Content Harry Potter
  • Previous
  • Next

Chapter 26: The Stage is Set

Thank you to my Betas Donalddeutsch, Sparky40sw and Cateagle.


Ginny waited in the prepared Chamber for her boyfriend to arrive.   They had set everything up perfectly, as far as they could tell.   Nothing was just ‘good enough’.   The plan, in general, was to show the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress the setting for this year’s Halloween Ball.

With a smile, Ginny ran her thoughts over again.   Yes, there it was…’boyfriend’.

She giggled.   She really couldn’t help it.   She didn’t like the thought of being a giggling little girl…but sometimes, she was stuck.

She had a boyfriend and, since that moment, her life was no longer normal.   Sure she’d had a boyfriend before, but that had just been Hogsmeade and snogging; perfectly normal.   But since she had consented to be Harry Potter’s girlfriend…since she had gained Harry Potter as her boyfriend; life had been different in a not normal, wonderful way, and that was without thinking about the ramifications of ‘The-Boy-Who-Lived’.   Here she was in her OWL year and she was not only not behind on her studies, she was ahead; she was on the Quidditch team as a chaser; she was snogged regularly in the halls without warning and she managed to go to a dress up dinner at least once a week with the man that she loved, all while being confined to the grounds of a boarding school.   She was learning magics more advanced than she would have ever in school and was helping her boyfriend to learn to be the most powerful wizard in the world.

She gave herself a mental shake, Oh, yeah…back to the plan.

The plan, specifically, was to have Headmaster Dumbledore and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall to dinner in the venue just as the students would in a week’s time.   Harry would perform the same magics and they would both give the two a tour of the Chamber of Secrets and the caves below their school.   It’d be a nice evening; good food and an allaying of fears.

Now she just needed Harry to show.   She looked her watch…he wasn’t late yet.   Of course, he never wore a watch since the second task.   Hmm…

"Damn sodding wanker.   How dare he…" interrupted Ginny’s thoughts.

Ginny spun around, gaping at her boyfriend.

"Harry!   What the…?" she asked.

Harry grimaced.

"Gin," Harry said with a wince.   "I know that you hate when your brothers get all protective on you," Harry waved his hand in a gesture, "but would you mind if your boyfriend protects your honor when you aren’t there?"

Ginny smiled.   This was either going to infuriate her or be very funny; perhaps both, in time.

"What happened?" she asked in a drawn out voice, a silent ‘this time’ on her lips.

"Well, you see," Harry said, "There were these fifth year Ravenclaws that I overheard talking about you."

"About me?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"Well," Harry said, "more specifically, about your body."

Ginny blushed.   "Unflattering things, I assume."

"Oh, they were very impressed.   They were nearly ready to worship you, I think," Harry corrected.

Ginny smiled, "Oh, Harry.   Just because another student likes me, doesn’t mean that you need to get all ‘jealous’ and do something about it.   You’ve all ready won me.   The competition is over."

"Oh, I hear guys all of the time admiring you.   In fact, I see many more that simply won’t take their eyes off of you," Harry stated.   "But the way that these guys were describing you couldn’t be printed in PlayWizard.   I wouldn’t have done anything if it was just another group of your admirers."

"Oh, stop," she said, acting shy.   "You make it sound like there are a lot of stalkers out there after me."

"Maybe not stalkers, but at least half of the male population of the school looks when you pass," Harry told her.   "You must have noticed."

Ginny giggled, "Apparently about as well as you noticed your following."

"Wha…?" intoned Harry, dumbfounded.

"Oh, please, Harry," Ginny drawled.   "We could fund Saint Mungos if we just opened a kissing booth in Diagon Alley for a week."

"A week?" asked Harry, incredulously.

"Long lines," she clarified.   "Just a galleon each."

She actually stayed serious for about ten seconds before busting up.

Ginny grabbed her sides as she laughed.   Harry slowly started to chuckle before he joined her in laughter.

After they had calmed down, Ginny asked in her best stern voice, "So, Harry, what did you do that would be considered protecting my honor?"

Harry smiled, "Bat Bogey Hexes in your honor and Lasting Headache Jinxes just from me for all of them."

Ginny laughed again.   "I wish that I could have been there to see that," she said with a grin.   "If that is how you defend my honor when I am not around, I approve.   As long as you are not hitting people or doing anything permanent."

Harry held up his hand and said, "I swear."

Ginny smiled at him, "You swear with your right hand, Harry."

"I know," he said with a devious grin.

"Shut it, you devil," she said with a light smack to his head, "and finish with the preparations for dinner and get the arch ready."

"Yesh Mashter," Harry said after hunching his back and swinging his right arm back and forth below him.

"Yeah, whatever, Quasimodo."


Minerva McGonagall waited patiently in the Headmaster’s office, her curiosity growing with each minute.

"Albus," she finally asked when her curiosity exceeded her patience, "how exactly are we getting to the Chamber?"

The Headmaster chuckled, "To tell you the truth, I really do not know.   I know the mechanism, roughly, but not the delivery."

"Albus," said Professor McGonagall in frustration, "someday, if you don’t learn to answer questions in a straight forward manner, I’ll be forced to send you to Madame Pomfrey with reason."

Albus laughed, "Someday, you’ll reach this office and then, Minerva, you’ll understand better why I speak the way I do."

Minerva scowled, her lips a thin line that her students learned to recognize as a warning in their first week of classes, if not before.

She was so intent on the Headmaster that she didn’t notice the goings on in the rest of the office.   Not that there normally are many other things going on in the office to be concerned with, besides the barmy old man behind the proverbial curtain, and certainly attention must be paid to him.   But this time she missed the arrival of another point of interest.

"It would seem, Minerva," said the venerable Professor, "that our method of transport has arrived, if I’m not mistaken."

Minerva McGonagall turned to see an ancient looking archway in the center of the open space of the office, on top of and at an angle to the new crest that now adorned the space.

"What is it, Professor?" she asked with a curiosity despite the hardness in her voice.

The archway was roughly hewn of a single piece of stone standing five feet wide to shoulder height and arching to nearly eight feet tall.   The arch seemed to be filled with a pool of liquid metal, a near perfect mirror, only marred by enchanting ripples.   Bracketing the opening on each side was a short fence of decrepit wood that had not known life in this century; creating a channel to the mesmerizing portal.

"I don’t know, Professor," he answered, "However, I believe that we can assume that we will find out shortly if we only step up to the device."

The Headmaster stood from his desk and offered his arm to his colleague.


"Harry, won’t they see us if we just are standing right in front of them?" Ginny asked.   "I thought you wanted them not to see us."

"The glamour’s covering us, too," Harry assured her.   "When they come in, they’ll see the Chamber as I first saw it."

"Minus me," Ginny said with as much of a smile as she could muster, covering the involuntary shiver that went down her spine.

"Yeah," Harry smiled, "minus you.   Think we should?"

"No," she said firmly.

Harry hugged her to himself with the impending arrival of their guests.   The nature of the transportation system made the travelers arrive without fanfare or pomp.   Suddenly, where there was before an uninterrupted view of the runic arch, there were then two elderly professors standing arm-in-arm.

With a gasp, Professor McGonagall was the first to speak, "What is this, Albus?   Surely we can’t have the students in here."

From her point of view, they were standing at one end of a dark, dank chamber, dripping with putrid water.   Frightening viper statues stood on each side of the large chamber, dark liquid dripping from their fangs.

"Ah, how lovely," replied the aged Headmaster, "this is a perfect setting for a Halloween Ball."

She looked at him as if he had lost his last marble.   "With all due respect, Headmaster, this must be some sort of a mistake."

Harry walked forward, still covered by the glamour charm, to continue the evening to his mental script.

"Welcome," he whispered, "to the Chamber of Secrets."

Professor McGonagall jumped as she heard the disembodied voice.   She was greeted with an eerie laugh echoing around the Chamber.

"Perhaps you should look at it with a true eye."

The Professor stood tall against her fear.


"That was an amazing feat of magic, Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall praised after they had eaten dinner.   "Would you care to walk me through your transformation of this Chamber?"

"Oh, sure," agreed Harry, "over the summer I found a book in the library that was written by the Founders on the construction of Hogwarts."   Shock and surprise registered on the Transfiguration Professor’s face.   "It showed how to conjure and transfigure stone and how to change the statues."

Regaining her wits, Professor McGonagall continued along her professional interests, "And the Statue of Salazar Slytherin, was that a transfiguration?"

Ginny giggled behind her hand.

"No," she said from behind her hand.   "That was just Harry having fun and letting out his pent up anger."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrow in continued curiosity.

"I, uh," Harry stammered, "I turned it into dust with bludgeoning spells, blasting hexes, slashing curses and what ever else that I could think of to practice power."

Harry gave a sheepish smile.

"Very good, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said.   "And at the beginning, what was that arch that brought us here?"

Harry and Ginny shared a satisfied glance.   They agreed.   Professor McGonagall thought that the arch was the method of transport.   This was the final pass of the tests for the crests.   When Harry passed out on the crest the Saturday after Hermione’s birthday, he inadvertently proved that the crests would detect someone with a medical emergency and transport them to the hospital wing.   Of course the other tests were much more sedate and controlled; he and Ginny seeking privacy and turning off the system to prevent accidental guests; the Headmaster playing with the settings and spending an afternoon porting between random crests throughout the castle; and of course Harry and Ginny’s numerous trips to and from the Chamber.   It was well tested and now they knew that they could fool someone as intelligent as the Transfigurations Professor into thinking that it was the ancient looking arch not the floor it stood on.

"Just something that I found in some old books.   Dead useful," Harry proclaimed.

"Indeed Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall agreed.   "Now please show me what you learned in the subject of Transfiguration to make these changes on the Chamber."

Ginny smiled proudly at her boyfriend.


The dinner with the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress went well, the educators were satisfied and, indeed, impressed with the setting for the next ball.   They had toured the Chamber proper before Harry and Ginny showed them the associated caves.   Harry and Ginny both had worked on preparing them as a place for the students to walk and have some private time, in replacement for the paths and rose gardens of the last ball.   At various nooks there were transfigured benches for couples to have relatively quiet times together as the night progressed.

"Very nice preparations, Mister Potter, Miss Weasley," congratulated Professor Dumbledore.

"Thank you," Harry said for them.

"Yes, very good," agreed Professor McGonagall.   "However, I am concerned that these caves are a bit much for the younger students."

Harry smiled cheekily, "Yeah, I can see how these caves would not be appropriate for, say, a second year student."

Professor McGonagall’s lips twitched slightly as she fought a smile.   "Very funny, Mister Potter, but you know what I mean."

Harry smiled but dropped his cheek.   "Of course."

"Our plan," Ginny continued for him, before he could cause any trouble, "is to only open the doors when the third year students and below have left for their dormitories."

The Professors did smile at this good idea.

"Very well," Professor McGonagall approved.   "You seem to have planed it all well indeed.   I love your decorations and the crystals."

She was referring to how the caves were interspersed with patches of crystal veins in the rock wall like numerous spider webs; concentrated at each nook that contained a bench.   The crystals were in a rainbow of colors, glowing with obvious magic.   Further decorations included stands of softly luminous crystals growing from the floor at larger areas to break up the path.   The whole effect was quite otherworldly.   The setting didn’t seem to be of this earth.   Harry thought that it was more something that you would see on early American science fiction that Dudley enjoyed watching when Harry was younger.

"Ginny did a very good job," Harry praised.   "She directed the decoration in the whole place."

Ginny blushed, in reaction to his statement.

"Why the magic torches along the walls with such magnificent lights as these?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"The crystal," Ginny answered, "is only lit with a spell and it’ll fade after a day or so.   Most people that come down here after the ball won’t know the spell for lighting them, but one of the first things that you learn is how to light a torch, so," she motioned with her hand, "torches."

"Of course!" Professor Dumbledore agreed to the revelation.   "Very well thought out indeed."


During the preparation for, and even after approval of, the work that Harry and Ginny had spent so much time on, school continued.   Harry had been keeping up with his schoolwork and paying attention in class, but this had been made easier with the pure review and relearning nature of the first many weeks of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

With her Auror training and quick, young wit, Professor Tonks had taken to the subject with gusto.   The only problem is that many of the students taught by the toad Umbridge the previous year knew next to nothing of practical magic, and none had the motivation that her star pupil had in independent learning.   Thus she had to spend weeks teaching the practical magic that was neglected by the toad like woman.

This allowed Harry a lot of time to do other things in class when he had proven that he had already mastered the subject for the day.   Sometimes he would assist Tonks in teaching the students and sometimes he would prepare himself for his lessons to the D.A.   The extra time in class was going to come to a close just before the Halloween ball as the other students caught up with the start of the year curriculum and the beginning of proper lessons.

"Class," started Tonks in her Professor voice, "as we’ve finished ironing out the deficiencies in previous years, we’re now moving on to the first topic of the Advanced DADA curriculum.   The first thing to learn is silent casting."

The class perked up at the thought of the new subject.   Tonks felt the raising of attention levels and smiled as she went on.

"Some teachers would have you do this by having you strain to produce a spell as they hexed you, providing little chance that any would see success in the first day," Tonks advised with disapproval.   "While this is a ministry approved teaching method, I don’t believe that we’ll be taking this route."

A snort could be heard from the Slytherin side of the room.   "We’ll be rid of the half-blood yet.   The ministry won’t like her varying their teaching methods."

Tonks’ eyes latched on to the offender.   "Mr. Malfoy…as you have chosen to interrupt this class once again, I will, this time, take ten points from Slytherin."

Despite the glares from his housemates, Draco Malfoy, never the swiftest broom in the shed, just could not shut his mouth.   "Yeah, well, how long do you think that you will be here when you defy the Ministry’s guidelines?"

"Mr. Malfoy, once again you do not show the proper respect for your superiors," Professor Tonks lectured.   "That will be a further twenty points from Slytherin and a detention tonight with Mr. Filch.   I’m sure that he can come up with a suitable method for you to remember your place as a student.   As for my teaching methods and following the Ministry guidelines; I remind you that I am the teacher in this classroom and have far greater experience in the subject than you.   I will teach by the method that will yield the best results and will leave the students in this class best able to defend themselves in the event that some low life scum in a white mask decides that following a deranged psychopath is more productive than their own previously pathetic lives.   Now sit down before you lose more of your house’s hard fought points."

The blond Slytherin sat quickly, fuming at being told off by his cousin of all people.


Harry, Hermione and Ron stayed after class, packing up their bags slowly until the room was empty save for them and their teacher.

"Good class, Professor," Harry said with respect.   "It’s good to try something new."

"Thanks," Tonks said with a wane smile, "but I shouldn’t have lectured Malfoy like that."

Hermione scoffed, "Oh please, he’s been deserving that from a professor for five years.   He needed to be put in his place."

"Yeah," said Ron, "and you can’t say that you didn’t like doing that to the wanker."

"Ron!" admonished Hermione.

"Yeah, that wasn’t bad," smile Tonks genuinely.

"Not bad!   It was bloody brilliant!" shouted Ron again.

"Ron!   Stop cursing."


"Professor Snape," said Harry on Monday evening in the Potions classroom where he had found the Potions Master.

The greasy professor looked up from the potions book that he had been reviewing while making notes on a long piece of parchment to the side.

"Yes, what is it Potter?" Snape sneered.

"Sir," Harry said politely, "you know that the ball is tomorrow."

"Ah, yes, Potter," the Professor returned with a remarkably small measure of animosity.   "No need to remind me.   All of those hormonally charged teenage wizards and witches trying to find a semi-private place to do their unthinkable deeds, of course I remember that tomorrow is the accursed day."

"Yeah," Harry said, biting back a chuckle, "I know how you feel about that sort of thing."

"Go on," bid the irritable professor.

"Sir, I thought that you might be a bit too busy after escorting the lower classes back to your common room to return to the ‘torture’ that you would experience at such an event," Harry said cryptically.

"And how would I be too busy, Mr. Potter?" the Potions Professor asked with a snarl.

Harry smiled in a conspiring manner, "I thought that you might just be exploring this potions book that I retrieved from the restricted section," Harry said as he pulled the small book from his book bag.

"And why, Potter, would I choose that time to read such a paltry book?" the Professor asked, his impatience evident in his tone.

Harry reached into his bag again and withdrew a small jar filled with a greenish grey powder, setting it on the desk.

"Because, Sir," Harry answered, "that book has potions that were long forgotten due to one missing ingredient."

Professor Snape’s scowl became more evident and nastier.   "Get to the point, Potter!"

Harry smiled a humorless smile.   "The point, sir, is that this is Basilisk Powder."

"Basilisk Powder!" exclaimed the sinister professor.   "So you finally retrieved the carcass from the Chamber.   I have been asking for years for the old coot to allow me down to retrieve the thing."

"Really?" asked Harry in surprise.

"Yes, Potter, really," the Professor answered in monotone.   "Now get on with it before I assign you a detention tomorrow night with Mr. Filch."

"Okay, fine, here’s the deal," Harry said, placing his hands firmly on the desk between them.   "This is only enough powder to last for a dozen potions or more but it is just a small fraction of what I have," Harry proclaimed with a satisfied grin.   "If, by chance, no student is punished or reprimanded for a rule that isn’t recorded in the official Hogwarts book of rules for the next 48 hours, I’ll give you a jar of this powder that is the size of your jar of nettles."

"Potter, I will not have you bribe me to not do my job!" the Slytherin Professor said.   "And I assure you that bribing a professor is in the rule book."

"Yes, but I’m not bribing you to not do your job.   I’m bribing you to do just your job and not make new rules up just to make the student’s evening less enjoyable.   Could you explain to the Board of Governors why you saw fit to punish me for bribing you to follow the rules?" asked a heated Harry Potter.

"But you’re trying to bribe me to stay away!" the Professor exclaimed as he shot up from his chair, slamming his palms onto the desktop.

"Not stay away, Professor," said Harry, calmly.   "I just thought that you would rather not have the temptation of being around the students and would rather be with your potions that would most likely be simmering at that time as Basilisk Powder potions require at least seventy-two hours of simmering before they are at full potency."

Professor Snape’s eyes bored into the sixth year.   "I will not abandon my house to the whims of the other teachers or students.   As their Head of House, it’s my job to look out for their interests.   As such, I will be around.   Count on that, Mr. Potter," Professor Snape spat.

"As you wish, Professor," Harry said, biting back his retort.   "Just remember, that sample may be the last that you see for a long time, as I’ll not release the remainder to the general public or to potion masters until after the Dark Ponce is dead.   I have several drums of this and I won’t have any of it helping that git.   And I’m sure that you would rather have it for free instead of the prices that I can demand from your peers."

"That should be mine anyway," Snape proclaimed darkly, "as it is school property."

"It is mine," said Harry.   "I killed it.   I harvested it.   I packaged it.   I stored it.   It’s now in the Potter family vault, nicely protected, and the Headmaster has acknowledged that it is mine to do with as I please."

Professor Snape scowled heavily.

"Just consider," Harry offered an olive branch, "this an opportunity to receive ten thousand galleons worth of potions ingredients for just doing exactly your job.   Just consider your actions, Professor."

Harry turned abruptly and left the dank dungeon, distantly glad to have made it out of the room without punishment for his gall.   His heart was hammering in his chest at the strong stance he had taken against his long time nemesis.


  • Previous
  • Next