One Day They'll Know Your Name

The thought of a name

Christmas break had finally arrived and instead of getting on the train, Harry was talking to the thestral that had pulled their carriage. He had convinced Hermione to help him find different death deities since he could tell the thestrals apart for some reason. Hermione was looking into the possible reasons. Harry had decided to just let her do that and enjoy the fact that the thestrals liked him.

"I'll make sure to come visit you and your herd after break, Thanatos. I'm excited to see your new foals. I know I should have come earlier but I had to get into the groove of school. Now that I know what my schedule is I can come during the first week. Yes, I know I was 'in the groove' within the first few weeks but by then I had exams to study for."

"Harry! The trains leaving any second!"

"Gotta go. I'll see you when I get back Thanatos!"

Harry rushed to the train and got in just as it left the station. Draco grabbed his arm and pulled him to their compartment. "Honestly, Harry. I know you like the thestrals and they like you, but you can see them most any weekend since they'll come out of the forest to see you. We only get to ride the train home from Hogwarts twice a year! You can't be late for that!"

"Sorry, Dray. Thanatos wants me to come meet the new foals. I'll have to get some fresh meat from the kitchens."

"That is disgusting and I refuse to come with you when you go see them. Take Hermione. She'll be fascinated. " Harry just laughed and walked into the compartment.

"I'll go with you, Harry," Luna said. "I've not had time to go see the thestrals yet. I suspect they'll like me well enough if I'm with you."

Harry smiled. "Thanks Luna. We'll talk about it on the way back."

Hermione spoke up. "Do we have new people to think of for the Heir of Slytherin? I'm not ruling Professor Lockhart out, I'm just wondering if anyone else might fit the bill."

"Ron, is Ginny alright? She hasn't been herself since school started." Luna's dreamy voice startled Ron and he perked up.

"I haven't noticed anything, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been feeling well. I'll ask the twins. They know her better." Luna just nodded.

"What about an older student? None of the staff have changed, but some of the Charms or Runes for the NEWT classes might include something for petrification," Neville suggested.

Hermione pulled a parchment and quill from her bag. "Good point, Nev. I'll write it down."

"I suppose we can't discount that someone from outside the school might have Imperiused a student. Any third year and up can go to Hogsmeade once a month, so it wouldn't be overly difficult for someone to cast the curse and get them to do whatever spell or Rune or whatever it is."

Hermione was nodding. "That's true, I can't believe I forgot about that, Draco. So basically it could be anyone third year and up?"

"If we're counting being Imperiused, we need to count possession. A lot of random artefacts that could be found in a lot of random places can boost someone's power to help them possess someone." Ron's input made everyone wince.

"So in other words, it could be anyone, even us, and we might not even know it?" Hermione asked.

"That's a lovely thought. Thanks, Ron." Draco's sarcasm made Harry snort.

"For now," Harry broke in, "let's focus on the spell, potion, Rune, creature, whatever, that could cause the petrifications. That might help narrow it down. Of course, if it's Imperius or possession then it could still be anyone in the school, but it might help narrow down who it could be outside of school. What did the full message say?"

Hermione answered. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir... beware."

Harry whipped around to look at Draco. "The Chamber of Secrets? Like Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?"

Draco thought for a minute, then nodded slowly. "That would make sense."

"What? Slytherin had a place called the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione's expression said that she wasn't so much mad that they hadn't pieced this together before, and more mad that there was knowledge about the school she didn't know about.

"Yeah. Draco told me about it when I first found out about being a Parselmouth. He said that Slytherin was the first well known Parselmouth..." he trailed off. "Maybe there's something in there that petrifies people? Like a spell only Slytherin knew, or something?"

"Maybe. That's a good thought. Anyway, enough of this. What are your plans for the holidays?" Hermione asked.

"Well Sirius said we were going to go see if my parents left anything in their vault for me. He says there probably won't be a painting of them for me to talk to, but there might be their wands or wedding rings or something that we can take with us."

"I suspect that there will be pictures of at least your great grandparents, and possibly even your grandparents. If not there very well might be portraits from even farther back," Draco said. "My parents are going to throw a Yule ball like they do every year, and it will be absolutely boring, so I'm going to ask if you can all come. Harry and Neville, I suspect I'll see you there in any case, because of Sirius and your Gran, but I will ask about you guys as well."

"I won't be able to make it. My parents have planned a skiing trip in the Alps, like we do every year. I'll get to see a few cousins and my grandparents," Hermione said.

"Gran said she would allow me to have a friend or two over a couple nights, so if any of you want to spend a night just let me know. I can show you my greenhouse and the plants I've started growing."

"Mum'll probably just do what we usually do for Christmas. A big meal and making sure the ghoul stays happy," Ron grumbled. Harry laughed.

Luna smiled. "Daddy and I will do what we always do. There's an article in the Quibbler due on Christmas day, so I'll help research for what he puts in it."

Harry sat back in the bench as his friends continued talking, answering when spoken to, but for the most part he just listened. He could already tell it would be a good Christmas