The New Trio and the Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 7: Homicical Murmurs

The new day dawned, and with it, came a beak tapping at the window of Harry's dorm room. Luckily, all of the boys inside, other than Ron, were already awake. Harry opened the window quickly for Hedwig, and grinned in delight at the sight of the official-looking letter tied to her leg.

Dear Mr Potter-Black,

Your request for a restraining order against one Gilderoy Marvin Lockhart has been approved. The memories you provided have been forthwith returned to your guardian, Lord Sirius Orion Black. The restraining order does not allow Mr Lockhart to come within 150 feet of yo u, and stands for the time period of seven months. If you desire renewal of the order, please explain your reasons in a letter, and we will get back to you.

Kind regards,

Amanda Urquart

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Harry showed the letter to his friends, and they congratulated him. "Wait, how is Defence going to work for you now? I mean, there's a magical barrier that he can't get past, so if you were still being taught by him, he wouldn't be able to enter the classroom." said Draco.

"Oh, Remus has been having a bit of a problem with getting jobs lately, and in my letter home, I asked if he could be my tutor," Harry explained nonchalantly.

"So you're just going to leave us to deal with him?" asked Neville, horrified.

"Of course not. You're all coming too, and Hermione. I'm pretty sure that if I ask, Fred, George, probably Lee, and most likely Ginny, Luna, and Colin will all want to have their lessons with him instead. Sirius got it all approved by the Board last night, and let me tell you, Dumbledore isn't happy. Be prepared for some revenge from him," said Harry.

Dean was the designated wake-Ron-up person that morning, so after he'd done his job, and Ron had rolled out of bed and gotten as ready as possible, they made their way down to the common room.

"Hey, kiddos," said George happily when he caught sight of them.

"Quidditch tryouts is this morning, during lunch. You all up for it?" asked Fred.

"Yes!" exclaimed Harry, Draco, and Ron.

"Good. Harry, you're already much better than Tate, so I'm pretty sure you'll get the spot. Draco, we're sorry but the most you'll probably get is joint reserve chaser and seeker, and Ron, it'll be reserve keeper for you. Wood's the captain, and he wouldn't give up his spot for anything."

They all nodded, showing they understood, and then Harry showed Fred and George the letter, causing them both to break out into identical evil grins.

They rushed down to the Great Hall, where they waited impatiently for the owl post to filter in. Harry made sure to sit so that Lockhart was just outside the boundary, so he wouldn't realise what had happened until he read the order.

Finally, a tawny owl flew directly to Lockhart, and he opened his mail happily, probably expecting fan mail. As he read it, his expression became an odd mixture of fear and anger, although the latter emotion disappeared almost as soon as Harry saw it. Having already eaten his breakfast, Harry stood up, catching Lockhart's attention, and strode to the doors of the Great Hall, where Remus had been watching the scene unfold. All of Harry's friends followed him, and they left to go to their respective classes; Fred and George to Potions, Ginny, Luna, and Colin to Transfiguration, and Harry and his yearmates followed Remus outside. "I decided that since today was a nice day, we could have our first class outside," he said.

*

"All right, people!" Oliver Wood called out. "The only way you're going to get on our team is if you can prove you're better than the person in the position you want. First off, let's eliminate some people!"