HP: I’m working on redemption at Hogwarts

Chapter 170: The Ending of the Secret Chamber

When Astoria calmed down again and stood on the ground soberly, she still couldn't believe what had happened in the past few hours. Everything seemed like a bizarre dream.

Hand in hand, they were brought out of the underground chamber by the Phoenix Fawkes. Professor Snape was guarding the entrance to the bathroom with a serious face. Professor Dumbledore, with a white beard next to him, saw Harry and smiled with relief.

"Professor Snape, oh God! Professor Snape, you won't believe that there is a horrible basilisk hidden under Hogwarts. I'm going to go back and tell my father..."

"Draco, Draco, calm down." Seeing that everyone returned safely, Snape's frown showed signs of relaxing. A trace of helplessness flashed across his eyes. He interrupted Draco's noisy words and took him away.

"Wait, Leah..."

"Ms. Greengrass needs to talk to me. Malfoy, you and Snape should go back and rest."

"But..." Draco looked worried, staring at Leah with some hesitation. His eyes met Leah's gentle light blue eyes, which gave him some comfort. Draco sighed and followed Snape obediently.

"Hey, Leah, no matter what, I'm glad you're okay." Ginny, who had been quietly sitting in the corner, broke away from Hermione's support and slowly walked behind Astoria. Her tone was a little weak, but her eyes were staring at Astoria with a sparkling look.

Astoria was stunned for a moment, then her tense body slowly relaxed. She raised her eyebrows and slowly smiled. She turned around and looked at Ginny, her sapphire blue eyes sparkling with light.

"I'm glad you're okay, too."

Astoria reached out and slowly stroked Ginny's back, caressing her soothingly, her eyes gentle and patient.

"Okay, kids, this damp and cold environment is not suitable for chatting. Let's go to the office and have some snacks and take a good rest." Professor Dumbledore's voice was hoarse, but inexplicably strong. Soon, Leah, Ginny and Harry followed Professor Dumbledore to the principal's office.

Near the entrance to the headmaster's office, in the corner of the gargoyle, a blonde Slytherin girl with hair exactly like Leah's was leaning against the wall, pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Daphne." Leah slowly approached and whispered her sister's name.

Daphne in the corner suddenly turned around and approached Leah with excitement in her eyes.

"Leah, I met Draco, and he said that you were taken away by Professor Dumbledore. Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere? I mean, after all, Draco was covered in blood, and I was afraid that you were also..."

"Daphne, I'm fine." Leah was a little surprised. She even wondered if she had fallen into a parallel world. Otherwise, why would this sister who had always ignored her speak so urgently and endlessly about her concerns?

"I... I just want to make sure you're okay." Perhaps noticing Leah's somewhat surprised and awkward look, Daphne awkwardly withdrew her hand from Leah's arm. She had a complicated expression, and she lowered her eyes, her face looking much darker.

To be honest, Daphne never thought that she had such deep feelings for Leah. But in the process of searching for Professor Snape, her heart was like a drum that didn't know how to stop, beating non-stop, her body tense, cold sweats constantly secreted, and countless scenes of Leah being hurt emerged in her mind.

Maybe it was because time was too long ago, Daphne almost forgot that, long ago, Leah was just a little girl who was very attached to her sister. She would be the first to share delicious candy with her sister, and would run to her sister's bed at night to ask for a hug.

"I left dinner for you." Daphne said the last sentence, glanced at the crowd around her who were staring at the two sisters, turned around and quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"Am I the only one who thinks that the way they get along as sisters is a little weird?" Ron stared at Leah who was standing there in a daze, and whispered carefully into Hermione's ear.

"Shut up, Ron. No one will think you're dumb if you don't speak." Hermione rolled her eyes at him unceremoniously, patted the remaining hot air from her ears, and quickly walked to the other side of Ginny, away from Ron.

"Ginny! My baby girl!"

Almost as soon as she entered the headmaster's office, a plump orange-haired woman ran towards her from the fireplace in the corner. With tears in her eyes, she hugged Ginny tightly in her arms. Mr. Weasley, who walked steadily behind her, also looked serious, staring at his son and daughter who looked dusty with a gloomy face.

"You saved them, Harry. It's a miracle. How on earth did you do it?" Although Mr. Weasley was still trying to remain calm, his red eyes and his earnest tone revealed his extremely excited emotions.

"I think we all want to know this!" Professor McGonagall patted Harry's shoulder soothingly, her tone gentle.

Then, Harry's tense mood slowly relaxed, and he began to narrate, starting from where all these strange events began, talking about how he discovered the spider, how Hermione discovered the basilisk, how he approached the Chamber of Secrets, and how he escaped with the help of his companions...

This was the protagonist's highlight moment. Astoria stayed quietly by the fireplace, with crackling sparks flying, accompanied by Harry's stuttering narration, which was somewhat hypnotic. Astoria felt a little sleepy for some reason, and slowly lost consciousness after sinking into the soft sheepskin sofa. It seemed that the mysterious ballad of the phoenix could be heard from time to time in the air. Astoria was not sure...

……

A week ago

Professor Dumbledore's office welcomed a rare visitor, who was wearing the iconic Slytherin school robes and had a slightly uneasy expression.

"Miss Greengrass, would you like some Sherbet?"

Astoria's fingers were tightly clasped around the buttons on the corner of her clothes. She raised her head cautiously and instinctively looked at Dumbledore who was smiling. A ray of light flashed across his half-moon glasses. In his palm was a handful of colorful lemon Sherbet.

"Thank you." Astoria took a deep breath and took the candy from Professor Dumbledore.

When the candy entered her mouth, the sweet taste mixed with the sour taste of lemon spread in her mouth. Leah subconsciously shrugged happily and shook her head.

"You seem to like it very much, that's great. Most children either think it's too greasy or too sour." Professor Dumbledore's eyes under the crescent-shaped glasses seemed to flash with a cunning light, and his smile deepened as he stared at Leah.

"Professor, huh...actually, I have something to tell you."

"Of course, who would want to chat with an old and boring guy..."

"I...I didn't mean that, huh..." Leah was really too nervous. Professor Dumbledore's shrewd eyes seemed to see through everything through the frames. She stuttered to explain and swallowed.

"Professor, there is a basilisk in the castle, and these petrified people... It's all because of that diary. I can hardly control myself..." Leah Yue said, tears welling up in her eyes without her knowing when. The corners of her eyes turned red, and her eyelashes trembled slightly, with a faint mist.

"Don't cry, Miss Greengrass. You are honest, kind, and a very good child. Don't blame yourself for this. Believe me, this will all be over soon."

Professor Dumbledore's tone was still gentle, and he slowly handed the cup of hot tea to Leah in his wrinkled hands.

"Thank you, professor." Leah clenched the teacup in her hand, and the lemon tea in it continued to flow out hotly. Through the mist, Leah seemed to see a big fiery red bird flying towards her.

"Oh..." Before Leah could react, a few drops of unknown liquid were dripped into the cup. They were the tears from the big fiery red bird.

"Fawkes, don't make trouble." Professor Dumbledore stretched out his hand and hooked it. The phoenix named Fawkes slowly landed on the headmaster's shoulder and rubbed its wings lazily.

"Drink it, there's no harm in Fox's tears."

"But I'm not hurt..." Leah had a good memory and quickly recognized that this flamboyant and beautiful bird was the legendary phoenix, whose tears could heal wounds.

"Drink it, it will always be useful."

……

"Would you like some hot tea?"

Gradually regaining consciousness, Leah had been sleeping in the hospital wing for nearly three days without realizing it. As soon as she opened her eyes, Professor Dumbledore winked playfully and brought her a cup of hot tea because she was thirsty.

"Thank you." Leah looked serious and thanked Professor Dumbledore profusely.

This thank you was not only for the cup of hot tea, but also for Fox's tears. After sleeping for three days, Leah more or less figured out how she broke free from Tom Riddle's mental control...

Professor Dumbledore is truly a magical wizard with foresight and genius!

...

"Oh Leah, you're awake!"

"Oh my god I missed you so much!"

In the auditorium, Rosa and Chloe came up and hugged the still weak Leah tightly. They were excited and flushed, and they talked to Leah about everything that happened when she was away.

"That's enough, Leah hasn't eaten for three days, shouldn't she have a good meal?" Shiblanck came up from behind and pushed away Chloe and the other two who were hugging Leah and talking endlessly. She looked up at Leah, raised her chin with some arrogance of a young lady, and motioned Leah to go to the Slytherin table.

"Shiblanc, did you miss me?" Leah couldn't help but smile, her eyebrows raised playfully, staring at Shiblanc's face with some baby fat, and couldn't help but poke it with her hand.

"Of course not—"

"Of course I miss you the most." Before Siblanc could finish, Chloe threw herself at her and ruffled her neatly combed golden curly hair. "If you noticed, the big golden package you saw when you opened your eyes is the supplement our eldest lady sent you out of concern for you."

"Thank you, Shiblank." Leah couldn't help laughing when she thought of the dazzling gift box among the pile of condolence gifts in front of the bed.

"Ahem, students, please sit at your respective tables, thank you." Professor Dumbledore used a loudspeaker spell to transmit his voice richly and powerfully to the entire auditorium.

Leah and the others stopped fighting and soon returned to the Slytherin table. Leah sat next to Draco as usual, and Daphne, who was sitting opposite her, suddenly raised her eyes that had been dazed, and looked Leah up and down carefully, as if to make sure that she was really okay.

"I'm sorry I didn't go home for dinner that day." Leah still remembered what Daphne said to her by the gargoyle that day.

Daphne shook her head awkwardly, as if to say it was okay.

"What did you leave for me that day?" Leah began to talk actively. She always felt that the atmosphere between her and Daphne seemed to be getting more and more relaxed.

"Borscht, and tortillas."

"It's really good. It's a pity that I didn't get to taste it." Leah lowered her head and sighed. She looked like she was really disappointed, even though the table was filled with all kinds of delicious food.

"You'll get to taste it later." Daphne's dry answer stunned Pansy and Zabini, who were arguing nearby. They both changed their targets and started to laugh at Daphne's dull tone.

"Yes, I will." Leah still looked at Daphne quietly with her sincere and bright eyes, a faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she responded seriously.

"OK, since there is one special bonus item that is not taken into account, we may have to calculate the winner of the house cup carefully." Professor Dumbledore's voice still spread throughout the hall.

"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. The three of you braved all odds and braved danger to rescue your friends. You will each receive 200 points for your heroic actions."

There was a deafening clapping of the table and cheers from the Gryffindor table.

"And Astoria Greengrass from Slytherin. You are kind and brave. You are not tempted by evil and you have a firm belief in helping your partners. You will get 200 points for your honesty and kindness." Professor Dumbledore paused here, as if he was deliberately giving the students time to cheer and rejoice.

Sure enough, many classmates suddenly rushed around Astoria, cheering and amazed at everything Leah did. Chloe was even more excited and hugged Leah into her arms again, kissing her on the forehead.

"Of course, in the end, Draco Malfoy, you risked your life for your friends. In order to protect your friends and uphold justice, you were willing to put aside past grudges and bravely fight against the forces of evil. This is a quality that many wizards do not have. You will add 200 points for your own behavior."

Draco, who had kept his head down and remained silent the whole time, looked up in surprise. He had a complicated expression on his face. He frowned and stared at the shrewd old man on the stage. Facing the flattery of the people around him, he just showed an awkward smile.

His father was expelled from the Hogwarts board of directors and no longer served as a leader. Draco had not been nice to anyone for several days. But this damn Dumbledore made such a move to give him extra points. Was he ashamed of expelling such a wise and powerful person as his father?

Draco was daydreaming on his own, and the perfunctory smile on his face gradually became more sincere.