Colin's parents later learned the whole 'truth' as well as Sol's part in all of these. As expected, they were furious at the school's lack of security and their staff. They also profusely thanked Sol for at least ridding the person who caused their son's death. At this, Sol gently shook his head. With a painful look, he revealed, "I'm afraid that this might not be the end."

"...what?" Mr. Creevey looked at him with an uncomprehending look.

"It's true. The diary which killed Colin was just a part of the actual killer's soul." Though he told them this, the two still had a dumbfounded look on their faces.

Sol sighed, "The killer is still alive."

"What! Someone killed our son and they can't even catch the murderer!" Mrs. Creevey was furious.

Sol shook his head, "There's no use blaming the school nor the Ministry. The killer was never here in the first place."

"Then how...?"

"Magic."

"Then, at least tell me," Mr. Creevey was trembling, "Do they at least know that this is the case?"

"Yes, the Headmaster knows. I thought he told you but I thought wrong. I guess he didn't want to give you more worries."

"I see..." Mrs. Creevey looked at him, "Thank you."

Seeing the grateful look on her face, Sol looked down. He didn't look at their faces and they didn't say anything before leaving. After they left, Sol laid down on his bed.

"Haah~ what a life this is..."

A Week Later

Sol closed the infirmary door behind him. Looking at the pouch full of potions in his hand, he sighed. After getting lectured for almost half an hour, he was permitted to leave the infirmary. He looked at the arm in which he had been bitten. It looked good as new. Well, it should look good as new considering how many potions have been jammed down his gullet this past week. Thinking about their rather eccentric taste, he shivered.

Never again, he thought and walked towards the Gryffindor Common Room. He walked up the Shifting Staircases and came in front of the common room which was guarded by the Fat Lady.

"Ah, Mr. Balor! I've heard of your magnificent deeds these past few days. Well done, I say!" the Fat Lady praised him with a smile.

"Thank you. Well, I really couldn't save him in the end now, could I?"

"Nonsense. If the other students had half your courage, we could usher in a new and better age for Wizards and Witches alike!"

"Courage...huh?" Sol flashed a self-deprecating smile.

Seeing his sad smile, Fat Lady hurriedly tried to cheer him up, "Come on now, Mr. Balor! Your friends are waiting behind this door! Come in, don't be shy!"

"Ah, yes! Nimbus!" Sol said the password which Cormac had informed him of when he was still recuperating.

The door that the Fat Lady was hung to swung inwards. "Go on ahead, Mr. Balor."

"With pleasure," saying that Sol headed through the door. As he walked into the common room, the Gryffindor students inside all froze. Looking at the students, Sol smiled lightly, "Hi!"

Before he could walk in further, the whole erupted into screams and cheers as the students flocked to Sol's side. Amidst the screams, Sol could make out some of the questions that were being asked.

"What happened down there?"

"Is Colin really dead?"

"Why do the teachers seem panicked?"

"Is it true that there's a huge snake inside the castle?"

Ho? It seems that the teachers aren't really doing a good job of controlling information. But how did the rumor of the Basilisk spread?

"Enough!" a shout came from the back. Immediately all the clamoring stopped. Everyone looked back to see Percy look at them with a stern expression. A prefect's words did hold power as evidenced by how everyone calmed down with one word from him. "The teachers told us not to speculate about this matter so calm down and go back to what you were doing."

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Under Percy's gaze, the students stopped crowding around Sol. Sol exhaled and sat on one of the empty couches. He started talking about what happened to one of his fellow students. Of course, he summarized everything heavily. At one point, the student left and Sol was approached by three people: Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"What's up?" Sol asked.

"Can you tell us what happened down there?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Sol smiled. He pointed to a nearby couch, "Take a seat."

After they sat on the couch, Sol began recounting the events that happened in the Chamber Of Secrets. Of course, his version of the events painted Sol in the best light possible. His storytelling skills actually made the three feel sorry for Sol rather than Colin, you know the boy who died.

After the story, Sol looked at their sullen faces. He was satisfied but showed none of it on his face. Instead, he gently smiled, "Are you feeling sorry for Colin? That's understandable."

"Well, I only feel like he died young," Hermione admitted.

"Well, there's something called 'fate'. It's a concept which means that all of the things in your life had been pre-determined. So I guess dying was his fate. But it was a sad ending for him nonetheless."

"Is that supposed to-" Hermione wanted to retort but was cut off.

"Nope! I'm only saying this to teach you guys that our lives are pre-determined. Maybe me telling you guys this was fate as well."

"Does that mean we have to resign ourselves to our fate?" Harry asked.

"What do you think? What will you do if you don't like your fate?"

"I'll change it," Harry answered confidently.

"Oh?" Sol felt amused, "And how will you do that?"

"I'll do everything I can to change it!" Harry announced resolutely. Sol stared at Harry's serious face for a while before laughing out loud.

Pfft~

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Haha! No, nothing's wrong. I just thought that that was a very 'you' answer."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that was a good answer." Sol got up, "Well, anyway, you guys shouldn't dwell over the events of last week too much. It'll wear you out. I'll go and sleep till lunch." Sol walked past them, leaving the three in deep thought. As Sol entered the boys' quarters, he shook his head, his eyes revealing a deep contempt hidden in them.

Good answer but a wrong one. None can go against fate. It's better to not regard fate in any sort of calculations nor is it useful to blame it. Regardless of what you do or what profanities you scream at it, fate remains the same. What a bullshit concept!

He walked towards his bed and fell on it with a plop! Soon, he drifted off to sleep.

Next Morning

Sol along with Cormac and Katie were walking towards the great hall for some breakfast. Classes were temporarily suspended as the Ministry investigated the traces of the Basilisk throughout the entire school. Sol knew that it was a foolish endeavor. Especially since the supposed Basilisk was currently wrapped around his arm. It was also a great help that Iris can sustain herself with raw magic power since it was somewhat troublesome if she needed meat to sustain herself.

The three entered the great hall and took a seat down. Auto-magically, a plate of bacon and eggs appeared in front of them and they dug in. As Sol was eating, he noticed Fred and George who were whispering to one another and snickering periodically. Taking a deep breath, Sol said, "As much as it would be funny, don't prank the people from the Ministry."

The twins flinched and looked at Sol. Their eyes shifted around nervously before replying, "We haven't been thinking of doing that. What do you take us for? Can you believe this, Fred?"

"I can't, George. I'm absolutely appalled that our dear friend, Sol would think of us this way."

Sol glared at them, "Ha?! Cut the crap. I've known you guys for most of your lives. I know you guys the best below your mum." Sol paused and then shrugged, "At least, I think."

Under Sol's glare, they gave in. "I mean, it was a harmless prank."

"Consider Mr. Weasley's position for once," Sol sighed. "He works in the Ministry for Christ's sake! He's the one who'll have to get berated for your pranks. And that's not considering the change in society's of him."

"You're no fun!" Fred sulked.

"I really haven't stopped you guys from playing pranks except now. Pranks are fun and all as long as you don't take it too far." Sol raised his arm.

"What are you doing?" the twins asked.

"The mail's coming."

"What-?" but before the two could comment further, squawking and hooting sounds could be heard. The students within the great hall looked up and saw countless owls flying in through the windows. Some of the owls carried more than one letter and some howlers. Elaine flew in through the window and landed on Sol's arm. Sol took the letter from her beak and the newspaper attached to her talons. Errol dived straight towards the table and upturned a bowl of crisps. There was only one envelope on his talon. Ron took the letter from Errol's feet. Errol suddenly stood up and shook the crisps of his feathers. He opened the letter and read the letter with a pensive look on his face before passing it to Percy who passed it to Ginny. Sol set aside the rolled-up newspaper and read the letter his mother sent him, a smile creeping upon his mind. After reading the letter, he leaned back with a full grin on his face.

At least, there's some good news!

The twins who got the letter after Percy called Sol. "Oi, Sol! Take this!" They handed Sol the letter.

"Huh? Why're you giving me Mrs. Weasley's letter?"

"Just read it."

Sol did as he was told and read the letter. But not long after, an exasperated expression surfaced on his face. He looked at the twins, "Why is she asking me to tell her what happened?"

"How would we know?"

"I see! You guys are too unreliable!"

"Hey!"

"We take offense with that!"

Sol set aside Mrs. Weasley's letter and opened up the newspaper which was the newest issue of the Daily Prophet. But suddenly he laughed out loud. The people around him were startled.

"Oi! What happened?"

Sol said nothing and put the front page of the newspaper on the table.

"HOGWARTS: AN UNSAFE MONSTERS DEN."