"You two want me to stay?" Gaia has asked after the two gingers had stopped crying.

"Are you stupid? We're not letting you walk to your common room alone at this time of the night," Fred joked half-heartedly with a weak smile on his face, which only lasted a few moments before it fell.

Gaia looked to George who only shook his head and tightened his grip on her waist.

Something Gaia had learned tonight was that the Weasley twins became very clingy when they're sad or frightened - which, at the moment, they were both of those things. George had ended up with his head on her lap, facing her stomach and wrapping his arms around her waist in a hug. Fred ended up slightly curled up beside her, clinging onto her left arm, which was running her hand through George's hair while her right arm did the same to Fred.

"Alright," Gaia muttered.

"I hate that we can't do anything," George mumbled.

"S'not your fault though, neither of you. Besides, we can't really do anything to help her right now. Anything we do might end up getting us killed, which might make the situation worse," Gaia said.

"But we're her brothers," Fred replied.

"Her older brothers. We should have been with her," George continued.

Gaia pulled both boys away by their hair, doing so gently, and glared lightly at them.

"Hey, stop blaming yourselves. No one could have known that this would happen," she said firmly.

As George opened his mouth to answer, a knock sounded through the room before the door opened, revealing Lee.

"McGonagall's just told everyone to go down to the Great Hall," Lee explained.

"Why?" Gaia asked, confused, as she sat up straighter.

"No idea. But she says we all have to go," Lee said with a shrug.

"Don't want to," the twins muttered in unison.

"Thanks for letting us know, Lee. We'll catch up later," Gaia thanked him, ignoring the twins protesting beside her.

Lee nodded at her, glancing at the twins worriedly, before walking away, leaving the door open.

"C'mon you two, let's go," Gaia said as she plucked her arm out of Fred's grasp and removed George's arms from her so she could stand up.

"No," they said, not moving to stand up.

"I will drag you both if I have to," Gaia threatened.

"You can't," they said.

"It could be about Ginny," Gaia said, making the two of them turn their heads to her.

They stared at her for a while before turning to look at each other. They held each other's stare before standing up simultaneously and walking towards her.

"C'mon then." Fred smiled slightly as he and George hooked their arms with Gaia's.

✧✧✧

"Ginny Weasley has been retrieved from the Chamber of Secrets and is now currently recovering in the hospital wing. The Chamber has been closed," Dumbledore had announced when everyone had settled in the Great Hall.

There was a beat of silence before nearly everyone in the hall started cheering in glee. The twins had taken it as far as almost standing on the tables (they would have if Gaia hadn't pulled them away). Harry and Ron were grinning from their seats, although they looked quite exhausted.

Dumbledore explained how it was a basilisk that had been petrifying the students and that Madam Pomfrey was currently administering the cure to the petrified students. He also went on to explain that it was Harry and Ron who had saved Ginny from the chamber, giving Gryffindor 400 points as a reward for the two boys.

"Why do you love getting into life-threatening situations before the year ends?" Gaia scolded Harry as she proceeded to hug him tightly after checking him for injuries. Gaia turned to Ron right after and checked him for injuries as well.

Then, the doors of the Great Hall slammed open. Hermione came up running to Harry and Ron while the other petrified students walked in after her. Gaia stood up with an excited gasp and bolted when she saw Aisha among the small group, Ryker right in front of her while Malia came from the Slytherin table.

Ryker slammed into Aisha, making the Hufflepuff stumbled slightly with a laugh, and wrapped her tightly in a hug. Gaia reached them just as Malia did and they all entered into a group hug.

"I can't believe you got yourself petrified, Badger," Ryker teased, although his eyes were slightly watery.

"I'll try to avoid it next time I face a giant snake," Aisha retorted.

"There better not be a next time," Malia said as she shook her head.

After a while, the group of 4 went their separate ways - Gaia headed for the Ravenclaw house table when she noticed that Fred and George were already significantly more energetic than they were a few minutes ago.

"Welcome back, Penelope," Gaia greeted with a grin as she sat down beside Jewel.

"Good to be back," Penelope Clearwater answered with her own smile.

Gaia suddenly yelped when she felt someone hit the back of her head before she was engulfed in a hug.

"Idiot! Why would you run out of the common room like that!?" Jewel scowled as she let Gaia go to look her in the eye.

"Sorry?" Gaia said sheepishly before Jewel hit her again, "Hey!"

"That one was from me," Kaleb said from beside Jewel as he glared slightly at Gaia.

"I'm sorry!" Gaia pouted as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Don't do it again, you scared both of us," Kaleb muttered before going back to the food in front of him.

The Great Hall was filled with lively chatter, in contrast to the atmosphere of the said hall for the past few days. Everyone had wide smiles on their faces while they excitedly talked, most students sporting their own pajamas.

"It's only the boy's second year and he's managed to save everyone twice now," Kaleb commented with a shake of his head as Professor Dumbledore went on to explain what happened and how Ginny was saved.

"Don't you think it's kind of concerning? With the trouble he gets in now, imagine what kind he'll get into when he grows older," Jewel said as she eyed Harry at the Gryffindor table.

"S'not his fault. Trouble finds him, not the other way around," Gaia laughed.

"I also regret to inform everyone that Professor Lockhart will no longer be joining us the following year due to circumstances beyond our control," Dumbledore said before sitting back down.

The Great Hall erupted in cheers at the news, Gaia included. From the corner of her eye, she was able to spot some girls sulking in their places in their respective tables, but the majority were more than happy to see Lockhart go. The cheers quieted down when Professor McGonagall stood up, clearing her throat.

"All exams are cancelled for every year. A school treat after all that's happened," she said with a smile.

Once again, the hall erupted in cheers.

"I have no idea whether to be happy or bummed out by that" Kaleb said as he and Gaia remained seated while Jewel stood up and joined the cheers.

"You're not alone in that," Gaia said as she shrugged.

✧✧✧

"Wild year, huh?" Ryker said as she shifted in place beside him, near the window of the Hogwarts Express.

The rest of the year passed by in a blur. Most professors made up for the lack of exams by giving out extra homework while some didn't even bother to teach anymore and just let the students do whatever they wanted, even leave the classroom; Gaia had spent that remaining time with Malia, Ryker, and Aisha. Now, they were on the train only a few minutes away from King's Cross.

"You said it," Malia huffed out with a slight laugh.

"Don't think I'll be able to roam the halls alone for a year or two," Aisha joked, making the others laugh.

"Let's just hope you don't get prefect status," Gaia told her with a small grin.

"That'd be a nightmare, wouldn't it? Imagine me: scared of roaming alone, chosen as prefect, and during OWL year nonetheless?" Aisha groaned.

"If anything, you'd be the one getting prefect out of all three of us," Ryker said as he lightly shoved Gaia.

"On top of being Quidditch captain? No thank you," Gaia said as she rolled her eyes.

A few days before, Joanne had approached Gaia with Professor Flitwick to inform her of their decision. Naturally, she questioned it but accepted it anyway.

"At least you don't have Marcus Flint as a captain for another year," Malia said with a scowl.

"You poor thing," Gaia mocked her as she got near her face and playfully pouted.

"Shut up," she muttered as she pushed Gaia's face away, making them laugh.

"Who knows, Snape might make you Quidditch Captain instead," Aisha suggested.

"As if," Malia snorted, "He would've told me before I left if that were the case."

Gaia felt the train slow down before it finally came to a full stop.

"You'll be fine, Snake," Ryker said, patting Malia's back before standing up and reaching up to grab their trunks.

However painful it was for Gaia to admit, Ryker was the only one who could reach the rack so the three girls - Malia, Aisha, and I - had to rely on him to get their trunks.

"Thanks Lion," Gaia said as he set down her trunk.

They all walked off the train together and parted ways when they stepped onto the platform. Gaia waved goodbye at them and continued to stand near the train door to wait for Lele. A few minutes later, Lele stepped off the train, talking to someone behind her back.

"Hey, you good?" Gaia said with a smile, calling Lele's attention to her.

"Oh. Hey Gaia," Lele greeted with a wide smile, "Could you give me a few minutes?"

"Go ahead," Gaia answered. She smiled in thanks and turned back around to talk to whoever she was talking to in the first place.

Gaia's smile dropped when she realized she never checked up on Lele after the attacks. What kind of older sister was she?

"Oi, Gaia!"

Gaia turned to the voice and saw Fred and George bounding towards her. They slammed into her with a hug making her stumble back slightly.

"Hey you two!" Gaia giggled as she tried to wrap her arms around both of their tall frames.

"Thank you," Fred grinned when he pulled back. Gaia gave him a confused look before turning to George.

"For staying with us," George explained.

"I'm you best friend. Of course, I'm going to stay with you two," Gaia said with a grin.

They soon left when Mrs. Weasley called them through the crowd – not before saying goodbye, of course.

"Let's go find mum and dad then?" Lele said when she walked up beside Gaia.

"Let's go," Gaia affirmed as they walked away from the train side-by-side.

When they finally found mum and dad, the two engulfed them with a hug as they asked about what truly happened at Hogwarts. As Gaia answered, she missed Lele waving goodbye to a boy accompanied by his parents.

✧✧✧

Edited 09/06/2020