Chapter 17: Dobby's Reward
I don't own Digimon or Harry Potter
A short while later, after leaving the Chamber of Secrets, Daisuke, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Veemon, and a still dazed and befuddled Lockhart were walking through Hogwarts while Fawkes sat on Daisuke's shoulder. They walked down another hallway and found the staff room, the door slightly ajar and inside, they could hear Mrs Weasley sobbing while her husband comforted her.
Harry pushed open the door, and they walked inside; the entire room fell silent a few moments passed by as everyone stared at the four students, one Digimon and one Professor, all of them covered in muck and slime and in Harry's case, blood.
"GINNY!" Mrs Weasley shouted, jumping to her feet, followed quickly by her husband, who lunged at their daughter and pulled her into a tight hug.
However, Daisuke, Harry, Ron, and Veemon looked past them at Professor Dumbledore, who stood beside the mantlepiece with a gentle smile. Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, who stood next to him, was taking several deep, steady breaths.
Fawkes trilled happily and swooped off Daisuke's shoulder and flew over to Dumbledore, settling himself on the man's shoulder just before Mrs Weasley pulled Daisuke, Harry, Ron and Veemon into a tight hug.
"You saved her; you saved her. How did you do it?" she asked them, tears in her eyes as she released them from the hug.
"I think we'd all like to know that." Professor McGonagall said, holding onto one of the chairs to keep herself steady, her face pale, and she looked ready to faint.
Daisuke and Harry shared a look before they walked over to the desk and laid out their swords, what remained of Riddle's diary, the Sorting Hat and the fang of the Basilisk that Harry had used to stab the diary.
Then they both began telling the others everything, for a quarter of an hour, they took it in turns to explain how Harry started to hear a voice in the walls since the night of Mrs Norris' attack, how Daisuke had a vision as well and had gone to meet Moaning Myrtle earlier to try and learn more from her beforehand.
They then told them about Hermione realising it was a Basilisk Harry had been hearing too and why she was near the library when she was attacked.
Ron piped up, as did Veemon when they got to telling them about following the spiders into the Forbidden Forest to speak to Aragog and how the spider was not the monster behind it and how he told them where the student had died fifty years previously. How they realised it was Moaning Myrtle who was the victim and how the entrance to the chamber was in her bathroom.
"Very well, so you found out where the entrance was while breaking at least a hundred school rules in the process, but how on Earth did you all get out of there alive?"
Daisuke and Harry shared a smile and told them about Fawkes and his timely arrival, delivering to them the Sorting Hat, which gave them both the swords that lay on the desk. So far, neither of them had mentioned Tom Riddle or how he had possessed Ginny and made her set the Basilisk on the students.
"What interests me most of all…" Dumbledore began as if sensing their nervousness. "Is how Lord Voldemort was able to enchant young Ginny when my sources have told me that he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania."
"What's that?" Mr Weasley sputtered. "You Know Who? Enchant Ginny? But she's not…he's not…"
"It was this diary," Daisuke said quickly, grabbing the diary off the desk and showing it to everyone. "Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen, he somehow was able to leave an imprint of himself behind, and he used that to contact Ginny."
Dumbledore took the diary from her and examined it with his glasses glinting in the light from the fireplace. "Brilliant. He always was one of this school's most excellent students." He said softly. He looked to the Weasleys, who were staring at the diary utterly bewildered. "Not many people know this, but Lord Voldemort once was known as Tom Riddle. He was a student here fifty years ago. I taught him myself. But after he graduated, he vanished and travelled the world far and wide. He sunk so deeply into the Dark Arts and mingled with the worst of our kind that he was hardly recognisable when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort. Not many connected the dots, none could believe he was the same person who was one Head Boy and a bright and charming young man."
"But Ginny…what does our Ginny have to do with…him?" Mrs Weasley asked.
"His diary," Ginny spoke up in between sobs. "I've been writing in it, and he's been writing back all year."
"Ginny. Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. Why didn't you show the diary to your mother or me? A suspicious item like that was surely brimming with Dark Magic." Her father said gently.
"It was in my cauldron…I…I thought someone had left it in one of my other books. I didn't know…" Ginny sputtered out.
"Mrs Weasley should go up to the Hospital Wing straight away. This has been a terrible ordeal for her; there will be no punishment. Stronger and wiser people than her have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore interrupted with a stern voice. He walked over to the door and opened it. "I recommend bed rest and hot chocolate; that always works for me. You will find Madam Pomfrey still awake; she's giving out the Mandrake juice. I dare say the victims of the Basilisk will be waking up shortly."
"Hermione is okay?" Ron blurted out in happiness.
"There has been no lasting damage, I assure you," Dumbledore reassured him as Mr and Mrs Weasley escorted Ginny out of the room. "And Minerva, if you would be so kind as to head down to the kitchens. I do believe this calls for a feast to celebrate."
"Of course." Professor McGonagall said, leaving the room, glancing at Ron, Daisuke, and Harry for a moment before the door was shut behind her.
Dumbledore then turned to them and crossed his hands in front of him. "It seems to me that the three of you have broken at least over a dozen school rules."
"Yes, sir…" the three students whispered.
"There is sufficient evidence to have you all expelled," Dumbledore said before his frown twitched into a smile. "And it seems to me that you shall receive special awards in services to the school."
"Thank you, sir," Ron said softly, looking up and grinning at his friends, who smiled back.
"But if I may observe, one of us is being awfully modest about their role in all this. What say you, Gilderoy?" Dumbledore asked, and they all turned to Lockhart, who stood in the corner with a vapid smile.
"Oh, shoot, we forgot about him!" Daisuke yelped, before turning back to Dumbledore. "He tried to do a memory charm on us, but um, it sort of backfired…somehow." She explained, and Dumbledore nodded.
"I see. Impaled upon your own sword, eh Gilderoy?"
"Sword?" Lockhart asked. "I don't have a sword, but you should ask those two. They'll lend you one," Lockhart said, pointing at Daisuke and Harry.
Dumbledore chuckled softly and pulled some papers out of his robes. "Mr Weasley, if you'd be so kind as to help Mr Lockhart up to the Hospital Wing and then head to the Owlery and have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban. I believe we will need our gamekeeper back."
Ron nodded, taking the papers before he dragged Lockhart out of the staff room but not before glancing back at his friends, who gave him reassuring smiles.
Once the door had closed again, Dumbledore looked at Veemon, Daisuke and Harry but mostly Daisuke and Harry. "Firstly, I would like to thank you, Harry, Daisuke. You both must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."
"And so, you both met Tom Riddle. I can imagine he was most interested in meeting you."
"He was mostly interested in Harry, but he did say a few things to me. How I didn't know the power in my blood and that I could be so much more." Daisuke said with a frown.
"I see," Dumbledore said softly. "Is anything else troubling you, my dear?"
Daisuke bit her lip, and Veemon held her hand gently to give her some comfort. "My visions, sir…I…I am worried about them, that I can't control them and that I might go insane or something."
Dumbledore nodded. "I see. Our Divination teacher may be able to help you. But if I may offer some advice to you. Do not be troubled by these visions, nor try to stop them from happening. Over time you will come to master them, maybe not soon but one day. One day you will."
"Thank you, sir," Daisuke said softly.
"Sir, um down in the Chamber I…I couldn't help but notice certain similarities between Tom Riddle and me." Harry spoke up, and Dumbledore turned to him.
"I see. Well, you can speak Parseltongue Harry, why?" he asked, and Harry shrugged. "Because Lord Voldemort can speak Parseltongue. If I'm not mistaken, he transferred some of his powers to you the night he gave you that scar."
Harry blinked and gulped. "Voldemort transferred some of his powers to me?"
"Not intentionally. But yes." Dumbledore said, walking over to the desk.
"So, the Sorting Hat was right; I should be in Slytherin," Harry said.
"Yes, Harry, you share many qualities that Lord Voldemort himself prizes, determination, resourcefulness and if I may say so, a certain disregard for the rules. But why then did the Sorting Hat place you in Gryffindor?"
"Because I asked it too…." Harry answered.
"Exactly, Harry, exactly. Which makes you different from Voldemort. It is not our abilities that make us who we are. It is our choices. If you need further proof you belong in Gryffindor, look at this." Dumbledore said softly, handing him the ruby-encrusted sword. "Be careful." He warned, not wanting Harry to cut himself on the sword.
Harry took the sword gently and looked at the blade, and near the hilt, he saw a name engraved on it. "Godric Gryffindor…"
"It would take a true Gryffindor to pull that one out of the hat," Dumbledore said. He then picked up the other sword and hummed softly. "But this sword here belongs to you, Miss Ainsworth. It can only be used by those of a special bloodline, a bloodline that you are the last of."
"Which one is that?" Daisuke asked.
"I cannot tell you. You must discover it for yourself. However, you may take this sword home with you. I will have It cleaned and sent to your dormitory."
"Thank you, headmaster," Daisuke said with a smile. The door to the room swung open, and they all turned and saw Lucius Malfoy walk in, and behind him was Dobby.
"Dobby?" Harry whispered, looking at the elf before at Lucius. "So, this is your master; the family you serve is the Malfoys?"
Dobby gulped and nervously looked up at Lucius. "I will deal with you later." He hissed before walking towards Dumbledore. "Out of my way." He pushed Harry and Daisuke aside with his cane. "So, it is true. You're back." He said to Dumbledore.
"When the governors learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter had been taken into the chamber, they saw fit to summon me back."
"Ridiculous."
"Curiously, some of them were under the impression that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place," Dumbledore said.
"How dare you." Lucius hissed angrily.
"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore asked.
"My sole concern has always been and will always be the welfare of this school and, of course, its students," Lucius said, glaring at Daisuke and Harry, who stood beside Dobby and Veemon. "The culprit has been identified, I presume?" he then asked Dumbledore.
"Oh yes."
"And? Who was it?" Lucius asked impatiently.
"Voldemort," Dumbledore answered, and Lucius visibly flinched, and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second when the headmaster held up Riddle's diary. "But this time, he chose to act through another, using this."
Dobby grabbed Harry's sleeve and nudged his head at the diary and then at Lucius while whimpering, and Harry narrowed his eyes when he looked at Lucius.
"Let us hope no more of Lord Voldemort's school things find their ways into the hands of innocents. The one responsible for putting their lives in danger would of course face consequences most severe." Dumbledore warned Lucius.
"Then let us hope that young Mr Potter and Miss Ainsworth will always be around to save the day," Lucius said, glaring at them.
"Don't worry. We will be," Daisuke replied with a determined expression. Lucius grumbled and glared at Dobby before gesturing for the elf to get moving, and when he did so, he kicked him hard towards the door. Dobby let out a cry of pain and got to his feet as Lucius walked over and whacked him with his cane as they left the room.
"Asshole." Veemon grumbled. Daisuke and Harry nodded before they both turned to Riddle's diary and got an idea.
"Sir, might we borrow that for a moment?" Daisuke asked, looking at the diary, and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow before nodding.
A few minutes later, Harry, Daisuke and Veemon ran through the halls of the castle and saw Lucius and Dobby ahead of them. "Mr Malfoy, Mr Malfoy!" Harry shouted, and the man stopped and turned around.
"We have something of yours," Daisuke said, handing him the diary.
"Mine?" he asked, looking at the diary. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, I think you do, sir," Daisuke said. "You slipped the diary to Ginny Weasley somehow when you met us in Diagon Alley. You probably had your son help you out by telling him to confront us, knowing he couldn't resist trying to bait us into a confrontation."
"You do?" Lucius asked, handing the diary to Dobby. "Why don't you prove it?"
"We don't need to. We know the truth, and so does Dumbledore. Your days are numbered; you won't be hurting anyone else or doing your master's bidding while in Hogwarts anymore." Daisuke warned, her eyes glowing gold for a moment, and the older man sneered at her and Harry.
"Come, Dobby." He turned and walked off, Dobby glanced at Harry and Daisuke, and Harry motioned for him to open the diary, and he did so, his eyes growing wide when he did. "Dobby?' Lucius asked when he realised his servant was not following him.
"Master has given Dobby a sock," Dobby said happily.
"What? I didn't…" Lucius said before seeing Dobby holding up a sock that he pulled out of the diary.
"Master has presented Dobby with clothes. Dobby is free." The elf said happily, and Lucius saw Harry pull up his pant leg to show he had removed a sock.
"You…you have cost me, my servant!" Lucius shouted, drawing his wand out of his cane, and he began marching towards Daisuke and Harry. Daisuke stood in front of Harry, her eyes starting to glow again before Dobby jumped in the way.
"You shall not harm Harry Potter or Lady Ainsworth!" Dobby shouted, throwing his hand out and a ball of blue magic slammed into Lucius, sending him flying back down the hallway, and he landed in a heap.
Daisuke and Harry smiled at Dobby, who crossed his arms and glared at Lucius as he got to his feet. "Your parents were meddlesome fools too, Potter. Mark my words, you are going to meet the same sticky end." He threatened before he turned and left in a huff.
Dobby turned to Daisuke and Harry and smiled brightly. "Harry Potter freed Dobby. How can Dobby ever repay him?"
"Just promise me one thing, never try to save my life again," Harry answered, and Dobby nodded eagerly before Daisuke giggled and hugged the elf making his face turn bright pink.
All classes were cancelled the next day, and everyone was gathered in the Great Hall. It seemed the kitchens had outdone themselves this time. A glorious feast lined the tables, and everyone was chatting happily, everyone relieved and grateful for the events of the year to finally be over.
"Welcome back, Sir Nicholas!" one student shouted as Sir Nick floated over the tables, nodding to the students who greeted him.
"Thank you!" he greeted merrily. He soon reached the entrance to the hall where Mr Filch was happily hugging Mrs Norris and saw Hermione and Jun walk in. "Hermione, Jun, welcome back!"
"Thanks, Sir Nicholas," Hermione said before she and Jun started looking around for their friends and family.
Veemon sat beside Daisuke and Harry at the Gryffindor table before he noticed Jun and Hermione. "Hey guys, look, Jun and Hermione are back!" he cheered. Ron, Harry, Daisuke, and Percy turned immediately to look down the table at them before they all got up and rushed down the table while the two girls ran to meet them halfway.
Hermione jumped into Harry's arms, hugging him tightly before she gave Daisuke a tight hug, who returned it with a bright smile, Hermione then turned to Ron, and both almost hugged each other before blushing lightly.
"Um, welcome back, Hermione," Ron said, offering his hand, and she shook it with a smile. Jun hugged them all before she turned to Percy and pulled him into a kiss making the Weasley's face turn bright red, which was sure to earn him some teasing later from his siblings.
"Congratulations, I can't believe you solved it," Hermione told her friends.
"We had lots of help from you. We couldn't have done it without you," Harry told her.
Professor McGonagall then clinked her glass with a spoon. "May I have your attention, please?" she asked, and everyone quickly sat down together as Dumbledore stood up.
"Before we begin the feast, let us first have a round of applause to Professor Sprout, Madam Pomfrey, whose Mandrake Juice has been successfully administered to all those who had been petrified." He said, and the entire hall broke into applause as both women blushed bashfully. "Also, in light of the recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled."
Everyone burst into wild cheers and applause. The only one who seemed crushed at this news was Hermione, who slumped in her seat. "You should be glad; you had missed a few lessons." Veemon told her with a giggle.
She blushed and nodded in agreement before the doors to the Great Hall were pushed open again, and everyone turned to see Hagrid walking in. "Sorry, I'm late." He said, pausing for a moment before he continued walking along. "The owl that delivered my release papers got all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird called Errol."
Ron's face turned bright red in embarrassment as a few of the students around him giggled, and he glanced over at Dumbledore, who nodded in understanding with a gentle smile. Hagrid stopped in front of Harry, Daisuke, Ron, and Hermione and smiled at them.
"I'd just like to say that if it hadn't been for you, Harry…Ron…Daisuke and Hermione, of course. I would…I'd still be you know where…so I'd just like to say thanks." He whispered emotionally. Harry and Daisuke shared a smile, and both stood up and looked at him.
"There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid," Harry said before he hugged the giant, and Daisuke joined in on the hug, and Hagrid smiled, hugging them both. Dumbledore smiled at the sight before he stood up and slowly began to clap his hands, as did Professor McGonagall.
Hagrid looked up in surprise as Daisuke and Harry stepped back and began to clap with everyone else in the Great Hall, slowly doing the same. Soon, everyone but a few Slytherins, namely Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, were cheering and giving Hagrid a standing ovation.
"Wahoo!" Veemon cheered, jumping for joy as Colin Creevey took several photos with his camera while Hagrid looked around stunned. He had never gotten such a reaction before, and from the tears in his eyes, it truly meant a lot to him. He wiped a tear from his eye and looked at Dumbledore and the other teachers seeing that most of them too were shedding tears of happiness for their colleague and friend's safe return to his home.
Daisuke and Harry shared a bright smile as they continued clapping, standing beside their friends as Hagrid raised his arms and bowed in thanks to them all.
Soon the term was over, and everyone was back at King's Cross Station disembarking the Hogwarts Express onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. "Well, this sure was an exciting year," Daisuke said with a smile as she held Salem's cat carrier in one hand.
"Indeed, let us not have another year like this again. I prefer wandering the castle at night without the fear of being attacked by a giant snake." The cat muttered with a stretch.
The others rolled their eyes at his attitude before seeing Alexander and Natsumi walking towards them with Mr and Mrs Weasley.
"Ready to go home?" Natsumi asked her children, smiling at Jun and Daisuke before turning to Harry.
"Yeah." He said softly.
"Come on, let's go, home, son," Alexander said, placing his hand on his shoulder, and Harry brightly smiled, and he turned to Ron and Hermione.
"I'll write to you guys all the time and try to visit too." He told them.
"Sure, thing, mate," Ron replied, and Hermione nodded, both eager to finally hang out with their friend come the Summer Holidays.
Veemon jumped onto Daisuke's trolley, making his partner giggle before she and Harry both turned and waved at the others as they headed for the barrier that would take them back into the Muggle World. Harry's heart was soaring. He couldn't wait to start his life with his new family.
The End
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