Side note, I can't remember if Myrtle can visit the other toilets, so this is what we're going with lol.


Harry lets out a strangled hiss, and you can't suppress the shiver — but Luna grips your hand tightly, lending you strength.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" you ask Harry, who is staring down the tunnel with an unreadable expression on his face. You're grateful for Luna's presence, but she hasn't seen the horrors down there. Harry has.

But he shakes his head. "No," he says firmly. "I don't want to go down there again, I've had enough of that place for a lifetime."

It sounds like the coward's way out, but coming from Harry, you know he has a point. You don't press the issue. "Okay," you say, smiling at him. "We'll see you in a little bit, then."

Harry casts one more troubled glance at the tunnel and the slide leading into the dark depths. "Good luck."

And then he's gone, and you're left with Luna. It occurs to you that you should warn her about what lies down there, even if the danger that shadowed you doesn't linger there anymore.

You know you're alone — you'd made sure that Moaning Myrtle had gone to visit the other toilets (perhaps giving the other girls a fright), and you turn to face Luna, letting go of her hand in the process. You find that you miss its comfort.

"That…he…is gone now," you say, finding it difficult to speak. "The one that possessed me…he's gone now, and so is that…creature that tried to kill Harry. But it's…not…I'm not sure if it's completely…"

You don't know how to say it, but you don't have to. Luna meets your eyes unwaveringly, taking your hands in hers. "I'll be okay," she says steadily. No trace of the eccentric, serene Luna you're used to. She'd even dressed for the occasion — she's not wearing her cork necklace or her dangling carrot earrings. This is the Luna who came with you to give you support.

You nod, unable to speak around the newly-formed lump in your throat, and lead her over to the tunnel.


You stare around the chamber with a mixture of awe and terror. If you strain your ears, you can still hear the whispers. You can still hear him hissing in your ear, seducing you with his voice and charm and driving you to commit horrible acts. Acts that you would never perform otherwise.

You don't realize you're shaking until Luna squeezes your hand, and you jerk out of your memories. To your surprise, you feel something wet on your cheeks, trickling down to your jaw, and you don't know what to say. You're not used to this.

You don't cry. You're Ginny Weasley, and you're not the kind of girl who cries, but fights. But there is nothing to fight, not anymore. Not here, where evil disappeared long ago. What's left are the memories.

You hate them, you hate how he can still affect you years later.

Your legs give out, much to your shock, and you sink to your knees. Due to your linked hands, Luna sinks with you, and you're not aware of her pulling you in until she does. She hugs you and your trembling body and lets you whimper into her shoulder as she strokes your hair.

"It's okay if you want to cry," she whispers, her voice cutting into his and drowning it out. "You've been strong for too long." A beat, and then, even more softly, "I wish I'd met you sooner."

You don't know how much time passes until your body stops shaking and you're able to breathe. You wait. Luna doesn't let you go.

"I'm okay now," you say, and it's only a semi-lie. You will be, you're sure. "Let's go."

Both of you stand, and you turn to walk in the other direction, but Luna doesn't move, her eyes wide. She's staring at the basilisk skeleton and another wave of shivers run through your body.

But this is Luna's moment. She just…stares, saying nothing, and anxiety takes root in your body.

"That really lived in here," she says finally, faintly. "It tried to kill you and Harry."

"Just Harry," you correct her. Your voice hitches as you reminisce. "A basilisk fang lodged itself in his arm and the venom in it nearly killed him, if not for Fawkes. It chased him through the tunnels before he killed it with the sword of Gryffindor."

Luna doesn't seem to hear anything beyond "Just Harry". "Did it attack you?"

You try to recall that day, but your mind is hazy. "I don't think so," you say slowly. "I don't think it attacked me, it just went for Harry. I was more in danger of…of him sucking my life from my body and using it to fuel his own existence."

"Oh." Her voice is soft. "I see." Is she…afraid?

"It's gone now," you assure her quickly. "Whatever was down here is gone."

Luna finally tears her gaze away and looks at you, and you're surprised to see her looking uncharacteristically unnerved. "Right," she says, sounding distracted. "I don't…" Her eyes linger on you, with your arms wrapped around yourself, and says firmly, "Let's go."

You want to ask what has her looking this way, but you are more than relieved when she utters those words. Whatever questions you have, you can ask her when you're back up in the school.

You take one last look around, vowing to never come back. This doesn't quite feel like closure — it almost feels like he'll never truly be gone — but at least, you can say that you have won.

Because you are Ginny Weasley. And you can say that you are stronger because of this.


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