That night wrought Harry with dreams. He dreamed he was in a room; it was quite large with what seemed to be a couch, a lounge chair, and a coffee table in it. He was playing on the floor with a toy elephant and a soothing male voice was talking to him gently. He felt safe and comfortable, he felt loved. The scene changed and he found himself in the burrow with the Weasley family surrounding him. He was chasing after Fred and George with Ron and his broom in his hand going to go flying. He was happy when suddenly a flash of green light and a woman screaming his name threw him from his peaceful sleep back into reality.

He sat up in his bed and looked around wiping the sweat from his face. Ron came over to his side “is everything ok Harry? It wasn’t...you know who...was it?” he put his arm around his friend gently. Harry just sighed and stood up. “No Ron, it was just a stupid dream,” he said sadly. The comfort and the peace that he got from these dreams he knew could never be repeated in reality. Life just wasn’t like that, at least not for him.

Harry brushed his teeth and got dressed, walking down to breakfast. He passed Ginny and Hermione on the Gryffindor couch together giggling and hugging. Giggling and hugging, giggling and hugging, is that all that girls ever do? It seemed that every time he saw them they were giggling or whispering something, or hugging, or holding hands or something. Pfft girls!! Harry sat down to a breakfast of toast and marmalade, some banana porridge and an apple.  Ron’s appetite never satiable contained a breakfast of bacon and eggs, a few slices of French toast and a couple of pancakes! It’s amazing that a guy like that was able to fit in that much! But when Harry thought of his mother, even after last night’s experience, it is understandable as she could imagine she treated all of her children with as much hugs and food as a mother could possibly have.

Harry soon finished breakfast and sat around chatting with Dean, “you should come and look at this Harry; it’s a lot of good fun if you want something to do. My dad bought it for me.” Dean showed Harry what looked like a key ring with images on it. Why bother with this when a photograph moves in similar ways and can be watched? “It’s so cool and you can control it like this,” he pressed a few buttons showing Harry how the image moved around the screen under his commands. Did the guy never hear of a wand? Harry continued to nod politely and say “that’s cool” whilst he allowed his thoughts to carry it away. The tamagotchi, wasn’t that was Dean had said? Or was it tazitski? Oh it’s a wonder why a wizarding kid would want something like this when there were other things like magic that he could be using. Draco thought it was quite a laugh how some of the kids with muggle parents or halfblood wizarding children were often coming to Hogwarts with the newest muggle gadget. It was a good thing that the electrocis spell existed; recharging any device with a simple touch of a wand or else their gadgets would be pretty useless within the walls of Hogwarts. The interesting thing to find is that whilst gadgets were a common thing at the school mobile (or cell) phones were not. Too hard to find reception Harry had heard girls muttering about that when he had first come to Hogwarts. It’s a shame that Arthur Weasley never took a teaching post at Hogwarts, after his fascination in the “rubber duck” which Hermione explained to him one day over tea and crumpets (his face lit up completely) . It would be almost certain that he would be in paradise with these gadgets from the wizarding children of muggle parents.

Harry’s thoughts and mundane conversation, who ever found gadgets this interesting to talk about? Brought him to just outside greenhouse 3. With Professor Sprout waiting, along with quite a few members of Slytherin. “Welcome to greenhouse 3 second years, everybody come inside,” Professor Sprout stated as the remaining students came towards the greenhouse. Everybody entered. “Today we shall be repotting mandrakes. Can anybody tell me of the importance of the mandrake root?”

Hermione put up her hand and Professor Sprout kindly nodded in her direction.

“Mandrake, or mandigora, is used to cure anybody who had been petrified and put them back into their original state. They are also quite fatal, the mandrakes cries are fatal to anybody who hears it,” Hermione stated with a smile on her face. She felt so glad that she had read all of her books as soon as she had received them. Her thirst for knowledge was something, to truely be admired.

“Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor,” said Professor Sprout much to the delight of those in Gryffindor. “As our mandrake’s are only seedlings their cries won’t kill you yet, but they can knock you out for several hours which is why I have given each of you a pair of earmuffs if you will put them on.” Professor Sprout’s earphones had a voice amplifier spell so that her voice would be heard as she continued to explain the situation. “You grab them by the stem, yank them out and then put them back down in these bigger pots. Alright everybody? Let’s go.” She stated as Neville Longbottom fainted. “Longbottom has neglected his ear muffs.”

“No Miss, he just fainted!” said Seamus who looked down at him.

“Right well just leave him there. Everybody commence your work!” she stated much to the shock of everybody around. She ensured that Neville was in a safe area using a basic levitation spell and watched the students constantly until the end of the session.

Harry and Ron walked back up to the castle together chatting about how Draco had found yet another way to annoy Hermione. It was a surprise she had never hexed him with the way that she always seemed to be the brunt of his jokes. Today’s being the classic “how many muggles does it take to light a candle, clean a house and a lot of other mundane objects. But it seemed Draco liked to try to get a reaction out of Hermione...one day....but it’s not that day quite yet.

Harry and Ron returned to the Great Hall together for lunch, which they enjoyed feasting on tuna bake and cheese bread. After the meal a little surprise, a rather unpleasant one, arrived for Ron in the form of his family owl, Errol. On his leg was a letter from his father, it read, to be opened...7pm Gryffindor common room. Ron quickly put it away in his pocket embarrassed, hoping that nobody had noticed. The two boys made a hasty retreat from the Great Hall. Where in the corridor, Harry started to hear a voice, faint at first, but when he put his ear against the wall it seemed to be moving fast.

Kill! Hungry! Kill! Time to Kill! I smell blood! KILL!! KILL!!! KILL!!!

Harry started racing towards the voice with nothing in his mind but finding out who this voice belonged to and trying to rescue whoever was directly in harm’s way. Poor Ron was left chasing after him down the corridor, trying to catch up to him and not succeeding.

“HARRY!!! HARRY!!! Wait up will ya?” he yelled as he chased after his friend. Harry didn’t seem to be listening as he continued barrelling down the corridor only to stop where a mass of people had gathered and were pointing at something. He quickly fought his way to the front.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE!!!

Was printed clearly in red above the window.

“Blood,” Albus Dumbledore stated clearly, “no doubt about it.”

“You’ll be next mudbloods!” Draco spat at Hermione.

Harry, rubbing furiously at his forehead, was just amazed by this situation. What exactly was the chamber of secrets? Who was the heir?? The heir of what?

Minerva McGonagall stood forward always the one with a level head.

“Students back to your dormitories, teachers to the staff room. Immediately we must discuss this!” she stated matter of factly and the students automatically obeyed her.

Snape took a look at Harry with an open mouth, obviously shocked but seemingly worried about him for some strange reason. Harry saw this look, but mistook it for his teacher’s hatred of him and spent a while studying his shoes until Ron shook him by the shoulder.

“Come on mate lets go back to the common room,” he stated gently putting his arm around his friend. Ron guided Harry gently back to the dormitories, grateful to give the password to the fat lady when they arrived there and climbing into the common room. A group of students were gathered together and Ron immediately joined them Harry by his side.

“Who do you think is the heir?” came a voice

“The heir of what?” said another

“Slytherin of course,” George stated.

“Yeah what did you think it was,” added Fred, “Hufflepuff?”

“Hi Harry,” said Collin seeing Harry had entered the room, “who do you think did it?”

Hermione crossed the room and took Harry by the hand; she took him upstairs to the boy’s dormitory, ignoring the catcalls and whistles coming from the group down below. Knowing that her time with Harry is limited she merely said

“Harry, I’m worried about Ginny, she hasn’t been her normal self, she....” Harry at this point was wondering how Hermione or anybody could possibly talk about the youngest Weasley, a fiery red head known for her temper, to have a “normal self” let alone notice when it was not there!

“Harry mate!” George interrupted, “sounds pretty cool huh the heir of Slytherin,”

“Yeah,” Fred continued “if it kills someone maybe we will get time off from school they did last time!”

“Last time?” Harry asked.            

“Yeah about fifty years ago it was last opened,” George stated, “some girl died. Said that she was killed in a bathroom.”

Hermione had a thought, maybe...Myrtle...but she couldn’t possibly...could she? Harry simply looked at them blankly and George said “You wanna try some of our new red hand syrup? If it works the way it worked on Scabbers this morning...” “Hey!” said Ron but Fred merely ignored him “it will make the drinkers hand go red and thus get you off from some classes and keep the rather large kids in the hospital wing to save them from the embarrassment of sport what do you think?”

“Yeah great,” Harry stated, “maybe later.”

Ron’s offer appealed to Harry a lot more “would you like a game of chess?” Harry had played wizarding chess with them over the vacation and knew the rules pretty well. He smiled and said “sure.” The afternoon was spent with Ron over a game or four of wizarding chess. Harry was amazed when he won the last game “I think you’re getting better mate!” Ron smiled laughing and squeezed his hand.

“You boys coming down to dinner?” Hermione said as she entered the common room with a bewildered looking Ginny following.

Harry sighed “sure,” he stated.

“Yeah you have that detention with Snape afterwards, I am really sorry about that mate,” Ron said sadly.

“It’s alright,” Harry stated following Hermione and Ginny to the great hall for dinner.

“Remember your detention at 7. Don’t eat anything too heavy I don’t want to make you clean your vomit from my floors Potter,” Snape sneered from behind whilst Harry is biting into his mashed potatoes. All of a sudden Harry lost his appetite. But with some persistence from Hermione he was able to swallow down two roast potatoes, peas, carrots, pumpkin and some roast beef and swallow it all down with some Raspberry Shnizer (similar to the muggle raspberry lemonade but thicker and sounds like a running brook when you bring it near to your mouth. At first quite a few muggle born wizards take a while getting used to this new sensation but it doesn’t take long for them to begin to like it.

Harry sat and enjoyed his time watching the twins freaking out some of the younger students with their new inventions. Squeaking and squealing and the carry on from Gryffindor table was enough to make Snape wince, but Minerva McGonagall believed it was just kids being kids and if it actually got any worse she would talk to them gently about it. If it was up to Snape, he would most likely boil the lot in his next potion and start again with new students but nobody would ever agree with such blatant disregard for student health (or lives!)

But sadly for Harry, the time came to 7 far too quickly. It was time for him to make his way to the dungeons and Snape's office. He walked down with a heavy heart. Opening Snape’s office door. “Come on inside Harry,” Snape said. Does he have to be that loud inside my office? He thought dismissively as he took Harry by the hands. “Let me see them, I am in the midst of a potion that I could use your help with,” he stated.

Harry reluctantly allowed Snape to look at his hands. Does it really matter that much if he has some dirt on them or something? Snape allowed him into his office where a cauldron was sitting, in the middle of a fire, stewing nicely. “We are preparing a potion for St Mungo’s so it needs to be perfect Potter. If there is any and I mean ANY disruption or disobedience from you in the next hour you shall NOT like the consequences!!!” And Harry spent the time in detention in silence, underneath the watchful eyes of the strict potions master. Cutting up creepy crawlies and pieces of dead animal, and bits of things that he couldn’t even recognise as objects. Still, whilst he was stirring over the potion whilst  Snape went into his stores to get some more ingredients for the next potion it happened. Harry had taken a second to swipe the sweat from his brow, paid attention to the potion and seen as a bit of his sweat had gone into the potion. It instantly turned black and suddenly there was grey smoke. BOOM! And Snape came rushing out of his stores screaming, ““All you had to do was stir the potion exactly 15 times clockwise and then 82 anticlockwise. How come someone stuff that up Potter?” came a furious voice as Snape came rushing over to see if the potion could possibly be remedied.

A silver strand came out of the cauldron which whipped itself around Harry, then Snape and returned to the potion.

Results of Parenthesis potion.

Suddenly appeared in smoky, very visible writing.

Harry James Potter

Mother: Lilly Evans

Father: J

Then it was suddenly swiped out as if by eraser.

Father: Severus Snape

Snape looked at the writing with confusion.

“Get out!!! OUT!!” Snape ushered Harry to the door in the hopes that he hadn’t seen anything.

But it was too late. He had seen.

Harry’s first reaction was to turn around and bang his fists on the door behind him demanding an explanation. But his wiser instincts took him back to the Gryffindor common room where he immediately gathered Ron, Hermione, Ginny and of course Fred and George wouldn’t be left out of any news. Harry told them what had happened and there was silence around the room.

Ron sat up and exclaimed “Snape’s your DAD?!?”