Months passed during which Hermione didn't come to Val for help once. They were now taking their end of the year exams. Val was almost sure she had passed all of her exams so far, but they still had one left; History of Magic. History of Magic had been her least favourite class. They spent one hour answering questions about the batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons, and then they were done. They had finished their exams. Valencia couldn't help but smile as she handed in her piece of parchment with her answers on it to Professor Binns and then left the classroom. She and Hermione had spent their time in the library studying for the exams rather than reading, making every single exam fly by with ease.
A few hours passed in which Valencia sat out by the Great Lake watching the giant squid leap from the water. She was fiddling with a stick while leaning up against a tree when she heard footsteps approaching her.
"Valencia. I thought that was you, I've been looking for you everywhere" Hermione said as she came to stand beside her.
"What is it?" Val asked.
"Snape is going to try and steal the stone… tonight," she said. She was panting a little while she spoke.
At these words Valencia stood up from where she had been sitting.
"Harry, Ron, and I are going through the trapdoor tonight to try and stop him," she continued. "And well, I know how you said you wanted to help us so… will you come with us? You are beyond smart and talented and having you there with us would be loads of help. Fluffy isn't the only thing guarding the stone. There are other obstacles, other things that I- that we will need help getting past. So. Will you help us?" Hermione said.
"O-of course I will help you" Valencia stammered.
"Great! Meet us at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room at midnight. Oh and don't get caught. It really would ruin everything. Just- just don't let anyone know where you are going if they see you. Alright?" she said.
"I won't," Val said as she gave Hermione a reassuring look. "But wait, Hermione," she started. Hermione had begun to walk back towards the castle before Val spoke again. "Why tonight? Why is Snape going to try to steal it tonight?"
"Because Professor Dumbledore is gone… He's not at the school at the moment and he is the only person who You-Know-Who has always been afraid of" Hermione said.
"Well I guess that makes sense" she said. Hermione gave her a small smile before turning to walk up the hill.
How was she supposed to get out of the Slytherin common room and up to the Gryffindor common room without anyone noticing? Surely there would still be people up and about in the Slytherin common room. Exams had finished so there wasn't much reason for students to go to bed early like they usually did. What if someone caught her? What if they ratted her out to Snape. She hadn't gotten a detention all year and she really didn't want to get one now.
She sat back down against the tree and continued to watch the giant squid for another hour. By the time she headed up to the castle, it was dinner time. She sat beside June in her normal spot as they ate the wide variety of food that she knew had been provided by the kitchen elves.
"Why do you look so nervous Val? Exams are done" June said. She took a bite of her food and waited for Val's response.
"Er- I'm just worried that I didn't pass my erm Potions exam," she lied.
"Oh trust me, I'm sure you got O's on every single exam that you took. Besides, who gives a damn if you passed them or not" June said.
"Er- well I care if I passed them or not" Val said as she raised an eyebrow at her friend.
June rolled her eyes before turning to talk to Damon who was stuffing kidney pie down his throat. After dinner, Val waited anxiously in the Slytherin common room for midnight. She sat in her usual spot on the couch, still in her robes, until eleven thirty p.m. The common room still had a few people in it but they were all too focused on what they were doing, so Val slipped up into her dormitory to change. She wore a pair of regular jeans and a long sleeved purple t-shirt along her pair of black boots. She grabbed her wand before rushing back down into the common room. She was lucky to find that everyone was still preoccupied with what they were doing. She climbed the stairs to the exit/entrance of the common room and waited for the tall double doors to appear before she slipped out into the cool corridor.
With her wand clutched tightly in her right hand, Valencia started up the marble staircase that led to the entrance hall. When she reached the entrance hall, she looked around to make sure that no one was around to catch her before making her way up the grand staircase. When she reached the seventh floor corridor her breathing had become slightly heavy but she continued on.
She reached the portrait of the fat lady a few minutes later and waited for nearly ten minutes before it swung open. She was utterly confused because there seemed to be no one around her. No one excited the passageway but the portrait swung closed.
Before she could think twice, a hand grabbed her forearm and dragged her backwards and underneath some sort of cloak.
"What the fu-"
"Shh" Ron's voice said.
"Where the bloody hell am I?" Val asked.
"Under my dad's old invisibility cloak" Harry whispered.
"We need to get moving before we get caught," Hermione said.
The four of them were hunched over underneath a cloak that Harry was holding up. If this was really what had said it was, then they were invisible to anyone outside of the cloak.
"Come on, let's move," Ron said.
As the four of them shuffled through the seventh floor corridor Valencia could have sworn she saw Filch nearly ten times, but all of those times it had turned out to be nothing more than an armoured statue.
When they reached the first set of stairs, there was an actual moving figure in front of them. Mrs Norris, Filch's cat was strutting around near the top of the stairs.
"Oh please let me kick her just this once," Ron whispered.
"Ronald!" Val whispered back in an angered tone. Harry only shook his head before they moved around the cat carefully and made their way down the stairs. They walked for another few minutes before they came upon someone else. Peeves the poltergeist was up to his usual mischief, and this time he was loosening the carpet so that passing students would trip as they walked.
"Who's there?" Peeves said suddenly. They had just been about to pass him when he heard their footsteps. "I know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you a ghoulie or ghostie or a wee student beastie?"
He rose up into the air, and even though he couldn't see the four of them, he looked directly at where they were standing. "Should I call Filch, I should, if there's something a-creepin' around unseen."
Harry, Ron, Val, and Hermione all looked at each other with wide eyes before Harry came up with something to say.
"Peeves" Harry whispered, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."
It was common knowledge that Peeves the Poltergeist was only scared of one person, or ghost in this case; the Bloody Baron.
"S-so sorry, your bloodiness, M-mr. Baron, sir," Peeves said. He had a frightened look upon his face. "M-my mistake, I didn't see you, of course I didn't, you're invisible. Oh please your bloodiness, forgive old Peevsie. It was only a joke, sir."
"I have business here tonight Peeves," Harry said. "Stay away from this area for tonight."
"Oh certainly your bloodiness. I will stay away from here- Peevsie will not bother you tonight, sir" Peeves said before he quickly floated away.
"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron whispered as they continued on.
Only a few minutes later, they had reached the third-floor corridor. A door was open towards the end of the corridor and Val could have sworn she heard music as they made their way towards it.
"Oh no-" Hermione said.
"Well there you have it, Snape has already made his way past Fluffy and knowing our luck he already has the stone" Harry said.
The four of them shuffled into the room, still under the cloak and when Val looked up she saw the biggest dog she had ever seen. Although it was sleeping, the beast was terrifying. It had three heads, all of which looked like they could bite any of them in half in an instant. There was drool coming from all three of the mouths, soaking part of the cold floor.
Val had been right, there was a small harp playing in a corner of the room playing the music that she had heard only moments earlier.
"If you three don't want to go," Harry started, "then I can understand why. I can give you the cloak and you can head back to the common room. I won't stop you."
"Don't be a blithering idiot Harry, we're going with you" Val said.
"Yea, we're coming with you. We've all gotten this far together, there's no turning back now" Ron said.
"Allright" Harry said. "We don't really need this anymore. I guess we can just leave it up here" he said as he pulled the cloak off of them.
"We need to get to the trap door, now" Hermione said. The four of them made their way to a hinged trap door that Fluffy's paw was rested on and they all helped to move the massive paw out of the way before Hermione opened the door.
"Alright, who's going first?" Ron said.
"We-" Harry started, but the harp had stopped playing. The giant dog was now glaring down at the four of them as they crouched down beside the trap door.
"Go!" Val said. She was the first to jump blindly down the trap door. The other three followed. None of them knew what would be beneath them but anything would be better than getting their heads ripped off by the giant dog. They all landed on something soft a few seconds later. Val began to feel around her to try and figure out what they were on but she retracted her arm quickly when something sharp cut through the skin on her left forearm.
She still had her wand in her right hand so she whispered "Lumos!". The tip of her wand lit up the area around her to reveal the thick snake-like vines that surrounded her.
"What is this stuff?" Ron asked.
"I dunno, some sort of plant thing" Harry responded.
"We must be miles under the school now" Hermione said.
"Well I guess we are lucky that this plant thing is here" Ron said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Lucky?" Hermione practically shrieked. "Look at yourselves!"
Hermione was right. The vines of the plant had started to wrap themselves around the four of them, making them all unable to move.
"Wait Hermione you don't think this is-" Val started.
"Devil's snare?" Hermione finished for her. "That's exactly what this is.
"Glad we know what it's called! That helps so much!" Ron said sarcastically. He and Harry were now both trying to wiggle their way out of the plant's grasp but the vines only tightened their grip around the two of them.
"We all need to relax, stop moving you two" Val said. There was blood dripping down her left arm from the cut she got only moments earlier but she barely noticed.
"Relax? Oh yea I can relax now that this plant is trying to strangle me!" Ron bellowed.
Hermione and Val rolled their eyes at each other. They both knew what to do. The two of them stopped struggling against the Devil's Snare and they slowly slipped out of the plant and fell into another area below them.
"Ow" Val said.
"Oh they really aren't going to relax are they?" Hermione said. Her voice was filled with worry as she looked above them to where Harry and Ron were both still struggling against the vines.
"Just relax will you! Stop struggling against the vines. It will only make it strangle you faster" Val called up to the two boys.
Apparently Harry had decided to listen to the two girls' advice because the next moment he came falling down and landed next to them.
"Valencia" Hermione started. "What is it that Devil's Snare hates? Oh I remember Professor sprout telling me about it in Herbology. What is it? Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare- It's deadly fun…"
"But will sulk in the sun!" Val finished for her.
"That's it! Devil's snare hates sunlight. Lumos Solem!" Hermione said. A jet of sunlight burst out the tip of her wand. The vines began to shrink away from the light and a few seconds later Ron was let loose. He screamed as he fell and grunted when he landed straight on his arse beside Harry.
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione" Harry said as he stood up. Hermione only rolled her eyes before she looked ahead of them.
There was a wide staircase that led down to a wooden door. The only sound they could hear was the occasional drip of water trickling down from the ceiling above as they walked.
"C-can you hear something?" Ron asked.
"It sounds- I don't know it sounds a bit like ghosts" Harry said.
"It's not ghosts, it's wings" Val said as they approached the door.
When Hermione shoved it open, a room much brighter than the one they had been in previously was revealed. The ceiling arched above them and Val saw bird-like figures fluttering around slightly above them. There was another wooden door at the other end of the room that she assumed led to yet another room; another obstacle.
"Should we try to get to the other door?" Harry asked. "Or do you think the bird things will attack us if we move?"
"Probably attack us" Ron said.
"Well, I can try running across the room to the door" Harry suggested.
And so he covered his face with his hands and ran across the room to the door, but none of the things attacked him. The other three followed him warily, and when they made it to the door Hermione tried the Alohomora charm but nothing happened; the door stayed locked.
"Ohh, now what?" Ron asked.
"Well, these birds can't just be for decoration… can they?" Hermione said.
"Hold on- these aren't birds! They're keys!" Val said. She had noticed that whatever had been fluttering around above them had been shimmering in the light, something that a normal bird wouldn't do.
"Merlin's beard. You're right Val" Harry said as he looked at the winged keys.
"Well then that must mean that one of them unlocks this door" Hermione said.
"Look! A broomstick" Ron said as he pointed to the left of them. A singular boomstick was leaning against the wall, waiting for one of them to use it.
"I have to ride it," Harry muttered to himself. "I have to go on the broom and catch the right key," he finished.
"Okay, well you should look for a key that has been used. Most likely rusted over and a bit battered up" Val said.
Harry grabbed the broom, but the moment he touched it every single key in the room darted towards him like bullets. He quickly mounted the broom and soared off into the air, the keys chasing him as he did.
"There!" Ron shouted to Harry. There was one lone key that was flying slower than all the others because one of its wings had been broken.
Harry went to snatch the key, but with the other keys still chasing him he missed and sped down to where Ron, Val, and Hermione were standing. Val stood there dumbfounded so when Harry came zooming past them on the broom, a few of the keys' wings brushed up against her face creating small cuts. Hermione pulled her backwards before the rest of them could hurt her any further.
Harry finally caught the old key and came hurtling down towards them. He jumped off the broom when he got to the ground and went running over to the door, placed the key in the lock, and turned it. The door swung open and the four of them hurried into the next room and slammed the door behind them. The mass of keys hadn't relented their attack on Harry so they all smashed into the closed door creating a loud banging sound that only subsided when they made their way away from the door and further into the room they had just entered.
This room was completely dark when they first entered, but when they moved in, torches lit all along the surrounding walls to reveal a massive chess board in front of them. The black and white chessmen that towered in front of them were nearly twelve feet tall.
Ron's mouth dropped open as he took in the sight.
"W-what do we do now?" Harry almost whispered.
"Well isn't it obvious?" Ron started. "We have to play our way across to get to that door over there." He pointed his finger over to a black door on the other side of the room that Val assumed led to another obstacle.
"Erm- how?" Hermione said with a nervous tone.
"I think we have to play as chessmen," Valencia said.
"I think Val is right," Ron said "and er- don't get offended at this but I'm pretty sure you all suck at chess. That is, unless Val is some sort of unknown prodigy at chess."
She laughed slightly at these words. She absolutely sucked at chess. "No you'd be right to assume that we all suck at chess. Just uhm… tell us what to do and where to go" she said with a reassuring smile.
"Okay well in that case, Harry you take that bishop's place, Hermione you can go over there instead of that castle, and erm- Val you can be the other bishop on the other side of the board" Ron instructed.
"What about you?" Harry asked.
"I'll be a knight," Ron said proudly.
The chess pieces must have somehow been listening because a few seconds later the two bishops, one of the castles, and a knight that was riding one of the large stone horses all turned and moved off the board, allowing the four of them to take their places.
"Well, white moves first, and then the game begins," Ron said.
One of the white pawns moved two places forward, and the game began. Ron directed the black pieces all over the board and they all moved where he had told them to go. Valencia had been shocked when one of the black pieces had all of a sudden smashed one of the white pieces, destroying it completely. As the game continued, she got more used to the fact that whenever a piece from one team took the place of a piece from another team, the piece that was taking the other's spot would smash the one that was standing in its way.
"Harry… move diagonally four spaces to the right."
Ron continued to direct them all around. A few minutes later, a rather large shard of rock came flying at Val and smashed into her right shoulder as the pawn in front of her was obliterated. She let out a small cry of pain as her shoulder began to throb in pain.
"Val!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione all shouted as the rock struck her in the shoulder.
"I'm fine… just- keep playing all right?" she said. Why the hell was it her that was getting hurt the most? It seemed pretty unfair but the more she thought about it the more she realized she would rather be the one to get hurt instead of Harry, Ron, or Hermione.
The game continued and she moved to wherever Ron told her to go all while clutching her bloody right shoulder.
"We're nearly there," Ron muttered. "Hmm. Oh I see it now… it's the only way. I've got to be taken."
"What! No you can't!" Hermione shouted. "There must be another way!"
"Ron no!" Harry and Val both yelled at the same time that Hermione spoke.
"But don't you see! It's the only way!" Ron continued. "That's chess! You have got to make some sacrifices along the way. When I step forward, she'll take me- that leaves you to checkmate the king, Harry!"
"But Ron-" Val started.
"Do you want to stop Snape from getting the stone or not?" Ron said. "If we don't hurry up he'll get the stone before we can get there!"
He was right. There was no other way. So Ron stepped forward one place and the white queen struck him hard across his head with her stone arm, knocking him out cold. Terrified and shaking, Harry then moved three spaces to the left.
"Checkmate" Harry said. The white king took off his crown and tossed it as Harry's feet. They had won. The three of them immediately rushed over to where Ron lay unconscious.
"Valencia" Hermione started. "You need to go to Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore and tell them what has happened.
"B-but what about you guys. I'm not- I can't just leave you here" she stammered.
"We'll be alright" Harry reassured her with a smile.
"Val you can't go on, you're too hurt" Hermione insisted.
"Wha- oh this? She said pointing to her shoulder. It was still throbbing in pain and she could feel warm blood seeping out of an open wound but she did not want to leave them. She couldn't just let them go on when they were in such danger. "I'm fine, I can go on."
"No ,Val, you can't," Harry said. "I don't want you getting hurt any more. You've already got cuts and bruises all over you and your shoulder most definitely is not fine."
"Harry and I will stay, but please Val… go tell Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore what happened down here. They can help us and they can help you" Hermione said. Her eyes were begging Val to go, and although she was reluctant, she finally agreed to tell the two professors.
"A-alright, fine" she said. "Just please don't get hurt. Oh and go kick that greasy-haired man's arse will you?" she finished with a grin.
They both let out a pathetic laugh. "We will," Harry assured her.
Hermione suddenly launched herself at Val and embraced her in a hug. She winced in pain when Hermione bumped up against her shoulder but ignored the throbbing feeling and hugged her back. "We'll be fine, we'll all be fine. All right?" Hermione said. "Now go take care of yourself and tell the professors."
Val pulled away from the hug and looked at Hermione. "You are the brightest witch in our year. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay? And you," she said as she turned to Harry, "you are the bravest person I have ever met, and I admire you for that."
They both blushed at her compliments but she didn't give them the chance to respond before she turned on her heel and headed for the door that they had entered through. "Lumos!" she whispered. The tip of her wand once again lit up with a small light. With her shoulder in the condition it was, she decided to hold her wand in her left hand.
When she reached the door, she heard the sound of the keys still attempting to get to Harry. She stood there for a moment before remembering a spell that she had read about in one of her books. She swung open the door not wanting to waste anymore time. The keys all came rushing at her and she received a few more small cuts on her face before shouting "Immobulus!" causing all of the keys to freeze in the air. She dashed past them and made her way to the door on the other side of the room.
When she opened this door, the staircase that they had come down was revealed and she started back up it. After taking the steps two at a time, she reached the landing in which they had fallen down onto after sinking through the Devil's snare. Another staircase that she hadn't noticed before was right in front of her and so she climbed and climbed for nearly ten minutes before she reached a small door at the top. The door was locked but when she whispered "Alohomora!" the lock clicked and she swung the door open. Valencia then found herself in the third floor corridor.
With no time to waste, she sprinted down the corridor and out onto the moving staircases. She waited rather impatiently for one of the staircases to move so that she was allowed to descend it.
After making her way down the moving staircase, she exited the area through the door and made her way out into the grand staircase where she would be able to access Professor McGonagall's office from. Since she had never been to Professor Dumbledore's office before, she had opted for McGonagall's.
When she reached her office, she pounded on the door forgetting that it was past four a.m at the time. A tired looking Professor McGonagall dressed in a nightgown opened the door to her office only a minute later. She glared down at her making Val want to turn and run the other way, but when McGonagall's eyes surveyed who was in front of her and saw the condition that she was in, her eyes went wide with shock.
"M-my dear… What on earth happened to you, Miss Martin?" the professor said as she continued to look over Val with concerned eyes. "We need to get you to the hospital wing immediately."
"No professor please, you don't understand. This- me… I can wait. Please. We need to go find professor Dumbledore. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in danger. Please" Val said in an urgent tone. Val was about to speak again but before she could, the spot behind her left ear began to burst with the same pain that she had felt on her first night at Hogwarts. She winced at the pain and brought her left hand up to the burning spot. The pain didn't subside for nearly twenty seconds but, like it had the first night, the pain went away completely and it was as if nothing had happened.
Professor McGonagall's eyes went even wider with shock as she watched Val wince in pain and took in the words that she had just said. McGonagall was about to speak before Val interrupted her.
"Please professor, we have no time to waste. We need to go find Professor Dumbledore. Right now. I will explain everything to the both of you when we get there. I promise."
"Well all right then" McGonagall finally agreed although she was shaking her head.
Valencia's wand was still lit by her Lumos charm but the light wasn't enough to light the pitch black corridors so Professor McGonagall took out her own wand and lit the end. The two witches hurried up the grand staircase, McGonagall still in her nightgown and Valencia still in her bloodied clothes. When they reached the seventh floor corridor, they quickly walked down to the end of it and stopped when they reached a large statue of a gargoyle that sat in a half-circle indent in the wall.
"Lemon drop," Professor McGonagall said. The golden gargoyle began to spin upwards, revealing a spiral staircase. The older witch motioned for Valencia to start climbing the staircase, which she did and McGonagall followed closely behind. When she reached a small landing with a large door, she waited for the professor to join her. McGonagall opened the door to reveal the headmaster's large office.
Apparently Professor Dumbledore had expected them to come because he was leaning against his desk in his daytime robes waiting for them.
"Oh, Miss Martin, you look dreadful," Dumbledore said when they entered the room.
"Oh thanks professor. I thought a bit of blood might spice up my regular look. I think it looks pretty good honestly" Val retorted.
"Miss Martin, you said you would explain everything once we got here," McGonagall said in an insistent tone. "We are here now, time for you to explain."
"Okay, well er- well the four of us went through the trapdoor at midnight. The one behind that door on the third floor corridor. The one that Fluffy was guarding" she started.
Professor McGonagall gasped in fear but Dumbledore only urged her to go on.
"Well we knew that Professor Snape was going to try and steal the Sorcerer's stone. He wants it for Voldemort. He wants to bring Voldemort back to life, and with the stone he would be able to-"
"Miss Martin! I can assure you that Professor Snape would never try to steal the stone. He was one of the teachers that helped to protect the stone" Professor McGonagall said.
"Right well anyways…" She continued to explain everything that had happened and while Dumbledore took it all in without saying a word, McGonagall would occasionally interrupt her with a gasp or criticizing words about what they had done.
"Minerva," Dumbledore began once Val had finished telling them what had happened, "you must go alert Severus about what has happened. I need to go down into the dungeons to go assist Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger. As for you Miss Martin," he turned to Val as he said this, "I must ask you to escort yourself to the hospital wing. I would have Professor McGonagall escort you but I'm afraid that she must tell Severus about what has happened. Do you think you can manage?"
"Er- yea I can do that" Valencia said as she nodded her head in a reassuring manner. The three of them exited the headmaster's office and all made their way down the grand staircase. When she reached the fourth floor, Valencia split off from the professors and began to make her way to the hospital wing.
"Hey Martin!" a voice called from behind her. She grunted in displeasure as she saw who was approaching her. Draco Malfoy came strutting over to her with a look of disgust but when he saw her injuries, his eyes went wide with shock in a similar manner that McGonagall's had done earlier.
"What do you want Malfoy? And why are you out of bed? Isn't it still curfew?" she asked.
"Are you daft Martin? It's nearly six thirty. Curfew ends at six in the morning and- and why the hell are you covered in blood?" he said as he studied her closely. Val had managed to forget about the throbbing pain in her shoulder and also failed to notice that the open wound had continued to drip blood. This most certainly meant that there was a small pool of blood in the headmasters office as there were already a few drops on the floor where she was standing.
"Doesn't matter," she said. "Besides, I don't want to talk to you. If you haven't noticed I'm currently injured. I'm sure I have a few lovely cuts on my face, and I have this cute cut on my left arm" she said as she held up her left arm for him to see, "oh and my shoulder really does look fantastic right now doesn't it? If you would bugger off it really would make my morning" Val said as she gave him a snarky smile.
Draco opened and closed his mouth a few times before he suddenly turned on his heel and started off in the opposite direction of the hospital wing. Fucking wanker.
Valencia rolled her eyes before continuing to make her way to the hospital wing. When she arrived, Madam Pomfrey hurriedly took her over to a bed and had her lay down. She gave Val some sort of potion to drink which she almost spit out at the nasty taste but Madam Pomfrey insisted that she drink it all.
"Here," Madam Pomfrey said as she handed her another potion, "this will help you sleep. You look like you have been up all night."
"That's because I have" Val replied.
"Either way, drink this. You will fall asleep easily and you won't be able to feel the pain of your injuries. Sleep will help you heal dear, and your shoulder is in awful shape… so hurry on. Drink it" Pomfrey said as she practically forced Valencia to drink the potion. This one had no taste but it was a dark black liquid that gave off a strange stench.
After gulping down the potion, Valencia fell into a deep sleep only seconds later. She didn't even have time to worry about whether or not Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all okay before her consciousness stopped working.
Valencia opened her eyes to find that it was still day time. She groaned before sitting up in her bed and when she looked over to her right, she saw someone familiar. Harry Potter was laying in the bed next to her, sleeping. He had a few cuts and bruises on his face, but other than that he looked completely fine. A smile formed on her lips as she realized that this must mean that Hermione and Ron had also gotten out just fine.
"Ah good, you're awake" Madam Pomfrey said as she made her way over to Valencia's side. "You slept quite a bit Miss Martin."
"Erm- how long?" Val asked.
"Nearly a day" the old witch responded.
"W-what? A day?" Had she really been asleep for a day? It felt more like a few hours to her.
"Yes dear. Now, all of your cuts have been healed all except your shoulder. It seems that you waited far too long to come here because the wound got slightly infected and but it should be fully healed in a few weeks. I have put a bit of gauze and some bandages around the area that you will need to change once a day but other than that you are all set to leave" Madam Pomfrey told her.
"Oh er- alright. Oh hey, is Harry all right?" she asked.
"Yes, Mr. Potter should be waking up soon. Now hurry off, you have some packing to do I assume."
When Valencia exited the hospital wing and began to make her way back to the common room, anyone who happened to see her stared at her warily and whispered to their friends. What was she, the new Harry Potter? Why were they whispering? Unless… had they all somehow found out about what had happened with her, Harry, Ron, and Hermione? That was the only solution she could come up with.
She descended the marble staircase that led to the dungeons and when she made it to the entrance to the Slytherin common room, she waited for the door to appear before entering. Almost immediately after she entered someone tackled her into a hug.
"Valencia Martin!" Junes voices said. "What on earth were you thinking going down into that creepy ass place? Ugh I'm mad you didn't invite me! Oh shit am I hurting you?"
"No no you're fine" Val said with a smile. Her shoulder still hurt slightly, but most of the pain had subsided.
"Okay well we are leaving the common room right now, come on" June said as she grabbed a hold of Val's arm.
"W-wait. Can I at least put on a pair of clean clothes?" Val said.
"Oh alright but hurry up!" June called after her. Val had already begun to make her way to their dorm while June stayed at the top of the steps to wait for her.
She put on a clean turtle neck shirt and a small black skirt before slipping on a clean pair of socks and her black boots. She brushed her knotted hair, grabbed her wand and slipped it into her skirt pocket before joining June back in the common room.
"Took you long enough" June said with a sly smirk. Val rolled her eyes playfully at her friend before the two of them made their way out of the common room.
"Where are we even going?" Val asked.
"We are going to go walk outside because why the fuck not" June said. "Oh and because Damon and Noah are out by the Great Lake waiting for us." When the two girls reached the entrance hall, June linked her arm into Val's before they made their way over to the large oak doors that led outside.
"Oh hey look! It's my favourite mudblood" Noah said as Val and June approached the two boys.
Val only rolled her eyes before sitting down next to Noah. "Missed me did you?" she jeered playfully at him.
Over the past few months, Noah had basically stopped being a judgemental prat and had actually gotten to know Val. June kept telling her how she had been right and that she had predicted that Noah would move past her being a muggle-born that day on the Astronomy tower.
After they talked for a few minutes, Val then told the three of them everything that happened on the night she went through the trap door. Damon would occasionally make some idiotic remark but other than that, the three of them listened closely. When it reached six o' clock, they started back up the hill and made their way to the Great Hall for the final feast of the school year. They would be leaving Hogwarts tomorrow morning.
"Hey do you think that Daphne will date me now?" Damon asked with a mouth full of potatoes.
"Have you been working out or something? Doing squats?" June asked after taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.
"How'd you know? Noah I will kick your arse if you told anyone-" Damon began as he glared over at his best friend.
"Hey hey, I didn't say shit. I think she just noticed that your arse is fatter than usual" Noah said casually.
"Oh good! That means it's working!" Damon said. A piece of lamb chop almost came tumbling out of his mouth as he spoke, causing Val to wince in disgust.
"Why do you want to date Daphne so bad?" Val asked. Her golden plate was piled high with different types of food. She had been hungry from the moment she woke up but they all had managed to miss lunch as they were too busy talking down by the Great Lake.
"Well cause she's rich obviously" Damon said as he shrugged. He then stuffed another bite of food in his mouth.
"Damon… your family is already rich as shit" Noah said. He raised an eyebrow at Damon who only shook his head.
"Well- whatever. The more money the better" he said, causing June and Val both let out a small laugh.
"Another year gone," Dumbledore began, interrupting their conversation about Damon's ass. "What a year it has been! Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points. In third place, Hufflepuff with three hundred and fifty-two points. In second place, Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty-six points, and in first place, with four hundred and seventy-two points, Slytherin."
The Slytherin table broke out into cheers but the headmaster ruined the mood by continuing to talk. "Yes, yes, well done Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "However, recent events must be taken into account. I have a few last minute points to award to a few different students."
The room went silent, and any Slytherins that had still been cheering went still.
"First- to Mr. Ronald Weasley… for the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."
At these words, Val looked over to Draco Malfoy to see that his face had gone completely pale.
"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger… for the cool use of intellect, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." That was a hundred points to Gryffindor…
"Third- to Mr. Harry Potter… for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points" Dumbledore said. If her calculations were correct, Gryffindor and Slytherin were now tied…
"Fourth- to Miss Valencia Martin, for incredible knowledge and undying perseverance, I award Slytherin house fifty points." Her mouth gaped open at his words. Did he actually just… do that? June shook her shoulder and she looked over to see a wide smile on her friends face.
"There are all kinds of courage," Dumbledore continued. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to our friends. Therefore, I award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."
Cheers broke out from the Gryffindor table and people began to congratulate an awestruck Neville.
"Erm- what the fuck just happened?" Noah asked. "Does this mean that Slytherin still wins and that Dumbledore did that for absolutely nothing?"
He was right. What was the point? Slytherin had still won.
"Which means," the headmaster called over the loud applause, "that Slytherin wins the house cup!"
Draco Malfoy, who had been even paler than usual, and the rest of the Slytherin table burst into cheers and applause once more. But they were the only table that did. The other houses were… glaring at her? What the fuck did she do to them? Even Ron was giving her a nasty look. Why, because she happened to help them down in the dungeons and practically save his life? Idiot. Nevertheless, the other tables silently clapped as to not be entirely rude.
After the feast had ended, a few of the Slytherins congratulated her on helping them to win the house cup but her mind was still on the fact that Ron of all people had looked at her like that. He had always been nice to her, even if he hated all Slytherins, but when compared to how Harry and Hermione acted towards her, Ron stuck out like a sore thumb. He never talked to her in the halls; Harry and Hermione did. He only ever talked to her when he was with Harry and Hermione, and even then it was obvious that something about her bothered him.
"At least you're useful for something Martin" Draco Malfoy said, interrupting her thoughts. All of the Slytherin's were walking down the marble staircase and towards the common room.
"Oh I am? Really? That's surprising coming from a prat like you" she replied.
He rolled his eyes and scoffed before scurrying ahead to catch up with his friends. When they arrived back at the common room, they were given their exam results. Everyone passed, even Damon. Val had gotten a few O's and a few A's which surprised her.
The next morning was chaotic. Some of the Slytherins were frantically packing their trunks while others, like Val and June, had packed the night before. The two girls sat on the couches in front of the fire for a few minutes before heading up to breakfast. After everyone ate their fill, the entirety of the student body then made their way to the Hogwarts express which then brought them back to King's Cross station for the summer.
"You better write to me over the summer," June said. They had just made their way through the portal after departing the Hogwarts express.
"I will," Val said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Well- that is, if Aven doesn't try to nip me whenever I go to give her a letter."
June laughed before hugging her goodbye and heading over to her parents. Val did the same. She joined her parents who were waiting for her and then the three of them made their way home. Summer was here. She had finished her first year at Hogwarts.