CHAPTER FIVE:

Third Person P.O.V.:

Harry, Ron, Charlie and Hermione walked together to their History of Magic class the following day. After having slept on the matter, the four of their minds were full of thoughts regarding the voice Harry had heard.

As they were walking, Hermione was questioning the situation, "It's strange, isn't it? The voice you heard, Harry. Why couldn't anyone else hear it?"

"Do you think I should of told them? Dumbledore and the other professors, I mean." Harry inquired, looking at his three friends.

"Are you mad?!?" Ron shouted.

"Something tells me that hearing voices in your head that no one else can hear isn't exactly something you should be bragging about," Charlie explained, "Wizard or not, I don't think that's considered normal, mate."

Ron and Hermione seemed to agree with Charlie as they nodded their heads.

Something in Charlie's voice made Harry ask,
"But you do believe me, don't you?"

"'Course we do," said Charlie quickly. "But — you must admit it is a bit weird..."

"I know it's weird," said Harry. "The whole thing's 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," said Ron slowly.
"I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once... might've been Bill..."

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

The four of them dropped the topic for now as they had reached their classroom. Mr. Binns welcomed the students as they entered. Hermione sat with Charlie near the front of the class as per usual, while Harry and Ron sat directly behind them.

History of Magic was always Charlie's least favourite subject. 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 particularly boring, all the students had to do was listen and write down notes as Mr. Binns read from the textbook.

The brown 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 nonstop for the past half an hour, until Hermione decided to put everyone out of their misery and 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, sir. I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione 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. Ron, Harry and Charlie especially caught interest in the new topic as it would hopefully answer some of the questions that had been playing over in their heads for the last twelve hours.

Professor Binns blinked.

"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 when dealing with Hermione Granger, you had to know she wouldn't stop until she got her answer. So, once again, her hand shot up in the air. Mr. Binns gave her a look before blatantly ignoring her, going back to his reading.

That was when Charlie decided to help out the bushy haired girl. He put his hand up, which shocked the room.

"Yes, Mr. Hawthorne?" The ghost said as he took notice of the young boy.

Charlie put his hand down as he answered, "Please, Professor. I think we're all as curious as Hermione in regards to the Chamber. All legends have some sort of basis in fact, don't they? Shouldn't that account for something?"

Hermione looked at Charlie and smiled, she was glad that the boy was as interested as she was. She turned back to the front to see Mr. Binns with his mouth agape. The professor wasn't expecting the entire class to be on the verge of their seats, awaiting his answer. She could tell he was thrown off by everyone's 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 unworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and 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 had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the 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 a silence as Mr. Binns finished the story, but it wasn't the usual boredom that filled the class. Everyone was shook to their cores from the story.

Charlie even watched as Ron turned around to look at Malfoy as Mr. Binns mentioned the heir. The brown eyed boy knew where his friend was coming from. He too, couldn't help but wonder if the Chamber being opened had something to do with Draco. It also didn't help that all the Slytherin boy did was devilishly smirk through the entire story. How suspicious.

Soon enough, Hermione's hand was back in the air, "Sir, what do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," said Professor Binns in his dry, reedy voice.

The class exchanged nervous looks.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist," said Professor Binns, 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 —"

Charlie was quickly cut off, "Enough, Mr. Hawthorne. This conversation has gone on long enough. I will no longer continue to contribute to your mind's interest in this foolish story. Now, please, let us continue with the lesson."

The brown eyed boy sighed as he heard Ron mutter something behind him, "I always knew Slytherin was a twisted old loony. But I never knew he was the one who started all the pureblood superiority nonsense. I wouldn't be in Slytherin House if you paid me!"

Hermione nodded in agreement with the ginger haired boy, while Harry and Charlie remained silent and didn't do anything. Harry didn't say anything because he had never told his three friends that he was considered for Slytherin. And Charlie? Well, he stayed silent because suddenly he understood where his father's ideologies originated from.

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

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After lunch, the four Gryffindors found themselves in the library, much to the disapproval of Ronald Weasley. His three friends were interested in researching more about the Chamber of Secrets, while all Ron cared about was the heir.

"So, do you think it's true? Do you think there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron inquired.

Charlie looked up from the book he was reading, "Of course. Didn't you find it odd how dismissive Binns was about the topic? What is the harm in talking about the Chamber if it is merely a myth? Unless of course, there was some truth to the story."

"But if there is a Chamber, and it has been opened, does that mean the heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, "If that is the case, who do reckon it might be?"

"Let's think, who do we know that's a Slytherin that thinks all muggle-borns are scum?" Ron said sarcastically.

"If you're talking about Malfoy-"

Hermione was cut off by Ron's shouting, which earned a scolding from Madame Pince afterwards, "Of course! You heard him! 'You'll be next mudbloods'"

"I heard him. But you can't possibly think that Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin!" Hermione said, defensively.

"I agree with Hermione." Charlie spoke up, which caused the other two boys to groan as Hermione smiled in victory, "Come on! Malfoy? Of all people? Sure, he's a muggle-born hating git, but he is not nearly intelligent enough to control the horror within the Chamber. Malfoy barely controls himself, he has to get his daddy's approval of everything!"

His three friends laughed, but Harry thought for a moment, "What if Ron has a point though? We can't be too careful and Malfoy does seem the most likely to be the heir. There's no way of knowing for sure."

"What if there was?" Hermione inquired.

"Are you mad?! Malfoy wouldn't tell us anything." Ron said loudly, earning another scolding from Madame Pince around the corner.

"Well," Hermione whispered, "Who said he would be telling you?"

The three Gryffindor boys looked at one another curiously. They, like always, had no idea what Hermione was talking about or insinuating.

The bushy haired girl rolled her eyes at her friend's cluelessness before disappearing into the bookshelves. She returned a moment later with a book in hand as she furiously flipped through pages trying to find something.

"Here it is!" She exclaimed as she threw the book down on the table so that the boys could see.

"Polyjuice potion?" Harry read aloud with a curious tone.

Charlie raised his brow him Hermione's direction as he caught on, "You can't be serious?"

"I know it's crazy!" Hermione said, "But if Malfoy really is the heir of Slytherin, the only people he'd talk about it with would be Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini! And even they aren't thick enough to simply just be tricked into telling us. I know it'll be difficult. Not to mention, we'd be breaking about 50 school rules and it'll be dangerous, but I really think it could work." (A/N: we're including Zabini early because why the hell not)

"Um," Ron chimed in, "Would one of you mind telling Harry and I what you're on about? Kinda left in the dark over here."

Charlie shifted his gaze from Hermione to his other two friends, "Hermione wants us to become Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. That potion allows the drinker to assume the form of someone else. It's completely mental —"

Harry and Ron glanced at each other in disbelief while Hermione frowned at the brown eyed boy's instant disapproval of her plan.

"But," Charlie continued, which made the bushy haired girl look at him curiously, "It could work. Malfoy will tell those three anything. How long will it take to make?"

Hermione smiled as she picked up the book and skimmed through the page before saying, "A month. It's one of the most complicated potions I've seen, but it can be done."

"A month?!?" Ron exclaimed.

"But Hermione," Harry 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!"

"I know," The girl said sadly before looking between all three boys, "But it's the only plan we've got."

"Then it's settled," The brown eyed boy said before gathering his things, "Come on Harry, we've got to go get ready for the quidditch match against Slytherin."

Harry nodded before he too, gathered his things. With that, the two boys bid their farewells to the other two before leaving the library.

———————————————————

The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin dawned as the stands began to fill with fans in support of both teams.

Before the match began, there was a Gryffindor team pep talk. Oliver Wood reassured his team that while the Slytherins have better brooms, the Gryffindors have better people on their brooms. The captain then told Harry to get the Snitch or die trying. Pretty serious for a friendly match.

The game begins, and the Slytherin team seemed certain about their future victory. Harry circled through the sky looking for the snitch while Malfoy trailed closely behind him. As for Charlie, he was getting frustrated as the Slytherin team kept scoring. The match hadn't even been going on for long before the score was 50-30 for Slytherin.

The brown eyed boy was trying his hardest to earn points for his team, but he kept struggling. Why? Maybe it was due to that fact that since the match had began, a Bludger was adamant on hurdling towards him, even after being knocked away by Fred and George on multiple occasions.

While the two beaters were protecting Charlie, the Slytherins kept scoring goal after goal, make Gryffindor now trail by 60 points. Oliver Wood noticed his team's lack of defence and called for a time-out. After being scolded by Oliver for his performance, Charlie requested that Fred and George return to the game, which made him try to fend off the Rogue Bludger for himself while still trying to earn points.

Meanwhile, Harry was having a difficult time keeping up with Malfoy in the search for the snitch. The Slytherin seeker was pulling ahead due to the speed of his new broom, but Harry managed to keep up. While Malfoy taunted the Gryffindor seeker, Harry noticed the Snitch next to his face. He set his sights on it and smirked at Malfoy as he reached out and grabbed it.

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

As the seeker went to celebrate Gryffindor's victory, the moment was short lived as Harry watched Charlie stop for a moment at the announcement of Harry's catch, only to get hit by the Bludger that had been chasing him around all game. The brown eyed boy got hit hard and was knocked off his broom. The entire crowd went silent as the boy hit the ground with a loud thud, landing directly on his arm.

Harry immediately flew to ground next to his friend. Charlie was conscious, but was in a lot of pain. It also didn't help that the Bludger was still adamant on finishing its job. The brown eyed boy was quick to dodge out of the way as the Bludger tried to slam down on top of him on three different occasions.

"Finite Incantatem!" Hermione yelled as she waved her wand in the air to stop the Bludger when she, Hagrid and Ron came running onto the pitch with the rest of the crowd.

As the Bludger got destroyed, Hermione was quick to kneel down to make sure the boy was alright. Charlie muttered a quick thank you to her as he watched his teammates along with McGonagall, Lockhart and Snape gather around him.

The Gryffindor seeker was the first to speak up,  "Charlie, mate! Are you alright?"

The brown eyed boy groaned as he held the arm that he landed on top of, "No. I think my arm may be broken."

Lockhart kneeled down as he noticed the crowd forming around them, "Don't you worry Charlie! I can fix that arm of yours straight away!"

"No!" Charlie groaned, quickly, "Not you! Anyone BUT you!"

Gilderoy shook his head before grabbing the boy's arm, causing Charlie to yelp out in pain. Hermione's eyes widen as Lockhart spoke again, "Silly boy, he doesn't know what he's saying!" Lockhart then rolled up the boy's sleeve and took out his wand, "Brackium Emendo!"

To no ones surprise, the spell didn't work as planned. As Charlie raised his arm, his eyes widened and everyone in the crowd were disgusted as the boy's arm flopped around mindlessly. Gilderoy's spell that was supposed to mend the broken bones, was the exact thing that de-boned the arm completely.

"Ah yes, well," Gilderoy began in a nervous tone, "That can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken."

"Are you serious?!" Charlie exclaimed, looking at his professor. He was beyond made. Everyone was. Well maybe not Hermio— nevermind. She was staring at the author with a look Charlie hadn't seen before, it was scary. Oh, if looks could kill...

"No longer broken?!?" Hagrid yelled, "There's no bones left!" He was completely outraged at what Gilderoy'a lack of ability.

The brown eyed boy shook off his anger before he did anything that might get him in trouble. Instead, he just sighed before using his left arm to bring himself to his feet. Hermione, Ron and Harry instantly went to his sides to help guide him through the crowd in the direction of the hospital wing.

Hagrid, Snape, and Lockhart followed quickly behind the four Gryffindors while McGonagall went to inform Dumbledore of his grandson's accident.

————————————————————

As Charlie was escorted to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey wasn't at all pleased at the situation. She couldn't believe the utter stupidity of Gilderoy Lockhart.

The school nurse had focused all of her attention to the brown eyed boy who was now laying in the hospital bed with his three friends surrounding him.

"You should have come straight to me!" the nurse 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?" said Charlie desperately.

"I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," said Madam Pomfrey grimly, throwing Charlie a pair of pajamas. "You'll have to stay the night, Hawthorne."

The brown eyed boy groaned before Hermione spoke up with a soft smile as she grabbed his hand, "I'll stay with you and keep you company."

Charlie smiled at the idea, but it was short lived as Pomfrey spoke up, "No you will not! There are strict visiting hours in my hospital wing!"

The brown eyed boy sighed before turning to the bushy haired girl who was now frowning, "It was worth a shot."

"Are you still going to stick up for Lockhart now Hermione?" Ron said in an almost jealous tone, "If Charlie 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!" said Hermione, before looking at Charlie with concerned eyes. "I'm so sorry about what happened. I don't know what I ever saw in Lockhart. He is a complete fraud! I should have stopped him! I should have brought you to Madame Pomfrey sooner! I should have—"

"Hermione!" shouted Charlie to interrupt the girl's babbling, "It's not your fault that Lockhart is an absolute prat. Besides, things could have gone much worse if you hadn't stopped the Bludger, so if anything, I should be thanking you."

Hermione blushed furiously as Charlie continued, this time addressing all three of his friends, "Im just confused on who was messing with the Bludger in the first place?"

"That's what I want to find out. I swear, if it was Malfoy..." Harry said angrily. Whoever had hurt his friend better hope they never found out who it was. The Chosen One wasn't sure he'd be able to control his anger if they did.

Charlie swung himself onto the hospital bed, "Can't be, can it? He was too busy with the snitch."

Harry simply shrugged as Madame Pomfrey came back around the corner. She was holding a large bottle labeled Skele-Gro.

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

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

"I hate this," Charlie groaned.

His friends stayed with him until the sun began to go down and they were urged to leave by Madame Pomfrey. Hermione was reluctant in leaving, she didn't like the idea of leaving Charlie in the state that he was in. So, she stayed with the boy for a little while longer after Harry and Ron left. Hermione knew it wouldn't be long before Madame Pomfrey would return and yell at her for still being there, but at this point she didn't care. The two of them silently gazed at one another before Charlie's eyes began to get heavy.

He was reluctant to shut his eyes because he wanted to stay in the moment with Hermione for a little while longer. However, much to his protest, sleep overcame him. The bushy haired girl could hear the clicking of Madame Pomfrey's heels in the far distance. With Charlie now asleep, she knew it was time for her to go. She took a few steps towards the hospital wing's exit before coming to a halt as a very risky idea came to her mind.

Hermione contemplated this idea for a few short moments before turning around and walking towards Charlie's hospital bed once more. She walked up to the side of his bed and smiled to herself as she leaned down and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight Charlie," she whispered.

As she pulled away, she silently squealed to herself before heading towards the exit once again. Hermione Granger went to bed that night proud of herself for making the bold move on the boy she couldn't stop thinking about. The only other thought that came across her mind was regarding what would've happened if she would have done that when the boy was awake. Would he be weirded out? Or would he have felt the same butterflies that she did in her stomach?

———————————————————

Hours later, Charlie 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 that was what had woken him. Then, with a thrill of horror, he realized that someone was sponging his forehead in the dark.

The brown eyed boy quickly sat up, "Woah!"

He turned to see a house elf standing on the bedside table with a sponge in hand. Charlie hadn't seen a house elf up close. He had only seen them briefly in passing when roaming the castle when he was a kid. The brown eyed boy was aware of the fact that house elves were used in the kitchens, but it was very rare to catch them not hard at work.

"Charlie Hawthorne!"

The brown eyed boy was confused as to how the small elf knew who he was, "Uh, yeah, that's me. Do I know you?"

"I'm Dobby, sir! Dobby the house elf." The house-elf's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at Charlie through the darkness.

Suddenly, Charlie remembered a brief conversation with Harry on the way back to the Burrow after rescuing him from the Dursley's. Harry had mentioned that he had been visited by a house-elf, "Dobby? You're the house elf Harry was talking about, I reckon?"

A single tear was running down Dobby's long, pointed nose as he nodded, "Harry Potter came back to school," he whispered miserably. "Dobby warned Harry Potter. Ah sir, why didn't Harry Potter listen to Dobby? Why didn't Harry Potter go back home when he and his friends missed the train?"

Charlie lifted himself up on his pillows and raised a brow in Dobby's direction, "I'm not sure I understand, Dobby." he paused, "Wait — how did you know that we missed the train?"

Dobby's lip trembled and the brown eyed boy was seized by a sudden suspicion.

"It was you!" he said slowly. "You stopped the barrier from letting Harry, Ron and I through!"

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

He was rocking backward and forward, shaking his head.

"Dobby was so shocked when he heard Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, sir"

Charlie slumped back onto his pillows, feeling kind of cross about the little house-elf's intentions.

"You nearly got us expelled," he said fiercely. "You'd better get lost before my bones grow back, Dobby, or I might strangle you."

Dobby got startled at Charlie's 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 Charlie 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, as he took notice of his appearance.

"This, sir?" said Dobby, 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 then he would be free to leave their house forever."

Charlie frowned at the house-elf's revelation of his enslavement. He hadn't realized that there could be cases where the house-elves didn't actually want to serve wizards or witches for a living. They were, despite their own wants, slaves without discussion.

Dobby mopped his bulging eyes and said suddenly, "Harry Potter must go home! Charlie Hawthorne must make Harry Potter go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would give Dobby a moment to ask Harry Potter's best friend, Charlie Hawthorne for help —"

"Your Bludger?" said Charlie, 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!" said Dobby, shocked. "Dobby needs Charlie Hawthorne's help! Dobby needed to talk Charlie Hawthorne in a private setting! Hogwarts' hospital wing is the only place Dobby could think of! Better gravely injured then unaware of the fate of his best friend, Harry Potter! Dobby is sorry sir, he never meant for Charlie Hawthorne to be upset with Dobby."

"Oh, is that right?" said Charlie angrily. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what is so important that I nearly had to die?! What's going on with Harry?"

"Ah, if Charlie Hawthorne only knew!" Dobby groaned, more tears dripping onto his ragged pillowcase. "Charlie Hawthorne must know of his influence in the wizarding world. Dobby knows that Charlie Hawthorne isn't like his father. He is kind, respectful, and empathetic. Which is why Charlie Hawthorne is so close with Harry Potter! They are the best of friends! Which is why Charlie Hawthorne must convince Harry Potter to leave Hogwarts! Dobby knows that those qualities will make Charlie Hawthorne understand why Dobby wants Harry Potter to leave! Charlie Hawthorne is the only one that Dobby thinks Harry Potter will listen to! Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is opened 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?" Charlie 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 is not Muggle-born how can he be in danger from the Chamber?"

"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby," stammered the elf, his eyes huge in the dark. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter must not be here when they happen. Charlie Hawthorne must tell Harry Potter to go home! Harry Potter gives us in the wizarding world hope after he defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! You must understand Charlie Hawthorne! Please understand!"

"Who is it, Dobby?" Charlie said, keeping a firm hold on Dobby's wrist to stop him from 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!" squealed the elf. "Tell Harry Potter to go home!"

"Harry isn't going to go anywhere!" said Charlie fiercely. "One of his best friends is Muggle-born; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened! Harry, Ron, and I can't let that happen. If it does, I don't know what I'll do."

"See! Charlie Hawthorne is willing to risk his own life for his friends!" moaned Dobby in a kind of miserable ecstasy. "So noble! So valiant! Which is why Charlie Hawthorne must listen to Dobby and tell Harry Potter to go home! Please! I am asking you to save Harry Potter!"

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

"Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified. There was a loud crack, and the brown 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," whispered Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Charlie's bed out of sight. Charlie 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. Charlie heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed.

"Another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

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

Charlie's 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 Collin Creevey. His eyes were wide and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera.

"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "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 Collin. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and wrenched the camera out of Collin's rigid grip.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" said Professor McGonagall eagerly.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera.

"Good gracious!" said Madam Pomfrey.

A jet of steam had hissed out of the camera. Charlie, three beds away, caught the acrid smell of burnt plastic.

"Melted," said Madame Pomfrey wonderingly. "All melted."

"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently.

"It means," said Dumbledore, "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," said Dumbledore, his eyes on Collin. "The question is, how."

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

McGonagall and Pomfrey headed towards the exit once they where sure Collin was safe in the hospital bed. Albus, however, had now stopped in in front of his grandson's bed and watched the boy as he pretended to sleep.

Albus sighed, "We have to figure this out quickly. Half of our students are now at risk, and fear is not something I wish upon any of these kids. I have seen firsthand what fear is capable of doing to young people and it's not something I will not stand for. We have to find the Chamber and whoever is behind these attacks."

With that, Albus turned on his heel and followed McGonagall and Pomfrey out of the hospital wing. Charlie laid in his hospital bed with his eyes now opened as his mind raced through several different thoughts.

What was going to happen to now that the chamber was open?

What would happen if Hermione was the next muggle-born petrified?

How would he be able to cope with that?

Was his grandfather's cryptic message about fear among young people sparked out of what had happened with Fenwick?

If so, had his fear really effected him that much to raise caution?

So many questions. Yet no answers.

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Author's Note:
*this chapter was not proof read*

A long chapter after being away for a couple of days! Hope you all enjoyed!

If you did, I'd really appreciate it if you could vote, comment or share with your friends! Thank you so much for 300+ views!

Until next time! Much love!

xo, Selena