Oh, look, I'm back within two days of posting. That's progress.
Alright, this chapter covers a few different things. Lockhart is his usual level of disaster, there's another attack, and we get to see Susanna being sneaky. Also, Harry nearly dies for the umpteenth time, but it is what it is.
I hope you enjoy this update. As always, I only claim my OC.
After the madness that ensued their first Defense class, Lockhart had kept the lessons to reading passages from his books out loud to the class. Occasionally - much to a combination of Susanna's horror and amusement - he would reenact the more dramatic moments. Harry was usually picked as his partner, and Susanna wished she'd thought of charming Dudley's old video camera as Colin had done to record it all. For posterity, of course. So far, Harry had been tasked to play a simple Transylvanian villager who Lockhart had cured of the Babbling Curse, a yeti with a head cold, and a vampire who was unable to eat anything but lettuce once Lockhart had gotten through with him.
This time, Harry'd been dragged to the front of the class to play a werewolf. He managed to flip off a giggling Susanna, who's only half heartedly attempted to keep him beside her. Ron was already doubled over, pretending to look for a dropped quill as he laughed. Hermione glowered at the two redheads as they struggled to calm down.
Still, Harry had to go through with it. Their plan to get into the Restricted Section called for Lockhart to be in an excellent mood.
"Nice loud howl, Harry - exactly! And then, if you'll believe it, I pounced just like this - slammed him into the floor. Thus, with one hand, I managed to hold him down. With my other, I put my wand to his throat, then I screwed up my remaining strength and performed the immensely complex Homorphus Charm! He let out a piteous moan - go on, Harry - higher than that, good! The fur vanished, the fangs shrank, and he turned back into a man! Simple, yet effective, and another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks."
"That's impossible, isn't it?" Susanna asked Hermione, but went unanswered as the bell rang.
Lockhart jumped to his feet, grinning ear-to-ear at the hastily packing students. "Your homework for tonight is to compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf! Signed copies of Magical Me to the author of the best one!"
The class began to file out, and Harry returned to the back of the room to rejoin the other three Gryffindors, breathless. "Ready?" He muttered to his cousin and their friends.
"Wait until everyone's gone." Hermione glanced around nervously.
Susanna huffed. "I still think we should just break out Harry's invisibility cloak."
Harry patted her shoulder. "If this doesn't work, we will."
"It's probably best if I do the asking." Hermione suggested once it was just them and Lockhart left in the classroom. As none of the other three particularly wanted to converse with him, no one argued with the bushy-haired girl. They simply followed her to Lockhart's desk. "Er, Professor Lockhart?" Hermione asked, a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hand. "I wanted to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading, of course." Her hand shook slightly as she handed over the paper. "But the thing is, it's in the Restricted Section of the Library, so I would need a teacher to sign for it. I'm sure it would help me understand what you say in Gadding with Ghouls about slow-acting venoms -"
"Ah, Gadding with Ghouls!" Lockhart exclaimed as he smiled widely at Hermione. "Possibly my very favorite book. You enjoyed it?"
"Oh, yes." Hermione nodded. "So clever, the way you trapped that last one with the tea-strainer!"
"Well, I'm sure no one will mind me giving the best student of the year a little extra help!" He pulled out a large peacock quill. "Yes, nice, isn't it?" Lockhart asked, completely misreading the revolted expression on Susanna's and Ron's faces. "I usually save it for book signings." He explained as he scratched his signature onto the note. "So, Harry," Lockhart began as Hermione slipped the note into her bag, "Tomorrow's the first Quidditch match of the season, I believe? Gryffindor against Slytherin, is it not. I hear you're a useful player." Susanna mouthed his description with distaste. "I was a Seeker, too."
"Yeah, a Seeker of Attention." Susanna muttered quietly to Ron, who hid his laugh in a little cough. "
Thankfully, both redheads went unheard. "I was asked to try for the National Squad, but preferred to dedicate my life to the eradication of Dark Forces. Still, if you ever feel the need for a little private training, don't hesitate to ask. Always happy to pass on my expertise to less able players -"
"So sorry, Professor Lockhart, we're late for our next lesson." Hermione was quick to pipe up, watching the murderous expression grow on Susanna's face, and the way Harry's mouth was opening to snap back.
"Of course, of course!" Professor Lockhart dismissed the four second years.
Once they were far enough away from the Defense classroom, Hermione pulled out the note so they could examine it. "I don't believe it." A more relaxed Harry commented. "He didn't even look at the book we wanted."
"That's because he's a brainless git." Ron pointed out. "But who care, we've got what we needed -"
"He is not a brainless git!" Hermione denied in a shrill voice as they hurried up to the fourth floor.
"You're only defending him because he said you were the best student of the year!" The red-haired boy shot back.
"It is not!" Hermione insisted, slapping away Susanna's finger when she aimed to poke her flushed cheeks.
Hermione and Ron's bantering continued until they reached the library. They dropped their voices the instant they entered, not wanting to risk being kicked out by the easily agitated Madam Pince.
"Most Potente Potions?" The vulture-like woman repeated suspiciously as she attempted to take the note from Hermione.
"I was wondering if I could keep it." The bushy-haired girl said breathlessly. Susanna frowned, then rolled her eyes as soon as she understood Hermione's reluctance.
"Nope." She grabbed it from Hermione's grasp and shook her head. "Unbelievable."
"We'll get you another autograph. Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough." Ron added, in a rare display of consolement towards Hermione. The girl exhaled, but still pouted as Madam Pince examined the note to make sure it wasn't a forgery.
Once it passed the test, Madam Pince spun around in a little huff and disappeared between the stacks, returning several minutes later with a large, moldy-looking book. Hermione carefully put it into her bag, and the four Gryffindors left the library as innocently as they were capable.
Ten minutes later, they were holed up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, knowing it's where they'd get the most privacy - even without it being marked OUT OF ORDER. Susanna and Hermione had pointed that out to the extremely nervous Ron, adding that between what had happened in the corridor Halloween night and the wailing ghost herself, only the most desperate would have dared to go into that particular bathroom.
While Moaning Myrtle was busy sobbing in her stall, Hermione opened Moste Potente Potions, and the four Gryffindors bent over the dusty, spot-ridden pages. Susanna understood immediately why the book called the Restricted Section its home; some of the potions were almost too gruesome to think about. There were also terribly unpleasant illustrations, including one of a man who'd been turned inside out, and a witch who'd sprouted extra arms from her head.
"Here it is!" Hermione whispered excitedly as she finally flipped to the page titled The Polyjuice Potion. The pictures on the pages depicted people halfway transforming into other people. Susanna hoped that the artist had taken liberties with the pained look on their faces, but after years of ballet, she hoped she'd built a tolerance for pain.
"Susanna, take a look at this. It's the most complicated potion I've ever seen." Hermione turned the book so the red-haired girl could better read the page.
Susanna pursed her lips, tilting her head. "Actually, this doesn't seem too complicated. Not like some of the ones I've seen in Advanced Potion-Making. Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass - we can find all of that in a student store-cupboard."
"But what about the powdered horn of bicorn?" Hermione pointed to the ingredient. "Or the shredded skin of a boomslang? Those will be tricky to find. The drinker also needs to consume a bit of the person they're changing into."
"Excuse me?" Ron cut in, halting the two girls' discussion. "What d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it."
"You won't have to, that's proper disgusting." Susanna wrinkled her nose.
Hermione waved them both off, only half-listening. "We don't have to worry about that yet, though, because we add those bits last."
"D'you two realize how much we're going to have to steal?" Harry asked, eyes wide. "Shredded skin of boomslang, that's definitely not in the students' cupboard. What're we going to do, break into Snape's private stores? I don't know if that's a good idea -"
Hermione shut the book with a snap while Susanna blinked at her cousin in confusion, wondering if those words had truly just come out of his mouth. "Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine. I don't want to break the rules, you know."
"I don't mind breaking them." Susanna said, but she went ignored.
"I think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in -"
"Not until you let me read the whole thing! I've already read Advanced Potion-Making seven times, and Asiatic Anti-Venoms ten." Susanna grumbled. Hermione sighed and shook her head.
"Fine."
Ron whistled. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be persuading us to break the rules. Alright, we'll do it. But not toenails, okay?"
"How long will it take to make, anyway?" Harry asked his cousin, who was still pouring over the page.
Susanna cleared her throat. "Well, the fluxweed has to be picked on a full moon, and the lacewings have to be stewed for twenty-one days. I'd say it'd be ready in about a month. As long as we have all the ingredients, of course." Hermione nodded along, in full agreement with her calculations.
"A month?" Ron's mouth dropped open in surprise, eyes wide with fear. "Malfoy could have attacked half the Muggle-borns in the school by then." Taking note of the girls' narrowed eyes - Hermione irritated by his impatience and Susanna still sure the Heir wasn't Draco - he added, "But it's the best plan we've got, so full steam ahead, I say."
"I guess we're breaking out the cloak after all." Harry surmised, rolling his eyes at the manic smile on his cousin's face.
The next morning, Susanna woke up to a blinding sunrise. Being the only one in her dormitory awake, she moved around as quietly as possible. All of the Chasers were slated to play the first match, so she wouldn't be participating. Not that she wanted to, really, knowing how distracted she'd be if she were in the game. Between planning how to make the Polyjuice Potion and the fear of being petrified like Mrs. Norris, Susanna's mind was rather preoccupied. That didn't stop her from being excited to watch the match. She just hoped no one would be trying to curse Harry this time.
Full of nervous energy, she headed straight for the Great Hall as soon as she'd finished getting ready. Most of her House's team was already there, huddled together tensely at the long, empty table. Alicia waved her over, and Susanna joined them in their silent meal. Eventually Harry arrived, looking just as uptight as the rest of the team. He barely spared her a glance, clearly as preoccupied as she felt.
At eleven o'clock, the whole school made its way to the Quidditch pitch. It was an overcast day, with thunder faintly rumbling. Ron and Hermione - who'd joined the sullen cousins an hour into their meal - wished Harry good luck as they walked him and Susanna to the locker rooms, while promising to save the redheaded girl a spot in the stands.
The team - minus the three reserves - changed into their scarlet robes, then sat down on the benches to listen to Oliver's pep talk. "Slytherin has better brooms than most of us. No point in denying it." He began, eyeing Susanna. She'd offered her broom to her teammates, but they also said no, wanting to prove the match would come down to more than the quality of the broom. "But we've got better people flying. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers -"
"Too true." George muttered to Susanna, who grinned.
"- and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." Oliver turned to Harry, who gulped. "It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a ric father. Get to that snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."
"So no pressure, Harry." Fred winked at the Boy Who Lived, Susanna clapping him on the back while glaring at Oliver for his intensity.
With a parting hug, Susanna left her cousin and hurried up to the Gryffindor stands, pushing her way towards Ron and Hermione. The girls grasped each others' hands as the two teams marched onto the field. Most of the pitch was filled with cheers for Gryffindor, a lot of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs wanting to see Slytherin beaten.
Madam Hooch stepped forward, gesturing for Oliver and Flint to shake hands. "On my whistle." The flying teacher's voice echoed up into the stands. "Three… two… one!" As soon as she blew her whistle, both teams shot up into the sky like rockets. Susanna roared with the rest of her House as the match began.
"C'mon Harry, fly up higher than that - there you go." She mumbled to herself, watching her cousin hover well above the rest of the game, looking around for the Snitch. Glowering when Draco sped under him, she was momentarily distracted from her anger when a Bludger came pelting towards her cousin. Harry narrowly avoided it. One of the Weasley twins - George, if he and Fred weren't messing around with their numbers - batted the bludger away from Harry, and Susanna swore she'd buy him anything he wanted. Fear bubbled in her stomach when the same dangerous ball swerved mid-direction to attack her cousin once more. Thankfully George was still there, and he struck it towards one of the Slytherin Chasers.
The bludger went straight for Harry, again, and the second year dropped as fast as possible to avoid it. George tried hitting it at Draco, but it swerved like a boomerang yet again and shot at Harry's head. He sped off, zooming towards the other end of the field. Susanna's eyes were glued on the Bludger chasing him, and she could have burst into tears when Fred this time flew into view, hitting it away from Harry. Susanna froze when the Bludger came back, Harry forced to fly at breakneck speed.
It'd start to rain, heavy drops splattering onto the players and onlookers. Susanna only had eyes for her cousin, barely hearing Lee's announcement of, "Slytherin leads, sixty points to zero -"
"What's with the Bludger? Is that normal?" Hermione asked. Susanna shook her head, as did Ron, the trio unsure of what to do. They had no real way of helping - the Bludger was too far away to stop with magic, and even if they could hit it, Gryffindor might be accused of cheating. Fred and George were doing the best they could, but even then it wasn't enough.
"They need to stop the game. That Bludger's been tampered with!" Ron shouted.
Eventually the Gryffindor team called for a time out, and they huddled together while the Slytherins jeered. It looked to be an intense discussion, with the twins gesturing wildly at Oliver while Harry crossed his arms, clearly determined.
"He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?" Susanna asked rhetorically, gripping the bannister in front of her as Madam Hooch blew her whistle once more, and the game continued. It was practically pouring at that point, the redhead squinting so she could better see what was going on. She almost wished she hadn't when she watched Harry dangle from his broom upside down to avoid another dive from the Bludger. Some of the crowd laughed, and Susanna fought the urge to fight them all. She spared a glance at the stand where the professors were sitting, but aside from talking to each other, not much looked like it was being done.
Susanna's gaze returned to Harry as he twirled in the sky, Draco calling after him. Harry turned to respond, but froze for a moment. Susanna had seen him do that enough times during practice to know he'd found the Snitch. Her eyes strayed, catching the rogue Bludger on its way to her cousin. "HARRY!" She roared over the thunder, rain, and cheering, but she went unheard. The Bludger finally managed to smack into Harry's elbow, her cousin sliding sideways on his broom. Managing to right himself, he flew straight at Malfoy, both the blonde and the Bludger chasing after him. He reached out his hand, fist closing around the Snitch. Madam Hooch confirmed that as she blew her whistle, calling the game for Gryffindor.
Harry - much to his cousin's and their friends' horror - was only holding onto his broom with his legs. They all cried out in fear as he hit the mud and rolled off his broom. Susanna turned and shoved her way down the stands and onto the field, crashing onto her knees beside the unconscious Harry. He still held the Snitch, its wings fluttering uselessly in his lax grip. Distantly she could make out the twins wrestling the Bludger into the chest, Madam Hooch hurrying over to inspect the rogue ball.
As Susanna gently checked on Harry, Hermione and Ron finally reached her, joined by the rest of the team, some of the Gryffindors, and most unfortunately, Lockhart. Her cousin began to wake up, eyes fluttering, and a shadow fell over the both of them in the form of the Defense professor, his teeth glittering as he beamed at Harry.
"Oh, no, not you." Her cousin moaned.
Lockhart tutted him good naturedly, turning his head briefly to address the crowd pressing up behind them. "Doesn't know what he's saying!" The blonde man glanced back down at Harry as Susanna carefully sat him up, the boy leaning most of his weight against her. "Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm."
"No!"
"Absolutely not!" Harry and Susanna both cried out, the redhead trying to move her cousin away from the man.
There was a familiar clicking noise, and Harry shouted, "I don't want a photo of this, Colin!"
"Settle down, Harry." Lockhart said soothingly, but it set Susanna's teeth on edge. "It's a simple charm, I've used it countless times -"
"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" Harry asked through clenched teeth, the boy slipping in his cousin's grasp the harder the rain fell.
"He really should, Professor." Wood agreed with the Gryffindor Seeker, though he was grinning like a madman. "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say!"
"His bloody arm is broken, you maniacal prat!" Susanna's temper finally reached its limit. "I can't believe you didn't call for the match to be postponed, Harry could've died!"
In her distraction, Susanna missed Lockhart kneeling on her cousin's other side. "No, don't -" Harry cried out.
"Brackium Emendo!" She turned to see Lockhart tapping the tip of his wand against her cousin's broken arm. Her stomach rolled at the way the limb just sagged, looking more like a limp noodle. Harry whimpered, burrowing his face in Susanna's shoulder, refusing to look at what had been done to him. Between Colin's picture-taking and Lockhart's actions, Susanna was ready to set the whole pitch aflame.
"Ah." The professor hummed, eyeing Harry's arm distastefully before offering the cousins and the crowd a dazzling - and completely disingenuous - smile. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind."
"Broken?" Hagrid boomed out, the gamekeeper thundering towards them, clearly flustered.
He turned to the cousins, beetle-like eyes dark with worry, but he still tried to be positive. "It'll be alright. Yeh just need to get Harry to the hospital wing -"
"Yes, I was just about to suggest that! Ms. Dursley, and - ah, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, help our victorious Seeker to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will be able to, er, tidy you up a bit."
"No thanks to you." Susanna hissed under her breath, and with Ron's help was able to get Harry to stand. Hagrid stepped in front of them to block the four Gryffindors from Lockhart's view. When the redheaded girl noticed Harry staring at his arm, she carefully nudged his side. "No, nope. Don't look."
Susanna could only hope this little incident got more people to see the Defense professor for the fraud he clearly was.
Madam Pomfrey had looked madder than Susanna had ever seen her before, and she'd been chased out of the hospital wing the previous year before. "You should have come straight to me!" The matron raged.
"We tried to, but Lockhart insisted -"
"Fool of a man!" Madam Pomfrey shouted, interrupting Susanna. "I can mend bones in a second, but growing them back?"
"You will be able to, won't you?" Harry pleaded.
Madam Pomfrey offered him a small smile, but her eyes were grim. "I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful. You'll have to stay all night. Mr. Weasley, please help Mr. Potter change into something more comfortable." She waved her wand, and a folded pair of linen pajamas flew straight into her hands. Madam Pomfrey handed them to Ron, then gestured for the two girls to move back, blocking the boys from view with a curtain.
"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione, eh? If Harry had wanted deboning, he would have asked."
"Anyone can make a mistake!" The bushy-haired girl defended the Defense professor. "And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Harry?"
"It's going to, isn't it? Madam Pomfrey just said so." Susanna snapped. Hermione huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "I don't care how attractive you find him, Lockhart's an idiot."
"Susanna Jane Dursley!" Hermione gasped.
The redhead scoffed at her best friend's stubbornness. "Fine. Just be prepared to hear the biggest 'I told you so' of your life." The girl warned.
"I'm decent." Harry called, and Madam Pomfrey pulled back the curtain, still smiling a little from the girls' admittedly amusing bickering.
"You're in for a rough night." The matron stated, pouring out a steaming beakerful full of Skele-Gro, the potion coming from a bottle shaped like a skeleton. How appropriate, Susanna thought to herself. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business."
Clearly, so was drinking Skele-Gro. Harry coughed and spluttered, a disgusted expression on his face as he shuddered. Madam Pomfrey ranted about how dangerous Quidditch was, and the ineptitude of professors, before retreating. Hermione poured Harry a glass of water to wash out the taste, and he drank it all in one gulp.
"We won, though." Ron announced suddenly, grinning despite the daggers Susanna was shooting at him with her eyes. "That was some catch you made. Malfoy's face… he looked ready to kill -"
"You know who I'm going to kill? Whoever fixed that Bludger." Susanna growled.
Hermione scowled. "Obviously it was Malfoy, probably with the help of his teammates, thick as they are."
Harry cleared his throat. "We can add that to the list of questions we'll ask him when we've taken the Polyjuice Potion." He sank back into his pillows, nose wrinkling as he smacked his lips. "I hope it tastes better than this stuff."
"If it's got bits of Slytherins in it? You've got to be joking." Ron grumbled, and Susanna finally let out a little laugh.
The door to the hospital wing burst open. Covered in mud and soaking wet, the rest of the Gryffindor team strode straight over to Harry's bed.
"Unbelievable flying, Harry." George complimented the second year. "I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing Malfoy didn't seem too happy - oof!" The fourth year exclaimed as Susanna jumped onto him, arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
"Thank you, for keeping Harry safe as long as you did." The younger redhead whispered.
George chuckled. "Anything for family, Susie-Q." Susanna wrinkled her nose at the nickname she'd unfortunately been assigned the previous year. He and his brother were as unrelenting as that rogue Bludger.
"Oi, what's this? I helped, too, you know! Nearly lost my head and everything!" Fred complained, ruffling Susanna's wet curls when she hugged him as well. "You heard Gred, Susie-Wusie."
The girl shoved him away. "I take it back, you both are terrible." She eyed Oliver worriedly, who was busy talking to Harry.
Fred snorted beside her. "Don't worry, he won't kick you off for shouting at him. Deserved a good scolding, he did. George nearly fought him when he and Harry decided to go on with the game."
"'Win or die trying'." Susanna scoffed. "Oi, Oliver, the next time a Bludger's been jinxed to try and murder my cousin and you keep the game going, I'll bloody kill you myself."
"We won, didn't we? Besides, Harry's fine. Or would've been, if Lockhart left his arm alone." The Gryffindor Captain pointed out. Susanna rolled her eyes, but smiled back at the older boy all the same.
The team had been kind enough to bring cakes, sweets, and bottles of pumpkin juice to the hospital wing. Everyone gathered around Harry's bed, and were about to start what would've been quite the celebration when Madam Pomfrey stormed over. "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow!" She shouted. "Out! OUT!"
While the other Gryffindors scurried out to avoid the matron's wrath, Susanna attempted to reason with her. "But he's family! I can stay and keep an eye out on him, can't I?"
"Out, Ms. Dursley!" Madam Pomfrey repeated. "Or I'm banning you from the hospital wing!"
"But what if I get injured? Seems like neglect - I'm going, I'm going!" Susanna let Hermione and Ron drag her away, mouthing to Harry, "I'll be back." He sent her a thumbs up with his good hand, and the door was slammed shut behind her.
The castle seemed so much bigger at night, probably because of how empty it was, all of the students tucked away in their dormitories. The silence unsettled Susanna as she walked through the dark corridors, safely hidden from view thanks to Harry's invisibility cloak. Ron had been kind enough to fetch it for her, but stated he wanted to keep out of as much trouble as possible. "It's bad enough we're about to steal from Snape." He'd muttered to her. To avoid suspicion, she waited until the last of the students poured into Gryffindor Tower before diving through the closing portrait, already wearing the cloak.
As soon as Susanna reached the hospital wing, she whispered "Nox", and the light at the tip of her wand was extinguished. "Alohomora." Susanna pointed her wand at the locked door, but nothing happened.
She should've known that Madam Pomfrey would ward the hospital wing. The only question was why getting into the third floor corridor was easier, even with Fluffy and the trials that followed. Perhaps if Madam Pomfrey should have been in charge of the Philosopher's Stone's security, Susanna thought to herself.
With a sigh, Susanna murmured, "Lumos", the light hidden from sight under the cloak. She began walking back the way she came, but froze as footsteps rapidly approached. Pressing herself against the wall, she watched with wide, terrified eyes as Professor Dumbledore shuffled past her in a long dressing gown and a nightcap, levitating a familiar blonde behind him, still clutching his prized camera.
Colin. Colin had been petrified.
Professor McGonagall followed after the Headmaster, looking more frazzled than the second year redhead had ever seen her. Susanna quietly followed after them, and was able to slip into the hospital wing before its doors were closed once more.
"Get Madam Pomfrey." Professor Dumbledore whispered, and Professor McGonagall hurried past Harry's bed and out of sight. Susanna stood frozen against the wall by the doors, not wanting to be in the way or make a noise alerting the professors of her presence.
The Deputy Headmistress returned with Madam Pomfrey, who was pulling on a cardigan to cover her night dress. There was a sharp intake of breath, and the matron fluttered around little Colin.
"Another attack. Minerva found him on the stairs by the kitchen."
"There was a bunch of grapes next to him." Professor McGonagall added. "We think he was trying to sneak a late night snack to Potter. There was a note in the bowl, wishing him a speedy recovery."
Susanna's heart ached at the news. For as annoyingly excitable Colin could be, he was nothing but nice. He didn't deserve this.
"Petrified?" Madam Pomfrey whispered.
"Yes." Professor McGonagall nodded. "But I shudder to think… if Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate, who knows what might have -" She cut herself off. The three adults stared down at Colin, and then Professor Dumbledore leaned forward to carefully wrench the camera out of the first year's grip. "You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" Professor McGonagall asked eagerly.
The Headmaster didn't answer, only continuing to inspect the camera. He opened the back, and a jet of steam hissed out. The hospital wing was filled with the scent of burnt plastic, and Susanna struggled not to sneeze. "Good gracious!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Melted, all melted."
"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonall asked urgently.
"It means," the Headmaster sighed, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."
While Madam Pomfrey covered her mouth with her hand and Professor McGonagall stared at the Headmaster in horror, Susanna frowned.
Again? The Chamber of Secrets had been opened before?
"But, Albus… surely… who?" Professor McGonagall asked.
The Headmaster shook his head. "The question is not who. The question is how."
Professor McGonagall looked just as lost as Susanna felt.
After nearly an hour, the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress left the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey stayed out a few minutes longer, finishing attending to Colin before disappearing into her room, muttering to herself. When the door clicked shut, Susanna removed the cloak.
"Harry?"
Her cousin sat up quickly. "When did - how did -" He nodded when she tip-toed over to his bed, holding up the cloak.
"Sorry for borrowing it without asking, but I figured you knew I'd get it."
"Yeah. Susanna, Colin -"
"I know." The redhead interrupted Harry. "I heard everything."
"We need to start brewing the Polyjuice Potion. Now." He insisted, and Susanna nodded, tilting her head when Harry grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I don't want anyone else to be attacked, especially not you." He gasped, and tried shoving her away. "You shouldn't have come, what if -"
"Had to. Don't regret it. Now, I'm wiped. You're still regrowing bones. I'll be in the next bed, covered in this." She assessed her cousin, who was suddenly staring off into space. "What is it?"
"Don't go to bed just yet. I have to tell you something." Harry turned to look at her. "Dobby was here."
"Dobby?"
He nodded, and Susanna listened with wide-eyes as her cousin told her all about the house-elf's visit.
As established in her first year, Susanna's best subject is Potions. Despite Snape being awful, it's also her favorite. I figured since Hermione's the top of the class in almost every subject, it wouldn't hurt to have Susanna be slightly better than her at one thing, especially since it has to do . Since she's an "outside-the-box thinker", that creativity is going to lend itself to the course. Don't worry, it's not going to be "oh, she suddenly knew to do it this way instead" - she'll get frustrated by how the books make the potion overcomplicated, make an observation in the aftermath, and with that "leap without looking" attitude Susanna'll be able to see whether or not her way works.