Chapter 65 Chapter 65
Evan couldn't recall how he left Dumbledore's office; all he knew was that his back was covered in cold sweat.
Dumbledore lacks, perhaps not intentionally, malevolence towards me, but it is unpleasant not to have secrets.
Evan set a new goal for himself: to learn how to protect his mind.
The school was bustling with activity at that moment.
He didn't know who had told them, but all the portraits were abuzz about the Chamber and everything that had happened. Passing by one portrait, he was stopped, and the portraits asked him how he and Harry had defeated the basilisk.
Evan ignored the portraits and headed straight to the school hospital.
The next moment, he heard a thud, Dobby appeared in front of him.
"Master, Harry Potter freed me, he gave me a sock!" exclaimed the elf with a sharp and high-pitched voice, eyes wide open with tears streaming down.
"Congratulations, Dobby!" whispered Evan, watching Dobby put on Harry's dirty and smelly socks.
"Mrs. Granger told me you had something to ask me," Dobby said.
"I want to ask you, now that you're free, what do you plan to do?" Evan inquired.
"Dobby will seek paid work," the elf replied, but then seemed a bit disheartened. "But it's hard, sir! People may not be willing to pay an elf."
"Indeed, I have a job for you if you're interested; I'll pay you as well. Would you like that?" Evan suggested.
Evan wanted to expand the Hogwarts Magic Newspaper, but to do so, he needed to use magic, and with summer approaching, he required an adult wizard or an intelligent magical creature to assist.
A household elf may not be able to write articles or edit, but they could be useful in gathering news, printing newspapers, and other aspects of the job.
Upon hearing that Evan would pay him for his work, Dobby cried tears of joy. Dobby wrapped his arms around Evan's waist and hugged him tightly. Evan went from being a great friend of Harry Potter to being just as magnificent as Harry Potter.
Thus, Dobby became a full-time employee at the Hogwarts Magic Newspaper.
Due to the amount of work, Evan planned to give him ten Galleons and weekends off, but Dobby said both the money and free time were dreadful. He bargained with Evan, and the final salary was four Galleons per month and one day off.
In addition to his work at the newspaper, he would also perform servant duties. If Malfoy were to find out about this, he might faint in anger.
After finishing with Dobby, Evan went to the school hospital and with the help of Madam Pomfrey's sleeping potion, had a good night's sleep.
It wasn't until the next morning that he woke up.
Lockhart's bed was empty; Ron informed him that after the school discovered that Lockhart had been hit by a powerful memory charm, they sent him directly to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Dumbledore had come to see them, but they decided not to wake Evan. Looking at Harry's face, Evan knew that Dumbledore must have spoken to him in private. The expression on his face could only be described as someone brainwashed.
Ron had completely returned to normal, and his mood had greatly improved.
The three of them happily enjoyed the lunch that Madam Pomfrey had prepared. Ron described what it was like to be under Tom's control, and Harry gave a detailed account of the two battles.
When Harry finished his tale, Hermione, Colin, and Ginny entered the hospital room.
They brought good and bad news. The good news was that Dumbledore awarded the three of them two hundred points at breakfast. This meant Gryffindor won the House Cup.
The bad news consisted of exams and Quidditch.
The small crowd chatted for a while, and just as Evan was about to tell them about the secret treasures, he spotted Ron's rat. He couldn't allow Peter Pettigrew to find out about those things.
"Come on, tell us, Evan! What did you do at the Slytherin statue?" said Ron.
"It was something to do with the basilisk, nothing major," said Evan, glancing at the rat; he decided to keep it a secret for now.
By dinnertime, Cornelius Fudge arrived at the school with the award and Hagrid's pardon. Evan asked if Colin could take a picture of them, making sure to place the rat in a visible spot.
Filch carefully carried the trophy to the trophy room, and Evan combined the photos with images of the basilisk that Colin had taken in the common room before writing an account of the Chamber of Secrets.
Not only would the article be on the front page, but it would probably be picked up by the Daily Prophet.
It would be perfect if Fudge took the newspaper to Azkaban so Sirius Black could see it. It wouldn't be long before the Ministry of Magic was preoccupied with Black's escape.
The rest of the semester was peaceful.
Hogwarts had returned to normalcy, with only some minor changes: the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was canceled, Lucius Malfoy was removed from the board of governors, and Draco no longer acted as if he owned the school. Instead, Draco wore a gloomy expression all day and seemed filled with resentment.
After the Mandrakes matured and the students recovered, Hogwarts' magical newspaper resumed selling as it did before the Chamber of Secrets. Now Evan had to find a new attraction to replace Lockhart's novels.
He decided to write an introduction about Hagrid, who had been unjustly accused by the Chamber of Secrets many years ago.
For the novel section, Evan decided to try writing one himself. He borrowed Hermione's complete works of Lockhart and imitated his writing, producing a book titled "My Encounter with the Basilisk at Hogwarts," which turned out to be an unexpected success. Many fans wrote to him every day.
In the blink of an eye, the semester had ended, and they were heading home on the Hogwarts Express.
Evan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Colin, Fred, George, and Ginny were alone in the compartment. They took advantage of the last hours when they could perform magic. Fred and George set off their final fireworks.
Ginny told them that Percy and Penelope were secretly dating. She had seen them kissing in an empty classroom on Halloween night, which also explained why Evan always felt that Ginny was hiding something from him.
When the Hogwarts Express stopped, Harry wrote down the Dursleys' phone number, but Evan doubted that Harry's aunt and uncle would be willing to receive a call from a wizard.
As the train arrived at the platform, Evan stood up to collect his luggage, tapping his pocket to make sure the potion was there. This summer, he would have to learn to defend his mind and protect himself. A wry smile crossed his face; it seems this summer will be quite significant.