October arrived, and a damp chill began spreading through the air and seeping into the castle.
Zhang Xiao had long since abandoned his plan to open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in the third-floor bathroom. Instead, he had filled the place with so many different traps that it was practically a minefield.
Anyone who opened the entrance and triggered the traps would "die" a very ugly death.
Things had been unusually quiet lately. The Basilisk never showed itself, the Diary was still missing, and even Lockhart had toned things down considerably, because Professor McGonagall kept dropping in on his classes whenever she had time.
Lockhart had no choice but to abandon his beloved theatrical performances and resort to drily reading from a textbook he had dug out of a corner.
Still, word had it that he had come up with another new idea. Recently, he had been writing letters nonstop and ordering piles of things.
The relentless rain had brought a sudden wave of colds among the staff and students, leaving Madam Pomfrey, the matron, rushed off her feet.
Her Pepperup Potion worked immediately, but anyone who drank it would have smoke pouring from their ears for several hours afterward.
One day, Snape, the cold-faced Head of House, suddenly handed Zhang Xiao a large bottle of Invigoration Draught and told him to distribute it within the house.
When Madam Pomfrey's potion came up, the Head of House merely remarked that it was "not bad." After all, Madam Pomfrey was also an outstanding graduate of Slytherin House.
Clearly, though, Professor Snape had far greater confidence in his own potion.
Bullet-sized raindrops battered the castle windows without letting up for days. The lake rose, mud flowed through the flower beds, and each of Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of