With the basilisk destroyed and Tom Riddle's diary reduced to ruins, the legend of the Chamber of Secrets — a tale that had circulated in the wizarding world for nearly a thousand years — finally vanished like smoke.
From that day onward, there would be no more basilisks haunting the students, and no so-called heir of Slytherin.
Dumbledore led the newly awakened Ginny out of the Chamber, and together they went to Professor McGonagall's office, where the entire Weasley family was waiting.
Even before they reached the door, the sound of Mrs. Weasley's sobbing could be heard from inside — proof enough of how deeply worried the sometimes "fierce," sometimes gentle middle-aged mother had been for her daughter.
When the door opened and Dumbledore entered with Ginny, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward them.
Mrs. Weasley, seated by the fire, froze mid-sob. Mr. Weasley stared blankly at the doorway. The twins stopped pacing back and forth. For a brief moment, the whole office seemed frozen in time, silence filling the air — until a shrill cry broke it.
"Ginny!"
Mrs. Weasley sprang to her feet, followed closely by Mr. Weasley. The two of them reached out and wrapped their arms around their precious daughter.
The twins hurried over as well; once they confirmed their little sister was safe, they turned to Eda and softly said, "Thank you."
After releasing Ginny, Mrs. Weasley embraced Eda and Harry in turn. Words could no longer express the gratitude she felt — she could only repeat over and over, "You saved her! You saved her!"
As the head of the family, Mr. Weasley expressed his thanks to Dumbledore, as well as to Professors Flitwick and Sprout, who had accompanied him.
He knew all too well that without the help of those three professors, his daughter might have remained trapped in the Chamber forever.
After a while, the emotions of the Weasley family gradually calmed down. Dumbledore walked over to the desk, set down the diary, and began recounting everything from start to finish.
While Dumbledore was speaking, Professor McGonagall walked up to Eda. She took out a handkerchief and began wiping Eda's face — the force she used clearly reflected just how disgusted she was by how muddy Eda looked.
Eda knew she was covered in grime, so she had already cleaned her robes a bit after leaving the Chamber. But as for whether there was still dirt on her face — she couldn't see for herself, and no one had told her — so of course she didn't know she looked like a little soot-covered kitten.
Dumbledore did not blame Ginny, who had been manipulated by Voldemort. He did not accuse her of opening the Chamber or unleashing the basilisk to attack students. Instead, he comforted her and told the Weasleys not to punish her.
The real culprit, he said, was Tom Riddle's diary — and the one who secretly placed it among Ginny's schoolbooks was the person who should be held responsible: Lucius Malfoy.
Yes, it was Lucius Malfoy who had slipped the diary into Ginny's Transfiguration book that day in Diagon Alley — the day of the "boxing match."
After leaving the office, the Weasley family took Ginny to the hospital wing, so the poor girl who had endured so much suffering could finally rest. Harry, however, stayed behind in the office, his mind full of questions he wanted to ask Dumbledore and have answered clearly.
Eda also had her share of doubts, but she didn't stay. Instead, she wandered off alone to the bathroom. She simply couldn't stand the smell on herself anymore — those questions could wait for later.
At this time, all the students were still confined to their respective common rooms, so the bathroom was completely empty. Eda went to her usual stall, turned on the tap, adjusted the temperature, and slipped into the water — every movement smooth and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
In the misty, steamy bathroom, Eda draped a towel over her head. Her fair skin was flushed a light pink, and all the unpleasantness from the grime and filth she'd endured was now long forgotten.
People often said that one tended to think while bathing — after all, it was in the bath that the ancient Greek Archimedes discovered the principle of buoyancy. But that didn't really mean bathing helped people think; rather, it was because, in the quiet of a bath, free from distractions, the mind naturally became clearer.
Right now, Eda was alone in the bathroom — the kind of scene that, in a horror film, would be the most dangerous, yet also the most fitting for reflection. Her thoughts were running wild, her mind racing, as she thought about that diary — Tom Riddle's diary.
A diary capable of preserving the memories of a sixteen-year-old boy for fifty years, capable of "reviving" that boy and giving him a tangible form — that clearly wasn't something an ordinary notebook could do, especially one made by Muggles. This was neither pure magic nor science.
If such a diary truly existed, Eda thought, I want one too! I can pay! However many there are, I'll buy them all!
Once that Muggle-made diary had come to hold Tom Riddle's memories — or his soul — it ceased to be an ordinary object. It became a magical artifact, one that carried Voldemort's hope for resurrection.
Eda had once briefly discussed souls and life with Dumbledore. Most magic that touched upon either was dark magic — usually wicked, unforgivable magic.
In other words, for the diary to hold a soul, and even make it possible for memories to take form again, it was highly likely that dark magic was involved. And that kind of dark magic might well be Slytherin's true treasure — knowledge drawn from those missing books Voldemort had hidden away.
Only, Eda had no clue what kind of dark magic it was. Grindelwald had never taught her dark magic, and she had never learned anything similar from Glover Cecil either.
For a moment, Eda found herself in a complete knowledge blind spot. She yanked the towel off her head and slammed herself back into the bathwater. She had meant to curse out loud, but instead, what slipped from her mouth was an unconscious "hissss."
!!!
Startled, Eda immediately covered her mouth. She had only just gained this ability and hadn't yet mastered it — one brief lapse in focus, and she'd let it slip. That was careless, far too careless.
If anyone were to find out that she could also speak Parseltongue… even if Eda had a hundred mouths, she wouldn't be able to explain it away!
Thankfully, she was alone here. No one would know about her mistake, and no one would know that she too possessed the power to make serpents bow before her.
Right now, Eda was still weak — she needed to explain away every oddity and irregularity around her just to seem "normal."
But one day, when she became someone like Dumbledore or Grindelwald, she wouldn't need to explain anything to anyone. The name Esmeralda Twist would be the truth.
Once she was sure no one could have noticed, Eda relaxed again, sinking comfortably into the hot water.
While Eda was busy scrubbing herself clean and enjoying the warmth, a few unexpected guests arrived at Hogwarts. The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had come — and alongside him was Lucius Malfoy.
Minister Fudge's visit was to deal with the Chamber of Secrets incident — and to take away the alleged culprit, Hagrid.
Yes, just like fifty years ago, Hagrid was once again being treated as the murderer. Both the former headmaster Armando Dippet and the current Minister Fudge had been fooled completely. Even Harry and Ginny, who had been lured and manipulated, couldn't really be blamed.
The mystery of the Chamber of Secrets had already been solved by Dumbledore. The Hogwarts gamekeeper was proven innocent, and Hagrid no longer needed to be sent to Azkaban.
Although Dumbledore didn't hand over the culprit to the Minister, he warmly invited Fudge to visit the Chamber himself—to see the basilisk, a creature that had vanished from the British Isles for over four hundred years.
Cornelius Fudge, of course, had no desire to go anywhere near the Chamber. Using the excuse of "urgent official business," he declined Dumbledore's invitation.
Then, the Minister left Hogwarts in a hurry—almost flying out of the castle—and conveniently took the great fraud Gilderoy Lockhart with him.
Lockhart would be temporarily held at the Ministry of Magic. Once the investigation into his misdeeds was complete, he would be facing a long, unpleasant stay in Azkaban.
Unlike the Ministry, Lucius Malfoy had come to Hogwarts with a different purpose.
Though he used the Chamber incident as his pretext, his true goal was political—he had joined forces with other school governors to pressure Dumbledore into stepping down.
But Malfoy was destined for disappointment. Not only did he fail to drive Dumbledore out, he ended up being scolded and humiliated by him—and even lost his family's house-elf.
All the chaos this school year—the warning Harry received from the Ministry, missing the train to Hogwarts, nearly being murdered by a rogue Bludger—had all been caused by Dobby, the Malfoys' house-elf.
Thankfully, Harry, being generous, didn't hold a grudge for Dobby's well-intentioned but disastrous "help." Instead, he freed him.
From this day on, Dobby was a free elf!
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