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HP Chapter 40: The End of Second Year
🕑 Added 2025-08-16 12:00:09 +0000 UTCFawkes was circling above the Basilisk’s massive head, while the beast snapped furiously at the phoenix, its mouth wide open, revealing long, razor-thin fangs like military blades.
With a sharp dive, Fawkes drove his golden beak straight into the Basilisk’s skull. Instantly, a spray of thick black blood rained down like a sudden storm. The Basilisk thrashed its tail wildly, nearly striking Anne in the process.
Both of the creature’s huge, lamp-like yellow eyes had been pecked blind by the phoenix. Black blood gushed onto the floor as the Basilisk let out guttural, painful groans.
“No!” Harry and Anne heard Riddle’s frantic scream. “Forget the bird! Forget the bird! The boy is behind you! You can still smell him! Kill him!”
“Harry, get your weapon out of the hat! Even if it’s just that old twig I gave you, use it!” Anne shouted, holding onto Fanny with one arm while dragging Ginny out of the Basilisk’s tail’s reach.
Harry reached into the Sorting Hat and pulled out something long, hard, and cold, a gleaming silver sword. “Anne, it’s a silver sword!”
Anne tucked the unconscious girls behind one of the columns in the rear of the chamber, then darted to another pillar. Clutching one of the "twig bombs," she yanked the white string and hurled it toward the Basilisk’s tail and Riddle.
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, the Basilisk’s tail burst open with a bloody wound. The beast thrashed even more violently, slamming into the chamber walls, but when the smoke cleared, Riddle stood unharmed.
As expected, physical attacks and low-level magic were useless against a memory, a ghost. Anne shifted her focus. The Basilisk had to go first, defeat it, and the rest would follow.
Dodging chunks of falling stone dislodged by the raging serpent, Anne waited for a chance to strike again. Her only weapon now was a firebomb made from modified flamegrass oil.
Due to Riddle’s constant goading, the Basilisk’s attention remained fixed on Harry. Anne, meanwhile, was bruised and scraped by falling debris. Harry was desperately dodging the lunges of the serpent’s head, searching for an opening to drive the sword in.
Slipping behind the Basilisk once more, Anne hurled her last firebomb at its wounded tail. It shattered on the stone floor, igniting a searing blaze. Fuel splattered across the injury, and the smell of roasting flesh filled the air.
The Basilisk screamed in agony, hissing violently as it spun toward its tormentor.
“Now, Harry! Go for the head!” Anne bellowed.
Harry yanked the string on his last “twig bomb” and flung it at the Basilisk’s face. Another explosion rang out, tearing a massive wound into the serpent’s head, but it wasn’t enough. The beast wasn’t dead. Roaring, it lunged at Harry with fangs bared.
There was no time to dodge.
With both hands gripping the silver sword, Harry plunged it straight into the roof of the Basilisk’s mouth, burying the blade to its hilt. The creature twisted, convulsed, and went still.
But Anne didn’t cheer. She had just been struck by a flying shard of stone from the Basilisk’s death throes. Shielding her head, her left forearm had taken the brunt, a deep gash, now bleeding heavily.
Harry yanked the Basilisk’s fang out of his arm and collapsed, gasping for breath. Fawkes fluttered down beside him, tears dripping from his eyes onto the wound.
“You’re going to die, Harry Potter,” Riddle sneered, floating beside him. “Tsk, tsk. You may have slain the Basilisk, but its fang is laced with deadly poison…”
“Hmph,” Anne muttered, approaching with her bleeding arm clutched to her side. “Like he’s going to die. Haven’t you noticed the phoenix crying? Phoenix tears are healing, they neutralize poison. You should be worrying about yourself.”
She tossed the diary to the floor, crouched, and picked up the venomous fang Harry had dropped. She shot a cold glare at Riddle.
“W-What are you doing?” Riddle stammered, losing his composure as he lunged for her.
With no hesitation, Anne drove the Basilisk fang into the heart of the diary.
A blood-curdling, ear-piercing scream filled the chamber as black ink spurted out violently. Riddle twisted and contorted, then vanished into the void.
Anne let out a long breath and slumped to the ground. “Finally… it’s over.”
Harry stirred, looking much better, phoenix tears clearly working their magic. Anne glanced at the closed wound on his arm, then down at her still-bleeding one. She sighed, of course the protagonist gets faster healing.
She tore her tie from the cleanest part of her inner robe and wrapped it tightly around her arm.
Harry got up and helped her to her feet. “Where are Ginny and Fanny?”
Oh, now you remember them? Anne pointed toward the only intact pillar in the chamber. “Over there.”
As if on cue, a soft sobbing came from behind the pillar.
“Harry… I… I wanted to tell you at breakfast, but…” Ginny had woken up and, seeing the dead Basilisk, burst into tears and ran into Harry’s arms.
Anne knelt down beside Fanny, just as the girl opened her eyes. At first dazed, she suddenly grabbed Anne and wailed, “Anne! A ghost took me! And a huge snake!”
Caught off guard, Anne toppled over with Fanny in her arms. “Ow, Fanny! Calm down, it’s okay now!”
Clutching her injured arm to keep it from being jostled, Anne tried to comfort her panicked friend.
Fanny’s tears fell harder when she spotted the Basilisk’s corpse behind Anne. “You came to save me… Anne… waaaah…”
“No no no… don’t start again…” Anne muttered, flustered. She really didn’t do well with crying girls.
After some time, Anne and Harry managed to calm the two down. Together, the four of them staggered out of the Chamber.
As they made their way through the tunnel, a noise echoed from above, someone was shifting the rocks. “Ron!” Harry called, hurrying ahead. “Ginny’s okay! Fanny too! We found them!”
A cheer echoed down from the other side. Moments later, Ron’s face appeared through a large gap he had cleared.
“Ginny!” he cried, reaching through to pull her out. “You’re alive! I can’t believe it! What happened?” But Ginny wouldn’t let him touch her, she clung tightly to Harry instead.
The rest of them clambered through the gap one by one. They gave a quick explanation and headed toward the exit. Anne noticed Lockhart standing nearby, grinning blankly.
Upon learning that his memory had been wiped by his own backfired charm, Anne couldn’t help but comment, “Serves him right.” For once, Fanny didn’t disagree, Lockhart’s image in her mind was now thoroughly shattered.
When they reached the bottom of the pipe, the question remained, how were they going to get back up?
Fawkes suddenly flapped down beside Harry, glowing eyes bright in the dark and long golden tail feathers swaying.
“Wait, it can fly, maybe we could hold on and let it lift us up?” Ron suggested.
Fawkes nodded, almost like a person.
“Wow, no wonder Dumbledore keeps it. It’s so smart,” Fanny said in awe.
After a brief discussion, they grabbed hold of Fawkes in pairs, and the phoenix soared gracefully upward, carrying them out of the Chamber of Secrets.
By the time they landed on the damp floor of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, the sink had already slid back into place behind them.
“Phew, finally,” Anne muttered, clutching her arm. The tie she’d used as a bandage was soaked in blood.
Her face was pale as a sheet. “Ugh… I think I need to get to the hospital wing. You guys take Fanny and Ginny to find Dumbledore, okay?”
“I’ll come with you, Anne. You don’t look good,” Fanny said, clearly worried.
“No, you heard what they said, your parents and Ginny’s are already at the school. Dumbledore will need your help calming them down…” Anne swayed slightly, the adrenaline wearing off.
“But, ”
“I’ll go with Anne,” Ron offered. “You go see your parents first.”
Even Harry chimed in to reassure her. Reluctantly, Fanny nodded. “Okay… but Ron, you have to make sure Anne gets there safely.”
When Anne reached the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout were just finishing up with the last student who’d been Petrified. The moment they saw her, gasps erupted.
Pomfrey rushed over and immediately grabbed bandages and potions.
“Anne, dear! What happened?” Professor Sprout exclaimed.
Hermione jumped from her bed and ran to Anne’s side, eyes full of concern.
Anne removed her tattered robe and slumped into a chair. Her shirt underneath was just as filthy, dirt, soot, and blood all mixed together. “It’s… a long story.”
Ron stepped forward proudly and launched into an animated retelling of their entire adventure, how they discovered the diary, the truth behind it, and their battle in the Chamber, all from his and Harry’s combined point of view.
While Anne extended her arm for treatment, Madam Pomfrey carefully unwrapped the makeshift bandage, revealing a gory wound about six or seven centimeters long.
Hermione gasped.
“You’re lucky it’s not deep,” Madam Pomfrey said, inspecting it. “No scar, just a few days’ healing.” She uncorked a bottle and poured the liquid directly onto Anne’s arm.
“Ahhh, it stings!” Anne’s eyes welled up.
“You should’ve thought of that before doing something dangerous,” Pomfrey said, not unkindly.
Hermione sat beside her, gently reassuring, “It’ll be over soon, Anne. Just hang in there…”
After tending to her deeper wounds and applying ointment to the minor ones, Pomfrey handed Anne a clean hospital gown. “You’ll need to stay the night.”
Reluctantly, Anne complied. When she came back out, Ron had just finished telling the story, surrounded by curious students. Professor Sprout had already gone.
Anne sat on an empty bed. Hermione sat beside her, eyes on her bandaged arm.
Anne noticed the stare. “What is it?”
“You… risked your life for Fanny.”
“Well, yeah. She’s my friend, so of course I…”
Hermione looked at her seriously. “If it were me, would you come save me too?”
Anne looked into her warm brown eyes and, before she could think, answered, “Of course I would.”
Hermione’s eyes lit up, and she gave Anne a quick hug before blushing and pulling away.
Just then, Professor McGonagall arrived, announcing a celebratory feast for everyone who had been Petrified.
The hospital wing quickly emptied. Anne remained on her bed, dazed. Why did I just promise that? Hermione’s not going to get kidnapped, right? …Then again, she’s one of the main characters. She’ll be fine. No problem.
Just as she was lost in thought, Fanny, Ginny, and Harry returned. Madam Pomfrey checked them over, Ginny and Fanny were fine, though Harry was held overnight for observation due to his earlier poisoning.
Before leaving, Fanny promised Anne, “I’ll bring you the best food from the feast!”
Anne nodded furiously, making the others laugh.
Later that evening, Anne was snacking in bed when Dumbledore entered the hospital wing.
“Miss Reeve… don’t be nervous,” he said kindly, sitting beside her.
Anne relaxed a little, but looked at him curiously.
“Such rare amber eyes. They remind me of your mother… an exceptional witch.”
“I… don’t really remember her. Just photos,” Anne murmured.
“Photos are powerful things. Memories made real…” He glanced at her bandaged arm. “Madam Pomfrey did a fine job.”
“Yes. She’s wonderful.”
Dumbledore smiled. “It’s rare to find such courage and kindness in a Slytherin, Miss Reeve. Your actions deserve praise.”
Anne blushed. “But… Fanny got captured partly because of me…”
“And yet you still chose to go.”
“I… she’s my friend.”
“You followed your heart, Anne. That choice defines who you are.”
Anne was confused. Wait, why is he really here?
Then Dumbledore asked, “May I ask why you used the Basilisk fang in the diary?”
Anne explained her reasoning clearly and logically, how nothing else worked, how she deduced the diary’s weakness. Dumbledore smiled and even teased her about her "twig bombs."
To her horror, he correctly guessed she’d used a banned substance. She fell silent, cheeks burning.
“I won’t scold a clever student for inventiveness,” Dumbledore said. “Oh, and no one’s told you yet, final exams are canceled.”
“No Transfiguration exam?! Really?” Anne beamed.
“I suspect Professor McGonagall won’t be pleased,” he chuckled, ruffling her hair. “I’ll leave you to rest. Oh, and Aaron was right…”
“…Uncle Aaron writes to you?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eye, then departed.
Wait, so Aaron knows everything because of the Headmaster?! Ugh, I’ll have to deal with him when I get home…
The rest of the summer term passed in warm sunshine. Hogwarts returned to normal. DADA was canceled, and Lucius Malfoy was removed from the Board of Governors.
At King’s Cross Station, Anne said goodbye to her friends, already looking forward to the peaceful break ahead.
Little did she know, trouble would soon find her again
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A/N: The story moves a bit fast-paced on purpose, mainly because we already know the main events from canon, so I’m not spending too long rehashing what we’ve all seen before. Also, the story between the main couple will properly begin when they’re a little older (4th year at most).
