Somehow, Professor Lockhart had managed to convince Professor Dumbledore to start up a duelling club due to the current events at Hogwarts, with a student (and a cat) being Petrified by something unbeknownst to anyone after the Chamber of Secrets had rumoured to be opened. The fact that it warned the enemies of the heir to beware, referencing the muggle-borns, it wasn't a half-bad idea that we were learning to defend ourselves but I, and several others, seriously doubted Lockhart's abilities.
I stopped at the edge of the Great Hall, searching for Harry, Hermione and Ron, seeing the latter's glowing ginger hair about half way down. I made my way over to them, to be greeted by Hermione with a hug.
"You look so much better." Harry smiled, making space for me between himself and Hermione. I smiled back, looking up onto the stage. It hadn't been so bad going back to the Slytherin dorms. Hermione had said that even though they were foul, they would be idiots to try and attack me again so soon. It would just make them look guilty. And this had made me feel a little better. All I was getting was harsh glares and shoulder barges from Pansy, nothing I couldn't just ignore and go on with my day.
"Gather 'round, gather 'round! Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!" Lockhart appeared up on the stage with his cloak hanging from his shoulder. He threw it off into the crowd of students. I looked to Harry and we both rolled our eyes as the girls grabbed it like they were groupies.
"This is going to be interesting." Ron said, laughing slightly.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry- you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear." said Lockhart and I instantly began to laugh as Snape slowly walked up onto the stage, staring Lockhart down like the absolute moron he was. Harry looked at me as I covered my mouth in an attempt to silence myself, unable to stop himself giggling.
It took me a while to compose myself. There was something so funny about this whole set-up. If Lockhart wasn't a fraud, I'd eat my hat. And he chose to go up against Snape? A horrible man, yes, but a talented wizard. This was going to be funny.
Lockhart and Snape walked face to face, bowing and holding their wands in front of the face before silently turning their backs on each other and taking ten paces. I managed to stop laughing as the room fell silent, waiting for what happened next.
"One, two, three..." Lockhart counted but as soon as he hit three, he went flying backwards and hit the deck. Snape had hit him with Expelliarmus.
"Oh god, do you think he's alright?" Hermione asked, concern spread across her face.
"Who cares?" Ron and I said in unison.
Lockhart went on, making up some lame excuse about why he had just been made a fool of before Snape dropped a snide comment about teaching us to defend ourselves first. He agreed, of course, in fear of looking like a fool - although too late if you asked me. They performed them on each other, showing us how it was done.
"Right, let's have two partners up here to have a go," Lockhart scanned the group of students and his eyes landed on Harry. Of course he would pick Harry. Lockhart was obsessed with fame and although he didn't like it, Harry was the most well known student ever. "Potter, my boy, up you come."
Harry rolled his eyes and sighed before Ron helped him with a leg up onto the stage and got to his feet. Lockhart gestured a hand to Snape, letting him choose his partner. Everyone knew who he was going to pick. Snape had never hid how much he hated Harry, from the first day he got here.
"Malfoy, get up here." Snape ordered imperatively and Malfoy jumped up quickly, a gnarly smile on his face. As Lockhart and Snape had done, they walked up to each other and bowed with their wands in front of your face.
"Are you sure you want to get embarrassed like this in front of your new little girlfriend, Potter?" Draco tipped his head towards me, a grin forming and I rolled my eyes.
"Nothing is more embarrassing than attacking one of your own, Malfoy." Harry said quietly back to Draco who's grin dropped from his face. Several whispered started around us and rippled up the hall. Everyone had heard about my 'accident' and rumours at Hogwarts spread faster than Scrofungulus in a packed room.
"On the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent- only to disarm. We don't want any accidents here. One, two--"
"EVERTE STATIUM!" Draco shouted loudly, cutting off Lockhart before the end of his countdown. A bolt of sparks flew from his wand and hit Harry's chest sending him flipping backwards through the air and almost off the end of the platform. Draco turned to laugh with Crabbe and Goyle, and didn't see Harry get instantly to his feet.
"RICTUMSEMPRA!" Harry retaliated, sparks hitting Draco, making him grab his ribs and go flying backwards, landing ungracefully at Snape's feet. Snape grabbed him by the scruff of his robes and pulled him up to his feet, pushing him back towards Harry.
"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted but everyone knew he had lost control of the room.
"SERPENSORTIA!" Draco bellowed again, causing the room to fall silent as a vicious looking snake flew from the end of his wand and began to slowly meander along the middle of the stage. Everyone was completely still.
"Don't move, Potter." Snape said, barging Draco out the way and raising his wand towards the snake.
"Allow me, Professor." Lockhart interrupted. He raised his wand and shouted confidently, "Alarte ascendare!"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" I shouted by accident, knowing that this was just going to launch the snake twenty feet in the air and anger it more which was exactly what it did. Before Snape could intervene again, Harry approached the snake which was staring venomously towards Justin Finch-Fletchley, another boy from our year. We all watched in fear.
"Sya- hassa- she. Sya- hasi- heth. Sya- hasi- heth." Harry hissed at the snake and suddenly all eyes were on Harry.
"Harry is a Parselmouth?" I asked Ron and Hermione with wide eyes and the scared looks on their faces told me that they didn't know that either. Snape approached slowly behind the snake whilst Harry had managed to get the snake to turn back towards him.
"Vipera evenesca." Snape said calmly, a bolt of light hitting the snake causing it to burst into flames and disappear into ashes. It was an amazing spell, watching it happen, but nobody was looking at that. Everyone was staring at Harry. I knew what everyone was thinking right now; Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth and it was very, very rare. With rumours of his heir being back at Hogwarts, this wasn't good for him.
Ron and Hermione quickly beckoned Harry down off the platform and they exited the hall sharpish. I wanted to follow them but I knew that wouldn't look good for anyone. Snape disbanded the club, sending everyone back off to their common rooms so I slid in with the crowd and followed suit.
"He kept that on the low. Parseltongue was Salazar's thing!" One student said to another.
"Do you reckon he's actually the heir? He opened the chamber?"
"Obviously! Did you not see him telling that snake to attack! He's been going round Petrifying people in honour of him."
"But he's the one that made You-Know-Who disappear before...why would he do that if he was that way inclined?"
"Getting rid of the competition I bet."
"SHUT UP," I screamed before I could stop myself. The corridor fell silent and the majority of the crowd halted to look at me. My heart began to pound in my chest. "Harry Potter is not the heir of Slytherin."
Through the crowd I saw Pansy and Millicent with arms crossed their chest and a devilish smirk planted across their faces, they came within a meter of me and the corridor waited for what was to happen next.
"And what makes you so sure, traitor?" Pansy spat at me. I gripped my wand in my pocket.
"Why would Harry Potter open the Chamber of Secrets? His mother and best friend are muggle-born." I defended, starting a full-blown debate between the surrounding students.
"Friends close, enemies closer." Pansy retorted as if she had said something really smart. "Everyone saw him talking to the snake. How many other Parselmouth's do you know? Are you one too? Are you the heir?"
"Don't be a moron, Parkinson. Why would Harry tell a snake to attack a student whilst stood upon a stage in front of the majority of the school and two professors?" I spat back. I was arguing with Pansy Parkinson. I never stood up to Pansy when it came to me, why was I so committed to standing up for Harry and why was I so sure that he wasn't the heir? It just didn't seem possible to me.
"I'm not the one being a moron and defending a killer. You better watch out, he might like the fame that you're trying to take away from him. Maybe he'll target your loved ones next. Maybe you'll be fine, actually. Oliver doesn't love you anyway." Pansy was evil. Before I knew it, the anger within me bubbled so high and the end of my wand was pressed hard against her neck.