I just realized I posted the wrong chapter earlier! I'm so sorry, guys! Here's the correct chapter, and I'll post the other one right after this as well :0


When we opened the door to Professor McGonagall's office, there was utter silence. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were both sitting in chairs in front of McGonagall's desk clutching handkerchiefs to their faces, and Robbie was standing next to Professor Dumbledore, who had a hand on his shoulder.

Then Mrs. Weasley was screaming. "Ginny!"

She and Mr. Weasley bolted towards their daughter, enveloping her in their arms. Professor McGonagall was taking great gasps as she looked over Ron and me and Harry covered in dust and grime and, in mine and Harry's case, ink and blood.

"Belle," whispered Robbie. He staggered over to me, one hand extended. As he drew closer, I noted how red his eyes were; and so I did not hesitate to walk into his arms. He kissed the top of my head before starting to shake. "I thought I was going to lose you."

I didn't say anything—I just buried my face in his shoulder, trying with all my strength not to cry.

Mrs. Weasley did not seem to care to stifle her sobs. She placed a hand upon Harry's shoulder and cried, "You saved her! You saved them both! How did you do it?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," whispered Professor McGonagall.

Harry shot me a look, to which I responded with a smile and gestured over to her desk. He placed the sword, the Sorting Hat, and the diary upon the table, and began to explain from the start. He talked about the voice that he had been hearing all year, how Hermione had finally realized that he was hearing a basilisk in the pipes before she was petrified, how I made the connection afterwards, how he and Ron followed the spiders into the forest, that Aragog told them where the last victim of the basilisk had died, how I had chased after Ginny upon realizing she was unwell, and how Harry had guessed the entrance to the Chamber was in the bathroom.

The whole story took at least twenty minutes to tell. During this time, I had taken a seat offered to me by Professor Dumbledore—Robbie had joined next to me, resting his head upon the top of my own all the while, never mind all the blood and gore. When the tale had been finished, all of the adults exchanged shocked looks.

"Very well," said Professor McGonagall, though she was still quite pale. "So you found out where the entrance was—breaking a hundred school rules into pieces, by the way—but how on earth did you manage to get out of there alive?"

Harry exhaled lowly but started talking about how he had found me in the Chamber, losing consciousness; then of the basilisk summoned to fight. He addressed Fawkes's arrival, how the Sorting Hat revealed a sword to fight the beast with, how I had bought him enough time to plan a strategy to defeat it—at this point, Robbie grabbed my shoulder so tightly it almost hurt—and how the phoenix tears had saved him when he had been stabbed by the basilisk fang.

At this point, however, he stopped and stared at the diary. He had so far managed to avoid mentioning it entirely, but Ron and Harry and I all knew that eventually it would be asked about…

"What interests me most," said Professor Dumbledore calmly, distributing chocolate to each of us students, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

"W-what's that?" stuttered Mr. Weasley, his face losing color. "You-Know-Who? Enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not… Ginny hasn't been… has she?"

Harry seized the diary off of the desk and said, "It was this. Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen…"

Professor Dumbledore took the book from his hands and peered at it for a long time. He glanced towards me and softly asked, "Am I right in saying that you were able to witness a memory of Tom Riddle emerge from this diary, Miss Skylar?"

I nodded and swallowed. "Yes, sir."

"Brilliant," he mused. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen… very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school, traveled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected him with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

"But, Ginny," exclaimed Mrs. Weasley. "What's our Ginny got to do with—with him?"

"His d-diary!" Ginny exclaimed, finally speaking for the first time since setting foot in the office. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year—"

"Ginny!" exhaled Mr. Weasley. "Haven't I taught you anything? 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 me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic—"

"I d-didn't know," sobbed Ginny. "I found it inside one of the books Mum gave me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it—"

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," declared Dumbledore, his bright blue eyes boring into the Weasleys. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up."

He smiled at Ginny and moved towards the door, opening it for her and her parents. "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice—I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

So it was the Weasleys left, save for Ron, thanking Harry effusively as they went, and wishing me and Robbie well.

"You know, Minerva," remarked Professor Dumbledore thoughtfully, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchen?"

"Right," said Professor McGonagall. "I'll leave you to deal with these three, shall I?"

Harry, Ron, and I exchanged nervous looks as Professor Dumbledore waited until our Head of House had exited the room. He then looked between my two friends and remarked, "I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules… which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words."

He chuckled at the mixed looks of surprise, terror, and relief upon Harry's and Ron's faces. "You will both receive Special Awards for Services to the School and, let me see—yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor. Miss Skylar, a hundred points shall also be awarded to you; but one of us seems to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure. Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

I jumped, for in all honesty, I'd completely forgotten that Lockhart had been with us; it was Ron who sheepishly admittedly, "Professor Dumbledore, there was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart—"

"Am I a professor?" asked Lockhart, his eyes lighting up upon hearing his name. That, at least, hadn't changed. "Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?"

Harry and I exchanged looks, trying to keep from laughing at this last.

"He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired," murmured Ron.

"Dear me," said Dumbledore, a single eyebrow raising. "Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy?"

"Sword? Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though. He'll lend you one."

I couldn't help it—the whole situation was so ridiculous, and I'd spent the whole day terrified, and Lockhart was so unwittingly entertaining… I burst into laughter, which only made Harry shake his head at me and lightly punch me in the arm.

Professor Dumbledore's mustache quivered slightly as he noted our interaction. Turning to Ron, he asked, "Would you mind taking Professor Lockhart up to the infirmary, too? I'd like a few words with Belle and Harry…"

Ron nodded and turned to bring Lockhart out of the office, though as he closed the door behind them, he shot Harry and I one last hopeful smile.

Once he had departed, the Headmaster grabbed the diary off of the desk again, peering at it from all angles. Without looking at my brother, he said, "Have you ever seen something like this during your time at the Ministry, Robert?"

Robbie took one more step towards Dumbledore, glanced across the diary for a long moment… and then shook his head. "No sir, not in my department. This might be something for the Aurors to look at."

Dumbledore nodded pensively and hummed, "It would be wise to have officials look at this. Would you please send the Ministry an owl to inspect this diary? Let us not send it tonight; perhaps in a couple days' time."

My brother paused and shot me a hesitant look, as though asking whether I preferred him nearby—but I was genuinely all right. "I'm okay."

He smiled at this and ruffled my hair before taking his leave… but just before he could close the door once again, Robbie stopped and looked directly at Harry. "Harry… I owe you a debt I can't possibly repay. You'll always have a friend in myself as well as Belle. Thank you."

Harry smiled somewhat and nodded, though he did not reply. And then Robbie closed the door behind him.

Now it was only myself and Harry with Professor Dumbledore; our Headmaster looked across us fondly, blue eyes twinkling. "It's good to see you both returned to us safely. We were very worried about you, Miss Skylar."

"Thank you, sir."

"Would you mind telling me everything you can about your experience? Everything you can, that is."

Dumbledore's expression was kindly, and comforted me as I began to recall everything that I could. I knew well that my testimony was important, especially if it could help him understand the Dark Magic behind that diary. And so I began by telling him about breakfast that very morning; how Ginny came up to me, looking pale and unwell, and how when she was walking away, I saw that she was holding the diary in her hands. I told him about how I chased after her into the first floor corridor, and how she used a spell upon me to force me to walk into the Chamber of Secrets.

"This spell," said Dumbledore. "What word did Riddle use to cast it?"

I looked at Harry, who had been watching me, green eyes wide, and muttered, "I think it was Imperio, or something like that."

Dumbledore exhaled softly and waved to signal me onwards.

I resumed with how Riddle forced Ginny and I to walk into the Chamber, how she laid down with the diary—and as soon as she closed her eyes, the figment of Riddle's memory appeared. I mentioned how he was translucent at first, as though he wasn't really there. But as Ginny grew paler, he grew stronger; and finally, Ginny wasn't enough. He had started to take from me, and everything was growing faint and heavy.

"But Harry came soon after… and you already know the rest."

Professor Dumbledore nodded solemnly at my tale, and smiled gently at me. His eyes twinkled as he looked from me to Harry—and softly, he murmured, "Why don't you go and get changed, Miss Skylar? There will soon be a feast in the Great Hall, and I am proclaiming it to be a feast in which everyone should wear casual clothes—or pajamas! I think you'll find a lot of people will want to see you."

I thanked Professor Dumbledore and shot Harry a small smile. "Save me a seat at the feast?"

"You know I will."

As I traversed through the hallways, I was surrounded by whispers from the many paintings that adorned the castle's walls. Many of them waved in my direction; a few of them exclaimed they were glad to see me. There was life in the castle again, something that had been missing ever since Hermione had been attacked.

When I reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, she exhaled sharply and placed one hand upon her painted throat. "Belle! My dear, we were all so positively worried about you, it's so good to see you here again…"

She almost began to cry, but luckily I was able to convince her not to ruin her painted make-up in time. After speaking our password, I stepped into the common room—

Only to be attacked by a hug the moment I entered.

"Whoa!" I cried, though my voice was muffled by a shirt. "Who is this?"

"Blimey, Belle, I couldn't believe—when we heard you and Ginny Weasley were taken, I could hardly—"

I knew that voice… I was pulled back from the embrace to see that it was Oliver Wood who stood in front of me. He grinned brightly, which I swiftly returned, but after looking me over, he exclaimed, "Wh—you're covered in dirt and blood. What the hell happened?"

As I looked around the common room, I realized that a lot of my friends were there. Fred and George were staring at me with wide eyes, suddenly realizing that if I had made it out, it was likely Ginny had too.

Answering their unspoken question, I looked to them and said, "Ginny's with your parents. She's a little shaken, but otherwise fine. They're in the hospital wing."

The twins shot me identical grins of relief—Fred sauntered over and wordlessly gave me a hug. He was trembling from head to toe, although I couldn't tell what emotions were behind it.

Once he pulled back from me, I looked to Oliver and replied, "All right… but let me have a seat first. It's been a long day."

"You heard the woman!" he shouted—Dean Thomas rose from his chair and gestured for me to take his spot by the fireplace. With a nod of thanks, I took my new spot and waited for all those who wished to hear the tale to sit.

And so I began talking, exactly the same story that I had told Dumbledore. My classmates and companions listened intently, particularly when I spoke of the basilisk and of Tom Riddle, his manifestation within the diary, and how he was ultimately destroyed by Harry with the basilisk fang.

When at last I was finished, the common room was utterly still. People started looking at each other, apparently astonished by the culmination of the Chamber of Secrets was. A few of my friends approached me and gave me encouragement in form of words or hugs or both: Dean, Seamus, Neville, Lavender, Angelina, Katie, Oliver again… it as though people had been lifeless all day, until now.

"All right everybody, that's enough!" Oliver said after a while. "Belle needs to get ready for the feast. Let her go shower or something."

Grateful for his words, I squeezed his hand and moved to go do just that.

Thirty minutes later, I was rid of all the muck and grime. Ignoring my damp hair, I put on the comfiest pair of sweatpants that I owned and one of my favorite shirts and went to go to the Great Hall—

"So this is the Gryffindor common room, huh?"

In the center of the common room, gazing around in admiration, was Robbie. Standing next to him was Professor McGonagall.

"Robbie!" I gasped. He held out his arms, and of course I walked into them. One of his hands made small circles against my back; a gesture of calm that I'd loved ever since I was a child. "What are you doing here?"

"Professor McGonagall was kind enough to let me in so I could see you off to the feast before I return home," he answered, his voice not as heavy as it had been while we'd been in the office.

Professor McGonagall was smiling warmly at us, but upon hearing Robbie's words, she waved her hand and mused, "It was nothing, Robert. After all that's happened this year, it's simply good to know it's all over…"

"I never would've thought my sister would be part of it, that's for sure," he laughed. "I guess that's the sort of thing I should expect when her best friend is Harry Potter…"

This earned a chuckle from my Head of House—once Robbie released me, she asked, "Is there anything you need, Miss Skylar? Anything at all?"

I was about to answer that there was nothing, but then I reconsidered my response. "Probably just some pumpkin juice, but I expect that'll be at the feast."

Both Robbie and Professor McGonagall chuckled at that, which inevitably made me grin as well.

"Well, let's get you to the feast, then," Robbie said with certainty, his blue eyes gleaming. "I'll be getting you back soon enough, anyway."

So it was that the three of us exited the Gryffindor common room and made towards the Great Hall; while we walked, my brother and Professor McGonagall continued talking, catching up with one another about what he had been doing ever since he graduated Hogwarts.

I listened intently, wondering if I'd be able to steal a glimmer of information about the elusive Department of Mysteries—but sadly, Robbie was as attentive as ever, and nothing slipped.

It took five minutes for us to reach the grand archway that led into the Great Hall. Upon reaching the entryway, Robbie sighed, hugged me again, and said, "I'll see you soon, Belle. Love you."

"Love you too," I answered, although my shirt was once again muffled due to my face being stuck in his shoulder. "I'll be home soon."

"Be sure to tell your friends that they're welcome at our house this summer," he added, grinning. "I think it's my turn to take care of you kids."

After one last embrace, Robbie let me go and gestured me into the Great Hall; even as I entered, I heard him shout, "Drink an extra goblet of pumpkin juice for me!"

Most of Hogwarts's students were in the Great Hall by the time I arrived. The feast hadn't yet started, which meant I wasn't late. Many of my housemates greeted me with happy smiles and waves, but Ron was the most conspicuous of them all, standing on his seat and flagging me down so I could locate the seats he had saved for myself and Harry.

"Belle, bloody hell, it's good to see you back here," sighed Ron, running a hand through his red hair. "When we saw the note on the wall, noted that you'd gone missing, well…"

"It's all right, Ron," I replied, a small smile twisting upwards. "You and Harry saved us, you know."

Ron's ears went red and he opened his mouth to respond… but then he stopped short, tensing somewhat. I blinked and cocked my head sideways at the strange change in behavior, but before I could ask him what was wrong, someone cleared their throat behind me.

I turned around to see who it was. My eyes widened. "Draco?"

"Surprised?" he smirked, because sure enough, it was Draco Malfoy. He shuffled from foot to foot for a moment, and then met my eyes again. There was real sincerity in his face as he added, "I guess I wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay. It spread pretty quick that you had been taken into the Chamber, and, well…"

He stopped for a second, as though wondering whether to continue. Upon seeing the hopeful look to my face, however, he finished with, "I was worried."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning at this final admission. Draco stuck out a hand, perhaps for a handshake—but I just knocked it aside and gave him a hug instead.

"Oh—yeah, sure, okay," Draco stammered, though he returned my hug all the same.

"Thanks for coming over," I said, pulling away from him and putting my hands on his shoulders. Now that I was taking a closer look at him, I realized that there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days. A slight pang of concern sprouted in my chest. "Take care of yourself, okay? If you don't, I'll write to you in the summer just to scold you."

Draco shot me a sideways grin. "What, you won't write just to write to me?"

That made me laugh—his lips twitched, as if he was restraining from doing the same. Shaking my head, I said, "If you insist, then sure. I will."

My unlikely friend raised an eyebrow at me, but smiled all the same. Without much more to add, Draco turned and stalked back off towards his table.

I didn't even have a chance to sit back down in my seat before hearing a voice shriek, "Belle!"

Hermione barreled forth and collided into me, laughing as I almost fell over due to the impact of her arrival. I was giggling myself as we whirled around and around, the way that girlfriends liked to do when hugging one another.

"You're all right? You're sure?" she fretted, looking me from head to toe.

"I'm all right? What about you? You're feeling fine, like nothing happened?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey fixed us up in a heartbeat! It felt like no time had passed at all; I was shocked to find out it's almost June…"

We went back and forth, checking up on one another for a short amount of time, before Harry finally entered the Great Hall. He ran directly towards us and Ron to check up on Hermione—she reassured him that she felt all right, the same way she had done with me—and then Harry turned to me.

His green eyes were bright again, though he was quiet as he scanned my being, as if searching for any blood, any indication that I wasn't completely well. The silence between us was unnerving enough to cause me to blurt out, "You saved me, Harry. Thank you."

He smiled and placed a hand upon my shoulder; a little thing that I'd noticed a lot recently with him. "You saved me, too, Belle. I have something for you."

"For me?" I repeated, raising my eyebrow.

Harry grinned and held something out; it was a white flower. "Stopped by the greenhouses on my way in. Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it?"

I gently took the flower from his hands, trying really hard not to stare at Harry with bugged eyes. Everything had been so dark, so depressing, that I'd completely forgotten that it was my birthday the following day, because today was the 28th of May…

"Thank you, Harry," I whispered. It was a beautiful gift: something simple, but precious. My fingers trailed lightly over the petals. Its iris was a warm yellow, much like the afternoon sun. After shooting one last winning smile to Harry, I looked to Hermione and asked, "Can you help me braid it into my hair?"

Hermione beamed and gestured to an empty seat. It was something we did together in the dormitories every now and then, when each of us were perfectly content to sit in silence, alone together.

Once we all sat down, Professor Dumbledore entered the Great Hall. Everyone started cheering at his announcement that he was reinstated as Hogwarts Headmaster—as soon as he took his rightful place at the Head Table, the food appeared on the golden platters like always.

It was the most lively Hogwarts had been in months and months. People were darting across other tables, checking in on their friends from other Houses, eating like there was no tomorrow—Justin Finch-Fletchley arrived at our table, thanking us for figuring things out and apologizing to Harry for suspecting him. Ernie MacMillan also came over and put a firm hand on my shoulder, asking if I was all right and saying that he was relieved that everything worked itself out.

Once the large majority of the feast was eaten, Professor Dumbledore got up to the podium and announced that Gryffindor had won the House Cup—Harry and Ron grinned as they were bombarded by an flurry of arms from our housemates. Professor McGonagall even added an extra treat for us: all school exams were cancelled.

The only one who seemed disappointed by this was Hermione, but this was no great surprise.

And to top off the evening, Dumbledore revealed that Professor Lockhart would be unable to return the following year due to the fact that he needed to restore his memory.

"Shame," Ron sighed as he helped himself to a third plate of mashed potatoes. "He was starting to grow on me."

Just as announcements ended, the door to the Great Hall swung open—Hagrid. The gamekeeper made a beeline for the four of us, thanking us profusely for clearing his good name and for doing our part to get him out of you-know-where. We all ambushed Hagrid with a hug, and made sure he knew how glad we were to have him back.

The celebration lasted all night; most of the students only turned to their common rooms when sunlight started pouring in through the Great Hall's window. When the four of us decided to turn in, I looked towards the professors, all of whom were still at the High Table.

My eyes met Professor McGonagall's—she smiled and held up a goblet in cheers before waving goodnight.


The next week and a half, Hogwarts was back to normal. People were out in the courtyards playing with Frisbees or Gobstones or Exploding Snap. The days were bright and sunny; Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I could often be found by the Black Lake, relaxing in peace with one another's company.

The Gryffindor common room was lively once again. People were back to their rowdy selves—particularly Ginny and the Weasley twins, who had bought a ton of Filibuster's Fireworks and were lighting them off every few minutes. Percy didn't even threaten them with a letter to their mother.

Before much longer, though, it was time to return home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, and I managed to snag one of the larger compartments and ended up playing the Bertie Bott's game that I had taught them earlier in the year. When a winner was determined—Ron was too stubborn to quit—we practiced disarming each other and talked about Quidditch.

As we were almost home, Harry turned to Ginny and asked, "Ginny, what did you see Percy doing that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

"Oh, that," grinned Ginny. "Percy's got a girlfriend."

Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head and hissed, "What?"

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater. That's who he was writing to all summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was—you know—attacked. You won't tease him, will you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, although I could already see the many smart remarks floating through his head.

"Definitely not," George added, sniggering.

Within the next few minutes, the train stopped in King's Cross Station. We all piled out, trying not to bump into each other too much. As we headed towards the barrier, Harry scribbled on a piece of paper and tore it into three pieces, handing one piece each to me, Ron, and Hermione.

"This is called a telephone number," he explained to Ron, who was staring at his parchment in confusion. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer—he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to…"

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" asked Hermione with a frown. "When they hear what you did this year?"
Harry laughed. "Proud? Are you crazy? All those times I could've died and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious…"

We passed through the barrier to the Muggle side of King's Cross Station. Upon seeing my brother, I gasped and grabbed Harry's arm. "I almost forgot—you're all welcome at my house for the end of the summer if you'd like to come over. I thought you'd appreciate knowing now instead of later."

My friends all exchanged bright looks; Harry especially seemed heartened by the news.

With that, Hermione returned to her parents; the Weasleys welcomed Ron and Ginny with open arms, and the the Dursleys were standing far off with horrible grimaces on their faces, particularly when they laid eyes on me and Harry. Standing beside them, looking completely at ease, was Robbie.

As I said a brief farewell to my friends, I waved towards my brother, a large grin upon my face. He waved me over to the car side-by-side, Robbie and I set off for home.