Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 16 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Now that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, what will become of Hogwarts? What even IS the Chamber of Secrets? Well…it probably doesn’t really matter, right? No way the school year can be beholden to the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ and their attacks. Or can it?! Well, until something happens, Harry and Hermione have things to look into.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 16 – Chamber’s History and other Research

“You’re late, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall chastised Harry as he entered the classroom almost two minutes after they’d begun.

“A Wizard is never late, Professor McGonagall…nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.” Harry smiled at her and caught Hermione’s incredulous look out of the corner of his eye.

“Well, in the future, you should make sure that time is before class starts, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall shot him a stern look and pointed him to the seat next to Hermione.

Harry sat next to his best friend with a grin as McGonagall placed a bird on a small pedestal. It looked like the class would be working on animate to inanimate Transfiguration today.

“You did not just quote Gandalf to Professor McGonagall…” Hermione whispered to Harry, the mix of amusement and exasperation in her voice was telling of her opinion on his entrance.

“Gandalf was a great Wizard.” Harry stated with a nod. Uncle Ted had introduced a young Harry to the books of J.R.R. Tolkien years ago. Harry had very much enjoyed the stories of ‘The Hobbit’ and the trilogy following the Fellowship.

“Now that we are all present…” McGonagall shot a quick look at Harry. “Today, we’ll be transforming animals into water goblets.” She made sure that all of the students were paying attention. “Like so, one, two, three…” She gently touched the tip of her wand to the back of the bird she’d placed on the pedestal. “Vera Verto.” The bird changed into a silvery color and took on the shape of a goblet in a single flowing motion.

The awed sounds of several of the students rang out after the demonstration. McGonagall knew how to keep the attention of her class quite easily.

“Now, who’d like to go first?” McGonagall looked around the room. “Ah, Miss Abbot.” She nodded to the Hufflepuff girl. “One, two, three…Vera Verto.”

Hannah Abbot pointed her wand at the rat in front of her. She counted to three with three small taps of her wand before giving the spell a try. “Vera Verto!”

“Squeeek!” The rat made a noise before it turned a silvery color and then shaped into a slightly misshapen goblet.

“Not a bad first attempt, Miss Abbot, take ten points for Hufflepuff.” McGonagall rewarded the girl for succeeding on her first attempt.

“Thank you, Professor.” Hannah smiled at earning praise and House Points. By her side, Susan Bones whispered congratulations to her best friend.

Hermione raised her hand, getting McGonagall’s attention.

“Yes, Miss Granger?” McGonagall asked one of her brightest students.

“Professor, I was wondering if…you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?” Hermione requested politely. After seeing the threat painted on the walls, her curious mind had been dying to know what it was.

McGonagall, seeing the interested looks on the faces of her class, relented after a moment of silence. “Very well…” She took a breath as she began. “As you well know, Hogwarts was founded almost a thousand years ago by the four greatest Witches and Wizards of the Age. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.” Several of the students nodded silently along with her words. “Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not…”

“Three guesses who.” Harry murmured to Hermione.

McGonagall gave him a look for a second before continuing. “Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that Magical Learning should be kept within All-Magical Families, or in other words, purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school.” McGonagall turned back towards the front of the room as she walked between the students’ desks. “Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber within this castle, known only as the Chamber of Secrets. And, shortly before departing, he sealed it. Until that time when his own true Heir returned to the school. The Heir, alone, would be able to open the chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin’s view, were unworthy to study Magic.”

“Muggleborns.” Hermione stated with a sigh. It was easy to hear the disappointment in her voice that such a notable Wizard had such thoughts.

McGonagall gave her Hermione a small nod before she continued speaking. “Well, naturally, the school has been searched many times over the centuries. No such chamber has ever been found.”

“Professor, what does the legend say lies within the Chamber?” Hermione hadn’t even raised her hand to ask the question, a sure sign that she was very eager to know the answer.

“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.” McGonagall answered with a deep sigh. None of the legends surrounding the Chamber of Secrets had ever been very good. Slytherin had not done his reputation any favors with his outspoken views and his actions before leaving Hogwarts, never to return.

-Library ~ After Classes-

“Hermione…you, okay?” Tracy questioned curiously, seeing twice as many books as usual surrounding her Ravenclaw friend.

“I’m trying to learn more about the Chamber of Secrets.” Hermione replied while turning a page.

“Aren’t you still compiling your list of inconsistencies from all of Lockhart’s books?” Harry questioned her lightly. “You’re taking on another project at the same time.

“That’s rich, coming from you.” Daphne pointed out to him. “How many projects do you have going at any given time?”

“More than three.” Luna answered with a smile.

“She’s right.” Harry chuckled, pulling Luna into a side-hug. Luna’s smile grew brighter at the hug from her big brother.

“But the Chamber of Secrets seems dangerous, Mrs. Norris was attacked by this so-called Heir.” Hermione looked at her friends worriedly. “Harry, Tracy, and I are all either halfbloods or muggleborns.”

“How about I look into the Chamber of Secrets, and you continue finding out just how much of a fraud Lockhart is?” Harry suggested with a smile. He understood Hermione’s concern, but she was clearly freaking herself out more than necessary, at least from his viewpoint. “I know you plan to turn in your findings to McGonagall and Dumbledore as soon as you’re done.”

“But…Harry, you’re in danger too.” Hermione worried her lip, her concern for him was practically pouring off of her form.

“I can handle research, Hermione.” Harry chuckled, helping to clear some of the tension in the air. “It’s not like I’m going to charge into the Chamber of Secrets to try and fight whatever monster is supposedly lurking in there or anything.”

“You better not…” Hermione looked at him with a cute little pout.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t.” Luna volunteered, raising her hand like she was in class.

“Well, that settles it.” Tracy nodded with a giggle. “Harry can’t say ‘no’ to Luna.”

“Are you gonna be like this with my little sister too?” Daphne eyed Harry with a little smirk. “I’m sure Astoria would love to have a big brother that dotes on her so much.”

“Is that an offer of something, Daphne…” Harry gave her a ‘suave’ smile.

“You wish.” Daphne waved him off. “Just don’t spoil her rotten. Our parents do that already.”

“I promise nothing.” Harry grinned broadly at Daphne.

“Prat.” Daphne and Hermione both said at the same time. The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

‘Tension broken. Hermione laughing. Everything is how it should be.’ Harry nodded to himself with a smile.

-November 8th ~ Hogwarts Infirmary-

Everything was NOT how it should be!

On the infirmary bed lay Colin Creevey, a rather excitable First Year muggleborn student that had a hobby of photography. The boy had even gotten a picture with Harry in September, and Harry had jokingly autographed it for the boy. But now the brown-haired Gryffindor student was petrified. Another attack by the ‘Heir of Slytherin’, the first since Halloween night.

Dumbledore had requested Harry’s assistance, both because he’d seen Harry cure petrification before and because Harry was a certified Charms Master, to help Colin recover. The boy had been found with his camera in hand, and thinking they might get a picture of the attacker, the Professors had tried to access the film. What they got was the acrid smell and sight of melted film. Whoever or whatever had attacked Colin had made sure to destroy the evidence. Dumbledore had then called on Harry’s assistance in hopes of getting what information that they could from Colin about who or what had attacked him.

“I’ve put in the order for a dozen Mandrake Draughts from St. Mungos, Headmaster, they’ll be here the day after tomorrow.” Poppy Pomfrey, Hogwarts’ resident Healer, spoke to Dumbledore while casting glances at Harry and Colin. She was clearly wary of a student attempting to heal another student, especially from petrification, but Dumbledore was the one that gave Harry permission to help the young Creevey boy.

“Mmm…” Harry gently placed his hand on Colin’s shoulder, gently pouring just a bit of his Magic into the other boy. He found Colin’s Magic was indeed in the same ‘frozen’ state that Mrs. Norris’s had been in. “Mah, mah…” Harry hummed a little as he used Magic Manipulation to slowly breakdown the ‘frozen’ Magic and return it to its normal state of flowing through the body. Being that Colin was a human, and much larger than a cat, it took more time for Harry to undo the petrification.

“Huh?” Colin blinked and was clearly curious as to where he was. “Where?” He sat up and saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, Harry, and Madam Pomfrey looking at him.

“Welcome back, Colin.” Harry greeted the First Year with a smile. It went a long way to settling Colin down as the boy smiled back at Harry.

“Hey, Harry.” Colin greeted the other boy. “Why am I in the Hospital Wing?”

“We’re hoping to ask you about that, Mr. Creevey.” Dumbledore took over, the twinkle returned to his eyes now that his student was returned to health. “You were found petrified with your camera in hand. But when we tried to see if you had been able to take a picture of your attacker, all we found was melted film inside your camera. Can you tell us who or what attacked you?”

“I’m not sure, Headmaster.” Colin shook his head a little. “I was taking pictures of the castle to send back to my dad and little brother, then I heard a sound behind me, like something dragging over the floor. When I turned around to see what it was, there were two large, bright yellow eyes…I think?” Colin scratched his head, clearly not sure if what he thought he saw was real. “I saw them through my camera, so I don’t know if that’s what they really were. But I did see two bright yellow glowing things. Maybe they were just shaped like eyes?” The First Year clearly hadn’t gotten a good look at his attacker.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Creevey.” Dumbledore smiled genially at the young student. “Poppy will be giving you a thorough check up, and if everything looks alright, then Professor McGonagall will take you back to Gryffindor Tower.”

“Yes, sir.” Colin agreed with a quick nod of his head. “See you later, Harry!” He waved to the slightly older boy.

“Later, Colin.” Harry waved back as he walked away with Dumbledore. “Two large, glowing, yellow eyes? That’s unsettling.”

“Very much so.” Dumbledore agreed with the prodigious Spellcrafter. “But was it truly a pair of eyes from a beast of some kind, or merely a spell to obscure the attacker’s identity?” There were a myriad of spells that could obscure the truth behind illusion and façade. No one with the ability to curse others with petrification should have any issue with a much simpler obscuration spell.

“Is Hogwarts going to need to shutdown until this ‘Heir of Slytherin’ can be found, Headmaster?” Harry asked the logical question.

“I fear that the ‘Heir’ is a student.” Dumbledore shared his foremost concern. “Sending the students away would send the attacker away before we can identify them. It’s a bit of a ‘Catch 22’ as the muggle saying goes. If we send the students away for their safety, we send away the attacker to potentially hurt others as well.” Dumbledore seemed to sag in on himself for a moment. “Hogwarts will remain open for now. We were lucky that this incident didn’t result in worse for Mr. Creevey and that it was a Professor that found him. Panic shouldn’t spread among the students at the very least. We’ll be performing a sweep of all students’ belongings shortly to look for any items of suspicion that could be used to curse someone with petrification.”

“That’s probably a good first step.” Harry couldn’t think of anything better right off the bat. Getting the Aurors involved when be the next logical step. But the ‘Heir’ was apparently rather good at covering their tracks.

“The students’ safety must be assured.” Dumbledore stated firmly. “If we cannot find the culprit then I shall make inquiries with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures if we determine that it is indeed a Magical Beast of some kind.”

“If anything happens that I can help with, just let me know.” Harry nodded to Dumbledore.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter, however…” Dumbledore looked Harry in the eye. “I would like you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone of this second incident.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.” Harry nodded to the old Wizard. It wasn’t hard to figure out why. Dumbledore was obviously hoping to find the perpetrator during the upcoming sweep of all student belongings. If Harry went around telling people that Colin had been attacked, it would incite fear and may tip off the ‘Heir’ before the searches began.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at Harry and bid him a goodnight as Harry left the Hospital Wing. “Minerva, we’ll be having a faculty meeting tonight and classes will be cancelled tomorrow. We’ll be searching the belongings of every student in the castle for any contraband or dark magical objects.”

“Yes, Headmaster.” Minerva nodded to Dumbledore, seeing the look on his face. She’d impress on Mr. Creevey not to talk about his incident until this Chamber threat had been dealt with.

-Monday ~ November 9th-

The castle was in a state of lockdown as the Professors kept all of the students in the Great Hall after breakfast. They were all told, in no uncertain terms, that everyone’s belongings were going to be searched for any contraband or dark objects that could’ve caused the incident with Mrs. Norris. This included making all students turn out their pockets and have spells meant to find hidden objects cast upon them. As such, all classes were cancelled for the day.

“Everyone stays in line!” Filch growled at the lined up students. “No one hands anyone anything, understand?” He glared at all of them sharply. “If I even think I see you do so, both of the one’s doing it are getting dragged to the front of the line!” The surly Caretaker of the castle was keeping the students that had been searched separate from the students that still needed to be searched.

While Filch, Professor Sinistra, and Professor Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures) were dealing with the students in the Great Hall, the rest of the faculty was searching every inch of all four Common Rooms along with every student’s personal belongings.

-End of the Day-

“A few objects of questionable nature, a couple dozen bottles of various alcohols, and some banned items were all that our search turned up.” Dumbledore went over the list of confiscated items. “I trust that those with alcohol found in their possession have been given appropriate punishments?” He looked at the Four Heads of House for confirmation.

“Yes, sir.” Professor Sprout nodded, heaving a sigh that a few of them had been her Puffs. “I’m having them clean all of the greenhouses by hand, and plant all of the starter seedlings for the spring semester’s curriculum. It should take them at least seven detentions to complete.”

“Of course.” Snape drawled, but those that knew the dour man saw the displeasure in his eyes. He disliked punishing his own House, but there was no choice in this case. “I’ll have them scrubbing cauldrons every night this week after dinner to keep them away from such things.” Snape knew that he, even more than the others, had to inform the rest of the Professors of the punishment he was giving out if he didn’t want them to think he was letting his Slytherins off the hook.

“The student offenders under my care have lost all extracurricular privileges for two weeks, Headmaster.” Flitwick gave a nod to Dumbledore. “That includes Mr. Davies from the Quidditch Team.”

“I’m having my students’ scrub and mop bathrooms under Argus’s chaperone for the next week after dinner.” McGonagall nodded tersely. She was most upset that her students would smuggle alcohol into Hogwarts. Not Butterbeer…legitimate alcohol like Fire Whiskey and wine!

“I’ve examined the items of questionable nature.” Dumbledore informed his staff. “Two were protective objects, though the method of protection involved potentially serious injury to the one that activated it. Three others were charmed with Lock Picking spells. The last one was a pair of glasses charmed to see through clothing.” Dumbledore let out a sigh at that one. He’d seen a few such objects in his time as a Professor. “All have been confiscated and parents have been sent letters via owl to discuss why their children possessed such items.”

“That means that we have no leads though.” Professor Vector, a rather stern Witch that taught Arithmancy, stated plainly.

“I’m afraid not.” Dumbledore agreed. “I’ll need to make some inquires with the DMLE and hope that we can settle this matter with some Auror support without having to interrupt the school year.”

“Better to temporarily close the school than for one of our students to get hurt, or worse.” Professor Babbling spoke up, the Ancient Runes Professor looking at each of her colleagues.

“Agreed. The students come first and foremost.” Professor Burbage (Muggle Studies) nodded to Babbling in wholehearted agreement.

“If I can convince Amelia, I hope to have Alastor come to Hogwarts and search the grounds.” Dumbledore informed the Professors of his plan. “If any Auror can track down this ‘Heir of Slytherin’, then I have no doubt that Alastor is the one.”

No one commented on how silent Lockhart had been during this meeting. But the blonde man knew he was on thin ice after his first class had gone so horribly wrong. It was better to say nothing than to potentially be fired from Hogwarts and stain his carefully built reputation.

-Hogwarts Library ~ Saturday-

“I’m telling you guys, there have been Aurors poking around the corridors after dinner. A few people have seen them!” Tracy spoke in a hushed whisper to her friends.

“It’s probably because of the Halloween incident with the Chamber.” Daphne shrugged it off without much care. “The sweep of our belongings didn’t turn up the culprit, so now Aurors have to get involved. That’s only natural.”

“I agree.” Hermione nodded to Daphne. “What this ‘Heir’ did was horrible. They should be punished for it.”

“Petrification is no joke.” Harry shook his head, having had to undo it twice now. “I’m not surprised that the Headmaster has brought in Aurors to try and find the culprit.” He flipped to the next page in the tome he was browsing through in his search for more information about the Chamber of Secrets.

“I hope no one else gets hurt.” Luna worried about the safety of the other students. She got a gentle headpat from Harry and smiled at him.

“You’re an angel, Luna.” Harry smiled at his little sister fondly.

“Ah, Harry, sorry to bother you.” Terry Boot had walked over to their study table with a book in hand.

“No problem, Terry, what’s up?” Harry looked at his friend with a grin.

“I’m having trouble understanding whether or not Transmogrification plays a part in inanimate to inanimate Transfiguration, or if it only refers to inanimate to animate and animate to animate.” Terry pointed out the part of the chapter he was having trouble with.

“Transmogrification is usually reserved for the use of permanent Transfigurations,” Harry happily explained to his friend and housemate. “Animate to animate or otherwise doesn’t play a part in the overall definition of the process. It’s just a way to differentiate between standard Transfigurations that revert back to their original form over time, and permanent Transfigurations.”

“Really?” Terry reread the section of the chapter again. “The way this is worded makes it seem like Transmogrification is a part of all Transfiguration spells.”

“Veere was a Master of Transfiguration, but from the few books of his I read, he tends to be overly verbose about the process.” Harry mentioned the author’s name with a shrug. Terry actually looked at the cover to see the name ‘Lyman Veere’ on the bottom.

“So, he’s using Transmogrify more as a verb, rather than a noun?” Terry questioned his prodigy friend. “If I read it like that, then it definitely makes more sense.”

“Like I said, overly verbose.” Harry laughed lightly.

“Thanks, Harry, we’ve been stuck on this for almost half an hour.” Terry smiled at Harry in thanks while motioning over his shoulder to a table a good distance away where Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein were sitting.

“No problem, Terry, happy to help.” Harry assured the other boy. Terry headed back to his table to share the new information with the other two Ravenclaw First Years.

“Hey, Harry, if you’re giving out help…” Tracy grinned and flipped her book around. “How about explaining this part more simply?” She pointed to a part of the page she was on that she didn’t understand.

“I’ll help you.” Daphne took Tracy’s book in hand. “Harry’s doing something else right now.

“You’re the best, Daphne!” Tracy beamed at her friend in a very over-the-top manner.

“I have to be to deal with you.” Daphne smirked and Tracy pouted at her friend. No one at the table, other than Harry, saw the note that Daphne had slipped to Harry when she pulled the book towards herself.

‘Winter break, anytime.’ Harry read off the note. He caught Daphne’s eyes and gave a slight nod before Vanishing the small scrap of parchment with an exhale of breath.

“There’s another one!” Hermione was quickly writing onto her ‘Lockhart Fraud Report’ as Harry was calling it. “Wanderings with Werewolves…my foot.” She grumbled out something that sounded like ‘Homorphus Charm’ and then the word ‘uncurable’ a second later. “When did he have time to go to Australia that year? He was supposed to be captured by Trolls during that time.”

“That report is getting pretty long.” Luna remarked, seeing Hermione finish filling another page of parchment.

“Lockhart is just that much of a fraud.” Harry chuckled before returning to his book. ‘The Chamber of Secrets was known to exist shortly before Salazar left the castle. But he sealed it and never told anyone how to find it. If that’s the case…how does anyone know what’s in it? For that matter, what’s capable of living for a thousand years locked up in a chamber?’ Every book he read that even briefly mentioned the Chamber of Secrets all said the same things. But something didn’t seem right. ‘If Salazar Slytherin had never told anyone where the Chamber was or what was in it, then who started the legend that it was a monster to wipe out the muggleborns from Hogwarts?’ There was also the fact that a few Magical Families had claimed direct descent from Slytherin over the centuries. The man was known to have had at least one child as well, though some sources said it was two children. That meant he had heirs too, people that could open the Chamber, if they found it. ‘Perhaps it’s time to look into the tangled lines of British Magical Genealogy?’ Harry mused to himself. Not that it interested him much at all. No one today claimed any ancestry to the Slytherin Line, that he knew of anyway. ‘Maybe they all died out?’ He hypothesized and began thinking deeper. Perhaps finding out what happened to the last Family claiming to be Slytherin descendants would help figure out this Chamber of Secrets legend?

-November 15th-

Harry knocked on the door to Hagrid’s hut. What he’d fond by tracing back the last known Slytherin descendants had led to a rather curious time discrepancy after he’d found out that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before decades ago. That was probably the first time Harry felt like thanking the Daily Prophet for anything, though it had taken him the last few days to search all of the back issues that were preserved in the library.

“I’m comin’…” Hagrid’s voice called out and the heavy wooden door opened a moment later. “Harry?” Hagrid’s face lit up with a smile beneath his bushy beard. “Good to see you! Come in, come in!” He welcomed Harry inside. “Tea?”

“Thank you, Hagrid.” Harry nodded as he went to sit in one of the large chairs around Hagrid’s table.

In short order, Hagrid and Harry were sitting together sipping tea, chatting, and eating Hagrid’s Rock Cakes. Harry had found them a bit too hard to bite through, so a simple Softening Charm was used. The cakes were actually pretty tasty when they didn’t require you to crack a tooth to eat them.

“I always new you’d be a great Wizard, Harry!” Hagrid chortled deeply, praising all of Harry’s accomplishments. “Ye said ya needed to ask me somethin’?”

“Yes,” Harry nodded with a small smile. “It has to do with the whole Chamber of Secrets thing from Halloween.” He began and continued when Hagrid nodded a moment later. “I found out that someone supposedly opened it back in 1943 and your name came up in the old Prophet article. But the article said something about you having a creature that attacked and killed a student?”

“Aragog never hurt nobody!” Hagrid shook his head forcefully. “Prefect Riddle caught me with Aragog and scared him off into the Forbidden Forest. But he’d never left me room! I ended up expelled because of that…” He took a long drink from his tea, looking gloomy.

“They never rescinded your expulsion?” Harry felt that was wrong. “Didn’t they question you about the Chamber?”

“O’ course they did.” Hagrid shook his head at the memories. “They kept me at the Ministry for a full day and night, asking me question after question. I couldn’t tell them where the Chamber was because I didn’t know. When I told them Aragog was an Acromantula, they slapped my father with a large fine and maintained my expulsion.”

“I see…” Harry looked thoughtful for a long moment, as he sipped his tea. “It’s strange though…the last Family claiming to be descendants of Slytherin were the Gaunts, if my research is correct. But they didn’t have any family in Hogwarts when you were in school. So, who was the ‘Heir’ that opened the Chamber back then?”

“Even Dumbledore was never able ta figure that out, Harry.” Hagrid shook his head slightly. “He tried to get me back into school, but the Ministry wouldn’t allow it. Said I’d endangered the entire school by keeping an Acromantula as a pet. So, Dumbledore got me the job as Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts instead. Great man, Dumbledore.” He took a bite of the last Rock Cake.

“How strange…” Harry murmured over the situation with the Chamber in the early Forties. “A student dies, the Chamber is never found, and the only suspect is proven innocent of being involved with it at all. Everything just stopped and then disappeared.”

“Aye,” Hagrid nodded, the memories were unpleasant for him, but he could see why a smart boy like Harry would find the situation back in the day so odd, especially after the Chamber had been opened again. “Well, enough about the sad things, I’ve got some interestin’ news!”

“What’s that?” Harry asked, putting his thoughts away for later.

“Since I never got to graduate Hogwarts, I can’t use a wand…they snapped me old one.” His eyes briefly drifted to his umbrella stand and the large pink umbrella within. “But with Dumbledore and Professor Kettleburn’s help, I’ve been able to go about getting certified to teach Care of Magical Creatures startin’ next year!”

“You’re going to be a Professor, Hagrid?” Harry smiled brightly at the gentle giant. “That’s great!”

“Thank ye, Harry!” Hagrid smiled so broadly his beard moved. “I’ve always loved animals and beasts. Now I can make use of that and pass on some knowledge to the kids!”

“Brilliant!” Harry cheered and Hagrid laughed brightly, the bellowing sound filling the hut. “I’ll have to take Care of Magical Creatures as an elective next year.”

“I’d appreciate that, Harry.” Hagrid nodded, still smiling brightly. “I’m working on a schedule for the classes with Kettleburn. He says I shouldn’t be showing off large beasts to the younger years…but that the older years will enjoy them.”

“So, is the first class going to be Crups or something?” Harry asked, since the Magical Dogs were friendly enough when raised properly.

“That’s not a bad idea…” Hagrid ran his hand through his bushy beard. “Kids love dogs, and only cats make me sneeze. Hmm…”

The two chatted about Hagrid’s upcoming position for a while longer before Harry had to leave.

‘So, Hagrid was expelled for the illegal Acromantula ownership, not the student death. But the Chamber incident stopped completely after Hagrid was expelled and no trace of the Chamber of Secrets was ever found.’ Harry thought to himself as he walked back up towards the castle. Too many things didn’t make sense about the case from the Forties. Why did it suddenly stop, and why did no one pursue it any further afterwards? A student had died! ‘They didn’t give the student’s name in the Prophet article, so I don’t have any leads there. If I was a snake obsessed Parselmouth Wizard, where would I hide a Chamber?’ The Dungeons were too obvious, and probably the most searched during any attempt to find the Chamber over the centuries.

Harry passed through the gates and looked up at the castle for a long moment. He saw other students wandering around all over the large courtyard and couldn’t help but wonder if any one of them was the ‘Heir’ that had opened the Chamber again. The last time the Chamber was opened a student died. This time Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey had been petrified. Was that proof that the ‘Heir’ was different from the one that opened the Chamber back in the Forties?

“I miss just making spells.” Harry exhaled long and hard. Give him the mystery of figuring out a new spell over this Chamber stuff any day of the week!

“Hi, Harry!” Luna called out as she skipped towards her big brother.

“Luna!” Harry put the Chamber stuff out of his mind for now and accepted the hug from his little sister. “What’re you up to?”

“I’m looking for Ginny, I haven’t seen her much today.” Luna smiled up at Harry. “She seems to be a little distant recently. I hope she’s not feeling unwell.”

“Maybe she’s just looking forward to the winter break? Be able to go back home and everything?” Harry suggested as he walked with Luna on her hunt for the youngest Weasley.

“I hope so.” Luna smiled as she tried to spot Ginny among the students that they were passing. “If we don’t find her, I’ll ask her brothers.”

“That’s the easiest way.” Harry nodded in agreement, a smile on his face at the fact that Luna was making a physical search first, instead of just asking Fred, George, Ron, or Percy. ‘I could always use my Locator Spell too.’ The Spellcrafter thought to himself as he let Luna lead him along.

-End Chapter-

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Curiouser and curiouser…the Chamber of Secrets is a type of mystery that Harry’s not used to. He can’t just use his deep and intuitive understanding of Magic to figure this one out.

Hermione is tearing through Lockhart’s books and recording every inconsistency and discrepancy that she finds into a report! Lockhart’s lies are slowly becoming a noose around his neck. And all because he lied in books! *Cackles*

Daphne is secretly setting up a time for Harry to come remove the Blood Malediction from her family over the winter break. Talk about a Christmas present, right?!

Luna is adorable! But she also is seeing less and less of her friend Ginny lately. That’s strange, but it’s probably nothing…probably.

Hagrid has gotten his certification to teach Care of Magical Creatures! Woohoo! Welcome to Professor Hagrid next year! It might be one of the few classes that Harry actually shows up for! He will be starting those rebellious teenage years by that time. Kek!

What will happen next during Harry’s second year at Hogwarts?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!