28th/ 29th May

Harry was the centre of attention as he told the tale of the Chamber of Secrets. He told of Fawkes's timely arrival and the Sorting Hat giving him the sword. But I saw him hesitate and look to Dumbledore for help.

"What interests me most," Dumbledore began, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in the forests of Albania." The firelight danced on his half-moon spectacles as he broke the news to Molly and Arthur.

"W-what's that?" Mr Weasley was clearly stunned, not that I was surprised, "You Know Who? En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not... Ginny hasn't been... She's not..." he was lost for words.

I picked up the diary and handed it over to Mr Weasley and Harry spoke, "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen."

"But- but what's our Ginny got to do with- with- him?" Molly stammered.

"His d-diary! I've b-been writing in it, and he's been writing back all year-" Ginny cried her heart out.

Arthur wrapped his arms around his little girl, "Ginny! Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. Why didn't you hand it over? A suspicious magical object like that was clearly full of Dark Magic!"

"I found it inside one of the books mum got me. I thought someone had left it in there and forgotten about it..." Ginny was still pale and shaking, this whole ordeal had been very traumatic for her.

Dumbledore then stood, "Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing straight away, there will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He opened the door and ushered the three Weasley's out, "You will find that Madam Pomfery is awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice- I dare say the Basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment." Dumbledore then looked down his long crooked nose at me, "I think you should join Miss Weasley, Miss Pink for I am no Healer..."

I shook my head and I opened my mouth, there was something I wanted to ask, to clear my mind of before leaving the office. He must have read my face for he simply said; "I understand..." and closed the door and made his way toward the desk again.

"So Hermione's okay, then?" I asked calmly, feeling high on the syrup tonic I had been given half an hour before.

"No lasting harm has been done." Dumbledore smiled down at the three of us, "You know Minerva," He said cheerfully, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?"

"I'll leave you to deal with these three, shall I?" she said, and I was slightly worried by her tone, contemplating life in the Muggle World again. No. No. NO.

"Certainly," said Dumbledore. McGonagall left and he spoke again, "I seem to remember telling you three that if you broke any more school rules I'd have to expel you."

I hung my head. We were doomed.

"... Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words." He broke into a smile, "You will all receive Special Awards for Services to the School, and- let me see- yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor."

"Wowzah! Thank you Sir!" I was so grateful.

Ron's cheeks went a shade of pink, his chin had dropped.

"But one of us seems to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure," Dumbledore looked past us, to the seat in the corner of the room, "Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

Lockhart looked over his shoulder to see who he was addressing.

"Professor," Ron tried to find the right words, "there was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart-"

"Am I a Professor?" Lockhart asked in mild surprise, "Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?"

"Completely," I unintentionally said aloud, much to my dismay. But I felt much better as Dumbledore chuckled lightly to himself.

Ron quickly talked to cover my blunder, "He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired."

"Dear dear..." Dumbledore shook his head, "Impaled by your own sword, Gilderoy."

"Sword?" Gilderoy questioned, "I haven't got a sword. That boy has, though." He looked to Harry, "He'll lend you his."

"Mr Weasley, would you mind taking Professor Lockhart up to the hospital wing, too?" Ron cast a curious look back at the two of us before closing the door.

"I get the idea the two of you are comfortable with saying what needs to be said in each other's presence?" Dumbledore looked between us.

I looked at Harry and we nodded at each other, and then back to Dumbledore.

"Firstly," Dumbledore looked between us, "I want to thank you two," his eyes twinkled, "You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing else could have called Fawkes to you."

"That was Kathryn- she remembered what you said that night in Hagrid's Hut!" Harry explained.

I shook my head, "All I did was recite to Tom what I remembered and Fawkes flew in!"

"Which saved our lives-"

"Honestly Harry, it was nothing, I just wanted to keep us alive!" I said, truthfully.

Harry knew it was best not to argue with me and started a new topic, "Professor, Riddle said I'm like him. Strange likenesses, he said..."

"Did he now?" he looked thoughtfully through his half-moon spectacles, "And what do you think, Harry?"

"I don't think I'm like him! I mean... I'm- I'm in Gryffindor, I'm-" he fell silent and regained his thoughts, "The Sorting Hat told me I'd- that I'd have done well in Slytherin. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while... because I can speak Parseltongue..."

Dumbledore spoke calmly, "You can speak Parseltongue, Harry because Lord Voldemort- who is the last remaining descendent of Salazar Slytherin- can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure..."

"So I should be in Slytherin, then, with-" Harry looked desperate, "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me and-"

"Put you in Gryffindor. Yes, Harry, you are resourceful, determined and have a disregard for the rules- all traits Slytherin prized, yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor, you know why... have a think."

"Because I asked not to be put in Slytherin." Harry smirked.

"Exactly!" Dumbledore beamed once more, "That makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Harry sat stunned for a minute or so.

Dumbledore took out a quill and a bottle of ink, rolled out some parchment and began writing.

"Professor?" I asked, feeling a bit stupid, "Riddle said he knew me, he asked who my mother is, but Helen's a muggle and... his laugh, it was like I've heard it before, it just doesn't make sense. How can I know Tom Riddle? How can I know Voldemort?"

Dumbledore set down his quill but didn't look up from the parchment until the last second, "Perhaps your paths have crossed?"

"But how?" It was only now that I noticed Harry staring at me, he had missed this bit.

"Perhaps it seems familiar-"

"Perhaps I hit my head when I got flung from one side of the Chamber to the other. I must be going mad." I rubbed the side of my head.

"Perhaps you should go and see Madam Pomfery now, unless there was anything else you'd like to share?"

I shook my head and Harry and I made our way to the door when it flung open in our faces. No one other than Lucius Malfoy had just made an appearance. He was followed by a House Elf.

"Dobby," Harry whispered to me. He had told me about their encounters in Privet Drive and in the Hospital Wing. Dobby had told Harry to leave Hogwarts.

"Good evening, Lucius." Dumbledore spoke calmly as Lucius stood there in fury.

"So!" Lucius Malfoy's cold eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, "You've come back. The governors suspended you, yet you've still saw fit to return to Hogwarts."

"Well, you see, Lucius," Dumbledore smiled serenely, "I was contacted by the other eleven today. It was like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell you the truth. They'd heard Arthur Weasley's girl had been killed and wanted me back here at once. It seemed they thought I was the best man for the job after all. Strange tales they told me, too. Several of them seemed to think that you had threatened to curse their families should they not agree to suspend me in the first place."

I didn't think it was possible, but Lucius went paler than usual, but he was still full of fury, "So, have you stopped the attacks yet? Have you caught the culprit?"

"We have!" Dumbledore smiled.

"Well," Lucius looked fit to explode, "Who is it?"

"The same person it was last time, Lucius," said Dumbledore. "This time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary."

Dobby, who was hiding behind Lucius, was making signs to Harry and me. He kept pointing at the diary and then to his master, Mr Malfoy, then he hit himself on the head in form of punishment. The poor thing was already covered in bandages...

"I see..." Lucius said slowly.

Dumbledore stared straight into Lucius' eyes as he spoke, "A clever plan, because if Harry and Kathryn here" (he took a swift look at the two of us) "And their friends Ron and Hermione hadn't discovered this book, why- Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have proven she wasn't acting of her own free will..."

Lucius said nothing.

"And imagine," Dumbledore continued, "what might have happened then? The Weasley's are one of our most prominent pure-blood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act if his own daughter was discovered attacking and killing Muggleborns. Very fortunate the memories have now been wiped from the diary, who knows what the consequences would have been otherwise."

It seemed Lucius forced himself to speak, "Very fortunate." You could tell it was a big fat lie.

"Don't you want to know how Ginny got a hold of the diary, Mr Malfoy?" Harry asked, and everything suddenly clicked, I had literally seen it happen.

"How should I know how the stupid little girl got a hold of it?" Lucius was becoming hostile.

Harry straightened himself up, "Because you gave it to her, in Flourish and Blott's. You put it inside her Transfiguration book when you picked it up, didn't you?"

Lucius clenched and unclenched his hands, "Prove it."

"Oh no, he won't be able to do that with the diary destroyed." Dumbledore smiled at Harry, "Now, on the other hand, Lucius, I would advise you not to be giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley, for one, will make sure they are traced back to you."

Lucius put his hand on his wand and twitched, deciding against it, "We're going, Dobby." He put his hand on the door and swung it open, and kicked Dobby out of the room. I wanted to kick Lucius as I heard Dobby squeal in pain all the way along the corridor.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, "Can I give the diary back to Mr Malfoy, please?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore spoke, "And don't forget the feast, you two... Miss Pink via Madam Pomfery, if you will."

"Thanks Professor!" I smiled, but looked to Harry who was taking his sock off. "Umm, Harry?" He put it inside the diary and ran up the corridor to Lucius.

"Mr Malfoy, I've got something for you." Harry handed over the diary.

"What the...?" Lucius said before chucking the diary to Dobby, who caught it, "You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter." He walked off.

Dobby's big watery eyes were staring at Harry as he signed for him to have a look inside the diary, where Dobby lifted out the sock.

"DOBBY?" Lucius called out, but he didn't budge.

"Master has given Dobby a sock, Dobby is free!"

"WHAT?" Lucius' voice boomed, "You've lost me my servant, boy!"

There was a loud bang as Lucius was thrown back in the air. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time and landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom. He pulled out his wand. Dobby pointed his finger, threateningly.

"You shall go now." Dobby spoke, "You shall not harm Harry Potter, you shall go now."

Lucius was left no choice.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby!"

"Just promise me one thing?" Harry asked.

"Anything, Sir," Dobby's watery eyes looked up to Harry.

"Never try to save my life again."

When I finally made it to the Hospital Wing, Hermione was no longer there.

"She went looking for you in the Great Hall, dear!" Molly Weasley informed me.

I turned on my heels to leave when...

"Miss Pink!" it was Madam Pomfery, who had just come from Gilderoy's cubical, "Take a seat on that bed," she pointed to the bed opposite Ginny's, "Now." She insisted.

So I did what I was told and plonked myself down on the bed and Madam Pomfery drew the curtains before starting her examination. "What happened to you?" she asked.

"Well... I was hit in the stomach and flew from one side of the room to the other and landed on my arm, which snapped- Professor McGonagall seems to have fixed it perfectly, and I hit my head, which hurts a little now that tonic is wearing off, then I was pushed to the ground and I hit my knee, which I think is bruising and-"

Madam Pomfery was looking at me in shock, "I don't know how you're still alive!"

"Neither do I..." I admitted.

"Minerva seems to have done a great job on your arm- not a bone out of place! And your bruising, that could do with some attention, and I'll give you something for your knee and the shock and-" Madam Pomfery seemed to be talking to herself because then the Medi-witch left the cubical with the curtains still closed and went into her store room. When she came back, she had a tray of concoctions for me to take, promising that I would feel better taking these, eating some food and getting a good night's rest.

I drank a potion which tasted like sick for my knee and stomach, she re-examined my head to see if any lasting damage occurred ("I've had a few knocks to my head, that's why I'm so crazy" I told her, but she pulled a disgusted face at me, thinking I was lying, but I wasn't.) I rubbed a stinging gel on my knee, which didn't help my limp at all, and took another gulp of tonic before I (finally) had permission to finally leave.

Walking as fast as my limp knee would let me, I opened the door to the Great Hall and I saw her. Hermione looked up from the table, set down her spoon and ran towards me. Ignoring the pain, I ran too, and I received the biggest, tightest hug ever. When she let go, I burst into tears, feeling totally overwhelmed to see her again.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, it should have been me-"

The look of shock on her face said it all, "Don't you dare say that!"

"I'm sorry..." I repeated.

"It's alright! We're both alive! Well, just about from what the guys have told me... Are you okay?" she rubbed my arm comfortingly and turned to make our way toward the Gryffindor table.

"Yeah, I'm lucky to be, but everything's going to be alright now- no more Basilisk!" I sat down on the bench and smiled at the boys, "Didn't think today would end like this, did we?"

"Definitely not!" they both said, Ron eating a chicken wing and Harry with a mouthful of sausage!

"Such charming boys, I don't know how you survived without me" Hermione said jokingly to me.

"I didn't!" I grabbed a slice of cooked chicken, a few roasted potatoes and a spoonful of vegetables and dug in, remembering that I hadn't eaten in a very long time. I took a look around the Great Hall and everyone was in their PJs, it was two in the morning after all.

Hagrid turned up at half past three, cuffing Harry and Ron in the shoulders, making me glad I was at the opposite side of the table. Hagrid's force almost made them go face first into their bowls of trifle! I stuck out my hand across the table and Hagrid squeezed so hard, congratulating me as well for "yer hard work and keepin' the boys safe".

At four, Professor McGonagall stood and made an announcement, "All exams have been cancelled as a school treat!" This made everyone cheer all the more, but there was one person who was gutted. A massive 'Oh, no' came from Hermione. Then Dumbledore broadcasted that Professor Lockhart wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts next year, his memory had not returned. Madam Pomfery had Healers take him to St Mungo's Hospital to admit him for further testing. Quite a few teachers had joined in the cheering when they heard the news.

"Shame," Ron said, grabbing a jam doughnut, "He was starting to grow on me."

"I think I'll miss that beautiful face of his..." I sighed.

"What? Really?" Hermione asked.

"No."

30th June

The rest of the summer term flew by.

Ginny was back to her (normal) self, not that I knew her before she was being possessed by Voldemort. She was happy, chatty, witty and outgoing. The two of us got on very well, and I promised her that from now on, I was going to be there for her. Some nights, Ginny, Hermione and I would sit up to all hours just talking. It was nice having sister figures to talk to, until she asked me the dreaded question I knew she was itching to ask, "So, I heard you like George, then?"

"Meh," I said, I hadn't talked to him from the embarrassment of Valentine's Day, he hadn't been there for me after the Chamber, and I honestly felt a bit fed up of his mixed signals, "He doesn't seem interested, I seem to be a spare of the moment sort of thing... and I don't think I should waste my time thinking about him if he's just going to end up hurting me..." I was painfully direct in my response.

That was the end of that conversation. I wasn't having it.

All of Gilderoy's Defence Against the Dark Arts classes had been cancelled (due to obvious reasons) and we had extra free periods.

"The three of us have passed that class with flying colours!" Ron stated when we heard the news.

"I might have docked a few points for the arm, head and knee injuries." I admitted and Ron shook his head, saying that it added to the glamour of the task.

Speaking of my injuries, I'm feeling much better, the bruising has cleared up and I often visited Madam Pomfery in the Hospital Wing to get more tonic for night time, "Are you still not sleeping dear, you seem a little tired?" she directed me to her office, Professor McGonagall was there, too, cup of tea sitting and ginger newts in the tartan tin sat waiting for me.

I felt cornered, but if anyone was going to help me, they were.

"I've had a few new nightmares is all..."

"Tell Professor McGonagall all you've told me before, please." Madam Pomfery was obviously concerned enough to ask for a second opinion.

"I replay scenes and some of them change..." the two ladies urged me to explain as I took a sip of hot tea, "I've relived getting hit in the stomach by the Basilisk but I've always died, every night I replay Tom's cold laugh wondering where I've heard it before, I wonder how he recognised me when I'm Muggle born... In some nightmares I watch him torturing Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and sometimes I get bitten by the Basilisk and have a slow and painful death."

"Anything new dear?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking absolutely horrified.

"Yeah... I don't know what it is, but you-" I looked to Professor McGonagall, "-and Professor Dumbledore sit me down in his office and tell me something, but I can't hear it, I can only feel intense emotion, then in a matter of seconds, I feel like someone has ripped everything from me and I go numb and everything sort of goes... black."

Madam Pomfery nodded her head, like she understood something, "You worry too much, Miss Pink! You need to try and forget what has happened- you are all alive and well."

"I know, I know..." I had heard this before, "Do not dwell on the past; live in the present, for it truly is a gift." I said, feeling a little better for sharing my concerns once more.

"That's a good girl!" Madam Pomfery smiled at me, "Try this new, stronger tonic, Professor Snape has made it up for you, and it has been brewed to induce a dreamless sleep."

From that night on, so long as I took the potion, the nightmares stopped.

Hermione spent Lockhart's class time in the library, every single week. The attack didn't seem to have fazed her, if anything she spent more time in that place 'catching up'. One of those particular afternoons, Ron was caught up in one of Fred and George's pranks and the three of them were summoned to Professor McGonagall's office.

This is the first time Harry and I had been alone together after the night in the Chamber. It was like he had planned this moment, we were sitting under our favourite tree in the blazing midday sun and we started chatting, "You never did tell me what you did to save my life. You haven't told anyone..."

I felt my cheeks redden; the memories came flooding back, "I really didn't do anything, Harry!"

Harry spoke calmly to me, "I know you're embarrassed and confused about what happened but Kathryn, I need to know..."

I sat in silence for a very long time. Harry edged himself closer to me and said, "I promise I won't tell anyone, cause there's something I really want to tell you, but I need to know what you did to see if it matches up or-"

"I flirted with him Harry; I did all I could to distract him from commanding the Basilisk, so that I could save you. I asked him how he knew me, how I knew his laugh, he seemed so familiar- Oh I don't know... I'm so confused, I feel like there's something more to this..."

"I appreciate your honesty, Kathryn and I thank you for saving me, without you, I'd probably be dead..." He looked at me and coughed before telling me his story, "I keep having the same nightmare over and over again... Exactly the same, just you and me-" he took a deep breath, "We were captured by Riddle and brought to an old house, I was tortured and you were forced to watch, then Mr Malfoy brought you upstairs and I heard you shouting and screaming and Riddle's cold laugh and the nightmare ends with your cry of pain, with an ear-splitting, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Thanks for that, Harry..." I said sarcastically.

"It's just I know you're having nightmares, Kathryn, I know you haven't told us, but we know... But we're worried for you... I just think you should stop asking questions, because I think from our nightmares, you don't want to find out the answers..."

All too soon, I found myself on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George and I squeezed into a compartment together, spending the remaining couple of hours using magic before returning to the Muggle World.

Percy popped his head into the compartment for a matter of seconds, making sure we were being 'good' and he was off again.

"You'll never guess what I found out!" Ginny said, smiling cheekily.

"What?" I felt excited.

Ginny got all of our attention, "Percy has a girlfriend."

"What?" Fred dropped a pile of books on George's head.

"Yeah, it's that Ravenclaw Prefect, Penelope Clearwater, the girl who got petrified with Hermione. That's who he kept writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret, I caught them kissing in an empty classroom one day. You won't tease him, will you?" she was slightly anxious.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred who looked like Christmas and his birthday combined had just came early.

George sniggered, "Definitely not."

"At least he had the guts to admit his feelings to the girl. And he wrote to her over summer, how lovely of him." I stated, giving George a quick disapproving look at the end.

Hermione looked at Ginny, who looked back to Hermione. I, slightly red in the face, turned myself away from them and looked out the window for a few minutes.

Harry took out a quill and some parchment from his trunk and turned to Ron, Hermione and me, "This is called a telephone number." He said directly to Ron, ripping the parchment into three and handing us each a piece, "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer, call me at the Dursley's, okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to..."

The train came to a halt and we were forced to get off. Crossing through that barrier, I gave Ron, Harry, Ginny and lastly Hermione a hug. Ginny and Hermione went to their respective mothers and were welcomed with warm embraces, when I turned and saw Helen.

"We meet again." She said coldly.

Hermione approached my mum, "Hi, I'm Hermione, we met last summer?"

Helen stuck her nose up in the air, rejecting Hermione's handshake.

"I just wanted to ask if it's okay if Kathryn came to stay with us during the holidays. May I take your telephone number so we can arrange dates?" Hermione asked sweetly.

Helen got her pen and notepad out of her handbag, "You can keep her all summer, if you want."