Daring Nerve and Chivalry
Chamber of Secrets, Night
There was a grinding noise from above and Jezibell saw (though it was hard to tell as the statue was so far up) that the mouth on the stone face was moving. Open. And something was going to come out. For once, Harry did the practical thing: he ran. No second thoughts of 'Gee, maybe I should try to beat this gigantic snake with my bare hands'. Just run. Jezibell was right behind him. Unfortunately, the Chamber of Secrets was not that big around, and they soon reached the back wall were they found themselves trapped.
"Protego," muttered Jezibell and drew Elladora's wand through the air behind them to make the magical shield. It was hardly worth it against a basilisk, but no harm in trying.
"Didn't Riddle take your wand," Harry asked as behind them something huge hit the stone floor with a SMACK. They didn't dare turn around and be subject to the basilisk's laser eyes, so they looked at each other.
"That was Ginny's."
"Is Ginny's," He corrected disapprovingly, "You stole it from her."
"Not important. Giant laser eyed snake about to kill us, remember. Got any ideas?"
Harry clutched the Sorting Hat like a lifeline,"I think Fawkes does."
The phoenix had taken flight when Jezibell started sprinting. It left her shoulders with a small squeeze and was now, by the racket in Jezibell's peripheral vision, engaging the basilisk.
"NO!" screeched Riddle, not sounding remotely like the charming schoolboy, "Leave the bird, kill the boy and girl! Kill THEM! LEAVE THE BIRD!" There was a lot furious hissing and scraping noises, like the snake was thrashing around and Jezibell risked a quick glance at the Battle of the Basilisk and the Phoenix. It wasn't something you'd see every day. The long, sinuous shape of the basilisk was winding itself into knots, coiling and uncoiling, thrusting its head up every few seconds, trying to get a stab at the tiny ember that was Fawkes whizzing about its head like a particularly flammable mosquito. It was all so surreal, Jezibell couldn't do more than stare. She had no clue as to how Fawkes was staying motile, but at the moment she decided to let the laws of magic slide. At some interval between snaps, the phoenix darted down and pushed its golden beak into the basilisk's right eye. There was a shriek of incoherent pain from the snake. It writhed in agony and in its pain it didn't even notice when Fawkes took out the left pupil too.
"Leave the BIRD! THEY ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! SMELL THEM! KILL THEM!
The basilisk turned drunkenly, its face a bloody mess with dark liquid flowing freely from punctured eyes, whipping its body around as it tried to maintain balance. The tail came out of nowhere, catching Jezibell in the chest. She flew back on the momentum and hit the wall behind hard with a sharp cracking noise. Her cheek scraped against the rough stone and she nearly blacked out from the force of the hit. Her head pounded and she lay crumpled on the floor, feeling her cut sting.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt? I thought I heard a snap!" Harry Potter was at her side, frantic.
"That shield charm was useless," Jezibell twisted upright the best she could, her head feeling as if a troll used it for clubbing practice, and felt tenderly along the side that had made contact with the wall. Harry's hand appeared on her shoulder, steadying her.
"I'm fine," She flinched away, her head throbbing as she shifted to her knees. There seemed to be no real damage to her body, accept – ah, there was something. "Aunt Elladora's wand isn't."
She felt between the wall and her side and pulled out the splintered remains of her second-hand wand. Harry's expression slid smoothly from concern to horror.
"How do we possibly beat it if we've got no wands?"
That was an excellent question. The basilisk was scraping across the floor, closing in on the sound of their voices, and it was about a hundred feet from where they were huddled. They hadn't a prayer of defense. At that desperate moment the phoenix, which was still hovering above the scene unable to do anymore damage, let out a single piercing cry. The note hung in the air to the point where it was almost tangible. It shimmered and the sound seemed to go inside Jezibell, filling her with a warm strength and dispelling the dizziness. If she had to give it a name, she would have called it courage.
No longer did the approaching basilisk appear as a threat. It was being controlled by Riddle, a pathetic imprint of person who according to Harry wasn't even totally alive. He was less than a ghost, he was a memory. And he wasn't the only one with the power of parseltongue either, not even the person here with the purest pedigree. Jezibell felt very much alive as she stood to face the oncoming snake, leaning across Harry to get him out of the way.
"What are you doing? Do you want to be eaten?"
Jezibell didn't answer him. She planted her feet and held out her arm, trying to call forth the same commanding force Harry used at the Dueling Club. The snake reared, preparing to strike.
"STOP! Get BACK! Back UP! GET AWAY!"
The basilisk stopped mid-snap, confused. It twisted its head around to face Riddle.
"Are you sure?" It asked.
"KILL HER! KILL THEM! I AM YOUR MASTER! DO AS I SAY -"
"GET BACK! GET AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM US -"
The demands bounced off the Chamber walls distracting the basilisk further. It shook its head in bewilderment and Riddle let out an inhuman shriek of fury. He was playing for total control over the basilisk, but not Jezibell. As long as she kept it confused, buying Harry time to get out there, she had won. Normally Riddle's Slytherin heritage would override anything another parselmouth would say, but the basilisk was trained to respond to purebloods and Riddle had said himself he was half-blood. Jezibell's bloodline trumped Riddle's, so it was coming down to test of will.
"KILL HER! KILL THEM!"
The basilisk tensed back, still unsure. It coiled, indecisively teetering on the edge of striking.
"KILL HER NOW!"
On 'NOW' the snake lunged.
"STOP! NO - !" Jezibell threw up her hands, fell back and closed her eyes against the oncoming mouth. Harry pushed roughly past her and there was a hideous squelchy sound followed by a cry of agony. Jezibell looked up through her defensive arms to see him standing over her, covered in blood, with his right arm thrust into the basilisk's dying mouth. The snake roared in pain and wrenched back, pulling off the long glittery... sword (what?) that had been embedded in its upper jaw. Writhing madly as it died, Slytherin's Monster let out one last spluttering hiss before falling into a lifeless mass upon the blood swum floor.
Harry collapsed. The bejeweled sword clanged to the floor and he clutched his right arm. Jezibell caught him across her pietas-esquely. She transferred his shaking body to the stone and saw something that made her stomach turn over. A wicked white rapier, about a foot in length, was gouged deep in Harry's arm. Jezibell quickly jerked it out before he could protest. It resisted slightly on his skin in the most sickening way, and the wound left behind was a horrid grisly one.
"Thanks," He choked out. His breath was coming in shallow pants that racked his slight body as the poison made its way through his veins. Basilisk venom is one of the most potent substances in the Wizarding World. Deadly as it is rare, the venom is so toxic it can corrode all but the toughest of metals and it penetrates the human immune system in less than a minute. Harry had roughly thirty seconds to live. Riddle had gotten his glory after all.
As if just thinking about him tickled a funny bone, Riddle started to laugh maniacally from the end of the chamber. The unnaturally high pitched sound filled Jezibell with such a loathing she could not fully identify.
"Your hero is dead, Jezibell. There is no hope possible left for you. You know all about such poisons as basilisk venom - there is no cure that can save him now and certainly none you could find in a dungeon. Even Dumbledore's bird understands the total failure of your situation. It's crying, don't you see?"
For Fawkes had flown the length of the cavern and landed lightly beside Harry and, just as Riddle pointed out, had pearly tears streaking maroon on the scarlet plumage. It dipped its wet head gently to the side of Harry's gored arm, letting a few tears slide off its glossy cheek. As soon the liquid made contact with Harry's ruined skin, the wound began to miraculously dissolve. Color returned to his pasty face and Jezibell could almost see the venom being extracted from his system.
Riddle was still gloating. He hadn't realized Harry was making the trip back from death's door. But he would soon. All would take was two words and flick from the stolen wand to kill them both. Fawkes looked up at her with beetle bright eyes and nudged something on the ground with its talon. The Diary. He must of grabbed it when Riddle was having his temper tantrum. How was she to kill it with all of the thickly layered magical protections? Jezibell's eyes fell on the lethal looking tooth clutched in her hand that was still oozing black basilisk venom.
"No..." Riddle had noticed the clean patch of skin on Harry's arm where there was a fatal injury not ten seconds ago. "The phoenix tears...healing powers...I forgot." He scowled, "But it makes no difference when I kill you now."
"You already said that," slurred Harry semiconsciously, but loud enough to be heard clearly.
Riddle did a double take.
"Did I?" He murmured thinking back for a second. And that was the second Jezibell needed. She held up the Diary and plunged, praying to her guardian angel (who was still on probation) to take pity on her and make this work, the basilisk fang into the deteriorating cover.
Riddle froze when the tooth struck the Diary. His body began to writhe and flail like his snake had, and his form was ripping itself apart in showers of light. Venom seeped out the sides of the book and burned her hands, but she only drove the fang deeper. Riddle screamed in one loud, drawn out, anguished cry, before his figure shattered and dissolved into air. Harry's and Ginny's wands fell to where Riddle's feet had been moments ago. Jezibell dropped the sizzling book and tooth fell out with a clatter, leaving a hole. She pressed her damaged fingers to Harry's recovered arm, hoping to catch some magic phoenix tear residue. It helped a bit, though that may have been his cold skin.
"He's gone."
Harry had come to. He straightened his glasses and looked from Fawkes, to the place Riddle vanished, to Jezibell who quickly buried her hands in her robes, and the smoking book beside her. Figuring he could stand on his own now, Jezibell slid back from his private pool of blood and started ringing out her soaked garments. The venom had seared patches of thinned cloth on the sleeves and the combination of ink, blood and dampness of the floor saturated the robes making them heavy on her lower body.
"Look," He stood up awkwardly, rubbing his healed arm, "I'm...sorry about this year. I mean, we really thought it was you doing all the attacks. It just all fit that way."
Jezibell proceeded to wiping the cut on her cheek. It crossed the bridge of her nose and hurt with grit smeared on her face from the fall. Trying to clean it only made it sting worse though.
"I didn't help it to fit any other," She said, abandoning the cut and relieving Harry, "That wasn't fair of me."
Jezibell remembered her apathetic conclusions in Myrtle's bathroom. She entered the chamber expecting the climax to their year as inferred rivals, and instead found a person willing to step in the path of an oncoming Basilisk for someone they hardly knew, hated even. Of course, Harry had a sword in hand and was saving himself just as much as her, but it was the thought that counted. Riddle said there was nothing special to Harry Potter. Jezibell begged to differ.
"So... friends?" Harry held out his hand to her, a tentative gesture of peace. Just like Neville on the train. She also remembered Riddle chiding them for not joining forces sooner, that they would have had a chance to defeat him before any of this started if they had just figured out they were on the same side. Maybe this time, it could work. She took it.
"Friends."
Ginny woke up a few moments later. The second she understood where she was and who was with her, she started sobbing unashamedly.
"It was all my fault, Harry...I tried to tell at breakfast...but then P-Percy...and th-hen T-Tom took me down here with the diary, and-" her eyes grew wide when she saw the dead basilisk, "How did you kill that thing? Where's Tom? I-"
"It's ok," Harry filled in for her older brother, "Riddle's gone, don't worry. And I had some help with the basilisk." Jezibell glanced up as she recovered the wands. She tossed Harry's back to him and he caught it in air, like the brilliant seeker he was.
"Oh," said Ginny as Jezibell presented her with her own, "That's mine. Tom made me put it under the words with some of my hair. Oh! Oh Harry, everybody must think I'm dead! They'll be so angry!"
"That you're alive? You'll be grounded for ages, definitely," Jezibell rolled her eyes as Ginny buried her face in Harry's robes. Harry gave Jezibell a look. Not the same look as in Dumbledore's office, but a look none the less. She sighed and put forth genuine effort be maternal. "Let's get you to the hospital wing. We can explain everything to Professor McGonagall there."
At the name of the deputy head, Ginny Weasley began those heart-wrenching wails again. She leaned against Harry's arm and he half-carried her out of the Chamber, sword in hand. Jezibell took the ruined Diary (now safe to touch) with the basilisk fang and Fawkes followed them out with the Sorting Hat. She still didn't understand what use it had been.
"I'm going to be expelled! I've been looking forward to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and now I'm gonna have to leave! What will Mum and Dad say?"
Jezibell tried talking to Harry under Ginny's cries of self-pity, "Will she be expelled?"
If this were Durmstrang, yes, but Jezibell was learning Hogwarts worked a little differently from the foreign school.
"I think I we explain everything, and explain it right, we should be fine."
Jezibell didn't like the way he said 'everything'. Then again, she guessed he knew she would try and gloss over the parts about how the Diary was her father's and how she almost controlled the basilisk herself. She grimaced. Blatant honesty wasn't something Jezibell Malfoy was accustomed to.
"So, where's Weasley? He was excused from class, same as you. Didn't he come down here?"
"Yeah, but we had a bit of a cave in," Harry explained.
"That's what the rumbling was. I could hear it in the Chamber, it sounded like the whole place was imploding."
He nodded, "That would be it. The rocks fell between us in the cave and Ron was stuck on the other side."
"Is Weas - Ron alright?"
"He's fine, but we didn't want to wait to clear a passage for him because Ginny had already been in the Chamber awhile and we couldn't risk anymore time. So, I went ahead to find her. Ron should be still back there making a hole for us to get through. There is something else too. Er, you'll see when we get there."
Jezibell would like to have asked him exactly what he meant by 'something else', but Ginny piped up.
"Ron's here?"
"Yeah, Ginny," said Harry in a pacifying voice, "Don't worry, he's waiting for us. Just a little farther."
A little farther was a huge cascade of fallen rocks. Some of the shapes were sharp and triangular, stalactites turned into skewers. Jezibell felt very lucky that the cave in hadn't happened when she passed through. Off to the side of the pile was a small tunnel in progress where someone was slowly shifting one of the larger boulders aside.
"Ron!" called Harry, running over to the hole, "Ginny's ok! We've got her here!"
Ron gave shout of jubilant relief and when they approached the edge of the pile, they could see his freckled face through the impressive gap he had managed in the stone.
"Ginny!" he yelled, and Ginny rushed forward to her brother and grabbed his arm so he could pull her through, "You're alive! I can't believe it! Harry what happened? How - what's she doing here?"
Ron spotted Jezibell and he looked uneasily from her to Harry.
"Ron, we were wrong," said Harry stepping forward, "Jezibell was never the Heir of Slytherin. She saved my life and Ginny's –"
"The lifesaving was mutual." interjected Jezibell. She was watching Ron carefully. This was just as much of a test as killing the basilisk. Ron Weasley accepting her as a friend. Whatever he did now would determine pass or fail for a friendship with Harry.
"Alright, if you say so," he muttered to Harry, but Jezibell knew she wasn't in the clear yet, "Where'd the bird come from?"
Fawkes landed beside them and started preening his gilded feathers.
"He's Dumbledore's," Harry was assisted through the hole as well, but Ron didn't extend the helpful hand to Jezibell so she clambered through on her own.
"There's a lot to explain," she said, once on the other side, "We'd prefer not to do it twice. If you can wait until we get out of here, we can answer your questions and the professors' at the same time."
Ron ogled the long weapon in Harry's hand, "Yeah that would nice."
"Where's Lockhart?" said Harry.
"You brought Blockhead down here?" marveled Jezibell, "Why, as bait for the basilisk?"
"He's back there," Ron jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Come and see if you dare."
He led them back up the tunnel towards the pipe, Fawkes lighting the way. When they reached the edge of it, they could see Gilderoy Lockhart sitting in his patented robes on the musty floor. He looked up at them with a start, before smiling pleasantly at Harry and Jezibell's blood soaked robes and Ginny's puffy red from crying face.
"Hello there!" he called, "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it?"
"His memory is gone," said Ron grimly, "The memory charm that backfired, it hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, where he is or how he got here. I told him to just sit and wait. He does what you tell him, but he's a danger to himself.
"So now he's 'Nohead'," muttered Jezibell.
Nohead turned to her and asked with complete sincerity, "Do you live here?"
"All my life," she solemnly swore. Ron snickered and she looked back at him and Harry, "How do we get out?"
Both shrugged, but then the phoenix swooped in front of Harry and hovered at the mounting standard for a broomstick.
"I think he wants you to grab on," Ron was perplexed at the bird's size, "but you're much too heavy for a bird to carry -"
Harry smiled weakly, "Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird."
Understatement of the year.
"We'll need to hold on to each other, here." He motioned to Ron and Ginny, "Ginny take Ron's hand and Professor Lockhart -,"
"He means you," barked Ron at the befuddled Lockhart, which Jezibell felt was a shame. She was all for convincing him his name was Nohead.
"- Can hold onto Ginny's. And Jezibell?" He looked at her, tucking the sword into his belt as he did, "You take mine and Ron's."
There was a rather sticky moment where Jezibell held out her hand to Ron Weasley. He hesitated, pale eyes moving quickly from the hand to her face, before taking firmly in his own. Both of their palms were sweaty and grimy from the adventure, so they gripped at the wrist instead for a more definite hold. Harry needed both hands to hold on to Fawkes, so Jezibell improvised by taking a handful of his robes. Once they were all linked, Harry grabbed the fiery tail of Fawkes the phoenix. A weird buoyant feeling spread through Jezibell when Harry's hands touched the bird and the place where she was gripping his robes and Ron's wrist heated up, like they were being welded together in the awkward chain.
Fawkes was in the air with a single beat of his majestic wings, and then they were soaring up the tube and out the Chamber of Secrets. Jezibell looked down and she could make out the shape of Nohead swaying dangerously near the sides of the pipe.
"This is FANTASTIC!" He cried, a kid on a merry-go-round, "It's just like magic!"
"Wait until he meets the rest of the world," murmured Jezibell and Ron let out a shout of laughter despite himself.
Fawkes touched down easily in Myrtle's Bathroom, depositing the party on her wet floor. Jezibell would be thankful when they entered a room that wasn't experiencing issues with the plumbing. The enchanted sink slid innocently back into place and Harry let go of Fawkes's tail, removing the warm feeling from their handholds. Ron dropped his quickly and wiped it on his robes. Jezibell didn't feel insulted. He just wanted to get the grime off. She let go of Harry's robes as the Ghost of the Evil Girls' Bathroom floated out of the right cubicle.
"You're alive" she stated in a dead voice.
"There's no need to sound so disappointed," Harry was trying to scrub grunge off his glasses with an equally gritty sleeve.
"Oh, I had thought - you know if you had died - you would be welcome to share my toilet."
It was desperately hard work for them to keep a straight face as they left the bathroom.
"Harry, I think Myrtle's fond of you!" Ron chortled, surrendering once out of Myrtle's earshot, "You've got competition, Ginny!"
Fawkes led the way down the corridor to McGonagall's office and Ron put his arm protectively around his sister. His eyes never left her, as though he was afraid she might disappear back into the Chamber of Secrets. Jezibell could only admire his dedication to his family.
"I actually think you would look rather good together," said Nohead spontaneously
Professor McGonagall's office was already hosting a small gathering when they arrived. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were being told the news of their daughter's assumed death by a tearful McGonagall and Dumbledore, who evidently returned from suspension to comfort the Weasleys, was there as well. When the quintet pushed open the door, there was a sudden hush as everyone took in their ragged appearance. Then Harry, Ron and Ginny were attacked by a hysterical Mrs. Weasley. She hugged, cried and kissed them senseless in her relief. Jezibell hung back with Nohead, averting her eyes while Harry Ron and Ginny were smothered with motherly love. Only Professor Dumbledore paid her attention, peering over his half-moon spectacles from where he was standing near the fireplace.
"While we are waiting for Mrs. Weasley to satisfy that her son and daughter is truly alive and well, would you mind telling us how it is Ginny was rescued?"
"It's quite a long story," She borrowed Riddle's introduction, "And I don't think it should start with me."
Jezibell was trying not to lie about her father's involvement with the Diary and keep her family safe at the same time. It was best to pass the talking stick to Harry, just this once. He managed to pry himself from Mrs. Weasley without the use of a crowbar and picked up where she had trailed off.
"It started way back in the year, when I started hearing the voice from the walls." Harry spoke for some time. Most of what he explained Jezibell already knew or guessed, but there were new bits too. Like how Harry and Ron had gone into the Forbidden Forest to meet an acromantalid who then told them the Gamekeeper was innocent and then tried to eat them, at which point they were saved by the timely arrival of the Weasley Ford Anglia which had gone savage in the forest. It sounded like a lot of trouble for information that obvious, but who was she to criticize? Hermione Granger knew all about what the basilisk was and how it was getting around the school, but when she was petrified the knowledge stayed secret until Harry and Ron found a note in her frozen hand. That was when they had decided to find the Chamber of Secrets themselves.
Jezibell had her own confessions as well. She told about how she too had been following a disembodied voice that always seemed to lead to the scene of attack. She told how the basilisk passed her by in the hallway (though of course, she had no idea what it was then) and she told about her discovery of the Chamber early in the year, admitting that though she suspected for long the cause to the attacks and wasn't troubled to inform any authority. She told how she waited in Myrtle's bathroom for the ghost to confirm that Harry had been making trips there. So far, they danced around the subject of the Diary. Harry made it sound in his explanation as though he had just found the book lying on the floor and Jezibell still hadn't motioned her connections to it beyond a vague hunch.
When they came to part about going into the Chamber of Secrets, they tried to make it brief. They said that they had been suspecting each other for a while when they decided to rescue Ginny.
"When we got there, we found that neither of us was the Heir of Slytherin, and the Riddle came out of the Diary-"
"Wait," interrupted Mr. Weasley, "how did the Dairy get into the Chamber of Secrets? I thought Harry had it."
"We told you, it got stolen before I could ask it about Myrtle," Harry continued, "So, Riddle came out of the Diary and then he -"
"He set the basilisk on us," Jezibell interrupted, "He was using Ginny to open the Chamber, but now that he had a body he could control it himself."
There a silence with their audience and Jezibell immediately recognized her mistake. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were horror stricken at the news that their daughter had been behind the attacks. Ron looked at Harry a little desperately, as if hoping what he said wasn't true. McGonagall's mouth thinned. Ginny, sandwiched between her mother and brother, buried her face into Mr. Weasley's robes and continued to sob her eyes out.
"He made her love him," Jezibell heard herself say. "She probably found the Diary wherever and opened it because it said Diary on the front. Once she figured out how to use it no wonder it took her half the year to distrust it - a pocket friend who gave her undivided attention. Riddle was very good when he wanted to be; he convinced Harry the killer was Hagrid."
"Jezibell, I think we can all agree Ginny had no conscious part in the attacks," said Dumbledore from his corner, "What intrigues me the most is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in Albania."
And that was enough to let Ginny off the hook. Harry explained the rest of how Riddle had been brainwashing Ginny and Jezibell showed them the ruined Diary. The Weasleys were still bewildered at the news, but they comforted Ginny - hugged her tight so she wouldn't worry about Riddle anymore and reassured her she wouldn't be expelled for being the victim. In short, they behaved all that a family should. Dumbledore instructed them to take Ginny to the hospital wing for some hot cocoa and so she could see the people she petrified waking up. The Weasleys left, except for Ron who remained behind with Harry. Dumbledore told Professor McGonagall to go alert the kitchens for a short-notice feast, but Jezibell thought he really wanted to talk to Harry, her and Ron privately. Once the room was all but empty, Dumbledore turned to the three with a grave look on his face.
"I seem to remember telling all of you that you were on your last chance for breaking school rules."
The boys stared at him, their mouths agape, but Jezibell simply hung her head. Well, it wasn't as if this was entirely unexpected. Karkaroff kicked her out for not knowing when to keep her mouth shut; now Dumbledore was going to for staying silent. They wouldn't even need to snap her wand this time...
But the Headmasters face suddenly broke into a benign smile, "Which goes to show even the best of us will eat our own words." he continued, grinning like he had just gotten them with a good joke, "You will all receive Special Awards for Services to the School and one hundred points apiece for Gryffindor."
Now Jezibell was the codfish.
"Someone has been rather quiet about his part in this whole adventure. Why so modest, Professor Lockhart?"
They all turned to look at Nohead who had been standing off to the side humming tunelessly. Jezibell had forgotten he was still there. When Dumbledore said his name he glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see someone else there.
"He tried a memory charm and it backfired." said Ron.
"Remind me," asked Jezibell, recovering from her moment of shock, "Why was he using a memory charm?"
Ron smirked a little, avoiding Nohead's curious eyes, "He's a complete fraud. All those things he says he's done in the books are really things other wizards did. The only spell he can do properly is a memory charm and he's been stealing these other people's glory and erasing their memories so they couldn't tell.
"Oh dear," chuckled Dumbledore, "impaled by your own sword, Gilderoy?"
"Sword?" said Nohead, finally understanding that they were talking about him, "haven't got a sword. Ask the boy, he'll lend you one."
"Ron, would you take Professor Lockhart up to the infirmary as well? I would like a few more words with Harry and Jezibell."
Ron ushered Nohead out of the room and Dumbledore turned to the two remaining.
"First, I will start by thanking you, Harry. You must have shown true loyalty to me in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to your aid."
Harry smiled sheepishly and stroked the phoenix that was perched beside him. Jezibell recalled her own skepticism in the Chamber. She felt both ashamed at herself for lack of trust and angry that she was ashamed. It made no sense to have faith in Dumbledore's goodwill when you're about to eaten by a giant snake. But then again, Harry claimed he survived the killing curse solely because of his mother's love.
"I know you've had doubts about yourself this year. So, I suggest you to take a closer look this sword." Dumbledore handed Harry back the ruby encrusted weapon and indicated the base of the blade. Through the drying blood and dungeon filth, Jezibell could make out a name. Godric Gryffindor. Harry read it too and looked up at Dumbledore in wonder. "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat." said the warlock, satisfied.
The hat? Oh, of course. Harry got Gryffindor's sword from the founder's Sorting Hat. It was rather fitting, seeing how they were fighting the oppression of muggleborns and the weapon they use comes to the rescue like the stereotypical muggle magic trick. Albus Dumbledore possessed a very subtle sense of humor. In any case, the knowledge of the original bearer of the sword seemed to take a great load off Harry's mind. Jezibell couldn't imagine why this had so much meaning to him, but she realized it wasn't really her business to know.
"Next, I must apologize to you, Jezibell." continued Dumbledore, "I understand you haven't had an easy time either. But I hope you will remember the values of friendship and honesty in the face of twisted figures like Lord Voldemort. For it is only with such imperishable allies that we can prevail."
Jezibell looked at Harry, at her side now and when they were fighting Riddle. She thought of Ron, who wasn't quite a friend yet, but getting there. She thought of Emmy, her loyal familiar throughout a year of bitterness.
"I'm starting to learn that, Professor."
BANG. The office door flew open and bounced off the wall. Her father, looking angrier than she had ever seen him, stood in the doorway. Jezibell dropped her eyes to the floor reflexively and backed away from the desk so he could speak with the Headmaster. That was what he was here for, right? Not to expel her, they agreed she wasn't going to be expelled. Even so, her gut twisted horribly as it had when she pulled the fang from Harry's arm. Jezibell's hair hung in front of her bowed head creating a dark partition between the scene and her.
He walked smartly past her, and stopped a few feet before Dumbledore. Jezibell only dared look as high as his shoes. They were black, tailor-made with a silver lining. He owned about a dozen of these pairs, in varying degrees of class for different occasions. These where his newest, his best for when he wanted to be intimidating. They were also half polished. Dobby was flitting around his ankles trying to finish the job. The elf always took his line of duty much too seriously. Jezibell tried to focus on the shoes so she wouldn't have to hear his voice. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
"So," He began in clipped tones, "You decided to come back. The Governors suspended you but you still saw fit to return to Hogwarts."
He spoke casually but with a dangerous undercurrent.
"Well, you see, Lucius." Dumbledore's voice sounded perfectly at ease facing Father's fury. He proceeded to tell him all about how the board of governors wrote to him as soon as they heard of Ginny's abduction. Jezibell could picture the muscle twitch on her father's cheek when Dumbledore informed him that the governors confessed to his blackmailing and threats by owl.
A thin whimper made Jezibell look up. Dobby was staring at her determinedly trying to get her attention. When she glanced at him, he started looking pointedly from her father, to the Diary and then to her, beseeching. He was asking for permission. Jezibell looked him straight in the eye and gave the slightest nod. The elf's froggy eyes brimmed over with happiness. He turned to face Harry and began pointing frantically at the Diary and then her father. Jezibell gazed at the complicated embroidery on the carpet, wishing the leonine designs could swallow her up. Red and gold quicksand.
"A clever plan," said Dumbledore, he was talking about the Diary now, "Because if Harry and his friends hadn't discovered this book, why, Ginny Weasley may have taken all the blame. No one would have been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will."
Jezibell's head snapped up sharply. The Headmaster's words were not difficult to read between the lines and as Jezibell looked from her pale, furiously foiled father and his smiling, reprimanding adversary, she knew exactly how Ginny Weasley had gotten hold of the Diary.
It was an excellent business move, killing a flock of birds with one stone. Father had probably wanted to get rid of the obviously dark object for a long time, after seeing the effect it had on Jezibell, but fear of his old master had kept him from destroying it. He decided to plant it on Arthur Weasley's daughter, in hopes she would fall prey to whatever curse was inside. Weasley had recently tried a Muggle Protection Act, which was surprisingly popular with Wizengamot. Her father was losing hope that he would be able to bribe them out of agreeing to it. During the brawl in Diagon Alley, he must have managed to slip the Diary into one of Ginny's school books. She would think one of her parents had bought it for her. Bring down a rival, keep his daughter sane, wash his hands clean of a suspicious object and stop the Muggle Protection Act all at once. Pity it hadn't worked.
Her father's upper lip curled in a sneer, but his eyes remained cold and narrowed understanding how much Dumbledore had inferred and what could be guessed. Losing the staring contest with the aged warlock, he turned to look at his elf, and caught him in the act of fervently pointing from him to the Diary.
"Dobby!"
The elf let out a squeak of fright and hastily shoved his hands into his pillowcase with false innocence.
"We're leaving."
He made to sweep dramatically from the room, but stopped in front of Jezibell before reaching the door. Jezibell hurriedly looked down and felt his disdainful glare burning the top of her head. There was nothing she could do, she was busy watching her courage sink through the floor. He made a quick motion to her left and she felt sharp smack across her cheek. The cut reopened and stung with vengeance.
"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore's voice rumbled, for first time sounding angry, "I will not permit you to abuse my students. Kindly take your leave."
"A little discipline when needed never hurts, Headmaster. Lest the child forgets what it is." He paused for a moment before continuing his brisk stride out. His right hand swung at his side, and Jezibell could see her blood across the palm and figure tips. Dobby was squealing like a piglet at the impending punishment that was his when they reached Malfoy Manor. Jezibell let out the breath she realized she was holding.
"Professor," said Harry suddenly, "Can I go give the Diary back to Mr. Malfoy?"
He must have noticed Dobby's performance, reasoned Jezibell. She kept her head tilted even as Dumbledore handed the Diary over a deep shame welling inside of her. All the strength she found when facing the basilisk vanished the moment her father had walked in the room. Why could she be brave when fighting magically enhanced monsters, when facing the Dark Lord himself, but tremble before her own family? And now Harry was going to face her father for her. It wasn't right.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jezibell saw Harry bend down halfway out the door. He was undoing his shoelace so he could remove his sock. Maybe she could be brave against her father. Brave in her own way.
"Wait."
Harry turned around, apprehensive. Jezibell took off her own shoe and removed the left piece of footwear. The sock was a generic black, blood soaked grimy and had ink from the Diary splattered all over. There was no way her father would recognize it. She held it out to her comrade, "It only works when it's one of the family."
A wide, mischievous grin spread across Harry Potter's face. He grabbed the sock and continued the rest of the way out Professor McGonagall's study, stuffing the Diary inside the filthy material as he went. Jezibell looked back to the Headmaster, who was smiling in satisfaction.
"Why are you so smug?"
"Oh, I always take a measure of pride when I witness a person so willing to bridge his own fiercely dug chasm." replied Dumbledore cheerfully, "It gives me hope for this generation."
"As long as something does," She stared at the basilisk fang she'd given for him to examine during the explanation. "Professor, may I keep the tooth?"
"You mean the one you used to destroy Voldemort's Diary with and may hold invaluable magical evidence as to how such a manifestation occurred?"
She looked at him steadily and nodded, not about to be fooled twice.
"Of course, I see no reason to the contrary." The headmaster smiled at her invitingly and Jezibell took her spoil of war off his desk. She hesitated a minute longer before venturing outside.
Her father was gone and so was what remained of Diary. A good sign in any context. Dobby remained however, which meant the plan must have worked. He hugged the well-traveled sock like a stuffed bear and as Jezibell approached she heard the falsetto squeaks of a jubilant elf.
"Harry Potter freed Dobby with Mistress Jezzie's sock! Dobby is forever in debt to Harry Potter's greatness and Mistress Jezzie's nobility –"
"You're not to call me that anymore," both Harry and Dobby looked around to see her. Harry was still smiling. "Now that you're free, I'm not your mistress."
"Yes, but as Dobby is free, he may call Mistress Jezzie whatever he likes," He caught Jezibell's eye added, " Though of course, Dobby does understand the feelings on the matter and will refrain from doing so."
"I take it I can't call you 'Jezzie' either," smirked Harry.
"Sure thing, great noble and wise Harry Potter."
That shut him up, but not Dobby.
"Oh, yes! What may I ever do for his nobleness and wiseness in return for such a selfless action?"
"Dobby," Harry put a hand on the elf's shoulder. Jezibell shuddered to think what boogers he was picking up by doing so, "Just one thing. Never try to save my life again."
The ex-house elf smiled goofily before he vanished into thin air and Jezibell felt like she was missing the joke.
"Save your life," she repeated. Had Father really been angry enough to try?
"Oh yeah," Harry ruefully rubbed his arm, but not the same spot as where the basilisk fang gored it. "Dobby's been 'helping' me out all year to keep me safe. Blocking the barrier at 9 ¾, smashing my arm into bits so I would be sent home. I know you didn't have anything to do with that now but -"
"That may be partially my fault after all."
"How's that?"
"Remember those pictures of me practicing Creevey got? Dobby showed up that morning and asked to put away the bludger crate. I even told him you would be playing Seeker."
Still thinking back, Jezibell wondered again why he had been there at all. If Ginny had gotten the Diary at Flourish and Blotts, then what was the point of him being there? Was it really just a checkup on her well-being? Or not being possessed by the Dark Lord's old Diary that Jezibell almost fell prey to once before. This thought knocked her for a loop in a way it shouldn't have. Of course Father would have heard the rumors on who was behind the attacks and wanted to see for himself. It didn't mean he cared.
"Sorry about that." She muttered still lost in thought.
"It's ok. Growing the bones back wasn't nearly as bad as taking the Polyjuice potion." Harry stopped himself then, his casual attitude replaced abruptly with the unmistakable air of Whoops!
"That slipped out," noted Jezibell.
Harry was quiet for a moment and Jezibell figured whatever the Polyjuice business was, it wasn't hers. She started to the stairs. Time to catch up with Ron and get to that feast planned in their honor.
"The Polyjuice potion," Harry was matching her stride, "Don't you want to hear what that firecracker in Potions was all about?"
Hermione Granger
A sharp, tangy bitter smell tickled her nose. It burned, like horseradish if you're foolish enough to stick your nose in the jar. A tingly feeling was beginning to spread, starting at her face then fizzing its way through her arms and legs with a warm buzzing in her chest. It felt like that time she had sat on her foot during a study period and then got up three hours later to find it asleep, except now it was her whole body. The harsh odor was all around her now and the horseradish in her throat was choking her. So Hermione coughed.
"Oh my, it looks like she's awake now too!"
Hermione opened her eyes, blinked a few times as they were surprisingly dry, and stared at her own bewildered reflection in a hand mirror. Then she remembered. She had solved it. All of it. In Magical Monsters of Past and Present, page 235 - The Basilisk, King of Serpents- and it was going through pipes, controlled by Jezibell Malfoy, the other parselmouth at Hogwarts besides Harry. Harry! She needed to find him and Ron at once!
Her hand fell to her side preparing to put the hand-mirror back in her bag and when it thumped down against a pillow. She was lying down? This sudden realization was most disorienting, her head spun as her inner ear tried to figure out which way was up. Hermione then recalled why she had the mirror at hand in the first place.
She was, or had been rather, hurrying back from the Library - to the Great Hall, had to tell Harry and Ron - when she had run into a tall Ravenclaw Prefect. She needed to tell somebody, it was urgent for the school to know what it was up against and this older student had seemed as good as anyone. The girl had been dismissive of her explanation at first, but Hermione had taken out her hand-mirror to demonstrate her theory that students were being petrified through reflections. Both she and the Ravenclaw girl had looked into the small pane of glass and a pair of neon-yellow eyes peered back. Her next thought was the horseradish up her nose.
Hermione sat up abruptly, finding that her legs and back were propped up in fluffy white pillows and she was lying on a bed. She was in the hospital wing. Oh no, she must have been petrified! Her face showed the shock and horror for Madame Pomfrey came bustling over to her ward.
"Now don't worry, dear. You should be perfectly alright, just let me check to see all your joints are working properly."
Usually the matron's placating voice soothed Hermione, but now it was frustratingly to be told not to worry when there was a basilisk loose at Hogwarts.
"But Madame Pomfrey, it's the Chamber of Secrets- I know what's in it! Professor Dumbledore, I need to see Dumbledore! It's in the pipes and Harry and Ron found where, and I-"
"Yes, yes, your friends are right little heroes. The monster is gone now and Dumbledore is back. They're having a feast in the Great hall to celebrate right now. When I finish checking, you can go join them."
Hermione understood it was useless to protest. She waited as patiently as she could while the school nurse felt about her knees, ankles and wrists, gently bending them to be sure of their mobility. Hermione wondered how Harry and Ron solved the mystery without her telling them. Had they somehow found the book in the library on their own? Madame Pomfrey turned over her left hand, stretching the fingers and flexing the joints. Wait - what happened to the page? She tore the bit of information out of the old book as there was no time to check out (normally she would never think of defacing a library book, but the end justified the means in this case). Had it fallen from her hand when she was petrified?
"All right, now dear, I'm finished. Your appendages seem to be in proper order. Would you like to wait for the others to wake up or go ahead?"
Hermione bounced on the balls of her feet, such was her impatience, "May I go down now, please?"
"Very well, you may go -"
But Hermione was already out the door, running. So Harry and Ron had beaten the Basilisk. She didn't try to imagine how they did it, she wanted them to tell her firsthand. And then there was Jezibell Malfoy, of course she was behind it all along. The girl took out her anger at Durmstrang's expulsion on the muggleborns she was raised to hate. They all knew she was a parselmouth, all knew she hated Hogwarts and all knew she was nasty enough to do it. There was the potential, the motive and means. All Harry, Ron and Hermione were missing was the evidence. Well now they had it. Harry and Ron caught her in the act and she was expelled again. This time for good. Hermione only wished she could have been there.
She rounded the corner to the Great Hall, and could hear the noise of celebration coming from the oak doors of two hundred happily chattering students. Hermione pressed both of the doors open at once and stepped in. She gazed around the merry house tables, ignoring the golden light and wonderful smell of a Hogwarts feast, searching. And there they were! Ron was the first to spot her on the stairs and his freckly face split into a smile.
"Hermione!" he cried, and Harry's shorter black head whipped around so fast his glasses nearly fell off.
"You solved it! You solved it!" She screamed, all dignity forgotten, simply bursting with pride.
The rows of students seemed to fly by as Hermione sprinted to the Gryffindor table. They hugged her tightly in turn (Hermione found the boys enthusiasm a little odd - it felt to her that no time passed at all). She was beaming so bright when Ron let her go, there was nothing that could ruin her happiness.
"How did you do it, how did you figure it out?" she asked breathlessly. Then she noticed the second dark head beside Harry.
Jezibell Malfoy was feeding pieces of roast turkey to her cat, watching the trio's reunion calmly. Hermione just stared at her, not comprehending the Malfoy Girl's continued presence at Hogwarts. Harry saw her blank expression and hastened to explain.
"Hermione, we made a mistake. Jezibell is-"
But a hush was coming over the hall as Professor Dumbledore rose to make a speech. Harry stopped short his explanation and several students motioned for Hermione to sit down and stop being so rude. Hermione plopped down in the space Ron and Harry had cleared for her, not understanding why Miss Malfoy was 'Jezibell' now.
"Students and staff at Hogwarts," the Headmaster's voice rang throughout the great hall, "It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been closed and the monster within is dead. Now, I understand the nature of rumors and falsehoods in this castle. So I believe it would be wise to clear up the whos, the hows and the whys before you are left to your own devices."
Good, thought Hermione, now he would tell them the reason Malfoy was still here. She was willing to bet this was another one of Dumbledore's second chances despite overwhelming evidence of guilt. It wouldn't be the first time, once when he made his famous defeat of Gillert Grindlewald he -
"The Heir of Slytherin is and was Lord Voldemort."
You-Know-Who? But Harry defeated him last year. How could he be back?
"When Voldemort attended school here, he discovered the Chamber of Secrets and succeeded in killing one student – Miss Myrtle Botts, a Ravenclaw third year. Unlike poor Miss Botts, every victim was gifted with luck beyond measure as they were merely paralyzed and thanks to our brilliant Matron and Herbology Professor are now rejoining us in the waking world." Dumbledore paused for the standing ovation that greeted Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, "He left a dairy behind, preserving the key to the Chamber inside in hopes he might lead another to finish his work. As it happened a student, Miss Ginny Weasley, found it and was possessed by it to reopen the Chamber of Secrets and wield the monster within. This monster was a basilisk, which was in essence a very large snake with the power to kill by eye contact and paralyze if the eye contact is made indirectly. I say 'was' because this beast is now dead and the diary has been destroyed. Their slayers deserve another hearty congratulation. I have awarded six hundred points to Gryffindor for the valiant efforts combined of Misters Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley –"
Hermione turned to give a congratulatory grin to her best friends who had exploited You-Know-Who for the second time and -
"- and Miss Jezibell Malfoy. Without their good intuition and timely action it is doubtful we would have known the true cause of the attacks until it was too late for the school and Miss Ginny Weasley."
Wait, the combined efforts of Harry, Ron and Jezibell Malfoy? Did she miss something? Oh, right. She glanced at Harry and Ron who were half smiling in a now-do-you-get-it sort of way. Jezibell Malfoy's head was still bowed to deliberately shield from curious eyes. That cat, however, was fidgeting with the piece of meat its mistress had given it. Pawing it around and sniffing every so often as though it wasn't sure if the exquisitely prepared Hogwarts turkey was good enough to eat.
"Fortunately, these courageous pupils did find the secret of the chamber and now those petrified are being brought back to consciousness; there is no harm done. Let us put aside the differences and barriers we have created this dark year and celebrate the triumph of camaraderie!" Dumbledore then raised his hands in the including grace of a speaker, "To add to the festive mood and preserve the sanity of the hospitalized individuals, I have decided that as a school treat all exams are to be cancelled."
This last statement was met with tumultuous applause from the students. Harry and Ron slapped a high five in their glee. Hermione was in shock. Not because they were missing exams, though she was a little peeved that the Headmaster would leave such a gaping hole in their educational records, but it revealed how long she had been out. If exams had been about to start on June 1st, and the last date she remembered was May 8, how many days was that? She started mentally calculating when a brief tap on the shoulder interrupted her. It was Jezibell Malfoy.
"We aren't going to be instant friends," She raised her head completely and looked Hermione full in the face for the first time. With her eyes somewhat out of the shade, their heavy lids appeared less cold and menacing and more just tired. She had a nasty cut crossing the cheek and bridge of her nose that was smeared heavily, but didn't seem too bothered by it, "But can we try for 'not mortal enemies'?"
Hermione looked at the girl who Harry and Ron somehow decided to trust despite a year of being assumed adversaries. Hermione recalled that she herself had not been 'instant friends' with Harry and Ron and that it took a mountain troll to bring the trio together. Jezibell Malfoy, whatever appearances gave, seemed to have proved herself worthy of friendship in a similar fashion.
"Alright then," she conceded, "Not mortal enemies."
Jezibell almost smiled, "Good. That's as much as I can take right now."
Hermione almost smiled in return. She went back to counting the days between May 8th and June.
"You're really good," Jezibell added brokenly.
"What?" Hermione asked startled.
"At the dueling club. You would have won if I hadn't cheated."
Hermione shook her head. If Jezibell Malfoy could swallow her pride, then so could she. "You didn't cheat, you improvised."
Really, it all depended how you looked at it.
Hogwarts Express, June Nineteenth
But it was so surreal. Despite her best efforts, instant friends were exactly what Jezibell got - whether she could handle it or not. Over the remaining weeks of term, she had joined Harry, Ron and Hermione in the leisure of no exams. They visited the lake and saw the giant squid, laughed at jokes the Weasley twins told, teased Hermione for being anxious over the lack of testing, endured snide comments from Draco and listened patiently to Harry's forced retelling of the Chamber of Secrets battle to a revived Colin Creevey. Actually, the first year initially aimed the camera lens at her, but Harry had the chivalry to take the burden of the press. So incredibly surreal.
But even with these overnight relationships there were some things that hadn't changed. Like the way Patil and Brown shot her looks in the corridors, how some of the teachers still acted oddly around her as if they could tell she was destined for bad news, and of course the loud raspberries anonymous students bribed Peeves into blowing whenever Emmy tried to take a nap. And there was Emmy herself, of course. She hadn't changed an inch. In some ways it was a relief to be going back to Malfoy Manor and a plain of reality Jezibell knew how to deal with.
Official Teenagerdom had come a few days after the Chamber of Secrets, on June fifth. Birthday boy Draco received his usual bucket load of sweets with an elaborate Shout Out for the entire school to hear Mother's tidings. Jezibell thought the latter might have been to spite her (she received nothing but cat food for Emmy which went straight to the Gamekeeper's omnivorous boarhound) but for the strangest reason not even the usual sarcasm entered her thoughts at the time. Maybe it was because on the Gryffindor side of the hall Harry and Ron were explaining the finer points of their shapeshifting excavation of the Slytherin common room. That hadn't been mentioned to the teachers. They were obscenely stupid about it, to be sure. No clue of what lies to tell or what prompts to use to get information within the time limit, but they managed to get in and out without detection so Jezibell gave them credit. She was becoming better at doing that.
That same night on her birthday while washing up for bed, she had checked herself in the mirror. It was first time she'd really looked at herself in over a year and could see the change. Her hair was longer, grown out of the neat bob it was clipped in for Durmstrang to fall shaggily around her shoulders. Her face was leaner, eyelids sunk deeper from sleepless nights and her nose and cheekbones were sharper than remembered. Her front had developed some and she recognized with discontent that she would have to start wearing the appropriate undergarments next year. She was taller and thinner; her whole body looked as though a giant took her between thumb and index figure and pulled skin like dough, as though she had been stretched. In many ways, Jezibell supposed this was true.
But now the school year was done and the four were sitting on the Hogwarts Express, compartment sixteen. It had been a few hours since the Castle had dipped behind the Forbidden Forest and out of sight. The lunch trolley already came by, Jezibell and Harry split the difference and paid for several helpings of sweets for the quartet, most of which were gone by now. Ron and Hermione were having a heated dispute over whether Muggle Studies was a worthwhile option or not and Jezibell looked up over the novel she was reading to receive an amused glance from Harry.
"Are they always this way?" She asked in undertone, indicating Beatrice and Benedict who were now debating the correct interpretation for the shape of a cloud passing over. The initial honeymoon after Hermione was cured was over and to one moment of silence, never.
"Pretty much, yeah," said Harry offhandedly. Emmy happened to be dozing in the seat next to his and he reached down to casually scratch her head.
"A little to the left."
Harry blinked, and then adjusted his hand accordingly. He shifted his gaze to Jezibell. His expression was so gobsmacked that she couldn't help it. She threw back her head and burst out laughing. Harry stared bewildered a moment longer before he cracked up too. Even Ron and Hermione stopped their bickering to join in and soon they were all clutching their sides, rocking back and forth in hilarity. It was sometime before they gained enough control to stop because when it seemed it was about to die down, Hermione would start giggling which set them off again. Eventually they started to run out of breath and, eyes streaming, Ron managed to ask. "So, what's funny?"
"Her cat can talk," said Harry, he turned to Jezibell in wonder, "We thought that was just something else Parvati and Lavender came up with."
"It's nothing special," Jezibell picked her book back up and was trying to find the right page "She can only do parseltongue."
Ron was understandably confused, "But how can a cat speak in parseltongue?"
"Emmy isn't pure cat. She's a crossbreed, probably rattlesnake seeing the tail and diamond pattern."
Their eyes took in Emmy's coarse fur, flat nostrils, sinuous neck and the bulbous rattles of dried hair at the end of her tail as if for the first time. It did make sense once you started to notice.
"Oh," said Hermione putting on her eager-scholar face, "She's one of those magically bred creatures; I've heard they can go horribly wrong in ways that aren't apparent in the first few years. But I thought the Ministry made the trade illegal."
Jezibell said nothing, mentally adding Emmy's citizenship to the growing herd of elephants in the room. Hermione felt the walls go up in the conversation backed off, "Well, she's a nice pet in any case... You said her name was Emmy, is that short for something?"
"She's a familiar, not a pet," Jezibell corrected, trying not to sound too superior, "And her full name is 'Nemesis' but I got her when I was seven and I had just lost my two front teeth. It kept coming out as 'Emithnith' and there was no way I was calling my cat that. So I nicknamed her Emmy."
She would get reused to telling. Eventually.
They decided to make the most of the time they had left to perform magic before the holidays by practicing spells from the dueling club. Hermione showed them the accurate way to perform a shield charm and they all took turns dispelling each other's wands. Jezibell borrowed Harry's for the time being which felt very weird but his beat Elladora's for compatibility. (She had plans for a new one, but wasn't going to tell anyone in case they called it reckless or unnecessary. Or just didn't like it.) Harry was starting to show promise with the Expelliarmus, but he needed to work on his aim. More than once Emmy found herself being flung across the compartment by way of a misshapen casting and more than once Harry found himself faced with the wrath of a slightly battered venomous snake-cat. Good times.
Jezibell tried expanding her shield, which came in handy when the Weasley Twins came knocking and unleashed a batch of Filibuster Fireworks. Once the sparklers died down, Ginny Weasley joined them all for a game of Exploding Snap. For the traumatic waterworks kid impression Jezibell had of her from the Chamber, Ginny recovered from her abduction quickly. She won four of the six games. Jezibell doubted Draco ever managed this much fun with Scab and Boil in his especially reserved Compartment five.
The scarlet steam engine reached King's Cross far too soon. Jezibell told them she wouldn't be able to keep contact with them over the summer, so addresses were not exchanged. They let Hermione and the Weasley's go out first. She and Harry had the heaviest luggage and it slid to the back of the overhead compartment.
"Will it be much different at your house, now that Dobby's gone?" inquired Harry as Jezibell scooped her embroidered bag and suitcase from the rack. He looked a little guilty that he helped her family servant escape.
"Don't worry. The only difference is Mother will have to start doing housework, instead of just taking credit for Dobby's work. This will be an entertaining summer," But as she dug an arm deeper in the rack for his stuff, Harry pressed on.
"Do you think your father will give you a hard time? He can't know it was your sock, can he? I took off my sock too, so it would like it was mine."
Jezibell arm stopped groping for the plastic handle for a second. She hadn't known that bit. She narrowed her eyes as a cue to drop the subject while handing him his bulky suitcase and book sack, "You should have fun though, telling the muggles of the grand adventure. Killing a giant snake, facing the dark lord, saving the school – they'll be proud."
She tried not to sound too wistful of Harry's undoubtedly gullible and listening naive relatives.
"Proud?" He joked, "Are you kidding? All those times I could have died and didn't quite manage it - they'll be furious!"
Jezibell allowed a half smile. Maybe their families weren't so different, if only in theory. She called for Emmy to follow her and began making the trek to meet Draco at the front of the train. They were going to have to have a little chat if Malfoy Manor was to remain standing this summer. Jezibell thought about what awaited her at the mansion as well. Her father would certainly give her a 'hard time' and then some. But Harry didn't need to know that.