Amelia Potter and the Chamber of Secrets PART 1

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you, you do this.'
He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action and dropped it. Snape smirked as Lockhart quickly picked it up, saying, 'Whoops – my wand is a little over-excited.'

Snape moved closer to Malfoy, bent down and whispered some- thing in his ear. Malfoy smirked, too. Harry looked nervously up at Lockhart and said, 'Professor, could you show me that blocking thing again?'

'Scared?' muttered Malfoy, so that Lockhart couldn't hear him. 'You wish,' said Harry out of the corner of his mouth.
Lockhart cuffed Harry merrily on the shoulder. '

Just do what I did, Harry!'

'What, drop my wand?'

But Lockhart wasn't listening.

'Three – two – one – go!' he shouted.

Malfoy raised his wand quickly and bellowed, 'Serpensortia!' The end of his wand exploded. Harry watched, aghast, as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor.

'Don't move, Potter,' said Snape lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of Harry standing motionless, eye to eye with the angry snake. 'I'll get rid of it ...'

'Allow me!' shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight towards Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

Harry wasn't sure what made him do it. He wasn't even aware of deciding to do it. All he knew was that his legs were carrying him forward as though he was on castors and that he had shouted stupidly at the snake, 'Leave him!' And miraculously – inexplica- bly – the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a thick black garden hose, its eyes now on Harry. 'Leave them be,' Harry turned his eyes away from the snake to see Amelia who was now on the stand also talking her eyes fixed on the snake. Harry felt the fear drain out of him. He knew the snake wouldn't attack anyone now, though how he knew it, he couldn't have explained.

He looked up at Justin, grinning, expecting to see Justin looking relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful – but certainly not angry and scared.

Amelia seemed puzzled by this but simply rolled her eyes. She had other things to worry about, like her leg, which with a smile spell had mostly stopped bleeding.