Till Forever Falls Apart

Troubled

*Mentions of death and blood...

and who died in the war.

I'm off to school! Have a great day! Feel free to comment how yours went:)

May 30, 1993

Her explanation was lengthy at the very least. She explained the voice Harry could hear, her father's diary, the book she discovered about Parseltongue. She went into great detail about the journal of the mysterious Travers, what he had shown Harry, how she had thrown it into the water. The basilisk, the pipes, the opening of the Chamber. She decided it was best to leave out the part where she had threatened a teacher, but had no shame in including the testimony of his crimes. She recapped the entire year, month by month, sharing all that crossed her mind.

And when she was done, the four adults simply looked at her.

"You," McGonagall took her glasses off. "Went searching for the basilisk."

"Yes, Professor." She thought it was best to use her posh accent at a time like this. She carefully thought through each action, not wanting to provoke the teacher any more than she already had.

"And Potter thought it best to go in, along with Mr. Weasley and Professor Lockhart."

"He knew what he had to do," Val affirmed. After gaining another scrutinizing look from the Transfiguration teacher, she added to her sentence.

"He felt that it was his right to do so. Ron felt a great need to save his sister, and we could not sit on the information we had at hand. We understand the recklessness of our actions, but felt it was the best time in this act of despair."

Another doomed silence. Had she said too much?

"They are still in the Chamber?" Arthur spoke up.

"They told me to come and find you if they were not back in an hour and a half," Val admitted. It was too late to hold back anything now. "I left after thirty minutes, but Draco and I had a... a dispute in the hall, which kept me from arriving earlier than I wanted to."

Dumbledore took all of this with a grain of salt. His robes of silk moved as water did when flowing from a stream. He waved his wand, and a chair appeared out of thin air. Graciously, he placed himself in it, stroking his beard as he faced Val.

"You have overcome an unrecognizable force yet again, Miss Lupin-Black," he said calmly, sounding even a bit friendly. "I must not have to remind you of what occurred around the same time last year."

"Last year?" Mrs. Weasley said sharply. "What happened last year?"

"Ministry business, Molly," Dumbledore ended her curiosities with the simple statement. She did not press further.

"You are very young," the headmaster continued in his gentle tone. "Harry and Ron have entered the Chamber, but you and Miss Granger have done your fair share of work as well."

"We only wanted to help," she played with her hands anxiously. "We couldn't wait."

"Neither could the heroes of folklore and mythology," Dumbledore said wisely. "When one is thrust into such an event, it is not best to sit and do nothing. Even in our youth are we called to a greater cause."

"This sounds like encouragement, Albus," McGonagall frowned in disapproval. "Miss Lupin-Black has done her friends a service by coming here, but that is not to excuse the actions she has told us of."

"Forgive me, Headmaster," Val excused her interruption, directing her attention to Dumbledore. "But shouldn't you be going to the Chamber now? I don't know what has become of Harry or Ron."