127 Chapter 127: Mosaic
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I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
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2 April 1993, Hogwarts
Daphne must have fallen asleep somewhere in the library. It felt deeper than any sleep she ever felt before. As she slowly regained consciousness, her surroundings were still a blur, and her mind felt foggy as if she had just emerged from a dream. Her eyelids felt heavy, and it took a moment for her vision to clear. She had the urge to blink for some reason, yet all she could see was white.
She tried to turn her neck, but it just felt too stiff. It was like the time she slept badly on her bed, only a million times worse. She needed a muscle-relaxing potion for that later.
Did she hurt herself somehow when she was in the library? And if she wasn't in the library, where was she?
As the fog in her mind began to lift, Daphne's memory started to piece together fragments of what had happened. She remembered being in the library to return a few books. She had gone to browse for some replacements.
But then, something caught her eye, a strange movement in the shadows. She had turned to investigate, and that's when it happened. A cold, paralyzing dread had swept over her, and then nothing…
The memory felt foggy as if it kept slipping away from her fingers every time she tried to remember. No, there was something she did remember. She was afraid, deathly so. Why would she get this afraid in the library? Unless…
Unless it was the Basilisk. Harry had told her about the monster of the Chamber of Secrets. She had researched the so-called King of Serpents and was horrified by the mere idea that her best friend wanted to fight it.
Was she petrified? She wasn't a muggleborn, but then again, neither was McLaggen. Yes, she was afraid, she was very, very afraid. Had she screamed? Had she tried to run? The details were frustratingly elusive.
Her muscles still felt frozen, but a lot better than before. She could at least move them. She turned her head for a fraction of an angle and hissed slightly in pain.
The moment Daphne made a sound, she was accosted by a familiar black-haired boy, Harry, "Daph, are you alright, are you hurt?"
Daphne blinked up at him, her eyes finally starting to focus. Harry's face was etched with concern, and he was kneeling beside her. She tried to speak, but her throat felt dry and sore. It was as if she had been sleeping for a very long time without water.
Harry must have noticed her distress because he conjured a glass of water and helped her take a sip. The cool liquid was a relief, and Daphne felt some of her strength returning.
Harry's eyes were filled with relief, but also concern. "You were petrified, Daphne."
"The Basilisk?" she asked.
"Yeah, don't worry, Longbottom killed it."
"Longbottom?" she asked incredulously, but she then started to cough violently.
"I know, just take it easy and drink some water. Don't worry, we can talk about it later. A lot has happened since you were petrified. It's a bit of a long story and we'll have time after you're fully healed. Madam Pomfrey just gave you the Mandrake restorative potion, but the Basilisk was still pretty strong. It'll take time for everything to set in. Do you remember anything?"
"Not really, just being in the library and waking up now," she answered.
"Huh, that's interesting. Did the Basilisk's glare petrify your mind as well as your body? Most petrification curses don't really affect the mind, so I was worried about you having experienced everything without being able to move. Although, it is possible that this did happen, that your mind repressed it somehow to avoid any serious consequences."
"Stop rambling, Harry!"
The boy stopped and gave her one of the warmest smiles she had ever seen from him, "I really missed you, Daph."
The world sent butterflies in her stomach, but thankfully, she was partially petrified so she couldn't really blush like she would have normally.
She chose to change the subject instead, "Can't you get Madam Pomfrey to give me something to speed things up a bit?"
"No, a Basilisk's glare is still pretty powerful. It would overwhelm any of the potions we give you, so you might end up dealing with a few side effects without them even working. Just let things progress normally and you should be fine by the end of the day."
She wanted to talk some more, but Harry was quickly silenced by a glare by Madam Pomfrey who said, "Enough chit-chat, you two. Miss Greengrass needs rest and time to recover. I'll be keeping a close eye on her, and she'll be back on her feet in due course. Now, Mr. Potter, if you don't mind, I suggest you give her some space and let her rest. Visiting hours are over, and I won't have any more distractions in my infirmary tonight."
Harry nodded reluctantly, his concern for Daphne still evident in his eyes. "Alright, Madam Pomfrey. Please take good care of her."
Madam Pomfrey gave him a reassuring smile. "I always do, Mr. Potter. Now off you go, and I'll make sure Miss Greengrass is comfortable."
As Daphne continued to recover in the infirmary, she learned more about the events that had transpired during her petrification. She had, of course, sent a letter to her parent to tell them that she was alright. Her handwriting was pretty wooden, but it would get better with time.
However, the school was abuzz with rumours and theories about the Chamber of Secrets and the Heir of Slytherin, who had supposedly opened it and Daphne had heard her fair share of rumours even when she was in the hospital wing. Apparently, Longbottom and Granger were attacked a few weeks ago – she found out that it was just after she got petrified. Longbottom kept claiming that he killed a Basilisk with a sword, but no one really believed him. Granger was sent to Saint Mungo's because what happened to her was somewhat severe.
Harry wasn't really there to fill in the blanks, but then again, she could make her own theories about what happened. Still, the fact that the Basilisk was gone helped her relax. That damn snake was terrifying.
The other victims that were attacked also didn't seem to remember what happened, something that stank of foul play. Alas, Daphne didn't have the heart to tell them about it. Filch was inconsolable because of what happened to his cat. He was probably going to leave the castle entirely. Apparently, Mrs. Norris was the last gift he had from his wife before she died from Dragon Pox. The idea that it died suffocating in his arms must have really traumatized the man, and it would make sense that he would avoid anything that reminded him of her.
Dean Thomas also just looked lost. He had missed almost five months of classes, and there was a good chance that he would need some kind of remedial lessons so that he would have a chance at passing. Penelope Clearwater was in the same boat. She had thankfully in her sixth year, thus didn't have any OWLS or NEWTS to study. She was only petrified for around six weeks, so that was doable. McLaggen was still as annoying as ever, telling everyone that his father was going to crucify Longbottom for opening the chamber despite Daphne telling him that he was innocent. Apparently, a Slytherin's opinion didn't have much weight with him.
Finally, after a lot of arguing and tests, Madam Pomfrey allowed her and the rest of the petrified victims to attend Dinner. She was starving and the nutrition potions that the matron shoved down her throat were poor substitutes for a real meal.
She sat next to Harry, Tracy and Blaise, who looked closer than they had been for the entire year. The whole manhunt that Harry decided to partake in had made him so distracted that he kind of ignored them slightly. It was probably hard to talk with them when he was consumed by something that he couldn't tell them anything about. With the threat the Chamber posed being gone, they probably started to hang out a lot more.
They didn't really talk about much, just classes, and the homework she missed. Everything was going oddly normally until Dumbledore stood up.
Everyone stopped talking instinctively and the headmaster started a speech, "Thank you all for coming and I hope you would indulge an old man taking a few minutes of your time so that I could say a few words. As most of you probably know, this year was plagued by a series of attacks on members of the students, which led us to the conclusion that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened."
The student body started to murmur lightly, intrigued by the headmaster's statement. This was the first time, as far as Daphne could tell, that any staff member said anything about the Chamber of Secrets. They spoke about attacks, but not the chamber itself.
Dumbledore continued, "Well, I am glad to say that this horrific chapter of the school's history is finally over. The perpetrator of the attack was stopped, and its victims have just been unpetrified and officially released from the hospital wings, thanks to the valiant efforts of our resident mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey and our resident potion master Severus Snape."
The great hall was immediately deafened by the roar of applause that followed this announcement, which took almost a minute to end, "Yes, yes, we all appreciate their efforts, but I still have a few things to clarify. Many of you probably think that the legendary Chamber of Secrets was opened. That statement was proven to be false. We have determined that the cause of the attacks was not some monster but simply a cursed artefact that created some form of delayed petrification of whoever touched it. This was why the petrifications happened at random times to random people. Thankfully, the artefact in question was destroyed by none other than Neville Longbottom. The feedback of the even hurt him and Miss Granger. Alas, while this is a day of celebration, it is also a day of mourning. While Mr Longbottom was able to return relatively unharmed with only some brief episodes of confused memories, the chaotic release of magic had unpredictable consequences on Miss Granger, putting her in what looks like a magical coma. She is currently in Saint Mungo's seeking treatment, and we don't know if her condition will ever revert. Hermione Granger might have sacrificed her life for the sake of stopping the attacks, which is why the ministry will be paying for all treatment, and her parents will be compensated for their daughter's heroic actions. She will also receive an Order of Merlin Third Class by the ministry, whether she survives the encounter or not. We have lost a very brilliant witch too early. I want you all to remember her, and keep her alive in your memories and your stories. If the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember the girl who lost so much to make sure that we are all safe."
He raised up his cup and spoke gently, "To Hermione Granger."
Everyone raised their cups as well and replied with a sombre mood, "To Hermione Granger."
Of course, later that night, when Harry told her what actually happened things started to make more sense. Harry and Longbottom had gone into the Chamber of Secrets. Harry killed the monster, which turned out not to be a Basilisk but a divine beast, whatever that was, and defeated Riddle. Longbottom had really killed a Basilisk with a sword, but Harry had convinced Dumbledore to say that the entire thing was fabricated since saying that there was a real Basilisk in the school would get everyone outraged at the headmaster.
Anyway, everything was fine. Harry had won, probably in her defence. It might be some kind of wishful thinking, but she knew that he wouldn't have gone so badly after Riddle normally.
Tracy told her that he practically disappeared for two days after her petrification, which ended up with Longbottom and Granger being found unconscious. Still, Granger's fate was somewhat heartbreaking.
Still, it was nice to be back. She didn't even mind when Luna came back to celebrate with them.
Well, she minded a little, but not as much as she did before.
It was nice for things to go back to normal once more.
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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
