THE LIGHTNING LORD

Chapter 37 : The question is who ?

Harry woke up feeling a searing pain all over his body and could also hear someone shouting.

"He should have brought him straight to me! Lockhart is not a healer! Who authorized him to try and even attempt heal Potter?" screamed a voice.

"Lockhart tried to heal me?" asked Harry from his bed worringly.

He looked around to see the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and Daphne around his bed. "That was awesome Potter!" exclaimed Turner. "I never expected you to play an interfering seeker!" she said grinning at him. The rest of them then continued to complimented him as well.

"Yes well, all of you please leave. Potter will have to stay overnight in the Hospital wing because of his injuries" said Madam Pomfrey.

"Overnight? I'm pretty sure my injuries aren't that serious" said Harry looking at her.

"Your original injuries could have been treated fairly quickly. Unfortunately, our dear Defence professor decided to heal your arm while you were unconscious. That man vanished the bones in your arm! You're in for a rough night Potter. Regrowing bones is a painful experience" she said, handing him a goblet containing Skele-Gro.

"Oh, that tastes horrible" said Harry grimacing in disgust. "What happened after I got hit?" he asked Daphne, as she was the only one still there.

"You should have seen Malfoy's face after you caught the snitch" she said, snickering. "But you were amazing Harry. I saw Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy too; something about having the snitch right above his head and not seeing it. He didn't seem happy" explained Daphne.

Harry chucked. They spent a few hours talking to each other until Madam Pomfrey chased her out. Harry sighed when he realised that he was alone with nothing to distract him from the stabbing pains in his limp arm.

Hours later, he woke up in the pitch darkness and could sense a presence right next to his face. He yelped at the close contact and fired a wandless banishing charm and immediately summoned his wand to his hand. "Lumos" he whispered and a soft glow appeared at the tip of his wand. "Dobby!" he said looking at the elf that was getting up from where he had fallen on the floor.

Dobby looked at Harry with teary eyes. "Hadrian Potter came back to school" he said miserably. "Dobby warned Hadrian Potter not to come to school. You should have stayed at home when you couldn't get onto the platform sir" said the elf.

Harry snorted despite himself. "It takes more than simply blocking the floo to stop me Dobby. But thank you. Because of that attempt, I had the wards around the castle modified so that no one else can do that again" he said.

"Hadrian Potter must go home!" said the elf, not listening to a word Harry had said. "Dobby thought his bludger would be enough to make - "

"Ah" said Harry cutting him off. "I should have known that it was you. What is it with me and bludgers anyway?" he said shaking his head.

"Please sir, go home. Dark deeds are planned at Hogwarts this year. Hadrian Potter is in terrible danger now that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once more" said Dobby. The elf's eyes went wide and disappeared with a crack.

Harry looked into the distance and his eyes went wide. The chamber had been opened before? Voldemort had probably opened the chamber when he was at school! But there was no way that Voldemort could actually be inside Hogwarts attacking the students, could he? If the man had indeed returned, the first thing he would have done was murder Harry, the cause for his disembodiment. That was how he had gotten the flash of a large chamber with snakes on that Halloween night. Voldemort had been to the chamber long ago, so he knew what creature lived there. But if it was Voldemort, what did Lucius Malfoy have to do with this at all? Harry felt like pulling his hair out trying to figure out what was going on when he heard footsteps. He quickly flicked his wand, extinguishing the light and went back to bed.

Dumbledore barged into the infirmary levitating what looked like a statue with McGonagall in tow. The two, along with Madam Pomfrey were discussing the attack on Colin Creevey in hushed tones. When the old man tried to open the camera, Harry could immediately smell the burnt plastic.

"Melted" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

"What does this mean, Albus?" asked McGonagall, in a shaky voice.

"It means it is what I had feared" said Dumbledore gravely. "The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again."

"But Albus . . . surely . . . who?" asked McGonagall.

"The question is not who" said Dumbledore, looking directly at Harry's sleeping form. "The question is how."

Harry fumed at Dumbledore pinning the blame on him again. He knew McGonagall was useless; she blindly followed Dumbledore like a lost puppy. There would be no use expecting her support. He also realised that Dumbledore also had figured out that it was Voldemort who was behind this and like him didn't know how it was possible.