Tom finishes his side of the story (apparently he'd dueled Voldemort and won, knocking the diadem off of his head and severing the connection), then sits back. Harry watches him closely, as he's been doing since Tom and Remus returned, but he can't tell if the exhaustion radiating off of his older brother is emotional or physical.
Or both. It might be both, actually. Harry sure as hell is feeling both- the adrenaline is wearing off fast, and Harry is fading more and more. He feels sluggish.
(The three Weasleys and McGonagall have since gone down to the Hospital Wing- they'd realized that Pomfrey is likely busy with the mandrake business right now, and therefore unable to meet them.)
Harry is so exhausted that when the door to McGonagall's office bangs open, he hardly reacts at all as a Theo-shaped blur rockets into him and knocks both him and his chair to the ground. In fact, all he does is blink stupidly up at the other boy, who looks furious.
In fact, Theo seems intent on shaking some sense into Harry- which (after that helps to shake loose some of the fuzziness as well) Harry thinks isn't very fair. It occurs to him then that he no longer wants to be on the floor.
"Sorry, I was kidnapped, I'm sorry," Harry explains, trying to push the boy off of him. It's to no avail.
"Daphne is going to kill you," Theo says, "and I'm going to let her because you deserve it."
"It wasn't my fault," Harry tries.
"Theo," Remus says, leaning forward in his seat. "Maybe-"
The door opens again, and Harry hardly has even a second to process who it is that's just entered the room when Theo has thrown himself off of Harry and is doing his best to act aloof.
It's not working very well- Theo looks very much on guard and Harry cringes as he thinks about how worried his friends had been about him. Tom, meanwhile, seems to have cast a hasty disillusionment spell over himself.
At least Harry is free to get up now- which he does, going to stand besides where Remus is still sitting and keeping a wary eye on the visitor- who is none other than Mr. Malfoy.
"Lucius," Albus says, sitting up straight. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Mr. Malfoy's face is already stormy, but his scowl deepens when his gaze falls on Remus, then Harry.
"Mister Nott," Mr. Malfoy greets instead of addressing Dumbledore.
Harry had thought, naively, that after spending the day keeping his magic so close to his chest that he could hardly breathe, then releasing the full force of the pent up magical storm on the basilisk's venom; that he might not have to worry about keeping such a tight hold on his magic- he'd thought it was mostly used up.
As Theo's expression goes from stony to wooden, however, Harry has to act fast to keep from accidentally lighting Malfoy's father on fire- Harry doesn't know exactly what's going on, but Theo obviously isn't happy about it.
If it hadn't been before, Harry's chest is definitely bruised now.
Remus's hand is suddenly on Harry's shoulder, and Harry lets out the breath he'd been holding.
"Good evening, Lucius," Remus says politely. Mr. Malfoy tears his narrowed eyes from Theo to glare at Remus.
"Remus," Mr. Malfoy greets stiffly. Then he rounds on Dumbledore.
"So, you've come back- hiding in Professor McGonagall's office violates the terms of your suspension just as well as using your own office would."
"Ah," Dumbledore says. He smiles serenely at Mr. Malfoy, whose scowl is so deep that Harry worries it might be permanent at this point. "You see, I no longer have terms to my suspension- as I am no longer suspended.
"Turns out, when the other eleven members of the board of governors had heard that Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter had been killed, well… they were eager indeed to reinstate me."
Remus's hand tightens on Harry's shoulder, and he feels another pang of guilt push its way through the rising haze of tiredness. Mr. Malfoy's gaze flickers to Harry, then back to Dumbledore.
Harry hadn't noticed it before, but the man is in a state- his cloak is crooked and his hair is loose. He must have been in the middle of getting ready. Mr. Malfoy has gone even paler than usual, but his eyes are lit with fury.
"So?" Mr. Malfoy sneers, "did you catch the culprit?"
"We did," Dumbledore nods.
"Well-" Mr. Malfoy sputters. "Well who was it?"
Harry furrows his brow. He's missing something, he knows it. His thoughts feel slow. Maybe Theo knows- but no, Theo's expression is giving nothing away. Tom is still disillusioned, so he's not going to be any help either.
"The same person it was last time," Dumbledore says easily. "Through the same means: a cursed diary."
Harry turns again to look at Mr. Malfoy, who's gone a bit stiff.
"I see," Mr. Malfoy says.
"A clever plan indeed," Dumbledore continues. "Because if Harry and his friends hadn't discovered the book then Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame- no one would have been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own accord."
Mr. Malfoy's face goes blank.
"Imagine what would have happened then," Dumbledore says. "Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley's work and reputation, if his own daughter was discovered to have been attacking muggleborns. It's very fortunate Harry and his friends were able to discover the diary and destroy it, yes?"
As the implications of what Dumbledore is saying sinks in and the pieces fall into place, Harry feels a rush of rage flood through his veins and clamps down even harder on his magic. Well, that explains Dobby, at least. Or- most of Dobby, anyways.
"What are you insinuating," Mr. Malfoy says, face flushed- seems as though he's picked up on Dumbledore's not so subtle stab as well.
On top of that, it looks as though Dumbledore has finished. Good. Now Harry gets to take his turn.
"Do you know how Ginny got the diary?" Harry asks. Mr. Malfoy turns to him, eyes glinting with rage. Harry hears Remus sigh, but pays him no mind for now.
"Why should I know where that stupid little girl got a hold of it?"
"Well," Harry says, shooting a winning smile at the man despite his anger. "It's just that… I could have sworn that it was you who slipped it into her bag- remember that embarrassing tussle you and Mr. Weasley got into? At Flourish and Blotts? You picked up Ginny's book- reckon that's when you slipped the diary in there."
Mr. Malfoy's fists are clenched. "Why- Why I never-"
He whirls on Remus, who raises an eyebrow at Mr. Malfoy. His eyes are tinged amber, but Mr. Malfoy either doesn't notice or doesn't care. "You- control your child."
Both of Remus's eyebrows are raised now. "Really, Lucius- you're acting defensive. One might begin to believe you actually had been up to something."
"Prove it," Mr. Malfoy hisses.
"Oh, that's entirely impossible," Dumbledore says easily. "However, I would advise you to tread lightly in the future, Lucius- should another incident like this occur, I'm sure Arthur would have no trouble at all linking it back to you."
Lucius Malfoy holds his cane in a white-knuckled grip, standing for a moment. Then, he sniffs imperiously.
"I did not come here to be subjected to baseless accusations. Good day, gentlemen."
With that, the man steps through the door and leaves.
"Harry," Remus begins. "Lucius Malfoy is a powerful man. Will you please refrain from goading him in the future?"
Harry sinks into his chair. His bones are tired. "I'm not sorry," he mutters. "He was mean."
Remus sighs again, and shakes his head. "Right. Of course you aren't. Okay, come on- let's get you two to the Hospital Wing."
Harry nods and manages to stand up, following Remus and Tom out into the hall. He doesn't bother waving goodbye to Dumbledore.
"We are going to finish that discussion on your decision making skills," Theo warns, falling in step beside Harry.
"I don't think you know what a discussion is," Harry says. Then, "hey, what was that about? With Mr. Malfoy?"
Theo is quiet for a moment, then says, "since the fall of the Dark Lord, the Malfoys and Notts don't… they don't see eye-to-eye on certain matters. The Malfoys think we're delusional, and my father thinks the Malfoys are lily-livered idiots. Lord Malfoy was just trying to insult me."
Harry opens his mouth to tell Theo exactly what he thinks of Mr. Malfoy (namely that he's as much of a bastard as his son is) when-
"Harry," Tom says tiredly. "Control your snake, please."
Harry whirls around, heart leaping.
"Merlin!" Harry gasps, crouching down and stretching his arms out.
Merlin drops from where she'd been latched onto Tom's arm and wriggles over to Harry, tongue flickering excitedly.
"Harry!" Merlin cries, launching herself into Harry's arms. Harry topples over again from the force of the lunge, but can't bring himself to care- he's too busy laughing and crying at the same time.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Merlin says, wrapping herself around Harry. Then, she sinks her fangs into Harry's arm.
"Merlin, come on," Harry says.
Merlin glares at him, but releases his arm. "Next time, let me die."
"No. Absolutely not," Harry says, magic flaring uncomfortably. "Never. Not in a million, billion years."
Merlin does a grumbly little hiss, but backs off.
Harry is so relieved to have Merlin back that the rest of the walk down to the Hospital Wing passes in the blink of an eye. So much so that Harry is almost surprised to find himself in a bed, charmed clean, and feeling considerably more comfortable thanks to the pain potions Pomfrey had all but shoved down his throat the second he'd sat down.
Harry sits there for a moment, content to just clutch as tight to Merlin's coils as he can without squeezing her.
"You're squeezing me," Merlin complains.
"Am not," Harry hisses back. He does relax his grip a bit, though- although he doesn't think he's going to be able to let go all the way for a while yet.
Across the room lies Ginny, who's surrounded on either side by her parents, holding her hands. She's closing her eyes, and looks like she might be sleeping. McGonagall has just left, telling Arthur and Molly that she was getting the other Weasley children.
Harry would also like to be asleep- but he's fighting it every step of the way. He wants to be awake when Hermione wakes up- and he vaguely remembers being told by Pomfrey that she and Snape are minutes away from finishing the potion that will be able to help her- her and the other petrification victims.
He's elected not to look over at Hermione for now- she looks just as dead as she has every other time Harry's come to visit her.
Only now, looking at her also brings up the image of the basilisk's sightless bloody eyes, or the lax expression on Lockhart's bloody face, or the smell of burning plastic- and the point is that Harry isn't looking at her.
Last Harry had seen, Theo is there, at least- sitting beside her, face completely blank as he looks down at her and resolutely ignoring Harry. He seems to have gotten angrier at Harry, somehow. Wonderful.
"Harry, you should rest," Remus says as Harry stifles a yawn.
Remus is sitting next to Harry's bed, in between him and where Tom is sleeping (he'd put up a bit of a fight about getting into a bed, which Pomfrey had shut down fast). Harry thinks that maybe Remus won't be letting Harry out of his sight for the next little while. He can't particularly blame the man, is the thing.
Although Remus is one to talk- he looks as exhausted as Harry feels. Looks like the events of today are catching up to everyone. Harry goes to tell Remus that he should try and take a nap, when-
"Hey Harry," Hermione says, sounding tired.
Harry's heart leaps a thousand feet into the air as he whirls around from where he'd been looking at Remus and instead takes in his friend- apparently he'd done too good of a job at not looking her way.
That or he'd zoned out again- Harry is so tired that he feels almost nauseous.
Hermione looks tired too, and her hair is all over the place (more so than usual), but she's smiling. Theo is standing beside her, one hand clasped firmly around her forearm. His expression is still blank, but the fact that he's making physical contact with the girl- Theo is obviously elated, and beyond relieved she's awake.
"Hermione!" Harry says, feeling a grin break out across his face. He clumsily launches himself over to her, and she meets him in the middle. Merlin wraps herself around Harry and Hermione both, hissing excitedly.
Theo follows Hermione over- apparently he's not letting go of Hermione any time soon.
Harry feels a couple tears slip out of his eyes as he buries his face into Hermione's shoulder. He should maybe apologize for crying on her- but he can't bring himself to care all that much.
"I'm so, so, glad you're awake," Harry sniffs.
"Me too," Hermione agrees. Then, "I don't suppose you're in here for a normal reason?"
"I fought a basilisk," Harry says.
Hermione pulls back from the embrace, accidentally taking Merlin with her. Merlin just slithers back over to Harry, coiling around his shoulders once more.
Theo's expression has gone completely wooden. "You did not mention that," he says.
Harry goes to defend himself when Hermione says:
"Oh good! You figured it out? But I still have the paper-"
"I am livid at you two," Theo cuts in, tone completely flat. He doesn't let go of Hermione's arm, and reaches his other to grab Harry's. "I've never been angrier in my life."
Harry and Hermione exchange a grimace.
"Sorry," Harry tries.
Theo is very clearly unimpressed.
Just as Harry is beginning to spiral into guilt, the doors to the Hospital Wing slam open- startling Tom awake, and causing Remus to draw his wand. Theo, Hermione, and Harry have all spun around, Theo tightening his grip.
Everyone relaxes as they see a gaggle of redheads pour into the Hospital Wing, heading straight for Ginny.
Harry almost doesn't see Neville and Daphne at all- until he does, because they're crowding in on him and Merlin and Hermione, hugging them fiercely.
(Harry's heart gives a pang as he thinks of Blaise- he misses his friend, even though after today he's now doubly relieved the other boy had been home safe.)
"Fuck you, Potter," Daphne says. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her braid looks chewed. "And you too, Granger. Fucking Gryffindors."
"Y-yeah," Neville agrees, expression stormy- although the sentiment is undercut by the fact that he's hugging one of Harry's arms to his chest and crying.
"What did I do?" Hermione asks, looking confused.
"You ran off after a giant snake monster," Daphne reminds her. "Alone."
"And she apparently already knew it was a basilisk," Theo puts in.
Daphne's face drains of blood in record time- but her expression goes furious. "It was a what," she growls.
Neville looks very suddenly like he's about to throw up. "Tell m-me it w-wasn't," he says.
Harry can't do that without lying, so he doesn't say anything. Instead he just kind of shrugs, looking down at the cover of the bed and trying to keep himself upright. He is exhausted.
"Oh my god," Daphne says, sounding a bit faint.
"Can we talk about this later?" Harry asks, looking up.
"Talk about what?" Ron asks, coming to stand by the others. His face is tear-streaked, but he's smiling as he slots himself right in between Theo and Hermione.
Hermione leans into him, almost unconsciously. Ron's smile flickers, and he closes his eyes and lets out a long shaky breath- like he's still getting used to the relief he must be feeling at first Ginny's safe return, then Harry's, and now Hermione's.
Harry can relate.
The others begin to catch Ron up- but Harry isn't listening. Instead, he's thinking about how much he doesn't want to do this.
He doesn't want to tell his friends what happened, what he had to do down there (who he had to kill), or how close he and the others came to dying.
He just wants to go home with Merlin and Remus and Tom and sleep for three days straight.
Harry looks over at Remus, hoping that the man will catch on to that fact- but Remus isn't looking over at him. Instead, he's looking at where Tom is sitting up in bed, talking with Percy.
"... not that I'm surprised."
"I'm sorry?" Tom asks. He looks completely flabbergasted.
"I'm calling you a bastard," Percy clarifies. His arms are folded and his eyes are narrowed. "I wish I could say I can't believe you did that to me, but frankly it's very easy to believe. You're the worst sort of Slytherin."
"You're- but you're still talking to me?" Tom asks confusedly.
"Yes," Percy agrees. "Because I needed to tell you that you're a conniving bastard."
"Oh," Tom says, still sounding lost.
"Thank you for saving Ginny," Percy says.
"Uh," Tom says, blinking. "Sure thing."
Percy nods curtly, then walks off.
Tom blinks some more, then turns to Remus. "What's going on?"
"He's frustrated you stunned him, and telling you as much," Remus says.
This doesn't appear to help Tom's confusion, even though Harry thinks it's rather clear-cut.
"It's okay," Harry says, deciding to try and help. "My friends get mad at me all the time."
"His friends are currently mad at him," Daphne agrees, glaring. Oh- apparently the others have finished bringing Ron up to speed (or as much up to speed as they can, not knowing the whole story).
"I don't-" Tom says, then stops. Then he shrugs. "Okay. Either he'll get over it or he won't."
Remus inclines his head- not necessarily in agreement, but as an acknowledgement.
"So what exactly happened?" Theo asks, although he's staring straight at Tom. Tom stares back, blank expression mirroring Theo's.
"Um," Harry says. Then he stops, swallowing.
He's been spending the last hour trying not to dwell on the events of the day, and it's getting harder and harder to do- especially with his friends crowding in so close, and looking at him like that-
Suddenly the urge to start crying again is overwhelming, and Harry buries his face into Merlin's coils. Merlin licks his cheek worriedly, which doesn't help at all.
Remus is standing by his side in an instant, hand on Harry's shoulder. "Alright. We're going home. Just for a couple days," he adds hurriedly before Harry can even think to protest. "Then you can come back and finish the year."
"Y-you can t-tell us what h-happened later," Neville agrees. Harry looks up at him and almost bursts into tears all over again at Neville's open expression of concern.
Daphne and Theo, on the other hand, both look like they're about to protest- but they settle back as Neville levels a surprisingly icy glare at the two of them. Hermione and Ron don't look happy either, but they still shoot smile smalls at Harry.
Harry lets out a shaky sigh and nods. Home. Sleep. Yes, good.
Remus turns to Tom. "You too, Tom."
Tom smiles tiredly. "Works for me."
Remus smiles back. "Wonderful. Let's go."
And then they do just that.