(CoS) CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: MUCH TO DISCUSS

"Get a room," grumbled a voice from the ground.

Ellie yanked away from Harry like he was made of lava, diving down to her friend's side. "Ginny—I'm so sorry. I should have talked to you about him first. I should have—"

"Please," Ginny interrupted, laughing weakly, as she pulled off her sunglasses. "It's fine."

But it wasn't fine. Ellie never should have gotten with Harry without checking with Ginny, just like she never should have decided not to go to McGonagall about the diary. "I was a terrible friend to you, Ginny. How can you ever forgive me?"

"You just saved my life," Ginny pointed out. "I don't remember exactly how we got here, but I'm guessing it involved you willingly following me down here?"

Ellie glanced at Harry, who looked a bit amused, then back to Ginny. "Following you down here was the least I could do. I should have gone to McGonagall. I should have—"

"I asked you not to," Ginny interrupted. "I was scared of what they'd say if they knew." She bit her lip and added, "I'm still scared."

"They won't punish you, Ginny," Harry told her gently. "They can't. You were being manipulated."

"Was it really him?" Ginny whispered, eyes brimming with tears. "Was it really… You Know Who?"

Harry looked curious about that one, too; Ellie seemed to be the only one who had put the pieces together.

"It was a memory of him," she said. "A little piece of him he spelled into the diary when he was in school." Her eyes trailed heavily to Harry as she added, "Something tells me it's not the only piece left of him."

"Something tells me you're right," he agreed grimly. "But for now, let's get back to the others."


As they headed back to the entrance to the chamber, Harry explained to Ginny and Ellie that he and Ron had stumbled upon Lockhart on their way to Myrtle's bathroom, heard him boasting about knowing where the entrance to the chamber was, and challenged him to join them. He had accepted the challenge, only to try to Obliviate them at the first opportunity; thankfully, his use of Ron's wand instead of his own had resulted in he himself being Obliviated.

"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed with delight when they reached him and Lockhart. "Oh, thank God. What happened?"

"Something tells me we're going to have to tell this story quite a few times," Harry said grimly as Fawkes readied himself to fly them back up to Myrtle's bathroom. "Let's save it for Dumbledore, shall we?"

When they reached Myrtle's bathroom, they were faced with not only Dumbledore, but also McGonagall, Fred, George, Molly, Arthur, and…

Ellie's jaw dropped when she saw her.

It was Serena—her mother.

"Oh, thank God," Serena breathed when she saw Ellie. Her dark eyes were filled with tears, and she ran over to Ellie without a care in the world for the disheveled state of those around her. "Are you okay?"

Never in a million years had Ellie expected her mother to come to Hogwarts. If there had ever been any doubt in her mind that her mother loved her, it was gone now. "I'm okay," she promised Serena.

"We tried to find the entrance," Molly explained to them as she squeezed her own daughter as hard as she could. "Fred and George told us where you'd gone and what you'd said. But Albus thinks the only way in is using Parseltongue. Is that true?"

Harry gave a reluctant nod.

"And the other part?" asked Arthur. "The part about this Tom Riddle fellow being You Know Who?"

Another, reluctant nod.

"We have much to discuss," said Dumbledore. "And pleasant as Miss Myrtle's bathroom is, I'd wager we might be a bit more comfortable in my office."

Before they made their way out, Ellie let her eyes settle on her best friend for the first time since emerging from the Chamber. His eyes were glued to her, and filled with that same deep, haunting level of pain, love, and emotion that she'd seen in them about this time a year ago.

She loved him no less now than she had then, but this time, she found the strength to look away from him.

She had someone else now, she reminded herself as Harry took her hand. Someone who wasn't afraid to love her back.


"I don't understand," said Molly when Ellie and Harry finished recounting the story. Ginny had chimed in once or twice, but spent most of the time crying into her father's chest. Fred, George, and Ron all watched them in shocked silence. "The memory of Lord Voldemort used my little girl to commit all of these horrible crimes all year? Why Ginny?"

"It was Lucius Malfoy," said Ellie, realizing that was the one part of the story they had left out. "That day at Borgin and Burkes, when he made fun of the state of her books. He slipped the diary back in with them."

Arthur looked murderous at that. "I'll kill him," he said, rising to his feet. "I'll—"

"Ellie," Dumbledore interrupted more calmly. "That is a very serious accusation. Are you quite certain?"

"I don't have proof," Ellie admitted. "And I didn't see it happen with my own eyes. But Tom suggested as much down in the Chamber, and the timing fits, doesn't it, Ginny?"

Ginny gave a short nod, which she paired with a short sob.

"Ellie," said Serena, who hadn't released her Ellie's left hand once—nor had Harry her right, Ellie noted with a small smile. "You said you held off Tom by using your shield. But don't you still… feel pain? When you use it?"

Ellie shrugged. "Yeah, but it's just mental—I never had any actual, physical damage. And my shield seemed to grow stronger as the fighting went on." Her mind flashed to what Tom had said about the shield putting a target on her back, but she decided not to share that part with them. She doubted there was a way for them to take her shield away from her, but if there was, she wanted no part of it; she could hardly imagine how she would have fared down there without it.

"I don't want you coming back here next year," Serena announced.

Ellie groaned. "Mum, we've been over this."

"It's worse than I thought, Ellie. You've been here two years, and you've fought the Dark Lord twice. You've had to use your shield—"

"And won," Fred interrupted suddenly, surprising all of them.

Serena glanced past Ellie toward Fred, blinking. "Excuse me?"

"And won," Fred repeated. "She fought him twice, and she won. Do you realize how special that is—how strong she is? To take her away from all this would be as much a crime against the entire wizarding community as it would against her."

Ellie felt herself tearing up for what felt like the hundredth time that night. His words touched her, but they also made her feel strangely sad. Why did he have to go and say perfect things like that when she had finally found happiness with someone else? Why did he have to be so… so… so Fred?

"I know how strong she is," Serena told Fred. "Her father was one of the strongest wizards I've ever met—strong enough to kill thirteen people with a single spell."

A long, heavy silence fell over them all at that.

"Professor," Ellie finally said, turning to look at Dumbledore. "I need to speak to my mum in private. Have we answered all your questions?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a bit at that as he said, "Yes, indeed—all of you may go, with the exception of Harry."

Ellie glanced sideways at Harry, who gave her an easy nod. He and Dumbledore had much to discuss, she supposed; he still hadn't come clean to the headmaster about his concerns about being innately… Voldemort-like.

She led her mother to the nearest courtyard, where she took a seat next to her on a bench. She watched Serena with interest as Serena looked around, clearly feeling a pang of nostalgia.

"I miss it," Serena said softly. "I don't think I allowed myself to realize that until now."

"I would miss it, too," Ellie told her. "Enough that my heart would break, Mum. Enough that I would never forgive you."

Serena sighed, then reached into her purse and pulled out something.

It was a letter, Ellie realized as her mother handed it to her. A response.

It was about her father.


Only one more chapter in book two - and it involves getting to know more about Ellie, Sirius, and Serena - yay! As always, please drop a review if you'd like to show your support and encouragement, and thanks so much for reading!