Chapter 33

With the battle now over the first thing Harry did was carefully reach into the mouth of the basilisk, he could still see the sword of Gryffindor in there and didn't think he should leave an important artifact like that down here. He was nervous about the basilisk venom but thankfully he managed to retrieve the sword, he gave a mental apology to the basilisk before pulling out the sword.

Harry looked at the sword in his hands, it was covered in the blood and venom of the basilisk but he couldn't help but admire it. He had heard descriptions of it and now he was actually holding it, he held the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Hermione had told him about artifacts that belonged to the founders and she told him about the sword of Gryffindor, how it had been lost for centuries and the goblins have been looking for it, he wondered why was it in the sorting hat this whole time.

He heard the hat chuckle and say "Godric wanted to make sure the sword would remain safe, if the goblins were willing to go back on their own word and attempt to steal it then he's allowed to keep it."

He remembered Hermione telling him about that, he wondered what she would think when he tells her he found the sword of Gryffindor. The hat heard his thoughts and said, "If you and Ms. Granger want to learn more about the founders then I'll be happy to tell you, next time put me on and I'll answer any question you have, for now I think you should focus on the diary and Ms. Weasley."

Harry realized he was right. He turned to Ginny and saw she was still unconscious but he noticed she was still breathing; he hoped she would wake up soon. In the meantime, he walked over towards the diary. The diary remained on the ground in a small puddle of what appeared to be ink, the fang of the basilisk was still stuck in it, he also saw his now damaged wand holster next to it. Harry picked up the diary and wiped off some of the ink, he pulled out the fang and placed it down. He stared at the diary in his hands and realized this thing was responsible for everything that happened this year, something that looked like just some old worn-out diary.

"What is this thing?" He wondered to himself, Tom said a part of him was tied to the diary and it would have allowed him to regain a younger body, he thought about everything the young Voldemort said and it made him wonder how he created this thing.

Harry mentally asked the hat if he knew what this thing is, the hat thought about it and said "There are all kinds of dark magics out there, I am unsure of which one Tom could have used as there are a few that can create something like this, I believe the headmaster might have a clue as to what it is."

Harry thought to himself that he'd need to wait until the next time he sees the headmaster, he also wondered how did Ginny get her hands on something like this. The hat heard his thoughts and said "Mr. Potter, I might be able to help you with that, I'll need you to drop your occlumency shields and open up your mind first."

Harry was surprised at what the hat said, he decided to trust him so he did as he was told. The sorting hat found the memories of what Harry learnt about the heir and the diary, as soon as he saw their conversation with Malfoy, he looked for Harry's memories of Lucius Malfoy. Harry felt these memories rush through his mind until the hat brought up one specific memory, Harry saw the memory of when they were shopping in Flourish and Blotts. He saw the moment Lucius took one of Ginny's books before pointing to the Grangers, when he looked back at Lucius, he saw him put the book back in Ginny's cauldron.

The moment passed quickly but when the hat looked closely, they saw Lucius had placed the diary in the cauldron along with the book he took. Having seen the memory, Harry said "That's when he gave Ginny the diary, we can prove he's the one who caused all this!"

The hat sighed at Harry's words and said "Unfortunately it's not that simple Mr. Potter, memories can't be used as evidence since they have been proven to be unreliable in the past before. While this memory can put suspicion on Lucius, unfortunately it's not enough evidence to prove he's responsible for this."

Harry's mood dropped when he heard that, he asked "Isn't there anything we can do to make sure Lucius is held responsible for this?"

"Unfortunately, we can't. Not only are memories not allowed as evidence, but Lucius is also close to the minister who has, in the past, spoken highly of him. Lucius is someone who covers his tracks and makes sure he's close to those who can help him, he's more cunning than most Slytherins I've seen."

Harry felt frustrated when he heard this but knew it was true, Augusta had explained some things to him over the summer including the political power and influence some people have. Augusta said Malfoy was too smart to let himself be caught but even if he was caught, he had people to defend him, as much as he hated to admit it there was nothing he could do. Harry used occlumency to try to calm himself, he glanced over at Ginny and knew right now he had more important things to worry about. He placed the diary in his pocket for safe keeping, just holding it made him feel uncomfortable and it almost felt like his scar twitched in pain.

Harry walked over and sat next to Ginny and waited for her to wake up. He thought about everything Tom said, he realized all year Ginny had no one to help her, he promised himself he would be there for her. It didn't take long until Ginny started to stir.

Ginny slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw in front of her was Harry, "H-Harry?" She asked. Once everything came to her, she felt her eyes widen and she sat up, she started saying "Harry, it was me! I'm the one who opened the chamber! I'm the one who attacked the students! I-I-It was all my fault!"

Harry could hear the panic and fear in her voice, he did his best to try to calm her down. "Ginny, it wasn't your fault, Tom told me what he did."

Her breathing became erratic as she said "B-But I-I'm the one who wrote in the diary! I-I helped him, I opened the chamber!"

Harry could see Ginny was blaming herself, she needed to know it wasn't her fault and he wasn't going to blame her, he placed a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder and looked her in the eyes, "Ginny, it wasn't your fault. Tom tricked you and made you do it, he told me how much you tried to fight back when you found out what he was doing, I know you would have never done any of this if you could help it."

He could see Ginny was meeting his eyes, he gave her a sincere look and said "Ginny, I'm sorry. Tom told me how long he was controlling you. I'm sorry I didn't notice you needed help; I should have tried to reach out to you. I should have tried harder to be your friend sooner, maybe then I could have helped you. I know you're not a bad person Ginny, if anyone tries to blame you for the attacks then I promise I'll defend you, I'll be there for you from now on."

At his words Ginny's eyes began to tear up, she tried to stop Tom but she couldn't do anything. She tried to reach out to others for help but no one noticed, now someone finally saved her. Ginny threw her arms around Harry and hugged him, she buried her face in his chest and started to cry, Tom taunted her saying no one would save her but now someone finally saved her.

Harry was a bit caught off guard by the sudden hug, he heard Ginny begin to cry. He didn't know how to comfort a crying girl and felt a bit awkward, however he still returned the hug because he knew Ginny needed someone to comfort her. The two remained like that for a while and he could feel Hedwig and Fawkes watching them, thankfully Fawkes moved closer and let out a trill that sounded soft and comforting, it seemed to be working as Ginny started to calm down, although she didn't loosen her hold on him.

After a few minutes Harry was able to say "Hey Ginny, let's get out of here. I'm sure everyone is worried about us; we shouldn't keep them waiting."

She nodded but still wouldn't let go, Harry got up and had to keep hold of Ginny so they could move. He picked up the sword and they slowly made their way to the entrance, Fawkes and Hedwig stuck close by and followed them. Harry remembered how Ron and Neville were on the other side of the door with the professors, he hoped they weren't too worried.

Once they reached the door Harry spoke in parseltongue and commanded the door to open, he heard a few loud clicks before the door began to creak open. The moment the door began to open both Harry and Ginny felt something that made them freeze up. Harry felt his body stiffen and he felt he couldn't move even if he tried, Ginny's hold on him tightened when she felt it, they wondered what was going on.

The moment the door opened wide enough the professors rushed in with their wands drawn, a few more people joined them and had their wands out, they were followed by Neville and Ron. The group came to a stop at the sight before them, Harry and Ginny were standing there and behind them was a dead basilisk. Harry and Ginny felt the pressure go away, neither of them knew what it was but Harry thought for a moment that it came from Professor Flitwick.

The next moment they were rushed by multiple people, they were soon pulled into a hug by McGonagall. She looked them over to make sure they weren't hurt, once she was certain they were ok she said "Thank Merlin you're both still alive!"

Before they could respond they were suddenly rushed by Ron, Ron hugged his sister and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he felt relieved to see his sister was still alive. Ginny accepted the hug and was happy to see Ron, although she still didn't let go of Harry. Ron and Harry looked at each other and Ron gave a firm nod, Harry could tell Ron was thanking him for saving his sister, he gave his friend a smile and nodded back.

Three of the people Harry didn't recognize moved past them and checked on the basilisk. He was pulled from his thoughts when someone he did recognize approached them, he saw it was Amelia Bones.

Harry greeted the woman, "Madam Bones."

"Mr. Potter, my aurors and I were informed about the recent attack and you and Ms. Weasley were trapped in the chamber of secrets, would you explain what happened here?"

They were given space and Harry wondered "Where should I even begin?"

Thankfully Amelia made that easier for him, "Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley explained that you discovered where the chamber is and you could open it since you're a parselmouth. We were told that Lockhart threatened to obliviate all of you but you three fought back and Lockhart caused the tunnel to collapse."

That gave Harry a place to start, one of the aurors gave him a peculiar look when his ability to speak parseltongue was mentioned. Harry began to explain, "Since Ginny was in danger I continued forward to the chamber, when I came across a circular door with snakes on it, I knew I needed to speak parseltongue to open it. Across the chamber in front of the statue of Slytherin I noticed Ginny laying on the ground and she wasn't moving, I quickly rushed to her."

Ginny's hold on Harry tightened at hearing he found her, Ron put an arm around his sister to try to comfort her.

Harry continued his explanation, "I saw she was alive but unconscious, I tried to wake her but she wouldn't wake. I then heard a voice behind me, I turned around and standing there was a student, he said his name was Tom Riddle."

Amelia glanced at Ron and Neville before returning her attention towards Harry, "According to your friends; Tom is the heir of Slytherin and he was a student at this school fifty years ago, how was he here?"

Harry looked a bit worried before reaching into his pocket, "A dark artifact created a shade of him, he said he was connected to this." He pulled out the diary and held it out to Amelia.

Everyone looked at the old leather diary, it was covered in ink and had a hole through it. The aurors stepped forward and one of them levitated the diary, the other two cast a few spells to examine it. Amelia asked "Scrimgeour, Shacklebolt, what do your scans say?"

One of the aurors said "We can detect dark magic from this thing but most of it has been dispersed when the object was damaged, it is at least safe to hold now."

The other auror lowered his wand and said "It's difficult to tell what kind of dark artifact it was with most of the dark magic having been dispersed, we'll look for information on dark artifacts that can create a shade of its creator and possess a person."

Amelia grabbed the diary and examined it, she then looked at Ginny and asked "Ms. Weasley, where did you get a dark artifact like this?"

Harry decided to answer for Ginny, "She got the diary in Diagon Alley when we were shopping for school supplies, she didn't get it from one of the shops though, Lucius Malfoy had slipped her the diary."

That surprised the aurors around them, one of them stepped forward and said "Mr. Potter, that is a serious accusation you are making, do you have any evidence of Lucius Malfoy's involvement?"

"I saw him put the diary in her cauldron."

A look of disappointment appeared on the aurors' faces at that, the sorting hat on Harry's head seemed to come to life and speak up, "I can verify the memory is genuine. The founders created me to examine the minds and memories of every student, I found the memory of Lucius Malfoy passing the diary on to Ms. Weasley."

The aurors turned to Amelia to see what she'd say, the head of the DMLE sighed and said "Unfortunately Mr. Potter, the Wizengamot won't accept memories as actual evidence, we'd need physical evidence of Lucius Malfoy's involvement, the most we can do with a memory is keep a closer watch on him."

Harry was disappointed even though he already knew that was true, he still offered up his memory for them to examine. One of the aurors he learnt is named Kingsley Shaklebolt conjured a vial and had Harry extract the memory to create a copy. Once they had the memory Amelia asked "Now, how did you deal with the basilisk?"

"Fawkes had come to help me; he was able to take out the basilisk's eyes and distract her before giving me the sorting hat. The hat gave me this to kill the basilisk." Harry lifted up the sword he held in his hand, everyone had been too focused on the dead basilisk to notice the sword he was holding.

He heard many gasps before McGonagall approached and asked "Mr. Potter, is that the sword of Gryffindor?"

Harry nodded, "The sorting hat was keeping it safe until he decided to give it to me, the hat instructed me to thrust the sword up into the mouth of the basilisk when she moved to attack me."

Amelia's mouth hung open at hearing a twelve-year-old boy killed a basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, she decided to ask the next question, "What happened to Riddle?"

Harry held out his arm and pointed to his new scar, "One of the basilisk's fangs stabbed into my arm and got caught on my wand holster, since Riddle was tied to the diary, I pulled out the fang and stabbed it through the diary to destroy it."

He noticed the look of worry that appeared on many of their faces when they heard he was stabbed by a basilisk fang, he quickly said "I'm alright now, thankfully Fawkes was able to save my life! Fawkes cried his tears into the wound and it stopped the venom from killing me, he saved my life!"

McGonagall turned to Fawkes and heard him let out a trill, she wondered if Professor Dumbledore sent him. Amelia decided to continue the questioning to get all the information they would need, that didn't stop her from being shocked to hear everything Harry went through though. "Did Riddle say what he hoped to accomplish by opening the chamber?"

"He wanted to get rid of the muggleborns, he had the basilisk petrify them so they could all be put in the hospital wing, that would have made it easier to get rid of all of them at once." He suddenly remembered Tom blamed Hagrid fifty years ago, Harry explained, "Hagrid never opened the chamber, he wasn't the one who killed Myrtle fifty years ago. Tom knew Hagrid had a pet acromantula during his time at Hogwarts and accused him of being responsible for the attacks back then. Hagrid tried to explain this to the minister, the minister didn't listen since he said he needed to be seen doing something and took Hagrid to Azkaban, he's innocent!"

Amelia looked annoyed at the last part and said "It is not the minister's job to make arrests without informing the head of the DMLE! Even if he did need to make an arrest, he should have taken Hagrid to a ministry holding cell, not sent him straight to Azkaban!"

Harry could see this wasn't the first time the minister got on Amelia's nerves. Once Harry finished explaining everything Amelia took a deep breath before saying "Mr. Potter, I am amazed that you were able to accomplish such a feat, not many wizards would have been able to kill such a monster. My aurors have everything we need to hear; you have my sincerest thanks for what you have done. You prevented a dangerous monster from escaping and endangering more students, I will see to it that your actions here are rewarded."

Harry was surprised to hear that, he looked up at Amelia and said "Please, all I ask is that you get Hagrid out of Azkaban as quickly as you can, I don't want him to be in such a horrible place."

Amelia smiled at his words and said "Mr. Potter, I can promise you I will have Rubeus Hagrid out of Azkaban before the night is over."

Harry felt relief when he heard that and smiled, he thanked the woman. He then felt the hat mentally remind him of his promise, once he remembered the promise he turned to Professor Flitwick and said "Professor, when you get the chance, I ask that you accompany me to Gringotts. As I have slain the basilisk, I would like to hire the goblins to harvest its corpse."

Before Flitwick could answer someone else spoke up first, "Absolutely not!" Everyone turned their attention to Snape, the potions professor continued, "As the basilisk had belonged to one of the founders then it is property of Hogwarts, you have no claim over the creature!"

Harry could see Snape kept glancing at the basilisk, he was probably imagining all the rare and valuable ingredients he can harvest from the corpse. Harry was about to speak up but surprisingly the hat spoke up first, "If that's the case then I suggest you all start looking for a new job right away."

Everyone turned their attention to the sorting hat, the runes professor asked "What do you mean?"

Harry thought he could feel the sorting hat was smiling, "If you are claiming that the basilisk is the property of Hogwarts then that means all responsibility for its actions lie on the professors. You had allowed a dangerous monster to roam the castle and endanger the lives of all the students, being fired would be the best outcome you can hope for. However, since the basilisk is in fact a wild creature, then it means the professors aren't responsible for its actions and the one who had slain the creature can claim it as theirs."

Harry could see the look on Snape's face at hearing he couldn't claim any of the valuable ingredients, he needed to stifle his laughter. The sorting hat decided to say "The only way Hogwarts can have any claim to the basilisk is if Mr. Potter donated it to the school."

Snape suddenly looked down to Harry and practically hissed, "Potter, you will hand over the basilisk to the school so it can be properly handled!"

Harry almost took a step back at hearing Snape practically order him to hand over the basilisk. He stood his ground and looked Snape in the eye and made sure his occlumency shields were up. He thought about how Snape had treated him all year, he knew there was no way he was handing over the basilisk. An idea came to his mind and Harry had to fight back a smile that almost appeared on his face, he turned to McGonagall and said "Professor McGonagall, I would like to make a donation to the school."

Snape smirked thinking he got him to give up the basilisk, however that smirked vanished at his next words. "After I sell the basilisk to the goblins, I would like to donate eighty new brooms to Hogwarts to replace the old worn-out ones."

McGonagall was surprised at his words, she could see Harry meant to say it like that to get back at Snape, she had to suppress her laughter.

Snape glared at what Harry had just said, the potions professor lost it and yelled "Why you arrogant entitled little-"

"Severus that's enough!" Two voices yelled, Flitwick stepped in front of Harry and McGonagall approached Snape. The stern professor spoke up, "You will not speak that way to a student, need I remind you that you are already under probation after I witnessed your treatment of students!"

She met Snape's glare with her own, Snape wanted to continue to argue but he could see both Flitwick and McGonagall wouldn't back down, he gave a sneer before turning away in anger. Once that was settled, Flitwick turned to Harry and said "Mr. Potter, I will be glad to accompany you to Gringotts to speak to the goblins, I believe the best time will be this Saturday."

Harry heard the hat say the basilisk's corpse will remain fresh for some time so that time works, Harry thanked the professor for agreeing to help him. With everything settled the group finally decided it was time to leave the chamber. The group made their way out the chamber with Fawkes and Hedwig flying near them. Harry still had Ginny clinging to him but thankfully Ron helped support Ginny so it was easier to walk. Once the group walked through the door, Hedwig landed on Harry's shoulder, seeing everyone safely out the chamber Harry hissed out an order and soon they heard the door close behind them.

They continued down the tunnel and Harry noticed how the professors had cleared the path and reinforced the ceiling, at least he knew the path was safe. Harry soon noticed on the ground was a tied up and petrified Lockhart, he turned to Ron and asked "What happened?"

Ron explained, "We told the aurors what Lockhart had done, they examined his wand and saw he tried to obliviate us, they made sure he couldn't escape before heading to the chamber."

Amelia turned to one of the aurors and asked "Auror Scrimgeour, do you have Lockhart's wand?"

The auror held up a bag that contained Lockhart's wand, the auror known as Proudfoot soon levitated the man to carry him out of the chamber.

The group walked up to the slide before they realized something, Flitwick turned to Harry and asked "Mr. Potter, do you have a way out of here?"

Harry realized he hadn't thought of that, he shook his head and said "I hadn't thought about how we could get out."

Neville and Ron realized they hadn't given it any thought either, many of the professors shook their heads at seeing how reckless these boys are. Harry decided to give a few commands in parseltongue, he hissed for an exit or a way up, when nothing happened, he gave an order for stairs to appear. The slide suddenly started moving and turned into stairs that could lead them out of the tunnel.

Walking up the stairs felt similar to when the students need to head to the astronomy tower from the dungeons, some were a bit out of breath once they reached the bathroom but they were finally out.

"Harry!"

Harry saw Myrtle fly over to them, she looked relieved to see they were still alive, "Are you ok, what happened?!"

He gave the ghost girl a smile, "It's over, the monster that killed you is gone."

Myrtle was surprised to hear that, she was stunned for a moment before her eyes started to tear up, she smiled at Harry and said "Thank you Harry!"

She flew off in a much happier mood than she had been in the last fifty years, Harry turned back to the sinks and hissed a command to close. The group exited the bathroom and McGonagall turned to the professors and said "Please go check on the students, inform them that the danger is over, they will be allowed to return to their common rooms soon."

Amelia turned to her aurors and said "Auror Proudfoot, auror Shacklebolt, I want you to go with the professors and help explain the situation to them." She turned to Scrimgeour, "Auror Scrimgeour, take Gilderoy Lockhart to the ministry and place him in a holding cell for questioning."

The professors and aurors agreed, once they left McGonagall and Amelia started to guide Harry and his friends to the hospital wing. The group soon heard what sounded like sobbing, as they turned the corner, they were met by the sight of Albus Dumbledore and he was being followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley.

The moment Molly saw them she cried out "Ginny, Ron!"

She rushed over to them, Harry tried to move back but Ginny kept a tight hold on him, he was soon pulled into a crushing hug along with Ginny and Ron, Hedwig flew off his shoulder and avoided being crushed. Molly had felt devastated and couldn't stop crying when she heard most of her sons were petrified and Ginny and Ron were missing, she held onto them tight when she saw her two youngest were safe. Arthur followed right behind her and pulled them into a hug, the man was relieved to see two of his children were safe.

Dumbledore walked up to them and McGonagall asked "Headmaster, what are you doing here?"

Dumbledore simply smiled and said "Once I heard of what happened I informed Arthur and Molly, I brought them to Hogwarts so they could check on their children."

Fawkes let out a trill and flew over to Dumbledore, he landed on his shoulder and Dumbledore gently stroked his phoenix, his smile grew as he said "I'm glad to see you were able to make it in time to help."

Harry managed to wiggle out of the hug, Ginny had let go of him and hugged her parents instead. Harry watched as Ron and Ginny hugged their parents, he could see the relief they felt to see them again. Neville walked up to Harry to check on him, he reassured Neville that he was fine.

Amelia walked up to Dumbledore and explained the situation to him, it was a quick explanation of what Harry had told them in the chamber. Amelia handed the diary to Dumbledore and the headmaster stared at the dark artifact in his hands, he seemed to take a deep breath before placing the diary in his pocket.

Arthur and Molly heard what Amelia said, Arthur stopped hugging his children and turned to Harry, he approached him and said "Mr. Potter, I am grateful to you for saving my daughter, my family owes you a debt that can never be repaid."

Harry remembered one of the lessons Augusta had given him, he faced the man and said "Mr. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Percy, Fred and George are my friends, I would have done it for any of them. There can be no debt between friends."

Arthur gave him a bright smile; he nodded and held his hand out to Harry and the two shook hands.

Dumbledore turned to McGonagall and said "Professor McGonagall, could you and Director Bones please escort the Weasleys to the hospital wing. Harry my boy, I would like to speak to you in my office."

They agreed, before they left Molly pulled Harry into a tight hug and said "Thank you for saving Ginny, I'm grateful that you were there for her."

Harry felt awkward being hugged by someone but he nodded, Molly let go of him and held onto Ginny as they followed Amelia and McGonagall to the hospital wing. Ginny looked back at him, she still had a look of worry on her face, Harry gave her a smile and nodded at her, he mentally promised himself he'd be there for her.

Harry followed Dumbledore back to his office, he heard Hedwig through their bond that she was going to head back to the owlery. He thanked Hedwig for coming to help him and promised her plenty of her favorite treats later, Hedwig flew through an open window and left.

When the two made it to Dumbledore's office Fawkes flew to his perch, Harry finally took the sorting hat off and mentally thanked him for his help, he handed over the sword of Gryffindor and Dumbledore placed the diary and the sword on his desk. Harry explained everything to Dumbledore, from how they found the page in Hermione's hand to when he killed the basilisk and destroyed the diary.

Dumbledore listened closely when Harry started talking about Tom Riddle, after Harry explained everything Tom had said Dumbledore asked "How did you come across his name, where did you learn so much about him?"

"When I read about students who earned an award for special services to the school, I came across his name. Susan had learnt about the Gaunts speaking parseltongue and told us their names, when I saw his name had Marvolo in it we believed he was from the Gaunt family, when Tom mentioned his mother, I realized his mother was Merope Gaunt." He made sure not to mention anything about meeting Aragog in the forest at night.

Dumbledore stared at Harry for a moment before he nodded, "It seems you were able to learn more about Tom from your talk with him."

Harry knew what he meant by that, he asked "Professor, that's who Voldemort used to be when he was a student here?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, Tom was a student I had been suspicious about despite many liking him, I knew there was something dark about him. I kept a close eye on him after Myrtle's death and Hagrid's expulsion, headmaster Dippet may have been quick to forget the incident but I knew I needed to keep Tom from doing it again."

"That explains why he wasn't able to open the chamber again until now." That made Harry think about the diary, he asked "Professor, do you know how Tom was able to do this, he mentioned draining Ginny's life to recreate his body, do you know how he could have done that?"

Dumbledore remained quiet for a few seconds as his gaze turned to the diary on his desk, he then answered "I… have some theories as to how Tom was able to do this, I have heard of some dark artifacts that could possess a person or bring someone back to life."

There were more seconds of silence as Harry waited for Dumbledore to say more but he remained quiet, he then asked "What kind of dark artifacts do you have in mind?"

"Alas I cannot say, I will need to make certain I am not mistaken as to what Tom may have used."

Harry saw Dumbledore wouldn't say, he thought about how the hat said he would most likely know what the diary is, he could see Dumbledore was keeping information from him. "I understand." Was all Harry could say.

Dumbledore decided to change the topic, "Harry, I will also need to speak to you about your actions tonight, as I listened to your explanation, I also couldn't help but notice the many school rules you and your friends have broken tonight."

Harry looked at Dumbledore with a surprised expression, he wondered how much trouble he and his friends would be in. He noticed the smile that appeared on Dumbledore's face as he seemed more relaxed, Dumbledore then said "All your remaining detentions will be canceled, as you and your friends discovered the truth about Tom's actions, I also believe revoking his award is the right thing to do. With Ms. Granger's note telling you where to find the chamber, and the bravery of you three boys to go into the chamber to rescue Ms. Weasley, I believe you four are more deserving of the award. Lastly, I believe two hundred points for each of you is also the least you deserve."

Harry was left speechless by what he heard, a smile appeared on his face at hearing he and his friends wouldn't have anymore detentions. He wondered how happy Hermione will be to hear about their award for special services to the school, she'll be excited for the next edition of Hogwarts: A History to mention her name. He was happy about the points but then his smile faltered a bit, that many points would guarantee them the cup but he thought about how Gryffindor had treated him. He had a few friends in his house but a majority of the house turned against him, he could imagine how they would celebrate Gryffindor winning the house cup again.

Harry took a deep breath and said "Professor, I can't accept the house points."

Dumbledore looked at him curiously, he asked "Why is that?"

"I didn't do this for the house points, a friend of mine was in danger and I wasn't going to do nothing to help. I meant to use parseltongue to open the chamber and get her out of there, I didn't intend to fight the basilisk or Tom."

"You demonstrated a bravery that Godric himself would be proud of, seeing as even his sword had come to you shows that you showed what he believes a true Gryffindor would be like," Harry was about to speak but Dumbledore continued, "But, I understand your feelings on the matter, if you wish to refuse the points then so be it."

Harry thanked him, although he wasn't sure if Ron, Neville, or Hermione might do the same. The two noticed a device on Dumbledore's desk suddenly moved, a few seconds later the door slammed open and Harry saw Lucius Malfoy storm into the office. Harry was surprised to see the man; however, he was more surprised when he saw Dobby follow behind him. Harry nearly gasped when he saw the state Dobby was in, he was covered in more cuts and bruises and he used filthy bandages to cover them up, he even noticed a chunk of Dobby's right ear was missing.

Before anyone could say anything, Lucius demanded, "Dumbledore, what are you doing here, you were removed from the school by the board of Governors!"

Dumbledore just calmly said "Ah, Lucius, it would seem Augusta Longbottom recently returned from a trip she had taken and was not happy to hear about my removal. We have spoken to many members of the board and many of them felt they were too hasty in making their decision, it was decided that I should return to the school as Headmaster."

"Preposterous, as a member of the board of Governors I would have been informed on such a decision."

Harry noticed a twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes as he explained, "Ah yes, thank you for reminding me. It was decided that you should be removed from the board of Governors, many even claiming that they had felt threatened by you into making their previous decision to remove me."

"Ridiculous, such a decision cannot be made without me."

Dumbledore chuckled and said "I believe Augusta said something similar to that when she found out I had been removed, but I have here proof that you have been removed."

Dumbledore handed him a sheet of parchment; Lucius looked it over and his anger seemed to grow. He put away the parchment and asked "And what of the attacks, last I heard three students had been attacked this time."

"You need not worry about such a thing, as of earlier tonight the culprit has been stopped and there will be no more attacks from here on out."

"And who was responsible for the attacks, who is being expelled and arrested?"

Dumbledore's smile grew before he answered, "An official report has been given to Amelia Bones, if you wish to know then you are able to ask her yourself, she is currently in the hospital wing." Lucius almost growled when Amelia was mentioned, "If you wish to know what was responsible for the attacks then you need only to look here."

Dumbledore held up the diary, Harry noticed Lucius's eyes widen slightly when he saw the diary. Dumbledore explained, "It would seem a dark artifact belonging to Voldemort had been given to a student, it forced the student to open the chamber and command the basilisk within to attack the students. Thankfully the basilisk was stopped by Harry here and he destroyed the dark artifact to save the student."

Lucius finally acknowledged Harry's presence in the office, he had been silently listening this entire time. Harry knew Lucius was the one who gave Ginny the diary and it seemed like he was trying to hide his anger towards him. Lucius turned back to Dumbledore and said "I see, it appears we were all lucky to have Mr. Potter here to save the day. What about the student behind all of this?"

"Madam Pomfrey is currently looking over the student to make sure they are not suffering from having been controlled by such a dark artifact."

Lucius took a deep breath before saying "Very well then, I shall be on my way. Dobby, we are leaving."

Harry saw Dobby turn to the door, he was about to walk out but Lucius walked up behind him and kicked Dobby, he heard Dobby falling down the stairs. Harry clenched his fist at what he saw, he wanted to help Dobby but he wasn't sure how, the only way for Dobby to be free would be if Lucius gave him clothes. Harry suddenly thought of something, he turned to Dumbledore and asked "Headmaster, may I borrow the diary?"

Dumbledore had an idea of what Harry planned to do, he nodded and said "Of course Harry."

Harry grabbed the diary and made his way out the office.

Lucius made his way down a corridor while using his cane to hit Dobby, when Dobby slowed down too much Lucius kicked him again knocking him farther away. Dobby got up quickly knowing his master would want to continue to take his anger out on him, he had to follow his master's orders.

"Hey Lucius!"

Lucius stopped and turned around but suddenly had something shoved into his hands, he saw Harry was the one who caught up to him. Harry stepped back and Lucius saw Harry handed him the diary, he could see the clear hole that had been made in the diary.

Harry spoke up, "I think your master will be wanting his diary back, I'm sure he'll be wondering why the dark artifact he gifted you has a basilisk fang sized hole in it and why a student had it."

Lucius turned his attention towards Harry, he noticed Harry glanced over at some of the portraits and he could see they were being watched. Lucius handed the diary over to Dobby before facing Harry, both his hands now on his cane, "I have no idea what you're talking about Potter." Lucius stepped closer to Harry and leaned in and whispered just loud enough for only them to hear, "I am no fool Potter, do not think you can trick me into admitting loudly that I'm the one who passed on my master's diary to the Weasley girl. You are but a mere child, I will not fall for any trick you use Potter."

Harry looked the man in the eyes and made sure his shields were up, he gave a slight smile and said "I guess you're right Malfoy, after all you'd have to be a complete idiot to be tricked so easily by a child."

Lucius's eyes narrowed before he turned around and began walking, he said "Come Dobby, we are leaving."

Dobby lowered his head and was about to move to walk in front of his master, he had only taken a single step when he suddenly stopped. Dobby felt his eyes widened; he didn't feel compelled to follow his master's orders. Dobby felt for the bond he shared with Lucius, he was stunned to see the bond was gone, he was too injured to notice it was gone.

Dobby noticed Harry was trying to get his attention, he saw Harry was gesturing for him to open the diary in his hands. Dobby noticed there was something in the diary, he opened it up and was greeted by the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, in the diary was a single sock.

"Dobby!"

Lucius was impatient at how long it was taking his house elf to listen, he then heard Dobby speak, "Master has set Dobby free; master has given Dobby clothes!"

"I did no such-" Lucius cut himself off when he turned around and saw Dobby had the diary open and he was holding a sock. Lucius looked at Harry and saw the boy show him that one of his socks was missing. Lucius growled out "You cost me my servant!"

Lucius began to approach Harry with some anger showing on his face, he pulled the head off his cane and revealed his wand and began to raise it towards Harry. Dobby saw this and was about to step in front of Harry, however Harry placed a hand on him to stop him. Harry looked around Lucius's shoulder and smiled, he said "Oh, good evening, Madam Bones."

At hearing that Lucius lowered his wand, he was annoyed that Amelia Bones was getting in his way again. He turned around with a lie already on the tip of his tongue, he knew the woman would ask him what he was about to do. He was about to speak only to notice there was no one there, he was confused for a moment before Harry whispered, "Expelliarmus."

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, he cast his spell and before Lucius could do anything the spell struck him. His wand went flying out of his hand and Harry caught it. Lucius turned back to Harry and this time his anger was clear on his face, he demanded "Give me back my wand, Potter!"

Harry looked at the wand in his hand, he saw the snake head attached to it. A part of him was tempted to break the wand, he knew Lucius was a death eater and he could only imagine how many people have been killed or tortured by this wand. Sadly, he knew breaking a wizard's wand would get him in a lot of trouble, instead he said "You know Malfoy, there was something your son told me last year during our first flying lesson. Catch."

Harry threw the wand, Lucius tried to grab it but he missed and it clattered down the hall. Lucius turned back to Harry; he was about to yell but then he noticed the serious expression on his face. "I know for a fact it was you, Malfoy." Harry said coldly, "I may not be able to prove it but I know it was you that gave Ginny that diary. You endangered the lives of all the students here including my friends, I will make sure one day you pay for what you did."

"Are you threatening me, Potter!" Lucius growled.

"No, I'm just letting you know what will happen. With how much you love to throw your status around let me make it clear for you, from today on you can consider the ancient and noble house of Potter your enemy."

Lucius sneered at him and said "I can see you're just as arrogant as your parents, Potter. You have no idea who you are messing with."

Neither said a word after that, Lucius went to pick up his wand and left while fuming. Once the two were alone, Harry took a deep breath and let his shoulders slump, suddenly he was tackled by an overexcited house elf. Dobby hugged him and said "The great Harry Potter sir has freed Dobby! The great Harry Potter sir stood up to bad master! The great Harry Potter sir is greater than Dobby could ever imagine!"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at Dobby's antics, he placed a gentle hand on Dobby and said "I'm glad I could free you Dobby, now you never have to return to such a horrible place again, you can be free from now on."

Dobby's smile started to vanish, Harry noticed he was starting to tremble and his lip started to quiver, tears started to appear as Dobby realized he was free, he never needed to return to such a horrible place again. Dobby started to cry and buried his face into Harry, he understood some of what Dobby was saying, "Thank you… thank you… Dobby is… free!"

Harry could understand what Dobby was feeling, seeing he was finally free from such an abusive family, he did his best to comfort Dobby.

Dobby soon managed to calm himself and took a step back, he wiped away his tears and blew his nose into the pillow case he was wearing. Harry asked "Dobby, what are you going to do now?"

"Dobby is not sure; Dobby will need to find a place with lots of magic. Dobby doesn't have a bond anymore so Dobby is not as magically powerful anymore."

Harry remembered how much a house elf treasured the bond they share with a master; he remembered Dobby saying there are other kinds of bonds so he decided to make an offer. "Dobby, I know how much house elves treasure the bond they share and how much stronger they are with a bond, if you'd like…" Harry held his hand out to Dobby, "Why don't you bond with me?"

Dobby was left stunned for a moment before he looked like he was about to cry again, he then said "The great Harry Potter sir would bond with lowly Dobby, Dobby is not worthy to bond with the great Harry Potter sir."

"That's not true Dobby, you've shown me how you would do what is right even if it goes against your master's orders, you wanted to protect me even if your methods were a little painful. I'd be happy to form a better bond with you."

He was suddenly hugged by Dobby again as the excited house elf said "Dobby will be happy to form a bond with the great Harry Potter sir, Dobby will work hard to be the best house elf the great Harry Potter sir can have!"

Harry got Dobby to let go and said "For now I want you to focus on recovering first, you're badly hurt. Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Dobby shook his head and said "Dobby knows a good place where Dobby can recover, Dobby should be fully healed in just a few days."

"Ok, focus on recovering first then we can form a bond."

Dobby nodded and said "Thank you Harry Potter sir, if the great Harry Potter sir ever needs to see Dobby, then the great Harry Potter sir simply needs to call Dobby's name."

Harry saw it was just like when Neville and Augusta called Shiny, he nodded and said "I'll call you in one week, go take care of yourself and recover."

Dobby nodded and popped away; Harry was about to return the diary to the headmaster when there was another pop. Harry saw a better dressed house elf, the house elf introduced himself, "Greetings, Harry Potter, Fleeby is the house elf of the headmaster, Fleeby has come to retrieve the diary now that you have freed Dobby."

Harry had no idea the headmaster had a house elf, he handed him the diary and said "It's nice to meet you, Fleeby."

Fleeby nodded and took the diary, he bowed to Harry before vanishing.

Harry made his way back to the tower, now that he finally had a chance to rest, he felt the exhaustion finally hit him. He was feeling magically drained from having to cast so much in the chamber, his body was tired from having to move so much in the chamber and surviving the basilisk venom. He thought about his comfortable bed and was ready to fall asleep.

The portrait of the fat lady swung open when he gave the password, he saw the common room was dark and empty, he guessed everyone was still in the great hall and would return to their common rooms soon. Harry yawned as he made his way up to his dorm, he entered to find a quiet dorm room and made his way to his bed. Harry collapsed onto his comfortable bed and felt himself relax. He yawned once more before falling asleep in an instant, he was too tired to change and fell asleep in the clothes he had been wearing in the chamber.

There was a quiet pop as Dobby appeared in the dorm, he quietly snapped his fingers and Harry's clothes changed to comfortable pajamas. With another snap he properly tucked Harry into bed, he gave one more smile to Harry before popping away to let him sleep.

I have learnt that I am not good at judging how long a chapter will be, I thought I could fit more into this chapter but it was already getting too long so I had to end it here. Thank you to everyone who had wished me a happy birthday back in September, I will do my best to have one more chapter uploaded before the year is over.

Please comment and let me know what you thought of the chapter.