Chapter 29: back to the chamber

Harry squeezed her hand. "You'll do fine, Gin. I'm right here," he whispered. Ginny nodded and took a deep breath before standing and making her way to the stands with her head held high.

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"Please state your name"

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," said Ginny, her voice shaking slightly. She turned her attention from the Ministry official momentarily to search the crowds for Harry. Her eyes locked with his as he gave her an encouraging nod.

"And you are here today to provide your testimony against Lucius Malfoy?" asked the official.

"Yes . . . yes I am," said Ginny.

"You stated in your earlier written testimony and we heard from Mr. Potter that Mr. Malfoy was responsible for the opening of the chamber of secrets, is this correct?"

"Yes sir"

"Please explain," said the official.

Ginny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I guess I should start at the beginning. I was about to start my first year at Hogwarts and my family went into Diagon Alley to purchase me and my brother's school things. We were at Flourish & Blotts purchasing our books. While there, Mr. Malfoy insulted my parents for their lack of wealth." Ginny paused for a moment and looked over at Lucius who was glaring at her. Determined not to let him get to her, she continued, "Sometime during the argument, he managed to slip Voldemort's old school diary into my cauldron. When I got home, I assumed that the diary was something that my parents had purchased for me and never gave it a second thought. When I got to school, I had a hard time adjusting. I was actually pretty lonely, so I started writing in the journal. I quickly found out that this was no ordinary journal. It wrote back."

At this last statement, there were several shocked gasps from the courtroom. Ginny reached up with a shaky hand and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face before continuing.

"I know I should have told someone about the journal or turned it in to one of the professors but I was lonely, and Tom was . . . well . . . he made me feel as if he was my friend."

"I'm sorry to interrupt Miss. Weasley, but who exactly is Tom?" asked the official.

"Oh . . . Tom Riddle. This is Voldemort's real name," said Ginny.

'I see," said the official. "Please continue."

"Yes . . . well . . . Tom made me believe that I could trust him. I poured my heart and soul into that diary, which is exactly what he wanted. At the time, I had a pretty big crush on Harry Potter so I wrote about how I felt about him and how he never seemed to notice me. After a while I noticed that I couldn't remember half of what I did that day. I remember finding myself standing in the girls dormitory covered in blood and feathers with no idea what happened. I only found out later that Tom had possessed me and forced me to kill the school roosters, as this was the only creature the basilisk feared. Finding myself like this scared me. I came back to reality long enough to realize that Tom was behind this somehow so I tried to dispose of the diary by flushing it down the toilet. After I got rid of the diary, I started to feel better. I could remember everything I did and I started to adjust. It didn't last long though. Not long after, I overheard Harry talk to his friends about Tom's diary. I completely freaked out. I was terrified that Tom would tell Harry how I felt about him so I broke into the boy's dormitory and stole the diary back." Ginny paused and took another deep breath.

"To be honest, I don't remember much that happened until Tom had me open the chamber of secrets after leaving that horrible message on the wall." she shuddered at the memory. "The next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground inside the chamber and Harry was next to me covered in blood. He had killed the basilisk that lived in the chamber and destroyed the diary with one of the basilisk's fangs. I know that Harry confronted Mr. Malfoy later that evening in Dumbledore's office."

"And did Mr. Malfoy admit to his involvement?" asked the official.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Ginny. "Why would he do that? I don't think he knew that the diary held a piece of Voldemort's soul, but he knew it was the key to open the chamber. He wasn't about to give up his status in the wizarding community over it. He had the Minister in his pocket. He didn't care what happened to me. I'm sure he still doesn't." This time it was her turn to glare at Lucius.

"Thank you Miss. Weasley. Now, you were also involved in the incident in the Department of Mysteries, is this correct?" said the official.

"Yes. As Mr. Potter stated earlier, he was there with the other Death Eaters and a fight broke out," said Ginny.

"Thank you. You may step down," said the official giving her a kind smile. It was evident to everyone in the courtroom just how hard it was for her to talk about what had happened to her.

"Thank you," said Ginny as she stood shakily. The Ministry official helped her down and she quickly made her way back to her seat next to Harry.

"I'm so proud of you Gin," whispered Harry once she was seated. "I know how hard that was for you."

"Did you see that look Lucius gave me?" she whispered back.

"Don't worry about that. He knows he's done for."

"I sure hope so."

"Is there anyone here today who would like to say anything on behalf of Mr. Malfoy?" asked the official, pulling Harry and Ginny's attention back to the court proceedings. The courtroom was completely silent. Not a single witch or wizard stepped forward. The ministry official walked over to Kingsley and had brief hushed conversation with the Minister.

"I wonder what that's all about," whispered Harry. "They've never done that in any of the other trials."

"Hmmm . . . I wonder what that could mean," said Ginny. Apparently they weren't the only ones wondering what was going on. Several hushed conversations broke out throughout the room. The Ministry official nodded at Kingsley and walked back into the center of the room causing the courtroom to fall silent once more. Harry glanced at Lucius, and for the first time that day, he was showing fear.

"The Wizenagmot has already reached their decision. Lucius Malfoy, you are hereby sentenced to life in Azkaban."

At these words, the courtroom broke out in applause and Lucius Malfoy was escorted from the room. He never resisted.

Harry and Ginny waited until the courtroom was empty before exiting. Once in the hallway, they were approached by the one person neither of them expected.

"I want to apologize to both of you," said Narcissa Malfoy. "For my husband, my son and myself."

"Mrs. Malfoy . . . ," began Harry.

"No . . . I owe you my life. Thank you. I hope one day, you can forgive me for what I've done," said Narcissa, cutting across him. "I know this couldn't have been easy for you. For either of you. I'm so sorry for what my husband did to you Miss. Weasley."

Harry and Ginny were both too stunned to speak. Before they had a chance to regain their composure, Narcissa was gone.

"Wow," said Ginny in awe.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Who would have guessed."

"Wow," repeated Ginny, unable to say more.

They stood in silence for a moment before Harry turned to Ginny and said, "Let's go home."

Hand in hand, they made their way to the lifts and through the Atrium to the apparition point. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and turned on the spot, apparating them back to their flat. Once there, Ginny broke down in tears.

"Is it really over?"

"It's over Gin. He's never going to be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again," said Harry, wrapping her in his arms.

"I'm s-s-sorry H-Harry," sobbed Ginny. "You must t-think I'm b-b-being r-ridiculous."

"Shhh. It's okay. You're not being ridiculous. You were so brave today," said Harry.

He continued to hold her as she cried. He wished desperately to be able to erase her paid but he knew that the only thing he could do is be there to support her. After some time, Ginny sat up slowly, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"Let's go to bed," she said.

That night, for the first time in a very long time, Ginny Weasley slept soundly. The chamber of secrets never once entered her dreams.

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