Chapter 24

The Headmaster, the House Elf, and the War

"Good and evil. I do not know if they define humanity, but both clearly have the biggest impact when carried out by humanity."

General (ret.) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk

Harriet beamed. "Professor Dumbledore!"

She went to take another step when all of the exertion and stress of everything that had happened caught up with her. It felt as though her knees turned to rubber and they gave way under her. Ginny shrieked with surprise as both girls went tumbling to the ground, crumpling on top of each other. Harriet heard the sword clang loudly on the stone floor, echoing up and down the corridor.

"Girls!"

There was the sound of splashing footsteps. Harriet felt hands on her arms, lifting her up to a sitting position and Ginny was lifted off of her. Harriet grunted in protest, too dizzy to talk.

"It's alright, Potter," said Madame Pomfrey's gentle voice. Harriet felt her glasses being taken off and blinked and winced as a bright light was shone in her eyes.

"We're just checking you both for injuries and shock, dears," Miss Momori's voice said from somewhere nearby.

"Where does it hurt, Potter?"

Harriet felt hands moving over her, lifting her jumper.

"Check Ginny first," Harriet said, starting to get her faculties back.

"But Potter, you're covered in blood!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed.

Harriet looked down and remembered that she was in fact covered almost head-to-toe in the basilisk's blood.

"It's not mine," Harriet said. "It's from the basilisk… I killed it."

"You what?!" a familiar voice gasped.

Even without her glasses, Harriet recognised the one legged, one armed figure of Professor Kettleburn stumping over on his false leg. "A little girl kill a basilisk?! That's just impossible!" Professor Kettleburn snarled in disbelief.

"Clearly, it is not," said another familiar voice that Harriet recognised as Professor Morrisey. "Unless I miss my guess, that girl looks to have been covered in more blood than she holds in her entire body. And so if it's not her blood, and it is not Miss Weasley's, then where did it come from?"

Professor Kettleburn quietly muttered grumpily as he stomped away.

She heard Professor Morrisey sigh. "Though, it did make my invention rather pointless… oh well, it was still a good idea anyway."

"That is quite alright, Johnathan," Professor Dumbledore said in a comforting tone. "I heard India still has a rash of them. You could patent your design there I am sure."

"Yes… yes, I certainly could…" Professor Morrisey said thoughtfully.

Harriet looked up at the blurry figure of Professor Dumbledore. Another shape, glowing red, flew into view and settled itself on Professor Dumbledore's out-of-focus shoulder. Harriet shivered. After Riddle, the sight of out-of-focus people disconcerted her slightly.

"M-Madame Pomfrey…? May I have my glasses back please?" Harriet asked.

"Oh right, of course, Potter, here you are," Madame Pomfrey said, handing them back.

Harriet put her glasses back on and turned to see Miss Momori holding a stethoscope to Ginny's chest. Harriet turned to look at Professor Dumbledore when she caught Professor Morrisey's eye. He was giving her the same calculating look he had given Scott the night Scott had followed the basilisk. It was not a sinister look, but it did make Harriet feel uneasy, as though she was being appraised.

"Well, it seems you're right, Potter, there doesn't seem to be anything more than a few bumps and bruises," Madame Pomfrey said in disbelief, "though I dare say a hot bath and change of clothes are in order."

Madame Pomfrey moved over to help Miss Momori inspect Ginny. Ginny still looked miserable, and her eyes kept darting towards Professor Dumbledore nervously. Professor Dumbledore, however, was smiling warmly at Ginny and leaving Harriet in little doubt that Professor Dumbledore knew Ginny was innocent. The trouble would be genuinely proving it.

It was then that Harriet noticed some people she had expected to see were missing. She saw Professor Dumbledore as well as Professors Sinistra, Sprout, and Flitwick who were hanging back, merely looking from Harriet to Ginny and back in amazement. Then there was Professor Morrisey and Professor Kettleburn who had just walked back into the bright flood-lights. There was Madame Pomfrey and Miss Momori. It was then she put a finger on who she thought was missing.

"Where's Professor McGonagall, Snape and Lockhart?" Harriet asked, looking around.

"Ah," Professor Dumbledore said. "Professor McGonagall is back up in the school where she is keeping the rest of Miss Weasley's family company—"

"Mum and Dad are here?!" Ginny asked.

Professor Dumbledore smiled wider. "But of course, surely you don't think your parents would be given news that their youngest daughter had been taken by the Heir of Slytherin and sit around at home?"

Ginny blushed but finally smiled. Professor Dumbledore nodded and turned back to Harriet. "As for Professor Snape, he is further down the tunnel. His leg suffered rather considerable damage in the rock-fall, but it was nothing a little Skele-Gro could not fix."

"And Lock—er—Professor Lockhart?" she asked.

"Ah, yes, well, I think I shall explain that unfortunate set of circumstances after we have all exited this dank cavern into the more hospitable environs of the school," Professor Dumbledore said. He turned to look at Ginny. "And how is Miss Weasley?" he asked gently.

"Well, I would like to keep her under observation," Miss Momori said. "But I don't see any signs of any lasting damage."

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "In that case, I shall gladly escort both of these young ladies back into the castle."

Professor Dumbledore put a hand on Harriet and Ginny's shoulders, turning and guiding them towards the light. As they got closer, he cleared his throat. "You may turn off the lights now, Severus," he called. "They will no longer be needed."

The lights went out, and Harriet blinked in the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust. As they did, she gasped. At first, Harriet thought she was looking at herself, but then she realised she was looking into a giant mirror that filled almost the entire tunnel. It was lined with enormous lamps around its edges.

"Professor Morrisey's idea," Professor Dumbledore explained, gesturing to the mirror. "We could have procured a great number of roosters of course, but that would have been troublesome and time-consuming, as one cannot, in a practical sense, force a rooster to crow. So instead, the only logical step was to force the basilisk to look at its reflection and thus petrify itself."

"What are the lights for?" Harriet asked, looking them over.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, you see, Harriet, a basilisk is a rather crafty creature, and it would be sure to spot a mirror before it looked into its reflection. This was evidenced by its intentional use of mirrors to petrify victims rather than killing them. By casting a light such as this, we could taunt the basilisk into approaching while hiding the mirror. When it approached close enough, we would then simply turn off the lights, and the basilisk would be looking right into its reflection and thus be no more."

As Harriet watched, Professor Snape finally came around from behind the mirror. His foot was in a cast, and he was walking on a crutch. His eyes narrowed as he glanced down at Harriet before looking back up at Professor Dumbledore.

"All is well then, Headmaster?" Professor Snape asked without acknowledging Harriet further.

"Yes, I think so," Professor Dumbledore said. "The perpetrator it seems has been defeated, and his monster is no more. Furthermore, both Miss Potter and Miss Weasley are in perfect health, if a little shaken by their experience, which I'm sure was terrifying."

Harriet gave a short laugh. That was an understatement. Professor Snape still did not look at Harriet. Instead, he glanced down at Ginny.

"It is good to see you are alive, Weasley," he said in his usual curt tone.

"Th-thank you, Professor," Ginny said nervously.

Professor Snape just sniffed and started moving past them on his crutch towards the other staff members. Harriet looked up at Professor Dumbledore who merely smiled and gestured onward.

Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel. It was then that a question occurred to Harriet. "Uh, sir, how are we—?"

She was cut off when Fawkes twittered and swooped down off Professor Dumbledore's shoulder. He hovered in mid-air in front of the tunnel and waved his long tail at them.

"Simply grab hold of my robes, both of you," Professor Dumbledore said as he took hold of Fawkes' tail.

"But… a bird like that can't carry us, can it?" Ginny asked, though still grabbing Professor Dumbledore's robe as ordered.

Professor Dumbledore just smiled enigmatically. Harriet took hold of his robes as well, and the moment she did, she felt as though she was as light as one of Fawkes' feathers. Before Harriet could even think, Fawkes shot off up the pipe, hauling Professor Dumbledore, Harriet, and Ginny after him. Harriet couldn't help but smile as Fawkes navigated easily through the large pipe. It was every bit as exhilarating as flying on her broom as they swirled and zig-zagged up the long, winding pipe.

All too quickly, the ride was over. They flew up into the bathroom, and Fawkes lowered them to the ground. Professor Dumbledore let go of Fawkes' tail, and Harriet felt her weight return.

"And now, let us make our way to my office," Professor Dumbledore said as Fawkes landed on his shoulder once more.

Harriet and Ginny followed Professor Dumbledore out of the bathroom and down the hallway, making their way to the large gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"Ice Mice," Professor Dumbledore said, and the gargoyle leapt aside.

Beside her, Ginny squeaked in fright and ducked behind Harriet. She was still jumpy from her experience in the Chamber, although Harriet remembered how surprised she had been when she first saw the gargoyle move last winter.

Professor Dumbledore put a hand on Ginny's shoulder and gently urged her forward onto the moving spiral staircase. Harriet followed, and they all waited as the stairs carried them upwards to Professor Dumbledore's office. When they arrived, Professor Dumbledore opened the door, and they stepped inside. They were met with a scream of mingled shock and relief.

"GINNY!"

Harriet watched as Mr and Mrs Weasley ran towards them from the fireplace where they had both been sitting with Professor McGonagall, Percy, Fred, George and Ronnie. Professor McGonagall and the other Weasley children stared in disbelief before the rest of the Weasleys rose and ran over.

Mr Weasley was the first to reach Ginny. His face was stricken and his eyes full of tears as he dropped to his knees and pulled Ginny into a tight embrace. Mrs Weasley caught up and dropped down to hug Ginny too, as did the other Weasley children.

Harriet glanced at Professor Dumbledore awkwardly. Professor Dumbledore, however, continued to beam at the reunited family. Harriet nervously shifted from one foot to another when Mr Weasley shot out an arm, wrapped it tight around her, and pulled Harriet into the hug as well. At first, Harriet didn't know how to react. She merely stood there as Mrs Weasley put an arm around her as well.

It was then that something new and strange came over Harriet. A feeling she had never had before. It was a sense of belonging and caring. Slowly, Harriet reached up and began to hug Mr and Mrs Weasley back. For the first time, Harriet felt that she knew what it was like to be embraced by parents.

It was this, more than anything else that finally caused Harriet to break down too. A warm sense of happiness swept over her as they all held each other tight. She felt as though she could have stayed there forever in the embrace. However, it was Professor McGonagall who first broke the mood.

"P-Potter… are you… covered in blood?"

Mrs Weasley gasped noticing. "Harriet!? My dear are you alright?! Albus why isn't she in the Hospital—"

"My dear Molly, please," Professor Dumbledore said holding up a hand to stall her. "I assure you, Harriet is perfectly fine. Both she and Ginny were thoroughly inspected for injuries by Miss Momori and Madame Pomfrey before I brought them back into the school. Harriet does, however, have quite a story to tell I am sure. Perhaps, Harriet, you should start at the beginning?"

Somehow, Harriet didn't find it all that difficult to explain everything that had happened. She told them how she and Kieran had followed the spiders into the forest and learned that Hagrid was innocent (Professor McGonagall seemed less than pleased to learn of that adventure). How Scott had nearly been killed by the basilisk but had still mustered his courage to follow it to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. How Harriet knew only she would be able to open the Chamber because she was a Parselmouth (which caused Mrs Weasley to gasp in shock).

Finally, she came to entering the Chamber itself. Now she was having a hard time finding the right words. She did her best to explain how she had seen Riddle, and how Fawkes had arrived with the Sorting Hat. She explained how Fawkes had blinded the basilisk for her and the Sorting Hat had given her the sword.

She looked at Professor Dumbledore as she paused. She hadn't explained about the diary yet; she wasn't sure how. Who would believe her? She didn't want to say anything that would incriminate Ginny, even if Professor Dumbledore had given no sign of thinking Ginny was guilty.

"The thing that I would like to know," Professor Dumbledore said, cutting in. "Is how Lord Voldemort was able to enchant Ginny from so far away? According to my sources, he is currently believed to be hiding in the forests of Albania."

Harriet felt another wave of relief that threatened to turn her knees into rubber again. So he knew, somehow, Professor Dumbledore knew that it had been Riddle, or rather Lord Voldemort all along.

Harriet raised the diary. "It was this diary," Harriet said. "Riddle—er—Voldemort wrote it when he was only sixteen. He said he put his memory into it so it could possess people and open the Chamber for him if he couldn't."

Professor Dumbledore's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he took the diary and inspected it. "Ingenious… and you destroyed it with the sword?"

"Yes sir," Harriet said. "After I killed the basilisk with it… it lunged at me, and I couldn't get out of the way so I just pointed the sword at its head and it sorta… ran into it…" Harriet said. Somehow, the event didn't sound nearly as impressive when she described it as it had in her memory.

Professor Dumbledore inspected both the diary and the sword with great interest. It seemed like it was a full five minutes before he finally set both down and returned his attention to Harriet and the Weasleys.

"Very few people today know this, but once upon a time, Lord Voldemort was known by the name of Tom Riddle. He was a student here at Hogwarts, perhaps the most brilliant student to ever pass through these halls. I taught him myself fifty years ago," Professor Dumbledore said. "He was respected by the staff and his peers, and even rose to be Head Boy. However, shortly after leaving Hogwarts, he disappeared. In that time, he travelled all throughout the magical world, dedicating himself to the study of one thing: the Dark Arts. He became so immersed in them it began to change his physical form. Finally, when he resurfaced years later, there was nothing of the handsome young man known as Tom Riddle left."

"But… but how did the diary en-enchant our Ginny?" Mrs Weasley asked, hugging Ginny even tighter.

"He… it was like… he was living in it…" Ginny said in a hushed voice. "I thought it was just a normal diary at first… I found it in the old Transfiguration book Mom got me… I thought it had just been left in there by mistake… and Riddle started writing back…"

"Ginny!" Mr Weasley gasped. "What have I always told you?! Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain! Why didn't you show that diary to your mother or me?! It was a dark object!"

"I didn't know!" Ginny wailed just hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, Daddy, really he was so nice to me at first!"

"I think it would be a good idea for you all to head down to the kitchens," Professor Dumbledore said, smiling. "Professor McGonagall would you please accompany them? The kitchen staff will be more than happy to attend to you all and give the youngest Miss Weasley a nice steaming mug of hot chocolate; just the thing to cheer up someone who has been through a most terrible ordeal."

Ginny looked up at Professor Dumbledore disbelieving. Professor Dumbledore continued to smile at her. "There will be no punishment. There have even been old headmasters of this school who were hoodwinked by the likes of Lord Voldemort. Now off you all go. I shall send Miss Potter along in a few minutes after I have a little word with her on my own."

The Weasleys all rose and made their way to the door, following Professor McGonagall. Just as it was about to close, it burst back open, and Ronnie ran back into the room. Harriet had no time to react before Ronnie grabbed her and hugged Harriet as tight as she could.

"Thanks, Harriet… thank you so—"

"It's fine, Ronnie," Harriet said and hugged her best-friend back. "It's all fine."

Ronnie nodded and finally let go. She gave a little sniff and turned her head away quickly, clearly trying to hide tears. She made her way back to her family who had paused to wait for her, and the door quietly clicked shut after them.

Harriet now turned to look back at Professor Dumbledore.

"Well, Harriet, first of all, I have to admit I'm rather flattered."

"Sir?" Harriet asked, confused.

"Well, you must have shown me some real loyalty down in the Chamber today. That is the only thing that could have called Fawkes to you," Professor Dumbledore explained.

He sat back down behind his desk and leaned forward, studying Harriet with interest. "And so you finally met Tom Riddle. I'm sure he was, shall we say, uncomfortably interested in you…"

Harriet blushed and shivered. "Yes, sir… he—he said I'm like him… how I'm a Parselmouth like him…"

"I see…" Professor Dumbledore muttered, his eyebrows rising higher. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'm nothing like him!" Harriet spat in disgust. She paced angrily as her rage boiled over once more. "I'm a Gryffindor! He murdered my parents! He killed his father and grandparents! I mean… who does that?! He told me I should join him, how we could rule together! Can you believe that?! He's sick; he's evil, he's twisted!"

It felt like she went on for hours. Every dark feeling she'd had since learning the truth about Riddle came tumbling out of her.

"He got inside my head, he saw my dreams and manipulated them… he… he saw things he shouldn't see… private stuff," Harriet muttered, blushing and feeling embarrassed. She sat in the chair opposite Professor Dumbledore and crossed her arms.

"I see…" Professor Dumbledore said in his gentlest voice. "You are quite right, Harriet… you are nothing like him. Might I confess, knowing what I know of the life you have led how very proud of you I am."

Harriet finally looked up at Professor Dumbledore and felt her cheeks grow hotter at the sight of more tears in his eyes, running down into his bushy moustache and beard. "You have lived a life of neglect that no one should have to live. And yet you have risen above it to be the wonderful, good, and loving person who sits before me."

Professor Dumbledore's eyes continued to twinkle with tears. "It was not anger that sent you into that Chamber after Miss Weasley, Harriet. It was love. In my whole life, I do not think I have ever seen anyone who is as full of love as you. You hold in your chest a heart so big I imagine it may hold love for everyone in the entire world. Hold on to that, Harriet, no matter what it costs. Through it, I believe you will one day accomplish true greatness."

Harriet blushed looking down at her feet. "But… I don't wanna be great, sir… I'm no one special… I'm just Harriet…"

It was then that Harriet remembered something from long ago, on her very first day at Hogwarts. She looked down at the Sorting Hat that was still in her hands. Eerily, its words floated up from the depths of her memory.

"You could achieve much greatness in Slytherin house, many great witches and—"

"Sir… when… Riddle said I'm like him… when I was being sorted… the Sorting Hat told me I could 'achieve much greatness' if I was a Slytherin… and then… everyone thought I was Slytherin's Heir because I can speak Parseltongue too—"

"I'm afraid," Professor Dumbledore started cutting Harriet off, "that the reason you can speak Parseltongue, Harriet, is because Lord Voldemort, the true Heir of Slytherin, can speak Parseltongue."

"Sir?" Harriet asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, Harriet. I believe that on the night he failed to kill you and his body was destroyed, Lord Voldemort imparted some of his powers into you."

"Into me?" Harriet gasped. "So… so is that why the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin? Because it could sense Voldemort's powers—"

"I'm sure it could. And yet you were placed in Gryffindor," Professor Dumbledore said sternly. "And I'm also sure you know why."

"It… it only put me in Gryffindor because I asked—"

"Precisely," Professor Dumbledore said seriously. "Please hear me out, Harriet. I will not deny that you have many qualities that Salazar Slytherin himself prized in his hand-picked students. You are a Parseltongue, you're resourceful, determined, and of course, you have a rather blatant disregard for rules…"

Harriet was inclined to hang her head at that last factor, but Professor Dumbledore's moustache twitched, and his eyes twinkled. Professor Dumbledore was not reprimanding her.

"And yet, you chose to be a Gryffindor," Professor Dumbledore went on. "And that is the key. It is our choices, Harriet, that show who we are instead of our abilities. Within everyone is the ability to accomplish great good and great evil. It is what we choose to do that defines us, rather than those abilities. Do you see?"

Harriet nodded slowly.

"And even then if you had been placed in Slytherin house that would not have been so horrible, would it? Take your friend Miss Flamel for instance," Professor Dumbledore said smiling brighter. "She has her confusions and choices to make in life, but she is at heart a far kinder soul than she gives herself credit for. Furthermore, none of those qualities I listed are bad qualities. What's wrong with being resourceful, or determined? It's just as the Sorting Hat sang at the beginning of this school year, is it not? The four houses are not so different, after all."

Harriet looked down at her muddy feet. It wasn't out of shame now; instead, she was thinking hard processing everything Professor Dumbledore had just told her.

"However, should you require more proof that you truly are a Gryffindor, I would like you to take a look at this," Professor Dumbledore said and held up the sword once more.

Harriet noticed several things about the sword at once that she had not noticed before. Despite having been dropped on the muddy ground, and plunged deep into the head of a giant snake, there was not a drop of dirt or blood anywhere on the sword. Professor Dumbledore pointed to a spot just below the hilt. Harriet leaned forward and gasped. There was a name engraved where Professor Dumbledore was pointing.

Godric Gryffindor.

"That is the sword of Gryffindor, Harriet. It presents itself only to true Gryffindors in a time of great need. It usually sits there," Professor Dumbledore said, pointing to an empty case on the wall. "Only a true Gryffindor could have taken that sword from the hat, Harriet."

Harriet didn't respond. She merely kept staring at the sword, lost in all her thoughts. Professor Dumbledore smiled.

"Oh, and I believe you also expressed concern over the whereabouts of former Professor Lockhart?"

"Oh… uh… yes, sir," Harriet said, caught off guard.

"Well… unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon your point of view, the Minister of Magic himself turned up after hearing word that Miss Ginny Weasley had been taken by Slytherin's monster. He and his most capable Auror, a wonderful man named Kingsley Shacklebolt, accompanied us into the Chamber where we found Professor Snape in his less than enviable position, and Gilderoy Lockhart begging and pleading for us to take him away. It seems he was so anxious to escape the Chamber he admitted to many very ethically questionable choices on his part concerning his past adventures. It seemed as though he preferred being arrested to remaining in the Chamber a moment longer, and so the Minister was obliged to have him taken away for further questioning."

Professor Dumbledore's moustache quivered again. "In the process, the Minister also ran into your good friend, Marcus Van De Lakk. Mister Van De Lakk it seems was quite busy with an investigation of his own with the aid of some members of the Australian Ministry of Magic, and could not wait to hand over a handful of documents that seemed to corroborate Lockhart's stories of his misdeeds. And so I'm afraid it will be my unenviable task to convene the Wizengamot and try him for his crimes shortly. Being a former employer I shall recuse myself of course, but the trial will take place."

Harriet blinked in amazement. So that was what Marcus had been up to all that time over the holidays. "On an even happier note, you will be pleased to hear that the evidence we gathered was enough to convince the Minister to order the release of our beloved gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid."

"Hagrid's coming back!?" Harriet asked a sense of glee welling up inside her.

Professor Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Indeed, almost all injustices it seems have been righted."

Harriet blinked. What had Professor Dumbledore meant by almost all? "And now that all those matters are once more behind us, I highly suggest taking a nice hot bath and a nice change of clothes. I am going to send word to the kitchens and to all the houses that we are to hold a special feast in celebration of the final defeat of the Heir of Slytherin and the return of the school to normal."

"But… sir…?" Harriet asked. "What about the missing new students?"

Professor Dumbledore sighed. "While I do not know where they are hiding in the school, I am quite sure they will soon reveal themselves. Now that the danger is past and the true perpetrator has been caught, perhaps they will be more willing to open themselves up to the school, and vice versa."

Harriet nodded. She hoped he was right.

"And finally, I understand Professor McGonagall told you and young Master McIntyre that you would not be properly rewarded for your services to the school until after this dreadful business with the Heir of Slytherin was concluded. Well, as that has finally come to pass, I believe it is time we took proper care of this matter."

Harriet looked up at Professor Dumbledore in surprise. With everything that had happened, she had completely forgotten all about that.

"To you, Harriet Potter, I am awarding two-hundred points and a Special Award for Services to the School for your defeat of the Heir of Slytherin. I will also award a further one hundred points each to your friends Kieran O'Brien and Scott McIntyre for their contributions, with their Special Awards. And finally, I shall give another one-hundred points to Master Marcus Van De Lakk for his assistance in making sure Gilderoy Lockhart, a perpetrator of many acts of injustice of his own, was also exposed."

Harriet's jaw fell open. That was four hundred points for Gryffindor House. That put Gryffindor House in the lead by three hundred points over Ravenclaw, who would now be in second after the one hundred points for Scott. That made this the biggest victory Gryffindor House had ever had.

Before either Harriet or Professor Dumbledore could say anything more, however, the door to Professor Dumbledore's office banged open, causing Fawkes to shriek in fright. Harriet jumped herself and spun in her chair to see who had come in so suddenly. Her mouth fell open even wider. It was Lucius Malfoy.

"Ah, Lucius, I was wondering when you were going to arrive," Professor Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"So," Mr Malfoy said; his voice cold with barely contained fury. "Even after we the governors suspended you, you saw fit to come back here?"

As he spoke, something around his feet caught Harriet's eye. She looked down and gasped. Scurrying around Mr Malfoy's feet, attempting to shine his shoes, was Dobby the House-Elf. Suddenly, many things made sense to Harriet all at once. She looked up at Mr Malfoy again and noted that more than his shoes looked unprepared. His hair wasn't slicked down and stuck out at odd places, and his robe was on sideways.

"Well, Lucius, it's a most interesting tale," Professor Dumbledore replied. "I was simply enjoying my afternoon tea when I was greeted by not one, not two, but eleven owls, each frantically attempting to give me their letter first. And wouldn't you know it, but every letter came from one of your fellow school governors. And I was most astonished by their insistence that, after hearing of the death of young Miss Ginny Weasley, I should return to Hogwarts at once. I suppose they decided I was the best man for the job after all."

Professor Dumbledore continued to smile. "I found it even stranger that each of them insisted they had all been threatened by none other than you if they did not suspend me, to begin with. Very unpleasant threats as well, aimed at their friends and families…"

Mr Malfoy's face drained of colour, and his hands shook as his eyes narrowed. "Well then… were they right…? Did you catch the culprit?"

"Me? Oh no, I did not. That was Harriet, here."

Mr Malfoy's eyes darted down to Harriet, fitting her with a stare of the deepest resentment. "Well, who was it then?" he asked looking back at Professor Dumbledore.

Professor Dumbledore continued to smile serenely before he held up Riddle's diary. "Oh the same person as last time, but this time, Lord Voldemort was using this diary to enchant and control Miss Ginny Weasley quite against her will."

More movement at Mr Malfoy's feet caught Harriet's attention. She looked back down at Dobby who had ceased trying to shine Mr Malfoy's shoes. Instead, he was pointing at the diary, then at Mr Malfoy, then punching himself in the head. Harriet felt her eyes narrow on their own as a deep sense of anger began to rise in her. She nodded at Dobby who whimpered and backed up into a corner as he twisted his ears hard in punishment.

"Yes… it was a clever plan I would say… you see if Harriet here had not discovered this diary and its power before destroying it, I imagine poor Ginny would have taken all the blame. How could anyone have proven that she had not done so of her own free will? And then, just imagine the effect that would have had on her father, particularly on his proposed Muggle Protection Act, had Arthur Weasley's daughter been caught attacking and attempting to kill Muggle-borns? Very fortunate that did not come to pass, isn't it?"

"Yes…" Mr Malfoy muttered through gritted teeth. "Very fortunate indeed…"

"Do you know what else is interesting, Mr Malfoy?" Harriet asked.

Mr Malfoy glared at her without speaking.

"What's interesting is how you put the diary in Ginny's old Transfiguration book at Flourish and Blott's last summer."

Mr Malfoy's face went from pale to bright red. His hands curled into tight, clenched fists and he snarled at her. "Prove it…"

"Oh we know you were too clever for that at least," Professor Dumbledore said. "However, I would like to caution you against sending any more of Lord Voldemort's belongings into this school. If any should turn up, I'm sure Sherrod Howe, in particular, would love to return for one last case to determine its origins."

At the name Sherrod Howe, Mr Malfoy's face drained of so much colour he looked as pale as Ginny had when Harriet first saw her in the Chamber. His eyes widened, and unless Harriet was much mistaken, Mr Malfoy looked genuinely afraid.

"Come, Dobby, we're going…" Mr Malfoy said.

Dobby nervously moved towards the door when Mr Malfoy kicked him through it before hurrying off after him. Harriet's rage bubbled once more but suddenly abated when inexplicably, words she remembered Oliver Wood saying once floated up into her mind.

Gryffindor the Cunning.

Harriet turned and looked at the diary in Professor Dumbledore's hand.

"Sir, might I have that diary for a minute?" Harriet asked.

Professor Dumbledore simply handed it to Harriet, and Harriet turned and ran from the office after Mr Malfoy and Dobby. She could hear Dobby's yelps as Mr Malfoy took out his anger on the poor house-elf. Harriet had a plan, she doubted it would work, but she had to try. She paused just long enough to take off one of her shoes and muddy socks. She rolled the thin diary and stuffed it into the sock and ran off again after Mr Malfoy.

"Mister Malfoy!" Harriet called. She skidded to a halt in front of him as Mr Malfoy stopped and glared down at her angrily. Before he could do or say anything, Harriet thrust the smelly, muddy sock into his stomach. He grunted and grabbed it, looking down at it with disgust.

"For you! Sock and all!" Harriet said grinning up at him.

Mr Malfoy pulled the diary from the sock and flung the sock aside, growling.

"One of these days, Potter… you'll get what's coming to you… same as your meddling parents…"

He turned and started stomping down the corridor again before pausing. "Come, Dobby." He took a few more steps and looked back. "I said come!"

However, Dobby didn't move. Instead, he was staring down at Harriet's old sock, holding it up in his hands as though it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Master gave Dobby… a sock…"

"WHAT?!" Mr Malfoy spat enraged.

"Harriet Potter gave the sock to Master… and Master… Master threw it… and Dobby caught it… and now it is Dobby's… and that means Dobby… Dobby is… FREE!"

Dobby began prancing about, laughing hysterically. Mr Malfoy, however, looked almost as angry as Riddle had after Harriet had killed the basilisk.

"You've cost me my servant, girl!" Mr Malfoy roared and took a step towards Harriet, his arms outstretched, his hands going straight for Harriet's throat.

However, he had only gone two more steps when there was a loud bang, and Mr Malfoy was thrown backwards. He rolled down a flight of stairs, grunting in pain as he finally hit the bottom. Harriet looked down to see Dobby pointing one of his fingers in Mr Malfoy's direction, his chest swelled up in pride and his eyes smouldering.

"You shall not harm Harriet Potter!" Dobby declared, breathing heavily. "You shall go now! Dobby will not hesitate to defend Harriet Potter again, old Master or not!"

Mr Malfoy's face was livid as he looked up at his old house-elf. He looked as though he was longing to reach for his wand but instead he pushed himself to his feet, and turned, storming off down the corridor and out of sight.

"Harriet Potter!" Dobby cried in delight and jumped up, hugging Harriet tight around her waist.

"Oof," Harriet grunted as the elf collided with her. "Hello, Dobby," Harriet said smiling down at the elf. "I knew I'd find some way to help you get free."

Dobby looked up at Harriet, his mouth open as if he was going to speak, but couldn't find the words. His tennis-ball eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, hugging Harriet even tighter and burying his face in her bloody jumper.

"Oh thank you, Harriet Potter, thank you! Dobby can never thank Harriet Potter enough. All his life Dobby wished to be free and Harriet Potter has done it! Harriet Potter is the greatest! The most wonderful! More than Dobby ever, ever knew!"

Harriet simply smiled and gently stroked the elf's bald head. She let Dobby finish before speaking again. "I just want you to promise me two things, Dobby. I don't normally ask to be repaid for things… but I think this will be okay."

Dobby blinked. "Anything, Harriet Potter…" Dobby said reverently.

"Well… first… never try and save my life again unless you are genuinely saving my life from an imminent threat… like a boulder about to fall on my head."

Dobby smiled a little sheepishly.

"And second…" she smiled and leaned down and gently kissed his forehead. "Feel free to stop by and visit me anytime."

Harriet couldn't quite tell, but she was sure Dobby was blushing as he buried his face in his old pillowcase sheepishly. "Dobby will, Miss… farewell, Harriet Potter."

With a loud crack, Dobby vanished. Harriet smiled looking at the place the little elf had been standing when a noise made her turn around. Professor Dumbledore was standing a few yards away, beaming at her with pride.

"And now, all injustices have been righted," he said proudly.

Harriet beamed.

The party that as was held in the Great Hall that night was the most fun Harriet had ever had in her life. It was already going by the time Harriet finished getting clean and a changing her clothes. It lasted the whole evening and well into the night. Two hours into the party, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Hermione, Justin, Colin, Kenley, Penelope and Nearly-Headless Nick all came through the door.

The whole school cheered, and Harriet and all her friends ran up to hug Hermione. However, the entire school all gasped at once and froze in shock as Percy Weasley ran forward and Penelope squealed with delight. They caught each other and both embraced and kissed. Harriet shot a glance at Fred and George. Both of them looked as though someone had punched them.

Hermione finally ran over, and Harriet and her friends all hugged her tight in greeting. They sat with her at the Gryffindor table and explained everything that had happened after she had been petrified. She looked very proud of them all for solving the mystery on their own. They all had to laugh awkwardly as Hermione revealed she had figured it out the day she had been petrified and had written it down on a piece of paper no one had seen because it was clenched tightly in her petrified hand. Equally amusing was the look of awe Hermione had when hearing Scott's story of following the basilisk. Scott blushed at Hermione's reaction, and Harriet saw Dora giving them both a shrewd smile.

Harriet was distracted by another little scene going on behind Dora. Colin was staring up in disbelief at the fifth-year girl he had snuck out with Fred and George to impress before being petrified. She was smiling down at him and handed him a brightly wrapped package.

"Next time you want to impress someone… try doing it when there's not some evil nutter petrifying people, alright? It's more effective if you're not petrified," she said and gave him a gentle pat on his very, very red cheek before she turned and strode off smiling towards her other friends.

Colin watched her before he looked down and jumped as if he had forgotten she had given him a gift. He slowly opened it with trembling hands and gasped. He reached into the box and pulled out a brand new camera. He looked back after the fifth-year girl, his face so red Harriet was starting to worry he was about to pass out.

However, Harriet was distracted from this scene by the doors to the Great Hall opening once more. Her heart leapt as she looked and saw the massive form of Hagrid beaming at her. He looked as though he had lost a great deal of weight, but Harriet didn't care. She ran as hard and fast as she could and leapt into Hagrid's wide arms. Ronnie, Hermione and Dora joined her in Hagrid's warm embrace.

"I'm free thanks to you lot," Hagrid said, his voice shaking with happiness and he sniffed. "Never thought I'd be happy again…"

"It took them that long to release you, Hagrid?" Harriet asked. Her negative feelings towards the Minister of Magic for arresting Hagrid were not yet abated.

"Nah, been free fer hours. Full pardon and all! I just had to take a little trip ter get this," Hagrid said, and he smiled brighter as he reached into his pocket. He winked at Harriet and drew out the biggest wand Harriet had ever seen in her life. It was nearly as long as she was tall.

"Brand new; made just fer me by Scott's cousin. Seems Perfesser Dumbledore knew I'd be gettin' set loose soon and asked 'er to make it fer me… great man… Dumbledore…" Hagrid said, his voice thick with emotion again. "Said he'd be givin' me private lessons too, ter help me catch back up fer all the years I missed…"

The good news did not stop there. It was another hour however before the next good thing happened that night. The doors to the Great Hall opened for the third time, and Harriet saw Professor Sinistra standing there, giving the whole room her most radiant smile.

"Everyone, please allow me to re-introduce…"

She stepped aside, and for the third time, Harriet's heart swelled as all the missing students filed into the Great Hall behind Professor Sinistra. Despite Harriet's delight, it was at first a very awkward moment. It was clear that the new students were not entirely inclined to forgive the regular students for the transgressions against them from the previous year.

"KENLEY!" a voice cried from the crowd of new students.

"KATY!" cried another voice in reply. Harriet watched as both Katy and Kenley broke from their respective crowds and caught each other halfway. They embraced and broke down in tears of happiness.

As if a switch had been flipped, everyone started forward. Harriet struggled to make her way through the mingling crowd. She overheard lots of apologies coming from both parties when finally she saw who she was looking for.

Rachel was standing off to the side looking bashful. However, she was not alone. To Harriet's amusement, she had her little crowd of third, second, first, and even a couple fourth and fifth-year boys around her, all trying to introduce themselves. However, the moment she saw Harriet, Rachel's face broke into a wide grin, and she pushed past them all and hugged Harriet tight.

"Oh, Harriet… I'm so sorry we had to leave like that without telling you…"

"It's okay," Harriet replied, smiling. "I'm just glad you're all okay. Where did you all go, anyway?"

To Harriet's surprise, Rachel gave her a sly grin. "Oh you'll find out soon enough," she said before moving on to hug Hermione who had also come over.

Harriet watched after Rachel, feeling confused, but the energy filling the room quickly pushed it from her mind. At that moment, Harriet was on top of the world. The Heir of Slytherin and the basilisk were gone, all of the students had been un-petrified, Hagrid was back, and the new students were back and seemed to be finally being accepted.

The final bit of good news came when Professor McGonagall rose to tell everyone that contrary to her previous announcement, the final exams would be cancelled that year as a school treat. Only Hermione and Scott did not leap to their feet and cheer at this. Harriet didn't care. Her throat was raw from all the cheering she had been doing, but that didn't matter either. Nothing could spoil her mood that night.

Nothing.

The remainder of the term passed with indecent speed. Marcus was beside himself with pride at the constant news reports detailing the deeper and deeper scandals being unearthed by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement regarding Gilderoy Lockhart's crimes. By the looks of things, Lockhart's upcoming case with the Wizengamot was looking bleaker and bleaker with each passing day.

The only thing that made Marcus even happier came after Harriet finally told them all what had happened down in the Chamber.

"So… You-Know-Who's real name is Tom Riddle…?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I guess so," Harriet replied shrugging.

Marcus grinned. "Very well then… Tom Riddle… got it…"

Meanwhile, Rachel, AJ and Tori were still being enigmatic about where they had been hiding all that time. Even Katy and her friends, usually all too eager to divulge any secret information they came across, wouldn't tell her.

What made Harriet even happier was fulfilling her final goal of that year. Instead of marching about as though he owned the place, Draco Malfoy was now slouching around grumpily. His father had been fired as a school governor, and he was quickly replaced by Dora's father who was voted in unanimously by the other governors. Now it was Dora strutting about proudly wherever she went.

"Slytherins…" Ronnie muttered and shook her head every time she saw Dora putting on her smug act, but she always smiled warmly when she said it.

Finally, the last night at Hogwarts arrived. The End of Year feast was almost as fun as the celebration feast had been. The declaration that Slytherin had not only failed to win the House Cup but had fallen to third place even had the Hufflepuffs celebrating.

Professor Snape, however, was glowering grumpily. Harriet sighed and shook her head. She didn't think she'd ever know what had made him decide to help her find the Chamber, or what had made him revert to his "Harriet doesn't exist" policy afterwards, but she didn't care just then. There was too much to celebrate despite having to return to Privet Drive the following day. Slytherin had come in third place, and Gryffindor had won its greatest victory in the House Cup match ever.

Harriet was starting to lose her sense of joy come that night when they were all back in their dormitories packing. Rachel, AJ, and Tori all sat on their beds quietly watching the other girls pack to leave. Harriet felt a particular knot in her stomach as she kept seeing the three girls out of the corner of her eye. It felt like she had just got them all back, and now she was the one leaving.

They finished packing, and Parvati and Lavender decided they were going to bed. The other girls went down to the Common Room. Fred and George were still up, talking with Alicia, Katie, Angelina and Erica. George was still having a hard time talking when Erica was around. In spite of her earlier awkward feelings about this, Harriet was starting to find it rather cute.

After another hour of playing Exploding Snap with Kieran and Marcus, Harriet saw Erica get up and grin at Rachel, Tori and AJ. The three girls nodded. Almost on cue the first year girls; Katy, Annie, Alexis, Sarah, Rayne, Tory and Cassidy all came down the stairs as well.

"Right; Potter, Granger, Weasley, O'Brien, Van De Lakk? You're with us," Erica said, striding past them towards the portrait hole.

"Oh, what?" Fred asked looking disgruntled. "Why don't we get to come?"

Angelina, Katie and Alicia glared at him while Erica quietly laughed.

"They saved the school this year," she replied casually. "What did you two do?"

Without another word, Erica pushed the portrait hole open and stepped through it. Harriet didn't follow right away. Despite loving Fred and George like older brothers she'd never had, Harriet wanted to dedicate their finally speechless faces to memory for as long as she possibly could. Ronnie meanwhile was smiling after Erica.

"Oh, I like her… I like her," Ronnie said, clearly enjoying encountering someone who could make her brothers speechless as well.

"Come on," Rachel said insistently, tugging on Harriet's sleeve. "It's time!"

Harriet nodded, and they all followed her and the other new girls out of the portrait hole. They all made their way quickly through the hallways. It was only just about to turn curfew, and now that the threat of the Heir of Slytherin was over, the teachers were no longer patrolling the halls. They finally made their way up to the seventh floor. Harriet at first thought they were heading to the astronomy tower. Had Professor Sinistra been hiding them the entire time?

However, before they reached the astronomy tower, they all stopped in the middle of a corridor. The first thing Harriet noticed was the silly tapestry of a wizard being clubbed by trolls in tutus. A noise behind her made her turn and look at the opposite wall. She gasped in amazement. Where there had once been a blank stone wall was now a door that was being held open by the McGee twins who were both grinning smugly.

"Welcome to the hide-out," one of them said. Harriet still couldn't tell them apart.

The twins bowed them inside. Harriet swallowed and stepped in. What she saw was even more amazing than the mysteriously appearing door. It was a room easily big enough to house fifty people comfortably. There were lines of bathrooms and beds with dressers of clothes and mementoes from home.

"What is this place?" asked Scott's voice from behind them and Harriet turned to see him being led into the room by the new Ravenclaw students.

"We call it the—" Ari Miller started to explain when Dora's voice rang out from the doorway.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WERE ALL USING THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT!"

Lindsey Gallifrey laughed. "Well looks like it wasn't that much of a secret then," she said as Courtney Thomas and Kenley led Dora into the room.

"You knew they were here all along?!" Kieran asked, sounding flabbergasted. "Why didn't you ever say anything when Professor McGonagall asked? Twice?!"

Dora simply shrugged. "I figured if they went into hiding they didn't wanna be found. I wasn't gonna rat on them just to be a good kid," she explained.

"How did you know about this place then?" Hermione asked, her eyes narrowed.

Dora rolled her eyes. "Well, actually my mum told me about it before I started last year. She said I would probably like it for a nice place to get away if I ever felt the need. I couldn't get this year because of all the stupid security measures."

"You wouldn't have been able to anyway," said one of the fourth-year Hufflepuffs, Meredith McQueen. "We sealed it to anyone but us. It's pretty useful. Tell the room what you want, and it'll get it. Except for food."

"Yeah, I was about to ask, how have you all been eating? Just sneaking into the kitchens?" Dora asked.

There was a curt laugh, and they all turned to see Peyton grinning smugly.

"Hey… we told you this secret… we're not giving them all up at once."

Ronnie glowered. "Hey… we made it safe for you lot to come back, the least you can—"

"Oh we get that, Weasley, we do," Peyton went on. "And we appreciate being 'accepted' now by the rest of the school. But this year still proved how much we all need to stick together and to look out for ourselves until it can be guaranteed we're going to be safe. Until then, we're going to have to keep a few secrets I'm sad to say."

Ronnie didn't look thrilled by this but didn't argue further. Peyton simply continued to smile. "In the meantime, let's get this ceremony going."

"Ceremony?" Marcus asked.

Peyton's grin grew. "Oh yes."

As if on command, all of the new students formed a circle holding hands around Harriet, Kieran, Marcus, Ronnie, Hermione, Scott and Dora. Every one of them was smiling with pride at the little group in the middle, and Peyton cleared her throat.

"In honour of your service to this school, our new home, and to helping save one of our sisters, we hereby declare you honorary members of The Fugee Club," Peyton said.

The new students all burst into applause. Rachel ran forward and jumped up catching Hermione and Harriet around the necks, hugging them together tight.

"You're ones of us now!" she declared excitedly.

Ronnie grumbled. "Wait… if we're members, can't you tell us—"

"Honorary members," Peyton corrected. "Not full… " she finished enigmatically.

"What do we get for it then?" Dora asked shrewdly.

"You watched out for us, well now we'll watch out for you," AJ's older brother Ben said. He strode forward and patted Scott hard on the shoulder, nearly toppling him over. "Oh, sorry, well anyway, we all promise to be there for you lot whenever you need us. Really… we just wanted to show you all how much we appreciate what you did for us… I mean come on… we're just a bunch of kids a long way from home… what sort of title can we give you guys?"

In spite of herself, Harriet laughed. They remained in the Room of Requirement for a long time that night. Harriet found herself striking up an interesting conversation with Peyton despite her usually gruff demeanour, learning all about how to get into the Room.

Apparently, it changed according to what you needed, and all you had to do was walk past it three times thinking hard about what you needed. Once inside, it could give you almost anything you wanted, except food. Seeing as they were so secretive about that still, Harriet was sure there was something more to the story of how they got food than just them sneaking down to the kitchens at night.

She mingled with others. They all showed her their mementoes from home. The hard part was the regrets of things they had all left behind. Ari, in particular, was sad she had missed the chance to try out for her school's cheer team. Harriet didn't find the idea of cheer all that interesting, but to her surprise, Dora did butt into the conversation, bombarding Ari with questions about the sport.

Despite that, Harriet had to admit; she did feel as though she were one of them. Or perhaps, they had become one with her group. Either way, Harriet was glad.

The following day, Harriet did her best to put on a happy face as the Hogwarts Express steamed back to King's Cross station. She was determined to make sure she could hear from her friends over the summer in a way that could not be intercepted. Shortly before arriving, Harriet pulled out some parchment and wrote down six copies of the Dursleys' phone number and handed them out to Hermione, Ronnie, Kieran, Dora, Marcus, and Scott.

She had to explain what exactly a telephone was to Ronnie and Dora, but she did explain to Ronnie that she had told her father how to use one the previous summer, and if she had any questions to ask him first.

"And if you have any trouble with them," Fred said, clearly referring to Harriet's aunt and uncle.

"Let us know, and we'll hop in Dad's car and head off, got it?" George finished.

Harriet choked back a laugh. They had not yet been told that Mr Weasley's car was now running wild in the Forbidden Forest. With nothing else for it, Harriet finally sighed, gave her friends further hugs goodbye, and headed back through the gateway with them to the Muggle world.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a young man was looking through a pair of strange looking binoculars at a little village in the American state of South Dakota. His knuckles were white on the golden device. He was wearing a dusty tan uniform that blended in well with the waving sage-brush of the bad-lands. He could see the dirty secessionists scurrying about from hiding place to hiding place, erecting barricades in defence of the town.

He didn't twitch as another person slid into the spot next to him, leaning his back against the side of the trench.

"Anything different in the omnioculars, lieutenant?" the newcomer asked. He was at least twice the young man's age, with captain's bars on his shoulder.

"Negative sir," the young man replied. "They just keep putting up more and more defences, spells and barricades."

The captain nodded. "Keep watching, Kane. Have you managed to identify the unit yet?"

"Yes sir, they're from the 42nd Regiment… not the whole regiment, company strength at best… probably all that's left of them, we've been harrying them pretty hard," Lieutenant Kane said darkly. His hands gripped the omnioculars even tighter, and they creaked as though about to snap.

"Kane," the captain barked, and Kane finally pulled his head back from the looking glasses. The captain's face was full of concern.

"Sorry, sir," Lieutenant Kane replied gritting his teeth. "I just have a history with the 42nd…"

The captain nodded, seeming to understand something. "You lost family in that attack?" he asked.

Lieutenant Kane nodded. "My parents, sir. My younger brother's down in Texas fighting with our 83rd Regiment… my youngest brother…" he trailed off before clearing his throat. "We had my sister sent to England with that first batch of refugees, sir."

The captain chewed his tongue and held out a hand for the omnioculars. Lieutenant Kane handed them over, and the captain started panning the defences. He ducked as a blast of green light hit the side of the berm that had been built up along the edge of the trench, launching dirt high in the air.

"Secessionist bastards," the captain muttered as he brushed dirt from his hair.

"Heh, I'll agree to that, sir," Lieutenant Kane muttered as he tried to blink some dirt out of his eye.

The captain stroked his chin, thinking hard. "Sorry for your loss, Kane… I lost family there as well."

"Really sir?" Lieutenant Kane asked. The captain never talked about his personal life.

"Yep… my niece… beautiful little girl… my brother's pride and joy… burned alive in their house."

Lieutenant Kane nodded. "And your brother?"

"In a camp," the captain replied flatly. "From what I understand, bastards made him watch as they burned his house down before they dragged him away."

Lieutenant Kane grimaced. He had heard about the camps. The worst were in the middle of Montana; cold winters and hot summers with very little protection for the prisoners inside.

"You know, Lieutenant," the captain said, his eyes staring blankly at the opposite wall of the trench, lost in thought. "This is just a little town… I bet most folks here are Secessionist sympathisers anyway… we have them surrounded…"

Lieutenant Kane blinked. "Sir… are you… suggesting—"

"No, I'm not suggesting," the captain said. His tone was changing by the minute, and his eyes were starting to burn. "I'm ordering. Pass the word amongst the troops. Ready wands and grenades. Ready armour and the barriers. We'll attack at dawn."

Lieutenant Kane felt a strange tightness in his chest. "Sir, we can't… those are civilians, whether they support the secessionists or not—"

"Are you questioning me, Lieutenant?" the captain asked. There was a very dangerous edge to his voice.

Lieutenant Kane did not answer right away, but after a moment thinking about it, he finally replied. "No, sir."

"Good, then tell the men: no quarter. They wiped out three towns and killed thousands. No one's gonna grudge us this little speck on the map."

Lieutenant Kane swallowed. "Roger, sir. Attack at dawn."