I see a massive snake slithering out of the mouth of the statue at the end of the hall.
This time I hide behind a pillar in the chamber and look in the direction from where I arrived.
Fawkes swoops in and tears out the snake's eyes.
Maddened with pain, the snake continues to hunt me.
I grab the Sorting Hat and jam it onto my head. I pretend to be begging for some assistance.
Something lands on my head with a clunk.
It was the similar sight of the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
Riddle keeps egging the basilisk on to kill me.
The basilisk strikes, but this time I am fast enough to bury the sword into the soft palate of its mouth and killing it in one single stroke. I was well aware that only by placing myself at risk could I get an opportunity to hit the weak spot that I had accidently hit last time. This time I was ready.
One the basilisk's poisonous fang sinks into my arm.
This was a very small fight when compared to the previous time.
Instead of being muddled like last time I quickly took the fang in my arm and instead of making my way towards Ginny, I directly headed for the diary.
Fawkes flies to my side.
Riddle gloats, I am dying, and he gets to watch.
He mocks me that even though I killed the Basilisk, I too will die in the chamber as there is no cure for a Basilisk's poison.
While he was gloating, he notices that instead of moving towards Ginny I was moving towards the diary.
He threatens me to stop.
By the time I made my way towards the diary, Fawkes had already worked his magic and his tears were healing my wound and the poison at a visible rate.
I give a final mocking smirk to Riddle before sticking the basilisk fang into the book.
Ink streams out in ribbons and Riddle screams and disappears.
At the other side of the Chamber, Ginny wakes up.
Upon seeing me, the first expression on her face was that of disbelief. But soon it is overcome by the fear of death that she had just faced. She cries and apologizes.
Ginny can't calm down. She was just a girl who wished nothing more than to reunite in the warm embrace of her protective family.
Instead of asking unnecessary questions, I turned towards Fawkes and asked him to take us out of here.
My adventures of the chambers were over. At least for now.
It has now been a week since the adventure.
It is almost time for the year to end.
After coming back, I was immediately surrounded by the teachers. Thankfully there was Madam Pomphrey to save me. After a few questions from the various heads, she made everyone else leave me alone.
The consequences of me going to the chambers alone would be decided by Dumble's when he gets back. I already knew that nothing will happen to me so I wasn't overly concerned by the threats and sternness shown by the various house heads.
Hermione was practically by my bedside all the time. Since we were already studying under madam Pomphrey, it was easy for her to gain permission to stay by my side in the infirmary. Though it was clear that I had no problems with my body, it was decided by the teachers that I was to remain in the infirmary till the last day after everyone saw the large wound on my arm.
The entirety of Weasley family had come to thank me for I had done for Ginny. The twins did not say anything much, but I could see it on their face on how grateful they had been to me for protecting their sister. Mr. Weasley was all praise for me and the bravery that I had shown. Mrs. Weasley was very happy that both of us were safe but that did not stop her from scolding me for such reckless behaviour.
The rumour mill was at its peak and all was once again back to normal for Hogwarts.
Hagrid had returned from Azkaban.
Dumble's was reinstated as the headmaster.
He did visit me and once again gave some encouraging words. He did not delve deeply, no doubt curtsy of the sorting hat.
The first thing that he did upon being reinstated was the cancellation of all exams except the OWL's and NEWT's.
The whole castle was up in celebrations and the students were more relaxed.
I was finally discharged from the infirmary just before the farewell feast. My things were no doubt packed by the almighty house elves of Hogwarts.
Hermione was waiting for me outside the infirmary to attend the feast.
As we made our way to the feast, she made sure to remind me that the next time I did something as crazy as fighting a XXXXX beast, without having the nerve to inform her beforehand, I can say goodbye to the first friend I had made.
I had honestly forgotten how scary Hermione could sound once she is mad at me. Since coming back I had provided her with limited to no opportunity to be mad at me. This was because I was deeply aware that I need her way more than she needed me.
Once we were seated for the feast, Dumble's made his way onto the podium and gave the same bright speech.
By the time we made our way back to the dormitory, I was tired and went to sleep directly.
Early next morning, everyone was running around saying their goodbyes and making last minute preparations before leaving in the afternoon.
As I had no packing to do, I was out roaming the halls.
I met Luna in one of the corridors. As I greeted her, I could see that she was distracted searching for something.
Once she noticed me, she too greeted me politely and thanked me.
I was confused.
She continued by informing me that it was for ending the suffering of the poor snake that was trapped in the walls.
I was shocked that she was aware of the Basilisk's death because no one other than me, Ginny, the house heads and Dumble's knew about what had transpired in the chambers.
She wished me goodbye and left before I could say something.
It seems I will have to wait till next year to interact more with her.
The Hogwarts express was once again in full swing taking us back.
My second year at Hogwarts was over, once again.