Chapter 36

Harry sat on the floor of the bathroom together with his two friends, as well as the bodies of two Professors, one of whom was petrified and the other killed. After a half an hour of relaxation, the three students used their wands and carried the bodies to the Hospital Wing; Madam Pomfrey was not amused, as more patients had arrived in her care. The woman gave some potions to the three and they went to speak with Headmaster on what had occurred that night.

When they entered the Headmaster's office, they found out that it was extremely busy as their families were occupying it. Molly Weasley sat in a red chair with Ron next to her, Merope Granger was present and sat on the opposite of the Weasley's matriarch; two Professors were also Present, one of whom was Professor McGonagall who stood next to the Headmaster's desk as well as the Headmaster himself, who sat at his desk.

"Professors, we wished to speak to you. The monster that tried to kill students is neutralized and it was Tom Riddle who orchestrated the whole thing" Harry saw that Professor Dumbledore was somewhat surprised at that turn of the events but at the same time he was happy that Harry was safe.

"What did you do to my daughter, Potter? Ronald claimed that you hexed her so that Ginny would avoid her family" interrupted Molly Weasley

"Mum, he saved my life from Tom Riddle and the basilisk. I did not do all those attacks on purpose, I swear," told Ginny but her mother decided to ignore her daughter.

"As for you Ginny, I cannot believe that you did all that, wait until you will return home and I will teach you to behave properly as well as punish for associating with the wrong crowd." It was clear that Mrs. Weasley was determined to carry on her threat and Harry did not want to allow that.

"No you will not" he told the woman and stood in front of the girl.

"Excuse me, Potter? You have no business on what to do with my daughter, in fact, I ban her from talking to you and listen to your corrupting ways. " The older witch looked at her daughter with seriousness in her eyes and a tear exited Ginny's eye.

"You will not do that as I forbid you to take care of her!" said Harry and that puzzled the adults. Dumbledore was amused but did not say anything as the man wished to know what Harry wished to say, while the Transfiguration Professor was appalled by Harry's attitude towards the older authority but seeing that the Headmaster refused to join the debate, she chose to side with him. And Merope was silent as well as she wished to see if Harry could defend his friend.

"You have no say in this matter Potter" shouted the angry witch

"Yes I do. As a matter of fact, I saved Ginny Weasley from the basilisk, even though I did not have to kill it but I defeated Voldy once again and since I saved Ginny, she has a life debt that needs to be paid" The Weasley matriarch just realized what the implications of Harry's words were but Harry continued speaking.

"I think that if Ginny were to return to your home, she would be the subject of bullying, at least from Ronald and Percy as well as yourself, I saw earlier in the year how two of your sons reacted to her placement in Slytherin. As such, I wish to invoke the life debt Ginerva Weasley owes me and make her my ward, Ginerva Weasley-Potter as well as taking her from your care." Magic radiated from his wand and it was clear that Ginny was now under Harry's protection.

"You will pay for this Potter!" told Mrs. Weasley and she left the office with her son; as Ron was leaving he tried to insult Harry but the boy put a silencing charm on him. After the two Weasleys left, Dumbledore looked at the group and spoke.

"That issue is settled then. However, I wish to speak to you Harry about your adventure in the Chamber of Secrets." Harry told the tale on how the group found out about Aragog and visited him, then discovered that Ginny was taken and went to rescue her after learning where the entrance to the Chamber was. He then told how they found the basilisk and freed it from Riddle's control as well as destroying the diary. When Harry told that Snape got killed, the boy could see sadness on the older man's face.

"Albus, don't you find it strange that the basilisk's name is also the given name of one of the founders?" asked the deputy Headmistress.

"It is no strange coincidence at all Minerva, as a matter of fact, the two are connected as Salazar Slytherin married Rowena Ravenclaw and the two had two children before Salazar left Hogwarts; one of the children was Helena Ravenclaw who died in her twenties whereas the other girl carried on Slytherin's heritage and produced a number of Parselmouths over the centuries, with some women from the Slytherin bloodline marrying into some prominent families, like Potters and Gaunts as well as Prince. However, over the years, the Gaunt family got bankrupt and lost its standing only to produce the most powerful Dark Lord in the Wizarding History."

"Professor, you surely don't mean that I am related to Voldemort?" asked Harry his Headmaster

"You are quite right Harry; in fact all old wizarding families are interrelated to some extent; however, few are actual heirs to the founders. Your family and Voldemort's actually were two branches of one family, the Peverell brothers"

"The three brothers?" asked Ginny, as she knew her childhood stories well.

"You are correct Miss Weasley. The three Peverell brothers did actually exist, but it is still speculated whether or not their supposed gifts were in fact what they are assumed to be. The older brother, Antioch was brutally murdered in a duel while his two younger brothers survived. After loosing the love of his life, Cadmus descended into madness and killed himself. And the younger brother, Ignotus had a daughter, who married Draco Slytherin. They had one child, Salazar."

That new piece of information got processed in the peoples' minds and Harry was extremely surprised to learn that information as he now knew that he and Voldemort descendent from the Founders of the school. It was no surprise to the boy now that he was put in Slytherin; he thought it was ironic that his father hated Slytherins, especially Severus Snape, when in fact James Potter was a direct descendant of Slytherin himself.

"I understand that what I told you will be difficult to believe at first but I would also wish you to know another tale, which I think is highly important for you to know." He looked at his deputy and the older witch understood what Dumbledore wanted her to do although she was still ashamed of her past mistake.

"Before I tell you this, please swear not to tell anyone this tale, as it is embarrassing for me to spread around. However, you could tell it to your mother and your best friend, as I know that Miss Granger will not tell anyone else. " After seeing nods from the group, the older witch continued.

"It was a dark and snowy night in 1955. I was in a Three Broomsticks drinking Fire Whiskey as I just had one of the most terrible days in my life- the man I fell in love about a decade before that year was killed in some accident. I did not marry him because he was a Muggle and I could not live my Magical heritage behind so I said no to him when he proposed. However, I took his death badly and wanted to forget it." The witch continued and everyone in the room felt bad for Professor McGonagall's situation.

"As I sat in the pub, a young man came to me, who I remembered from school to be Tom Riddle. He was my top competitor in Hogwarts although I was one year ahead of him. I remember how we bickered a lot, since I was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin but when I saw him in 1955, I felt that he changed and was even more mature. I don't remember who started the argument but we soon were shouting at each other that eventually scared everyone and we were left alone. After a substantial argument, we felt some desire for each other and we spent a night together; the next day he left and I soon found out that I was pregnant. In 1956 Merope was born as I remembered that Tom mother's name was Merope and hoped foolishly that he would return. However, I raised my daughter alone for eleven years before she went to Hogwarts" Harry and Minerva were listening to their Professor's tale and were horrified at the implications.

"The last time I met Tom face to face was in 1957 when he applied to a Defense Position although Professor Dumbledore dismissed him. After the decline of his application, I saw him in a corridor but he was too angry to even talk to me. " Before the witch could continue, Merope stood up and hugged her mother, which was followed by Minerva Granger, who repeated her mother's action.

"Now, I want you to know this, Harry and Minerva" Dumbledore spoke to the two students "It does not matter that you are related to Tom, especially you Minerva in the sense that it does not make you as evil as he is. Choices are what make you who you are. Also, as I can already see, you two have a strong capacity for love, which Tom apparently never did." He then transferred his gaze towards Merope.

"Mrs. Granger, would you like to be the Slytherin's Head of the house as Severus Snape cannot fulfill it any longer?" He saw a nod from the witch and smiled.

"Professor, how could the diary recreate Voldemort?" Harry asked but saw that the Headmaster apparently did not wish to answer.

"I will tell you in due time" told the older wizard. Harry felt that the tensions started rising, as Merope did not like one bit that Dumbledore decided not to tell the information that could prove useful against the future fight with Voldemort, in case he ever returned.

The three students left with Merope, while the Transfiguration Professor decided to stay and talk with Headmaster. As the students arrived, they saw Professor Sprout as well as the school Nurse, both of whom prepared the antidote to petrification curse.

After successfully treating her first victim, Madam Pomfrey moved to another. "Could I treat Hermione myself?" asked the boy and the nurse nodded and showed how to treat a patient. Harry took the container with the potion and poured a small dose onto Hermione's mouth and then all over her mouth.

Hermione opened her eyes and the first thing she saw were green eyes she knew well. "Harry!" she tried to say but spoke very quietly, as she still needed to adjust.

"Shh!" told her Harry and made a bear hug, after which he accidently tripped and fell on Hermione. The two were hugging each other with all strength they had but Harry also tried to be as gentle as he could as Hermione was yet to regain her strength. An older witch with long red hair watched the two students hugging and smiled.

A/N: Next Chapter: the End of the Second Year

The Following Chapter: the summer between the second and third year begins.