And here's the twenty ninth chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
* Review Response:
Clavyus, Autismguy593, DarkRavie, WiseSilver, Jostanos, The Shadows Mistress, TheGreatBubbaJ, PristinelyUngifted, geekymom, hellfire45, mwinter1, Yana5, Smokeing, akasanta, ironhair, theotherhand, lou2003us, thank you for your reviews, folks!
YDdraigGoch94, a counter-point: if Arithmancy was just Numerology, then we have a branch of Divination (which is a different subject in the curriculum) - and one that lasts for three years. It just doesn't look right.
nkh1, maybe? The topic of the beast from the Chamber isn't surfacing this chapter. As for the twins - there is always Yule for that. Or Valentines... Or...
magitech, Hogsmeade as a whole is likely a self-sufficient village. Shops there, especially ones like Zonko's, on the other hand... Yeah, those really depend on Hogwarts' students. But the book offers no explanation for how they manage to stya afloat and I don't really feel any need to explore that. At least at this time.
Lazruth, pensive might play a role soon enough.
soomeru, he just might.
setokayba2n, Lockhart will not last until the end of the year - that much I can guarantee. Will revealing that he is a fraud require taking the ward down or not is something I haven't decided yet.
raw666, that's... an interesting idea. But, let's say, Lockhart isn't good enough to make that potion without noticeable effects.
Kiki's Stories of Awesomeness, I'm actually not sure alive Sirius Black will play any role in the story at all. Thus far, my plans for Harry's fourth year don't include any supposed-mass-murderers after his life.
Luiz4200 (guest), heh.
Vampireking40, I have no plans for Harry joining the Slytherin quidditch team here. And since Draco likely bought his way there in the book to upstage canon-Harry, him joining the team isn't something worth that much mention - unless he does that and then just plays really terribly (and, according to the books, he is a decent seeker. Not an outstanding or great one, but...)
* AN: As always, great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter XXIX: A Writing on the Wall
The situation with the Defense Against the Dark Arts this year sure didn't look good to Harry right now. Gilderoy Lockhart wasn't teaching his class anything useful, preferring to just read passages from his adventure novels instead. He had also had Dumbledore convinced that he actually was a competent Professor doing his job properly, thus the Headmaster wasn't going to relieve him of his 'duty' anytime soon… And Harry was definitely not happy about this.
Knowing how to defend oneself against various threats that existed within the Magical world was extremely important and, the green-eyed wizard supposed, if the DADA Professor refused to do his job properly, he should seek knowledge elsewhere.
Truth to be said he already had access to people that were willing to share this knowledge with him: the Ravenclaw study group. Alas, it was invitations-only for the students from other houses, and Harry didn't think it would be fair if his friends didn't get a chance to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts properly as well. Of course, he could try teaching them whatever he learned at the study group, but his experience with educating Flora and Hestia about the Muggle world was telling him that he just wasn't cut to be a teacher, especially for something this important. No, a different approach was needed here.
Getting an older student to tutor him and his friends in the material they should be learning this year, perhaps? That wasn't a bad idea, though Harry doubted he could make it worth an older Slytherin's time, and he didn't know anyone from other houses well enough to ask them. An alternative would be founding a study group and learning from the previous years' textbooks. That would be simpler but not as good as having an actual tutor. Either way, he'd need a room for this, and he'd rather it wasn't his not-so-secret hideout. Thankfully, there were great many unused classrooms in the castle, so that wouldn't be a problem. Cleaning the place up and stuffing it with everything needed to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts was another thing, though, and Harry had no idea where he could find something like a mannequin to practice spells on.
Damn it, this getting rather more complicated than he originally thought quickly… Still, Harry wasn't about to give up yet as as he refused to let Lockhart's incompetent teaching leave him unable to defend himself Magically.
~/ *** \~
While the Halloween Feast was in full swing, a certain bespectacled witch, wrapped in gaudy shawls and covered with shining sequins and glittering strings of beads, sat in her private quarters at the very top of Hogwarts' North Tower. On a table in front of her, right next to a half-empty bottle of sherry, there was a large crystal ball - a Magical instrument that the witch was using in order to get a glimpse of the future to come. Unfortunately, the crystal ball stubbornly refused to show anything but thick white mist of the Unknown…
Letting out a deep sigh under her breath, Sybill Trelawney took a swig from the bottle and tried to divine the future again. The result was much the same: nothing. Her Inner Eye just didn't want to work tonight. With another sigh, the witch leaned back and shook her head. Halloween was supposed to be one of those special days when Magic is most potent, but... Perhaps she really should try to read the future some other time. Taking another swig from the bottle of cooking sherry, the witch stood up and was about to go to bed when Magic decided to grant her wish and let her glimpse the future:
"Soon… A servant, crawling in fear, shall see a shadow of the Dark Lord." Sybill said, her voice suddenly deep and booming. "Inspired, he will set out to bring him to his former glory. And as he chases the shadow of his Master, he shall free another from his chains. Together they will prepare the Dark Lord's return, one to make him greater and more terrible than before, his second life fueled by the lives of many. And only an apprentice of the Serpent shall stand in their way. Soon… A servant, crawling in fear… will set out to… revive his Master..." And as the last word spoken, Magic went away, leaving the witch to collapse back onto her armchair.
"What happened?" Sybill asked out aloud. She could tell she had just blacked out, but she had absolutely no idea why she did. She wasn't that drunk, was she? Deciding that it didn't really matter as she was going to sleep anyway, the witch took another swig from the bottle, finally finishing it off, before making another attempt to reach her bed. This time nothing stopped her and soon she was snoring lightly, fast asleep on her unmade bed.
Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of the Ministry for Magic, in the chamber known as the Hall of Prophecies, a small opaque crystal orb appeared on a rack that already stored a few hundred similar orbs. And just like all those orbs, the new one was given a label that might help identify the recorded prophecy. In this particular case, the label read:
Oct. 31, 1992
S.P.T. to -
Without a doubt, a true prophecy had been made, but there was no one to hear it but the seer herself, and she would not remember a word of it. There was no way to learn what was said. Even the Unspeakables, the people who knew more about Magic than most, were completely powerless here. Thus, the orb - a recording of the prophecy - was bound to sit there on the shelf, collecting dust until the end of Time...
~/ *** \~
The Halloween feast had been quite nice this year, Harry decided. The food was great as usual and the banquet hadn't been interrupted by an evil Professor barging into the Great Hall and announcing that there was a troll - or some other monster - loose within the castle.
After the feast came to an end, the Slytherin students made their way back to their common room. And since the night was still young, so Harry didn't want to go to bed just yet. He wasn't in the mood for continued celebrations either, though - today was the anniversary of his parents' death - so he retreated to 'his' corner of the common room, hoping for some peace and quiet. Alas, Fate had other plans…
"Where is that little shit? I'm going to strangle him with his own intestines!" A furious voice of Mr. Filch filled the Slytherin common room as the man practically tore his way inside. He was followed by Professors Snape and Sprout - both of them with a look of deep concern on their faces - who were vainly trying to calm the Hogwarts' caretaker. The common room instantly went quiet as the students watched the enraged man make his way towards the Potter Heir.
"Yes?" Harry asked carefully, wondering what got Mr. Filch in such a foul mood, and what did he have to do with all this.
"Don't play dumb with me, you bastard. You killed Mrs. Norris!" The man yelled. "I'm going to make you pay for this!" The green-eyed youth could only stare at him. Sure, there was no love lost between him and that mangy cat, but killing it? He hadn't even seen it in at least a week.
"Excuse me?"
"Why you!.. - Mmmph." Mr. Filch exploded. He raised his hand in an attempt to physically strike the young Potter, only to find himself gagged and bound with a conjured rope courtesy of Professor Snape.
"That's going way too far, Argus. You must calm down." The Potions Master said as he returned his wand to its holster. "I will not allow violence towards my students."
"What's going on, Professor?" Harry asked.
"Mr. Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, has been found petrified via a yet-unidentified curse next to the girls' toilet on the second floor [1]. It was hung from the wall next to a writing saying - quote - the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware. - unquote." Professor Snape explained. "And since you're the only known parselmouth within the castle, Mr. Filch immediately assumed that you're the one behind this."
"I didn't do it, Sir." Harry said honestly.
"I believe you, Mr. Potter." The Potions Master replied. "Whoever did that, did it during the Halloween feast. And I know for sure that you were in the Great Hall throughout the whole event." Mr. Filch mmph-ed his disagreement from the floor, but was ignored. "Unfortunately for you, Mr. Potter, most people don't like to think much. You being a parselmouth is enough to assure them that you are the 'heir' and will release whatever horror lives within the Chamber upon them. So, be prepared."
Harry let out a deep sigh. As much as he didn't like it, Professor Snape was right: people would jump to conclusions and since he was the only known parselmouth in the school, they'd think he was the Heir. He would need to think of a way to convince them otherwise... Meanwhile the Potions Master continued:
"This still leaves us with the issue of a Dark wizard calling themselves the Heir of Slytherin walking the halls of Hogwarts." He said. "I know that you are able to converse with Lord Slytheirn's portrait, Mr. Potter. Can you ask him if he's willing to help us safeguard the school against those who wish to bring harm upon its students." The young Potter turned to look at the Founder.
"Whoever this 'Heir', they are nothing but a pretender that uses my name for their own goals. They cannot be allowed to continue trampling over my legacy! I shall do what I can to assist you in stopping this... 'heir' and protecting the school from whatever evils they have planned." Salazar said with a nod.
"Lord Slytherin says he will help us." Harry relayed to his head of the House.
"Please pass our thanks to him." Professor Snape said. "And please ask him if he can tell anything about who this 'Heir' might be or where the Chamber of Secrets is located." The young serpent-speaker nodded. "Meanwhile we shall bring Argus - Mr. Filch - before Dumbledore. His behavior right now was unacceptable for a member of Hogwarts's staff." As the three adults were on their way out of the Slytherin common room, Harry turned his attention back to Salazar's portrait.
"So… The Chamber of Secrets?" He probed.
"I have indeed created a group of chambers hidden deep underneath the castle, a place to remain safe even should the castle itself fall." Lord Slytherin said. "I can't say it was much of a secret, though. I've never hid the existence of these chambers from Rowena, Godric and Helga. There were things we didn't agree on, true, but Hogwarts was our creation; we all worked together to make it a great school and safe place for young wizards and witches to learn about Magic."
"And, whoever this 'heir' is, they are using your legacy to harm the school and its students instead?"
"Indeed." The portrait said with a nod. "These chamber and the guardian I left sleeping within them are meant to protect Hogwarts and its students, not to be an instrument of politics or murder. There might not be much I can do to stop this 'heir', but I will not tolerate them misusing my legacy in such a way." Harry nodded appreciatively.
"Do you at least know who this 'heir' might be?" He asked then. Lord Slytherin was silent for a few moments, before he finally gave his answer:
"I don't know for sure who they are, but I have some suspicions." The man said. "The last time the Chambers were opened, it was a Slytherin student… Thomas Riddle, I believe was his name. Whether or not he was indeed a descendant of mine through the Gaunt line I do not know, but he did possess the gift of parseltongue. He was a very gifted and resourceful young man, but his heart was as black as coals even when he first entered this room." There was a pause, before he added. "While I haven't heard of that young man since he left Hogwarts after his seventh year, there are things that make me believe he became the Dark Lord you know as Voldemort."
"But he isn't anywhere near Hogwarts right now, is he?" Harry asked. Then, suddenly, a rather disturbing thought occurred to him: "Can a horcrux possess and control someone? Is it one of those vile things actually the 'heir'?"
"Little is known about horcruxes and what powers they have. These abominations might be able to possess people that come in contact with them. If it is indeed so, it is very possible that a horcrux might be behind today's incident." Salazar replied thoughtfully.
"I see… It can be pretty much anyone then." Harry said. After a short pause he continued: "If this 'heir' is using the Chambers as the staging grounds, they will return there sooner or later. We should set a trap for them right there… Master Salazar, can you tell us where the entrances to the Chambers are?"
"That I can, but you need to keep in mind that the castle has been renovated at least twice since the time of my death. The entrances to the Chambers I've created could have been sealed or blocked." The man said. "But if they are still where I remember them to be…" He proceeded to list the locations of the five entrances to the Chambers that existed in his time. Four of those were in a rather close proximity of the common rooms while the final one was on the ground floor, not that far away from the Great Hall.
"Thank you." Harry said. "I'll be sure to pass this information to the Professors. Hopefully, with it they will be able to resolve the 'Heir' situation before anything bad happens."
The conversation died at this point and the next couple of minutes were spent in silence. Then, Professor Snape returned. The man wasted no time and approached Harry right away.
"Did Lord Slytherin tell you anything that can help us stop this 'Heir', Mr. Potter?" The Potions Master asked.
"Well.." Harry said. "He doesn't know who might be behind the today's incident but he did name the previous person to access the Chambers. That was Tom Riddle, a Slytherin student from around fifty years ago." Having worked for Dumbledore during the last year of the Blood War, Snape had no trouble recognizing the name. Tom Marvolo Riddle was the birth name of the man who would eventually become the dark lord, Voldemort.
It didn't help determine who opened the Chamber of Secrets today, though, as Voldemort had no children or named heirs. And while he wasn't truly dead, there seemed to be no way for him to personally be behind what happened tonight. No, something else must be at play here… But what? The surly Potions Master had no idea… Meanwhile, Harry continued conveying the information Salazar's portrait had shared with him:
"Lord Slytherin gave me five locations where entrances to the Chamber used to be." He said. "He also noted that the castle had been renovated several times throughout its history, so those entrances might no longer be there." Professor Snape nodded.
"Tell me where they are… where they used to be." He said. "I promise that - if those passages Lord Slytherin told you about still exist - the 'Heir' will not be able to use them again."
"Well… The first one is near…" Harry replied, describing the locations of the five entrances of the Chambers and the ways to open them as best as he could while his head of the House listened to him attentively.
"Thank you for relaying this information to me, Mr. Potter." Professor Snape said once the younger wizard was finished. "I will make sure to check if these entrances still exist as soon as possible." He then turned his attention to Salazar's portrait. "Lord Slytherin." He said. "Hogwarts' staff thanks you for your assistance." Salazar gave him a nod.
With his business here concluded, Professor Snape turned around and walked out of the Slytherin common room, his black cloak billowing dramatically behind him in an unseen wind.
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Lucius Malfoy was sitting in his study, reading through his morning correspondence, when a familiar eagle owl flew through the open window. The blond man eyed the owl with a bit of surprise: Draco didn't write letters home very often. Something significant must have happened at Hogwarts. Untying the piece of parchment from the owl's leg, Lucius unfolded it and read the message.
His son and heir wanted to share his joy about the (re-)opening of the Chamber of Secrets - something that, according to the legend, could only be done by the rightful Heir of Slytherin. Unfortunately for Draco, these news actually had the opposite effect on his father.
The reappearance of the Heir of Slytherin - and Lucius was sure no one was stupid enough to make a prank like this - could only mean one thing: Goyle had failed to deliver Voldemort's diary to the Ministry and that monstrosity was about to unleash whatever horror lived within the Chamber of Secrets upon Hogwarts. There was no way to guarantee that his son or the children of his allies would not become collateral damage in whatever mad scheme that thing had cooked up.
Even worse, he couldn't do anything at all about this situation. He couldn't offer his help to Dumbledore or the DMLE as they would certainly ask him uncomfortable questions he didn't want to answer. He couldn't withdraw his son from Hogwarts either - doing that would damage the reputation of the House Malfoy and would likely see him being asked those same uncomfortable questions. There really was nothing he could do but sit and hope that Voldemort's artifact was dealt with before it caused any irreversible damage.
How did it even manage to find its way into Hogwarts?
Getting out of his chair, he walked up to his private floo and threw a pinch of the floo powder into the flames. Once those turned emerald-green, he announced his destination:
"The Goyle Manor." And with no care that his unannounced arrival might be interrupting something, he stepped through. "We need to talk. Now." He said, no, demanded, the moment he reappeared at his underling's home.
~/ *** \~
In retrospect, he should've gone about proving his innocence differently, Harry thought. Still interrupting breakfast to make a very public Magical vow that he wasn't behind the attack on Mr. Filch's cat was a pretty effective way to convince people that he didn't do that. Well, those who could be convinced at any rate. There, of course, were idiots who thought that it is possible to cheat Magic itself and continued to believe that he was the Heir of Slytherin out to kill anyone who wasn't a pureblood...
Still, the vow did its job and the rest of the day was pretty normal. If he were to ignore snide remarks from a few of his housemates that he should've been a Gryffindor instead of a Slytherin with how unsubtle his morning stunt was.
Thankfully for Harry, things calmed down a little by the time the classes ended. Then, after dinner, the things again took turn for trouble as he was approached by Professor Snape in the common room:
"Mr. Potter, I've investigated the locations you gave me last night." The man said. "None of those are usable entrances to the Chamber of Secrets. In fact, two of those are gone without a trace left. The other three… I can tell there is something there, but to access those passages one would need to tear the walls down. And that is not something anyone - not even this 'Heir of Slytherin' - can do without anyone noticing." Harry nodded.
"I see…" Was all that he could say.
"Yes, it is very unfortunate that the information Lord Slytherin gave is as out of date as he feared it was." The Potions Master agreed.
"So, what will Hogwarts' staff do next, Sir?" Harry asked then.
"I will not lie to you Mr. Potter. We all want this mess to be dealt with as soon as possible, but with us unable to locate any of the entrances to the Chamber of Secrets and with no clues to the identity of the 'Heir of Slytherin', I'm afraid, there is almost nothing we can do beyond waiting for them to make their next move. With any luck, it will not lead to our doom." Professor Snape muttered. There was a long pause before Harry nodded.
"Let's hope that luck is on our side then, Professor."
[1] Seeing as their common room is located in the dungeons, Slytherin students shouldn't pass by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on their way there. Thus, none of them would be aware of Mrs. Norris' petrification until someone told them.
That's all, folks!
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