Chapter Twelve: The Chamber of Secrets
Dani slid down the steep pipe. If she hadn't have been worrying about the basilisk and the diary, she would have found the ride fun.
After about a minute, the pipe leveled out. She shot out, landing with a thud. She felt water seep through her blue and purple Weasley sweater and a little through the tank top she was wearing underneath.
Dani looked around the cave. It was dark, and the walls were covered in slime. Neville was just getting up from a face-plant, and Lockhart was standing up, his robes covered in slime.
"We must be miles under the school," Harry commented, his voice echoing slightly.
"Under the lake, probably," Ron observed.
The quintet stared into the darkness until Dani pulled out her wand of hazel and phoenix feather and murmured, "Lumos." A ball of light appeared at the end of her wand, illuminating the tunnel. Harry, Ron, and Neville did the same (it took Neville a couple of tries).
The tunnel was illuminated by the soft light. Ron made a grunt of disgust at what he saw ahead: a layer of animal bones on the ground in front of them. Dani winced.
"Remember," Harry said, "any sign of movement, close your eyes right away…" He trailed off, trying not to imagine what Ginny would look like.
"GAH!" Neville shouted, his face chalk white.
"What is it?" Ron asked. Neville said nothing but pointed ahead. Ron swore.
Harry squinted. He couldn't see what Ron and Neville were gasping about. Finally, when Dani gasped, he moved closer. Ineedglasses, he commented to himself. When he reached what everyone was scared about, he snapped his eyes shut.
Just in front of him was the basilisk! But wait, it wasn't moving. Was it sleeping? He opened his eyes just enough so that he could squint through his eyelashes. When Harry got closer, he realized that it was just a skin. The skin was a bright, vivid, poisonous green. It had to be nearly 20 ft long!
Harry heard a thud from behind. He turned and saw Lockhart's form on the ground.
"Hard to rely on this one," Ron said, exasperated. He stood nearest the blonde.
Lockhart sprang, tackling Ron to the ground and snatched his wand. Dani tried to reach them, but Lockhart pointed the wand at her first.
"The adventure ends here, children! I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you al tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body – say good-bye to your memories!" He raised Ron's wand over his head. "Obliviate!"
The spell sailed straight for Dani. She furrowed her eyebrows, her hand thrust our in front of her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on a brick wall of a shield.
She threw it up a little too late. Most of it rebounded off her shield and hit Lockhart, who flew into the roof of the cave. The forefront of the spell hit her.
Dani fell onto her back. The world was blurry, vaguely, she registered someone helping her stand up and leading her away swiftly. She could feel the ground beneath her feet.
And then it was over. Then everything came back into focus. Dani looked up. Harry held her in his arms. Rocks had fallen and blocked the only way out, stopping Ron and Neville from reaching them.
"Dani, are you okay?" Harry asked, worry in his green eyes.
"I think so," she answered. Why did she feel so strange?
"Was this supposed to happen?"
"What do you mean?"
Uh oh, Harry though. Was Dani just playing, or was she serious? If she were serious… This was bad. Very, very bad. Some of that memory spell must have hit her!
But there were other pressing matters. He turned back to the wall of broken rock. "Ron! Neville! Are you okay?"
"We're here!" Ron replied, but his voice muffled. "We're okay, but Neville's sprained his ankle – and this git isn't either – he got blasted by Dani's shield – is she okay?"
Harry looked at his twin, who stared ahead worriedly. "She's fine!"
"Harry," Neville chimed in, "what do we do now? We can't get through."
Harry thought hard. "We'll have to go on," Dani said. "Ginny's been down here for a while, hasn't she?"
"Then I'll go on. Ron, Neville! You two try to shift some of this rock. Dani, you wait here. I'll go on and find Ginny. If I'm not back in an hour…"
After a pause, Neville spoke up. "You'll be back. Ron, Dani, and I'll clear the way. Good luck!"
"What do you mean, I'm staying here?" Dani asked angrily.
Harry put his hands on her shoulders. "Dani, you could die down there. I don't want that to happen."
"No, I'm going with you! I have a feeling something bad will happen if I don't."
"You can't tell what's going to happen in the future anymore!"
"Wait, what?" Dani asked incredulously. Since when was she a Seer? But wait, she did get hit with that memory spell. Maybe that had something to do with Harry's question.
"Okay, you can come with me," Harry finally said.
And so Harry and Dani set off past the snakeskin. Soon they were completely out of earshot of Ron and Neville's spells. Eventually, they reached a stretch of wall that had a carving of two intertwined snakes. Harry knew what to do.
"Open," he said in a low hiss. Dani shivered with the word and anticipation.
The wall parted, revealing a chamber with an extremely high ceiling lost in darkness. Pillars with enormous snakes carved into them stood on either side of the extremely long walkway. Behind the pillars were pools of greenish water. At the very end of the chamber, beyond another pool, was a statue that was so tall; Dani couldn't really see the top of it. It was a statue of the infamous Salazar Slytherin himself.
The twins tiptoed as quietly as they could to the end of the Chamber. Neither spoke, for fear of alerting the basilisk.
Dani,what's going to happen down here? Harry asked.
Why do you keep asking me? Dani whispered back, utterly confused. I know about as much of this as you do.
This definitely was bad. Harry wanted to at least know what was going to happen, but now his only source was gone. Harry decided to leave that for later as he held his wand aloft. He gasped as he caught sight of fiery red hair.
"Ginny," he whispered and sprinted to her side. He heard Dani's foot falls behind him. Harry fell to his knees and turned her over. He put his hand behind her head and held it up. "Ginny – don't be dead – please don't be dead –" The red-head didn't answer. Dani felt for a pulse. It was there but faint.
Dani was about to tell Harry this, but a soft voice spoke from behind. "She won't wake."
The twins turned and saw a dark-haired boy, who looked to be about sixteen, leaning on a pillar. Dani could have sworn that she could see he pillar through him. She shivered. It wasn't natural, except for a ghost, to do that. But this boy did not seem to be a ghost.
"Who are you?" Harry asked.
"I thought you would know, Harry," the boy said. "My name's Tom Riddle. Your friends, Lisa and Abigail, wrote to me."
"Wait, are you a ghost?"
Dani, for some reason she didn't know, knew that this Tom Riddle was no ghost. She decided to enter the conversation. "Is Ginny -?"
"She's still alive but only just. To answer your question, Harry, I'm a memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years." He gestured to the little black diary sitting at the feet of Slytherin's statue. Harry remembered when he had discovered it in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The image transferred itself to Dani's mind. She crossed to it and picked it up.
"How did this get here?" she asked.
"Put – it – down!" Tom shouted suddenly, pointing a wand at her. But wait, it was Harry's wand. The owner of said wand looked up at these words and held out his hand.
"Give me my wand, Tom," Harry said.
Riddle twirled the wand between his fingers. Harry stared at him in shock. "I think I'll keep it."
Okay, that was definitely not a ghost.
"Let me tell you two a little something," Riddle started. "The reason whey Ginny is like this is because of that diary. She opened her heart and spilled all her secrets onto the pages to an invisible stranger."
"The diary," Dani said. "She's been writing in it for months. She's been acting strange ever since Halloween. She's been writing to you, hasn't she?"
Riddle smiled, but the smile didn't reach his cold, dark eyes. "Good work, Danielle, so observant. Yes, Ginny wrote constantly about how her brothers always teased her and how she didn't have many friends except for Hagrid and Luna Lovegood, and how she didn't think the great Harry Potter noticed her.
"It's so boring listening to the troubles of a first year girl. But I was patient. I listened to her and wrote back."
"I get it," Dani whispered. "The reason that she's been getting paler and jumpier. The reason why you're here and Ginny's like this… it's the diary. You've been gaining power while she was losing it!" She pointed an accusing finger at him. "You've been possessing her!"
Riddle laughed a cold laugh. Dani shivered, and Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
"No wonder you're in Ravenclaw," Riddle exclaimed. "Yes, it's true. She didn't realize it at first, but then she saw herself covered in blood or chicken feathers, she couldn't some nights. One particular entry was far more interesting than any others. Dear Tom,I can't remember what I did all evening, and Danielle Potter and Mandy Brocklehurst were Petrified! I remember being in the Gryffindor dorm, and then it's all black. The first thing I remember from that is the library!Tom,did I do this?"
Harry felt anger boil inside him, not at Ginny, but at Riddle. But why would Riddle do this? Harry voiced his question, and the other dark-haired boy smirked.
"I've always wanted to meet you both," Riddle said. "Ginny's written a lot about you, your whole fascinating histories. To gain your trust, Harry, I showed your friends, Abigail Longbottom and Lisa Turpin, my capture of the brainless oaf, Hagrid-"
"Hagrid's our friend!" Dani shouted. "You framed him!"
Riddle laughed again. "It doesn't matter now. I have some questions. Did you know that my targets have been you two? Did you know how disappointed I was when I learned that my basilisk didn't kill you?" He gestured to Dani, who glared back. "Do you know how angry I was when it was not Abigail or Lisa who opened the diary next, but Ginny? She had heard them talking with the Mudblood Granger about it and panicked, so she stole it back. By then, I knew what must happen. I knew that today was the day the Petrified would be Awakened. So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her… She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough for me to leave its pages at last… I've been waiting for you two to appear ever since we arrived. Obviously, I didn't have to wait long. I have many more questions, Harry and Danielle Potter."
"Like what?" the twins spat in unison.
"How is it that you – two skinny children, one with no extraordinary magical talent, the other with strange powers – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar each, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
There was silence. Dani stood there in shock. How did Riddle know about her telekinesis? Better yet, how did discover that she had only learned to control her powers not long before Hogwarts?
"Why do you care how we escaped?" Harry asked, noticing his sister's nervousness. "Voldemort was after your time…"
"Voldemort," Riddle whispered, "is my past, present, and future, Potter…" He raised Harry's wand and wrote in fiery letters: Tom Marvolo Riddle. He flicked the wand, and the letters rearranged themselves: I am Lord Voldemort.
The twins gasped. Voldemort smirked. "I fashioned this name for myself when I was still in school. Did you really think I would keep my filthy Muggle father's name? No. I fashioned this name so that one day, it would be feared above all others as I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!"
"You're not," Harry spat. Dani caught on as to what he meant.
"Not what?" Voldemort asked.
"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," Dani finished. "The greatest sorcerer in the world is Albus Dumbledore!"
"Dumbledore's gone! Banished by the mere memory of me!"
"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry shouted.
Riddle lifted his left hand, his face scrunched in anger. Suddenly, they all heard music ringing throughout the Chamber. A flame appeared on top of Statue-Slytherin's knee. From the pyre burst a large bird with a build like a swan's. It had fiery red plumage. Its golden tail was as long as a peacock's. The eerie music was issuing from its golden beak. It held something in its sharp-looking gold talons.
"A phoenix…" Dani whispered. Wait, how did she know what it was? She must have read it somewhere and couldn't remember where. I think it has some relationship with Dumbledore.
The phoenix flew straight at Harry and dropped the bundle at Dani's feet and landed on the former's shoulder. The girl bent down and picked up the bundle. It was dark, ragged, and looked strangely familiar…
"That's the old school Sorting Hat," Riddle stated.
Dani recalled her own Sorting, how it had told her how she would be good for either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Has anything changed? she asked herself.
Riddle laughed again, wrenching Dani from her thoughts. "So this is what Dumbledore sends his defenders! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?
To business, Harry and Danielle. Twice – in your past, in my future – we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything, Harry. The longer you talk," Dani started to feel weightless, "the longer she, then you, stay alive."
Dani felt herself flying through the moist air. AS she flew back, her thoughts were filled with alarm. Riddle was telekinetic? Her back connected with the wall and sent pain coursing through her.
"Dani!" Harry shouted. He had felt some of his sister's pain.
Dani tried to free herself, but she couldn't move. She couldn't quite remember how to use her powers. She could see green and silver sparks dancing around her. All the while, she could feel her wand in her pocket. If only she could get it to Harry…
Harry decided to answer Riddle's question as best he could. Maybe he could figure out how to save Dani. "Now one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked us. We don't know. But she and I know why you couldn't kill us. Because our mother died to save us. Our common Muggle-born mother. She stopped you killing us. We've seen the real you. You're weak. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you're foul-"
Riddle's face contorted with anger. Dani felt herself slide down the wall. In that instance, Dani pulled her wand from her pocket.
"So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful counter charm. I can see now… there is nothing special about either of you. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. We're all half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. You and I are probably the only Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. Danielle and I on the other hand are both telekinetic. It is a very rare ability, yet we both share it. We even look something alike… but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."
Dani saw the green sparks surrounding her vanish. She fell to the ground, landed on her knees, and fell to her knees. She stood shakily, pain still coursing through her right shoulder blade. She hoped that Madam Pomfrey would heal it quickly.
"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin against the famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him…"
The diary at Slytherin's feet burst open, its pages flipping wildly. A green mist-like smoke shaped like a snake burst from the pages. Harry and Dani stared at it in horror. It sprang right at Dani, who screamed. The smoke shrouded her. All the while, Riddle observed, but he looked a bit less substantial.
When the mist cleared, Dani stood there, her eyes closed.
"Dani?" Harry asked fearfully. She turned to him and opened her eyes. Harry gasped. Her eyes were no longer the normal bright green. Instead, they were scarlet.
Harry felt the phoenix's wing sweep his cheek and saw the fiery plumed bird fly at Dani.
The black-haired girl grunted and swatted it away. "Ugh, get away from me, you wretched bird!" she shouted. That wasn't like her. And her voice… It was hers, but speaking in perfect unison with her was another voice that sounded a lot like Riddle's.
Wait, Dani wasn't using her wand. The phoenix was distracting her. Harry searched the ground for the wand. There! It laid inches from the pool. He sprinted to it.
Riddle noticed. "Oh, Danielle, stop him!"
Dani immediately stopped swatting at the phoenix, which instantly flew into her face again. She thrust out her hands, creating a force field of blue and purple energy, but it was mingled with green. The phoenix fell to the ground.
Harry was only feet from the wand. He dove for it. He reached out for it with his right hand. Something grabbed his ankles. He stopped and turned. Dani was holding his ankles.
"Don't take that wand!" she shouted. But she cringed and grabbed her head. Harry took his chance and snatched the wand. He stood and turned. Dani was on her knees still clutching her head. What was going on?
Harry pointed the wand at Riddle, who stood there, a smirk on his face.
"Do you really think you can curse me, Harry?" Voldemort asked. "You'd have to go through your sister first."
Dani was back on her feet. She stood in front of Voldemort, a smirk gracing her face. Harry could hardly recognize her. She grunted again and clutched her head. Harry took his chance.
"Immobilius!" he shouted, a spell he had learned from Hermione. Dani quit moving, frozen in time. Uh-oh. Harry prayed he hadn't overdone the spell.
The phoenix took to the air again. Harry was afraid that it was going to attack, but instead, it landed on Dani's shoulder. It put its head close to hers. All of a sudden, the girl collapsed. Harry didn't see what the phoenix had done. He was about to curse it with Dani's wand until he saw her stir.
Riddle glared at the phoenix, hatred evident in his eyes. He turned to the statue of Salazar Slytherin. A soft hissing sound emitted from his mouth. Harry understood every word.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."
The statue's mouth was opening. Harry could see something stirring. The basilisk! He screwed his eyes shut and backed against the wall. He felt the king of serpents hit the floor of the Chamber. He could hear it slither.
"Kill them!" Riddle hissed.
Harry started to panic. Dani was still lying on the ground. He could feel that she was still weak. And where did the phoenix go? Harry began to run along the wall, making sure to keep his hand on it. He tripped over something large. It was Dani.
"Ow," she protested weakly. Harry could hear her sitting up. She tensed as she heard the basilisk hiss and coil. She closed her eyes immediately as she and Harry stood. Dani didn't want to get killed, not just after she had Awakened.
Something heavy hit the twins, smashing them into the wall. They hugged, afraid that this would be their last chance.
The fangs never came. They could hear something hitting the pillars. Harry opened his eyes. Soon, Dani did the same. They saw an enormous, poisonous green snake. Something was circling around its head. Blood was falling from the snake's head. Harry and Dani soon realized that it was coming from the basilisk's own bulbous, yellow eyes. The phoenix was responsible. The snake swung its tail around, nearly hitting the twins each time.
"No!" Riddle shouted, but only Harry could understand. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THEY'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL THEM! KILL THEM!"
The basilisk swayed as the phoenix stabbed at it with its golden talons. Harry was silently pleading for help, of any kind. The snake swept its tail, and something soft hit Dani's arm and fell to the ground. She picked it up. It was the Sorting Hat! Something stirred in her memory. She handed it to Harry, who jammed it on his head. Dani could hear him mentally pleading for help.
Harry felt something hard hit his head. He staggered, and Dani stumbled. He took off the Hat, which felt strangely heavy. He reached in and from it came a sword. It was silver, and the hilt had rubies the size of eggs.
"KILL THEM! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE TWINS ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! SNIFF – SMELL THEM!"
Harry pushed Dani to the side. He didn't want her to get hurt. The basilisk lunged blindly at him. He jumped to the side as it smashed into the walls, sending shrapnel everywhere-
It lunged again, but not at him, at Dani, who managed to jump out of the way – the tongue lashed her side-
The basilisk lunged again – Harry prepared the sword in both hands – He thrust it forward – He felt blood rain down from the roof of the basilisk's mouth – But he felt stabbing pain in his right arm. A few feet away, Dani gasped.
Harry let go of the sword and fell against the wall. He looked at his arm. A basilisk fang was lodged there. He yanked it out, blood leaking from the wound. But it was too late. He could feel it. Poison spread through him like fire. He slid down the wall.
"No…" Dani whispered, hoping, praying that it wasn't true. Harry couldn't be dying. But she could feel him slipping away, like water in her cupped hands. "No no no no. Harry!" She rushed to his side, ignoring the dying basilisk as she went.
She knelt next to Harry, who was getting paler by the second. Tears filled her eyes. She heard the beat of wings. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the phoenix land next to her brother.
"You were great," Harry murmured. "You were fantastic…"
"You're dead, Harry Potter," Riddle said. "Dead. Danielle here knows it. You're last image of her shall be of hatred." The diary sprang open again, the smoky snake slithering out and springing into Dani, who didn't care. Nothing matters anymore. Harry's dying.
"Oh look," Voldemort continued, "even Dumbledore's bird is crying."
Harry could see, in a swirl of colour, the fiery red bird leaning on his arm. He could also see red-eyed Dani standing next to Riddle. Everything was fading.
"So ends the famous Harry Potter, forsaken by his friends, betrayed by his sister, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your Dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry… I think I'll keep Danielle here with me for a while longer…" He wrapped the possessed girl in a loving embrace, his head resting on hers. She smiled while glaring at Harry. It was… disturbing.
Harry expected his vision to go black. Dying wasn't as bad as he'd expected. But wait, was it just him, or was everything getting clearer? The phoenix lifted its head to reveal Harry's arm. He inspected the wound and the pearly tears – except there was no wound.
His arm was completely healed, but how? He decided to question it more later, especially when Riddle started shouting. "Get away bird. Get away from him – I said, get away-"
Dani swatted the bird away, and the phoenix shot towards Ginny near the statue of Slytherin.
"Phoenix tears…" Riddle said, almost to himself. "Of course… healing powers… I forgot. But it doesn't matter. It should be just between the two of us. Danielle, go and wait over there."
"Yes, my lord," Dani crooned as she walked to the still unconscious redhead.
Riddle raised Harry's wand as Harry raised Dani's. Something dropped by Harry's left foot. He looked down. The diary! He snatched it, dropped the wand, and picked up the basilisk fang. He stabbed the leather bound book. Harry heard two screams. He looked up. Once scream was coming from riddle, the other from Dani, whose eyes were flashing madly between red and green, almost like Christmas lights.
Ink poured heavily from the diary, as if Harry had stabbed a pipe. It flooded the floor, seeping to the pool of water in front of the statue of Salazar Slytherin. And then-
It was all over.
Silence filled the Chamber, except for Harry's own deep breaths and the drip,drip coming from the diary. He took a look at the old book. There was a large, sizzling hole in the center. He picked up his wand and the Sorting Hat.
He heard a soft groan. Harry started at the sound and turned. He laid his eyes on Ginny. He hurried to her as she was sitting up. As she looked around, taking everything in, Harry sat down next to her. She suddenly hugged him and started to sob into his shoulder.
"Harry – oh, Harry – I tried to tell someone, but I wasn't b-brave enough. I d-don't belong in G-Gryffindor – I-I swear I d-didn't mean to – R-Riddle made me, he t-took over – and – and-"
Harry shushed her. "Ginny, everything's okay. Riddle's gone." He held up the diary for emphasis. "Him and the basilisk. And Dani-" He paused. Oh no, Dani!
Harry helped Ginny stand and then ran to his sister's side. The phoenix was just lifting its head from her shoulder blade, where she had been injured earlier. When he reached her, she stirred. He gently held her head up. Harry sighed in relief when she opened her green eyes (green, not red). Ginny walked to the twins, tears still leaking from her eyes.
"Oh my gosh!" the brown-eyed girl exclaimed. "D-Did Riddle hurt y-you? It's a-all my f-fault!"
"No it's not," Dani said quickly. "This would've happened to anyone else."
Ginny ignored her. "I'm going to be expelled! I've looked forward to coming since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and – w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"
"Everything'll be fine," Dani insisted. "It's all over."
Later on, Harry, Dani, Ginny, Ron, Neville, and Lockhart stood in Professor McGonagall's office speaking to Professor Dumbledore. But Harry thought the headmaster was suspended. Oh, whatever.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood in the corner, Ginny in their tight embrace. The first year was still crying softly.
After the tale was told, Dumbledore suggested that Ginny visit Madam Pomfrey. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up. You will find that Madam Pomfrey is giving a check up to those who were Petrified."
"So Hermione's okay!" Ron exclaimed, a large smile on his face. Neville grinned.
All of the other Weasleys walked out, Mr. Weasley still looking a little shaken.
"You know Minerva," Dumbledore said, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?"
"Right," the deputy headmistress replied as she strode to the door. "I'll leave you to deal with the Potters Weasley, and Longbottom, shall I?"
Neville widened his eyes. What? Were they going to get… punished? But they had just killed a basilisk and stopped You-Know-Who!
"You know," Dumbledore said as he looked at the group, excluding Lockhart, who was sitting in a corner and humming some strange tune, "all of you have shattered dozens of rules, not just this year, but last year as well."
The quartet looked down. Neville was ashamed. Why did he have to help make that Polyjuice Potion? His gran would be ashamed. Oh no, his gran! She would be furious!
"But!" Dumbledore continued. "Sometimes rules must be broken for the betterment of others. You will all receive Special Awards for Services to the School and – let me see – yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. But one of us seems to be keeping quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure. Why so modest, Gilderoy?"
Dani didn't want to think about Lockhart, about how she couldn't remember all of who she had been before Hogwarts. She could remember living in Tupelo, Mississippi in America. The images of her adopted family floated to her mind, but to her dismay, they were all a little fuzzy, especially of Jeremy and Violet, her adopted parents. Ever since they had died, she had promised herself that she would always remember them. That much she could remember. But then Lockhart had come around…
She jumped when she heard the door open again. Ron and Neville walked from the room, Lockhart strutting out as if he owned the place. Some things never changed…
"Sit down, Harry, Danielle," Professor Dumbledore instructed. The twins sat tentatively. "First of all, I want to thank you both. You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that would have called Fawkes to you."
Fawkes. So that was the phoenix's name.
"And so you met Tom Riddle. I imagine he was mostinterested in you…"
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry finally managed to say. "Riddle said we're like him. Strange likenesses, he said…"
"Did he, now? And what do the two of you think?"
"I don't think we're like him!" Harry shouted. He blushed a little from embarrassment. "I mean, I'm-I'm in Gryffindor… and she's in Ravenclaw, we're… Professor, the Sorting Hat told me that I'd-I'd have done well in Slytherin. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while… because I can speak Parseltongue…"
Wait, Dani thought to herself, Harry was nearly in Slytherin?
"You can speak Parseltongue, Harry, because Lord Voldemort, who is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin, can speak Parseltongue," Dumbledore explained. "And Danielle, you are telekinetic because Voldemort is one himself. Unless I'm very much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you those scars. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure…"
"Voldemort put some of himself in us?" Dani asked in horror. Everything was getting too overwhelming.
"It certainly seems so."
"So I should be in Slytherin," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me, and it-"
"Put you in Gryffindor," Dumbledore finished. "Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift – resourcefulness – determination – a certain disregard for the rules. Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think."
"It only put me in Gryffindor because I asked not to go in Slytherin…"
"Exactly. Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry and Danielle, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Harry felt uncertain. "If you want proof, Harry, that you belong in Gryffindor, I suggest you look more closely at this."
Dumbledore gestured to the bloodstained sword on McGonagall's desk. Harry gingerly picked it up.
Godric Gryffindor.
"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry."
Everything was silent as the twins contemplated everything. The headmaster pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink well. "What you need is some food and sleep. I suggest you both go down to the feast, while I write to Azkaban – we need our gamekeeper back. And I must an advertisement for the Daily Prophet, too. We'll be needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…. Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?"
The twins stood, but before they could reach the door, it slammed open, revealing someone they recognized at once: Lucius Malfoy. Cowering behind him was another familiar face. It was Dobby!
Dobby is Mr. Maylfoy's House-Elf? Dani exclaimed.
So the family he serves is the Malfoys! Why? Harry asked.
The warning before the beginning of the school year… Was Dobby really warning us of this?
All those questions and hundreds more ran through their heads. They finally paid attention again when Mr. Malfoy spoke. "So it's true. You have returned."
"When the governors learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter was taken into the Chamber, they saw fit to summon me back."
"Ridiculous," Malfoy muttered angrily as he turned away. Dobby was doing something odd: He pointed at the ruined diary, then at the blonde, and then punched himself. The twins looked at each other. What was the House-Elf doing?
"Curiously, Lucius," Dumbledore continued, "several of them were under the impression that you would curse their family if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place."
"How dare you!" Malfoy exclaimed.
"Beg your pardon?" Dumbledore asked innocently.
"My sole concern has always been and always will be the welfare of this school and, of course, its students." Malfoy glanced at Harry and Dani. "The culprit has been identified, I presume?"
"Yes."
Malfoy waited a second for an answer. "And? Who was it?"
"Voldemort. Only this time he chose to act through someone else by means of this." Dumbledore held up the black diary, the hole through it obvious."
Malfoy looked away. Dani thought he looked a little… nervous? Why would he be nervous? "I see."
"Fortunately," Dumbledore said, "the Potters and their friends discovered it. One hopes that no more of Lord Voldemort's old school-things should find their way into innocent hands. The consequences of the one responsible would be severe." Dobby continued his actions of pointing at the diary, Malfoy, and then punching himself. Dani finally realized what Dobby was trying to say and nodded. The Elf backed away to the corner of the room.
Malfoy sneered. "Well let us hope that," he turned to the twins again, "the Potter twins will always be around to save the day." He turned to the door. "Come, Dobby, we're leaving." He kicked the House-Elf out of McGonagall's office and strode out.
Dani crossed to the desk the headmaster sat behind. "Sir, can I have this? I need to return it to its proper owner." She picked up the diary.
The professor nodded his head. Dani thanked him, grabbed Harry's wrist, and jogged from the room.
Mr.Malfoy dropped this into Ginny's cauldron, didn't he? Harry inquired.
I'm pretty sure. Something tells me that we're right.
"Mr. Malfoy!" Harry exclaimed as he stuffed the book into one of his socks. The platinum blonde stopped and turned. "I have something of yours." Harry thrust the sock and diary into Malfoy's hands.
Mr. Malfoy yanked off the sock and tossed it behind him. He sneered when he saw the diary. "Mine? I don't know what you're talking about."
"I believe you do, sir," Dani said.
"We think you slipped the diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron that day at Diagon Alley."
"You do, do you?" Malfoy asked. "Why don't you prove it?" He turned and started walking down the corridor. "Come, Dobby." He didn't hear the usual patter of feet. "Dobby!"
"Master has presented Dobby with a sock!" Dobby exclaimed.
"What? I didn't-" He stopped when he realized what his servant (well, former servant) was holding.
"Master has presented Dobby with clothes! Dobby is free!"
Malfoy glared at the twins. Harry lifted his pants leg slightly and revealed a bare ankle. It was hisstinky, smelly, sock!
"You lost me my servant!" Malfoy shouted angrily.
Dobby stood in front of Harry and Dani and lifted his hands. "You shall not harm Harry Potter and Harry Potter's sister!" Dani looked a little confused at what Dobby called her. The aforementioned Elf waved his hands, and Malfoy flew backwards and fell down the stairs. He stood again, his hair in complete disarray. Malfoy sneered again and walked away.
"Harry Potter and Harry Potter's twin sister freed Dobby. How can Dobby ever repay them?"
"Please, don't try to save our lives again," Dani said.
The feast lasted the entire night. Dani was amazed that she was awake through all of it. The first thing that happened was she got a massive hug from Cedric, who was smiling widely. Next, Draco, Blaise, and Daphne came and met her and Harry. They all sat around the Gryffindor table. People complained about not having enough room. Immediately after that, those who had been Petrified walked in. At about two in the morning, Hagrid burst into the Great Hall and was instantly met with a thunderous applause. Everyone except Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle, that is.
Professor Dumbledore announced that the exams were cancelled as a school treat. Hermione was disappointed.
The last few months passed in sunshine and laughter. Defense Against the Dark Arts Classes were canceled because a certain blonde teacher had gone to St. Mungo's, a wizard hospital, so that he could hopefully regain his memories.
But all the while, there was one nagging thought that remained in the back of Dani's mind. What of my memories? she would ask herself.
On the last day before the end of the school year, she finally decided to visit Professor Dumbledore about it.
"What is it you would like to talk about?" the headmaster inquired.
The raven-haired girl sighed before starting. "Sir, when we were in the Chamber, Professor Lockhart hit me with a Memory Charm. Well, I deflected most of it back at him. The problem is that I lost some of my memories. Apparently, I lived in the future. I don't remember that. Also, I found a series of books in my suitcase, a series modeled after my brother."
"Yes, the Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling. You told me nearly two years ago that you could prevent many things. But I rejected this. Do you wish to know the future any more?"
Dani stood there in front of the desk, contemplating. Finally, she had her decision. "No. I am from this time. I really shouldn't know what would or wouldn't happen."
There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Professor Dumbledore called cheerfully. Dani didn't turn to see who it was. "Ah, it's lovely to see you, Miss Woods." She turned at those words. She gasped at who she saw.
Standing in the doorway, with a black rabbit in her arms, was Victoria Woods, Dani's best friend from the future.