Harry didn't know how long they sat on his hospital bed holding each other, but eventually, the hug ended once more and they both knew that it was time to face the music.

Knowing it was time didn't make it any easier, however.

Dumbledore had watched the family quietly, allowing them their time to comfort one another whilst he gathered his own thoughts, but when they broke apart he reminded them of his presence by lightly clearing his throat.

"I believe," He started, waiting until all eyes were upon him. "The first thing we would like to know is why you both decided to go down the trapdoor last night. Though I myself was absent from the castle, there were other Professors still present that you could have notified."

Harry and Daphne shared a glance with each other, silently having a conversation between themselves before Daphne answered. "We...thought it was Snape who was down there." She lowered her eyes as she admitted their thoughts. "The trapdoor was already opened when we arrived, and we thought it would be best to go down and stop him before it was too late."

"We didn't really think about going to another teacher, sir," Harry admitted. "Not even Professor McGonagall."

"Because you believed that, were it simply Professor Snape you encountered, that you could stop him yourself?" Dumbledore prompted, and Harry nodded. They had believed that Harry was more than capable of subduing their Potions Professor, but as they all knew, it was someone far, far more powerful and dangerous that had been waiting for him.

"If that were the case, why not send Daphne to find Professor McGonagall whilst Harry guarded the trapdoor?" Marie asked, though inside she felt she knew the answer already.

Daphne chewed her lip as she answered quietly. "I wanted to go, I didn't want to stay behind. I didn't think anything bad would happen."

"You certainly didn't think, at all," Daniel replied shortly, shaking his head. "Why did neither of you tell us about the Cerberus, to say nothing of the Basilisk?"

"We knew we'd be in trouble, that we'd been told not to go there. And, it wasn't really dangerous." Daphne said quickly. "We never went into the room once we knew what was in there, we just stood outside."

"Luckily, Fluffy was under instructions not to harm any students," Dumbledore interjected calmly, ignoring the children's startled mutters of 'Fluffy?'. "I am aware of the folly of youth and knew that some, like yourselves, would ignore my warnings and try to discover for themselves what the corridor held. Thus, Fluffy was under instructions to only harm those who would try to access the trapdoor, and only if there were no other choice."

"Why was the Cerberus necessary at all? Why was the Stone being held here?" Marie asked the old man, narrowing her eyes at him.

Dumbledore raised his hands placatingly. "My old friend Nicolas requested it of me after his home was attacked last July. He feared for the safety of both his stone, and the safety of himself and his wife. I investigated his home and the residual magic left behind, and believed I knew who the culprit might be."

"You knew it was him?" Daniel asked, his voice hard. "You knew he was after the Stone, and you brought it here?" Dumbledore nodded, and Daniel had to clamp his jaw to stop himself from shouting at the man.

Marie took over from her husband, glaring at the Headmaster. "Did you know he was here all year?"

"I did not," Dumbledore answered with a shake of his head. "I believed he had an agent in the castle following his commands, and that he would be close by to capitalise on any opportunity to retrieve the Stone, but I did not know that he was within the castle itself."

"But you were using the Stone as bait?" Marie asked lowly but gave Dumbledore no time to answer before she continued harshly. "You were using it as bait, in a school where hundreds of children reside? Are you insane?"

Daniel joined in. "And had he been successful? If he had managed to get the Stone tonight, he'd regain his body, and his powers, and the war would begin again."

Dumbledore shook his head. "He would not, as the Stone was never within his grasp. It is still in my office, where it has resided since it was collected from the Gringotts vault it was temporarily kept in, and only I, or someone sharing my blood, can access where it is being held."

Daphne gasped in realisation. "The Gringotts break-in, that was him trying to get the stone?" Dumbledore nodded at her deduction, giving her a small smile.

Harry frowned. "So the Stone was never down there? Why did he think it was?"

"Because the Mirror of Erised held within it a sample of the Elixir of Life, which can only be created using the Stone, enough that Tom could sense it and believe that the Stone was held within its enchantments." The Headmaster explained simply. "He would have broken my enchantment eventually, and discovered the fake I created, but not before I could arrive and hopefully subdue him."

"What was the enchantment, sir? He wanted me to look in the Mirror again, he thought that I'd be able to help him." Harry asked, thinking back on his encounter.

Dumbledore smiled to himself. "That only one who wanted to find the Stone, but not use it, would receive it from the Mirror. Of course, it was only a fake, but nonetheless, Tom would have struggled for a long while to find a way to break such an enchantment."

"So where were you, Dumbledore? Why were you not in the castle?" Daniel demanded, and Dumbledore sighed to himself.

"I was hoodwinked by a powerful Confundus Charm on a summons from the Ministry I received at dinner. It gave me the desire to fly to the Ministry on a broomstick, and as I am quite prone to flights of fancy, I thought nothing of the desire until I was almost halfway there. Once I realised what had happened, I returned to the castle immediately." The Headmaster explained in a sorrowful voice. "By the time I arrived in the final chamber, Harry had already defeated Tom's temporary form, but I was too late to prevent the harm he suffered beforehand." Both parents shuddered as they thought about the image of Harry suffering under the Unforgivable Curses.

They sat in silence for a long while until Marie regained her composure. "So who was this Quirrell? Was he a Death Eater?"

Dumbledore shook his head, eyes dimming. "No, Quirinus was still in school when young Harry defeated Tom in 1981. He was the Muggle Studies Professor for three years until he took a sabbatical last year in preparation for taking on the Defence Against the Dark Arts post for this term. He was a good man, an idealistic man, but I fear that, on his travels, he met the wraith of Lord Voldemort and, like so many before him, was taken in by promises of power and glory and swore himself to his service."

"I killed him," Harry said to himself, swallowing hard. "I know he was a willing follower of Voldemort, and he was using his body, but still...could I have saved him, sir?" Harry asked the Headmaster, who shook his head sadly whilst Daphne grabbed his hand.

"No, Harry, you could not have saved Quirinus. He was doomed as soon as he allowed his body to play host to Lord Voldemort, he would not have survived even if he had been successful and Tom regained a body of his own. You did what you had to do, Harry, and do not doubt that." Dumbledore told him firmly, peering intently into Harry's eyes until the boy eventually nodded, accepting his words.

"What will happen to the Stone now, sir?" Harry asked the Headmaster tiredly.

"That will be for Nicolas to decide. I have sent him a note with Fawkes to let him know what has transpired, and I suspect he will soon respond and tell me what his wishes for his creation are." Dumbledore answered, stroking his beard.

The group fell into silence as they each thought of all they had seen and heard, until eventually, Madam Pomfrey burst from her Office where she had remained for the duration of their conversation, her face angry.

"Now, if you have all quite finished I would like to tend to my patient." She said crossly, coming to a stop beside Harry's bed and raking her eyes over him unhappily. "This boy needs rest to allow the potions to take effect, so I would ask all of you to allow him to do so." She finished, glaring at each of the adults.

Dumbledore rose to his feet, vanishing his chair with a wave of his wand. "Of course, Madam, of course. Harry, I would ask that you please come to my Office once our esteemed matron deems you fit to leave so that we might visit your serpentine friend. Daniel, Marie, a pleasure to see you as always." He said, bowing to each of them, before sweeping from the room.

Once alone, the two parents rose to their feet and stood before their children, eyes taking in Harry's still-shaking body and Daphne's downcast face. "We will discuss this further when you return home, but for now Madam Pomfrey is correct, you need your rest," Daniel told them, his body language showing that he was reluctant to leave.

Marie nodded at his words and turned to the nurse who was waiting impatiently for them to leave. "We want to be informed of his recovery, and if anything goes wrong we are to be notified immediately." She told the other woman who nodded shortly, before she stepped forward and pulled Daphne into a strong hug. "Don't get into any more trouble this year, do you understand?" She said into her daughter's hair and felt the girl nod beneath her. She released her and pulled Harry into a hug of his own.

"Make sure to rest, it'll take longer to recover if you don't." She told him, rubbing his arm softly. "We love you, Harry, so don't scare us anymore, and stop putting yourself in danger."

Harry stilled beneath her, his eyes widening. "Y-you love me?"

Marie stepped back slightly, resting her arms on his shoulders. "Of course we do, you silly boy."

Daniel smiled at him over her shoulder. "You're ours, kiddo."

Harry beamed at them, eyes watering. "I l-love you too. All of you, even Astoria."

Daniel chuckled, though his face had a nervous expression. "Yes, Astoria, who we left home alone, so we'd best be off to make sure she hasn't burnt it down in our absence."

Marie laughed along with him, kissed Harry on his forehead, and stepped to the side to do the same for Daphne. After a final round of goodbyes, the two Greengrass parents left with quick steps as they hurried to ensure their youngest hadn't damaged herself or their home.

Daphne leaned against Harry from her place beside him on the bed, interlocking her fingers with his as Madam Pomfrey bustled over to the potions cabinet to get him some more numbing potions.

She turned slyly towards him with mischief in her eyes. "So...you love me, Harry?" She said to the quickly reddening boy beside her. "You said it yourself, you love all of us, and that includes me, right?" She asked, battering her eyelashes and causing him to gape at her. "Aww, don't worry Harry, I love you too." She said sweetly, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Harry closed his mouth abruptly and raised his eyebrow at her. "I know you do, I'm sure you don't just go around kissing just anyone, right Daph?"

Her giggles vanished as all Daphne could do in response was splutter indignantly.

It wasn't until the next day that the nurse allowed Harry to leave once his shaking had stopped, though she warned him that if she saw him looking at all shaky during dinner that night, she would lock him back into the Hospital Wing for the rest of term. Daphne had had to go back to the common room at curfew the previous night but was already back at Harry's side by the time he woke up that morning.

Harry had received a few visitors during the day, though some were more surprising than others. Hagrid had arrived first, looking much too big for the Hospital Wing, and as soon as he sat down and took one look at Harry he burst into tears.

"It's all my ruddy fault!" The large man cried, his face buried in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! He was the one who gave me the dragon egg, an' in return I told 'im the on'y thing he needed ter know! I'll never drink again, I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

Harry reached across the gap between the bed and chair to pat the large man on the arm as Daphne rushed around to the other side of the bed and hugged his side. "It's not your fault, Hagrid, you weren't to know." Harry told him consolingly. "It was Voldemort, he'd have found a way past Fluffy eventually."

"Yeh could've died! An' don't say the name." Hagrid sobbed.

Harry scowled. "I've met him, and I beat him, so I'll call him by that ridiculous name if I want to. He's pathetic, Hagrid, and he didn't get what he wanted, the Stone is safe and he can't get it, so cheer up."

Hagrid peered at him through his large fingers for a moment, before he reached into a deep pocket of his coat. "I've got yeh a present, Harry, bin workin' on it since Christmas."

From his coat, Hagrid pulled a handsome, leather-covered book, but when Harry opened it he found not words, but photographs. Wizarding photographs, and the very first one he saw was of a dark-haired man with glasses who looked very much like Harry standing in front of a fountain with his arms around a pretty, red-haired woman with bright green eyes.

"M-my parents?" Harry asked as his eyes drank in their image, flipping through the pages and seeing their smiling faces looking up at him from each page. Daphne moved from her place beside Hagrid and sat beside him on the bed, her own eyes raking across the photographs.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos...knew yeh didn' have any...d'yeh like it?" Hagrid asked nervously, wringing his large hands.

Harry found that all he could do was nod in response, for how could you put into words what it meant that he finally knew what his parents looked like? Hagrid seemed to understand well enough and left soon after giving them both a bone-crushing hug and apologising once more.

For the next few hours, Harry and Daphne perused the album, which showed pictures of them both during their Hogwarts years (Harry noticed there wasn't any photos of them together until they were older) and after. Their wedding photo, showing the two of them with a handsome man with long, dark hair and a goatee, was one of the few that featured another with them. Neither of them recognised the man and wondered who it might be.

The album was put away when the next visitor arrived, though Harry unsuccessfully tried to burrow under the bedsheets when he saw Professor McGonagall's stormy face as she strode towards them.

"I would have expected that the pair of you would possess more sense than you have shown, but perhaps I was mistaken? What on earth made you think it was a good idea to go down that trapdoor?" The woman demanded, and all they could do was meekly explain themselves under her disapproving gaze.

When they had finished their explanation, the woman looked between them with narrowed eyes before her expression became much softer. "You both should have come to me the moment you saw that the trapdoor was open. I would have listened to you." She told them sincerely and turned her gaze to focus solely on Harry. "Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I saw the Headmaster levitating you here?" Her voice was thick with emotion as she stared at him, and Harry found that he could not meet her eyes.

It hurt to know that now he really did have people who cared about his wellbeing, and he had worried them all by acting foolishly.

The Professor left them soon after, though not without presenting him with another tin of shortbread with a wink, and they were alone once more to ruminate on their actions, but not for very long.

It was Snape who was the next visitor, sweeping into the room with his black cloak billowing behind him and heading towards Madam Pomfrey's office. He emerged a few minutes later and strode over to Harry's bed, his face unreadable.

He placed a small bottle on his bedside table and spoke quickly. "Drink this, Potter. It is a variation of the numbing potion of my own making and will help with the aftereffects." He crossed his arms and looked impatiently at the boy, who quickly unstoppered the vial and drank it down quickly, grimacing at the taste. Snape nodded in satisfaction once the potion was consumed, and without another word spun on his heel and left the room.

Harry glanced in confusion at Daphne, who just shrugged. "Maybe he hasn't heard that it was him we thought was stealing the Stone?"

Harry cocked his head in consideration. "Maybe. Perhaps he isn't as bad as we thought?"

Daphne gave the doorway the man had left through an unimpressed look. "I'll believe that when I see what grades he's given us for the year."

Their final visitor was a surprise to both of them, though when they thought back on the last few months it probably shouldn't have been. Tracey Davis walked nervously into the Hospital Wing, eyes darting around until they found Harry's bed, and she walked slowly towards them, glancing between their apprehensive faces.

"Erm, hello?" She started, steps faltering when she caught sight of Daphne's glare. "I was sort of hoping you might be asleep. Or alone. Here, Potter, I got you a card." She said to the prone boy, retrieving an envelope from her robes and handing it over to him.

Harry took it from her gently, studying her face. She looked nervous, and a little scared, but determined at the same time. He opened the envelope and pulled out the handmade card inside, seeing the 'Get well soon' message scrawled on the front in green lettering. "Thank you, Davis." He said genuinely, eliciting a small smile from the girl.

She shrugged her shoulder at his thanks. "It's fine. I...I should apologise to you. To both of you." She added, looking at Daphne who still looked frostily at the other girl. "For how I treated you earlier in the year. I never should have followed Malfoy and attacked you, and for that I'm sorry."

Harry saw that she looked sincere and nodded in acceptance. "Apology accepted, Davis. No hard feelings."

Daphne meanwhile was less enthused and crossed her arms as she regarded the other girl. "If you feel so bad about it, why has it taken you this long to apologise?"

Davis gave her a wry look. "Can you blame me? You two aren't the most approachable people, you know."

Daphne was undeterred. "Wouldn't you be if your fellow students cursed you in the back?"

Davis rolled her eyes. "And again, I apologise for that in case you weren't listening, Greengrass."

Daphne looked like she was going to respond again, but Harry jumped in. "It's okay, Daph, she's apologised now so there's no need to argue anymore," Daphne grumbled to herself but nodded in acceptance.

"Fine, apology accepted." Daphne ground out, refusing to look at the other girl.

Davis looked at her for a short moment before returning her attention to Harry. "You should know, Potter, that people have already made the connection between you being in here and Quirrell going missing." Harry's eyes widened at her words, but she spoke again before he could respond. "I won't ask if you were involved, but judging from your expression I'd say it's pretty clear that you were." She finished with a smirk, and Daphne started to glare at her again.

Harry groaned. "Thanks for letting me know, Davis. What are people saying?"

"Some were wondering if you'd offed him, some were wondering if he'd attacked you and been sacked, or sent to Azkaban. Most are just happy that he's gone, he really was a poor teacher." Davis told him lightly, watching his expression closely at each rumour she mentioned, but unluckily for her Harry had learned from earlier and kept his face carefully blank.

"Well, thank you for letting us know, Davis, but Harry here needs his rest. Madam Pomfrey's orders." Daphne said in a hard voice, eliciting another roll of the eyes from Davis.

"Of course, how rude of me to take up his valuable recuperation time," Davis said with mock contriteness. She began to walk away, but called over her shoulder to Harry. "Get well soon, Potter. Hopefully, we can talk again soon."

"Sure, Davis, and thanks for the card," Harry called back as the girl left through the doors, and as soon as she did Daphne rounded on him.

"Why would you agree to that?" She demanded with a huff.

Harry was nonplussed. "She seems nice enough, Daph, and she's the only one who made the effort to say sorry."

Daphne clambered onto the bed beside him, sitting back against the pillows and scowling at the far wall. "Still, I don't trust her."

Harry bumped his shoulder against hers. "Neither do I, but wouldn't it be nice to have another friend?"

Daphne grumbled to herself. "This is just like Myrtle all over again." Unfortunately, Harry heard her.

"That reminds me, we still haven't gone back to see her as we promised," Harry said thoughtfully, and Daphne clapped her hand against her face and groaned.

"Me and my big, stupid mouth."

After Harry had been released, the two of them found themselves in the Great Hall for dinner and Harry found himself trying to ignore the staring from Madam Pomfrey, her eyes narrowed as she looked for any signs that she needed to drag him back to the Hospital Wing. She wasn't the only one who was looking his way, but he had become used to the other students staring at him, though it had been a while since it was this intense.

Halfway through their meal, a body plonked down in the seat on Harry's free side, and they both turned to see the innocent face of Tracey Davis, who just gave them a short wave in greeting and began to pile her plate with food.

"Nice to see you out and about again, Harry." The girl said as she picked up her knife and fork and began to tuck into her meal.

"Err, thanks Tracey," Harry said, glancing back at Daphne questioningly, but she was too busy glaring at the other girl to notice.

"One conversation and you're on a first-name basis now?" Daphne ground out. Her eye began twitching when the other girl just shrugged.

"I didn't think Harry would mind." She said lightly, glancing at the boy in question. "You don't mind, do you, Harry?"

Harry, feeling very much under the microscope as he found both of the girls looking at him, swallowed. "N-no, it's fine, Tracey." Tracey just smiled and returned her focus to her meal, while Daphne glared a hole in the side of her head.

"Finish your food, Harry. We need to see Dumbledore about the thing." She said cryptically, tapping her foot impatiently whilst Harry quickly finished his meal.

Once he had done so, the two rose to their feet, though Harry paused before they left. "Sorry, Tracey, we need to speak to Professor Dumbledore about something."

Tracey waved him off as dessert began to arrive, reaching out to grab some apple pie for herself. "Don't worry about it, Harry, we can talk some other time. Have fun."

Harry smiled gratefully at her as Daphne grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the hall, leading him toward the Headmaster's Office. She had still yet to let go of his arm.

"That was rude, Daph," Harry said reproachfully as he allowed himself to be pulled along the corridors. "She'd only just arrived, we didn't need to rush out of there."

"Forgive me for thinking Serana is slightly more important than Davis' happiness," Daphne said scathingly over her shoulder.

Harry raised his eyes to the ceiling. "I'm sure that's the only reason."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Before they could argue any further, they arrived at the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's Office.

"Do you know the password?" Daphne asked as Harry stepped up to her side.

"No, he never said. It's usually something to do with sweets." He told her, thinking of the last time he had been here when the password had been 'Blood Pops'.

"Can't you just do your magic pulse thing and let him know we're here?" Daphne asked, not liking the thought of calling out all the different confectionaries she knew until one happened to be the password.

"Sure," Harry said, concentrating on his magic and expanding it around him until he felt the Headmaster above them. Only moments after it did, the stone gargoyle leaped to the side and revealed the winding staircase. They stepped aboard and rode it to the top where Daphne knocked on the door.

"Please enter." The old man called, and when they did so they found him sitting behind his desk and writing on some documents. "Ah, Harry, Miss Greengrass, a pleasure to see you both again." They greeted him in return as Harry walked over to Fawkes' perch whilst Daphne glanced around the room she found herself in for the first time.

"You said you wanted to go and meet Serana, sir," Harry said as he stroked the Phoenix's chest, causing a trill of enjoyment to emanate from the bird.

Dumbledore smiled genially at him. "I do indeed, Harry, and judging from your presence here this evening may I take it that you would like to take me to her now?" Harry nodded and the man rose to his feet, clapping his hands together. "Very well, let us not dally."

The man led them from the room, Harry having to grab Daphne's arms and pull her along from where she was studying a table in the corner full of the Headmaster's strange knickknacks. Once they were back in the corridor, Dumbledore waved them forwards and allowed them to take the lead.

Together, they walked briskly toward the second floor and Myrtle's bathroom, the Headmaster making a noise of realisation when he recognised their location, and walked inside.

As it turned out, the dead girl was indeed present and floated over to them immediately. "Well, look who it is." She said snidely, taking in the two young students. "Have you finally remembered that I exist?"

Harry looked sheepish. "Sorry, Myrtle, we've been really busy. Exams and stuff." He explained weakly, seeing Daphne nod vigorously through the corner of his eye.

Dumbledore stepped forward and spoke to his former student. "Hello again, Miss Warren, it is lovely to see you this evening."

Myrtle smiled shyly at the man. "Hello, Headmaster. What are you doing here?"

Dumbledore waved his hand toward the two living students. "I am accompanying Mr. Potter and Miss Greengrass to what I believe to be Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets to meet the Basilisk held within."

Myrtle's eyes bugged out at his words. "It was a Basilisk?" She demanded and whirled toward Harry and Daphne. "Have you met it?"

They nodded, and Daphne stepped forward to speak. "Yes, we've met her, her name is Serana and she's really nice."

Myrtle looked apoplectic. "Really nice? It killed me!"

"She didn't mean to!" Harry defended his friend quickly. "She feels really bad about it, she never meant to kill you, she had no choice."

Myrtle burst into tears and began to wail. "Oh, how sad for it! And all this time you've been meeting it and ignoring me! I see how it is!"

Harry winced. "I'm sorry, Myrtle. She really does feel bad about you dying, and I'm sure if she could she'd apologise to you."

Myrtle's tears vanished and she regarded him coolly. "Like I'd accept an apology from the beast!"

Daphne gave her a furious look. "She's not a beast!" She spat angrily.

Dumbledore intervened, hands raised to calm the two girls' tempers. "While I am sure that the Basilisk is indeed repentant I can understand your reluctance to encounter her again, Miss Warren. Perhaps one day you may consent to a meeting and gain some form of closure?" Myrtle nodded at his words, and the Headmaster turned to Harry. "If you would open the Chamber, Harry."

Harry walked over to the sink and hissed the password at it, causing the now familiar change as the porcelain moved back and the tunnel to Serana's Chamber was revealed. "Down here, sir."

Dumbledore walked over and peered down the chasm. "You enter this way each time, Harry?"

Harry smiled ruefully. "Not exactly, sir. There's another entrance, but I figured you'd like to try this way first." He told the old man, who chortled and nodded happily. "Would you like to go first?"

The Headmaster nodded again, and without another word jumped spryly into the opening and disappeared. Harry followed him quickly, with Daphne behind him.

Once they had been reunited at the bottom Harry began to lead the group toward the main chamber. "It's best if you close your eyes from here, Serana likes to move around." He looked over his shoulder and was happy to see that both Daphne and Dumbledore had complied. They continued their trek until they were before the final doorway and Harry hissed the password, watching as the snakes began to move and the wall melted away.

Serana was in the middle of the chamber waiting for them and hissed happily when she saw him. "There you are! I've been worried about you, little one. You were supposed to come and see me days ago." She looked over his shoulder, immediately recognising Daphne but not the extremely old man who accompanied him. "Who is this, Harry? Who have you brought into my Master's chamber?"

Harry continued to walk toward the Basilisk and began to rub the scales on her front as her tongue tasted the air in between her and the unknown intruder. "This is the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. I'm sorry, Serana, but I had to tell him about you. He just wants to meet you and make sure you're exactly as I told him. He's a good man."

Serana looked away from the man and down at the boy in front of her. "I trust you, little one. Tell him to come forward."

"Come forward, sir, she says it's okay for you to approach. I'll tell you when to stop." The Headmaster did so, walking forward calmly until Harry called out for him to stop a few feet before Serana.

"Please tell your friend that it is a pleasure to meet her, Harry." Dumbledore asked him, and Harry did so, hissing a translation to the snake. Serana lowered her head and stared at the old man's face, flicking her tongue out slightly.

"His name is Albus Dumbledore, did you say?" Serana asked Harry while she continued to inspect the Headmaster. "Tom mentioned him. He seemed to dislike him. Tell him it is a pleasure to meet him as well."

Harry laughed at her reasoning and once again translated, and Dumbledore smiled broadly when he received Serana's approval. For the next hour, Harry translated back and forth between the two, with occasional inputs from Daphne. Soon, Serana returned her attention to her original question and asked Harry once again why he had been absent when he was due to visit her.

"I...I met Tom, Serana." Harry told her, and the Basilisk reared back in anger.

"He was here? In the castle?" Serana demanded, and Harry nodded. "He hurt you?" She asked in a softer tone.

Harry shrugged. "He did, but I got him, too. The body he was using was destroyed and he was forced to flee. I beat him again, Serana. That's why I wasn't here, I had to heal from my injuries."

Serana lowered her head and butted it gently against his chest, hissing softly. "I am glad you are well, little one, though it worries me that he was here, and so close. He could have used me again."

Harry rubbed the side of her head fondly. "I won't let him do that to you again, Serana."

The Basilisk lifted her head and regarded him with one large, yellow eye. "You are a good boy, Harry. You aren't like him at all."

Dumbledore interjected then, his voice echoing around the cavernous chamber. When Harry turned to him, he saw that Fawkes had arrived and was perching on the man's shoulder. "It is almost curfew, Harry, and I do believe it is time for us to leave. Fawkes here will take us directly to my Office. If you would be so kind, I would like you to pass on one more message to your wonderful friend." Harry listened to the message and dutifully translated, laughing in between words.

"He says that he is glad you are here to help him guard the castle...and that it is always a joy to meet someone who makes him feel like he isn't that old after all."

The remaining few weeks of term passed quickly, and nothing of note really happened other than Daphne bullying Hagrid into letting them officially meet Fluffy before he was removed from the castle.

Harry had wished dearly that he possessed a camera to capture the moment the twelve-year-old girl had climbed atop the middle head and hugged it tightly whilst being licked happily by the two other heads. In the end, it was perhaps for the best that no photographic evidence of it existed, as he was sure it would give Daniel and Marie heart attacks if they saw it.

Tracey Davis continued to sit next to them during some mealtimes, alternating between sitting next to Harry and returning to her old place with Blaise Zabini. At the Leaving Feast, she chose to sit with the two of them again, and after almost two weeks even Daphne had ceased grumbling about it, though she did spear her carrots a little harder with her fork, though Harry suspected that the Slytherin banners hanging around the hall after their victory in the House Cup went a long way toward her more subdued response to the other girl's presence.

"Any plans for the summer?" Tracey asked in between bites of her stew, focusing mainly on Harry but glancing at Daphne momentarily to let her know she was included in the question.

"We're going on holiday," Harry told her happily, relaxing in his seat as he waited for dessert to arrive. "I've never been out of Britain before so it'll be fun to see somewhere new."

Tracey raised her eyebrow at him. "We? You mean you and your family, or you, your family and Greengrass' family?"

"My family is his family," Daphne spoke across the boy in between them to the other girl, giving her a hard look that suggested questioning her words any further would be a very bad idea.

"Ah," Was all Tracey said in response, before she looked back at Harry. "Maybe we could meet up over the summer, go to the Alley or something?"

Harry smiled at her. "That sounds nice, you'll have to send an owl and let us know when you're free."

Tracey grinned back at him, politely ignoring the venomous look Daphne was shooting her. She wisely evacuated back to Zabini when dessert arrived, leaving Harry and Daphne alone again.

Harry turned to the girl next to him. "You took that rather well, I'd have expected more fightback from you."

Daphne just shook her head tiredly. "What's the point? I can't ask you to get rid of her, you're too nice. And she's...okay." It sounded to Harry like it physically pained her to admit that Tracey wasn't as bad as she had first thought.

"Aww, Daph, that's the kindest thing you've ever said about her." He teased, enjoying the flash of annoyance on her face, though it soon vanished as a devious smile began to form.

"Don't speak too soon Harry - when we go to the Alley to meet her, we're taking Tori with us."

The train journey home went uninterrupted bar a quick visit a few hours in from Tracey, though Daphne had begun twirling her wand after a few minutes of her company and the other girl quickly got the message and left, reminding them to watch for her owl.

They found the rest of the family quickly when they arrived at the platform, and once all the hugs and greetings were taken care of they soon found themselves apparated back home.

The minute they arrived, Astoria started to regale them with all of the ideas she had for how they could top their first-year next term, horrifying the pair of them when the tamest suggestion she had was starting a House Elf revolt.

Daniel and Marie were both joyous to have them both home again after what had happened down the trapdoor, though they both made it clear that they were less than pleased with how much they had kept to themselves. Harry vowed to be more open and honest with them in the future, knowing that his reticence had hurt them almost as much as the fact he had been injured.

His training with the pair of them resumed, and he found that he could now duel Daniel almost as an equal for a long period, but eventually, the older man's experience would begin to overwhelm him and Harry would be forced to break out his wandless magic to get back on even footing with him. Out of five duels, Harry was happy to discover that he consistently won at least twice, and sometimes thrice, but knew that he needed to keep improving until fighting Daniel was no longer a challenge and he would win every time.

Marie was a whole different matter, and Harry was lucky if he won even once against her. She was like a viper, or a cobra, coiled to attack and striking quickly and dangerously, and it was often all he could do to survive against her. Her defences were nigh on impenetrable, and the few opportunities he had to counterattack had to be taken swiftly, and using his most devastating spells. At first, Harry had been disappointed at his own lack of success, but Marie had quickly assured him that he was doing amazingly well, and it wouldn't be long until he was thrashing her and Daniel together.

On June 30th, they celebrated Daniel's birthday, the first such celebration that Harry had been present in the home for, and the date for their holiday had been announced. They planned to go to France for two weeks from July 24th until August 7th, which meant they would be away for both Harry and Astoria's birthdays.

The next day, they had awoken to find their end-of-year exam results had arrived, and they both watched nervously as Daniel and Marie perused their results. The parents silently passed the letters between themselves, before finally handing them over to the two children so they could find out for themselves. Harry read his results with apprehensive eyes but soon found he needn't have worried when he saw what he had achieved.

FIRST-YEAR END-OF-YEAR EXAMINATION RESULTS

Student: Harry James Potter

Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations

Charms: Outstanding

Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding

Herbology: Outstanding

History of Magic: Exceeds Expectations

Potions: Outstanding

Transfiguration: Outstanding

Harry looked up once he had read the contents and saw the proud smiles on Daniel and Marie's faces and waited patiently for Daphne to finish reading her own results so that they could swap. When they did, Harry found her results were similar to his own, though with a few notable differences.

FIRST-YEAR END-OF-YEAR EXAMINATION RESULTS

Student: Daphne Marlene Greengrass

Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations

Charms: Outstanding

Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding

Herbology: Exceeds Expectations

History of Magic: Outstanding

Potions: Outstanding

Transfiguration: Outstanding

Harry finished first and waited patiently for Daphne to finish reading his own results, and when she did he was not disappointed by her reaction.

"Damnit! I wanted to beat you, but you just had to go and get five Outstandings too. I blame Herbology." She said with a pout, crossing her arms and slumping in her chair.

Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Congratulations to you too, Daph."

Marie smiled at her daughter's reaction. "You both did brilliantly, we couldn't be more proud of you both."

Daniel nodded his agreement. "Even with all your extra-curricular activities."

Daphne couldn't help the small grin that formed on her face, and it widened when she remembered a key part of both of their results. "Can you believe it, Harry? Snape actually graded us fairly."

Harry chuckled. "I think Marie would have skinned him alive if he didn't." It was a testament to how well everyone knew the woman when none of them bothered to dispute his words.

Marie actually seemed like she was preening in response.

July 24th and the date of their departure arrived quickly, and soon the family was gathered in the garden, each with their hand clasped firmly on an old boot that Daniel explained was the Portkey that would take them to their destination.

"Is everyone absolutely sure that they have everything?" He asked, looking around at each member of the circle and refusing to look away until they responded affirmatively. "Is everyone holding onto the Portkey?" Again, he went around the circle, though they had already made sure that Astoria was firmly in place between himself and Marie and that they both had one hand on her shoulder as well as the boot. "Okay then, if everyone is ready. La Retraite!"

Harry felt like a hook had suddenly been attached somewhere behind his naval as the world around him disappeared suddenly, his body feeling weightless and his feet no longer having the sensation of being on solid ground. The uncomfortable feeling lasted for around seven seconds before Harry felt his feet slam back onto earth, and he opened his eyes and immediately saw the bright blue sky above him.

Looking around, he saw that they had arrived on the back patio of the luxury Muggle villa Daniel and Marie had sourced, and his eyes immediately found the Olympic-sized swimming pool with dozens of sunbeds surrounding it. Further out past the boundary of the property, Harry saw that a luscious sandy beach and the clear blue sea were awaiting them, and he could hardly wait to get settled in and begin experiencing a holiday for the very first time.

Around him, the others were all inspecting their surrounding for themselves. Marie had instantly spotted the spacious pool and was counting down the minutes until she could change into her swimsuit and dive in, whilst Daniel was doing a headcount and making sure that none of them had been left behind. Daphne was staring behind her mother's head at the villa behind her, inspecting the French architecture, whilst Astoria immediately began trying to extract herself from her parents' grip.

Once Daniel was certain that each family member was present, he looked around for himself and smiled. "So, here we are everyone. The Retreat in Saint-Tropez, and our home for the next two weeks. Everyone get yourselves settled and unpack and then we can decide what to do first."

Astoria had finally managed to free herself and looked innocently up at her father. "But Dad, I already know what I want to do first."

Daniel smiled at his youngest. "And what's that, Tori?"

"This." She responded quickly, springing into action and pushing Daphne, who was still fully clothed, into the pool behind her.

Well, I'm back.

This chapter was really difficult to write, I've struggled to get back into the flow of things but hopefully that doesn't show in what I have written. This chapter is more of a filler chapter and is mainly to both conclude first year and set up the second. It was fun to introduce Tracey properly, I'm not sure how much of a role she'll have but I do have a few important things in mind for her to do, some of which the seeds have been planted in this chapter.

During my holiday, it was absolutely amazing to see the follow count for this thing grow and grow and there's nearly 200 more of you than there was when I left, so thank you to each and every one of you, no matter how long you've been keeping up with this.

To the single reader I have from Guam, I treasure you as I would a rare Pokemon.

The thing with the stone - it's always been my belief that the one in the mirror was a fake, because why the hell would Dumbledore risk the real thing.

Next chapter will be their holiday, a few trips out where they'll meet new people and discover new things, and then the return to Hogwarts and Astoria's sorting. With any luck, I'll be back in the flow of things by then, especially seeing as I'm back on night shifts on Wednesday and that's when the vast majority of this story has been written.

For the final time, log your guesses for where Astoria ends up, it's incredibly entertaining to me to read your thoughts whilst knowing exactly what's going to happen.

So yeah, that's about it from me, please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter.

Enjoy!