THE LIGHTNING LORD

Chapter 35 : The blame game

Harry suddenly got the image of an enormous room with statues of snakes on either side, but the memory ended just as quickly as it began. The Chamber of Secrets sounded so familiar, but he felt the information was just beyond his current reach.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods" shouted Draco Malfoy gleefully.

Red hot anger erupted inside Harry. While he hated Muggles, he deeply cared about the lives and treatment of muggleborns. So when the ferret shouted out that insult, he took his wand and cursed him. Draco screamed as painful boils erupted on his face.

"DON'T USE THAT DISGUSTING WORD IS FRONT OF ME!" said Harry in a menacingly but quiet voice. A few people around him stepped back as his magic aura flared.

"Move aside! What is going on here?" asked Professor McGonagall as she stepped forward along with the rest of the teachers and Filch.

"What is wrong with Mr Malfoy? Why is he shrieking like a harpy?" she asked crossly.

"That would be my fault, Professor McGonagall. He used the derogatory M-word so I hexed him in return" said Harry, keeping his face calm.

McGonagall pursed her lips. "Thank you for your confession Mr Potter, but it will at the cost of ten points from Ravenclaw for attacking another student. Mr Malfoy, if I ever catch you uttering that word it will be detention" she said.

That was when she noticed the frozen cat on the ground and the message on the wall. She gasped as she realised the meaning behind the words. Filch came up and saw that his cat was petrified.

"My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs Norris?" he shouted.

Filch looked at Harry, who was standing directly opposite to him. He needed a person to blame and he never liked James Potter. So he shouted "You! You murdered my cat! I'll kill you!"

Harry's eyes narrowed as he got angry. "Argus" said a voice and Dumbledore made his dramatic entrance. The Headmaster picked up the cat and said, "Come with me Argus, you too Mr Potter"

"May I know why, Headmaster?" asked Harry in a calm voice, not revealing his intense anger at the moment. He knew just what had happened. Filch needed to blame someone and had chosen him. Dumbledore was taking his revenge on Harry; by calling him aside, the Hogwarts rumour mill will think the Headmaster suspected Harry having something to do with the attacks. The sheep would eat it up and Harry's credibility would take a beating.

"Do as you're told Mr Potter" said Dumbledore in a commanding voice. Harry mutely followed him, and just as he had suspected, the people forgot all about Draco Malfoy and instead started painting a target on his back. He looked at Professor Flitwick for support and the diminutive teacher nodded back to Harry with a determined expression on his face, but Harry knew that Flitwick couldn't do much. The Charms master was a half-goblin, and while many of them respected him for his accomplishments, he didn't really have any power at Hogwarts except the Head of House position.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster – just upstairs. Please feel free -" said Lockhart.

"Thank you Gilderoy" said Dumbledore. They entered the classroom and McGonagall flicked her wand and the lighting charms and torches came alive, bathing the office in bright light. Dumbledore examined the cat closely, his nose almost touching its fur. Filch was crying loudly and Lockhart was boasting loudly about his accomplishments.

"She's not dead Argus" said Dumbledore finally, cutting across Lockhart's monologue.

"Not dead? Then why is she all stiff and frozen?" he asked in a watery voice.

"She has been petrified. Although how, I cannot say - "

"Ask him!" interrupted Filch. "He did it! He did it! I know it!" he screeched.

"Enough!" said Harry in a soft voice, but the power the words were laced with were enough to shut Filch up. The caretaker looked at the furious expression on Harry's face and paled. Maybe he should have chosen someone else to blame for his cat's condition. The expression on Harry's face was nothing like the James Potter he remembered. Harry was flaring his aura around and bolts of lightning could be seen around his body.

"I would like to remind everyone in this room that I was at the feast along with the rest of the students and staff, and not once did I leave the Great Hall. I was on my way to Ravenclaw Tower along with the rest of the students when we encountered the spectacle. Since no one at the back knew what was going on I stepped forward to see what the holdup was about. It was then that I saw Mrs Norris frozen and heard Draco Malfoy sprout off insulting muggleborns with the M-word, for which I hexed him. Immediately Professor McGonagall came to the scene. The rest of the students would be able to confirm this. May I ask why I am being singled out Headmaster?" asked Harry.

Dumbledore stared into Harry's eyes, but he did not try a Legilimency probe. "Innocent until proven guilty, Argus" he said softly.

"Guilty of what?" asked Harry in a dangerous voice.

"My cat has been petrified! I expect to see some punishment!" said Filch.

Harry turned to face him and said in a cold voice replied "In that case punish yourself for getting careless with your pet. I will not be made a scapegoat just because you demand it. Get that inside the thick head of yours."

"Mr Potter" reprimanded McGonagall.

"You may go" said Dumbledore. He was mentally dancing a jig of joy. Harry had walked right into his trap. He probably should send a box of chocolates to Lucius Malfoy for inadvertently helping him. By the end of the year, he would have Harry back under his thumb and his plan could proceed as he desired. He would ensure that in a few months, Harry would be the most hated person in the castle, if not the country.

Harry quickly made his way to Ravenclaw Tower and his room; his housemates were giving him weird looks. As soon as he entered, he locked the door and hissed "Open" at his trunk. The multi-compartment trunk opened and Harry stepped into the library compartment.

There were tomes of books Harry had copied from the Potter Library; they did not last long as they disappeared in a year but it was better than taking them out of Potter Castle and risking their accidental destruction. He browsed through the books until he took out the thick volume of Hogwarts: A History. He came to the part about the founders and struck gold.

" – story goes that Slytherin built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.

Slytherin, according to 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, and unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all those who were unworthy to study magic."

" – believed to be some sort of monster that only the heir of Slytherin can control."

Harry closed his eyes and fell into a nearby armchair. It looked like he had underestimated Lucius Malfoy's plot. He would never have thought that the man was stupid enough to commit genocide inside a school that his own son attended! He concentrated on the words 'Chamber of Secrets' hoping he would get some information from Voldemort's memories. Nothing. He could feel that he knew it, but the information about the chamber was just out of his reach. It was frustrating! What sort of creature petrifies its victims? It didn't make any sense!