When Nathan came to, he found he was surrounded by most of the Fateful Eight (thanks to Madam Pomfrey's six visitors at a time rule, they could not all visit at once).
"Well, whaaaa happened?" he asked.
"You, er, took a bludger to the head and got knocked out…" Eddie told him nervously.
"Oh, ok." He yawned. "Did we win?"
"Erm…" Eddie began. He turned to Tom, who nodded. Eddie hung his head, as that meant Hufflepuff had lost, but he cared more for the state of his friend than a Quidditch match. Nathan grinned weakly.
"Ha...we beat you just like the Red Sox….ha…"
Madam Pomfrey, who took this as Nathan muttering gibberish, chivvied the Fateful Eight (minus Sean out of the wing.
Nathan returned to classes Tuesday. Now, with Quidditch out of the way, the Fateful Eight's main goal was to prepare for the next basilisk attack. Eddie shared his concerns about the same people not being attacked because those were more personal to Harry. They agreed, and took a closer eye on each other, as Quirrelmort knew about them, after all, and they were to be prime targets for foiling his plan the year before. How much Ginny knew of them? Hard to say.
They went on their lives with a much more careful air, and before they knew it, Christmas was upon them. This time, they had done their shopping in Diagon Alley beforehand and were able to get each other actual presents. Eddie got Nathan a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, and he gave Eddie his old copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as Eddie had lost his. They had their second annual snowball fight on the Christmas grounds with the rest of Hufflepuff, and even spotted Luna Lovegood, barefoot, in the snow, sitting by the Black Lake reading.
Eddie asked Nathan how they were treating Luna in the Ravenclaw common room.
"Well, me and Vic, we've been nice to her, but the rest...not so much. Cho can be quite nasty at times."
"Ah well," Eddie shook his head. He had hoped for a better response. Luna was one of his favorite characters, as they were both outcasts, her for her wild theories and strange habits, him for his uncanny Star Wars knowledge and obsession with Harry Potter.
After the holidays and when term resumed, Eddie held out hope for a basilisk free year, despite Ginny still possessing the diary. Unfortunately, this was not to be, as shortly after the Christmas holidays, disaster struck. And it wasn't Colin Creevey.
On the third weekend of January, while most of the school was out in Hogsmeade, Claire and Sean were finishing an essay for Professor Binns in the library, and as they were walking back to the common room, they happened to turn the wrong corner, and it was lucky they were looking at a suit of armor, for when Claire's eyes landed on the statue, it was met by a reflection of great, big, yellow ones.
Seeing Claire's body freeze up, Sean immediately looked away, and just in time. He dashed off the other way and went off to find the others.
Eddie, Justin, and Ernie were sitting in the near empty Great Hall playing chess, when Sean burst in, red-faced, sweating, and appearing to be on the verge of tears.
"What's the matter, Stephens?" Justin asked him as he ran in.
"Eddie, it's -" He choked up. "It's Claire. She's been attacked." Without even finishing his turn, Eddie got up and ran out of the hall after Sean. Ernie and Justin followed.
The instant they reached Claire, Sean gathered her Petrified body up and propped it against a wall while Eddie went to get Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey.
When he reached the aged Headmaster's office, he met Professor McGonagall walking past and figured he'd ask her for the password.
"Professor!" he blurted out. Taken aback by Eddie's sudden exclamation, McGonagall stuttered for a moment.
"Y-yes, what is it, Pattinson?"
"Professor, I'm terribly sorry, you see, there's been another attack with the Chamber, and I really needed to see Professor Dumble-"
Without even letting Eddie finish his sentence, McGonagall walked over to the gargoyle and gave the password- "Acid Pop." The gargoyles sprang aside and Eddie sprinted up the stairs two at a time to the brass griffin door knocker. Banging on it, he got a greeting from the headmaster and entered.
"So sorry to bother you, Professor but.." he explained about Claire. Dumbledore stood up.
"Come with me. We're going to see Madam Pomfrey."
They reached the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey entered the ward, looking nervous.
"What is it now?" she asked Dumbledore impatiently.
"There's been another attack, Poppy," He bowed his head, with a grave expression on his face, and indicated Claire's motionless body.
"Petrified?" she asked, her face white. Dumbledore nodded.
They all left the wing in a rather glum mood, even though they had convinced Madam Pomfrey to allow the last arrival, Tom, to stay as the seventh visitor.
They were all gathered in the Room of Requirement after, and it was dead silent.
"So, what're we now?" Nathan joked weakly. "The Fateful Seven?"
"I'm not worried about Claire," said Tom. "Madam Pomfrey and Sprout are gonna have the mandrake stuff ready to go by the end of the year, it's just..wow. No idea that it was gonna be her."
"I did," Eddie spoke up. "Why do you think I had us go in pairs, everywhere?" They looked at him.
"I mean," he gulped, then went on, "we fought Quirrellmort last year, right?" When no one said anything, he continued. "And..Dumbledore told the school our names."
"But-" Natalie interjected, "Ginny doesn't know we fought Voldemort."
"No, she doesn't, that is true…"
"But Voldemort would know!" Victoria exclaimed, slapping her forehead.
"Yes, that's my point." Eddie said. "That's why Claire got attacked and not Justin or Penelope. We've got to keep looking out for each other."
They all gave their assent.
The calendar continued to flip, and soon enough it was Valentine's Day. Eddie always rolled his eyes whenever he reached this part in the books (who could forget the disastrous love poem Ginny wrote to Harry?) but now with his newfound feelings for Hannah, he was actually excited. Lily saw him smiling slightly after Lockhart made the announcement, and leaned in to ask why he was.
Eddie whispered back that he had a crush on Hannah - Lily was the first person he had ever told - and she nodded, looking back at the over-flamboyant professor now elaborating about his Valentine's Day surprise. He skived off Defense Against the Dark Arts and instead sprinted off to the common room and write his letter. Eddie figured he could do it during his free period, but he'd rather not listen to Lockhart. He debated on whether or not to write his name and decided on leaving it anonymous, as it was sure to be a cringe fest and he was scared of her reaction. It was written as follows:
Dear Hannah,
When I met you last year I had no idea I'd have the feelings for you I do now. The way your blonde hair whips around in the wind, that radiant smile of yours, your bright, blue eyes, your fantastic personality, all contribute to said feelings. I think you're absolutely brilliant and I love you.
-An admirer.
All being said and done, he rolled up the parchment and made his way out of the common room to find one of Lockhart's cupids. He handed it the scroll and said "Give this to Hannah Abbott," and made his way for the Great Hall, as it was now lunch.
"Where've you been? Hannah asked. "You weren't in Lockhart's this morning."
Before Eddie could answer, the cupid whooshed over his head, making his face tinge red. Te cupid dropped the letter on Hannah's plate and flew off, obviously to find more cards. Eddie sat down and stared hard at his plate of beef, not looking at Hannah, nor anyone else as she opened the card and scanned the writing. She blushed and put the card down without saying anything. Several tense seconds passed in silence, and then she immediately struck up a debate with Susan, wondering who this "admirer" could be. Eddie caught Lily's eyes for a fraction of a moment and nodded. She raised her head at him, smirked, and winked. Eddie finished his lunch quickly and made to walk off, but Susan asked where he was going.
"Um…" he thought for a few seconds, which, he later reflected, may have made it a little obvious that he wrote the letter. "Uh..Quidditch."
He strode out of the hall, unsure about what Hannah had thought of his note, but relieved nonetheless.