Chapter 24

"Welcome back, Lord Gryffindor"

Harry blushed brightly. But he couldn't ignore the various injuries he had suffered any more. Just then, suddenly Ginny Weasley woke up with a groan. Her eyes travelled to the giant basilisk corpse to a blood-soaked, injured Harry standing next to it.

"Harry – oh, Harry. I wanted to tell you today at dinner, but you kept avoiding me. It was me, Riddle m- made me do it. I s-swear. Where's Riddle? The last t-thing I remember - " said Ginny.

"It's alright" said Harry, his emotionless mask slipping back into place. "Riddle is finished. And I know you're not to blame either. You were possessed by what was clearly a dark artefact. Let's go. We both need medical attention. Hopefully, both of us can come out of this without any long lasting damage, though I'm doubtful" he said looking at his right hand. Were the phoenix tears enough to counter the poison that had spread all over this body?

Ginny was babbling about her getting expelled, but Harry did not pay much attention. Fawkes was waiting for them, hovering in the Chamber entrance. Harry urged Ginny forward; they stepped back into the tunnel as the great stone doors closed behind them with a hiss.

Harry took the sword and hat with one hand, pocketed the diary and grabbed Fawkes's tail feathers with the other. He asked Ginny to grab his leg and they flew up the pipe until finally, they reached Myrtle's bathroom.

"You're alive" she said flatly.

"Sorry about that Myrtle, but it looks like I won't be sharing your bathroom after all" said Harry dryly as he escorted Ginny out.

"Where now?" asked Ginny.

"Hospital Wing" said Harry as he limped along. He was in terrible pain as the numbing charms didn't seem to have an effect any longer. Tears picked his eyes; hopefully, Madam Pomfrey would be able to heal him soon.

But before that, he decided that there was something more important than that. "Toby" he said.

"Yes, Master Hadrian? Master, what happened to you?" asked Toby shocked at Harry's appearance.

"You and the rest of the elves can yell at me later Toby" said Harry smiling slightly. "But for now, I want you to take this sword and this diary and place it in the high-security vault in my study at Potter Castle. And make sure to increase the wards around the study as well, just in case. Instruct the elves not to touch it. The sword is coated with basilisk venom and this is its fang" he explained.

Toby nodded and popped away with the sword and the diary. Ginny was gaping at Harry "Potter Castle?" she asked disbelievingly.

"My home, that's where I live" explained Harry as he limped along to the Hospital wing, Ginny following him and idly wondering how rich Harry really was. Once they approached, he opened the door and went in. Harry mentally groaned when he saw several people there. It looked like they were in the process of giving the Mandrake Draught to the students. All of the petrified victims were sitting on their beds, along with Madam Pomfrey, Horace Slughorn and Lord and Lady Greengrass. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Daphne sitting on her bed, her eyes red with tears, but her expression stony.

"Harry, Miss Weasley!" shouted Slughorn. "We received reports that Miss Weasley was taken into the chamber and that Harry went in after her. What happened?"

"The danger of the Chamber of Secrets has passed, Professor. But right now, we need medical attention. Madam Pomfrey?" he asked looking at the Hogwarts resident healer.

Just then, the doors of the Hospital Wing burst open and Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Mr and Mrs Weasley came in. Harry and Daphne made eye contact and both snorted and rolled their eyes. There was an almighty scream.

"Ginny!"

Mrs Weasley leapt forward and engulfed her daughter so hard, that Harry cringed just by looking at the bone-crushing hug. There was no way he would ever accept a hug like that from anybody. He liked Daphne's hugs; they were so warm and comforting –

"You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?" screamed Mrs Weasley, moving towards Harry, intending to give him a tight hug as well.

Harry's eyes went wide and his body tensed. He didn't know how he would react in case that woman gave him such a bone crushing hug; but involuntarily attacking her and hyperventilation was a good bet. He stepped back and put his hand in front of him, but Mrs Weasley was coming with her arms raised. Just before he impacted the wall behind him, someone put up a shield between them. Harry turned to find the source and exhaled in relief. Daphne was standing with her wand aloft, still wearing a stony expression on her face.

"Miss Greengrass! How could you attack her?" shouted Professor McGonagall.

Mrs Wealsey bounced off the shield and her face went red with anger. "Just who do you think you are, young lady?" screeched Molly loud enough to destroy anyone's hearing.

Daphne coolly put her wand down and said coldly "I believe my fiancé has already told you not to grab him in a hug. He's not comfortable with it. Is that so difficult to understand and respect people's personal space?"

"Miss Greengrass that was uncalled for" said McGonagall sternly. "That will be ten points from Slytherin and you had better apologise to the lady."

Elizabeth Greengrass looked like she was about to say something to McGoonagall about her insensitive nature, but Daphne snorted, ignoring the shocked Transfiguration teacher who probably had never had a student ignore her before.

"What I would like to know is how young Harry escaped from the chamber" said Dumbledore smiling happily. "That was very honourable of you to go rescue young Miss Weasley, Harry. Clearly, you care a lot about her."

Harry snorted. Leave it to Dumbledore to think of this as a way to get him and that Weasley fangirl together. He slowly limped his way to Daphne's bed where she helped him remove his robe and lie down. He whimpered when his head came into contact with the pillow.

Daphne turned around, her dark blonde hair whipping her face. Her deep blue eyes were glowing with righteous anger. "I think you need to get your eyesight checked, Headmaster. Otherwise, you would have asked Madam Pomfrey to treat his extensive injuries rather than engage in storytelling" she said with gritted teeth.

Cyrus and Elizabeth looked at each other stunned. They had never seen their daughter like this. "Miss Greengrass, that's enough from you" said McGonagall, losing her temper. "You shall not disrespect the Headmaster. That'll be another twenty points from Slytherin, and the next time will be a detention."

Daphne's eye twitched, and her parents looked furious as well. "What kind of teacher are you?" she snapped looking at Minerva McGonagall. "First you believe in the lies sprouted by that senile old goat we call a Headmaster about my fiancé being the Heir of Slytherin and opening the Chamber of Secrets, and now you deduct points from me because I'm doing my duty to protect my fiancé? You're the Deputy Headmistress for Merlin's sake! That title doesn't just mean that your name appears on the letters for the first years and be done with it! It means that if there is a crisis, you keep your head and act in a rational manner, and ensure that all four houses are treated fairly, but of course, that's not possible when you're the Head of Gryffindor, is it? You didn't believe Harry when he said that he had been sexually molested by Lockhart, even though you knew that no one makes such an accusation without evidence or just to get someone in trouble. If Professor Flitwick hadn't been there, you would have just let it go and assigned Harry detention for lying, wouldn't you? I'm so glad Harry and I are not in Gryffindor because it would have been shameful to be under the thumb of such a disgusting, bigoted teacher. Deduct points and give detention to someone who cares, Professor. To me, nothing is more important than my fiancé and you, the harridan Weasley and the manipulative old goat standing next to you can all go to hell for all I care."

She turned back to Harry, just as Madam Pomfrey came over to him and scanned him. Dumbledore and McGonagall came over to him too though the latter was in a terrible state of shock at being told off by a second-year student, but Daphne held her hand in place to stop them. "I believe that it is the custom that discretion is maintained when it comes to the patient and healer. Step back; you have no business here" she said quietly.

Dumbledore finally had enough. He stepped forward, his aura blazing and said "I'm the Headmaster of the school and I have the right to - "

" – nothing" replied Daphne coldly. "You only have the right to a student's medical information if it's contagious or if you're acting in loco parentis. But since my fiancé is emancipated, the latter does not apply. I repeat, step back."

Daphne was furious. She had never been this angry before. Harry had decided to go into the chamber and fight the bloody basilisk without any help! And now, McGonagall was being a bitch and Dumbledore was trying to find out what was going on. She was very close to attacking someone. Her anger intensified and the aura around her was palpable as her body and the air around her were glowing with a pale gold light. Her parents were furious at the way their daughter was being treated and demanded answers from McGonagall, who didn't know how to respond as she was still in a state of shock.

Daphne immediately put up a strong privacy ward before Dumbledore could move and asked Madam Pomfrey "How is he?"

"This is bad" said the school healer. "Bones are broken all over his body, his face is puffed up, he's exhausted, has internal bleeding in various places, a concussion, there is trauma to the skull and spine and he seems to have been infected by a poison that I can't identify."

"You were bitten?" hissed Daphne, her eyes wide.

Harry looked at her and said, "Fawkes cried into the wound, but my uniform is splattered with its blood; we'll have to burn them. But I'm not very sure if it's completely neutralised."

Daphne took several calming breaths and turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Can you check if the poison is still affecting him or may affect him in the future?" she asked firmly.

Madam Pomfrey wanted to object and demand what the poison was but finally decided against it, for now, realising that Daphne was very close to attacking someone. She performed a deep scan on Harry's body and replied "The poison is completely neutralised. Traces of it will always be in his blood stream along with the phoenix tears, but it won't affect him. I'm not sure what poison it is, but the phoenix tears seem to have done its job. The tears heal all known poisons after all."

Daphne nodded. She then helped Harry remove his clothes. She turned and saw the rest of the people all staring at them. She snarled and summoned the screens from the other side of the room. Really, those people had no sense of privacy! She made Harry strip down to his boxers, not caring that Harry was blushing because of the tent that had formed in his pants due to her touch.

"Toby" she called out.

The elf popped in and asked, "What can Toby do for Miss Daphne?"

"Can you get me a bowl of warm water and a soft sponge? And please take Harry's uniform and burn them straight away; they're coated with the creature's poison so don't touch them. Also, please bring him a fresh set of clothes to wear, will you?" asked Daphne.

The elf nodded and followed her orders. The next twenty minutes was spent in silence as Madam Pomfrey worked on Harry, healing him. "He needs rest. I want him to stay in the Hospital Wing for the next two days" she said finally.

Before Harry could open his mouth to protest, Daphne beat him to it. "It will be done". She turned to him and asked, "Would you have let me leave this place if I were this badly injured?" Harry shook his head and lay down on the bed.

After Madam Pomfrey left, Daphne took the sponge and started removing the poison from his skin. After cleaning him off, she touched the new scar on his right forearm. It was a big white circle and she knew it won't go away because of its nature. Scars in the magical world were rare since they could be removed very easily, but those made due to dark magic could not be removed. Harry would have to honour this mark for the rest of his life.

"I know you think you did nothing wrong by going to the chamber alone" said Daphne quietly. "So we can argue about this later. Rest for now, okay? You can tell them what happened down there once you're healed. I'll take care of them for now".

"Thanks Daphne" said Harry as he drifted off to sleep.

Daphne covered his body with a blanket, her eyes lingering for a moment longer at Harry's erection, the bulge still very much visible through his boxers. She blushed, but couldn't help but admire Harry's body. She brushed her hand against his toned bare chest and abs and her blush increased. There was a reason Harry was considered as the best looking boy in the school. She took a deep breath, reinforced her Occlumency and stepped through the privacy curtain when she heard raised voices.

" – I'm sorry headmaster but she's clearly not in a state to answer any of your questions! I've just scanned her and it looks like she's been under the control of a very dark object for an extended period of time. She's hysterical! That's why she fainted when you questioned her. I want her to stay here until I say so, NO EXCEPTIONS!" thundered Madam Pomfrey, looking between Dumbledore and Molly Wealsey, the latter believing in Dumbledore's theory that her daughter was perfectly fine.

"Morons" muttered Daphne.

"Ah, Miss Greengrass" said Dumbledore, looking at Daphne. "I need to talk to Harry immediately" he said firmly.

Daphne shook her head and said "He's so exhausted that he's fast asleep, Headmaster. He said that he would give you an explanation once he has recovered."

"This is a matter of the safety of the school" thundered Dumbledore.

Cyrus Greengrass finally had enough and stepped in; He put an arm around his daughter and snarled "I believe Lord Potter specifically said that the danger of the Chamber of Secrets has passed. Did you not see him when he arrived, Dumbledore? He's in a terrible state! Don't you care about his well-being at all? You can question him later."

Dumbledore furiously swept from the Hospital wing, his loyal deputy at his heels. Madam Pomfrey informed all the petrified victims that they were fine and that they could return to their dormitories, and they all shuffled slowly out of the hospital, while still trying to catch a glimpse of Harry who was behind the screens.

Daphne turned to her parents and said "Mum, Dad, it's after midnight. I'm awake now, so there's nothing more to do here. Thanks for coming for me, I'll be fine. But I need to take care of Harry now. I'll see you soon."

Cyrus and Elizabeth looked at each other and sighed. "Alright Daphne" said her mother. "Let us know of any developments, and keep an eye out for Dumbledore. Cyrus, it might be a good idea to start fishing why the DMLE has been denied this case; it might be worth a look"

Cyrus narrowed his eyes and nodded. The two adults hugged their daughter and disappeared down the hallway. Daphne looked at the empty room and went back to her fiancé. She stood next to him and stroked his handsome face, just as a lone tear flowed down her cheek. She stood there for a minute, contemplating her decision and finally decided to do it. She removed her shoes and got into bed with Harry. Placing her head on his bare chest and putting her arm around his waist, Daphne drifted off to sleep, listening to his heartbeat and breathing in the familiar scent of the boy she loved.

HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP

The next morning, Harry woke up feeling a weight on his body. He opened his eyes and gaped at the scene in front of him. Daphne was sleeping next to him, with her head on his chest with one arm and leg around him. Heat rushed up to his face and neck, not to mention his morning erection got stiffer as he realised how close they were. He really thought he might freak out, but he didn't. There was something so right about this. He idly pushed strands of dark blonde hair away from her face as he watched her sleep. She is so beautiful, he thought.

After a few minutes, Daphne got up as well. Her eyes slowly drifted open as she heard a whispered "Good morning". She turned to see the smiling face of Harry looking back at her. Daphne blushed at being caught sleeping next to him but decided that since Harry didn't seem to mind, she wouldn't have to explain it to him. Besides, she loved cuddling with him like this. "Good morning. How are you feeling?" she whispered.

"Quite good, actually. Before anyone comes to check up on me, let's talk. How do you think we should proceed? Does Dumbledore know that the creature was a basilisk?" asked Harry.

Daphne slowly shook her head. "Doesn't seem like it" she said. "But he was furious that he couldn't get any information immediately. I'm not sure what he is up to, but we have to tread carefully."

"Agreed" said Harry.

There was silence for a minute until Daphne hesitantly asked, "What happened down there, Harry? Did you actually engage the basilisk? Is it dead?"

Harry flicked his wand to his hand, threw various privacy wards around them and started telling her what had happened in the chamber. After twenty minutes, Daphne's face was pale. "I'm so going to yell at you later" she whispered, breathing heavily.

Daphne turned back and said "You have accomplished something that is amazing, Harry. You killed a seventy-foot long Basilisk to protect the school, and that definitely is an outstanding achievement. We can capitalize on this opportunity. You were massively targeted because of that parselmouth article; you were accused without evidence; you were sent hate mail and howlers too, right? You were shunned by the entire school. I think we should throw it in their faces that you almost died to protect them. The public's perception of you will increase tremendously and show Dumbledore who actually won this round. He'll do his very best to hush this up, and we don't want that. You might even receive an Order of Merlin for this! What do you say?"

Harry stared at the ceiling while his fingers idly stroked Daphne's hair. After a few minutes, he replied saying "I like it. I believe you're right in saying that Dumbledore would want to hush things up. So, we show the Pensieve memory of the event to the entire school in the Great Hall. A few compulsion charms should make the mouthy ones demand to watch the memory. Then I can show them the truth that will change their fundamental perception of the war – Voldemort was a half blood, and my mother was a parselmouth and so was able to save my life. The Order of Merlin is a good idea, but I'll try to move it in the direction so that my mother gets the award posthumously. And explaining how I'm the true Heir of Gryffindor while saying that Voldemort might not be the Heir of Slytherin is too good to pass up. And don't worry, I have a plan to deal with the press" said Harry, grinning darkly.

HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP

They spent the entire day in the Hospital Wing. Harry acted as though he was still unconscious so when Dumbledore came to question him, he was asleep. Later that evening, a reluctant Madam Pomfrey let Harry go to the Great Hall for dinner after he promised that he would come back to the Hospital Wing that night to sleep. As Harry and Daphne entered the Great Hall during dinner, the hall went deathly silent. The two of them, without a care in the world, sat at the very end of the Ravenclaw table and proceeded to eat dinner. They had chosen this particular spot because it was the best spot from where the memory could be shown to everyone.

Then suddenly the questions started.

"Is it true you went into the Chamber of Secrets, Harry?"

"How did you rescue Ginny Weasley?"

"Is it true you like her?"

"How big is the chamber?"

"What's the monster that lives there?"

The questions continued when finally, Daphne released her anger out on them all. "Why should he tell you anything?" she snapped in her cold voice. "After all, all of you branded him as a Dark Lord for almost the entire year and accused him without proof didn't you? What has changed now? Now that he has saved a damsel in distress, he's noble in your eyes again? Many of you, including your families and the general population of this country accused him of murder, sent him mail that said that he should be sentenced to the Dementor's kiss for being the Heir of Slytherin while one recommended the Ministry confiscate his family fortune and expel him from Hogwarts and Great Britain itself! The oldest family in the country to be thrown out of Magical Britain! When all this was going on, did any of you come up to him and tell him that you didn't suspect him of doing it? Did any of the teachers stop the abuse that was rampant around this school? Why would they, when the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress themselves didn't care about him or believed him to be innocent? Even though the entire school and country teamed up against him, he didn't say a word. It only took me being attacked and petrified for you all to regain your senses. How many of you tried to apologise to him for treating him the way you did? You might say that he didn't want to speak to you – can you blame him? Would you do so if you were in his place? Without any proof whatsoever, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had decided that Harry was behind the attacks. Last night, when he came to the hospital wing so badly injured that he couldn't even walk; did they even bother to try to get him medical attention? No, they wanted him to engage them in storytelling. That's the care you all show to your so-called hero who saved you all from Voldemort all those years ago. Or have you all forgotten the fact that he is the Boy Who Lived? Don't any of you ever use your brain? Why would a half-blood, a son of a muggleborn, attack muggleborns? You attacked him, berated him, and now you act as though everything was rosy, and ask him questions and demand that he answer to you? He nearly died to protect this school and its worthless students and staff. So, why should he tell any of you anything while you are all a bunch of ungrateful pigs? He doesn't owe any of you anything" she said. Daphne's eyes were glowing with anger, and her aura was palpable with her magic swirling around her body.

All the people in the Great Hall were staring at her, with their jaws on the floor due to shock at what she had said. Harry then activated the compulsion charm he had cast on Draco Malfoy earlier; he truly loved Mind Magic in that it was so easy to manipulate others. He had cast the compulsion on Draco, but had used Legilimency to dive into his mind, and created a trigger as to when the boy should react. Voldemort and Dumbledore might be very good at the mind arts, but they didn't have the natural talent that Harry possessed.

"But we deserve to know" shouted Draco Malfoy, cutting through the silence. "Or is Potter too much of a coward to tell us what happened down there? It's all a lie, isn't it? He never went down to the Chamber of Secrets in the first place. You and that blood traitor Weasley must have staged the whole thing" he said and laughed.

A few other compulsions activated as well and some of the older years from the other houses started jeering at Harry. A particularly obnoxious older boy in Hufflepuff who had given Harry hell throughout the year said "So, you really are the Heir of Slytherin, aren't you Potter? You staged the whole thing so that no one would suspect you, but we did! You're a murderer and - "

The boy was cut off when he saw a wand pointed right between his eyes, its tip glowing. Daphne Greengrass stood in front of him with a furious expression on her face. "One more word" she whispered angrily "and I'll ensure you'll never speak to anyone ever again. The castration curse ought to make you create a filter between that empty head and filthy mouth of yours". Before she could curse him into next week, the whole hall heard a voice say quietly "Daphne, no. He's not worth it."

Daphne hesitated but returned to her seat next to Harry. All of them in the hall waited with bated breath as Harry slowly got up to face all four houses and the teachers as well. "This has gone on long enough. I may be very patient, but even I've reached the end of my tether. You all want to know what happened down there right? Very well, I'll show you. Toby"

The elf popped into the hall next to him. He idly heard a small shriek from Granger but didn't pay much attention. "Toby could you please bring me my Pensieve? The large one" he said.

Toby snapped his fingers and a Pensieve appeared next to Harry, suspended in thin air. Harry pointed his wand at his temple and pulled out a strand of silvery white substance and put it in the Pensieve. That's when Dumbledore decided to butt in. "No, I forbid this! Mr Potter, let us go to my office. We can discuss what happened there" he said.

Harry shook his head and said "You deliberately accused me of causing those attacks, Headmaster, along with the entire student body and most of the staff. I'm not going to take the attacks on my person and family lying down. If you want to know what happened, this is your only chance. I'm not going to explain myself again nor am I handing you my memory."

Dumbledore looked furious. But before he could object, Harry tapped the various runes on the Pensieve. The device would now work like a projector, showing the three-dimensional view of the incident, along with the sounds. He cast a sonorous charm on it so that everyone could hear it. And so the memory began.

The entire student body and staff of Hogwarts watched Harry enter the bathroom on the first floor and ask Myrtle about her death; him examining the tap and hissing at it in parseltongue. Many gasped at the fact that Harry indeed was a parselmouth, but they were too enthralled in watching the memory to voice out their accusations. They watched Harry request Myrtle to inform the teachers that he might die down there and then jump into the pipe; him proceeding down the stone tunnel; of him illuminating the giant snake skin where many of them gasped; him finding the wall with two serpents and hissing to it for it to open; him walking into the large chamber and telling Ginny Wealsey to wake up; him meeting Tom Riddle; They watched as Riddle explained that he was controlling Ginny Weasley the whole time; about how he got Hagrid expelled and finally he revealed himself as Lord Voldemort.

When Tom Riddle entered the scene, Dumbledore's eyes went wide. He couldn't afford Tom's real nature coming out; then his plan to reform him would be futile. Dumbledore got up and pointed his wand at the Pensieve which was positioned at the other end of the hall, when his wand suddenly went flying from his hand, but landed on the table in front of him. He gasped! The Elder Wand! He turned to find Harry Potter standing near the staff table with his wand in hand. No one else had noticed what the boy had done as they were all too enthralled by the memory. Albus immediately took his wand and felt it. Nothing! The blasted boy had just robbed him of his power by becoming the master of the Elder Wand! What to do?