Dobby's Reward
"What?" Sirius asked, astonished. "Why is that elf getting a reward after everything he did?" Harry smirked, not wanting to give away what happened. Narcissa eyed him, lips pursed while Draco frowned.
"You'll see, Sirius," Harry told him.
For a moment there was silence as Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood in the doorway, covered in muck and slime and (in Harry's case) blood.
"It was certainly a sight none of us expected to see," Minerva muttered.
"I can believe that," Filius replied sympathetically.
"Indeed, Miss Weasley alive, Potter covered in blood, it must have been a sight," Pomona agreed.
"Unfortunately, Potter being covered in blood in not as rare a sight as I would like," Minerva sighed.
Then there was a scream of Ginny's name. It was Mrs Weasley who had been sitting, crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, closely followed by Mr. Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter. Harry, however, was looking past them. Professor Dumbledore was standing by the mantelpiece, beaming.
"Why, exactly, were you beaming?" George asked the headmaster.
"I was pleased that they were all alive and out of the Chamber," Dumbledore replied.
He was next to Professor McGonagall, who was taking great, steadying gasps, clutching her chest. Fawkes went whooshing past Harry's ear and settled on Dumbledore's shoulder, just as Harry found himself and Ron being swept into Mrs. Weasleys tight embrace. She asked them how they have saved Ginny and McGonagall agreed they would all like to know that.
"Be careful what you wish for," Pomona muttered. Minerva nodded.
"It was worse the second time."
"Yeah, because this book doesn't leave out half the details," Filius stated.
"Half is being generous," Minerva complained. "Harry left out at least three quarters of the important details." All three other heads of house snorted at that.
Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry, who 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. Then he started telling them everything.
"Definitely not everything," Arthur said, echoing the professors' thoughts from a moment ago.
For nearly a quarter of an hour he spoke into the rapt silence: He told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how Hermione had finally realized that he was hearing a basilisk in the pipes; how he and Ron had followed the spiders into the forest and that Aragog had told them where the last victim of the basilisk had died.
"You failed to mention the incredibly narrow escape in the car after Aragog told his children they were free to eat you," Minerva pointed out with narrowed eyes.
"Well, there wasn't anything you could do about it," Harry shrugged.
"Maybe not but we definitely need to bring in experts to get rid of the colony," Pomona said. "It's far too dangerous. And Aragog won't live forever. He has the faintest respect for humans thanks to Hagrid. The others won't."
"That is a good point. Although Hagrid will be devastated," Minerva sighed.
"I'd rather devastate Hagrid than allow the colony to kill an innocent," Filius put in. Several people nodded in agreement.
He continued with 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. When he paused, McGonagall prompted that they had found out where the entrance was, having broken a hundred school rules into pieces, and asked how they got out of there alive.
"Did you even mention the Polyjuice?" Bill wondered, looking amused.
"No. I didn't really consider that relevant," Harry admitted.
"So, in terms of school rules while searching for the Chamber, yes, they went into the Forest and snuck away from Lockhart which resulted in them visiting Hermione but other than that, they didn't actually break too many school rules. Visiting Moaning Myrtle's toilet wasn't a good idea, but it wasn't exactly against the rules either," Charlie pointed out.
"True, I think the Polyjuice was probably the worst offense, other than the Forest of course," Ted agreed.
"And the obtaining of the ingredients," Severus added through gritted teeth. Harry winced.
"Not to mention going into the Chamber of Secrets with no adult support other than Lockhart," Remus pointed out. He knew why Harry didn't rely on adults in general and he understood, that didn't make it any easier to hear about the results of such distrust.
"Is going into the Chamber against the rules?" Fred wondered. Nobody answered, not knowing the answer.
"Maybe not explicitly, but it still was against the rules at the time given that there was a curfew put into place and the fact they were supposed to be escorted by a teacher. Technically they had Lockhart for a bit, but they didn't have an escort getting to his office," said Hermione.
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. But then he faltered. He had so far avoided mentioning Riddle's diary—or Ginny.
"That's very nice of you, but, honestly, Ginny didn't really feature in your story until the very end. The diary had a bigger role, and you could have mentioned that without mentioning Ginny. It's a pretty integral part of the story," Kingsley pointed out.
"I knew I'd have to talk about it eventually, but…I just didn't want Ginny to be expelled because I'd destroyed the diary and there was no proof," Harry sighed.
She was standing with her head against Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, and tears were still coursing silently down her cheeks. What if they expelled her? Harry thought in panic. Riddle's diary didn't work anymore, and he wondered how could they prove it had been he who'd made her do it all?
"Enchantment and possession leave traces," Bill said grimly, eyeing his sister. Ginny shuddered.
Instinctively, Harry looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly, the firelight glancing off his half-moon spectacles. Dumbledore said that the question that interested him the most was how Voldemort had managed to enchant Ginny when he was hiding in the forests of Albania.
"I suppose it's too much to hope that he stays there?" George sighed.
"Probably," Harry nodded. "You know how my luck goes." All of the adults grimaced at that.
Relief—warm, sweeping, glorious relief—swept over Harry.
Sirius frowned. He just knew that Harry would somehow feel responsible for Ginny being expelled if it had happened, despite her being responsible for her own actions after she'd disposed of the diary.
Mr. Weasley was confused about Ginny being enchanted. Harry showed them the diary. Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages.
Bill eyed the headmaster. It sounded like he truly hadn't known what was going on, but surely, he would have known it was a horcrux after Harry's explanation. And his own examination. And if he had known Voldemort had a horcrux a year ago, what had he been doing since? Was the diary the only one? He'd read evidence in a tomb of a wizard who had made two horcruxes, so multiple wasn't entirely out of the question. Although said wizard had gone insane and accidentally destroyed his own horcruxes due to hallucinations. Either way Voldemort certainly seemed the type to make two. From all he'd heard about the first war, he was incredibly paranoid. Was there another horcrux out there, keeping Voldemort tethered to the world? And if there wasn't, how could they be sure? How long would they need to scour the world before they gave up?
He said it was brilliant.
"Maybe not the time to be saying that, Albus," Filius said quietly. "Regardless of how impressive the magic, his victim is standing in the room as you say that." Dumbledore nodded, accepting his point.
He continued that Voldemort was probably the most brilliant students Hogwarts has ever seen. He looked at the Weasleys who were utterly confused. Dumbledore explained that very few people know Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle.
"Which really should be more widespread. I mean, I imagine a lot of his followers don't care, and those who went to school with him obviously know, but the younger generation may not be so thrilled to follow a half-blood," Hermione stated.
"Indeed, they would not. However, during the war it was incredibly difficult to remain neutral," Narcissa told them quietly. "And if given the choice between the Dark Lord, even with a muggle father, or Albus Dumbledore, they would still choose the Dark Lord. He is still the only living descendant of Salazar Slytherin which would carry more weight."
Dumbledore told them he had taught Tom Riddle fifty years ago. He disappeared after finishing school, travelling, sinking into the Dark Arts and undergoing many dangerous transformations until, when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognisable. Few people connected Voldemort with the handsome head boy. Mrs Weasley asked what Ginny had to do with him. Ginny sobbed that it was his diary and she'd been writing in it, and he'd been writing back all year.
Ginny cringed.
Mr. Weasley was appalled and asked if he had taught her anything. He had always told the children never to trust anything that can think for itself.
"Good advice," Moody grunted.
"But perhaps not the time. I agree, the lecture may be necessary but possibly not before she's even had medical attention," Emmeline said quietly.
He wondered why she didn't show the diary to him or Molly as it was clearly full of dark magic.
"Probably because by the time she realised anything was wrong with it she was enchanted," pointed out Bill with a frown.
"Well, yes, but I didn't know that at the time," Arthur sighed. Privately, he thought that they still don't know how the enchantment worked. Harry had no issue showing it to Ron and Hermione or telling them about seeing the memory. Once the diary had written back to her the very first time, Ginny should have shown them. But there would be time to talk about all of that later, away from the rest of the room. He tightened his arm around his daughter.
Ginny sobbed that she didn't know. She had found it inside one of the books Molly had bought her.
"Inside one of the books?" Percy's eyes narrowed.
"And it's already been established that Lucius Malfoy was behind this somehow. So, he must have done it at Diagon Alley. When they met in Flourish and Blotts," Bill realised.
"But he couldn't have known you would be in Diagon Alley on that exact day, or that you would be in the shop at the same time as him," Charlie frowned.
"He probably was just going to give it to a random student. The encounter gave him the chance to harm the Weasleys, which he's always wanted," Kingsley stated grimly. Arthur scowled. If he hadn't lost his temper and started a fight with Lucius, well, Ginny wouldn't have suffered. But, if Ginny hadn't been the target, would things still have turned out as they did? Would Harry and Ron truly have sought Lockhart out for help if it hadn't been Ron's sister that had been taken? Maybe, but there was every chance they wouldn't have done.
She thought someone had just left it in there.
"Well, someone did leave it there," Bill muttered darkly.
Dumbledore interrupted saying Ginny should go to the hospital wing as it had been a terrible ordeal for her. She wouldn't be punished as older and wiser wizards had been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort.
"So, if Ginny wasn't punished, and I'm not necessarily saying she should have been, what did you tell the victims? And their families?" Amelia wondered.
"That the culprit had been caught," Dumbledore said simply.
"That's it?" She frowned. "Did you tell them that their attacker got away without punishment? That they would receive no justice at all for their terrible ordeals?"
"What would have had me do? Inform them that Lord Voldemort had found a way to attack them inside the castle?"
"Well, he did that the year before too," Sirius scowled.
"Not necessarily, but at least a quarter of the school was sure the culprit was a Slytherin, and the rest of the school seemed to think it was Harry. Given that no student was expelled, were they left to think their attacker was still in the school, unpunished? Or did they think that someone had broken into the school to target them specifically, right before they were sent home to muggle dwellings, unable to protect themselves with magic?" Emmeline pointed out. "Simply telling them the culprit was caught, but not who it was or if there was a punishment could leave the victims with a lot of trauma."
"I understand not mentioning Ginny's involvement, guilt or innocence would have ceased to mean anything and she would be in for hell," Bill said.
"You mean, like Harry was when they all thought it was him? What if some students still think it was him and that he got away with it?" Sirius wondered.
"It was announced that Mr. Potter stopped the attacks, he was not the one to orchestrate them," Minerva put in.
"Finally. Only took the entire school year for an adult to stand up for him," Sirius scoffed.
"The victims were all assured that the culprit had been caught and the monster dead. They did not have to fear another attack," Dumbledore stated firmly. Nobody bothered to argue with him further. It was the best he could probably have done, but that didn't make it any easier for the victims.
"Wait, but, if the culprit wasn't identified this time around either, that means Hagrid could not have had his record cleared," Amelia frowned.
"As he was in Azkaban at the time of the last attack, he was cleared of all suspicion," Dumbledore stated.
"All suspicion, or just this time around?" Kingsley wondered.
"Just this time around, I believe," Dumbledore said quietly. Amelia's frown deepened.
He strode over to the door and opened it. He suggested bed rest and hot chocolate as that always cheers him up.
"I think it might take a tad more than some hot chocolate to cure that," Kingsley muttered, too quietly for the Weasleys to hear him.
He added that Madam Pomfrey was awake as she was giving out the Mandrake juice. The basilisk's victims would be waking up at any moment. Ron brightly asked if Hermione was ok.
Hermione smiled at Ron gratefully.
Dumbledore assured Ginny there had been no lasting harm done.
"A miracle in itself," Amelia murmured.
"Indeed," Emmeline agreed.
"It's crazy that nobody was killed, including the trio," nodded Kingsley.
Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr. Weasley followed, still looking deeply shaken. Dumbledore asked McGonagall to alert the kitchens there was to be a feast. She agreed and, as she left, stated that she would leave Potter and Weasley for him to deal with.
"Way to scare them, Minerva," Filius chuckled.
"I think Potter deserved it for the near amount of heart attacks the boy gave me during his retelling," she grumbled.
Dumbledore agreed. She left, and Harry and Ron gazed uncertainly at Dumbledore, wondering what she had meant by 'deal with them'. They didn't think they were about to be punished.
"Really? You didn't think you were going to be punished at all?" Emmeline blinked.
"Did you not hear the number of rules they broke?" Amelia said, raising her eyebrows.
"They also just saved the entire school from a monster," Sirius pointed out.
"We all know Dumbledore isn't going to punish Potter," Severus drawled. "Which is a shame as being punished for such stunts may instil a desire for him not to do them."
"No, it wouldn't. Harry has been consistently let down by adults, not to mention punished whether he did anything wrong or not. It wouldn't stop him," Remus stated quietly.
Dumbledore stated that he recalled telling them he would have to expel them if they broke any more rules.
"Yes, but everyone knew that was rubbish," Sirius snorted.
"The two boys didn't I expect. Especially not Harry," Remus reminded him.
Ron opened his mouth in horror. Dumbledore continued that it showed the best of them must sometimes eat their words. He stated that they would both receive Special Awards for Services to the School.
"Regardless of broken rules or not, they do deserve that," Pomona stated.
Ron went as brightly pink as Lockhart's valentine flowers and closed his mouth again. Dumbledore then said that one person was keeping quiet about his part in the dangerous adventure. He asked why Lockhart was so modest.
"I'd half forgotten he was even there," Percy said.
"It's the longest he's ever gone without talking," Fred agreed.
"Makes a nice change," stated Neville.
Harry gave a start. He had completely forgotten about Lockhart.
Percy and Harry exchanged grins.
He turned and saw that Lockhart was standing in a corner of the room, still wearing his vague smile. When Dumbledore addressed him, Lockhart looked over his shoulder to see who he was talking to. Ron quickly said there had been an accident involving Professor Lockhart. Lockhart interrupted his explanation to ask if he was a professor. Then added he expected he was hopeless.
Several people burst out laughing at that statement.
"The truest thing he's ever said," Remus scowled.
Ron finished his explanation about the Memory Charm. Dumbledore shook his head and commented Lockhart had been impaled on his own sword.
"You knew!" Amelia turned to stare at the headmaster angrily.
"I suspected his books were not entirely truthful. I had no proof of such a large accusation though," Dumbledore told her.
"And yet you let him demand the students buy all of his books, knowing they were rubbish?"
"As I have stated, a professor is in charge of the books for each subject. I could not make an exception without good reason, a reason I could not prove."
Lockhart was confused, saying he didn't have a sword. Then he said Harry would lend him one. Dumbledore asked Ron to take Lockhart to the infirmary as he'd like a few words with Harry. Lockhart ambled out. Ron cast a curious look back at Dumbledore and Harry as he closed the door. Dumbledore crossed to one of the chairs by the fire and told Harry to sit, who did so, feeling nervous. Dumbledore started by thanking him and said Harry must have shown him real loyalty in the Chamber as nothing else would have called Fawkes to him.
"Really? Not even for a student in need, fighting Slytherin's own monster?" Sirius wondered.
"So, if Riddle hadn't made some comment about being the greatest sorcerer in the world, and Harry didn't contradict him to say that position belonged to Albus, then Fawkes wouldn't have shown up?" Remus raised his eyebrows. It didn't need saying that if Fawkes hadn't shown up then Harry would have died.
"Somehow that's not even the most ridiculous coincidence that's happened in this book," Kingsley said, shaking his head in bemusement.
"Do you think Albus just told Harry that, so he'd be loyal to him?" Sirius whispered to Remus with a frown. Remus looked at him, shocked. "I know phoenixes have their own rules and magic, but it seems a bit odd that an offhand statement of loyalty to his master would summon him."
"Maybe. But maybe it's not just the fact that it's Albus. It's the fact he is the headmaster of the school. A student in need that proves his loyalty to the school would probably work to summon Fawkes, who is rumoured to have been Godric Gryffindor's own familiar," Remus replied. Sirius considered this. Honestly, he would never have thought such a thing before this reading, but now he wasn't so sure of Albus' motives regarding his godson.
Maybe both of them were correct. Dumbledore's statement might not have been inherently wrong, the statement of loyalty to the headmaster was what summoned Fawkes, but he'd deliberately made it sound like it was to Albus himself, specifically, to get Harry to trust him more. To be loyal to him. Or maybe Sirius was just paranoid now. Azkaban hadn't done his mental state any favours and these readings weren't helping his paranoia either.
He stroked the phoenix, which had fluttered down onto his knee. Harry grinned awkwardly as Dumbledore watched him. Dumbledore stated he'd met Tom Riddle and imagined he had been interested in Harry. Suddenly, something that was nagging at Harry came tumbling out of his mouth. He stated that Riddle had mentioned strange likenesses between them.
"You're not still worried about that now, are you?" Ron asked his friend worriedly. Harry smiled. Honestly, he had been until they read the last chapter. People's comments had made him feel better about the whole thing.
"No, I'm ok thanks, Ron," Harry assured his friend. Sirius squeezed his shoulders briefly.
Dumbledore looked thoughtful as he asked what Harry thought. Harry burst out that he didn't think he was like Riddle. More quietly he added that he was in Gryffindor.
"We teach our young people to be so attached to their house, that all else seems to cease to matter," Amelia sighed.
But he fell silent, a lurking doubt resurfacing in his mind. Then he told Dumbledore that the hat had told him he would do well in Slytherin, and people thought he was the Heir because he can speak parseltongue. Dumbledore told him he could speak parseltongue because Voldemort, the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin, can speak parseltongue.
"What?" Sirius and Andromeda barked out at the same time.
"Unless you mean a familial relation, that is ridiculous," Andromeda stated.
"He can't mean a familial relation. He also just said Riddle is the last remaining ancestor of Slytherin," Ted pointed out.
"But then, one wizard's ability has no relation to another's powers," Narcissa stated flatly.
He continued that unless he was mistaken, Voldemort transferred some of his own pawers to Harry the night he gave him the scar.
Bill gasped in absolute horror. His mind whirled as he desperately tried to understand exactly what Dumbledore had implied. If Riddle already split his soul, then it was possible his soul was unstable. Splitting a soul was hardly good for it. If it was unstable then whatever the rebounding magic from his attack on Harry had done, was it even possible it could have broken off another fragment of soul that latched onto Harry? He'd never heard of a living horcrux. There was no record of one as far as he knew. And he didn't know exactly how one was made, but he knew it involved preparation and a loosening of the soul. If he had already done the preparations and gone to Godric's Hollow with the intent of making another horcrux, then being hit with his own rebounding killing curse might be enough to break off the prepared fragment. It was all theory and conjecture, Bill doubted he would ever get a real answer on the how. The true question was whether Harry did actually have a piece of Voldemort's soul in him. It made a sickening amount of sense, and certainly explained his ability with parseltongue. It also explained his strange familiarity with the diary. The soul pieces probably recognised themselves to some level, not that Bill was an expert by any means.
Bill's next question was what, exactly, Dumbledore knew. Earlier, he'd been sure the old man hadn't known about the horcruxes until he'd examined the diary. But, if that was true, how had he known about Harry? It wasn't possible to simply transfer magical abilities between wizards.
"Nonsense," Andromeda scoffed, not noticing the oldest Weasley child's reaction. "If it were possible to transfer magical abilities, far more Blacks would be metamorphmagi."
"Not to mention, if you can transfer magical abilities, I am sure someone would have found a way to make sure there were no Squibs either," Narcissa added.
"If anyone could find a way, I suppose Riddle could have been the one, but that seems like something that would require great preparation, not something he could have done by sheer accident," Kingsley mused.
"I'm certain it was a unique situation," Dumbledore told them.
"How certain? You know what happened?" Sirius asked immediately.
"I have a theory."
"Which is..?"
"I believe this is something that should be discussed later," the headmaster told him, glancing at Harry so briefly Sirius only just noticed. He opened his mouth to argue but Remus elbowed him subtly.
Harry was thunderstruck as he repeated that Voldemort had put a bit of himself in Harry.
Bill cringed.
Harry still shivered at the very idea of having any part of Riddle in him. The others all seemed sure it wasn't possible, but Dumbledore had been so certain. Something wasn't adding up and he just knew he wasn't going to like the truth.
Dumbledore agreed.
Bill shook his head slightly. If he had been correct, and Dumbledore had only worked out about the horcrux when he saw the diary, it meant that he had almost instantly made the connection about Harry almost instantly. And somehow remained completely calm about that realisation in a way that Bill was shocked by.
Harry said that meant he should be in Slytherin.
"Not at all," Sirius shook his head.
"Indeed. Even if, by some miracle unknown to wizardkind, you have a bit of Riddle's magic, you are still your own person. Still the son of Lily and James," Emmeline told him with a slightly strained smile.
"I was more thinking about having a bit of Salazar Slytherin in me," Harry admitted.
"Oh, well, even if you were his full-blooded descendant, it doesn't mean you'll be in the same house. It was a long time ago," Remus pointed out. Harry nodded.
He said that the hat could see Slytherin's power in him. Dumbledore cut him off, pointing out that the hat had put him in Gryffindor. He told Harry that he had several qualities Slytherin would have chosen such as parseltongue, resourcefulness, determination, a disregard for rules and yet the hat put him in Gryffindor.
"I'm fairly certain most of the founders valued those qualities, except the parseltongue," Kingsley said.
"Certainly, I imagine Godric Gryffindor would value a disregard for the rules," Ted chuckled.
Dumbledore told him to think why the hat had put in in Gryffindor. Harry sounded defeated as he stated it was because he asked. Dumbledore stated that made him different from Riddle. It is their choices not abilities that show who they truly are.
"Very true," Andromeda stated.
Harry was stunned. The headmaster told him that if he wanted proof that he belonged in Gryffindor, he should look more closely at the sword, which he handed to Harry. Harry turned it over and saw Godric Gryffindor's name engraved below the hilt.
Sirius whistled in appreciation while Remus' mouth fell open in shock.
"Godric Gryffindor's own sword? Wow," Charlie grinned widely. "That's cool."
The headmaster stated that only a true Gryffindor could have pulled it out of the hat.
"I don't believe that's true," Percy stated. "As far as the lore goes, I believe the only requirement for the sword to appear is a desperate need and an act of valour. I think anyone would be able to summon it, regardless of house, as long as their deed met the criteria."
For a minute, neither of them spoke. Then Dumbledore pulled open one of the drawers in Professor McGonagall's desk and took out a quill and a bottle of ink. He told Harry he needed food and sleep.
Privately, Andromeda thought he could do with a Mind Healer. And to be checked over by the Matron. The phoenix tears should have healed his injuries, but that didn't mean he didn't need to be checked at all.
He suggested Harry go to the feast while he wrote to Azkaban as they need their gamekeeper back.
"No. He needs to go to the Hospital Wing," Andromeda stated.
"He had told me that Fawkes healed him. I did not believe a visit to Madam Pomfrey would be necessary," Dumbledore said.
He added he'd need to write an advertisement for a new Defence professor.
Most people cheered.
Harry got up and crossed to the door. He had just reached for the handle, however, when the door burst open so violently that it bounced back off the wall. Lucius Malfoy stood there, fury in his face. And cowering behind his legs, heavily wrapped in bandages, was Dobby.
Narcissa and Draco both grimaced. Nothing good would come of this visit. Though Draco was interested to hear exactly how Dobby had been freed.
Dumbledore greeted him. Mr. Malfoy almost knocked Harry over as he swept into the room.
Sirius growled.
Dobby went scurrying in after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face.
Hermione scowled as well.
"Don't worry. Dobby was fine in the end," Harry reminded her quietly. She nodded, a vicious grin spreading across her face that made Draco recoil slightly.
The elf was carrying a stained rag with which he was attempting to finish cleaning Mr. Malfoys shoes. Apparently Mr. Malfoy had set out in a great hurry, for not only were his shoes half polished, but his usually sleek hair was dishevelled.
Narcissa's lips were so thin they had practically disappeared.
"Lucius Malfoy, appearing in public with his hair in a mess, if only we'd seen," Fred smirked.
"If only Colin had seen," George chuckled.
"That would have been priceless," Ron agreed with a loud laugh.
Ignoring the elf bobbing apologetically around his ankles, he fixed his cold eyes upon Dumbledore. He stated that the headmaster had come back, despite the fact that the governors had suspended him. Dumbledore told him that the other eleven governors contacted him having heard Arthur Weasley's daughter had been kill and wanted him back. They seemed to think he was the best man for the job, and several seemed to think that Lucius had threatened to curse their families if they didn't agree to suspend him in the first place.
"And I'm assuming Lucius obviously wasn't careless so there was no proof of these claims?" Amelia groaned.
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. Narcissa sighed inaudibly while Arthur scowled.
Mr. Malfoy went even paler than usual, but his eyes were still slits of fury.
"Subtle," Charlie snorted.
"He'll know they can't prove it," Bill sighed.
Lucius asked if they had stopped the attacks and if they'd caught the culprit. Dumbledore agreed and informed him it was the same culprit as last time, but that, this time, he had chosen to act through someone by means of the diary. He held up the small black book with the large hole through the centre, watching Mr. Malfoy closely. Harry, however, was watching Dobby. The elf was doing something very odd. His great eyes fixed meaningfully on Harry, he kept pointing at the diary, then at Mr. Malfoy, and then hitting himself hard on the head with his fist.
Narcissa and Draco both scowled at that.
"Wow. That's one wacky elf. He's actually trying to tell Harry that Lucius was responsible," Emmeline realised.
"So far all of his antics have simply been to keep Harry safe. Now he's actively implicating his own master. Even while he has to continually punish himself. That's…" Sirius trailed off, unable to find the words. He couldn't, in his wildest dreams imagine Kreacher betrayed his parents. Or Regulus. Although now he thought about it, the little wretch would probably sell him out.
"It's exactly the kind of crazy I've come to expect from this book and this whole situation," Kingsley stated, shaking his head.
Dumbledore said it was a clever plan.
Arthur choked while Molly turned bright red.
He continued that if it hadn't been for Harry and Ron discovering the book then Ginny might have taken all the blame. Nobody would be able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will.
"Why would you tell Malfoy that it was Harry and Ron who foiled his plan? Especially with Harry in the room. He will be planning revenge of some form now," Sirius pointed out unhappily.
"Mr. Malfoy would not dare try any such thing in the school," Dumbledore stated.
"Maybe not, but that won't stop him from doing something elsewhere. He started this whole mess in Diagon Alley," Remus reminded him.
"It would have been a matter of record anyway. They received awards for special services to the school," Amelia pointed out.
Mr. Malfoy said nothing. His face was suddenly mask like. Dumbledore continued telling him the possible consequences for Arthur and his family.
The Weasleys' expressions were all furious.
Mr. Malfoy stiffly said it was fortunate. And still, behind his back, Dobby was pointing, first to the diary, then to Lucius Malfoy, then punching himself in the head. And Harry suddenly understood. He nodded at Dobby, and Dobby backed into a corner, now twisting his ears in punishment. Harry suddenly spoke up, asking if Mr. Malfoy wanted to know how Ginny got hold of the diary.
"Harry!" Sirius groaned. "You don't need to make it worse."
"But he…" Harry began.
"We know what he did. But you can't prove any of that. And telling him you know is only going to put an even bigger target on your back," Remus told him gently.
Lucius Malfoy rounded on him, asking how he should know how the stupid little girl got hold of it.
All of the Weasleys snarled.
"She's not stupid," Charlie growled.
Harry stated that he gave it to her. In Flourish and Blotts. He picked up her Transfiguration book and slipped the diary inside. Mr. Malfoy's hands clenched and unclenched. He told Harry to prove it. Dumbledore smiled at Harry as he said nobody would be able to do that.
"Unless Harry's memory could show that happening," Filius mused. "It's a long shot but possible."
"I doubt it would be clear enough. Malfoy would be able to slip out of that," Amelia shook her head.
"If there is any possibility to make him pay for it…" Arthur trailed off, glancing over at Harry.
"During an Occlumency lesson, I might be able to take a look at that memory," Andromeda stated cautiously. "But obviously only with Harry's permission."
"I don't mind," Harry said quickly. Draco stared at him.
"This was almost two years ago," Narcissa pointed out.
"So?" Arthur asked, challengingly. "You think that just because it was two years ago it is of no consequence. He deliberately placed an artefact to attack muggleborns in the school and in a position to frame my daughter. The effects of that aren't over just because it happened two years ago."
"Either way, it can't hurt for Andromeda to take a look at Harry's memory. If he didn't see enough then it makes no difference," Amelia pointed out.
Dumbledore continued that it wouldn't be possible now Riddle has vanished from the book.
"The diary wouldn't be able to prove anything, but Harry also has the apparition's confession," Ted put in.
He warned Lucius not to go giving out any more of Voldemort's school possessions. He stated that in any more of them find their way into innocent hands, Arthur Weasley would make sure they were traced back to him.
"I would have done it then if I'd known it was him," Arthur snarled.
Lucius Malfoy stood for a moment, and Harry distinctly saw his right hand twitch as though he was longing to reach for his wand. Instead, he turned to his house-elf. He stated to Dobby they were leaving. He wrenched open the door and as the elf came hurrying up to him, he kicked him right through it.
Hermione gritted her teeth.
They could hear Dobby squealing with pain all the way along the corridor. Harry stood for a moment, thinking hard. He asked if he could give the diary back to Mr. Malfoy. The headmaster agreed before telling him to hurry.
"What? You're letting him go after Lucius Malfoy…alone?" Sirius yelped.
"Lucius would not harm Harry on school grounds," Dumbledore said firmly.
"Because he's such a model citizen," Sirius growled sarcastically.
"Because it would be incredibly obvious it was him. And if he harmed the Boy-Who-Lived, the entire wizarding population of Britain would be out for his blood," Ted pointed out.
Harry grabbed the diary and dashed out of the office. He could hear Dobby's squeals of pain receding around the corner. Quickly, wondering if this plan could possibly work, Harry took off one of his shoes, pulled off his slimy, filthy sock, and stuffed the diary into it. Then he ran down the dark corridor.
"You did what?" Fred asked in astonishment.
"You're going to hand Lucius Malfoy the evidence of his crime in your filthy sock?" George stared at Harry as if he'd never seen him before.
"Wicked!" They said together.
"Not wicked. Dangerous," Bill corrected worriedly.
He caught up with them at the top of the stairs. He called out, saying he had something for Mr. Malfoy. And he forced the smelly sock into Lucius Malfoy's hand.
Several people snorted at that.
"Wish we could have seen his face," Fred muttered. George nodded vigorously.
Mr. Malfoy ripped the sock off the diary, threw it aside, then looked furiously from the ruined book to Harry. He told him he would meet the same sticky end as his parents. They were meddlesome fools too.
Sirius and Remus both snarled.
He turned to go. He ordered Dobby to come. But Dobby didn't move. He was holding up Harry's disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.
"Really? He caught it? And it freed him?" Emmeline asked in astonishment.
"But Lucius did not give it to him with the intention of freeing him," Narcissa frowned.
"He must have been really desperate. And who can blame him," Ron said with a shrug. "I'd be desperate to get away from that too."
Dobby stated that Master had given him a sock.
"He didn't exactly give it. He tossed it to one side without thinking," Emmeline pointed out.
Mr. Malfoy was confused, and Dobby repeated that he had a sock. Master had thrown it and Dobby caught it meaning Dobby was free. Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf. Then he lunged at Harry.
"He WHAT?" Sirius yelled. "I thought you said he wouldn't do anything?" He rounded on Dumbledore.
"Nothing did happen." The headmaster assured him.
"That's not the point. He lunged at Harry. And I doubt it was to give him a hug. He tried to attack my godson on Hogwarts grounds!" Sirius growled furiously. "And you!" He turned to Harry who eyed his godson warily. "You provoked him. It is absolutely not your fault that he attacked you, that's on him, but what were you thinking provoking a Death Eater?"
"I was thinking about getting Dobby out of an abusive situation," Harry told him firmly.
Mr. Malfoy screamed that Harry had lost him his servant. Dobby shouted that he would not harm Harry Potter. There was a loud bang, and Mr. Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below.
Everyone gaped. Narcissa clenched her fists as the room erupted into laughter. She was furious. How dare that elf throw her husband around? And how dare her husband be so foolish as to attempt to attack the Boy-Who-Lived on Hogwarts grounds?
"Dobby did that. Dobby? A house-elf?" Charlie asked in astonishment.
"A house-elf threw Lucius Malfoy down the stairs," Fred said, practically doubled over with glee.
"I take it back, I love that elf," Sirius howled.
"All those times Colin stalked Harry around the school, and he wasn't there to see any of this," George moaned.
It took everyone a little while to settle down.
He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand, but Dobby raised a long, threatening finger.
Lucius pulling a wand deflated the mood quicker than anyone thought possible. Sirius put his arm back around Harry's shoulders worriedly.
Dobby told him to leave and that he wouldn't touch Harry Potter.
"That is one special elf," Bill muttered.
"I'm surprised he didn't just declare that he wanted to work for Harry," Ted chuckled.
"If Harry did not live with muggles, it might be beneficial for him in the long term," Andromeda mused.
Lucius Malfoy had no choice. With a last, incensed stare at the pair of them, he swung his cloak around him and hurried out of sight.
"Scared away by a house-elf," Fred snorted.
"Well, wouldn't you be if one had just thrown you down a flight of stairs," George guffawed.
Dobby declared that Harry had freed him. Harry told him it was the least he could do.
"The least you could do? He spent all year almost getting you killed. You almost got yourself killed trying to set him free," Sirius pointed out unhappily.
"Nobody deserves to be treated the way Dobby was," Harry told him firmly. Sirius sighed.
"I agree," he said, though he looked slightly unconvinced. "But going up against Lucius Malfoy was a foolish thing to do. If Dobby hadn't intervened, you could have been seriously hurt or killed. Dumbledore should never have let you do such a thing."
"If Dobby had not intervened, I would have done so," Dumbledore assured him.
"You should have stopped him, not risked something happening."
"Mr. Potter did a good thing. He should be commended."
"I'm not debating if he did a good thing or not. I'm debating that you should not have let him provoke Lucius Malfoy into attacking him."
"Sirius, I'm fine. Nobody except Malfoy's pride was hurt and Dobby is free," Harry pointed out. Sirius closed his eyes, forcing back his frustration.
"I'm just saying, it all turned out well this time, but it might not next time. I don't want you to think that's a good idea. That just because you were ok this time that you will escape every other time. You already have a huge target on your back, you don't need to go making it worse. You did a brave and good thing, but it could have cost you your life. Something I'm learning, happens too often in your life." Harry said nothing, just hugging his godfather tightly.
Harry asked him to promise never to try and save his life again.
"At least there's that," Charlie chuckled.
The elf's ugly brown face split suddenly into a wide, toothy smile. Harry then said that Dobby had told him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named didn't have anything to do with it. Dobby told him it was a clue. It was the Dark Lord before he changed his name, when he could be freely named.
"That's a rubbish clue," Tonks declared.
Harry told him he needed to go as there was a feast and Hermione should be awake by then. Dobby threw his arms around Harry's middle and hugged him. He said Harry was far greater than Dobby knew and said goodbye. And with a final loud crack, Dobby disappeared.
"Well, all's well that end's well I suppose," Remus sighed.
"Let's just hope he keeps his promise," Sirius muttered.
Harry had been to several Hogwarts feasts, but never one quite like this. Everybody was in their pyjamas, and the celebration lasted all night. Harry didn't know whether the best bit was Hermione running toward him, screaming "You solved it! You solved it!" or Justin hurrying over from the Hufflepuff table to wring his hand and apologize endlessly for suspecting him.
"There was a comparison!" Hermione asked him, looking offended. Harry grinned.
It might have been Hagrid turning up at half past three, cuffing Harry and Ron so hard on the shoulders that they were knocked into their plates of trifle, or his and Ron's four hundred points for Gryffindor securing the House Cup for the second year running, or Professor McGonagall standing up to tell them all that the exams had been cancelled as a school treat ("Oh, no!" said Hermione), or Dumbledore announcing that, unfortunately, Professor Lockhart would be unable to return next year, owing to the fact that he needed to go away and get his memory back. Quite a few of the teachers joined in the cheering that greeted this news.
Several people snorted.
"I still can't believe you couldn't decide which was the best part," Hermione grumbled, but she was smiling.
"Well, it definitely wasn't the wasted trifle," Ron said. Everyone laughed.
Ron said it was a shame as Lockhart was starting to grow on him.
"What?" Fred looked at his brother like he had grown another head.
"I was only kidding," Ron rolled his eyes.
The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences—Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled, although Ron pointed out they'd had plenty of practice.
"Not really. Hermione was petrified, Ron got left behind in the tunnel and Harry didn't really use an awful lot of Defence against the basilisk. I don't believe fighting giant snakes with a sword is part of the curriculum," Tonks laughed.
"And other than one miserable duelling club session and fighting acromantula, I don't believe you have had much of anything that could be considered 'practice'," Bill told his brother. Ron shrugged.
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. On the other hand, Ginny Weasley was perfectly happy again.
Ginny sighed. 'Perfectly happy' wasn't exactly how she would have described herself, but she was glad she came across that way.
Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves.
Both Weasley parents raised they eyebrows at the twins sharing a compartment with their siblings. Arthur shot his sons a proud smile while wondering if Percy had stopped in once his prefect rounds were complete.
They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic. Harry was getting very good at it.
"At least you got some practice in," Remus said with a smile.
"At least we had a good teacher in third year," Harry replied with an answering grin.
They were almost at King's Cross when Harry remembered something. He asked Ginny about what Percy was doing that he didn't want her telling.
"Of course it would be you that remembered," Percy groaned.
Ginny told them Percy had a girlfriend.
"And I can't believe you told them," he scowled at his sister.
"Sorry."
Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head.
"That hurt," George complained, whacking Fred on the arm. "I bet you did that deliberately." His twin just smirked.
She explained it was the prefect, Penelope Clearwater. He had been writing to her during the summer and they'd been meeting all over the school in secret. She walked in on them kissing one day.
"Seriously? You told them everything?" Percy glared at Ginny.
"I'm sorry Percy, I didn't realise it would be a big deal."
"You know what the twins are like," he shot back. "It was obviously going to be a big deal, or I wouldn't have spent a year hiding it from them."
"Honestly, it's quite impressive you did hide it for that long, Perc. You're getting sneaky," George smirked at him.
She asked if they would tease him. Fred said he wouldn't dream of it, while looking like his birthday had come early.
Percy scowled at the floor.
George sniggered and said definitely not.
"Very believable," Charlie snorted.
"I thought so," George said in a faux haughty tone.
The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped. Harry pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Ron and Hermione. It was his telephone number. He said he'd taught Ron's dad how to use a phone last summer and to call him at the Dursleys.
Ron went red.
Hermione asked if his aunt and uncle would be proud.
Most people snorted. Hermione sighed sadly.
Harry asked if she was crazy. All the times he could have died and didn't, they'd be furious.
"I hate how accurate that is," Sirius growled.
"We all do," Remus told him.
"I thought you were joking," Hermione said, looking horrified. Harry shrugged.
And together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.
"That is the end," Narcissa announced.
"Right, dinner time," Molly said, a little too cheerfully.