After that, things finally returned to normal. The attacks already ceased, so the atmosphere inside the school lightened up. Except that the petrified students were still inside Madam Pomfrey's hospital because the Mandrakes will only fully grow by December.
The Quidditch Cup continued too. Without Cho, the team was pretty much obliterated, even by the Hufflepuffs. They have Cedric Diggory, so the Ravenclaw team placed last in the rankings. Cho must have changed a lot of things in Quidditch because all the players became more competent and the games became fiercer. Slytherin placed second because of the new brooms that the Malfoys gifted them back at their first game. Hufflepuffs placed third, but they gave Gryffindors and Slytherins a hard time. Cedric Diggory is a very competent and experienced seeker, so Harry was almost unable to catch the snitch, and so was Draco. It was only possible when the twins distracted Cedric long enough for Harry to snatch their win. Slytherin pretty much won against all of their opponents, except Gryffindors. Having new brooms was a huge advantage for them, and the players were decent enough even if they are a little rough and played dirty. Ravenclaw only won one match against Hufflepuff, then lost the rest since Cho was already in the hospital.
Now that the Quidditch cup ended with Gryffindors becoming the victors again, the fear of having another attack completely disappeared and the whole castle became livelier than before. Students are still excited about learning to duel in the club, especially that Lockheart was finally fired from his job. The club basically became the substitute for the subject until the year ends, and Flitwick was very much happy to take over the whole club. He even had the other teachers assist him occasionally. Sometimes, it would be Professor McGonagall, then Professor Snape, Professor Sprout, and the other teachers too. It was quite interesting to know that they had their own way of fighting, how Professor McGonagall's forte is transfiguration. The student body was amazed at her little show. Shaping fire into knives before throwing to a dummy. Professor Sprout's technique we're very peculiar too. She seems to depend on her plants more than her spells. I even remember the war from the books where Sprout threw fully grown mandrakes to Death Eaters, killing them with a scream. Professor Snape's style is quite similar to Professor Flitwick only that he was more ruthless and unforgiving. Professor Flitwick has the spirit of sportsmanship and honor of a duelist, while Snape does not. Flitwick also prefers to us his quick casting to his advantage, while Snape prefers firepower. The most interesting I saw was Professor Septima Vector, the Arithmancy instructor. She likes to predict her opponent's movement before casting a spell with very intricate effects. Her style was very unorthodox. The students even asked if they will see Dumbledore join too, but no one knows.
The school was very much complete, except the fact that the DADA position is once again vacant. With that, the students and the staff can only wonder what Dumbledore plans to do.
As for me, I went back to my usual routine. Not that it changed much after the attacks started, but it felt a little lonely when Luna was not inside the Room too. Now though, we returned to our usual meetups inside the Room of Requirement. Luna actually improved more thanks to the dueling club. Seeing Professor McGonagall transform water into horses, she was very determined to improve herself.
On the other hand, I managed to hide from her my projects. It was actually completely finished by the time I faced the giant serpent, so I don't have any more to worry about her finding out about my ventures.
I also talked to my grandfather about my experience down inside the chamber. He was actually intrigued about the chamber. He was an enthusiast of every myth that existed inside the wizarding world, including the Chamber of Secrets. That's how he found the Elder Wand after all. He was only a bit disappointed that the Chamber was already opened even before I found it, and it only housed the Basilisk. It was said that Slytherin was a renowned Wizard that was also the most proficient in Dark Magic among the four founders, and the Dark Arts was a subject he taught in the school when it was founded.
He was very impressed that I managed to take on the beast, showing how skillful I was in handling my spells. Even more when I defeated it with Harry Potter. He didn't have any more to teach me as I already had written down his whole personal journal, and I was now suitable as an heir of Grindelwald, but I will still be tested to prove my worth as the Head of the family. That position was not something to make light of, and I was still far from achieving that.
After my long talk with grandfather, time passed very quickly as snow began to fall, signaling the arrival of winter. Everyone was excited since this was the month when the mandrakes will be ready to be harvested. The Mandrake Restorative Draught can be finally be brewed. The matter will be dealt with by the teachers privately though, so the students can only wait for their petrified friends to be cured.
As usual, I walked around the castle, intending to uncover every secret I can find. My discovery of the Garden and the Room of Requirement was already proof that no student even bothered exploring the whole castle, inside and out.
If Slytherin has the Chamber of Secrets, and Ravenclaw built her own laboratory inside the Room, then maybe Hufflepuff and Gryffindor left some sort of legacy? Aside from their relics, of course. There must be more hidden inside the castle, and I am definitely finding it.
I had nothing to do while waiting for Cho and the others to heal, so I went to the library and read books. I haven't been here in ages because the Room of Requirement provided with me that I needed, so everything still felt fresh for me. I am planning to rest my mind from the projects I finished until the year ended, so I turned my head and analyzed the stories of the founders. Clues can be found within their biographies, so to the books, I went. Helga Hufflepuff was known as a very skilled witch in charms, especially food-related. She was known to be the kindest among the founders, so her legacy will have some connection to her personality. It was the same with the chamber and the Room, so I think my guess made some sense. The case was the same with Gryffindor. He prefers the adventurous and courageous types of people. So he must have some kind of room dedicated to them.
I haven't found a thing useful, so I stopped for the day. I am relaxing right now, so I won't exhaust myself for something like that. These things can still wait since I have 5 more years in this school. I do not intend to share them though since the founders must have built it as a sort of test. Those who only proved to be capable of finding them shall be granted access inside. If they made it for their students, why did they not reveal them?
So my days went like that, I spent some time inside the Room with Luna sharpening my skills, inside the library searching for clues, and inside the group's classroom for the tutoring sessions. It was actually quite surprising that the boys were very determined, it was sort of odd, especially for Ron and Harry. The events inside the Chamber must have been a wake-up call for them. Ron almost lost his sister, and he will never let it happen again. Even if he's still a jerk sometimes, he toned it down a bit. Back then, he literally hated me because of my association with the previous Dark Lord, but now, we are already quite all right. I was the one who saved his sister after all. But we are still not in friendly terms. He only acknowledged my connection with Cho, who is a very good friend of Hermione. It was the same for Harry if not more closer since I just helped him exterminate the basilisk.
It was when the day of the winter feast began. I was on my way to the great hall from the Room, searching for possible clues not available inside the library. I noticed that something felt different, but the feeling was pleasant. So I just continued my way to the hall. Everything was decorated according to the celebration. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the winter sky, Christmas ornaments were hanged across the hall, and the atmosphere was merry. Something really fast was coming to me, so I caught it with both arms. A loud familiar voice that I haven't heard for a while shouted my name.
"Fred!" Cho shouted as she landed on my arms. The frozen statue of a girl is healthy now, and I'm very happy that she was already fine.
"Hello, Cho. It's been a while." I spoke as I patted her back. Even if we're in the middle of the hall, everyone doesn't mind it all since they had their own reunion earlier.
"I heard you killed the attacker. I'm so worried you know?" She scolded as she pinched my waist while still hugging me.
"Ow, not the waist Cho!" I reacted as a sharp pain was felt on my waist. We let go of each other as I rubbed the pinched part. Then, we strolled back to our table and continued our talk.
"It's been a month for all of us," Cho said while looking down. She must have felt sad that she missed a lot in a whole month, especially her Quidditch matches. She can still participate next year, so no pressure there.
We chatted for who knows how long, talking about the things that happened while she's still in the hospital. The sessions with the boys, the Ravenclaw placing in the Quidditch rankings, the usual things, all of that. She winced when I told her how the house lost badly to the other houses, but felt relieved when I told her how the boys became more energetic during tutoring sessions. We talked a lot for who knows how long until the Headmaster decided to begin the feast. Before that though, the great hall's huge wooden doors opened, revealing Hagrid who was now free from being sent to Azkaban. Hagrid seemed to stop near Harry, Ron, and a fully-recovered Hermione. They talked for a little before Harry hugged the big man. A little after that, the Winter feast continued. The whole crowd only became more boisterous when Dumbledore decided to cancel all exams for the rest of the year, except OWL's and NEWTS of course, much to the other teachers' dismay. But their schedules will be delayed.
It was very fun that day with everyone choosing to live their life with nothing to think about. Celebrating our friends' recovery, the culprit of the attacks gone, the school being safe again, and Cho being the lively girl she is. This day seemed to be the best day I had in this school, and everything seemed to be perfect. I am even thankful for whoever sent me to this world, to give me another chance to live again.
The day ended with everyone feeling happy and contended. Everyone was ready to go home to spend their Christmas with their families, and for me to do my duties as the heir of my family.
The next day, I am already in Hogsmeade with Cho. She wants us to actually go to the same cabin as the trio, so I just followed her. We went around the train to search for their cabin until we eventually found it. The trio was already inside, with Neville and Luna sitting on the other side of the compartment. There's still some space for us two, so I had Cho and my trunk up above our seats.
Everyone chatted with each other, mostly the previously petrified girls until the conversation reached the topic of the Chamber. Harry told them the story similar to my own version, and Cho was both worried and amazed. Worried because Harry and I took on an adult Basilisk, and amazed at how we won against it. Ron shared his own experience too as he told everyone how he frantically searched for the teachers. His shouts were heard by the portraits and were passed to the teachers patrolling the grounds at that time. It was also the portraits, together with the ghosts that spread the stories across the castle. Then how he saw the giant serpent by the time he and the professors arrived at the scene. I already had Gorbey pick up the corpse, so it is already safe in the manor's storage. I also told Gorbey to divide the corpse into half and give the other half to the elves inside the castle so they can deliver it to the resident potion master. Snape mostly ignored me after that. I guess that in itself was already a reward.
It was the time when Logan decided to appear inside my robes again. The wolf pup warmed himself using my robes, so I had him comfort himself. He was very excited when he fought the king of snakes and was so ecstatic that he fought the largest Basilisk he has ever seen in his long life.
"Oh, Logan!" Cho squealed happily as she picked up Logan from my lap. I didn't know being petrified made her senses sharp.
"Logan?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, he's Fred's pet. You saw him last year didn't you?" Cho replied. Logan felt very offended that someone considered him a pet, so he quickly escaped Cho's arms and went inside me. No one calls him a pet, even me. Cho looked like someone stole her toy, so I just checked at the sight.
Hardy widened his eyes as he turned his eyes to the sleeping wolf puppy, then to me. I just winked at him, which he shortly understood. The realization was very shocking for him. The sleeping puppy on my lap is actually a giant fearsome wolf that won against the King of Serpents. I ignored him as I just listened to the others' conversation. Cho was trying to get the wolf out of my lap, but the puppy won't let her. So she just settled on touching his fur while the Grim sleeps.
The train eventually reached the station, and I stepped outside after saying my goodbyes to Cho and the others. Cho told me again to write letters during the break. I tried to argue that the break will be for only a couple of weeks, but she was having none of that so I just sighed as I left the train. I met with Gorbey and apparated with him directly inside the manor. I quickly went up the room and told Gorbey that I am invited to the Greengrass House's party. Gorbey quickly became excited having more work to do, and he quickly left to prepare a few things. I didn't know what he plans to do, so I just ate the food he prepared and went to my room. The party will start after a few days, so I'll have the great of my time for myself. For the break, I am planning on working on improving my spells again and try to explore other places with Logan. I have to practice my wandless magic again for my new spells and search for the family's book of rituals. Harry may have never noticed, but the Basilisk was overwhelmed with spells that I cast with both my wand and hand. The Basilisk was never able to come up again, and that sealed our victory.
For now, I'll just sleep until the next day.