CHLOE WAS STANDING at the end of a long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

Her heart beating very fast, Chloe listened to the chill silence. Could the Basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? Where was Ginny?

When Chloe pulled out her wand, she moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. She kept her eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement.

The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following her. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, she thought she saw one stir.

Then, as Chloe drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.

Chloe had to crane her neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure.

"Ginny!" Chloe gasped, immediately sprinting over to Ginny Weasley and dropping to her knees. "Ginny - don't be dead, please don't be dead-"

Chloe flung her wand aside, grabbed Ginny's shoulders and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be..

"Oh, Ginny, please wake up," murmured Chloe, shaking Ginny desperately. Ginny's head just lolled hopelessly from side to side. "Please wake up.."

"She won't wake," said a soft voice.

Chloe jumped and spun around on her knees.

A tall, good-looking black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Chloe was looking at him through a misted window. But there was no mistaking him.

"Tom.. Tom Riddle?" Chloe spoke up, as she stared at the boy. It felt almost impossible for the girl to look anywhere else. He nodded, not taking his eyes off Chloe's face. "What do you mean, she won't wake? She's not.. she's not-?" She asked.

"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."

Chloe continued to stare. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen. "Are you a ghost?" She asked, uncertainly.

"A memory." Tom Riddle informed Chloe, quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

Riddle pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Chloe had found in Myrtle's bathroom. For a second, she wondered how it had got there - but there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"You've got to help me, Tom," said Chloe, raising Ginny's head again. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a Basilisk.. I don't know where it is, but it could come at any moment. Please, help me."

Riddle didn't move. Chloe, sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor and bent to pick up her wand again. But her wand had gone. "Er, have you seen-?" Chloe asked Riddle, as she looked up.

Riddle was still watching Chloe, twirling her wand between his fingers. "Oh, thank you." She told him, whilst she stretched out her left hand for her wand.

A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Chloe, twirling her wand idly.

"Tom, listen," said Chloe, urgently, her knees beginning to sag with Ginny's dead weight. "We've got to go! If the Basilisk comes-" She panicked.

"It won't come until it's called," said Riddle, calmly.

Chloe lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up and longer. "What do you mean? Look, give me my wand, I might need it-" She realised.

"You won't be needing it," said Riddle, as his smile broadened. Chloe stared at him, in confusion. "I've waited a long time for this, Chloe Potter. For the chance to see you. To speak to you." He stated.

"Look," said Chloe, losing patience, as she shook her head, "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later-"

"We're going to talk now," said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Chloe's wand. She stared at him. There was something very funny going on. "How did Ginny get like this?" She asked, slowly.

"Well, that's an interesting question." Riddle informed Chloe, rather pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about, Tom?" Chloe asked. "The diary. My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes - how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second-hand robes and books, how she didn't think famous, good, great Chloe Potter would ever be friends with her." Riddle answered, as his eyes glinted.

All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Chloe's face. There was an almost hungry look in them. "It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven year old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom.. I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in.. It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket.."

Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. "If I say it myself, Chloe, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted.. I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her." He stated.

Chloe's eyes immediately widened. "Yes, Chloe. It was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets. It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods and the Squib's cat, Ginny who wrote the threatening messages on the walls and strangled the school roosters." Riddle revealed.

"No," whispered Chloe. "Yes," said Riddle, calmly. "Why?" Chloe questioned. "Because I told her to. You'll find I can be very.. persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing. She was, shall we say, in a kind of trance. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries.. far more interesting, they became." Riddle responded.

Chloe looked horrified, which Riddle smugly noticed. "Dear Tom, I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me. There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad. I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"

Chloe's fists were clenched, her long nails digging deep into her palms. "It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary. The power of the diary began to scare her. And she tried to dispose of it in the girls' bathroom. And then, who should find it but you? The very person I was most anxious to meet." Riddle informed her.

"And why did you want to meet me?" Chloe asked. Anger was coursing through her, and it was an effort to keep het voice steady.

"Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Chloe. Your whole fascinating history," said Riddle. He observed the lightning scar on Chloe's forehead, and his expression grew hungrier. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust."

"Hagrid's my friend," said Chloe, with her voice starting to shake. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but-"

Riddle laughed his high laugh again. "It was my word against Hagrid's, Chloe. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student.. on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls.. but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realise that Hagrid couldn't possible be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance.. as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power! Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed. Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did." He explained.

Chloe smirked, hearing Riddle's frustrated tone. "I bet Dumbledore saw right through you." She said.

"He certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," said Riddle, carelessly. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. So I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen year old self in its pages, so that one day, I would be able to lead another to finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it this time. No one has died, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everybody who was Petrified will be all right again," said Chloe.

"Haven't I told you? Killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For many months now, my new target has been you," said Riddle.

Chloe hesitated, as she stared at Riddle. "Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who'd been strangling roosters? So the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery.. particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue. So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her. She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last. I have been waiting for you to appear ever since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Chloe Potter."

"Like what?" Chloe spat, fists still clenched. "Well, how is it that a baby girl, with no extraordinary magical talent, was able to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" Riddle questioned, loudly. There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time." Chloe pointed out. "Voldemort is my past, present and future," sneered Riddle.

To Chloe's confusion, Riddle pulled her wand from his pocket and proceeded to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering red words.

𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐎 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄

As soon as Tom Riddle waved Chloe's wand once, the letters of his name rearranged themselves.

𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐓

"You see? It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. Surely you didn't think I was going to keep my filthy Muggle father's name? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!" Riddle declared.

Chloe stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder her own parents and so many others. At last, she forced herself to speak. "You're not." She murmured, her quiet voice full of hatred. "Not what?" Riddle snapped.

"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world. That title belongs to Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding-" Chloe spat.

The smile had immediately gone from Riddle's face. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" He hissed.

"He's not as gone as you might think! He'll never be gone! Not as long as those who remain are loyal to him." Chloe remarked. She was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle. He froze.

Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber.

The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it made Chloe's heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size.

Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Chloe felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar. A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping his music to the vaulted ceiling. He had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming gold talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle. A second later, the bird was flying straight at Chloe. He dropped the ragged thing he was carrying at her feet, then landed heavily on her shoulder. As he folded his great wings, Chloe looked up and saw he had a sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.

The bird stopped singing, at once. He sat still and warm next to Chloe's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle. "That's a phoenix." He identified, whilst he stared shrewdly back at the beautiful bird.

"Fawkes?" Chloe breathed. She felt the phoenix's golden claws squeeze her shoulder gently.

"And that-" said Riddle, now eyeing what Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat."

So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Chloe's feet. Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark Chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once. "So this is what Dumbledore sends his great defender? A songbird and an old hat. Do you feel brave, Chloe Potter? Do you feel safe now?"

Chloe didn't answer. She might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but ahe was no longer alone and he waited for Riddle to stop laughing with her courage mounting.

"To business, Chloe," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice - in your past, in my future, we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk, the longer you stay alive." He told Chloe, quietly.

Chloe was thinking fast, weighing her chances. Riddle had the wand. Chloe had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which would be much good in a duel. It looked bad, all right.. but the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny.. and in the meantime, Chloe noticed suddenly, Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid. If it had to be a fight between her and Riddle, better sooner than later.

"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," said Chloe, abruptly. "I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother. She stopped you killing me. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're foul-"

Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful counter-charm. I can see now.. there is nothing special about you, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. It was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

Chloe waited for Riddle to raise her wand. But his twisted smile was widening again. "Now, Chloe, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Chloe Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give her."

Riddle cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Chloe, fear spreading up her numb legs, watched Riddle stop between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed - but Chloe understood him. "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."

Chloe wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on her shoulder. Salazar Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving.

Horror-struck, Chloe saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.

Chloe backed away until ahe hit the dark Chamber wall, and as she shut her eyes tight she felt Fawkes' wing sweep her cheek as he took flight.

Chloe wanted to shout, "Don't leave me!" but what chance did a phoenix have against the king of serpents? Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Chloe felt it shudder - she knew what was happening, she could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then the trembling Potter girl heard Riddle's hissing voice: "Kill her."

The Basilisk was moving toward Chloe; she could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Chloe began to run blindly sideways, her hands outstretched, feeling his way - Voldemort was laughing.

Chloe tripped. She fell hard onto the stone and tasted blood, the serpent was barely feet from her, she could hear it coming. There was a loud, explosive spitting sound right above her and then something heavy hit Chloe so hard that she was smashed into the wall. Waiting for fangs to sink through her body she heard more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars.

Chloe couldn't help it - she opened her eyes wide enough to squint at what was going on.

The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. As Chloe trembled, ready to close her eyes if it turned, she saw what had distracted the snake. Fawkes was soaring around its head and the Basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabers.

Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake's tail thrashed, narrowly missing Chloe, and before Chloe could shut her eyes, it turned. Chloe looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony. "No!" Chloe heard Riddle screaming. "Leave the bird! Leave the bird! The girl is behind you! You can still smell her! Kill her!"

The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes. "Help me, help me," Chloe murmured, "Somebody, anybody-"

The snake's tail whipped across the floor again. Chloe ducked. Something soft hit her face.

The Basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Chloe's arms. She seized it. It was all she had left, her only chance - she rammed it onto her head and threw herself flat onto the floor as the Basilisk's tail swung over her again. Help me, Chloe thought, her eyes screwed shut under the hat. Please help me!

There was no answering voice. Instead, the hat contracted, as though an invisible hand was squeezing it very tightly. Something very hard and heavy thudded onto the top of Chloe'a head, almost knocking him out. Stars winking in front of her eyes, she grabbed the top of the hat to pull it off and felt something long and hard beneath it. A gleaming silver sword had appeared inside the hat, its handle glittering with rubies the size of eggs.

"Kill the girl! Leave the bird! The girl is behind you!"

Chloe was on her feet, ready. The Basilisk's head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face her. She could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow her whole, lined with fangs as long as the sword, thin, glittering, venomous. It lunged blindly. Chloe dodged and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue lashed Chloe's side. She raised the sword in both hands. The basilisk lunged again, and this time its aim was true. Chloe threw her whole weight behind the sword and drove it to the hilt into the roof of the serpent's mouth.

But as warm blood drenched Chloe's arms, she felt a searing pain just above her elbow. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into her arm and it splintered as the basilisk keeled over sideways and fell, twitching, to the floor.

Chloe slid down the wall. She gripped the fang that was spreading poison through her body and wrenched it out of her arm with a bloodcurdling scream she wouldn't forget for a long while. But she knew it was too late. White-hot pain was spreading slowly and steadily from the wound.

Even as she dropped the fang and watched her own blood soaking her robes, Chloe's vision went foggy. The Chamber was dissolving in a whirl of dull color.

A patch of scarlet swam past, and Chloe heard a soft clatter of claws beside her. "You were brilliant, Fawkes.." She murmured. She felt the bird lay his beautiful head on the spot where the serpent's fang had pierced her. She could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of her.

"You're dead, Chloe Potter," said Riddle's voice above her. "Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."

Chloe blinked. Fawkes's head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers. "I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Chloe Potter. Take your time. I'm in no hurry," sneered Riddle. Chloe felt drowsy. Everything around her seemed to be spinning.

"So ends the famous Chloe Potter. Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by her friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord she so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Chloe. She bought you twelve years of borrowed time.. but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must." Riddle reminded Chloe, rather smugly.

If this is dying, thought Chloe, it's not so bad.

Even the pain was leaving her.. But was this dying? Instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus. Chloe gave her head a little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on her arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound. But there was no wound.

"Get away, bird," said Riddle's voice, all of a sudden. "Get away from her.. I said, get away-"

Chloe raised her head. Riddle was pointing her wand at Fawkes; there was a bang like a gun and Fawkes flew off again in a whirl of gold and scarlet.

"Phoenix tears," said Riddle quietly, staring at Chloe's arm. "Of course.. healing powers - I forgot."

Then Riddle looked into Chloe's face. "But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Chloe Potter.. you and me."

Riddle raised Chloe's wand. Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes soared back overhead and something fell into Chloe's lap - the diary.

For a split second, both Chloe and Riddle, wand still raised, stared at it. Then, without thinking, without considering, as though she had meant to do it all along, Chloe seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to her and plunged it straight into the heart of the book. There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Chloe's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then he had gone.

Chloe's wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.

Shaking all over, Chloe pulled herself up. Her head was spinning as though she had just travelled miles by Floo powder. Slowly, she gathered together her wand and the Sorting Hat, and, with a huge tug, retrieved the glittering sword from the roof of the dead Basilisk's mouth. Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring.

As Chloe hurried to her, Ginny sat up. Her bemused eyes travelled from the huge form of the dead Basilisk, over Chloe, in her blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in her hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face. "Chloe, I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy! It was me, Chloe, but I.. I s-swear I d-didn't mean to! R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over - and - how did you kill that - that thing? W-Where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary-"

"It's all right, Ginny," said Chloe, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. Come on, Ginny, let's find Ron and get out of here."

"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept, as Chloe helped her up. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and what'll Mum and Dad say?"

Fawkes was waiting for them, hovering in the Chamber entrance. Chloe urged Ginny forward; they stepped over the motionless coils of the dead basilisk, through the echoing gloom, and back into the tunnel. Chloe heard the stone doors close behind them with a soft hiss. After a few minutes' progress up the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rock reached Chloe's ears.

"Ron! Ginny's okay! I've got her!" Chloe called, speeding up. She heard Ron give a strangled cheer, and they turned the next bend to see his eager face staring through the sizable gap he had managed to make in the rockfall. "Ginny!" Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened?"

Ron tried to hug Ginny but she held him off, sobbing. "But you're okay, Ginny," said Ron, beaming at his little sister, "it's over, now, it's- where did that bird come from?" He questioned.

Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny. "And how come you've got a sword?" Ron asked Chloe, gaping at the glittering weapon in her hand.

"I'll explain when we get out of here," said Chloe, with a sideways glance at Ginny. "But-" Ron said.

"Later." Chloe replied, shortly. She didn't think it was a good idea to tell Ron yet who'd been opening the Chamber. Not in front of Ginny, anyway. "Where's Lockhart?" She asked, looking around.

"Back there," said Ron, grinning and jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see." He urged. Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.

"His memory's gone," said Ron. "The Memory Charm hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."

Chloe bent down and looked up at the long, dark pipe. "Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" She questioned, hopefully.

Ron shook his head, but Fawkes swooped past Chloe and was fluttering in front of her, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Chloe looked uncertain.

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold," said Ron, who was looking understandably perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there-"

"Fawkes," said Chloe, with a smile, "isn't an ordinary bird. We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart-"

"She means you." Ron told Lockhart, sharply. Chloe nodded and said, "You hold Ginny's other hand."

Chloe tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into her belt, Ron took hold of the back of Harry's robes and Chloe reached out and took hold of Fawkes's strangely hot tail feathers. An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through her whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, they were flying upward through the pipe.

Chloe could hear Lockhart dangling below her, saying, "Amazing! This is just like magic!"

The chill air was whipping through Chloe's hair, and before she had stopped enjoying the ride, it was over - all four of them were hitting the wet floor of Myrtle's bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place. Myrtle goggled at them.

"Where now?" Ron asked, with an anxious look at Ginny - she was still teary-eyed. Chloe pointed.

Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. They strode after him, and moments later, found themselves outside McGonagall's office. Chloe knocked and pushed the door open.

For a moment there was silence as Chloe, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart stood in the doorway, covered in muck and slime and (in Chloe's case) blood. Then there was a scream.

"Ginny!"

It was Molly Weasley, who had been sitting crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, closely followed by Arthur Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter. Chloe, however, was looking past them. Dumbledore was standing by the mantelpiece, beaming, next to McGonagall, who was taking great, steadying gasps, clutching her chest. Fawkes went whooshing past Chloe's ear and settled on Dumbledore's shoulder, just as Chloe found herself and Ron being swept into Molly's tight embrace. "You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?" She questioned.

"I think we'd all like to know that," said McGonagall weakly. Molly let go of Chloe, who hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the desk and laid upon it the Sorting Hat, the ruby-encrusted sword, and what remained of Riddle's diary.

Then Chloe told them everything. For nearly a quarter of an hour she spoke into the rapt silence.

Chloe told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how Hermione had finally realised that he was hearing a Basilisk in the pipes; how she and Ron had followed the spiders into the forest, that Aragog had told them where the last victim of the Basilisk had died; how they had guessed that Myrtle had been the victim and that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets might be in her bathroom.

"Very well," said Professor McGonagall, as soon as Chloe paused, "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 get out of there alive, Potter?"

So Chloe, her voice growing hoarse from all the talking, told them about Fawkes's timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat giving her the sword.

But then Chloe faltered. She had avoided mentioning Riddle's diary or Ginny, for that matter.

Ginny was standing with her head against her mother's shoulder and tears were still coursing silently down her cheeks. What if they expelled her? Riddle's diary didn't work anymore. How could they prove it had been he who'd made her do it all?

Instinctively, Chloe looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly, the firelight glancing off his half-moon spectacles. "What interests me most is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania." Dumbledore stated, gently.

Relief - warm, sweeping, glorious relief - swept over Chloe. "W-What's that?" Arthur asked, in a stunned voice. "You-Know-Who? En-Enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not.. Ginny hasn't been.. has she?"

"It was this diary," said Chloe, quickly, picking the black leather book up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote in it at sixteen."

As soon as Dumbledore took the diary from Chloe, he peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages. "Brilliant. Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He softly said, then turned to the Weasleys, who were looking utterly bewildered.

"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 our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognisable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here." Dumbledore explained, matter-of-factly.

"But Ginny," said Molly Weasley, rather stunned. "What's our Ginny got to do with.. with.. him?"

"His d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year-"

"Ginny!" Arthur said, flabbergasted. "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 d-didn't know," sobbed Ginny. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it-"

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away." Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up." He added, twinkling kindly down at her. "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice. I daresay the Basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's okay," said Chloe. "There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny." Dumbledore stated.

Molly led Ginny out, and Arthur followed, still looking deeply shaken. "You know, Minerva, I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?" Dumbledore told McGonagall, thoughtfully. "Right, said McGonagall, crisply, also moving to the door. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter and Weasley, shall I?"

"Certainly," said Dumbledore. McGonagall left, and Chloe and Ron gazed uncertainly at Dumbledore.

What exactly had McGonagall meant, deal with them? Surely they weren't about to be punished?

"I seem to remember telling all of you that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules," said Dumbledore. Ron looked horrified.

"Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words," Dumbledore went on, smiling. "You will all receive Special Awards for Services to the School and - let me see - yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor."

Ron went as brightly pink as Lockhart's valentine flowers and closed his mouth again.

"But one of us seems to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure. Why so modest, Gilderoy?" Dumbledore asked.

Chloe gave a start. She had completely forgotten about Lockhart. She turned and saw that Lockhart was standing in a corner of the room, with his vague smile. As Dumbledore addressed him, he looked over his shoulder to see who he was talking to. "Professor Dumbledore, there was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart-" Ron quickly tried to explain.

"Am I a professor? Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?" Lockhart asked, in mild surprise.

"He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired." Ron informed Dumbledore, quietly.

"Dear me," said Dumbledore, who was shaking his head with his long silver mustache quivering. "Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy!"

"Sword?" Lockhart questioned, rather dimly. "Haven't got a sword. That girl has, though. She'll lend you one." He said, as he pointed at Chloe.

"Would you mind taking Professor Lockhart up to the infirmary, too? And then, Mr. Weasley, if you would," said Dumbledore, kindly, to Ron, "have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban. I believe we want our gamekeeper back."

Lockhart ambled out and, not realising Dumbledore wanted a private word with Chloe, Ron cast his best friend a curious and walked out.

Dumbledore crossed to one of the chairs by the fire. "Sit down, Chloe." He encouraged. Chloe sat down, feeling unaccountably nervous.

"First of all, Chloe," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling again. "I want to thank you. You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."

Dumbledore stroked the phoenix, which had fluttered down onto his knee. Chloe smiled, as Dumbledore watched her. "And so you met Tom Riddle. I imagine he was most interested in you."

Suddenly, something that was nagging at Chloe came tumbling out of her mouth. "Professor Dumbledore.. Riddle said I'm like him. Strange likeness, he said." She recalled, whilst she awkwardly fiddled with a small strand of her hair.

"Did he, now?" Dumbledore asked, looking thoughtfully at Chloe from under his thick silver eyebrows. "And what do you think, Chloe?"

"I don't think I'm like him! I mean, I'm.. I'm in Gryffindor, I'm," said Chloe, more loudly than she had intended. But then she fell silent, a lurking doubt resurfacing in her mind. "Professor.. the Sorting Hat told me I'd.. I'd have done well in Slytherin. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while.. because I can speak Parseltongue-"

"You can speak Parseltongue," said Dumbledore, calmly, "Chloe, because Lord Voldemort, who is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin, can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure."

Chloe paused for a moment, thunderstruck. "Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" She asked. "It certainly seems so." Dumbledore answered.

"So I should be in Slytherin," said Chloe, looking desperately into Dumbledore's face. "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me, and it-"

"Put you in Gryffindor," said Dumbledore. "Listen to me, Chloe. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue, resourcefulness, determination, a certain disregard for rules. Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think."

"It only put me in Gryffindor," said Chloe, in realisation, "because I asked not to go in Slytherin."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, who was beaming at Chloe once more. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, Chloe, it is our choices."

Chloe sat motionless in her chair, with quite a stunned expression. "If you want proof why you belong in Gryffindor, then I suggest you look more closely at this." Dumbledore advised, as he reached across to Professor McGonagall's desk, picked up the blood-stained sword, and handed it to Chloe.

Chloe grabbed the sword and turned it over, gently. "Be careful." Dumbledore softly told her, as the rubies blazed in the firelight. Chloe nodded, just as spotted saw the name engraved below the hilt.

"Godric Gryffindor," murmured Chloe, with a small smile. "Ah. It would take a true Gryffindor to pull that out of the hat." Dumbledore told her, simply.

For a minute, neither Chloe or Dumbledore spoke. Then Dumbledore pulled open one of the drawers in Professor McGonagall's desk and took out a white quill and a bottle of ink. "What you need, Chloe, is some food and sleep. I suggest you go down to the feast, while I draft an advertisement for the Daily Prophet. We'll be needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?" He joked.

Chloe giggled, which made Dumbledore look up from his parchment and smile warmly at her. She then got up and crossed to the door. She had just reached for the handle, when the door burst open so violently that it bounced back off the wall.

Lucius Malfoy stood at the doorway, fury in his face. And cowering behind his legs, heavily wrapped in bandages, which made Chloe frown, was Dobby.

"Good evening, Lucius," said Dumbledore, pleasantly. "Out of my way, Potter." Lucius spat, almost knocking Chloe over as he swept into the room. Dobby went scurrying after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face. He was carrying a stained rag with which he was trying to finish cleaning Lucius's shoes.

Apparently Lucius had set out in a great hurry, for not only were his shoes half-polished, but his usually sleek hair was disheveled. Ignoring the house elf bobbing apologetically around his ankles, he fixed his cold eyes upon Dumbledore. "So! You've come back. The governors suspended you, but you still saw fit to return to Hogwarts."

"Well, you see, Lucius, the other eleven governors contacted me today. It was something like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell the truth. When they learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter was taken into the Chamber, they saw fit to summon me back. They seemed to think I was the best man for the job after all," said Dumbledore, smiling serenely. "Ridiculous." Lucius muttered.

"Curiously, Lucius," said Dumbledore, after a brief pause, "several of them were under the impression that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place."

Lucius went even paler than usual, but his eyes were still slits of fury. "How dare you!" He snapped. "I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore asked.

"My sole concern has always been, and will always be, the welfare of this school and, of course, its students." Lucius emphasised, before he glanced over at Chloe and then back to the headmaster. "The culprit has been identified, I presume."

"Oh, yes." Dumbledore confirmed, with a smile. "And? Who was it?" Lucius questioned.

"Voldemort." Dumbledore answered, after another pause. Lucius nodded. "Ah." He responded.

"Only this time he chose to act through somebody else by means of this," said Dumbledore, who held up the small black book with the large hole through the center, watching Lucius closely.

Chloe, however, was watching Dobby. He was doing something very odd. His great eyes fixed meaningfully on Chloe, he kept pointing at the diary, then at Lucius and then hitting himself hard on the head with his fist. "I see," said Lucius.

"A clever plan," said Dumbledore in a level voice, still staring Lucius in the eye. "Because if Chloe here and her friend Ron hadn't discovered this book, why.. Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have been able to prove she hadn't she hadn't acted of her own free will."

Lucius said nothing. His face was suddenly mask-like. "And imagine," Dumbledore went on, "what might have happened then. The Weasleys are one of our most prominent pure-blood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act, if his own daughter was discovered attacking and killing Muggle-borns. Very fortunate the diary was discovered, and Riddle's memories wiped from it. Who knows what the consequences might have been otherwise.."

"Very fortunate," said Lucius, stiffly. Behind his back, Dobby was still pointing, first to the diary, then to Lucius, then punching himself in the head.

Before Chloe managed to understand, Lucius turned to her and sneered, "Well, let us hope Miss Potter will always be around.. to save the day."

"Don't worry," said Chloe, with a smile that clearly showed she wasn't at all intimidated, "I will be."

Lucius just turned away from Chloe and nodded to the headmaster. "Dumbledore." He said, then shot Dobby a look. "Come, Dobby, we're leaving."

As the elf came hurrying up to him, Lucius wrenched open the door and kicked Dobby right through it. Chloe could hear him squealing with pain all the way along the corridor. She stood for a moment, thinking hard. Then she got an idea.

"Professor Dumbledore. Can I give that diary back to Mr. Malfoy, please?" Chloe asked, politely.

Dumbledore nodded, with a smile. "Certainly, Chloe, but hurry. The feast, remember." He replied.

Chloe grabbed the diary and dashed out of the office. She could hear Dobby's squeals of pain receding around the corner. Quickly, wondering if this plan could possibly work, Chloe took off one of her shoes, pulled off her sock and hid it in between the diary pages. Then she ran down the corridor. She caught up with them at the top of the stairs.

"Mr. Malfoy," gasped Chloe, speedily skidding to a halt, "Mr. Malfoy! I have something of yours."

Lucius stopped and turned to Chloe, as she handed him the diary. "Mine? I don't know what you're talking about." He claimed. "I think you do, sir. I think you gave it to her in Flourish and Blotts. I think you picked up her old Transfiguration book and slipped the diary inside it." Chloe told him.

"You do, do you?" Lucius asked. Chloe nodded, as Lucius tossed the diary at Dobby and leaned closer to Chloe. "Why don't you.. prove it?" He hissed.

Chloe said nothing, so Lucius smirked, turned to Dobby and sternly said, "Come, Dobby."

"Open it." Chloe quickly told Dobby, in a whisper. He opened the diary. "Dobby!" Lucius yelled.

"Master has given Dobby a sock," said Dobby, holding Chloe's disgusting, slimy sock and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.

"What?! I didn't gi-" Lucius remarked, as he turned to the house elf in confusion. But his glare faded as soon as he saw the sock in Dobby's clutches.

"Master has presented Dobby with clothes. Dobby is free!" Dobby beamed, in complete delight.

Lucius looked at Chloe, who was smiling proudly at the house elf. She then looked down at her shoes, which caused the Malfoy patriarch to realise she had removed one of her grey socks.

"You lost me my SERVANT!" Lucius bellowed at Chloe, furiously. Her smile faded, as soon as Lucius pulled his wand out of his cane - the silver snake head, as Chloe saw, was the back of his wand.

Chloe gulped, wide-eyed, as Lucius pointed his wand at her and stormed over. But Dobby, a free elf, stepped in front of Chloe protectively and shouted, "You shall not harm Chloe Potter!"

"Avada-" Lucius hissed, as he glared at Chloe and raised his wand. There was a loud bang, and Lucius was thrown backwards. He crashed against the corridor floor, on his back. Chloe gasped in surprise, whilst Dobby crossed his arms proudly.

Lucius got up from the ground, his face livid, and glared over at Chloe. "Your parents were meddlesome fools too. You mark my words, Potter.. one day soon you are going to meet the same sticky end!" He declared, as he pointed at the girl. Then he turned around and stormed away.

With his ex-master gone, Dobby turned to Chloe in gratitude. "Chloe Potter freed Dobby! How can Dobby ever repay her?" He questioned.

"It was the least I could do, Dobby," said Chloe, with a humble shrug. "How about a hug for now?"

Dobby beamed, as Chloe kneeled down to him with a similar smile. Not minding about touching his filthy outfit, since her robes were equally messy, the Potter girl pulled him in for a much-needed hug. His little arms wrapped around her, as his head rested against her and she patted his back.

"Just promise me something, Dobby," said Chloe, when she finally separated from the elf and got back on her feet. "Anything, miss." He replied.

Remembering all the trouble Dobby caused, Chloe jokingly said, "Never to try to save my life again."

Dobby giggled, bashfully. "I've just got one question for you, Dobby," said Chloe, as Dobby pulled on her sock with shaking hands. "You told me all this had nothing to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, remember? Well-"

"It was a clue, miss," said Dobby, his eyes widening, as though this was obvious. "Was giving you a clue. The Dark Lord, before he changed his name, could be freely named, you see?"

"Right. I should've seen that," said Chloe, to make the house elf feel better - it worked. "Well, I'd better go. There's a feast, and my friend Hermione should be awake by now. But I hope this won't be the last time I see you again, Dobby." She told him.

Dobby threw his arms around Chloe's middle and hugged her again. She giggled and patted his head. "It shan't be, miss! Dobby will see Chloe Potter again! Chloe Potter is greater by far than Dobby knew! Farewell, Chloe Potter!" He said.

"So long, Dobby. I'll miss you," said Chloe, as she waved to the elf and beamed. Dobby waved back and with a final loud crack, he disappeared.

Chloe had been to several Hogwarts feasts, but never one quite like this. Everyone was in their pyjamas and the celebration lasted all night.

Whilst Chloe certainly appreciated Bridget Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley hurrying over from the Hufflepuff table to wring her hand and apologise endlessly for suspecting her, Ron enjoyed hearing that Gryffindor had secured the House Cup for the second year running, and Dumbledore announcing that Lockhart would be unable to return next year, owing to the fact that he needed to go away and get his memory back. Quite a few of the teachers joined in the cheering that greeted this news.

"Shame(!)" Ron joked, helping himself to a jam doughnut. "He was starting to grow on me(!)"

Chloe nudged Ron jokingly, before she beamed at Sir Nicholas, who was back to his usual ghostly self.

"Welcome back, Sir Nicholas!" Chloe called, with her hand cupped near her mouth. Ron waved to the ghost, at the same time, with his mouth full of chicken. "Thank you," said Sir Nicholas, as he nodded back to Chloe and Ron with a smile.

Unbeknownst to Chloe and Ron, Sir Nicholas floated over to their best friend, who was no longer Petrified. "Hermione! Welcome back."

"Thanks, Sir Nicholas," said Hermione, as she smiled at the ghost and stepped into the Great Hall.

"Oi, Chloe," spoke up a voice, opposite Chloe at the Gryffindor table. Chloe looked over at Daniel Page, who was sitting in between Neville and Seamus. "Look who's out of the hospital wing." He urged.

Neville looked over at the Great Hall's entrance and beamed. "It's Hermione!" He identified, whilst Chloe and Ron shared equally ecstatic looks.

Hermione smiled at her best friends, overjoyed, and immediately ran over. Upon reaching Chloe first, she opens her arms for a hug and the two Gryffindor girls embrace for a few seconds.

Just when Hermione separated from Chloe, she turned to Ron. Rather than do the same thing, however, Ron briefly smiled at her as his ears began to redden. "Er.. er.." He stammered, then chuckled, cleared his throat and shook Hermione's hand. "We-Welcome back, Hermione." He replied.

Chloe looked at Ron in confusion, wondering why he was acting so nervous, but shrugged it off when Hermione smiled and said, "It's good to be back. Congratulations. I can't believe you solved it."

"Well, we had lots of help from you, Hermione. We've really missed you." Chloe responded.

Ron smiled and nodded at Hermione, who smiled back at him with slight tinges of pink on her cheeks.

"We couldn't have done it without you," said Chloe. Hermione smiled at her and said, "Thanks."

The hall of students silenced, when McGonagall gently clinked her metal spoon against her glass goblet. "Could I have your attention, please?"

The Golden Trio immediately sat down amongst their fellow Gryffindors. "Before we begin the feast, let us have a round of applause for Professor Sprout, Madame Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who had been Petrified," said Dumbledore, as he got up.

Everybody, except a few familiar Slytherin faces, applauded. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout looked rather proud. "Also, in light of the recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled." Dumbledore revealed.

"Oh, no." Hermione whispered, whilst everybody else applauded even louder. Dumbledore sat down and smiled. The doors to the Great Hall opened, which caused Chloe to turn to them. She, Hermione and Ron were extremely pleased to see Hagrid walk in. "Sorry I'm late. The owl that delivered my release papers got all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird called Errol." Hagrid explained.

Ron's eyes widened, as Chloe shot him an amused look. They and Hermione glanced at Dumbledore, who smiled and nodded at Ron in amusement. They then turned toward Hagrid again.

Hagrid approached the Gryffindor table as Chloe, Ron and Hermione shifted to face him. "And I'd just like to say that if it hadn't been for you, Chloe and Ron and Hermione, of course, I would, er.. I'd still be you-know-where, so I'd.. I'd just like to say thanks." He chuckled, with quite a grateful smile.

Chloe glanced at Ron, who also smiled, before she got up, looked up at the gamekeeper and sweetly said, "There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid."

Hagrid chuckled, as he and Chloe pulled each other in for a warm embrace. Ron and Hermione watched Chloe and Hagrid with smiles on their faces. Chloe and Hermione had tears in their eyes. Hogwarts just wouldn't be the same without Hagrid.

Chloe sniffled, as Hagrid patted her head with his large hand. The girl couldn't bear the thought of her dear friend being locked up in some prison for a crime he would never commit. His large Neapolitan Mastiff, Fang, would miss him terribly. And who else could possibly take Hagrid's place?

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the sweet embrace, whilst Dumbledore stood up and began to applaud. Professor McGonagall immediately did the same. Hagrid looked at them, as Chloe joined in the applause, leading Ron and Hermione, and eventually everybody in the hall, to join in as well.

Fred and George stood up with everybody, as did Daniel, Dean, Neville, Seamus, Ginny and the trio of familiar Hufflepuffs. Crabbe was about to get up and applaud when Draco stopped him.

Seamus put his fingers in his mouth and whistled while Dean cheered. Behind Chloe, Colin snapped a picture; Ron glanced at Hermione, who has a joyful tear rolling down her face. Hagrid happily wiped a tear from his own eye and glanced at Dumbledore.

As the other staff continued applauding, Hagrid spun around and held his arms out happily.

Chloe let out a small sob of happiness, and wiped the tears off her cheek, as Hagrid began to take turns shaking several students hands. Ron pulled his red-haired best friend in for a side hug and she patted his shoulder through a choked up giggle.

In some ways, Chloe enjoyed her second year more than her first - but she was pretty sure she loved the feast, with Hagrid being praised and respected, more than the rest of the year. As far as she knew, though, she couldn't wait for her third year.

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences - Defense Against the Dark Arts classes had gotten cancelled. "But we've had plenty of practice at that, anyway." Ron had reminded a disgruntled Hermione.

And Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor. Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place. On the contrary, he looked rather resentful and sulky.

On the other hand, Ginny Weasley had become perfectly happy again. Too soon, it was time for the journey back home on the Hogwarts Express.

Chloe, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays.

They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic. Chloe was getting very good at it. They were almost at King's Cross when Chloe remembered something.

"Ginny, what did you see Percy doing that he didn't want you to tell anyone?" Chloe asked, curiously.

"Oh, that. Well, Percy's got a girlfriend." Ginny giggled. Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head. "What?" They asked, at the same time.

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect," said Ginny, with a small shrug, "Penelope Clearwater. That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was, you know, attacked. You won't tease him, will you?" She panicked.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, who was looking as though his birthday had arrived early. George sniggered at him and said, "Definitely not."

The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped.

Chloe pulled out her quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Ron and Hermione. "This is called a telephone number." She told Ron, scribbling it three times, tearing the parchment in two and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer - he'll know. Please call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to." She explained.

Hermione turned to Chloe. "Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they? When they hear what you did this year?" She asked, as she, Chloe and Ron stepped off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier.

"Proud? All those time I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious." Chloe realised.

Together, hand in hand, the Golden Trio walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.

Question Of The Chapter!
Year Three - excited or not?
My Answer: Very excited about it and I really hope you guys are all loving the story so far!
Your Answer?