Chapter 43: Dobby's Reward

                                    

                                          
╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝟒𝟑: 𝑫𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒚'𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅
"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝑩𝑹𝑨𝑽𝑬"
╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

I woke up with the sun streaming in on my face.
"Ugh, get that sunlight away from me," I mumbled, still keeping my eyes shut.
"Sunlight's actually good for you, you know," a familiar voice said.
"Stop it, I can feel the heat from the sunlight. Get it away," I insisted.
The sunlight started to fade, and when I opened my eyes, I saw James, Sev, Sirius, and Lupin.
"Good morning, sunshine!" Lupin greeted.
"Ugh, how long was I out?" I asked.
"Two days," Sirius replied.
"I can't believe you're alright!" James said, pulling me into a hug.
"Well, thanks," I said. "Wait—Is Hermione awake? Are Harry and Ginny okay?" I asked, worried.
"Yes, they're fine. Hermione's awake and really worried about you," Sev reassured me.
"Oh, thank goodness Hermione's alright, and Harry and Ginny too," I said with relief.
"You're in a lot of trouble, young lady," Sev said.
"No, I'm not," I frowned. "And how on earth did all four of you find us?" I asked.
"Well, Fred had the Marauder's Map and I confiscated it since they were sneaking off somewhere. I saw your name and Harry's, and at that point, James, Sirius, and Lupin were already here at Hogwarts, so I told them," Sev explained.
"What happened after I fainted?" I asked.
"Well... quite a lot, actually," said Lupin.
"Yeah, well, after you fainted, Molly and Arthur came to check on Ginny. And since Dumbledore's back, so is Hagrid," Sirius added.
"And don't worry, we explained everything. But we didn't expect another student to be behind all this," James said.
"Voldemort," I said.
"What?" they all exclaimed.
"That student... he's Voldemort," I explained.
"But—wait, how?" Sev asked.
"It's a long story," I chuckled.
"Tell us!" they all insisted.
Just then, the door of the hospital wing swung open, and in walked Hermione, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Holly, Arthur, and Dumbledore.
"Hermione!" I exclaimed, sprinting over to her and wrapping her in a tight hug.
"Y/N, you're supposed to be in bed!" Hermione chided, hugging me back just as tightly.
Just then, I heard a chorus of voices. "Y/N!" Harry, Ron, Fred, and George shouted as they all rushed over, enveloping me in a group hug.
"Oi, hang on! I think I might suffocate at this rate!" I gasped, laughing despite myself.
"Oops, sorry about that, Y/N," Fred chuckled as he and George loosened their grip.
Ron's eyes were wide with awe as he looked at me. "I still can't believe you actually killed the basilisk!"