What If? Year 1

Chapter 44

Silence meets us when we open the door. I was surprised to find everyone that had been in Dumbledore's office were here now, and Mr. Weasley had joined Mrs. Weasley.
"Ginny!"
"Marigold!" Mum and Mrs. Weasley both run towards us. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley fling themselves onto Ginny and Ron. Mum almost knocks me on my back when she reaches me. Someone else wraps their arms around us and I recognize Dad's cologne.
"Harry," I wheeze out, reaching for my brother. He joins us.
"Oh, I can't believe!" Mum cries, as Dad and Harry let go of us, "you're okay, flower.. I thought you were..." She wipes at a her eyes as she searches my face. She finds bruises and cuts making her eyes lock onto my mine, worry pooling in the emerald green.
"I'm okay," I whisper, "everything's okay now." Suddenly Harry and I are taken into Mrs. Weasley's arms.
"You saved her! How did you do it?"
"I think we'd all like to know that," McGonagall says, weakly. Mrs. Weasley lets go of us and I go and place the remains of Tom Riddle's diary on McGonagall's desk. Harry sets the sword and sorting hat besides it. I look to Harry.
He starts telling them everything. How he heard a voice before each attack, how Hermione found out about the basilisk and that I figured out where it was; how he and Ron followed spiders into the Forbidden Forest.
"Very well," McGonagall prompts him, "so you found out where the entrance was- breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add- but how on earth did you survive?"
Harry's voice was hoarse as he continues to tell the story. Fawkes's timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat with the sword. He has been avoiding Ginny's part in it all, which I was thankful for. He was beginning to falter, so I continue from where he left off.
"I woke up while Harry was fighting the monster and I.. he got b-bit and I used the fang to stab this." I pick up the diary. Both Harry and I look at Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling with interest.
"What interests me the most," he says gently, "Is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forest of Albania." I look at Ginny, and tears were still flowing onto her mom's shawl.
"W-what's that?" Mr. Weasley asks, stunned, "You-Know-Who? En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's no.. Ginny hasn't been has she?"
"It was this diary," Harry tells them, quickly, "Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen." Dumbledore picks up the diary and peers through the burnt and soggy pages.
"Brilliant," he says, softly," of course, he was probably one the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen. Perhaps Miss Potter is going to give him a run for his money." He winks at me, making me turn red. He looks at the Weasleys.
"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school... traveled far and wide... sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of out kind, underwent so many dangerous magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."
"But, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley says, "What's our Ginny got to do with - with him?" My stomach sinks as I look to Ginny.
"His d-diary!" Ginny sobs, "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all y-year."
"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley shouts, flabbergasted, "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it clearly full of Dark Magic-."
"I d-didn't know," Ginny continues to sob, "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just let it in there and forgot about it.."
"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away." Dumbledore interrupts, making me jump, "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. Older and wiser wizards would have been tricked too. Madam Pomfrey is already awake and giving the Mandrake juice." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nods and they lead Ginny out.
"You know, Minerva," Dumbledore says, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you go and alert the kitchen? Why don't you take Mr. and Mrs. Potter with you and talk about what we've been discussing."
"And you'll deal with Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter?" McGonagall smiles at me before walking out with my parents.
"Certainly, and I'll speak with Miss Potter afterwards." My hands begin to shake as I start to think about the trouble I'm in.
"Miss Potter, would you wait in the hall for a minute?" I nod, trying not to think about it. My hands are trembling and I shut the door. I sink down to the floor and pull my knees up to my chest. I hear footsteps echoing down the hall towards me.
"Marigold!" Cedric says, making my head snap up, "oh, thank Merlin you're okay!" He kneels down to me and gives me a hug. I wrap by arms around his neck. He pulls my head away and looks at it. Horror fills his eyes as he traces the cuts and bruises all over my face.
"Wh-what happened?" he asks, tracing one very big bruise under my eye with his finger softly.
"I... we found the Chamber," I mumble, as Cedric keeps me from falling down.
"You were in the Chamber?" he asks, "oh, Merlin Beard! You're so brave." He grabs my hands and looks at the blood and ink stands on them.
"Are you okay?" he asks, looking back to my eyes. I nod, tears starting to well in my eyes.
"Please tell me.. please don't hide this from me."
"C-can we talk about this l-later?" He scans my face and squeezes my hands. Ron comes out with Lockhart. Ron smiles at me and walks off. Cedric sits down next to me.
"You're so brave, Goldie," he says, "May I ask why your waiting besides McGonagall's office?"
"I'm waiting to talk to Dumbledore," I tell him, "Harry is in there right now."
"Would you like me to stay with you?" I look up to him and smile.
"Umm. I don't know, Cedric. They're having a feast in a little while, and I might be late for it." Cedric smiles and kisses my nose.
"I'll see you at the feast then?" he asks, as my face turns pink. I nod and Cedric gets up to leave.