Chapter 21

Several days later, Harry and Daphne found themselves back at Hogwarts for the second term of school. The attacks on students thankfully seemed to have stopped after Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been petrified. Things were moving steadily. Harry and Daphne spent the majority of their time studying in the Room of Requirement as usual. Harry was really curious to know how the room worked. He first thought it was highly advanced illusionary magic, but then everything seemed so real, he really couldn't understand how the room came to be. He spent several hours duelling against what the room could throw at him as well. The duelling dummies provided by the room weren't anything like the ones he had back home; these were insanely deadly, using a wide range of spells. The castle had observed many of the duelling characteristics of various people over the centuries and used them against Harry.

Every duellist had a different technique. Wizards and Witches like Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and James Potter used Battle Transfiguration for their duels; others like Filius Flitwick, Lily Potter and Alastor Moody used a wide range of Charms, curses and jinxes while others like Voldemort and Bellatrix Lesterange used their wide arsenal of dark magic spells. Harry had decided that he didn't like being dependent on any one area alone; that provided a weakness for the opponent to exploit; Battle Transfiguration, for example, was difficult to practice while in an enclosed space. So he combined everything to achieve his goals. He used charms on his transfigured objects while attacking the frustrated opponent with deadly curses and jinxes. He didn't really like many of the dark spells he had found; they needed a lot of negative emotion to power them and he wasn't keen on becoming another Voldemort. But he had taken to practicing the Fiendfyre curse, in small doses of course.

As February rolled in, people were getting much happier because of the lack of attacks. Harry was happy for that, but the cynical part of him thought that something drastic was going to happen soon. He was still working on Voldemort's memories, but he didn't have much luck. Instead, he gained more knowledge about spells and duelling, and while he was happy for that, it didn't help his current predicament.

In the first week of February, Harry was just returning from Quidditch practice when he heard a distant echo of the voice again; the same cold, deadly voice. "Kill . . . Rip . . . so hungry . . . Kill this time . . ."

Harry's eyes went wide. He immediately put his ear to the wall and began following the voice. He ran as the voice dimmed; this was probably the only chance he was ever going to get of finding out what the monster in the chamber really was. He quickly turned a corner and gasped when he saw Penelope Clearwater and Hermione Granger both petrified. He decided that this was too easy a target for Dumbledore to frame him. Just as he was about to leave, Peeves decided to enter the scene.

"What are up to Potty? Po - " The poltergeist stopped in mid-sentence and before Harry could do anything, the ghost shouted at the top of his voice "MURDER! MURDER IN THE HALLWAYS! ATTACK! ATAAAACKKK! NO ONE IS SAFE IN THE CASTLE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Everything happened so fast that Harry didn't have time to react. Doors opened immediately and people rushed out and spotted Harry standing next to the petrified bodies of Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater.

"Aha! Caught in the act! I knew you were the heir of Slytherin! It looks like those rumours of you bring a parselmouth are true after all!" shouted Ron Weasley, pointing his finger at Harry.

"Parselmouth?" whispered others as they all stared at Harry with terrified looks on their faces.

Professor McGonagall soon came over to them "What's going on here?" she shouted. "What - " She stopped cold as she looked at the petrified students. Her eyes landed on Harry and he could see that she had a cold look on her face. "Potter, come with me" she said coldly.

Harry didn't bother arguing; he knew it was futile. People started whispering as he passed by. He spotted Daphne on his way and she had an unreadable look on her face. Harry went over, gave her hand a light squeeze and followed McGonagall. Just as he had predicted, they stood in front of the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

"Lemon Drop" said McGonagall to the gargoyle. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you" she said to Harry, giving him another cold look and left.

Harry shook his head and muttered 'sheep' and climbed the stairs. He knocked on the door and entered. The office was just as he had remembered. But unlike last time, Fawkes seemed to be nearing his burning day. "Hello Fawkes. Close to your burning day, huh?" he asked the sickly looking phoenix. The bird gave a horrible cry and whimper, and after a few seconds, caught fire. Harry calmly stepped back as he watched the bird slowly rise from the ashes. He smiled, but then the Sorting Hat caught his attention. He took it from the shelf and put it on.

"Hello, Mr Hat" said Harry in his mind.

"Greetings Lord Potter, how may I help you?" asked the hat.

"I was wondering if you can tell me what creature exists in the Chamber of Secrets. After all, you've been here since the school's inception. You're bound to know Salazar's secrets. So can you tell me?"

The hat chucked. "I'm afraid not. After Godric enchanted me, Salazar put up some obscure wards in place so that I don't reveal any secrets. It worked so well that Salazar himself couldn't bring them down without destroying me. I'm sorry."

"Will that answer change in case I say I'm the legitimate heir of Godric Gryffindor?" asked Harry hopefully.

The hat laughed again and said "Generations of Potters before you have tried the same thing, but it won't work. Being the Founder's heir will not change anything here I'm afraid. Gaining the lordship, that's a different matter."

Harry sighed. "Thanks for the insight Hat" he said and put it back on the shelf.

"Harry?" asked a voice. Harry looked up to find Dumbledore climbing down from the level above him. "Ah, it looks like Fawkes has gone through with his burning. It's such a shame to see him on this day, he's quite moody" said Dumbledore.

"I would be too if I were so sick that I couldn't even speak or walk" replied Harry.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Very true, my boy; but let's get to the matter at hand. I just received word that you were found next to the petrified bodies of Miss Clearwater and Miss Granger. I've also got reports that you're a parselmouth. Harry, I deeply care about you. I know that living with your relatives did not show muggles in a favourable light, but this is not the way to go about it, my boy. I urge you to reconsider your actions Harry, for it could have far lasting consequences. Admit it, and I'll help you wrap this mess up. I'll always be with you Harry, every step of the way" said Dumbledore in his grandfatherly voice.

Harry simply stared at the wall opposite for more than a minute. He then smiled. "For all your faults Albus, you really are brilliant. The Slytherin in me just can't help but admire the cunning and subtlety of your approach. How you ended up in Gryffindor, I'll never know" he said.

Dumbledore frowned and said "This is serious, Harry. I - "

"You know something?" asked Harry, interrupting Dumbledore. He flicked his wand to his hand and conjured a perfect chess board on Dumbledore's table. Albus was startled at the advanced magic Harry performed, but chose to remain silent, wanting to hear him out.

"Chess really is a beautiful game" said Harry, looking at the board. "There are two factions – black and white, but in our case, it's the dark and the light. The entire game is based on the power struggle between two kings – the leader of the light and the leader of the dark" he said, pointing at the king pieces. "The rest of the game is essentially a war. Sometimes you have to get rid of a pawn to save your knight. It's more efficient, don't you agree?" said Harry, looking at Dumbledore. The old man was concentrating on the board with an unreadable look on his face.

"But in some cases, the pawn attracts very high attention from its enemies. Because it's a war and is a lowly and defenceless baby, ahm, sorry, pawn, he is sacrificed by the leader of the light so as to save the rest of his pieces. As I said, very efficient; happens in every game of chess."

"But it so happened, that by attacking the pawn, the Dark king was caught in a bind. He got checked by the pawn. The Light king did his best to ensure that his pawn remained in his control; after all, he could be useful to him later. But the pawn decided to revolt. And kings don't like uncontrollable pawns. So when the Rook of the Dark king attacked several other pawns of the white kind, the White king blamed this particular pawn so that all the others would target him as well, so that the pawn would come to the Light king for help."

"It is always good to anticipate the opponent's next move in a game of chess. You don't bother much about the workings of your side; after all, they're all the king's pawns, only their ranks differ (except the Queen of course)"

Harry got up from his chair and put his hands on either side of the desk. He leaned down on the board and said "But what if the pawn wasn't really a pawn? What if the pawn was a king in disguise? After all, the two kings were busy fighting each other, who would suspect a lowly pawn to be another king?" Harry then took the pawn, and used it to push the white and black kings out of the board and said "The pawn used that to his advantage and threw both the light and dark kings out of the board and reclaimed their spot, as the true leader, unifying both light and dark for the first time. The people called him their saviour and he was loved by his people. Be careful Dumbledore, you might find your pawn quickly pushing you away from the board" said Harry and walked out of the room.

"Outstanding; amazing; brilliant; spectacular" said Dumbledore to himself. "What a mind you have Harry, my boy. You displayed a lot more subtlety and cunning that Tom never showed in his later years. Oh Tom, why did you have to put a horcrux in his head? Harry could have been so useful" said Dumbledore and sighed.

"Oh my naive Harry, do you think you can push me out of the board? ME? Not going to happen". Dumbledore took the black rook and said "You think you'll be the king right? But what if the Dark king's rook took away your beloved Queen before that? Would you still be able to play on the board?" he asked to the empty room as he tipped the white Queen out of the board.

Dumbledore never noticed that Harry had arranged the pieces on the board so that both the Light and Dark Kings were struck with a checkmate by their own people.

The Sorting Hat chuckled to himself "Oh Salazar, if only you were here" the hat mused to itself. "You would have had an orgasm just watching this spectacle. Godric, I have watched generations of Potters come and go, but this is the one I have chosen. Hadrian Potter is the one."

The next several weeks were pure torture for Harry, even though he would never say it out loud. The students of Hogwarts had turned very hostile towards him. Some used to glare at him when he walked down the halls, while others gave him terrified looks. Nobody sat with him at meals, but he was still forced to sit at the very end of the Ravenclaw table while he was pranked and cursed repeatedly, though none of them worked on him. He had heard rumours that they wanted to throw him out of the Quidditch team as well, but that hadn't happened yet. He had also received some hate mail, but it wasn't anything bad. Professors McGonagall and Sprout had turned cold towards him in class and acted as though he was invisible. They deducted points at the slightest of reasons, which in turn made the Ravenclaws blame him for it. Professors Flitwick and Slughorn tried to help Harry out, but they were quickly silenced by the others. Neville, Hannah, Susan and Tracy tried talking to Harry but were also threatened by their housemates. Harry was quite frankly vexed.

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"The reason is because of this" said Amelia Bones, holding a parchment and showing it through the mirror.

"What is it?" asked Harry, his eyes narrowed.

"It's a direct order from the Minister of Magic, to prevent the DMLE from interfering in the attacks of the students at Hogwarts. It claims that the DMLE could contaminate the evidence at the crime scene, and that makes no sense, considering we're the highest investigative authority in the country! Fudge says that his own office would deal with the matter" she spat angrily.

"How does the Minister have so much power as to stop a DMLE investigation like that?" asked Harry angrily.

"He doesn't" replied Amelia. "But he can do so if he gets approval from some of the Heads of Departments in the Ministry as well as approval of some members of the Wizengamot. Fudge only does what he is told; and in this case, it's Lucuis Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore. You say that Malfoy is behind the attacks, so he has done his best in making sure that I stay the hell away from the investigation, and Dumbledore is still angry that I interfered in what he says to be 'Hogwarts business' during the Lockhart incident. There is too much red tape, and my hands are tied."

Harry sighed in frustration when Amelia spoke up again. "You said that you heard a voice, right?"

"Yes" said Harry. "It's like an echo, I can only make out the words, but I can't exactly tell where the voice is coming from. I'm pretty sure it can speak, and the creatures that can speak are Acromantulas, Sphinxes, Centaurs and Manticores. But none of them cause petrification and how is it possible for any such creature to attack its victims and not be seen?" he asked irritated that he had not figured it out.

"Any luck finding out when the Chamber was last opened?" he asked.

"None" said Amelia, looking grim. "There are no such records in the Hall of records or in the DMLE. Either the incident never came to the purview of the DMLE or someone wiped them clean. I'm having my people ensure that no such evidence ever is removed from the Ministry. I'm sorry Harry."

"It's alright, Aunt Amy, you did your best" said Harry.

"Do you want to file a complaint against all that hate mail you've received? It's quite easy for you to do that as you're the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter" asked Amelia.

Harry shook his head and answered "To what end? I could easily do it, but the public would only target me more. Using my power is not the issue, but the repercussions of my actions could result in a major backlash, something I'm sure my opponents would use to their advantage."

"Very well" said Amelia. "I see your point. But do let me know in case you change your mind, Harry. Good night and sweet dreams." She then deactivated the mirror, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

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The second years were given something new to think about in April. The time had come for them to choose their subjects for their third year. Harry and Daphne sat in the Room of Requirement and discussed it.

"I'm definitely taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy" said Daphne.

"Me too, but do we want to take Care of Magical Creatures? That's the only option available. Taking that will be three subjects, the maximum electives we're allowed to take. The other options are Divination and Muggle Studies, and I'm definitely not interested in both" said Harry.

Daphne chewed on her lip and said "Let's take Care of Magical Creatures. It could be fun. If we want we can always sit the exam for muggle studies later on if we're interested."

Harry nodded and filled up the form for both him and Daphne. Suddenly, Toby popped in and said "Master Hadrian, you need to see the paper" he said frantically, his usual calm demeanour not present.

Harry frowned when he saw the elf fidget. "Hey buddy, are you okay? You seem to be - "

But he was interrupted when he heard Daphne gasp. Harry looked at the Daily Prophet and his eyes widened a bit.

BOY WHO LIVED RUMOURED TO BE A PARSELMOUTH

By Rita Skeeter

This reporter has recently gained information that Hadrian James Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the boy who supposedly defeated the Dark Lord might possibly be a parselmouth. These have been consistent with the reports of attacks at Hogwarts involving the Heir of Slytherin and the fabled Chamber of Secrets.

Is Harry Potter secretly a dark lord? Is that why You Know Who attacked him in the first place? This reporter will work tirelessly to find out more information for you, my readers.

"I should have seen this coming" whispered Harry. "I didn't count on the information appearing on the front page of the Daily Prophet! Dammit! I've been too distracted!"

"Harry, what do we do?" asked Daphne, concerned.

"I don't know" said Harry. "I really should have listened to their advice earlier. Toby, assemble a bunch of the stealthiest elves you can find. Track down Rita Skeeter. She has a knack for finding out information that is kept secret, doesn't she? If there is anything out of the ordinary when it comes to her, tell me. Okay?"

"Yes, Master Hadrian. At once" said Toby and popped out.

Harry sighed. This was going to turn out badly. And he was right.

The next morning, hate mail and howlers started to arrive for Harry. Many of them quite bad, calling him evil, telling him to kill himself and not harm innocents and others which were booby traps, some of which were quite dangerous. So from the second day onwards, Harry had decided to destroy them as soon as they arrived. He levitated the letters and howlers and burnt them with the Incendio charm. McGonagall took points from him, but he didn't care.

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The next week, Harry was on his way to the Quidditch pitch for a match against Gryffindor when he heard the monster's voice again. "Yes . . . Kill this time . . . Must taste blood . . . Come to me"

Harry's heart started beating faster. He was in the Quidditch locker rooms, barely registering the cold looks sent his way as he realised that someone else might be attacked soon but he couldn't do anything since there was a match he had to play. He put on his Quidditch robes, took his broomstick and went out to the pitch when he saw McGonagall coming towards them. She pointed her wand to her throat and said "Sonorous. This match has been cancelled. All students are to make their way to their common rooms immediately. Your Heads of House will give you further instructions. Move as quickly as you can!" she shouted.

She then turned to Harry and said, "Potter, I think you better come with me."

Some of the students were grumbling about the match being cancelled, others looked worried. Someone shouted from the crowd "I bet Potter has murdered someone! Don't let him go!"

"Quiet!" barked McGonagall. "Everyone go to your common rooms NOW!"

Harry kept his face expressionless as he followed McGonagall. He idly wondered if they had brought Aurors to arrest him. That plan would work well for Dumbledore. He could send Harry to Azkaban and then rescue him saying that he had always believed that he was innocent. Well, there was no way in hell was he going to let that happen; he was Lord Potter, dammit! So he braced himself for the legal battle that was soon to follow.

But to his surprise, McGonagall led him to the Hospital Wing. He followed her, but thanks to his incredibly sharp eyesight, he spotted her. He gasped and stopped in mid-step at the entrance of the Hospital wing. No. This was not possible. He had to be dreaming. There was no way this could be true.

McGonagall turned back to look at Harry who was white as a sheet. He slowly made his way to the bed that was on the other side of the Hospital wing. He stood next to her, his eyes wide and hands shaking out of shock. Daphne Greengrass lay deathly still on the bed petrified, her eyes open, and a look of shock on her beautiful face. One hand was outstretched and the other was in a fist.

Harry couldn't move. He was stuck to the spot, still looking at the girl who was the most important in his life. McGonagall came over and lifted a mirror from the desk next to Daphne. "She was found near the library with this. Do you have any idea what this means?" she asked.

Harry was still shaking from head to toe. He touched her face, but she was so cold. "Daphne" he croaked, and that's when the tears started. Not caring who might be watching him, Harry collapsed on the floor holding Daphne's hand and started crying. The weather outside transformed from a sunny day to stormy within minutes. He sobbed his heart out for the girl he loved. I'm in love with her. And it's because of me that she was targeted.

"Potter, you have to return to your Common Room" said McGonagall, but Harry didn't hear her. He kept staring at Daphne's still form. The storm outside got worse, lightning flashed several times, as well as loud claps of thunder could be heard. McGonagall thought she heard an eagle's shriek of agony, but thought she later imagined it. "Potter, you much leave" she said in her stern voice. His grief was understandable, but she had a lot of work to do. She touched his shoulder, only for her hand to be slapped away.

"Potter!" she shouted. But Harry didn't care. The grief had transformed into lust, lust for blood. He kissed Daphne on the forehead and said "Don't worry Daphne, I'll find whoever is behind this. And when I get my hands on them, they'll wish they had never messed with Hadrian Potter. They'll soon be begging for death" he said. McGonagall stepped back when she heard this. She was terrified when she saw Harry's hair turn white; his skin glowed brightly and bolts of lightning surrounded his body. She knew that she had jumped to conclusions about the boy, but this was too much.

"Potter you have to - " she began but was cut off by Harry leaving the Hospital Wing, taking long strides as he did so. She yelled at him and tried to follow him, but she caught him casting a disillusionment charm upon himself and she lost track of him. She performed the Human presence revealing spell, but was too late. In her shock of seeing him perform a seventh-year charm non-verbally, she had stalled in performing the spell. She shook her head. She would have to inform Albus about this. But first she had to get to Gryffindor Tower.

The rest of the castle was in shock. The fact that Daphne Greengrass had been attacked and petrified had been quite a blow to everyone who thought Harry Potter was behind the attacks. Everyone knew how much Harry cared about Daphne, seeing how they were always together. So this incident completely debunked their theory of Harry being the Heir of Slytherin. And now, many of them were terrified because a pureblood, not to mention the Heiress of a Most Ancient and Noble House was attacked. If the Heir of Slytherin could target a Slytherin student from one of the oldest families in the country, how safe were the rest?

Many of them in Ravenclaw Tower were waiting for Harry after Professor Flitwick made his announcement, but he never came back. No one knew that Harry was outside, flying in the storm with Aquila in order to calm down. The storm raged on for the rest of the night, lamenting along with their distressed Lord.

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Barnabus Cuffe stretched his legs as he finished his work for the day. It was time to head home when he found that he couldn't move. He watched as the door snapped shut with a click. He opened his mouth to speak but found that he was magically gagged. What was happening? Just then, he felt someone move close to him. Cuffe was bound tightly to his chair so there was nothing he could do.

"Barnabus Cuffe" said a strange voice. "The Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Prophet, I've waited a long time to talk to you."

Cuffe tried to move, but he couldn't. "You have information I want, Cuffe. The more you cooperate, I sooner I will leave" said the voice.

Suddenly, he found that he could talk. "Help!" he shouted. The voice laughed and said "This place is heavily warded, so don't try it. I have one question for you. Who are the shareholders of the Daily Prophet?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" asked Cuffe shakily. Who was this guy? He had taken precautions against attacks. How did he come in without anyone noticing anything?

"If you don't, I'll take it from you" replied the voice. "And trust me; I can make Legilimency attacks very painful indeed."

Cuffe sneered. "As if you can - " He stopped talking as he screamed. The attacker tore through his shields.

"Those were quite flimsy. It didn't even take me more than three seconds. So, are you willing to tell me or should I leave a gibbering mess of a man behind?" asked the voice, a touch amused.

"I'll tell you" said Cuffe in a shaky voice.

"Good boy" said the voice, as if he was talking to his dog. "But be warned. I'll know if you're lying."

Cuffe told the voice of the shareholders of Magical Britain's largest publishing company. The voice laughed and said "This is simpler than I thought. Just two more stops after this. Sign this contract." Cuffe saw a parchment appear on his desk.

"What is it?" he asked, terrified.

"It is a contract of you selling all the shares you own in the Daily Prophet to the Magical Daily Press, a company headquartered at No.12, Diagon Ally, London" said the voice.

"What? That's the address of the headquarters of the Daily Prophet!" said Cuffe. He was now close to wetting himself.

"Oh you're absolutely right" said the voice. "The Daily Prophet is going to be bought by a bigger publishing company, where the truth is reported. I have big plans for the magical world, but I can't reach out to the people this soon. The quill is indeed mightier than the sword, isn't it? Pretty soon, the Daily Prophet will die, and the British Magical Daily will be born. Well, British for now, at least. We need papers for the rest of the world as well, don't we?" said the voice and laughed.

"You can't make me do this! The contract won't be valid if I've signed it by force! It will be immediately scrapped" Cuffe shouted.

"But I can" purred the voice. "I'm not so stupid to attempt the Imperius Curse. That's for amateurs; those who can't comprehend the subtlety that is required to truly use the mind arts. Unfortunately for you, I am a natural at it."

"Legilimens"

"Compulso"

"Confundo"

"Obliviate"

Barnabus Cuffe shook his head to clear the cobwebs in his mind. He was probably too stressed. He was disgusted with how things were running at the Daily Prophet. Thank Merlin the new owner said he would turn things around. He wondered when it would be announced about the change in management. Oh well, time to go home.

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