"Lumus!"
Maribella held up her wand. Blocking her from the rest of the tunnel was a wall of the remainders of the ceiling above, which had collapsed as Ron's wand went off like a small dung bomb. And now, Harry had been separated from the rest of them, as had her rooster, Rubeus. Maribella knew Harry was alive, he had called out to them a few seconds after everything settled down, but there was no sign from her beloved pet. Maribella went down on her knees, crawling in a fervent search for her chick. What if he had been crushed by the weight of the falling stones? Maribella let out a sob.
"I've got him," Harry called, his voice muffled by the rockfall. Maribella let out a sigh of relief. She sat back, leaning against the wall, exhausted.
"I haven't made any progress," Ron called desperately, further away to the rest of them. He had been moving the rocks manually, trying to open space so he and Maribella could get through to fight along Harry. "We can't get through- it'll take ages. We're wasting time."
There was a pause.
"Wait here," Harry called from the other side of the rubble. "I'll go on…"
Maribella swallowed her tears. She had to pull herself together, it wasn't time to break down. Harry was good. Rubeus was good. Ginny wasn't.
"We'll shift the rock," she said, her voice weak, but clear. "And we'll try and get through to help."
"If I'm not back in an hour…"
"Harry, be careful," Maribella said. "U-use Rubeus. Remember, he can be deadly to the Basilisk." She felt foolish saying that about her juvenile chicken. Protect him, she wished she could plead, but it didn't feel appropriate.
"I'll be back, with Ginny," he called, and then there was nothing.
For a while, they were left in silence.
"Goodness! And who are the two of you?"
Maribella turned to Lockhart. He sat behind them and was looking around with an odd expression.
"Professor?" Maribella asked, standing up and approaching him. Lockhart didn't seem fazed. He looked at her with a sort of dreamy expression.
"Oh, am I a Professor?" He asked. "I expect I was hopeless, was I?"
"Lockhart's gone loony," Ron said, wiping his sweaty forehead on his robe sleeve.
"Seems like his spell backfired on him," Maribella realized. "He tried to erase our memories, and just erased his own."
"What do we do with him? He'll just get in our way."
"You keep working on the wall," Maribella said. "I'll get him to wait by the pipe- Lockhart," she called. The man in question, when addressed, looked over his shoulder to see who she was talking to. "No, no- you, sir. Come on."
"What for?" Lockhart asked, but followed her nonetheless.
"Er- we're going exploring, how about that?" That seemed to be a cheerful prospect for the man, who had most definitely regressed a few ages.
They walked together, with Maribella leading Lockhart with some difficulty. He stopped and pointed every few seconds at one thing or another. It was the worst when they got to the Basilisk's shredded skin.
"Oh, what a gorgeous, gorgeous animal," Lockhart said, bending down to get a better look. "And so long," he mused dreamily, walking along its length. "Almost as big as-"
"Nevermind," Maribella said impatiently. "I've got to get back, so will you just…" she trailed off, motioning for him. They finally made it to the initial pipe's mouth.
"Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?" Lockhart asked good-naturedly.
"No," said Maribella sharply. "Now listen here, Professor- no, you, sir- you sit here and wait, alright?" Maribella commanded, embracing her inner McGonagall. "Maybe, uh, take a nap?" She suggested. Lockhart didn't seem to hear, and was just sitting there, humming to himself.
Maribella sighed to herself and turned back, leaving the newly-airheaded Gilderoy Lockhart to fend for himself. Lockhart's quiet murmurs morphed into the sound of Ron straining, throwing rock after rock onto the ground. Maribella got to work as well, using her wand to levitate the bricks away. It was a careful job, because, as Ron had pointed out, huge cracks had appeared on the ceiling, and it was at risk of giving out on top of them.
"Do you think Harry and Ginny are okay?" Ron asked, after what felt like over an hour of working in tired silence.
Maribella faltered. Harry was trapped on the other side of the rocks. Ginny was captured and held in the Chamber. They hadn't gotten any signs of life from either. There was a basilisk roaming around somewhere. Ron's wand was busted. Maribella was only a mediocre dueller. The only adult nearby had only enhanced their difficulties, by causing an explosion due to pure cowardice. Nothing seemed to be working out in their favor, and she was starting to lose hope.
And then they heard it. The powerful cry of a rooster.
Ron and Maribella exchanged a breathless look. In the middle of their heaving and pain, they both knew: the Basilisk was dead. That fueled their work. Maribella discarded her wand, and manually grabbed a stone, throwing it aside. And then another. And another. Combined with Ron's additional effort, they managed to dig a hole big enough for them to go through.
"I'll go," Ron asserted, leaving no room for discussion.
"We'll both go," Maribella replied.
But Ron shook his head. "We need someone to stay here… in case things go wrong." Maribella opened her mouth to disagree, but Ron cut her. "She's my sister, Mari," Ron said, and he just sounded sad. "It's me who has to go."
Maribella nodded. Ron braced himself as he moved to get through the gap they created. He'd barely moved up, however, when he suddenly let out a cry of joy, "Ginny!"
"She's alive!" Maribella whooped in delight.
Ron pulled back, and together, they helped get Ginny through the hole. She was immediately enveloped in a hug from Ron, and then one from Maribella. Ginny grasped her shoulders, as if not really believing she was no longer alone. Harry followed Ginny, and he too was hugged by Maribella, who felt as though a weight was lifted from her shoulders. The only one missing was-
"Rubes!" Maribella burst, kneeling down to embrace her chicken, who had just hopped in their direction. He looked as he ever did, bubbly and genuine, even though it was most likely because of him that a monumental deadly snake had dropped dead. "Oh," Maribella gurgled, starting to sob. She was so so relieved.
"You've had your first crow," Maribella said in between laughs and tears. She buried her nose into Rubeus' feathers, partly to hide her tears from her friends, partly because she just wanted to memorize her rooster's scent, and took a long deep breath. She instantly regretted it, because he smelled of grime and blood, but the sentiment was still there. He gave Maribella an affectionate nip with his beak and perched himself on her shoulder.
"Nice to know you were more worried about your chicken than your friends," Ron quipped.
"Hey," Maribella complained, wiping some snot from her nose and punching Ron with that same hand. "You're okay, both of you," she beamed wetly at Harry and Ginny. "What happened?"
"Where'd that bird come from?" Ron asked suddenly. Maribella looked up to see a large, scarlet streak flash by.
"This is Fawkes. Dumbledore sent him," said Harry, but Maribella was interested in something else.
"How come you have a sword?"
She gaped at the glittering weapon at Harry's side.
"I'll explain when we get out of here," Harry answered, eyeing Ginny, who, Maribella noticed at that exact moment, was openly weeping. She moved over, putting an arm around her friend, who hid her head on Maribella's shoulder.
"Where's Lockhart?" Harry asked.
"Back there," Ron said, turning his head up the tunnel towards the pipe. "He's in a bad way, his memory was. Come and see."
Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the pipe. Lockhart was just as Maribella had left him: sitting and quietly singing.
"Hello," Lockhart said, looking up at Maribella. "Have you brought visitors?"
She ignored him.
"See," Maribella said, gesturing towards the man. "Hopeless. We reckon he got hit by his Memory Charm."
Harry shrugged and went over to the pipe.
"Have you thought about how we're going to get back up this?" Both Ron and Maribella shook their heads, but Fawkes swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him. It was only then that Maribella was able to get a good look at Dumbledore's bird, who wasn't just that: He was a phoenix.
"I think he looks like he wants you to grab hold," Maribella said, amused. She still held onto Ginny.
"But you're much too heavy for a bird to-"
"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird," said Harry.
A phoenix, along with having another dozen magical properties, was able to carry heavy loads, and so Fawkes was able to fly them up through the pipe and back into Myrtle's bathroom. Maribella felt dizzy in the head, so much so, that when they got back to the castle, she unconsciously just kept following the bird's lead. It didn't take long at all before they were outside a familiar office, and Maribella swallowed hard, looking at her friends. They were brought to Professor McGonagall.
Harry knocked, and the door opened. For a minute, everything was silent in the room, as they stepped in, leaving a trail of dirt and sweat behind. Inside, was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall. And then, Ginny came into view, and Mrs. Weasley flung herself into Ginny's arms, followed closely by Mr. Weasley.
"You saved her!" Mrs. Weasley said, after she kissed Ginny all over and smoothed her hair. "You saved her! How did you do it?" And she swept Harry, Ron, and Maribella into a hug.
"I think we'd all like to know that," Professor McGonagall said in a quiet voice nearby, her hands clutched to her chest.
Maribella looked over at Harry, and he stepped forward, putting the sword on Professor McGonagall's desk, with two additional items she hadn't noticed before: the Sorting Hat and Tom Riddle's destroyed diary. The latter interested Maribella, because she didn't know how it fit into everything that had happened.
And then Harry started to explain.
He told them everything that had happened that year, from the voice he had heard, to Hermione's petrification, to Hagrid's 'follow the spiders' hint. And then, he got to the bit Maribella didn't know. He told them how he got further into the Chamber, and came across the basilisk. He explained that his life was saved by Dumbledore's Fawkes, and how he was fighting the basilisk with the sword, but that at the last second, Riddle had gotten in the way and taken the sword. How he had brought Rubeus, a rooster Maribella had adopted and raised earlier in the year, and when things seemed most hopeless, Rubeus rose to the occasion and killed the basilisk.
Maribella noticed, however, that Harry didn't mention anything about the Polyjuice Potion, and more so, he had neglected to explain Riddle's diary, despite the fact it was laying there, on the desk in front of them.
"What interests me most," Dumbledore spoke when Harry trailed off with his story. "Is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania."
Maribella flinched at You-Know-Who's name. How was he involved in all of this?
"It was this diary," said Harry, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. Wait- What?
"Wait," Maribella fretted. "This diary belonged to Tom Riddle, not You-Know-Who."
"Ah," Dumbledore said. "Very few people know that Lord Voldemort," Maribella winced, "was once called Tom Riddle. Of course, Tom was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen. I taught him myself fifty years ago. After he left, I would occasionally hear stories of his activities- dark rumors- but after awhile, even those ceased. When he finally resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, most people had completely forgotten the clever Head Boy he'd once been."
No. It couldn't be. Maribella was sure of it. She had to be. Because, if You-Know-Who had gotten to Ginny through the diary, it meant… It was all Maribella's fault. Because she had found the diary among her things. She was supposed to be the main victim of it all, but she passed it onto Ginny, and risked her friend's life. It was she who was at fault.
"But, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley. "What's our Ginny got to do with- with- him?"
Maribella held her breath.
"His d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year-"
And, finally, finally it all made sense. Maribella recalled, all the way to the beginning of the year, how she had found an unknown book amongst her things. Somebody had placed it there, and it wasn't by accident. And then, their plan had failed when Maribella, who wasn't a fan of diaries and whatnot, had given little thought to the blank ink-eating pages. But Maribella had passed the diary onto Ginny, who accepted it with pleasure. And then, after Ginny had realized the malevolence beneath the pages, she had wanted to get rid of it, but refused to throw it in Myrtle's bathroom at first; not because she didn't like the ghost, but because she had a deep-infused fear of that place. And understandably so, since she was being controlled by the true beast from the Chamber. And though they had shared many moments together, Maribella hadn't caught on. Ginny had entered Hogwarts as a robust, flushed, girl, excited at the prospect of her first year, and left white-faced and scared. And it was all Maribella's fault.
"Ginny," she whispered, frozen and guilty.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"Wiser wizards than you have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore said, and though it was directed at Ginny, Maribella could swear his eyes had flickered over to her. "No, I think you've endured enough, Miss Weasley, there will be no punishment. I would suggest a bit of bed rest, however. And perhaps a large mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up. Miss Piccinni, will you show Miss Weasley to the Hospital Wing? You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice- I daresay the basilisk's victims will be walking up any moment."
"So Hermione's okay!" said Ron brightly.
"There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny," Dumbledore remarked.
Maribella and Ginny were then excused. As soon as they had stepped outside, Maribella turned to Ginny.
"Ginny, I can't begin to say how-"
But Ginny, who had dry tears and leftover boogers streaming down her face, looked over at Maribella, with something that resembled a smile but wasn't quite there yet.
"Thank you," Ginny said softly, "for being here."
"Oh, Ginny," Maribella said, pulling the girl once again into a hug.
It was a day filled with teary reunions, and theirs with the red headed Weasley girl wasn't the last one. Everything that happened next was a blur of activity. Later on, at the feast, she found out she had gained Gryffindor a hundred points, which, combined with the points Harry and Ron had also gotten, secured them the House Cup. She also found out that Harry had freed Dobby from Lucius Malfoy (who had also been the one who most likely had infiltrated the diary into their midst).
Hagrid turned up a few hours later, and when Hermione sprinted in the hall screaming "You solved it! You solved it!" Maribella felt the lightest she had ever since her friend had been gone. That night, Hermione got to frown upon them for devouring the feast, just like old times, and for once, there were no complaints. Everyone had missed the girl too much to be annoyed.
The rest of the final term passed in a haze of sunshine, their happiness accentuated even further by the announcement that their end of the year exams had been cancelled. The only one who seemed to mind that was Hermione.
"But how will they determine what grades we should get?" she asked one day, as they sat by the lake in the shadow of a tree.
"I, for one, fully trust our student body's competence and believe we all deserve O's," Maribella quipped, relaxing back onto the tree's truck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the hot summer breeze on her face, with the soundtrack of Hermione's blabbering.
Soon enough, their trunks were packed, and they were on the train back to London. Maribella, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny had all squeezed into a compartment, and entertained themselves with Exploding Snap, Fred and George's Filibuster Fireworks, and tales that Ginny had brought out, about Percy and his new girlfriend. As they approached King's Cross, Maribella and Hermione made plans to meet up during the summer, with Hermione excited to spend a few weeks in a true wizarding household.
And although she'd miss this- the joking around with her friends, the castle, even their adventures, she couldn't help but be glad she was going home.
AN.: At last! The ending of this installment. Sorry for the long wait, I know it's been months, but I sincerely hope you've enjoyed this chapter and the whole book overall. If you still want more of Maribella, her family, and her friends, don't hesitate to check out 'First Quarter', or as I like to call it, the beginning of the end. This is, after all, when things start getting serious. It's the third book of the series, featuring the fan-favorites Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and the first chapter has already been posted.
Thank you for the patience and for keeping up with the story!