Ginny felt excited as she pulled on her school robes and brushed her hair. Today the first years would have their first flying lesson! She raced down the stairs to the common room, where Adam should be waiting for her. Over the last few weeks they had come to an unspoken arrangement, Adam would normally wake up much earlier than her, so he would wait in the common room for her to come to breakfast.
After two weeks at Hogwarts she was really enjoying herself. The lessons were mostly interesting. She had made a good friend in Adam and was also getting along well with Hermione. It wasn't bothering her anymore that she didn't get on well with her roommates; if they didn't want to be friends with her then she didn't need them.
However two things were spoiling some of her happiness; her brothers and the strange dizziness that she had worked out also seemed to have affected her memory. The simpler of the problems was her brothers who were basically ignoring her: Percy was too busy being a prefect and the twins were too busy pranking and generally causing mischief. Ron, however, was the worst, he seemed convinced she was either out to embarrass him in front of his friends or trying to steal them from him. Ginny was slightly more concerned about the dizziness. It had occurred several times now but she hadn't told anyone, except Tom. Adam had seen her the first time, but the other two times she had managed to keep it a secret from him. He had enough on his plate without worrying about her and Tom had said it was nothing, so Ginny was happy to ignore it for now and hope it would soon go away.
"Come on, Ginny! Let's go!" Adam said as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Ginny knew that Adam was looking forward to flying as much as she was. She had told him all about how she used to sneak out of the house at night to fly because her brothers wouldn't let her fly with them. Well, there was no one to tell her she couldn't fly now!
Ginny and Adam ate a quick breakfast and made their way out into the castle grounds for their nine o'clock flying class. Outside there were two rows of brooms laid out on the grass. The teacher was already there standing with her arms crossed in the middle of the brooms and a few other students were already out on the field waiting for class to begin. They all seemed to be Ravenclaws.
"Good morning, class, I am Madam Hooch, your flying instructor. Now step forward and each of you stand by a broom," Madam Hooch announced to the gathered students when the last of the class had arrived.
Adam and Ginny quickly stood beside two adjacent brooms, ensuring they got to stand next to each other. A few minutes later, the lessons began.
"Now hold out your hands above your broom and say, up," Madam Hooch continued.
"Up!" Ginny called and her broom flew straight into her hand, she glanced over at Adam and saw his face plastered with a massive grin, his broom had also flown into his hand on his first attempt.
"Now, class, mount your brooms and hover above the field," Madam Hooch called.
The class all mounted their brooms. Ginny guided hers into a graceful hover above the school grounds. She looked down and saw Adam wobble back and forth on his broom, he seemed to be having difficulty getting his balance right. Eventually he seemed to become more comfortable and he hovered, slightly shakily, up next to Ginny.
"This is awesome!" Adam exclaimed with a look of awe on his face. "You can see the entire castle from up here!"
Madam Hooch soon floated up to join them after she had assisted the remaining students in taking control of their brooms.
"All right, class, we are going to fly to the Quidditch pitch. Angle your brooms in the direction you want to travel and then command your broom to fly forwards," Madam Hooch ordered. "Once you reach the pitch, stop your broom by commanding it to stop."
Ginny stuck her tongue out and, giving Adam a wink, shot off towards the pitch. When she reached the pitch she turned to watch the remaining students catch up to her. She was very surprised when Adam came barrelling towards her only a few seconds later. His broom shuddered to an abrupt, ungraceful hover next to hers.
"You're an amazing flier, Ginny!" Adam called out, once he had got his broom back under control.
"You're really good too, a natural! This is only your first go!" Ginny complimented.
They spent the next hour flying laps around the Quidditch pitch, practising turns, climbs, dives and flying backwards. When the lesson finished Adam and Ginny made their way back towards the school both smiling in exhilaration.
"That was the most awesome thing ever!" Adam exclaimed. "Ginny, you're really good! Erm, isn't there a team for broom flying? If so, you should be on it."
Ginny laughed. "It's the Quidditch team. First years can't be on the team, so I can't try out until next year."
"You should try out anyway; you were the best in the class by far," Adam said.
"You should try out as well, Adam! You were nearly as good as me!"
Adam flushed red slightly. "I don't know the rules though."
"I'll have to teach you before next year then," replied Ginny with a smile.
Adam October 31st 1992
Adam's days had fallen into a steady rhythm. He went to classes and spent most of his free time in the common room, normally with Ginny. Although sometimes when Ginny disappeared to write in her diary, as she often did, he would play chess with Colin. Colin wasn't very good at chess, which was good because Adam wasn't either. Surprisingly, Adam also found himself getting along reasonably well with Hermione and she often helped him out when he was struggling with homework. For the first time in years Adam felt at home. The only thing's that had concerned him was the unusual voice that he had heard and Ginny's strange behaviour the very same night. Neither of those events had repeated themselves so Adam had decided to put them out of his mind and enjoy school.
Before coming to Hogwarts Adam had never really bothered with Halloween. It was a luxury that rich kids had with its sweets and costumes. However, apparently, in the Wizarding world it was a big deal. They were going to have a feast. Normal Hogwarts food was magnificent compared to what Adam was used to and a Halloween Feast, if it was anything like the Welcoming Feast, would be even more amazing. When Adam, Ginny and Colin, who had tagged along, reached the Great Hall, Adam was amazed at the decorations. All the tables were decorated by miniature pumpkins, each with a flickering light inside them. Small black bats fluttered around the room above them and the enchanted ceiling was dark with the occasional flash of lightning. Adam thought it gave the perfect mood for Halloween. The three made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat down.
"Welcome, students," Professor Dumbledore announced once the entire school was assembled. His voice caused all the scattered conversation in the hall to become silent. "Halloween has always been a major celebration in the Wizarding world. However, in recent years we have celebrated Halloween for a second reason. We remember this day as the day the You-Know-Who was defeated and we remember all those who gave their lives in the defence of the Wizarding world. Now, before the feast, let us all stand for a moment of silence."
The entire hall stood in silence. Adam digested what the headmaster had just said: this You-Know-Who must be some evil person, perhaps like a wizard version of Hitler. Adam had read about the Second World War in a book when he used to go to primary school. He would have to ask Ginny about You-Know-Who, she would know.
"Let the feast begin!" Professor Dumbledore called ending the momentary silence.
The food was amazing, especially the desserts. There was even chocolate cake! Adam had just cut himself a large piece and was devouring it when he felt Ginny stiffen next to him.
"Ginny?" he asked.
"I'm going to be sick, I'll be back," Ginny replied and shot out of the Great Hall.
Adam was tempted to follow her, but eventually decided against it. Ginny would have gone to the girls' toilets and he couldn't go in there.
As the feast drew to a close Adam began to worry about Ginny: she had still not returned. The feast finished with Professor Dumbledore sending everyone to bed. Urgently, Adam pushed his way to the front of the mass of students making their way out of the Hall and began running back toward Gryffindor Tower as soon as he could. If Ginny wasn't in the common room, he decided, he would go and look for her.
"rip...tear...killl," the voice echoed from a corridor as Adam passed it on the stairs.
Adam froze and squinted into the corridor. It looked empty. Adam darted down the corridor, determined to get to the bottom of what was causing this voice.
"so...hungry...for so...long," the voice came again.
Adam scanned the corridor looking for signs of movement. He was alone.
"...kill...time to kill..."
Adam stood frozen to the spot as the voice echoed around him. Part of him wanted nothing more than to run for safety, while another part of him demanded that he find out what this voice was.
"...I smell blood...I SMELL BLOOD!" The voice sounded again, this time from further down the corridor.
Adam set off at a run towards where the source of the voice seemed to be. Breathing heavily he rounded a corner and froze. There was red writing on the wall between two of the torches.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE
Adam also noticed there was something hanging from one of the torches. Adam looked left and right, the corridor was deserted so Adam approached the wall to see what the object was. Adam raised his hand towards the torch that the thing was hanging off.
"Enemies of the Heir Beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" shouted a blond boy who must have come around the corner. He was followed by a crowd of other Hogwarts students.
Adam sprang backwards in surprise at the unexpected noise. A crowd of students now surrounded the writing and Adam. The school caretaker, presumably attracted by the crowd, pushed his way through the students to the front.
"My cat!!" screeched the school caretaker as he recognised what was hanging from the torch, "You've killed my cat!!"
Adam stood frozen to the spot as the caretaker barrelled towards him with fury in his eyes.
"Argus!" Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed over the noise of the students stopping the caretaker in his tracks.
Professor Dumbledore approached and examined the cat. Once he was done he picked it off the torch and wrapped it in his robes.
"Argus, Mr. Winters, come with me," Professor Dumbledore ordered.
"Headmaster, you may of course use my office," Professor Lockhart called loftily from his position at the back of the crowd, he seemed to want to keep as far away from the writing on the wall as possible.
They walked to Professor Lockhart's office. Adam was terrified. They thought he had done this. They would expel him. Where would he go?He had nowhere to go! As they entered the office Adam was very relieved to see Professor McGonagall had joined the group on the way. She entered the room last and closed the door.
"You killed her!" Argus raged at Adam.
Adam shrank back.
"Your cat is not dead, Argus, she has been Petrified," Professor Dumbledore interjected in a quiet voice, his eyes fixed upon Adam the whole time.
"I'm quite sure Mr. Winters had nothing to do with this, he just happened to stumble upon the poor animal," Professor McGonagall said.
Adam felt a surge of gratitude for Professor McGonagall. She was sticking up for him!
"Mr. Winters, what were you doing in the corridor?" Professor Dumbledore questioned, his eyes still fixed upon him.
"I-I-I was looking for Ginny, she wasn't feeling well and left the feast, but she didn't come back," Adam replied. If he told them about the voices he had been hearing they would definitely think he was involved.
"Didn't you think she would go straight back to the common room?" Professor Dumbledore questioned again.
"I-I did, but when I passed the corridor I heard a noise and thought it might be her. I was first out of the Hall at the end of the feast."
"Albus! Petrification is a Ministry-restricted spell above NEWT level. Do you honestly believe Mr. Winters could perform such a spell?" Professor McGonagall interrupted hotly before Professor Dumbledore could respond.
"No," Professor Dumbledore sighed.
"Very well, Mr. Winters, you may go," Professor McGonagall said quickly.
Adam didn't waste any time leaving the room and quickly made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. When he entered the common room he saw Ginny was sitting on one of the sofas.
Adam approached Ginny. "Why didn't you come back to the feast?!" Adam asked angrily.
"I never got the chance. I only just got here!" Ginny replied in a cross-sounding voice.
"You left the feast an hour ago!" Adam replied.
Adam saw the confused expression that formed on Ginny's face.
"No, I came straight back here after the toilet," Ginny glanced at the clock on the wall of the common room. "What? An hour? I've been gone an hour? I must have taken longer in the toilet than I thought," Ginny replied, sounding confused.
Adam sighed and sat down next to Ginny and told her about the voice in the corridor.
"Adam, don't tell anyone about hearing voices. That's a very bad thing, even for a wizard," Ginny interrupted.
Adam continued his story, telling Ginny what had happened to the cat. Ginny gasped. Adam ignored her and continued talking.
When Adam repeated what the blond kid had said Ginny exclaimed, "Adam! Don't say that word!"
"What? Mudblood? What does it mean?" Adam asked.
"It's a very rude word for Muggle-born. From your description I guess the boy that said it was Draco Malfoy. He always harasses Ron in their classes," Ginny said with a distasteful look.
As Adam continued with his story, Ginny seemed to get more annoyed.
"I can't believe they think you would do that to a cat!" Ginny said angrily. "At least Professor McGonagall believes you."
They sat together in silence for a while, the events of the evening running through Adam's mind as he attempted to work out how the voice and the attack could be linked. He was convinced they were linked. He then thought back to Professor Dumbledore's words at the feast.
"Ginny, who is that You-Know-Who guy that Professor Dumbledore was talking about?"
"Oh, that's not his real name, we don't actually ever say his name. He was a very powerful and evil wizard. He killed loads of people, including my mum's brothers. He was killed on Halloween in 1981," Ginny replied.
"He was killed? How?" Adam asked. He was partly relieved that this You-Know-Who was dead; at least he wasn't the one causing trouble at Hogwarts.
"No one knows, really. My dad told me that he went to kill this family, the Potters, but when he tried to kill them something happened and there was an explosion that killed him," Ginny answered.
"The Potters?" Adam asked curiously.
"Yes, they were his last victims; James, Lily and they had a baby called Harry that was killed that night, too. It's a very sad story; but it's good that he is gone," Ginny replied, in a sad tone.
November 7th 1992
Adam and Ginny were walking together back towards Gryffindor tower from the Quidditch pitch; the first game of the year, Gryffindor vs Slytherin, had just finished. Gryffindor had won, but only barely. Adam still wasn't quite sure of the rules despite Ginny explaining them to him, but from what he understood Gryffindor had won the game by ten points, despite Slytherin catching the ball called the Snitch, which gave them 150 points. Despite not understanding the rules fully, Adam had enjoyed himself. Ginny had made sure that he was wearing his Gryffindor scarf and she had done the same. There would be no doubt which team they were supporting. When they reached the Gryffindor common room a party was in full swing celebrating the victory.
"Fred and George probably arranged this," Ginny said as she walked over to the large crate of butterbeer that had been placed in the centre of the common room and picked up two bottles. "Try some, Adam, its really good," Ginny passed him a drink and continued. "I'm just going to have a chat with my brothers," she gestured at the twins. "I've not spoken to them for a while."
Adam felt daunted. He wasn't used to large gatherings, so he wandered around the crowded common room looking for somewhere to sit down. As he was passing the chairs by the window he overheard a snatch of conversation.
"We need to find out who the heir is before they open the chamber again...."
Adam glanced around, looking for the source of the conversation. It was Ron, Neville and Hermione. Adam strained his ears in attempt to hear what they were discussing; perhaps they knew something about the Chamber. Not particularly wanting to approach Ron and Neville as he had never really talked to them, Adam decided to try and talk to Hermione later on.
"Why are you here all on your own?" Adam turned around to see Ginny's face.
"I just heard Ron, Neville and Hermione talking about the Chamber, you reckon we could ask Hermione about it?" Adam replied.
"Yeah, better not ask Ron. He would probably just ignore me," said Ginny, glaring darkly at Ron.
Adam and Ginny kept an eye on the three of them but it was sometime later before Hermione left the two boys to get some more drinks. As soon as she was on the other side of the common room they approached her.
"Hermione, we heard you talking about the Chamber. Have you found anything out?" Ginny questioned.
Hermione hesitated.
"Come on, Hermione! There's no harm in telling us what you know," Ginny continued.
"Okay. We found out the Chamber can only be opened by the heir of Slytherin. It was a hidden Chamber left by Salazar Slytherin himself."
"Who is the heir?" Adam asked.
"No one knows, but we think it's," Hermione lowered her voice, "Draco Malfoy."
"That makes sense. After Adam stumbled upon the cat he was there right behind him. Draco must have been waiting for someone to find it!" said Ginny excitedly.
Adam was relieved that they at least had a theory that supported his innocence.
November 8th 1992
The theory that Draco Malfoy could be the heir of Slytherin was still whirring around inside Adam's head as he lay awake in his bed later that evening. He looked at the little magical clock that he kept on his bedside table; it read half past twelve. It was very late. He glanced around the room; he could see two other sleeping forms and one empty bed. Colin hadn't come to bed yet. That was very unusual, Colin was usually the first in bed every night. He had probably fallen asleep in the common room, but Adam decided to go and look for him anyway. He didn't want Colin to get caught down there by a prefect.
When Adam got into the common room it was completely empty. Colin wasn't there.
"Rip...Kill...Tear," the voice came from the direction of the portrait that lead back to the corridor outside the common room.
Adam ran to the portrait and flung it open and, sticking his head outside, looked left and right. The corridor was empty.
"Headmaster, it's Creevey. He's been Petrified. Why the boy was out of bounds I can't say," Adam recognised Professor Snape's voice echoing softly down the halls.
"Severus, I will take the boy to Poppy. I would like you to go into Gryffindor Tower; see if Mr. Winters is in bed," Professor Dumbledore ordered.
Oh no! They thought it was him; he had to get back to bed. Adam slammed the portrait closed, raced across the common room, up the stairs, into his room and leapt into bed. He had barely got underneath his sheets when he heard the door open. With his heart pounding, he tried desperately to control his breathing, attempting to make it seem as deep as possible. He didn't dare open his eyes to see if it was Professor Snape in the doorway. After a few minutes he heard the door close but he still didn't dare open his eyes. A short time later Adam dozed off, hoping that he had fooled Professor Snape.
Ginny December 17th 1992
Ginny and Adam were heading down to the duelling club that was being held in the Great Hall. It had been advertised in the common room and had been the buzz of the school for two weeks now. Ginny was looking forward to it. It would be very cool to learn some more dramatic magic than just making things float. Ginny, however, wasn't stupid; she knew the main reason for the club was because there had been an attack on a student a little over a month ago. Colin Creevey was now in the hospital wing. Adam and she often spent time visiting him, not that he knew they were there. She was very relieved when Adam had told her the story of that night; he was lucky that he wasn't implicated again. She'd had felt woozy that night, probably from too much butterbeer at the party, so she had ended up going to bed early.
Ginny and Adam had both attempted to research the Chamber of Secrets and the Heir of Slytherin. However, as with many others who were doing the same exact thing, they were unable to find any information. When they talked to Hermione, Ron and Neville, they discovered that the older students suspected the Heir was Draco Malfoy. Ginny also thought those three were up to something, but she hadn't been able to find out what, exactly, they were doing. She had, of course, told Tom about the attacks but even he hadn't been able to tell her anything about the Chamber. He did say that she shouldn't worry about the attacks too much. Ginny accepted that.
When they arrived in the Great Hall she was surprised to see how much the room had changed. The house tables were gone and a single raised platform ran down the centre of the hall. Ginny had hoped Professor Flitwick would be teaching the club, Bill had told her that he was a duelling champion. However, when Ginny saw the two professors standing up on the platform, she couldn't have been more disappointed: Professor Lockhart and Professor Snape. They were probably the two professors whose lessons she hated the most.
Adam and Ginny took up positions near the back of the room, only just close enough so they could see the stage. They were among the last to arrive and Professor Lockhart soon began the class.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He is going to help me demonstrate the Disarming Spell, Expelliarmus," Professor Lockhart called to the assembled students.
"Expelliarmus!" Professor Snape shouted, pointing his wand towards his opponent. Professor Lockhart's wand flew out of his hand and he jumped in surprise.
"Excellent! Excellent! Of course, I could have stopped that if I wanted to," Professor Lockhart called out to the class, after he had collected himself. "Now everyone pair up and practise disarming each other."
Adam and Ginny naturally paired up together. They turned to face each other.
"Expelliarmus!" Ginny called and Adam's wand flew out of his hand.
Ginny gave Adam a sly grin as he bent down to pick up his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" Adam called and before she knew it her wand was flying out of her hand.
They continued practicing the spell on each other, they both giggled when Adam leapt out of the way of one her spells and Ginny accidentally disarmed her roommate Demelza from behind. Demelza looked around, confused, obviously wondering who had just disarmed her. Adam and Ginny were having great fun, but the majority of the students in the room were far less successful and the club soon degenerated into chaos.
"Stop, Stop!" Professor Lockhart called, "It's obvious you need another demonstration. Weasley, get up here," he said, pointing towards Ron. "Now who else?" he mused, scanning the room.
"Malfoy! You too," Professor Snape interrupted.
Ginny felt herself tense when Malfoy stepped onto the stage with her brother. If he hurts him, I'll kill him.
"Both of you will attempt to disarm each other. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
"Expelliarmus!" Ron roared but his spell went flying over Malfoy's left shoulder.
"Serpensortia!" Malfoy responded and a snake erupted from his wand and began slithering towards a terrified-looking Ron.
"Don't worry, lad. I'll get rid of it!" Professor Lockhart shouted and he pointed his wand at the snake. With a bang it flew into the air and landed in the middle of the students that were standing on the floor.
Ginny gasped as she tracked the fall of the snake towards the area of the floor where she and Adam were standing. Once it landed it began moving in her direction, sending the students in its path running for cover. Maybe, she thought idly, it's attracted to my red hair. She felt Adam push his way in front of her and point his wand at the snake.
"Do you know a spell to get rid of it?" she asked as the snake approached them.
"No!" Adam replied. He sounded a little scared.
"Why did you push me out of the way then?" she questioned.
"I don't know!"
As the snake slithered closer, they backed away as the other students continued to scatter, but the snake kept following Ginny. Adam stayed by her side. Eventually they ended up against the wall of the Great Hall. It was then that she heard the noise; it was a hissing, rasping noise coming from Adam. The snake stopped and stared at him. He hissed at it again and the snake suddenly changed direction, slithered off and left the Great Hall.
Adam is a Parselmouth! Ginny realised in horror. That must mean he's evil.No! Ginny knew Adam wasn't evil, he was a lost orphan who didn't know anything about the Wizarding world and he was her best friend. He couldn't be evil. It was then that Ginny realised the entire crowd of students was staring at Adam who had gone deathly pale under the eyes of the entire room.
"Ginny, w-w-what?" Adam asked in a scared voice.
He doesn't know what he did! He must not know he is a Parselmouth! Coming to a decision, Ginny grabbed Adam's arm and pulled him out of the Great Hall. They ran until they found the nearest empty classroom. Ginny pulled Adam inside and slammed the door.
"Ginny, what's going on?" Adam asked. "Why was everyone starting at me?"
"Adam, you just talked to a snake!" Ginny exclaimed.
"All I did was shout that it should leave us alone! I never expected it to work!"
"You were talking in hisses to it. That means you're a Parselmouth."
"Oh," Adam leaned against the wall, suddenly looking very tired.
"This is bad! Really bad! Parselmouths are all Dark wizards!" Ginny exclaimed as she paced back and forth.
"I'm not a Dark wizard!" Adam shouted. He was looking extremely distressed now; he slumped against the wall and slid to the floor.
"I know! But everyone else will think you are!" Ginny was now shouting as well.
The door to the classroom swung open and Professor Snape stood in the doorway.
"Winters, the headmaster requires you to come to his office," Professor Snape stated, looking extremely pleased.
Adam went deathly pale. Ginny grabbed his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
Author's Note: Thanks to my beta, Arnel, for all her work.