something different

part three

"What is it, Dobby? What's happened?" Ginny asked, trying to comfort the little elf.

"My master has had one of his other house elves steal the object back from the great Headmaster, Miss," Dobby sobbed. "Dobby knows not who he gave it to, but history is to repeat itself."

"What do you mean, Dobby?" Harry asked gently.

"The Chamber of Secrets is to be opened this year at Hogwarts," Dobby said as he sobbed harder.

"We'll keep our eyes open, Dobby," Harry promised. "And we're still trying to find a way to free you. Just be patient."

"Dobby is always patient, Harry Potter, sir."

The weeks passed with no indication that anything was amiss. The only thing that any of them noticed was that Demzela was being rather quiet and not hanging around them very often. Anytime that Ginny or Luna tried to approach her about it she would deny that anything was wrong and leave quickly. By the time of the Halloween feast, Demzela was sitting alone and refusing to talk to anyone. Ginny had a feeling this had something to do with the diary that was stolen from Dumbledore but couldn't prove it.

Harry was quiet at the feast, but Ginny understood why. It was the anniversary of his parents' deaths. She did her best to try to keep his spirits up but knew it was a hard time for him. After the feast they returned to the Common Room, curling together in a secluded corner. Ginny held Harry as he cried, trying to soothe his pain. Ron and Hermione sat close by to detour any attempts by their house mates to interrupt them. Hermione noticed that Luna and Neville were huddled in a corner of their own. She thought about asking Neville about it, but by the look of pain and sorrow on his face she decided against it.

November

Harry didn't think Professor Lockhart could embarrass himself more than he did the first day of classes with the Cornish pixies. He was wrong. Lockhart walked into the Great Hall on the day Gryffindor played Hufflepuff wearing a suit that was half red, half yellow. A flag for each house in his hands, he proclaimed it was school loyalty to be supportive of both teams. Harry groaned as Lockhart wished both teams luck but whispered to Harry that he was fully supporting him to win the match. Ginny had to stifle her giggles at this until Lockhart walked away. She laughed outright once he had left.

The month started quietly but that changed all in one night. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Neville, and Hermione were walking back to the Common Room from dinner, when Harry heard a strange voice that seemed to be coming from the walls. Ron slipped in a puddle on the floor of the second-floor corridor that led to a short cut back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Ugh... Why is there water on the floor?" Ron complained.

"Shh! Anyone else hear that?" Harry asked walking over to the wall.

"No!" Ron said. "What are you on about, Harry?"

"Umm... Guys, you might want to see this," Hermione said from the corner. They moved to her side and stopped. On the wall were words written in what appeared to be blood.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED!

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE!

"So much for a quiet year," Harry sighed.

"Harry, isn't that Filch's cat?" Neville asked.

Below the words was a black and gray cat frozen in what looked like a frightened pose. Harry approached it slowly. He was just reaching for it when the hall suddenly became noisy with students. They all froze as they saw the writing on the wall. Malfoy sneered at Harry and his friends as he read the message out loud. He pointedly looked at Hermione and said, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!"