A Sensational Story

Disclaimer: Recognizable portions in this chapter have been taken from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling. I neither own nor intend to make any profit from the use of Harry Potter and the associated characters of the series, in my story.

Chapter 1: Dumbledore

The Worst Birthday

'You know what? I've changed my mind.'

It was Friday evening, and the Gryffindors were lounging in their common room after a rather hectic day, made especially more so given the greatest shake-up that Hogwarts had had for her staff in generations.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry. 'Come again?' said Ron.

'I've changed my mind,' repeated Harry.

'Finally!' grinned Fred.

'We've been telling you to get a new one for ages, mate!' said George.

Harry glared half-heartedly at them, but he was saved from reprimanding the Weasley twins by the fierce stare of Ginny, which caused them to immediately shut their mouths.

'What have you changed your mind about?' asked Hermione interestedly.

'I know I told Madam Bones to have a look at the other books,' began Harry; immediately, the rest of them perked up curiously, 'but I think we should continue with a public reading of the rest.'

They stared at him.

'You-you want the rest of the books to be read out loud?' asked Ginny slowly. 'In public? In front of everyone?'

'Well, usually that's what a public reading means, Gin-Gin,' said Fred, a mischievous smile creeping up on his face, but another glare from Ginny quelled it instantly.

'Why not? It'll be better if everyone gets to know what exactly happened in the last few years at Hogwarts. Not all the books, mind you,' added Harry, 'just the ones that cover everything that's already happened.'

'But Harry –' said Hermione uncertainly, as she worried her bottom lip. 'Won't it seem like you're actually – erm – actively seeking attention? Not that you are, of course,' she hastened to add, 'but it doesn't really paint a good picture of you. And you saw what it did to the school and Dumbledore.'

'This is different, Hermione,' insisted Harry. 'If the rest of them are anything like the first book, they'll contain loads of details and events that need to be known by everyone.' He paused as Hermione considered that, and then said, 'Especially our third year.'

Ron's eyes widened from his position on the armchair. 'That's actually a good idea, you know,' he said. 'And – wait, think of what the second book would do for Lucius Malfoy!'

Harry nodded in agreement. 'We'd be able to conclusively prove that he slipped that diary to Ginny.'

Ginny paled at the mention of the diary, as memories from her disastrous first year flooded back to her. 'That'll show…that'll show everything that happened, wouldn't it?' she whispered fearfully.

Harry turned to look at her; she looked so small and scared all of a sudden; he was tempted to pull her into a comforting hug, but instead settled on wrapping his arm around her and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. 'I know it's a lot to ask for, but Lucius Malfoy can finally be charged for giving you a dangerous magical item. The Ministry would have to take note of it, especially after the ruckus they kicked up with the Mirror of Erised.'

'It's just…' said Ginny, her brown eyes wide and bright. 'I don't want everyone to know…'

'I promise,' said Harry earnestly, and it seemed to everyone in the vicinity that he really meant it, 'the only thing that people will know is that Voldemort tried to control you, but you fought back, and won.'

'With a little help from your childhood hero, of course,' chipped in George, and promptly received a thump on the back of his head from Hermione. 'Ouch!'

'Shush!'

Ginny looked around at the five others seated next to her, and felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards all of them – her family, and her friends. She gave a weak grin, and that was as good a start as anything.

Plus, it might just help her to get over those horrendous events once and for all.

'But, Harry –' said Hermione again, 'the Polyjuice, Harry! And Lockhart – and Aragog! D'you think the Ministry would just sit back and listen to all of it without doing anything?'

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but he was beaten to it by Ron.

'What can they do – arrest us? Not bloody likely,' he said sagely. 'We can always make the same deal that we made with Umbridge for the first book – we'll finish it, and then let them take whatever action they want to.'

'That's a risky play, little bro,' pointed out Fred.

'Yeah, you don't know how they might react to whatever did happen that year,' agreed George.

'It'll be worth it,' said Harry firmly. 'Look, I realise there could be complications with this plan, but it'll reveal so much more. Plus, it'll put a lot of rumours of those years to rest by confirming an accurate version of events – and we all know what people did when they didn't have an accurate version to rely upon,' he finished darkly.

No one needed Harry to repeat that statement: their entire year up to last Saturday had been proof of it.

'And how will you convince Professor McGonagall about the need for this reading?' asked Hermione.

Ron frowned a bit at that, but Harry was ready with a reply.

'The truth – with this reading, we could convict Lucius Malfoy of giving the diary to Ginny. They wouldn't say no to it, not with Malfoy's current position in the Ministry and with Voldemort.'

'Well, I suppose…' said Hermione, but she still seemed uncertain.

'You've unbelievable, you are,' said Harry, shaking his head. He turned to Ron. 'What do you think?'

'I'm all for it, Harry,' said Ron with a wide grin. 'Anything to catch Malfoy would do – plus we can vindicate Sirius as well.'

'We're in too, Harry,' said Fred enthusiastically.

'Just in case you were wondering,' added George with a nod.

Harry turned to Ginny, who smiled at him. 'Let's just get this over with.'

The following Monday morning dawned bright and clear. The atmosphere in the Great Hall resembled that of the first day of Hogwarts for most of the students – for the first time in several years, they were about to have lessons with different teachers; and despite their outwardly grumbling attitude towards their classes, the majority of the students were secretly quite interested and eagerly anticipating their new professors.

All of those hopes came crashing down when Professor McGonagall rose from her chair in the middle of the staff table and made her announcement.

'Attention, please,' she called out, and the noise levels in the Great Hall died down at once. 'Following on from the events of last week, and based on discussions that the Hogwarts staff has had with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic, we have decided to continue with the public reading of the next book –'

'There's more than one?' came a shout from someone in the Hall.

Professor McGonagall gave a stern look at the source of the interruption, before continuing. 'Yes, there is more than one book. All of us believe that this would be beneficial in more ways than one – not least in putting some extremely outlandish and, should I say ridiculous, rumours to bed, regarding the events of prior years.'

Harry noted, with a small amount of amusement, that the Hogwarts Headmistress was repeating what Hermione had provided as a plausible explanation for the public reading, almost verbatim. They had had a surprisingly easy time convincing Professors McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore about the need for a public reading for the subsequent books. Naturally, they had all agreed that the true objective of this public reading – to get Lucius Malfoy out of the picture – was not to be revealed to anybody at all.

It seemed to work, however: there were a lot of students shifting in their seats and looking slightly guilty when the rumours were brought up. Harry shook his head in resignation – the wizarding world could be so gullible at times. Honestly, strangling a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets with his bare hands?

'Due to this, we have decided to cancel all morning classes, for the next three days,' said Professor McGonagall. 'We aim to finish this by lunch-time on Wednesday, with your co-operation.'

Whispers sounded around the Hall at the mention of classes being cancelled, again. Some of the older students looked particularly worried – with the N.E.W.T.s coming up, they needed every minute they could get to revise their subjects. They did not, however, want to miss the public reading, not when it seemed so important for both the Hogwarts staff and the Ministry.

Their concerns were assuaged, however, by a rather magnanimous gesture by the Ministry, when McGonagall announced that the N.E.W.T.s and the O.W.L.s would be postponed to a later date – yet to be determined, apparently – based on the ramifications of these public readings.

'Very well, then,' said McGonagall. She clapped her hands, and the doors to the Great Hall opened, allowing entry for Madam Bones and her Auror entourage. They took their seats at a table near the staff table, where just a week earlier, Fudge and his colleagues had sat.

'Good morning, Amelia,' greeted McGonagall.

'Good morning, Minerva,' boomed Madam Bones, her loud voice echoing across the Hall. 'Shall we begin?'

'Yes, of course,' replied McGonagall. 'We shall proceed in order of seniority, as before. Professor Dumbledore, if you would please.' She turned to the former Headmaster of Hogwarts School – the only one to hold such a title while still alive – and handed him a colourful hard-backed book, not unlike the first book that had been read last week.

'The title of this book,' called McGonagall as she passed the book to her colleague, 'is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.'

There were definitely a few hushed gasps this time, along with the buzz that filled the hall at McGonagall's words. The events surrounding the Chamber of Secrets were known to most of the students and staff; unfortunately, it had been embellished so much that no one was quite sure what had exactly happened. But it was definitely certain that that year – with the attacks and the constant threat – was one of the worst years at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. 'Thank you, Professor McGonagall,' he said kindly. Then, he flipped open the book, and began reading out the first chapter. 'Chapter 1: The Worst Birthday.

'Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive.'

'Oh yeah, I remember that argument,' sighed Harry.

'What was it about?' asked Ginny.

'Uncle Vernon had locked up Hedwig almost immediately after I'd gotten back from school for the holidays. She'd woken him up in the morning, and well…he's not exactly a morning person.'

Ginny patted his arm sympathetically.

The reactions of the Dursleys to Harry's use of the word "magic" seemed quite over the top, but amusing too – especially the description of Dudley and his enormous size. Given that Harry's uncle had actually threatened to "stomp the magic out of him" before his first year had begun, his irrational fear of the mention of magic and anything to do with the wizarding world came as a surprise to no one in the Great Hall. There were, however, more than a handful of people who knew exactly how Harry had felt about missing Hogwarts – after all was said and done, their school was still a wonderful place.

'What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place in the house Quidditch team because he hadn't practised all summer?' read Dumbledore in his baritone.

'Has that ever happened?' asked Sprout. 'Losing your place because you haven't practised?'

'Not to my knowledge,' said McGonagall. 'In any case, Mr Potter would not have been able to practise Quidditch in a Muggle neighbourhood – it's against the law.'

Down at the Gryffindor table, Fred and George were snickering at Harry's thoughts of getting kicked off the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Harry's face burned with embarrassment at his twelve-year-old self's worries, but he refrained from firing a retort.

'The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given him a proper present, let alone a cake – but to ignore it completely…'

Albus Dumbledore was feeling slightly doubtful about this idea of Harry's, as he continued reading. He knew he should have checked on Harry once in a while after he'd left him on his aunt's doorstep, but it had seemed unimportant and unnecessary then. Especially with Mrs Figg giving him regular reports that the boy was safe and fine, albeit a little skinny and runty for his age. But now, when the Dursleys' transgressions in terms of taking care of Harry as their own child had been revealed to the public, and Harry's own feelings of loneliness became evident to all, Dumbledore was seriously considering making this a private reading instead. His guilt at failing Harry, more than anything else, was making him contemplate that course of action.

But he could not back away now. His mistakes from Harry's first year had been made public, and while he had legal immunity, it would do no good for him to express any dissent over Harry's plan. He owed the boy that much.

Plus, if what Harry was saying was true, a lot of revelations could come with a reading of this book.

And so, he continued.

Harry grinned at the expressions of disgust on the faces of his friends and the staff, as Dumbledore went through Dudley's imitations of how he would behave with the Masons, who were due to arrive that evening. They did have a laugh, however, over the Dursleys' fear of being turned into dung beetles ('Blast-Ended Skrewts might have been a better choice, mate,' said Ron), and imagining the giant form of Dudley running away as Harry muttered nonsense under his breath.

'They really have no clue about magic, do they?' whispered Parvati.

'Not in the least,' replied Harry, still grinning.

'More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.'

'What?'

'Even more than playing Quidditch?'

'It's a scandal!'

'An outrage!'

'A disgrace!'

'Such dishonour!'

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny rolled their eyes at the twins' antics, who apparently couldn't stomach the fact that he, Harry, had missed his friends more than playing Quidditch. Thankfully, it was stopped by Angelina and Alicia bumping the twins' heads together, causing them to go 'Ow!'

'They, however, didn't seem to be missing him at all. Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.'

'That would be Dobby's doing,' murmured Harry as he remembered.

'Who's Dobby?' asked Neville.

'You'll see,' was Harry's cryptic response.

'He'd almost be glad of a sight of his arch-enemy, Draco Malfoy –'

'You're not serious,' said Ron, a horrified look on his face. It was mirrored by Fred, George, and Ginny, while Hermione looked a little shocked herself.

'I'm not proud of it,' said Harry hurriedly.

The description of Voldemort caused a few jitters among the students, and more than a few sympathetic glances came his way at the fact that he had still had nightmares about Voldemort.

'He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge – and the hedge was staring back.'

'That's odd,' interrupted Flitwick in his chirpy voice. 'Hedges don't normally stare back.'

'Apparently, this one does, Filius,' said Dumbledore, staring down at the book.

'That's Dobby too,' said Harry quietly.

'Who?' asked Parvati.

'You'll see,' said Harry, again.

They all got a good laugh out of Dudley's terrified reaction to Harry's obviously fake spells at setting the hedge on fire, but most of them could hardly disguise their outrage at the punishment doled out by his Aunt Petunia.

'I have never seen a more atrocious woman in my life,' declared Sprout with a look of disgust. 'Which woman would want to hit their nephew with a frying pan?'

Snape pursed his lips, but did not offer a comment: he had, of course, suffered far worse at the hands of his father while he had been growing up. Getting hit by a frying pan seemed like a normal thing compared to what he had been through.

'I hope you're making a note of this, Amelia,' said McGonagall coolly.

'Of course, Minerva,' said Madam Bones. 'I'll add this to the arrest warrant for the Dursleys, after a formal review.'

McGonagall nodded.

'Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait, but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking himself…maybe he didn't have any friends at Hogwarts…'

Each of his friends turned to look at him, with expressions of mingled sympathy and guilt: the former for hearing about such thoughts from Harry, and the latter for being partly responsible for Harry to be feeling that way. Hermione, in particular, looked as though she was on the verge of tears.

'You'll always have friends here, Harry,' said Ginny quietly, and squeezed his hand.

'And don't you forget it,' said Neville firmly.

Harry gazed into each of his friends' faces, and could not help but grin at them in return. His twelve-year-old self had been naïve and…over-dramatic, for lack of a better word, to think that he would be without his friends at all. Granted, he had had his spats with Hermione and Ron over the last two years, but it had worked out in the end. And he knew – he just knew – that they would always be with him.

It made him feel rather happy – something he hadn't felt in a really long time that year.

The chapter finished off rather quickly after that – there were only a few paragraphs left anyway.

'Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe, slipped inside, closed the door and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.'

Dumbledore shut the book and looked up at the sea of students in front of him.

'Well? Who was on it?' asked Snape impatiently.

'I have no idea,' replied Dumbledore serenely. 'The chapter ended with those words.'

Harry almost laughed out loud at Dumbledore's response, and Snape's return glare at the old wizard. Dumbledore, of course, knew exactly who the uninvited guest was – Dobby the house-elf. Harry didn't recall mentioning it to Dumbledore earlier, but it was a moot point nonetheless.

'Oh, I can't wait for the next chapter,' said Ron almost gleefully.

'What about it?' asked Hermione.

'Malfoy's reaction,' said Ron, sniggering as he said so. 'Dobby was his, wasn't he?'

Harry cottoned on, and chuckled along with Ron, while Hermione stared at the two of them in fond exasperation.

'I believe you are next, Minerva?' asked Dumbledore, handing out the book to the Headmistress.

McGonagall nodded, flipped open the book to the right page, and began to read.

Author's Notes: First off, I'd like to thank White Squirrel for graciously allowing me to continue his story of A Dramatic Reading in the form of a sequel. I couldn't have done it without his help, and his permission too. Another round of thanks to him for beta-reading this chapter as well!

This particular instalment will certainly cover the reading of Book 2 by the characters; as you can see, Harry feels a public reading of these books is in order, as opposed to a private one by the DMLE. Whether this includes Book 3 or not…well, we'll see.