I haven't, as the kids say, updated in a hot minute. I'm thinking of continuing this series like planned, however, with major renovations. I'd like to think my writing has vastly improved and so I'd be changing some things. For one, the pairings (at least no harry/Hermione); the characterization will better and so will the pacing. Also, the next book will definitely be more of an Au than this was. Upon rereading it I cringed at how it was more of a rehash of canon

Anyway, I've got one more chapter and this book will be complete!

The adrenaline was still surging throughout his body, washing over him like a burst of frigid water. He couldn't shake it off, to try and calm down somewhat. His eyes kept darting around at the slightest noise, his hand hovering just above his wand incase anything should leap out at a second's notice. He was on edge; his heart kept thumping erratically, faster than a person should have been able to handle and a thin trail of sweat was gathering at the base of his forehead. He felt hot, almost suffocating, which was quite odd considering the draft in the chamber. Colin needed to concentrate on something else, on someone.

Harry was on his knees, hands pressed to the damp floor. He hadn't spoken a word in nearly two minutes. Colin thought he might have gone unconscious if it were not for the labored breathing.

"Harry, are you alright?" Colin's forehead crinkled, there was a hint of worry in his voice that he couldn't hide. "You're a bit pale." Actually, he was being quite generous. Harry's face was a sickly porcelain and the sweat was much more evident; like he'd just taken a bath.

"M'fine," Harry mumbled lowly. Stubborn as always, he seemed to be alright with insisting that he was fine, even if he looked like death warmed over. Colin was apprehensive, watching as he made an attempt at standing, only for his legs not to corporate and he fell back down, clenching his head.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Colin asked him, skeptically. "You don't look like you are."

"I'm fine. It's just-ugh. My head, it hurts," Harry slowed down his breathing, squeezing his eyes shut as if to shut the world away.

"How bad?" Colin was peering at him with uncertainty. If Harry had a concussion, they'd be in a worse predicament.

"Bad enough," Harry suddenly jerked a bit and Colin stepped back almost immediately. He knew that look. "I think I'm going to -" Harry's voice sounded thick and he promptly hunched over to the side, gagging. The retching noises made Colin's own stomach churn. He wasn't sure what to do other than tactfully look the other direction. What he was sure of was that Harry probably didn't want an audience.

Ginny was still laying there on the floor, unmoving. Even with Riddle gone, she hadn't woken up like they hoped. If all hadn't happened, if they'd not just learned what they did, it would have been presumed she was already dead. There was nothing to hint otherwise.

But the question was, a question that was at the back of his mind nagging at him, what would it take to wake her? A swipe of Madam Pomfrey's wand, the strongest potion Snape could brew or would it have to be Albus Dumbledore, the greatest sorcerer in the world, to bring Ginny back? Colin didn't want to face the possibility that none of this was reversible. He didn't want to imagine the reactions from her family. The heartbreak that would ensure was too much to think about.

"I'm never drinking pumpkin juice again," Harry grimaced, bringing Colin out of his musing. He pulled a slimy piece of orange mucus out from his mouth. The younger boy looked revolted. That sight alone would ward him off food for a long while.

"Ugh," Colin had to pry his eyes away. "That's so gross."

"It's not much better down here," Harry wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He was making a face, shuddering at the taste in his mouth. Colin didn't imagine that was well.

"How are you feeling now?" Colin was glancing at him unsurely. Harry didn't answer so he added, "You look awful."

"Thanks," the sarcasm fell flat. Harry was trying to even out his breathing again after all that. His face was glistening, his eyes were glossy.

"What do you suppose we should do about Ginny?" Colin asked him anxiously.

"I don't know," Harry said tiredly.

"She's still not moving."

"I know."

"Should we wait until she wakes up? But what if she doesn't? What if she dies, Harry? I don't know if-"

"Colin!" Harry had to raise his voice, to be heard over Colin's fretting that was echoing off the walls. The second year immediately quietened. "Ginny will be fine. I'm sure she will."

"But how do you know?" Colin asked helplessly. He took another look at her body, recalling the day they met and how lively she'd been. He couldn't...he couldn't stand it if she died. "What if Riddle's killed her?"

"Don't think like that," Harry shook his head. "We'll get her out."

"But how?" Colin expressed his doubt. "What'll we do? How should we-Harry! Harry!"

Harry had slumped over, face first into the dirty water. There was already a cut on his forehead and the blood mixed with the water.

Harry wound up in the hospital wing after that night in the chamber.

Colin sat dutifully by his bedside for the three days following, waiting for the moment he would wake up. It wasn't easy, being there and watching Harry lay so motionless like Ginny had been. Like a dead body.

Speaking of Ginny, she had yet to wake up as well but the outcome seemed promising. Professor Dumbledore told Madam Pomfrey to place her under a sleeping drought to repair some of the damage that Riddle had done to her and her magic. She'd been a bit weakened by the whole thing; last he overheard-eavesdropped, really- she would likely experience glitches, so to speak, with performing magic as a resulting complication.

Now that he understood what was wrong with her, what had caused her to behave so strangely, even outright cruel, Colin couldn't find it within himself to hold a grudge. Even with her usage of the word mudblood. It hadn't been her willingly, but Riddle. Honestly, apart of him sympathized. Dealing with the aftermath of all this, with her family, her school work and social consequences weren't going to be easy by any means.

If she let him, he'd be there for her.

On to a bit of good news, both Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout were hopeful that those petrified were going to be recover very soon. Colin quietly observed those that came to visit their friends or, in the case of the Weasleys, family. Harry and Ron's dorm mates were informing them of what was going on in all of their classes, with Seamus giving a lengthy complaint about how Snape was surely out to get them (them being Gryffindor) and it wasn't until Dean interrupted him and told him to put a sock in it that he stopped-and pouted but would probably deny it.

Fred and George spoke to Harry about quidditch. Apparently Oliver Wood was growing rather frantic now that his star seeker was yet again unavailable just like last year. To soften the blow, Wood was forcing the remaining members of the team get up agonizingly early to practice and was spending hours on the field, right until Madam Hootch or Professor Mcgonagall made them get off, much to everyone else's relief.

And then there was Percy. He was racked with guilt for not recognizing the signs sooner (But how could he have? Colin wondered) and being able to prevent all this in the first place. He told Harry how proud he was of him and thanked him vigorously-through moistened eyes-for saving Ginny. Other times, he would be in a chair like Colin was sitting in, grasping Penelope Clearwater's hand or stroking her wildly curly hair.

As for Colin, himself, there had been somewhat of a vehement disagreement between him and Madam Pomfrey initially. He sustained some minor injuries to which she treated him for and after that, she felt it was best for him to leave and return to Gryffindor Tower. She believed that it wasn't appropriate for him to be around Harry at the moment, that it might be too traumatic. Little did she know that he'd long passed seeing traumatic things. Being in the castle and trying to solve this petrification issue had done it to him. Trying to tell her that did nothing; she kept shooing him away, assuring him that he would be retrieved when the time came. But Colin wasn't to be deterred, especially so easily with a feeble promise. He pleaded with her and Professor McGonagall to permit him to stay; he'd go to his classes, keep up with studies and everything, while also making time to come visit Harry.

Madam Pomfrey was unhappy with his proposal and hoped Professor McGonagall would disagree, sending him back to the tower. She didn't, though. Thank goodness for that. Softening under his doe eyes and relentless pleases. It was a great victory for Colin, who beamed and told her she wouldn't regret it.

"He's still sleeping," Luna came around the hospital wing one evening, her expression thoughtful. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Colin gave her a small smile. "Yes," he said, shifting his position in his designated chair.

"You weren't at dinner," she remarked, making to stand beside him. "You would have liked it. There was pudding."

Colin's eyes darted around in search of Madam Pomfrey to see if she'd heard. Since he was still there and had yet to be yelled or lectured at, he reckoned she did not. "No," he admitted and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't hungry."

Luna simply blinked, reaching into the pocket of her school uniform and brandishing a muffin. A chocolate muffin with delicious looking chips poking out on top. "I thought you'd say that," she said and handed it to him. "I brought this. You need to keep up your strength."

The chocolate was beginning to melt, as evident from the stains on the inside of her palm. He had no way of knowing just how long she'd had it. Still, he smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Luna."

She beamed. "You should eat that before Madam Pomfrey gets back."

"Where is she?" Colin didn't see her step out.

"She's talking to Professor Snape. I saw her on the way here."

"Poor her," he muttered.

"You shouldn't believe those rumors," Luna said.

"What? That Snape's secretly a bat?"

Luna didn't respond right away. "He's very sad. He doesn't have any friends."

I wonder why

"Well it's no wonder," he said aloud. "Who'd want to be friends with him?"

"He's a brilliant potions master," Luna said, blatantly ignoring Colin's question. "Smarter people tend to be very unhappy."

Snape must be a genius in that case...

"Right, well," Colin didn't want to talk about Snape anymore. "How's Myrtle doing? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Luna's arms were swaying back and forth. Her hair was hanging freely and moving along as well. "She is still quite keen on Harry taking her out on that date."

Colin grimaced. "She's...old and a ghost. How does she think that's going to work?" Frankly, he thought-and hoped, for Harry's sake- she had forgotten about it, seeing as they were focused on other, more important things.

"Oh, I don't know," Luna said. "I'm sure she's thought of something. She's been visiting him, you know."

"What?" Colin hadn't noticed her. "When?"

"At night. When you're asleep," Luna said like it was a normal occurrence. "She doesn't want anyone to see her."

Good thing she can't kiss him, Colin thought and made a face. Unless...

No. She wouldn't. Myrtle was mad but surely not the type to just kiss someone like that. Although she was madly infatuated with Harry.

"Are you constipated?" Luna asked, abruptly. "You're scrunching up your face like you're in pain."

"Just thinking," Colin waved it off, sheepishly. "It's nothing important."

There was a lull in the conversation.

"Have you told your parents about Harry?" Luna asked him.

"Not exactly," Colin lowered his eyes. There was plenty he hadn't planned on telling them, this and the whole Riddle and chamber thing. They'd be freaked out for sure. Not liking the idea of him wandering through a castle as dangerous as Hogwarts had become-for this year, anyway. He could only pray Professors McGonagall or Dumbledore didn't send a letter to either of them, explaining the situation. "They probably shouldn't know."

"Why not?"

"Er, well," Colin struggled to come up with the proper words, "they're muggles, you know, and they'd probably freak out if they knew. Mum's a bit overprotective. Might not like me being here if she knew."

She hummed.

"Surely she would if she knew how much it meant to you."

You don't know my mum

"What will you tell them?" Luna said.

"I don't know," he sighed. The less they knew, the better. "Haven't really thought that out yet."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Luna told him, moving a piece of her hair behind her ear. It was a shorter piece and stuck out. Colin diverted his eyes back to her face.

"Hope so," he mumbled.

"Are you ready for exams?" Luna said, conversationally. "I think I am. I've studied a bit here and there. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Exams?" Colin repeated with a pinched face. Exams were the last thing that had been on his mind. He'd forgotten all about them, being distracted by the mystery they had been trying to solve. He did suppose they were coming too soon ish. Were they really going to do them when a small number of students weren't able to take them? "Oh. I haven't really studied."

"I can help you, if you'd like," Luna offered. "Percy helped me quite a bit. He's lovely, you know. I hope his girlfriend comes out of it soon. He misses her terribly. I can see it in his eyes. He wishes she was there. I hope I find someone like that. That would be nice wouldn't it, to have someone miss you when you're not around?"

"Oh, yeah," Colin agreed. "Sounds nice. Hope it all works out for him. Say, Luna, do you think Percy would help me study for the exams, too?"

"Oh, yes," she nodded happily. "I think he'd like that. He needs a distraction from everything."

"Right," Colin said. "Do you think he'd say yes to helping me study? I want to ask him but I dunno. Isn't he fairly busy right now?"

"Yes," Luna nodded again. "He is. But I bet he'd say yes. He's very nice. He's got a little study group going."

Colin was going to need all the help he could, so he considered his options: study by himself and possibly fail or he could ask Percy for help. He glanced down at Harry. He didn't want to leave him but his grade was at stake...

It was as if Luna was reading his mind, which seemed to be a common theme between them. "He won't mind," she said. "He won't fault you for leaving."

"I know," Colin sighed. "I know that. I just...I just feel guilty, I suppose. I don't want to leave him. Don't want him to feel lonely."

He realized how silly that sounded. He did. He really did. But through that twisted logic, it tugged at him and his heart. Silly or not, Colin didn't want to leave laying there all alone in the hospital wing.

"It's not silly," Luna refuted and that was when he realized he said it out loud. "It makes sense. You care about Harry. Perhaps Percy would be willing to work with you here, that way you don't have to leave."

"Maybe," Colin said. He'd like that. it would make him feel at ease and keep his mind from wandering when he should be concentrating.

"I wonder if we'll have a defense exam?" Luna said, perching herself on the edge of Harry's stiffy looking bed.

"I don't think so," Colin said. "Doesn't make much sense to without our defense teacher."

That had been an unexpected surprise, one that broke the hearts of many female Hogwarts admirers. Lockhart had vanished the night that they all went into the chamber, strangely enough. His classroom was completely stripped of his belongings, even those portraits all along the walls. For the meantime, Professor Dumbledore was having majority of the teachers on a rotating schedule to keep those classes going whilst they had a free period. He also assured everyone that Lockhart was indeed safe, when a few of the girls fretted over his whereabouts; but beyond that, didn't divulge any other information. Practically all of the boys were thrilled. Seamus had intimidated the voices of the girls that had worried, his face falling into his arms as his body shook with laughter, unfazed by Lavender smacking him for it.

Life within Hogwarts was starting to go back to normal, as normal as things could be for the time being. Professor Dumbledore informed the entire school that they were safe once again and Colin shrunk, blushing under the grins from the Weasleys, Seamus, Dean and Neville-whose smile was more shy than the rest. He, Harry and Luna were awarded a generous amount of points for putting an end to things. Some of the Ravenclaws had been utterly dumbfounded to find out that Luna, of all people, had been involved and momentarily sat frozen in their seats as the older students clapped thunderously for her. Colin shot her a grin, to which she reciprocated.

"Yes, it is a bit strange," Luna seemed to be talking to herself, more than at Colin. "Professor Spout seemed to struggle the other day, trying to give us our lesson. Did you notice?"

"Oh, yeah. A bit."

Some of the professors clearly weren't qualified to teach that particularly subject. But they tried, at least. Perhaps what was most exciting was Snape not being apart of that rotating schedule. He was, apparently, too busy with his own classes and keeping a heavily stocked supply of multiple kinds of potions. Most of the students, except for the Slytherins, gave a sigh of relief, not that they were certain they weren't going to have to deal with Snape hovering over them for another class.

Colin definitely was.

"She's a wonderful herbology teacher, but not very good at defense, I'm afraid," Luna added. She took a closer look at him, head kind of tilted. 'You have a scratch on your nose, did you know?"

"Oh, yeah," Colin gingerly touched it.

"Was that from the Chamber?"

At this, Colin became sheepish. "Er, no. Not exactly. I kind of scratched myself there." He'd unintentionally started a habit of rubbing his face whenever he got stressed and at one point, he accidentally scratched his nose with his fingernail.

Luna didn't say anything in response. She was twirling a piece of her long hair around her finger idly. "He looks very peaceful," she said in reference of Harry. "It's nice to see him like that. It's not often he looks that way."

"I suppose so, yes," Colin said. "Say, Luna?"

"Yes?"

Colin didn't know how to phrase the question without sounding extraordinarily nosy. "Do you suppose you'll be talking to Ginny again, now that you know she was only acting that way because of Riddle?" He couldn't very well imagine Luna to hold a grudge over anyone, let alone Ginny for something that was beyond her own control.

"Why wouldn't I?" Luna asked him.

He shrugged, feeling somewhat foolish for asking.

"It isn't her fault," she said, mildly. "I imagine she will have a most difficult time after this with the others. She was quite unpleasant to be around."

"Right," Colin said, recalling his own encounters with her earlier in the year.

"She needs forgiveness," Luna said, wisely. "She knows not what she did. Besides, she'll have enough people upset with her."

Colin glanced over at Ginny. The words true, unfortunately. Professor Dumbledore didn't disclose to the rest of the students that she'd been possessed by Riddle so as far as the were aware, she'd been taken but nothing else. A couple of girls from Gryffindor in Ginny's year felt she deserved it for how she'd acted for the past few months, which resulted in a lengthy lecture from Professor McGonagall, points taken away and assigned them detention.

He didn't want to know how worse it might become.