Rumours about the heir of Slytherin spread around the school, everyone could hear Malfoy boasting about how all the muggleborns were going to be dealt with. The muggleborn students had begun going to places in groups, never leaving the each other alone.
The only other noticeable rumour was Adrian Potter trying to get on the Gryffindor team as seeker but Oliver Wood refusing to let him replace their current seeker. Something that Harry could respect, talent over popularity.
One thing that Harry and Daphne were looking forward to was the duelling club that had just been formed, Rose accompanied them but it was clear that she wasn't anywhere near as enthusiastic as the two.
They entered the duelling room, in the centre was a big stage for the duels to take place. The Gryffindor's were on one side with the Hufflepuffs while the Slytherin's stood on the other side with the Ravenclaws
"Gather around" A voice called
"Oh" Harry groaned and whispered to Daphne "of all the people, why him?"
"Can everyone see me?" Lockhart asked as he walked on stage "Can everyone hear me? That's good, after recent events, Dumbledore has permitted me to start this duelling club. With me today, is my assistant, Professor Snape." Everyone watched as Snape seemed to rise from the other end of the stage. The two made their way towards each other.
"Snape looks pissed" Harry noticed
"He always looked pissed" Daphne reminded him
"Yeah but he has a 'I don't want to be here' look" Harry gestured to Snape who did look like he wanted to be somewhere else
"Do not fear" Lockhart said with a smile "you'll have your potions master when I'm through with him"
"Yeah, now he is definitely pissed" Daphne sighed
Lockhart and Snape stopped in the middle, they brought their wands up in front of their faces, they nodded to each other before returning their arms to their sides. They turned around, and walked away from each other.
Suddenly they stopped, both turned and took their duelling stances. Lockhart had a smile on his face while Snape looked at him with an emotionless face.
"One" Lockhart began counting down "two….three"
"Expelliarmus!" A blast fired from Snape's wand, hitting Lockhart in the chest.
Lockhart flew back as his wand flew out of his hand, many laughed as the 'legendary Lockhart' landed on his back. The fan girls didn't but the rest did, Snape himself had barley hid a smirk.
"Well done Professor Snape" Lockhart got to his feet, and made his way over to Snape "an excellent idea to show them that, though it was pretty obvious what you were going to do and if I wanted to then I could've easily stopped you."
"Perhaps" Snape said with barley supressed rage "it would be prudent to teach them how to block unfriendly spells"
"Ah yes" Lockhart looked surprised but quickly composed himself "how about a volunteer pair? Uh, Adrian Potter and Weasley"
"Weasleys wand causes chaos with even the simplest spells" Snape interrupted "we'd be sending what's left of Potter to the hospital wing in a match box. Perhaps someone from my house?" Malfoy pulled his collar and smirked, he pulled his wand out and was getting ready to step up on the stage.
"The other Potter, perhaps" Snape suggested. Harry sighed and got on to the stage, he made his way to the centre and stood in front of Adrian. "Now" Snape continued speaking "it may be a bit unfair as the Slytherin Potter has experience in duelling thanks to being the winner of the last Japanese war duels but it will still let the other students see what a real duellist looks like"
The students began whispering to each other, discussing what the Japanese war duels were and about how Harry actually entered and actually won. Many were shocked when they found out what they were and were surprised that Harry was willing to enter them, especially after they learnt about how dangerous they were.
Adrian didn't really know what they were but decided to ask Hermione about it later. He and his brother brought their wands to their faces.
"Scared snake?" Adrian taunted
"Yes" Harry replied "I don't really know what diseases you have and I don't know if they're contagious"
"I don't have any diseases!" Adrian growled
"You mean you're not sick?" Harry asked
"Of course not!"
"So your face look like that naturally?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow "you poor soul"
Adrian growled as many people began laughing and snickering, the two pulled their arms down and turned around. They walked and stopped, just like Snape and Lockhart did. They turned and took their duelling stances, Adrian looked confident and many people at that point realised that he didn't know what the Japanese war duels were because he'd probably be crapping his pants if he did.
Harry was confident but knew better than to underestimate his brother, he had never seen him in a duel so he could be a great duellist as far as Harry was concerned.
"On the count of three" Lockhart said "and I want you to disarm only. One, two, three"
Adrian had aimed his wand at Harry and the spell was halfway out of his mouth when a beam shot from Harry's mouth and it was at that moment that he remembered his brother always did his spells non-verbally.
Adrian's wand flew out of his hand and he flipped backwards in the air, he landed a few meters back as Harry caught Adrian's wand in his hand. Adrian got to his feet, glaring at his brother.
Harry, with a bored expression on his face, tossed Adrian his wand. Adrian caught it and got to his feet, he aimed at Harry.
"Expelliarmus!" He roared, the beam flew at Harry who casually side stepped. "Expelliarmus!" Adrian shouted and this time Harry ducked the beam.
"Protego" Harry blocked the third Expelliarmus that his brother fired.
"I'll get you this time! Expelliarmus!" Adrian screamed, the beam flew at Harry. Adrian was positive that it was going to hit this time.
Harry sighed and raised his wand, everyone watched with amazement as Harry casually swatted the spell away, especially most of the older years as only an some of them couldn't even do that yet. With a flick of his wrist, Harry sent another spell that knocked Adrian to his feet.
"I said disarm only" Lockhart's voice interrupted
"Well done Mr Potter" Snapes complimented the Slytherin Potter "take ten points for excellent duelling. Gryffindor Potter, ten points from Gryffindor for acting like a brat and showing no respect."
"You can't do that!" Adrian objected
"Oh, can't I? I believe I just did" Snape sneered
"Now, let's not get bogged down" Lockhart interrupted "how about we all pair up and practise spells"
Everyone spent the next hour practising with their partners, except for Harry who was instructing Daphne and Rose on their spells. Rose was quick at learning but held back because she didn't want to hurt Daphne, who also was great but had the same problem with not wanting to hurt Rose.
The three were so immersed that they didn't realise that a fight had begun until they heard the screams, the three turned around and saw Malfoy and Adrian grappling on the floor, Ron and Neville were trying to hold back Crabbe and Goyle while Millicent Bulstrode had Hermione Granger in a head lock.
"How the hell did this happen?" Daphne asked
"Now is not the time to wonder how it happened" Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulder and another arm around Rose's shoulders. "Just enjoy the chaos"
Later, Adrian sat with Hermione and Ron and the other Gryffindor's in the common room.
"At least you got a few good punches in on Malfoy" Ron commented
"Yeah" Adrian smiled for a second "by the way, do you guys know what Snape was on about when he talked about those Japanese war duels or whatever they were called?"
"Japanese's war duels" Angelina Johnson spoke "are a special event in Japan. Basically it's a duelling tournament, your brother probably entered the underage version"
"Yeah, but so what? He just won a stupid tournament"
"I agree with Aiden" Hermione said "it's impressive that he won but why is everyone treating him like he did something more?"
"Because the war duels are not like other duels" Katie Bell replied "in a war duel the only rule is that nobody can interfere, apart from that it is anything goes and you can use any weapon or spell that you want. Including the unforgivable."
"What?!" Ron gasped "they can use the unforgivables?!"
"Yeah" Fred nodded "it's allowed for the tournament"
"Plus the Japanese are very different from us" George added
"What does that mean?" Adrian asked curiously
"They teach a lot of offensive spells when they're young" Fred explained
"Yeah" George nodded "they probably know a few curses that we would consider dark, that means that Harry was probably in a duelling tournament with a bunch of little Japanese kids that were probably trying to kill him."
"So he probably could've died in that tournament or at least be incredibly injured"
"I believe that the last person who entered in one from England had lost his leg"
"So if he won and didn't at least get injured then he's probably an incredibly good duellist"
"He can't be that good" Adrian replied unbelievingly
"Adrian, he blocked you with a protego shield" Katie Bell reminded him "that's too advanced for second years. Plus he swatted your spell away"
"I can't even do that" Angelina Johnson pointed out "oi, Oliver, can you do that?"
"No" Oliver wood shook his head "they don't even try and teach us that until seventh year"
"So how the bloody hell did Harry learn it then?!" Adrian demanded
"Language" Hermione scolded "and I don't know. But like I've been saying, there's something off about your brother. Every time we learn a new spell he does it on the first go"
"First go" Katie Bell blinked "it usually takes at least two or three tries to perform a spell after you have all the wand movements and incantation down"
"He doesn't use the incantations" Ron said "he never says the spells"
"You mean he does all of his spells non-verbally?!" Oliver wood blurted out in shock
"Uh…yeah"
"That's awesome! They only just started teaching non-verbal spells this year, do you think he'd be willing to help me?"
"Probably not" Hermione answered "he keeps to himself mostly, the only other people he hangs out with are Daphne Greengrass, that Rose girl and Tracy Davis. Sometimes he hands out with Blaise as well but that's about it."
"Damn it" Oliver groaned "I could save so much time if I learnt how to silent cast"
"Time which could be spent on quidditch" Angelina said knowingly
"Obviously" Oliver replied, without any shame or embarrassment.
The days passed by without much incident or embarrassment, the only important thing that happened was Justin Finch Fletchley getting petrified along with nearly headless Nick, the rumours began and they said that Adrian was found on the scene.
Rumours began spreading around, saying that Adrian was the potential heir of Slytherin, Harry found them to be very amusing. Partly at the fact that they could even entertain the idea of the Gryffindor golden boy being the heir and partly because they hadn't realised that if Adrian was related to Slytherin then then that meant Harry was the heir as he was the older brother. It would also mean that one of his parents was of Slytherin decent and that meant that Slytherin either had an heir who was a muggleborn or a muggleborn married an heir of Slytherin.
With that being said he quickly nipped the rumours in the bud before they began causing him problems, he showed a few students the Potter family trees and proved that no Potters were of any relation to the Slytherin line.
Harry was sitting in the Slytherin common room, Daphne had laid her head on his right shoulder while Rose placed hers on his left. Tracy and Blaise were currently engaged in another chess match, the two were evenly matched so you could never tell who was going to win until the end.
"What a pleasant sight" Malfoy drawled as he entered the common room with Crabbe and Goyle following him, he sneered at Harry and the group.
"Malfoy do you ever get tired of being irritating?" Harry sighed
"Shut up Potter"
"Clearly not" Daphne commented.
"Greengrass, you could've been great you know. You could've been the next lady Malfoy but you stupidly decided to reject me"
"And with the way that you're acting, I'm rather glad I did"
"Oh, so Potters better than me is he? At least if you were with me then you wouldn't have to play second fiddle to a scared little child" Malfoy referenced Rose.
"Hey, leave her alone" Daphne replied, as Rose leaned her head against Harry's shoulder and avoided looking at Malfoy
"Or what?" Malfoy challenged
"Or you may have to explain to your father why Harry Potter sent you to him with thirty two less teeth" Harry answered
"You think you scare me Potter?"
"No, you're too much of an idiot to realise when to shut up and not anger the person who has repeatedly placed you in the hospital wing"
"It's disgusting how you resort to brawling like a common muggle"
"Draco I've beaten you both physically and magically and you know that" Harry replied "honestly, you're the only other person I can think of that's more pathetic than my brother" Draco's response was cut off by a growl coming from Goyle.
"Uh…sorry" Goyle turned red "it's my stomach"
"Ignore him" Malfoy said "I don't care for your brother and I don't care for you"
"Yet you spend a lot of time trying to bother us both" Henry pointed out "honestly Malfoy, I appreciate the interests but I'm only interested in girls"
"What?!" Malfoy turned red and sputtered
"I can't speak for my brother but I am definitely not interested" Harry smirked as Daphne and Tracy giggled while Blaise snickered.
"I don't know what you're implying…"
"In that case you're dumber than I thought you were" Harry cut Malfoy off "go and make a friend and stop bothering us. Now leave Malfoy, some of us have better things to do than talk to you"
"How dare you talk to me like that you pathetic half-blood?!" Malfoy demanded
"I may be a half-blood but I'm also the heir to the most ancient and noble houses of Potter, Peverell, Black and Flight while you're the heir to one family that is only really important because you have money." Harry replied, he wrapped an arm around Daphne's waist "Plus, unlike you, I actually got the girl."
Malfoy seethed he was thinking about drawing his wand on Potter but chose not to, it was obvious even to him that he couldn't beat Potter. He stormed off to his room, Crabbe and Goyle stood with shocked faces.
"Oi, dumbass one and two" Harry called "don't you have anything better to do than stand there?"
"Uh...yes" Crabbe replied, Crabbe and Goyle quickly made their way out of the common rooms.
'Crabbe' and 'Goyle' had made their way back into the second floor girls toilet, just in time as the Polyjuice potion wore off and they turned back into Ron and Adrian.
"That was pointless!" Adrian growled "We learnt nothing, Malfoy could still be the heir of Slytherin for all we know"
"I know, if your brother wasn't there then we would've probably learnt something." Ron replied
"That bloody idiot!" Adrian cursed "Where's Hermione? Hermione? Hermione, where are you?"
"Go away" Hermione's voice called from one of the bathroom stalls
"Hermione? Are you okay?" They gently opened the bathroom door, and to their surprise they didn't find Hermione. They found a cross between Hermione and a cat, Hermione stood with cat ears and fur and a tail.
"That hair was a cat hair" Hermione said "look at my face"
"Look at your tail" Ron smiled in amusement. Hermione looked down, when she heard laughter.
"Oh, that is hilarious" A voice called out, Hermione looked up and gasped.
Ron and Adrian turned around and were each greeted with a fist to the face, they covered their faces to reduce the pain. Harry grabbed Ron by the collar and sleeve, he threw him to the side. Adrian pulled his wand out and aimed it at Harry.
Harry grabbed Aiden's wrist and elbow, he aimed Aiden's wand at Hermione. The disarming spell flew from Aiden's wand and struck Hermione's hand, ripping her wand out of her hand. Harry redirected Aiden's wand and fired a stunner at Ron which knocked him unconscious.
Harry slapped Adrian's wand out of his hand and pushed him back into the wall, Harry pulled his own wand out and aimed it at Aiden.
"Stay still little brother" Harry commanded as he put his foot over Hermione's wand to prevent her from trying to snatch it "otherwise I may just have to hurt you"
"What are you doing?!" Adrian demanded
"What are you doing? Sneaking into the Slytherin common room" Harry replied and Adrian paled "Oh yes, I know it was you and look over there" Harry gestured with his head to the sink where cups and potions ingredients remained "next time you may want to get rid of the evidence as soon as possible. That's Polyjuice potion, isn't it? Wouldn't Snape love to hear how you have been sneaking in with Polyjuice?
I would assume that the cat over there is the one who made it, she's the smartest of you three but that's not really a compliment. Now, I want to know why you sneaked in?"
"Why should I tell you?!"
"You'll tell me or you'll tell Snape and the rest of the Slytherin's, your choice"
"Fine!" Adrian growled "We snuck in because we were trying to find out if Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin!"
"Malfoy?!" Harry laughed "Malfoy?! You're not serious, are you?! Malfoy?! You're stupider than you look if you think Malfoy is the heir!"
"He could be, he hates muggleborns" Adrian argued
"So do a lot of wizards" Harry counteracted
"Oh, come on! Everyone in the school knows how he's boasting about the muggleborns getting killed!"
"Yes but that's because he's a prat" Harry responded "now tell me, if you were the heir of Slytherin then would you be boasting about it when people are getting petrified. No, you'd be quiet and let the other idiots draw attention to themselves. That's what Malfoy is, an attention seeking idiot, if he knew where the chamber of secrets was then he'd be bragging to everyone about it. Now, being the kind and generous soul I am, I'm going to let you guys go"
"You are?!" A surprised Adrian asked
"Yes" Harry used his wand and cast a healing charm on Aiden and Ron's face "I had better not see you guys sneaking into my common room again" Harry turned and began walking away.
"Harry" Adrian called and Harry stopped by the sink "how did you know it was us? How did you know we were disguised as Crabbe and Goyle?"
"I have my ways" Harry said mysteriously "goodbye brother" With that, Harry left.
The next day Adrian and Ron made their way to breakfast on their own as Hermione was in the hospital wing thanks to her transformation into a cat woman. They had barley entered when Snape stormed up to them with McGonagall following behind.
"Potter! Weasley!" Snape barked "Three hundred points from Gryffindor and three weeks of detention!" All eyes turned to the confrontation
"What for?!" A confused Adrian demanded
"For breaking into the Slytherin common room! For making Polyjuice and for stealing potions ingredients form my potions cupboard! You should be thankful you ungrateful brat! The Headmaster is the only reason you're not expelled!"
"You snitch!" Adian accused Harry who was sitting at the Slytherin table, all eyes in the hall turned to Harry
"No" Harry examined his hand "I'm pretty sure I'm not gold, plus as angelic as I am, I don't have wings."
"You told him! You said you wasn't going to tell him"
"No, I said I would 'let you go'" Harry reminded him "and I did let you go, but I never said I wouldn't tell professor Snape. Not my fault that you can't pay attention"
"So it's true?!" McGonagall exclaimed "Mr Potter, I am ashamed of you!"
"You're evil" Daphne whispered into Harry's ear
"No, I'm sadistic, slight difference." Harry smiled
Ginny Weasley groaned and woke up, she had been blacking out recently. She knew it was because of that cursed diary but whenever she tried to tell anyone she found herself physically incapable of doing so. She tried to stop but she couldn't. She felt like such a fool for trusting Tom, she had to stop this. She would wake up and get rid of the diary.
As she sat up, she realised that she was still in the chamber of secrets. She normally woke up in her bed, she didn't know why she was till here.
"No!" A voice growled. Ginny turned around and her jaw dropped at the sight in front of her.
The giant Salazar Slytherin statue where the basilisk usually came out of was damaged, there was blood on the nose of the statue which was cracked and looked close to falling off. The right eye was also smashed in, but that's not what really drew Ginny's attention. No, it was definitely not the statue. It was two other things that drew her attention.
The first would be the dead seventy foot basilisk that was laid on the floor, lifeless and open mouthed, exposing those rows of sharp teeth. Fortunately it's eyes wouldn't be capable of killing them as they looked burnt, it was a horrific sight that made Ginny want to throw up. It was at that moment when she remembered the other thing that drew her attention.
By a nearby snake statue, a man was on his knees with both fists on the floor. There were cracks on the floor, underneath the fists of the man. The man raised his head, revealing a green scaled face and a wide jaw full of long, white and extremely sharp teeth.