Unloveds learning love

Sage Potter’s summer after her first year at Hogwarts was nothing short of miserable. Locked away in the cupboard under the stairs at Number Four, Privet Drive, she toiled day in and day out, her work stretching sixteen hours regardless of the weather—scorching sun, bone-chilling cold, or pouring rain. Her meals, if she earned them by completing her chores to her aunt and uncle’s satisfaction, consisted of a piece of dry bread and a glass of milk. Yet, before leaving Hogwarts, Sage had had the foresight to shrink her trunk and slip it into her pocket, her only hidden treasure.

Meanwhile, summer unfolded differently for her friends. Neville Longbottom traveled to France with his formidable grandmother to visit Uncle Algie, whose harshness Neville could barely tolerate. Daniel spent his days at home, his tinkering and creative experiments in his personal lab providing an occasional break from the subdued interactions with his busy parents. In contrast, Draco Malfoy’s return home was met with trepidation. The moment he set foot in Malfoy Manor, his father, Lucius, subjected him to the Cruciatus Curse, an agonizing punishment for not being sorted into Slytherin. Narcissa, Draco’s mother, attended to him secretly, her gentleness a balm to his suffering. It was during one of his wanderings in the vast manor that Draco discovered a peculiar, empty diary, its pages compelling him to write. Lucius had placed the diary strategically, intending to use Draco to further his dark plans. Draco, lonely and eager for an escape, succumbed to the diary’s allure and soon became obsessed.

At the Burrow, Ron, Ginny, and Molly Weasley, along with Albus Dumbledore, plotted in whispers, their intentions hidden behind friendly faces.

When Sage returned to Hogwarts in September, she was a shadow of her former self. Her uniform hung loosely on her thin frame, and dark circles shadowed her emerald eyes. The spark in her gaze was dulled. Draco’s appearance mirrored her own; he was gaunt, his skin pale, eyes hollow. He avoided Sage, Neville, and Daniel, raising concern among them. Ron whispered theories, claiming Draco was becoming like his father, a notion that only added to Sage’s worries.

Two months passed without any significant trouble, save for the detentions with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. Each detention left Sage disoriented, though she couldn’t recall exactly why. The familiar camaraderie she shared with Draco seemed to fade as he grew increasingly withdrawn.

Halloween arrived, bringing terror to the castle as the Chamber of Secrets was opened. The words, “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware,” were found scrawled in blood on a wall. Panic swept through the school.

Soon after, disaster struck close to Sage’s heart. Daniel and Neville were both petrified. Sage felt the sting of loneliness deep in her chest and spent countless nights sitting invisibly by their bedsides, her father’s cloak wrapped around her like a shield.

One evening, near the end of the school year, Draco approached her in the dim corridor outside the Slytherin common room. His eyes were clouded with an emotion Sage couldn’t quite name. “I need your help,” he whispered. There was something off about his voice, but she pushed the thought aside, nodding.

Draco led her to the second floor, where they approached the entrance to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. Sage’s steps faltered. “Why here?” she asked, suspicion tingling at the back of her mind.

Draco’s eyes suddenly flared crimson, and he seized her arm in a bruising grip. Sage gasped as he dragged her to one of the sinks. His voice, cold and sharp, hissed, “Open.” The sink shifted, revealing a dark, yawning hole.

Before Sage could react, red-eyed Draco shoved her into the opening. She fell, tumbling into darkness with a scream, the air rushing past her. She landed hard, pain shooting through her left arm as it broke. Her knees hit the stone floor, scraping them raw, and warm blood trickled down the side of her head. Through blurred vision, she saw Draco leap down with unnatural grace.

He marched over, gripping her hair and dragging her through the cavern. Bones crunched beneath her, and she glimpsed the shed skin of a serpent larger than she’d ever imagined. At last, they entered a vast hall. Draco released her, his body swaying as though exhausted. He collapsed to the floor, and from his chest emerged a half-transparent boy with dark hair and a triumphant smile.

Sage’s heart pounded as the boy—Tom Riddle—materialized fully, casting a dark shadow over Draco’s unconscious form. “You,” he said with a smirk, “are the last piece of the puzzle.”

Fear fueled Sage’s resolve. The chamber, lined with massive stone serpents, felt alive, waiting for Riddle’s command. She watched in horror as he spoke in Parseltongue, the ancient language of serpents. From the darkness, a low, slithering hiss answered. The basilisk emerged, eyes glowing with lethal intent.

Sage’s broken arm throbbed, and her vision swam, but she reached for her wand, hands trembling. “Stop!” she yelled. The monster paused, and for a heartbeat, so did time. She cast her gaze at Draco’s limp form and back at Riddle, whose eyes narrowed.

“You can’t fight me,” Riddle mocked. “You are alone.”

But she wasn’t. The memory of her friends, Daniel’s mischievous grin and Neville’s steady presence, flared inside her. She stood, chest heaving. “I’m not alone,” she said, defiance ringing in her voice.

With a furious shout, she summoned every ounce of magic within her, sending a spell crashing towards the basilisk. The chamber erupted in chaos as Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix, soared in, blinding the creature and dropping the Sorting Hat at Sage’s feet. Desperation guiding her, she reached inside and drew out a gleaming sword.

The fight that followed was a blur of blood, shrieks, and the clash of steel against scales. Sage’s arm screamed in pain with each movement, but she didn’t relent. When the basilisk lunged, she drove the sword through its mouth, feeling the lethal sting of its fang pierce her side. Poison flooded her veins, darkness encroaching.

She stumbled near Draco who still held the diary close to him. As if driven by some unforeseen power/knowledge, from weak fingers she pulled the diary out of Draco's grasp. She kept watching Voldemort's reaction. She opened the diary, took out the fang that was still embedded in her upper arm, and stabbed it into the diary again and again. Tom Riddle screamed and dispersed. Tom Riddle’s smirk faltered as he began to fade. “No,” he whispered, disbelieving, before vanishing into nothingness.

Draco groaned as he stirred, eyes wide with terror and confusion.

Sage crawled over, shaking fingers brushing his face. “It’s over,” she whispered.

Then she collapsed life fading out of her in front of Draco. Draco was horrified, he kept saying her to keep her eyes open, helps coming and full out hysterical.

Breathing became hard for Sage. She raised her trembling bloody hand to Draco's face. Gasping heavily she said "Missed you brother, you and Nev. Missed Dan. Love Dan. Don't cry."

Her eyes fell shut.

Fawkes meanwhile tried all his might to break his enchantment put by Dumbledore, to prevent him from trying to save Sage. Seeing the girl, who should technically be his true master if not for a meddling goat, taking her last breath, he managed to break through the compulsion and descended over Sage. He cried over her slightly open mouth, forcing the tears to go inside her mouth. Slowly the tears began doing their work. The basilisk poison was neutralized, not eradicated. All her wounds from dursleys and during hogwarts was healed. Her tears caused by Gilderoy Lockhart was also healed. But phoenix tears could do nothing against the potions in her system. The phoenix magic tears seeping life back into her. Fawkes promised himself that he will burn Gilderoy using his fire for what he did to his supposed mistress.

Darco was weak by almost one year of possession. After seeing Sage almost dying in his hand and then getting some life back with the help of the phoenix. It was too much for him and he fell into unconciousness. Fawkes fire teleported them to medical wing, where they both remained comatose for 3 days.

Petrified students were given restorative draught. Ron, Daniel, Neville and Sage hugged, Draco remained on sidelines, untill Sage pulled him into the circle.

Exams were cancelled, cups were cancelled. Year was over. Sage helped Draco overcome his trauma, they didn't tell anyone what happened that night. Draco started gaining his health back, but his eyes would get haunted sometime. He apologized to Sage many times despite her saying its not needed, he wasn't to blame what happened.

They went back home.