"Ginny!"

Annabeth stood back as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ran over, practically tackling their daughter. She and Jason exchanged smiles, though Annabeth could tell what Jason was also thinking. Ginny was lucky to have parents who worried about her so much. Bitterly, Annabeth remembered when she'd run away, so many years ago. Her father and stepmother probably hadn't even cared, or noticed, until days later.

"You saved her! You saved her! How did you manage to do it?" Mrs. Weasley sobbed with joy as she crushed Harry, Ron, Jason, and Annabeth into a hug, nearly suffocating them.

"I think we'd all like to know that," Professor McGonagall said weakly. Mrs. Weasley let go of them, and Annabeth was glad Harry's silver sword hadn't impaled anyone. Then she noticed with a jolt that there was someone standing by the fireplace. Dumbledore met her eyes and smiled warmly.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the desk and laid down the diary, the sorting hat, and the sword. Then he began to explain everything.

For fifteen minutes, he spoke into rapt silence, except for Jason, Ron, and Annabeth chiming in with little bits and details he'd forgotten.

Then he stuttered to a halt. So far, he hadn't mentioned Ginny, or the diary. Annabeth could see his struggle, but before she could say anything, Dumbledore spoke up.

"What interests me most," he said gently. "Is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania."

Harry visibly relaxed.

"W-what's that?" Mr. Weasley sounded more stunned than Percy when he'd found out Ron ate all the pancakes one morning. "You-know-Who? En-Enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not... Ginny hasn't been... has she?"

"It was this diary," Jason said, picking up the diary and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen."

Dumbledore took the diary and peered keenly down at it. "Brilliant," he exhaled. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen."

Annabeth smiled slightly at what Hermione would say about that, then remembered Hermione was petrified. Which made her think about Percy, which made her want to run to the Hospital wing that very instant.

"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle," Dumbledore continued. "I taught him myself, fifty years ago at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school... traveled far and wide... sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

Annabeth was suddenly hit with a pain in her chest. It sounded like Luke's story. A brave, good demigod who traveled far (his quest) and sank deeply into darkness and consorted with the worst of the kinds (allied with Kronos and other monsters) and went under a magical transformation (Kronos taking over his body) and hardly anyone thought of Luke as the brave soul who was one of the reasons Annabeth and Thalia were alive today. And without them, Gaea wouldn't have been defeated and then the world wouldn't have been there anymore.

"But, Ginny? What's she got to do with— with— him?" Mrs. Weasley had wrapped her arms around Ginny again.

"H-his diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been writing b-back all year—"

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley was flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it's keeping it's brain. Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother—"

"Right, because 11 year old girls just show everyone their diaries," Annabeth muttered to Jason in Ancient Greek.

"—A suspicious object like that was clearly full of Dark Magic—" Mr. Weasley would've gone on, if not interrupted by a new wave of sobs.

"I d-didn't know!" Ginny wailed. "I found it inside of one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it—"

"Miss Weasley should go to the hospital wing," Dumbledore said firmly. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." he strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up," he added, twinkling kindly down at her. "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake Draught, I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up at any moment—"

Ginny let out another hiccup at an attempt to stifle her tears at the reminder that she was the reason why they were in the Hospital wing.

"We'll go with her," Annabeth said suddenly, her heart leaping at the thought of seeing Percy again. Jason nodded, excited for Thalia. Mr. And Mrs. Weasley led the three out, and they headed to the Hospital Wing.

Ginny was sandwiched between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as they headed down the corridor. Deciding it would be best for Ginny to have some time with her parents, Jason and Annabeth lagged behind.

"So, what happened while we were in the Chamber?" Jason asked. Annabeth shrugged.

"Oh, nothing much. We made a hole to get through, then I used a little magic and patched it all up. Thank goodness Ron and Lockhart didn't touch that main boulder though, that one was the foundation of the cave ceiling, basically." Annabeth's story was distracted as she tried to hurry as fast as she could while giving Ginny a respectful distance.

After what seemed like too long, they'd reached it. Ginny was in a bed with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley around her, a curtain drawn near with a silencing charm on it.

Madam Pomfrey had a tray filled with glowing blue vials, and she had bent over the nearest bed. The Ravenclaw gave a massive shudder, then sat up and puked all over her bed. Madam Pomfrey wrinkled her nose as she cleared it with a wave of her wand before moving on to the next patient— Hermione.

"Madam Pomfrey, please, may I give the potion to Percy?" Annabeth pleaded, seeing how far down the line Percy was.

"And Thalia too, and maybe Nico, Frank, and Hazel?" Jason said, looking at the frozen figures of their friends.

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips before shaking her head. "Absolutely not. I can't risk it, you'll just have to wait."

Annabeth crouched next to Percy's bed, her hand intertwining with his again. "Then I'll wait here" she said.

Hermione released a low scream as she awoke, her hands instinctively whipping up to her face to shield her eyes. Then she tensed up and lowered them, looking around.

"Annabeth! Oh, Annabeth quickly, you have to go, the monster— it's a Basilisk— here, I have the library paper—" Hermione froze as she looked around her bed, frantically pulling up the blankets.

"Miss Granger!" Madam Pomfrey straightened up. "Calm down!"

"Hemione, chillax, we know," Annabeth said soothingly. "The entrance, it's in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. We'll fill you in as soon as possible, but right now, I need to get ready to judo flip Percy."

Jason chuckled at the memory in New Rome, when Percy and Annabeth had their reunion, and what a touching one it was.

Madam Pomfrey tipped the beaker slightly and dripped the softly glowing blue potion onto Thalia's eyes. Immediately, her fist lashed out and caught on Jason's shoulder, throwing him off guard. Hermione laughed as Jason scrambled up from the floor, grinning.

"Well, you've recovered," he said before giving her a hug. "You had me so worried!"

"Why?" Thalia asked, stretching. Her joints cracked like bubble wrap. "I was paralyzed, it's not like anything could've happened."

"Still— Nico! You're up!" Jason made to hug him too, when Nico put his hand up in warning.

"Physical contact," he said, and Jason stopped abruptly. "Right, right, sorry."

"Death Breath, you basically just came out of practically a coma. I think he should be able to hug you if he wants to," Thalia said. Nico rolled his eyes.

Annabeth smiled at their antics, but turned her attention back to the immobile boy in front of her. She squeezed his hand tighter as the liquid was poured over his eyes. It seeped into his glassy gaze and the fog over the sea-green eyes cleared.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked cautiously. Percy smiled and closed his eyes. "What, Sleeping Beauty don't get the kiss?"

Letting out a sob of relief, Annabeth promptly seized Percy's wrist and flipped him off the bed.

"Ow!" Percy cried, his eyes still screwed shut.

"Miss Chase!" Madam Pomfrey scolded. "If you cannot restrain yourself you will have to leave!"

"Sorry," Annabeth apologized unapologetically.

"Sleeping Beauty still needs the kiss," Percy muttered in a singsong voice from his position on the ground.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Sleeping Beauty isn't getting her blue cookies at the feast," she said. Percy frowned, internally fighting a battle, before sighing and clambering up.

"You're cruel," he accused. Annabeth leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. Percy pouted.

Annabeth gently slapped his arm. "Seaweed Brain, you were petrified for a long time, and your breath stinks. I'm not kissing you until you brush your teeth."

"What a lovely reunion," Thalia sighed, overly dramatic. "Now, can we go to the feast you were just talking about?"

Madam Pomfrey bustled over, pursing her lips as she looked at the state of her patients. "Professor Dumbledore has said you may attend, but don't strain yourselves," she said.

"The feast?" Hazel asked, cracking her back. "It's not the end of the year yet, is it?"

"Yeah, special occasion," Jason said as the boys pulled a curtain around a bed to change. "We found the Chamber, defeated the monster, yada yada."

"More details later," Annabeth promised.

Hermione lowered her voice. "Who was in that other curtained one? Across the room?"

Annabeth sighed. "Ginny. Like I said, more details later."

Together, they walked to the Great Hall.