Chapter 8: Ending the Year
When Maddy woke up she was extremely confused as to where she was but then she remember the shenanigans of the previous night, no it might have been longer than that. How long had she been asleep for? She looked around the hospital wing. Harry was lying in the bed next to her, completely knocked out. What had happened to him? What happened past those black flames?
She wondered what had woken her up and realized that Madam Pomfrey was sitting beside her with a goblet of pumpkin juice and a tray of food in hand, she was scowling. Maddy was positive that a lecture was about to come.
"It's about time you woke up," she scowled even more. "What were you thinking?"
"I tripped?" Maddy tried.
"Do you take me for a fool? You were obviously off gallivanting around with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, sticking you're nose in the headmaster's business." Maddy really wanted to tell her that the very existence of the stone was 'sticking it's nose' in her family's business, but she had no way to explain that to her as she was sure to demand an explanation. "You nearly died."
"It was just a couple of deep cuts," she grumbled.
"A couple of deep cuts," Madam Pomfrey scoffed. "One of your ribs broke, and it was right over your heart. If your broken rib had moved just a bit then it could have punctured your heart!" Maddy stayed quiet. "You're lucky you came at the time you did otherwise I would hate to think of what could have happened."
The rest of the day went by slowly, Hermione, Bellona, Ron and Elliot visited, Ron apologizing for the chess match again after finding out just how badly she'd been hurt, but she reassured him by saying that she heals extremely quickly and she had rather delicate skin and bones -her bones aren't extremely delicate but she did once trip and break her ankle and her skin was extremely easy to cut and bruise- it didn't seem to rid him of any guilt though. They also informed her that she had been right about Snape being innocent and Quirrell being the one they should have been worried about, which lead to loud gloating from Maddy.
The next day Maddy woke up when Dumbledore entered the hospital wing, he said hello to her and wished her luck in recovering, then stood in front of Harry, who had yet to wake up.
"Good afternoon, Harry," he said when Harry woke up.
"Sir! The Stone!" Harry suddenly exclaimed after a moment of silence. "It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick-"
"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."
"Then who does? Sir, I-"
"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." There was a moment of silence then Dumbledore said, "Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. Maddy saw that Harry was looking at a pile of sweets at the foot of his bed. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very unhygienic, and confiscated it."
"How long have I been in here?"
"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley, Miss Hermione Granger, Miss Bellona Nerva and Miss Elliot de la Mare will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."
"But sir, the Stone."
"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."
"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"
"We must have crossed in mid air. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."
"It was you!"
"I feared I might be too late."
"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer-"
"Not the Stone, boy, you. The effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. Good, Maddy thought. "But your friend, Nicolas Flamel-"
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."
"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"
"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die. To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all, the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.
"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking... sir, even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who-"
"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."
"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"
"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share, not being truly alive, he cannot be killed." What did that mean? Everything could be killed and everything has to die sometime, nothing is truly immortal, even the gods can die if people forget about them. "He left Quirrell to die, he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time, and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."
Harry and Dumbledore continued to talk for several more minutes, their conversation ended when Dumbledore ate an earwax flavoured Every Flavour Bean.
"Professor," Maddy stopped him.
"Yes, Miss Mender?" He asked, turning to face her. She paused, unsure of how to phrase her question.
"The Philosopher's Stone interferes with my father's business," she said slowly, carefully weighing what words she said. "I have told him about it and he has told me to make sure it's destroyed, so I was wondering if I could see the Stone to make sure it's been destroyed properly. I don't doubt that it had been destroyed properly, I just need to make sure."
"Of course," Dumbledore agreed, he was obviously curious about her father's 'business' but didn't ask.
"And I was also wondering what you meant when you said Voldemort isn't truly alive, so he can't be killed. How can he still control people and move around here without being a ghost or fully alive?"
"That is information for another time," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he left. Maddy decided to consult Hades about Voldemort, maybe he knew since Dumbledore obviously wasn't going to give her a straight answer any time soon.
While Maddy had been talking to Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Elliot and Bellona had entered, they were mostly just talking about what had happened since he had been unconscious and what had happened with Quirrell, neither of which she really cared about because she already knew what had happened in the school, she was assured of the Philosopher's Stone's destruction and she had been proven right about Quirrell.
After Madam Pomfrey shuffled the others out Maddy turned to Harry and said, "I have gloating rights."
"I almost died," Harry replied.
"So did I. Also, I think that the fact that I was right about Quirrell means you should trust my instincts from now on."
"Alright, fine," Harry smiled. "Are you going to be able to go to the end of year feast tomorrow."
"Probably, I'm just here today to let the bleeding thin out more before I start moving around. You?"
"I dunno," he turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I can't, can I?"
"Dumbledore said you can," she didn't seem to approve of the headmaster's decision. "And you have another visitor."
"Who is it?" Harry asked.
"It's! All! My! Ruddy! Fault!" Hagrid suddenly burst through the doors to the hospital wing, sobbing. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"
"Hagrid!" Harry stopped the giant. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."
"It's also kind of common knowledge that the Cerberus falls asleep to music, it's no surprise his descendant does too," Maddy added quietly.
"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"
"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads..."
Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."
"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.
"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead, anyway, got yeh this... Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?" Harry was speechless. "And I got summat for you too," he said to Maddy, he pulled a camera out of his coat pocket and handed it to her.
"Thanks, Hagrid!" Maddy grinned.
"I remembered you talkin' about wantin' a camera to show one of yer friends in America Hogwarts' architecture."
"Yeah. Does this make moving pictures?"
"O' course." Maddy smiled again and held up the camera, snapping a picture of the room and sure enough, the picture Harry and Hagrid were moving, as well as the tree leaves that could be seen through the windows. "This is amazing!"
That evening Harry and Maddy departed for the end of year feast, Maddy's chest still ached a bit but it was tolerable. The Great Hall went silent when they entered and split apart to find their seats at their table, then everyone erupted into loud chatter. Maddy slid into her seat across from Elliot who was looking quite smug.
"What's that look for?" Maddy asked.
"I didn't say this while you were in the hospital wing, but I was smart to choose sleeping by the lake instead of following you lot," she said.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Maddy retorted just as Dumbledore entered, silencing the entire hall.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were, you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts.
"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."
A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Maddy could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.
"And I thought we were the classy table," she said to Elliot who snorted.
"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account. I have a few last minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes, First, to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver.
"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." Maddy saw that Hermione had buried her face in her arms across the Great Hall.
"Third, to Miss Bellona Nerva for the willingness to trust her friend even when she believed she was wrong, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." He must've been talking about when Maddy was convincing her and Hermione to leave without her. The crowd erupted into applause again.
"Fourth, to Miss Madeline Mender for sticking with her friends through pain and sacrificing herself to allow them to succeed, I award Slytherin house fifty points." This time their was scattered applause, but Maddy didn't mind at all.
"Fifth, to Mr. Harry Potter for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points." The applause was horrendously loud. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had five hundred and twenty-two points -exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup.
Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent. "There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."
The applause was deafening as even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were glad to see the Slytherins lose. Maddy and Elliot were the only Slytherin's genuinely clapping, a few were grimly clapping out of politeness but the rest were thoroughly upset.
"Now, the house points stand at Hufflepuff in fourth with three hundred and twenty-two points, Ravenclaw in third with three hundred and twenty-six, Slytherin in second with five hundred and twenty-two and Gryffindor in first with five hundred and thirty-two. I believe this calls for a change in decorations." He snapped his fingers and the Slytherin decorations suddenly changed to lions.
Dumbledore pulled Maddy aside after the feast and showed her the remains of the Philosopher's Stone, Maddy was satisfied with it but figured she better take it with her, so she shoved the bits of red stone in her pocket, telling Dumbledore that she just wanted to make sure it was destroyed properly by checking with her father.
That night they got their exam results. Elliot passed with more than flying colours in everything, but Maddy barely scraped by, the results from the practical portions of the tests making up for her utterly horrible written sections.
The next day their things were all automatically packed and they all left for the Hogwarts Express, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bellona, Maddy and Elliot all crammed into one compartment it was cramped but nobody complained, Bellona and Maddy had just ended up sitting on the floor to make space. They all had a fun and enjoyable ride back to Platform 9¾ some of them were making plans to meet up over the summer -it was mostly Bellona who wanted to show Elliot, Ron and Maddy a multitude of movies as none of them had gotten to see any ever.
Getting through the station was hard, but all Maddy really had to do was find a dark place for her to Shadow Travel from. She looked for her friend's families, she could pick out Ron's family immediately, but not anyone else's.
Harry's aunt and uncle looked nothing like him, Bellona's dad looked exactly like Bellona, Elliot's family wasn't distinctive at all apart from the fact that they were all abnormally tall, Ron's mom, dad and younger sister looked exactly how Maddy expected, having very red hair, and Maddy didn't get to see Hermione's family as they were waiting for her in front of King's Cross Station.
They all said their goodbyes and departed, Maddy decided to shadow travel from the bathroom which was, luckily, empty.
She appeared right in her cabin at Camp Half Blood, ecstatic to see her demigod friends again, but she decided to get some sleep first.
The end! Very short final chapter, I know.
I'm now 6 chapters(90 pages) far in CoS, so it shouldn't take too too long for HB:CoS to be posted. I'm very happy to say it's diverting from the path quite a bit, I'm just a little bit after Colin Creevey got petrified(and tormenting Lockhart is so fun)
ro781727: No, Snape isn't a demigod, but that does sound interesting. I'm going to think about that and Peeves doesn't know who Maddy's father is, none of the ghosts do, they're just strangely drawn to her and one of her abilities as a daughter of Hades is control over ghosts, so I hope that explains that.
