"I've just been practicing when I need a break from Enchanting." Harry shrugged since he'd been trying to keep as even a balance between Wandless practice and Enchanting as he could. He'd Wandlessly completed a nifty new Charm yesterday called 'Similitudo' or the 'Reflected Image' Charm. It made an illusionary copy of the caster that mimicked all of the person's actions, but in the opposite, just like a reflection in a mirror. To test it Harry had cast the spell and then walked towards a wall of his workshop. To his amusement the copy had walked in the opposite direction. He thought he might show this one to Tonks, since it could be useful for confusing a hostile Witch or Wizard.
"You've got to be cheating somehow." Mandy playfully accused and Harry stuck his nose in the air and acted snooty to go along with it. It was an enjoyable study session and Harry could only smile when he saw how well Luna had been integrated into their little study group. It was nice to see the First Year laughing as she listened to Mandy make jokes.
-Halloween-
It was a lovely and festive feast to celebrate the holiday and Harry was having a good time. Penny had to constantly check on Luna to make sure the girl didn't eat nothing but sweets for the whole feast. This made Harry chuckle as he let himself have an extra helping of treacle tart. The decorations were fabulous, just as they were last year and as long as no Trolls found their way into the castle, or were let in Harry reminded himself, then the evening would be great. There was even some music playing throughout the feast and Harry was curious if the songs were all traditional for the holiday. Once the food had disappeared and the students began making their way out of the Great Hall, Harry was fairly certain this would be a good Halloween.
"I shouldn't have even thought it." Harry grumbled lowly to himself as a large crowd of students gathered around a second floor bathroom that had apparently flooded. At least judging by the water all over the corridor and the bathroom door still having water pouring from under it.
What was the cause of the large congregation of students, one might ask?
Large words written on the stone wall of the corridor in what appeared to be blood. Plus Mrs. Norris, Caretaker Filch's menace of a cat was hanging from a wall sconce completely immobile and the man was howling about his cat being 'dead'.
"Enemies of the Heir, beware." Draco Malfoy read off the wall before smirking. "You'll be next Mudbloods."
'How the hell did he come to that conclusion?' Harry wonder incredulously, trying to figure out Malfoy's leap in logic. 'It only states 'enemies of the Heir' and that could mean anyone that this person wants it to. For all he knows the 'enemies' could be anyone in the castle that isn't related to Slytherin. That seems especially likely considering the fact they went out of their way to use the term Heir for themselves.' Harry had found out about the so called 'Chamber of Secrets' last year in the Library when he'd been looking into the history of the Magical Castle. Suffice to say he wasn't exactly impressed by Salazar Slytherin's ideals, nor was he sure that the man was even sane considering he supposedly left a 'monster' of some kind hidden in his secret chamber to one day 'purge' the school of the 'unworthy'. The arrival of the Professors saw the students quickly being ushered off to their House Common Rooms as the area was cleared.
"I think I can be certain that this is what Dobby was trying to warn me about." Harry grimaced as he recalled the fear the little House Elf had shown back in the summer. He had a letter to write to Sirius tonight.
"So it's been opened before?" Harry asked to confirm what Penny had just told him.
"Yes, about fifty years ago, in fact." Penny nodded as they sat in the hidden workshop.
"So what does this mean in the here and now?" Harry questioned and Penny could only postulate.
"It could mean that whoever opened the Chamber fifty years ago has returned to the castle. Or perhaps the descendant of that person is a new student?" Penny shrugged as she mulled over possibilities.
"Neither option is particularly good." Harry sighed while running a hand through his hair. "Though since we don't have any new Staff, except that peacock, I don't think the original perpetrator is back."
"So it's probably a student, maybe even a First Year." Penny hummed in thought. "Not that suspecting this narrows it down any. We have almost forty new First Years this year."
"Hopefully the Staff can deal with this quickly." Harry hoped as he looked at the notes Penny had made about the last 'Chamber of Secrets Incident'. "A student actually died last time. I would hope the Staff would close the school before it gets that bad again."
"Why wouldn't they?" Penny questioned. "The safety of the students should be their first priority as Professors."
"Penny, even you know that the Magical World often lacks what most Non-Magicals would call 'common sense'." Harry replied flatly and Penny exhaled deeply before nodding.
"I'll look into what this 'monster' could possibly be." Penny informed Harry as she collected her notes. "Knowing Slytherin it's probably some kind of Magical Serpent. Though it would have to be one that could either live for over a thousand years or be able to sustain a breeding population in an isolated space for the same amount of time."
"That should at least narrow it down a bit, right?" Harry asked and Penny nodded.
"It should. Even Magical Species have lifespans; I'm not the most 'learned' in Care of Magical Creatures but surely there can't be 'that' many Magical Snakes that fit these criteria." Penny gave him a hopeful smile. Harry found it hard to put much hope into his return smile though. Shortly afterwards Penny left the workshop to head back to the Library. Harry set about Transmuting more Oulm, if there really was a monster being awoken from a fifty year slumber then having any advantage, even a Magical Knife, would be better than not having it. Plus he still needed to continue tests on his first 'failure'. The effect it had on a person that touched the edge of the blade was 'unexpected' to say the least. Harry was already wondering if he might be able to turn his 'failure' into a 'success' with some time and a few changes.
Sorry for the late chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it. Wishing you a wonderful day! 😁
"If you face any problems, just leave a comment! 💬
And don't forget to follow my Instagram — @ni.xerion 🔥"
✨ Want to read the next chapters early?
Unlock 20+ advance chapters and get exclusive perks by joining my Patre-on!
🔗 Join here: 👉 MY PATREON NAME IS
NIXERION
🔥 Patreon Benefits:
📚 Access to 20+ advance chapters
👥 Join a private fan community
📝 Read exclusive unreleased novels
🚫 Enjoy a completely ad-free reading experience