Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the esteemed writer known as J.K. Rowling.

A/N: This is a response to Sofia Dragon’s challenge and I’ll post more at a later date. I want to get the first chapter out there to see what your reaction is to this story and if I should continue with the idea. It’s up the readers to decide!

Chamber of Secrets – Secrets Unveiled

Reflections and Decisions

A feeling of anticipation was the catalyst that started the chain of events that would take one young boy back into the past, or should I say young man. It was the start of what would be his seventh year when our story begins. Harry Potter had finally decided he was the creator of his own destiny and he had set out to prove it to the world.

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Sighing, Harry Potter took up a seat on the curb as he watched adults and children board the morning trains. It reminded him that he wouldn’t be catching the train this year for Hogwarts since he had chosen to seek the Horcruxes that Voldemort had created. The progress of finding and destroying the Horcruxes was slow going. He had started looking for them right after he turned seventeen on the 31st of July. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger had joined him on his quest soon after his departure, and they immediately set off on dangerous adventures to unearth the remaining Horcruxes. All three had of course attended Bill and Fleur’s wedding and it had been an unforgettable occasion.

Flashback

The month of July was closely drawing to a close, bringing with it a misty and humid day. Due to the heat mainly, Bill and Fleur had decided it was best to have the wedding in the evening when it was much cooler since the procession would be taking place outside. Harry had joined his friends earlier that day when he had departed from his relatives for the last time, finally having come of age. He glanced up at the bride and groom, smiling at them softly. Bill’s face had healed nicely, he had observed, yet the redhead still had a mean looking scar starting from the left side of his temple and continuing until it hit the right corner of his chin. Harry had joked with him that since he had a scar people should start calling him the savior of the wizarding world, but he knew better than to believe it true.

The prophecy was still a major part of his life and he had accepted that when his friends had. Speaking of which, he turned to them and gave both Ron and Hermione light hugs, though they didn’t settle for just that.

“I missed you guys,” he whispered, swept up into a group hug and caught in the middle.

Hermione laughed and he could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “It’s only been a few weeks, but I was still so afraid that either your relatives or Voldemort had hurt you in some way.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m still fully intact and ready to face the evils of the world,” he said playfully.

“Harry, be serious!” she complained and Ron just chuckled, pulling her into his arms and away from Harry slightly.

“You should really stop being so morbid, mate,” Ron stated with mock seriousness.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’ll try to be more chipper. How does that sound?”

His friends laughed a little and they all took seats as music began to fill the backyard where they were having the wedding. The Weasleys had decorated their yard with glowing lights that floated in the air and fireflies that highlighted the gazebo where the bride maids, Bill’s groomsmen, and the magical priest stood. It all looked so beautiful and Harry was filled with wonder at the whole spectacle. It seemed surreal to be having a union of marriage as an ongoing war raged on around them. He observed the people sitting around the lawn and soon found the one person who had been his first love – Ginny. It had pained him to break it off with her, but they both understood that it was not exactly the time to be having a relationship – especially since he would be leading the troops against Voldemort now that Dumbledore was gone and he was the main target in the war. Love just didn’t seem like an option anymore. The thought made him sigh and his friends turned to see what was wrong.

“Are you all right, Harry?” Hermione asked with concern and Ron glanced at him in worry.

“I’m fine,” came the automatic response from the teen.

The wedding had been short and sweet. Fleur had walked down the aisle appearing a beautiful silver princess in her lovely gown and Bill stood on the gazebo watching her with love and hope shining in eyes. The couple and the rest of the crowd had then headed inside for the reception to celebrate. The bride had thrown the bouquet over her shoulder then, and Hermione had caught it, blushing scarlet as Ron looked at her appraisingly. Harry chuckled slightly at their antics and wondered when they would finally get a hint. There was a bet going on about which would figure it out first and do something about it. He had personally put his money on Hermione since she was clever enough to notice and her stubborn personality at times would easily push her to take action.

Strolling through the sea of guests and well wishers, Harry started for the door that led outside when he noticed shadows fluttering around outside. Whispering caught his attention quickly and he concluded that these shadows weren’t your average ones. ‘Looks like someone came to crash the party’, he thought and at that moment the door blasted open.

Death eaters entered the house with speed, and chaos ensued. Order members, who had been present for the wedding, went to work on attacking the intruders and keeping them at bay. Harry fended off his own amount of Dark supporters and changed his position from defensive to offensive in a matter of moments. He cast spell after spell, heading in the direction of the most screaming and helping to defend the innocents being tortured. Eventually, he came across his friends and they worked as a team to force the small group of death eaters out of the house. A whimper from a corner had distracted them slightly and a sly aggressor had taken full advantage of the opportunity to strike. The next thing the trio remembered was waking up in Order Headquarters and being covered in horrible bruises, Madam Pomfrey hovering over them worriedly. She informed them they’d been injured and that the rest of the Order had taken care of the death eaters. It had taken them about a week to recover and all the while they wondered how the death eaters had found them in the first place or even how knew about the wedding…

End Flashback

Hermione came up behind Harry as he pondered and took a seat next to him. She appeared worn out from all of the recent travel, as did Ron as he sat beside the bushy haired girl.

“Thinking about Hogwarts again?” Ron asked tiredly, looking longing at the wall that divided Platforms 9 and 10.

Harry nodded. “Yeah….To think, they’re reopening the school under Minster Scrimgeour’s orders and we can’t make it,” he replied, staring at the ground blankly.

“I heard McGonagall is taking over as Headmistress,” Hermione said, joining the conversation.

“It’s all over the papers, really. She’s chosen to have Professor Slughorn as her successor,” Ron added with mild distaste. “A Slytherin, of all people! And at this crucial time, too!”

“Ron!” Hermione scolded. “You can’t judge someone by their house.”

Ron huffed and turned red, ready to start another argument with the brainy young woman. He’d always lose, though – no matter the circumstance.

Cutting in before they could go full out, Harry put in his own two cents. “ ‘Mione’s right Ron.” She appeared shocked he was siding with her. “You can’t judge someone on their exterior alone. The only way to decipher if someone is worthy of trust is by getting to truly know that person. Slughorn is a bit of a slimy snake and rough around the edges. He even goes after power like every other Slytherin, but he’s different from them! He’s actually on the light side for one, and think! How many other Slytherins hide in the background just waiting to see which side will overpower the other? We should think about trying to sway them over to our side. It would do well to have as many allies as possible…” Harry trailed off and gave a half smile at his friends’ stunned faces. “Yes, I know. It’s me preaching about the goodness in Slytherins.”

“But you made many good points, Harry,” Hermione admitted and Ron nodded reluctantly.

“It is time to get over prejudice for Slytherins,” the redhead agreed and made a face. “I can’t believe I just said that. I guess we really should give them a chance before classifying them as death eaters, though.”

“There’s something I didn’t tell you about that night on the tower.” The two studied him in confusion. “Malfoy didn’t want to go through with his promise at all. He could have been swayed if we’d taken the time.” Harry looked away. “If I had seen through his farce of being the Slytherin Ice Prince, we would have had a powerful ally. He has no choice now but to go crawling back to the death eaters with Snape,” he spat out the last name heatedly.

“Anything else?” Hermione asked softly, taking his hand in her own and lacing his fingers with hers in a comforting gesture.

Harry glanced around to make sure no one had over heard them. He cast a privacy spell around himself and the others discreetly, going into a vivid account of what he could remember of that night. It left them all thinking about the meanings of different stages of that night. Why had Snape reacted so much to being called coward? Why had he called off the death eaters from attacking Harry at the very end? It didn’t make sense and they were all pondering possible reasons for everything that had taken place that night.

“Maybe we should go back,” Harry announced suddenly and the other two looked at him in surprise. He couldn’t explain it, but he had a disturbing feeling that something important was going to happen at Hogwarts this year – like every year before that…

“Really?” Ron asked quietly, a grin curling on his lips.

“Yes. Let’s see what this year’s adventure will be,” he stated and smiled at his friends, offering them his hands after he stood up. “Shall we?”