The following morning, I was brought breakfast by Dumbledore himself.

"Good morning, Lila," he greeted me, having a seat on the same stool Malfoy had sat on at the foot of my bed. "I was hoping to speak with you about a few things."

"Is Hagrid back?" Was the first thing I asked. Malfoy had caught me up on all I'd missed the previous night. We'd been awake much longer than we should have, long after we'd both finished our food. Madam Pomfrey kicked him out around eleven, insisting I change into pajamas and get some sleep.

"Yes, Hagrid returned late last night, or rather early this morning," Dumbledore smiled. "He'll be very happy to see you."

I exhaled in relief. "Good." I took the breakfast plate from him, finding myself quite hungry. I supposed being in a coma for months would do that. "What is it you wanted to discuss?"

"Well, first I wanted to make sure you're alright," Dumbledore nodded to me. "It takes a lot to escape the clutches of Lord Voldemort — a combination of cunning and bravery hard to find even in grown witches and wizards."

"I'm alright," I said honestly. My injuries were gone, and with some more food in me I could feel some of my energy coming back. "And it was nothing, really. I did what I had to."

"If I may ask," Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "How did you escape?"

I slowly sipped the tea provided to me on my nightstand.

"I had him kill me, sir."

Dumbledore hardly reacted to this, outwardly at least. But a grim sort of smile found it's way to his face shortly after. "And you weren't afraid?"

"I was," I admitted. "But not of dying. I was afraid for Ginny, and for my friends. I wanted them to be okay, so much that I'd risk anything—"

"And that's what saved you," he mumbled curiously. "To look death in the face for the sake of love. Something Voldemort could never do." He looked to me with a smile. "I'm incredibly proud, Lila, that you figured that out on your own."

I smiled softly, abashed at the gratitude being showered on me. "I just did what I could." I reached over and extracted the diary from the pocket of my robes. I handed it to Dumbledore, glad to remove it from my person.

"I supposed you might want this," I said. "I don't."

"I'll take it off your hands, thank you," he looked at it curiously, the object seeming so innocent. "This diary was enchanted with some incredibly dark magic. The reason I came was to ensure that none of it had transferred to you."

"Transferred to me?" I repeated hollowly. "You mean — Voldemort's soul—"

"Well, seeing that you have no lasting physical effects, I doubt that it could have happened at all," he examined me curiously. "But only over time will you notice the mental effects, if any. I am curious because Voldemort transferred some of his power to Harry the night he attempted to kill him — hence why he too can speak to snakes."

I raised an eyebrow. "You think he might have given me his power?"

"It's unlikely," Dumbledore shook his head. "You interacted with but a small fraction of his soul. I doubt there was anything more to give."

I sighed in relief, but the worry settled deep in my stomach. "I'll let you know if anything changes."

I felt my hand close around the pendant at my neck of its own accord. Only then did I remember it was there.

"What about Anne's necklace? Is that the same?" I asked.

"No, but I believe it's something similar, something of her own creation. She might not have been as powerful as her brother, but she was certainly more creative." Dumbledore smiled fondly. "It may have to do with her powers as a Seer, along with some soul magic that I have yet to understand. I doubt I'd be able to make it work the same way you have."

That made sense. Only I could see Anne's memory, and only I could be pulled into Voldemort's diary, because we shared the same blood.

"So you think it would be safe for me to keep this?" I asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, I believe so."

I held the necklace tight to my chest. I hoped I could see Anne again to tell her the good news.

"Professor," I began, pursing my lips. "Did you tell Harry and Ron about — you know —"

He shook his head. "I wanted to leave that to you.

You can decide what you want them to know, Lila. It's your lineage to share."

I exhaled in relief. "Thank you. Does anyone else know?"

"Severus and Minerva," he said shortly. "But they are my most trusted staff, and have kept more serious secrets for me before. I told them because I know they are both very fond of you, and their opinion of you would not change."

He stood a few moments later, nodding his goodbye to me. "As soon as you feel ready, you should return to your common room. Poppy has cleared you to go, and your friends miss you dearly."

I left about an hour or so after that, changing back into my now-clean robes. When I climbed through the portrait hole, I saw most of the first years gathered together in a huddle. Hermione spotted me first.

"Lila!" She cried. She pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're awake! I missed you so much! The mirror thing saved my life, you know! Did you hear? They cancelled exams!—"

She prattled on for at least a minute, not letting me go or allowing me a word in edgewise. I was just thrilled to see her. I grinned when she finally released me, and patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're here, Hermione," I told her. "Malfoy told me about what you two did. Vaguely — he wouldn't share the details, but I'm so incredibly proud of you."

Hermione's grin turned sly. "He did a lot more than he let on, I'm sure."

Dean patiently waited his turn and pulled me into an even tighter hug than Hermione's.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," he sounded like he was about to cry. "Don't scare me like that ever again."

I smiled. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best." I squeezed him even tighter, the words barely escaping my mouth. "I missed you too."

He pulled back with a grin. "Looking forward to that date, then?"

Much to my surprise, I found I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it as I had been before. But still, I replied with a smile, "of course."

Everybody seemed to want a hug. Parvati took hers tearfully, basically sobbing into my shoulder.

"When I heard somebody got taken, I knew you wouldn't just lay there and let it happen," she cried. "You're so amazing! You always leap into action, coma or no coma!"

When I finally reached Ron and Harry, the both of them offered twin smiles.

"We've all got a special award for service to the school," Ron told me brightly. "It's replacing Riddle's."

I felt my mouth split into a wide grin as well. I looked to Harry, who nodded proudly.

Malfoy and I met in the library every so often. Usually not on purpose, but one of us would typically find the other in there. I found myself looking for him when I went in, and when I didn't he would usually end up finding me.

"It's actually pretty incredible," he said to me one day, not too long after the night he'd spent with me in the hospital wing. "My father comes here for an hour and manages to lose both his job and our house elf."

My mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

"Oh, Merlin," I blanched. "Are you alright?"

Malfoy snorted. "I'm fine. We have enough old money to manage. If anything I'm impressed. I guess failure just runs in the family."

"You're not a failure," I rolled my eyes. "Your dad's just a bad apple."

Malfoy chuckled. "Well, it certainly didn't come from my mum's side."

I was about to ask about his mother when something suddenly clicked in my head. Harry had said he'd freed Dobby that night too, meaning—

"Dobby was your house elf?"

Malfoy looked at me strangely. "I didn't know you knew Dobby."

"I don't," I replied. "Harry did. Said Dobby tried to warn him about the Chamber and all. Even bewitched the Bludger to go after him so he'd be sent home and be safe."

Malfoy cackled at this, causing Madam Pince to shush him. He quickly lowered his voice. "Dobby has always been a strange one. I'll miss him, but I think he really did need to be freed."

"Excuse me."

A timid voice startled us both. Beatrice stood at the end of the table, looking shy. She had her hands clasped behind her back.

"Lila," she said quickly. "I wanted to apologize for everything. I know it's no excuse but Andrea and I were scared, is all, and we were rash when we suddenly cut you off—"

Malfoy scoffed. "And here you come running back and expecting forgiveness—"

I interrupted him, waving my hand and addressing Beatrice. "Don't worry about that. You did what you saw best at the time. I can't blame you for that."

Malfoy looked like he wanted to protest, and Beatrice was eyeing him warily. I shook my head at him, and he acquiesced.

"I'm sorry, again," Beatrice said sincerely. "I hope next year we can get closer."

I smiled back at her. "That would be nice, thank you."

Malfoy scowled at her as she left, but I paid that no mind. Her presence reminded me of something I'd wanted to do.

"Do you play the piano?" I asked Malfoy. His scowl faded into a face of confusion.

"I've taken lessons." He said vaguely.

"Can you sight read?" I asked.

"Well enough." He shrugged. That was good enough for me. I stood, quickly, finding the book I wanted and checking it out. Then I shoved it into Malfoy's hands, telling him to "familiarize himself with the music" and fetched my violin from my dormitory. Malfoy followed me back and forth like a lost dog, and did not seem pleased when I exited the portrait hole in a hurry.

"Is there ever a time you'll explain something before you run off?" He asked me. Gleefully, I shook my head.

"Unlikely."

I led him to the music room and set the sheet music on the piano. Nobody else was there, only us. I had the song practically memorized after playing it for months.

"Are you ready?" I asked him, tuning my violin as quickly as I could. He frowned at me.

"For what?" He groaned, exasperated. I grinned.

"Just play," I directed, shouldering my violin. "You start the piece, remember?"

With a drawn out, painstaking sigh, Malfoy adjusted the music and set his pale fingers on the keys.

I quickly realized that "I've taken lessons" was an understatement on his part — he was actually rather good, the chords coming so naturally to him. I was so busy watching him concentrate on the music that I almost forgot to play.

When I did, though, I realized months of practice had actually paid off. We weren't Myrtle and Anne, but it was better than bearable. It was good, even.

I had my eyes closed for the first few measures, focused on the slide of my bow against the strings, but when I opened them again I looked at Malfoy. Only to find he was looking at me too, watching, his hands finding the keys as if they'd memorized their place. I felt my heart lock somewhere in my throat.

Why couldn't I breathe?

(A few floors down, Myrtle sighed a happy, fond sigh as she listened to the familiar melody. For the rest of the term, she didn't cry. She spent most of the time humming the tune.)

* * *

That night, I woke up outside the music room again. My heart stuttered as I heard the same tune Malfoy and I had played together just a few hours ago. No piano, of course, but the violin sounded as forlorn and soulful as ever.

I followed the sound, as always, to find Anne there again, playing to the moon. I felt comforted by the small smile on her face, the determination in her eyes. She seemed to sense me there as the piece ended, and she turned only as the last note faded into the silence.

"I saw you, in a dream," she said softly, a small smile on her face. It was longing, pining. "With him. It made me want to come back and play, just one more time."

I returned her smile. "How did we sound?"

She hummed. "You sound good together, but your playing could use some work."

I chuckled. "I expected as much. I'm not quite as good as he is."

"I'm sure he thinks the same of you," Anne replied cryptically. I wasn't sure how that made me feel.

"You should visit Myrtle, some time." I said suddenly. "She told me you never did."

Anne scoffed and hid her face in her hands. "I try! But she always hides. She doesn't want me to see her." She sighed longingly.

"Don't give up on her," I said meaningfully. "Don't give up on love, in general."

"I," she paused, surprised by the advice. "I won't. Thanks." After a long silence, she spoke again. "Is it over for you too?"

I smiled with resolve. "We killed the monster, and we destroyed the bit of Tom's soul that was wreaking havoc. So yes, it's over, for now."

Anne pursed her lips. "I don't suppose — no, I shouldn't."

"What?" I asked.

"I would ask about the Chamber, but I know I shouldn't," she shook her head. "It doesn't do well to mess with time, and it gets worse the further back you go. I suppose that's one thing that should stay a mystery."

I hadn't even thought about that. If Anne found the Chamber and killed the basilisk, what would that mean for our timeline? No attacks maybe, but even then we wouldn't know that. Voldemort could have brought in another one, for all I knew. Maybe we'd never destroy the diary. The possibilities were endless, and I was not willing to explore them.

"I guess you're right," I said. "But this won't be the last time I see you, will it?"

Anne shook her head. "Doubtful. I expect we'll meet again soon, hopefully less randomly."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

She chuckled. "I can sense another Seer from a mile away. Especially one as powerful as I am."

I shook my head. "You must be mistaken. I'm not a Seer, I can't be."

"But you are," she reached forward and placed her slender hand on my shoulder. "You just don't know it yet. Get back to me when you're a little older. You'll understand what I mean."

I woke up confused, but I didn't get sick like I used to. I sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes awake. The necklace laid on my bedside table.

"Morning," Hermione greeted me, combing through her explosive bedhead.

"Morning," I returned. "You know Hermione, I think I am going to sign up for Divination after all."

The rest of the term passed in blazing sunshine. I'd chosen my electives (Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Arithmancy) and I'd been spending a lot of time with Dean, Neville, and Seamus, to make up for being asleep in the Hospital Wing for so long. We spent a lot of time outside, just messing around.

I also joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Hagrid's some afternoons, where we had tea and helped with his garden or took Fang on walks around the grounds.

Malfoy and I still met in the libraries sometimes, and I could feel something both foreign and familiar start to shift between us.

What it could be, I didn't yet know.

a/n: YEESH, what a long year. year 3 will probably be a lot less plot heavy and a lot more lila-heavy, so stay tuned for shenanigans!! thank you all so much for reading, and i hope you enjoy the next year just as much!!