Chapter 15 - Chamber of Secrets

        It was finally the Quidditch match: Slytherin against Gryffindor. The crowd roared as the players flew around the pitch mid-game. Eric and I were in the Gryffindor stand with Hermione and Ron, Harry's scarf wrapped around my neck. Both teams were playing very well, but Gryffindor was losing. I watched as the Slytherin Chasers utilised the advantages of their new brooms excellently.

"Gallopin' Gorgons! Slytherin's flyin' like they got dragon fire in their brooms..." Hagrid gasped, and I turned to see Ron fuming. Looking back at the game, I watched as Slytherin scored once again. The goal bell chimed before Lee Jordan announced,

"Another goal for Slytherin! They lead Gryffindor 90 to 30!"

I pouted as the Slytherins cheered with joy. After continuing to watch the game, I noticed Oliver hovering over near Harry on the pitch before the front end of his broom got smashed by a bludger, causing the Gryffindor Captain to lose control and crash.

"What just happened?" Eric shouted, having seen the same thing, but both of us were too far to tell what really happened. With his binoculars, Hagrid looked to see what was going on before he worriedly told us,

"Blimey! Harry's got 'imself a Rogue Bludger! That's been tampered with, that has!"

Without another thought, Ron pulled out his wand and said,

"I'll stop it."

"No!" Eric, Hermione and I all told him, pushing Ron's arm down.

"Even with a proper wand," Hermione explained, "It's too risky. You could hit Harry."

I followed Harry with my eyes, always seeing the Bludger right behind him. No matter how hard Harry tried to shake the Bludger off his tail, it remained relentless. I grew increasingly more worried when it seemed as though Harry had finally spotted the Golden Snitch. Harry went after it, causing Malfoy to follow in pursuit. The two boys raced downward, chasing the Snitch into the trench, circling the pitch. I couldn't see them for a few minutes when suddenly, Malfoy came flying up and off his broom, tumbling and landing flat on his back in the middle of the pitch. Feeling a little bad for the blond, I cringed before trying to spot Harry again. It wasn't long before I spotted my twin flying across the pitch again, still chasing after the Snitch with an arm stretched out. It seemed as though he was so close, but before Harry could grab the flying golden ball, the Rogue Bludger smashed into Harry's arm. I gasped, putting my hands over my mouth in fear and worry. That had probably broken his arm, but Harry merely steadied himself and, after a moment, brilliantly seemed to snatch the Snitch with his good arm. Unable to control his broom with his hurt arm, Harry fell to the pitch. My mouth was wide open in shock and worry before Hagrid gestured for us to follow him down to the pitch.

"Let's go," I nodded to my three friends, who followed close behind.

"Harry Potter has caught the Snitch!" I heard Lee announce, "Gryffindor wins!"

I was proud and excited for Gryffindor, but knowing that the Bludger was still going after Harry, I raced down with Hagrid, Eric, Ron and Hermione. I pulled Hermione's arm to move with me faster as we raced across the pitch to reach Harry as the Bludger kept trying to smash into him. As soon as we were close enough, Hermione pointed her wand before shouting,

"Finite Incantatem!"

The Bludger exploded once it was hit by Hermione's spell. I watched Harry let out a relieved breath as I ran over and knelt beside him

"Thank you," Harry breathed out to Hermione, kneeling beside me.

"Harry, are you ok?"

"No," Harry shook his head, "I think... I think my arm's broken."

I took in a shaky breath, ready to call for a professor through the crowd of worried faces until Lockhart quickly knelt on the other side of my brother,

"Not to worry, Harry. I will fix that arm of yours straight away."

"No..." Harry recoiled, "No... not you."

"Poor boy doesn't know what he's saying." Lockhart gently took Harry's broken arm and started pulling the sleeve up, "Now, this won't hurt a bit..."

I had to stop myself from protesting as Lockhart pulled out and twirled his wand, "Brakium amendo."

As Lockhart put his wand away, I looked at Harry to silently ask if it felt better, but before either of us could do anything else, Lockhart took Harry's arm once more, only for it to flop about as though it were simply rubber. Everyone groaned, finding the floppy arm disgusting, while I had my mouth open in utter terror for my brother. "Ah. Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. Um. But, uh... The point is..." Lockhart pulled back Harry's hand, which effortlessly bent. "You can no longer feel any pain," Lockhart concluded. "And, very clearly, the bones are not broken."

I looked up at the man as though he was crazy as Hagrid angrily scoffed,

"Brok'n? There's no bones left!"

"Much more flexible, though," Lockhart tried to reason. I shook my head, very upset about what the twit had done to my brother's arm.

Quickly, we took Harry to the hospital wing so that Madam Pomfrey could do her proper magic healing abilities to fix him. As Hermione, Ron, Eric, and I waited around Harry's bed, along with a group of Gryffindors, for Madam Pomfrey to get her things together, Malfoy was slumped on a bed across the room while he groaned. When Madam Pomfrey started jogging back over to us, she shook her head at Malfoy,

"Oh, Mr Malfoy, stop making such a fuss. You can go."

I smirked a little, no longer feeling bad about him hurting himself a little during the game. "Out of my way. Out of my way!" Madam Pomfrey shouted to the students in her way of getting to Harry. "He should have been brought straight to me! I can mend bones in a heartbeat... but growing them back-"

"You will be able to, won't you?" I asked, growing worried.

"Oh, I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful. You're in for a rough night, Potter. Regrowing bones is a nasty business."

I watched as Harry took the cup from Pomfrey and drink until he grimaced, spitting a lot of it out. "Well, what did you expect? Pumpkin juice?"

I shared a look with Ron, both of us wondering how bad that drink could have tasted when suddenly, there was a flash. I blinked and turned to see Conlin standing there with a big smile on his face,

"That was brilliant today, Harry! Brilliant!"

I smiled at the small boy, finding him sweet for coming to see Harry.

"Out! All of you!" Madam Pomfrey suddenly urged, "This boy's got thirty-three bones to regrow!"

"Would you mind if Ella stayed, Madam Pomfrey?" Harry politely asked before giving me a quick look, "If you don't mind, El."

"Of course not," I smiled as Madam Pomfrey nodded,

"I suppose not. Some company might be a good distraction."

"Thank you," Harry and I said together as the woman walked away.

That night, Harry and I lay in the two beds we had moved to be closer together. After finally being able to start to fall asleep, with Harry's fidgeting stopped, I suddenly heard the cold voice from the other night at it whispered,

"Kill... Kill!"

Quickly, I opened my eyes and sat up, noticing Harry doing the same as the voice said, "Time to kill."

The two of us put on our glasses as fast as possible and looked around the room until our eyes landed on the house elf that appeared in between us.

"Hello," Dobby smiled.

"Dobby?" I whisper-shouted with Harry. My brows furrowed in confusion about Dobby's presence and the voice.

"Harry and Ella Potter should have listened to Dobby," Dobby immediately scolded, "Harry and Ella Potter should have gone back home when they missed the train."

"It was you!" I frowned, "You stopped the barrier from letting Ron and us through!"

"Indeed, yes, miss. Dobby hid and watched for Ella and Harry Potter and sealed the gateway."

Harry narrowed his eyes,

"You nearly got Ron and us expelled!"

"At least you would be away from here. Harry and Ella Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make Harry Potter see-"

"Your Bludger? You made that Bludger chase after Harry?" I asked, astonished.

"Dobby feels most aggrieved, sir," Dobby sulked at Harry before waggling his fingers at us, "Dobby had to iron his hands..."

"You'd better clear off before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you!" Harry threatened, causing me to push him back toward the bed. Dobby quickly scrambled over Harry's legs to get off the beds before he weakly smiled,

"Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home."

"I don't suppose you could tell us why you're trying to kill my brother?" I questioned the poor elf after Harry and I had gotten out of bed.

"Not kill him, miss, never kill you! Dobby remembers how it was before Harry and Ella Potter triumphed over He Who Must Not Be Named. We house-elves were treated like vermin, miss and sir. Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin..." As he began to sob, Dobby blew his nose on the filthy clothing he wore.

"Why do you wear that thing, Dobby?" Harry asked, cringing in disgust.

"This, sir? 'Tis a mark of the house elf's enslavement. Dobby can only be freed if his master presents him with clothes. The family is careful not to pass Dobby so much as a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house forever."

There was suddenly the sound of a door, causing Dobby to gasp before he hopped up on the beds again,

"Listen... Listen!" Dobby whispered, "Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts! Harry and Ella Potter must not stay here now that history is to repeat itself."

"Repeat itself?" I whispered with furrowed brows, "You mean, this has happened before?"

Dobby froze and gasped, cringing,

"I shouldn't have said that!" Freaking out, Dobby turned to beat himself about the head with a bottle. "Bad Dobby! Bad!"

"Dobby, stop it! Stop it!" I whisper-yelled, concernedly trying to take the bottle away. "Stop it, Dobby!"

When I finally got the bottle out of the house-elf's hands, Harry gripped his cloth.

"Tell us, Dobby?" Harry urged, "When did this happen before? Who's doing it now?"

"Dobby cannot say, sir," Dobby shook his head, "Dobby only wants Ella and Harry Potter to be safe."

"Who is it?" I pleaded, but Dobby raised his fingers, about to snap.

"No, Dobby! Tell us!" Harry tried, but at the sound of another door, and before we knew it, Dobby snapped and was gone. Trying to process the information, Harry and I shared a puzzled look until we spotted shadows on the floor by the entrance. Swiftly, we scrambled into bed, lying away from the entryway so whoever it was wouldn't see our glasses. I listened to the shuffling and footsteps of what sounded like a few people when I heard Madam Pomfrey say,

"Put him here."

After a moment, I heard the woman ask, "What happened?"

"There's been another attack," Professor Dumbledore replied, causing the woman to gasp. Professor McGonagall was there as well I noticed when she spoke,

"I think... Do you know, I think he's been petrified, Madam Pomfrey."

My eyes widened in shock and fear of who it could have been that attacked and was attacked. "Perhaps he managed to get a picture of his attacker..." McGonagall suggested. After a moment, I didn't hear anything but a quiet sizzle. "What can this mean, Albus?"

"It means our students are in great danger, Minerva," Dumbledore answered.

"What should I tell the staff?"

"The truth. Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe. It's as we feared, Minerva. The Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

When I was sure the professors had left, and Madam Pomfrey had returned to her room, I turned to face Harry before whispering,

"They said 'again,' Harry."

"I know. That must have been what Dobby meant by history repeating itself," Harry replied in a whisper.

"But what could that mean?"

"I bet Hermione will have an idea. Let's just wait until tomorrow."

"Yeah, alright. Goodnight."

"Night, El."

The next day, Harry was released from the hospital wing so the two of us could join everyone at breakfast. Hermione, Eric and Ron were waiting for us at the Gryffindor table like always, where Harry and I told them we had news to tell. Once we all had something small to eat quickly, the five of us got up and followed Hermione to where she wanted to start brewing the potion. I knew exactly why she had brought us to this bathroom and instantly helped her set up the cauldron. As Hermione and I sat on the floor adding ingredients, Eric and Ron stood across from us, leaning against the wall while Harry sat beside me. Harry and I then started telling our three friends about everything that happened last night. When we were done, I noticed Hermione paused for a moment.

"'Again'?" Hermione repeated. "You mean, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?"

Ron exclaimed,

"Of course! Don't you see? Lucius Malfoy must've opened it when he was at school here, and now he's told Draco how to do it."

"Maybe," I shrugged, "We'll have to wait for the Polyjuice Potion to know for sure."

"Enlighten me. Why are we brewing this potion in broad daylight, in the middle of a girls' lavatory? Don't you think we'll get caught?" Eric questioned, understandably concerned. But Hermione simply chuckled,

"No."

"No one ever comes in here," I added, causing Eric to furrow his brows,

"Why?"

Hermione smiled,

"Moaning Myrtle."

"Who?" Ron asked as Hermione and I noticed the ghost herself coming from the stalls. The two of us gestured behind the boys as we repeated,

"Moaning Myrtle."

"I'm Moaning Myrtle!" the young ghost girl then yelled in Ron's face. "I wouldn't expect you to know me. Who would ever talk about ugly, miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle?"

Myrtle sobbed loudly before diving into the toilet and leaving.

"She's a little sensitive," Hermione explained before we continued the potion until the end of breakfast.

Later that day, after classes and before dinner, Hermione, Ron, Eric, Harry and I were all gathered with a bunch of other students in the Great Hall for the first meeting of the Duelling Club. We waited patiently, chattering with each other until Lockhart stepped up and strut up the golden stage that had been magically created.

"Gather round! Gather round!" Lockhart shouted, "Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent. In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Duelling Club to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions- for full details, see my published works."

As I rolled my eyes, the boy beside Harry, who I knew to be Justin, turned to my brother,

"That Lockhart's something, isn't he? Awfully brave chap." Justin then offered Harry his hand to shake as he introduced himself with a smile, "Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hufflepuff."

"Nice to meet you. I'm-" Harry started, but Justin stopped him,

"I know who you are. We all do. Even us Muggle-borns. Also, your sister is in my house."

Justin turned to send a smile my way, "Hi, Ella."

"Hi," I kindly smiled in return before our attentions were brought back to Lockhart as he tossed his cape to a group of girls, who excitedly gasped. Professor Snape then joined Lockhart on the stage.

"Let me introduce my assistant... Professor Snape," Lockhart said, "He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now I don't want any of you youngsters to worry. You'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"What's the fun in that?" Ron joked, causing me to giggle. Lockhart and Snape then faced each other and bowed. They then turned, walked ten paces, and quickly spun around with their wands pointed at one another.

"As you can see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course," Lockhart explained, but Harry eyed Snape as he whispered,

"I wouldn't bet on that."

I mentally, and partially, agreed as Lockhart started the countdown,

"One-two-three-"

Snape was quick to cast his spell,

"Expelliarmus!"

A dazzling flash of scarlet light left Snape's wand and blasted Lockhart, sending the blond professor off his feet and toward the end of the stage.

"Do you think he's all right?" Hermione worriedly asked the four of us, but we all smiled,

"Who cares?"

Rising unsteadily, Lockhart put on a brave smile and praised Snape,

"Yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was pretty obviouswhat you were about to do. And if I had wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy..."

"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor," Snape suggested with a tone.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape. Let's have a volunteer pair. Potter, Weasley, how about you?"

Before my brother or Ron could even nod, Snape interjected,

"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps."

As Harry stepped up onto the stage, I looked toward Malfoy, who had a smirk on his face as always.

"Good luck, Potter," Lockhart told my brother as he passed him. Harry nodded,

"Thank you, sir."

Malfoy and Harry both eyed each other malevolently as they took their places onstage.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart instructed, and the two boys followed.

"Scared, Potter?" Malfoy challenged, but Harry retorted,

"You wish."

I smiled, proud of my twin, as the two boys turned. As he started walking ten paces, Malfoy sent me a smirk, to which I rolled my eyes. As soon as the ten paces had been taken by the boys, they both whirled around, aiming their wands.

"On the count of three," Lockhart spoke, "Cast your charms to disarm your opponent- only to disarm. We don't want any accidents here. One, two-"

Unfairly, Malfoy fired early, knocking Harry off of his feet with a blast of white light. I glared at the blond boy as Harry quickly jumped to his feet and pointed his wand,

"Rictusempra!"

A jet of silver light hit Malfoy dead in the stomach as he was blasted backwards and off his feet. Snape, looking disappointed, pulled Malfoy up by the back of his robes.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart scolded, but Malfoy didn't listen, instantly casting another spell,

"Serpensortia!"

To my horror, the tip of Malfoy's wand exploded, creating a long black snake that slithered toward my brother.

"Don't move, Potter," Snape smiled with amusement, stepping up, "I'll get rid of it for you."

"Allow me, Professor! Alarte Ascendare!" Lockhart flicked his wand, causing the snake to go flying into the air. When it landed, the snake hissed in rage, slithering straight toward us in the crowd. Students screamed as the snake made its way over to where Justin was standing, but Harry was calm as he approached the snake and spoke,

"Leave him!"

The snake dropped its attack stance and looked toward Harry before turning back to Justin. "Leave him!"

Feeling a strange urge, I stepped up to the snake and spoke firmly,

"LEAVE HIM!"

The snake hovered a moment more, then slumped to the floor.

"Vipera Evanesca!" I heard Snape chant, causing the snake to disappear. I then blinked, feeling as though I had just come out of a weird trance or something. Realizing I had gotten the snake to back off, I turned to help Justin and offered him a hand since he had tripped trying to get away. But Justin flinched.

"What are you two playing at?" my fellow Hufflepuff asked, seeming terrified as he backed away from me. Confused, I turned to look at all the faces around me. Malfoy looked shocked, while Seamus and Neville seemed fearful. But Harry and I had no idea what the big fuss was about. When I looked up at the potion's teacher, I noticed him regarding me and Harry with a look that seemed shrewd and calculating. Quickly taking my arm, then Harry's, Ron urged,

"Come on. Move. Now."