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Chapter 2 — Year Two: The Trapped Boy

"Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts!"   Dobby didn’t understand why the witch and the boy wizard wouldn’t listen to him.   It made him want to bludgeon himself with a croquet mallet.

"I’m afraid the powers have already spoken, little elf.   All we know to this point is that there is a Trapped Boy who must be freed.   If Harry does not go, it is unlikely the boy can be saved."     The woman said calmly.

Dobby had tried to block his mail and isolate him from his friends, but no one had written him.   All he had to show for it was eight issues of The Quibbler, a Hogwarts Letter, and five catalogs.   They rolled dice and turned over cards.   Dobby tried using his magic to interfere, but he had no idea what to change the dice rolls to.   This only resulted in predictions that Harry would be made Minister of Magic this year and that the Giant Squid would lead an insurgency against the Merfolk Intercontinental Liberation Front.

"Hogwarts will be very dangerous for you," Dobby warned.

The great and wonderful Harry Potter looked at him.   Dobby couldn’t let his master’s plot harm Harry Potter.   "Trust me, Dobby.   I don’t really want to go back either, but the choice is already made.   Plus, I’m looking forward to finally meeting Gilderoy Lockhart.   We heard over the wireless that he’s going to be teaching there this year.   If Hogwarts is going to be a dangerous place, then we have the perfect defense teacher for the job.   Are you okay?   Do you need to sit down?"

The elf felt a twinge in his left eye.   Others said that he didn’t eat right and that he was too eager to punish himself.   They didn’t understand how hard it was to please his master and his family.   Harry Potter was asking him to sit down and relax!   He truly was a great wizard.   His choice was obvious.   He would have to stop Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts by any means necessary.

***

"Is anyone else here?"   A young blonde asked.   Several older students had stopped at his compartment and went elsewhere.   He didn’t worry.   If his trip was to be spent in meditative silence or trading stories with other students, it was out of his hands.

"No, make your self at home.   First year at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I miss daddy already.   I hope he remembers to feed the moles."   She sat down and removed a paper from her handbag.

"Is that The Quibbler?"

"Yes," she answered in a distant voice.   She was doing the crossword puzzle upside down.

"Odd, I thought they’d gone out of business.   They must have cancelled my subscription."

"No, father hasn’t gone out of business in the last five months.   We periodically do that to make the Rotfangs believe they’ve won to make them come out into the open."

"Do you think the Rotfangs are behind my cancelled subscription?"   Perhaps this was the danger the elf spoke of.   Harry pondered the ramifications of a world cut off from vital news.   They’d likely strike the wireless next.

"I’ll have to warn father.   May I have your name so that we can get all your back issues delivered promptly by our Secret Owl Delivery Overnight Fast Flyers?   The Rotfangs can’t possibly have gotten to those.   They’re specially trained in avoidance techniques by daddy."

"Harry Potter.   Overnight you say?"

She leaned forward as recognition dawned on her.   "Most of the time, but sometimes it’s up to a week.   I’m Luna Lovegood.   If the Rotfangs are trying to keep information from you it means they must be moving forward with the Periopocalypse!"

The train started rolling out of the station and the compartment door opened.   Harry recognized Hermione Granger.   She entered looking very frazzled.   "Do you mind if I join you?   The other compartments are filling up fast."

He watched her stow her carry on bag and pull out her Transfiguration text book.   Harry looked out at the quickly receding city of London and opted not to give his opinion of that subject.   Next year would be Divination and Harry was confident that he could convince his auntie to come back to the school.

"Did you two get caught up in the delay?   I do hope they can make up the time."

"There was a delay?   I hadn’t noticed," Luna commented

"Yes, the portal to platform nine and three quarters stopped functioning.   It was a terrible mess.   People were lined up and it was attracting all kinds of attention from the Muggles.   They had to send for a team of Oblivators.   One of them almost bewitched my dad by mistake!"

"All signs pointed towards a bad day for travel," Harry repeated.   "That’s why my auntie brought me four hours early.   We caught the Knight Bus, because my uncle was on the phone with the auto club and the police.   Someone stole all four of his tires last night.   Can you believe that?"

"How awful!"   Hermione said.

"Like I said, a bad day for travel.   Luna, when you’re done with your newspaper, may I borrow it?   I want to see what replaced Auntie Sibyll’s column with."

"Which one did she pen?"

"Omens and Portents under the name Mistress Cleo.   She stopped sending them in when the papers stopped coming."

"Oh, we’d assumed the worst and replaced her with a series about how to spot compulsion charms on your household plants.   Maybe it wasn’t you the Rotfangs were trying to stop.   I should owl daddy as soon as we get to Hogwarts."

"Excuse me, but what exactly are Rotfangs?"

Harry listened as Luna explained the elements of the Rotfang conspiracy to the second year Gryffindor witch.   He didn’t need a dice roll to know that this wouldn’t end well at all.   After it was done, the girl shook her head and stood.   She pulled down her carryon.

"I just remembered that I promised to sit with some friends.   The two of you have a splendid trip."   With that Hermione Granger left their compartment.   It was then that Harry recalled an important series of facts.

Hermione didn’t really have any friends and someone said her parents were Muggle dentists.   He explained this to Luna and she immediately understood.

"The Rotfangs are active in the Muggle world.   I’ll ask daddy if we should use her to spread misinformation."

A few minutes later, the Patil twins entered.

"Easiest two galleons I’ve ever made."   The one in Ravenclaw robes said.  

Her sister snatched one out of Padma’s hand, "You should give me one."

"Why?"

"Because, I have to sleep in the same room with her all year.   That’s why I came with you.   Oh, hello, Harry.   Do you mind if we join you?"

He smiled at the twins.   Padma was a bit on the stern and bookish side.   He probably wouldn’t have passed Transfiguration if it weren’t for her help.   As if turning an animal into a pincushion or a mouse into a teacup had any use in the world.   Who in their right mind would drink tea from a cup that used to be a mouse?   How utterly disgusting!   Parvati, he didn’t know very well, but she and her the other female Gryffindor second year, Lavender had been nice to him.

"So, have you made any predictions for the coming year?"   Padma asked.   She’d been skeptical right up until finals when Hermione Granger’s test scores put her ahead of both Padma and Terry Boot, validating his prediction that someone other than a Ravenclaw would finish as last year’s top student.  

"I think the top student will be a Ravenclaw this year, if that’s what you’re interested in.   There’s a ‘Trapped Boy’ that I need to be on the look out for and the numbers nineteen and eighty-one are occurring in my dice rolls far too often to be a coincidence."

"You really know Divination?"   Parvati asked with excitement in her voice.   "I thought Padma was just pulling my leg."

Harry smiled and repeated his auntie’s sage-like words, "Everyone knows Divination.   Those moments when you feel like someone is watching you or the feeling when we know something bad is going to happen.   The secret is to recognize what our feelings are trying to tell us and open our mind to the possibilities all around us."

"Wow!   I’m planning on taking it next year.   Do you think you could give me some pointers?"

Harry was pleasantly surprised that someone was showing an interest spent much of the trip showing her the basics of tarot card reading.   All three girls let him read their palms, though Padma was a bit reluctant.   Things were looking up.

***

Dearest Harry,

Tonight, I threw the Fool, the Hierophant, Judgment, the Devil, and the Queen of Swords.   Based on this, I believe there is the following.   You should be careful who you trust, even the teachers.   There is at least one person you should trust more.   Since we’ve identified who the Devil is already from last year, I recommend caution.   Evil once again stalks the halls of Hogwarts, but my faith in you remains true.   Tell Albus Dumbledore that I will come back to teach next year.   Even with Gilderoy Lockhart there, I fear you will need all the help you can get.

Love,

Auntie S.

"Harry Potter, it’s good to see you."   Professor Lockhart gave him an award winning smile.   He had a first year boy in Gryffindor robes with a camera next to him.

"Hello Professor."   Harry said.   This was a good omen.   Auntie had just been writing about him and he turns up.   He was definitely one to trust more.

"I was just about to have young Mr. Creevey here take a few photos of me up in the third floor trophy room, but you know what might make it even more amazing?   If it’s is Gilderoy Lockhart and Harry Potter in the same photograph.   Now that would truly be a collector’s item!   Come along."

"Can you sign one for my Auntie?   She’s a big fan."

Lockhart’s smile grew in intensity.   "Sign them?   Oh yes, I think we should sign lots of them."  

***

From his perch on top of the Quidditch stands, Dobby guided the Bludger looking for the Great Harry Potter in the stands as the students ran for cover.   Where was the most magnanimous and kindest wizard he had ever met?   Had he used his powers and known that Dobby would try to force him from the school?   Had he failed again?

Dobby ignored the shrieks of the crowd and yanked on his ears as hard as he could.   How could he outsmart the wonderful Harry Potter?   With a sad and defeated look on his tiny face, he summoned the Bludger up from the crowds and watched it grow from a small speck to something that filled his field of vision.   He welcomed the pain.

"Bet you didn’t predict what happened at the Quidditch match, Potter?"   Draco Malfoy said looking very self important.   "Did you scatter like the rest of the Cravenclaws?"

"Something happened at the match?   I told them not to go, but they never listen."   Harry said, hoping no one was injured.   Later, he was relieved to find out that Madame Pomfrey and Hagrid were treating a brave house elf that stopped the rogue Bludger.   Now, if he could only find information about the trapped boy.

***

"Trapped boy, you say.   Surely, I’d know if there were any problems in this castle, Harry."   Gilderoy Lockhart answered the students question while handing the lad another stack of photos to sign.   He was right; they were the hottest thing on the shelves this year.   His agent said they need many more for the Christmas season.   They were literally flying off the shelves faster than they could be reprinted.      

His hand itched after signing his next book contract.   He did so hate Blood Quills.   "Harry, do you like Roaming with Red Caps, or Venturing with Veelas for the title?"

"Well sir, when you solve the mystery of The Trapped Boy, you could call it Castles and Conundrums."

"Oh, I like that one, Harry.   Keep me up to date on what you discover.   Are you looking forward to the Halloween festivities next week?"

"No, I’ve been invited to a Deathday celebration for Sir Nicholas.   It seems much more interesting.   Besides, I think something bad is going to happen again."

Gilderoy got a gleam in his eye and picked out another quill, "What exactly happened last year, Harry."

"Well, I guess it started with a Troll."   Harry said, but they were interrupted by Professor Sinastra entering.

"Hello, Professor Lockhart.   Thank you for that lovely wine.   I just haven’t been able to get you out of my mind all evening and I’ve been trying to come up with a way to properly thank you," She said in a breathy voice while running her fingers through her hair and licking her lips.   All Gilderoy could do was smile.

"Harry, that will be all for today.   The professor and I are going to have a staff meeting.     Do run along."

"Yes sir."   Harry said leaving the room.

Halfway down the hallway Harry remembered that he’d left his new quill in the room.   He didn’t want to interfere with Professor Lockhart and Sinastra’s staff meeting, so he pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag and sneaked back into the room.

After a few seconds of watching, he decided he didn’t need that quill so much anyway.

***

"Harry, you seem a bit off tonight.   Are you okay?"   Professor Sinastra asked rubbing her sore jaw.   Normally, the boy was fascinated with the stars.   Tonight, he just kept staring in the corner.

"Are you sick?" She asked.

"No."   He refused to look at her.

She knew the boy was a bit off, but this was bizarre, even by his standards.   "Class, let’s call it an early night.   Stack your star charts up in a pile and back to your dorms.   Mr. Potter, I’d like a word with you."  

Several of the students snickered as they left.   She knew that Harry wasn’t well liked, but normally it didn’t bother him.   "Harry, I’ve noticed that you’ve been having some problems focusing all class.   If there’s something you’d like to talk about, I’m always willing to listen."

The Ravenclaw shuffled nervously.   "I didn’t mean to go back into the room.   I’m sorry."

"Sorry about what?   I’m afraid I don’t understand."

"I went back into Professor Lockhart’s room.   I just wanted my quill back!   I didn’t see anything, honest!"

Professor Sinastra was a bit lost.   "What are you talking about, Harry?"

"I saw your staff meeting with Professor Lockhart just after dinner.   I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to see.   I won’t tell anyone."

Now, she was really confused.   "Harry, I haven’t been anywhere near Professor Lockhart this evening."

"Okay."   He nodded furiously, wanting to agree with her.

The Astronomy professor wracked her brain.   She had dinner went back to her room to catch up on her grading before tonight’s class.   There was nothing out of the ordinary.   Wait, there was a gift basket, wasn’t there?   And there was a bottle of wine.   It was odd that she hadn’t recalled that until just now.

"Harry, what was I doing with Professor Lockhart?"   The boy’s eyes went wide open.   "It’s okay, you can tell me.   I promise I won’t be mad at you."

"You were kissing his thing."   He said flushed, embarrassed, and looking anywhere but at her.

"I was what!"   She exclaimed, as the short boy recoiled like he’d been slapped.   She didn’t want to believe him, but the soreness in her jaw, the bruising on her knees, and her somewhat vague recollection of this evening all seemed to back up Harry’s story.   It was a story that she did not like one bit.

"Oh, I’m sorry, Harry.   I’m not mad at you.   In fact, you just earned Ravenclaw ten points for telling me something very, very important.   Just don’t ever tell anyone why I gave them to you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good.   Now, I’ll walk you back to Ravenclaw tower and then I have to go take care of something."

***

Harry sat at the breakfast table next to Luna as the Headmaster stood up and cleared his throat.   "Good morning students.   It is with great regret that I must inform you that Professor Lockhart was involved in a magical mishap last night.   Let us wish him a speedy recovery and all the best hopes that certain parts of his body can be reattached.   Of course that means that we are again without a Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor.   While I search for a replacement, the rest of the staff will be filling in on a rotating basis … beginning with Professor Sinastra.   She has recently demonstrated amazing proficiency with hexes and curses.   I am positive that your education will not suffer.   We will be having new textbooks delivered within the next two days."

With that, Dumbledore sat down while everyone began murmuring about the cursed position.   Luna whispered in his ear, "I bet it was the Rotfangs.   He is a junior member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts League.   They’d want him out of the way."

Harry gulped and said, "I think you’re right — definitely the Rotfangs."   An owl dropped off a package in front of him.   It wasn’t Auntie Sibyll’s writing.   It did look very familiar.

Inside was his quill and five more, including Professor Lockhart’s special contract quill.   There was also a note.

Wasn’t sure which one was yours, so here, have them all.

***

"I’m afraid you don’t have a very long life line," Harry said looking at Sir Nicholas’s palm.   But you did have four kids right?"

"No, only three."

"That you know of!"   The Fat Friar roared and most all the other ghosts assembled began laughing.

Harry found the ghosts very entertaining.   He tried to make predictions about their past lives.   Some, he got right.   Others he wasn’t even close.   After all, Moaning Myrtle wasn’t killed by a Dark Lord.   Something happened to her while she was in the WC.   Not many Dark Lords creeping around a loo and unless Dudley’s old stories about the toilet shark were spot on, it hardly seemed like an accurate prediction.

Stepping up to the Ravenclaw House Ghost, Harry asked, "Would you like for me to try and make some predictions?"

"No.   I don’t like speaking about my life."

"Oh, okay then."   Harry said somewhat disappointed.   He was about to move on to the Slytherin Ghost when Peeves entered through a wall and shouted "Mrs. Norris is a stiffy!   Mrs. Norris is a stiffy!"

"Hey!   Someone finally killed that thing off!"   Someone shouted. They all floated through the walls and floors to see the commotion.   Harry followed as best he could, only to discover that the cat was actually petrified and there was a cryptic message about the Chamber being opened — whatever that was.

***

"I don’t think we’re getting any closer to figuring out who The Trapped Boy is."   Harry said as they hung their piece of paper on the student announcement board.   "It could be either Colin or Justin and we are no closer to figuring out what twelve, nineteen, and eighty-one mean.   The powers are trying to tell me something.   I just don’t know what it is!"

Luna shared his frustration.   "With Hermione Granger paralyzed, we can rule out the Rotfangs, they’d never hurt one of their own, unless, of course, they became aware of our misinformation campaign.   Either way I’m glad we made a new friend.   It was interesting learning what he knew about the Chamber of Secrets.   I’m not sure I believe Hagrid opened it up"

Harry nodded and said, "My card readings and the tea leaves don’t point in Hagrid’s direction and I’m beginning to think my dice are jinxed to only roll the same three numbers.   I wished we could have talked to him before the Ministry took him away.   With Dumbledore suspended, things look rather serious."

Harry stepped back from the announcement board to look at their notice.  

Found — One small black book.   Answers to the name Tom.   Contact Harry Potter in Ravenclaw Tower.

"Well, at least we can look after the animals for Hagrid, except the chickens of course."

"Don’t you like the chickens, Luna?"

"No, silly the Nargles killed them already.   Hagrid believes a student killed them, but that’s the way Nargles operate."

Something about chickens made Harry think.   "Luna, have you ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant?"

***

"You're late. I expected you here twenty minutes ago."

The essence of Tom Riddle looked at the boy sitting at the base of Salazar’s statue. He was in a meditative position with seven candles burning and a complicated pattern of cards and runic dice arranged around him. How had he gotten into the Chamber? Commanding the Weasely girl to lay down, Tom held her wand. It wouldn't be long now and soon he'd be able to slaughter the enigmatic Ravenclaw in front of him, who continued talking to him as if he was lecturing.

"The readings were all over the place this year - a darkness clouded my inner eye. The patterns were littered in false leads.   I thought the ‘'Trapped Boy’ was the Colin Creevy, but discarded that as soon as Justin was paralyzed as well. The red haired maiden, I was certain it was Susan Bones and now she thinks I like her. That doesn't bode well for the future."

"Foolish boy, you have no future.   I command the Basilisk!" Tom hissed in Parseltounge for the serpent to come. Any second now Potter would be dead.

A full minute passed with no signs of the creature. Tom was confused, where was it?

"All along, the ‘Trapped Boy’ was you.   I trusted you when I shouldn’t have.   There was a pattern to my dice rolls. More often than chance would allow the numbers Twelve, Nineteen, and Eighty-One would turn up. 1981, I originally connected with my defeat of Voldemort which was incorrect, but the longest time the Twelve vexed me."

"I am Lord Voldemort!"   The boy should know the truth before he dies.

"Really, you look better than when you were the Two Faced Man. That's another correlation I hadn't made.   In hindsight, it does make sense.   The pattern of chaos becomes more certain."

"Your feeble powers and reliance on useless magic is no match for me."   Tom Riddle grimaced.   How could this absurd excuse for a wizard have ever defeated him at the height of his power?   He tried summoning the great serpent again.   This time the boy continued his lecture in Parseltongue.

"I guess that’s why I can speak to snakes, too.   Finally, I was speaking to Luna, the one who gave your book back to Ginevra. She mentioned something that reminded me of Chinese food.   A little help from Padma and Moaning Myrtle and I put it all together.   Twelve confirmed it was a year, but I was looking at the wrong calendar.   I should have been looking at the Chinese one."

Tom blinked not wanting to listen to the boy. He still wasn't corporeal enough to cast a spell. Slowly, he asked, "What have you done?"

"1981 - The Year of the Cock. Come on out, Colonel Sanders." Tom watched as a seven foot tall rooster stepped out from behind the massive statue. The quick head movements found Tom as the beady eyes regarded him. Tom realized that there was a compulsion on Potter's monster - rather advanced for a second year.   For the first time Tom Riddle was afraid.

"Hagrid taught me how to control animals last year. I had to purchase the growth potion from a seventh year and I paid Ginevra’s brothers to sneak down into Hogsmeade and get me a rooster. Looking back I think it was probably overkill, but the good Colonel is a rather impressive sight in combat.   Your Basilisk never stood a chance.   There is balance in the idea that a mighty serpent could be destroyed by a common farm animal, or in this case an uncommon one. When Luna told me who claimed the diary from me, I realized the red haired maiden wasn't Susan, but Ginevra Weasley and you had been lying to me all along."

"Die! Avada Kedarva!"   It was still too soon — only a feeble green sputtering emerged.

"You seem to like tormenting people with large animals.   Let us see how you deal with mine, Tom Riddle."

The giant chicken forced Tom back as the boy walked forward to dying girl and removed the diary from her robes and the keepsake blood quill from his pocket.

"My blood is bane to you, Lord Voldemort.   I also learned that last year.   Fortunately for me, Mr. Lockhart saves the day once more!   I hope when he gets my letter, that he’ll be proud.   I’m going to write a message to you with this quill. You lived a life of lies and deceit.   That is wrong.   It reminds me that I must always be true to myself and my gifts.   So, in your tome I shall write, ‘I must not tell lies.’ I’m certain this will hurt you more than it hurts me.   Goodbye, Tom Riddle."

The book erupted in flames as Harry finished the sentence and the young Ravenclaw watched as the screaming apparition in front of him faded against the power of his mother's sacrifice. The girl at his feet stirred.

***

"Harry? Harry Potter?"   Ginny started to wake up and prayed that it was all a bad dream.   When she saw that Harry and Luna had the book, she had to get it back before it started doing bad things to them too, but the moment she took hold of it, Tom took hold of her.

"Hello Ginevra. I brought you a chocolate bar. My visions did not tell me whether you liked them with or without nuts and it would offend the spirits to ask their advice on such a trivial matter, so I brought both kinds. Here, it will make you feel better."

"I couldn't fight him. He was too strong." Ginny stammered apologetically as she selected the one without nuts.   Her illusions about the boy in front of her were shattered. He was even barmier than Luna! It was nothing like the stories, she was devastated.

Unaware of her plight, she watched Harry collect his equipment, the burnt remains of the diary, and then, he smiled at her. "There was no lasting harm. The others will recover. We should go. I don't need to throw the dice to know everyone is worried, but then again, I could never resist a good roll.   This should tell me if it’s truly over."

She heard the tiny clatter of the hand carved runic dice in a bowl. "Twelve, Nineteen, and … wait … Eighty-Four this time! That is odd? Why would the Year of the Cock be followed by the Year of the Rat? This is a new pattern that warrants contemplation, but we should go.   Would you like to walk or we can ride on the back of Colonel Sanders?"

Ginny didn't know what to think as Harry helped her onto the saddle on back of the chicken's back. She was certain that Hogwarts had probably seen many bizarre things, but two students emerging from a girl’s bathroom riding a giant chicken probably ranks up there amongst the strangest.

She had dreamed of her knight in shining armor sweeping up in victory and riding off on a noble steed — an Abraxan or a Hippogriff.   Not once had a monstrous chicken crossed her mind.   Maybe she should stick to normal boys?

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