Chapter Sixteen: Another Evil Bites the Dust
"You three realize, of course, that in the past few hours, you have broken perhaps a dozen school rules." Prof. Dumbledore scolded, looking at each of the students in front of him.
The following morning, he had returned, and learned that Harry, Ron, and Tony had gone to the Chamber of Secrets, and put themselves into harm's way once again. Now the three of them stood before their headmaster's desk, ready to be reprimanded for their actions.
"Yes, sir." the three boys spoke in agreement.
"There is sufficient evidence to have all three of you expelled." Prof. Dumbledore told them.
"Yes, sir."
"Therefore, it is only fitting..."
Harry, Ron, and Tony braced themselves. Here it came, their headmaster was about to expel them.
"...that the three of you receive Special Awards for Services to the School." announced Prof. Dumbledore.
The three boys in front of him looked at each other, relieved and thankful, before looking at him once again.
"Thanks, sir." breathed Ron.
"Now, Mr. Weasley, if you would have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban." Prof. Dumbledore requested, handing him an envelope. "I believe we want our gamekeeper back. And Mr. Gabriel, would you mind waiting outside for a moment? I would like to address Harry alone for a moment."
Ron and Tony nodded, and left the office. They looked at each other, and grinned.
"We did pretty good." said Tony.
"Yeah, I guess we did." Ron agreed, nodding. "I thought you hated snakes though."
"I think I'm finally over it. Helping Harry fight that basilisk to save your sister gave me the motivation I needed to overcome that little phobia."
"You know something? I take what I said about Slytherin House back. Not everyone in it's bad. You and your friends there are alright."
"I'm glad you think so, Ron."
Ron departed down the staircase to send the paperwork to Azkaban, while Tony waited outside of the office for Harry. A few minutes later, an unpleasant surprise showed up. Mr. Malfoy climbed up the stairs and Tony had to hurriedly step back through the door to let him pass. Behind Mr. Malfoy was a small, timid, elf-like creature with big green eyes. It was also dressed in what appeared to be a pillowcase. Tony awkwardly waved down at the creature, and smiled.
"Hiya." he greeted. "Tony Gabriel. Slytherin."
The elf-like creature looked up at him, too afraid to speak back. Especially with the look that Mr. Malfoy was shooting the Slytherin boy.
"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed, surprised.
Tony, Mr. Malfoy, and "Dobby" looked over at Harry, who was looking down at the creature.
"So this is your master." Harry said, realizing something. "The family you serve is the Malfoys."
Tony raised his eyebrows, stunned. This was the House Elf that Harry was telling him, Ron, Fred, and George about in the car the night that they rescued him from the Dursleys.
"I'll deal with you later." Mr. Malfoy muttered, glaring at Dobby.
He marched into the office toward Prof. Dumbledore, who nodded at Tony to go ahead and enter. Tony quickly rushed over beside Harry, as Mr. Malfoy stood on the opposite side of the desk and pushed the two aside with his cane.
"Out of my way, you two." he growled.
The older Malfoy then addressed the headmaster.
"So, it's true." he observed. "You have returned."
"When the governors learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter was taken into the Chamber, they saw fit to summon me back." explained Prof. Dumbledore.
"Ridiculous."
"Curiously, Lucius, 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."
Harry and Tony turned to glare at the blond-haired man that stood before them. How low could you get?
"How dare you!" growled Mr. Malfoy.
"Beg your pardon?" asked Prof. Dumbledore.
Mr. Malfoy stepped forward, his face twisted in rage.
"My sole concern has always been and will always be the welfare of this school, and of course,..." he argued, outraged.
He paused to glance at Tony and Harry, who were standing with Dobby beside the desk.
"...it's students." he finished.
"You have a funny way of showing it." retorted Tony.
Mr. Malfoy shot him a nasty glare, as Prof. Dumbledore's mouth twitched into a small smirk, which faded before the man standing in front of him could notice.
"The culprit has been identified, I presume?" asked the former.
"Yes." responded Prof. Dumbledore.
"And? Who was it?"
Prof. Dumbledore glanced at Harry for a moment, who had glanced back, and looked back at Mr. Malfoy.
"Voldemort." he answered.
Mr. Malfoy didn't look surprised in the least.
"Only this time, he chose to act through somebody else, by means of this." Prof. Dumbledore explained, holding up the damaged diary of Tom Riddle.
While the grown-ups continued to talk, Tony glanced to the side and saw Dobby tugging on Harry's arm sleeve, and glancing at Mr. Malfoy meaningfully. Both boys had gotten the message. Mr. Malfoy was responsible for the whole mess.
"Fortunately, our young Mr. Potter and his friends discovered it." Prof. Dumbledore was saying. "Ginny Weasley had said that before she was taken, she and Mr. Cross, another Gryffindor, had tried to destroy it countless times, but only through the use of a basilisk's fang, was Harry able to destroy it. One hopes that no more of Lord Voldemort's old school-things should find their way into innocent hands. The consequences for the one responsible would be severe."
"Well, let us hope that Mr. Potter will always be around to save the day." said Mr. Malfoy.
"Don't worry." responded Harry. "I will be."
"And his friends will always be there to help him." Tony agreed, clapping a hand onto his shoulder.
Mr. Malfoy nodded, doing a good job of hiding his disappointment from his visage.
"Dumbledore." he said, before turning away. "Come, Dobby. We're leaving."
Harry, Tony, and Prof. Dumbledore watched as Mr. Malfoy and Dobby left, the former knocking the latter along with his cane.
"I'd kick him myself if it didn't mean me being expelled." Tony muttered, angrily.
Harry had a different idea. He turned around to set the sword of Gryffindor down on the table.
"Sir?" he asked. "I wonder if I could have that?"
Tony and Prof. Dumbledore saw that he was pointing at the diary, and to the former's surprise, his headmaster approved. Harry took the diary, then quickly removed one of his socks, and stuffed it into the book's interior, before departing from the office.
"I'm done asking questions for the year." announced Tony.
Behind him, Prof. Dumbledore chuckled, making him turn to face his headmaster. Prof. Dumbledore then stopped laughing to look at his student.
"Tell me, Anthony, if you were given the option, would you stay in Slytherin?" he asked. "Despite the reputation that your House has?"
"It wouldn't matter where I was, sir." Tony responded, smiling. "My friends would always be my friends. And I'd always be their friend. That's what matters to me."
Prof. Dumbledore nodded, smiling proudly.
"I've spoken with Prof. Snape earlier this year." he announced. "Slytherin House will be receiving extra rooms for Muggleborns and half-Muggle wizards and witches. I understand that you and some of your friends there have been dealing with excessive bullying."
"S-Sir, you don't have to-" Tony stammered, raising his hands in a defensive gesture.
"I believe it would be necessary for the future."
Harry and Tony made their way down to the Great Hall, feeling cheery with all that had happened. However, on the way there, the two of them noticed Draco Malfoy standing with his back against the wall, looking at them.
"I wonder if he saw his dad yet." muttered Harry.
Tony shrugged, not really caring. A few of his friends were about to wake back up from being Petrified, and nothing was going to bring him down today. Then, Draco walked forward, and blocked them off.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" asked Harry.
"A word with Gabriel, if you don't mind." Draco spat back.
Tony stared at him, confused. Draco Malfoy wanting to talk with him? This was new. He looked at Harry, and nodded at him to go on ahead without him, and both he and Draco watched as Harry walked off to the Great Hall. Waiting until he was out of earshot, Draco finally looked at Tony.
"I heard about what you and Potter did, standing up to the Dark L-You-Know-Who." he spoke, lowly.
"Malfoy, if you're going to call me 'Mudblood' or whatever slur you have up your sleeve, I'll warn you now, I'm not gonna be bothered by it." Tony warned him. "Two of my best buds are being unPetrified, and I'm stoked about seeing them again."
"I'm not here to insult you, Gabriel."
Tony stared at him, blankly.
"Pardon?" he asked, surprised.
"I'll deny ever saying this to anyone else, but I thought you should know that I have...a new level of respect for you." Draco said, awkwardly. "You looked You-Know-Who in the eye again, and stood up to him and his monster."
Tony stared at him, his jaw dropping open. Draco was actually...complimenting him. He was being nice to him. The Muggleborn Slytherin wondered to himself if Hell had frozen over.
"Uh, thanks, Malfoy." Tony said, uncomfortably.
"Like I said, if anyone asks, I still hate your kind." Draco warned him.
"And we hate your guts."
Draco nodded, and went on his way to the Great Hall, leaving a still-surprised Tony standing where he was. A grin slowly formed on his own face.
That evening, the entire school was abuzz in the Great Hall. The Petrified victims were restored back to normal health, and spirits had never been higher. Sir Nicholas floated down the center aisle of the room, with students welcoming him back. Tony sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry and Ron, waiting for their two missing friends to show up. Then Neville suddenly looked up towards the entrance, then looked back at Harry, excited.
"Harry! It's Hermione!" he exclaimed. "And Riley, too!"
Harry, Ron, Tony, and the other Gryffindors within earshot craned their heads toward the entrance to the Great Hall to see that Hermione and Riley were both standing in the doorway, looking straight at them. Harry, Ron, and Tony got out of their seats just as Hermione and Riley rushed towards them, and hurried over to meet them. Harry grabbed Hermione in a hug, while Riley and Tony met in a highfive that changed into a fistbump, laughing. Ron went to hug Hermione, both stopping before even touching each other, and settled for a handshake.
"Welcome back, Hermione." said Ron.
"It's good to be back." responded Hermione.
"Good grief, you two." Tony muttered, shaking his head. "Go ahead and hug, it's not like we're going to judge."
He paused, and looked at the Weasley twins, and changed his mind about what he said.
"Okay, all but those two knuckleheads." he correct himself.
Hermione ignored him, and smiled at her friends.
"Congratulations, I can't believe you solved it." she said, excited.
"Well, we've had loads of help from you." Harry told her. "We couldn't have done it without you, and Riley, too."
"Thanks."
"I didn't do much." Riley admitted, grinning sheepishly.
"Funny. I seem to recall being told that you were trying to save Ginny before we even entered the Chamber, and that you knew the diary was evil." Tony told him. "Luckily, Harry found that missing page in Hermione's hand. Otherwise we wouldn't be here today, talking to you two."
Hermione and Riley looked at each other, smiling. Then they and their friends sat down as Prof. McGonagall clanged her silverware against the glass goblet again.
"Could I have your attention, please?" she asked.
Prof. Dumbledore rose to his feet to address the students once the noise quieted down.
"Before we begin the feast, let us have a round of applause for Prof. Sprout, Madam Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who had been Petrified." he announced.
The entire room broke out into a loud group of cheers, as the two women smiled warmly in thanks. Then it died down again.
"Also, in light of recent events, as a school treat all exams have been cancelled." Prof. Dumbledore finished, looking down at his students.
Almost the entire Great Hall exploded into cheers. Every student at the Slytherin table was clapping, too. Hermione had been about the only one who was disappointed. Her mood would be lifted in just a few moments though. The doors to the Great Hall opened again, and the students quieted down to watch as Rubeus Hagrid walked into the room.
"Sorry I'm late." he apologized.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Riley, and Tony looked at each other, excitedly. Hagrid was really back. He walked down the center aisle, looking cheerful.
"The owl that delivered my release papers got all lost and confused." he explained. "Some ruddy bird called Errol."
Harry, Hermione, Tony, and Riley turned in their seats to glance at Ron, who felt the gazes of several of the students fall on him, as he slowly turned to look at his friends. Nobody really forgot the bird that brought him his Howler earlier this school year, the same one that had caused quite a commotion on the first day of the school year. Hagrid stopped beside the Gryffindor table, and looked down at his five friends.
"And I'd just like to say that if it hadn't been for you, Harry, Ron, Tony, and Hermione and Riley, of course, I would, uh, I'd still be you-know-where," he spoke, gratefully. "So I'd just like to say thanks."
Harry was the first to stand up, and he looked up at Hagrid.
"There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid." he said.
Hagrid watched as his young friend walked over to hug him, and returned the gesture. Then Prof. Dumbledore stood up, and started to clap his hands. Prof. McGonagall, and several of the staff members followed suit, with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Riley, Tony, and the rest of the students joining in. Tony's friends from Slytherin House, Jesse, Scott, and his sister Jasmine, stood up, and started to clap, too. Students were either standing on top of their tables, or walked over to Hagrid to shake his hand, and congratulate the gamekeeper. Tears were rolling down the man's face, as he raised his fists in the air. The year had gotten to a shaky start, but things turned out okay in the end.
I uploaded the rest of the story because I'm gonna be busy for a while, and I didn't want to go a while without updating this. I'm gonna try and work on more of the chapters from my other fanfics.
Disclaimer: I own just the Cross family, the Gabriels, Jesse Reigns, Scott and Jasmine Willows. I don't own the Harry Potter series (books, movies, you get it), or any of the DC comics, books, the Walkman player, any artists or songs that appear in this story. If I did, I'd be richer than Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, the Malfoys, you get it. 'kay? Cool. Catch you later.