Hermione was forced to stay in the Hospital for weeks as Pompfrey reversed the process of the potion Hermione had done. Polyjuice was intended for humans, not animals, after all. Celesta was in charge of bringing her homework up everyday, Harry and Ron occasionally joining her. Ron complained that Hermione was allowed not to be in classes, but Hermione refuted, saying she had to be caught up when she returned.

Her face was nearly all back to normal too, when Ron and Harry found out about the get-well card Hermione had taken up the habbit of sleeping with under her pillow. Their faces mirrored hers when she had found out.

They were headed back to the common room when they found Filch muttering to himself as he mopped up the flooded floor, their eyes going wide. Cautiously, they snuck into Myrtle's bathroom where the flood seemed to have originated, only to find Myrtle sobbing, the bathroom darkened by the waters that left both the walls and floor soaking wet.

"Myrtle? What's wrong?" Celesta asked, only to have the ghost get right up in her face.

"Come to throw something else at me, have you?!" Myrtle glugged at her accusingly, Harry wading through the waters to stand at Celesta's side.

"Why would we through something at you?" He asked a bit confused.

Myrtle shouted at them as she answered. "Don't ask me! Here I am, minding my own business, and somebody finds it funny to throw a book at me!" With each word more water seemed to fill the room, Celesta inwardly groaning at the squishyness she could feel in her shoes already. To make it worse, it came from the toilets.

"But it can't hurt you, can it? I mean, it'd just go right through you, wouldn't it?" Harry asked reasonably as Celesta sloshed back to the doorway, where the water seemed to be less, casting drying spells one after another to her clothing that wasn't touching the water. She was going to write home immediately for another pair of shoes, for sure.

Harry seemed to realise he said the wrong thing as Myrtle puffed herself up, shrieking her next words. "Let's all throw books at Myrtle, because she can't feel it! Ten points if it goes through the stomach, fifty through the head!" With stomach and head, Myrtle shoved her arm through Harry's corresponding body, Celesta shuddering. It wasn't a good feeling, having a ghost go through your body.

She ignored the rest of the conversation, only paying attention once again when she noticed Harry pocket a ratty old diary.

Hermione was returned to them completely back to normal in the beginning of February. Harry filled her in on the diary, and they theorized that Riddle must've known who opened the Chamber, since the diary was about the same age as the time the Chamber was opened before.

There'd been no more attacks since Nearly Headless Nick and Justen Flynn-Fletchey, thank merlin. Lockhart seemed to think it was him, and that the castle needed cheering up. He'd said no further than that he had just the idea for it. The sun's bleak late winter sun was starting to shine again, hope going through the castle. Even the mandrakes were entering their teenage years. A little bit more mature, another repotting, and then they'd be ready, they overheard Sprout telling Mr. Filch one afternoon.

Lockhart's idea of a morale-booster became clear the morning of February fourteenth. Celesta and Hermione had just stepped into the Great Hall, and while Hermione seemed to giggle like the school girl she was, Celesta turned a bit green at the gills. There were large lurid flowers covering the walls. The ceiling was a pale blue, and heart shaped confetti fell from it, getting everywhere.

The young woman thought it couldn't get any worse as Harry joined them for breakfast, Potter having gone to bed late due to quidditch practice. Of course, as if merely thinking the words was a jinx onto itself, Lockhart, dressed as lurid pink as the flowers and confetti hearts were, called for silence.

"Happy Valentine's Day! I want to thank the forty-six people who have already sent me cards! And the fun doesn't end just here!" He'd announced. As if on que, the doors to the entrance hall opened and in walked in about half a dozen dwarves. If it wasn't ridiculous enough, they were wearing golden wings and carrying harps. Celesta was torn between laughter and horror as Lockhart continued to speak.

"My friendly card-carrying cupids! They will be roving the castle all day long to deliver your Valentine's! The fun doesn't end there!" Celesta stopped listening at this point, looking to the teachers as if silently begging them to help their students. Flitwick was burying his face in his hands, his cheeks ruddy, nearly matching the shade to her eyes. Snape looked like anybody who asked him for a love potion would be force-fed poison, and Celesta couldn't help but mimick the sentiment.

Leaving breakfast early with an excuse that she needed to grab her books, she looked nauseous as she danced around a few of the 'cupids' standing outside the great hall. Perhaps somebody who would take the Valentine's down to divy them up to be delivered? She wasn't sure.

She'd been lucky not to have been at the attentions of the dwarves until after lunch, a surly-faced dwarf catching her as she tried to race to Charms.

"Oy! Celesta Malfoy!" He called, catching the end of her robe. She winced, but thankfully the dwarf wasn't singing like some of the others seemed inclined to. Instead he handed her a card, nodded, and strode off. Almost immediately she stuffed it in her bag, before continuing on to class. Only...in the middle of the lesson, to Flitwick's annoyance, another dwarf, with another card, delivered one to Celesta again.

"Honestly! I'm just a second year!" she'd huffed after classes, just in time to see Harry running from a dwarf determined to catch him. She didn't pay much attention, heading to DADA, even though it was a joke this year. She was learning more on her own, starting in the third year curriculum already, with the aid of her Mother purchasing her the book for year three. She'd been reading it whenever she was done with her homework for the night, getting theories and essays completed a year ahead.

After class, dinner was even worse. The Weasley twin's looked her way more than usual, and the dwarves seemed to be finishing their deliveries. It seemed she was the last ones, as once again she was delivered a Valentine. To her horror, his rough voice sang it, rather than give her a card.

"To the Malfoy who's most fair,

That seems to walk on air,

I send to you my admirations.

Don't take them as flirtations.

I wish to be friends,

But in my defense,

I'm too shy to say this directly.

Soon I'll say it correctly,

For my name is D. Thayer.

I know from this you may tire.

So I'll end this now,

Give the dwarf a bow.

Find me when I appear,

And hopefully as friends, we'll end this year."

Finally the dwarf seemed to be done, Celesta feeling woozy from all the blood rushing to her head. Finally she stood, nodded to her friends silently, and power-walked back to the common room with a groan. Having left without looking at anybody else, she missed the dark looks Fred and George Weasley shared with each other.

Once in her room, Celesta was pulling out her homework for the day when the earlier cards came tumbling out from between two of her books, landing on the floor. Groaning a little to herself, she double checked to make sure she was alone before she opened them one at a time.

The first one sent a firework that burst into a rose in her room, her eyes going wide as it then turned into a heart. Cheeks warm, she glanced down at the card, managing to find the words written.

'To the snowy fox

My heart you've captured.

It's too early to know if you feel the same,

I know,

But won't you be my Valentine?

-Fred'

Cheeks warm and a gentle smile on her lips, she giggled a little, before gasping and glancing around once more when she heard noises coming from the common room. Dinner must be done with. Knowing she only had a short amount of time, she opened the remaining card, only to have her grin grow larger as actual rose petals fell into her lap.

'To the light amoung the dark of night,

My heart you've captured.

You're too young for boys, my mum would say.

Ignore it anyway, please,

Won't you be my Valentine?

-George'

Celesta couldn't believe it, her cheeks warm and strained from her smile. While roses weren't her favorite flower, they were quite beautiful. Shutting the cards and whisking the fallen petals into a glass vial with a stasis charm on it, she locked them both in her trunk before racing down to the common room, the Weasley twins sitting on the couch. Hermione was likely in the library before curfew, finishing her own homework, Ron either with her or doing wizard's chess. It seemed Harry had gone to bed early as she went to the twins who had sent her such lovely cards.

Quickly, she lunged for them once she was close enough, startling Lee who was retelling poems he'd heard sung throughout the day. Fred and George had been slightly expecting it however, catching her and pulling her close between them as she kissed their cheeks.

"They were lovely, boys. And your mum is right, for now." She told them, hope flaring in their chests at her words, their eyes glistening with it. "But as a note, my favorite flowers are Trailing Bellflowers and Penny Black Nemophila. Thank you again, though."

Lee had given them space it seemed, going to chat up Angelina Johnson. Fred han his palm against her cheek as George raised her hand and kissed the back of her fingers.

"We'll remember, love," they spoke together, her cheeks nearly red as they both kissed at her fingertips, a sign of loyalty among some customs.

She stayed with them a while later, until the prefects announced it was bed time. Both boys kissed her cheeks before Celesta went to the girl's staircase, making her giggle as she ran to bed.

The next morning Harry told them about his experience with the diary, saying Hagrid was the one who had opened the Chamber fifty years ago. They all seemed to agree that Hagrid wouldn't have wanted to kill anybody, but they all seemed divided as to if it really was their friend who opened the Chamber.

By March, it'd been four months since there was another attack, and the Mandrakes were almost fully mature, according to Professor Sprout. This made everybody happy, but none more than Celesta and Harry, who hadn't heard the voice in months as well. It was nice, the silence. It almost seemed as if whoever was making the attacks had stopped and retired for good.

During Easter Holidays, they were given something new to think about. Their classes for third year on. Already settled on Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, Celesta didn't have to think very hard.

The night before Gryffindor's quidditch map, she and Hermione were sitting in the common room reading up on Ancient Runes when Harry ran up and told them what he had found. Somebody had stolen Riddle's diary, and it had to have been a Gryffindor, leaving them all feeling shaky and pale. Who would steal from their own?

As they left the Great Hall the next morning so Harry could go get his Quidditch supplies, she and Harry heard the voice once again.

'Kill this time...let me rip...tear...'

Whimpering a little, Harry explained to her friends that they heard the voice again. Hermione seemed to have figured something out, grabbing Celesta's arm and dragging her to the library. They passed Draco, who saw his sister looking pale and frightened.

Neither of them saw him following one stack away, pulling a book through the stacks and putting the page he'd ripped out from Flourish and Blotts inside the book, then shove it too hard to the side they were on, both girls jumping. With the thump, they didn't even hear his steps as he walked away. They'd just picked up the book and looked inside, Hermione grabbing the ripped page, when Celesta grabbed Hermione's free hand, her eyes widening as she heard the voice once again, only this time, they both heard the slythering accompanying it.

'Kill...Kill..'

"It's here!" Celesta whispered as loud as she dared at Hermione, who gulped and scribbled a word on the page they'd just been reading before she held up her handmirror. Celesta however closed her eyes tightly, going stiff as her friend seemed to turn to stone beside her. A lone tear tracked down Celesta's cheek as she held herself as deathly still as she could, feeling the warm breath of what she now knew was a Basilisk brush against the back of her neck. A new voice shouted in parseltongue something about not her before suddenly they were both gone. In fear, she didn't dare move just in case.

Madam Pince, the librarian, found them nearly thirty minutes later, only fifteen minutes before the Quidditch game was meant to start.

"O-oh dear!" She'd shouted, and at the noise Celesta let out a loud sob, collapsing to her knees. Madam Pince didn't even shush her as she sent a Patronus to Mcgonagall, who arrived what seemed like seconds later.

"Granger! Malfoy, what happened?!" The stern matron demanded of her, only Celesta was too distraught to answer, her hand still clutching Hermione's, unable to let go with her friend being petrified.

"Let's get them to Pompfrey." Mcgonagall said with a worried sigh.

Apparently the match had been cancelled, Celesta learned as Harry and Ron arrived in the hospital wing, Celesta unable to let go of her friend. While she'd been lucky enough to close her eyes as the slythering had come closer, Hermione hadn't, her free hand, the one not holding the ripped page or mirror, was locked on Celesta's own, leaving her unable to let go until she was unpetrified. Pompfrey had been trying to think of a way to disentangle them both when Harry and Ron arrived, gasping at the sight.

Still sobbing, though now it was mostly sniffles and whimpers, shudders wracking through her body, Celesta merely shook her head when they asked what happened.

Mcgonagall explained where they'd been found, but the boys didn't know it was a Basilisk, and Celesta couldn't get the words out from her mouth. Whenever she tried, she seemed to sob all over again.

The boys went to the common room as Madam Pompfrey summoned nightclothes for the female Malfoy, summoning a bed that was touching Hermione's own.

"No reason for you not to be comfortable. Until those Mandrakes are ready I'm afraid you're going nowhere, Miss Malfoy." The Matron tutted, flittering about. "You'll have to alert me when you need the facilities, and I'm afraid spells will have to due in lieu of bathing."

Celesta had nodded weakly. Her professors would be bringing her homework, and while she wasn't the best at left handed spell work, it'd have to do for completing her homework each day. She couldn't write with it, but she could charm a quill to do it for her.

Sometime during the night, she awoke to Harry and Ron shaking her awake. They explained that Dumbledore had been suspended, and Hagrid arrested in hushed whispers. They also explained their run in with the Acromantulas, Celesta gasping. After that, they weren't allowed back in the wing. Pompfrey explained they weren't taking any chances.

Mcgonagall came to her a week from the first of June, explaining that she'd have to take the exams then, stuck in the Hospital Wing or not. Celesta had only nodded, rubbing an ointment on the hand still connected to Hermione's. It was meant to allieve muscle pains and aches, as well as prevent it from going numb while she was stuck. She'd taken up the habit of reading her books aloud to Hermione, just in case her friend could hear her.

Three days before their first exams, Harry and Ron finally were able to visit her once more. She thought the page had been ripped from her friend's hand honestly, having forgotten all about it, when Harry and Ron noticied it, prying it from Hermione's hand.

"Of course! It's a Basilisk!" Harry explained, going on. "Nobody looked it in the eye, that's why nobody's died. Collin looked through his camera, Justin must've seen it through Nearly Headless Nick, Hermione and the Ravenclaw through their mirrors. Mrs. Norris must've seen the reflection from the water flooding the floor!"

Celesta nodded along, Maera having taken up the habit of resting on her lap, letting her pet through the fur on her friend to calm herself. "I heard slythering just before...before...I had closed my eyes. I couldn't...I couldn't bare it. I was too scared." She admitted, tears springing to her eyes.

"Don't worry Celesta. We'll tell Professor Mcgonagall." Ron said, the boys racing off.

Author's Note: WOW! I don't think anybody expected that. She's not petrified...but she is stuck to somebody who is! I thought about finishing this, but honestly it was getting a bit long.

Thank you all who have read this far. You mean the world to me.

Read and Review, please?