"Not exactly how I thought I'd be spending Halloween." Harry muttered, peering through the lens of his telescope.
Beside him, Susan laughed quietly.
The entirety of the second year student body was up the Astronomy Tower, working on a project that could only be done tonight, when Mercury was in the specific position it was currently.
Harry looked at Susan, and then back at his telescope, studying the smudge that was Mercury.
Harry thought of Hermione then, thought of their kiss outside the Quidditch pitch. He'd expected some great change between them, maybe they would start going steady, but there just… hadn't been. Hermione blushed a bit more around him, but she made no indication of their kiss in public, and Harry didn't want to force her to do anything about it.
So, for now, he shelved all of that and focused back on Mercury.
"Mister Potter." a female voice said, and Harry leaned back from his telescope to look at Professor Aurora Sinistra.
She was a tall woman with dark skin and deep eyes that were a strange shade of navy, like a midnight sky. She had an ample bosom and full curves. Her legs were long and flawless, and her ass was the subject of many male students' dreams.
"Professor." Harry said, unsure what she had to say.
"Professor Lockhart has… ahem, requested your presence." Aurora said, grudgingly.
"Oh no." Harry groaned, "Can I please stay? Mercury is in the perfect position for this assignment."
"I made the same case. However for some reason, the headmaster agrees with Professor Lockhart summoning you." Aurora said bitterly.
"But what about the assignment?" Harry asked, not really caring, just trying to get out of seeing Lockhart.
"I'll exempt you." Aurora said kindly, "Besides, I fear an evening with Professor Lockhart might be akin to any sort of labor. But don't tell anyone I said that."
Professor Sinistra winked at him, then walked off to instruct Neville Longbottom on how to properly look at Mercury.
Harry very miserably trudged down out of the tower, passing a curious Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown as he went.
Harry headed towards Lockhart's office, feeling plainly miserable, but then he heard a peculiar noise. It was like an odd scraping sound, as if something was dragging itself across the floor.
Kill a raspy, unnerving voice spoke. Harry started, his head whipping both ways up and down the corridor. His hand plunged into his robes and came back with his wand.
Kill! the voice shouted from around a corner, and Harry sprinted towards it. When he rounded the corner, his feet splashed in water. There was about two inches of water on the floor of the corridor, and quite a gruesome sight was on the wall.
Firstly, Mrs. Norris, Filch's ugly ass cat, was hanging from a torch by her tail, unmoving. At first glance, Harry thought she was dead, but then he realized she wasn't limp, she was, in fact, locked in place, like she'd been frozen. He wondered about the Body-Bind Curse, but no, her eyes weren't moving.
However, the more alarming thing was the message on the wall, written in blood.
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware.
Harry stared at it, trying to puzzle out what it meant, when suddenly, he heard the sounds of laughter and footsteps coming from the left.
Harry instantly realized that he shouldn't be found here, and darted back the way he came.
He realized quickly his robes were wet, so he'd have to time this perfectly.
The footsteps grew louder, and then a girl shrieked. Harry waited a second, and then ran around the corner straight into the water on the floor, and recoiled in fake surprise at the gruesome sight.
"What is that? What happened to that cat?" a first year Ravenclaw boy exclaimed fearfully.
"Somebody get Professor Dumbledore!" Harry heard a voice, possibly Percy Weasley, the Gryffindor Head Boy, shout.
"No need." said a voice, and Harry turned to see Dumbledore striding towards him with McGonagall by his side.
"What happened?" Dumbledore asked Harry.
"I don't know. I was up at Astronomy, when Professor Sinistra told me that Professor Lockhart wanted to see me. I was headed that way when I heard somebody scream, so I came here, and I found all these students here with, uh, the cat." Harry said.
Dumbledore nodded, his eyes looking worried as he beheld the scene before him. Harry saw him mouth 'Chamber of Secrets' as he read it. Dumbledore then re-read it.
"Everybody, please return to your dormitories. Minerva, would you go and fetch the second years and tell them to do the same?" Dumbledore instructed.
McGonagall left at once, and Harry joined the crowd of students heading towards their dorms. He caught a glimpse of a silver-blond head, and fell in step beside Gabrielle.
"That cat… she was Petrified." Gabrielle said to Harry in a worried voice.
"Yeah, it looks like it. I thought it was a Body-Bind Curse at first, but the eyes aren't moving." Harry said. Astoria appeared on Harry's other side, fear apparent in her green eyes.
Harry wrapped an arm comfortingly around Storey's shoulders, and she cuddled up against his side.
"Hey, Dumbledore won't let anything happen to us. He's got this thing sorted. Did you see him reading that message? He definitely knows what the Chamber is, which means he probably knows how to close it." Harry comforted Astoria.
"Yes, even in France, wizards talk about how exceptional Albus Dumbledore is. We are perfectly safe." Gabrielle agreed. Harry gave the Frenchgirl a grateful look, and she gave him a proud smile.
Harry and the two girls entered the common room, and after a quick hug, Harry sent Astoria up to her room, and Gabrielle volunteered to go with her.
Harry sat down in an armchair and waited for his second year friends to return, but Gabrielle came back down from the girls dorm first.
"Everything alright?" Harry asked. Gabrielle nodded.
"Yes, she is asleep. I think she was very frightened by this whole thing." Gabrielle said.
"Thanks, Gabs. You're the best." Harry said.
"I know." Gabrielle smiled and sat down on the arm of Harry's chair, her bare thigh resting against his arm. The skirts they made Hogwarts girls wear were rather short, Harry reflected.
"Why did you make a big performance of coming around the corridor, though?" Gabrielle asked in a whisper. Harry's head lifted in surprise.
"You think I can not notice a performance? We French are excellent in dramatics." Gabrielle said wryly.
Harry laughed.
"Alright. I found that corridor on my own, but then I heard footsteps. I didn't want to be caught alone with that. It's pretty damning. So I ducked behind the corridor and waited for a loud scream. Something I could rush to help." Harry explained in a low voice. Gabrielle smiled.
"Very clever of you." she whispered.
"I certainly thought so." Harry whispered back. Gabrielle laughed.