Well, that was unexpected.
As Professor McGonagall had promised, the goblin team of cursebreakers and warders had come to Hogwarts as September came to an end for their inspection. All day they've been seen walking around the castle, sometimes chanting, sometimes seen poking one thing or another. It was interesting. Most students had never even seen a goblin outside of Gringotts. A lot never even realised they were more than bankers.
The muggleborns looked with wide eyes at all the strange magic happening around them. Colin had grabbed his camera and was snapping pictures whenever he could. The small boy seemed to amuse the goblins with his enthusiasme which was surprising. On the other hand, goblins seemed to really like children. Harry remembered the care they showed him this summer. He would be forever grateful to them.
Professor Flitwick got a lot of questions about the strange language the goblins were speaking and the magic they cast, which he was all to glad to answer. Professor Binns had always painted the goblins as a dumb, greedy and agressive warrior race in his classes but all students could see that that wasn't true.
The goblins had a beautiful magic all of their own.
The goblin teams even interrupted their classes sometimes that day. Most teachers just ignored their goblin guests so the students did the same. They just quietly went around the room they entered and just as quietly went away again. It was when Harry was sitting, well trying not to fall asleep in his History of Magic class that another goblin team walked inside.
Professor Binns took one look at the goblin squad coming into his classroom and seemed to decide that the afterlife was something for him after all. Cuthbert Binns glowed and after a short moment, quickly disappeared into nothing.
A standing ovation later, the Headmistress herself came to take over History of Magic after she heard what happened. She would cancel all the other classes until she could find a replacement. Honestly, their new Headmistress was clearly happy to see that old ghost gone from her school. Saved her an exorcisme.
After that brilliant moment, classes continued as usual and by dinner time the wards were up in full power. Professor McGonagall assured them all that the castle was safe now. Curses have been removed, dark objects have been sold to Gringotts and all animals inside and on the grounds were now safe for children to be around.
The goblins had also placed wards around the Forbidden Forest so that only adults were able to enter and no creature was able to escape. The Centaurs in particulair were grateful for that. Now they wouldn't have to bring mischievous students out of the Forest. They never want to leave the forest anyway since it was their home but also their only protection against humans wishing them harm.
Just look at how people like Umbridge treated them. Like they were dumb creatures, monsters. No, Harry knew differently. They were different, yes, but not monsters, and certainly not dumb. They had a different outlook on life and a different culture to go with it. Harry thought it was that way with all creatures in the Wizarding World. Just look at the House-Elves, goblins, merpeople etc.
They all had their own habits, cultures and everything really. And that was alright. Harry didn't understand why so many people wanted them gone. It wasn't like they harmed anyone. Hermione agreed with him. She wanted to fight for their rights and was studying from some law books for it. Just in case anything like with Buckbeak happened again.
There had been a few surprising curses inside Hogwarts. The one on the DADA postition had been removed fairly easily so now there could be a DADA teacher for longer than a year. But there had also been one on the Hogwarts staircases no one had known about. Now they would still move, but only to the places they were supposed to in a predicatable pattern. No more accidents or students late for class because of them.
The school felt safe again. Safe and welcoming in ways it never did before. Harry could feel Hogwarts magic gently poking him and wondered if the school knew he was the new Lord Slytherin.
Hogwarts had alsways been more of a home to Harry in ways the school wasn't to his peers.
Sitting at dinner that evening with Hermione at his side he waited for the Daily Prophet to arrive. Another front page article about him made by Skeeter would be spread all over Britain this evening. Harry knew that this one and all the ones after would be getting a lot more personal. The owls started swooping down and Harry accepted a newspaper from one of them.
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened
In an earlier article we discussed some about our dear Mr. Potter's years at our great school. Since there is a lot to cover we decided it was best to share my findings a year at a time with you, dear readers. One would think that the Troll, Cerberus and the dangerous maze full of challenges would be bad enough, but no, it gets worse.
Harry Potter was only twelve years old and in his second year when the Chamber of Secrets is opened. Yes, loyal readers, the Chamber of Secrets.
Written in bright red blood with a petrified cat under it is announced: The Chamber of Secrets had been opened, Enemies of the Heir beware!
That was only the start of this horrible year. Multiple students got petrified and when our Boy-Who-Lived was outed as a Parslemouth, an ability our muggle raised Mr. Potter didn't even know he had let alone what it would mean, he was shunned by his peers. So the accusations started. Bullying.
Mr. Potter's own peers called him a murderer, a dark wizard. Heir of the same Dark Lord who killed his parents in cold blood. And where were the teachers in all this, I ask?
Certainly not helping our young hero. No, they just stood by to watch him be ignored, bullied and shunned by the other students. No one helped the young boy. No teacher, not the Headmaster. Only a few friends stood with him. Meanwhile more students got attacked by the Monster of Slytherin.
Minister Fudge was heard saying as he arrested Rubeus Hagrid 'We must be seen doing something!'. Minister Fudge sent an innocent man to Azkaban without evidence of wrong doing. How many other are sent to Azkaban without trial?
But I digressed, it was Hermione Granger, now the girlfriend of our Boy-Who-Lived and a brilliant witch who discovered what was attacking our children. She connected the clues that even the adults in the school couldn't find and discovered what the Monster of Slytherin was, a 1000 year old Basilisk.
Unfortunately, both she and another student got petrified before she could share her findings.
But Hermione Granger, brilliant girl that she is, still had a page about the Basilisk clutched in her hand with 'the pipes' written on it in her own handwriting. A page our Mr. Potter found while visiting his best friend.
Immediately understanding what his friend had discovered, he went to find a teacher. While searching for a teacher, Harry overheard something terrible. A student had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. A young girl, Miss Ginny Weasley.
According to multiple sources in Hogwarts it was then that our young hero decided that enough was enough. Together with another friend, the brother of the missing girl, he went to find a teacher. Because while searching for the real Heir of Slytherin, Harry and his friends found out where the Chamber of Secrets was likely to be.
Together with their DADA teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, they went down to the Chamber of Secrets. But Gilderoy Lockhart was not the strong and brave man he portrayed himself as. Attacking the two second year students he admitted he Obliviated and took the credit for the acclomplishments of others.
None of the things he said he did in any of his books were actually his own. And now he was planning on doing it again. To two young children, his own students.
Luckily, one of the wands was broken and Gilderoy Obliviated himself instead of the two brave boys, causing a cave in. Our Mr. Potter went on while his friend stayed with the confused and completely memory-less professor.
What exacly happened in the Chamber of Secrets we shall probably never know. All we know is that our young hero came out of the Chamber with Miss Weasley, Mr Weasley, Lockhart and the sword of Gryffindor. Not to mention the Phoenix carrying them all out.
All we know is that the Basilisk of Salazar Slytherin is dead, Mr Potter slayed the old beast.
Soon after all the petrified students got cured and the school was safe again. But was it really?
Why did the Headmaster let it go so far? Why not call for help? Why did no one help our Mr. Potter when all the students turned on him? What exacly happened in the Chamber of Secrets?
Luckily, I Rita Skeeter knew exacly who to ask. Mr. Potter and the new Headmistress were so kind as to allow me a short visit in the famed Chamber of Secrets itself! And let me tell you, dear readers, what I saw was truly horrifying.
[See pictures of the Chamber and the monster of Slytherin]
Twelve year old, our Boy-Who-Lived. Twelve years old and already made to face such horrible things. Let us hope that his other years at Hogwarts are less fraught with danger.
Minevra McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts page 4.
The passing of Aberforth Dumbledore page 12.
Where is Albus Dumbledore? Page 15.
Mysterious disappearance of Wesley Weasley page 18.
Harry had been reading the article with hot cheeks. Hermione grabbed his hand as she read out of the same newspaper. It was embarrassing to read how he had been shunned and bullied by the students of Hogwarts and ignored by the teachers. He felt their eyes on him and he had to deliberately straighten his shoulders, he had nothing to be ashamed of.
Ginny was sitting with her boyfriend, Dean. Harry had warned her about the subject of this article and while she was pale while reading about her traumatising first year, there was something fierce in her attitude.
Still, Harry could feel the stares of others burning in his back. He met the eyes of some of them and he was gratified to see them avoid his eyes in shame.
Hermione squeezed his hand in support and Neville bumped his knee against Harry's.
"Chin up, love. They were in the wrong and it's high time they all face what they did." Hermione spoke softly but with steel in her voice. Hermione had been the most vocal about the failings of the teachers. She was used to the cruelty of children but for the teacher to behave in such way as they did here was shameful in her eyes. Harry agreed even though he was used to both children and adults acting like that. Privet Drive had been no different.
He suddenly realised that she called him love.
Feeling a warm feeling spread through his body Harry kissed the side of her head in thanks. He knew that Hermione was right, really he knew that. He was the victim here and while that stung, he needed to show that he came out stronger. Harry had Hermione and Neville, Susan, Hannah, Ron, Ginny and Luna too. He had so many friends now.
Peeking over to the High Table Harry saw the ashamed looks on some of the teachers faces. Good, he thought a bit spitefully. They should be ashamed. How many cases of bullying have they ignored? It has been going on for years, he knew.
Harry could vividly remember the memory in Snape's Pensieve. His own father had gone too far. Sirius had gone too far. Harry was pretty sure that Snape had gone to far too but that was no excuse. Children should be taught to do better. It was the responsibility of the adults, the teachers in this boarding school. They needed to do better.
"Harry, mate, you know this is a good thing. The teachers and students need to see what their negligence and cruelty did, and not just to you. Luna is still dealing with her own 'Nargles' and it needs to stop."
Neville was right. Harry had promised to help Luna and while he was a better friend now, he was still in a different House than the dreamy girl. He couldn't be there all the time.
Still, Luna and Ginny had joined them in their training in the last few days and it was going well. It wouldn't take long before Luna would be able to do something herself about those bothersome Nargles.
Finishing dinner, Harry met up with his other friends to go to The Room of Requirement. Today they'd agreed to first train on their own. Harry was trying for an new element, lightning this time, for his wolves. Hermione was getting some shooting practise and Neville had found some interesting charms in the RoR which made plants grow in a offensive way.
Magical plants, Harry and his friends discovered, could be truly horrifying in battle when used right.
Susan was using Transfiguration to subdue her dummy and Hannah was using her disarm-bind-stun combo. Ginny loved her prank spells and was also very good in fire spells. She seemed to have founds some inspiration from Harry's elemental wolves and was now trying to combine her bat-bogey hex and fire. Fire bat-bogeys. Harry was both kinda horrified and jealous of her mind.
Luna, well Luna was using Transfiguration and Charms in a interesting way. It looked like she was casting illusions to distract and then used Transfiguration to trip or bind her opponment. Luna had also become good friends with the Room of Requirement. Don't ask Harry how but Luna barely had to ask for something before the room already provided it. With a lot of enthusiasme even.
In a moment of rest Susan and Hannah turned to him.
Susan took his hand in hers and asked him, "Did I ever apologise to you for my behavior back then? For our second year but also our fourth?" Susan continued after taking a deep breath, "We are really sorry, Harry. We were dumb and rude and we should never have been so judgemental about something we didn't know anything about."
Hannah put her own hand over their joined hands and asked him with big teary eyes, "Can you forgive us?"
It was a relief in some way to finally hear an apology. Susan and Hannah hadn't been the biggest bullies here but even they'd made some comments and snide looks in his direction back then.
Still his answer wasn't hard, "Of course you are forgiven! You're my friends, both of you. Thank you for making the effort to actually say something about it but really, it's all in the past now. We are a team and I like the way we are."
They visibly relaxed at that and he had to chuckle at the look on their faces. That set of the rest of them and soon they were all laughing.
Then the ones who had met their animal prepared themselves for another try to turn into their animal. Harry was deeply meditating when he suddenly felt something click deep inside him.
Suddenly he was standing on four paws and was wagging his tail in joy. Merlin, he did it!
"Merlin Harry, you did it!" Multiple voices shouted in sync.
His tail wagged even harder and some snickers sounded. His ears swerved and found a chuckling Neville with the paws of his bear instead of hands.
Harry decided to have some fun of his own. With a slight push of his paws he jumped his best friend and licked him straight in the face.
"Ugh gross, Harry!"
Jumping off his friend he went to Hermione. She looked very charming with her whiskers and cat ears. He put his nose in her neck and just relaxed for a moment. She smelled lovely and he nuzzeled her gently.
She petted his head and told him fondly, "You are a beautiful wolf, Harry."
Then she asked the Room for a mirror so that he could see himself turned into his wolf for the first time. He was big, that was the first thing he noticed. A big black wolf that reminded him a bit of Padfoot. His green eyes looked fierce and his coat was thick and looked soft.
Hermione was right, he was beautiful.
He had his Marauder name ready. In honor of Sirius but also truly fitting for his black wolf he had decided on Grim.
He still missed his blood-adopted father but it wasn't as painful as it used to be. He saw pieces of Sirius in himself since the blood-adoption and it made him feel like he wasn't completely lost to Harry. Even his Animagnus form was a bit like Sirius's grim. It was comforting.
After everyone was turned back into their normal human shape they went to talk strategy. The Hogsmeade trip was coming up and Dumbledore still hadn't been found. Amelia was working very hard but she hadn't succeeded yet. Amelia told him in her latest letter that she was making a case to arrest Umbridge. The Toad was crafty and had a lot of time to erase her crimes but Amelia assured him that she was closing in on the horrible pink Toad.
Harry couldn't wait.
Harry was planning on meeting Andromeda, Ted and Tonks there and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley too for a lunch at the Three Broomsticks but before that he'd go for a round around the village and the shops there with Hermione and the rest of his friends. No one would be alone when out of the castle.
They all knew Harry's luck so they needed to prepared for absolutely anything.