures across the place. Lily found a sign indicating the Being Division of the department and followed the arrows indicating how to get there. She arrived just as a large group of goblins were leaving, obviously unhappy. She stood aside to let them pass. They didn't thank her, and the few who acknowledged her presence only seemed to look at her in disgust. When they were gone, Lily approached an area filled with cubicles, like the Auror Headquarters. A tall man, round of face and with some overweight, came out of the area just as she reached it.
"Excuse me, sir." He stopped. His face was red, and he wore glasses. "I want to make a complaint against a house-elf. Who should I see for that?"
The man looked strangely at her. "A house-elf. What is the nature of your complaint?"
"Attempt of murder against my son."
The shock on the man's face couldn't have been greater. She thought that it was better to tell things straight from the very start, to the risk of looking brutal. "Are you serious?"
"I am."
"Where is the elf?" The man, who first looked skeptical, now took Lily very seriously.
"I don't know. He vanished in the air. He apparated."
The man with the red face looked at her with quite an astonishing gaze. "Follow me."
Lily did as he told her. They walked among the cubicles, most of them being empty, until they arrived at an office with a door. Lily noticed the name written on the door before they entered.
Amos Diggory.
Mr Diggory closed the door behind her. The office was small, but well furnished, and looked comfortable enough, to the opposite of Scrimgeour's office which was quite austere.
"Please sit, Mrs..."
"Evans."
The man was in the process of sitting in his chair, but stopped in the middle, stumbled, and fell. Lucky for him, he fell into his chair. He looked at Lily in utter surprise.
"Merlin's beard. You are Lily Evans Potter?"
Lily didn't think she would ever get used to those reactions. "Yes, I am. And Lily Evans is more than enough."
Amos Diggory remained unmoving for quite some time, stunned by her identity. He then shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Potter."
"Evans," she corrected.
"Yes... Mrs Evans. I heard you were following the training program at the Auror Headquarters, but I wasn't sure if I would ever actually meet you."
"Mr Diggory, excuse me, but there's reason to my presence here."
The man seemed to recover his spirits. "Oh, yes. You said that..." He frowned. "A house-elf tried to murder your son? Harry Potter?"
"Well, I'm not sure if we can tell that he actually tried to kill him, but he endangered his life for sure."
Diggory looked completely lost. He nonetheless sat back in his chair and took a piece of parchment on which he started to write. "What is the name of the elf?"
"Dobby."
"He's your house-elf?"
"No. I don't have one."
"Okay. Can you describe him?"
"Grey skin, I would say. Probably reaching my waist height. Very big green eyes. A long and pointy nose. Ears in the shape of bats, pointy as well. He wears a dirty white pillowcase."
"And what has he done... to endanger the life of... your son."
"He cast a spell on a Bludger during his Quidditch match at Hogwarts today."
"He did?"
"Yes. The Bludger was targeting my son, and only my son. You can ask whoever attended the match. They'll confirm the Bludger's behavior. Harry was lucky to get out of this game with only a broken arm."
"And you are sure it was this elf who cast a spell on the Bludger?"
"Yes. The elf came to my apartment a few hours later, and he confessed everything. Before he disappeared. I have no idea where he went."
Diggory scratched his head. "Strange. House-elves have great magical powers, but they never use them. I've never come across a case like this. Would you happen to know who this elf is serving? He may have received orders."
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me the names of his masters."
The man in front of her pursed his lips. "That's in line with an elf behavior. And the name of the elf is Dobby, that's it?"
"Yes. I know you have a registry for all house-elves in Britain and Ireland. Do you think you might be able to find him?"
"Of course. Each house-elf must be registered at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. That's the law. We should be able to track him down. And since that elf seems willing to use his powers, we will make it our first priority. Is your son okay?"
"His arm was repaired quite quickly by Hogwarts' Healer. But I would rather not have this elf trying to hurt him again."
"I agree. Rest assured, Mrs Evans, we take that kind of threats very seriously. We will find this elf soon. May I accompany you back to the elevator?"
"Of course."
They left Diggory's office together. The man quickly lost some of his seriousness as the business with the elf was no longer their conversation subject.
"Arthur Weasley talked to me about you," he said.
"He did?"
"Yes. We are neighbors. We both live near Ottery St Catchpole. He never talked to you about me?"
"We didn't have the chance to talk very much," Lily answered, wanting to be polite with the man. "We mostly saw each other when my son went to visit his son Ron at the Burrow. They're friends."
"So I heard. I'm sad that your son didn't get to meet mine when he stayed there. Cedric is going to Hogwarts as well. In fact, I think they might know each other."
"He never talked to me about him, but their paths must have crossed," Lily suspected.
"He's in Hufflepuff. Fourth year. Fifteen-years-old. First of his class. He's been chosen to play as Seeker for the Quidditch team of his house this year. I must go and watch him play in two weeks."
"I'm sure he will be fantastic."
"I certainly hope he will. And I know he will. My Cedric succeeds at everything he tries." The man was shining with pride. His face had lost some of its red. They arrived at the lift. "Well, I'll contact you as soon as we find the elf, Mrs Evans. If you ever need our help or remember anything else about it, or if he appears again, contact us. Here's my card."
He gave her one with his name and his address. "Thank you, Mr Diggory."
"Maybe we will see each other at Hogwarts, when our sons face each other on the Quidditch pitch."
"Maybe," she simply replied.
"Have a good day, Mrs Evans."
He left her to the lift, and Lily took it back to the atrium from where she returned to her apartment.
A few days later, when Lily returned home from her training at the Ministry, she found an official letter from Hogwarts. She learned by reading it that a first-year student was Petrified, and the school assured parents that every necessary measure was taken to protect the students and that all efforts were made to find the culprit as soon as possible.
Lily then went to see Dumbledore. Most of her doubts about the Chamber of Secrets disappeared when Dumbledore told her the name of the victim.
"Colin Creevey? I know this name. Harry wrote about him in his letters. The child was always taking pictures of him," she said.
"He was," Dumbledore confirmed from behind his desk. "We found him with his camera in front of his eyes. We hoped he might have taken a picture of whoever assaulted him, but the film was burned when we opened the device."
"Muggle-born?"
Dumbledore didn't need to reply. His eyes were saying everything. The Chamber of Secrets was indeed open, once more. Lily hadn't wanted to bother Dumbledore with Dobby's story before, but she told him everything now, feeling that every bit of information was vital to catch whoever did this. When she told Dumbledore the name of the elf, his eyes became worried.
"And you went to the Ministry with his name?" he asked her.
"Yes. I thought that maybe if we learned who he was working for, it might give us a clue about who was behind these events. And if the Ministry catches him, maybe they'll be able to obtain additional information from him."
Dumbledore looked very uncomfortable. "You should have come to me right after Dobby visited you."
"Yes, I know it now, but I still had doubts. I mean, he was behind the wagon and the Bludger, so I thought that maybe he was also behind Mrs Norris being Petrified. I wasn't sure yet if we were to believe that the Chamber of Secrets was really open."
"That's not the problem, Lily. I know that elf."
Lily was taken aback. "You know him?"
"Yes. He came to Hogwarts before... with his master. Lucius Malfoy."
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