Chapter Nineteen: The End...For Now

Hope ducked behind the last remaining snake pillar, limping on her sprained ankle. For what seemed like years, she and Madame Heydt had been dueling, and while Hope had inflicted just as much damage on the librarian as she had on her, Hope knew it was just a matter of time before she failed. Her strength came from her friends. When they were all together, they could do anything, just like last year. But no help was coming. Hope had sealed the entrance. She just hoped that she could take down Madame Heydt with her when she fell.

"Come on, little snake. Don't you want to play," the librarian taunted. Hope counted to ten then raised her wand.

"BOMBARDAR!" she yelled and a rock near Kim exploded, blasting rubble into his skin. He was trying to dig a way out while Luff mumbled, half conscious, on the floor. Madame Heydt laughed.

"Is that the best you got?" she giggled and sent a blast of green her way. Hope flicked it aside with her wand, focusing on the baby Basilisk slithering around, feeling its new surroundings.

"Hello," Hope called out to it in parseltonuge. "Do you think you could help me?"

"I'm not a snake, girl! Your snake tongue can't charm me!" Madame Heydt roared and fired another spell, blasting Hope closer to the snake. She turned around and blasted one of the pillars, burying Madame Heydt in a pile of rubble.

"You are a friend to snakes," the Basilisk said and sniffed Hope's hair. "I can sense it."

"Please," Hope whispered. "Please help me stop her. I need to make sure my friends are okay."

"You don't care about your own life," the snake remarked. "You only care about them."

"They deserve to live. I should never have been created," Hope cried as tears began to drip down her face. "I'm just a recreation of something evil. But if you can help me then I can do something good."

"If I help you then will you give me a home? I need someone," the Basilisk crooned, rubbing against her cheek.

"Yes," Hope answered and petted his scales. He was smooth and warm, cuddly and kind. He reminded her of a snake she had met as a child.

"Die, snake!" Madame Heydt yelled as she emerged from the rocks, her body littered with bleeding cuts. The Basilisk roared, showing off his white fangs, sniffed the air, and slithered towards her. A beam of green light shot from Madame Heydt's wand but Hope made no move to defend herself. She would right the wrong of her father by ending his legacy once and for all.

"No!" a voice screamed and a bolt of red light intercepted the killing spell. Hope turned and saw SS, wand raised, charging over to her. Professor Venus was slapping cuffs onto Kim and Luff's wrists. She snapped their wands for good measure, than followed SS. "Don't hurt her!"

"You vile child!" Madame Heydt roared and cast a spell that he deflected. "You'll pay for this."

"No, I won't. Because I'm not going to lose. I'm a child of the lion!" SS responded. But before he could do anything, the Basilisk leaped up and bit Madame Heydt's arm. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, sobbing. She kicked and she howled but nothing could stop the venom. In only minutes, she was dead. SS and Professor Venus stared in horror while the four-foot serpent slithered back to its master. Hope could barely breath, she was so stunned.

"No, I only wanted you to stop her. Not kill her," Hope moaned as he curled up by her feet.

"My mistake. I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I didn't like the taste of her. I think I may become a vegetarian," the Basilisk replied and laid its head down on her knee. SS suddenly realized how close he was to Hope.

"Get back!" he yelled, brandishing his wand like a sword. Hope stepped in front of the snake.

"Don't hurt him. Hurt me. I was the one who asked him to stop Madame Heydt," Hope explained.

"You wanted to kill her?" SS gaped, stunned that his friend could have such a black heart.

"No, of course I didn't. He just didn't understand. It was a miscommunication," Hope protested.

"A miscommunication that cost our librarian her life," SS exclaimed. Hope was getting angrier by the minute.

"She was working for Albany. And if this keeps up, we may have to kill more of her followers," Hope shouted back.

"Children," Professor Venus interrupted. "Perhaps it is for the best. We can't keep every criminal in Azkaban. And Hope didn't mean to."

"Fine," SS bit out. "But what are we going to do with the Basilisk?"

"I'm keeping him," Hope said, hands on hips, ready for a fight. She leaned to one side, favoring her sprained ankle, as pain laced through her.

"What?" SS roared.

"You do seem to have control over him. However, Basilisks gain their deadly gazes when they are a year old. You'll have to keep him blindfolded."

"I know," Hope told her teacher then turned to her friend. "How's Ferna?"

"She'll live," SS sighed. "But Rose and Al aren't back yet."

"Let's go to my classroom to wait. I'll call Headmistress Caroban to take Luff and Kim to the Ministry. Everything will be fine," Professor Venus suggested. The two students nodded, exhaustion hitting them like a freight train. They stumbled out of the chamber and headed back to the castle.

SS and Hope dozed as the sun rose, waiting for their friends to return. Luff and Kim had mysteriously disappeared and Headmistress Caroban had decided to label Madame Heydt's death as a freak accident. Ferna had been taken to the Hospital Wing and was expected to make a full recovery. Hope had placed her new pet, who she decided to name Slinky, in a magic enclosure she had taken from Hagrid.

After about two hours, Professor Venus's door was thrown open and Professor Higglebottom entered, ushering in a nervous Al and Rose. They had failed and they were terrified of Hope would say.

"You're okay," Professor Venus sighed and hugged Professor Higglebottom. "I was so worried."

"The children almost didn't need my help," Professor Higglebottom admitted. SS got up and embraced Al and Rose. Hope looked around them, searching for her friend.

"What happened?" SS asked them as they all sat back down. Hope, however, remained standing.

"Where's Twyla?" Hope demanded. Rose bit her lip.

"We should probably start at the beginning," Al sighed.

After Al and Rose had finished their story, Hope stared out the window for a bit. She watched her fellow students lounging on the grass, enjoying another May day, laughing and studying for the exams that started tomorrow.

"It's fine. Not everyone can be saved," Hope finally answered. "I just wish it didn't have to be her."

"You're not mad?" Al asked, stunned.

"No," Hope answered. "Because I have my own story."

It took another hour for Hope to tell her tale. She started from when she had discovered the Chamber of Secrets and found out about her father. As soon as she stopped talking, Al reached out and hugged her tight. Hope relaxed into his embrace and a tear fell down her pale cheek.

"You are not a mistake and you are not like your father," Al assured her. "You're Hope."

"We couldn't have saved Ferna without you," SS added.

"We aren't going to treat you differently just because of your parent. Being the son of Harry Potter doesn't affect how you treat me, does it?" Al asked her. Hope smiled and shook her head.

"So this is why Albany hates us all. Because we're all descended from the founders of Hogwarts," Rose muttered, finally understanding. Al sat back in his chair as they all looked at the two professors.

"Yes," Professor Venus admitted.

"And you two knew this whole time?" SS demanded, anger starting to grow.

"Yes," Professor Higglebottom sighed. "But we didn't want you finding out too soon. You had to be ready."

"So what happens now?" Al murmured.

"You take your exams. You go home for the summer. And we warn students about Albany. We'll stop her. But not today," Professor Higglebottom answered and turned from the students. "You should all be studying." The four of them shrugged then left. Professor Venus placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Cassie, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. But the children were so close to dying. We must be more careful. They aren't ready yet," Cassandra answered. Madeline nodded in agreement.

"Did…Did you see her?" she whispered.

"I did," Cassandra breathed.

"And?"

"She is bent on revenge. We must keep your existence a secret. You could be a valuable asset to her or a horrible weakness. Do not worry. I will protect you."

"Thank you, old friend." Madeline and Cassandra stayed there for what seemed like years as they watched the students go about, ignorant and innocent, as they thought of the battle still to be fought.

Rose was top in every class. Al's hard work payed off and he got great grades. Hope wrote a letter home, warning her mother of her new pet. And SS enjoyed his last few days with the Quidditch team. When they left, they knew that next year would be harrowing. But they knew that it wouldn't be until next year. And for that, they were grateful.