There was a moment of silence and then…
"Ginny!" "ANNIE!"
Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Elisa came running to their family members and hugging them so tight they almost looked like they wouldn't let go.
Jack looked around and saw to his surprise that Dumbledore was behind the desk talking to an upset Tooth, who looked up at the noise.
"YOU!" she screamed and marched up to Lockhart - her height meaning she was a head shorter than him - before slapping him right across the face "HOW DARE YOU TAKE OTHER PEOPLE'S MEMORIES!"
"Tooth calm down," Jack said gently pulling her back "You can beat him up about it later, first we need to check if Ginny and Annie are ok, right?"
Puffed up in fury but agreeing to what he said, Tooth turned her back on Lockhart who was gently rubbing his face not sure why this woman just slapped him, and looked at the girls with a more caring look on her face.
Just as Jack rolled his eyes at the humanized-fairy's behavior, he felt himself being hugged by Mrs Weasley, and kissed by Elisa, both wanting to know how the boys saved their family members.
"I think we'd all like to know that," said Professor McGonagall weakly, fanning herself a little.
Mrs Weasley let Harry – who she was currently hugging – go, and Elisa went back to Annie, allowing him and Jack to go up to the desk, where Harry laid across it the Sorting Hat, the ruby encrusted sword, and Tom Riddle's diary.
For about 15 minutes, the two of them told the story of what had happened that year.
About hearing a voice in the walls, about Jack finally working out it was a Basilisk; about how Jack went out into the Forest to follow the spiders and how Aragog said the last victim was a girl found in a bathroom.
"That's how we worked out it was Myrtle, and where the entrance was," Jack said aiming this to Professor McGonagall, reminding her about that afternoon.
"Very well," she said nodding to tell him she understood and remembered "So you found the entrance, but how on earth did you all get out of there alive, Frost?"
"Well before we went down there, we over heard the meeting in the staff room, and Jack said he was sure Lockhart was going to run for it," Ron said wanting to have a say in this himself.
"Yeah so, we went to his office and found that he was indeed packing up all his useless things." Jack said rolling his eyes "But we forced him to come with us – sacrifice thing you know – I'm only joking!" he said seeing the looks from the teachers.
"Yeah… anyway," Harry said and went on again about going to Myrtles bathroom, about opening the entrance to the Chamber, and how they had just found the old snake's skin, when Lockhart pretended to faint, only to grab Ron's wand.
"He was about to remove our memories," Harry said not caring that Jack's friend gasped, before glaring at the man again and asking if Jack was ok "But Jack fired something at him that made him go flying into a wall and the cave to collapse meaning him and I was on one side and Ron and Lockhart were on the other."
"And that effect broke my wand, and left him memory-less" Ron said holding up the two pieces of wood to show his parents.
"Leaving Ron to try and make a hole big enough for us to come back," Harry took over again "We carried on, finally making it to the Chamber of Secrets, where we found Annie and Ginny. We went to try and wake them up but we couldn't and then…" he said looking to Jack, not sure how to explain this part.
"And then we met someone," Jack said calmly.
"Who?" everyone asked curious, but the boys ignored this and continued with the story.
"Anyway, this person explained it was him who opened the Chamber 50 years ago, and that it was him, by using a host, who did it this time as well." Jack said being sure not to say that it was Ginny just yet.
Next, Harry explained about the Fawkes, the Sorting Hat, and the sword, and how the Basilisk bit the sword which he then used to stab the diary.
"But… But why is the diary so important?" Mrs Weasley asked not understanding.
"Because it once belonged to Voldemort, well technically Tom Riddle," Jack said calmly ignoring when the Weasley's shuddered at the name "He was who we met. He said that he had been controlling Ginny to do his bidding almost all year."
"W-What's that? You-Know-Who? Control Ginny?! How?" Mr Weasley asked in a stunned voice.
"His diary!" Ginny said sobbing "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been writing back all year!"
"Yes," Dumbledore said nodding in understanding "Very few people know that before he gained power, Lord Voldemort went by the name of Tom Riddle," he explained "He attended Hogwarts 50 years ago, I taught him myself. After he left he fell into some of the worst Dark Magic I've ever seen, and when he came back into the open he was almost unrecognizable."
"Ginny!" said Mr Weasley, shocked and turning to his daughter. "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps it's brain. Why didn't you show that book to me? Or you mother, or a teacher? It was obviously full of dark magic."
Jack wondered if Mr Weasley knew about Fred and George's map, but stayed quiet, listening carefully to Ginny explaining she found it in one of the books she brought last summer.
"But… But what's Annie got to do with all this?" Elisa asked still hugging and not letting go of her sister.
"I ran into Ginny as she was painting on the walls," Annie explained "I went to ask her what she was doing, but when she turned to me. I saw it wasn't her, and then I don't remember anything until I woke up in the Chamber."
"Well I think both Miss Weasley and Annie Dale should go to the hospital wing straight away, for a little calming potion." Dumbledore said "This has been a terrible ordeal for them. There will be no punishment for Miss Weasley. Older and wiser wizards than she have been tricked by Lord Voldemort." he got up and went to open the door "Bed rest and perhaps a nice mug of hot-chocolate, I suggest. I find that always makes me feel better."
Nodding the Weasley parents, Ginny, Annie and Elisa all left, closing the door behind them.
"You know Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said in a thoughtful tone "I think this all merits a great feast. Might I ask you to go warn the kitchens?"
"Right," she said moving over to the door "I'll leave you and our guest to deal with Potter, Weasley, and Frost shall I?"
"Certainly." Dumbledore replies as McGonagall left. "Now…" he said sitting back down and addressing the boys "I trust that you know, that over the last few hours, you three have broken almost a dozen school rules, and as of that I should punish you accordingly. However, due to your acts of bravery and determination, I will instead make sure you all receive Special Awards for Services to the School, and – let me see – 200 points apiece for Gryffindor."
Ron was shocked and as bright as his hair, but stayed silent.
"Now, would you mind taking Professor Lockhart to the Hospital wing as well," Dumbledore asked Ron "I'd like a few more words with Jack and Harry."
"Actually Professor," Tooth said speaking up "I'd rather take care of Lockhart some more before I go and try and fix everything he's done to the people he's ripped off," she said glaring at the man who was innocently poking at a few odd looking instruments.
"Tooth… Violence is never the answer to anything…" Jack said ignoring the violent glare he was getting from her.
"You stay out of this, Jack!" she said firmly before covering her mouth and apologizing.
"I think Tooth you should perhaps have some hot chocolate too," Dumbledore said calmly not caring how she huffed but followed Ron as he was dragging Lockhart by the arm.
Once the door was shut again a moment of silence went around the room.
"Well, I must thank both of you;" Dumbledore said to Jack and Harry after a moment "You must have shown great loyalty to me down in the Chamber of Secrets. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."
He reached out to stroke the birds feathers.
"Well actually sir, I was trying to get through the door to see if there was something we could use to stop Riddle," Jack said wanting to make this clear "And actually I think there's lots more down there than just the Basilisk."
"Well, we'll just have to look into that some other time, perhaps when everything has calmed down a little," Dumbledore said in a thinking voice before looking to Harry and saying "So you met Tom Riddle. I imagine he was very interested in you."
"Yeah… yeah he was," Harry said a little unsure about this "And he said we had… strange likenesses."
"Did he, now?" Dumbledore asked looking thoughtfully "And what do you think Harry."
"I don't think I'm like him at all!" said Harry louder than he intended "I mean I'm in Gryffindor, I'm…"
"Harry, no-one it just one Hogwarts House," Jack said calmly rolling his eyes a little "Look at Hermione for example, she's got the brains to rival a 4th Year Ravenclaw, and yet she's in Gryffindor with us, right?" he paused for Harry to nod "And I'm perfect for Slytherin with all my tricks and cunning right? And yet I sleep in the same room as you and Ron in Gryffindor too. See where I'm going with this?"
"I know all of that, it's just…" Harry said then paused for a moment, thinking "The Sorting Hat did say I'd – I'd have done well in Slytherin. And people thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while because I can speak Parseltounge."
"Yeah and I know how to speak Pixie, but that doesn't mean I'm one myself," Jack said looking around the room, feeling bored.
Politely ignoring Jack's comment, Dumbledore turned to Harry and said:
"You can speak Parseltounge, Harry, because Lord Voldemort, who was the last known descendent of Salazar Slytherin could speak it." Dumbledore said "Unless I'm mistaken, the night he tried to kill you, he gave you some of his power. Unintentionally, I'm sure, but this means you now had the power to understand snakes."
"How do you know he can't understand them anyway, sir?" Jack asked, as Harry thought this over "All Purebloods are connected some way or another, maybe he got the skill from somewhere higher up his tree himself?"
Dumbledore was about to say something to this comment, when Harry said desperately:
"So… so I should be in Slytherin. The Hat saw Slytherin's blood in me and thought that that's where I should be."
"And yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor," Dumbledore said calmly "Now, think. Why do you think that might be?"
After thinking a little bit Harry answered with "It only put me in Gryffindor, because I said I didn't want to be in Slytherin."
"Exactly," Dumbledore said smiling "It's the choices that we make, that determine who we are, Harry. If you need a second opinion to deduce wither or not you and Tom Riddle are the same, Harry, I'd say you take a closer look at this…" he said and carefully handed the boy the sword.
Flipping it over, and looking carefully just under the hilt, there was a name etched into the blade.
Godric Gryffindor.
"It will need to take a true Gryffindor to have pulled that out of the Hat, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly.
Feeling a little better Harry nodded and set the sword back down.
"Then why did it burn Jack when he tried to hold it?" Harry asked looking to his friend.
"Well it can be the fact that I'm supposed to be in Slytherin, that it's Goblin made and I have a condition that won't let me hold it without getting hurt, or it could be the sword only lets it's master and his family hold it." Jack suggested speaking really fast so Harry couldn't quite understand it.
Just as he was about to ask Jack to repeat what he just said, the door to the office was flung open so hard it hit the wall and bounced back, revealing Mr Malfoy and under his arm…
"Dobby…" the boys said surprised.
Dropping the elf, who scurried into the corner Mr Malfoy walked up to the desk.
"So… You've returned have you?" he asked.
"Well obviously he's returned sir," Jack said speaking up "Otherwise you wouldn't be here talking to him would you?"
Ignoring Jack, Luscious kept staring at Dumbledore waiting for an answer.
"I have, and I must say Luscious, the stories the other school governors told me when they were practically begging me to come back upon hearing a couple of students have been taken. It seems half of them thought you said you would harm their families if they didn't sign the form to get rid of me in the first place."
"How strange." Luscious said "So have did you catch the culprit?"
"Well the school's still open, so what do you think, sir?" Jack said rolling his eyes at how dumb grown-ups can be, turning his attention to Dobby as Harry tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
The elf was pointing to the diary, then Mr Malfoy, then hitting himself on the head.
"We have," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Well who was it then?"
"The same person as last time."
"I doubt that sir, since Hagrid cannot speak Parseltounge or Dragonese," Jack said turning back to the men as Harry continued watching the elf. "The Chamber of Secrets can only be opened by a Parselmouth or a Dragon Whisper, and since Hagrid is neither he couldn't have opened it 50 years go, or even now."
"But of course, you already knew that didn't you?" Jack said giving a slightly cold glare at the headteacher. "So if you did, why didn't you stand up for him back then? And why did you let the old Headmaster give Riddle that award and kept it for 50 years even though it was a big fat lie?"
Dumbledore was about to answer when Jack continued.
"I'll tell you why, it was because you knew, didn't you… You knew that one day an old friend of his, would pass on his diary, to an innocent new first year, who needed a friend, and the Chamber would open again, meaning those who were trying to work out what happened last time would look for anything and everything they could find to understand what was going on. And the only thing there was that was even close to that, if you didn't want students being eaten by giant spiders, was that dumb award. Lies can hurt Professor…"
And with that Jack turned and left, knowing full well that Dumbledore was talking about Tom Riddle, but it still had to be said that Hagrid was the one who took the blame and improperly expelled for it.
AN Sorry it has taken so long, and that the end of this doesn't quite work right (I might go back and change it if i get enough comments about it)
Hopefully the next part won't take so long to put up
Either way I hope everyone likes it, and is still liking my story