ActualWeeb: Hi, guys! Sorry this chapter took so long- it's been a hectic week.
Sadly, seeing as this is the last chapter of Chamber of Secrets, I'll be taking a short break after this chapter to edit through Prisoner of Azkaban. Hopefully, the break shouldn't last more than a month. If you want updates and more content, though, on my facebook page for this fic, I post a lot. (The page is called Unfogging the Future- a HP fanfic). And by "content and updates", I mean some sloppy drawings and me rambling at 3am.
Also- after this chapter, I'll be replying to reviews through PM instead of in chapters. Anyways, on to the story! I do not own Harry Potter, which is probably good, because if I did, I would probably fuck up the entire franchise. It's just my luck.
After a very long silence, and Tom's sobs died down, Remus spoke.
"I suppose I'll read now," he said softly. He took the book and cleared his throat, reading the chapter title.
Chapter Eighteen, Their Promise.
Bella furrowed her brows, trying to think of what promise it could be referring to, before her eyes widened, realizing what conversation was going to be shown.
"We can't read this chapter," Bella whispered.
"Why not?" asked Remus.
"Th-they can't know," she said weakly.
"Bella, we need to continue with the story," he replied. Bella stood and reached for the book. Remus stood and held it over his head, so she couldn't reach the book.
"Give it to me!" she growled. She had a panicked look on her face.
"Potter, if Ginny is able to have it revealed that Riddle's diary forced her to open the chamber, you can deal with whatever secret this chapter is going to reveal," Daphne said impatiently.
"It's not the same!" Bella snapped. "That wasn't her fault! But if they know what I thought, they'll hate me!"
"Who will hate you?" James asked.
"Argh!" Bella screamed, bolting into the Vent Room, slamming the door loudly behind her.
Ginny shifted, making to run after Bella, but Tom was on her lap, and she couldn't move. George, however, was faster, and followed Bella, concerned.
"Bella!" he exclaimed upon entering the room. Bella was screaming, and had her back turned to him, and raised her fist, about to beat one of the dummies. George grabbed her wrist, stopping her arm from hitting the dummy. The bandaged wrapped around her arm loosened when he grabbed them.
"Let me go!" she shrieked.
"No!" George yelled. "I'm not going to let you hurt yourself again!"
"Don't let them read! They can't know! No! No! No!" Bella cried, flailing her arms against him. She was so panicked that all sense seemed to have left her. But George wouldn't let her get hurt again.
"Bella, calm down!" he exclaimed. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, pinning her arms against herself so she couldn't flail them about. Bella continued to scream, kicking her legs. She kicked George in the shin, causing him to fall down on his knees, but he kept his grip on her, determined to protect her, so she fell as well.
Eventually, Bella stopped screaming and resorted to sobbing. She had stopped struggling and instead fell limp, but George continued to hold her.
As he felt her shake in his arms, he said softly, "Bells, who do you think is going to hate you?"
"M-my parents," she hiccupped. "If they know...they'll hate me."
George sighed, resting his chin against the top of her head.
"I really doubt that. I have no idea what you think you've done, but even if you're a felon or something huge, they'd still love you. These are the people who sacrificed their life to save you, do you really think they could hate you?"
"N-no, but-"
"Then what's this fuss for? You have super-duper analytical powers, wouldn't you know this in the first place?"
Bella sighed. "Hate and anger are two such uncontrollable unreasonable emotions, that unless if I know someone well enough, it's hard for me to tell what could set them off. I could tell, though, that they would never hate me, but... I'm ashamed."
"Ashamed of what?" asked George.
"You'll see when we read the chapter," Bella sighed. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his waist, so she was hugging him back. "Thank you for calming me down, George. I was being irrational."
George smiled and pulled away from the hug. "Well, I guess I am pretty awesome, then, right?"
Bella snorted. "Yeah, right."
George carefully picked up Bella's arm and rewrapped her bandages, seeing as they had become loose. He made to rewrap the bandage on her right hand, but she pulled it away. George raised his eyebrows at her, and she shook her head. She didn't want him to see what was underneath the bandages.
"We should go back," she muttered, staring at her knees, a blush on her face. "I think I'm ready for them to know."
George stroked her hair. Bella found it easy to lean into his touch.
"Well," he said, "no matter what happened, your parents will still support you. And so will I."
Bella smiled and looked up at him, studying his features. The way his hair fell in his face, the rise and fall of his chest, each freckle on his nose...before Bella knew what she was doing, she'd closed the gap between them, and her lips was on his.
As suddenly as she'd started the kiss, it had stopped. She pulled away, eyes wide, and her face red.
"I'm so sorry, George, I don't know what came over m-"
But she wasn't able to finish her sentence, as George had pressed his lips onto hers. This one lasted longer, and had more ferocity than the quick peck from a few moments ago. Bella moved her lips along with his, though she didn't really know what she was going, as her only kiss beforehand had been a peck on the lips with Cedric.
And then, disappointingly, they pulled away again.
"I didn't know you felt that way about me," George chuckled.
"I do," Bella answered. "I have for a long time, I think, but I only recently realized..." She paused. "...realized that I'm in love with you."
"I love you, too, Bells," he said sincerely. "I love you more than I love pranking the shitty Slytherin Quiddich team."
"Wow, I feel special!" she laughed.
There was a pause.
"Are we a couple now?" asked George.
"I suppose so," she answered.
"What about Cedric?"
Bella paused. "I don't know. In our timeline, he's...well...but in his timeline, we're still dating. But the thing is, I had a schoolgirl crush on him. However, you...oh, God, I love you so much, it hurts. But I don't know what to do."
George kissed her head. "Well, that's alright. You don't need to know what to do. I'll wait for you until you know."
"Thank you, George." Bella smiled.
George stood up and held out his hand to help her up, which she took, and she stood up with him.
"We should really go now," George said. "Are you ready?"
Bella nodded.
And so, the two walked back into the main room, ready to face everyone else.
"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, noticing the tear stains on Bella's cheeks. Bella nodded.
"I was able to get her to calm down," George said, sitting down next to Fred. "I didn't want her to get hurt again."
Bella sat down in between her parents. Sirius had returned to his original spot next to James.
"I'm ready to read," she told Remus. Remus nodded and started reading.
"I-it's all my fault..."
What? Was that someone's voice?
"She's not dead, Ginny, it's fine."
Who's not dead? Were they talking about Bella? Could she be alive?
"But if it weren't for Fawkes-"
"Even if she had died, you aren't the one to blame."
"That's right. It was never your fault, Ginny," said Bill.
Slowly, Bella opened her eyes.
"Look, Dad, she's waking up!"
Bella looked around the room. It seemed as though she weren't wearing her glasses, as everything was blurred. However, standing above her were the blurred shapes of seven redheads and three other people. The burning shape of Fawkes was on the shoulders of one of the people. One of the redheads placed her glasses on her head, and Bella quickly saw it was George Weasley who gave her her glasses.
Bella and George looked at each other and blushed.
Fred raised his eyebrows at the exchange. Had something happened in that room...?
"I'm...alive?" Bella croaked. She looked around. She was lying in a bed in the hospital wing, still wearing the nightgown covered in blood and muck from her last fight.
Sirius winced at the image of Bella covered in blood.
Standing around her bed was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Percy, Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, and, to Bella's surprise, Headmaster Dumbledore, who had Fawkes on his shoulder. On a bedside table next to her bed sat the hat, the diary, and the sword, which had rubies on it the size of eggs, and was much too large to sit on the bedside table.
"Yes, Miss Potter, you are alive," said Dumbledore, looking calm even in this situation.
"H-how? What happened?" she asked.
"That," said Professor McGonagall, "is something we'd all like to know."
"Um," Ginny spoke up. She was sitting to the left of Bella, in between Ron and Mr. Weasley, who looked as though they had been comforting her earlier. She looked as though she'd been crying very hard. "P-Professor Dumbledore's bird healed you, I think..."
"You must have a very pure heart if a phoenix cried for you," said James.
Bella snorted. She wasn't pure.
"He said pure heart, not mind," Hermione told Bella.
"Miss Weasley is right," said Dumbledore. "Pheonix tears heal all wounds, you see. We had just informed the Weasley's of your...disappearance, when Fawkes led Miss Weasley to Professor McGonagall's office, where we were."
"I thought you were dead," sniffed Ginny. "But when Professor Dumbledore looked at you he knew that you weren't. I think you had just passed out because you lost lots of blood."
Ron looked down. Seeing Bella's body, thinking she was dead...it was the worst experience of his life. He hoped to never see that again.
"We just finished moving you and Ginny to the hospital wing when you woke up," added Ron. "But we still have no idea what happened with you two."
"What happened doesn't matter, she needs to rest!'' said Madame Pomfrey. "As does Miss Weasley."
"I can tell them what happened," said Bella.
"Oh, very well," Pomfrey huffed. Bella could tell that she was too curious to not let Bella speak.
Then he started telling them everything. For nearly a quarter of an hour he spoke into the rapt silence: He told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how Daphne had figured out what was petrifying everyone, how they had gone to Hagrid's, how they followed the spiders into the forest, how Hermione discovered the existence of the basilisk, how Riddle led her in to the chamber. The only thing she left out was how Riddle had kissed her, because she knew Ginny would be horrified, the diary, because she wanted to make it look as though the possesion had been sudden and uncontrollable in order to not get Ginny in trouble,
"Thank you, Bella," Ginny smiled.
and how Lockhart had been obliviated, because she thought it would be amusing to watch the adults try and figure out what happened to him on their own.
Sirius and James high-fived Bella.
"The Auror department was scrambling for weeks!" Madame Bones exclaimed.
"Yeah, but Bella's a little shit and likes fucking with people," said Fred.
"Fred, there is a six-year-old child!" Molly scolded him.
"You really are your father's daughter," Lily sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
"Very well," Professor McGonagall prompted...
...when he was sixteen."
Tom looked down. He couldn't believe he had become so evil in the future...
...burnt and soggy pages. He opened his mouth to speak when the door burst open.
Lucius Malfoy stood there, fury in his face. And cowering behind his legs, heavily wrapped in bandages, was Dobby.
"Dammit," said Neville.
"Good evening, Lucius," said Dumbledore pleasantly.
"Wh-wha- get out of my infirmary! Family and friends only!" Madame Pomfrey yelled.
''Lucius, you are not welcome here!" Mr. Weasley said angrily.
Mr. Malfoy ignored the both of them and swept into the room, nearly knocking over Ron as he went to stand in front of Dumbledore. Dobby went scurrying in...
...but you still saw fit to return to Hogwarts."
"Well, yeah, we needed Dumbledore," Cedric rolled his eyes.
...threatened to curse their families if they didn't agree to suspend me in the first place."
''Low move," Daphne muttered.
...Who is it?"
"I-it was Tom Riddle," said Ginny. "He possessed me, and opened the Chamber of Secrets... With that diary." Ginny pointed at the diary.
Mr. Malfoy picked up the diary off of the bedside table and looked at it, before tossing it on Bella's lap. Dumbledore was watching Mr. Malfoy very closely, but Bella was looking at someone else.
The elf was doing something very odd. His great eyes fixed meaningfully on Bella, he kept pointing at the diary, then at Mr. Malfoy, and then hitting himself hard on the head with his fist. Understanding what the elf was doing, Bella nodded.
Arthur's eyes widened before his face contorted with rage. Lucius Malfoy did that to his daughter!
Dobby backed in a corner and twisted his ears in punishment.
"I see…" said Mr. Malfoy...
"And imagine...
...consequences might have been otherwise."
"He did that for some petty political advancement?!" Molly hissed.
...fortunate," he said stiffly.
Bella glared at Malfoy.
"Well," said Mr. Malfoy, "don't let me get in the way of Miss Weasley or Miss Potter resting." He turned and began to walk out the door. "Dobby, come."
"Dobby?" Ron mouthed to Bella, a look of realization on his face. The Weasley twins looked at each other, apparently realizing, too, who had given the diary to Ginny.
"Why didn't any of you tell me?" said Mr. Weasley in a low voice. "Why didn't you tell me it was Malfoy who gave the diary to Ginny?"
"I asked them not to," Ginny spoke up.
"Why?"
"I didn't want you to be consumed by rage," she said softly. "You need to let it go, Dad."
Arthur's face softened. "Oh, Ginny..."
He stood up and hugged her tightly. Tom, who was on her lap, was once again squished. Maybe being crushed was his punishment for being Voldemort.
"You're too kind for this world, Ginny," said Arthur sadly.
He turned and strode out the door, Dobby on his heels.
Once they were gone, Bella pulled off one of her socks, which was very dirty and bloody by now, and shoved the diary in it.
"What on Earth are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall.
"Nothing important," Bella replied, standing and sprinting out of the door, but not before quickly saying, "I'll be back!" to Madame Pomfrey, who opened her mouth to protest.
"Mr. Malfoy, wait!" said Bella, running down the corridor after him and Dobby. "Mr. Malfoy!" she gasped, skidding to a halt, "I've got something for you!"
And she forced the smelly sock into Lucius Malfoys hand.
"What the-?"
Mr. Malfoy ripped the sock off the diary, threw it aside, then looked furiously from the ruined book to Bella.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Malfoy hissed.
"You know exactly what it is," said Bella calmly. "You gave the diary to Ginny, didn't you?"
"Of course I didn't!"
"You're a filthy liar," she said softly. "Maybe I have no proof, but I can tell by you're face that you're lying. And I'll do everything in my power to make your life a living hell for what you've done to Ginny. Don't think that you can fight back. I have the power to take away everything you know and love. And I will. Be wary of me, Lucius Malfoy."
"Merlin's tits!" Ron exclaimed.
"I don't know whether or not to be scared or impressed," James said.
"Although, you really shouldn't threaten people," Lily sighed.
"It wasn't a threat," Bella replied smoothly. "It was a promise."
"Leave my father alone, Potter!" Draco hissed.
"No," said Bella.
Her voice was calm and even, but the threat was very apparent, and Malfoy could tell she was completely serious from the look on her face.
"You'll meet the same...
...meddlesome fools, too."
"Nevermind," Lily growled. "Threaten him all you like."
...looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.
"You freed him," said Astoria, comprehension dawning on her face.
...lost me my servant, girl!"
"Oh, boo, hoo," said Hermione mockingly.
...promise never to try and save my life again."
"That hasn't ever gone well, has it?" Cedric chuckled.
...Dobby disappeared.
When Bella returned to the hospital wing, Ginny was lying in the bed next to the one Bella had been in while Madame Pomfrey handed her a potion.
"Well?" said Ron. "What did you do?"
"I mildly inconvenienced Lucius Malfoy and then threatened to take away everything he loves," Bella yawned, sitting back on the mattress. Everyone stared at her.
"Care to elaborate?" asked Mr. Weasley.
"No."
"You really confused us," Percy said. Bella shrugged.
"There is something else that needs to be addressed," Dumbledore said, turning to Bella and Ron. I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules."
Ron opened his mouth in horror.
"Oh, no, Professor, please don't!" gasped Ginny, tears beginning to roll down her face. Dumbledore raised a hand to silence her.
"Which goes to show," he continued, smiling, "that the best of us must sometimes eat our words. You two and Miss Granger will receive Special Awards for Services to the School and- let me see- yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor."
"You got six hundred points in one go?!" Sirius gasped.
"Saving the world does that," Ginny shrugged.
Ron went as brightly pink as Lockharts valentine flowers and closed his mouth again.
"That's wonderful, Ron!" Percy praised, though Bella could see some envy in his eyes. "Gryffindor is sure to win the cup now."
"Moving on to another matter," Dumbledore said, "Miss Potter, would you have a word with me in private?"
"Oh, no, you don't, Albus!" Pomfrey exclaimed. "She and Miss Weasley need to rest, and you aren't stopping that, headmaster of not!"
"It will only be for a few minutes, Poppy, please."
Madame Pomfrey frowned. "Oh, alright, but she had better be back in ten minutes!"
And so Dumbledore led Bella into the nearest empty classroom, where they sat across from each other at one of the desks.
"First of all, Bella, I want to thank...
...I'm in Gryffindor, I'm..."
She fell silent, remembering that the Sorting Hat had wanted Riddle in Gryffindor, and had given Bella and Riddle the same speech.
"Professor," she started again after a moment. "The Sorting Hat said I would have been an amazing Slytherin...and said the same thing for Riddle, but with Gryffindor. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heiress...
...powers to you the night he gave you that scar.
"You know," Luna spoke up, "I wonder if it's possible to be a Parselmouth without connections to Salazar Slytherin?"
"What do you mean?" asked Neville.
"Well, the ability of being a Parselmouth has to have come from somewhere," said Luna. "Maybe, like being muggleborn, it's possible to be a Parselmouth without Parselmouth relatives."
"That's a good point, Luna," said Bella. "I think if it were possible, it would be extremely rare, or else there would be a lot more Parselmouths than just me and Voldemort."
...put a bit of himself in me?"
Fred began snickering.
"Get your head out of the gutter, George!" Hermione rolled her eyes.
...Godric Gryffindor.
"You summoned the sword of Gryffindor?!" gasped Lily.
...new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
"I wonder who that will be?" said Sirius, looking at Remus. Remus rolled his eyes and continued reading.
...run through them, don't we?"
Bella had just stood up and reached the door when a though occurred to her.
"Wait! What about the Quiddich match today?"
"I'm afraid we've already informed the team that the match had been cancelled," said Dumbledore. "You see, we were going to shut down the school, as we thought you and Miss Weasley were dead. So we have already canceled all Quiddich matches for the year, I'm afraid."
"That was the true tragedy of the year," said George sadly.
Bella stared at him.
"No, can't you reschedule?" asked Bella incredulously.
"Sadly not. It was protocol, and after cancelling events, we are not allowed to reschedule."
Bella sighed. "Okay. Thank you anyways, Headmaster."
"Oh, and Bella?"
"Yes, Headmaster?"
"Professor Lockhart was found this morning with a broken nose and no memory of his life. Would you happen to know why?"
Bella grinned. "No, Headmaster."
And so she left to return to the hospital wing. Maybe she hadn't been expelled, but no Quiddich was her worst punishment to date.
Madame Pomfrey made Bella and Ginny stay in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. Bella tried to talk to Ginny, but Ginny rarely spoke to her at all. Bella thought it was cruel, however, that Ginny had to stay in the hospital wing next to all the petrified kids.
"Oh, no!" gasped Madame Pomfrey. "I hadn't thought of that."
They had many visitors, it seemed as though the entire school wanted to wish them well. It seemed as though the story of what had happened had somehow spread across the entire school; she knew she shouldn't have told the story in front of Fred and George. The story that had gotten out, however, was extremely vague. Every person that visited them came with a different tale of what they had heard happened- it seemed the only true part of the story was that Bella and Ginny were kidnapped and taken into the chamber, and then Bella defeated the heir of Slytherin. Bella's favorite visitor had been Ernie Macmillian from Hufflepuff, who had given her a bouquet of flowers and had apologized for judging her so harshly.
"Aw, do you have a crush on her now?" Ginny had giggled. Ernie blushed.
"N-no!" he insisted. "Of course I don't!" Bella could tell that he was lying.
"It's a fitting punishment for being so rude," said Daphne. "Love is the worst pain of all."
"Woah, things are getting deep in here!" Ginny laughed. "Daphne's spouting straight up wisdom!"
Daphne blushed and glared at Ginny.
She giggled.
"Well, thank you for the flowers, Bernie. I accept your apology," said Bella.
"Why do you do these things, Isabella?" Hermione sighed.
"M-my name's Ernie..." was the last thing he said before he walked out. Ernie had been her favorite visitor not because Bella liked him back, but because she found it very satisfying that he had a crush on her after taunting her all year.
Aside from what seemed like the entire school, their most frequent visitors were Ron, and surprisingly, Lilly Moon. Lilly and Ginny seemed to get along quite well, even though Ginny was very secluded and didn't talk much. Lilly was nearly as quiet most of the time, though, so she probably didn't mind. Ron and Lilly also seemed to get along whenever they ran into each other while visiting at the hospital wing. Bella was thankful for their company.
"Why is Malfoy here but Lilly Moon isn't? That's the real question we should be asking," said Ron, gesturing to Malfoy.
"Hey!" Draco exclaimed.
While daytime was cheerful enough, it was nighttime that the atmosphere truly shifted. On each night, Bella would wake to hear sniffles and sobs coming from the bed next to her.
Ginny's face turned red. She hid her face in her hands. "I can't believe you knew I had nightmares..."
The only thing that would calm Ginny from her nightmares was if Bella climbed in bed next to her, holding her until her sobs quieted.
"Oh, dear," said Molly sadly.
However, Bella would always go back in her bed just before Ginny woke up, because she didn't want Ginny to be embarrassed about Bella knowing she had nightmares.
Finally, Monday morning came along, and Madame Pomfrey let them out of the hospital wing. When Bella and Ginny walked into the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, applause broke out. Ginny turned red from the attention.
"Come on," Bella muttered, leading her to the Gryffindor table. They sat down in between Ron and Lilly, who were both smiling at the sight of them.
"Welcome back, our heroines of Gryffindor!" George exclaimed, sitting down across from them with Fred.
"I think that's a bit of an overstatement," Bella laughed. Ginny stared intently at her knees- she clearly did not enjoy the attention they were getting, and Bella couldn't blame her.
"Of course it's not!" Dean Thomas grinned. "You saved the school from the heir of Slytherin!"
"Attention, one and all!" a voice came from the front of the Great Hall. Everyone turned to see Dumbledore standing, trying to get everyone's attention. "I have an important announcement to make."
The hall fell silent.
"As of Friday, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart is no hloner available to teach."
There were heartbroken gasps from the girls and cheers from the boys. Dumbledore raised a hand to silence them.
"And so, until the end of the year, your Defence Against the Dark Arts class is canceled!"
"Canceling Quiddich, canceling DADA," listed Ginny. "You're just canceling everything Bella loves."
Cheers sounded throughout the Great Hall- everyone was happy to have one less class. The only one who looked disappointed was Percy.
"What a shame," he said. "I quite liked that class." Bella felt a pang in her heart, thinking of how upset Hermione would be at this news.
Hermione chuckled. "I wouldn't be upset that Lockhart was gone, though."
After breakfast, Bella bid goodbye to Ginny and went on to her classes with Lilly and Ron. Class went on as usual, though everyone kept trying to as Bella about what had happened in the chamber- Ron had no problem telling them to sod off.
"You're a great friend, Ron," Lily smiled. "You and Bella make a great couple."
"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" Bella and Ron yelled in unison.
Lilly, thankfully, did not press for any details. In fact, she seemed to know very well what to do in events of trauma. This led Bella to suspect that Lilly herself had experienced trauma, though she couldn't guess what had happened.
"Really?" gasped Hermione. "Oh, no, what do you think happen?"
Bella frowned. "I don't know. I'm not a mindreader, you know."
When dinner came around, Bella found that she was not hungry. She told Ron and Lilly this.
"Come on, you need to eat, mate," Ron prompted. Bella shook her head.
"I'll eat later. You two go on, okay?"
Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Lilly spoke first.
"Alright. We'll meet up with you in the common room."
Ron sighed, but nodded, giving in.
And so Bella walked out into the courtyard, supposing she would take a walk around the grounds.
It was quite a beautiful day out. The temperature was just right- not too hot and not too cold. The flowers had begun to bloom, and they smelled amazing. Bella had always liked the spring weather.
As she walked by the lake, thinking of the cheery atmosphere, she noticed that there was one thing that did not look cheery at all.
Ginny Weasley was sitting below one of the flowery trees, looking very upset. Bella didn't blame her- after what she had gone through, anyone would be upset.
Tom hugged Ginny.
"Care to walk with me?" Bella offered, stopping in front of the redhead girl. Ginny squeaked in surprise, looking up and noticing Bella for the first time. She shook her head meekly, looking down.
Bella sighed. "You don't have to avoid me, you know."
Ginny's eyes widened. "H-how did you-?"
"You think that I'm upset by you- that I would be irritated by your audacity to talk to me after what happened. Am I right?" Ginny stared at Bella in shock. "Well, you're wrong. That's not how I feel. What happened was not your fault in the slightest, Ginny."
Ginny fell silent. With a smile, Bella held out her arm and helped Ginny up.
"Come on. Walk with me."
Ginny brushed the grass off her skirt and nodded. Standing by each other's side, the two began walking along the lake.
"Can I ask you something?" Ginny asked. Bella paused. Whatever Ginny asked, she deserved to know the truth after what had happened to her.
Bella looked down at her knees. This was when she would reveal what she didn't want her parents to know- what she didn't want anyone to know.
James squeezed Bella's hand comfortingly, noticing she looked upset.
"Of course," Bella answered. "I promise I'll answer all of your questions honestly."
"How were you able to tell what I was thinking?" Ginny asked. Bella sighed. Of course she was going to ask that. Well, a promise is a promise.
"I...have impressive analytical skills. I can deduce people's personalities and insecurities. I can tell if someone is lying. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's why I've survived this long."
"Huh," said George. "So you already knew before reading these books?"
Ginny nodded.
Ginny stared. "Ron never told me that."
"I've never told anyone," she explained. "It's a very Slytherin trait, you see. It's the reason the Sorting Hat wanted me in Slytherin."
"Oh," said Ginny, her eyes widening. There was a few seconds of silence as the two continued walking. To their left, Bella saw two cats fighting by a bush. Then, Ginny spoke again. "Hold on, that contradicts what Ron's told me about you!"
"Hm?" Bella raised her eyebrows, guessing- and dreading- what Ginny was about to say.
"Ron told me that those muggles you live with lied to you about your mom and dad. They said that your parents died in a car crash and were drunks, right? How come you couldn't tell they were lying?"
"That's...a good point, actually," Sirius said.
Tonks smacked her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that question?!"
Moody rolled his eyes. So no one else had noticed that hole?
"Well, it's because, uh," Hermione frowned, trying to think of why Bella wouldn't have known. "It's such an early lie that Bella accepted it before she developed the ability to tell when people are lying?"
Bella shook her head sadly. "Just read."
George looked at Bella. Is the answer to that question what had scared her so badly at the beginning of the chapter?
Bella looked down at her feet. It seemed that she would have to face this sooner than she'd hoped.
"I was able to tell."
"Huh?" blinked Cho.
"But the first book shows that you didn't know," said McGonagall.
"Why didn't you say anything, then?" Ginny queried.
"You see, Ginny," Bella sighed, "I could tell they were lying when they spoke of my parents. They told me my parents were dead, and that they were worthless drunks. My conclusion was that if they were lying about that, my parents must be alive and successful. That they had abandoned me when I was a baby, that they didn't want a freak for a daughter.
Lily gasped, horrified. "Oh, Bella..."
So, rather than accepting that, I clung to what I thought was the better alternative- that they were dead rather than happy without me."
The room fell into a shocked silence.
"Bella," whispered James, "we would never abandon you."
"I know that now," replied Bella softly.
James and Lily both hugged Bella tightly. Bella sniffed, burying her face in James's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," she sniffed, "I was really selfish..."
"You weren't selfish, Bella," Lily insisted. "It's perfectly understandable that you wouldn't want to be abandoned."
Bella didn't say anything.
Bella stopped walking and blinked furiously. "It was really selfish, that I would rather lie to myself, and tell myself that my calculations were wrong, because I didn't want my parents to have happy lives if I wasn't in it.
"Oh, Bella," Molly whispered, tears streaming down her face.
But...what got me through the hell that was my childhood was the hope that maybe my parents might have loved me. Maybe someone cared. If I accepted that what the Dursley's had told me wasn't true, I don't think I would have been able to make it this far...because I would have had to accept that no one had ever loved me."
"Prongslette," James whispered, "we've always loved you, and we always will."
"Is that what you thought they would hate you for?" asked George sadly. She nodded.
"We could never hate you!" Lily exclaimed. "Especially over something like that. It wasn't your fault, sweetie..."
"Bella..." Ginny whispered. She sounded like she was about to cry. Bella felt her legs give out as she fell to her knees.
"Isn't it messed up?" Bella laughed. "That for most of my childhood, I actually wanted my parents dead?"
"Oh, Merlin," Astoria whispered, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't imagine living like that...
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, horrified at their best friend's childhood.
In that moment, Bella felt two warm arms wrap around her comfortingly. It was easy to melt into the hug.
"It is messed up," she heard Ginny agree softly. "But...it's not your fault. It's your aunt and uncle's fault. If you had known the truth, you wouldn't have felt that way, right?"
"Yeah," Bella agreed, staring at the grass. There were a few small flowers around them. "When Hagrid told me everything, I was given hope...I was told for a fact that my parents loved me, and that meant so much to me. My life up to that point had been lies, lies, lies...so much to the extent that I had to develop this talent, to know if people were lying or not. I just wish I didn't have to know."
Remus's voice shook as he spoke.
"I'll never lie to you," promised Ginny sincerely. "I promise that no matter what, you won't have to use your power on me."
Bella's heart swelled with happiness at that promise. Lying was exhausting... analyzing was exhausting. She did it because she had to, but now, with Ginny, it wasn't necessary.
Bella smiled at Ginny- that promise meant so much to her.
She felt Ginny's hands comb through her hair as she started braiding it. It felt nice- she'd never had her hair braided before.
"I promise to never lie to you, either," Bella smiled softly. "I've had to lie a lot, and I don't want to do that to you. It only hurts. There won't be any lies between us, okay?"
"We've still never broken that promise," Ginny smiled softly.
Ginny finished braiding her hair and shuffled to sit next to Bella, resting her head on her shoulder.
"Okay," said Ginny softly.
The two sat there silently for a very long time, probably for hours, Bella guessed, until Ginny spoke.
"Why do you care about me? Why did you save me? I'm nothing special..."
"You are special, Ginny," Mr. Weasley told her.
"Of course you're special," Bella responded, turning to face Ginny. "Don't you remember my last words in the chamber?"
Ginny paled. "Y-yes."
"I wasn't lying," she told her. "You're stronger than most, you see...you spent almost a whole year under the influence of Riddle, and you're still sane." Bella grabbed Ginny's hands. "You're kind from your belly to your fingertips, Ginny, and I know you're destined for great things."
"She's right," Luna said. "You're one of the kindest and bravest people I know, Ginny."
"Agreed," added Daphne. Ginny blushed.
Ginny's face flushed red, matching her hair quite well.
"Th-thank you," she squeaked, hiding her face in her hair.
Bella smiled. She was sure Ginny would get over this crush soon- it seemed to be based more off of idolization than actual romantic feelings.
Ginny looked at Bella- she had been right. Now, her feelings for Bella were solely platonic, as she no longer viewed her as the Girl-Who-Lived.
She regretted letting her prejudice get in the way of her judgement; she assumed that being heterosexual was the norm, so she didn't even consider the possibility that Ginny had feelings for her, and thus she struggled with analyzing the girl.
"That is very wise of you, Bella,'' said Dumbledore. "Prejudice is what blinds us all."
"Don't ever doubt yourself, Ginny," Bella whispered. "You're amazing, never forget that."
Bella did not tell Ginny of Riddle's true identity that day. She knew that one day, she would, when Ginny was ready to know, but not yet. The wound of the diary was still too raw, and telling her before she had healed would be like pouring salt on it.
"Thank you for waiting to tell me," Ginny said. "I don't know how I would've reacted right after the incident."
It was long after curfew that Hagrid found them, asleep with their heads on each other's shoulders, sitting in front of the Great Lake.
Several people 'awwwed'.
When they each woke in their beds in their dorms, neither of them remembered being carried back to the castle by Hagrid.
"So that's how we got back," Bella muttered.
The rest of the week went on without any major incidents, aside from Wednesday, when Fred and George set fire to a table in the common room. Ginny slowly began to open up. With the destruction of the diary, each day you could see the life coming back to her eyes.
Lilly Moon began walking and sitting with them more, now. Bella was thankful for this, as Lilly had a very calming presence, and it helped her keep calm while people bombarded her with questions.
Ron was, well, Ron. He still acted the same and had the same attitude, but he was now very protective of Bella and Ginny. Bella didn't mind, however, because it felt like she had a big brother. She could tell that when he was given the knews that she and Ginny were gone, it had mortified him.
Draco Malfoy was no longer strutting around the school as if he owned the place, seeing as his father was sacked as school governor.
Snape...well, he was still awful.
Snape scowled.
It was only on Saturday that anything truly noteworthy occurred. Bella was walking back to the common room from the library after writing an essay when she saw something that made her blood boil.
Outside of the portrait hole, two first-year Gryffindor girls were tugging Ginny's bag away from her grasp while laughing.
"You were being bullied?!" Molly exclaimed.
"Not anymore..."
"Let go!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Aww, are gonna go cry to your brothers?" one of them taunted. It was then that they pulled it away from Ginny.
"You should have told us, Ginny," said George. "I'm not above pranking a first year, you know."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You did prank them."
"After we found out, sure," Fred shrugged.
"Give it back!" Ginny demanded angrily.
"First you gotta admit that you're useless," said the other one. "Or else Linda and I'll throw it over the staircase."
"Fine, Brianna," Ginny sighed. "I'm-"
"-An amazing person," Bella interrupted, approaching the scene. She turned to the girl named Brianna.
"Brianna Baker?" Daphne asked.
"Yeah, why?" asked Ginny.
"Her dad my father's assistant..." she muttered.
"Daphne, I know what you're thinking, and don't you dare do it," Astoria huffed.
"What? There's nothing wrong with a friendly suggestion to your father on who he should fire."
"Daphne, it's fine," Ginny chuckled. "This was years ago."
"You have major insecurities that you suppress and force onto others so you can pretend you're better than them and ignore your own feelings of self-doubt," she said smoothly to Brianna. She turned to the girl named Linda. "And you follow what Brianna does, because your loyalty to her trumps your conscience."
"Merlin's tits!" Ron exclaimed. Bella could be terrifying.
"Sh-shut up!" Brianna yelled, before dropping the bag and running off in the opposite direction. Linda followed her.
Bella turned around to see Ginny staring at her in wonder. Bella handed Ginny her bag.
"Those are your dorm mates, right?" she asked. Ginny nodded. "How long have they been bullying you?"
"Since September 1st," she answered sheepishly.
"First year really wasn't your year, was it?" said Susan empathetically.
Bella sighed.
"Alright, you're moving into my dorm."
"Wh-what?"
"You heard me," said Bella. She turned to the Fat Lady. "Uictoria." The portrait hole swung open. Bella and Ginny climbed through.
"Won't your dorm mates be bothered?" asked Ginny. "And where will I sleep? There's no extra bed."
"It'll be fine," she assured her. "Go get your things and put them in the second year dormitory." Ginny squeaked and ran up to her dormitory to do so.
"What are you doing?" asked Ron from his chair by the fireplace. Bella walked over to him, and saw Lilly was sitting with him, playing Exploding Snap, along with Sally-Anne, Fred, George, and Neville.
"Your sister's moving to the second year girl's dorm," Bella explained.
"Whaaaat?!" Sally-Anne exclaimed dramatically. "Why's that?"
"You didn't do the voice right!" Tonks scolded Remus. "She sounds much more loud and energetic. Like this: WHAAAAAAAAT?! Why's that?!"
"That was perfect!" Bella laughed. "How do you know what Sally-Anne sounds like?"
"I used to babysit her in the summer," Tonks shrugged. "She's very fun."
"She's being bullied by the girls in her year, and I don't want that to happen again. You guys don't mind, right?" she asked Sally-Anne and Lilly. Fred, George, and Ron all looked very angry at the news that their sister had been bullied.
"No," said Lilly. "We don't mind. I'm sure Parvati and Lavender wouldn't mind, either."
"Huh?" asked Lavender, walking towards them with Parvati at her side. "Did you say our names?"
Bella explained the situation to the two of them, and they were happy to have Ginny in the dorms. By the time they had finished discussing the situation, Ginny ran over to Bella.
"I-I finished," she said breathlessly.
"Alright," Lilly smiled, standing up. "Let's see what we can do about your bed."
In the end, Bella convinced Fred and George to distract the entire common room while she and Lilly levitated Ginny's four-poster into their dormitory. Bella was unable to see what they were doing, but when she heard some explosions and screaming, she promptly decided that she didn't want to know.
"We-" George began to explain, but Bella interrupted him.
"I said I don't want to know," she hissed.
"There!" Bella exclaimed happily once the bed was set down in the middle of the room. "Now we just have to arrange it so it doesn't take up so much space."
It only took a few minutes of rearranging the beds for them to make it so that it didn't take up space. They ended up pushing her, Hermione's, and Ginny's bed together in the corner, so that there was more room for everyone else.
"You two are the reason I'm so sleep deprived," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Pushing our beds together will be the reason I'm going to fail my OWLs."
Laughter sounded throughout the room at the idea of Hermione failing her OWLs.
In the end, everything was still as spaceous and aesthetically pleasing as it was before.
When Bella and Lilly showed the set-up to the rest of the girls, they all seemed very happy with it as well.
"Are you sure you're okay with our beds being pressed together?" asked Ginny shyly, a light blush on her cheeks.
"Of course she is!" Sally-Anne exclaimed loudly, winking. "Welcome to the world of girl love! It's slippery when wet!"
"Oh my God," gasped Fred, laughing. Sirius, James, the twins, Ron, Daphne, Tonks, Cedric, Neville, Bill, Charlie, Remus, and Lily were all laughing. Ginny was laughing, too, able to laugh about it now.
Fluer was shaking, trying to hold in her laughter.
"What? I don't get it," Astoria frowned.
Once the laughter had died down, Remus continued reading.
Ginny squeaked and hid her face in her hair, which matched the color of her face at the moment.
"Stop it, you're going to scare off Ginny," Parvati snapped.
"Sally-Anne is sorry," Sally-Anne apologized.
"Does she always speak in third person?" asked Ginny.
"She does," answered Bella. "You'll learn to get used to it."
"Well, at least now it'll be like we're having a sleepover every night, with so many people!" Lavender exclaimed happily. "Especially for you and Bella, because your beds are pushed together."
Bella smiled at Ginny. When it was put that way, Ginny seemed to relax, and look a bit excited. Maybe this was a good idea after all.
As it turned out, it was a very good idea. Ginny almost immediately became more at ease without sharing a room with her tormentors. She still had nightmares for quite awhile, though Bella was usually able to ease her out of them. Her presence likely calmed Ginny from these night terrors because she had physical confirmation that Bella was still alive, that she really hadn't died in the chamber, that everything was alright.
It wasn't unoften that Bella and Ginny stayed up late into the night talking. Sometimes, the other girls would join in the conversation, too.
Ginny, Bella soon found, was a very fiery and determined girl. Like the rest of her brothers that Bella had met, she feared being average, being lesser than her siblings. She hated more than anything being reduced to just 'the girl', and was always trying to prove that girls have just as much personality and potential as boys. She feared being rejected by her family in any way, and would do anything to protect them. After having it ingrained in her head all year, she felt as though she were useless, especially after being unable to do anything to fight Riddle. Bella and Ron both constantly told her otherwise.
"Whoo!" Ginny threw her arms up in the air. "I got my own paragraph!"
"Oh, Ginny," said Molly. "You're far from useless."
Eventually, yes, Bella did tell Ginny of who Riddle really was. She was absolutely horrified, and grateful beyond words that he had been stopped. Ginny took the news surprisingly well, though that night she had another nightmare.
The months flew by, and soon, their first exam was three days away, and Headmaster Dumbledore made an announcement at breakfast.
"I have good news," he said, and the Great Hall fell immediately silent. "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. This is a time of celebration for us indeed."
There was an explosion of cheering. Bella looked over at the Slytherin table and wasn't at all surprised to see that Draco Malfoy hadn't joined in. Ron and Ginny were high-fiving and singing "Hermione's coming back! Hermione's coming back! Hermione's coming back!"
Later that evening, the portrait hole swung open, and Hermione bolted in. Bella barely had time to register what was happening before she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug.
"Hermione-hugs are the best," Bella laughed.
The common room started cheering at her arrival.
"You're okay!" Hermione exclaimed happily.
"I'm okay, too," said Ron, who was standing next to Bella. Hermione rolled her eyes before giving him a huge hug as well.
"I missed you so much, 'Mione!" Bella exclaimed. "It's been two months!"
"She missed two months of schoolwork," George sighed. "Tragic."
Hermione scowled at him.
"Tell me everything that happened," Hermione demanded. "From right after I got petrified."
And so she did. Hermione was as good of an audience as she was last year, gasping whenever something exciting happened. Ron butted in with sarcastic remarks while Bella told the story.
"...and now Ginny is staying in our dormitory," Bella finished.
"Wow," Hermione breathed. "You... I told you to be careful..."
"And I was," Bella smiled. "For three seconds."
"If that doesn't describe your entire life..." Hermione muttered.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Where's Ginny, anyways?"
"Over there," said Ron, pointing to where Ginny was talking with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
"Oh, no," Bella laughed. "I wonder what sort of bad ideas they're putting in her head."
Fred gasped in mock offense. "Bad ideas?!"
"Excuse me, but all of our ideas are amazing," George huffed.
Hermione and Ginny got along extremely well. Bella's bed was inbetween theirs, and she enjoyed talking with both of them in the night. Hermione, however, fretted horribly over the upcoming exams, and spent almost all her time except for meals in the library.
Despite being gone for so long, she unsurprisingly passed the exams with flying colors.
"You did very well, Miss Granger," McGonagall complimented.
Exams flew by, and in a haze of blazing sunshine, so did the rest of the final term. Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Bella, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Lilly, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and Georges Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic. Bella was getting very good at it. Lilly had gotten cupcakes somehow, and they ate those happily. They were quite delicious.
They were almost at King's Cross when Ron suddenly spoke, remembering something."
"Ginny, what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"
Bella, Hermione, and Lilly giggled, already knowing the answer, because Ginny had told them.
"Oh, that," said Ginny...
...Percy's got a girlfriend."
"Ooohhhh," said Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, comprehension dawning on them. That would explain a lot.
"I was hoping you'd keep the secret," Percy sighed.
...said George, sniggering.
"Don't blow your sister's cover," Lilly reminded them. "If you pester him too much, it will be obvious Ginny told all of us."
"Rodger!" George exclaimed.
The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped.
Bella pulled out her quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Ron, Hermione, and Lilly.
"This is called a telephone number," she told Ron, scribbling it thrice, tearing the parchment in three, and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer- he'll know. Lilly, most muggle streets have something called a payphone. If you pretend to be a lost child, a muggle stranger will help you use it. Call me at the Dursley's, okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to."
Bella sent a mock-glare at Ron.
"We'll call you," Ginny promised. "I'll tell you about every prank Fred and George pull this summer!"
Bella laughed. "That's going to be a lot."
"Your aunt and uncle...
...back through the gateway to the Muggle world.
"That's the end of the book," Remus announced.
"I think we should head on to bed," said Ginny, looking down at her lap, where Tom was asleep.
"Agreed," Cho yawned. "I don't know how long we've been reading since time is frozen, but it feels like forever."
"What should we do about waking up?" asked Neville. "Since time is frozen, we can't tell what time it is, or how many hours we've been sleeping."
"How about when at least seven people are awake, they'll wake everyone else up?" McGonagall suggested.
There were nods and mumbles of agreement. Luna picked up Tom and carried him to the boy's room while everyone left the main room to go into the sleeping quarters.
"Cedric, could I talk to you for a moment?" asked Bella just before Cedric exited the room.
"Sure," Cedric replied. He followed her into the vent room, where they would have privacy. "What did you want to talk about."
Bella sighed, not knowing where to start. "It's about...our relationship."
Cedric raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"
"The thing is," Bella started, "since your...d-death...I've changed. I'm not the same girl who you were dating. I'm really sorry, but a relationship between us wouldn't work out anymore. My crush on you was just that- a crush. I love you, but not romantically." She paused. "I'm sorry. I might as well tell you now."
"Oh." Cedric paused. "That's alright, Bella. I didn't expect you to want to date me after all of this. And besides, I see the way you look at him- he clearly means a lot to you."
"Wh-who?" she squeaked.
"That Weasley twin," he smiled. "I can't tell which one it is, though, but the way you look at him...you're clearly in love."
Bella blushed. "Is it really that obvious?"
"A bit, yeah," he chuckled. "Luckily, I think I'm one of the only ones who noticed, since everyone else seems to think you and Ron are a couple."
"Honestly, I'd sooner date a pile of bricks than Ron," she rolled her eyes.
Cedric laughed. There was a pause.
"So," said Bella, looking at him uncertainly, "are we still friends?"
In the next moment, Cedric had pulled her into a hug.
"Yeah," he said. "We're friends."
Bella smiled. Maybe the world was falling apart, and nothing made sense right now, but that was just okay with her, because right now, Cedric and her parents were alive, and that's all that mattered to her.
"We should head on up to bed," said Cedric. Bella nodded. She turned, starting to open the door, but froze suddenly, leaving it barely open a crack.
"Wha-?"
"Shh!" Bella hissed at Cedric.
Through the very small crack in the door, they could see Dumbledore and Crystalline, standing in front of the table in the center of the main room. Cedric and Bella listened intently, and heard Dumbledore speaking.
"I recognized you from the moment you appeared," he said. His voice was cool and firm, and he no longer held his usual warm grandfatherly tone. "I have no idea how you're here, or where you got these books, but I would like you to answer all of my questions honestly- I won't hold back from using Legilimency if I think you are lying."
There was a pause, before Dumbledore continued speaking again.
"So, tell me, just how are you alive, Ariana?"
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) friendly reminder that this cliffhanger won't be resolved for like a month ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
fanfiction reviews:
DarkRavie: Thank you!
training to be a fangirl: I do this to you because I'm secretly Voldemort, trying to cause you despair. The real Helena is dead, I'm just using polyjuice potion and all of her passwords. And yeah, Tom needs a hug and some cookies tbh. At least he probably won't cry in POA, since Voldemort isn't in it. Also, I agree- writing Bella sassing literally everyone is one of my favorite parts of this story. I wonder if this chapter will be your favorite chapter now, since it's when Gella becomes canon? Or maybe it's still the last one, since I bullshitted my way through every word of this chapter.
VoidWaIker: Well, Bill wouldn't have known enough about the diary- if at all- to know if it's a horcrux. But, yeah, Bill knows now...let's hope he doesn't die like Regulus...( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
DippedinVinegar: I'm fully aware that it was 1am in the US when I posted this- I live in the US. Actually, it's like 3am now. I have no sleep schedule. Hahahaha help me. Also, I love how you said not to leave you on a cliffhanger, when I'm doing just that right now, and then going on hiatus for like a month. I'm evil. Sorry.
gleefan2009: Thanks! I'll try to update ASAP!
Padfootette: Thank you so much!
lilly-flower15: Thanks!
KieranDell1409:¯\_(ツ)_/¯ looks like I'm winning, awww yeee
Rose099: I will c:
YuujouKami: Aw, thanks! I really like writing scenes different from canon. c:
winrykatbell: Bella? Getting herself killed? Noooo, that can't possibly happen! [looks at Deathly Hallows]
CJPotter4Life: Thank you! I'm sorry for making you sad ;-;
ILoveGeorgeEads: Thank you so much!
MegaHeracross214: I agree. But the Ministry doesn't really investigate anything, do they? Sirius's story proves that.
Thanks for reading!
