Disclaimer: Draw two socks at random from JK Rowling's sock drawer. If they match, the probability that Dobby is involved is low. The probability that Harry Potter is involved is high regardless.

A/N: For those of you who are following His Mother's Love, Chapter 6 is now up.

Chapter 37

Six witches and wizards appeared in Myrtle's bathroom in a flash of flames and tumbled to the floor in a heap.

"You're alive!" the ghost said, making no effort to hide her surprise. "Did you…did you do it?"

"It's done," Hermione said wearily. "The monster's dead. This was controlling it." She held up the diary. "Of course, the man who made it is still out there, but—"

But that seemed to be enough for Myrtle already: "Oh, thank you, Hermione—and all of you!" She swooped down and gave Hermione an awkward, ghostly hug that made her feel like she'd been dunked in ice water. "This is the best thing that's happened to me since I died. How can I ever repay you?"

"Well," Professor Vector spoke up, "you can start be finding Professor McGongall. Tell her we got Ginny—and Ronald—and we'll meet her in the Hospital Wing."

"Yes, ma'am!" she saluted and zoomed away through the wall with a smile, shining brightly.

"Wow," Hermione said, "I'm not sure I've ever seen Myrtle smile before."

When they reached the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey already had six beds ready with potions for whatever she might find. (Myrtle had probably not been very specific.) Professor McGonagall was already there, along with five frantic Weasleys.

For a moment, there was silence as the six newcomers stood in the doorway, covered in muck and grime, three of them with dark blue glasses pushed up on their foreheads, leaving comical-looking clean marks on their faces. Ron—the one who wasn't supposed to be there—was supporting Ginny, carrying a sword on his belt, and leading Gilderoy Lockhart by the wrists on a leash. Septima Vector was supporting Hermione, levitating Harry in front of her and carrying a beautiful red and gold bird on her shoulder.

Then, there was a chorus of shouts, most of them saying, "Ginny!"

Mrs. Weasley was the first on her feet. She leapt forward and flung herself on her two youngest children with tears streaming down her face. "Oh, Ginny, thank Merlin you're alive!" she sobbed. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, what were you thinking? Ginny, are you alright? What happened? Ronald, why do you have a sword?"

Mr. Weasley raced forward, too, with Fred and George following (Percy hung back uncomfortably, clearly struggling with his usual stoic facade), but there wasn't room for them to join the crush, so they turned to Harry, Hermione and Vector.

"You saved her—" Fred started.

"Thank you so much," George finished.

"Harry, mate, you okay?" Fred added.

"He will be if he gets help," Vector interrupted. "Poppy, quickly." She laid him on the nearest bed, and he groaned softly.

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over him: "Merlin's beard, what happened to him?"

"The basilisk fell on him."

"Fell on him? Just how big a basilisk are we talking about?"

"I'd say about fifty feet," Hermione said flatly.

"What!" most of the adults in the room exclaimed.

Mrs. Weasley broke away from Ginny and Ron and rushed towards Hermione. Hermione threw her hands up to stop her, but it was no good. "Oh my goodness, and you saved her," she said, hugging Hermione tight.

"Ow, ow, OW! Cracked ribs!"

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry."

Finally, Professor McGonagall took charge: "Please lie down, Miss Granger. We'll sort this…Gilderoy? What happened to you?" She finally noticed the leashed Defence Professor.

"Oh, Professor, I want to press charges against this…criminal," Hermione spoke up, still wincing. She kicked Lockhart in the back of the leg, causing him to stumble down onto one knee.

"Miss Granger!"

"Ow!" Lockhart complained. "Again with the kicking!"

"I want to press charges for attempted use of Memory Charms on a minor." McGonagall, Pomfrey, and the Weasleys gasped.

Professor Vector nodded in confirmation. "It's true; he told us everything. He's been Memory Charming people for years to steal their stories for his books. If the Ministry can find them and restore them, he'll be going to Azkaban for a long time."

Mrs. Weasley was livid. "You—you—to think I bought all of your books!"

McGonagall grumbled to herself, "It gets worse every year doesn't it? Alright, Lockhart, we'll hold you here for the time being. Poppy, see he's restrained. Please lie down, Miss Granger. We'll sort this out once you've all been helped. Professor Dumbledore is on his way."

"Dumbledore?" Harry slurred excitedly.

"Yes, as soon as they heard Miss Weasley was taken, the governors called him back. Hagrid should also be back in the morning."

Hermione lay down and immediately felt weariness overtake her. Ginny took the bed next to her and continued to be peppered with questions from her family that she really didn't want to answer until Madam Pomfrey told them to back off and wait for Professor Dumbledore to arrive. Lockhart was tied to a bed at the end of the ward.

She spent the next half hour or so half asleep, barely remaining alert enough to tell roughly what was going on. Her cracked ribs (there were two) were mended in a trice, but she was still pretty banged up and suffering from magical exhaustion from casting so much Bluebell Fire. Ginny was physically fine except for a few bruises from being thrown around in the Chamber. Harry was stabilised quickly, but Madam Pomfrey said he was lucky to be alive, since he had at least five hundred pounds of the basilisk's body fall directly on him, and he wouldn't be walking for a while. Finally, Hermione drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

She awoke to the sensation of someone gently sponging her forehead. Remembering Harry's story from last fall, she snapped upright, but the elf by her bedside had a short nose and blue eyes. "Sonya?"

"Hello, Hermione Granger, miss," the elf said buoyantly. "Sonya is very happy you is alright."

"Er, yeah, except for the magical exhaustion." She still felt like she'd just run a marathon. She chuckled weakly. "Heh, I guess we're even, now."

Sonya blushed and said, "Sonya was happy to help. You is very brave to fight the giant monster, miss."

"Thanks. What time is it?"

"It is being ten o'clock, miss. You was asleep for about an hour, but you needs to wake up now because Professor Dumbledore is being here, miss."

"Professor Dumbledore!"

"Yes, Miss Granger," the kindly headmaster said from across the room. Fawkes was sitting on his shoulder, now. "I am glad to see you are all recovering nicely. I'm sure this has been a difficult ordeal. I think a round of hot chocolate for all will be a help."

Hermione looked around as she took a steaming mug of cocoa from Madam Pomfrey and saw Harry blinking awake in the adjacent bed. The destroyed diary was on the bedside table between them. The same crowd was there as before, sitting around the infirmary in a scene eerily reminiscent of the aftermath of last year's adventure.

"Alright, we're all awake, now," Mrs. Weasley spoke up impatiently. "Now could someone please tell us what happened to Ginny?"

"Well, it really started at breakfast…was it this morning?" Hermione started. How had so much happened in the last twelve hours? She told everyone how she had realised Harry was hearing Parseltongue, identified the monster in the library, sent Sonya to warn Professor McGonagall, and then been attacked by the basilisk herself. McGonagall then explained her actions to secure the school and retrieve Harry to listen for the basilisk, and being informed that Hermione and Penelope were attacked. Then, Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge stuck their noses into it, and finally, Ginny was taken into the Chamber.

After that, Hermione, Harry, and Professor Vector spoke in turns explaining the plan they had formulated after Hermione woke up, going down into the Chamber, and fighting Lockhart and then Riddle. There was a commotion when Hermione mentioned the diary, and Ginny shivered and started crying into her hot chocolate.

"But then Riddle told us he was really You-Know-Who—" Hermione said.

"W-what?" Mr. Weasley gasped. "You-Know-Who p-possessed Ginny? But how—?"

"His d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "It wrote back when I wrote in it. He was wr-writing to me all year. I t-tried to fight him, but I c-couldn't!"

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley scolded harshly. "Haven't I taught you anything? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. That diary was obviously dark magic, and—"

Ginny spilt her hot chocolate on the floor and buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Please calm yourself, Arthur," Dumbledore said softly, waving his wand idly to clean up the hot chocolate and get her another mug. "Your daughter has been through a terrible ordeal, and far wiser witches and wizards that she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. I think that being possessed is more than punishment enough. And fortunately, no lasting harm has been done."

Ginny was still shaking on her bed. "Daddy, I'm sorry, I didn't know…" she whined softly. "I found the diary in with my books. I thought you or Mum got it for me."

"Oh dear…" Mr. Weasley said. "I'm sorry, Ginny. Afraid I overreacted a bit, there." Ginny shifted in her bed and let her father wrap her in a hug.

"Professor," Hermione jumped in, remembering something else from last year, "what happened to keeping a closer eye out for possessed people?"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both turned and glared at Dumbledore. The Headmaster sighed and answered, "Unfortunately, Miss Weasley what not possessed until she was already inside the castle. It is one thing to monitor the ward boundaries for possessed individuals—though I'm afraid even that is not completely foolproof—but it is far more difficult—and would face far more opposition—to police the students so closely at all times inside the castle. Even the types of wards and monitoring that would be required are different."

"But what is it good for, then?" Mrs. Weasley.

"I assure you that the new measures would have easily stopped the real Voldemort from entering the castle," Dumbledore replied apologetically.

"Ahem…We will certainly be reviewing our security again," McGonagall interrupted,"but I should think we should like to hear how you defeated…You-Know-Who and the basilisk."

"Oh, right," Hermione said. "Well, I knew we needed to get Ron's wand away from Riddle—I mean, he could've just summoned our glasses, and it would've been over, but there was no way we could get him from the front, so I…I ran away screaming, like I was scared." She didn't mention that she only tried it because she discovered she had her hand on Harry's invisibility cloak and had discreetly tucked it up against her chest before running off. That was Harry's story to tell. "But I took my shoes off and snuck around behind him, and I hit him in the face with Lumos Solem. The blue glasses blocked most of it out."

"Wait," Fred jumped in, "you hexed You-Know-Who in the face again?"

Hermione groaned and laid a hand on her forehead. "Anyway, I got Ron's wand, but, well…"

Ron sadly pulled his broken wand from his robes.

"Ron, your wand!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "You broke his wand?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I had to do something. I'll pay for a new one. And that was Charlie's old wand, wasn't it. He really shouldn't be using a secondhand wand, anyway."

Mrs. Weasley relented and let her continue the story: how Riddle had called the basilisk and how Vector and Harry had brought it down."

"Wait a minute," Madam Pomfrey interrupted. "You looked a basilisk in the eye, without a mirror, and remained conscious?"

"Um, yeah, I guess I did," Hermione said.

"Uh huh," said Harry. "So did I."

Professor Vector smiled at her: "Hermione, that's easily worth an article in Magizoology Monthly. Maybe even a letter."

Fred and George laughed. "Only you, Hermione," Fred started.

"You can fight a giant monster, and you still get an article out of it," George concluded.

"I'm sure our brother, Bill, will want to hear about that, too," Percy spoke up. "Cursebreakers do encounter dangerous magical guardians from time to time."

Hermione smiled a little as they finished the story, ending with the four of them destroying the diary with a broken-off basilisk fang. The whole story took more than half an hour, but she figured it was good practice for when she inevitably had to tell her parents. Oh, that was gonna be good: Dear Mum and Dad, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the we stopped the Heir of Slytherin, the monster is dead, and I walked away from it. The bad news is that I think we're going to need to have another one of those talks when I get home. But at least it can never happen again.

Yeah, that was gonna be a hard sell this time.

"A very impressive tale," Dumbledore spoke up. "You have all shown great courage tonight. Arthur, Molly, I think that Ginny will be quite alright with a good night's rest. There will be no punishment—for anyone." He glanced at Ron kindly. "If I may be so bold, I should like a private word with our four heroes before they fall asleep again." He was mostly looking at Harry with that last bit.

The rest of the Weasleys reluctantly agreed and left the infirmary. Fred and George started apologising profusely to Ginny for how they had treated her over the past year, but Ginny was distracted and looking back nervously at Harry and Hermione as she left. Hermione didn't think she looked like she'd be fine with just a good night's rest. Hermione didn't think she would be herself, and Ginny was in this a lot deeper than she was. But she could at least try to help her when she got out of this place.

"I am very proud of all four of you," Dumbledore said warmly. "You have saved Miss Weasley from a terrible fate; you saved the school from closing and removed the threat of Slytherin's monster forever; you prevented Voldemort's return for a second time, and I daresay each of you saved all of your lives at least once tonight. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, you will each receive Special Awards for Services to the School." The three children grinned at each other in amazement. "And Septima, I think an Award for Exceptional Service as a Professor. I also—" He stopped as he idly picked up one of the pairs of blue glasses and examined it closely: "Miss Granger, this spellcrafting is truly inspired. And you say you did this without quill or parchment?"

"Um, yes, Professor."

"I've been telling you for two years how brilliant she is, Albus," Vector said as Hermione blushed.

"Indeed. Very few second years could craft such a charm, much less mentally. But as I was saying, I also want to thank you personally. You must have showed me real loyalty down in that Chamber to call Fawkes to you."

"That was Mr. Potter, Albus," Vector said. "I believe his exact words were, 'He'll never be gone while we're here.'"

"I'm not surprised," Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. (How did he make them twinkle like that? Hermione wondered.) "You have a true Gryffindor spirit, Harry. Of course, only a true Gryffindor could have pulled this out of the Hat." Dumbledore held up the sword Harry had pulled from the Sorting Hat close for them to see. The hilt was set with enormous rubies that would be worth a place beside the Crown Jewels in the muggle world, and there, just below the hilt a name was engraved: Godric Gryffindor.

Hermione gasped when she saw the name. "That's Godric Gryffindor's sword?" she exclaimed. "The one that he used to fight Lord Foul and banish Salazar Slytherin? Harry, that's a priceless historical artifact!" And he just killed a giant monster with it, she thought. Oh well, at least used it for its intended purpose.

Harry, Ron, and even Professor Vector laughed to see Hermione back to her usual self.

"But Professor," Harry said. "There's one thing I don't understand. If I'm not the Heir of Slytherin, how can I speak Parseltongue?"

At this, Dumbledore became more solemn. "My boy," he said slowly, "you can speak Parseltongue because Lord Voldemort, the true Heir of Slytherin, can speak Parseltongue. Unless I am much mistaken, his curse gave you more than that scar on your head. I believe he also gave you a fraction of his powers."

Hermione, Ron, and Vector gasped at that along with Harry. "He—Voldemort—gave me some of his powers?" Harry said in horror.

"He did," Dumbledore confirmed, "but thankfully, he left you not a whit of his cruelty and malice. I am pleased to say that you have proved your noble character time and again."

"Th-thank you, sir," Harry said.

Hermione smiled at her friend and thought that he had really done far more than he ever should have had to (and so had she and Ron). And for what thanks? Certainly a lot less than he deserved. "Professor," she said, "is there any way that Harry wouldn't have to go back to his relatives this summer?"

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "Surely you would like to see your family, Harry," he said.

"N-not really, Professor, I could definitely do without," Harry replied. "I…I could probably get a better deal out of them with the runes this year, but I know I'm not really supposed to."

"We could take him," Ron spoke up. "It'd be great having him at the Burrow for the whole summer."

Dumbledore sighed: "Harry, I'm afraid it's not that simple. Voldemort—the real Voldemort—is still on the move, and unlike most witches and wizards, your relatives' location is not widely known. I allowed you to spend the month of August at the Burrow last year because, by Professor McGonagall's assessment, your relations with your relatives had reached an unacceptable low." Ron and Hermione both scoffed at the understatement, and Professor Vector frowned at the Headmaster. "But you will still be safest at your relatives' house, and if it is at all possible for you to coexist with them for the summer, you should go back there."

"Professor!" Hermione said indignantly. "Do you really think Harry can coexist with people who locked him in his room with bars on his window?"

"I am sure that Professor McGonagall will pay Mr. Potter some additional visits this summer, Miss Granger. Indeed, I do not think I could stop her. Harry, I hope you would not have to resort to violence or threats, but would feel more at ease if you were with your relatives."

"Well…I'd still rather not, sir," Harry said slowly. "But if it's okay if I can show them I can do a little magic with the runes, and if Professor McGonagall checks on me, I guess I can try it again."

"Harry, are you sure?" Hermione said.

"Well…if I'd be safer there…"

"But you've at least gotta visit sometime," Ron exclaimed.

"Er…I can always take the Knight Bus, right?" he said.

Ron shuddered as her remembered that eventful ride at the beginning of the year.

"If you are comfortable with that, Harry, I think that would be for the best," Dumbledore said.

Hermione sighed: "If you really want to try it, Harry, okay, but please be careful."

"I will."

"I think I may visit once or twice as well, Mr. Potter," Professor Vector said with a sly smile. "After all, you will be in my class this fall, and I'll want to make sure you're preparing adequately."

"Thanks, Professor," Harry said.

Just then, there was a commotion from the door. Hermione could hear Madam Pomfrey shouting indignantly, and then, the door burst open with a loud bang. In strode Lucius Malfoy with Madam Pomfrey shouting in protest behind him. He looked oddly dishevelled, as if he had come in a hurry—unsurprising, given the late hour. "Dumbledore? What is the meaning of this?" he roared.

But before the Headmaster could answer, Sonya, who was still sitting by Hermione's bedside, reacted. "Dobby!" she cried, and she clamoured over the bed. Sure enough, Dobby was hiding, cringing behind Mr. Malfoy's robes. He tried to back away as Sonya rushed him, but he couldn't stray too far from his master. Mr. Malfoy raised his cane to the attacking elf.

"Sonnitt, stop!" Dumbledore ordered.

Sonya froze in mid-leap and fell on her face.

"My apologies, Lucius," the old wizard said. "Just a misunderstanding, I assure you. What can I do for you this evening?"

"You can tell me what you're doing back here, Dumbledore. The Board removed you just this afternoon."

"And they reinstated me four hours later when they learnt that a pureblood girl had been kidnapped," he smiled, his silver beard twitching. "And most eager they were to do it, too. Some of them seemed to be under the impression that you threatened them to get them to agree to get rid of me in the first place."

Mr. Malfoy paled a couple of shades in his anger, but Hermione's eyes were drawn to Dobby. Now that she saw him for herself, she agreed with Harry: the elf was in bad shape. He was wearing a filthy pillowcase, he was hunched and cowering, scarred all over and seemingly nursing several fresh bruises. Even with Hermione's limited experience, she could tell he was abused, and worse, many of the wounds were probably self-inflicted. She also noticed that he was presently behaving very oddly. He kept pointing at Mr. Malfoy behind his back, pointing at the diary, and then hitting himself in the head.

Sonya made the connection first. Her eyes went wider than normal, and she hopped back to Hermione's bedside and whispered in her ear, "Dobby's master is being the one with the bad book, miss." Mr. Malfoy didn't even notice her speaking. No one ever paid attention to house elves. Hermione understood at once and nodded her head slightly. She looked at Harry and tilted her head in Dobby's direction. After another minute, Harry's eyes widened in recognition, and he also nodded.

Dumbledore seemed to have guessed it, too, for he told Mr. Malfoy, "I'm sure Arthur Weasley will be watching far more carefully should any of Voldemort's other old school things emerge. After all, it is very fortunate that Miss Granger here was able to devise a defence against the basilisk and help Mr. Potter and his friends save young Ginny."

"Well," Lucius Malfoy said, looking particularly at Hermione. "Let us hope that Mr. Potter and his mu—friends will always be around to save the day."

Hermione looked the blond man in the eye and said, "Don't worry. We will be."

He glared at her for a moment before turning and saying. "Come, Dobby!" He kicked the elf out the door. Hermione winced, and Sonya clapped her hands to her mouth in horror when the screams continued in rhythm from through the door. Hermione desperately wanted to do something for the elf, but what could she do? House elves were property, to do with as their masters pleased. She could look the other way with the Hogwarts elves because they were well treated and well educated and seemed to take genuine pride in their…unique culture, but Dobby had none of those advantages.

But Harry, it seemed, already had a plan. Whilst groaning in pain, he reached down and pulled off one of his muddy socks, which he carefully folded and pressed into the diary. "Professor Dumbledore," he said quickly, "do you need to keep this or anything?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled: "No, Harry, you may do as you like with it. It is quite dead."

"Great. Hermione—?"

"I'll take it." Hermione wearily pushed herself out of bed. It was a wild plan, but it was worth a shot.

"Miss Hermione Granger, what is you doing? Yous cannot be freeing an elf!" Sonya squeaked in horror.

"Please don't interfere, Sonya," she said. "We have to do something."

"But—"

"I think that this is the best course of action, Sonnitt," Dumbledore said knowingly.

With that, the elf had no choice but to sit nervously and twiddle her thumbs. Meanwhile, Hermione struggled to push her body forward and ran out the door. "Mr. Malfoy!" she called. He stopped and turned at the top of the stairs. She ran up to him breathlessly.

"What is it, Miss…Granger, was it?"

"Yes, sir. Hermione Granger." Dobby's eyes widened in recognition. She handed Mr. Malfoy the diary: "Harry and I wanted to give this back to you."

The man scowled at her and cast the diary aside, and to her delight, Dobby took it from him. "Insufferable mudblood," he hissed. "One of these days, your friend will meet the same sticky end as his parents, and I sincerely hope that you meet it with him."

Hermione said nothing, but she held his gaze. I faced a basilisk; I can handle Mr. Malfoy, she told herself. Beneath his gaze, she made a gesture of opening a book in Dobby's direction.

"Come, Dobby," he said as turned to go again, but Dobby didn't move.

"I said come!"

"Master has given Dobby a sock…" the elf whispered in awe.

"What did you say?"

"Master has given Dobby a sock," he repeated, lifting the grimy thing out of the book. "Dobby is free!"

Lucius Malfoy's gaze snapped to Hermione in horror.

"Thank Harry," she said.

"You lost me my servant! You'll pay for this, mudblood!" He drew his wand.

Uh-oh.

But Dobby stepped in front of her, shouting, "You shall not harm Hermione Granger!" He snapped his fingers.

Lucius Malfoy was unceremoniously blasted down the stairs, landing in a crumpled heap. He staggered to his feet and looked up in rage, but Dobby was still protecting Hermione, so there was nothing he could do—nothing he could get away with in the school, anyway. He turned and hurried out of sight.

Hermione sank to her knees in exhaustion and wheezed, "Thank you, Dobby."

"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger set Dobby free!" the elf squealed with joy, and Hermione was positive she had done the right thing. "Harry Potter told Dobby of Hermione Granger's kindness toward elves, and she has helped free Dobby!" He threw his spindly arms around her.

"It was the least we could do Dobby," she said. "No one deserves to be treated like that, not even an elf."

"Hermione Granger is greater than Dobby knew. Dobby must go thank Harry Potter, too!" He ran off back to the infirmary.

Hermione watched him go with a weary smile and then pulled herself to her feet and dragged herself back the same way. She arrived just in time to see Dobby hug a bemused Harry and then vanish into thin air.

Sonya was watching the spot where Dobby vanished with open mouth, looking shell-shocked.. "Miss Hermione Granger, Dobby is being a very sick elf," she whispered as the girl climbed back into bed. "He is being happy to be freed."

"Sonya, you saw him," Hermione countered. "He was being beaten. Serving the Malfoys was horrible for him. I know it's hard for you to believe, but he'll be better off this way."

"Sonya is not so sure, miss…Dobby will not be treated bad by a bad master anymore…" She dropped her voice even lower, as if she were speaking about something horribly scandalous: "but he says he is wanting wages now."

"So? What's wrong with that if a few elves want wages?"

"But miss, it is very hard for a free elf to find work, and never for wages. Elves is almost never freed unless they is bad elves, miss."

"And then no one will want them," she muttered. "Well, what about Hogwarts? There's work to spare here."

"Of course, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "I see no objection to the school hiring an elf for wages. If Dobby returns he may speak to me directly."

"There, you see, Sonya. It'll all work out."

Sonya looked most uncomfortable with the thought of such a disturbed elf joining the Hogwarts staff. "The other elves will not be liking that you freed an elf, miss."

"Oh…Well…I guess that's a fair price, if that's what it takes," Hermione mumbled sleepily. She had a lot more on her mind, now, but she'd worry about the details tomorrow…or maybe the day after.