'Are you okay?' Harry started as Snape's voice came abruptly. Harry was deep in thoughts and his memories of a life that was surely destroyed.
'You know Snape, you and I; we have a lot of things in common with each other.' Harry told him softly.
Snape sneered. 'Common with you? A Potter?"
"Why, I am Lily's too, you know?' Harry told him carelessly; watching Snape, as he predictably froze and turned into stone.
'You lost mum because of your choices, Snape and she was too young to see the real you, romantically.' Harry told a flushing Snape who had not moved and whose eyes were suddenly blazing with anger and bitterness.
'I do not wish to talk to you about it, and it would do you well to stop right now.' He hissed, his voice very soft, telling Harry how angry he was.
'I too, have most likely lost the girl I loved and married Snape, because I have chosen to act differently now.' Harry told him, his eyes, very, very sad.
Snape, who was on the verge of blasting Harry, was stunned into silence as he processed what Harry was telling him.
'I married Ginny Weasley and I had three lovely kids; two boys and a girl.' Harry's voice broke and then there was only silence. Harry had put his head into his hands, sitting there and Snape was simply looking at him, his eyes inscrutable for a long time, before, he stood up and went into his Chambers and came holding a steaming cup of tea. 'Drink Potter. And you are truly big headed. You are only in your second year and this incident with the basilisk has already happened before and you got together with her then. Why should you think that you cannot do it now?'
Harry did not answer. He had already told a bit too much to Snape and he did not want to blabber more. He accepted the cup rather shakily from Snape's hands and slowly sipped it and Snape after waiting for an answer that was not coming, stood up and attended to the potions that would be ready in a month or two.
'Christmas is already upon us Snape. Once it's over, then we have the potions to tackle and then its third year. Third year this time will be very peaceful. No dementors and no Sirius Back escaping from Azkaban and no Peter Pettigrew running away to help good old Voldy Moldy back to his body. Third year will be good. The next problem will be in fourth year.' Harry told him, with a small smile, his eyes still having a haunted look about them.
'Aren't you just tempting the fates Potter?' Snape asked him dryly.
Harry grinned, looking a bit more like himself now. 'No, Snape. Last time, third year was when Sirius broke out of Azkaban and because he was thought the traitor, the Ministry had dementors all around the School and there was a mess at the end of it all. This year, Sirius has already happened and no dementors and nothing for third year.'
Snape sneered and snorted mildly at Harry's enthusiasm. 'That is tempting the fates with a vengeance Potter. I would advice you not to try.' He added dryly.
Harry simply grinned at him. 'When will the potions get over Snape?'
'Will you be staying here for the holidays?' Snape asked him a few minutes later.
Harry nodded his head. 'Yes, I'll be. Hermione, Colin and others are staying back and I think I will too. I've already written to Sirius and Remus, asking them permission to stay on here and I think, they'll agree. I've told them about the potions nearing completion and so I don't think they'll create a fuss.'
Snape snorted again, this time loudly, showing his disdain for Sirius and Remus and their permission of all things. 'Now that the Diary is gone, I think, the rest of this year will be better than it was the last time.' Snape did not answer to this and soon, they had an almost companionable silence as they worked together.
Harry left the potions classroom for lunch, where he was assaulted by an anxious Hermione, Neville and even the Slytherins. Draco hung slightly behind and looked at Harry with worry and fear. Harry laughed at all of them and answered their questions as well as he could and tried to tell Draco though many hints that he was perfectly fine and that Ginny looked alright too. That started off another discussion about Ginny and Harry promised to tell them everything as soon as he knew.
The next morning Harry received Sirius and Remus's letter and laughed. They were very upset, but at the very end of what was a very long letter, they said they understood that Harry wanted to be with his friends for Christmas and work on the potions that would be ready by the first week of March. This was the last stage and they said they understood.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came to the School that day to see their daughter. They had received an owl in the morning and they had flooed to Hogsmeade and had rushed from there. Ginny was perfectly fine, Madam Pomfrey declared that afternoon and Harry went once again to the Headmaster's office in the afternoon to hear from Ginny.
McGonagall, Snape, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, all their children and Lucius Malfoy of all people along with Dobby were there. Dobby was looking very pathetic and he was standing with his head bowed low down in fear. He looked up as the door opened and Harry walked in, and his eyes widened comically before Lucius noticed him and kicked him. Dobby whimpered and looked down once again.
Harry glared at Lucius Malfoy and put his hand inside his robes conjuring a hanky, kept it in readiness.
'Come in Harry and sit down. You know the Weasleys and this is Lucius Malfoy one of the Governors on the Hogwarts School Board. Lucius, this is Harry.' Dumbledore said pleasantly.
McGonagall was sitting next to Snape and Harry sat on Snape's other side. Snape had kept watching him from the moment he had entered the room, but was still to say anything. The whole atmosphere was very tense and Ginny was already sobbing.
'Hi Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley.' Harry greeted them softly as soon as he sat down. Mrs. Weasley looked on the verge of tears and Mr. Weasley was looking very worried as well.
'Harry, dear, I really don't know what to say.' Mrs. Weasley started and Harry's heart went out to this lady who had done so much for him. He smiled, 'I don't think you need to say anything Mrs. Weasley. Professor Dumbledore was telling me yesterday that something possessed Ginny. In fact most of us saw something, a youngish boy coming out of her and vanishing. Nothing's her fault.'
Dumbledore beamed. Mrs. Weasley smiled through her tears and thanked him tremulously. She had been so scared when the owl had come and after she came to School and learnt what had happened, she had been terrified, both for her daughter and about what would happen to her, for her actions, even though she was not really in control of them. To her immense relief and eternal gratitude, Harry was just brushing it all away.
'I think professor Dumbledore has the diary, Mrs. Weasley. You can see that. I think that diary is somehow connected to that ghost that came out of Ginny. I saw her with it a few times and she would always be talking and smirking to herself.' He explained.
'I really don't see the point in all this Dumbledore. It is obvious that the girl has brought in a magical object that could harm the other students here and I think this is a clear case of misuse of magical artefacts and even if the criminal is very young, I think she must be taken through the proper channels and punished.' He drawled, his eyes roving over the Weasleys and settling upon Harry.
'Well, sir, I refuse to press charges, when it was not her fault, but the fault of the person who was inside her.' Harry told him firmly and blushed when everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Dumbledore was completely taken aback at the confidence and the assured way in which Harry was speaking and he slowly entered his mind.
Again Dumbledore was shocked. There was nothing there, except recognition of the house – elf which he too had recognized from seeing it in Harry's mind before and the memories of that morning and later helping Snape with the potions. There was nothing else. He pushed it from his mind for now and concentrated on the job at hand.
Mrs. Weasley was now crying in earnest and the Weasleys were all glaring at Lucius Malfoy who was scowling at Harry. Harry turned to professor Dumbledore. 'Sir, do you have the Diary with you?' he asked Dumbledore and surprised once again, but very curious, Dumbledore handed over the Diary to him, watching him all the time. Harry turned his back to Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore and removed the hanky as if to wipe his face and slipped it inside the book and cast a notice-me-not charm and a very mild sticking charm wandlessly on it all the while pretending to look through the book.
'Mrs. Weasley, this was the diary Ginny had with her, the few times I saw her look kind of possessed. See.' He said and handed the Diary to her. She took it with trembling hands and looked at it and as if unable to look through it at all, she handed it back to Harry. Ginny saw the book and started weeping loudly, throwing herself on to her mother, who was trying to comfort Ginny through her own tears.
'Where did you get this thing Ginny? Did you have it before School or did someone give it to you after School started?' Harry asked her and after a long moment of intense sobbing, she looked at Harry, her eyes all puffed up and face swollen and with so much fear in her eyes, 'I'm sorry Harry. The book wanted to know everything about you. He said he wanted to be friends with me and I told him all about how you defeated You-Know-Who and how you survived the killing curse.
'The book then slowly tried to poison my mind towards you and when ever it would take hold of me, I could not do anything; I simply watched as if it was happening to some one else and he would keep grinning and keep talking about killing you. What you said is very correct. But Harry, it was not I, it was him.' and she started sobbing as her parents looked on helplessly.
'Seems a likely story.' Lucius sneered. 'Let me see that book, Mr. Potter.' He asked Harry holding his hand out for the book. Harry looked at Dobby. 'Hello, can you please take this to Mr. Malfoy?' he asked, not getting up from his chair.
Dobby looked at him, his eyes wide with disbelief that some one had requested him, rather than ordered him, and then sheer terror at touching that book. He came to Harry and slowly held out a hand and then blinked in relief when he could not feel the darkest magic of them all and hurried to Lucius Malfoy and handed the book to him. Lucius glared at him, and snatched the book from him and opened it. To his shock, one he managed to conceal very well, the Diary looked very ordinary and he could sense no magic at all, let alone dark magic coming from it.
He stayed silent for a few minutes and looked up when Harry was asking Ginny something else. 'Where did you find this Ginny?'
Her father answered for her. 'She says she found it in her Transfiguration text book when we got it from flourish and Blotts.'
Harry looked at Ginny and for the first time in this time line, used Legilimency to plant a thought into another mind, after he made sure Dumbledore was not in his mind. He looked a bit puzzled like everyone else and Arthur and Molly were talking to Dumbledore about enquiring those at Flourish and Blotts about this.
Suddenly Ginny exclaimed, 'Mum, it was Mr. Malfoy. He took my Transfiguration book that day, looked through it and threw it into my cauldron. Remember Daddy? It was him, I'm sure, who put the book into my Transfiguration text.' She cried out, looking at him angrily and with just a touch of fear.
Lucius Malfoy stiffened and went pale for a second, before he steadied himself and glared at Ginny. 'I hope you have proof Miss. Weasley. You are making rather serious accusations.' He told her bitingly.
Dumbledore saw Lucius's expressions and his own face went blank. 'Lucius, she is frightened and she does not remember from where she received the diary. She may be mistaken.'
'May be mistaken!' Lucius Malfoy was furious. 'She is playing around with dark artefacts and then conveniently accuses me. Have the Weasleys stooped so low?' he thundered as he threw the book on the floor by his feet.
'There was the ghostly form of a young Lord Voldemort that came out of her body as she screamed and fainted.' Dumbledore told him abruptly.
Lucius stopped breathing and he stood there in shock, his face ashen. He stood there for a long minute his eyes wide with shock and with sweat that was already beginning to break out on his face as he processed Dumbledore's words.
'What?' he whispered.
'You heard me, Lucius. I think you should leave now. And I hope that you will not play with my students in future.' Dumbledore said chillingly and he stood up, radiating an aura of power as he looked at Lucius Malfoy with penetrating eyes that had no twinkle in them now, but anger.
Lucius turned on his feet. His feet hit the Diary and he looked at it with deep fear that he could not quite conceal. Without realizing what he was doing he bent down and picked it up and then stiffened again as he realized what he had done. Instead of walking to the table and placing the diary on it, he turned to Dobby and barked at him, throwing the book at him, 'Give it to Dumbledore and come with me.'
Exactly then, Harry wandlessly removed the charms and made the hanky visible. Dobby saw the cloth and stood there mesmerised by the hanky. 'Dobby!' came a strangled shout from Lucius who turned back to kick his elf and his eyes widened.
'Master has freed me.' Dobby said his eyes leaking with tears.
'What?' Lucius was astonished and it was all that Harry could do to stop laughing at Lucius's face.
'Master has given me clothes. I am free.' Dobby said once more in a voice that dripped with wonder.
Lucius Malfoy blazed with anger. He unscrewed his cane and lifted his wand, when Dobby snapped his fingers. "I shall not allow Master to harm anyone.'
CRASH! Lucius Malfoy went flying and hit the door of the Headmaster's office and crumpled down. Everyone was still with shock and the room was totally silent.
In that silence, Snape got up and moved slowly to Malfoy and helped him stand up even as the others watched with open mouths. Snape simply looked into Lucius's eyes, apparently trying to convey something to him. Malfoy stood there for a second more, looking into Snape's eyes and then, he swiftly turned and walked out of the Headmaster's office, slamming the door behind him.