As Expected?

With Lockhart swindled Loki made his way back to his dorms with a happy jingle sounding from his pockets where he'd stored a bag filled with gold galleons and a check for money to be transferred to his account at Gringotts.

Days passed by with the petrified students finally being released from Hospital Wing along with Harry just in time for the final school feast.

During the feast, everyone on the Gryffindor table loved the red and gold decorations of the great hall while they feasted like kings under the envious gazes of all the students from the other houses.

It was because they currently had the highest points with Five Hundred and sixty points with Slytherin coming in at the second place with nine points less at Five Hundred and Fifty One.

Loki had spoken to Hermione earlier during the day along with Daphne and as agreed they only told her that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were the ones that saved Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets and that Loki had stayed out of it.

Hermione didn't believe it at first but when she saw Daphne agreeing with Loki she curbed her suspicion a little and joined the festive end-of-the-year mood where exams had been cancelled for all years. Even though this was the second year Hermione wasn't writing her exams.

The final issue of the Hogwarts Honest Mill for the year was printed with a blockbuster article detailing the fight in the chamber of secrets that Hermione learnt about from Harry and Ron, making them mini-celebrities that were discussed throughout the school.

In a grand hall in one of the taller towers of the castle, Headmaster Dumbledore paced around his room as he thought about the recent matters that had occurred in the school.

He thought back to a few days earlier when Harry had stepped into his office while he was informing the Weasley family news about their daughter's untimely 'death'.

(A few days earlier)

*Knock* *Knock*

Dumbledore looked at the wooden door having noticed who was outside without opening the door, just by feeling who had come close in his sea of collective subconscious.

He'd nodded slightly in Mrs. Weasley's direction to pause their conversation before speaking, "You may enter."

The door opened with a creak shocking the proud man already in the room who had a mocking smile on his face, Lucius Malfoy, as Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart entered the room.

The Weasley parents flung themselves at their daughter and began to assess her and her health, observing if she was uncomfortable anywhere or had any injuries on her.

"What happened!? How did you save her!? We thought- We thought-" Mrs. Weasley started but couldn't find herself to bring to finish the sentence.

"I think we'd all like to know that Molly." Professor McGonagall said with a worried and stern expression on her face as she looked at Harry.

But Harry wasn't looking at her, he was looking past them all at Dumbledore who gave him a soft but imperceptible nod to continue with his story.

Harry then with relief continued to explain how Hermione was the one who informed them of the monster in the Chamber of Slytherin through a note and how they'd figured out that Myrtle was the last victim of the Chamber.

Slowly he revealed everything that went down in the chamber, or at least whatever happened while he was pulled into a dream by Sunny.

Everyone listened to his story, sometimes with shock and other times with worry but they all made sure to pay attention, even at times when Harry revealed the truth about Lockhart and his attempt at trying to use a memory charm to wipe out his and Ron's memories.

Soon Harry's story ended and a deafening silence reigned in the office.

But the one to break it was not who everyone expected it to be, it wasn't Dumbledore but Malfoy.

"When are you going to resign Dumbledore?" Lucius Malfoy asked with a cold smile.

"Resign? Have we missed something, Lucius? Hasn't the Chamber of Secrets been discovered and its monster been killed?" McGonagall voiced in support of Dumbledore and everyone else in the room stood by his side.

"Oh please, his handling of the case with the Chamber of Secrets has been nothing less than abominable. The Governors want your resignation."

"But the innocent girl who had been dragged into this mess has been saved. There have been no deaths and everything has been normalised-" McGonagall started but, "And yet you don't have a culprit to name." Lucius Malfoy interrupted with a sneer.

"It was a rather advanced piece of dark magic that corrupted the girl, there was nothing she could do-" Dumbledore finally said since he didn't want to punish Ginny especially when she and her parents were already worried about her because of the lasting effects she might have because of interacting with the diary.

"As if I am going to believe a book could open the chamber of secrets. You could instead tell me it was the Goblins in Gringotts that launched a rebellion and I'd be more inclined to believe that instead."

"Lucius-" McGonagall was about to respond again but Harry interrupted her this time.

"You put the book in Ginny's book at Flourish and Blotts didn't you!" Harry accused causing everyone to fall silent instantly.

Lucius turned to look at Harry with a forced expression and said, "Don't go out throwing accusations without any proof boy, be careful what you are getting yourself i-."

"Lucius! Don't you go around threatening students of Hogwarts under our watch!" McGonagall finally said her piece and took a stand beside Dumbledore.

Malfoy looked at Dumbledore with an indignant expression but remained silent.

Finally, after the silence stretched for a few seconds, Dumbledore spoke, "Mrs. Weasley, I would be happy if you could escort your children to the Hospital Wing, I'm sure they need to be there rather than here at the moment."

The parents nodded and hurried out of the room, and Professor Lockhart followed them.

"Professor McGonagall, I'd appreciate it if you could go back and deal with matters regarding the shutting down of the school since we don't need to close down anymore."

McGonagall nodded and left the room, leaving only Lord Malfoy, Harry and Dumbledore in the room.

"Lucius, I'm happy that you care for the students and only want what's best for them, even if you want to place a person here who would do the job better than me, but for now I will have to disappoint you. I will not be resigning from my post at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said looking above his half-moon spectacles and straight into his eyes.

Lucius wore a prominent scowl at those words, pulled his robes along with him and walked out of the office leaving Dumbledore and Harry alone.

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