Chapter 51: Celebration Dinner
Ginny Weasley lay dazed in her bed in the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey had just finished examining her and confirmed that she was alright.
"My dear, I'll get you some restorative tonic. Drink it and have a good sleep, and you'll be fine the next day." Madam Pomfrey said kindly, closing the bed curtains for her.
She could hear Madam Pomfrey walking out of the hospital ward and saying in a low voice, "She's fine... She just needs to rest... Don't disturb her, let her rest. Poor girl, she has to go through this at such a young age..."
She could hear the relieved sounds of her parents and brothers. And Harry's voice.
Then all was silent.
After a while, there were rustling sounds coming from next door, as well as the sound of a girl yawning and stretching.
Ginny was startled. She didn't know there were other living patients in the school hospital.
Looking out from between the gaps in the curtains, she saw Hermione Granger jumping out of the bed next to her, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. Ginny hurriedly lowered the curtains, making a little noise.
Hermione turned her head - she caught a glimpse of Ginny's eyes between the bed curtains.
"Oh, Ginny, are you all right?" She came quickly over and said happily outside the bed curtains. "That's great! They got you out!"
"Hermione, I'm so sorry." Ginny's voice came from behind the bed curtains, sounding very sad. "I was the culprit. I released the basilisk and opened the Chamber of Secrets."
"It's not your fault, it's the diary's fault, isn't it?" Hermione said crisply. "I know you didn't mean it."
"No, that's not what he said..." Ginny cried, "He always said that he was venting his anger on my behalf... He said he was thinking about what I was thinking and worried about what I was worried about... Come to think of it, I do have some issues with those victims... Maybe it's me -"
"Ginny!" Hermione pulled back the bed curtains and said angrily, "You can't think like that! We all have opinions about certain people, but that doesn't mean we have to hurt them! You cried for them all day long back then, and I didn't think you wanted to hurt them! Don't be fooled by this sweet-talking diary!"
"Really?" Ginny said tearfully. "You don't think I'm evil?"
"I don't think so." Hermione walked over and hugged her tightly. "I think you are the kindest girl in the world. You once wanted to throw the diary away, didn't you? You once wanted to struggle and resist it. You saw Harry holding it in his hand and you were afraid that he was in danger, so you stole it, didn't you?"
"Yes..." Ginny sobbed, "I wrote a lot of stupid things in that diary... He took advantage of me, the malice in my heart... I once felt something was wrong... I wanted to tell you that day... But I was afraid you would hate me... I was afraid of embarrassing Mom and Dad... I even petrified you... Wouldn't you hate me?"
"Oh, poor Ginny." Hermione stroked her hair. "We all know you didn't mean it. No one will blame you. I won't hate you. Besides, I'm standing right in front of you, okay?"
Ginny stopped crying, her mouth open, and suddenly she started.
"Ah, what's going on? How come you're still okay?" She looked Hermione up and down, surprised. "He told me that when he possessed me, he turned you to stone - because you were touching the truth."
"I was indeed petrified. It felt terrible." Hermione had a slightly frightened expression on her face, and then a smile appeared on her face, "But someone saved me."
"Who?" Ginny asked curiously, "How did they save you? It's unbelievable."
"It's a secret," Hermione said mysteriously, suddenly realizing a bit of Draco's joy in being mysterious. "You can take a guess."
"Oh! Hermione, how am I supposed to guess?" Ginny said in annoyance, and began to think hard, her sadness temporarily dispelled.
"Harry? My brother Ron? Fred? George?" Ginny was even more confused when she saw Hermione shaking her head at her. "Maybe it wasn't Madam Pomfrey, otherwise the other students would have been saved..."
"That's right...it's not her." Hermione said with a smile, "Guess again!"
Students attended the Hogwarts celebratory dinner in their pajamas, which lasted all night.
Draco looked at the boisterous crowd, lost in thought. Once upon a time, everyone had celebrated like this, the food, the cheers, the smiles—all the same. The difference was him.
His state of mind was completely different from his previous life. In his previous life, he was busy being stubborn, shouting to the Slytherins that it was a pity - a pity that the Chamber of Secrets was closed and everything was settled - he was a 12-year-old boy who was eager to see the world in chaos. What kind of rationality can you expect from a boy of that age?
At that time, he didn't know that death was an irreversible cruel fact, like the extinguishing of a light; he thought death was just a dirty word, just like those petrified people would eventually come back to life.
This greatly reduced his fear of death.
But now, Draco Malfoy, mentally 19, finally understood the ruthlessness of death. He understood the fragility of life. Even if he kept a close eye on Hermione for an entire semester, she could still be petrified in the blink of an eye, hanging by a thread.
What if she hadn't looked in the mirror? Would she have been the next Myrtle?
He saw the real Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. He had thought he would be ecstatic, with a kind of pilgrimage mentality; but what impressed him most was the debris on the ground in the passage leading to the Chamber of Secrets, which were all lost lives.
After seeing the horror of the basilisk and the terrible effects it could cause, he was just thankful that no one was injured or killed - if Lockhart's amnesia was not counted.
As for Harry, Draco looked at the grinning black-haired boy in the crowd, his lightning-shaped scar gleaming in the candlelight. Harry had done something no other twelve-year-old wizard could do. He was a brave little wizard, and in some ways, very powerful.
It took the Dark Lord five years to find the Chamber of Secrets. Harry found it in less than a year, and he is the only wizard to have actually found the location of the Chamber of Secrets at the age of 12. He also pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and killed a thousand-year-old basilisk without losing any arms or legs, which is a miracle.
There is certainly some luck involved, such as the tears of the Phoenix Fawkes and the help of the Sorting Hat; but not everyone can defeat the basilisk and destroy the Horcrux with such help.
Especially when Harry had no idea that the diary was a Horcrux - it took a natural wizarding acumen to make the decision to pierce the diary with his fangs, but Harry did it without thinking, and it worked.
This made Draco respectful.
He didn't understand why he was blinded in his previous life and didn't discover Harry's talent earlier; perhaps he had already discovered it, but was too jealous because such a person he longed for actually rejected his friendship, which made him indignant and he could no longer look directly at Harry's talent.
That night, Professor Dumbledore sat in the center of the teaching desk, wearing his favorite purple robe, and announced several good news in a bright and energetic manner: Ginny Weasley was rescued from the Chamber of Secrets by Harry and Ron, and the two of them won the school's special contribution award, adding 400 points to Gryffindor; the Chamber of Secrets would never be opened again, and the monster inside had been completely destroyed.
There was a great deal of joy at the Gryffindor table. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were also delighted.
No one wanted to close the school, but perhaps because Harry had received a reward and Gryffindor had gained a lot of points, Professor Snape's face darkened and the Slytherin students looked unhappy.
"Don't worry too much, we're doing well at Quidditch this year," said Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gloomily. "As long as we can beat Hufflepuff—"
Draco didn't expect that Marcus still naively hoped to use the points in the Quidditch match to make up for the school's lag behind Gryffindor.
Then, Professor McGonagall announced that this year's Quidditch Cup was cancelled due to the impact of the Chamber of Secrets - Marcus was petrified on the spot because of the shock - and she regretfully announced that in order to entertain everyone, this year's final exams were also cancelled.
At this point, almost all the students in the auditorium cheered. Pansy, who was sitting diagonally opposite Draco, and Blaise, who was standing next to Draco, happily threw their pointed wizard hats into the air, just like the other students.
Goyle and Crabbe were grinning with incredible joy, and Draco was absolutely certain that their joy at having their exams cancelled was genuine.
Marcus, standing by, angrily twisted the silver handle off the cup. Goyle and Crabbe, who were about to toast to celebrate, stopped and looked at him in horror.
"Next year, we will definitely play better." After a pause, Draco said to Marcus, "We will take back everything that belongs to Slytherin. Believe in us."
Marcus nodded vigorously, grabbed the whole chicken breast in front of him and took a big bite. Draco knew that he was right to be angry.
Marcus didn't stand a chance. He would graduate next school year, and this year's Quidditch Cup was his last chance.
Unless Marcus was held back next year. In his past life, he had indeed been held back. But Draco shouldn't have said that.
As for Draco himself, he no longer had the energy to be angry about the "cancellation of Quidditch".
It was indeed unfair to cancel the Quidditch Cup. It was obvious that before the 400 points were added, Slytherin was about 100 points ahead of Gryffindor.
Just like Professor Snape, the headmaster of Slytherin, who likes to protect his shortcomings, every headmaster has his own favorite house. Dumbledore, who was born in Gryffindor, is no exception.
He was so obvious about it. He was obviously taking the opportunity to give Gryffindor more points so that Gryffindor could win the House Cup.
Draco didn't understand why everyone couldn't see this. It wasn't Gryffindor who had to win, but Harry who had to win. Dumbledore was encouraging and even motivating Harry to some extent.
Dumbledore seemed to be creating an atmosphere for Harry.
In this atmosphere, Harry was a hero, admired and loved by everyone. For a boy who had been neglected since childhood, this was an irresistible honor and joy. Even Draco, who had grown up in an atmosphere of stardom, could not resist such vanity, let alone Harry, who desperately wanted to be recognized and accepted?
Draco didn't know if this atmosphere was healthy, but this time, he decided to let them go.
Harry deserved this victory—he had solved the diary problem for Draco. The Chamber of Secrets incident was successfully resolved, and the Malfoys were temporarily safe, without anyone suffering any substantial harm.
This is a blessing.
He took a swig of warm pumpkin juice and looked towards the Gryffindor table. Ernie Macmillan, the gossipy Hufflepuff, was holding Harry and Ron's hands and chattering to Harry.
Next to them sat Hermione, who had returned from the hospital wing. The little girl sat there perfectly still, her pretty face flushed with health.
Hermione immediately caught the boy's eye—in fact, she seemed to have been watching him all along—and she raised her glass of pumpkin juice and toasted him from a distance.
Draco's brows relaxed, and the corners of his tightly pursed mouth finally formed a faint smile. He raised his glass to the little girl who was full of joy.
The professors also looked very happy.
The news that a certain boastful Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would not be able to return to teach next semester due to memory loss caused a burst of cheers from the faculty. Even Professor Snape's stern face softened a little at this unexpected good news.
In the second half of the night, the students at the tables of the four major colleges were running around without distinguishing between you and me. The Weasley twins even took the opportunity to perform a fireworks show, which caused exclamations from the younger students. The drunk professors were already staggering and had no time to pay attention to it. Professor Flitwick even ran down to applaud the fireworks, and his hat tilted to one side.
Harry and Ron struggled through the crowd of students and came to Draco.
"Why don't you accept the Special Contribution Award? You deserve it as much as we do! We think it's unfair!" Harry couldn't understand Draco's train of thought - he could have added at least 200 points for Slytherin, but he refused.
"We talked to Professor Dumbledore before dinner, and he said it was your request." Ron was puzzled. In his opinion, no one would refuse such an honor.
"Professor Dumbledore said he couldn't explain this, so we should ask you directly." Harry looked at him sincerely with his emerald green eyes. "We must make sure this is your intention."
"Ah, yes... for personal reasons." Draco pretended to be mysterious and lowered his voice. "After all, that is the Chamber of Secrets of Slytherin College. It's Salazar Slytherin's pet. You know... maybe some Slytherin students would think I'm a traitor or something..."
He shrugged and reminded them, "Please keep it a secret for me."
"Okay." Harry and Ron agreed reluctantly, glancing warily at the Slytherin students around them.
The explanation was so light, almost trifling; but Draco seemed to have made up his mind, and it would seem disrespectful to them to persist.
Ron scratched his hair and spoke hesitantly, "George and Fred told me. I have to say I like the owl you gave me as a birthday present. I named it Piggy... Anyway, I wanted to say, uh, thank you."
Draco just lazily curled his lips at him, said nothing more, and patted his shoulder.
That was the end of the conversation.
A wave of Ravenclaws suddenly rushed over and surrounded Harry and Ron. They put a strange-looking birthday hat on his head and pretended that this cardboard thing was some kind of magnificent crown.
Ravenclaw students are really obsessed with tiaras, Draco thought absentmindedly. He was fiddling with a palm-sized, retractable dragonhide storage pouch deep in his pocket, where several fresh basilisk fangs lay.
An idea suddenly came to his mind - why not now?
Draco had never had the chance to go to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor. On weekdays, there were too many people coming and going there.
It was very close to Gryffindor Tower, and a Slytherin appearing there would undoubtedly be quite conspicuous; but today was different, everyone gathered in the Great Hall, even many ghosts came.
Draco stood up and strolled among the cheerful crowd as if nothing had happened, as if he was not anxiously crossing the entire hall, but leisurely strolling in his own back garden.
Finally, he slipped to the door—thinking he hadn't alerted anyone—and quietly moved the door of the auditorium a little open.
The students were still partying and making a lot of noise. Who would pay special attention to the movement at the door? The answer is no one.
Draco quickly slipped out of the door, closed it gently, and ran straight to Ravenclaw Tower.
"You're back alive." Ms. Grey did not join in the revelry, but waited quietly there - she had not moved a step since Draco ran to the Chamber of Secrets.
A faint smile finally flashed across the face that often showed melancholy, and she asked him, "Did you get it?"
"Of course," Draco said, a hint of pride in his eyes.
Ms. Grey pursed her lips and made a decision after a moment.
"It's time to end this." She quickly dodged and immediately floated in front of Draco. "See you on the eighth floor."
It was rare to see Ms. Grey acting so unbecomingly. Dracula stared at Ms. Grey as she floated away through the wall like a gust of wind, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.
When he appeared at the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor, Ms. Grey had been lingering in front of the wall for a long time.
"You have to come. This room only obeys the wishes of the living." She sighed softly, her tone melancholy.
Draco nodded. He closed his eyes skillfully and walked back and forth in front of the wall three times, thinking - I need to find a place to hide various things.
Soon after, the door appeared. He opened it, and as expected, it was the treasure house filled with miscellaneous items he was familiar with in his previous life. He had lived here for most of his 16 years, studying the Vanishing Cabinet.
This was Draco's first time entering the Room of Requirement since his rebirth. The experience of nearly dying in the Fiendfyre had left him with a bit of a psychological scar.
He didn't enjoy being in the Room of Requirement. While it was magical, the meaning behind it—death, conspiracy, and more death—was not enjoyable.
But this time he had to come. Following Ms. Grey, who floated silently in front of him, he passed through rows of messy tables, chairs, and cabinets, walked past several rows of old broomsticks, and finally stopped in front of an old cabinet with a blistering surface.
On top of the cabinet sat an ugly bust of a wizard, wearing an old, dusty wig and something that looked like an old, faded crown.
"Here," she whispered, a hint of excitement in her tone.
Draco recognized the crown on the statue's head at a glance. It was the same one Harry had desperately tried to get in Fiendfyre in his previous life.
——Ravenclaw's Diadem.
He waved his wand, but the crown didn't budge.
"You'll have to hold it with your hands," Miss Grey said with a chuckle. "A flying spell won't work on such a delicate magical item."
Draco had no choice but to climb up the cabinet with great difficulty, and grabbed it with his hands amid the creaking and twisting sounds of wood. He dropped to the ground and tried to see the gray crown in his hand clearly, and more details appeared before his eyes.
He could see through some dust the exquisite patterns and gems underneath, and he also found tiny words engraved on the crown: "Extraordinary wisdom and talent are the greatest wealth of mankind."
Strangely enough, these words seemed to be whispering in his ear, repeating over and over again, which made Draco feel dazed for a moment.
At one moment, he had a feeling that perhaps by wearing the crown, he would gain infinite wisdom and no longer need to rack his brains to think about the secrets of the Horcruxes or the Dark Lord - all the problems in the world would be solved.
"Wake up! Draco Malfoy!" Ms. Grey said hurriedly.
Her cry woke him up, and he looked up at Ms. Grey. She was already a milky white ghost, which should have no other color, but at that moment, he could see the flame of revenge burning in her eyes.
"Quick! Don't be fooled by it! Look at what I've become!" Ms. Grey screamed. "Quick, stab it!"
Draco came back to his senses. He dropped the bewitching crown to the ground as if his hand had been burned. He clenched the fangs in his hand and stabbed them hard into the center of the crown.
The seemingly silent crown suddenly emitted a distant, faint, painful scream. Then, a bloody, black, sticky substance seeped out of the crown. The crown shook violently on the ground before breaking into charred fragments.
The scene was terrifying and the sound was harsh. Draco could only cover his ears and stay away from the crown until everything fell silent.
"It's over." Finally, he looked up and said to the ghost beside him while panting.
Lady Grey paid him no attention. She fluttered about the fragments of the tiara, laughing, and as she laughed she began to cry again.
"Thank you. I will always owe you a favor." After a long time, she seemed to wake up from a dream, muttering something, floating past the door of the Room of Requirement, and walked away in a daze.
Draco stared at her back for a moment. This crown was truly harmful.
He quickly and carefully put the remaining fragments of the crown and the fangs into the storage bag, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Draco once imagined how excited he would be when he destroyed the Horcrux, but when he actually destroyed the Horcrux, perhaps because he had experienced so much waiting and hardships, he felt extremely calm instead.
Even numb.
In other words, it is extreme exhaustion of the soul.
After all, he had just experienced the ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets and faced the evil temptation of the Horcrux.
In one day, he participated in two major events, each of which would have been enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life.
But he wasn't excited at all. He just felt lethargic and exhausted.
While no one noticed, he planned to leave this place quickly and return to the dormitory at the bottom of the Black Lake to rest.
Under the cold moonlight, the door of the Room of Requirement was opened a little.
Draco slipped out and closed the door softly.
However, when he turned around, the person he least expected was standing straight in front of him.
It was Hermione Granger.