Idiosyncrasy |Harry Potter

Chapter Sixteen

Zakari enjoyed his winged companion that would join him on the occasion when he went outside with Duncan to allow the dog to the use the bathroom. Some days he would be in the usual spot of the tree and other days, Zakari didn't catch a glimpse of him, but the crow seemed quite friendly towards him, so the boy didn't mind the animal's company. Duncan didn't seem all that favorable of the bird though, so to keep him distracted, Zakari constantly had to throw a stick to keep Duncan entertained. The crow seemed to be rather picky too about when he showed up, he had appeared the one time Zakari was outside with Eve, but since then the bird only returned when the child was alone with his dog.

It was nice to have animals to turn to after a long day of dealing with people.

Classes were still not the easiest for Zakari as any incantation was giving him quite a bit of trouble even though he was trying to figure out the trick of getting his wand to work non-verbally. He would spend long hours in the Study Hall and Library with Franklin, Eve and Jean who all tried to help him in any way that they could with suggestions. So far none of them had worked but Zakari was not going to give up.

He wrote letters back and forth to his mother trying to reassure her that he was fine as she seemed to be came across as nervous in her writing as she asked him how everything was going in Hogwarts. She was more than thrilled that he was sorted into the Slytherin house like her and his father, even though he left out the latter part out of his letter. He only explained that he wanted to bring a good name to the Slytherin house and she seemed more than okay with it.

Students were warming up to Zakari as well, as many of them had learned some simple signs to greet him which filled the boy with joy whenever someone signed to him in the corridors or in class. Some students even volunteered to work with him on class assignments which brightened the boy's mood drastically as he was able to meet more people in the school. 

However, he couldn't help but noticed they were all girls.

"I think boys are afraid of me." Zakari signed to Franklin as he and the man were on their way to the  Hallowe'en feast that evening hoping to catch the end of it as they had spent a great deal of time working in the library.  Duncan led the way as his trotted ahead of them.

"Why?" Franklin looked down at him confused by the boy's sudden claim.

"Girls talk to me. Boys don't look at me."

Franklin chuckled at Zakari before shaking his head. 

"Girls are...nicer.Give it time."

Zakari nodded his head at the man's words before looking down to Duncan who came to a halt as his hackles rose.

In a matter of seconds, Franklin couldn't even piece together what had happened as Duncan took off and Zakari took off after him. When the man went to give chase, Zakari and Duncan had completely disappeared and he wasn't sure what direction they had gone leaving him along in the hall.

"Good going, Franklin, you lost them."

Zakari was chasing after Duncan when the dog stopped suddenly and slowly began to back away with his ears pinned.

Once again, Zakari felt the familiar movement he had felt previously when Duncan had done it before. Walking over, the boy placed his hands against the wall and began following the tremors of the wall not knowing where he was going. It was only when he stepped in what felt like a puddle did the boy snap out of his trance. He looked around to see that he had made it to the bathroom that appeared flooded with water everywhere.

He looked up in confusion only to see Harry standing across the way from him, his two friends, Hermione and Ron behind him. But in the center separating them was Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat hanging by her tail from a torch bracket.

Letting out a noise of fright escape from his lips, Zakari jumped back nearly stepping on Duncan who was behind him.

The children all exchanged glances with one another before they turned to read what had been written on the wall.

"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE".

The child had no idea what to make of the writing on the wall, but he didn't even have a chance to wrap his head around it as they were surrounded by students leaving the feast.

Draco Malfoy appeared and noted the scene before yelling something that Zakari couldn't make out. Finally, Franklin came upon the scene along with other adults, and the accusations began as Zakari found himself in the crossfire of Filch's rage and Snape's sneers.

The boy cowered back from the stares as he couldn't comprehend what was going on, as Franklin was too busy arguing with Snape and Filch in defense of Zakari having any involvement with what had happened.

Quickly, the boy began to sign frantically to his interpreter to explain what he had witnessed happened. How he arrived upon the scene after chasing Duncan and he and the other students had arrived to the same spot at the same time leaving them no time to attack.

Dumbledore seemed to back up what Zakari was trying to tell them by stating that whoever was capable of such dark magic performed would definitely not be a second year, let alone a first.

With no valid argument, Filch and Snape were forced to retract their statements of blame, even if they didn't like a second of it.

Harry glanced across the way at Zakari who was still communicating with Franklin, his hands moving incredibly fast before pointing in the direction of the wall.

Harry pressed his lips together as his eyes narrowed. A thought ran through his mind.

How was Zakari capable of hearing the voice in the wall?