The day had finally come, and the Mandrake Restorative Draught was complete. Eva would finally be free from her head, where the only company she really had was her irritating demon.
Without any warning, someone rolled Eva to the side so that her head was facing upwards. A cup was placed to her startled and parted lips as a cold, thick liquid was poured down her throat. If she could move, she'd be gagging at the horrendous taste of the stuff.
The potion seemed to get to work immediately. The darkness she saw faded to a blinding white and soon enough her eyes focused so that she was staring directly at the ceiling. With some effort, she was able to move her eyes from side to side as the light of day streamed through the windows.
Movement returned to her fingertips and toes next, slowly running up her body and leaving an ice cold sensation in its path. After a few minutes of careful movement, her head was finally unfrozen and her expression relaxed. She was free.
Hesitantly, Eva placed her hands by her sides and slowly pushed herself up off the mattress in the hospital. She was still in exactly the same clothes she'd worn before, and her hair was in the same two braids they'd been left in.
Glancing around the room, she noticed the others doing exactly the same as they slowly began to wake and move their limbs, taking in their surroundings. Across the room, Colin Creevey was already awake and upright, drinking a glass of water. He waved excitedly at her, and she winked back in his direction.
Eva looked sideways at her bedside table. There were four get well soon cards on the wooden surface, one from Cedric, one from Fred and George, one from Harry and Ron, and one from the Slytherins. She picked up the Slytherin card and, as Malfoy had mentioned, Crabbe and Goyle's names were indeed the largest. Everyone had signed their names in whatever spaces available, and Malfoy's name was written much smaller near the bottom in his neat cursive.
"Eva?"
She slowly turned her head and found that Hermione was completely up with her legs over the edge of her bed. "Hermione!" Eva squealed, hurling herself at her friend. "Oh my word, you're alive."
"You have me to thank for that." Hermione smiled smugly as Eva moved to sit beside her. "It was in the library that I actually discovered the species, and was able to figure out how to survive."
"What was it?" Eva asked.
Hermione sighed. "It was a basilisk. The basilisk is basically a large, serpent creature, which I'm sure you remember seeing only momentarily. Direct eye contact will instantly kill, but eye contact through a reflection only petrifies."
"So . . . I assume it's dead?" Eva questioned. "I don't know, I wasn't listening to Harry and Ron's visit."
"Yes, Harry entered the Chamber of Secrets, destroyed the basilisk, destroyed Tom Riddle who was actually Voldemort's younger self," Eva gasped at that, "rescued Ginny, and had Lucius Malfoy removed from the school governing board."
"That boy just can't help but show off," Eva laughed as she stood up and dusted herself off. "What day is it?"
Madam Pomfrey came over to them with a relieved smile, offering each of them a glass of water. "It's the day of the end-of-term feast. If you're quick, you might be able to catch Dumbledore's speech."
While Hermione went up to Gryffindor tower to change, Eva headed straight for the Slytherin dungeons. Everyone was already in the Great Hall, so it gave her a few minutes to shower, change, and dash over to join them.
Just as Eva approached the doors to the Great Hall in her spare Slytherin robes since the others had to be washed, she passed Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost that had been petrified.
"Ah, Eva, you're back!" Nicholas exclaimed happily.
"I'm back, sir Nicholas!" Eva jumped up and attempted to high-five him although her hand went straight through his. "I'm back! Has Hermione gone in yet?"
"She's just gone ahead," he replied. "Wonderful to see you again."
"You too!" she called behind her just as she reached the open doors. "I'M BACK!" Eva shouted at the top of her lungs.
Most people in the room turned and stared, but Eva wasn't bothered by it at all. While shouting "I'm back" over and over again, she skipped between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, high-fiving people as she went.
She stopped at Cedric and hugged him around his middle since she was so small. "Diggory, did you hear? I'm back!"
He squeezed her lightly and let her go. "I hadn't noticed."
"Thanks for the jelly beans by the way," she smiled happily, "and the card."
"No problem at all," he assured. "It's just nice to see you . . . much more alive than before. That was terrifying though, I reckon you would've scared yourself with the sight of it."
Eva shrugged. "Probably," she sang as she continued skipping, stopping at Ron and Harry. "I'm back!" she yelled as she high-fived Ron and then Harry. "Oh yeah! Did you miss me? Of course you did, I'm the highlight of your lives."
"I've always said Hermione was the mental one, but you're proving me wrong, Eva," Ron snarked.
"Oi, is that Eva?" Fred asked from the opposite side of the Gryffindor table, sat beside George. "Nice to see you moving about again."
Eva grinned excitedly as she skipped around the table towards the Slytherin table. "I feel so alive!" she sighed contentedly as the air whipped past her hair due to the speed she was skipping at.
Once she arrived at her usual spot at the Slytherin table, she sat herself down between Daphne and Tracey, opposite a grouchy-looking Malfoy with an even grumpier-looking Pansy beside him.
"Oh, and tell your father that his insincerest condolences were greatly received," Eva laughed.
Malfoy glanced up at her confusedly. "So you could hear? Everything anyone said to you, you could hear them?" he asked.
Eva had the feeling she knew why he was so concerned about it so she simply nodded her head and offered him a soft smile. She didn't receive one back, but she wasn't surprised or bothered by it.
The soft chime of a fork being tapped against a glass caught her attention. "Can I have your attention please?" McGonagall requested.
Dumbledore stood up from his large chair in the middle. "Before we begin the feast, let us have a round of applause for Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who had been petrified."
The entire room applauded them except Malfoy, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Eva raised a questioning eyebrow at them but they simply ignored her, obviously. The cocky bastards.
"Also, in light of recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled!" Dumbledore announced.
Eva sighed of relief. She hadn't done any work since the very beginning of May, so any exam she sat now she was sure to fail. She still needed to get her Potions book back from the library from where she'd left it a while ago.
The doors to the Great Hall then opened once more. To Eva's surprise, Hagrid walked in, even though she'd been told that he'd been put into Azkaban for opening the Chamber. He seemed totally unfazed though, with his usual friendly smile on his face.
"Sorry I'm late," he said loudly. While everyone stared in open shock, Hagrid continued to casually stroll towards the front. "The owl that sent my release papers got all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird called Errol."
Out of the corner of her eye, Ron's expression dropped into a mortified one. That boy really needed a new owl. And a new wand.
Hagrid stopped in front of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "And I'd just like to say that, if it hadn't been for you Harry, and Ron, and Eva," he turned his head over to the Slytherin table to smile warmly at her, "and Hermione of course, I would, er . . . I'd still be you-know-where's, so I'd just like to say, thanks."
Harry stood up in front of him and hugged him tightly. "It's not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid."
At the front, Dumbledore stood up and began clapping, soon joined by McGonagall, and then the entire school. Excitedly, Eva leapt up from her seat, climbed directly over the Hufflepuff table, and dropped down beside Hagrid, hugging him along with the other three.
The room was filled with a series of claps and cheers, with Hagrid at the centre of it. Everyone minus Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy were applauding enthusiastically, and Eva even felt a single happy tear roll down her face.
For the worst school year to date, this year had been the best school year to date.
And knowing her luck, next year would only get worse.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: Heheh, I know I literally just posted the last chapter, but it's finally the end of the Chamber of Secrets arc! As you can see, this was definitely more eventful than last year, and we had some fun development in Malfoy and Eva's slowly-building tolerance for each other's company.
Next year will probably be just as eventful though, so you'd better look forward to that lmao
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!