Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

What Happened?

I was still shaking when I slipped through the portrait hole into the common room. Though, I tried to hide it by keeping my hands in my robe pockets. There was no hiding my emotional state from Fred and George, but I didn't need my housemates knowing my business. Standing at the edge of everything, I scanned the common room. At first glance, things looked normal. The usual friend groups were sitting together with their homework or games spread out in front of them. Wood and team were sitting together just as I expected them to be; around the table that's set up next to the windows. Wood was doing all the talking, but the only one who seemed to be listening was Katie. And probably just because she was being polite. Alicia was preoccupied with a nail file and it looked like Angelina was working on the essay Sprout had assigned. What was out of place was the absence of Fred and George. In my current state, their absence aggravated me. Where were they? Wood never tolerated his players to miss team meetings, even if they don't pay attention when they do attend. I mean, Merlin! Wood made everyone have a team meeting in the hospital wing when he had to stay there overnight due to a quidditch practice injury.

I took a deep breath to draw upon any semblance of calm. Maybe they just had to go to the bathroom, I thought as I approached the quidditch team. That could be it. Even if it was weird that Fred and George would have to use the loo at the same time. When I reached their table, I didn't wait for Wood to notice me. I didn't wait for him to pause. I talked over the quidditch captain, achieving two things; cutting off Wood and alerting everyone else to my being there. "Where's Fred and George?' I asked. Vaguely proud of myself when my voice didn't shake.

Alicia and Angelina turned around in their seats to see me as Wood closed the notebook that was sitting in front of him. "We're in a meeting", he said, making it sound like interrupting a confession in a courtroom. The only person who didn't have any visible reaction to my presence was Katie.

There must have been something in my complexion or my expression that worried my roommates because they both started to rise from their seats. "Holly-" Angelina started to say.

I cut her off. "Where's Fred and George?" I asked again. My voice sounded far away. Like I was listening to it from underwater.

Wood sighed like he is the square peg and I'm the round hole; we just don't understand each other. "They went upstairs ten minutes ago with Potter and your little brother", Wood relented. Probably just so he could get rid of me and go back to boring the girls with his playbook.

I scrunched up my nose. Why would Fred and George go up to the dorms with Ron and Harry? But now that I took a second glance at Gryffindor's quidditch team, I notice that Harry was missing. Not knowing how I should be feeling about this abnormality, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply through my nose. "Okay", I said again before I opened my eyes. I looked at Wood. "Thanks", I said as I started to turn away.

Angelina and Alicia paused halfway between a standing and sitting position. "Is everything alright?" Alicia called after me.

I shook my head at her as I passed by her seat to the stairs leading to the boys' dorms. "Everything's fine", I lied; hoping that no one noticed when my voice cracked at the word 'fine'. What are the odds of Harry and Ron hanging out with Fred and George is harmless? I asked myself as I took two stairs at a time. But I knew better. Neither George, Fred, nor Harry would ditch Wood just to goof off.

Assuming they wouldn't have gone for the second-year boys' dorm, I head straight for Fred and George's dorm room. I didn't knock on the door and just let myself in. I knew I had guessed the right room when five heads swiveled in my direction with their mouths clamped shut. The fifth head belonging to Hermione. Yeah, this was more than just Fred and George hanging out with the younger boys. Hermione and Harry sat on Lee's bed while Ron was on George's bed with George. And Fred had his bed to himself.

When their eyes registered that it was me who had walked in on them, all their spines relaxed. "We did it!" Hermione said excitedly as I closed the door behind me. She sounded like a poodle who had just performed a trick as was expecting a treat.

"Did what?" I asked a bit dazed as I made a beeline for Fred's bed. Fred moved over so there was room for me to squeeze against him and both of us could rest our backs against the headboard.

"What you told us to do", Hermione replied as I made myself comfortable. Or as comfortable as I could feel at the moment.

"What we told you?" I questioned, distractedly as I curled into Fred's side and buried my face in the space between his shoulder joint and chest. In response, Fred slung an arm around me. I clutched the fabric of his shirt and let out a deep tremor. The arm Fred had around me became tighter and I focused on the weight of it; grounding myself.

"We freed Dobby!" Hermione exclaimed; apparently, she had no more patience for my slowness.

They freed Dobby, I repeated in my head. They.. freed….Dobby. It wasn't making any sense. Dobby… Dobby who? Dobby the house-elf? My muscles tensed and my eyes widened. They freed Dobby! I snapped up, smacking my head against the bottom of Fred's chin.

"Merlin, Holly", he complained as he tried to rub some of the pain away.

"How did you do that?" I asked, turning my eyes onto the second-years on sitting on Lee's bed. Absent-mindedly, I reached up a hand to rub my own sore spot on the top of my head.

All three second-years opened their mouths at once; seemingly eager to regale us with the tale of their success. "I got Ginny to help", Ron blurted out.

"I made sure no else knew we were there", Harry contributed.

"It was my plan", Hermione said.

George raised a hand as he shook his head. "Wait, slow down", he asked. "Start at the beginning".

And suddenly it was story time with the golden trio. Hermione took charge. Starting at the very beginning with how she got the idea. "It's all thanks to Peeves, really". She admitted. "We were walking back to the common room from the library and he knocked my books out of my arms and was flying them around the hallway. At first, we didn't know that it was Peeves doing it because he chose to be invisible. But his cackling gave him away. And I thought, how overwhelming would it be if it was more than just my books? What if it was everything in my trunk? I might not even notice if something out of place was to occur". Hermione took a moment to smile wickedly at us fourth-years. "Like a family house-elf being at school rather than at home".

Harry took over from there; explaining how they had informed Dobby of the plan. Apparently, the house-elf had been visiting with the boy-who-lived ever since they were introduced months ago back in the hospital wing. I wasn't sure if I should feel alarmed by that fact. "Once Dobby was on board, we practiced a bunch on exactly how we were going to get Malfoy's clothes to fly around the room".

Ron gave me a hard look from where he was sitting. "We were ready before the holiday, but you said we had to wait".

Deciding to ignore him, I didn't even roll my eyes; too much on my mind to be bothered by my little brother's tone. "How did you get into the Slytherin common room?" I asked.

Ron beamed and shot Harry a look that seemed to make the other boy uncomfortable. "I talked Ginny into letting us in. She didn't want to at first. But when I mentioned that it was for Harry, she caved", Harry started blushing and he refused to look at us older Weasleys. "Ginny fancies him".

Ignoring that comment, "And you… just knew how to get to Malfoy's dorm?" Fred asked.

Hermione cast us a suspicious look. "Aren't you going to ask how we got around without any of the other Slytherins seeing us?"

And it was a point. That should have been a major concern on Fred, George, and my lists of questions. Except, we knew things that the three second-year didn't. I waved my left hand in the air like I was brushing away her question. "Oh please. We know about Harry's invisibility cloak". As soon as I said it, I wondered if I shouldn't have. But it was too late to take it back.

Harry stared and Fred and me with wide boggled eyes. His glasses slipped further down his nose as Hermione narrowed her eyes. "How?" Ron sputtered from George's bed.

George pulled Ron into a loose headlock. One Ron could easily break out of if he wanted to. "That's because we, Ronnikins, know everything". All three members of the golden trio stiffened dramatically, which was interesting. What else do they have that they don't want us to know about?

But we are getting off track. "Dobby", I reminded everyone.

"Right". Harry shook his head before continuing. "Malfoy was in the common room when we got there, so we stood in a corner and followed him when he started leaving. He led us straight to his dorm".

Hermione shifted on Lee's bed. Like she was setting aside the new clue we had just given her for later. "We were lucky that known of Malfoy's roommates were there. As soon as we figured out which trunk was his, we started casting".

Ron ducked out from under George's arm before continuing. "We started out small. A piece of parchment, or a sock. And worked our way up to having everything the git owns was flying around the room". Ron started grinning; very very pleased with himself. "Even his underwear".

"Malfoy was shouting and spinning around the room trying to avoid being hit by anything", Harry said. "He was demanding that whoever was doing it to stop at once. At one point he even thought we were Peeves. But I'm not sure why. Peeves doesn't go into student dorms, right?"

And it was a question no one knew the answer to. No one had ever seen Peeves in the common rooms or the dorms. But that didn't mean he couldn't get in. "Once Malfoy was panicking, it was Dobby's turn". Hermione moved on. "We told him when we would carry out our plan and asked him if he could get into Malfoy's dorm. Dobby said that he could. That he would be in the room and wait for us to signal him when he should make himself known". Hermione took a deep breath; building up to the climax of their story. "I gave the signal. Malfoy was too scared to hear it. And Dobby appeared behind him".

"Like we planned", Ron jumped in. "As soon as I saw Dobby I made one of Malfoy's shirts attack him. It hit him in the head and covered his whole face".

"Then Dobby asked Malfoy if he wanted any assistance", Harry reported; a smile growing on his face.

"Malfoy ripped the shirt off his face and handed it to Dobby, screaming, 'here, take the bloody thing!'", Hermione said; grinning from ear-to-ear. "And then Dobby was free and apparated away before Malfoy even realized what was happening. Did you know house-elves could apparate from inside Hogwarts? It's fascinating, really".

Neither myself nor my fellow triplets had an answer for her. I locked eyes with Fred; my mouth hanging open and feeling gobsmacked. That plan of theirs… it actually worked? It was hard to believe. It sounded so elaborate and a lot of it depended on luck. Malfoy had to be in the right place. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to do all of that without getting seen or heard. What if a Slytherin had accidentally stepped on the hem of the invisibility cloak? What if Ginny hadn't decided to help? There were too many variables. They shouldn't have been successful, and yet… they were. Talk about dumb luck.

"How did you get out of the Slytherin common room?" George asked.

Ron shrugged. "That was hard", he admitted. "We thought that when Malfoy started shouting, everyone would run up the stairs and block us in". I reached up and ran a hand over my tired eyes. And yet, they decided to go ahead with their plan without any exit strategy? Merlin, help me. "But we were lucky. All the Slytherins were distracted by Goyle getting his hand stuck in a toilet and no one noticed Malfoy screaming". So, they hadn't played any part with Goyle and the infamous toilet. It would make more sense if they had. The coincidence was just too much. Maybe Dobby had done something…. I was scrambling to find logic in a seemingly illogical situation.

"We managed to slip out when Parkinson went to go get Snape", Hermione finished their story. She gave us a couple of seconds to think further on everything the second-years had just shared with us. But no longer than that. She had more on her agenda. "Now that Dobby is freed, we can help you with Lockhart and the Diary". And everything that happened in the last hour came rushing back to me with a force of vengeance. The story about Dobby's liberation had distracted me. But that was over. "I still think we should tell Dumble-"

"No!" I said very loudly and very abruptly. Everyone was looking at me as the tremor in my hands returned tenfold. My breaths become short as something in my chest tightened. Snape had left. Snape had left me alone… and Lockhart found me. "No one is going near Lockhart". My voice cracked. Not because I was open to argument but because I was one step away from hysterical. Stinging tears left the corners of my eyes. I felt like I had no control over my own body; almost like I was watching myself react from a distance. "No one-" I managed to get out before words escaped me and all I could do was wheeze on choked-back sobs. Snapping my eyes shut so I didn't have to look at everything looking at me, I wrapped my arms around my stomach as it churned anxiously.

"Holly", Fred started as he sat up behind me. "Holly, what happened?" He asked; worry evident in his tone as his arms wrapped around me and pulled me in close.

Exhaling and inhaling through my mouth, I fought for some control. To breath normally again. But nothing worked. It was like a stone was lodged in my chest; keeping my lungs pressed down. I was alone with Lockhart… he said… he thought… "Lockhart, he-" I got two words out before my body shut down again. Turning in Fred's arm, I buried my head into his chest. Just in time too. Because once my face was hidden, there was no stopping the onslaught of waterworks. Despite the fact that I had rammed my head into his chin earlier, Fred held me as tightly as he could; even placing his chin on top of my head.

"You had detention with Snape, right?" I heard George asked. I heard him move. The bed Fred and I were sitting on compressed on the left as it accepted George's weight. A warm hand came into contact between my two shoulder blades and started making circles. "When did you run into Lockhart?"

He had found me…. Riddle thought that I was…. He acted like he… like he owned me. I shook my head furiously against Fred's chest. I couldn't say anything about that. I needed to tell them everything. But I couldn't. Not right now. So, the abridged version it was. "Snape left", I forced out in one gasp.

"Because of Goyle and the toilet". Hermione whispered from Lee's bed. Her voice was absent of her usual confidence.

I didn't confirm that she was right. There was no need. Everyone knew she was. Lockhart had gotten way too close, and I hadn't been prepared. "He was-" I had to wait for the tremor in my voice to die down before I could finish. "-waiting for me to be alone". Oh, Merlin! What if Riddle had something to do with Goyle and the toilet? There's no way he could have planned something like that, right?

Fred tensed and his arms became stone. "What did he do?" His voice contained a hard edge that forced an uncharacteristically loud sob out of me. It had reminded me of that night. The night before I became Holly. Unable to run. No conviction to fight back. Despite surviving it once before, I feared death when I saw its approach. The only things that had been missing was a knife and stab wounds. And I thought I could handle Lockhart/ Riddle by kicking him in the balls. How stupid can I be?

"Snape", I started to say; skipping over everything my brothers and Harry and Hermione wanted to know. "He-he came back. B-before Lockhart could… go too far".

Fred shook me. "What did he do, Holly? Did he hurt you?" Fred was close to yelling at this point. But I was finding it difficult to react to his urgency. It was like I was reliving it all over again. Lockhart. In Snape's classroom. Alone. He had called me a Horcrux. Called me by pet names that made my skin crawl. He had stood unwelcomingly close; touching my face without my consent.

"Snape", was the only thing I seemed capable of saying even though I knew I needed to tell Fred and George about the Horcrux bit. "Snape returned before anything could happen". Merlin, bless Snape.

George's hand stilled on my back. And I could only imagine what expression his face must be wearing. "Fred, I don't think we're going to get anything else out of her right now", George said, not addressing the golden trio at all. "What we know is that Lockhart did something, and we need to keep Holly safe until she can tell us what".

"I'll bloody kill him", Ron blurted out in his best enraged voice. "He can't just- just-" Ron tried to express but seemed to lack the words.

I couldn't see what everyone was doing, and I wasn't too motivated to find out. But I could take a guess based on what they were saying. "Sit down and shut up", Fred barked to our younger brother. "It's bad enough Holly's like this. Do you think we're going to let the same thing happen to you?"

"Now, we really should tell Dumbledore", Hermione broke in. "If he knew what we did-"

"We already tried", George cut her off, voice grim. "We already tried to tell Dumbledore and all he did was put Lockhart on probation".

"Why wouldn't he help?" Harry whispered in disbelief.

"Why doesn't matter", Fred growled as he continued to hold me in an iron grip. "We have to figure this out for ourselves".