To change the future

A Free Elf

For a moment, silence enveloped the group as Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood in the doorway, smeared with muck, slime, and in Harry's case, blood. Then, a scream pierced the air. "Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley, who had been weeping by the fire, sprang up, followed by Mr. Weasley, and they both embraced their daughter.

"We thought we would never see her again." Arthur wipes his eyes

Harry's gaze, however, was fixed beyond them. Professor Dumbledore stood by the mantelpiece, smiling broadly, beside Professor McGonagall, who was taking deep, steadying breaths, hand on her chest.

"I had thought I had lost another student." McGonagall says tearfully

Fawkes soared past Harry's ear and perched on Dumbledore's shoulder, just as Harry and Ron were enveloped in Mrs. Weasley's tight hug. "You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?" she exclaimed. "I think we'd all like to know that," Professor McGonagall said faintly. Mrs. Weasley released Harry, who paused briefly, then approached the desk to place the Sorting Hat, the ruby-studded sword, and the remnants of Riddle's diary upon it. He began to recount the entire ordeal. For nearly fifteen minutes, he spoke into the captivated silence, describing the disembodied voice he heard, Hermione's realization that it was a basilisk in the pipes, following the spiders into the forest, Aragog's revelation of the basilisk's last victim, and his deduction about Moaning Myrtle.

"Few are aware that Lord Voldemort was once known as Tom Riddle. I personally taught him at Hogwarts fifty years ago. After leaving school, he vanished... traveled extensively... delved deeply into the Dark Arts, associated with the worst of our kind, and underwent so many perilous magical transformations that when he emerged as Lord Voldemort, he was hardly recognizable. Hardly anyone made the connection between Lord Voldemort and the intelligent, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

"I would be surprised if anyone could."

"But, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said, "what does our Ginny have to do with—him?" "His diary," Ginny wept. "I've been writing in it, and he's been writing back all year—" "Ginny!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley, astounded. "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. Why didn't you show the diary to me or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic." "I didn't know," Ginny sobbed. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I thought someone had just left it there and forgotten about it—" "Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing immediately," Dumbledore interjected firmly. "She has undergone a terrible ordeal. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been deceived by Lord Voldemort."

"You can say that again."

He walked to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. That always seems to cheer me up," he added, smiling kindly at her. "Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's distributing Mandrake juice—I expect the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment." "So Hermione's okay!" Ron said brightly. "No lasting harm has been done, Ginny," Dumbledore assured. Mrs. Weasley escorted Ginny out, followed by a deeply shaken Mr. Weasley.

"You know, Minerva," said Professor Dumbledore thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I believe all this calls for a splendid feast. Would you mind informing the kitchens?" "Certainly," replied Professor McGonagall crisply, heading towards the door. "Shall I leave Potter and Weasley for you to handle?" "Indeed," Dumbledore affirmed. With her departure, Harry and Ron looked at Dumbledore with uncertainty. What did Professor McGonagall mean by 'deal with them'? They couldn't possibly be facing punishment, could they? "I recall warning you both that any further rule-breaking would result in expulsion," Dumbledore stated. Ron's mouth fell open in shock. "However, it appears that even the best of us must sometimes retract our words," Dumbledore continued, smiling. "You will both be awarded Special Awards for Services to the School and—let's see—yes, two hundred points each for Gryffindor." Ron's face turned as pink as Lockhart's Valentine's Day flowers, and he shut his mouth. "Yet, it seems one of us is rather silent about his role in this perilous ordeal," Dumbledore remarked. "Why so reserved, Gilderoy?" Harry jerked in surprise; he had utterly forgotten Lockhart. Turning, he noticed Lockhart in the room's corner, still sporting his distant smile. When Dumbledore spoke to him, Lockhart glanced back, puzzled. "Professor Dumbledore," interjected Ron hastily, "there's been an incident in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart—" "I'm a professor?" Lockhart responded, bewildered. "My, I suppose I was quite ineffective, wasn't I?"