News of what happened spread like wildfire. Ron was ready to return the next day, but Harry was still unconscious.

Malfoy was still irritable as to what happened in the common room, and news of that spread quickly as well. Fred and George wouldn't stop badgering me for the password, until one day I finally gave in. The Slytherins were not very pleased with this, as the twins set off several dungbombs in the common area. They had to change the password again, spoiling the fun. Unfortunately, however, Slytherin was still winning the House Cup by a long shot.

"Who even cares?" I rolled my eyes at Malfoy after the fourth time he'd brought it up in our final Potions class. "We'll get you next year, and besides I'm not accepting any negativity right now. I'm going to Greece."

"No you're not," he said it with such certainty that I almost questioned myself.

"Yes I am," I told him.

"No you're not," he repeated, growing horrified. "Because I'm going to Greece."

"Greece is a big country, you know," Dean piped in from beside us. He'd been returning ingredients. "Don't throw a fit, Malfoy, it's not likely that we'll run into each other."

Malfoy grew impossibly paler. "Who is we?"

Dean gestured vaguely at myself, himself, Neville, and Seamus. "All of us."

Malfoy put his head in his hands and hardly uttered a word for the rest of the class.

I visited Harry in the Hospital Wing a few afternoons later, surprised when I saw that Dumbledore was there.

"Afternoon, sir," I greeted him.

"Good afternoon," he smiled at me. "According to Poppy, Harry's in good shape. Hopefully he'll wake soon."

"Oh, good," I felt some of my nerves settle. I wasn't ready to leave yet, so instead I pulled up a stool at Harry's bedside, watching his chest rise and fall shallowly.

"Sir," I began. "What happened after we left? To Quirrel and You-Know-Who?"

"Before I tell you that, Lila, you must promise me something," he said cryptically. Curiously, I cocked my head.

"Depends on what it is," I conceded.

"Promise me you'll say his name."

"I—" taken aback, I stammered. "The Dark Lord's? Nobody else says it besides Harry."

"The first step to conquering fear is to acknowledge it for what it is," Dumbledore said sagely. "And you'll soon find that Voldemort is just a name. Merely another tactic of his to strike fear into our hearts. Saying the name is how we stand up to him and show him we're not afraid."

"What if I am afraid?" I shuddered. I didn't like to admit it out loud, but it was true regardless.

"You of all people should not be afraid, Lila," Dumbledore told me. "Wary, sure, but never afraid."

Just what he meant by that, I didn't know. You of all people. What did I have to do with any of this?

"What happened to him then?" I asked, then made myself say it. "Voldemort."

"He hasn't died," Dumbledore shook his head. "He's accounted for that. He's likely floating off somewhere, looking for another physical form to inhabit. Since he is not truly alive, he cannot truly be killed."

I tried to hide the unease I felt. "Quirrel?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, Voldemort hung on until Quirrel's very last breath."

"Ah," my chest felt tight. "I see." I took a deep breath. "And what's to become of the Stone? Surely something of that nature is too powerful to accidentally fall into the hands of evil."

"My thoughts exactly," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Nicolas and Perenelle have decided to destroy it. They've agreed that it's for the best."

"Very wise of them," I nodded. We sat in silence for a few more minutes before I remembered I had another question.

"Why does Snape hate Harry so much but go to such great lengths to protect him?" I asked. Dumbledore only smiled, though it was a thoughtful, almost sad one.

"Again, that's not my secret to tell, Lila."

* * *

Two days later, Harry finally woke up in the Hospital Wing. Upon receiving this news, Ron, Hermione, and I immediately rushed up to see him. Dumbledore was leaving as we arrived. After some insistent begging from both Harry and the three of us, Madam Pomfrey let us in. Harry recounted for us the events with Quirrel and getting the Stone from the Mirror of Erised. He was shocked to find out that Snape had been the one to get Quirrel off of him. I told him about how I sneaked into the Slytherin common rooms and terrified the hell out of Malfoy, at which he found to be very funny. I told him about the dungbombs and he laughed at that as well.

Madam Pomfrey shooed us out after fifteen minutes, and we met Hagrid on our way out. We had to squeeze by him on the staircase on the way down.

At the feast, I sat with Ron and Hermione. Neville, Dean, and Seamus sat across from us. The room was shrouded in Slytherin colors, but the six of us were very cheerful.

"There's no way he won't award us points," Dean said. "You all just saved the wizarding world from You-Know-Who."

"We really should be thanking Harry," I said. "He took most of the brunt for that."

"But without Ron's sacrifice, and your help, he wouldn't be alive right now," Hermione said, patting us both on the back. After a moment, she added, "And I suppose without my riddle-solving he would have drank the wrong potion."

"You're all so brave," Neville said, smiling. "I'm so lucky to have you guys as my friends."

"We're even luckier to have you, Neville," Hermione replied, smiling. I nodded in agreement. She'd apologized to him a million times about the Leg-locker curse, and though he said it was alright she was still trying to make it up to him. Looking over to the doors, I watched the last few stragglers come in, the last of which being—

"Harry!" I exclaimed, waving him over. He smiled, waving back. The chatter of the Great Hall was reduced to hushed whispers as he came and sat beside Ron. People had heard so many rumors about what had happened that they weren't sure what to believe. A few people stood up to look at him.

"Honestly," I scoffed. "You'd think they have other things to worry about."

"Don't worry Harry," Ron said. "They're just relieved to see you're not dead."

Dumbledore arrived then, and made his way to the podium, drawing the attention away from Harry.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore exclaimed cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into yet another delicious feast. Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts."

"Now, as I understand, the House Cup requires awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, five hundred and two."

Slytherin's cheers were thunderous at this. I frowned at Malfoy's gaunt face, but felt less sick about it remembering how I'd scared him that night in the Slytherin common room.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

Slytherin's cheers ceased. Dean and I looked to each other knowingly, grinning.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I have a few last minute points to dish out. Let me see— yes—"

"First -- to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."

Ron's face heated up. His brother, Percy, looked at him expectantly. Dumbledore continued to speak. "For the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

The cheering of our house almost caused the ceiling to break. Percy was very excitable as he told the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

The room fell silent again, expectantly.

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger— for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione began to cry tears of joy. I patted her excitedly on the back.

"Third — to Mr. Harry Potter, " continued Dumbledore. The Great Hall fell to silence once again. "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

We erupted into cheers yet again. Heart racing, I made eye contact with Dumbledore. He smiled at me as the hall fell silent.

"To Miss Lila Holmes, for her incredible initiative, sleuthing, and exemplary sense of responsibility, I award Gryffindor house thirty points."

I grinned as our table continued to yell and cheer. Dean flashed me the brightest smile I'd ever seen, making my heart do weird things again. We were tied with Slytherin — if only I had gotten one more point. I looked to Dumbledore as he raised his hand, silencing the room.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

The results of this declaration were deafening. Neville seemed so shocked, but he was crying tears of joy. People gave him a hero's welcome; cheering his name, hugging him, chanting. It seemed as if the room itself would explode. It wasn't only Gryffindor, however. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff cheered as well— they had wanted to see Slytherin finally lose.

"Which means," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "we require a slight change of decoration."

The Slytherin banners were replaced with banners decked in red and gold, as the Great Hall (minus Slytherin) continued its thunderous applause. Snape was begrudgingly shaking hands with McGonagall. I'd wanted that night to last forever. I was so proud of myself but even more proud of my friends and their bravery. Hogwarts had certainly changed me for the better.

Our exam results came in for the next week. Hermione and I mostly had the best scores of the first years. Dean's scores were also very good, which he attributed to our study sessions. Neville did decently too; though his Potions mark was rather awful, his Herbology mark was excellent —   many points ahead of mine.

Soon enough, we had cleared out our dormitories and were on our merry way back home. Harry looked rather sad about this, but I'd been very quick to tell him that he still had next year to look forward to. Ron offered for all of us to visit over the summer. However, Dean and I were already making plans for Crete.

At last, we all bid each other goodbye at the station. Harry's uncle seemed to be rather unpleasant, and the lot of them looked terrified of him. With a wink, he waved goodbye to us and set off. My father was waiting for me in Kings cross as well. He'd probably been too afraid to run through the wall.

"How'd it go?" He asked me, smiling.

"It was amazing," I grinned. "Much better than my old school." And I began to tell him the whole story, from the beginning.

a/n: finally, first year is over. time to get to the good stuff *rubs hands together menacingly* the next chapter (crete) is actually one of my favorites. hard to beat Snape playing the recorder of course, but it's my fanfic so I will do whatever i want. :P