Chapter Forty-Four

THE FOUL SMELL... the sneer on Tom's face... the mere memory of the Chamber caused the contents of Aria's guts to rise and escape her mouth, right into the bucket beside her bed.

Anna was of much help, holding Aria's hair back, although her constant chatter was enough to make Aria mad. Still, she had more pressing matters to attend to as another wave of nausea overcame her.

The Chamber was below a bathroom, Aria had figured out, meaning that the water she had been submerged in for a decent amount of time, was sewage water.

"Why were you down there anyway?" Anna asked curiously as she brushed a loose strand of Aria's black hair back.

Aria was in a foul mood, "What's it to you?" She snapped back, coughing out water into the bucket after she spoke. "Shouldn't you be kissing Matilda's arse right about now?"

Anna smiled, "Seems you haven't changed since we last spoke. I miss you," She sighed, but Aria was revolted at the confession and stood up, stepping away from her roommate.

"You should have thought about that before your betrayal." She said, wiping her mouth with her robes. "Where is Malfoy? I didn't see him when I came in." She was in desperate need of the boy she knew would not lecture her, or change his mind about her when she did something he didn't approve of.

Anna rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed. "Don't know." She headed for the door, stopping before she left, "Oh, and, Dumbledore wants to see you."

"What does he want from me?"

Anna shrugged. "No clue, but he called Potter and that Weasley boy as well, probably something to do with the Chamber."

Aria decided that she had had enough of old wizards for a long time and was not going to go, despite Dumbledore's request. She followed Anna down to the Great Hall for the last assembly before exams began.

One glare at the girl next to Malfoy had her bolting to find another seat as Aria sat next to the blond boy.

His nose scrunched in disgust as she did so. "You stink." He said. "Where have you been?"

"You didn't hear?" Aria snorted, dishing food onto her plate. "I went into the Chamber."

"What?" He sighed. "You didn't tell me you were the heir. How could you?" Malfoy seemed genuinely offended by her confession.

"Because I am not the heir." She stated, shoving a spoonful of mash into her mouth, gagging, and then pushing her plate away from her. "I'll explain everything when there aren't eavesdropping second-years." She sent a glare to the boy across from her who looked away immediately.

"Could I have your attention, please?" McGonagall called to the hall.

Dumbledore stood from his chair to address everybody. "Before we begin the feast, let us have a round of applause for Professor Sprout, Madam Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who had been Petrified."

People began to clap, but Aria couldn't be bothered to join them. She still could not wrap her brain around the fact that it had taken a second-year student to find the Chamber instead of all the "brilliant" staff. She would not clap for incompetence.

"Also, in light of the recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been canceled."

For that, Aria clapped, loud and happy. She had put in hardly any studying and that announcement brought joy to her ears.

Aria's attention turned to the doors as they opened, rolling her eyes as she saw Hagrid. Malfoy beside her copied the gesture and began to tuck into his food.

Once the ceremony was over and everybody had (for some, absurd reason) cheered upon Hagrid's arrival, George sought out Aria and pulled her up from the Slytherin table, into his arms. She was taken by surprise at the intimate hug but accepted it nonetheless.

"Ron told me what happened." He muttered. "I can't believe you went down there without telling me, but..." He pulled away and smiled down at her. "You saved my sister, I heard how concerned you were..."

"Well, I couldn't very well leave her down there with a useless teacher and some second-years left to find her." She snorted. "Besides, I've grown to quite like your family, for some reason." She rolled her eyes sarcastically and leaned in to kiss him.

"It was very brave of you," He cooed. "Try telling anyone you're a Slytherin after this."

She laughed at his words, half panicking.

"What are your plans for the break?"

She shrugged, "Well I can't go back to my father's..." She trailed off, figuring that it would also be rude of her to intrude on the Malfoy's again. She honestly didn't know what she was going to do.

"Well, dad's won the Daily Prophet Draw, the family's going to Egypt and... I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?"

"Egypt?" Aria gasped. "That sounds amazing, but are you sure you want me tagging along? I don't want to be a nag."

"You're never a nag, Aria. We're leaving soon, you can stay with us until then..."

She beamed up at her boyfriend. "George, yes. I'd love to come with you to Egypt."

He smiled and kissed her again, "Brilliant. Give me a minute to grab my things, I'll meet you by the train." He hurried off, leaving Aria to watch him as he ran in the opposite direction.

Her eyes drifted to her father, who sent her a disapproving frown and looked away. Oh well, She thought and left the hall to pack her things. I don't need him anyway.