The Chambers doing

Chapter 1 - Aftermath of the Chamber

After the Chamber, when Fawkes has returned them to the Headmaster's Office.

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Professor Lockhart entered The Headmaster's office to find Mrs Weasley frantically pacing while her husband and Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore tried to calm her down. However, as they listened from the doorway, the knowledge that Harry and Ron had also disappeared soon after the announcement along with the DADA teacher did little to calm her nerves.

It was just reaching the point when they didn't think she could get any louder when she spotted the four of them in the doorway, and immediately rushed over to sweep her children into a hug. Meanwhile, Professor Dumbledore noticed the strange array of items Harry was holding, and the presence of Fawkes circling above his student's head, but before having a chance to get a word in edgeways to question him, Harry got swept into another of Mrs Weasley's bone-crushing hugs, while she worried profusely over them.

"...so glad you're alright I just couldn't cope if I lost any of my babies oh I don't know what you were thinking running off when Professor Lockhart had it all under control you two..." Mrs Weasley was saying, apparently forgoing the need to breathe in order to fuss over her children.

It was at this moment that she realised breathing was something necessary to allow her to survive, and the momentary pause was all Professor Dumbledore needed to sit them all down and attempt to take control over the situation. Summoning four chairs he invited the newcomers to take a seat, while Mr Weasley pulled his wife away from the children and back down next to him.

As it looked like Mrs Weasley was about to start up again, a very tired Albus Dumbledore quickly headed her off so that he might have a chance of getting to bed that evening, "Molly, you may fuss all you want over them later, but right now it is most imperative we look at the bigger picture and find out what happened to them." As it looked like she was about to blow up again at his suggestion that something might be more important than her mothering instincts, Mr Weasley took matters into his own hands and with a well placed silencing charm, managed to restore order to the office.

While this was all happening, Harry noticed that Ginny, who was in the seat next to him, was looking down at her lap with her arms hanging loosely by her sides and crying. As no one else seemed to be taking any notice of her and he couldn't bear to see her suffering like this, he quickly edged his chair as close as possible towards her and wrapped his right arm over her shoulders, in a sort of sideways hug, while whispering in her ear, "don't worry, they won't expel you, I won't let them."

"How c-could you m-m-make a diff-rence?" She muttered in return.

"I have a lot of leverage I can use as the Boy-who-Lived, and if they still expel you, I'll leave too and we can go to a different school together. I'm not going to let you be alone again - that's how this got started in the first place. I'll always be here for you."

This did make her look slightly happier and so in Harry's mind the rather extreme promise was worth it.

By this point, the Weasley matriarch had just been silenced, and Professor Dumbledore was preparing to question the four chamber-goers.

"Professor Lockhart, can you tell me anything about what happened in the chamber?"

After a few moments of waiting, Ron spoke up. "Um, sir?"

"Yes Mr Weasley?"

"The professor was hit by a strong memory charm, he doesn't remember who he is or even what magic is."

"Is that right? And how did this happen?" Dumbledore sounded slightly intrigued.

"Me and Harry, we'd worked out where the entrance to the chamber was and went to tell Lockhart so he knew where to go. When we got to his office we found him packing, preparing to run away. We disarmed him and made him come with us, being the DADA professor and all, after he told us where he got all the stories for his books from."