The end of the year
The next several hours were a blur. Holly took Ginny and Lockheart to the Hospital wing where Madam Pomfry promptly began to cry at the sight of them. After getting checked over and cleaned up, Holly got to help administer the mandrake draught, which was really quite a treat! The second Hermione’s eyes opened, she was asking if they’d caught the Basilisk yet and Holly got to tell her (and her very concerned mentor, Madam Pomfry) the whole tale. Isolde heard the important bits after she woke up. Ginny cried when the both of them hugged her and told her they knew it wasn’t her fault.
The Weasley Parents came and Holly stayed around while Ginny and Madam Pomfry explained what had happened, filling in the blanks when needed. That was exhausting, but at the end, Molly hugged her and thanked her for saving her daughter.
Harry freed Dobby from the Malfoy’s with a sock, and NOBODY told lucious about Draco’s involvement in the whole thing. It was best for Draco if his father didn’t know.
The next morning, Holly woke up to Isolde’s laughter and Ginny’s indignant cries of protest as Tracey chased her around the room with a brush. She sat on the edge of her bed and watched, smiling. For a few minutes it was just them, but after a while Daphne came in, still in her nightgown, and sat down beside Holly. “My little sister starts next year. She- well the others think she’s dirty because of her curse… I thought if I went along with them she’d be safer, but I was wrong. I saw that when Isolde- they’re friends, you know? And you-” Daphne looked at the chaotic scene of their dorm room at eight in the morning and smiled. “Thank you.”
Holly bumped her shoulder against Daphne’s. “I can’t wait to meet her!” she promised.
The last few weeks of school went by like a summer breeze. Exams were canceled, Dumbledore was back, and so was Hagrid, and all the fear had gone from the school like a shroud being lifted. And then it was over. Holly hardly wanted to go back to the Dursley’s but after this year, she was sure she could face it!