I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC in this story.
Hello guys, Badger here. Back again with a new chapter. Originally I wasn't going to write this chapter immediately after the last one, but I already knew what I wanted to include, so figured I'd get it out of the way whilst I work on finished my wip chapters, as well as getting to work on a new story, so keep an eye out for that.
Anyway, I am glad to see that people enjoyed the previous chapter, despite how short it was. And I'm especially glad people liked the moment between James and Luna. For me, that is the highlight of the chapter. And you'll soon see that the scene continues on in this chapter but I won't say how. You'll just have to read and find out.
So go ahead, read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.
…
Chapter 17
The Beginnings Of A Rather Unenjoyable Year
…
Harry sighed to himself, as he entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where he saw Lockhart sitting at the professors desk at the very front of the classroom. For some reason, the Defence Professor had wanted to see him before lessons began. Harry didn't know why, but he hoped it would be over relatively quickly. He didn't really fancy spending any time alone with the man. Especially with the events at Diagon Alley still fresh in his mind.
Hearing the door to his classroom close, Lockhart looked up where he flashed Harry a wide toothy grin and gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk.
"Ah, Harry Potter, there you are…" He said, jovially, "Please take a seat…"
"Thank you sir…" Harry said, with forced respect as he sat down, "Why did you summon me here sir?"
"Just for a friendly chat, Harry" Lockhart replied, "I know you have Defence later, but I wanted a private conversation before lessons began…especially after our meeting in Diagon Alley…a"
As Lockhart spoke, he pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet from his desk and handed it to Harry, for the boy to take. Harry tentatively took it and looked at the headline that was written in bold, on the front page.
Gilderoy Lockhart, New Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor, Has A Special Meeting With The Famous, Boy-Who-Lived!
Harrys eyes narrowed as he read the headline, his grip on the paper tightening, as he looked at the picture of Lockhart and himself standing side by side, the Professors arm around his shoulders with that stupid grin on his face. Harry didn't bother reading the article attached, the headline was bad enough, as he immediately put the newspaper back down onto the desk where he took a moment to calm down, taking a deep breath.
"Why me, sir?" He asked
"Because you're famous, my boy!" Lockhart grinned, "Almost as famous as myself…and I'm not just talking about defeating You-Know-Who…I'm talking about you stopping that mountain troll last year…I was hoping you could tell me more about it…"
"Why would you like to know more, sir?" Harry raised an eyebrow
"Well Harry, the Daily Prophet wasn't very forthcoming with information about what happened that night…" Lockhart said, "And, as someone who's fascinated by witches and wizards and their accomplishments, who else better then to ask then yourself?"
"There isn't exactly much to tell, sir…" Harry replied, his eyes narrowing suspiciously, "James and I went to save Daphne from the troll…when James was in danger, I used the Levitation Charm to drop its club on trolls head, causing the troll to fall and break it's neck…"
"Really? That's it?" Lockhart asked, surprised, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "That's very…simple…but effective, I guess…"
"I'm sorry there isn't much more to tell sir…" Harry shrugged
"It's fine Harry, my boy…" Lockhart said, giving Harry a smile, "I was just…surprised by the simplicity of the methods you used to defeat such a beast…you may go now, you don't want to be late for your first lesson…"
Harry gave Lockhart a curious gaze, before nodding, as he stood up and made his way out of the Defence classroom.
Once the door had closed behind Harry, Lockhart's grin had dropped into a frown. He had called Harry to his classroom to find out how the boy had defeated a Mountain Troll, the previous year. As unfortunate as it was that Lockhart hadn't been there to take the glory for himself, he figured he could still use the events as…inspiration. It was about time that he made a new book about his latest 'achievement', and thought that stopping a rampaging Mountain Troll from slaughtering innocents made a good premise. All Lockhart needed was information from Harry Potter about last year, to help Lockhart fabricate events. Unfortunately, Lockhart was rather disappointed with the information that had been given to him.
A mere Levitation Charm? Pathetic.
That simply wouldn't do. As genius as it was, despite the simplicity, that wasn't going to make his books sell. Nor would it impress the many women that adore him. Now, Lockhart was back at square one, for his book. It would seem that he was going to have to look elsewhere for information to…borrow.
…
Harry shivered as he left the Defence classroom, happy to be finally free from that place for the time being. There was something sleazy about Lockhart, that Harry couldn't quite put his finger on. He felt it in Diagon Alley and he felt it again in the classroom. Whatever it was, Harry hoped that he didn't have to be alone with the man again, any time soon.
Trying to shake off the uncomfortable feelings he felt, Harry continued making his way down the Hogwarts corridors, towards the Greenhouses, where he met up with his friends as the class stood around large pots which seemed to contain plants of some variety, bases on the roots and leaves poking out from the soil. Daphne was the first to notice Harrys arrival, as he joined them.
"There you are…" She said, "Where did you disappear off too?"
"Lockhart wanted to speak with me, before lessons began…" Harry grumbled
"Did he try giving you more of his books?" Blaise asked, with an amused smirk
"Don't ask…" Harry sighed, "I'm trying to forget about the whole thing…"
His friends chuckled, before all conversation amongst the students was cut off by the sound of tapping filling the air. Everyone turned to see Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology Professor, tapping her wand against a plant pot. She smiled, once everyone turned their attention onto her.
"Good morning Second Years, and welcome to your first Herbology lesson of the year" Sprout said, "For today's lesson, we are going to repot Mandrakes…can anyone here tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?"
In an instant Hermione Granger raised her hand high into the air, causing James to roll his eyes, as Professor Sprout gestured for her to answer.
"Mandrake, otherwise known as Mandragora, is used to reverse the effects of those who have been petrified…" Hermione explained, memorizing what she had read in the textbook, "However it can also be quite dangerous…a Mandrakes cries can be fatal to anyone who hears it…"
"Of course it is…" James muttered, beside Harry
"Well done Miss Granger, ten points for Gryffindor…" Sprout said, "Now, the Mandrakes here today are only seedlings so their cries won't be able to kill you yet…however, they will be able to knock you out for several hours, so I would like you all to put on a pair of earmuffs…and make sure they're on correctly…"
With a wave of her wand, Professor Sprout conjured a pair of earmuffs in front of each student, who immediately put them on. Harry chuckled lightly, seeing how ridiculous James looked in his earmuffs, causing James to glare at him slightly, before Sprout continued with the lesson.
"Right, now watch me very closely…" She said, as she grabbed the roots of the leaves sticking out from the soil, "You'll need to grab your Mandrake firmly and then pull it sharply out from the pot…"
In one swift motion Professor Sprout had pulled the Mandrake out from the soil where, immediately, it started crying out in a high pitch scream, which echoed across the entire greenhouse. Despite wearing earmuffs, several students put their hands over their ears in hopes of blocking out the noise as it was still incredibly loud. And irritating. Professor Sprout didn't seem to take notice of this, as she placed the Mandrake into a different pot.
"Once you've removed your Mandrake, you'll want to then put him into the other pot, and cover him up with some more soil, to keep him warm…" She said
Now that the Mandrake was in a new pot, it's cries had began to lessen however they had proved to be too much for Neville, who's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted, collapsing to the ground unconscious. Something that caused several Slytherins to chuckle.
"It would seem Mr Longbottom has neglected his earmuffs…" Professor Sprout sighed
"No Professor, I think he's just fainted…" Seamus Finnegan said, after checking on the boy
"I see, well, leave him there I'll be round in a second, to wake him up…" Sprout said, "As for the rest of you, there's plenty of pots to go around…grasp your Mandrake and pull it out…"
All the students hesitantly grabbed a Mandrake in the pot in front of them, before sharply pulling them out from within the soil. With all the Mandrakes removed at once, the noise was even worse as they all started screaming and crying. The noise was so loud, that their screaming had caused several glass panes of the greenhouse to crack and shatter. A few students had even fainted, just like Neville, from the noise. In their corner, Blaise and Daphne looked incredibly uncomfortable, as they planted their Mandrakes into another pot, whilst Harry looked at his Mandrake in disgust. He was already in a bad mood, from everything involving Dumbledore, the Dursleys and Lockhart, this Mandrake wasn't exactly helping that. James, meanwhile, glared at his Mandrake as if the very sight of its screaming offended him.
On the other side of the greenhouse, Malfoy was messing around with his Mandrake, which ended up biting his finger. Malfoy nearly screamed in pain as he quickly removed his finger from its grasp, where he heard a scoff beside him. Malfoy looked to see Nott shaking his head, his eyes rolling a little. Malfoy glared at the boy before sharply placing the Mandrake into another pot.
After the lesson was over everyone left the greenhouse, whilst Professor Sprout started fixing the damage that the Mandrakes had caused. Every one of the students didn't look happy with what just happened. Especially Harry and his friends. They all looked particularly disgruntled and disturbed by what had just happened. Blaise was rubbing his ears as the four of them made their way into the castle, heading towards their next lesson of the day. Defence Against the Dark Arts. Something that Harry wasn't looking forward to.
"Are anyone else's ears still ringing?" Blaise asked, "I feel like those bloody Mandrakes burst my ear drums…"
"I know what you mean…" Daphne replied, "I hope the rest of our Herbology lessons aren't going to be the same as that for the rest of the year…"
James chuckled lightly and was about to speak, but stopped when he saw something down one of the corridors. There were three students, seemingly Ravenclaws based from the blue on their robes. They all seemed to be carrying an odd variety of possessions, looking around as if making sure no one was watching them, as the disappeared around the corner. James stopped, watching them suspiciously. He hoped he was wrong, but he had a feeling as to what was going on.
Harry meanwhile, noticed that his friend had stopped and approached, wondering what was wrong, looking down the corridor to see what James was looking at.
"James?" He asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" James said, "Listen, save a seat for me…I need to go do something real quick…"
"Why, what is it?" Harry asked
Harry didn't get a response, as James just started walking down the corridor, walking at a brisk pace. Harry watched him leave in confusion, tempted to follow, before he turned around and started to catch up with Blaise and Daphne as they continued their way towards the Defence classroom.
James meanwhile, followed after the Ravenclaw students down the corridors. He kept a short distance from them, so they don't notice him stalking them. The Ravenclaws were all girls, potentially in the years above his own as he didn't recognize any of them. Whatever they were carrying, they took them inside the girls bathroom. James' eyes narrowed, as he slowly followed them inside, keeping himself hidden as he listened into what they were saying as they spoke to a fourth student who was waiting for them.
"Do you have her things?" The student asked
"Yeah, we've got some clothes, her books and even a few of those trinkets of hers!" the first girl said
"Why does she even have all these trinkets anyway?" the second girl asked, "She's so weird!"
James watched as the girl held up a makeshift necklace, made from Butterbeer corks. His eyes narrowed, in recognition, his hands clenching into fists. He bad seen and heard enough, his wand flicking into his hand as he stepped out from his hiding place.
"What do you think you're doing?!" He demanded
His question caused the girls to jump in shock, as they all turned around. Their shock quickly turned to outrage when they saw James.
"You're a boy!" One of them said, "You're not supposed to be in the girls bathroom, get out before we call McGonagall!"
"Feel free, would save me the trouble of doing it myself…" James replied, "And while you're at it, contact Professor Flitwick, I'm sure they'd both love to hear that you've been stealing Luna's possessions…"
"Luna? You mean that weird girl?" One of the girls asked, "At the Sorting she tried talking to us about all this weird stuff…I don't know why she was placed in Ravenclaw, because she is crazy…I don't even know why you are defending her, she's a lunatic!"
James' grip on his wand tightened, his eyes darkening, before he fired a spell at the girl who spoke. The spell hit the girl in the face, causing her to scream as spots and boils began popping up on her skin. The other girls screamed at the sudden attacked and one of them tried pulling out her wand. James merely fired a Stinging Hex at the girls hand, causing her to drop her wand as she felt sharp pains travelling up her wrist and arm. The other two girls chose to be wise and not retaliate, seeing one of their friends cradling an injured hand, whilst the other was trying to hide her face, sobbing as their once perfect skin was covered in boils.
Seeing that the other girls weren't going to retaliate, James lowered his wand but kept a firm hold on it, just in case one of them tried to attack in response. He glared at the four of them, before he spoke once more.
"One thing I do not like, is bullies!" He said, sharply, "So, what you're going to do, is return everything you have stolen to Luna, and leave her alone…"
Seeing the nods coming from the four girls, James flicked his wand back into its holster and began making his way out of the bathroom. However, he stopped at the door and turned to face them once more, having one last thing to say before he left.
"Oh and by the way, when you go to Madam Pomfrey to get rid of those boils, you better come up with a story that doesn't involve me…" He said
And with that, James left the bathroom and started making his way towards the Defence classroom. As he walked down the corridors, he heard the sound of the bathroom doors slamming open, quickly followed by the sound of people running along the stone floor. No doubt the girls were quickly rushing to return what they had stolen. James felt a little better knowing that, hopefully, Luna's stuff would be returned. He hated bullies. Always has done.
Deciding not to dwell on it any longer, James squared his shoulders as he continued his way towards the Defence classroom, for the next lesson of the day. Arriving with just seconds to spare, he entered where he immediately took a seat besides Harry, who immediately raised an eyebrow at him.
"You took your time, what happened?" Harry asked
"Just had to deal with something…" James shrugged, "It's not important…so how bad do you think Lockhart's going to be?"
"I'd like to think he'll be better then Quirrell, but I doubt it…" Harry sighed, seeing James' obvious attempt to change the topic, "His books gave me headache…"
James smirked at Harry's answer. After their trip to Diagon Alley, they had read through the books they were set for their curriculum this year. Books that were, as it turned out, all written by Lockhart himself and were all about his accomplishments and feats of magic. James and Harry had rolled their eyes at how egotistical Lockhart was. This wouldn't be so bad, if the books themselves had been about defence, however each and every book that they had read was just full of Lockhart boasting about himself, in such an overly exaggerated fashion, about his accomplishments without going into any proper detail about the events.
No proper details on how he was able to accomplish such feats. Nothing about the spells he had used, or any real tips or lessons about defence. The books were less about defence and more about showing off all the great things that Lockhart had done. That is, if their Defence Professor had even done those accomplishments in the first place. With no articles in the Daily Prophet providing evidence as to such events happening, Harry and his friends were beginning to wonder the legitimacy of Lockhart's claims. Especially when James and Daphne had discovered that Lockhart had seemingly been doing multiple different things at once, in multiple countries, based on the dates and times the books had listed.
All this combined made them all wonder what their lessons this year would be like. Not that they had much faith in the first place.
"Well, we're about to find out…" James said before leaning forward, towards Daphne and Blaise who were sat at the desk in front of them, "What about you two…how bad do you think Lockhart will be?"
"I prefer to wait and see rather then speculate…" Daphne said, seemingly indifferent, "However, I had spoken to Astoria during breakfast and she kept gushing over the man…it was as infuriating, as it was disgusting…"
"It seems like she isn't the only one either…" Blaise spoke up, gesturing to the rest of the class
Throughout the rest of the classroom, the female student population looked absolutely giddy, as they waited for the 'legendary' Gilderoy Lockhart to appear and start the lesson. Susan Bones was the only exception, who looked quite indifferent about the whole thing. Unfortunately for the Hufflepuff, she was sat next to Hermione Granger. The girl was practically bouncing in her seat, with a mix of excitement and impatience, it infuriated Susan as she looked at Hermione with a disgusted look. Hermione hadn't noticed Susan's glares, as she was too busy gushing over the thought of being taught by none other then Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harry and his friends couldn't help but chuckle at Susan's misfortune and annoyance, before the door to Lockhart's office opened. Immediately the girls, minus Daphne and Susan, erupted into applause. Several had even jumped out if their seats as they cheered, much to everyone else's dismay. Lockhart gave the class a big grin, giving them an over exaggerated bow, as he soaked in the applause and attention where he then addressed the class once the applause died down.
"Allow me to introduce your new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor…me…" He said, as he began making his way to his desk, "Gilderoy Lockhart, holder of the Order of Merlin, Third Class…Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and five time winner of Witch Weekly's 'Most Charming Smile' award…but let's not talk about that, I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"
Lockhart then proceeded to laugh at his own joke, flashing his impossibly white teeth as he smiled. The boys in the class immediately groaned, as the girls began to gush and swoon at the sight. Over in their seats, Harry face palmed as Blaise and Daphne gagged, whilst James slammed his head against his desk. Lockhart continued to grin at the classroom, before he took out his wand and waved it at a stack of papers on his desk. Immediately, the papers began to move as they floated onto each students desk.
"Now, I hope you all read my books, for the curriculum this year…" Lockhart said, as each student was given a sheet of paper, "Because we're going to start off with a quiz before our lesson starts…nothing to worry about, this is merely to see who properly read through the material…you may begin now"
Harry looked down at the questions written down on the paper in front of him and he couldn't believe what he saw:
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday and what would his ideal gift be?
Harry's eyes narrowed, as he looked at the rest of the questions and found that they were all the same. The questions were all about Lockhart and nothing about defence. Harry couldn't believe the ego of the man. He didn't have much hope for defence this year and judging by the looks on his friends faces, they were thinking similarly.
"Have you seen this questions?" Harry asked James
"Oh I've seen them alright…who…gives…a shit…" James replied, as he glared at the questions, "Unless his favorite color has something to do with a color of a defensive spell, I don't see what this has to do with defence…"
For Harry and his friends, the next several minutes felt like absolute torture as they wrote down their answers for each and every question on their test, each question getting increasingly egotistical and self centered. There were several moments where Harry wanted to slam his head against the desk. Thankfully, the test was eventually over where Lockhart spent a few minutes looking through everyone's answers.
"Tut, tut, hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac…" Lockhart said, "I clearly say so in Year with the Yeti, when describing the robes I wore that day…however Miss Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair products…well done Miss Granger, 10 points for Gryffindor…"
Hermione beamed, looking like she was about to faint as Lockhart gave her a smile. A smile which also caused the other girls to swoon. Lockhart then grew serious as he removed his wand, giving it a wave which caused a cage, covered in a sheet of cloth, to float across the classroom and onto his desk. The students watched as the cage seemed to shake and rattle on the desk, leaving them to wonder what was inside.
"Now, be warned!" He said, "It is my job today to arm you against some of the scariest and most foulest creatures known to wizard kind…but don't worry, know harm will come to any of you whilst I'm here…I must ask you not to scream, for it might provoke them!"
With an exaggerated flourish, Lockhart grabbed the cloth covering and removed it from the cage to reveal a bunch of small blue creatures, around eight inches in height, with pointed faces and wings.
Cornish Pixies.
They were all screeching and messing about in the cage, causing it to rattle, as they pulled at the metal bars. Immediately the class erupted in laughter at the sight of the pixies, wondering what was so dangerous about them. Even James laughed a little. Lockhart was exaggerating a little with his description of pixies. Scary and foul? No. A mischievous nuisance? Yes. Lockhart merely smiled at the laughter.
"By all means, laugh as much as you'd like…" He said, "But you'll soon find that pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters…let's see how you lot handle them!"
Lockhart then proceeded to open the latch on the cage, causing all the pixies to burst out excitedly and scatter across the room. The students all jumped from their seats on a mix of shock and fear, as the pixies started harassing them, pulling on their hair and clothes, as well as destroying the classroom, ripping up books, spilling ink all over people and throwing objects across the room. Several students actually ran out of the room to escape the chaos, whilst Lockhart watched on disappointedly.
"Come on now, round them up they're only pixies!" Lockhart called out across the classroom
"You haven't taught us how sir!" One of the students replied
The rest of the students weren't listening, struggling in their fight against the pixies, as many more proceeded to run from the classroom to escape the pixies as they continued their rampage, making the classroom look like a war zone. Unfortunately for Neville Longbottom, he had been too slow in his escape from the classroom as he had been grabbed by several pixies, lifting him up by the eats as their flew him up onto the air and leaving him dangling on the classroom chandelier. His cries for help went ignored by the other students as many more ran off.
Seeing the rampage continue, Lockhart knew he had to do something about it so he lifted his wand into the air. However, before he could say anything, his wand was immediately snatched by one of the pixies, giggling as they threw it out of the window. Seeing no other option, Lockhart proceeded to flee from the classroom, along with the students.
"I can't believe that man!" Daphne hissed, slapping away a Pixie as it pulled at her hair, "He is a complete idiot!"
"Show some respect!" Hermione replied, "The Professor is probably just trying to give us a hands on experience!"
"A hands on experience?!" Susan repeated incredulously, as she hid behind an overturned desk, "Granger, you have lost it!"
"She lost it a long time ago, but that's not important!" James said, punching a pixie away, "We need to stop these Pixies…Daphne, I'll need your help!"
Daphne nodded, before the two stood up and removed their wands, which they pointed into the air.
"Immobulus!" They said in unison
Their spells collided in midair, causing a burst of light to explode across the classroom. Immediately all the pixies froze in place, slowly floating across the classroom, each one wearing a look of shock on their faces, confused about what had just happened. Everyone blew a sigh of relief, now that the chaos had ended. With the pixies dealt with James, along with Daphne, Susan and Harry proceeded to help Neville get down from the chandelier, with the use of Levitation Charms.
"Thank you!" Neville said, slightly shaken, "I thought I was going to be stuck up there forever!"
"Don't mention it Neville…" James smiled, before he got an idea, "Hey, how about you come and study with us tonight?"
"Really?" Neville asked, surprised, "You're sure?"
"Of course!" James said, causing Neville to smile, before looking around the classroom, "Well, seeing as Lockhart has run off, I'm guessing class is dismissed…"
"Wait!" Hermione spoke up, seeing that they were about to leave, "What about the pixies?"
"What about them Granger?" Daphne said
"We have to put them away!" Hermione replied, as if it was obvious
"Do we?" James asked, "I don't think we do, it's not our fault they caused a rampage…if you want to put them away and tidy up, by all means, do so…"
With that James turned on his heel before making his way out of the classroom. He was immediately followed by Harry. Daphne, Blaise and Neville quickly followed, along with the other students, leaving Hermione alone to put away the pixies on her own.
As she tried putting the pixies back in their cage, she muttered under her breath, cursing James' name.
…
Across the castle, within the Gryffindor Common Room, in the girls dorms Ginny flopped onto her bed, feeling incredibly exhausted. A feeling that had been quite common the last couple of days. She didn't know why, as she was certain she was getting enough sleep. At first, she tried to chalk her ever-present tiredness to being a First Year at Hogwarts and she was just overwhelmed and stressed. However, that didn't explain her sleepwalking. Several times now, after going to sleep, Ginny has found herself waking up in random areas of the castle, in the girls bathroom or random corridors, with no knowledge or memory as to how she got there.
It confused and concerned Ginny because, as far as she could remember, she has never had a case of sleep walking growing up. Again, she wanted to assume it was due to starting her First Year at Hogwarts but she couldn't be sure.
At first, she thought about going down to the hospital wing so she could have Madam Pomfrey look her over and see if there was indeed anything wrong with her. However she immediately changed her mind, when she looked at the diary on her bedside table. She heard a soft whispering in her ear, as she sat upright and picked up the diary. She grabbed her quill and immediately began writing on the parchment, hoping that Tom would listen to her
If anyone would be able to help her, it was Tom.
…
That night, inside the library, Harry let out a yawn as he finished writing the last of his essay for Transfiguration, closing his textbooks finally. He had been studying along with James and Neville for what felt like hours and now he was ready to go to bed. Daphne and Blaise had originally joined the three of them for studying, but they had left a few hours ago so they could turn in for the night, leaving them alone.
However, Harry was beginning to think Neville should've done the same, as the boy was currently asleep in his seat.
Harry chuckled softly, as he began rubbing the crust from his eyes, before he then heard something. A faint, raspy voice. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, as the voice seemed to echo and bounce off of the walls, all around him.
"Kill…" The voice said, "It's time…to kill!"
"What?" Harry asked out loud, shaking his head wondering if it was his imagination
"What?" James replied, looking up from his parchment, "Did you say something Harry?"
"Nothing its just…" Harry said, looking around, "Didn't you hear it…that voice?"
"Voice?" James replied, skeptically, "I didn't hear anything…must've just been your imagination…I mean, you're exhausted, we've been here for hours…just look at Neville!"
Harry looked towards the sleeping boy, who was flat put asleep with his head on his book, which he was slowly starting to drool on.
"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Harry said, feeling uncertain
"Hey, I'm sure it's nothing…" James replied, "But, if you hear this…voice again, let me know…even in the Wizarding World, hearing voices is never a good sign…"
Harry nodded, as James went to wake up Neville from his slumber. As the boy slowly woke up, Harry thought about what had just happened. He wanted to believe James' claim that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. He was feeling quite exhausted. However there was something about the voice that made Harry feel uneasy, as it's words continued to repeat itself, over and over again inside his head:
"Kill…"
…
And that is the new chapter done. A lot longer then the previous one which is refreshing.
Fun fact, the beginning of this chapter, between Harry and Lockhart was originally going to be in the previous chapter, but I chose to move it towards this chapter so chapter 16 isn't too cluttered. Plus, I think it works better in this chapter. Speaking of which, am I overdoing Lockhart's egotistical narcissism, or is it just right?
Do let me know.
Also more Granger bashing, that may keep happening. Still looking for a good place to include Ron for some good Ron bashing. We'll see.
Anyway, I think I'm going to end it there. Again, do keep an eye out for my new story. It's a bit different to what I've done in the past. But until then, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next time in whatever story I see you all in.
Badger Out.
…