Harry bent down and picked up what remained of the diary. The cover was torn, the pages soaked through with dark, ink-like blood, the damage from the basilisk fang.
He turned it over in his hands, his expression tightening.
"Where did Ginny even get this?" Ron asked. His voice edged with anger now that the danger had passed enough for him to think clearly. "This thing nearly killed her."
Harry didn't look up immediately.
"I remember," he said slowly, his mind going back to Diagon Alley, "it was your father, Victor. He slipped something into Ginny's cauldron when we were at the bookshop."
The memory settled heavily between them.
Hermione turned toward Victor.
Ron followed.
Harry finally looked up as well.
All three of them were watching him now.
Victor met their gaze without hesitation, his expression completely straight.
"Well," he said evenly, "I don't know."
Ron frowned immediately.
"You expect us to believe that?" he said. "Your father just happens to slip a cursed diary into my sister's things, and you have nothing to do with it?"
Victor didn't react to the accusation.
"No," he said calmly. "If I knew, I wouldn't be here trying to stop it."
"And I'm just a kid," Victor added. "How do you expect me to know what my father is planning? And even if I did—do you really think he would listen to me?"
The question hung there.
Harry glanced at Hermione, and she gave a small, reluctant nod. It wasn't hard to believe. From everything they had seen of Lucius Malfoy, he didn't seem like the kind of man who took advice from anyone, let alone his son.
Ron didn't look convinced.
His expression remained tight, suspicion still lingering, but he didn't push further. Whatever he thought, he couldn't ignore the fact that Victor had just saved Ginny—and all of them.
The tension eased, but didn't disappear completely.
Victor shifted his attention between them, then spoke again, this time more deliberate.
"Before we leave," he said, "there's something I need from you."
All three of them looked at him.
"My Animagus form," he continued, his voice low but firm, "no one can know about it."
Hermione frowned, her voice lowering as she spoke. "We shouldn't tell anyone," she said carefully, the weight of it clear in her tone. "An unregistered Animagus is illegal—the Ministry of Magic takes it very seriously."
"Exactly," Victor replied.
Harry nodded without hesitation, his expression set. "We won't tell anyone."
Ron hesitated a moment longer, glancing between them before giving a short, reluctant nod. "Fine," he muttered. "Your secret's safe."
Hermione looked at Victor one last time, still curious, still full of unanswered questions—but she didn't press.
For now, at least.
They had bigger things to deal with.
Ginny still hadn't woken up.
They returned to the spot where they had fallen into the underground chamber. The circular opening far above looked even more distant from below, a narrow ring of darkness with no visible ledges or support.
Ron tilted his head back, squinting as if that would somehow shorten the distance.
"So… how are we getting up?" he asked, already looking toward Victor.
Victor lifted his gaze, studying the vertical shaft in silence. For a moment, it actually looked like he was calculating something—distance, angle, possibilities.
Harry and Hermione waited.
Ron waited.
Victor gave a small, thoughtful hum.
Then, completely seriously, he said, "I don't know."
The silence that followed was immediate.
Ron stared at him, his expression flattening.
"You don't know?" Ron said slowly, still staring at Victor as if expecting him to suddenly admit it was a joke. "You looked at it like you had a whole plan ready."
Victor didn't look the slightest bit embarrassed.
"I had a plan," he said evenly. "Kill the basilisk. Save Ginny. That part is done. I didn't plan what comes after."
Ron opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly deciding he didn't have the energy to argue with that logic.
Hermione, however, was already thinking ahead, her gaze moving across the chamber again.
Before she could say anything,
A sound echoed faintly through the cavern, soft and clear—a bird's call—and all four of them froze, because it didn't belong there.
The sound grew louder, closer, echoing strangely against the stone walls as something descended through the dark opening above. A streak of red and gold broke through the darkness, wings catching what little light there was.
The Phoenix landed gracefully near them.
Fawkes.
Harry's eyes widened slightly.
Victor let out a quiet breath, something between relief and mild resignation.
So he was watching,
"Fawkes…" Harry said quietly.
The bird let out another soft note, then moved toward Ginny, lowering its head slightly as if checking her condition.
A moment later, it turned back to them and spread its wings.
He was already moving, helping Harry lift Ginny carefully again. The four of them gathered close as Fawkes lowered itself slightly, allowing them to take hold.
"Everyone hold on," Hermione said, though her voice carried a mix of awe and tension.
The moment they did,
Fawkes took off.
The force of its wings filled the chamber, lifting them upward with surprising ease. The air rushed past as they rose through the vertical tunnel, the darkness closing in around them before slowly giving way to faint light above.
The ascent felt far shorter than the fall had.
Within moments, they emerged from the opening, landing back in the familiar, cracked interior of the second-floor bathroom.
Fawkes settled lightly, and they released their grip.
Waiting for them.
Was Dumbledore.
He stood there as if he had been there the entire time, calm as ever, though his eyes carried a quiet intensity as they moved over each of them, pausing briefly on Ginny.
"Hmmm," he said softly, taking in the scene—the exhaustion, the damage, and what it all implied.
*****
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