I do not own Harry Potter nor World of Darkness
Quidditch field, Hogwarts, 7th November 1992 (Saturday)
The ghosts had been extremely quiet lately. Shortly after the group's confrontation with the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost had been spotted in Gryffindor tower, where he had physically dragged Sir Nicholas away to have a 'private conversation.' After that, the Gryffindor ghost had been crestfallen, spending most of his days locked up in the Astronomy tower, barely interacting with anyone.
Filch had been pacing the spot where Mrs. Norris had been attacked, as if waiting for the attacker to return. He tried, or rather forced any student sent to him for detention, to scrub the message on the wall with 'Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover', but the words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone.
On Monday morning, Ron had walked to the Slytherin table and publicly apologized to Daphne for his insensitive comment about people affected by the Maledictus curse. According to Hermione, his brother Charlie had severely scolded him and he should have been grateful to only get away with a slap on the face.
Daphne had accepted the apology, but was still somewhat cold towards the redhead.
Things in Slytherin house had been… unusual. After Draco's stunt many of the students, especially the first year ones, were convinced that the boy was Slytherin's heir.
Harry, Theo, Blaise, Daphne, Sally and many of the older students were convinced of the opposite: Draco was way too brash and impatient to have waited a whole year to open the Chamber. Had he been the heir, the chamber would have been opened the year before.
That fact didn't seem to register with the other houses, to the point that even Ron and Hermione were considering him the main suspect.
To quell their suspicions, the group had spent the entire day watching the Malfoy heir going on with his day and spending the afternoon on his first Quidditch match as a Seeker. While Draco might have had some talent when it came to flying, his performance as a Seeker left a lot to be desired. The match had dragged on for way longer than it needed to, with Draco ultimately catching the snitch with a score of 2570 to 1920 for Slytherin.
The match had been exciting for the first hour or so, but after a while both Harry and Sally had fallen asleep and missed the bulk of the event. Since the two had just woken up, the sun was already down and they weren't really tired, they decided, given the late hour and the total absence of clouds, to intercept Professor Aurora Sinistra and ask her permission to use the Astronomy tower to finish up their Astronomy homework. While skeptical, the witch had agreed to their request, and had been leading the two to the tower when the trio stumbled upon the petrified remains of the first year Gryffindor, Colin Creevey.
"Kids, you stay behind." said the teacher, pulling the two Slytherins behind her back as she moved over to inspect the boy, his blank stare fixed at the corridor, his new Power Potter's camera grasped in his hands and ready to take a picture at something. The Professor Sinistra's trembling hands freed the camera from the boy's petrified hands, handing it over to Harry.
"Y-you sell these, right? Did he get a picture of his attacker?" she asked, her tone terrified but hopeful at the same time.
Harry nodded, trying to turn on the camera to no avail. Weird. Thankfully, he knew exactly what to do.
"Something's wrong with it. I need a minute, a small knife and a piece of chalk."
Professor Sinistra hesitated for a second, before walking to the closest room and looking inside.
"In here. It's safer than the corridor."
The two students followed in the empty classroom and the Professor conjured the chalk.
Harry started to draw a symbol of the ground with practiced ease, just like he had done many times during the summer under Zafrina's tutelage.
Once the circle was complete, he picked up the camera and turned it around, looking for the engraved name of the spirit within. Once he found it, the camera was placed in the middle of the circle, and Harry cut his finger, letting a single drop fall.
"Botis, show yourself."
Nothing happened.
"Botis, I command you to appear."
A few wisps of smoke emerged from the camera.
"In the name of the Triatic Wyrm, I call upon your name, Botis. I command you to appear!"
A jet of smoke exploded from the camera, coalescing into the shape of a mechanical spider the size of Harry's head. The spirit hovered in mid-air for a fraction of a second before falling with a loud clanging noise. That wasn't normal. Harry stepped into the circle and looked at the spirit, picking it up and observing it for a second before his eyes went wide.
"It's… It's petrified!" He said in shock.
"It's true… The chamber of Secret has been opened again…" exhaled Professor Sinistra in a whimper.
Park Royal, London, 17th November 1992 (Tuesday)
Professor Sinatra had refused to explain what she meant by 'again' and had swiftly brought the Slytherin duo to their room.
The following day, they had confided with the rest of the group and they had unanimously decided to start investigating. They tried to ask Professor Binns, but the ghost had vehemently denied the existence of the chamber, with a passion that bordered on a delusional level of rambling. Curiously, it had been a very similar reaction the ghost had when Hermione had previously tried to ask about the Legions.
Sir Harold had been engrossed by the petrified Rust Spider, to the point that, after receiving the remains of the spirit from Harry, he had all but abandoned the celebrations for Founder's day to inspect the creature.
Founder's day celebration for this year was… underwhelming.
He was still barred from rooms 420 and 69, where according to Barnaby 'the real celebration takes place', and with both Edwin and Samuel abroad he was forced to stick to John Machintosh, who was everything except talkative, or with the Power Potter's employees, who were joining the celebration for the first time and, despite their training, didn't really know half of the things in Park Royal's recreational rooms. Despite the many thoughts swirling in his mind from the attacks and the lack of his best friends, Harry did somewhat enjoy the festival. Barnaby had snuck him a beer and even joined him in playing some video games, which he sorely missed during his Hogwarts stay. Perhaps he could convince Zafrina to start working on making them suitable for Hogwarts next?
Wausau, Wisconsin, 23rd November 1992 (Monday)
"Welcome to Megalodon Incorporated, miss. How can I assist you today?"
Tonks look around at the giant structure, trying to orient herself. She had taken an international portkey to France, boarded a muggle transport called a 'jet' and now she was in the single weirdest building she had ever seen. What was with all the white? She walked towards the smiling lady behind the giant glass desk.
"Yes. Uh… I have an appointment with… - she checked her notes - Doctor Theodore Eatherly?"
"Ah, you must be Miss Tonks, then. The doctor has been waiting for you."
The secretary stood up, walking over to the witch and handing her a massive binder.
"Please, follow me."
Tonks opened up the folder, only to be inundated with a slew of charts, data sheets, dates and acronyms she had never seen before.
"What is this?" she asked in confusion.
"Oh, those are the latest test results for the various samples we gathered so far. Doctor Eatherly will probably have the rest of them in his office."
Tonks looked again at the papers in the binders and felt cold sweat running down her neck. How in Merlin's name was she supposed to keep an eye on those experiments if she couldn't even read the results?
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 10th December 1992 (Thursday)
Two weeks after the petrification incident, Julius Creevey, Colin's father, had personally marched to Hogwarts, demanding to speak with the headmaster. Dumbledore had, of course, agreed to the request and had met the angry muggle in his office, together with a few members of the Board of Governors. It was only after Dumbledore announced he was already discussing purchasing a few Mandrakes to build a stockpile of Restorative drafts that the parent had calmed down enough to let the aging headmaster finish his piece. While Colin would have to wait until the first batch was ready, with the stockpile that Albus intended to build, he assured that any student petrified before the conclusion of the investigation would be restored within a day with no side effects apart from a relatively mild headache.
Lucius Malfoy didn't seem pleased, arguing that it wasn't enough, but since the man couldn't offer a better solution, Albus Dumbledore got to continue running things as normal. Much to Lucius's disgust, Julius Creevey was given a portkey and offered permission to visit the castle any time he wished for as long as his son was petrified to offer the muggle man some peace of mind.
Colin and Mrs Norris had both been released from their petrification one week before and promptly interrogated, but all Colin could remember from the encounter was some scraping noises, as if something heavy was being dragged over the floor. He turned the corner to investigate and, the next thing he knew, he was in the infirmary with his father at his side.
The group's investigation had come to a screeching halt due to a lack of hints. Daphne, Hermione, Ron, Sally and Harry had decided to shelf their investigation until more evidence showed up.
Theo's investigation, on the other hand, had been… weird. Or at the very least, Mr. Gerard Nott's response to his son's questions had been. Like everyone else, Theo had written his parents asking whether he knew anything about the Chamber of Secrets, but while every other parent had dismissed the rumors as a myth (or demanded Harry investigate all he could and hand over the secret to the petrification, in Sir Harold's case), Mr. Nott had been uncharacteristically vague.
Theo had been starting to pester his father for more information, writing to him almost on a daily basis trying to break Lord Nott's stubborn silence. Today, it seemed that his father had finally cracked.
Dear Theodore,
Yes, the Chamber of Secrets exists.
Yes, it has been opened before.
Between the winter of 1942 and the summer of 1943, during my stay
at Hogwarts, a man who I once trusted as a dear friend found
the secret chamber of his ancestor and opened it.
At the time I did not know my friend was the one responsible, I only knew that
students started to turn into stone one after the other.
Barely a week went by without the announcement of a new victim.
While the majority of the targets were mudbloods, a number of purebloods were
also targeted, and only years later I would learn they were simply
accidentally caught in the crossfire.
When the first dead was found, a mudblood witch I can't remember the name of,
talks of the school shutting down began to circulate and people
pointed their wands at one of the creatures Hagrid kept.
Yes it's the same Hagrid now working as groundskeeper.
The boy was expelled and the attacks stopped.
In hindsight, it was a ridiculous accusation, but it worked.
It was only years later when I finally puzzled everything together and
learned that my friend was the one responsible.
I cannot reveal more, as this knowledge brings me dangerously close
to secrets I have sworn an Unbreakable Vow to never reveal.
I trust you will be able to puzzle the solution together yourself.
Love you,
Dad
PS: I trust you are smart enough to destroy this letter after reading it.
Theo frowned. An Unbreakable Vow. That was serious business, no wonder dad didn't want to reveal anything. Still, he had a year and a culprit. Or at least, a scapegoat. Theo folded the letter and tucked it away in his pocket, before turning his attention to his friends.
"Father said the chamber was opened in 1942. The attack stopped after a muggleborn was killed and Hagrid was framed for it."
"Hagrid? The groundskeeper? That Hagrid?" asked Daphne in disbelief.
"Father said he was framed. He has a hard time believing the accusation stuck." said Theo in his defense.
"So, we're visiting Hagrid then?"
Theo scratched his head
"Father said he was expelled because of this, I'm not sure he'll be very happy to talk about it. Maybe we can try to find more about the attacks first?"
"Well, at least now we have something to work on." said Harry, finishing up his breakfast and motioning to his friends to follow.
After a while, Ron and Hermione joined them in the courtyard.
"What is it?" asked Ron, clearly annoyed at being dragged away from breakfast.
"The Chamber was opened in 1942. Theo's father was a student back then."
"What!? Why didn't he say anything sooner then?" shouted Ron.
"Family matters, and please don't ask more about it. What matters is that the attacks only stopped after a student died. Hagrid was expelled, but my father thinks he was a scapegoat."
"How would anyone believe that Hagrid did it?" asked Ron.
"Remember Norbert?" asked Sally, causing Ron to frown.
"Yeah, I can see that. Still, Hagrid's innocent, right?"
"My father said so."
"Well, why don't we go talk to him?"
Hermione looked at Ron. "Because, if you were framed for something you didn't do, would you want to talk about it?"
"Expelled from Hogwarts as well." pointed out Theo.
Ron's expression turned shocked, but then he had to reluctantly admit that Theo had a point. had he been in Hagrid's place, he certainly wouldn't want to talk about it.
"So… what do we do now?" asked Daphne, looking expectantly at Hermione.
"Well… if Hagrid was expelled, there must be a record of it somewhere. Perhaps we can start there? Or maybe we can try to find out about the girl who died."
"That sounds like a good start." declared Harry, his friends nodding in agreement.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 18th December 1992 (Friday)
Dumbledore walked to the podium, his movement attracting the attention of the students who swiftly calmed down, curious to hear what the headmaster had to say.
"Dear Students, I am sorry to announce that yesterday there was another attack."
Murmurs started to spread across the crowd, but swiftly ceased as soon as it became clear that Dumbledore hadn't finished.
"Last evening, the petrified bodies of Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly-Headless Nick were spotted in the second floor corridor. While I am pleased to announce that both have been restored and Mr. Finch-Fletchley will be able to resume his classes this afternoon, I have decided to raise the security of the castle. From now on, students will no longer be allowed to freely move in between classrooms. If you need to go somewhere, please notify a teacher, a prefect or Mr. Filch. Lastly, as additional means of security, I have decided to employ the services of one of the newest developments in magical security: a CCTV system. - a lot of murmurs spread among the students. - In the next few days, you might spot a few Power Potter's employers wandering the castle. These people have a job to do, so I would ask you not to disturb them."
Many eyes shifted to Harry as whispers grew among the students.
Before anyone could ask him anything, the doors of the great hall opened up, letting a blonde woman and an absolute mass of muscles carrying some kind of metal and glass box with a lot of tubes connected to it into the hall, causing the whispers to cease and immediately resume.
"Goyle, isn't that the guy that threw your granny through a window?" asked one of the students.
"He's a brute."
"I heard he's a werewolf."
"Barnaby is not a werewolf!" whispered Harry, sending glares at Draco's group.
"But there was a werewolf near the shop. Everyone heard about it." pointed out one of the older students.
"Yeah! Barbany ripped its arm off." said Harry with a hint of pride.
A few objections and lying accusations flew toward Harry, but as the pair approached the Professor's table, gossip started to dim.
"Miss Lessard, Mr. Jackson, welcome to Hogwarts." announced Dumbledore with a smile, walking towards the two guests.
Zafrina smiled, shaking the wizard's hand.
"It's a pleasure, headmaster. I assume the students have already been informed?"
"I just told them about your arrival. This device is the demonstration you have prepared for the staff?"
Barnaby smiled, raising the television over his head, allowing all the teachers to clearly see the screen.
"It's not perfect, but it shall do for a quick demonstration. As you might already be aware, every item requires the binding of a specific spirit and we didn't have the time to make sure the one bound to these pieces of tech work as intended in Hogwarts, but if our assumptions are correct…"
She approached the monitor, pressing a button. With a loud 'whoosh', the monitor sparked to live, revealing a somewhat distorted image of the Chamber of Reception. Zafrina touched the monitor and closed her eyes, tiny sparks of light illuminating the tubes hidden under her hairs as the image became a lot clearer.
"There you go. While the image is a bit low on resolution, this is more or less how the system works. At the end of this cable is a camera that will allow whoever is watching this monitor, which if I'm not mistaken would be the caretakers… Mr. Filch and Ms. Norris?"
"Mrs. Norris." corrected Dumbledore.
"Mrs. Norris. We will place monitors into their office which will allow them to essentially have one extra pair of eyes around the castle for every camera we install."
"And how many cameras do you plan to install?" asked a very excited Professor Burbage.
"That's what we'll need to figure out during our inspection, as well as the best placement in order to cover the most amount of area with the minimum amount of camera. Then we have to calculate the length of cables, the best way to conceal the cables, the position of the electric generator and a few other details we'll have to discuss once our inspection is over. But if I were to give a rough estimation… something like three, maybe four hundred cameras?"
Filch's eyes glistened and the man smiled like a kid on Christmas, while a look of horror washed over the students.
"Well, it sounds like the two of you have a lot of work. I have taken the liberty to furnish a couple of rooms on the third floor, they are yours to use for as long as you are in the castle."
Barnaby nodded as Zafrina thanked Dumbledore. Before the headmaster could call for him, Filch was already on his feet, escorting the duo to their rooms while grinning wildly and telling them of all the various spots where he usually catches students breaking rules.
Notes
Petrifications! And a more realistic (at least to me) response to the attacks. At least they are doing something to mitigate the damage!
CCTV at Hogwarts! They won't install them immediately, but at least Dumbledore is doing something to prevent further attacks...
Nott senior would, obviously, know about Voldemort's role in the opening of the chamber, so I had to figure out a reason for him not to say "Yeah, voldy did it". I think an Unbreakeable Vow binding him to secrecy is the simplest way to achieve it.
Tonks enters the scene! And is immediately pushed in the background by pile upon piles of junk data she can't even read. Give her some time and she'll have a more active role, but for now, she's gotta spend some blood, sweat and tears studying
I added some emphasis on the ritual to make it obvious it was magic. I'll use the same format for other magical abilities, but only when it's exceedingly obvious (in character) that someone's using some kind of magical ability, be it Discipline, Gift, Rote, Cantrip, Arcanoi or anything else