Lucius Malfoy stood there, fury in his face. Rohini looked at Dobby, cowering behind his legs and heavily wrapped in bandages. The House Elf brought a thin finger to his lips, silently begging the twins to stay quiet.

"Good evening, Lucius," said Dumbledore pleasantly.

Mr. Malfoy swept into the room. Dobby went scurrying in after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face.

The elf was carrying a stained rag with which he was attempting to finish cleaning Mr. Malfoy's shoes. Apparently Mr. Malfoy had set out in a great hurry, for not only were his shoes half-polished, but his usually sleek hair was disheveled. Ignoring the elf bobbing apologetically around his ankles, he fixed his cold eyes upon Dumbledore.

"So!" he said "You've come back. The governors suspended you, but you still saw fit to return to Hogwarts."

"Well, you see, Lucius," said Dumbledore, smiling serenely, "the other eleven governors contacted me today. It was something like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell the truth. They'd heard that Arthur Weasley's daughter had been killed and wanted me back here at once. They seemed to think I was the best man for the job after all. Very strange tales they told me, too… Several of them seemed to think that you had threatened to curse their families if they didn't agree to suspend me in the first place."

Mr. Malfoy went even paler than usual, but his eyes were still slits of fury. He then glanced at the twins, his eyes narrowing at Rohini's filthy appearance.

"So—have you stopped the attacks yet?" he sneered. "Have you caught the culprit?"

"We have," said Dumbledore, with a smile. Rohini could tell he was probably enjoying the situation more than he should.

"Well?" said Mr. Malfoy sharply. "Who is it?"

"Voldemort." Rohini said.

"Just like last time." said Dumbledore. "But this time, Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary."

He held up the small black book with the large hole through the center, watching Mr. Malfoy closely. Harry, however, was watching Dobby and he slightly elbowed Rohini so she would look at him too.

The elf was doing something very odd; he kept pointing at the diary, then at Mr. Malfoy, and then hitting himself hard on the head with his fist. Rohini felt like a dragon fire had been lit inside of her as she looked back at Malfoy, furious.

"I see…" said Mr. Malfoy slowly to Dumbledore.

"A clever plan," said Dumbledore in a level voice, still staring Mr. Malfoy straight in the eye. "Because if Harry and Rohini here"—Mr. Malfoy shot the twins a swift, sharp look—"and their friend Ron hadn't discovered this book, Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will…"

Mr. Malfoy said nothing. His face was suddenly masklike.

"And imagine," Dumbledore went on, "what might have happened then… The Weasleys are one of our most prominent pure-blood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act, if his own daughter was discovered attacking and killing Muggle-borns… Very fortunate the diary was discovered, and Riddle's memories wiped from it. Who knows what the consequences might have been otherwise…"

Mr. Malfoy forced himself to speak.

"Very fortunate," he said stiffly.

And still, behind his back, Dobby was pointing, first to the diary, then to Lucius Malfoy, then punching himself in the head but Rohini had already understand.

"Funny." She said. "I think my memory is playing some tricks on me. I think I remember you holding the same kind of old journal and accidentally giving it to Ginny Weasley at the same time as her old Transfiguration book you had previously taken."

Mr. Malfoy's white hands clenched and unclenched. Rohini was pretty sure he was dreaming of his fingers around her neck.

"Prove it," he hissed.

"Oh, no one will be able to do that," said Dumbledore, smiling at the twins. "Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, not to go giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley, for one, will make sure they are traced back to you…"

Lucius Malfoy stood for a moment, and the twins saw how his hand clenched around his cane as if it was his wand. Instead, he turned to his house-elf.

"We're going, Dobby!"

He wrenched open the door and as the elf came hurrying up to him, he kicked him right through it. They could hear Dobby squealing with pain all the way along the corridor.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said hurriedly. "Can I give that diary back to Mr. Malfoy, please?"

Rohini glanced at Harry, confused. Dumbledore on the other hand seemed to understand Harry's plan for he nodded with an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Certainly, Harry," said Dumbledore calmly. "But hurry. The feast, remember…"

Harry grabbed the diary and dashed out of the office, Rohini after him. They could hear Dobby's squeals of pain receding around the corner. Quickly, wondering if this plan could possibly work, Harry took off one of his shoes, pulled off his slimy, filthy sock, and stuffed the diary into it. Rohini, finally understanding, grinned and they both ran down the dark corridor after Malfoy.

They caught up with them at the top of the stairs.

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry gasped, skidding to a halt, "I've got something for you—"

And he forced the diary into Lucius Malfoy's hands who pinched his lips, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Potters." he said softly. "They were meddlesome fools, too."

He threw the diary at Dobby and turned on his heels. Rohini and Harry mouthed at Dobby to open it and the elf did, his eyes wide opened as he saw what was in it.

"Come, Dobby. I said, come."

But Dobby didn't move. He was holding up Harry's disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.

"Master has given Dobby a sock," said the elf in wonderment. "Master gave it to Dobby."

"What's that?" spat Mr. Malfoy. "What did you say?"

"Got a sock," said Dobby in disbelief. "Dobby—Dobby is free."

Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf. , furious, he took off his wand hidden within his cane.

"You've lost me my servant, boy!" He spat, furious as he pointed his wand at the twins. "Avada-"

But Dobby shouted, "You shall not harm the Potters!"

There was a loud bang, and Mr. Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below. He got up, his face livid. Dobby raised a long, threatening finger.

"You shall go now," he said fiercely, pointing down at Mr. Malfoy. "You shall not touch Harry and Rohini Potter. You shall go now."

Lucius Malfoy had no choice. With a last, incensed stare at the pair of them, he swung his cloak around him and hurried out of sight.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" said the elf shrilly, gazing up at Harry, moonlight from the nearest window reflected in his orb-like eyes. "Harry Potter set Dobby free!"

"Least I could do, Dobby," said Harry, grinning.

"Just, promise never to try and save his life again." Rohini said, remembering the flying car and the Quidditch match.

Dobby's brown face split suddenly into a wide, toothy smile.

"Well, we'd better go. There's a feast, and our friend Hermione should be awake by now…" Harry began before Dobby threw his arms around Harry's middle and hugged him.

"Harry Potter is greater by far than Dobby knew!" he sobbed. "Farewell, Harry Potter! And farewell, Miss!" He said, hugging Rohini who hugged him back with a chuckle.

And with a final loud crack, Dobby disappeared. The twins stood up in silence before exchanging a smile.

"Let's go." Rohini said and the two of them ran as fast as they could towards the Great Hall. As soon as they entered, the Great Hall was filled with cheers and applauses.

Everybody was in their pajamas except from the students who had been Petrified and were now sitting among their friends, smiling gratefully at the twins who were now blushing. Padma, Luna and Hermione came running and hugged them tight.

"I thought we'd never see you again." Padma was saying, sobbing happily. "You danger magnet!"

"Thank you." Hermione said, beaming. "I'm glad you figured it out."

"Let's sit." Luna said with a smile, taking Rohini's hand as they all walked to their respective table. The Ravenclaw girl who had been petrified looked at Rohini with a newfound admiration and told her that if she even needed help for her homework, she would gladly help her.

Glancing at the Slytherin table, Rohini realised that some of them looked genuinely happy even though they weren't as loud as the other students. Malfoy wasn't smiling but Rohini thought he seemed more relaxed. She remembered the ripped page that Hermione had been holding and wondered once more if it could have possibly been Malfoy's doing.

Dumbledore arrived and the whole school was cheering again, the Weasley twins dancing happily while shouting "Dumbledore! Dumbledore!"

The jolly atmosphere grew as Professor McGonagall announced that the exams were cancelled (Only Hermione seemed disappointed by it) and Dumbledore stood up, clapping his hands as the gates opened once more to reveal Hagrid.

Rohini stood up and ran towards him as well as Harry, Ron and Hermione and Hagrid hugged them all tightly, his eyes shining as everybody welcomed him loudly. The Gryffindor table was the loudest of them all for Dumbledore announced that thanks to Harry and Ron's four hundred points for Gryffindor, the Lion House won the Cup with Ravenclaw closely behind.

"Can't wait every year." Rohini sighed and Padma assured her they would win again next year.

It was probably one of the most memorable moments of the twins' lives.

Xxx

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences—Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were canceled and, of course, Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor. As for Ginny Weasley, she was perfectly happy again and spent all her free time with Luna, exchanging extravagant theories that they heard from their respective fathers.

Rohini had a few nightmares about what had happen inside the Chamber from time to time, a phantom pain running through her arm. She couldn't help but think about what Dumbledore had said about Harry and she having a part of Voldemort inside them; if the one inside her had been destroyed by the Basilisk's venom, it wasn't the case of Harry and it was something that worried her.

Still, she decided it was for the best not to talk about it and let Harry enjoy their last few days at Hogwarts before returning to the hell that was life at Privet Drive.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, Luna, Padma and Rohini were somehow able to fit inside a single wagon, almost sitting on each other laps. For the first time, Rohini didn't mind being in such a crowded space.

They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, chess, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic, something the Potter twins and Padma were quite good at.

"Ginny—what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?" Ron suddenly asked.

"Oh, that," said Ginny, giggling. "Well—Percy's got a girlfriend."

Fred and George turned their head so fast Rohini feared they had break their neck.

"What?"

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater," said Ginny. "That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was—you know—attacked. You won't tease him, will you?" she added anxiously.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, who was looking like his birthday had come early.

"Definitely not," said George, sniggering.

"Liars." Rohini laughed. "I almost feel sorry for Percy."

The landscape outside changed, from valleys to fields to tiny villages until finally The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped at King Cross. It took them a while to get out for everybody ran towards the exits at the same time. Rohini and Harry on the other hand took their sweet time.

Harry pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Ron and Hermione.

"This is called a telephone number," he told Ron, scribbling it twice, tearing the parchment in two, and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer—he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to…"

"Thanks for forgetting about me." Rohini said, rising an eyebrow. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you did this year?

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious…" He sighed.

Rohini felt someone pull on her sleeve as they finally got through the wall of Platform 9 ¾ . Padma told her to wait here and for a few seconds, Rohini lost her in the crowd before her best friend came back, followed by her parents.

"Dad, Mum, this is Rohini Potter, my best friend." Padma said and Rohini blushed, awkwardly shaking hands with Mr. and Mrs. Patil who smiled at her obvious nervousness.

"Pleasure to meet you." Rohini said.

"The pleasure is ours." Mrs. Patil said. She looked a lot like her daughters, except for the eyes; Mrs. Patil had stunning grey eyes whereas the twins had the same black eyes as their father.

"We've heard a lot about you." Mr. Patil said and Rohini couldn't help but ask:

"Good things, I hope?" Which seems to amuse him. He was going to add something when Rohini heard Uncle Vernon barking her name and telling her to hurry.

"I'm sorry." She apologised, glancing at the Dursleys and Harry, waiting for her. "My Uncle can be a bit…well…" She said and Padma's parents nodded, understanding what she meant. Mrs. Patil took Rohini's hands.

"Knows that you are welcome to visit Padma anytime." She said and Rohini felt a lump in her throat at such kindness. "I'm sure it would please her very much." She added with a smile at her daughter who rolled her eyes. "Oh, here come Parvati!"

"Hi mum, hi dad." Parvati said, hugging them both. "Oh, hello Rohini!"

"Hi Parvati." Rohini said before Aunt Petunia called her with her high pitched voice. "Well, it's time for me to go. Goodbye, and thank you." Rohini said before hugging Padma one last time. "I will see you soon!"

"Goodbye!" Padma said and Rohini smiled at her before walking towards the Dursleys with an evident lack of enthusiasm. She bumped into someone and realised it had been Lucius Malfoy who threw her a nasty glance before disappearing within the crowd.

"Hurry up, girl!" Uncle Vernon said, glancing fearfully around him as if someone was suddenly going to cast a spell at him. Rohini realised he still had a scar from the window she had closed on his fingers, months ago.

Oh well. If she had survived a Basilisk, then surely she could survive one more summer at Private Drive.

And wi

th a hopeful glance at the sky, Rohini properly merged into the Muggle world once more.