I limped into my solitary dorm room in the Hufflepuff Burrow and gratefully sank down on my bed. The mattress sagged under me and I sighed in relief.

Healer Perry had held my hand before Professor Dumbledore had taken me. He looked me right in the eye and said, "Things are never as you want them to be. You can stand around and feel bad about it or you can do everything in your power to find the silver lining. Because there always is at least one."

It felt good to be back. Silver lining.

Hedwig flew off the window sill and landed next to me. She hooted in greeting and I smiled at my pet.

"It's good to see you too, girl. Did Cedric take good care of you?"

Hedwig hooted some more though if that was in response to my question or because she enjoyed my petting, I couldn't tell. I chose to believe it was the former.

My things had been rearranged and put back in place. I marveled at the efficiency of the magic of Hogwarts. Wonders never ceased.

I then turned and regarded my new leg. The prosthetic was not heavy, Healer Tonks assured me that it was the best that Healing had to offer, top-of-the-line stuff, paid by Hogwarts itself.

"The least they can do if you ask me," said Healer Tonks in one of her rare moments of emotion. You don't spend so much time in the presence of Healers and not see a little bit of their true selves shine through.

With a heave, I undid the latches that connected my prosthetic – my leg – to the stump of my thigh. It was a curious contraption with latches and holds that connected to the straps embedded magically into the remaining half of my thigh still attached to my body. The latches would need to be adjusted and moved as I grew, but magic would take of that, or so I was told. The cut was a clean slice right through.

Healer Tonks told me that I was not allowed to ingest sedatives when they amputated it, the venom mixing in with the potions would have killed me for sure. The way I thrashed and screamed had been legendary, I was assured. Stuff of nightmares. I had a dim memory of it, but to be honest, between the burning from the venom and the general delirium, it was all one big jumble of horror in my mind. I was glad for once that my parents were dead and didn't see me like this. I couldn't imagine how they would feel, but… but I didn't want them to see me broken in this way.

I sighed in relief as the mechanism unwound itself and the prosthetic limb slipped off and thudded to the ground.

One of the first things that Healer Perry taught me were all the charms necessary to keep my stump infection- and pain-free. The prosthetic had a lot of charms built into it for comfort and relief, but there was no getting around the fact that it still hurt every time I let my weight rest on it with every step I took. The silver lining though was that the pain receded to a dull sting that I didn't even notice anymore. It felt…normal.

I was so focused on my casting that I didn't notice when the door to my dorm opened and someone stepped in. I realised I wasn't alone when I heard a sharp intake of breath.

Cedric stood at the threshold of my solitary dorm room, his hand wrapped around a book, his knuckles white as he clenched the book.

I blinked.

Cedric took a deep breath and shook himself. He forced the good humour to come back to his eyes, but something in me raged. I hated what I saw in his eyes. Pity. It's not the first time I received that look, but it hurt more than my prosthetic leg ever would.

Affecting casualness, I smiled at him. "Something the matter?"

Cedric walked up to me and knelt in front of me. His eyes were glued to the sight of my stump and the healing spell that cooled the end of it.

"For some reason, I thought it would be cooler and less…"

I scoffed and rapped my knuckles lightly on his head. He yelped and rubbed the spot, eyeing me with faux annoyance and genuine mirth.

"Less what?"

"Ugly." He stuck out his tongue.

I laughed because…because this was still Cedric. And I was still me. And yes there was an adjustment, but we were still us. The length and volume of my laughter did not justify his tactless joke, but wrapped into that laughter was sadness and pain and relief and joy and a hundred other things I couldn't even begin to describe but was grateful to feel.

Cedric didn't question it, he didn't add anything further. He smiled and maybe, maybe in the back of his eyes, there was a small accumulation of tears, but if so, he didn't shed them and I pretended not to notice. Somehow, I didn't mind Cedric seeing me like this. Silver lining.

#

I had made it a point to come to breakfast as early as possible. On my first morning back, I had been accosted by well wishers and gawkers. People I had never spoken to before cried when they saw me and it was all very overwhelming. For the first time, I was grateful that all my classes were alone in a classroom with each of the Professors. I only had to interact with the general school population during mealtimes and that was a relief. Silver lining.

Cedric was a late riser, had always been one. Yet he waited for me, eyes bleary and red and hair standing up at odd angles, every morning in the Common Room. As I lumbered my way down, he waved at me with cheeriness he did not feel and walked alongside me, never helping, but slowly, to the Great Hall. If he had a problem with the speed at which I walked, he never voiced it.

I didn't know why he had latched on to me so protectively ever since I got back, but it felt like he needed to do this and I welcomed it. I hated to admit it, every time I saw the pity in his eyes, no matter how skillfully he tried to mask it, I saw it and hated it. But I never said a word. I needed him too.

"Did you hear that the mandrake draught will be ready soon?" He said one morning.

"Oh."

"Fred and Alicia will be up and about before you know it."

I smiled into my cereal and nodded. "I'm glad."

Cedric bit into an apple. "Good luck to you mate. Both of them are going to sock you senseless when they find out what you did."

The threat of bodily violence did not worry me. I'd take it if it meant I could hear Fred's snorts and Alicia's demands that I get out more.

We shared a quiet moment as he piled my plate with breakfast even though I only wanted the cereal. He had a knack of ignoring my wishes when it was good for me. I dug into my sausages without another word.

"Harry…"

"Mmm?"

"Have you…I've been meaning to bring this up since you got back but with everything going on…"

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"The basilisk-"

He halted as my whole body shut down.

KILL RIP TEAR – A slithering feast of horror coiling around the statue of Slytherin – blood and guts and venom choking my lungs and burning me from the inside out – Shacklebolt's body lying half-eaten, his intestines oozing out –

"Harry- Harry- Harry!"

I was shaken out of my stupor and refocused my eyes on the kind and terrified face of my friend.

"Seen a ghost?" I rasped out, trying to add some levity.

Cedric breathed out noisily and handed me a napkin. He then raised my hand and pressed the napkin to my nose. I pulled away the napkin of my own volition and was surprised to see red liquid staining it.

"Your nose is bleeding."

So it was. I closed my eyes tight and pushed the thoughts away. Healer Perry had taught me tricks to deal with this as soon as I had woken up screaming from nightmares at St. Mungo's.

Chocolate Frogs are delicious and chocolate-y, but Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans has a Chocolate Frog flavoured bean that is chocolate-ier than the chocolate-iest Chocolate Frog that ever chocolated by a chocolatier.

"Harry…?"

I blinked again and focused on Cedric. I smiled. I hoped it was convincing. Judging by the look of worry on his face, it might have been less than convincing.

"I'm fine."

Another person might have disagreed with my self-assessment. Someone like Maggie Taylor or Alicia would have insisted to take me to Madam Pomfrey. But Cedric was Cedric.

"Sure, but you promise to tell me if you're ever not fine?"

"Promise." This time I'm sure I did smile convincingly because he nodded back, a little bit of the tension easing from his shoulders. "What did you want to talk about?"

"It's…I was wondering if you would be open to talking to Suraj." He broached the topic carefully, selecting each word with precision. It was unlike him. I hated seeing him be this guarded.

"Singh? Why?"

Cedric blinked. "Um… he asked to speak with you. Something about his Dad, his other Dad."

I blinked in confusion and then it slot into place.

"After dinner. Tonight."

Cedric nodded once and then moved back to lighter topics.

#

I sat on a stool in a room I didn't know existed until now. Professor Sprout brought me here when we were in the middle of our Herbology lesson. She was in such a spin as soon as she received the flying paper plane memo.

In front of me was a raised dais with five people sat. They introduced themselves to me, but I had forgotten their names already. The lady who sat in the centre seemed to be their leader. She had silvery blonde hair and eyes as piercing blue as the Great Lake.

"Are you settling back in well, Mr. Potter?" Her voice was sugary and honey, sweet meadows and calm seas.

I nodded.

"We were meaning to do this much before now, when you first started at school, but the then Headmaster convinced us to give you some more time to adjust. Make friends." She tittered.

Silence ensued as the five of them shifted in their seats. I was content to let them feel the discomfort. Professor Sprout did not slow her pace like Cedric did and I was loathe to ask her to. As a result, the rapid trudge from the Greenhouses back to the castle had left my stump smarting and left me in a generally bad mood.

"In any event, it's good to see you doing so… Given what happened to you…um…" The lady cleared her throat. "We, that is, the Board of Governors of Hogwarts thought it best to meet you in person and offer our sincere condolences and assurance that something like what you experienced will never happen again. We will make sure of it. However, in light of these circumstances, if you felt unsafe at Hogwarts, we would be more than happy to-"

"Three weeks." The thought of interrupting a grown up made me tense my back as I felt the invisible retort from Uncle Vernon about rudeness whispering in the air around me. But I was in pain and breathless and this was completely pointless. "That's how long it took me to stand and walk five steps at St. Mungo's."

More uncomfortable shuffling. More silence.

I looked at each of the governors in the eye, one by one, and then continued. "I made sure my rehabilitation went as quickly as possible because there is nothing I want more than to be at Hogwarts."

A collective sigh of relief escaped each of the governors.

The central lady smiled, tension dispersed. "I'm happy to hear that, Mr. Potter."

"Good. If that's all Mrs. Mayfly..?"

The central lady chuckled and hid her mouth with her hand. The other board members sniggered too.

"Malfoy." She corrected.

Heat rose up to my cheeks and I nodded in apology.

"But please, call me Cissy. And that's not quite all, Harry."

I didn't remember telling her she could call me that, but I couldn't deny that it felt nice when she did.

"Given your limitations, we think it would be helpful if you had some additional support. We have spoken with the teaching staff and the Professors are more than willing to accommodate your unique circumstances."

She smiled and there was a stitch of something in her eyes that I couldn't quite identify. It wasn't pity, no, I knew pity, especially now. No, it was something else, something more.

"How do you mean, Miss?"

"Call me Cissy, dear. And what we mean is that we will allocate a designated classroom for you and the Professors will come in and out of it for your lessons. This ensures some ease so that you don't have to march around the Castle like all the normal students."

She meant it in a kind way, I have to tell myself that she did. One thing was for sure, whatever niceness I felt from her, it had evaporated as quickly as it appeared.

"That's okay, Miss, it's good for me to be up and about. The Healers all agree that returning to a normal routine is what is best for me. And I don't want to inconvenience the Professors-"

"Inconvenience them?" A wizened old wizard to the right of Cissy hacked out. His first words spoken in the meeting and his eyes had a shade of red that I recognised far too well – I saw it in the morning after Aunt Marge had a little too much to drink. "They should be rolling out the dragonhide carpet for the Boy Who Lived – Dumbledore had only to-"

"Tiberius…" Cissy's tone was warm but there was something more to it, something I didn't know how to identify, but I didn't like it. Either way, the older wizard shut right up. "Harry-"

I needed to end this. "I don't think we need to do…that. I will go to my classes with all the other normal students and I'm happy to do so. So… thank you, I guess."

Cissy's expression softened and something in my heart twinged. "Oh Harry, I didn't mean-"

"I'll be on my way then. Professor Snape does not like tardiness."

With that I stood up and made my way to the door. I heard shifting in the background and before I knew it, Cissy covered the distance to the door and held it open for me. She had a sorrowful look on her face and in one moment I knew that I could hug her and tell her that I would do as she wanted and make her smile again and everything would be-

I shook my head. Whoa! Where had that come from? I glared at her.

"I lost a leg. My arms are fine."

She looked stricken and hastily backed away from the door. I slung my bag over my shoulder, stalked on and threw the door open. Of course, the effect was ruined when my prosthetic leg and the imbalance of weight because of my bookbag caused me to lose my balance.

I didn't fall, but when Cissy rushed forward to help me, I felt an overwhelming desire to let her. To let her hold me and nurse me and love-

I slapped her hand away. Anger burning away whatever the hell that was.

I should not have turned around because my cheeks were burning and I was so embarrassed. But I did anyway and I saw the way she looked at me. The anger surged from my chest and burnt through my body. I hated that look.

#

Dinner was a hasty affair as I wolfed my food down. Fun fact: when you're using a prosthetic, you end up using much more energy than normal just to do everything you did before. So, you end up eating a lot more and sleeping a lot better. Cedric stared at me eating like a carnivorous beast and I burped and stopped. I smiled as I felt embarrassment wash through me.

For his part, he laughed. And I went back to inhaling my food.

An indeterminate amount of time later when a food coma felt like a wonderful idea, Cedric nudged my shoulder. I turned to him and he indicated to the other side of the Hall. Suraj Singh was looking at me with determined eyes.

I sighed.

Cedric walked us to an empty classroom just by the Hufflepuff Common Room. He mumbled something about giving us privacy and went back to the Common Room. The door rapped shut behind him leaving me with the usually smug Slytherin.

Suraj was not smug tonight. I hadn't had much interaction with him since the Express brought us to Hogwarts. Being in different Houses and different years would do that. But on the few occasions I spent time with Patricia and Roger, he always tagged along and was never short of a witty comment that made Maggie go spare. I loved that about him.

But he was fresh out of witty comments tonight.

"So…?" I ventured.

Suraj looked up and I was a little taken aback by the emptiness in his face. His posture was turned down and his hands wouldn't stop fidgeting.

"My Baba told me that Dad was with you when he… when the thing…" He seemed to be unable to say the words as tears began to fall from his eyes. His back arched and his lips trembled.

I looked away, not knowing what to say or how to say it. I didn't want to see Suraj like this.

When it seemed like he was going to be okay, I tried to speak. "I don't know how much you know about the…but Kingsley was brave. He was wicked cool and…and…"

When did I get a lump in my throat? I thought I was done crying. I thought I cried every last tear that I had to shed by the end of my first week at St. Mungo's. I cleared my throat and pushed through. "Kingsley was kind. He…he taught me how to do supersensory charms and he…he told me about Quidditch and his student days…and…bollocks, I don't know what you want to hear Suraj. I'm- I'm so, so, so sorry. I'm so sorry."

That's when the dam broke and Suraj cried. He cried. He cried for a while and tried to compose himself twice. Third time was the charm. Well, somewhat anyway.

I don't know when I ended up on the floor with him, patting his shoulder and trying to be there for him. I didn't know what else to do so I did what felt natural. I didn't know what it was like to lose a father. I lost mine years before I ever knew what it would mean.

When at last Suraj seemed calmer, he wiped away his tears and looked at me with steel. "I will help you."

I blinked. "Suraj- thanks, um… but the basilisk is dead. I mean it was already dead, but it's dead dead. Promise."

Suraj rolled his eyes in the way he always did and for a moment, I felt like he was going to be okay.

"Idiot. Of course the basilisk is dead, but the basilisk has been under the school for a thousand years and it didn't go around petrifying people or killing them. Someone made it."

The breath caught in my throat. "But the Aurors-"

"-Have washed their hands clean of the whole mess. The official story is that the basilisk broke through its containment seal and attacked the school. They found evidence of an ancient ward, weak stuff, but strong enough to control a magically inert creature like a bastardised vampire basilisk. The seal broke after years of use and an attack on a loadstone and the basilisk got out. Tragedy." He snorted, vicious anger twisting his young face into an expression that did not suit it. "Someone let that thing out and whoever that someone is, they're still here. I'll help you catch them."

"Suraj, I-"

I don't think you're thinking straight.

I don't think someone is out to kill the students.

I don't think I can handle another mystery.

I don't have more limbs to give.

But I held all that back. I held it back because I remembered what Mr. Moody told me a lifetime ago.

"This pattern of attacks, it's happened before. Fifty years ago, in fact."

There was still a mystery here. I clasped an arm around Suraj's shoulder and nodded to him.

"Whoever did it, we'll find them. Together."

#

After an age and well past curfew, Suraj slunk off to the Slytherin Common Room thankfully all cried out. I limped the short distance from our meeting room towards the entrance of the Hufflepuff Burrow. The cold castle floor crept up my prosthetic leg and thrummed uncomfortably against the flesh of my stump. After an eventful day, I was just about ready to fall into my bed and never wake up again.

I should have noticed when the sconces in the corridor systematically went out around me. I should have noticed when all sounds of the slumbering castle seemed to come to a standstill. I should have noticed that the portraits lining the corridor were all suspiciously empty. I was tired, in pain, emotionally drained and thus, not paying attention.

Which is why I yelped as loudly as I did when a net materialised on the castle floor below me and snatched me up into midair.

I groped around in the semi-darkness.

"Hello! Anyone?"

My prosthetic leg stuck through one of the net openings and hung below me. The latches strained my stump and pulled the skin taught. It hurt, but I bit my tongue and refused to scream.

I heard sniggering. My prosthetic leg shook. The magical nerve endings had still not stabilised and I felt someone groping it in the darkness below me but it could well have been paranoid shadow feelings for all I knew.

"Please. Someone-"

I heard footsteps trailing away and the net unwound itself. I fell to the floor in the darkness, prosthetic leg first and the impact sent a shockwave of pain up my stump and that reverberated in my brain.

I yelled and pulled my leg close, blinking back the involuntary tears that sprung up.

Something hot and slimy fell on me from above and I gasped and choked as the liquid covered my face and slipped into my mouth and nose and down my back and through my robes.

I sputtered and coughed as I spat it out.

Wand in hand, I finally incanted. "Lumos."

I was covered in some kind of slimy red substance and my heart began to race.

Slime and venom and blood and gore – intestines and beating hearts with veins and arteries – acid burning through skin and piercing the bone – skin sloughing off – a beast digesting

I shook and my eyes focused on my wand hand. But I didn't see my hand. I saw it as it was. When I was inside the basilisk. I saw the blood and sinew and muscle and bone. I felt the tear of the skin as the adhesive stuck to the basilisk's ribcage.

Chocolate Frogs are delicious and chocolate-y, but Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans has a Chocolate Frog flavoured bean that is chocolate-ier than the chocolate-iest –

The basilisk's mouth opened to the size of a car and I jumped right into it – the fangs jangled around me in the darkness – my leg – my leg – MY LEG

Chocolate Frogs are delicious and chocolate-y, but Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans has a Chocolate Frog flavoured bean that is chocolate-ier than…than the…

MY LEG

Chocolate-iest-

MY LEG

I passed out. Thank merciful Merlin for that.

It would be an hour until Professor Sprout, and a determined Cedric who refused to let her go alone, would come looking for me and find me covered in what would later be revealed to be gooey pig's blood. Neither of them would know how to undo my leg, which had clogged because of the blood. Healer Tonks would make an emergency visit in the night to set my leg right.

All of them would tut and fret and my prosthetic leg would be cleaned and left beside my bed waiting for me.

My ambushers had left me a message, written in pigmented pig's blood across my fake leg.

DIE TRAITOR

Cedric would never tell me about it. Silver lining.