The Mystery of the Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 11: The Duelling Club

Harry woke up on Sunday morning to find the dormitory blazing with winter sunlight and his arm re-boned but very stiff. He sat up quickly and looked over at Colin's bed, but it had been blocked from view by the high curtains Harry had changed behind yesterday. Seeing that he was awake, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over with a breakfast tray and then began bending and stretching his arm and fingers.

"All in order," she said, as he clumsily fed himself porridge left-handed, "when you've finished eating, you may leave."

Harry dressed as quickly as he could and hurried off to Gryffindor Tower, desperate to tell Ron and Hermione about Dobby and Colin, but they weren't there. Ron and Hermione were not in the library either, so Harry decided to try Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As he entered, he heard their voices coming from a locked cubicle.

An old cauldron was perched on the toilet and a crackling from under the rim told Harry they had lit a fire beneath it. Conjuring up portable, water-proof fires was a speciality of Hermione's.

"We would have come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Ron explained, as Harry, with difficulty, locked the cubicle again, "we've decided this is the safest place to hide it."

Harry started to tell them about Colin, but Hermione interrupted, "We already know, we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That's why we decided we'd better get going-"

"The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better," snarled Ron, "do you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin."

"There's something else," said Harry, watching Hermione tearing bundles of knotgrass and throwing them into the potion, "Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night."

Ron and Hermione looked up, amazed. Harry told them everything Dobby had told him-or what he hadn't told him. Ron and Hermione listened with their mouths open.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been open before?" said Hermione.

"This settles it," said Ron in a triumphant voice, "Lucius Malfoy must have opened the Chamber when he was at school here and not he's told dear old Draco how to do it. It's obvious. Wish Dobby's told you what kind of monster's in there, though. I want to know who come nobody's noticed it sneaking round the school."

"Maybe it can make itself invisible," said Hermione, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron, "or maybe it can disguise itself-pretend to be a suit of armour or something. I've read about Chameleon Ghouls..."

"You read too much, Hermione," said Ron, pouring dead lacewings on top of the leeches.

He crumpled up the empty lacewing bag and looked round at Harry, "So Dobby tried to stop you and Etta getting through the barrier and broke your arm."

He shook his head, "You know what, Harry? If he doesn't stop trying to save your life he's going to kill you."

The news that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying as though dead in the hospital wing had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumour and suspicion. The first-years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone. Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin Creevey in Charms, was distraught, but Harry felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking it in turns to cover themselves with fur or boils and jump out at her from behind statues. They only stopped when Percy, apoplectic with rage, told them he was going to write to Mrs Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares. In the second week of December Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Ron and Hermione signed her list; they had heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck them as very suspicious. The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion and try to worm a confession out of him. Etta was passing Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and her heightened senses allowed her to recognise the voices as she passed the entrance. She stepped back through and knocked on the cubicle door.