When I awoke, I felt extremely pained and horribly dizzy. For a moment I struggled to move at all, to even lift my head. But once I did, I saw something like nothing I ever had before. I was in a huge, dimly lit Chamber, with carvings of skulls along both walls and behind me. Harry came running towards me, a large silver sword in one hand, the diary in the other, and further down the chamber lay the body of what could only be the basilisk. What was laying beside it though, was a small body, a body I recognised.

I started crying.

"NO! NO! DANIELA, NO!"

I ran over to her and felt her pulse. Nothing. I started trying a technique Dad showed me, something called CPR, but Harry ran over and stopped me.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry, she's gone, she awoke while I was fighting it, she got the full blast of it's eyes, there's nothing you can do!"

I couldn't believe it, I didn't want to believe it, I shrugged Harry away and kept trying, but he then used a knockback jinx on me.

"Ginny, she's dead, you can't do anything for her, we need to get out of here, we're gonna take her body back up to the castle! Thank god I was at least able to save you!"

"Harry — oh, Harry — I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy — it was me, Harry- I attacked everyone — but I — I s-swear I d-didn't mean to — R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over — and — how did you kill that — that thing?

"It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing me the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's go now —"

"I'm going to be expelled!" I wept as Harry helped me awkwardly to my feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and — w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"

Fawkes was waiting for us, hovering in the Chamber entrance. Harry urged me forward; we picked up Daniela's body carefully, stepped over the motionless coils of the dead basilisk, through the echoing gloom, and back into the tunnel. We heard the stone doors close behind us with a soft hiss.

After a few minutes' progress up the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rock reached Harry's ears.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, speeding up. "Ginny's okay! I've got her! There was someone else I couldn't save though! Daniela Pattinson, she's dead!"

We turned around the next bend, and Ron saw us, having made a sizable hole in some rock that had fallen from above.

He ran over and hugged me, then turned to Daniela's body and Harry.

"How-what the- why is there a bird and a sword, how did you save Ginny and not Daniela, what happened"

"The bird is Dumbledore's" said Harry, "and I'll explain the rest when we get out of here!"

"But —"

"Later," Harry said shortly. "Where's Lockhart?"

"Back there," said Ron, still looking puzzled but jerking his head up the tunnel. "He's in a bad way. Come and see." Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, Daniela now being supported by Harry's Levitation Spell, we walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.

"His memory's gone," said Ron. "The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."

Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all.

"Hello," he said. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"

"No," said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry.

Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.

"Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" he said to Ron.

Ron shook his head, but Fawkes the phoenix had swooped past us and was now fluttering in front of him, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Harry looked uncertainly at him.

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold . . ." said Ron, looking perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there —"

"Fawkes," said Harry, "isn't an ordinary bird." He turned quickly to the others. "We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's

hand. Professor Lockhart —"

"He means you," said Ron sharply to Lockhart.

"You hold Ginny's other hand —"

"What about Daniela?" I said

"You'll have to hold on to her with your other hand, Ginny"

I did so.

An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through my whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, we were flying upward through the pipe. We could hear Lockhart saying, "Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!"

The chill air was whipping through my hair, and before we'd stopped enjoying the ride, it was over — all five of us were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place.

Myrtle goggled at us.

"You're alive," she said blankly to Harry.

"There's no need to sound so disappointed," he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses. "Daniela isn't though" he said, pointing to her floating body in front of us.

"oooh what happened?" asked Mrytle eagerly

"That's none of your fucking business!" I snapped at her. "She's going home to her family for a proper funeral, and if she opts to return as a ghost, she'll be staying there, mark my words! Sorry to ruin your hope for a companion in this shithole!"

"Like you care anyway, since you're the one who committed the attacks!" shot back Myrtle.

"Guys, let's go, enough of this!" said Harry

"Where now?" said Ron. Harry pointed.

Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. We strode after him, and moments later, found ourselves outside Professor McGonagall's office.

Harry knocked and pushed the door open.

For a moment there was silence as everyone now in the room took in their surroundings. I found myself facing my parents, Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, and two other adults who could only be Daniela's parents.

"Ginny!" shrieked Mum, who had been crying by the fire, and they both rushed over and gave me a massive hug, so much so that I had to cry for air.

"Bloody hell, I'm alive, don't try to kill me now!" I said, laughing as they eventually let go.

In the misdt of all this, Daniela had been placed down on the ground in front of her Muggle parents, who seemed too shocked to say anything.

"What on earth happened though?" said Mum

"I think we'd all like to know that" came from Professor McGonagall.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the desk and laid upon it the Sorting Hat, the ruby-encrusted sword, and what remained of Riddle's diary.

He then told us everything, starting of course by expressing on behalf of everyone our deepest condolences to Daniela's parents for the loss of their daughter, and that he had done everything in his power to save her, but was tragically too late. He spoke about hearing the disembodied voice, how Hermione (me, really, but I didn't want to interrupt) had finally realized that he was hearing a basilisk in the pipes; how he and Ron had followed the spiders into the forest, that Aragog (an Acromantula, bloody terrifying, and they only narrowly escaped) had told them where the last victim of the basilisk had died; how he had guessed that Moaning Myrtle had been the victim, and that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets might be in her bathroom. . .

"Very well," Professor McGonagall prompted him as he paused, "so you found out where the entrance was — breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add — but how on earth did you all get out of there alive, Potter?"

So Harry, his voice now growing hoarse from all this talking, told them about Fawkes's timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat giving him the sword. He also explained to Daniela's parents how she had met her end at this point. But then he faltered. He had so far avoided mentioning Riddle's diary — or me. I was standing with my head against Mum's shoulder. What if they expelled me? I was still thinking. Riddle's diary didn't work anymore... How could we prove it had been he who'd made me do it all?

Instinctively, Harry looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly, the firelight glancing off his half-moon spectacles.

"What interests me most," said Dumbledore gently, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

Relief — warm, sweeping, glorious relief — swept over me, and I could tell that Harry felt the same way.

"W-what's that?" said Dad in a stunned voice. "You-Know-Who? En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not . . . Ginny hasn't been . . . has she?"

"It was this diary," said Harry quickly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen. . . ."

Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages.

"Brilliant," he said softly. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He turned around to the

Weasleys, who, apart from me, were looking utterly bewildered.

"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school . . . traveled far and wide . . .sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

"But, Ginny," said Mum "What's our Ginny got to do with — with — him?"

"His d-diary!" I sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year —"

"Ginny!" said Dad, flabbergasted. "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 show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic —"

"I d-didn't know," I sobbed "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it —"

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort."

He strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up," he added, twinkling kindly down at her. "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice — I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's okay!" said Ron brightly.

"There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny," said Dumbledore.

Mum led me out, and Dad followed, still looking deeply shaken.

When we reached the hospital wing, Pomfrey was explaining to the now awake victims everything that had happened. I was placed into a bed next to Hermione, and after a few minutes a mug of hot chocolate was bought out to me, as Dumbledore had said. I took a sip and straight away I felt glorious warmth spread through me from head to toe. Honeyjukes finest, never ceases to cheer anyone up.

Then, Ron bought Lockhart into the hospital wing, and explained to everyone that he'd lost all his memories when a Memory Charm backfired on himself. I smugly smiled to Hermione, who had now finally realised he was a fraud. He also bought up Daniela's body, where he explained that her parents would be taking her home the next day and would be holding a private family funeral. They were to give the story that she had suffered something called a young sudden cardiac death.

Ron and I then jointly explained everything that had happened over the year. Understandably everyone was shocked by a lot of it, especially by my involvement and that of You Know Who.

The next day, the school held a feast. Unlike what Joanne described, the event was filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, Gryffindor had comfortably won the house cup for the second year running, Hagrid had returned and the side of light had won the day. But we had lost Daniela Pattinson, and to that effect, Dumbledore gave a speech before the feast started. I want to take a moment here to express my extreme displeasure with Joanne for leaving Daniela out of her version of the story! I get that she was aiming it at kids, but it is so disrespectful to her memory not to tell the truth about how she lost her life! Leaving out Demelza until book 6 and Amy completely, my best mates, people so important, utterly disgraceful!

"We end this school year on a great high, and also on a very tragic low. This has been a very struggling time for everyone. Hogwarts has faced a crisis unlike anything we have seen in fifty years. However, we remained strong. We remained committed to finding the culprit for these terrible attacks, and winning the fight in the end. That we have done, but at a heavy price. We have lost a great student and friend in Gryffindor, a first year, taken from us far far too soon at the age of eleven. Even more tragically, she was due to celebrate her twelfth birthday today. So, before we begin our feast, let us have a toast, and a moment of silence, to the memory of the one and only, Miss Daniela Pattinson"

"Daniela Pattinson" the whole school said, and touched glasses, the Slytherins forcibly, and then fell silent. Well, apart from Avery, who stood up and shouted "FUCK MUDBLOODS" at the top of her voice!

Dumbledore pointed his wand at her and she was forced back down into her seat.

"That will be a month's worth of detentions at the start of next year, Ms Avery" he said. "You will also apologise in person to all of Ms Pattinson's friends and family, for that despicable outburst."

We remained silent, and Professor Flitwick rang a bell eleven times, once for each year of Daniela's life. We then sat there for one minute, with no one saying a word until Dumbledore spoke again.

"Rest in peace Daniela, we will never forget you. Now, on to more happy matters! It is time to award the House Cup, and thanks to the actions of Mr Harry Potter and Mr Ronald Weasley, we stopped this attacks and another innocent life from being taken. Therefore, I last night awarded them 200 points each, and that means that Gryffindor retain the House Cup!"

The Gryffindor table exploded with cheers, and the banners from the ceiling turned scarlet and gold.

Dumbledore then informed us that all exams had been cancelled as a special treat, and to be fair to those who were petrified.

"Oh no!" said Hermione, which caused the whole table to look at her exasperatedly.

Professor Lockhart would be unable to return to school next year due to the memory charm accident, and was now being taken to St Mungo's for further treatment. Everyone was ecstatic at this news, even the teachers.

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

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences —Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled ("but we've had plenty of practice at that anyway," Ron told a disgruntled Hermione) and Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor. Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place. On the contrary, he looked resentful and sulky. I was perfectly happy again.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Demelza, Amy and I got a compartment to ourselves.

We made the most of the last few hours in which we were allowed to do magic before the holidays. We played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic. Harry and I were getting very good at it. We also discussed the end of the Quidditch season. Amy was delighted as the Wimbourne Wasps had clinched the title with 2 games to spare, sealing their first since her uncle's playing days. Holyhead had finished 6th in the end, with Gwenog's return to form in the final 2 months proving decisive, and Chudley had indeed been relegated, which we of course teased Ron about to no end. Kenmere had qualified for the European Cup for the first time in their history, going on a remarkable run of form after their early season win over us, which Fred and George of course loved.

I then revealed the fact that two days before the end of term, I had walked in on Percy kissing Penelope in an empty classroom. Unlike what Joanne claimed, I wasn't anxious about Percy being teased by the twins, in fact they asked me to join them in doing so over the summer, and I eagerly agreed!

The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped.

Harry pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Ron and Hermione.

"This is called a telephone number," he told Ron, scribbling it twice, tearing the parchment in two, and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer — he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to. . . ."

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as we got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you did this year?

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious. . . ."

And together we walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.

So, that's it! That's the real story of my first year at Hogwarts! But the adventure doesn't end there guys, oh no, we've only just gotten started! Very soon, we will begin the tale of my second year, full of even more drama, thrills and spills! Don't go anywhere!