Harry Potter : In the shadow of divinity33.33%

Chapter - 28 : Unseen and Unheard part - 3

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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"A-all right, Harry?" the boy stammered , blushing bright red when the rest of the group turned to stare at him.

"Hello," Harry smiled kindly. "You're Colin Creevey, right? You were sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Y-yes, I was." A surprised smile took over the first year's face and he took a tentative step forward. "D'you think- would it be all right if…can I have a picture?" He hopefully raised his camera.

"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you," Colin said eagerly. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me about how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead," his eyes raked Harry's hairline. "And a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move," Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you," he looked imploringly at Harry, "maybe one of your friends could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"

Harry glanced hesitantly at his friends, all of whom looked to amused to be of any help. "I…I guess a photo would be all right."

Draco laughed incredulously. "You're actually going to do it? Are you going to sign it as well?" he teased. "Maybe we should start selling signed photos of you, we'd make a good galleon off of them."

"Who's giving out signed photos?"

Harry only barely managed to suppress a groan when Lockhart swept toward the little group in a swirl of violently turquoise robes; he'd only heard the man speak from afar, but what he'd heard was enough to convince him that, whatever he was using to keep his teeth so white, must have been harmful for his brain.

"Ah, I shouldn't have asked! Harry Potter, we meet at last." He turned his million watt smile onto Colin. "Come on then, Mr. Creevey." Lockhart pulled Harry tightly to his side. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you."

Before the boy could raise his camera, Harry slipped out of his professor's grasp and moved away from him. "Actually, Professor, Colin asked to take a picture with me, not of me. But if you could perhaps take the picture that would be much appreciated."

Harry felt a smug sense of satisfaction when Lockhart's smile became slightly less blinding to the eye. "Of course," he said. "Get in there, Mr. Creevey."

Colin eagerly shoved his camera into Lockhart's hands and ran to Harry's side, the raven haired Slytherin threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulders and smiled at the camera. And if the smile came out just a bit smug…well, Lockhart's expression was just too amusing.

The man was certainly annoying and so full of himself it almost hurt to hear him talk, but Harry found comfort in the fact that the chances of Voldemort possessing Lockhart were slim to none. Perhaps, he'd be lucky enough to make it through the school year without having a run in with the dark lord.

Harry sighed in melancholy as he read the message written across the blank wall in what looked suspiciously like blood. The caretaker Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, was hanging from a torch less than a meter away, stiff as a board.

There hadn't been any word of the Chamber of Secrets, its mysterious heir, or the supposed monster of Slytherin for nearly fifty years; there was no way their sudden revival was a coincidence. Voldemort was likely making another attempt at returning to life and he had, once again, infiltrated the school to do so. Loki was not going to be pleased.

Harry used the commotion caused by Filch's discovery of his seemingly dead cat and the headmaster's arrival to slip away from the crowd of students; he stealthily made his way to the Forbidden Forest where he knew his father would be waiting. Best to tell him to get it over with and tell him what was happening right away, the last thing he needed was for Loki to find out about the Chamber on his own and return to the conclusion that Harry would be safest away from both Midgard and Asgard.

He granted Loki a quick hug and greeting before jumping right into it. "Someone's gone and opened the Chamber of Secrets."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "That is…good, I presume?"

"For blood traitors and 'mudbloods' it is the exact opposite of good."

Loki heaved a heavy sigh. "Explain."

"The founder of my house, Salazar Slytherin, wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts," Harry explained. "He disliked taking students of muggle parentage, believing them to be unworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school.

"But, the story goes that, before his departure, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing about. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic.

"Half an hour ago a message was found written in blood on one of the castle's walls declaring the reopening of the Chamber. Beside it was the caretaker's cat, she looked to be dead."

"Do you think it's Voldemort?"

Harry nodded. "Or someone working to get Voldemort his body back. Do you remember that crazy house elf that visited me on my birthday?"