𓏲 . THE BOY WHO LIVED . .៹♡
                                 CHAPTER NINETEEN
        ─── A STORY TO TELL & DOBBY'S SECOND VISIT

Harry, Alistair, Ron, Charlus and Hermione went to their History of Magic class together the next day. After sleeping on the matter, the five of them were full of thoughts about the voice that only Charlus, Harry and Alistair had heard.

As they were walking, Hermione was questioning the situation, "It's a bit strange, isn't it? You three hear this voice,  a voice only the three of you can hear, and then Mrs. Norris turns up petrified. It's just strange."

"Do you think we should of told them? Dumbledore and the other professors, I mean." Harry inquired and looked at the other two. "Are you mad?!?" Ron shouted.

"As much as I want to tell them, Harry," Alistair said, without hesitation. "I don't think it would be the smartest idea. Something tells me that hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

Ron and Hermione seemed to agree with Alistair as they nodded their heads. Something in Alistair 's voice made Harry ask, "You do believe us, don't you?"

"Of course we do," Hermione automatically said. "But — you three must admit it is a bit weird..."

"We know it's weird," Charlus said. "The whole thing is weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber has been opened . . . what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, it rings a sort of bell," Ron said slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once . . . might've been Bill . . ."

A bell rang somewhere.

"We'll talk about this later," Hermione dismissed, "Class is about to begin."

The five of them dropped the topic for now as they had reached their classroom. Mr. Binns welcomed the students as they entered. Hermione sat with Charlus near the front of the class , while Harry and Alistair sat directly next to them and Ron sat between Adrian and Matthew.

 History of Magic was the dullest subject on their schedule. Professor Binns, who taught it, was their only ghost teacher, and the most exciting thing that ever happened in his classes was his entering the room through the blackboard. Today was as boring as ever. All the students had to do was listen and write down notes as Mr. Binns read from the textbook in a flat drone like an old vacuum cleaner.

The green eyed boy could feel his eyes get heavy every once in awhile, but was constantly nudged awake by the girl sitting beside him, who was listening to Mr. Binns very intently. The professor had been speaking non-stop for the past half an hour  until something happened that had never happened before. Hermione put up her hand.

Professor Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, looked amazed, "Miss—er?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said in a clear voice.

Dean Thomas, who had been sitting with his mouth hanging open, gazing out of the window, jerked out of his trance; Lavender Brown's head came up off her arms and Neville Longbottom's elbow slipped off his desk.

Professor Binns blinked and Charlus leaned forward, eager to know what he had to say about it.

"My subject is History of Magic," he said in his dry, wheezy voice. "I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends."

The Professor thought that would be the end of conversation, but Alistair put his hand up, which shocked the room. 

"Yes, Mr. Black?" The ghost said as he took notice of the young boy. Alistair put his hand down as he answered, "Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

Professor Binns looked at him in such amazement that he raised his eyebrow.

"Well," Professor Binns began to say, "yes, one could argue that, I suppose." He peered at Alistair as though he had never seen a student properly before. "However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational , even ludicrous tale--"

But the whole class was now hanging on Professor Binns's every word. He looked dimly at them all, every face turned to his. Charlus could tell he was completely thrown by such an unusual show of interest.

"Oh, very well," he said slowly. "Let me see . . . the Chamber of Secrets . . . You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago—the precise date is uncertain—by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

He paused, gazed blearily around the room, and continued.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused again, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he said, "but these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin has built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

There was silence as he finished telling the story, but it wasn't the usual, sleepy silence that filled Professor Binns's classes. Everyone was shook to their cores from the story.

Charlus even watched  as Ron turned around to look at Malfoy when Mr. Binns mentioned the heir. The green-eyed boy knew what his friend was getting at. He, too, couldn't help but wonder if the opening of the chamber had something to do with Draco. It didn't help that the Slytherin boy just grinned devilishly throughout the whole story.

Soon enough, Adrian's hand was in the air, "Sir, what do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?" "The Chamber is said to be home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home... of a monster." Professor Binns said in his dry, reedy voice.

Charlus exchanged a nervous look with Harry,Alistair, Ron and Hermione.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist," Professor Binns said, shuffling his notes. "There is no Chamber and there is no monster. The castle had been searched many times and we have yet to find anything. Again, it is all myth and legend."

"But Professor —" began Charlus, but Professor Binns had had enough. "Enough, Mr. Potter," he said sharply. "This conversation has gone on long enough. I regret telling you such a foolish story! Now, please, let us continue with the lesson."

The green eyed boy sighed as he heard Ron mutter something behind him,"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony. But I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his house if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home..."

"Wow," Alistair said. "Fucking hurt." "You and Charlus are the most decent of them all." Ron reassured him.

Hermione nodded in agreement , while Harry remained silent and didn't do anything, earning a worried glance from Charlus. He knew the Sorting Hat considered putting his brother in Slytherin as well. He had told him that once when they were alone.

The class ended and the three Gryffindors and the two Slytherins left the room with newfound information on the Chamber of Secrets.

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After lunch, the three Gryffindors and the two Slytherins found themselves in the library, much to the displeasure of Ronald Weasley. His four friends were interested in finding out more about the Chamber of Secrets, while Ron was only interested in the Heir of Slytherin.

"So, do you think it's true? Do you think there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron inquired. Hermione looked up from the book she was reading, "Yes. Couldn't you tell? Binns is worried. All the teachers are."

"If there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and it really has been opened, that means--" Harry began to say before Charlus continued his sentence, "-- the heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts. The question is, who is it?"

"Let's think, who do we know that's a Slytherin that thinks all muggle-borns are scum?" Ron asked them. "If you're talking about Malfoy-" began Hermione to say, but she was cut off by Alistair's shouting, which earned a scolding from Madame Pince afterwards, "Of course he's talking about Malfoy! You heard him! 'You'll be next m—' You know!"

"I heard him," Hermione said. "But Malfoy? The Heir of Slytherin?" "But maybe Ron and Alistair are right, Hermione." Charlus spoke up, which caused the girl to groan, "I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries.""

"Crabbe and  Goyle! Maybe we could trick them into telling us!" Ron yelled excitedly, earning another scolding from Madame Pince around the corner. "Even they aren't that thick." Hermione whispered to them, "But, there might be another way."

The two Gryffindor boys and the two Slytherin boys looked at each other curiously. As always, they had no idea what Hermione was talking about or what she was implying.

The girl with the bushy hair rolled her eyes at her friend's cluelessness before she disappeared into the bookshelves. A moment later, she returned with a book in her hand and flipped furiously through the pages to find something.

"Here it is!" she exclaimed as she threw the book down on the table so that the boys could see. "Potente Potions?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Mind you, it would be difficult." Hermione said, " Not to mention, we'd be breaking about 50 school rules. And it'll be dangerous. Very dangerous. But I really think it could work. "

"Um," Ron spoke up, "Could you tell Harry, Alistair, Charlus and me what you're on about? Kinda left in the dark over here."

Hermione shifted her gaze from the book to her four friends as she started to explain, "Properly brewed, that potion allows the drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another. "

"You mean that, if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked. "Yes." Hermione confirmed. Harry, Alistair,Charlus and Ron grinned at each other before they looked back at the girl, "Wicked. Malfoy'll tell us anything."

"Exactly, but it's tricky," Hermione replied with a small smile before she picked up the book and skimmed through the page before saying, "I've never seen a more complicated potion."

"Well, how long will it take to make?" Harry asked. "A month." Hermione answered as she checked the ingredients. "A month?" Alistair repeated in shock.

 "But Hermione," Charlus  began to say and looked at the girl in disbelief, "If Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the muggle-borns in the school by then. And I don't want to lose you anytime soon."

"I know," the girl said sadly  before she looked between the four boys, "But it's the only plan we've got."

 "Then it's settled," the light brown-haired boy said before he looked down at his watch, "Oh, shit Harry, we have to get ready for our quidditch match. Time to find out which of us is the better seeker this time."

Harry nodded in agreement before he and his brother gathered their things. With that, the two boys bid their farewells to the other three before they left the library.

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The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin dawned as the stands slowly filled with fans who came to support the two teams.

Before the match began, Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary.

Then the game began and the Slytherin team seemed certain of their future victory. Charlus circled through the sky  and searched for the Snitch, while Harry was right behind him. Meanwhile, the Slytherins scored goals after goals. The game had not been going for long when it was already 50:30 for Slytherin.

The oldest Potter was trying his best to  find and catch the Snitch before his brother, but he kept struggling. Why? Maybe it was because a Bludger had been chasing him and his brother all over the field since the start of the game. Even after Fred and George had knocked it away several times, the Bludger hadn't let go of them.

While the two Gryffindor beaters protected Harry and, unintentionally,  Charlus, the Slytherins scored goal after goal, so that they now had a lead of 60 points. Oliver Wood noticed his team's lack of defense and demanded a time-out from Madam Hooch.

 After being scolded by Oliver for his behavior, Harry requested that Fred and George return to the rest of the team, which caused him and his brother to deal with the Rogue Bludger for themselves while they continued to try to find the Golden Snitch.

Harry struggled to keep up with Charlus in his search for the Snitch. The Slytherin seeker was in the lead due to the speed of his new broom, but Harry was able to keep up. As Charlus dodged the Bludger that was hurtling towards him, Harry noticed the snitch next to his face. He set his sights on it and grinned at his brother as he reached for it.

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee yelled, and soon enough Harry saw Charlus  stop for a moment at the announcement that his twin brother had caught the Golden Snitch and  Gryffindor had won, only to be hit in the elbow by  the Rogue Bludger.

The green-eyed boy felt his arm break, and  he was knocked off his broom jerkily. The crowd fell silent abruptly as the Slytherin Seeker hit the ground with a deafening thud and landed directly on his injured arm.

Harry immediately flew to the ground next to his twin brother. Charlus was conscious, but he was in a lot of pain. The Bludger, who was still trying to attack him, only made the situation worse. But the green-eyed boy managed to dodge when the Bludger tried to hit him three times.

"Finite Incantatem!" Hermione shouted and waved her wand in the air to stop the Bludger as she ran onto the pitch with Hagrid, Alistair and Ron, closely followed by the rest of the crowd.

When the Bludger had exploded into thousands of tiny pieces, Hermione quickly knelt down to make sure the boy was alright while Alistair and Ron stood behind her. Charlus thanked her briefly as he watched his teammates gather around him along with the Gyrffindor team, McGonagall, Lockhart and Snape.

The Seeker from Gryffindor was the first to speak up with concern, "Charlus, are you alright?"

The green-eyed boy groaned in pain as he held the arm he had landed on. "No..." he admitted. "I think- I think my arm's broken." "Don't worry, Charlus," Alistair said calmly. "We'll take you to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey will fix it."

"That won't be necessary," Lockhart assured as he kneeled down. " I will fix that arm of yours straight away." "No!" Charlus  said as quickly as he could while he shook his head, "Not you! Anyone BUT you!"

Gilderoy immediately shook his head  and grabbed the boy by the arm. Hermione's eyes widened as Lockhart said loudly, "Poor boy, he doesn't know what he's saying!" Then Lockhart rolled up the boy's sleeve and took out his wand, which he pointed directly at his broken arm, "Now, this won't hurt a bit... Brackium Emendo!"

To no ones surprise, the spell didn't work as planned. As Charlus raised his arm, his eyes widened and everyone in the crowd were disgusted as the boy's arm flopped around like it was made of jelly. Gilderoy's spell hadn't mended the  bones in Charlus' arm. In fact, it made his arm quite worse. It had removed all the bones in the boy's arm.

"Ah yes, well," Gilderoy began to say nervously, "That can sometimes happen. But the point is, you can no longer feel any pain, and very clearly, the bones are not broken."

Charlus could hardly believe it when he heard the words. " That's a joke, isn't it?" he  exclaimed in horror and looked at his professor. "Broken?" Hagrid yelled angrily, "There's no bones left!" He seemed completely outraged at Gilderoy's lack of ability.

The green-eyed boy sighed before he used his left arm to pull himself to his feet. Hermione, Ron, Alistair and Harry immediately went to his side. "It looks like I'm drunk..." he mumbled as they helped him walk towards the hospital wing.

Hagrid, Snape and Lockhart followed quickly behind the three Gryffindors and the two Slytherins, while McGonagall went to Dumbledore to inform him of the accident.

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As Charlus was escorted to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey wasn't at all pleased at the situation.

"You should have come straight to me!" she raged, holding up the sad, limp remainder of what, half an hour before, had been a working arm. "I can mend bones in a second - but growing them back--"

"You will be able to, won't you?" Charlus asked desperately. "Oh, I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," Madam Pomfrey said grimly as she threw Charlus a pair of pajamas. "You'll have to stay the night, Potter. "

The green eyed boy groaned before Hermione spoke up with a soft smile as she grabbed his hand, " Would you like me to stay with you and keep you company?" "I'd like that." he replied with a soft smile.

Unfortunately, that idea was very short lived as Madam Pomfrey spoke up, "No you will not! I have strict visiting hours in my hospital wing!"

The green-eyed boy sighed before he turned to the bushy-haired girl, who was now frowning, "It's okay,Mione. It was worth a shot."

"Are you still going to stick up for Lockhart now Hermione?" Alistair asked her, "If Charlus had wanted to be de-boned, he would have asked."

"Who said I was sticking up for him? I'll be the first to admit he made the situation worse!" Hermione said before she looked at Charlus. "I'm so sorry,Char. I don't know what I ever saw in Lockhart. He is a complete fraud! I should have—"

"Hermione!" Charlus shouted to interrupt my rambling. "I'm just happy you realize that Lockhart is an absolute prat. Besides, this is in no way your fault."

Hermione blushed furiously as he continued. "But who the hell was messing with the bludger in the first place?"

"That's what I want to find out.." Harry said angrily. Whoever had hurt his twin brother better hope he never found out who it was. He wasn't sure he'd be able to control his anger if he  did.

As Charlus swung himself onto the hospital bed , his arm flapped pointlessly. Madame Pomfrey came back around the corner. She was holding a large bottle of something labeled Skele-Gro.

"You're in for a rough night," she said, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to him. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business."

So was taking the Skele-Gro. It burned Charlus' mouth and throat as it went down, making him cough and splutter. Still tut-tutting about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madam Pomfrey retreated, leaving Harry, Ron,Alistair and Hermione to help Charlus gulp down some water.

"I hope the Polyjuice Potion tastes better than this stuff." Charlus groaned in disgust and sank back onto his pillows. "If it's got bits of Slytherins in it? You've got to be joking,"  Ron said, which caused Charlus to roll his eyes, "Shut Up, Weasley."

His friends and twin brother stayed with him until the sun slowly began to disappear behind the horizon and they were urged to leave by the stern but caring Madame Pomfrey. Hermione was reluctant to leave because she didn't want to leave Charlus in the state he was in. So she decided to stay with the boy for a while after Harry, Alistair and Ron had reluctantly left the hospital wing.

Hermione knew it was only a matter of time before Madame Pomfrey would come back and admonish her for still being here. But at the moment, she didn't care at all. The two of them looked at each other in silence before Charlus noticed that his eyes were beginning to get heavy.

He was reluctant to close his eyes because he wanted to stay in this quiet moment with Hermione for as long as possible. Her presence was enough to distract him from the stabbing pains in his limp arm. But despite his protests, sleep finally overcame him.

The girl with the bushy hair could hear the familiar clacking of Madame Pomfrey's heels in the distance. Now that Charlus was asleep, she knew it was time to go. She walked slowly towards the exit of the hospital wing, but then stopped as a very risky idea occurred to her.

After a moment's hesitation, Hermione decided to turn around and walk towards Charlus' hospital bed once more. She walked up to the side of his bed and smiled to herself  as she gently brushed some of his hair out of his face for him. Then she leaned down to give the sleeping boy a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, Charlus. " she whispered to him.  As she broke away from him, she felt her cheeks blush before she walked out of the hospital wing.

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Hours and hours later,  Charlus  woke quite suddenly in the pitch blackness and gave a small yelp of pain: his arm now felt full of large splinters. For a second, he thought it was that which had woken him. Then, with a thrill of horror, he realised that someone was sponging his forehead in the dark.

"Get off!"  he said loudly, and then, "Dobby!"

The house-elf's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at Charlus through the darkness. A single tear was running down Dobby's long, pointed nose. "Charlus and Harry Potter came back to school," he whispered miserably. "Dobby warned Charlus and Harry Potter. Ah sir, why didn't you and your brother listen to Dobby? Why didn't Charlus and Harry Potter go back home when they missed the train?"

Charlie lifted himself up on his pillows and pushed Dobby's sponge away. "What're you doing here, Dobby?" he said, "And how did you know that we missed the train?"

Dobby's lip trembled and the green eyed boy was seized by a sudden suspicion. "It was you!" he said slowly. "You stopped the barrier from letting us through!"

"Indeed yes, sir," Dobby said, nodding his head vigorously, ears flapping. "Dobby hid and watched for Charlus and Harry Potter and sealed the gateway and Dobby had to iron his hands afterwards . . ." He showed Charlus ten long, bandaged fingers. ". . . but Dobby didn't care, sir, for he thought Charlus and Harry Potter were safe, and never did Dobby dream that Charlus and Harry Potter would get to school another way!"

He was rocking backward and forward, shaking his head. Charlus slumped back onto his pillows and became annoyed at the little house-elf's intentions.  "You nearly got Harry,Alistair, Ron and me expelled," he said fiercely. "You better clear off before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you, like I said the last time."

Dobby got startled at Charlus ' tone and jumped off of the bedside table, "Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home."

He blew his nose on a corner of the filthy pillowcase he wore, looking so pathetic that Charlus felt his anger fade away. Instead, the boy couldn't help but feel remorse for the house elf.

"Why d'you wear that thing, Dobby?" he asked curiously. "This, sir?" Dobby said, plucking at the pillowcase. "Tis a mark of the House-elf's enslavement, sir. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, sir. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir, for them he would be free to leave their house for ever."

Dobby mopped his bulging eyes and said suddenly, " Charlus and Harry Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make —" "Your Bludger?" Charlus snapped, his anger rising once more. "What d'you mean, your Bludger? You made that Bludger try and kill  me?"

"Not kill you , sir, never kill you!" Dobby said shocked. "Dobby wants to save Charlus and Harry Potter's lives! Better sent home, grievously injured, that remain here, sir! Dobby only wanted Charlus hurt enough to be sent home with Harry! "

"Oh, is that all?" Charlus said, angrily. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you wanted me sent home in pieces?"

"Ah, if Charlus Potter only knew!" Dobby groaned, more tears dripping onto his ragged pillowcase. "If he knew what he and his brother means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, us dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He Who Must Not Be Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elves were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir," he admitted, drying his face on the pillowcase. "But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you and your brother triumphed over He Who Must Not Be Named. Charlus and Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Charlus and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the dark days would never end, sir . . . And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Charlus and Harry Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more—"

Dobby froze, horror-struck, then grabbed Charlie's water jug from his bedside table and cracked it over his own head, toppling out of sight. A second later, he crawled back onto the bed, cross-eyed, muttering, "Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby."

"So there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Charlus whispered. "And did you say it's been opened before? Wait! Tell me, Dobby, please!

"He seized the elf's bony wrist as Dobby's hand inched toward the water jug. "Wait — Harry and I are not Muggleborns —how can we be in danger from the Chamber?"

"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby," the elf stammered, his eyes huge in the dark. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Charlus and Harry Potter must not be here when they happen. Charlus  and Harry Potter must go home ! Go Home! Charlus and Harry Potter must not meddle in this, sir , it's too dangerous . ."

"Who is it, Dobby?" Charlus asked, while he kept a firm hold on Dobby's wrist to stop hitting himself with the water jug again. "Who's opened it? Who opened it last time?"

"Dobby can't, sir, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" the elf squealed. "Charlus  and Harry  Potter must go home!"

"We're not  leaving this school," Charlus replied fiercely. "Hogwarts been more home to us than the Dursleys have ever been. Besides, one of our best friends is Muggle-born; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened! Harry, Ron,Alistair and I can't let that happen. If it does, I don't know what I'll do."

 "Charlus and Harry risk their own life for their friends!" Dobby moaned, in a kind of miserable ecstasy. "So noble! So valiant! But they must save theirselves, they must, Charlus and Harry must not—"

Dobby suddenly froze, his big ears quivering. Charlus heard it, too. There were footsteps orging down the passageway outside.

 "Dobby must go!" the elf breathed, terrified. There was a loud crack, and the green eyed boy's fist was suddenly clenched on thin air. He slumped back into bed, his eyes on the dark doorway to the hospital wing as the footsteps drew nearer.

In the next moment, Dumbledore was backing into the hospital wing, wearing a long woolly dressing gown and a nightcap. He was carrying one end of what looked like a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared a second later, carrying its feet. Together, they heaved it onto a bed.

"Get Madame Pomfrey," Dumbledore whispered, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Charlus' bed out of sight. Charlus lay quite still, pretending to be asleep. He heard urgent voices, and then Professor McGonagall swept back into view, closely followed by Madame Pomfrey, who was pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress. Charlus heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed. "Another attack," Dumbledore said. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

 "There was a bunch of grapes next to him," Professor McGonagall said. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

Charlus' stomach gave a horrible lurch. Slowly and carefully, he raised himself a few inches so he could look at the statue on the bed. A ray of moonlight lay across its staring face.

It was Colin Creevey. His eyes were wide and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera.

"Petrified?" Madam Pomfrey whispered. "Yes," Professor McGonagell replied. "But I shudder to think If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate — who knows what might have —"

The three of them stared down at Colin. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and prized the camera out of Colin's rigid grip.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" Professor McGonagell asked eagerly. Dumbledore didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera. "Good gracious!" Madam Pomfrey said.

A jet of steam had hissed out of the camera. Charlus, three beds away, caught the acrid smell of burnt plastic. "Melted," Madam Pomfrey said wonderingly, "All melted."

"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently. "It means," Dumbledore began to say, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Dumbledore, "But, Albus who would do such a thing?" "The question is not who," Dumbledore said, his eyes on Colin. "The question is, how."

And from what Charlus could see of Professor McGonagall's shadowy face, she didn't understand this any better than he did.

━━ AUTHORS NOTE

Here is once again a long chapter ! Hope you all enjoyed!

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Thank you for reading this far.

Until next time, much love to you all!