I'll be honest, I don't have a good excuse as to why I haven't updated this in so long.

Dear Anathema,

I promise I had a really good reason for not telling you, but things weren't good here and I really didn't want to worry you...

When Hermione got Petrified, that was the last straw.

Hayley had to figure out what was going on, or else whatever was going around doing this might actually end up killing someone, and that was Really Bad.

She wished there had been something in New Aquarian about magical, petrifying creatures. Then maybe she might know what to do about this.

Hagrid, as subtly as he ever managed to be, told her and Ron to 'follow the spiders'.

Which went horribly, of course.

Hayley didn't think she'd ever been as relieved, confused, and about ten different other emotions at the same time as she was when that same Ford Anglia they'd take to school shot out of the forest and popped its doors open for them. She practically collapsed into her bed that night, and didn't think to tell Ron about her epiphany until she remembered it the next morning.

"Aragog said someone died in the bathroom, right? What if she's still there?"

Hayley,

Didn't want to worry me? What makes me worry is hearing that you were dealing with all of this on your own! I don't know what could have done any of this, but do not purposefully seek it out. Whatever it is, it can be left to the teachers, I promise.

It felt like she was tumbling through the days, something counting down to when they found Hermione's crumpled-up notes in her still-Petrified hands, to when they found out about Ginny, to when they had to force Lockhart at wandpoint into the chamber to help them save her.

Not that he looked like he was going to be much help.

Anathema's letter lingered in the back of her mind - do not purposefully seek it out - but Ginny was dying. She might already be-

No. She'd be fine. Hayley and Ron would find her and they'd save her because the good guys always won. She was like an old hero who had to defeat the beast, like that old story about St. George and the dragon except without the converting everybody to Christianity bit.

Ron and Lockhart were stuck behind a rockfall when Lockhart tried to obliviate her. Hayley did her best to swallow her fear and kept going.

She knew it'd be Ginny stuck down there, but somehow the sight of her - even smaller now that she wasn't moving, it had to be a trick of the light how frail she looked, how pale - was worse than Hayley had been expecting.

She was almost relieved when the diary-thing started talking at her to distract her. The giant basilisk was not nearly as welcome.

Hayley had never used a sword in her life, but she'd seen movies. Movies never mentioned how heavy a sword was in your hand, how the jewels that glittered on it cut into your palms. They never mentioned how scary it was to be stared down by a thing whose only reason for not killing her yet was because it couldn't see where she was.

She decided that nearly dying to do the right thing wasn't as easy as movies made it look, either, and also that she was really glad Fawkes had been there.

Riddle was shouting at her, kicking Fawkes away. Hayley's eyes zeroed in on the basilisk fang, still where she'd dropped it after yanking it out of her arm.

Hayley dived for it, stabbing the diary clean through. Riddle screamed. Ginny breathed in.

...The professors were never going to believe her.

Dear Anathema,

Dumbledore says you can't come to Hogwarts because there are wards keeping non-magical people away, not because he doesn't want you here. I think he'd of told you already except you keep sending him Howlers which may be making him upset or maybe just amused. He's very strange. Also how did you learn how to send Howlers? And where did you get them?

Anyway I promised him I'd tell you the whole story, which I suppose really started with the Duelling Club and all and Nick and Justin getting Petrified, even though Nick's a ghost...

When Hayley stepped onto the platform, Anathema found her in under three seconds and immediately swept her into a very tight hug.

"Never do that again," Anathema hissed. "I mean obviously you shouldn't let bad things happen, but you're twelve, Hayley!"

"I'm alright," Hayley protested, somewhat breathlessly. Newt was hovering anxiously behind Anathema, probably ready to start lecturing her on safety. Hayley, to her own puzzlement, was rather pleased about this turn of events.

"Yes, but you might not have been!" Anathema let go, only to hold onto Hayley's shoulders and look at her sternly. "Promise me you will not purposefully risk you life again."

"What if someone else's is at stake?"

"Get a teacher."

Hayley frowned. That had never worked before, so she didn't see why it should now. "...Alright."

"Good," Anathema said. "Adam somehow got his hands on your letter, you know, and the four of them are wound tense waiting for you. I'd brace yourself."

"Oh," said Hayley. "Well - at least I won't have to tell the story all over again."

Yay new chapter! Comment? I know it's short, I'm working on it.