Remedies and Reunions
The exit was easy to find. The basilisk was truthful by that at least, you weren’t looking forward to becoming snake chow by accident after all you had gone to hide her “death.”
The warm, yet stale air and early light of June welcomed you as you slid a heavy, wooden crate out of the way. It gave little resistance, but was relatively easy to push and slide back into place once you were out. Every light and candle had been extinguished, but you recognized where the secret pathway led you; the library, just like she said. The very little light that filtered through the library’s windows signalled early sunrise.
You scratched your head out of frustration. Holy shit, things had gone smoother than planned.
You assumed that the monster residing within the chambers was true. Something had been attacking the students so there was no doubt there. Their petrification was not something a wizard could do with a curse or a hex, so it threw that idea out the window.
What frustrated you was the fact that you knew what a basilisk was — even read on it a couple of times — but had somehow not put the pieces together. One of the dark magic books you had at home had a whole segment dedicated to the creature after all. And all the other facts added up:
There was the fact that Salazar Slytherin had been the one to place the beast in the chamber, the fact that he loved snakes enough to choose it as the Slytherin emblem, and the fact that the strange voice that made itself known before attacks, the voice only you and Harry could hear — that was something you should have connected, but didn’t. Even Hagrid had complained of the roosters’ sudden deaths during one of your weekend visits, it was all laid right in front of you.
“Merlin, how could you be so stupid?” You hissed to yourself as you made your way out of the library.
But you couldn’t be too hard on yourself. After Adrian had been attacked, you were too busy throwing yourself into studying or supporting Solaris to make sure she was doing okay. Your focus was so angular and cloudy that you wouldn’t have been able to recognize all the signs.
You sighed and decided to drop the whole degrading speech and made your way back to your dorm. It had been a long night and your clothes smelled musty. At the same moment that you found yourself cringing at your smell, a familiar scent hit you like a brick wall.
Shit.
Snape was outside patrolling corridors no doubt. Probably heard that you were out of bed and in the chamber if Harry decided to tell the Headmaster everything that happened. The corridor was bare except for the door that led to the abandoned bathroom, but it was too far for you to make it in time without alerting Snape that someone was there.
A bright light was shoved into your face as soon as you turned the corner. You groaned, blinking away the blinding spot that muddled your vision. Snape cursed underneath his breath before rectifying a stern face.
“I was awoken by a certain Gryffindor head of house about your attendance of Potter’s… quest,” he drawled.
You rubbed your eyes and gave a shaky chuckle. “About that —”
Snape sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before signalling you to follow him. “You’ll be joining us tonight in McGonagall’s office. Potter and Weasley are already there recounting their side of the story.”
As the two of you walked towards the headmistress’ office, you stepped in line and walked briskly by Snape’s side to see how pissed he might be, but the corridor was too dark to tell.
“So how much did Harry tell you?” You asked cautiously.
“I wasn’t there when they found him outside of her office. Minerva told me to check on you, that’s where we found your empty bed. Turns out Potter wasn’t telling some outlandish tale,” he recounted, his eyes glancing down towards you. “You could’ve gotten yourself hurt, or killed, you stupid girl.”
“But I didn’t get hurt, nor killed. I’m absolutely fine and healthy — well, besides my furry little problem.”
Snape apparently didn’t find that humorous. “Students were instructed to stay in bed, much less remain in their dorms, not to mindlessly walk around the castle when a threat was imminent,” he sighed, “if it weren’t for the fact that you’re a student in my house, I would say that you sit relatively well with the Gryffindors — arrogant and foolish, just like your father,” he sneered.
Just like your… He knew your dad? How—? But you shook the thought from your head, now was not the time for that.
“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just say that. Anyway, I wasn’t walking around aimlessly! I saw Ginny headed towards the chamber, she was in danger and I refused to do nothing about it,” you explained, a bit ticked off at the comparison Snape did. “If you would like to know, I did not throw myself at the basilisk and instead plotted a strategy of attack before I did — I’m not stupidly goaded like a Gryffindor.”
Snape seemed to freeze at the name. “A basilisk —? We’ll discuss this further once we’re at her office,” he said sharply, dropping the subject. That was it, you knew better than to argue with him and remained silent as you stewed in annoyance. Thankfully, McGonagall’s office was coming up.
Just as the two of you approached the door, it opened and out walked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, hand-in-hand with Ginny, whose eyes were a bit red and swollen from crying.
“Ginny,” you breathed out, relief flooding your bones. “You’re okay, you’re not —?”
“We’re just headed up to see the matron,” Mrs. Weasley assured you. “Thank you, for saving Ginny. Harry told us everything that happened, how you helped him save her.”
You shook your head. “I barely did a thing, Harry did everything.”
The two adults continued to thank you, regardless of how little you felt you deserved it. Ginny gave you a shaky smile before grabbing her mother’s arm tightly. They parted soon after, seeing as how Ginny was still shivering from the night’s events and disappeared as they turned the corner. Snape cleared his throat and ushered you to the door.
Inside, you noticed that there was quite the group. Dumbledore and McGonagall stood by her desk, each listening to what Harry still had to say, Ron stood beside him, and somewhere along the edge of the room roamed a confused Lockhart. At the sound of the closed door, everyone’s attention fell upon the two of you.
- - - - -
It didn’t take long for everyone’s stories to fit. You went on to explain that you could hear the same voice Harry could, how you came to learn of your ability to speak parseltongue as well during the incident in the Dueling Club. The three professors gave each other careful glances but said nothing so you continued. Thankfully, your story was much shorter than that of Harry’s.
“Well done Miss Lupin, I must congratulate you, however, that may not be the case given your head of house may have other plans,” Dumbledore said as he glanced at Snape. Snape shook his head, assuring him that you weren’t going to get punished (not to an extreme anyway, he was still issuing punishment through means of you organizing and taking inventory of his personal store). “I can’t stay long, I'm afraid. Harry and I need to discuss more of tonight’s events in private and I’m sure the governors are expecting an update.”
Dumbledore instructed the boys each with something to do. Ron and Harry gave you a sheepish smile before each left to their respective task at hand. Ron exited McGonagall’s office with Lockhart in tow and Harry followed Dumbledore to his own office to further discuss Tom Riddle’s diary. The small Gryffindors waved appreciatively before leaving. It was a silent thanks, but one nonetheless. You smiled to yourself before McGonagall drew your attention back to the matter at hand.
“Mr. Potter told us how you were of great help in the chamber,” she mused.
Your cheeks grew warm, only for a second. “I wasn’t much help. Like I said, all I did was disarm Riddle in the end, Harry did the rest, slayed the beast and all.”
She smiled softly, but it turned serious quickly. “Did anybody see you? You found out about the chamber because you were in the bathroom, correct?”
You nodded. “That’s when I saw Ginny enter the bathroom. I didn’t mean to follow her, but I heard the basilisk whispering and well — I couldn’t just leave her be.”
“That was very brave of you, Y/N. Foolishly brave if I dare say,” she said, and Snape scoffed in agreement. You glanced up to meet her eyes; there was something warm and comforting in them as she looked at you. “The mandrakes are ready. The restorative draught has been brewed and will be administered once Poppy receives them from our Potions Master.”
You couldn’t believe your luck. Knowledge of the draught had been brought to your attention already, but the realization that it was finally happening made your shoulders feel loads lighter. Your eyes immediately darted over to Snape who was watching you cautiously. He merely nodded to confirm McGonagall’s claims.
“I am the potions master after all,” he said with a mock sense of haughtiness, “doubting my skills are we, Miss Lupin?”
You smile, relief soothing your worried mind. “Not at all, professor.”
- - - - -
“You said Professor Snape’s already finished making the draught?” Solaris asked as the two of you sat at the Slytherin table.
“Professor McGonagall said so last night. We’ll just have to wait and hope that everyone is recovering well,” you replied, your leg shaking anxiously beneath the table.
It was the next morning, or so to say, it had been a few hours since the battle in the chamber of secrets. Everyone was in their pajamas; sleepy, confused, and curious. But overall, they were ecstatic. Just last night everyone was told that Hogwarts was shutting down and that they were being sent home earlier than planned, but now the castle was thriving and rid of its prior dangers. The hall had a welcoming buzz that seemed to weave through everyone.
You spooned onto your plate some scrambled eggs and chopped black pudding. There were a variety of other dishes being served, but you settled with a simple breakfast first. You were famished, absolutely starving after the amount of magic you pulled off hours earlier had drained most of your energy. But you couldn’t quite deal with eating too much, the nerves that riddled you waiting for Adrian’s return were —
Solaris brought you out of your thoughts with a sharp gasp. You were about to question her when a familiar scent barely surfaced through everyone else’s. Quickly, you snapped your head to the direction that Solaris had been pointing at. Walking down the walkway between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables was none other than —
“Adrian!”
The two of you got up from your table, scaring a few underclassmen from your outburst as you ran down the walkway. Adrian smiled as the two of you approached him, but he immediately put his arms up in defense once he realized that the two of you weren’t going to slow down. He exhaled an ‘oomph’ as Solaris collided with him. You joined in on the hug in seconds and wrapped your arms around them, the sheer happiness you were experiencing nearly caused you to lift them up from the floor, but you let go before you could.
“Guys! I’m okay!” Adrian chuckled, his voice croaky from trying to hold back a sob. His eyes betrayed him, however, as soon as he saw Solaris begin to cry.
“Thank Merlin! We were worried sick about you when months had gone by without any progress!” She said as she let go of him, wiping the tears away from her face. “Bloody hell, they won’t stop pouring out.”
You chuckled as Adrian teased Solaris about missing him, their moods significantly getting better. Solaris suggested he take a seat at the table and eat something, but the loud roars from the Slytherin quidditch team drowned her voice out.
“Pucey!” They all shouted, circling the three of you. Every team member went up to pat him on the back, ruffle his hair or give him a good shake as they celebrated his return. You joined in on their celebration and laughed with them. It was the first time in months since you’ve ever seen Slytherin this boisterous.