Cassia's POV

When I woke up, I saw that I was in the Hospital Wing, surrounded by sweets and get-well cards, from our teachers and multiple students. Harry lay asleep in the bed beside me. Just like my bed, his was also laden with candy. There was even a Honeydukes gift basket from the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But what really caught my eye was the get-well card and bag of sugar quills from Cedric. I picked up the card and read it:

Dear Cassia,
I heard about what happened with you, Harry, and Quirrell. I can't believe he tried to kill you, AND that Voldemort was under his turban! Least now I know Fred and George's rumor about it being full of garlic was a lie.
I'm so relieved you and Harry and your friends are alright. When Madam Pomfrey discharges you from the Hospital Wing, come find me. I'd love to hear all about  how first year went for you.
-Cedric
P.S. Hope you like the candy :)

I looked over at Harry and saw he was just waking up. "Here," I said, handing him his glasses.

He put them on and looked at me. Then he saw the card. "Who's that from?" he asked.

"Cedric. A guy I met the day classes first started. I got lost on the way to Potions and I literally crashed into him. After I told him I was lost, he took me to Snape's classroom. That's why I had that giant grin on my face," I explained. He nodded. "Harry, what happened between you and Quirrell...after I blacked out?" I asked.

"Well, I tried to pry Quirrell off you when he started choking you, but he screamed in pain the second I touched him, and then he let go of you and you passed out. Somehow, my touch caused Quirrell's hand to disintegrate. When he tried to make another grab for the Stone, I put my hands on his face, and he turned to dust. Then Vol...I mean, You-Know-Who's spirit passed through me, and I blacked out right next to you," Harry told me.

"Good afternoon, Harry. You, too, Cassia," Dumbledore said, making the two of us snap our heads in his direction. He'd just come into the Hospital Wing. Harry and I watched him as he made his way over to us, smiling when he saw all the candy we'd gotten. "Ah, tokens from your admirers," he remarked.

"How did they know-" I started to ask.

"What happened down in the dungeon between the both of you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows," Dumbledore explained. He noticed a Chocolate Frogs package. "Ah, I see your friend Ron has saved you the trouble of opening your Chocolate Frogs," he noted.

"Ron was here?" Harry asked, "Is he alright?"

"What about Hermione?" I added.

Dumbledore put a hand up to stop us. "Fine. They're both just fine." Dumbledore always seemed to have a calm and understanding demeanor, even given the fact that we were nearly killed by Quirrell and Voldemort.

"But what happened to the stone?" Harry asked, panic rising in his voice.

"Relax, dear boy. The stone has been destroyed. My friend Nicholas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it was best," Dumbledore replied.

"But then, Flamel...he'll die, won't he?" I questioned.

Dumbledore sat down on Harry's bed and I jumped up next to my brother. "He has enough elixir to set his affairs in order, but yes, he will die," he said.

"How is it I got the stone, Professor? One minute, I was staring in the mirror and-" Harry started.

"Ah, you see, only a person who wanted to find the stone -- find it, but not use it -- would be able to get it," Dumbledore explained, cutting him off.

"D-Does that mean, with the stone gone, that is, that Voldemort can never come back?" I asked.

"Ah, I'm afraid...there are ways in which he can return," Dumbledore said, sighing. "Harry, Cassia, do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn't bear to have either of you touch him?" he asked us. We shook our heads. "It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you. And that kind of act leaves a mark," Dumbledore replied. Harry and I reached up to our foreheads, but Dumbledore stopped us. "No, no, no...this kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives...in your very skin," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Love, Cassia. Love," Dumbledore replied. He turned his gaze from us to one of the boxes of Every Flavor Beans. "Ah, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. I was most unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one. It is since then that I have rather lost my liking for them. But I think...it could be safe...with a nice toffee," he mused. He popped one in his mouth and I could see in his eyes that it wasn't toffee. "Hmm...alas. Earwax," he muttered.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Eugh..."

Dumbledore must've noticed I was holding the card Cedric had sent me, because he said, "Mr. Diggory seems to care deeply about you. He came to the Hospital Wing many times, asking Madam Pomfrey if he could see you."

"He did?" I asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied, "But Madam Pomfrey declined, seeing as you and Harry needed time to recover. So Cedric made that card and requested her to give it to you."

I smiled. "He's a nice boy..."

"He is," Dumbledore agreed.

<><><><><>

Madam Pomfrey let us out of the hospital wing about ten minutes after Dumbledore left. When we saw Ron and Hermione waiting for us at the top of a staircase, Harry and I couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces.

"Alright, Ron?" Harry asked.

"Alright. You?" Ron returned the question.

"We're alright. Hermione?" I asked, looking up at my best friend.

"Never better," Hermione replied. She and Ron came downstairs and we all hugged before linking arms and heading into the Great Hall for the Farewell Feast. Green and silver tapestries hung from the ceiling, much to my dismay. I have only two words for that: not good.

"Cassia!" someone called my name. It was Cedric. He ran up to me and gave me a massive hug.

"Hi, Cedric," I greeted, hugging him back. "Thanks for the get-well card by the way. And the candy. And the Christmas present you gave me -- I never thanked you properly for that one. Sorry."

Cedric shook his head. "Don't mention it. You're a good friend. Funny, sarcastic, friendly, and of course, caring," he said, "So tell me, how'd first year go? Congratulations on winning the match against Slytherin, by the way."

I grinned. "Thanks. And first year was good, for the most part, but it was a little crazy..."

"How so?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, to start, there was the troll incident on Halloween. Ron made fun of Hermione earlier that day, so she locked herself in the girls' bathroom and I went in to comfort her. Then the troll came in and tried to kill us. But then Harry and Ron saved us- Ron knocked it out with its own club," I explained. Cedric nodded, urging me to continue. "And then there was the Quidditch match against Slytherin- mine and Harry's brooms started going berserk. They tried to buck us off. Hermione thought it was Snape jinxing them, so she lit part of his cloak on fire to help us out."

"But it wasn't Snape," Cedric guessed.

I playfully rolled my eyes at him. "I'm getting to that. We were convinced it was Snape behind the broomsticks and letting the troll into the school so he could get past the three-headed dog guarding the third-floor, but Hagrid didn't believe us. He said that what the dog was guarding was private business between Dumbledore and a man by the name of Nicholas Flamel."

"Who's Nicholas Flamel?" Cedric asked.

"A friend of Dumbledore's. They used to work together," I answered, "He made what's called the Sorcerer's Stone. The Stone can turn metal into gold and produce what's called the Elixir of Life, which makes anyone who drinks it immortal. The four of us put two and two together and figured out the three-headed dog is guarding the Sorcerer's Stone, and we thought Snape was going to try and steal it, so we went to tell Hagrid, but -- again -- he didn't believe us. And as it turns out, he was breeding a baby dragon."

Cedric was absolutely floored. "You're joking!" he exclaimed.

I shushed him. "Cedric, keep your voice down! Do you want the whole school to know about Hagrid breeding a dragon? Which, in case you didn't know, is illegal?" I whisper-snapped.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's fine," I assured him, "But Malfoy was spying on us, so we tried to beat him back to the castle before he could tell, but he beat us to the punch. McGonagall deducted 50 points for each of us, and gave us detention. With Malfoy. We had to serve it with Hagrid, in the Dark Forest. Our job was to find a unicorn that'd recently been killed, so Hagrid split us into groups. Harry and I got stuck with Malfoy. While we were walking, the three of us stumbled upon a cloaked creature feeding on the dead unicorn, and mine and Harry's scars started burning like crazy. The creature then came over to us and would've killed us right then and there if a centaur hadn't jumped in and scared it off. We knew right away that it was...You-Know-Who. After exams were over, we went to talk to Hagrid about the stranger who'd given him the dragon. Based on what Hagrid had told us, we knew it had to be Snape, so we went to McGonagall's office and told her we had to see Dumbledore and warn him about the Stone. But she said Dumbledore was gone; he was in London, discussing something important with the Minister of Magic. So we decided to go up to the third floor ourselves to stop Snape. The third floor was full of booby traps. We had to go through Devil's Snare, flying keys, and a life-size game of Wizard Chess. Ron was knocked unconscious during the chess game, so Harry and I had Hermione take him to the Hospital Wing and send an owl to Dumbledore, informing him of the emergency. Then Harry and I went on to face Snape. But it turns out, Snape was innocent."

"Who was it, then?" Cedric asked.

"Professor Quirrell," I answered, making him gasp in shock. "I know, right? Quirrell's the last person we ever suspected! But he was the one who let the troll in on Halloween and tried to kill Harry and I by jinxing our broomsticks. Snape had been muttering a spell to help us. Quirrell tried to use us to get the Sorcerer's Stone, but it appeared in Harry's pocket. Both of us lied to prevent Quirrell from finding out Harry had it, and then his...master...said to let him speak to both of us. So Quirrell removed his turban, revealing the ugliest thing I'd ever seen in my life- You-Know-Who was attached to the back of Quirrell's head!"

Cedric looked disgusted. "Eugh..." he said.

I nodded and went on. "He offered Harry and I a chance to join him, claiming that we could bring our parents back from the dead, in return for us giving him the Stone. But we refused. If we'd given it to him, he'd come back, stronger than before, and my brother and I would've died that night. So You-Know-Who ordered Quirrell to kill Harry, because he had the Stone, but I pushed him out of the way. Quirrell started choking me to death, but when Harry tried to pry him off me, Quirrell screamed in pain and let go of my neck. That's the last thing I remember- I blacked out afterward. Then I woke up in the Hospital Wing this morning. Harry told me that, after I'd passed out, he'd been able to stop Quirrell. But then You-Know-Who's spirit flew right through him and he passed out, too."

Cedric hugged me. "Thank Merlin you're alright, Cassia," he said, "I don't know what I would've done if I lost you."

"You'd be lost without me," I joked, referring to when I'd gotten lost the day we first met.

I watched as Cedric fished around in his bookbag. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil, and quickly scribbled something down. "Here," he said, handing it to me. It was his address:

Cedric Diggory
7 Franklin Trail
Ottery St. Catchpole
Devon, England

"We're going home tomorrow, so I figured we could exchange addresses so we could write to each other over the summer," he explained.

"That's a great idea, Cedric!" I said, hugging him. He chuckled and hugged me back. We were interrupted by McGonagall tapping her goblet loudly with a spoon, turning our attention to the staff table. Cedric and I quickly pulled out of the hug and sat down at our House tables.

Dumbledore stood up. "Another year gone," he started, "And now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus. In fourth place...Gryffindor, with 312 points."

My heart sank as everyone else clapped.

"In third place...Hufflepuff, with 352 points," Dumbledore continued.

We clapped for Hufflepuff.

"In second place...Ravenclaw, with 426 points," Dumbledore went on.

We all clapped for Ravenclaw.

"I don't like where this is going," I whispered to Harry. He nodded in agreement.

"And in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin House," Dumbledore finished.

The Slytherin table erupted in cheers. Snape was also clapping. Makes sense, since he is the head of Slytherin House. I didn't even bother clapping. Neither did anyone else at our table. The clapping and cheering died down moments later. I think that snob Malfoy was the most excited, since he now had license to rub it in our faces for the rest of the day, if not the next year.

"Yes, well done, Slytherin. Well done, Slytherin, however...recent events must be taken into account, and I have a few last minute points to award," Dumbledore announced, "First, to Miss Hermione Granger. For the cool use of intellect while others were in grave peril...50 points."

We all clapped for Hermione and I smiled at her. Now we had 10 points more than Hufflepuff did.

"Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley...for the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, 50 points," Dumbledore continued.

We all clapped for Ron, and I was even happier, since we were catching up to Ravenclaw now.

"Third, to Mr. Harry Potter...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House 60 points," Dumbledore added.

Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- cheered for Harry...well, except for the Slytherins. Oh, well. That's their problem.

"We're tied with Slytherin!" Hermione whispered to me and Harry.

"Fourth, to Miss Cassia Potter..." At this, I gasped. All eyes darted towards me. "For her willingness to give up her life to protect those she loves...another 60 points," Dumbledore added.

Harry gave me a massive hug, and everyone cheered for me.

"And finally, there are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I therefore award 10 points to Mr. Neville Longbottom," Dumbledore concluded.

This time, all eyes turned to Neville and we clapped for him.

"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order," Dumbledore said. He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place.

"Gryffindor wins the House Cup!" Dumbledore announced.

We all cheered at this news and threw our hats to the ceiling. Everyone was hugging Harry and I and patting us on the back. This was one of the best moments of my life.

<><><><><>

Sadly, we had to leave Hogwarts the next day. Ron, Hermione, and I found an empty compartment and waited for Harry- he'd stopped to say goodbye to Hagrid first. He came back nearly 2 minutes before the train was due to leave, with a brown book under his arm.

"What's that?" I asked as he plopped down next to me.

"It's a photo album. Look, it has pictures of Mum and Dad in there," Harry said, excited, as he opened the book. I looked at the photos and saw he was right. The first ten photos were of Mum and Dad. One of them was of them holding Harry and I as babies. When I flipped through the pages, I saw another photo, but it was one of Harry, Ron, Hermione and I laughing and smiling together.

"How did Hagrid get this one in there?" I asked.

"It's an enchanted photo album. The picture appeared all by itself this year," Harry replied, "Hagrid explained it."

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I wish I could've met them..." I said.

"Me too, sis," Harry agreed, "They'd be very proud of us."

We continued to look at the photos in the album in silence. I knew in my heart that Harry was right. Our parents would be proud of us. We'd found each other again and we'd done some incredible things this year. Wonder what second year will bring...

End of Year 1