http://www.fanfiction.

net/s/2963991/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Oroborus_Light

circinusphoenix

HARRY POTTER
and the Oroborus Light
By circinusphoenix

Summary: With the events of sixth year behind him, Harry

Potter now faces his greatest challenge yet. The Dark
Lord is gaining power, plunging Britain into darkness and
despair. Harry, with his friends Ron and Hermione, must
brave the unknown and find the horcruxes of Lord
Voldemort before it's too late. In this, the final book of the
HP series, Harry will discover secrets of himself, his
parents, and his friends, while searching for his one hope
at destroying Voldemort: an ancient magic believed lost
thousands of years ago. A true endeavor at Book 7
Pairings - Ron/Hermione (at beginning), Harry/Hermione
(in the end), Other pairings (will be posted later)
A/N - This is my version of Book 7. It picks right up
after HBP. I put a good amount of time into writing
this, in trying to make it as close to the actual books
and JKR's writing as I can. It is my first piece of
fanfiction I've written, so reviews are more than
appreciated. I hope you all enjoy my story! (note: it is
also located on hpff under the same title and
penname)
Please take the time, and review as you read. Thank
you!

- CHAPTER ONE -
The Secret Choice
The train was boarding. The engine's whistle blew loudly
over the quiet platform, warning that the scarlet train was
leaving the station in five minutes.
It was a sunny afternoon, with a few white bulbous clouds
littering the sky here and there. People on the platform,
comprised mostly of youths, were slowly entering the train,
pulling their trunks and various cages onto the cars.
However one young man was not boarding the train,
instead choosing to observe the activity on the platform
while leaning against the wall of the station house.
He watched as two concerned looking girls, named Parvati
and Lavender, entered the train on the right while talking.
Farther down, a round-faced boy named Neville seemed
to be searching for something. These people were
students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
and the boy leaning against the station wall was Harry
Potter.
Harry was a relatively tall sixteen year old compared to the
other students. He had grown over the past few years, and
was looking more like a man than a boy. His jet black hair,
which seemed to have no sense of direction, swayed
slightly in the wind as he stood. Harry looked like a normal
boy of his age, with the exception of his intensely green
eyes, and his most noticeable feature: a lightning bolt scar
on his forehead. He sighed as the wind gave a light
breeze, swaying his black school robes which over the
past year, had become a few inches too short around the
ankles.
He knew many of the students entering the train, known
as the Hogwarts Express, were worried about school. Not
worried in the sense of homework, but as to whether
school would still be opening in the fall.
Hogwarts just passed through one of its darkest times in
history. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been
murdered by a fellow Professor, Severus Snape. Now that
Dumbledore was dead, the wizarding world was being
plunged farther into fear of the darkest wizard in a century,
Lord Voldemort.
Harry inclined his head skyward, watching the clouds float
overhead as he breathed in the fresh outside air, trying
hard to savor the moment. He knew very well this could be
the last time he would see these students, or Hogwarts
again. He decided that he would not return for his seventh
and final year, even if the school opened. He would devote
all his time to finding, what he and Dumbledore has sought
to find that fateful night the late headmaster died: the
Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort.
These Horcruxes contained parts of the dark wizard's soul,
and needed to be destroyed in order to defeat him. Harry
knew of only one person who could stop Voldemort-
himself. It was told in a prophecy which Harry heard only a
year ago from Dumbledore, along with many other things.
The choice to not return to Hogwarts was hard to make,
but Harry had to defeat Voldemort as quickly as possible.
The sooner he could destroy him, the sooner the world
would be made safe, and normal again.
Only his best friends knew of his plan, Ron Weasley, and
Hermione Granger. They promised to go with him on his
quest and help him. He accepted, however he knew that in
the end, it was only himself who could complete his task.
He promised himself to keep both of them as far away
from danger as possible. At the moment, they were
fulfilling their prefect duties, and helping students onto the
train.
Harry came back to himself, glanced back down the
platform. Parvati and Lavender were now on the train, and
Neville found what he was searching for, his pet toad
Trevor. It had been found by the overly large
groundskeeper, Hagrid.
As he handed Trevor over to a thankful Neville, Harry
noticed Hagrid was crying. Hagrid never stopped crying
after Dumbledore's death, at least from what Harry could
tell. Hagrid cared for Dumbledore very deeply, and his
death hit Hagrid very hard. Neville tried to encourage
Hagrid to cheer up, and Harry smiled when Hagrid, though
still spilling tears, gave a warm smile, concealed slightly by
his beard.
Once Neville was on the train, Hagrid continued down the
side of the platform, making sure students were on and
ready to go. As he approached, he glanced up, noticed
Harry, and started to walk over, taking out his tablecloth
size handkerchief, and wiping his eyes.
'Yeh alrigh' Harry?' he croaked, as he came closer,
wearing his black moleskin coat, which he had worn at
Dumbledore's funeral. Hagrid, up close, looked very
downtrodden, and had what looked like permanent tear
marks on his cheeks. His beard looked mangy and untidy,
worst than usual. His dustbin sized hands were still
holding onto his handkerchief-which Harry could see was
due to be changed for a new one.
'I'm alright Hagrid. How are you getting along?' asked
Harry. He didn't really know what to say to Hagrid. He did
not know about Harry not returning to the school. Telling
him now would be even worst.
'I'm . . . . I'm OK. 'Bin kinda hard lately wit Dumbledore's
death an' all. Me an' Grawpy are gettin' along though. Why
aren' yeh on the train yet Harry?' He looked down the
platform, and Harry now noticed there were few students
left. Harry picked up his trunk, and his cage, which housed
his snowy owl Hedwig, and moved towards the nearest
car, Hagrid following closely.
Harry could hear quiet sniffles coming from Hagrid, and
felt a pang in his chest knowing this might be his last time
talking to him. Everyone, especially Harry, still felt sorrow
for the loss of Dumbledore, his funeral only being that
morning. Harry felt even worst now with this parting, and
as he entered the train, with Hagrid helping him with his
trunk, he felt he needed to say something.
'I hope you have an alright summer Hagrid. I'll try to owl
you sometime soon,' Harry said reassuringly. Hagrid
smiled, and stepped back from the train. The whistle had
just blown again and Harry to could hear the doors being
closed. Hagrid closed the door Harry just entered through,
and Harry moved to the window to say goodbye to Hagrid.
'I'll be alrigh'. You try and keep outta trouble, alrigh'?' He
took a look back up and down the platform and smiled at
Harry again, a small tear streaking down his face. He gave
another large sniffle and wiped his nose with his
handkerchief. Harry felt his eyes water slightly at Hagrid
looking so downtrodden.
'I'll be fine, don't worry about me,' said Harry as the train
gave a sudden jolt, and began to move. 'Tell Grawp I say
hi! Bye Hagrid!' he half yelled, as the train started to pick
up speed. He leaned out of the window, and waved at
Hagrid. Hagrid waved back, and with one turn of the
tracks, Hagrid and Hogsmede Station were gone.
Harry leaned back in, cheerlessly picked up his trunk and
cage, and started looking for a compartment. As he began
looking down the carriage, he started to regret not getting
on the train earlier. Since he was one of the last to board
all the compartments were full with chattering students. He
did not want to share a compartment, (as this was not the
time for people questioning him or ogling him like they
would an interesting museum piece.
He moved down the carriage. People looked at him from
the inside of the compartments, not trying to hide their
pointing fingers and loud whispers. Harry was used to this
however he found it hard to focus on other things. As he
entered the third car, he finally found what no doubt had to
be, the last empty compartment on the train. He quickly
entered it and put his trunk and Hedwig down. He locked
the compartment door as he wanted to make sure no one
would come in. He took out his wand, and put as many
locking spells he knew on the door. He also lowered the
blind on the window of the door, and sat down.
This is what he wanted at the moment; to be isolated in his
compartment and his own world. He looked across to his
belongings and his owl. Hedwig looked at him thoughtfully-
or what Harry figured was thoughtful look for an owl-and
curled up on her perch, looking of a good nap. His trunk
lay next to her cage, on the chair opposite from Harry.
He looked out the window, and saw the train was passing
between mountains and large thickets of forest. Sunlight
came in patches between the trees, and danced on
Harry's face. He closed his eyes, and inhaled the familiar
scent of old wood and upholstery that was the Hogwarts
Express, hoping to calm down and clear his mind of the
depressing thoughts of the past few days. When he
opened his eyes again, he was relieved to feel more
focused, and trying to be more productive he began to
think of his next move.
He knew he would have to return to Number Four Privet
Drive, and stay there until his birthday. He did not want
too, however he had no choice. After July 31st however,
he needed to plan on were to go. He would be turning
seventeen, which would be his coming of age in the
wizarding world. After this day, he would loose his
protection from his home and would be vulnerable to
attacks from Voldemort.
Harry realized that if he wanted to plan what to do after his
birthday, he would need to figure where to live. He knew
Godric's Hollow was somewhere he wanted to go,
however going there now would not be wise. He did want
to visit there, so he could finally see his parents house,
however he needed somewhere he could stay and hide.
Godric's Hollow would not be suitable for either. He
needed somewhere more hospitable.
Grimmauld Place came to mind. He figured since he
owned it anyways, he inherited it from his godfather, it
would be a good place to live. He knew it was unsafe,
because Snape knew how to find it however he figured
there would be a way to make it safe again.
He then thought of going to The Burrow, where Ron's
family lived. The only place he felt more at home than The
Burrow, was Hogwarts. He quickly discarded this idea
because of his promise not to endanger people. He knew
going to The Burrow would be a danger to the Weasleys
and he could not do that to them. It would seem he had
decided and he would be going to Grimmauld Place after
July 31st. The question now was how to make the house
safe.
As he started to think someone knocked on the door.
Harry didn't feel like visitors and hoped that no answer
would signal to the person not to disturb him. He waited,
looking at the door expecting a voice, but it never came.
Harry went back to his thoughts. He knew Grimmauld
Place was protected by a Fidelius Charm, but he had no
idea how it was done. He figured he could ask a professor,
or Hermione, and they would know. Another knock at the
door came, this time accompanied by a voice Harry did
not want to hear.
'Hello! Harry! It's me, Colin Creevey! I wanted to talk to
you. You know, find out what you're doing during the
summer. I thought maybe if I'm around where you live
sometime, I could come visit you!' Colin yelled at the door.
He must have thought the door was like those used for
bank vaults.
Harry didn't want to hear this, or have conversation with
Colin. His idolization of Harry would be the worst thing at
the moment. He got up, took his wand out of his robes
rather forcefully and thought 'Silencio'.
Colin was suddenly put on mute, and Harry put his wand
back, throwing himself back on the seat in a huff. He
needed to think and plan things out. He knew he had time
at Privet Drive to plan, but he didn't feel like talking to
people at the moment. Especially Harry thought, people
who don't know about the prophecy.
As Harry put his head against the back of the chair, he let
out a long sigh, realizing how tired he was. The day
before, he spent all his time with Ron and Hermione. He
thought of it as his last day of true freedom, and took
advantage of it. During the night however, he hadn't gotten
any sleep. He had stayed awake with thoughts of the
coming months and of the funeral that morning running
through his head.
He felt he could take advantage of this time and solitude,
and try to sleep. He leaned his head against the corner of
the compartment, and closed his eyes.
Harry had only fallen into the nice and dreamy beginnings
of sleep when he was disturbed by a tapping next to his
head. He grudgingly opened his eyes, and opened the
blinds to find a tawny owl flying outside, tapping its beak
against the window as it tried desperately to keep up with
the train.
Harry opened the window and the owl swooped into the
compartment. It landed in the free seat next to Harry, and
dropped a letter. Harry saw Hedwig give the owl a quick
glance with her amber eyes before returning to her
slumber. Once Harry picked up the letter, the owl fluttered
out, and Harry closed the window after it. He opened the
letter and began to read it. He could tell it was written
quickly, and was on an irregular piece of parchment,
however Harry recognized the slanted, stern writing.
Mr. Potter,
Please open the door. I understand why you have locked
it,
however I have some important matters to discuss with
you.
Professor McGonagall
Harry read it over twice to make sure he was reading it
correctly. He knew of only two other times a staff member
had been on the train; in his third year with Professor
Lupin, and last year with Professor Slughorn. He
wondered why Professor McGonagall was on the train,
especially since after Dumbledore's death, she was
Headmistress.
Harry was caught in a dilemma. Should he open the door
or not? Professor McGonagall did not know about the
Prophecy or that he was not planning to return to
Hogwarts.
Harry however noticed that she was probably the first
person to knock, and could have easily opened the door
herself, and that she sent the owl in hopes he would let
her in. Also, he figured she would be a good person to ask
about the charm on Grimmauld Place, since she was in
The Order. He put the letter down, got up, took the charms
off, slid the latch, and opened the door.
Professor McGonagall was standing outside the door,
arms crossed, looking down the hallway. She was wearing
dark emerald green traveling robes, with her usual witch's
hat. She looked rather tired and drained, but Harry figured
this was due to the incidences of the past few days and
weeks. She quickly glanced at Harry and entered his
compartment.
Once inside, she quickly closed the door, and performed
numerous spells on the door, including the Silencing Spell
Harry already used before. She cleared some space next
to Hedwig's cage, sat down and stroked Hedwig for a
moment. Harry sat down cautiously, wondering if he
should say something. He watched her stroke Hedwig,
and once she finished, she took off her hat.
'Thank you for allowing me in Potter, however I must
remind you that students are not supposed to do magic on
the train' she said firmly. She had her usual stern look on
her face and Harry started to worry he was in trouble for
something. However she relaxed after a few moments,
placed her hat down next to her, and looked up at him.
'I am here to find out what you plan to do after your
birthday. As Albus,' she stopped for a moment before
continuing in a quieter and calmer voice. 'As Albus no
doubt told you, you are protected at Privet Drive until you
come of age. Afterwards, the wards no longer function and
it would be best to leave your home.' She waited to for a
reaction from Harry, however he already knew this and
was relieved he was not in trouble for using magic on the
train.
She surveyed him and continued. 'Have you given thought
as to were you will go after July 31st until you come back
to Hogwarts on September 1st?' She had now put her
hands on her lap and was looking at Harry intently.
Harry did not want to tell her that he was not returning to
Hogwarts. He felt he should instead focus on the summer
and not the fall. 'I thought about Grimmauld Place,' he
said, looking up at Professor McGonagall hoping for
reassurances that his plan made sense. Harry was relived
to see her smile slightly and continued. 'I just don't know if
it's safe anymore because of Snape-' he spat out his
former professor's name.
'We thought the same. The house is currently unsafe,
however we can recast the Fidelius Charm again which
should make it as unplottable and invisible as before. The
charm needs to be performed as soon as possible.
Professor Flitwick has agreed to meet you today to
perform the charm. Luckily, he joined the Order before
Dumbledore passed away and was the last to learn its
address. Now Harry,' Harry noticed the use of his first
name, 'you have to make a very important decision. You
need to choose a secret keeper.'
Of all the things Harry had thought of that day, choosing a
secret keeper was not one of them. Professor McGonagall
must have seen the confusion in Harry's face, and
continued on.
'The secret keeper must be someone you trust, and would
be willing to sacrifice themselves instead of revealing the
secret.' She was looking at Harry now more
sympathetically, seeing how making a choice of such
importance was weighing on him at the moment.
Harry did not know who could be his secret keeper. He
knew Sirius picked Dumbledore who was, in Harry's mind,
the perfect person to be a secret keeper. He did not know
really what a secret keeper exactly was, or who they
should be. He did not know what traits to look for in a
person to pick, so he asked.
'The person must be smart and clever' replied Professor
McGonagall calmly. 'Picking someone foolish could have
great consequences. They must know how the charm is
performed and its powers. Someone who can learn about
the charm, how to make it more powerful and find out its
properties. Lastly, the person must be someone who
knows you and why you have this secret. They must
understand how much this secret means to you and you
must trust them. Having the person you trust the most as
your secret keeper will make the charm stronger.' She
looked down at Hedwig and started to stroke her again,
clearly giving Harry time to think.
Harry was now staring at the floor. He heard everything
Professor McGonagall said, however he was still very
confused. He mentally went through people he knew and
which made the best candidates for his secret keeper.
Professor McGonagall was very smart and Harry trusted
her, however she did not know Harry that well, at least
outside Hogwarts. He thought of Hagrid, but he was not
good with secrets. Harry found that out in his first year at
Hogwarts when Hagrid's secret was about the three
headed dog he had named Fluffy.
Ron knew Harry better than anyone else. Harry trusted
him very much, but learning the Fidelius Charm would not
be easy for Ron. Since he was not the most gifted wizard
in their year then he'd have problems with it. Everyone
knew Hermione was the best of their year. Then Harry
thought . . . how about Hermione.
She knew Harry just about as well as Ron did. She was
very smart, and clever. She was also sometimes overly
rational. Harry remembered the many times when he went
against her views and her rationale ended up being
correct. He knew she would understand why he was
keeping this secret and Harry definitely trusted her. She
would also be able to learn the charm. Harry could see her
saying, 'oh I can't wait. I've read about it but it will be so
interesting actually performing it!' This caused Harry to
smile, which was registered with interest by Professor
McGonagall.
'Have you thought of a secret keeper Potter?' she asked
curiously. When Harry looked up, he found she had again
stopped stroking Hedwig, who was also looking at Harry
and was now sitting back with her hands on her lap.
Harry nodded, however he suddenly remembered what he
had promised to himself about endangering Hermione and
Ron. If he asked Hermione to become his secret keeper
then she would be at greater danger. Harry could think of
no one else to be his secret keeper but he wanted
Hermione to be protected. 'Is there any way of protecting
the secret keeper so they aren't in any danger?' he asked.
Professor McGonagall shifted in her seat and looked again
at Harry. 'There are ways such as going into hiding, or
changing their appearance. But you must know Potter, the
secret keeper's identity would only be known to you, and
those whom you choose to tell. They would be at no more
risk than anyone else. The only thing you can protect them
with is trusting that they will not tell the wrong person,' she
said.
Harry knew Hermione was smart enough not to tell the
wrong sort of people about Grimmauld Place. He would
just tell her that if she was unsure of whether a person
was trustworthy to simply not tell them.
'So, have you chosen a secret keeper then Potter?'
McGonagall asked again. Harry nodded confidently and
she pulled an envelope out of her inside pocket of her
cloak.
'Inside this letter you will find your directions so you will
know when and how to get to Grimmauld Place to meet
Professor Flitwick. It will only be you, him, and your secret
keeper. You must tell no one where you are going, who
your secret keeper is or what you are doing. You must ask
your secret keeper before you get to Grimmauld Place. If
they say yes, then you must tell them were to be and at
what time. If they say no, then you must find someone
else before the train arrives in London, which should be in
about three hours. Do you understand?'
Harry nodded and she gave him the envelope. 'Once the
charm is complete, Professor Flitwick will know nothing
about it. It's a result of the spell, and only you and your
secret keeper will know were the house is.' She picked up
her hat again, placed it firmly atop her head and stood up.
'The advance guard will come and get you at Number Four
Privet Drive at 11:45pm on July 30th to take you to
Grimmauld Place. Of course, your secret keeper will have
to be there to tell the Order members where it is later but
we will work that out once the charm has been recast. If
there are any problems or worries owl me right away. If
you are in imminent danger you are allowed to use magic.'
She unlocked the spells and latch, gave a last smile to
Harry and was halfway through the door when Harry
asked a question.
'Professor, did you knock on the door earlier?' he asked
humbly. He wanted to know, just apologize for not
answering, however she turned around and smiled.
'No, that was not me, Potter. I asked Miss Granger to find
you. When she knocked on this compartment and
received no answer she assumed it was you inside. She
told me and I went ahead and sent the owl.' She smiled
again, turned and closed the door.
Harry went ahead and replaced the spells he had
originally cast, including the Silencing Spell. He felt bad
that he had not answered the first knock now since he was
now going to ask Hermione to be his secret keeper. He
knew that he would have to ask Hermione before the train
arrived at Kings Cross but that was 3 hours away. He was
still very tired and decided he would take a quick nap
before searching the train for her.
He leaned back, put his head against the back of the chair
and the side of the compartment, and drifted into much
wanted sleep.
Like so many dreams these past days, he found himself
on the tallest tower at Hogwarts, just like the night
Dumbledore died. It was night, and as he looked around
he noticed he was alone this time. He looked over the
sides and found no movement, not even a wind. The ¾
moon was high in the sky and lit up the grounds allowing
Harry to see the Forbidden Forest, the Whomping Willow,
and the Lake. He wondered where everyone was when he
heard a noise from the stairwell behind him. He went to
the door and looked down, but saw no one. The stairwell
was lit with a dim, eerie blue light. When he turned, he
found he had left the tallest tower and was now in a dark
room.
He was in the kitchen of The Burrow. He usually found this
room to be a pleasant sight, however this time it was
distressing.
No lights were on and it looked deserted. It was night here
too and the moonlight was pouring through the open
windows lighting a disturbing scene. The table was set
and it seemed the family had been in the middle of a meal.
Food sat half eaten on their plates, which, when Harry
touched, was still warm. The chairs were strung
haphazardly around the table. Two chairs were lying
sideways on the floor and one broken in pieces.
Harry yelled for the Weasleys, but no one answered. He
feared the worst and ran up the crooked stairwell. He
looked in the rooms, yelling the names of the Weasleys as
he went. When he had reached Ron's room, which was on
the top floor, he realized that no one was in the house. He
went to the window in the room, and looked out at the
garden.
In the moonlight the garden was clearly visible. Harry saw
the various plants and noticed a strange object that he had
never seen before among the plants. In the middle of the
garden there was a wooden log pointed towards the
house. This was an odd object in the Weasleys garden
and Harry felt it meant something.
Harry turned away from the window and started back
down the stairs. He sensed he needed to find out why this
log was there and figured it would be able to tell him
something about where the Weasleys were. He left
through the back door, and when he arrived 10 feet from
the log he suddenly stopped and gasped. The object in the
garden was not a wooden log but a huge, black snake.
It was Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake. She hissed at Harry
and looked at him with an eerie green glow emanating
from her eyes, which both frightened and puzzled Harry.
He had seen the snake in his dreams before, but the eyes
were always piercing black, and never green.
The sight of the snake twisted Harry's stomach more than
when he had been inside the house. The last time he had
seen this snake she was trying to kill Mr. Weasley. The
fact that she was lying in the garden of The Burrow now
was causing Harry to panic with the idea that Ron's whole
family could be dead.
He looked back at the snake and noticed she had not
advanced but merely stared at him, its tongue slithering in
and out of its mouth. Harry tried to talk in Parseltongue to
the snake, but she continued its green gaze. Harry felt a
need to go back to the house and try looking for the
Weasleys again. When he turned to go back into the
house he looked up and fell backwards in shock.
Harry realized why the snake's eyes appeared to be
green. They were not coloured green, but were reflecting
green.
The Dark Mark was floating over The Burrow.
 - CHAPTER TWO -
The Fidelius Charm
Harry woke suddenly. He was sweating, the side of his
face aching. He remembered his dream, and it took him a
few moments to remember where he was.
Taking in his surroundings, he noticed he was still on the
Hogwarts Express. Looking out the window, and he saw
fields and pastures passing along the train. He must have
been sleeping for over two hours, his face aching because
he had fallen asleep against the wall of the compartment.
They were still outside London, but it was not far away.
He looked at Hedwig, and saw she was awake, looking at
the window eagerly. Harry opened her cage, and she
jumped on his arm. He opened he window, she gave an
affectionate nip on his hand and flew out happily. Harry
closed the window, stopping the momentary breeze that
filled the compartment, and sat back down.
The dream sent shivers up his spine. Was he seeing the
future? He knew it wasn't the present, because it was still
day, and was surely day at The Burrow. Harry was
overcome with worry for Ron and his family. He forgot
about his isolation, and the Fidelius Charm. He had to tell
Ron what he saw. He stood up, stumbling slightly. He was
still half asleep, and it took him a few seconds before he
had his bearings. He took the charms off, slid the latch,
and opened the door.
The hallway was empty. Harry figured most people were
settled down in the compartments, talking to their friends
about their plans for summer. He figured Ron would be
patrolling the train, since he was a prefect, or would have
settled into a compartment with Hermione and some other
people. He decided to move towards the back of the train
to start his search. As he walked, students did the usual
pointing as he passed. When he reached the end of the
4th car, he ran into someone backing out of a
compartment.
Harry fell backwards, seeing a bushel of brown hair fall in
the other direction. When he landed on the floor, he found
it was Hermione who ran into him. She was coming out of
a compartment, and had not seen him there.
'Oh, I'm sorry Harry. Students in that compartment' she
pointed to the one she had just exited, 'were playing
Blaster Caps. I had to stop them before someone won,
because it would have blown up half the train. Took me
over ten minutes, because they kept trying to tell me they
weren't doing anything, when it's clearly obvious they
were. Anyways, what are you up to?' Harry had gotten up,
and helped her onto her feet. The students in the
compartment where giggling away. Harry had no idea
what Blaster Caps was, but could tell they were playing it.
They had numerous blast marks on their robes and faces,
but were still smiling. He looked at Hermione again, and
noticed her scowl at the students.
Hermione, much like Harry, had grown older in the past
year. She was looking more like a woman now. She was
shorter than Harry, but at the moment, looked very tall and
livid. Her bushy brown hair was almost electrified by her
anger for the students in the compartment, who were still
giggling at them. She grabbed the latch, and closed the
door of the compartment rather forcefully. She then looked
back at Harry, and gave a smile telling him it was alright to
speak.
'I was trying to find Ron, do you know where he is?' Harry
asked. He felt he had to tell Ron about his dream before
he forgot about it.
'He's probably in the prefect car. He takes the front of the
train, so he can get back there quickly. He doesn't like
patrolling too much. The Heads told us we had to stay in
the prefect car the whole ride to keep up rotations. That's
why we didn't go looking for you' informed Hermione, as
she started up the train again, Harry following.
As they walked, a large splattering sound came from the
compartment with the students playing Blaster Caps.
Hermione smiled, and explained. 'I put a charm on the
caps. Once someone plays one, instead of exploding, it
would cover them all with Feterworm Slime. It's not
dangerous, but smells terrible. That will teach them for
trying to play it more.' She smiled wider, and continued up
the train, proud at her victory.
As they moved into the next car, Harry remembered what
Professor McGonagall said about asking the secret
keeper. He knew he had to tell Ron about his dream, but
asking Hermione needed to be done before the train got to
Kings Cross. As they came closer to Harry's compartment,
he decided it would be best to ask her inside.
'Hermione? Can I talk to you for a moment?' he asked
quietly, as he opened the door to the compartment, and
waited for her response. She took one last look up the
aisle, nodded, and entered the compartment. Harry
followed through, closed the door, and performed the
locking charms like before, and the Silencing Spell. He sat
down in the same seat, and noticed Hermione sat down in
the same place as Professor McGonagall.
'What's going on Harry?' she asked shakily. She looked a
little worried, but it could be expected. Most of the events
of the past weeks put people at ill-ease. Harry noticed
most people had worried expressions on their faces these
days.
'I talked to Professor McGonagall, and we agreed I would
go to Grimmauld Place after my birthday.' She nodded,
and he continued.
'She told me that the Fidelius Charm needs to be recast
on the house, and it's being done after I get off the train
today. Professor Flitwick is going to do it, along with me
and my secret keeper.' Harry took a deep breath, and
plunged forward. 'And . . . and I want you to be my secret
keeper for Grimmauld Place' he finished, looking for her
reaction.
Hermione seemed shocked at the question, and shifted in
her seat. Harry imagined this is how he looked to
Professor McGonagall earlier. Hermione recovered herself
quickly, and looked at Harry.
'Are you sure Harry? I mean, it would be fascinating to
learn how the charm works. I've read about them, but are
you sure you want me to be your secret keeper? Wouldn't
you want someone older, or more experienced?' she said.
She looked more concerned now than before he talked,
but was keeping her eyes on Harry.
'I talked it over with McGonagall. She said I need someone
smart and clever, who can learn how the charm is done,
and is someone who knows me and I trust. You're the top
in our year, and I know you're very clever,' she blushed
and looked at the floor for a second, but then looked back.
'I knew you would enjoy learning a new charm, and would
be good at doing it, since you're really good at charms
work. Finally, you know me better than almost anyone
else, and I trust you' affirmed Harry. He looked at her for a
reaction, and was surprised to see she was on the verge
of crying. Harry wondered if he had said something wrong,
and moved to the edge of his seat to apologize. He was
shown otherwise when Hermione, in one rather quick
motion, moved across the compartment, and gave Harry
an immense hug.
Harry sat wondering if that was a yes, but decided to
return the hug in the mean time, hoping she would say
something. She retreated back to her seat, and wiped her
eyes.
'Oh Harry, of course I'll be your secret keeper! I'm so glad
you trust me with such a thing. I just wanted to make sure
you were sure. I promise I won't let you down!' she
expressed joyfully, giving a small sniff. She leaned over
again, this time Harry knowing what to do, and they
shared another hug. They separated, and she smiled back
to Harry.
'So when and where is Professor Flitwick meeting us?' she
asked, while she wiped her eyes again.
Harry just realized he forgot open the envelope that
Professor McGonagall handed to him. He took it out of his
pocket, opened it, and took out a piece of parchment.
The handwriting was small, and scrolled, however Harry
could read it clearly.
From Kings Cross, go west on Euston Road to Argyle
Street.
Go south on Argyle Street to Number 35.
The Princess Hotel, Room 21
Meet me at 3:17pm with your secret keeper. We will
Apperate to Grimmauld from there.
Don't forget to have a question to make sure I'm me.
Professor Flitwick
He handed the letter to Hermione, who read it over. She
looked up at Harry, and handed back the letter.
'What will I tell my parents? And how are you going to get
away from your Aunt and Uncle? I can't imagine they'll like
that they have to wait for you.' She looked concerned,
more so for Harry than herself. Harry felt the same way.
Being able to get away from his aunt and uncle would be a
difficult feat. Harry could tell she was thinking hard,
noticing that she was biting her lower lip, something he
had never really noticed before.
'We could tell them we need to get something for a
summer project. I can tell my parents that I need to go with
you, because . . . because we're doing the project
together. I'm sure they will understand, but . . . I don't think
that will work for your Aunt and Uncle' she said fretfully.
Harry had to tell his Uncle to take his things home, but not
him. He knew if he told them it was for school, they would
not let him go. He had to think of something that his Uncle
would force him to let Harry go. To allow him no choice but
to let him go, or make the alternative worse … then in
dawned on him.
'I can tell them Hagrid's coming to see me at Privet Drive,
unless I see him now by myself. They're terrified of him' he
said with a smile. He was sure this would result in Uncle
Vernon saying he could go, since Hagrid would draw too
much attention from the neighbors, due to his immense
size. Plus, last time the Dursley's saw Hagrid, he had put a
tail on Dudley. The impact from that still scared the
Dursley's, and Harry knew they would not be looking for a
repeat of it.
'That sounds like it will make sense' she agreed, with a
returning smile. 'What question will we ask Professor
Flitwick? We need a question only he will know the answer
too.' She stared out the window now, and Harry glanced at
the floor.
Harry didn't know Professor Flitwick that well, only as a
Professor. He was trying to think of something, when
Hermione suddenly opened her eyes wide, and looked at
Harry beamily.
'I know a question! We talked about something yesterday
that only he would know about. I can ask him about that. It
should be enough' she said, looking gratified that she
thought of a question to ask. Harry nodded, still not
knowing a question to ask, and Hermione gave a quick
glance to her watch.
'OK. Well, I'll go back on my rounds. I'll meet you on the
platform after we get in,' she said, as she stood up, and
was looking to go.
'No, we can't' stated Harry. He remembered Professor
McGonagall telling him to keep things secret, and meeting
up with Hermione on the platform and leaving King's Cross
with her would be too obvious. Hermione turned around,
and looked at Harry curiously.
'You can't tell anyone where you're going, or who with,
OK? Not even Ron. I'll meet you outside the station. We
have to say goodbye to each other and everything so no
one suspects anything, alright?' said Harry. He hoped she
would understand the secrecy needed, and was confirmed
by a nod from her. She made her way towards the exit, but
stopped before the door, and turned back to Harry.
'By the way, why were you looking for Ron?' she inquired.
'It's nothing. If you see him, can you tell him I just wanted
to talk to him quickly?' She nodded, then unlocked the
charms, opened the door, and left. Harry looked at his
watch, and noticed it was 2:33pm. The train was less than
30 min away from London.
He looked down, and realized he had not changed yet. He
knew he should, since Platform 9 ¾ was approaching
soon, however he felt security knowing he was still
wearing his Hogwarts robes. He now understood that
changing into muggle clothes this time would be different.
Times before, he discarded his robes much like rapping
paper on Christmas morning. This time however, he felt he
was taking off a part of his being.
He was so used to wearing his black school robes, that
the thought of never wearing them again made him feel an
emptiness in his chest. Much to his dismay, he went
ahead, and solemnly changed into muggle clothes,
carefully folding up his robes into his trunk, and placing
them so they would not get wrinkled. Once this was done,
he took the small bit of time left to think out how he would
tell Uncle Vernon about going to supposedly see Hagrid,
and before he knew it, the train was pulling into Platform 9
¾.
He was upset that he had not seen Ron before the train
reached London, but Hermione had said the prefects had
to stay on rotations. He still wanted to tell Ron about the
dream as quickly as possible, but he was now on a time
constraint. He looked again at his watch, and it showed
2:58pm. He had less than twenty minutes to get to the
Princess Hotel. He quickly picked up his trunk the empty
cage, moved along the busy and congested aisle, and off
the train.
Once he got on the platform, he saw Hedwig glide towards
him. She perched herself on his shoulder, and gave a
pleasant hoot. He put his trunk down, opened her cage,
and she moved onto the perch inside. Harry then picked
up his trunk, put it and Hedwig's cage on a trolley, and
moved towards the barrier back to the muggle world.
He ended up going through with Dean Thomas, a fellow
Gryffindor in the same year. Harry took one last look at
Platform 9 ¾, and the Hogwarts Express, and stepped
through the barrier.
Once on the other side, Harry saw Mrs. Weasley giving
her daughter Ginny a hug. Mr. Weasley was also there,
and so was Ron's brother Charlie. Mr. Weasley was
wearing a straw hat, a plaid working shirt with a tie, and
ragged overalls that made him looked like a farmer.
Charlie was a little more believable, wearing a simple blue
t-shirt and brown cargo pants. He gave Harry a
handshake, as did Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley gave Harry
a hug much like the one for Ginny, and a few moments
later, final let go. Ginny continued looking at Harry, a
slightly dejected expression on her face.
'Are you alright dear? Keep in touch with us every week,
alright. I talked to Professor McGonagall at . . . the funeral.
Did she talk to you on the train?' she asked hurriedly. She
looked rather worried, and seemed to be thinner than
usual in Harry's eyes.
'Yeah, we talked about it. It's all settled' replied Harry. He
put a final sounding note to the sentence, since he noticed
the clock the station wall was now reading 3:05pm. He
had less that fifteen minutes to meet Professor Flitwick.
He looked over at the gateway to the Platform, and saw
Ron and Hermione approaching. Harry said goodbye to
the Weasley's, giving a short wave to Ginny, and turned
quickly towards his best friends.
Ron had also grown over the past year. He was taller than
Harry, and had the Weasley trade mark fire-red hair. He
was lanky, skinny, and had many freckles, in true Weasley
style. He looked tired at the moment, and seemed to be
dragging his trunk and cage, which housed a very excited
and fast moving blur, which was his owl Pigwigeon. Harry
approached them quickly, and stopped their approach to
Ron's family.
'I don't have a lot of time. I have to get going quickly. I'll
owl you both later today when I get home to let you know
what's going on, alright?' He tried not to sound rushed, but
Ron knew better. He gave Harry a quizzical look, but
nodded none the less. He then looked around, as if trying
to find someone.
'Where's your guard? You'd think after what happened,
half the Order would be here' said Ron, looking back at
Harry in wonderment. Harry knew no Order members
were there, and if they were, they would be disguised. He
imagined that Professor McGonagall told them to leave
Harry alone, so he could do the Fidelius Charm as quietly
as possible.
Harry gave Ron a good quick handshake, and Hermione
gave Harry a hug. Ron looked away quickly while they
hugged, and headed towards his family. Harry backed
away from the hug, and whispered in Hermione's ear. 'We
have to be quick. We have less than fifteen minutes to get
to the Princess Hotel.'
Hermione looked up at Harry, nodded, and started off
towards her parents. She turned around, and waved at
Harry. 'I'll be waiting for your owl, OK Harry?' Harry
nodded, and started off towards the end of the station,
passing by the Weasley's.
'I'll talk to you later Harry!' Ron shouted, as Harry walked
towards his Uncle, who was standing next to the door at
the far end of the station. Harry turned, smiled, and
continued on. Ron seemed to be asking his parents why
Harry was so quick to leave, but Harry was glad to hear
Mrs. Weasley telling him it was Harry's business.
As Harry approached his Uncle, who seemed his usual
grumpy self, Harry noticed he looked to be in a hurry,
tapping his hand on the wall next to him. Harry stopped in
front of him, and quickly went over what he had to say
about Hagrid. Uncle Vernon, however, thought Harry was
wasting time.
'What do you think you are doing! Get this rubbish into the
car. Quickly!' he said, somewhat pushing Harry out of the
station, and towards the car. He saw his horse-faced aunt,
Petunia, sitting in the front seat. Dudley, his ever
expanding cousin however, was not in the back. Harry
thought for a moment that maybe the car was too small for
him, but decided not to push his luck by asking. He put his
trunk and Hedwig in the back, and closed the door, not
entering the car himself. His Uncle looked up at him, as he
was just entering the car, and looked annoyed.
'What are you doing boy! Get in this car, now!' he ranted,
looking more enraged by the second. Harry was getting
frustrated, considering he had not even said a word, but
felt it was time to tell his story about Hagrid, and get away
to meet Professor Flitwick. He moved over to his Uncle's
side of the car, and crouched down next to the driver side
window. His uncle's face seemed to be going a bright
shade of magenta, and was not looking pleased.
'I need to go and see someone. You remember Hagrid,
the man who got me for my first year. He wanted me to
come and see him, just down on Argyle Street. He said I
could either go there now and meet him, or he would
come later to Privet Drive.' Harry waited a second to let
this sink in with his uncle, and continued. 'I figured it would
be best if I went and saw him now by myself, so he doesn't
get mad again like last time. You don't have to bring me
over there, I can walk. I just need you to take my things
back home. I can get home myself. I'll be back by tonight.'
Uncle Vernon seemed to be absorbing all the information,
and gave a weird look to the dashboard of his car. His
Aunt was looked outraged that Harry had asked such a
thing, however Harry knew his Uncle would not like the
idea of Hagrid coming to Privet Drive, after the incident 6
years ago.
Vernon closed his eyes, and screwed up his face,
obviously trying to think of a way out of the situation. Harry
tried hard not to smile, knowing that his Uncle would not
be able to find his way out of it. At last, Uncle Vernon
looked up from the dash, opened his eyes, and looked
forward. He had a look of defeat on his face, which caused
Harry to work even harder to suppress his grin.
'You can go and see that beast of a man, Hagrid is it?
Know that if he comes even near Privet Drive,' he was
now looking at Harry, wagging a big sausage like finger at
him, 'I will have him locked up in a prison, and you along
with him for a long time. Got it!'
He looked livid, knowing Harry was getting what he
wanted, but that was Harry's plan in the first place. He
gave his uncle a nod, and hurried away from the car
before they could take back anything. Harry wore a big
grin on his face knowing he had only been with his Uncle
for five minutes, and already won a battle.
Harry went back to the doors of the station, and looked
around for Hermione. He glanced down the side, and saw
her sitting on a bench close to the end of the station
wearing simple dark blue pants and a red shirt. She was
holding a small handbag, and was sitting looking at the
traffic on the nearby street. Harry approached, looking
back to see his Aunt and Uncle leaving from the station.
His Aunt seemed to be going red in frustration, and Harry
could tell she was complaining very loudly to Vernon about
how Harry had gotten off. Harry kept smiling.
'Ready to get going?' he asked Hermione. She turned
around, only now noticing Harry was there. She stood up
quickly, nodded.
'What are you so happy about?' she asked. Harry told her
about his uncle, and they shared a good laugh.
'What are the directions again?' She looked around the
street, making sure no one they knew could see them.
Harry pulled out the letter, and read it again.
They started walking towards the nearest corner store to
ask for directions. They found they had to go West on
Euston Road, which ran in front of King's Cross, then
south on Argyle Street to get to the Princess Hotel. Harry
continually checked his watch as they walked, rather
quickly. Hermione kept quiet during the time, seeing that
Harry was too concerned with being late for Professor
Flitwick. As Harry's watch passed 3:14pm, they found the
entrance to the Hotel.
It was a white building, with an iron rod fence, nestled in a
row of house-like dwellings. They entered through the gate
in the fence, and made their way towards the door quickly.
A white sign above the doorway read "The Princess
Hotel," with a silver tiara underneath the title. They
reached the large white door, and entered.
They found an old man at the front counter. He had very
little grey hair, and large spectacles, pushed too close to
his eyes. The inside of the building was coloured tan
yellow, and seemed to be old, but nice none the less. The
front counter the old man was sitting behind was black,
with an old black marble countertop. They asked the man
were room 21 was, but he seemed to have a hearing
problem. Harry had to almost yell at the man to get a
response.
'No need to yell, I can hear yeh' the man said gruffly. He
took the sheet he was writing on, and shuffled it into a
paper tray. He took off his glasses, showing small, beady
brown eyes, and looked up at Harry and Hermione. He
took a few seconds to size up them up, and Harry noticed
his eyes wondered on his scar.
'Room 21 . . . yes, down the hall, last door on the right' he
said, pointing down the hallway next to the office. They
said thank you, and headed down the red carpeted hall
quickly. Harry looked at his watch again, Hermione leaning
over to see as well. It showed it was 3:16pm. When they
reached the room, marked by a brass 21, Harry gave the
door a knock.
'Who is there' came a small voice from inside. Harry
looked at Hermione, and answered back.
'It's me, Harry.' He didn't want to give his last name, incase
the person on the other side was working for Voldemort.
Only after thinking this did he realize that it would not
matter if he said his last name, since they all knew how he
looked anyways. The small voice inside began to talk
again.
'I have a question for you. What was my obstacle for the
Philosopher's Stone?' the small voice asked. Harry had to
stop Hermione from answering, because he knew he
would have to answer it. He thought about it hard. He
remembered the night he, Ron, and Hermione went after
the Stone. Fluffy was Hagrid's obstacle, the Mirror was
Dumbledore's, the potions were Snape's, the chess set
was McGonagall's, the Devil's Snare was Sprout's, so the
flying keys had to be Flitwick's.
'Your obstacle involved flying keys in a large room. The
door into the next chamber was locked, and the only way
of opening it was the catch the old silver coloured key that
fit the lock. You provided brooms for people to fly and
catch it' said Harry.
He wanted to make sure he was accurate enough for
Flitwick. He hoped it was enough, and was starting to
worry when the small voice was not heard for a few
seconds. Then, after what Harry felt was an eternity, the
voice came back.
'That is correct Mr. Potter. The key that fit the lock was
silver coloured, and brooms were put in the room to help
catch it. Do you have a question for me?' The voice still
sounded small, however it had a more positive light to it.
Harry turned to Hermione, and she came close to his ear,
and whispered her question.
'Ask what spell he told me about the night of Dumbledore's
funeral.' She leaned away, gave Harry a smile, and looked
back at the door. Harry cleared his throat, and asked the
question, making sure to switch the "me" in the question to
Hermione. The voice was again silent for a moment, then
responded.
'Yes . . . yes, I remember. She was asking about a charm
that could slow down a person or object, in order to either
escape or react easier. The charm is called the
Momentum Charm. Its incantation is Arresto Momentum.
She tried it out on some pincushions that I threw up in the
air in my office, and seemed to grasp it quite quickly. She
is very gifted in charms.' The voice finished, and Harry
looked at Hermione for whether that was the right answer.
She smiled, and nodded, showing Professor Flitwick had
answered the question properly, and both waited to see
what happened next.
Harry heard the door unlock, and open slowly. Professor
Flitwick move around the doorway, and beckoned them in.
'Oh, so you have chosen Miss Granger! Very good! I'm
sure she will be a great secret keeper' he squeaked. He
was looking from Harry, to Hermione. Hermione blushed
not unlike how she did on the train, and looked around the
room. Harry noticed there were 2 bags on the ground next
to the bed in the room. They were both open, with clothes
hanging out of them. The clothes were obviously too big
for Professor Flitwick, and he explained.
'This is not my room. Someone of my size and attire would
attract too many questions. I simply Apparated here, and
waited for you. Glad to see you were exactly on time. Now'
he said, moving over between Harry and Hermione, who
now were looking at Professor Flitwick as he moved.
'We should leave here as soon as possible, to perform the
charm. It takes several minutes to perform, but once it is
done, you must both go to your homes with haste. No
need to waste time these days.' He reached up, and
grabbed Harry and Hermione's wrists with surprising
strength.
'We will be Apparating to Grimmauld Place. Members of
the Order are ready to come if we need them. Just send
up red sparks, and at least ten of them will be there in an
instant. I will be guiding you both to Grimmauld' he
finished. He looked from Harry to Hermione, but Hermione
looked confused.
'But Professor, I can Apparate myself.' Professor Flitwick
quickly put up his hand to reply to her.
'Yes yes, I know Miss Granger, however this is a very
serious matter we are embarking upon. It is imperative
that we stay together. I know you can Apparate yourself,
however I am taking no chances, as I am sure Mr. Potter
wants as well' he said, looking at Harry for reassurance.
Before Harry could say anything however, Hermione
looked down at Professor Flitwick, and responded.
'I'm sorry Professor. You're right, it's best not to take
chances. We'll stick together.' She lowered he arm, and
Professor Flitwick grabbed hold of her wrist. He looked up
at the both of them again.
'OK, focus now. Grimmauld Place, the front lawn, in front
of the doorway.' He held on tightly to Harry's wrist. Harry
was surprised how tough a grip Flitwick had, but continued
to focus on the front lawn of Grimmauld Place. 'On the
count of 3' Flitwick said.
'One . . . two . . . three!'
Harry felt the expected funneling of Apparating. The
blackness was wiping by him very quickly. A queasy
feeling in his stomach began as he continued to be
squeezed on all sides. He could feel Professor Flitwick
next to him, moving quite calmly compared to how he was.
Just as his queasy stomach felt it was about to upturn, his
feet hit solid ground, and he fell over onto the parched
grass. He looked up, and found Hermione had also fallen
over, and Professor Flitwick was looking around them.
Harry looked, and saw that they had reached Grimmauld
Place.
'Sorry about that you two. I'm not too bad side Apparating
with one person, but two I'm still working on. Not to worry,
we've reached our destination' said Professor Flitwick,
motioning towards the spot where Grimmaul would be.
Harry got up, helping Hermione in the process, and they
looked at the area around them. The street looked very
deserted, with the same old and ill-kept buildings. The
weather in this part of London was different, and more
overcast than at King's Cross. As he turned to where
Grimmauld Place was, he saw it was not there. This was
normal for the building, since it was unplottable. He,
Hermione, and Professor Flitwick moved farther into the
lawn, and the door magically appeared.
'It will still appear for us, since we already knew the secret.
In order to recast the Fidelius Charm, the house must be
temporarily made plotable. There is no need to worry' as
he saw a look of foreboding on Harry's face, 'the house
will remain safe for the brief time it is plotable. I need you,
Mr. Potter, to stand on the right side of me.'
Harry moved to Professor's Flitwick's right side. Flitwick
smiled, and turned to Hermione. 'Now, Miss Granger, you
go on my left side,' and she moved. Professor Flitwick
swished his wand, and Twelve Grimmauld Place appeared
in front of them.
'Now, Mr. Potter, you need a number for the house. You
cannot use Number Twelve again, however might I
suggest a fractional number, much like Platform 9 ¾. Do
not make the fraction too large though, otherwise the
house might be too far to the right.' Harry felt Flitwick
sounded like one of those businessmen that came to the
door at Privet Drive. Harry's uncle always called those
types of people "timewasters and beggars".
'How about Twelve and One Third, easy enough to
remember, right?' He looked at Hermione for reassurance,
and both she and the Professor nodded. He looked at the
house, and moved forward.
'All right, we have to rename the house before the Fidelius
Charm can be done. You must be the one to do it though
Mr. Potter. You must first un-name the house, using the
incantation 'Inrenomenos,' followed by the old name of the
house. Then, to rename it, use 'Nomenos,' followed by the
new name. Understood?' asked Flitwick. Harry nodded,
repeating the incantation over and over again in his head,
and moved towards the house, raising his wand.
'Inrenomenos, Twelve Grimmauld Place' he said
nervously. His wand spewed an orange mist, which circled
the house, and returned to his wand. He looked at
Professor Flitwick to see if that should happen, and was
pleased to see him nodding, and giving Harry notice to
continue.
'Nomenos, Twelve and One Third Grimmauld Place!' he
said, this time with more vigor. Another orange mist came
out of Harry's wand, circled the house, and returned to his
wand. He stepped back from the house, and turned to
Hermione and Professor Flitwick, who were pleased with
his completion of the charm.
'Well done Mr. Potter. Now we are ready to perform the
Fidelius Charm, but first, I must tell you what to say. I will
ask what is being put into trust, and you must answer
Number Twelve and One Third Grimmauld Place. I will ask
who puts this in trust, and you will answer 'I, Harry Potter,
owner of Twelve and One Third Grimmauld Place'. I will
ask you who you put this trust with, and you will reply with
Miss Granger's name. Understand?' to which Harry
nodded.
'Excellent, now Miss Granger, I will then ask if you will
accept this secret in trust, and you will agree. You must
both then hold hands above our wands, and Mr. Potter will
say: I trust you with this secret, you and no other. Miss
Granger, you will reply: I shall keep this secret in your
trust. And it will be completed.' He looked at each of them,
and they nodded, although Harry felt a little hesitant, trying
to remember all the lines he had to say. The look on
Hermione's face made him think she felt the same. Flitwick
seemed not to notice.
'Alright Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. I will begin the charm.
Focus on the house, and the importance of its secrecy.
Just answer the questions as I say them. Now, you both
must take out your wands, and point them towards mine.'
He took out his wand, and pointed it at the house. Harry
and Hermione both took out their wands, and pointed
them at the tip of Professor Flitwick's. Flitwick took a deep
breath, and with his squeaky voice, announced the
incantation confidently.
'Carpio Occulto Fidelius!'
From Professor Flitwick's wand, and bright white glow
came, connected to Harry and Hermione's wands, then
surrounded Grimmauld Place in a white haze. Once the
entire house was surrounded, Professor Flitwick smiled at
Harry and Hermione, and continued on.
'What is being put into trust?' Flitwick asked calmly,
looking at Harry. He responded loudly, making sure to
pronounce each word as fluently as possible.
'Number Twelve and One Third Grimmauld Place.' He
looked at the haze around the house, and noticed it turned
a dark grey, like fog. Professor Flitwick carried on.
'Who is putting this in trust?'
Harry replied, again looking at the house. 'I, Harry Potter,
owner of Number Twelve and One Third Grimmauld
Place.' The haze now turned a lighter shade of grey, close
now to the colour clouds are, as it continued to swirl
around the house, quicker after each question.
'To whom do you put this trust with?' Flitwick asked. Harry
cleared his throat again, and responded.
'I put my trust with Hermione Granger.' At this, the grey
haze turned to bright silver. Harry's part of the charm was
almost over, now it was Hermione's turn. Harry now
noticed that his wand, and the others as well, were
vibrating quite a bit. Not nearly as much as in his 4th year,
when his wand and Voldemort's connected, but still a little.
Professor Flitwick now turned to Hermione.
'To whom accepts this trust?' Harry looked at Hermione,
who drawed herself up to full height, and answered.
'I, Hermione Granger, accept this trust.' The haze now
turned bright cyan, and started to swarm around the three
of them, and the house. Professor Flitwick was smiling,
motioned them to put their hands over the wands. Harry
slowly put his left hand over the wands, as did Hermione.
They locked hands, and the cyan haze around them
condensed to form a single, long string of intense blue,
which Professor Flitwick wrapped part of around their
enclosed hands. The strand felt cool on Harry's hand,
closing in tight to his skin, binding his hand with
Hermione's. Harry cleared his throat slightly, again making
sure his words where clear.
'I trust you with this secret, you and no other.' Flitwick
wound another blue strand around their hands again, and
Hermione responded.
'I shall keep this secret in your trust.' One more strand was
wrapped around. The three strands stayed momentarily,
then turned blinding white, and dissolved into their skin
quickly, as the haze around the house evaporated.
Professor Flitwick slowly lowered his wand, and fell over
stiff as a board. Harry and Hermione stood, hands still
locked, looking at each other. They quickly unlocked their
hands, and rushed to help Professor Flitwick up. He
opened his eyes, and sat up slowly.
'Hello Miss Granger, Mr. Potter. Where am I?' Flitwick
asked, sounding groggy. He looked from Harry to
Hermione, with a very confused look.
'You are on Grimmauld Road Professor' Hermione
answered. He looked up the street, and his expression
turned to one of understanding. He stood up, and walked
towards where Grimmauld Place stood.
'Strange' he said, walking to the left and the right, 'Number
Twelve isn't here anymore, I cannot see the house. Do
you know what's happened? What are we doing here?' He
looked very confused now, almost worried. Hermione was
the first to speak.
'Professor, what's the last thing you remember?' she
asked. Flitwick looked upwards, which Harry understood
as the Professor thinking hard. He started to pace to and
fro across the lawn, then came to a halt about five feet in
front of Harry and Hermione.
'The last thing I remember, is coming here with you two.
We Apperated, but I can not remember why we came
here. Do you know? There isn't anything wrong with the
Order, is there?' He still looked to them for answers, and
seemed desperate to understand the situation. This time,
Harry was the first to speak.
'We came here, because we needed to give you
something.' Professor Flitwick was not the only one giving
Harry an odd look. Harry went ahead, and took out a piece
of parchment out of his pocket, and gave it to Hermione.
She seemed to suddenly understand what Harry meant,
and took out a small travel quill from her pocket, and wrote
a quick sentence. She then folded the parchment, and
gave it to Harry.
The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at
Twelve and One Third Grimmauld Place.
Harry nodded his head, and gave the paper to Professor
Flitwick. He looked at the parchment, and his eye's
opened wide when he finished reading for the second
time. Hermione quickly asked for the parchment back, and
continued to burned it with her wand. Professor Flitwick
now turned, and looked at Grimmauld Place again.
'No wonder I couldn't find it. You two must have renamed
and replotted it. Very well done, both of you!' He turned
back to the house, and waited at the door, Harry and
Hermione following.
When they reached the door, both Hermione and
Professor Flitwick looked at Harry expectedly, but Harry
did not know what for. Hermione seemed to know what he
was thinking, and answered his unasked question.
'Harry, you have to open the locks. You're the owner now.
Only people you say are allowed to open the locks can.'
She pointed to the locks on the door that had no key
holes. Harry took it that he needed to open the locks with
his wand, so he went ahead, and moved his wand to the
locks. They gave a few clicks and snaps, and the door
opened. They entered the empty house, and closed the
door behind them, making sure to stay quiet as to not
wake up Sirius' Mother.
They all proceeded to the kitchen, and sat down. The
kitchen was still relatively clean, however dust had settled
on every surface. Harry wiped off the dust on the nearest
chair, and sat down. Hermione, seeing how only one
window existed in the room, making it quite dark even
during daytime, lit the candle on the table, and sat down
opposite Harry. She gave a quick look to Flitwick, who was
checking around the sink, and checked her watch.
'You know Harry, we can't be long. How do you plan on
telling the other members of the Order?' she asked.
Professor Flitwick was getting a glass of water. It seemed
the memory charm that was cast on him caused him to
feel rather thirsty.
Harry put no thought of how could he tell the other
members of the Order. Going around to each one of them
would take time, and the chances of being seen would be
high. The best way would probably be to tell them all at
once. So were could they hold a meeting, where Hermione
and Harry could attend, and it be big enough to hold a fair
number of the Order?
'We could tell everyone at The Burrow. Order members
know where it is. I just don't know when or how you and I
will get there.' He looked to Hermione for help. She
seemed to be thinking as well, again biting her bottom lip
in the process.
'Well, how about at the wedding?' she said, looking over at
Professor Flitwick who was draining his second glass of
water. Harry thought about it, and it made sense, since a
lot of Order members would be there anyways. It would be
easy to slip a note to someone, as a lot of people would
be there, and it would be hard to notice.
Since Hermione would be the secret keeper, she would
just go around, and tell the members. Harry wondered if
this was too late though, considering it was over two
weeks away, and asked Professor Flitwick what he
thought.
'Well, I think it would be ok to wait a couple of weeks. The
Order is meeting in different places at the moment
anyways, to throw off Death Eaters. It sounds like telling
Order members at the wedding makes the most sense.'
He drained his cup, and placed it in the sink, and turned
back to Hermione and Harry.
'Well, I think we should be going now. I'll bring you back to
your homes. Come, let's go' he said, and started towards
the door. Hermione put out the small candle on the table,
and followed behind Harry, with Professor Flitwick in the
lead. He opened the door, and held it open for Harry and
Hermione. When Flitwick closed the door, it vanished into
the ground, and he turned back to the two students.
'I believe we shall bring Miss Granger home first. Since
you know the way' he looked at her, 'you will guide me and
Mr. Potter.' He motioned them to grab hold of each other's
wrists, and they did. 'On the count of three. One . . . two . .
. three!' and with a crack, the three of them left Twelve and
One Third Grimmauld Place.
Spell / Name meanings -
Feterworm – L. feteo: to have a bad odor / stink, worm:
worm (Feterworm stink worm)
Arresto Momentum – Is from the PA movie (Dumbledore
uses it)
Nomenos – L. nomen: name
Inrenomenos – L. in: not/never, re: again, nomenos:
name (Inrenomenos never name again)
Carpio – L. carpo: to hold on to
Occulto – L. occulte: in secret
Fidelius – L. fidelis: faithful, true, loyal
(Carpio Occulto Fidelius To hold on to, in secret, faitfully)

- CHAPTER THREE -
A Wedding Like No Other
On Avalon Lane, in the little town of Crewkerne, Somerset,
a rather pleasant sized house stood. Lights were on in the
dining room, and the kitchen, where the owners of this
house were finishing their dinner.
In a secluded part of town, the brick house was very clean,
with a course emerald lawn, maroon shingled roof, and a
broad beech tree in the front yard. An attractive navy blue
blue car stood in the drive, with a bumper sticker reading
'Got Teeth? Thank your Dentist!'
The weather here was warm, with a light breeze swaying
the beech tree slightly, as the sun began its slow crawl
towards the horizon to end the day, painting the sky
scarlet, gold, and many shades in between. The backyard
of this house, enclosed by a nice wooden fence, was large
and spacious. Two birch trees stood there, one hanging a
swing from its lowest branch. The outdoor lights were off,
and no one inside the house had noticed that three people
had just appeared out of nowhere.
Hermione walked to the backdoor of her house, and
tapped on the window. A tall chestnut haired man
appeared at the window, smiled cheerfully at Hermione,
and opened the door. Harry knew it was Hermione's dad,
however at the moment, he was admiring their backyard.
This is a backyard he wished for on Privet Drive. It
seemed Hermione's house was a little outside whatever
town it was in, and had the space to spare. The lawn, the
smell in the air telling Harry it was recently cut, was a calm
and quiet ocean of green. The house, which was larger
than Privet Drive by a bedroom or two, Harry also
admired. He looked at the deck in the back, then realized
after in his oggling of his surroundings, he was standing
alone. Hermione invited Professor Flitwick in already, and
was looking at Harry, edging closer to him, keeping the
door open.
'Aren't you coming in Harry? My parents wanted to say
hello' she said. Harry moved onto the deck, and entered
the house, Hermione following.
The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the
outside. The door entered into the kitchen, which had all
wood cabinets, with brass handles, and was very clean.
He knew Aunt Petunia would approve, since she almost
religiously kept her house clean, especially the kitchen.
Harry moved forward into the dining room, past a nice
maple wood table with matching chairs, and into the sitting
room.
Here, Harry found Professor Flitwick sitting, his legs
hanging off the edges of a nice leather chair, talking to
Hermione's parents. Harry had seen them at Kings Cross
before, however never really met them. Hermione's father
was tall, with chestnut hair, hazel eyes, and nicely white
teeth. He wore thin rimmed glasses, and seemed very
relaxed with his cup of tea, while sitting on a couch next to
Mrs. Granger. He was talking to the Professor about how
Hermione was doing, while Mrs. Granger listened.
Hermione looked very much like her mother. She was
shorter than Hermione, but had the same brown, slightly
frizzled, but curly hair, and brown eyes. She was listening
to Professor Flitwick talk about Hermione doing excellent
in charms, when she looked up and smiled at Harry.
'Hello Harry. Please, come and sit down.' She motioned to
a nice armchair near the fireplace, which stood dormant
and the moment, and Harry sat down. Professor Flitwick
continued to talk with Mr. Granger, and Hermione had sat
down next to her mother on the couch.
The sitting room was also very amiable to Harry. A
painting above the fireplace was of the coast, with a
lighthouse shining its light on the ocean. There was a nice
wooden table in the middle of the room, where 5 cups and
a teapot sat. Hermione must have told her parents that
she was coming back later with Harry and Professor
Flitwick. Hermione poured some tea for the three of them,
while her mother talked to Harry.
'I can't believe we haven't talked to you before. Hermione
has told us a lot about you. She sent us a note about what
happened with Professor Dumbledore. How are you
coping? Thank you dear.' She took the cup of tea that
Hermione was offering, and sat back to take a sip,
watching Harry. Harry took his, thanking Hermione, and
took a sip.
He could tell Hermione was not too pleased with her
mother asking the question, giving Harry a sorrowful
expression. Hermione looked to change the subject, but
Harry gave a slight shake of his head he was sure only
she noticed. He felt he needed to be able to speak about
this, and not try to forget it happened. He didn't want to run
away from this issue, but face it. He finished his sip, and
only after putting the cup back down, realized that
Professor Flitwick and Mr. Granger had finished their
conversation, and were now looking, along with Hermione
and Mrs. Granger, at him. He wished he did not put his
cup down.
'I'm doing OK.' He found his mouth had become dry, his
mind blank, and the ability to speak was lost abruptly. He
realized it was too soon to talk about this, and looked at
Hermione while reaching for his cup of tea again, hoping
she would see his wantingness to now change the subject.
She turned quickly to Professor Flitwick, and broke the
silence, to the relief of Harry.
'What do you think will happen to Hogwarts Professor?'
she asked. She glanced back at Harry, giving a small
smile, and looked to Professor Flitwick.
'Well, the teachers are unsure at the moment. We must
wait for the decision of the governors' he replied, as he
took another sip of his tea, and put down his empty cup.
'Well, thank you very much Brian, and to you Amelia. Mr.
Potter and I must be off. I hope to be seeing you again.'
Mr. Granger stood up, as did Professor Flitwick, sliding off
the chair slightly. He shook Mr. Granger's hand, and did
the same to Mrs. Granger. Hermione waved good-bye,
and Professor Flitwick motioned Harry back to the
backyard.
Harry stood up, with Mrs. Granger and Hermione standing
as well, and made his way to the back door. The
Granger's followed him to the back, and he turned back at
the doorway. 'Thank you for the tea Mr. and Mrs. Granger'
said Harry pleasantly. Hermione smiled at him, and looked
to her parents.
'You're welcome Harry. I'm sure we will be seeing each
other again' Mrs. Granger said, giving Harry a nice light
handshake.
'Take care Harry' came from Mr. Granger, as Harry shared
a handshake with him as well. He walked through the
doorway onto the deck, and heard the door close behind
him. He was not alone on the deck however, for when he
turned to see the Grangers in the window of the door,
Hermione was standing there, turning around from the
closed door. Once she saw the look of confusion on
Harry's face, she slouched her shoulders and tilted her
head slightly.
'I'm just coming to say goodbye' she put simly. She came
to Harry's side, and they walked towards the underneath
of the nearest tree, where Professor Flitwick was waiting.
'Just take care of yourself, alright Harry? If there's any
problems, owl someone, OK?' she said timidly. She was
trying to look calm, but Harry knew her well enough to see
she was concerned, much like on the train. They stopped
a few metres from Professor Flitwick, so they were out of
earshot.
'Don't worry Hermione. The protection should be alright
until my birthday. I'm more worried about you. If there's
any problems, don't try and fight OK? Get your parents,
and Apperate as quickly as possible, OK?' he said.
Hermione looked to her house again, stopping on the
kitchen light, and nodded.
'I admit,' she said, 'I am concerned about my parents, but
Professor McGonagall talked to me on the train about
some things. It should be alright, but don't worry Harry, I'll
be careful. I'll owl you in a few days, alright?' she
reassured quietly. Harry agreed, and they slowly
embraced each other in their third hug of the day.
Harry found he liked this hug more than the others. The
first one that day was surprising and felt odd. The second
was better because he knew it was coming, but it was
brief. This hug however, held more feeling to him. He
never realized how Hermione made him feel more at ease
when they hugged. He could feel her warmth sweep over
him, and it filled him with a sense of peace and happiness.
Taking a deep breath, he inhaled a warm scent of
honeysuckle from her hair, causing him to feel even more
peaceful and content.
He felt more than alright to stay there, hugging Hermione
in her backyard, however he knew he had to return to
Privet Drive. Grudgingly, he let go, and was surprised to
feel that Hermione was still holding on. He moved his
arms to try and show that he needed to go, but she did not
budge, and in fact, held on tighter.
'Be careful Harry, please' he heard from his shoulder,
were a large amount of brown hair hid Hermione's face.
Harry could tell she was crying. He felt, much like
Hermione no doubt did, that this parting was hard. It
reminded him of the last time he saw Sirius, with the same
feeling of foreboding and unknowingness. Harry gave
another tight squeeze to Hermione, and gently pried her
arms off, and looked at her face determinately. When he
did, he found she had tears flowing down her cheeks, and
her eyes were slightly puffy.
'I'll be fine, and you will be too, alright? Everything will be
fine' affirmed Harry. He hoped it was enough for Hermione
at the time, and was glad to see her nodding in
agreement. Harry was as worried and scared of what was
to come, but he understood she was looking for
reassurance. Harry knew if he sounded confident in his
words, she would feel better. He of course would have
talked to her about it more, however Professor Flitwick
was waiting, and not about to do so for a while.
Hermione leaned over, and gave Harry a kiss on his
cheek. He felt himself blush slightly, and smiled back at
Hermione, noticing she too had flushed cheeks, and
turned towards Professor Flitwick. When he reached the
underneath of the tree, Harry turned back to see Hermione
standing on the deck, waving goodbye. Professor Flitwick
grabbed his wrist calmly, and looked up.
'OK Mr. Potter, now you will guide me. Have you done this
before?' Harry did not need reminding of this, since it was
with Dumbledore he had done this last, so he decided to
simply nod.
'Very well, on the count of three,' Harry waved back up to
Hermione, and she went to the door. She waited in the
doorway, still looking at the two of them.
'One' Harry thought hard of the backyard at Privet Drive.
'Two' Harry thought harder, seeing the backyard in his
mind. 'Three!' And with a twist of his body, he heard the
usual crack, and felt the usual siphoning feeling of
Apparating, Professor Flitwick bumping into him along the
way.
Hermione continued to look at the spot under the tree,
arms folding in front of herself, and only responded a few
seconds later after her mother called for her. She wiped
her eyes quickly intended not to show she cried, turned,
and closed the door behind her.
Harry's two weeks at Privet Drive proved to be very
different than his usual summers. Most times, he would be
stuck in his room, or roaming around the neighborhood,
with the usual odd comments from the other residents.
This time, he found himself purposely spending a lot of
time in his room, and the backyard.
For the first few days, Harry was very depressed. The loss
of Dumbledore shocked him, and until now, he spent little
time to reflect on it. The quick break up with Ginny did not
help lift the weight on his heart. He knew he did it for the
best, however he liked what they had, even for the short
amount of time it existed. More than a few times he
wished he could be back in the Gryffindor common room
with Ginny, sitting in front of the fire. If he had the real
choice, he wouldn't have given it up.
Now that he was alone, he found himself sleeping almost
lethargically, waking up, and simply lying in bed staring at
the ceiling, his mind blank and dreary. He would get up
eventually, but only out of necessity. The reality of never
seeing Dumbledore, or having more of those wonderful
times with Ginny came to brunt in his solidarity. The
feeling of loneliness was overwhelming, and his mind
didn't even try to feel better. He felt like he deserved this,
as if things were too good before, and now he was paying
the price.
After the fourth day, his room in a state of total disorder,
he finally decided to focus his feelings towards something
positive. By this time, he started feeling depressed about
being depressed. He felt that if he did something
constructive, it would help him get past this feeling of
emptiness, and get his mind off of Dumbledore's death
and Ginny. So, he looked around his room, and tried to
find a task to consume his time, and make him overcome
his misery.
He decided to read up on defense spells and theory. He
had more than enough books to read, and learning new
spells would be helpful for the future. At first, he felt like he
was imitating Hermione, constantly reading in the library.
He found he felt better after the first few days, having a
purpose to get up when he woke. It also helped that both
Hermione and Ron owled him, encouraging him to feel
better. He did not tell them about what he had been doing,
and it made him feel better that they knew how he felt,
without even telling them.
He read in his room, as well as outside, in the backyard,
trying to clear his mind and relax while reading. He did not
go out on the street unless he had too, because he knew
he would be vulnerable. He kept his mind on the
Horcruxes as well, but spent his time learning extra spells
and jinxes, finding some very interesting and practical.
He kept constant contact with Hermione, Ron, and the
Order, which also helped him keep his mind busy. They
agreed to go with Harry after school was done, but found it
was safer to stay at their separate homes for the time
being.
Harry went through large amounts of parchment, and
more than enough quills keeping contact with everyone.
Hedwig did not mind the first few days, however closer to
the end of the two weeks, she was starting to get
noticeably tired of the constant traveling. Ron used
Pigwidgeon a lot, and Hermione was allowed to use a very
polite Barn owl from Hogwarts named Capella, to lighten
the load on Hedwig.
Harry also continued to receive copies of the Daily
Prophet, to keep notes on any attacks or killings. It was
becoming normal for murders and people to go missing
these days. Harry was only glad to see that none of the
people so far were people he knew. Harry's uncle did not
like the constant owls.
His Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had been oddly silent
when Harry arrived home, and went into their usual
ignoring of Harry. They seemed not to mind Harry's
seclusion during the first few days. Dudley, who Harry
found out was late coming home from school because of a
boxing competition in which he came in second ('That's
my boy!' yelled Vernon when Dudley came in the house
with his trophy). Dudley had become bulkier, if it was
possible, but as always, he was still terrified of Harry.
At the end of supper on his fifth day home, Uncle Vernon
turned his chair to Harry as he was finishing his food,
which consisted of mixed vegetables and very little meat,
and gave him his usual grumpy look.
'Is it true what that old bloke, what was his name, Alpus?
Anyways, is it true you are leaving on your birthday?' He
tried to pass the question off casually, yet he never asked
casual questions, so Harry knew better. He could picture
his Uncle drawing up plans for his room once Harry was
gone, going along the walls with a measuring tape with a
large smile on his face, Petunia in the background dancing
with excitement. It angered Harry a little that he called his
former headmaster "that old bloke", but he knew he had to
work on his control on his anger, and answered.
'Yeah, it's true. I'll be leaving on July 30th. I'm going to a
wedding before hand though, in about 1 ½ weeks' said
Harry. He had not mentioned the wedding to any of them
before now. His Aunt looked at him for a second, then
continued with her supper. Uncle Vernon on the other
hand laughed, and took a ldeep drink of his water.
'A wedding? Do your kind do that?' he chuckled. Harry
could feel himself getting angry. He noticed his right hand
had started shaking, so he put down his fork, and placed
his hand on his lap, hoping to calm himself down. The way
his uncle always thought of wizards as a different species
sometimes made Harry wish to jinx him back to the
previous week. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath,
and surprisingly found himself reminded of the night he
hugged Hermione. He found his anger fade away with the
pleasant reminder of the memory, and replied.
'Yes, we do that. My friend Ron's brother is getting
married, and I was invited. I'll be gone for 2 days' he
explained straightforwardly. He wanted to press the fact
that he was going, because whether they said yes or no,
he was be going anyway. He never attended a wizard's
wedding, or even a muggle wedding, and wondered what
it was like. Plus, after the talk with Hermione, he had to
make sure the Order members found out the new address
for Grimmauld.
He pushed his chair back, put his plate in the sink, and
returned to his room, where he left Advanced Practical
Defense Magic, and continued reading on ways of
countering Petrificus Totalus with non-verbal magic.
After going over many defence books, and writing down all
the information about Tom Riddle and Horcruxes that
Dumbledore showed him during the school year, the day
of the wedding finally came. During the weeks, he never
experienced a full night's sleep. Nightmares littered the
nights, full of the deaths of Cedric, Sirius, and
Dumbledore, horcrux-like objects floating just out of reach
in perpetual darkness, and empty, ancient looking stone
rooms.
Harry found himself eagerly awaiting the day, and merrily
woke up early. He gazed out his window to see a
beautifully clear summer day, and noticed Hedwig sitting
on the windowsill, an envelope in her beak. Harry walked
over, pat her on the head, and took the letter. She gave an
affectionate nip to his thumb, and went onto her perch in
her cage. Harry opened the letter, and found it was from
Ron and Hermione. He guessed she had gone to The
Burrow already.
Dear Harry,
Me, Hermione, and my Dad are coming to get you today at
9am. The wedding isn't until 6pm, but my Mum wants to
make sure everything is ready ahead of time. She's off her
knut about this wedding, but Dad said it's a mum thing.
Don't forget to have your dress robes ready. See you later.
Ron and Hermione
Harry looked over to his trunk, and laying on top were his
dress robes. They were clean, but not even close to
pressed. He tried the night before to press them, though
he gave up after making more creases than before he
started. He figured it could be done by magic, but Mrs.
Weasley was the one good at house charms.
He read the clock next to his bed, and noticed it was
8:37am. He got up, had his shower, and dressed in
regular clothes. He headed downstairs, with his dress
robes and some extra clothes in his bag, and his wand in
his pocket. He made a final check to make sure he had
everything, and sat down at the kitchen table waiting
anxiously. His Uncle, Aunt, and Dudley were still sleeping,
since it was Saturday. They usually got up at 9am, so he
was pleased to notice he would not see them.
He looked at the clock above the stove, and saw it was
8:58am. They would be here in 2 minutes. Harry figured
they would be Apparating that morning. He hoped they
wouldn't take Floo Powder, because of the incident that
happened last time, involving four Weasley's completely
destroying the sitting room, and causing Dudley's tongue
to lengthen by about four feet. Just as he smiled
remembering Fred and George's laughter afterwards,
there was a loud crack in the backyard. Harry stood up,
and moved to the window above the sink.
In the backyard, Mr. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione
suddenly appeared, and walked towards the house.
Hermione knocked on the back door, and Harry
remembered to ask them questions to make sure they
were who they looked like.
'Harry? Are you in there? We're here to get you for the
wedding.' Mr. Weasley was half-yelling at the closed door,
reminding Harry of Colin Creevey on the Hogwarts
Express. Harry went to the window at the door, and looked
through. The three on the other side smiled back, and
pointed at the door to open it.
'I have to ask you the questions.' He had made it clear in
his letters from the day before that he would ask each of
them one question that only they would know. Mr.
Weasley was first, followed by Ron, and then Hermione.
'Mr. Weasley, what did you warn me about in on Platform
9 ¾ in my third year?' Harry remembered the rather
rushed conversation; Mr. Weasley told Harry not to go
looking for Sirius, who at the time he didn't know was his
godfather. Mr. Weasley squinted slightly, and moved
closer to the window.
'I told you not to go looking for Sirius. Right lot it helped,
you looked anyways!' he replied. He smiled, and moved
over for Ron to have his question.
'OK Ron, what did you see in the Mirror of Erised?' He
remembered this, because it was the first time he saw his
parents, although they were not really there. Ron turned
rather red, looked behind him, moved close to the window,
and spoke quietly, hoping his dad and Hermione would not
hear.
'I saw myself as Head Boy, and Quidditch Captain. I had
the Quidditch Cup, and the House Cup' he mumbled. He
moved back, and smiled to Harry. Harry smiled back,
knowing this was the correct answer, and now Hermione
moved forward.
'Alright Hermione, why did Cho get mad at me on
Valentine's Day in Hogsmede during fifth year?' He
remembered this day, because Hermione arranged Rita
Skeeter to write about the night Voldemort came back. He
remembered he talked to Hermione about Cho that day.
'Because you're tactless. To be specific, it was because
you said you were coming to see me, which made her
upset' she stated matter of factly, looking up, and smiling
at Harry. Harry unlocked the door, and the three of them
entered the kitchen.
'All set Harry?' Mr. Weasley asked, looking at his watch,
then around the room, no doubt admiring the objects.
'We can't take too much time. Molly will have my head if
I'm not back quickly.' He turned, and suddenly became
transfixed on Aunt Petunia's new blender sitting on the
counter.
'oo!' he said, moving towards it. 'This is one of those
blunders, right Harry?' he guessed excitedly. Harry knew
all too well of Mr. Weasley's fascination with muggle
objects. He also knew that they had to get going before
waking his aunt and uncle.
'It's a blender Mr. Weasley, but we should get going' said
Harry quickly. Mr. Weasley quickly snapped back to the
present, muttered 'right, right, right', and made his way
back into the backyard, motioning the rest to join him.
Harry picked up his bag, and closed the door behind him,
locking it along the way. The four of them moved to the far
side of the yard, and turned towards each other.
'Alright Harry, we're Apparating back to The Burrow. Just
think of the yard in front of the house. I hope Molly hasn't
put the tent up yet, otherwise we might get a little tangled.
OK, grab hold of each other, very good. Now, on the count
of three.' He looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who all
nodded at the same time.
'One,' Harry noticed Ron had closed his eyes, and was
screwing up his face in deep thought. Harry smiled, and
looked over to Hermione, who was also suppressing her
laughter. 'Two,' Harry thought hard of The Burrow, seeing
the front lawn in front of the garden. 'Three!' With a quick
turn, and with Ron and Hermione bumping into him, he felt
the usual siphoning of Apparating. After only a few
seconds, his feet hit hard Earth, and he looked up at the
house, which seemed to be held up by magic.
'Arthur! Arthur, are you back! We need some help with the
tables here!' The shout, who Harry knew came from Mrs.
Weasley, originated from a white tent set up next to the
house. Mr. Weasley gave a sigh, waved bye to the three
of them, and headed off towards the tent. Ron, Hermione,
and Harry then made their way towards the front door, but
where suddenly stopped by a fiery-red haired girl.
'I wouldn't go in there if I was you,' she said darkly, looking
up at the three of them, her eyes stopping on Harry. Harry
looked at her, and controlled his wantingness to hug and
kiss her like he did in the Gryffindor common room only a
few months ago.
'Why? We were only gone for a few minutes?' asked Ron,
looking thoroughly confused at his sister Ginny. Ginny
smiled at Hary, and looked at Ron.
'The chef's arrived from France, and they are horribly
bossy. Can't get a glass of pumpkin juice without having a
meat cleaver being thrown at you' she quipped. Harry
looked at the kitchen window, and noticed mountains of
steam, and what looked like smoke, billowing out of the
open windows. Ron seemed agitated with this
predicament.
'Well, we need to get inside anyways, before Mom asks us
to help with stuff again. Com'on.' He motioned Harry and
Hermione to follow his lead, and he moved to the door.
Hermione followed Ron past Ginny, yet Harry found
himself still standing in front of Ginny.
'Coming mate?' asked Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes, and
turned to Ron for a moment, before turning back to Ginny
and Harry.
'We'll meet you upstairs, OK Harry?' she stated. Harry was
glad she understood, and nodded. Ron gave Hermione a
perplexed look as she shoved him through the doorway.
Ginny turned back and faced Harry. Harry felt very torn,
between running away and snogging her right there and
then.
'How are you Harry?' she asked, as she moved towards
him, and gave a hug. Harry returned the hug, and
squeezed tightly. He had wanted a hug for a while, and
this seemed to do nicely. When they separated, Ginny
moved and gave him a kiss. Harry quickly backed up,
making Ginny's expression change from joyful to
confused.
'Harry, I know you want to keep me safe, but isn't it my
choice?' she asked, sounding slightly aggressive. Harry
felt this was coming. When he first returned to Privet
Drive, there's nothing he would have wanted more than
Ginny to be there with him. Now, after realizing the tasks
ahead of him, he knew Ginny would be at even more
danger than he originally thought.
'Ginny, you can't. It's-'
'Too dangerous? Harry, I can take the risk if I want to! I
can take care of myself!' she stormed. Harry didn't feel like
arguing, however he could see Ginny didn't want to go
without one.
'No you can't Ginny. It's just like I told you at the funeral. If
Voldemort-'
'I thought you just needed some space for a while, I didn't
know you meant permanently! And what do you mean I
can't take care of myself? I can too!'
'No you can't Ginny' Harry put gently. By Ginny's reaction,
he didn't put it gently enough.
'What, you think just because I'm a year younger that I
can't fight! Do you think I'm poor defenseless Ginny?'
Harry couldn't see how she was getting this.
'Gin, that's-'
'You know what Harry, forget about it! I thought you
wouldn't be like that, but I guess I was wrong!' she fumed,
turning away and running towards the white tent Mr.
Weasley walked into a few minutes ago. Harry watched
her go, wishing this was another dream, however realized
it sadly wasn't, and slowly made his way into the kitchen.
When he opened the door, he could hear a group of men
talking very quick French.
Harry walked inside, and found four rather chubby chefs,
all in white robes and white chef's hats, doing various
cooking at the counters. It seemed to Harry that they had
conjured up a few extra chopping tables, as well as two
extra stove-like areas to cook on. They seemed not to
notice that he entered into the room, and Harry quickly
moved to the stairs, and bound up towards Ron's room.
Once there, Harry opened the door to find Ron and
Hermione looking out the window, looking back at Harry
with sadened faces. They must have observed the scene
between himself and Ginny. He put his bag down, and
found the room in total disarray.
'Are you OK Harry?' Hermione asked. She moved off the
windowsill, and looked to sit on Ron's bed. She gave it a
migled look of disgust, and placed herself on the small
amount of space that was clear of clothes.
'I'm OK. I didn't think she'd do that though' he admited.
Ron gave a sigh, and layed down on his bed, disregarding
the clothes underneith him.
'Girls, Harry. Sometimes I think it's best not to try and
understand what they do' he said with a touch of wisdom
that Harry never thought Ron had. Hermione looked back
at Harry, who was still standing in the doorway.
'Harry, I'm sure Ginny's just trying to cope with not being
with you. Your reasons are sound, but to Ginny it doesn't
matter. Don't worry, she'll get over it' Hermione reassured,
giving Harry a comforting smile. Harry gave a small smile
back, still not feeling good about the events that just
transpired.
Harry moved towards the window, and looked out on the
garden. He saw Charlie Weasley helping his father with
placing chairs on a clear grass strip near the side of the
house, with trees branching over. Harry guessed the
wedding was happening outside. Looking out the window
reminded him now of his dream he had a few weeks ago.
He remembered seeing the long wooden log which ended
up being Nagini. He still had to tell Ron about it, since he
had not managed it yet, but felt now was not the time.
'Who's all coming today?' he asked Ron, after turning
away from the window, and sitting down on the windowsill.
He wanted to get on a different subject than Ginny. After
all, this was a wedding he was going to. He should be
happy.
Ron was rummaging through a dresser, evidently looking
for something. Harry saw that the inside of the dresser
was in more cluttered than the room. Ron gave a sigh,
stopped his pointless search, and sat down on the side of
the bed opposite from Hermione.
'There's loads of people coming, too many dad says. Lots
from the Ministry, some of my brother's friends, and a lot
of people from France. Not too sure how many, but there's
enough to say a lot' said Ron cheerlessly. He did not seem
too happy about it.
'Like I told you, mum's been raving about everything.
Getting us all to help out with things that don't matter and
such.' Hermione turned, and gave him a disappointed
look.
'Well, it's important to your mum. Bill's the first one of her
kids to get married. She wants to make sure it's perfect'
she emphasized. Harry looked back out the window, and
saw that Mr. Weasley and Charlie finished putting up the
chairs. Ron was right, there was a large guest list, at least
two hundred.
'Yeah, well, when I get married, I definitely don't want
anything like this. It's all too much' grumbled Ron, taking a
pair of rolled up socks off his bed, and throwing them into
the bottom drawer of the dresser. Hermione turned all the
way around this time, and faced Ron.
'So what would you like then? Just to institute the spell,
and that's it?' she asked hotly. Harry didn't know what she
meant exactly. He knew in muggle ceremonies, the
husband and wife exchanged rings.
'Well, yeah, basically. None of this preparation or anything.
Don't see a point really' said Ron. Hermione disappointed
look continued as she glanced around the room. A few
moments of odd silence passed, with each of them looking
around Ron's very messy room.
'What do you mean by "institute the spell"?' asked Harry,
finally breaking the stillness.
'Well, wizard weddings are somewhat like muggle
weddings' said Hermione. 'They have a best man and
bridesmaid, and all the other people. The vows are done
the same, except they have the properties of a spell.
When the bride and groom say their vows, it completes
the spell, and acts on the two of them. It's kinda like
binding love in a way. It's old magic.' Harry was interested
to see how the spell looked.
'Well, we should get downstairs before mum starts getting
mad again' muttered Ron. He got up, as did Hermione,
and the three of them went downstairs, and out into the
yard. Harry was glad to see that Ginny wasn't around. He
did not want a a repeat confrontation.
The three spent most of the afternoon helping outside with
the decorations. Harry wanted to do magic, to make the
task easier, however decided not too since he was
underage. Hermione noticed, and clarified something for
Harry when she asked why he wasn't using magic.
'Harry, you do know you can do magic here?' she asked.
Harry knew he could do magic, it was the fact that he
would get in trouble for doing it. He told this to Hermione,
and she shook her head.
'No, you won't get in trouble. Remember Dobby, when you
got in trouble before second year? The Ministry can only
detect that magic is being done, but not necessarily by
who. They only knew it was you, because you are the only
wizard that lives on Privet Drive. Out here though,' she
pointed to The Burrow, 'almost everyone can do magic, so
they can't tell the difference between you doing magic, and
say, Mr. Weasley' she said beamily.
Harry had not though about it, but it made sense. He
thanked Hermione immensely, and tried a Wingardium
Leviosa charm on a fairy light, hanging it nicely on a tree
branch. He finished, and was delighted to see no owls
telling him he had broken the law, and would be banned
from Hogwarts. He smiled at Ron and Hermione, and they
continued on.
Ron's brothers Fred and George arrived just after lunch,
carrying a suspicious looking package. When Ron asked
what it was, Fred gave a small smirk, and the twins hid it
in their old room. Harry imagined it was a wedding gift,
however knowing Fred and George, he knew to stand
back when Bill and Fleur open it. He hoped it was not
anything too explosive, literally.
Once the decorations were up, it was late in the day, and
was time to change into robes. Harry was surprised that
so many decorations had been put up in the one day, and
was again, thoroughly happy that Hermione told him about
using magic, since the job would have taken hours longer
without it. He was also greatful that he had not run into
Ginny the rest of the day. He looked around before going
back inside, and took in the sight.
At least a hundred fairy lights hung from various trees that
reached above the chairs, lighting the canopy with a soft
amber glow. The aisle was bordered by white trilliums,
which lead to a small white stage at the front of the chairs.
There was still sunlight in the sky, coloured a pallid blue,
but when the reception took place, the fairies would be the
only light.
He and Ron walked up to Ron's room together. Hermione
left earlier to meet up with Ginny to change, which caused
Ron to grumble since they were just in the middle of
cleaning the tables, and he and Harry had to finish
themselves. Harry got into the room, and found a new set
of pressed dress robes, which were black like his
Hogwarts ones, with a black vest. Ron told him that his
mum must have gone ahead and bought him new robes,
since his other set as a little too small now. Once dressed,
he saw Ron also received new robes, which were black
with a silver vest.
'Mum had a separate vault with money saved up for things
like a wedding, so she got me new robes too. Not too bad,
don't you think?' he said, straightening his tie in the mirror.
He turned to look at his back quickly, smiled up at Harry,
and the two nicely dressed gentlement headed
downstairs.
The kitchen was no longer full with fast French speaking
chefs, or quick moving chopping blades, and the table was
full of platters and plates of food. Some of it Harry knew
was Mrs. Weasley's cooking, though the bulk of it looked
foreign. Ron made to try an interesting looking blue-iced
pastry, when one of the chefs, with dough and chocolate
stains on his white apron, came over from the sitting room
yelling 'noh-noh-noh!' giving Ron's hands a hard smack
with a wooden spoon. They both quickly moved out the
door before the chef could continue, and found
themselves in the midst of a large crowd.
At least a hundred people now stood outside The Burrow,
talking amongst each other. All the men wore black dress
robes, and white shirts, while the women, were clothed in
robes and dresses of every colour.
As Harry and Ron moved through the crowd, from the
conversations Harry overheard, many were from the
Ministry of Magic. Harry wondered if Ron was going
anywhere specifically, but found out when he almost ran
over Hermione, stopping abruptly and bumping into her
side. She looked over disgruntally, and smiled once she
realized it was Harry.
'Sorry' apologized Harry She was wearing a pale silver
dress that glittered slightly in the dying sunlight. Harry
found it hung off her very well, and was surprised to see
that she had quite a nice figure. Wearing Hogwarts robes
all the time seemed to hide her form well. Harry couldn't
help but stare at her for a moment, then snapping out of
his daze, and looked to Ginny, who immediately turned
and made her way towards Bill and a few other of the
Weasley's. She was wearing the same colour dress as
Hermione, and Harry thought it was weird that they wore
the same dress and either didn't notice or care about it.
'It's alright Harry. I'm surprised you guys could find us,
there's so many people here. Don't worry about Ginny.
She's still a bit upset, but it takes a bit of time' said
Hermione. She gave Harry a smile, then started to look
around, evidently trying to find someone. Harry was going
to ask who she was looking for, but she answered it just
as he opened his mouth. 'I wonder were Fleur is? Her
family hasn't shown yet.'
Harry neglected to notice this until now. He figured he
would not have seen Fleur, since she would be getting
ready, yet none of the other members of the Delacour
family were here, remembering how they look from fourth
year. The lack of French he heard as he and Ron moved
through the crowd also wondered him.
'Dad said they're showing up around 5:45. Said it's a
tradition, at least in France, for the bride's family to show
up right before' Ron put simply. He was looking around as
well, Harry noticing he stopped on Hermione more than a
few times.
The three of them made their way to the side of the white
tent, still set up next to the house, where Fred, George,
Ginny, Charlie, and Bill where talking. Bill looked very
nervous, wearing the same black robes as the rest of
them, except his vest was gold coloured. The scaring on
his face still remained, but was less noticeable compared
to the night it happened, when he was fighting Death
Eaters at Hogwarts.
'Hey Harry, happy to see you. Thanks for coming' he
expressed gladly, giving Harry a handshake. Harry turned
towards the crowd, noticing Mr. Weasley, wearing black
dress robes with a silver vest, had just finished a
conversation with some ministry-looking people, and was
heading towards the group. Mrs. Weasley, wearing a light
purple dress, was close behind.
'The Delacour's should be here any moment. How about
we get everyone seated' he said, gesturing towards the
crowd. Bill nervously nodded his head, and Mr. and Mrs.
Weasley moved towards the crowd, clapping their hands
and announcing to the guests to sit at the chairs. Harry
looked to the others, so he could sit with them, but they
did not move. He asked Hermione and Ron why they
weren't going to get good seats.
'Well, we're in the wedding party. Me, Fred, George,
Ginny, and Charlie. We asked Percy, but the git he didn't
send anything back' said Ron. Harry expected Ron to be
in the wedding party, and turned to Hermione.
'She's in the wedding party too mate' explained Ron,
motioning to Hermione. Harry now understood why she
and Ginny wore the same dress, and vaguely recalled
Fleur talking about having the bridesmaids in silver
dresses a few weeks ago at Hogwarts.
Harry grasped why Ginny would be in the wedding party,
since she's Ron's family, but Hermione did not have any
family attachments to Bill or Fleur. He decided for the time,
not to ask why she was in the party, and with a deep
breath, trying not to look too upset at his predicament, he
smiled at Hermione and Ron, both of whom seemed sorry
for Harry's situation. Harry turned and moved into the
crowd, walking at a more than leisurely pace, and took a
seat by himself.
He had not figured earlier in the day that he would be
watching the wedding by himself. He spent more than
enough time by himself in his room already, and was
looking forward to being with his friends. The idea of being
surrounded by people and still being alone did not look to
keep the day in a good mood, considering so far it wasn't
exactly spectacular.
He decided to sit near the back, hoping, on the off chance,
no one would notice him, and accept that he would be by
himself. Just as he took his seat, a large amount of pops
came from the side of house, and at least eighty people
moved from where the pops came. The Delacours had
arrived.
The men wore dark blue robes, with silver vests, while the
women, much like the English ones, wore robes and
dresses of every colour. Harry could still easily distinguish
the French from English, with most of the French holding
their heads high, and looking somewhat snobbish. The
bulk of these new guests made their way into chairs, while
Harry saw Mr. and Mrs. Delacour, who looked much more
warming than some of the other French guests, greeting
the Weasley's and Hermione.
Harry looked to the front, and saw a very old wizard in
completely white robes move on to the stage unhurried.
Harry knew a minister conducted muggle weddings, and
figured this old man was the equivalent.
As the guests took their seats, he was surprised by a
nudge on his shoulder. When he looked, figuring someone
needed to get by, he was surprised to see his old Defense
Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin.
'Hello Professor!' exclaimed Harry happily, standing up
and shaking his hand enthusiastically. Lupin looked tired,
with bags under his eyes. His face was white, and hair
turning ever greyer. He wore dark grey dress robes,
instead of his usual grey and tattered robes. Harry found it
made him look younger than is usual self, even with his
tired look.
'Harry, how many times must I tell you, I have not taught
you in three years now. Please, call me Remus' replied
Lupin, who took the seat next to Harry, and took a quick
glance to the stage at the front.
'Why are you sitting so far from the front?' he asked. Harry
told him about the wedding party, hoping he did not sound
self-centered or selfish. He was glad to see Lupin smile,
and look back up towards the stage.
'Well, I do understand what it means sometimes to be the
one left out. Don't let it get to you Harry, just enjoy the
night. Oh, I think it's starting' he said, turning around to
look at the beginning of the aisle.
The sky, by now, turned slightly purple. Large amounts of
blue was left in the sky, but it was now surrendering itself
to the sunset. Harry turned to see, like everyone else, who
was coming down the white bordered aisle, just as he
fairies started to dance and light up.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, closely followed by Mr. and Mrs.
Delacour, walked up the aisle slowly. Harry saw both Mrs.
Weasley and Mrs. Delacour crying slightly along the way.
When they reached the front, the men shook hands, and
the women shared a hug, still crying. Once they sat down
on opposite sides of the aisle, everyone again turned their
eyes towards the back, where Charlie was escorting a
lovely woman, wearing the same pale silver dress as
Hermione and Ginny. Harry found the woman seemed to
almost float along the way up the aisle.
Next, was Fred with a petite girl, whom Harry knew to be
Fleur's sister Gabrielle. After them, came George, who
was escorting Ginny. George kept speeding up and
slowing down along the way, until Ginny gave him a
somewhat concealed kick to the shin, after which George
moved at normal pace. Lastly was Ron, who escorted
Hermione. Ron seemed very nervous, and almost tripped
twice along the way. Hermione continued to smile as they
reached the front. Bill next came up the aisle.
He looked nervous before, when Harry shook his hand,
and it seemed walking up the aisle alone did not help him
much. The expression on Bill's face looked much like what
Harry would expect from a man squaring off against a
dragon with no wand. Bill kept his eyes determinately
forward, and made it to the front, where Harry noticed he
gave a somewhat obscured sigh of relief. Now only Fleur
was left.
Everyone, in both the audience and wedding party, craned
their necks for the last time towards the back. Fleur was
standing on the threshold of the aisle, beaming at the
faces of her guests. She appeared to be radiating beauty
from where she stood. She was wearing a pure white
gown, and had her hair put up in innumerable twists,
which seemed to twinkle gold in the dying sunlight and
fairy light. She was crowned with a beautiful gold hewn
tiara. Harry heard an elderly witch behind him say 'Oh, she
looks lovely.' Fleur took a breath, and made her way
slowly up the aisle.
Harry now wished he found a chair closer to the stage.
The man in white robes was talking, however Harry could
not completely hear. Harry tried straining his ears, though
being in the third last row, he 0would have done better
with a set of extendable ears. He hoped the man would
have done a Sonorus Spell, so everyone could hear, but
Harry understood that Bill and Fleur would probably not
like someone that loud in front of them. He asked Lupin
about what was going on, and was happy to find out that
Lupin had been to a few wizard's weddings before.
'Well, I went to your parents wedding. I was your father's
second, after Sirius of course' he said with a smile. 'OK,
now they are going ahead with a reading from The
Athimus. It's an old magic book on marriages. I do hope
they haven't picked a long passage. I went to one
wedding, the passage took over 4 hours to say. Most
people were asleep by time the vows came' said Lupin.
Harry hoped the passage was not that long either, and
was glad to see it lasted about ten minutes. Once this was
done, he saw Bill and Fleur turn to each other, and Bill
started talking.
'Now Bill's saying his vows. He read them to Arthur before
hand to make sure they were good' explained Lupin. Harry
saw Mrs. Weasley in the front row dabbing her eyes with a
handkerchief from Mr. Weasley. Ron was standing next to
his brothers, who were all next to Bill. Ron was looking
around at the guests, and after ten seconds of scanning,
moved back to observing Bill.
Bill finished his vows, and now Fleur started hers. The
guests were very quiet during the ceremony. Harry heard
a few sniffs of people crying around him, but otherwise it
was completely calm. The sky above was slowly subduing
to the night. The fairies in their cages still floated around,
their glow becoming more and more evident. Once Fleur
finished her vows, she and Bill faced the white robed man.
'Who is that man in the white up there?' Harry asked.
'He's a Cleric. Something like the muggle ones, except
with magic. Clerics are quite weird in their own right. Not a
lot of people become them, but they get their work out for
sure. His name is Alcrux. He married Ron's parents, so I
can understand why he's doing Bill and Fleur's wedding'
said Lupin.
Alcrux was now pointing his wand above Bill and Fleur's
head. A white smoke appeared above the both of them,
and hovered. Acrux motioned them towards each other,
and they kissed. As they met each other, the smoke
spiraled around them, and slowly decayed in the air. When
it finally dissolved, and the two separated, and the
audience started clapping and cheering joyfully. Harry
understood that the marriage was complete, and clapped
as well.
Bill and Fleur turned, and walked back down the aisle
beaming, Fleur crying joyful tears. The rest of the wedding
party moved back down the aisle, and the rest of the
guests stood up, and moved to the sides, Harry following
Lupin to the side. The guests were now moving towards
the back, where the wedding party stood. Many of the
people were greeting the newlyweds. Harry and Lupin
moved in line, and congratulated Bill and Fleur.
'Tank you 'Arry' expressed Fleur, with a kiss to his cheek,
which seemed to become hot afterwards. As they moved
down, Harry came to Ron and Hermione. Lupin said
goodbye, and went to talk to Mr. Weasley and another
member of the Order of the Phoenix, Mad Eye Moody.
Harry waved to Mad Eye, and received a nod. As Harry
turned back, he saw Ron was still holding Hermione's arm,
while she talked to Fleur's sister Gabrielle.
'Oh, there you are. Where were you sitting? I was looking
around for you, but couldn't find you' asked Hermione.
'I was farther to the back. I sat with Lupin. You guys
looked good' said Harry. Ron laughed and Hermione
looked away for a second.
'Yeah right. You saw, I almost tripped twice. Looked
ridiculous' said Ron miserably, looking thoroughly
downcast all of a sudden.
'Well, I didn't notice. Looked very good walking up. You
did too' affirmed Harry to Gabrielle, who smiled.
'Tank you 'Arry. Eef you can excoose moi, I must be go-
ing' she said, waving as she left towards her sister, who
was now hugging one of her relatives. Ron in the mean
time gave an exceedingly sarcastic laugh, louder than
before.
'Didn't notice? Yeah right. I'll be inside' he grumbled, as he
let go of Hermione's arm, and walked towards the house,
head hanging low.
'What's got into him?' asked Harry sharply, as Ron walked
into the house. Hermione gave a sigh, and looked back to
Harry.
'He's just upset about this whole wedding thing. He's not
upset at Bill and Fleur, it's just . . . well, he's just upset
about his lack of experience' she said. Harry didn't
understand what she meant by 'lack of experience', and
gave her a quizzical look.
'Basically because he hasn't had a lot of experience with
girls. He has this notion in his head that he's never going
to find someone. He's been moping like that for a while'
said Hermione. Harry figured he should go and talk some
sense into him, but Hermione told him not to at the
moment. 'Just let him settle for a little bit, then go up and
talk. Maybe in ten minutes or so.'
Harry decided to follow her advice, and walked around the
crowd, while she decided to go and help Mrs. Weasley
with the food in the kitchen. Most people now sat down at
tables, placed where the chairs stood only moments
before, getting ready for the wedding feast. A long head
table, not unlike the professor's table at Hogwarts, was
placed at the front were the stage was, where Harry
figured Bill and Fleur would sit with their family.
As Harry walked around, he ran into some familiar faces.
Several members of the Order where at the wedding,
including Tonks, who's hair was its usual bright pink, and
Kingsley Shacklebolt. After roughly five minutes of
walking, he decided to go and see how Ron was doing,
with the notion of telling him the feast was about to start.
He walked through the kitchen, with Mrs. Weasley telling
him to be quick, because the food would be served soon.
He asked where Hermione had gone, and was told she
went to see how Ron was doing. Harry wondered why she
asked him to wait the extra time, but started up the stairs
anyways.
He could here the laughter and talking from outside flood
through the windows of the rooms as he walked upwards.
When he got near Ron's room, he slowed, not wanting to
barge in on Ron and Hermione's conversation. When he
reached the doorway, he was surprised to hear no voices.
He turned around the doorway, and felt like he had been
hit by a Stunning Spell.
Ron was standing in front of the window, and between him
and the window stood Hermione. They were locked
together, kissing. Harry turned away quickly, and looked
back down the crooked stairway.
Harry knew Ron liked Hermione, but was not prepared to
see them kissing in such a fashion. He gathered his
thoughts quickly, and decided to slowly go back down
three or four stairs, trying hard not to make a sound. He
then turned, and stomped hard up the rest of the stairs
going up to Ron's room, hoping it would cause the two of
them to disentangle from each other. When he turned in
the doorway for the second time, he was glad to see Ron
had moved to sitting on the bed, with Hermione sitting on
the windowsill.
'Hi Harry. Um . . . Ron and I were talking, and he's doing
better now, right Ron? Ron!' Hermione yelled to Ron, who
seemed slightly dazed. He looked up at Hermione with a
large, and what looked like permanent smile, and nodded.
'Yeah . . . yeah, I'm doing great now! Is it time to eat?' he
said, looking over to Harry. Harry nodded yes, and
continued to look at the two them.
'Yeah, I was coming to get you' Harry said, looking from
Ron to Hermione. Ron nodded, and stood up. Hermione
avoided Harry's glance, and moved from the windowsill.
She put her hand to Ron's arm, and looked at her feet.
'Harry, can I talk to Ron for a moment?' She looked up at
Harry for a second, then looked quickly back to her feet.
Harry nodded again, turned, and went back down the
stairs.
As he went, he found he could not keep a smile appearing
on his face. He knew Ron liked Hermione for years, and
now he finally showed it. As he descended the stairwell,
he suddenly thought about how it would be with them
going out. Would they always want to go by themselves
places? How would he fit into it all?
Don't worry about that now. Be happy for Ron and
Hermione.
Harry felt slightly conflicted, wondering how this would
change their friendship. Would he be a third wheel now? It
made him feel worst, knowing that he finished with Ginny
to protect her. He couldn't get involved with someone, and
Ron and Hermione could. He wished, like many times
before, the prophecy would have never been made, and
he could have a normal life.
As he entered the kitchen, he decided to try and forget it
for the time. You are at a wedding, you're supposed to be
having fun he continued telling himself. He entered the
wedding area again, and placed a fake smile on his face,
noticing the sun had set.
The sky was black, with small specks of light shining from
stars. The crescent moon hung close to the horizon,
making it look larger than normal. The fairy lights were
now bright, and flooding the table area with a golden glow.
As he made his way through the tables, planning on
looking for Lupin, Mrs. Weasley beckoned him to the head
table, where all the Weasley's except Ron where sitting on
Bill's right side. Fleur's family was sitting on her left side.
'Harry, you are sitting here with us. You're family' she said
brightly, smiling up at him. He smiled back, somewhat
forgetting his troubles from the stairwell, and sat down
next to Fred close to the end. As he sat down, Mrs.
Weasley looked down the table.
'Harry, where's Ron and Hermione?' she asked. Harry did
not have to answer though, as Ron and Hermione came
out the door, and took their places at the end of the table.
Hermione sat next to Harry, and Ron next to her with
Ginny at the end. Harry was glad in a few ways that
Hermione and Ron sat between himself and Ginny. It
seemed Bill had been waiting for them to make his
speech. He stood up, the wedding guests becoming
politely quiet.
'I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. Me and
Fleur are very honoured to have you here with us for this
wonderful day. Firstly, I would like to thank my father and
mother, for their wonderful guidance and support. Without
their love, I would not be the man I am today' he
proclaimed to the crown, with a look to his parents. Mr.
and Mrs. Weasley were both crying, and stood up for a
hug from Bill. The crowd applauded, as did Harry. Harry
knew how well Mr. and Mrs. Weasley treated himself. He
couldn't fathom how it would have been being raised by
such wonderful parents. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley finished
the hug, and sat back down. The crowd again went silent
again, as Bill continued.
'I would also like to thank my brothers and sister, who,
even when pulling pranks on me' he zeroed in on Fred and
George, who beamed triumphantly, 'always helped me,
and allowed me to better understand some of my parents
actions, even when I didn't' he said, looking back to the
tables. Another small applause followed this part of his
speech, and died down quickly.
'Finally' he announced brightly, 'to my new wife Fleur. Who
has stood by even after my injuries from defending
Hogwarts. She has helped me recover, and never stopped
loving me. I will love her forever, and always' he finished.
Fleur, crying slightly however still looking beautiful, stood
up, and the newlyweds shared a long kiss. The crowd, as
well as Harry, applauded loudly, some roars and cries of
happiness popping in here and there. Harry felt so happy
that someone could feel such happiness at the time, when
so many things where looking dark.
Bill sat back down, and as Fleur stood up to begin her
speech, a sudden shiver ran down Harry's spine. At first,
he ventured it was due to a gust of wind, yethe noticed the
air stood still. Too still.
He looked to Hermione, and noticed she too was cold,
rubbing her arms for warmth. Harry gazed up at the sky
inquisitively, and dread filled his mind. The stars were
veiled, and darkness surrounded the reception. The shiver
ran through the guests at the tables like a wave, some
standing up, pulling their wands out. Harry looked to Mr.
Weasley, who also stood up. He observed his family, and
said the word Harry knew was coming.
'Dementors'
He looked down to Mrs. Weasley, a horrified expression
across her face, and told her hurriedly to take the family
into the house as quickly as possible. She stood up, and
moved over to Fred and George, however panic started to
settle in.
The guests at the tables stood up, and were either
grouping together trying to stay calm, or Apparating away
as quickly as possible, yelling to each other making sure
they had their family members.
Harry surveyed the area, and found Lupin and at least six
other members of the Order of the Phoenix along the
edges of the tables, looking out into the darkness for
dementors. Harry saw one Order member, a tall thin man
with brown hair on the far side of the Burrow, shoot a
silver eagle out of his wand at an approaching dementor.
The patronus swooped down on the dementor, and flew
away.
People were now running everywhere, as dementors
seemed to come from every direction, the coldness
increasing rapidly. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley's
moved closer the house as quickly as possible, and
became separated as people kept running in between
them. Harry was knocked over, less than ten metres from
the door, and saw Mrs. Weasley pushing Ginny and
Gabrielle into the house. Ron and Hermione ran over, and
helped Harry to his feet.
Harry looked back at the head table, Mr. Weasley shooting
a duck shaped patronus at an approaching dementor,
while Bill moved Fleur and her family towards the house.
They ran past Harry, Ron, and Hermione, just as two
dementors moved in behind them. Hermione pointed her
wand at the nearest one, and paused for a moment.
'Expecto Patronum!' she yelled, and a silver otter shot out
of her wand, and chased after the first dementor. The
second one simply shifted past, and moved towards the
three of them. Ron put his wand up, but fell to his knees
before being able to say the charm. Hermione's otter now
vanished, and Hermione herself had also fallen over,
breathing heavily, her hands over her ears. As the
dementor approached, its hood centered on Harry.
His mother's screams began to enter his head. He tried
hard to block them, but they became louder and louder.
Harry felt his knees hit the ground, as the screams
became more intense, followed by the horrible high toned
laugh that filled his nightmares.
Harry felt cold everywhere, and could tell that more than
one dementor was closing in. He struggled to focus his
thoughts as hard as he could, but the cold laugh became
louder, his body frigid. He glimpsed Hermione, and
remembered them hugging in her backyard. The memory
flashed before his eyes, and he raised his wand.
'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' he yelled.
A great silver object flew out of his wand, and pushed the
closest dementor back, making it scuttle away. It then
turned, Harry moving his wand to the right, and pushed,
what Harry noticed, were three other dementors away who
were approaching them. As Harry lowered his wand, the
object slowed, and evaporated in front of him. He gathered
his thoughts, and looked around.
The dementors were now retreating from what he could
see. Silver patronus' were soaring overhead, and the
coldness that filled the area lifted. Most people had
Apparated away, and the few that remained were huddled
together in groups surrounded by those that made the
patronus'. Harry glanced to Hermione and Ron, and
helped them up to their feet. They seemed disorientated,
but quickly recovered enough to stand up alone.
'Harry, what happened to your patronus?' Hermione
asked, in a quiet and shallow voice. The three moved to
the closest table that was not upturned, and sat down.
Harry had wondered himself what was going on. When his
patronus came out of his wand, it was not a stag, like it
had always been. He did not have a clear view of it when it
charged out, but when it dissolved in front of him, he could
easily see what it was: a phoenix.
'I don't know. Lets get inside the house first' gestured
Harry. Hermione and Ron both nodded, and they slowly
moved their way to the house. Mr. Weasley came over
frantically, helping the three into the house, along with
Lupin who was nearby. Once they entered, Mrs. Weasley
gave all three of them a huge hug, and sat them down,
opening up a huge slab of Honeyduke's Chocolate.
'Are you three alright?' she quaked, as she handed out the
chocolate. Ron nodded, as did Hermione, who was
looking at Harry with worry. Harry was staring at the
middle of the table, which was still strune with plates of
wedding food.
Why had his patronus changed? He remembered Tonks'
patronus had changed after Sirius died. Maybe
Dumbledore's death had that same affect to Harry as
Sirius' death had to her?
'Harry dear, are you alright?' Harry looked up, and found
Mrs. Weasley looking at him, with a worried look much like
Hermione. Harry looked earnestly to the doorway, where
Lupin was still standing. Mrs. Weasley called him over,
and Harry got up to talk to him, but Mrs. Weasley sat him
back down.
'No, you have to sit dear. That wasn't just one dementor
around you three' she said.
'Four actually Molly' elaborated Lupin, with a small grin to
Harry. He motioned Harry to the stairwell, and reassured
Mrs. Weasley.
'Don't worry Molly, we're only going over here. He'll be
back in a moment.' She gave a nagging look, with her lips
pressed tight, however nodded. Harry stood up, and
moved to the stairwell, and asked about his partronus.
'Yes, well, I thought it might happen. See, Dumbledore's
death must have affected you, and caused your patronus
to change. Very interesting that it became a phoenix
though' he mulled, with a look down the stairwell.
'Why is it interesting?' Harry asked.
'Well' Lupin said, with a thoughtful look, 'Dumbledore's
patronus was a phoenix. If yours changed to one, then . . .
well, there will be more time later to understand it later.
We should all settle down, and make sure everyone's
alright, and start cleaning up.' He started down the stairs,
back to the kitchen, and stopped short of the last six stairs.
'By the way Harry, what memory did you choose?' he
asked. Harry told him it was of the hug he shared with
Hermione, and Lupin gave Harry a smile.
'Well, I must say, it was a powerful memory to work on all
those dementors.' He continued to smile, but Harry
mentioned it only worked on the four around them. Lupin
looked to him, and explained.
'It didn't just work on the ones around you. Other
dementors, even on the other side of The Burrow, saw the
phoenix, and scuttled away.' He looked back down the
stairs, and went back into the kitchen.
Harry took another deep breath, and tiredly went back into
the kitchen.
Spell / Name Meanings -
Amelia – A play off of the character Emilia from "A
Winter's Tale" by W. Shakespeare. In the play, she is one
of Hermione's ladies-in-waiting (yes, this is the play that
Hermione's name is from). I thought staying with the
Shakespeare there would be interesting
Athimus - Just a name I made up, no real meaning
Alcrux – The end star of the constellation Crux in the
southern sky, which is shaped like a cross (hence the
name Crux). The name is meant to have a religious
connection.

- CHAPTER FOUR -
The Silver Locket
The remainder of the night at The Burrow was spent
awake by everyone. Members of the Order went through
the remaining guests, and found that all of them were
alright, with the exception of two children in need of large
amounts of chocolate. The Weasley's, Hermione, and
Harry went ahead with clearing away the tables, cutlery
resting unused on them, and chairs.
Harry felt sorry for Bill and Fleur, their wedding feast gone
to ruin. The majority of the food still sat on the kitchen
table, and was over the course of the night, eaten by those
who helped clean up. The Delacour's stayed the night,
helping as well, with the only exception of Mr. Delacour.
He Apparated back to France shortly after midnight,
making sure everyone there was safe.
When the sun rose in the morning, all the guests had
made it safely home. Only the Weasley's, Delacour's,
Harry, Hermione, and Lupin remained at The Burrow,
made normal again, tables gone, the white tent packed up
into the Weasley's attic.
Mad-Eye departed once he found everyone was alright,
and Tonks and Shacklebolt had to go to the Ministry to
report the attack. Harry felt very tired, and even though he
had not asked more about his patronus to Lupin, he
wanted very much to go to sleep.
As Harry drowsily sat down at the kitchen table, which now
stood clean of food, he felt the lack of sleep overpowering
him. Just as his head started to droop, his eyes closing
slowly, a thump from the doorway cause him to jerk back
awake. Lupin had come in from outside, looked around the
room, and sat across from Harry.
'Harry, I'm surprised. I was expecting you to ask me all
night about your patronus, yet you've barely said anything
since the attack. Are you alright?' he asked amiably. Harry
slowly nodded his head as he looked at the grey haired
man, feeling himself momentarily falling asleep each time
it inclined downwards. Lupin took out his wand, and
conjured two cups of steaming butterbeer. Harry took a sip
of his appreciatively, and looked up.
'I've just been . . . thinking, and I'm tired, that's all' he
murmured. It was true, he had thought quite a bit while
helping with the clean up. His mind raced with thoughts
about his patronus, Hermione and Ron, Ginny, and what
was to come in the next few months. The dementor attack
reminded Harry of how big a threat Voldemort was. While
at Privet Drive, he did not feel the danger as much, but
now understood how the whole wizarding community felt.
'Thinking about what Harry?' Lupin asked. Harry could tell
he was trying to fill Sirius' shoes, being the one Harry
asked advice for. He knew Lupin just as long as Sirius,
however they had a different connection. He felt his
worries with Hermione and Ron where his own, and
asking about it would not help, as well as his situation with
Ginny. He decided to ask about his patronus, knowing
Lupin already planned on telling him about it.
'As I said last night, your patronus changed, probably due
to seeing Dumbledore die. I never really taught you
everything about them. They take the shape of something
that reflects the caster. Your patronus was a stag,
because you are so much like your father, I mean, you
even look like him. You resembled him so much, that you
didn't even know it until Sirius told James' animagus form
was a stag. It works much the same for Hermione. Hers, if
I saw correctly, is an otter, which symbolizes curiosity,
grace, and strength in character, all of which Hermione
has.
'Now sometimes they change. Since the patronus reflects
something of the caster, if the caster is changed, then it is
changed as well. You might have seen that Nymphadora's
patronus changed after Sirius' death. It was, before his
death, a leopard, probably showing her cunning and
hidden attributes. After his death, she was very distraught
and sad. Since she changed, her patronus did too. Now
she claims it's a Werewolf, but I personally believe it's a
large dog, much like was Sirius was in his animagus form.
She believes it's a Werewolf for - well, for reasons. For
me, I think it changed to a dog, not a Werewolf, because it
reflects her feelings of loss. Your case is different though.'
Lupin looked around the kitchen, evidently seeing if
anyone was around to hear. He moved closer to Harry, the
creases on his face more apparent in the angled sunlight.
He leaned slightly in on the table, and spoke in a quieter
tone.
'In your case Harry, the death of Dumbledore must have
affected you very much. It changed you enough to make
you different than your father. I can understand, since
Dumbledore always had a special place for you in his
heart, and I can imagine it worked the other way too.'
Harry nodded, and Lupin continued. 'The interesting part
comes in figuring out why your patronus changed
specifically to a phoenix.
'You see, Voldemort was always scared to face
Dumbledore. He avoided it as much as possible, and his
Death Eaters knew this. The dementors also knew, and
that is why they fled last night. They saw the phoenix, and
how powerful it was, and believed Dumbledore was here.
They are afraid of him as much as Voldemort is. Now I
have done some thinking myself about why it would
change to a phoenix, and I can only surmise one reason. I
think, that it's because you are more like Dumbledore
now.'
Harry wondered if Lupin's butterbeer was spiked. How
could Harry be like Dumbledore? Dumbledore was the
greatest wizard in the world, with a plethora of knowledge
Harry could never have. Harry remembered when
Dumbledore would walk into a room, and radiate energy
and power. Harry could never have that, and even if he
did, not at his age at least. 'That's not possible,' said
Harry. 'How can I be more like Dumbledore?'
'Well, I think only one big factor comes into play here:
Voldemort is scared of you too Harry. He has tried
countless times to kill you, yet you've always managed to
escape. You have, whether you realize it or not, the
makings of a great wizard in you. You must of course
understand that Dumbledore was your age at sometime,
and was not as great in his younger years. He was able to
perform magic beyond his years, much like you.
'I think it's much the same now as it was with your stag
patronus. You didn't realize how much you were like
James until after you found out about his animagus form.
This is the same' expressed Lupin. He looked at Harry for
a moment, and stood up.
'You should go and get some sleep. Most of the others
have gone for a nap, and you had it worst than most of
them. Go ahead, things will be fine' he reassured.
'Thanks Remus' smiled Harry, as he stood up, and walked
towards the staircase. As he bound upwards, he went over
the thoughts in his head.
It did make some sense that his patronus would change
after Dumbledore died. It affected him very profoundly, not
having the voice of wisdom there. Harry walked into Ron's
room, finding Ron lying diagonally on his bed, sleeping
noisily. The window had been closed and draped, making
the room relatively dark. Next to Ron's bed, a small
second bed was there for Harry. Harry, very
unceremoniously, fell onto the bed, and fell asleep
instantly.
Harry felt he had been asleep for only a few seconds,
when he was woken up by the creak of the door being
opened. Harry stirred slowly, noticing his glasses had slid
down his face. He quickly put them on, and looked to the
doorway.
Hermione was there, holding a tray of food. Harry glanced
at Ron's bed, and found it was empty. He looked at the
window quickly, and could tell the sun was low on the
horizon, telling him it was late in the day. Hermione walked
into the room, putting the tray down on Ron's bed, and
went over to open the drapes slightly. Sunlight poured into
the room, and it took Harry a few seconds to adapt to the
light. He sat up, and looked to Hermione who smiled.
'I brought you some food. How are you feeling?' she asked
timidly, moving back onto Ron's bed. Harry turned around
groggily on his bed, and faced Hermione, wiping his eyes
to see clearly. She passed the tray to Harry, who glanced
at it, putting it down next to him. It seemed to have an
array of food from the previous night that was not eaten.
He decided he would eat after Hermione left.
'I'm alright.'
'Harry, do you have any idea why your patronus
changed?' she asked curiously.
'Yeah, I talked to Lupin about it this morning. He said it
was because I saw Dumbledore die. Said something
about a patronus reflected the caster, and that I changed.
He said that it being a phoenix might be because I'm . . .
well, Lupin said I'm more like Dumbledore, although I can't
see how' said Harry evenly. Hermione nodded.
'I figured as much. I did some reading about patronus',
and they sometimes change after having something big
affect you. And I don't know what you're talking about, I
can see resemblances between you and Dumbledore' she
articulated confidently. Harry gave her a quizzical look,
and asked what connections.
'Well, you both are skilled wizards, leaders, and, if I might
say so, excellent teachers. Look at the patronus I made.
You taught me how to do that. Without the DA, I would not
have been able to.' She smiled, and motioned Harry to
eat. She was getting up to leave, when Harry suddenly
blurted out words he instantly regretted.
'I saw you and Ron . . . up here, before the feast' he
muttered. Harry hated himself for asking, and wished he
could take it back. This was something between the two of
them, and it was not his place to interfere with it. He was
going to apologize, but Hermione stopped in the doorway.
She paused for a moment, sat back down, and was again,
avoiding Harry's eyes by looking at her feet.
'Let me explain' she said quietly.
'Ron and I . . . well, after the funeral, we talked a bit about
things, and we have been owling each other quite a bit.
When I got here, he was . . . well, like I said, down and
out. I came up here to tell him to not to get all upset about
it, and I don't know. I gave him a hug, and when I looked
up, we ended up kissing. You must have walked in then. I
had a feeling you saw something, because you looked
pretty shocked, but I kept quiet. I talked to Ron afterwards,
just to tell him to keep it quiet for the moment, so we could
talk about it today.' She finally looked at Harry, very
intently.
'Harry, I want to know if it's OK with you about me and
Ron. Please tell me, truthfully, is it OK?' she asked, giving
Harry a hopeful look.
Harry looked at her, weighing his options. He knew it
would change how they were friends. He knew he would
probably become a third wheel, but on the other hand, he
shouldn't say no just because of himself. That would be
selfish, and this is something both of them want. He
decided, and smiled.
'I have no problems with you and Ron. He's liked you long
enough, it's about time the oaf finally did something about
it' he said laughingly. She smiled back, and giggled,
something quite un-Hermione like.
'How are you getting along with Ginny?' she asked,
sounding happier with Harry's response. Harry frowned.
'Well, I'm hoping she'll be OK. She usually bounces back
alright, but I can imagine it'll take time' he replied.
'Don't worry, I'll talk to her. She'll be alright' she
sympathized. She stood, and walked to the door, again
motioning Harry to eat. He smiled again, and dove into his
food.
Just as Harry finished his meal, Ron came into the room,
and sat down on his bed. He asked Harry about his
patronus as well, and Harry told him a shortened version
of the story he told Hermione.
'Blimey, more like Dumbledore' he said after Harry
finished. Harry wasn't feeling like retelling the exact
conversation to Ron, and was more worried about the
night before and if everyone was alright, so he asked.
'Everyone's OK. Mum isn't very happy that the wedding
was messed up, but dad was just happy no one was really
hurt. Bill and Fleur went to France with the Delacours once
everything was cleaned up. The garden was messed up a
lot last night, but it's back to normal' said Ron gruffly, as
he laid back on his bed.
The mentioning of the garden pushed the last nights
events out of Harry's mind, and brought back the visions
from his dream.
'Ron, I had a dream a few weeks ago on the Hogwarts
Express. It was of The Burrow. The Dark Mark was over it,
and it was deserted' Harry said quickly. Ron sat up, and
looked at Harry, a contemplative look on his face, his eyes
thin with thought.
'Well, no one was there, right?' he asked. Harry nodded,
and he continued, sounding elated. 'Well, no worries then.
Since you didn't see anyone, then no one was hurt. We
must've gotten all out before anything happened' said Ron
coolly.
Harry had not thought of it that way, but he had not
mentioned the presents of Nagini at the house, or the
eerie feeling when he was running inside looking for the
Weasley's. He mentioned these both to Ron, his attitude
staying the same.
'Don't worry Harry. Tell my dad about it, but I'm not too
worried. Seems in the dream we get out alright. Com'on,
lets get downstairs,' he said, motioning to the door. Harry
picked up his food tray, and followed Ron downstairs to
the kitchen, where Charlie, Ginny, and Hermione were
sitting at the table. They all seemed rested, but still on
edge after the last night's events.
'I know Ginny, but you won't know until August' said
Charlie, looking thoroughly annoyed. Ginny was sitting
opposite him, looking out the window. 'Hi Harry, how you
feeling?' asked Charlie, turning towards the stairwell.
'I'm fine. What won't you know until August?' asked Harry.
Ginny continued to look out the window, not responding to
Harry.
'Well, Ginny here is worried Hogwarts won't be open in
September, but I keep telling her she won't find out until
the letters come, which is in August' said Charlie firmly.
Ginny was looking longingly out the window, no doubt
hoping to see an owl flying towards The Burrow. She gave
a sigh, and turned towards Charlie.
'I'm not just waiting for that, my OWL results should be
here soon. I know I did awful in Potions, but I'm hoping for
a pass' she said somberly. Harry had almost forgotten that
she had just finished her OWL's and the results came
before the usual Hogwarts letters.
'I'm sure they'll come in soon Ginny' said Harry, giving her
a quick smile, hoping she would look at him at least. She
gave sigh, and looked back to the window. 'Where's your
mum and dad?' Ginny exused herself, and went outside.
Charlie now gave a sigh, and answered Harry.
'Dad's at work, and Mum is outside. She was nice, and
didn't ask us to degnome or help with the garden today' he
said nicely. Ron and Harry made their way to the sitting
room, where Hermione joined them.
'Don't fret about Ginny, she'll come around eventually. I'm
just worried that we weren't able to tell any of the Order
about the address' she said, looking concerned.
Harry forgot about telling the Order about the new
address, and now everyone was gone. He looked back on
the night, and noticed there were few times they could
have actually told people anyways; but the chance of
getting that many Order members together again is
minimal.
'Well, we can at least tell Ron's family, and I'm sure
Remus will be back before we leave' pointed out Harry.
Ron looked puzzled at the conversation, and somewhat
annoyed that he didn't know what they were talking about.
Harry saw this, and told Hermione to tell him about
Grimmauld. She took out a quill, and parchment, and
wrote down a quick note. She handed the paper over to
Ron, who read it quickly. He looked taken aback as
Hermione quickly took the paper back, and set it on fire.
'You renamed Grimmauld! But that means . . . wait a
minute! Hermione's your secret keeper!' flabbergasted
Ron, as both Harry and Hermione made frantic attempts to
keep him quiet. Harry nodded, putting his finger to his lips,
and Ron's mouth opened in shock.
'When did you do that?' mouthed Ron. Harry explained
how they went to Grimmauld after getting off the Hogwarts
Express with Professor Flitwick. Ron only closed his
mouth a minute or two after gawking at both Hermione
and Harry.
'So that's why you two both left so quickly that day. I was
asking Mum about it, but she said to mind my own
business. So how are you going to tell the other Order
members?'
'Well, we're going to have to deal with that when it
happens. Let me go show you what I've been studying'
said Harry merrily. There was nothing they could do about
it now, and Harry wanted to show them what he was
practicing. The three of them got up, went ahead and gave
the new address to Charlie, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley, and
walked over to a clear area of grass to practice spells.
Hermione was surprised to see how easily Harry could do
some non-verbal spells, and his new wandless spell for
getting out of Petrificus Totalus. Harry found it worked also
on Stunning Spells too. Once it started to get dark, the
three of them returned to the house, where they found Mr.
Weasley returned from work, along with Tonks and Lupin.
'How have you three been doing today?' asked Mr.
Weasley as they entered the kitchen. Lupin smiled when
Harry mentioned the spells he learned on his own and
were practicing, and they all sat down at the dinner table
to eat. During the dinner, Hermione went ahead and gave
Grimmauld's new address to Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and
Tonks.
Once dinner was finished, it was time for Harry to return to
Privet Drive. He said goodbye to the Weasley's, Hermione,
and Tonks, and followed Mr. Weasley and Lupin to the
lawn in front of The Burrow, where the three of them
Apparated back to Privet Drive. When they arrived in the
backyard, Harry stopped them from entering the house.
'It's best if we talk back here' assured Harry. Lupin and Mr.
Weasley nodded in agreement, and moved away from the
door.
'OK, so did Professor McGonagall talk to you about what's
planned for your birthday?' asked Lupin. Harry nodded,
and asked who would be his guard.
'Well, me, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Nymphadora- sorry, Tonks.
It'll take a while for me to get used to that' Lupin
commented, smiling at Harry. 'Anyways, we're keeping the
guard smaller; we don't want to attract too much attention.
We will be here at quarter to midnight the night of the
30th.' Mr. Weasley now looked at his watch, and motioned
Lupin away from Harry.
'Sorry Harry, but we have to get back. I'll make sure to tell
Ron and Hermione to keep the owls going' said Mr.
Weasley. Harry suddenly remembered he had to tell him
about his dream, and waved his hands hoping to stop the
two of them from Apparating away. He reached them, and
told Mr. Weasley his concerns. Mr. Weasley looked
distressed about the dream.
'OK, thank you for telling me Harry. I'll tell Molly about it,
and we will make sure nothing happens, OK? Alright, now,
go ahead inside. Keep the training up, and we'll see you in
a few weeks' he reassured. Harry nodded, and with a
quick handshake, Lupin and Mr. Weasley Apparated
away.
Harry took a deep breath, turned, and entered the kitchen.
He told his uncle, who was sitting in the sitting room
watching a boxing match with Dudley, that he was home.
He received a wave of a pudgy hand in response, and
went ahead to his room, putting away his clothes and
planning his next few weeks.
Meanwhile outside, a small bush next to the fence in the
backyard gave a rustle, and a disheveled rat scurried out.
The rat gave a quick glance to the house, and scuttled off
through a hole in the fence.
By the morning of July 30th, Harry was more than ready to
leave Privet Drive. His aunt and uncle made a week long
joke of the wedding Harry attended. Even though Harry
told them it was just like a normal wedding (although he
did not know exactly what a muggle wedding was like, and
he neglected to mention the Dementors), they seemed not
to hear. He was glad when they found it less funny, and
finally dropped it.
Harry spent most of his time inside still, trying to go over
everything he needed to do over the next few months. He
knew searching for the Horcruxes was top on the list, but
getting to Grimmauld and going to Godric's Hollow was
first. Plus, while in he stayed at Privet Drive, he could not
really do any searching or thinking about Horcruxes. He
knew he would need to actually go to different places, and
get help from Ron and Hermione.
Hermione and Ron continued to send owls during his last
few weeks at Privet Drive. The Order decided for both
Harry's and others safety that Hermione and Ron could
not come to Privet Drive. The biggest concern was if
Death Eaters were watching the house for people entering
and leaving. Harry was upset about this decision, however
understood the repercussions. If Death Eaters were
watching Number Four, and if Hermione or Ron came
here, they could be identified and put at risk, which is the
last thing Harry wanted.
Harry woke, and found July 30th was much like that of the
wedding, clear and warm. He got up, and got ready for the
day. He had been cleaning his room up during the past
few days, and little was left to pack. Once he ate
breakfast, he made sure everything was packed in his
trunk. He wanted to be ready ahead of time, to make his
departure as quick as possible. He neglected to tell his
aunt or uncle about leaving, and planned too at supper
time.
As he packed his trunk with the last items from his room,
he was reminded of things from his past. He picked up his
photo album that Hagrid gave him as he left in his first
year. He opened it, and his parents waved back. Harry
smiled, and put the album carefully in the trunk, on top of
his Hogwarts robes.
Next were the shard remains of his old Nimbus Two-
Thousand. He was surprised to find them, forgetting that
he had kept them. He took them, wrapped them in a small
bag, and placed them in the trunk, along with his intact
broom-his wonderful Firebolt. Once everything he owned
was in his trunk, which notably still had space, he took it
and moved it to the end of his bed. He sat down, and
looked around the room.
He called this his room for 6 years, and was now leaving it
forever. He did not like Privet Drive, with all the bad
memories of his childhood. Nevertheless, this room was
his sanctuary. Even though his uncle locked him in here,
he was able to do what he wanted within the confines of
these walls. He felt he would miss the room, even though
it was originally just a storage room for Dudley's broken
toys.
At supper that night, Harry had no choice but to tell his
uncle, aunt, and Dudley that he would be leaving forever.
As Vernon finished telling Harry's aunt about a customer
that came in that day by taking a sip of water, Harry stole
the opportunity to tell him.
'I'm leaving tonight, for good' he announced quickly.
Vernon spat his water, turning as he did trying not to get it
on the table and instead, pelting Dudley with the full brunt.
He put his empty glass down, and looked at Harry with an
almost insane look of happiness on his face. Petunia,
seeming less ebullient for some reason, was listening to
Harry carefully, something she never did. Dudley, in the
mean time, was trying to dry himself off.
'Leaving. Leaving! For good? Oh, I've waited for this day!'
boasted Vernon, getting up from the table and reaching to
the top of the cabinet behind him, and pulling out a small
bottle of liquor.
He grabbed two small glasses, handed one to Petunia. He
poured the amber coloured liquor in the two glasses,
excitedly toasted, and drained his glass, Petunia following
suite. They hugged each other, and sat back down with
large smiles on their faces.
'How soon are you gone boy?' he asked, refilling his drink.
'Tonight, just before midnight' responded Harry irritably.
He stood up, and moved to the kitchen with his plate. He
did not want to be in the room as they celebrated Harry's
coming departure. He quickly returned to his room, as he
heard Uncle Vernon talking about what to do with Harry's
soon to be empty room. Harry entered the room, and was
surprised to see a small creature standing next to his bed.
It was small, with large green eyes, and very bizarre
clothes, which included a number of hats, a red sweater,
and an innumerable amount of socks.
'Harry Potter! Dobby has been waiting to see you!' said the
house elf excitedly.
'Dobby! What are you doing here? Why have you been
waiting to see?' asked Harry, as he sat down on his bed.
Dobby walked quickly to Harry, and looked at him grimly.
'Harry Potter is in danger, and Dobby has come to help in
his time of need!' announced Dobby. Harry understood
that he was in danger, he was always in danger now. Why
would Dobby come to help though? He was protected
here until midnight, but he was leaving with the guard
before hand.
'How am I in danger Dobby?' Harry asked. Dobby looked
around the room, and moved closer to Harry.
'Harry Potter must be careful tonight. Mr. Lupin sent me to
bring your trunk to your new home, and told me to warn
you. Be careful and remember your questions Harry
Potter!' whispered Dobby gravely, putting a hand on
Harry's trunk and Hedwig's empty cage, and snapping his
fingers. With a crack, Dobby, the trunk, and cage
vanished.
Harry was glad he had his wand in his pocket, that he let
Hedwig out to hunt, and that he packed earlier. He
understood Dobby's warning, just to make sure Harry had
his questions ready for the guard.
He looked at his watch, and found he had just under three
hours left until he was leaving. He did not know how the
guard was getting him to Grimmauld. He remembered last
time they came for him, and the long broom ride it took to
get to Grimmauld. They couldn't be taking brooms,
because his had just vanished, along with all his other
possessions.
Harry decided to take the time, make sure nothing was
left, and try to rest. He did not sleep much the night
before, excited over the last day at the Dursley's. He tried
hard to sleep, however his excitement was tripled now.
The idea of finally leaving the Dursley's was something
Harry dreamed and wished for years.
Harry started thinking of how he would celebrate when he
arrived at Grimmauld when suddenly, a knock came at the
door. No one ever knocked on Harry's door. Usually,
Uncle Vernon would just unlock the door, and trample in.
Harry got up, went to the door, and opened it causiously.
Aunt Petunia was standing outside, looking down the
hallway. She looked back at Harry, and he found she
looked sad, or at least what sad might look like on
Petunia. He asked what was wrong, and she motioned
Harry down the hallway towards her and Uncle Vernon's
room. Harry was hesitant to follow, but saw a small
amount of hope in Aunt Petunia's eyes, and followed her
down the hallway. She opened the door, and he followed.
Their room was about twice the size of Harry's. A queen
size bed with white sheets was against the closest wall in
the centre. There was a light wood vanity and armoire
located on the other walls, both of which where spotlessly
clean.
As Harry looked around the room, still standing in the
doorway, Aunt Petunia was going into the bottom of the
armoire, and retrieved a small cardboard box, placing it on
the top of the vanity. Harry moved slowly to the opposite
side of the vanity, looked at Petunia, and was surprised to
see she was crying as she sat down in the seat.
Harry didn't know what to say. He had no idea why she
asked him to come into her and Uncle Vernon's room, let
alone why she got this box. It had no marks on the
outside, and was closed by one piece of tape. She took off
the tape, still sniffling, and put the box in front of Harry.
'Open it' she said, taking a tissue out dabbing her eyes.
Harry took the box, and slowly lifted the lid.
The box was empty, at least at first glance. When Harry
looked closer, he saw a small circular locket lying on the
bottom. It was silver, with a plain outside, and about the
size of a five pence piece. Harry looked to his aunt, who
motioned Harry to open it. Harry opened the locket, and
was surprised to find two faces staring back at him.
There, inside the silver locket, was a picture of Harry's
mother Lily on one side, and on the other, a picture of
Harry's father James. Harry stood stunned in his aunt and
uncle's bedroom, while Petunia looked on. The pictures
where wizards pictures, so both Lily and James waved to
Harry. Harry was going to ask his aunt about it, when she
answered his unasked question.
'It was Lily's. We, sorry, I was told to give it to you when
you where old enough. Of course, I forgot about it until a
few days ago. Since you're leaving tonight, I'm giving it to
you now' she finished. She had finished crying, and was
now watching Harry sympathetically.
Harry thought about it over in his head how to respond.
She kept this in her room all this time, and never gave it to
him. She says she forgot, which could be true, but Harry
felt torn between yelling about keeping the locket from
him, and thanking her for giving it to him. He resolved to
thank his aunt. She did keep it all this time, even though
she tried as hard as possible to forget Harry's mother.
Also, Harry just noticed, Petunia used his mother's first
name just now.
'Thank you Aunt Petunia' said Harry. She stood up, and
quickly motioned Harry to the door. She checked to make
sure no one was around, and Harry returned to his room.
Once Harry was inside, he turned the light on, and
examined the locket closer.
It was silver, fairly light in weight, with a silver chain. No
marks were present on the outside, and when Harry
opened it again, his parents smiled up at him. He saw the
edges of the pictures where worn, and took them out
carefull. Underneath, he was surprised to find a tiny
inscribing.
 To my
dearest Lily
All my love
James
Harry read the inscribing, and realized this locket was his
mother's, given to her by his father. Harry felt a warm
feeling in his heart, at the knowledge it was his mother's.
He now had one item of each of his parents; his fathers
cloak, and now, his mother's locket. Harry, sitting in his
room, on his bed to which he would never sleep in again,
was suddenly overcome with emotion.
Harry now had no family left. His parents dead before he
knew them, his godfather dead for over a year now, and
Harry's last person, Dumbledore, was now gone too. Harry
had wished so much over his lifetime that his parents
lived, and that he would have had a normal life. He had no
memories of his parents and up to now, only one thing to
connect to them, his father cloak. Now, with his mother's
locket, Harry felt alone, and far away. As memories of
times he wished for his mother and father started pouring
into his mind, tears started to fall on his lap as he held his
head in his hands, his right one still holding onto the
locket.
Harry tried to calm himself down, and relax. He realized
how he never really had a chance to reflect like this about
his life up to now, and decided determinately that this was
not the time. He wiped his eyes, and decided to put the
locket on. It did not look as foolish as he thought it would,
it having been for a girl. The locket was small enough to
look like a small silver disk. Harry checked his watch, and
saw it was 9:38pm. The guard would be here in almost
two hours. Harry laid down on his bed, and closed his
eyes, hoping to sleep, but settled with a rest.
His mind was doing back flips, racing along with so many
thoughts. The Horcruxes, Ron and Hermione, the Order,
his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, and surprisingly, Aunt
Petunia, all continued to surface in his thoughts as he lay
in the darken room. Harry tried hard to enjoy the last few
hours in the protected house, his thoughts not allowing it.
Harry sat up after what felt like ten minutes, turned on the
light, and looked to his watch. To his surprise, it read
11:29pm. He had been laying on his bed mulling over his
thoughts for almost two hours. Shaking his head to keep
alert, Harry surveyed the room, taking one last glance at
his room, and closed the door behind him.
When he got downstairs, he found, to his surprise and
dismay, all the Dursley's up and in the living room.
Watching the late newscast on the television, they looked
at him enter and sit down carefully. The news anchor was
reporting on an unexplained car crash just outside
Manchester that killed all the occupants. Harry and the
Dursley's now looked at the anchor woman.
'The father of the family driving the car somehow ended up
veering off the road, and into a ravine, where the car sunk
quickly. The Boot family of Preston, Lancashire, father
Thomas, mother Margaret, and two sons Alex and Terry,
all perished. Driving conditions where normal, and no skid
marks were found on the roadway. Police have released
no other information, and are investigating further' said the
anchor. Harry was struck with horror as he listened.
Terry Boot was in Harry's year at Hogwarts, except in
Ravenclaw. He remembered when he saw him get sorted,
and in their fifth year, when he asked why Hermione
wasn't in Ravenclaw because she was so smart. He was a
muggleborn, so his family knew nothing of magic.
It was not an accident, but a murder. Harry remembered
Dumbledore talking about the Riddle murders, and how
odd they were to muggles. This car accident had the same
feeling, and Harry knew it was Voldemort's doing.
Vernon gave a grunt, and changed channels. 'News is so
depressing these days. What's happening to this bloody
country!' He found a channel that suited him better, which
had a show about vacationing in Italy. His uncle
rearranged himself in his seat, and cleared his throat.
'So, you're finally leaving tonight?' he asked, and Harry
nodded back to his uncle. To Harry's disbelief, Vernon did
not smile back in his usual victorious mood, but instead,
wore an unhappy frown. Vernon looked to Petunia, who
looked sad, then stood up.
'Yes, well, good luck there boy. Make sure not to come
back. I'm going to bed' he said evenly, leaving the room,
and thumping up the stairs. Dudley made a grab for the
remote control, and switched the television to one of his
newest liked shows. Harry looked to his watch again, and
stood up, seeing that the guard would be here in ten
minutes.
As Harry made his way to the kitchen, he was surprised to
see Aunt Petunia moving to the kitchen as well. He
entered, and she followed, taking a seat at the table and
looking sad and upset. Harry asked what was wrong, and
she looked down at the table and answered.
'I'm . . . I'm sorry Harry. I realize how horrible your uncle
and I have been' she expressed, giving Harry a sorrowful
look. Harry was taken aback by this remark, seeing how in
years past she would always try and blame everything on
him, and get mad at him so easily.
'I don't understand' he said, 'why are you saying this now?'
'Because you're leaving. Last summer, Dumbledore spoke
the truth, whether I like it or not. And as much as I am
disgusted by your kind, you are family, so I apologize.'
Harry was mystified. Not only was she apologizing, she
knew Dumbledore's name, and, he remembered, what
dementors were. This would be the last time he would see
his Aunt, so he had nothing to loose by asking.
'Aunt Petunia' he started cautiously, 'how do you know
about Dumbledore and dementors?'
She took a long breath, and gave a glance towards the
living room, where the television was playing Dudley's
program. She motioned Harry to sit down across from her,
and he did. Harry so far figured he was alright, considering
she did not start ranting and raving at him.
'I remember when your mother got her letter. Like I told
you, Mum and Dad were so proud of her. I was, of course,
disgusted by it at first. A witch, in our family' she said
weakly.
Harry leaned towards the table, and listened carefully.
'She went to that awful school, and I continued a normal
life. Mum and Dad always told me how much they wished
for me to be a witch too, and it disgusted me they didn't
see the truth. I thought I'd have no choice the day I
received my letter.' At this comment, Harry lost control,
and his mouth fell open in shock.
'You received a Hogwarts letter?' Harry asked in surprise.
Petunia lowered her head, and nodded slowly.
'I remember the afternoon the owl came. Luckily, I was in
my room, and it came through the window; scared me half
to death. It was an acceptance letter like the one Lily
received. I didn't want to be like Lily though. She always
was first for everything, and there I was; the runner up. I
didn't want that in my life, especially as a horrible witch.
So, I took the letter, and burned it in my spiteful, and I'll
admit, childish mood. Your grandparents never suspected,
and although they were sad about it, I was not'
'So you can do magic?' Harry asked tentatively.
'No, I've never done magic. I never wanted to' she
answered, sighing tiredly. 'Truth be told' she continued,
lifting her head and looking at Harry, 'as time went on, I
became . . . jealous of Lily and being a witch.'
'Jealous?'
'Your grandparents were always proud of her
accomplishments and her talent. The oldest child,
succeeding so well at school, living in a world they could
only dream of, the first to marry . . . I was always second
to your mother. I detested her for it, and I started hating
myself as well. I won't lie, sometimes I wondered what
would have happened if I had entered your world . . .'
'But how do you know about Dumbledore, and
dementors?' Harry reiterated.
'Lily and James were at your grandparents house just
before their wedding, and I was just leaving from a visit. I
used the loo before I left, and overheard them talking
about dementor attacks to your grandparents. They
explained what they were, and learned that way.
'The first time I heard from Dumbledore when I burned my
letter when I was eleven. He sent me a letter asking why I
did not accept the invitation to Hogwarts, but I did not
reply. I was focused on not being like Lily. After that, I
heard nothing from him until the night you showed up on
my doorstep, and he left a note telling me what I had to do
for you.'
'I was torn with what to do with you. You were a symbol of
everything I hated; Lily, and the magical world. So, I
treated you in a manner befitting that hatred. Dumbledore
wrote asking how you were as you grew up, and I
informed him that you were alright. Mrs. Figg helped me
with the owls, so Vernon would not suspect anything;
however I disliked having to deal with those wretched
owls.' Harry, at this point, had to interrupt.
'Wait, you knew that Mrs. Figg was a squib?' he asked
astonished. Petunia nodded, and Harry continued. 'Is that
why you sent me there?'
'At first, when you where younger, it was alright for me to
make quick trips there so Dumbledore would not intrude.
Eventually, I decided that it would be easier for Mrs. Figg
to do it, so we sent you there once a year. She would see
how you where, and tell Dumbledore. He left me alone,
only until that night dementors came' Harry couldn't
believe what he was hearing.
'When the letter came, it was Dumbledore telling me to
remember his last note. Mrs. Figg gave it to me during that
summer. It told me to keep you in the house, or you would
die at the hands of the same man that killed your parents.
'At first I kept you safe because I didn't want Dumbledore
to interfere with my life; but after all the hate and anger I
put to both you and Lily, I felt this was something I had to
do. Lily gave her life to save you, and I knew what was
waiting for you outside this house. I decided after all those
years of being childish with my sibling jealousy and envy
over your mother's accomplishments, to do the right thing
for once. I kept you here, to protect you, which was what
Dumbledore first asked of me.' She took a short breath at
this point, but continued on.
'It was hard to sell to Vernon, nevertheless he forgot about
it with time. Now my task is done, and you are leaving.
Again, I'm sorry for how we have treated you, and please,
do not tell Vernon or Dudley of what I have done' she
finished. Harry nodded, and the two stood up. Petunia
moved around to the other side of the table, and looked
sadly at Harry.
'Be safe' she said. Harry nodded again, and Petunia did
something she never did before. She gave Harry a hug.
Harry was caught off balance by this mentally. Just hours
before, she was toasting to his leaving the house, and now
she was hugging him goodbye. He wondered if he would
ever understand such a bizarre night.
The hug itself was light, however Harry accepted it. To
finally see some compassion from Petunia was a welcome
change, even if it was only minutes before he was leaving.
Petunia let go, and left the kitchen, and went upstairs to
her and Vernon's room silently. Harry turned, and gave a
big sigh, trying to piece parts of what Petunia said into a
picture that would make sense. It would be, Harry could
tell, a big picture.
Just as he was about to take a seat, a knock came at the
back door, startling Harry slightly. Harry moved to the
window and looked out, and he was happy to see Lupin,
Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad-Eye waiting for him. The talk
with Petunia left him disoriented, totally forgetting the
guard. Lupin waved to Harry, and moved closer to the
door.
'OK Harry, here's your question: why were you a little
upset at the wedding?' asked Lupin. Harry remembered
and told Lupin it was because he wasn't in the wedding
party.
Lupin smiled, 'that's right Harry, now ask us our questions
quickly' he said, pointing to his wrist. Harry looked at the
clock, and noticed it was already 11:46pm. Harry went
ahead and asked Mad-Eye, Kinglsy, and Tonks their
questions. All answered correctly (although Tonks needed
to answer twice to get it correct. Harry attributed it to her
nerves). At last came Lupin, with a simple question Harry
knew he would answer correctly.
'Alright Remus, why do you think my patronus changed?'
He knew the question was simple, since they only talked
about it a few weeks before.
'Ah yes,' he said, glancing at the others. 'If I remember
correctly, we agreed it was because of the stress of the
situation. There were a lot dementors there that night, so it
must have changed your patronus for the time. Now Harry,
can we get going, it's getting close to midnight' said Lupin.
Harry gave a fake smile, and quickly moved from the
window against the wall, and stared blankly at the table
with utter bewilderment.
Lupin gave the wrong answer. Lupin said it was from
seeing Dumbledore die, and that he was more like
Dumbledore. Giving Harry the wrong answer meant only
one thing: these weren't Lupin and Order members, they
were Death Eaters.
 - CHAPTER FIVE -
New Homes and New Heads
Suddenly struck with panic, Harry was at a loss as to what
to do. He was only safe in the house for another five
minutes, then the Death Eaters could storm in with no
problem.
He had to think quickly. He wished the real Lupin told him
of a back up plan, so he wouldn't feel so helpless. He
couldn't take his broom, because it was at Grimmauld,
along with everything else. He had his wand, but he
doubted he could take all four Death Eaters on at once.
Harry figured only one solution, to Apparate.
He knew he was underage, but the situation was dire, and
he had no other option. As he started to focus on
Grimmauld, the television gave a roar, and Harry
remembered the Dursley's were inside. Even though he
was worried about himself, he couldn't abandon them to
be killed by Death Eaters. He decided to Apparate to
backyard, hopefully to surprise the Death Eaters outside,
then Apparate quickly to The Burrow to get help. He did
not know if he could Apparate inside the house, so he
figured to use the front door. As he started to move
forward, the Death Eater Lupin seemed to start wondering.
'Harry? What's going on? We have to hurry' he said
impatiently. Harry made a quick look outside the kitchen
window, and saw the four of them were looking anxiously
at the door, taking glances around the lawn periodically.
'I'll just be a second, I have to get my stuff from my room,
then I'll be right down' falsely assured Harry. The Death
Eaters couldn't know about Dobby, since the real Lupin
sent him. He looked out the kitchen window again, and
saw the Death Eater Mad-Eye whisper to the fake Lupin,
the fake Lupin shaking his head. Harry quickly made his
way to the front of the house, and looked out the window
of the door.
Privet Drive was empty, and Harry quietly opened the door
and exited. The instant he was outside, he closed the
door, locked it with his wand, and quickly thought of the
backyard and turned, Apparating with surprising ease. He
seemed to have aimed very well. He stood in the shadows
of the trees in the backyard, and none of the Death Eaters
noticed him. He slowly pointed his wand at the fake Lupin.
'STUPEFY!'
The fake Lupin fell over rigid as a board, and the rest of
them charged at the shadows, raining spells in every
direction. Harry dodged the first three, thought quickly of
the front yard at The Burrow, and turned, feeling the usual
siphoning of Apparating, and hearing the enraged yells of
the Death Eaters as he left.
The second his feat hit the ground, he knew something
was wrong. Harry arrived at The Burrow, but it looked
deserted. The windows were dark, and only the sound of
the front door swaying eerily on its hinges filled the air.
Harry looked around the house, and found no one. Harry
slowly entered through the kitchen door, and the sight
made him cringe with fear.
It was just as his dream. Food sat uneaten on the table,
and was still warm like his dream. Harry looked around,
and felt he still had to check the house. As he went up the
stairs, he found no one home, with the house creaked
slightly in the darkness. When he reached Ron's room, he
hesitated to look out the window, but moved towards it. He
looked out on the garden, and breathed a sigh of relief
seeing no snake. He moved down the stairs, and back out
into the lawn, still perplexed on were the Weasley's were.
Just as he exited the kitchen, a noise from the behind
made him jump. He turned around quickly to see men in
black cloaks in the doorway.
'He's here!' shouted the taller one, and both shot Stunning
Spells at Harry. With his Quidditch reflexes, Harry was
able to dodge them, but one spell from a Death Eater
leaning out of Ron's room knocked Harry over unable to
move.
As the two Death Eaters slowly made their way to Harry,
shouting others to their position, he quickly summoned his
non verbal spell, and was freed. He was relieved to see he
still held his wand. Harry took no time in thinking quickly of
the front lawn of Grimmauld, and made a quick roll
Apparating away.
After the third time Apparating, Harry felt queasy, and still
very concerned. He looked up, and was relieved to see
the front of Number Twelve and One Third. He got up from
the ground, and ran quickly to the doorway and entered.
Once Harry closed the door behind him, he was surprised
to see the real Lupin coming towards him, along with Mrs.
Weasley and Mad-Eye. All looked worried, except Mad-
Eye who wore a disturbing smile.
'Good work Potter! Constant Vigilance!' he barked, giving
Harry a gruff pat on the shoulder, and limping back to the
kitchen where he came from. Harry explained the situation
that happened at Privet Drive. Mrs. Weasley quickly went,
and got the real Kingsley, Tonks, and Mr. Weasley to go
and see if things at Privet Drive where alright, while Lupin
explained why the guard didn't show up.
'You see Harry, we had a feeling Death Eaters would try to
either attack you tonight, or try and get you, so I sent
Dobby to warn you and get your stuff. We had him placed
in your backyard to make sure things were OK. When we
would turn up, we would tell him to go back to Hogwarts.
So, when those Death Eaters showed up and didn't get
him, Dobby Apparated back here to warn us. We figured
you would stay inside until midnight, and we were just
getting ready to leave, since it's still before midnight. I
should have known you wouldn't sit around and wait. How
did you get out?'
Harry told both Lupin and Mrs. Weasley about his trek to
The Burrow, and asked why it was abandoned. Mrs.
Weasley smiled, and explained.
'The Order decided that tonight You-Know-Who would
probably try and get you. We already had Privet Drive
watched, still there was a chance he might think you were
coming to The Burrow.'
'After the dementor attack, it was definitely possible' Lupin
added.
'So just in case, we came here. From what you said, we
were lucky we did. Once everything is settled at Privet
Drive, we'll have some Order members go to The Burrow'
said Mrs. Weasley. As Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, and Mr.
Weasley were about to leave to check Privet Drive, Harry
felt a wantingness to go with them and make sure the
Dursley's were alright.
'Mr. Weasley?' Harry called, making the group turn
around.
'What is it Harry? Mr. Wealsey asked.
'I need to go with you. It's my fault Death Eaters were
there; I need to make sure they're alright' he explained.
Inwardly, he laughed at his desire to make sure the
Dursley's were safe—considering they never thought that
way towards him—but he stopped short remembering
Aunt Petunia protecting Harry by keeping him at Privet
Drive. She took risk at doing that, and he owed both her
and the Dursley's the same respect.
Mr. Weasley, turned to Lupin, and looked back at both
Harry, and his wife. He must have seen the determination
in Harry's eyes, because he nodded his head, and
motioned Harry closer.
'Alright, you're an adult now, so you can choose. Just stay
close to one of us please Harry. I don't know what we
might run into, if anything' he said, wiping his brow. Harry
agreed, and smiled when his watch beeped twice,
signaling that Harry was now seventeen. He stood
forward, and the group Apparated to Number Four Privet
Drive.
His feet landing on the backyard grass, Harry was
surprised he was here again; more so that he wanted to
be here. Only a few hours before—one hour actually—he
was reveling in the fact that he would be gone forever.
Now, he returned in less than three minutes.
Looking around the dark backyard, the small group
advanced slowly towards the back door. Nothing was
moving around the back, and looking in through the
windows, Harry found the scene much like he left it. The
television was still blaring some particularly annoying
show that was—of course—one of Dudley's favourites,
and most of the lights were off.
'We should check inside, just in case' Lupin stated quietly,
Kingsley agreeing. Mr. Weasley unlocked the back door,
and entered the house, followed closely by Lupin, and
Harry afterwards.
The kitchen was dark, but just the same as Harry saw ten
minutes prior. It seemed things were alright, but the group
was insistent in checking the entire house. Harry walked in
to the sitting room, and startled Dudley a bit, since he had
his wand out.
'What are you doin'? I thought you left already?' he asked
shakily, his eyes focused on Harry's wand tip.
'I did. We needed to come and make sure things were
alright.' Harry looked up out the window, and saw the cool
summer night made the window foggy. It felt strange to
Harry, because before he left, there was no fog in the
window.
'Yeah well, you made enough noise leaving the first time.
Made Mum and Dad wake up, thinking it was the
neighbors fighting again' Dudley remarked, getting back
into his show. Harry heard footsteps coming down the
stairs, and found Lupin at the base.
'Looks alright. Death Eaters must have left after you did.
Mr. Weasley is getting caught up in Muggle things, but
Kingsley and Tonks are coaxing him down.' Lupin glanced
out the front window, and did a double check at it, wiping
some fog away from it.
'Harry . . . how long has this fog been here?' he asked
worriedly.
'I dunno . . . couple of minutes. It wasn't here when I left'
he explained. Lupin looked at Harry, and he realized what
was going on.
'We need to get the family down here together, so we can
protect them better. You stay with the boy' Lupin instructed
hurriedly. Harry nodded, and Lupin bound up the stairwell
yelled for the others. Harry re-entered the sitting room,
and Dudley looked scared.
'What is it? What's going—oh com'on! Why does the
power need to go off now!' he spat, smashing the
controller to the television, which just turned off. Harry
could feel the coolness fill his chest, and shivered as the
all-too familiar feeling entered his soul.
A yell from upstairs snapped Harry's attention, as he heard
Lupin's voice shout out his Patronus, followed by Tonks
and Mr. Weasley. The entire house was blanketed by
darkness, and Harry had a hard time even seeing Dudley,
who was no more than two feet from him. He lit his wand
tip, and moved it around the room, which was frosting on
the surfaces.
'What are you doing? Harry, what are you doing!' Dudley
yelled, getting up from his chair.
'It's dementors, not me. Just stay close, and try to think
happy thoughts' he advised. A loud bang came from the
front door, and Dudley whimpered and hunkered down on
his seat as a coldness best associated with a winter storm
surged through the sitting room, and cast Harry's mind into
evil and painful thoughts.
Harry tried to remain standing, and moved closer to the
front door. The coldness increased ten-fold, and he tried
desperately to maintain focus. In the darkness, he saw the
eerie hood of a dementor enter the house, and he thought
back to his hug with Hermione.
'Expecto Patronum!' Harry yelled, casting a white cloud
that pushed the dementor back into the doorway. It came
forward again, followed by numerous others, and Harry
dropped his wand, and clutched his head as memories of
his parent's death began echoing in his mind.
Soon enough, his mother's screams filled his head as if
she was right next to him, and the coldness seeped
through his very veins as he lay on the sitting room floor.
The dementors moved closer to Harry, and stayed away
from the shadows were Dudley was sitting.
Opening up his eyes briefly, Harry saw Dudley, and
desperately pushed his wand towards him. Harry could
feel the dementors closing in, and with the Order members
upstairs, Dudley was his only hope.
Dudley picked up the wand, and looked petrified at Harry.
Harry pushed as hard as he could against the onslaught of
horrible memories, to try and instruct Dudley.
'Think happy . . . Expecto . . . Patronum' he breathed,
hoping Dudley could do it. Dudley looked at the wand
horrified, and closed his eyes.
Harry clutched his neck as a dementor's long and cold
hands wrapped around his throat. Harry could feel the
dementor's putrid breath on his nose, and hope was gone
from his mind.
'Expecto . . . Expecto Patronum!' came from the side of
the room, and a large, silvery-white Grizzly bear came
charging through the room. The dementor let go of Harry's
neck, and escaped through the front door along with the
others. Harry fell to the floor panting heavily, clutching his
chest as the coldness subdued slightly. He looked over to
the other side of the room as the bear dissolved, and
found Dudley looking baffled at the creature.
'Good . . . work' Harry panted, trying to stand up, but
failing. Dudley didn't bother coming to help, but instead fell
back into his chair with Harry's wand still pointing outwards
in his right hand. A thunder of footsteps came down the
stairwell, and both Lupin and Mr. Weasley came in and
helped Harry up.
'Harry, sweet Merlin, are you alright?' Mr. Weasley asked.
Harry nodded, and motioned to Dudley, who still looked
beyond shock and confusion. Lupin let go of Harry—since
he could stand easier now—and tried to talk to Dudley, but
was failing.
'What happened with him?' Lupin asked, turning back to
Harry. 'And why does he have your wand?'
'He saved me. He made a Patronus' Harry informed.
Dudley's stare into empty space finally ceased, and he
slowly turned his head towards Harry.
'A what?' he asked distantly.
'A Patronus. That was what you made. Must have been a
good memory' Harry explained. Dudley slowly nodded,
and looked at the group around him.
'My first win at boxing' he said. Mr. Weasley looked to ask
a question—more than likely what boxing was—when both
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon entered the room, and
were about to hug Dudley, when they noticed the wand in
his hand.
'Duddykins, why do you have that in your hand?' Petunia
asked. Dudley dropped the wand instantly, and it fell with
a clatter on the floor.
'Your son performed the Patronus Charm. You saw the
spells we were performing, creating those silvery
creatures; your son did that. Quite a feat from a muggle;
you must have some magic in you' Mr. Weasley declared
with a smile. He must have thought the Dursley's would be
proud, but they were far from that.
'My Dudley . . . did . . . magic?' Petunia questioned
disbelievingly, making it sound like she was surrounded by
police, and being told Dudley robbed a bank. She was
looking at Dudley for an answer, but he was in no
condition to respond.
'He did. His Patronus was a Grizzly Bear' Harry explained.
Vernon was about to retort, when Kingsley interrupted
him.
'Enough, we need to get Harry back to Grimmauld. We
can keep a guard or two to watch the house, but it should
be alright. Should we Obliviate their memories?' he asked
to Mr. Weasley.
'After Harry's back to Grimmauld. Remus, can you take
him back? Don't worry Harry, everything will be fine' he
reassured. Harry agreed, and bent down to pick up his
wand when Dudley grabbed hold of his arm, and looked at
him.
'Thanks . . . for telling me what to do. I didn't want to relive
that memory again' he muttered. Harry picked up his
wand, and knelt down close to Dudley. Both Petunia and
Vernon were watching worriedly, as the Order members
were working out who would be staying.
'What memory?' Harry asked. He did wonder what was
Dudley's worst memory was, considering he was a bully,
and probably had few that a normal person would consider
bad.
Dudley moved forward, and shakily whispered into Harry's
ear his worst memory, and Harry was surprised by the
answer. Dudley sat back after his admission, and Harry
stood up and gave him a smile.
'Eat some chocolate, and you'll feel fine' he insisted.
Dudley nodded, and giving a smile to Petunia and Vernon,
Harry, Lupin, and Tonks moved back into the back yard.
They all quickly Apparated back to Grimmauld, and as
Harry was entering the house, he thought about Dudley's
worst memory, which was in fact a memory from his first
year at Smeltings.
He explained to Harry, that he, Dudley Dursley, was
beaten up by some upper year students. Teasing and
taunting all t he while, they ragged on him, then made him
eat raw lunchroom food, and stuck his head into a toilet. It
was, as Harry could tell, a horrible experience for an
eleven year old, but more so for Dudley, since he was
always the top bully around. Being put on the bottom rung
of the bullying latter on the first day of school would be a
horrible memory for a bully years later.
Being greeted by a thankful Mrs. Weasley, Lupin and
Tonks went back to Privet Drive, and Harry entered the
kitchen; finding Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Mad Eye
sitting at the table. Hermione quickly ran from her chair,
and gave Harry an immense hug muttering 'thank god,
thank god!' Harry returned the hug, and heard the beeping
of his watch. He was now seventeen.
'We were so worried when Dobby came. Are things alright
at Privet Drive' breathed Hermione, as she moved away,
allowing Harry to regain his balance, and sitting back
down in her chair. Ginny got up and actually looked at
Harry, giving him a very light hug.
'It's good to see you Harry' she put simply, giving him a
smile. He thanked her, glad she was up to talking to him
now, and sat down next to Ron, who patted him on the
back. Harry went ahead and told them what happened at
Privet Drive, The Burrow, Dudley's Patronus, and the
horrible news about Terry Boot.
'We heard about it in the Evening Prophet. Put the Ministry
into chaos. Now all the muggleborn wizards and witches
are worried' said Hermione, showing Harry the paper that
had the same pictures of the car wreck from the newscast.
Mrs. Weasley made an impromptu meal for Harry, and he
was just finishing when Lupin and the others returned.
'We checked The Burrow' said Mr. Weasley, giving his
wife an affectionate kiss on the cheek and coming to the
table. 'Things were messed about a little, but no one was
there luckily. It was fortunate you Apparated so Death
Eaters saw you. Chances are, since you Apparated away,
they knew you wouldn't come back. But we should take
extra care and wait until tomorrow to go back. And don't
worry about the magic you did tonight Harry, I made a
quick trip to the ministry with Tonks, and we settled
everything.'
Now everyone sat around the table. Mrs. Weasley made a
few sandwiches for everyone, and brought up a pitcher of
butterbeer. The group went ahead and grabbed a
sandwich and glass of butterbeer, and ate, talking about
things going on in the wizarding world.
Harry was glad to hear he would be in no trouble with the
ministry, and overwhelmingly happy to be away from
Privet Drive forever now. The fact that this was his house,
and his home, was too huge to comprehend at the
moment. He enjoyed the company of his friends and
continued to eat.
Harry asked Hermione and Ron when they arrived, and
found out they arrived only minutes before Harry. Just as
everyone finished, Lupin, Mad-Eye, Tonks, and Kingsley
left for the night. They all promised Harry to return the next
day to celebrate Harry's birthday, in what Tonks said 'the
proper manner.' Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley's went
ahead to sleep, and Harry relished in his new
surroundings.
By morning, Grimmauld Place was bustling with activity.
Mr. Weasley, Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and
Ginny sat at the kitchen table having breakfast planning
their day. Mrs. Weasley was staying at Grimmauld to
prepare for the party for Harry to happen later that night,
with Ginny helping. It was going to be a small, with only
Order members. Hermione also planned to tell some
members the new address at the same time, which would
work nicely.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione planned to go and get
Apparation tests done at the Ministry, and were escorted
by Mr. Weasley, since he had to go to work anyways.
The tests took a long time to actually get to. The waiting
line was very long, and by time Harry and Ron got to their
tests, it was mid afternoon. The three of them understood
that it would take a long time, since many people where
looking to get proper licenses, but they did not expected
this many people. Harry begun to worry if he failed the
test, it would make the whole trip a waste of time. When
he entered the testing room, he received a thumbs up
from Ron, and a good luck from Hermione.
The actual test was very simple. Harry had to first see a
red X marked on the floor next to an old, bespectacled
examiner. Then he would walk down a few hallways to a
second examiner, and Apparate back to the X. He took
careful examination of the X, and went down the hallway.
Harry lost track of how many turns he had made, but came
to the second examiner, who was sitting next to another X,
this one blue.
The second examiner, another old man with wild white
hair, who looked to have Apparated too many times,
appearing somewhat transparent, motioned Harry to stand
on the X. Harry did so, and the old man flipped a paper on
his clipboard.
'Alright Mr. . . . Mr. . . . Potter?' he said while searching for
Harry's name on the sheet. He looked up, his eyes
lingering on Harry's forehead, and smiled.
'Alright Mr. Potter, simple enough, just Apparate back to
the beginning, on top of the red X.' Harry concentrated
very hard on the red X at the beginning, and hopingly gave
a turn. The siphoning of Apparating funneled around him,
and just as his breakfast began to turn, he landed on solid
ground again. He kept himself standing, and was
overjoyed to see he was standing directly on the red X.
'Very well done Mr. Potter, congratulations. Now, let me
have a quick look here' said the first examiner, taking a
quick look over Harry to make sure he did not leave any
part of himself behind. He finished his search and found all
of Harry had indeed arrived back at the beginning. He
smiled at Harry, and motioned to the doorway. When
Harry exited, he could not hold off his grin knowing he had
just passed his Apparating Exam.
'I knew you would do it Harry!' grinned Hermione, as both
her and Ron came up and greeted Harry when he came
out. Ron's name was called next, and his smile was
instantly upturned to a look of worry. Harry told him it was
going to be fine, and only after a light kiss from Hermione,
did he give a short smile, and entered the testing area.
Less that two minutes later, Ron came out of the room
beaming widely, having a skip in his step. Both Hermione
and Harry laughed as he explained how he passed. The
three made their way happily out of the busy corridor, filled
with other Apparating hopefuls, and went to the certificates
office, where both Harry and Ron were given a small blue
card that said they could Apparate.
Excited to try it out, much like how Harry imagined a
muggle is when getting a car license, the three of them
decided to go to Diagon Alley to see Fred and George and
tell them about Harry's party later that night.
Once they finished in Diagon Alley, hearing that the twins
were making great business, although Diagon Alley was
more barren than usual, the three Apparated back to
Grimmauld Place.
Harry's birthday party was something he could never have
dreamed of. Order members such as Lupin, Tonks, and
Mad-Eye came, as well as all the Weasley's, including Bill
and Fleur who just finished their honeymoon, and even
some Hogwarts Professors such as Professor McGonagall
and Professor Flitwick came. The night was filled with
laughter and joy for Harry's coming of age, and reminded
him of how people were at Bill and Fleur's wedding, before
the Dementor attack of course.
Harry received presents from many people, and they
varied in all styles. From the Weasley's, he received a
charms book on cooking and housework, while Hermione
got Harry something very practical, a new traveling cloak.
When he opened it, she leaned in closely and whispered
'since we'll be doing a lot of traveling in the next while' with
a wink.
After finishing with the gifts, Harry felt a tug on his arm,
and looked to see Ginny beckoning him to a side of the
sitting room where everyone was. Harry was worried
about another outburst, but found she looked relaxed, and
gave him the idea that it would be OK. He moved over,
and they stood next to the window, a little distance from
most other people.
'Harry, I'm sorry about how I acted at the wedding. I told
my mum about me and you, and she said I should try and
talk to you about it. I planned to, but when I saw you again
. . . I don't know, I just wanted what we had back so much,
that I went to thinking we never broke up. I shouldn't have
yelled at you, I wasn't thinking with my head' she said
sadly.
'It's OK Ginny, I know it's tough, but things will be alright'
Harry reassured.
'I know, but still. I mean, you were the first guy I liked, so
it's hard.'
'I know, but it'll be alright. And who knows, maybe you'll
find a guy even better than me' Harry suggested, only
realizing the second he finished what he was saying.
Harry was beside himself, considering he was basically
telling Ginny to try other guys. He found, however, that it
didn't pain him as much as he thought.
'Always the optimist, that's you' she chuckled lightly. Harry
laughed, just being glad that Ginny was no longer upset at
him.
'Friends?' she asked, holding out her hand. Harry smiled.
'Always' he responded, opening his arms, and giving her a
hug. They stayed there for a few moments, then let go,
smiled again, and returned to the party.
Once the festivities finish, and the guests left, Harry went
ahead to sleep. Hermione, Ron, and the Weasley's
decided to stay one more night, since it was already late
by time everyone left. Harry's dreams were filled of events
from the night, and hope for the coming months.
In the morning, Harry moved downstairs to find everyone
again eating breakfast. Mr. Weasley already left for work,
and Hermione was reading the Morning Prophet, with Ron
holding her hand. Harry moved to the other side of the
table, and helped himself to some toast. Ginny was talking
to her mother, sounding very worried.
'Don't worry Ginny, we will see when we go home later
today' Mrs. Weasley said sympathetically, as she took
another bite of her breakfast. Ginny continued to look
worried, and Harry asked what was the matter.
'Hogwarts letters. I asked the professors last night about it,
and they said they didn't even know if school was going to
be open. The governors are sending the professors notice
along with the students, so I want to know if we have
letters waiting at home, but Mum won't let anyone go and
see' said Ginny, giving her Mum a mutinous look.
'I'm sorry Ginny, but Aurors and some people from
Misleading Magical Objects Division have to go and make
sure there isn't anything wrong at the house. They assured
me they would be done today, and any post that comes in
will be put on the table for us, alright?' said Mrs. Weasley.
Ginny did not look anymore convinced, and got up from
the table, put her dishes in the sink, and sauntered
upstairs. Mrs. Weasley reassured Harry that it wasn't him,
and walked upstairs too. She obviously hadn't talked to
Ginny about them not going out. Once she left the room,
Ron looked to Harry.
'Are you guys still recovering from that row on the wedding
day, 'cause you two haven't snogged or anything since the
funeral' asked Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes, and looked
at Ron.
'Ron, they broke up! I thought even you would see that!'
she expressed. Ron looked back at Harry.
'When did you two do that?' he asked, sounding slightly
agitated.
'At Dumbledore's funeral. And no, before you ask, we're
not getting back together. She's at too much risk if we're
going out. We're still friends, but we can't go out. It's for
the best' he said, getting up from the table, and putting his
dishes in the sink, where a bewitched sponge was
washing Ginny's dishes. He made a mental note to learn
that spell so he wouldn't have an overflowing sink.
'We understand Harry, but you do realize it's going to take
a lot more to get us away from you' said Hermione, Ron
nodding afterwards, however still not looking too happy
with the new revelation.
Harry had wondered what Ron's reaction would be. When
he and Ginny started dating, he seemed happy at the pair,
however Harry never considered what would happen if he
and Ginny split. Harry hoped Ron wouldn't hold it up
against him for long.
Just as Harry was walking back to the table, four owls
came swooping down into the kitchen from the only open
window, located high above the fireplace wall. The four,
two barn owls and two horned owls all carrying envelopes,
landed on the kitchen table, and deposited their loads.
Once they dropped their packages, the owls then quickly
flew back out the window, leaving Harry, Ron, and
Hermione bewildered.
'What was that all about?' asked Ron, as he looked at one
of the envelopes. He turned his head and called for Ginny,
while Hermione examined one of the other letters.
'Harry' she said looking surprised, 'this one's for you,'
handing the envelope to Harry as he sat down at the table
again. Ginny quickly entered the room, followed closely by
Mrs. Weasley, and asked what was going on.
'Letters' said Ron, as he picked up the other envelope,
and found it had his name on it. The last letter, Hermione
picked up and started opening it, being careful not to
damage it. Ginny quickly ran, and stole the letter out of
Ron's hand, and very hastily opened it, and let out a shrill
of happiness.
'Yes! Our Hogwarts letters!' She tipped the envelope, and
a gold badge fell out. Mrs. Weasley let out a cry of
happiness.
'Oh Ginny! You made Prefect!' she said, dabbing her eyes.
Ginny looked at her mother.
'Mum, I was a Prefect last year' she informed.
'I know dear, but I'm so very proud of you. Next year you
might even be Head Girl!' she expressed. Ginny smiled,
and Mrs. Weasley gave her daughter a huge hug, which
was very happily returned.
Back at the table, Hermione finished opening her letter
and was surprised to find her Hogwarts letter, a small
booklet and a gold badge. Her eyes opened in shock, and
she quickly got up, and started jumping up and down
excitedly, saying 'Yes! Yes! Yes!.'
'What's got into her?' Ron asked Harry, looking over with
his envelope halfway opened. Hermione stopped jumping
for a second to show her Head Girl badge, and Ron
quickly got up and gave her hug. Harry, also halfway into
opening his letter, got up and shared in the hug, telling
Hermione congratulations.
Ron hastily sat back down as Hermione started reading
her letter, and opened his envelope, and was happy to see
a gold badge come out with his letter as well. When he
flipped it over, his face became puzzled and he slumped
on his chair. Hermione, after receiving a hug from Mrs.
Weasley, asked what was wrong.
'I'm still a ruddy prefect' said Ron, showing his gold badge
with an engraved P, looking as if he lost the final of the
Quidditch Cup. Hermione looked sorrowfully for him, while
Mrs. Weasley looked saddened.
'I'm sorry dear, I guess they have someone else to be
Head Boy. Maybe they didn't want both Heads to be in the
same house' said Mrs. Weasley, trying to console Ron. In
the mean time, Harry had opened his letter, and was
shocked at the contents.
Inside Harry's package, was his normal Hogwarts letter,
followed by a small booklet, and a shiny gold badge with
the initials HB engraved on it. He could not believe the
school would make him Head Boy, especially since he had
not been a prefect. He did not know whether to be happy
or not. He was not going to Hogwarts anyways, so he
guessed the school would need to find another one; so a
chance still stood for Ron.
Hermione asked what Harry was thinking about, and he
stowed away the badge and booklet in his pockets,
showing only his letter. Hermione smiled, and went back
to reading the booklet.
After a few moments, Harry got up, and went to his room
quickly to put away the badge and booklet. He decided to
send both back later in the day, making a letter stating he
was not coming back. Just as he took out the badge, and
was looking for a place to put it out of eyesight, and knock
came at the door. Harry quickly put the badge back in his
pocket, and told the person to come in.
Hermione opened the door, and walked in to Harry's room.
It was the master bedroom, since he was the master of the
house now. It was large, bigger than most living rooms in
regular house, with a big four poster bed, a desk,
bookshelves, and a nice paneled window. Hermione
closed the door behind her, and Harry motioned for her to
sit down, asking what was up.
'I just wanted to ask if things where OK. I mean, are you
still planning on not going to Hogwarts?' she asked
tentatively.
'Well, I can't go after the Horcruxes and go to Hogwarts
too. I mean, you and Ron can go. I know you want to
finish, and Ron would want to be with you. Besides, he
could still end up Head Boy' said Harry.
'What you mean he could still be Head Boy?' asked
Hermione, giving Harry a confused look. Harry pulled out
the shiny Head Boy badge and showed Hermione. She
gasped, and gave Harry a quick hug.
'Oh congratulations Harry. I mean, Ron will be upset, but
you deserve Head Boy. I know your parents would be
proud. Do you still plan on not going? I mean, being Head
Boy will allow you access to the entire library, you're
allowed to leave Hogwarts when you wish, and Madam
Pomfrey will be there incase you get hurt' she said politely,
but promptly. Harry could tell she wanted him to still go to
Hogwarts, even though he could not see it being a
possibility. Finding the Horcruxes would take a lot of time,
and would leave little time to be doing classes. This was
something that needed his total attention.
'I know you want me to go back Hermione, but I can't. I
have to find the Horcruxes, and I won't have time for
classes' he said, putting the Head Boy badge in a drawer
in the nightstand, along with the booklet. He turned around
and sat on the bed to see Hermione still sitting, looking
somewhat dispirited by Harry's response.
'OK Harry, but do think about it please. You need
somewhere to keep a base. You could use Grimmauld,
but Hogwarts has more resources. The professors can
help you, and the library too. Besides, I think Dumbledore
wanted you to come back for this year, and the school
needs you' she asserted, getting up from the chair.
'I'll see you downstairs. Give it some thought, OK Harry?'
she said with a smile, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
Harry nodded, and before Hermione left the room, Harry
stopped her.
'Thanks for talking to Ginny. We're friends now. What did
you tell her?' he asked. She turned and smiled.
'It was nothing Harry. I just told her that she shouldn't cling
on to you, and that when she goes back to Hogwarts,
she'll feel better. Being stuck in a house with only your
brother and parents would drive anyone crazy, especially
if your brother is Ron' she smirked. They shared the laugh
across the room.
'Just think about it' she added, turning and closing the
door behind her.
Harry was sure of himself only one day ago that he would
not be going back to Hogwarts; now he doubted his
reasoning. He trusted Hermione's reckoning before with
choosing a secret keeper, so her thoughts now affected
Harry a lot.
Finding the Horcruxes was above everything else,
nevertheless Hogwarts did offer some aids that could help
Harry. He knew Hermione and Ron would want to go to
Hogwarts, and the professors could help him immensely
with spells and such. The library would help, plus
Dumbledore's effects where probably still there, and, Harry
just remembered, the late Headmaster's portrait would be
there and could probably help too. Harry just did not want
to be bound by the school to do classes and homework.
He decided to sit and read the booklet that came with his
letter to see what Head Boy was to do.
He went ahead and got the booklet, which was stamped
with the Hogwarts crest.
Duties and Responsibilities: Head Boy
Harry went ahead and moved directly to the section on
class participation.
The Head Boy and Girl are expected to attend all classes,
and show an example to the rest of the students. They
may receive exemption from a class or classes from the
Headmaster/Headmistress if needed.Harry understood
that if he decided to go to Hogwarts, he would have to tell
Professor McGonagall that he would need to miss classes.
He would have to tell her anyways, since he would need to
leave the school at certain times, and would need access
to the Headmistresses Office. Harry pondered over this
decision, weighing all the options.
After a few minutes, he stood up, put the booklet and letter
back in his pocket along with the Head Boy badge, and
went back to the kitchen. When he arrived, he found
Ginny, Hermione, and Ron writing letters quickly. Harry
asked what they where doing, and Hermione explained.
'Didn't you read your letter? It says to write an acceptance
or rejection letter back to Hogwarts. They want to know
how many students they are going to have' she said,
finishing her letter, and folding it.
'Yeah, and lucky me, I have to still write my OWLs. I have
a week, then I go to write them at the Ministry' Ginny put
in, with a hint of unhappiness. Harry felt for her. Having to
write OWLs was tough enough, let alone writing them over
a month after classes ended, and in the middle of the
summer.
Ron finished writing his response well, and Ginny stood,
and asked if Hedwig could bring the letters. Harry agreed,
and she quickly left the kitchen, and ran up the stairs.
Harry moved to the table, and Hermione asked if he had
thought it out.
'Well Harry? I mean, you'll have a lot of access at
Hogwarts, and everyone will help you, especially us. We
will go where you go, but Hogwarts looks like the best
place' she said, Ron nodding along the way.
'She's right mate. I mean, I'm sure McGonagall will let you
get at anything you need, and Hermione can get the bloke
who's Head Boy to give you some slack. I just hope it's not
Crabbe' said Ron comically, looking to Hermione.
'Yes, well, Harry wouldn't have to worry about the Head
Boy if he goes' said Hermione, motioning Harry to show
his badge. Ron gave a puzzled look to Hermione, and
looked to Harry, who reluctantly pulled out the Head Boy
badge, and showed Ron.
Harry could tell Ron was wrestling with his emotions. He
felt terrible that Ron did not get Head Boy, remembering
what he saw in the Mirror of Erised. The fact that Ron just
found out about himself and Ginny probably made this all
the worst. Ron looked at the badge for a second, then
gave a smile Harry knew was forced.
'Well, that settles that. So, are you going to take it?' he
asked, still trying to remain composed. Harry knew it hit
Ron hard, but Harry had thought it through enough to
answer both Ron and Hermione.
'Well, I've thought about it, and yes, we're going back to
Hogwarts.'

- CHAPTER SIX -
Shadows and Stone
Footsteps echoed in the rock cut stairwell as two figures
walked down. They moved slowly, down farther into the
depths. Water droplets fell from the ceiling as underground
waterways passed above. Farther into the darkness below
the two men moved, the lantern held by the taller one
swaying about. As they reached the bottom landing, a
wooden door appeared out of the darkness.
The shorter blonde haired man was shivering in fear as he
stared at the door, and glanced quickly up the stairwell.
The tall man knocked heavily on the door, the sound
reverberating up the stairwell. The door creaked open
slowly, and the two entered.
'Ah Severus. You finally decided to come. And look, you
brought Draco, excellent. The Dark Lord is eager to see
the two of you' smiled a dark haired, hollow faced woman,
as the two men entered the stone antechamber.
Bellatrix lead the way, as Severus and Draco followed
across the chamber. Water droplets continued to fall,
echoing in the darkness as the three reached another
wooden door, with a silver snake door knocker. Bellatrix
knocked on the door, and it creaked open. Bellatrix smiled
evilly, and Serverus and Draco entered the dark room.
It was high ceiling stone room, with torches, bracketed to
the walls, lighting the room dimly. On the far wall, a
wooden chair stood on a raised platform, and as the two
men entered the room, Bellatrix followed behind. A tall
man stood from the chair, and with a flick of his hand,
closed and locked the door. Snape looked around the
room, and was unhappy to notice it was the only way out.
'Severus. It's been quite some time. Come, you have
many questions to answer' said the man calmly, as he
motioned Snape towards the front of the chair. The man
waved his wand, and two chairs appeared. Draco
hesitated to sit, however was pushed by Snape to the right
chair. As Snape sat in the left chair, he made sure to keep
his Occlumency strong, just incase. The tall man sat down
quietly, his eyes glaring red in the torchlight.
'But first, let me deal with dear Draco' said Voldemort
slowly. With an evil grin, he looked to Draco. His wand
moved slightly, making Draco quiver in fear.
'You failed in your task young Malfoy. Yes, you managed
to allow my Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts, but you were
too weak to finish the task. Tell me, why should I let you
live?'
Snape knew Draco's chances of living where small. He
had failed to kill Dumbledore, and he knew the Dark Lord
wanted to show his unhappiness. He could see Draco
sweating as he was no doubt trying to formulate an
answer to an impossible question. Draco looked to the
Dark Lord, and responded, his voice shaky and quiet.
'I know I failed to kill Dumbledore, but he's dead, and isn't
that what matters?' said Draco. Snape knew the answer
was not good enough, and was not surprised to see the
Dark Lord raise his wand, Draco shuddering in fear again.
Voldemort grinned wider.
'It does matter. I told you to kill him, and you failed. I do
not tolerate failure.' He pointed his wand at Draco's chest.
'Crucio'
Draco fell to the floor screaming in pain. He was twitching
and convulsing as the pain moved through every part of
his body, his screams echoing in the large chamber,
amplifying the sound. Just as the pain became almost
unbearable, Voldemort raised his wand, and the curse
was lifted. Draco lay silently trembling on the stone floor,
breathing heavily. Voldemort stood from his chair, and
moved towards Draco. Snape knew better than to get up,
and remained in his seat.
'You, like your father, have failed me. Your father is a
fortunate fool, and landed himself in Azkaban. He will soon
he will face me though, and receive his fate.' Voldemort
walked around Draco, who was still lying silently on the
stone ground. He continued at a painfully slow pace,
dragging out the punishment.
'You, on the other hand, will wait for death. I want your
father to watch you die, to see how his son is as much of a
failure as he is. So for now, you will live. But, do not think I
am letting you live out of mercy' he said darkly. Draco
looked up fearfully, to see the Dark Lord point his wand at
Draco again. Snape saw a look of utter horror on Draco's
face, as the Dark Lord gave another evil grin.
'Crucio'
Draco again writhed in pain as the curse spread through
his entire body. He felt like it lasted forever, but the curse
was finally lifted, and he stayed lying on the cold floor,
more than believing he was smoldering. Voldemort gave a
look of disgust at the heap of a man on the floor, and
motioned to two Death Eaters, who appeared from a dark
corner, to come over. They picked Draco's limp body, and
took him from the room, through the door. Voldemort
moved into a corner, and looked back at Snape, who was
still sitting on the chair, Occlumency still working hard. The
Dark Lord's eyes, Snape was sure, were glowing red.
'So Severus' said Voldemort, pacing back to the chair
slowly, and sitting down, 'explain your actions. It will take
much to prove why I should let you live' said the Dark
Lord, his long fingers stretching over the arms of the chair.
Snape had thought over this answer for a while, ever since
he took the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa. He gathered
his thoughts, and looked up confidently to the Dark Lord.
'My Lord, I admit, when you were lost, I believed you to be
defeated. I followed your last orders, and kept my post at
Hogwarts. I stayed there, gaining Dumbledore's trust, and
learned his secrets, and those of the Order of the Phoenix.
I returned to you three years ago when you came back,
and I have remained a faithful servant, and loyal Death
Eater since' he finish. He looked up to see any reaction,
and was worried when the Dark Lord simply continued to
stare at him.
'Explain,' said the Dark Lord, 'why you felt it should be you
to take care of Dumbledore?' Snape shifted slightly in his
seat, and thought through a viable answer. He could hear
a shuffle behind him, near the doorway.
'I felt you had meant me to do it in the end. I saw that
Malfoy was unable to complete his task, and took care of
it. I thought you would enjoy knowing the Dumbledore was
killed by someone he had trusted, and felt betrayal before
he died' said Snape, hoping for anything but a negative
response. Voldemort pondered this answer for a while,
and stood up slowly, moving towards the greasy haired
man.
'Know this Severus. I am pleased that Dumbledore is
dead. I would have enjoyed killing him myself, however I
will settle with his death. As for you,' he said, pacing
around the dark stone room, his footsteps echoing into the
darkness, 'I will let you live. You have outlasted your uses
in Hogwarts, however there are other matters I need
attended to' he said, coming back to the chair. 'For now,
you may leave. I will call for you when your . . . talents, are
needed.'
Snape stood up steadily, bowed to the Dark Lord, and
moved to the door. Bellatrix gave him an evil look, and just
as Snape opened the door, Voldemort had one more
detail to say.
'And Severus, if you show any disloyalty to me, you will
face the same end as Malfoy' revealed Voldemort. Snape
looked back to the door, and exited into the antechamber.
Bellatrix was frustrated at the Dark Lord's decision, and
strode from the darkness.
'My Lord, I think you should reconsider. This slime of a
man has deceived many, and is still doing it now' she
stormed, moving towards the centre of the room.
'My dear Bellatrix, do you believe I actually trust him? Do
you question my power?' stated Voldemort, giving Bellatrix
a malicious look. Bellatrix suddenly realized what she said,
and corrected herself, replying rapidly.
'No my Lord, your power is inexorable, and no one can
stand against you. I just wished to post my concerns to
you about Snape.' She hoped her comment had not to
enraged the Dark Lord. He took a deep breath, his eyes
flaring red slightly.
'I know your concerns Bellatrix, but they mean little to me.
I know full well what Snape's intentions are, and I plan to
use them to my advantage. Now, forget this matter, and
bring in Lesath, I have work for him to do' he finished,
motioning Bellatrix to go. She bowed, and left the room
hurriedly.
She returned within minutes with a tall, slender man. Hard
to see in the inferior light, the man had short russet hair,
light silver eyes, and wore dark robes. He approached the
Dark Lord, and kneeled before him silently.
'Leave us' addressed Voldemort to Bellatrix. She bowed,
and left the stone room, closing the door behind her.
'Sit' he said, motioning Lesath to the chairs Snape and
Malfoy had just vacated. He sat down in Malfoy's chair,
and looked to the snake like man in front of him.
'My Lord, what is it you wish of me?' he asked, his raspy
voice subdued.
'Lesath, you are a new Death Eater, and I wish to test your
loyalty. I have been told that your skills are impressive,
and I am going to put them to work. Your task is Azkaban.'
Snape sat in a room just off the antechamber. It was dark,
like everything else down in these cavernous rooms, but
smaller in size, with a bench and small wooden bed in a
corner. He could not wait to leave this place, however he
had to stay now, especially after what happened to Malfoy.
His Occlumency saved him from the Dark Lord's mind,
however he knew Malfoy had failed to keep his. He could
tell the Dark Lord knew what was running through Draco's
mind while waiting to kill Dumbledore. Snape knew why
Draco had not killed Dumbledore. Now the Dark Lord
knew also, and was going to punish Draco for such
thoughts.
Snape had a plan however. He knew it would be difficult,
however he needed to succeed, in order to get his task
done. He told Draco nothing of it, incase his small ability to
use Occlumency would not be able to stand against the
Dark Lord. He was definitely glad he said nothing now.
The door of the room opened, and Bellatrix entered
violently, looking thoroughly angry. She slammed the door
behind her, and faced Snape.
'I know the Dark Lord trusts you, but I never will Snape.
You are a deceiver and are working for the Order of the
Phoenix. You may be able to lie your way to the Dark
Lord, but I know better. Be warned, I will be watching you'
she snarled, opening the door, and preparing to leave.
'I thought' said Snape calmy, stopping the door from
closing, 'we discussed this last year, yet you continue to
fester over it. Are you so worried to find out the Dark Lord
has other favourites?' asked Snape. The look of anger on
Bellatrix's face turned to rage, and she moved around the
door, brandishing her wand.
'I'm warning you Snape, stay out of my way. I am the Dark
Lord's most trusted, most valuable follower, and I will not
let you deceive him for long' she fumed, turning and
slamming the door behind her.
Snape took his head, and buried it in his hands. He was
getting tired of playing these games with both sides. It had
caused so much trouble for him, and seemed to have
magnified since the Dark Lord returned. He wished he
could announce the side he was truly on, however that
would destroy his purpose. Both sides believed, up to
now, that he was working for both, spying for both. It
seemed that caused him little room for pleasantness with
either side, however he did have fun using his intelligence
to manipulate people, especially those he disliked.
The past year however had caused more than normal
problems for him. Having this project for Draco caused
many of the lines to become blurred, and made people
question his loyalties on both sides. He knew he would
face this, but with the death of Dumbledore, it made it
obvious to people which side he was on.
'They have no idea' he thought, as he laid down, and
rested on the uncomfortable bed.
Meanwhile, back in the chamber, Voldemort was finishing
with Lesath. The Death Eater rose, and bowed to the Dark
Lord. 'I will not fail you my Lord.'
'You should hope not. Send Bellatrix and Wormtail in' said
Voldemort. Lesath gave another deep bow, and exited the
room. The door remained open, and the short round figure
of Wormtail came into the room, lead by Bellatrix. The two
of them bowed before the Dark Lord, and sat in the two
chairs, which still remained.
'I have sent Lesath on an important task. Once he has
completed it, it will be time to increase our movements.
Terrorizing Britain is becoming less appealing to me, and I
have a more important matter to attend to: Harry Potter'
said Voldemort. The two Death Eaters gave looks of
disgust at the name.
'What do you plan to do my Lord?' asked Wormtail.
Voldemort gave a harsh, evil laugh. Wormtail worried, and
quivered when the Dark Lord turned towards him, fearing
punishment.
'Now Wormtail, you don't seriously expect me to tell an
imbecile such as yourself my plans now do you? I know
how poor you are with secrets all to well. No, I brought you
in here to give you tasks. Very simple tasks, but important
none the less' said Voldemort.
'Whatever you wish of us, we will follow you' said Bellatrix
obediently. She was eager to prove herself once more as
his favourite.
'You will gather information about Potter. Find out where
he is living, if he is going to back to Hogwarts, everything.
Do not approach him, or try to capture him, just find out
information. I have already had two attempts to capture
the boy foiled by stupidity, and I will not see it done again.
Unless you wish the same fate as those who failed before.
Do you understand?' he asked sharply to Bellatrix and
Wormtail.
They both nodded vigorously, and Voldemort motioned
them to exit the room. Once they where gone, the wooden
door closing with a thud, Voldemort sat back in his chair.
An odd hissing sound filled the room, and a black snake
slithered from the shadows. Voldemort put his hand to its
head, and lightly caressed its skin.
'Soon the Prophecy will be fulfilled, and Harry Potter will
be no more' he said victoriously in parseltongue, the snake
hissing in agreement.
Spell / Name Meanings:
Lesath – A star in the constellation Scorpio, comes from
Arabic meaning "sting of a poisonous animal." It's thought
however this was a mistranslation from the original Greek
meaning "foggy."
 - CHAPTER SEVEN -
R.A.B.
Hedwig brought all four acceptance letters to Hogwarts,
and returned three days later. The Weasley's left to The
Burrow, as it was cleared by ministry officials, and
Hermione went back to her home on the same day the
letters where sent. Order members where moving through
Grimmauld constantly however, so Harry was never really
alone in the house. This appeased Harry, considering the
atmosphere Grimmauld gave. He had a strange feeling
that the house was watching him wherever he went,
waiting for him to be alone.
Lupin had a few days before going back underground with
the werewolves, and spent the time with Harry, helping
him settle in. It took until Hedwig returned to get used to
walking quietly up the hallway, and keeping Mrs. Black
from screaming. Lupin, along with Tonks, helped Harry
clean up the house, to make it more hospitable.
Hermione and Ron returned within a few days, to start
research for Horcruxes. Harry insisted they spend more
time with their families, however both protested, as Harry
expected.
'Harry, we told you we'd help, and the quicker we find the
Horcruxes, the better. Best place to start is in here'
gestured Hermione, as the three of them sat in the library.
Ron stood up from his chair, and scanned the stacks of
books along the walls with a sullen look.
'I say Hermione checks the books' he said merrily, sitting
back down, and smiling at her. She returned a scolding
look to Ron, stood up, and went to the bookshelf looking at
the various bindings.
'Not all of these are applicable. I mean, do you really think
we would need to check "Dark Creatures and How to
Capture Them?"' she said, pulling out a few books off one
shelf, and returning to her chair.
'Well, if there a section on snakes, we might need it in the
future. But we'll deal with that when we need to' remarked
Harry, standing up, and going to a different bookshelf. Ron
gave a sigh, and sauntered to the far end of the room, and
started looking for books.
Harry was surprised at the number of Dark Arts books. He
knew the Black family was into that stuff, but it seemed
every book was dark. "Dark Sea Creatures and How to
Manipulate Them," "An Alchemist Guide to Malevolence,"
and "Grimoire Spells for Intermediates." Harry flipped
through them, however found quickly they dealt with
nothing close to Horcruxes. Harry found some books that
looked more promising, such as "Dark Objects, and their
Uses," and sat down in his chair. Ron returned with a total
of two books, and sat down on the chair closest to
Hermione. Hermione, Harry saw, gave Ron's miniscule
pile a dismal look, and continued to read.
The three of them spent most of the day in the library in
Grimmauld, continuing to look through books. By time
Harry's stomach told him it was supper time, Ron was
asleep in his chair, his first book still on his lap, and
Hermione was bleary eyed, finishing what Harry figured
was her 15th book. Harry gave Ron a nudge, and stood
up, stretching. Looking out the window, he saw the sun
was setting.
Ron gave a sigh, and turned over, so Harry gave him a
harder nudge, finally waking him. Harry went and put back
the books he had just checked.
'We can do more tomorrow. Right now, I'm hungry' he said
tiredly, turning around from the bookshelf to see Ron
leaning over to Hermione. They shared a quick kiss, and
Ron helped Hermione up. Harry looked away slightly. He
was still getting used to seeing his two best friends kiss.
Hermione gathered her books, and moved to the
bookshelf. Once they finished putting their books away,
the three made their way to the kitchen. Harry found bread
and sandwich meat that Mrs. Weasley brought earlier in
the week, and they ate their makeshift supper.
'Sorry it's not anything better' said Harry miserably, as he
passed a pitcher of water to Ron.
'Harry, you're on your own, and we both know you haven't
had the chance to get food, and besides, this is more than
perfect for supper' said Hermione supportively, taking a
drink of water. Harry smiled, and started his supper. He
saw Ron liked it, noticing the speed at which he was
eating. Then again, the amount Ron usually ate made
Harry think as long as it didn't kill him, Ron didn't care too
much.
Once they where done eating, Harry used the same spell
Mrs. Weasley used, Autopurgo, to clean the dishes. Once
the dishes where put away, the three went to the Drawing
Room, and sat down, to relax a bit.
'We need to plan things out' stated Harry determinately,
looking at Ron and Hermione, who nodded in agreement.
'Looking in the library is a start, but it's going to take more
than that. Dumbledore told me what he thought about the
Horcruxes. He figured there are seven of them. I got one
of them already, Riddle's diary, and Dumbledore got one
too, the ring' said Harry.
'Well, first of all, did Dumbledore tell you how he destroyed
the ring?' asked Hermione.
'No, he just said it took a lot, and that he almost died doing
it. Destroying it caused that injury to his arm' elaborated
Harry. Hermione's eyes widened in shock, and her hands
covered her mouth. Ron gave Harry a nervous look.
'It killed his arm? Blimey, do you think the others will do
that?' he asked edgily. Harry had no idea if the others
would be like that, or worst, but he had a feeling
Voldemort would not make destroying them simple.
'I don't know. We didn't talk anymore about it really. We
left to go and look for the locket' said Harry, pulling out the
gold locket he now always carried around with him. Harry
had told them about the trek, and wished not to remember
it. It was such a waste now in Harry's eyes. Leaving the
school, going all that way, Dumbledore going through all
that pain, just for this fake Horcrux. Harry pulled out the
paper out of the locket, and put it and the locket on the
table between himself and Ron. Harry stood up, pulling his
hands over his face, sighing.
Ron took the paper, and read it over again, while
Hermione looked at Harry with concern as he walked
around the dark room. The sun has set, and a fire and two
lamps lit the room, bathing it in an orange glow. Harry
walked to the far wall, closed his eyes, and listened to the
crackle of the fireplace.
'We still don't know who R.A.B. is? Or was for that matter?'
stated Ron gloomily as he put the paper down. Harry had
not thought of who R.A.B. could be, however he had no
were to start looking. They could be anyone as far as
Harry knew. Hermione in the mean time, picked up the
letter, and read it through again herself.
'Well, we do know one thing, he or she was a Death Eater'
she declared, putting the paper back on the table.
'How can you tell that?' asked Ron incredulously, giving
Hermione an astounded look. Harry opened his eyes, and
looked back to the two of them.
'Well, the letter is addressed "To the Dark Lord." Only
Death Eaters call him that' she stated simply, leaning back
in her chair. Ron smiled at her, and looked across the
room to Harry.
'Well, that shortens the search, now doesn't it. Only need
to find a Death Eater named R.A.B.' said Ron happily.
'Still,' he continued, sounding doubtful, 'that's still a lot of
people. And I doubt we'll find an index of Death Eater's
names in any of these books' he droned, slouching in the
chair with a disheartened look on his face.
Hermione stared blankly at the table, thinking hard, while
Harry turned and looked back to the dark corner, where
the tapestry hung.
Harry remembered when Sirius showed him it, and all the
Black family tree. The blast mark was still there, in the
place where Sirius' name would be. He looked over, and
found his brother Regulus name. Harry gazed at the name
for a while, and didn't notice Ron and Hermione come up
behind.
'Harry?' asked Hermione worriedly, 'Harry what is it?'
Harry bent down, and looked closer at the tapestry. Ron
looked puzzled, and gave Hermione a concerned look.
Harry ran his hand over the name, and it felt as if a
floodgate was opened in his head.
'Sirius' brother, he was a Death Eater, and his name was
Regulus. Regulus Black' said Harry quietly, his mind still
racing.
'Regulus Black. That's R.B.!' said Ron excitedly.
'Harry, did Sirius ever say what Regulus' middle name
was?' asked Hermione hurriedly. Sirius however never did
tell him his middle name, and shook his head.
'So how can we find out?' asked Ron. Harry wondered if
anyone would actually know Regulus' middle name. The
Weasley's didn't know Sirius or his family, however Lupin
did. Asking him however, was impossible now, since he
was with the werewolves. Harry only knew of one who
would possibly know and was alive. He stood up, and
turned to face Hermione and Ron.
'I think I know someone who might know' said Harry
quickly, walking to the middle of the room, Hermione and
Ron following.
'Kreacher!' shouted Harry, and with a crack, the old and
wrinkly house elf appeared in front of Harry.
'Master has called for Kreacher' said the house elf, bowing
so extremely low his snout-like nose touched the ground.
Harry distinctly heard him muttering 'half breeds, blood
traitors, and mudbloods in my precious mistress's house.'
Kreacher came up, and gave a nasty look to Hermione.
'Kreacher, do you know what Regulus' middle name was?'
asked Harry, giving the elf a mingled look of disgust.
Kreacher glanced around the room, muttering something
about 'horrible stench,' and looked back to Harry.
'Master Black was a good master. Never sent Kreacher to
work with unworthy elves' he said, giving the tapestry a
hungry look. Harry was getting annoyed.
'Kreacher, you will tell me Regulus' middle name'
demanded Harry. Harry remembered that giving an order
to a house elf gave better results.
'Oh, Kreacher was never allowed to know Master Black's
full name. Mistress never allowed such privileges' he said
with an evil grin. He started towards the tapestry, when
Harry stood in the way.
'Kreacher, go back to Hogwarts' ordered Harry. Kreacher
gave Harry a nasty look, and snapped his fingers,
returning to Hogwarts. Harry sat back down in his chair,
Ron and Hermione following.
'So now what are we supposed to do?' asked Ron, looking
downtrodden into the fire. Harry was wracking his brain,
trying to think of anyone else who would know Regulus'
middle name. Kreacher didn't know, Sirius was dead,
Lupin was away doing work for the Order, and he doubted
anything in this house would have his middle name on it.
Harry wished Mrs. Black had told Kreacher Regulus'
middle name. Harry's mind came to hault, and realized:
Mrs. Black would know. He stood up quickly, and ran from
the room. Hermione and Ron gave a startled look to each
other, and followed hastily.
'Harry? Harry! What's wrong?' shouted Hermione, as they
ran down the stairwell, catching up to Harry.
'We have to be quiet,' she wispered, 'we'll wake up-'
Mrs. Black's yells and screeches filled the hallway as the
three of them skidded to a halt in front of her portrait, and
Harry opened the curtains. She screamed louder now,
seeing the people looking at her.
'Filth! Vermin! You disgust and befoul the house of my
father's with your presents!'
Harry took a step forward, and held his head high. 'Shut
up and answer my question!' he yelled. The woman gave
an appalled look, and looked to start shrieking again,
when Harry quickly spoke.
'Tell me Regulus' middle name, NOW!' yelled Harry,
hoping to shock her into answering and keeping the
conversation quick. She still looked mortified with Harry,
and started shrieking anyways.
'How dare you think to yell at me you dirty scum! I do not
answer questions of a child of such disgusting and vile
blood!' she finished, turning herself away from the three.
Harry glanced to Ron and Hermione for help, however
both where looking bewildered. Harry could think of only
one thing that would work: a threat.
'You will tell me Regulus' middle name, or I will burn down
your house' said Harry calmly. Both Ron and Hermione
gave Harry a shocking look, and glanced quickly to the
portrait.
'Augustus! Now leave you revolting pieces of filth-!' she
roared, as both Ron and Harry pulled the curtains shut,
and Mrs. Black's yells and screeches died behind them.
The three of them moved quietly to the kitchen, and sat
around the table.
'Augustus. Regulus Augustus Black. R.A.B. It has to be
him' said Harry relieved, moving his hair out of his eyes.
He would have never guessed Sirius' brother was the one
to find the original Horcrux, had it not been for the
tapestry.
'Do you think that's why he was killed?' asked Ron.
'Couldn't be. I mean, if that was the case, Voldemort of
would have gotten the message in the fake locket' said
Harry, Ron twitching mildly, and Hermione giving an angry
sigh.
'Really Ron, are you ever going say his name?' asked
Hermione snidely, giving Ron a bitter look.
'I don't know! It takes some getting used too you know' he
said back defiantly. Hermione looked to Harry, and rolled
her eyes.
'Well, anyways, we know Regulus took the real Horcrux.
So, now we just need to find out if he actually destroyed it
or not. If he did, then it's one less for us. If not . . . well,
then we'll need to find out where it is' said Hermione
matter of factly. Ron nodded in agreement, as did Harry.
Harry felt too drained however by this time of day to start
searching for more information, and felt they deserved to
relax for the night. Searching the library for hours had
caused his eyes to feel crossed, and he knew he could not
focus properly on a task that needed his full attention. He
asked if Ron and Hermione wanted to go home for the
night, but they both objectioned. Harry was happy to hear
they wanted to stay, even if it was in Grimmauld.
'My mom said since I am of age, I could do what I want.
Got excited, then she said don't do anything stupid. Had to
ruin the fun' Ron said moodily. He got up, and moved to
the kitchen, opening up some cupboards, no doubt looking
for food.
'We're both staying, if it's alright. Maybe we can take our
first night here, and have some fun' he said hopefully,
coming back to the table, finding no food worth eating.
'Of course you can stay, but what do you mean, "have
some fun"?' questioned Harry.
'Well, I mean, we can all Apperate now, and we're of age.
So, we can go where we want, anytime' he said beamily.
'So what did you have in mind?' asked Harry, worried
about what the response could be. He saw Hermione
looking nervous as well.
'Well, we could go to Three Broomsticks' he said
optimistically. Harry was glad Ron kept the idea out of the
extraordinary, like traveling to France. Hermione also
thought it was a good idea.
'That sounds nice. We might see Hagrid there too. It would
be nice to see how he and Grawp are doing' she said.
Harry laughed, his voice cracking slightly, since he rarely
laughed these days.
'Yes, I'm sure he'd like to see how his "Hermy" is doing'
said Harry, all three of them laughing now.
'So it's settled' said Harry cheerfully, getting up from his
chair, 'we'll go to Three Broomsticks.' Hermione and Ron
both stood up, and moved away from the table.
'Great. And I don't care what you say,' Ron said defiantly,
looking at Hermione, 'I'm trying some Firewhiskey.'
'I won't stop you, but I'll stick to butterbeers thank you' she
said with a smile. Harry decided to leave a note incase
anyone from the Order wondered where they went, and
left it in the kitchen. The three of them got their cloaks,
Harry using the new dark green one Hermione just got
him, and exited the house. Harry locked the door, and the
three moved into the lawn.
'So, just outside Three Broomsticks right?' asked Ron
casually. Both Hermione and Harry nodded, and Harry
began to think hard, picturing the front of Three
Broomsticks. He gave a turn, and felt the tube like
siphoning envelope him. He exhaled as he went, and
found, to his surprise, it made the siphoning less intense.
His feet hit the hard ground, and he found himself outside
Three Broomsticks alone. He looked around, and about
three seconds later, Hermione and Ron Apperated next to
him.
'What took you guys?' he asked jokingly. Hermione gave
him a 'mind you own business' look, and the three entered
the pub.
Harry expected few people to be here, and was not
disappointed. About a dozen wizards and witches where
strune about the pub, talking in small groups. The large
form of Hagrid was not visible, and Harry, Ron, and
Hermione walked to one of the many empty tables with a
booth, taking a seat. Madame Rosmerta approached their
table with a smile.
'Hello there dears. Surprising to see you here during the
summer, but always welcome of course. What can I get
you tonight?' she asked.
'I'll have a butterbeer' said Harry. Hermione got the same,
and Ron decided to start with a butterbeer as well.
'I thought you where going to try firewhiskey?' she asked
amusedly.
'Well, I'm not going to start out with one. I mean, I'll be
more adventurous later' he said, as Rosmerta returned
with three butterbeers. They took them, and placed them
on the table.
'What should be toast to?' asked Hermione. Harry thought
for a moment, and came up with one.
'To Hogwarts' said Harry, raising his glass. Hermione
smiled, and quietly cleared her throat.
'To the Order' she said, raising her glass as well. The two
looked at Ron, who looked to be in thought, and he raised
his glass.
'To the Chudley Cannons' said Ron. They laughed, and
toasted. Harry remembered all the times the three of them
came here and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was odd
coming here when it wasn't either windy, or snowing, but it
was still nice. It made him feel older, the fact that it was
not full of students from Hogwarts.
'I think this was a good idea' said Hermione happily, taking
another sip. 'I mean, we do need to work fast, but we need
to take some time for ourselves' she finished.
'Well of course. I mean, when we go back to Hogwarts, we
won't have the freedom. Well, at least I won't' said Ron,
looking slightly dejected.
'Oh Ron, you'll have just as much freedom as we will. Just
because we're Head's, doesn't mean we won't be sticking
together. Right Harry?' she asked, looking hopeful.
'Yeah, definitely. Besides, Hogwarts will be different when
we go back, so who knows what it will be like' said Harry.
It was true, they had no idea how Hogwarts would be now
since Dumbledore was gone. Plus, Harry doubted
Hogsmede trips would be allowed.
'I guess that's true. I hope they still have Quiddich. Even if
they're scrimmages, I'll take it. Without Quiddich,
Hogwarts is just. . .' said Ron. Hermione glared at Ron.
'Just what Ron?' she asked, her voice drenched in
attitude.
'Well, school. It's no fun with just our classes and
homework' he drawled. Harry understood entirely.
Quiddich was something Harry always associated with
Hogwarts. Without it, it would be hard finding some fun
between studying. Harry however had no time for fun. He
imagined trying to find the Horcruxes would take a long
time, maybe years. Taking time to play Quiddich would
definitely be a waste of time. Just as he began to
remember all the tasks ahead of him, putting him into
misery, Hermione nudged him in the shoulder.
'Look who came in' she said, motioning towards the door.
Harry looked and smiled, his thoughts of his impending
tasks vanishing, seeing who he once called 'their biggest
friend'. Ron waved his hand, and called him over.
'What'er yeh doing here' said Hagrid, sounding more
disappointed and upset than happy. Harry's smile
vanished, and he felt bad now, seeing how much in the
open they where. It would be easy for Death Eaters to
come and kill them.
'We came to get away from the house, and we hoped to
see how you where doing' expressed Hermione. Harry
hoped Hagrid would be cheerier to see them. Granted, he
understood if he was still upset about Dumbledore's death,
everyone was, but this was the first time they had seen
each other since Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Hagrid surveyed the three of them, and, to the delight and
relief of Harry, his expression relaxed.
'Well, alrigh'. I understand, but yeh shoulda told me yeh
were comin'' he said, pulling up a large chair to the side of
the table. Harry glanced around, and found it was the only
chair of such size. Rosmerta must keep it just for Hagrid.
'So did yeh get yer letters?' asked Hagrid, as Rosmerta
approached. 'Ah, Rosmerta. Mulled Mead please' he said,
leaning back in his chair as it creaked in protest.
'Yes we got them. Sent them all back saying yes. Ginny
made Prefect' said Hermione. Harry knew all too well that
she was avoiding the fact that she and himself had been
made Head Boy and Girl.
'And Harry and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl' said
Ron. Harry could tell Ron was still very upset about the
situation, and noticed after he said it, how he looked
around the pub, obviously trying to not listen to Hagrid's
response.
'Yeh did! That's great!' he boomed, giving both Harry and
Hermione a pat on the shoulder, that made both of them
slide off their seats, and half way under the table. They
both recovered their seating, and Harry noticed Hermione
glance at Ron remorsefully.
'Ron made Prefect again too' said Hermione
enthusiastically. Hagrid turned to Ron, and patted him on
the shoulder too, having the same affect that it had on the
others.
'That's great Ron! Now yeh three are at the top. Proud of
yeh. Your mum and dad woulda been proud Harry' he
said, as Ron sat back up. Harry was glad that Ron smiled,
and he seemed to awaken from his stupor. Harry believed
what Hagrid said about his parents, and thanked him, and
reminded himself mentally to thank Hermione for
beleaguering him to go back. Rosmerta returned with
Hagrid's tankard of mead, and headed back to the bar.
'How are Grawp and Whitherwings doing?' Harry asked,
feeling better talking about Prefects and Heads where
behind them.
'Buck- I mean, Whitherwings is doin' great. Grawp's gettin'
a lot better. Got'em learnin' poetry!' grinned Hagrid. Ron,
who was taking another sip of his butterbeer, choked on it
slightly. Harry turned away to laugh, and Hermione looked
baffled at Hagrid.
'You're teaching him poetry? Oh Hagrid, What in the world
made you think that would be helpful?' pleaded Hermione.
Harry smiled, picturing Hagrid standing underneath the
sixteen foot Grawp, teaching him how to read Haiku.
'Well, it'll help him when he's trying to get a mate!' he said
credulously, taking a sip from his tankard.
'How in the world do you plan on finding a mate for him!
His kind aren't exactly everywhere' said Hermione,
keeping her voice low so no one outside their table would
hear.
'Well, I'm jus' preparin' him for when he does is all' said
Hagrid, taking another drink.
'So what are yeh up to the rest 'o the summer?' he asked,
obviously trying to change the subject.
'Well, we're just enjoying our summer before going back to
school' said Harry. The four of them talked more, about
Hogwarts, and what each of them had been doing during
the summer. Hagrid heard about Bill and Fleur's wedding,
and felt sorry it happened, and that he was unable to
attend. He said Grawp was 'bein' a bit rowdy,' which Harry
knew meant he had probably ripped up a few trees on the
grounds.
Hagrid had also rebuilt his hut, since it had been flamed as
the Death Eaters escaped last June. As midnight
approached, Harry decided it was time to leave. Hagrid
mentioned he had to check on Grawp, Hermione was
falling asleep, and Ron still had not tried firewhiskey.
Hagrid left, and as the three friends left Three
Broomsticks, Harry asked if Ron was going to try actually
firewhiskey.
'Maybe another time. I'm too tired' he droned, as they
moved into the street. Hermione wiped her eyes, and let
out a long sigh.
'Alright, you ready to go back?' she asked tiredly. Harry
and Ron nodded. 'Well, lets go' she said.
Harry thought carefully of the lawn of Grimmauld, and
Apperated back, remembering to exhale as he went. The
three appeared in front of Grimmauld at the same time,
and entered the dark house. Harry checked the kitchen
and saw the note was still on the table, and put it in the
rubbish bin.
The three then made their way to their rooms. Ron
stopped on his way to his room to say goodnight to
Hermione, and Harry waved goodnight to them, as he
walked up the stairwell to his room on the second floor.
Harry entered the dark room, lit some lamps, and sat on
his bed.
His first night with Ron and Hermione in his house, and it
went great. They found out who R.A.B. was, and caught
up with Hagrid too. Now they just needed to find out if the
Horcrux was destroyed or not. Harry put his pajamas on,
extinguished the lamps, and went to sleep.
While Harry and Ron ate breakfast the next morning,
Hermione came down late, looking groggy. She sat down
next to Ron, who gave her a kiss on her cheek. Harry
wished they wouldn't make a habit of kissing in front of him
all the time. He felt if they kept it up, they would be almost
flaunting something he can't have.
'You alright?' asked Harry, wondering why she was so
tired, and getting his mind back on track.
'I'm fine. Just have to get used to falling asleep later, that's
all' she yawned, getting up and getting some toast,
returning shortly after.
They decided for the day, that they would focus on finding
out if Regulus had indeed destroyed the Horcrux or not.
Harry knew it would be impossible to tell if he destroyed it
or not. For now, their only solution would be to see if they
could find it.
'So where should we start? I mean, it could be anywhere'
asked Ron.
'Well, if Regulus was trying to hide from Voldemort, the
best place to come would be here' said Hermione, Harry
nodding in agreement.
'Exactly. So, we need to search Grimmauld for the locket'
he said determinately. The three of them spent the day
working through the upper levels of the house, however
very few items could be found. A few books, an old broken
flask, and some cutlery were all they really found aside
from the furniture. As they entered the drawing room in the
afternoon, Hermione looked around with a sullen face.
'We might run into some problems in here' frowned
Hermione. 'Don't you remember, we cleaned up a lot of
stuff when we first came here. Sirius threw out a lot of
things. Do either of you remember what he threw out?' she
asked.
'A lot' said Ron, looking dismal. Harry tried to remember,
however Ron was right. They threw out dozens of items.
Harry was trying to remember the rooms they cleaned,
and what was in each of them. It was hard, considering it
was two years ago.
'Well, we did clear a lot out of the library, and here in the
drawing room. A lot of things came out of those cabinets
that are empty now' said Hermione, pointing to the large
empty cabinets on the side of the room. Harry tried to
remember the things they took out. He remembered a set
of tweezers that crawled up his arm, a music box that
made them all drowsy, and . . .
'There was a locket. I remember, we couldn't open it' he
exclaimed. Hermione and Ron looked astounded at Harry.
'I remember that!' boasted Ron. Hermione however looked
a little down.
'I remember too, but I also remember Sirius threw it out
with the rest of the stuff' she sighed. Harry knew it was all
gone now, and the chances the locket was still in the
house was minimal.
'Well, what about Kreacher? He kept coming into the room
trying to knick stuff, maybe he got it?' Ron interjected.
Harry remembered Kreacher coming in every few minutes
trying to take things, and keep them safe, and felt a surge
of excitement. Just the night before, Kreacher had looked
at the tapestry eagerly. Harry got up immediately, and
went to the bottom cupboard in the kitchen.
'What are you doing Harry?' asked Hermione, and both
she and Ron came behind Harry. Harry crouched down,
and put his hand on the handle.
'Remember on Christmas. You came, and put your
present down here, where Kreacher slept. He kept things
he knicked down here' he said, taking a deep breath, and
opening the cupboard.
The inside was just as it was Harry remembered, with a
boiler taking up most of the space, and Kreacher's nest-
like bed just below, strune with old smelly blankets and
rags. Harry also noticed Hermione's blanket was still in its
package, wedged unceremoniously under one of the
pipes. The pictures of the Black family where still in their
shattered frames, and in the far back, various objects and
trinkets glinted.
Harry hesitated, and reached into the back, moving some
of the coins and objects forward so he could see. The first
ones he saw where old Galleons, and, what heightened
Harry's spirits, an Order of Merlin First Class. This was the
same one that they had cleared out of the drawing room
on the day they saw the locket. Harry remembered Sirius
telling him his ancestor received it for giving the Ministry
money.
Harry moved the objects aside, and dove his hand into the
pile again. He felt a rush of excitement as he moved
another pile of objects to the front again, noticing how
many of them felt round. He looked, and found that all the
objects where coins, and his heart fell. He looked into the
back of the cupboard again, and saw a few more
glimmering objects. He reached deep into the back,
feeling the back of the cupboard, and grabbed the
remaining objects. He pulled them out, and put them on
top of the pile of other coins and objects he had already
taken out. He looked, and his heart leapt in excitement.
Both Ron and Hermione bent down, and Harry picked up
the object on top of the pile, holding it up in the light.
Harry was holding a heavy, golden locket. As he moved it
on an acute angle, an ornate serpentine S was imprinted
on its face. Hermione let out a gasp, grabbed onto Ron's
shoulder as she nearly fell over, and looked to Harry.
'Slytherin's Mark' she whispered.
Harry had found it. It was what he and Dumbledore had
first set out to find, and now it was found. He could not
believe that here, in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, he
held the third Horcrux of Lord Voldemort: Slytherin's
Locket.

- CHAPTER EIGHT -
Where it All Started
The three moved back to the kitchen table, and Harry
carefully placed the locket on the surface. It was dull,
aged, but still amazing to see. Over one thousand years
old, and still with its original chain. The three stared at it
for what seemed hours before anyone talked.
'I can't believe it was here all this time' breathed Harry.
Dumbledore had been looking for it for what seemed so
long, and it ended up being here, in Grimmauld Place. The
uselessness of that journey to the cave seemed total now.
There was no chance the locket would have been there.
Why hadn't Dumbledore seen it in Grimmauld?
'Regulus must've stashed it here before he died' said Ron,
still gawking at the locket. Harry of course agreed, since it
was obvious. He questioned what caused Regulus to
leave Grimmauld, and ultimately be murdered. Hermione
seemed to be wondering the same thing.
'Why would he have left Grimmauld? I mean, if Voldemort-
oh come off it Ron!' she said angrily, giving Ron a slap on
his shoulder as he cringed slightly. 'If Voldemort knew
Regulus stole his Horcrux, why would he leave?'
Harry couldn't understand it either. The last thing he would
have wanted was to go out into the open. Harry
remembered Sirius talking about how Regulus was deep
in with the Death Eaters, and how much he hated him for
it. Harry wondered if it might have been Sirius that kicked
him out of the house, but Harry remembered that Sirius
left to live with Harry's father when he was young. Since
Regulus was younger, it was doubtful he was a Death
Eater by that time.
'Well, lets not worry about how Regulus was killed. More
important is that we have a Horcrux' stated Harry. 'Now,'
he continued dolefully, 'we need to figure out how to
destroy it.'
'I can't imagine that will be an easy feat' Hermione said
precariously. Harry thought finding the Horcruxes would
be hard enough, but now realized finding them was the
easy part. Destroying them would prove to be much more
difficult.
They decided for the time being, to put the locket up in
Harry's room, locked away in his trunk. Putting it back in
Kreacher's cupboard would have worked, since it had
been hidden there for two years, however they figured
there was a chance that Kreacher could return and take
the it.
After that day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent all their
time pouring over books in the library, and in Harry's room,
trying desperately to find information on Horcruxes, and
now, how to destroy them. Before they found the Locket, it
was impossible to find any information on Horcruxes
themselves. The information on how to destroy them, was,
if possible, even more scarce. After over one week of non-
stop reading, the three were showing visible frustration,
especially Ron.
'We're never going to find even a definition of a Horcrux in
these ruddy books' moped Ron heatedly, taking one of his
books and unceremoniously lobbing it onto the floor. Harry
more than understood his disappointment in their search.
He was still holding out for books at Hogwarts, however he
had hoped to find something here at Grimmauld.
'We can't give up Ron, we just need to keep searching'
said Hermione insistently, while reading 'Dark Arts of the
12th Century.' Ron gave her a startling look.
'Hermione, we've been searching for a week! We've
looked at all these books, and there's nothing' he ranted.
He stood up quickly, and made his way to the doorway.
'I'm sorry, I need to get away for a bit' he stated, walking
out and leaving Hermione and Harry alone in the library,
books strune about everywhere.
'Sorry Harry. He's been a bit frustrated lately' mumbled
Hermione, giving Harry a sorrowful look.
'We all are. Finding that Horcrux so early, and now it's
taking a while to figure out how to destroy it. I mean, it
might be years until we find out' said Harry consolingly, as
he gathered some books on one of the tables, and
restacking them using his wand. Hermione gave a sigh,
and Harry turned to see her holding her head in her
hands.
'Are you alright?' he asked, approaching the side of the
chair she sat in, and crouching down. He placed a
comforting hand on her back, and she placed her hand on
top, giving him an appreciative smile. She looked back
down at the floor, and the smile was lost.
'I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all. I think I'll head off to bed'
she said, taking her hand off of Harry's, and putting the
books lying on her lap on the nearest table. Harry stood
up, and helped her up. She thanked him, and left for her
room.
Harry cleaned a bit of the library up, stacking some of the
books, and extinguished the lamps and fireplace. As he
made his way to his room, he heard whispers coming from
Ron's room.
'Ron, please, you need to show more support to Harry. I
know this is aggravating not finding any information, but
we can't give up. I promise, when we get the chance, we'll
go on a date, alright?' whispered Hermione. There was a
pause, then Harry could hear footsteps. Harry moved
quickly, but quietly, up the staircase, and into his room.
He felt bad about eavesdropping on the two of them, but
even more so over what they were talking about. Ron was
upset because he wanted a date with Hermione. Harry
understood why, since the two of them really had no alone
time. Even at Hogwarts, students could find time to be by
themselves. He decided that the next day, he would tell
them to go on a date to wherever they wanted to.
'Besides' he thought to himself, as he climbed into his bed,
'there's somewhere I need to go alone.'
The next morning, the three where sitting in the kitchen
eating their breakfast again. Harry realized that soon he
would need to go and get more food, as they where
finishing the bread, and had run out of peanut butter the
day before. He told Ron and Hermione his plans to go to
the nearby muggle grocery store, however Ron laughed at
the idea.
'Harry, you're a wizard! Didn't you ever wonder where my
family got all the food? You either conjure it, or, better yet,
we could go to The Undry! Com'on, I'll show you' he
propounded excitedly. Harry looked to question Ron about
it, however Ron was already up at the fireplace, waiting
with the Floo Powder. Harry gave a considering glance,
and decided to follow. The three of them stood at the
fireplace, and Ron happily threw the powder into the
fireplace.
'Can't we just Apperate there?' asked Harry.
'No, because we don't know where it is, except Ron' stated
Hermione.
'Well, I've never been there, but I know it'll be great.
Alright, The Undry, OK? Make sure you have some money
too' said Ron, as he stepped into the emerald flames, and
yelled 'The Undry!' A flash of green flames, and he was
gone.
Harry was less confident now, knowing that Ron had
never really been to The Undry, but they did need good.
He went up to his room, got his money, and came back
down to find Hermione waiting for him. He left a note for
the Order, and the two of them Flooed their way to The
Undry.
Harry was caught by surprise at the shear size of the
place. It was huge, at least ten times bigger than any
muggle grocery store he had been too. It reminded Harry
of airplane hangars he saw on television while Dudley
watched a show about airplanes when he was younger.
Hermione also seemed to be astonished by the size of the
building. One thing Harry could tell, was that it was
underground, much like the Ministry, making the sight all
the more wonderous.
As the three walked from the dozens of fireplaces in an
offset room, a large set of open doors led to a vast hall, full
of isles and tellers. The first thing Harry noticed in The
Undry, was a huge cauldron filled with food at the
entranceway, which had engravings marked on it.
The Undry
Food for all, to have and to eat
Some of it bland, and some of it sweet
But remember take not, what you do not need
For food shall not be given, to those of greed
The three of them moved along, and bought the various
items they needed. Hermione seemed to go for more
sugar free items, while Ron seemed more than happy to
replace them with food that had ample amounts of sugar.
Harry was surprised by some of the isles he went down or
passed by. The most notable ones included isle 57, which
contained live spiders. Harry assumed they were for
potions, until an old and rather ragged looking witch took a
small black spider out of a jar, and ate it, making Harry
cringe and look away as he heard the crunching. As they
walked up the isle, Harry and Hermione suddenly noticed
that Ron had mysteriously disappeared. Only after
searching four isles did they find him. He told them he got
lost. Hermione smirked, knowing full well the reason he
left an isle full of spiders.
Isle 104 was completely dark, almost like night. They
decided to skip that isle, when a few dozen bats surprised
them at the entrance. The last isle, isle 304, was filled with
many odd looking meats. Harry looked at one, which
resembled steak, however backed away quickly when the
'steak' moved slightly, and gave, what Harry could only
call, a yawn.
The three of them left The Undry, with at least three weeks
worth of food. They had to shrink it all in order to get it
back in one trip.
'So all wizards and witches get their food there?' asked
Harry, as they ate their lunches back at Grimmauld. Ron
was in the middle of eating his chicken, however replied
with a full mouth of food anyways.
'No, there are other places. You know, more local for
some people. Best place is The Undry though, by far. But
most people conjure food. Since we don't know how to yet,
and the best food is at The Undry, thought it would make a
good reason to go' he finished, swallowing his food.
The three finished lunch, and spent the afternoon
hammering over more books in the library. Harry could
see Ron trying to focus more this time, getting through at
least three books this time. As supper neared, he decided
to tell them to go on their date. It was hard trying to do it,
without them finding out he was eavesdropping the night
before.
'Well, I'm going to have supper, but I need to leave for a
while tonight. I've got to go somewhere, and I've got to go
alone. You guys should go and have dinner somewhere or
go out' he said calmly, putting the books he had been
searching through away. He had tried to pass the
comment off casually, but it didn't work. Hermione looked
up at Harry with an astonished look.
'Harry, no way. You can't go anywhere alone, especially
now. What happens if Death Eaters get you? And besides,
where do you need to go alone?' she asked harshly. Harry
knew this would be coming. He was glad that she and Ron
worried about him, but sometimes it was bothersome. He
was of age, and should be able to do what he wants. He
sometimes wondered if they thought he would just go walk
up to the Riddle house without a wand, and knock on the
door. He was going to retort with an aggravated response,
when an obvious crack could be heard coming from the
kitchen.
The three of them immediately looked at the open
doorway of the room, not moving a muscle. Hermione and
Ron slowly stood up, pulling out their wands, and carefully
placing the books they had on their laps on the chairs.
Harry put his finger to his lips as they looked back at him,
and slowly made his way to the doorway.
There was someone downstairs. They had not moved out
of the kitchen yet, but were creating quite a bit of noise.
Harry heard the clinking of cutlery and plates. The three
slowly moved out the doorway, and down the stairwell. As
they turned the corner, Harry made a glance inside, just as
the man within the room stood and called out loud.
'Harry! Ron! Hermione!' yelled Lupin. The three outside
lowered their wands, looking at each other with a mixed
feeling of relief and embarrassment. They all calmly
walked into the kitchen, letting out a collective sigh of
relief.
'There you are. I wondered for a moment-, why do you
have your wands out?' Lupin asked quizzically, as the
three sat down at the table across from Lupin.
'Sorry. We heard a crack, and worried it could be
someone' said Harry. He placed his wand back in his
pocket, and looked to Ron and Hermione, both looking
even more embarrassed that they thought Lupin might
have been a Death Eater.
'Well, there's no need to be that jumpy, especially in here.
Don't forget, only people you tell can get in here. Anyways,
how have you been doing?' asked Lupin. Harry looked,
and found Lupin had gotten some food for himself, and
was eating at a very fast pace. He had just been with
Werewolves, so of course, he looked terrible. His robes
where showing new tears, and the man looked like he had
not slept in years.
'Just cleaning up the house, and doing some research for
our summer projects' replied Hermione simply. Harry was
glad she didn't mention the Horcruxes. He still had not told
anyone except Ron and Hermione. Hermione gave a smile
to Harry as Lupin attacked his food again, and asked how
Lupin was.
'I've been better, but I'm alright. A little hungry, as you can
see. I see you went and got some food. Have you three
ate yet?' he asked, as he filled his mouth with a turkey
sandwich. Ron looked to answer, but Harry cut him off.
'No, we haven't. But, I'm going somewhere tonight, and I
thought it would give time for Ron and Hermione to go out
to dinner' he stated. He knew Ron wanted it, and
Hermione did too. She was still however, hesitant to
accept the notion.
'Harry, I already told you, you can't go by yourself. We'll go
with you. Me and Ron can go another night' she said. Ron
did not look to happy, considering he had wanted to go on
a date with Hermione alone for a while. Harry, on the other
hand, found a solution. It was sitting right in front of him.
'How about if Remus comes with me, if that's alright?' he
asked, looking hopeful. Lupin finished chewing, and
nodded.
'Sure Harry. As long as you tell me where, and it's not
anywhere odd, we can go. You two should go, have some
fun. There's not much left in the summer, so you should
take advantage of it' he gestured to Ron and Hermione.
Ron was pleased, and Hermione gave a smile, but still
had concern on her face.
'Alright, but be careful Harry, please' she insisted. Harry
nodded, and got up to get some food for himself. Ron was
already bounding upstairs, getting cloaks just incase it got
chilly. The sun was still hours from setting, but the nights
where cool and generally required a coat or cloak. Ron
returned just as Harry finished making himself a turkey
sandwich, and sat back down.
'So, where do you want to go?' Ron asked Hermione.
Lupin cleared his throat, and turned around to the
fireplace, where the two where standing.
'Might I suggest the Leaf and the Lowell, a very nice spot
in Hogsmede at the end of Garden Street. Small, and
quaint, but very good food' he finished. Ron and Hermione
thanked Lupin for the suggestion, and Apperated to
Hogsmede.
'So Harry, where is this mysterious place we're going
tonight' Lupin asked, as he put both their dishes in the
sink, and bewitched the sponge and cloth to wash them.
'Godric's Hollow.'
With a crack, Ron and Hermione appeared in front of
Three Broomsticks, much like they did with Harry a few
weeks earlier. The two of them moved up High Street until
they reached Garden. It was a short, tucked away street
neither of them had seen before. At the end of it, stood a
small, one storey building.
Hermione agreed with Lupin, it was very quaint. A large
window allowed the two to see inside the restaurant as
they walked closer.
There were about a dozen tables inside, with booths
arranged along the side walls. The whole dining area was
lit with oil lamps hanging above the tables, allowing for the
perfect amount of light. As the two of them entered, a nice
looking woman approached the two of them. She carried
her wand, with a notepad following her.
'Welcome to The Leaf and the Lowell. Table for two? Let
me take those' she gestured, flicking her wand. Their
cloaks flew quickly out of Ron's arm, and hung themselves
on the coat rack on the wall next to the door. The lady
smiled at the two of them, and motioned Ron and
Hermione to follow her. She lead them to a table near the
window, gave another flick, and two wooden chairs, and
two menus appeared.
'My name is Lauren. Just tap the table with your wand
when you're ready to order' she smiled, leaving the two to
consider the menu. Ron quickly moved over and pulled
out the chair for Hermione. She laughed a little as she sat
down.
'What?' Ron asked oddly, as he took his seat across the
table.
'You, pulling out my chair for me. It's sweet, but not a
normal Ron thing' she admitted, giving another smile. Ron
smiled as well, and glanced at the menu.
Hermione looked at the menu, and debated the various
items. Lupin was right, there was a lot of good food here.
She had just started looking at the appetizers, when she
was surprised to see Ron putting his menu down, and
taking out his wand. She hadn't even gotten to the
entrees.
'You know what you want already?' she asked
disbelievingly.
'Yeah, well, there's only two things I know how to
pronounce on the menu anyways. It's either bread, or
Roast Beef and Potatoes' he said giving a smile, trying to
sound amusing. Hermione, on the other hand, was not too
excited over his choice.
'Ron, when you go out, you should try something different.
We could have Roast Beef back at Grimmauld anytime. I
know a lot of this stuff is foreign, but some of it's very
good.' She picked up her menu, and showed it to Ron.
'See, I had some of these when I was in France. This is
Rabbit Sauté Chasseur. It's Rabbit cooked with white
wine. Poulet Creme Fraiche, that's very good. I had it in a
breathtaking restaurant in Lyon. It's chicken in the most
wonderful sauce' she finished. She hoped her enthusiasm
would work into Ron, and he would trust her and try
something new. She was disappointed when he leaned
back against his chair, and gave a smile Hermione knew
meant 'thanks, but no.' She put down her menu, and gave
a sigh, just loud enough for Ron to hear.
'Sorry Hermione. I'm sure it all tastes great, but I honestly
just want the Roast Beef. Sorry' he added, as Hermione
continued to look upset. He had wanted this date for a
while, and did not want to mess it up. He was going to
change his mind, when she flashed a smiled, took out her
wand, and tapped the table. The light above flickered for a
moment, and Lauren appeared next to the table, notepad
in tail.
'All set? Excellent, now, what can I get you twos to drink?'
she asked cheerfully. Hermione asked for tried and true
pumpkin juice, while Ron went for more simplistic water.
'Would you like to start with appetizers, or right on to the
main course?' she asked happily. Hermione looked to
Ron. She knew Ron had, of course, not looked at the
appetizers. She was going to order one, but decided to let
Ron decide.
'We'll just have out meals thanks. I'll have the Roast Beef
and Potatoes' he said. Lauren nodded, and turned to
Hermione.
'I'll have the Chicken Cordon Bleu please, with mixed
vegetables.' Lauren smiled, and flicked her wand to the
notepad. Writing appeared, and the notepad zoomed
through a door that, Hermione thought, must lead to the
kitchens. Hermione started to wonder, and as Lauren
made two glasses, and siphoned the water and pumpkin
juice into them, she couldn't hold out her question.
'You don't have house elves working in your kitchen, do
you?' she asked, Ron rolling his eyes and looking out the
window in response. Lauren seemed not to mind the
question however.
'No. The owner, Mr. Brevamire, doesn't use house elves.
He doesn't believe in slavery, so if he did had house elves
here, they'd be paid, and free. None of them want to be
free though, not that I'm complaining. This is a well paying
job, and I don't want to loose it. There you go. I'll be back
with you meals in a few minutes' she finished, turning
around and checking on a couple in one of the booths.
Hermione was happy with the answer. She wished more
people would be like Mr. Brevamire. Lauren didn't seem to
mind house elves either. Hermione made a mental note to
tell more people about this restaurant.
'How did I know you'd ask about house elves. Why can't
you just relax Hermione?' asked Ron quietly a few
moments later. Hermione had wanted this date to go
argument free, however that hope was going down the
drain.
'I am relaxed Ron, I just wanted to know, that's all' she
said, trying not to show her growing dismay.
The meal continued much like this, even though neither of
them wanted it to. After they started on their meals,
conversation became sporadic, and usually mundane in its
topics. Ron mentioned the weather three times over the
course of the meal. Hermione tried to start more
interesting topics, such as subjects they would be taking at
Hogwarts this year, however Ron usually ended the
conversations abruptly.
As they left later on that night, the stars glowing in the sky
with the ¾ moon, Hermione was trying to bring the
conversation to a good point, however felt she was fighting
a loosing battle. She was glad to have talking about
Hogwarts behind them as they left the restaurant, when
Ron brought up the one topic Hermione had avoided on
purpose.
'Well, hopefully when we're back at Hogwarts, we'll have
time to spend with each other. I mean, you'll have all your
Head duties, and I'll have Prefect duties. I can't imagine
there will be a lot of time for us' he said with a touch of
misery. By this time, Hermione was ready to go back to
her room.
She thought when the three of them went to Three
Broomsticks that this issue was resolved, but she should
have known better. She knew Ron was trying to still get
reassurance that there would be time for the two of them.
She honestly could not see that happening, just with trying
to destroy the Horcruxes alone. She stopped and turned in
front of Ron, trying very hard to make Ron understand
what they had already discussed.
'Ron, lets get back to Grimmauld and we can talk about it.
I'm hoping Harry is alright' she said. Ron nodded, and the
two Apperated back to Grimmauld, to find it empty.
Harry and Remus finished putting away the dishes, and
got their traveling cloaks. Harry left a note for the Order
and Ron and Hermione, letting them know where the two
of them went to. He hoped Ron and Hermione wouldn't be
too upset at him going without them.
When Harry told he was going to Godric's Hollow, he
expected Lupin to protest, and tell him to wait until it could
be protected well enough. He was surprised when Lupin
simply nodded, and sat back down across the table from
Harry, a blank expression on his face.
'I knew this day would come. I know you want to go alone,
and you are of age, so I make it up to you whether I go
with you or not' he said thoughtfully.
Harry had planned to go alone, however seeing Lupin
made him remember something very important. Lupin was
the last true Marauder left, his father's only real friend still
alive. He remembered Lupin trying to help him after the
wedding night, and trying to be there for him. Harry knew
going to Godric's Hollow would maybe be dangerous, and
that if anyone had to go with him, Lupin would be his first
choice. Of course, his next choices would be Hermione
and Ron.
'Remus, if anyone should go with me, it's you. Do you
want to go with me?' asked Harry consolingly. Lupin
smiled at Harry's response.
'Thank you Harry. I haven't been to the Hollow since that
night. I think it will do us both good to go' he said. The two
of them got up, and put their cloaks one in silence.
Lupin knew where Godric's Hollow was, so Harry side
along Apperated with him. After the usual siphoning and
tube like experience that is Apperating, Harry's feet hit
hard ground. As he looked up, he found himself on a
paved road.
The sun was still in the sky, seeming ready to set in the
next few hours. The road the two men stood on was in the
country, slow rolling hills all around them. Brush and the
several trees littered both sides of the road. Looking back,
Harry could see the paved road stretch into the distance.
He could see it at least a kilometer of the road behind him,
before it turned and vanished.
'It's just up here' motioned Lupin, pointing ahead of the two
of them. Harry nodded, and they started to walk. The road
in front began to move upwards on a slow incline. After
two minutes of walking, Harry wondered if they came to
the right place.
'Remus, are you sure this is were it is?' Harry asked, trying
not to sound worried. Lupin made a glance behind them,
and continued on.
'Yes Harry, don't worry. You father wanted the house to be
remote, however settled to having it on this road. This is
Smarts Green. We're just outside North Nibley. It's a small
muggle town, just north of Bristol, I think. You mother,
being a muggleborn, wanted their house to be accessible
by car, incase any of her relatives wanted to come.
Although, usually it was James and Lily who went to see
her parents' he said, as the road started to level out, and
turn angle to the right. Harry noticed how Lupin only
mentioned his mother's parents, and not Petunia.
'So why is it called Godric's Hollow?' asked Harry.
'Well, it's much like Grimmauld Place. The street
Grimmauld Place is on isn't called that to the muggles. For
wizards, your parents house is called Godric's Hollow. I'll
tell you another time why it's named that specific name
though' said Lupin, giving Harry a reassuring look.
As the road started to straighten out again, and the trees
thinned out, Harry saw it. An old, but normal looking
house. This was it, his first home, where everything
started.
It had a small paved drive, cracked at numerous places.
The small yard in front was green, but wild, with bushes
and weeds growing here and there. The house itself was
not what Harry was expecting.
It was an old, stony, two storey house. The stone on the
outside was almost black due to age and wear. The dark
black shingled roof carried the weight of a few fallen
leaves, and the windows were all covered from the inside
by pale white drapes.
Harry stopped a moment to take in the sight of his parents
house, and continued to the door. Harry worried a bit at
what could be waiting inside for him. Lupin waited at the
door for Harry, and pulled out his wand.
'Go ahead Harry' he said, motioning Harry to take out his
wand. Harry took a guess, and waved his wand at the
locks. They clicked, and the dark wooden door opened.
'How did you know?' asked Harry, as Lupin entered the
house, Harry still with his wand pointed out.
'This house has more connection to you than you know' he
smiled, waiting for Harry to enter. Harry still did not
understand, but entered the house none the less.
The house was dark, the curtains not allowing sunlight into
the old house. Harry slowly stepped in, and jumped
suddenly when the door slammed shut behind him. He
could barely make out Lupin, who was standing only a few
meters in front of him.
'Harry, can you please give some light?' asked Lupin.
'Lumos' said Harry, his wandtip lighting up, bathing the
room in white light. Harry looked, and found the floor was
made of wood, creaking slightly with each step. The walls
were wood on the bottom, stone on top, with old paintings
hanging here and there. At least an inch of dust was set
on everything, including the floor. Harry quickly looked
back at Lupin, to find him looking around the entry way as
well.
'Very good Harry, however can you do that again, except
adding the word "domus" to the end?' inquired Lupin.
Harry gave him a peculiar look, but obliged. He lowered
his wand, the light dying out.
'Lumos Domus' articulated Harry. The house immediately
lit up. The lamps sparked, and the window drapes opened
up, allowing sunlight to splash into the old house, and
sending up huge amounts of dust in the air. Harry had to
put one hand to his eyes to adjust to the light, and another
to his mouth as he coughed, the dust settling back down,
almost too quickly.
'Alright. Now, I guess I should show you around' said
Lupin uneasily. He turned to his left, and motioned Harry
to follow. Harry looked around the entry quickly, then
followed.
They entered a large sitting room, with two red leather
couches, and one sitting chair arranged around a large
stone fireplace, sitting on an old maroon decorated rug.
The painting above the fireplace depicted a scene most
likely from Scotland, with high rolling hills, and a deep blue
loch in the middle. A desk stood in the far corner, with old
rolls of parchment and quills arranged on top.
'This is the sitting room. Your mother used to do a lot of
her work there at that desk' said Lupin. Harry looked
through the room as he walked towards the desk, the floor
still creaking slightly.
'What did my mom and dad do for work?' asked Harry, as
he reached the desk. He used a Cleaning Spell he read in
the book from Mrs. Weasley from his birthday, and the
dust vanished, leaving the desk clean and polished.
'You never knew? Well, you father didn't really have to
work. His family had more than enough money, however,
as you must know, he was never one to sit down and do
nothing. So, after Hogwarts, he went and became an
Auror. I suspect that's where you get your defence skills'
explained Lupin. Harry was speechless. His father, an
Auror, something he himself wanted to become.
'Your mother, on the other hand, was very skilled with
potions. Our NEWT potions master, Professor Slughorn,
always said she was the best potions student he ever
taught. He encouraged her immensely, and helped her
find a position in the ministry, in the Experimental Magic
Department.' Lupin was now looking around the room
himself, taking a closer look at the painting on the wall,
while glancing at Harry every few moments.
'She worked in the ministry?' Harry questioned. His full
attention was now on Lupin. Why hadn't he been told
about this before?
'Yes actually, and I was very fortunate that she did too.
You see' he continued, moving closer to the desk Harry
was standing over, 'she was one of the potions masters
that created the Wolfsbane Potion, along with Damocles
Belby.' Harry this time fell into the chair behind the desk, a
look of total bewilderment on his face.
'She helped make the Woldsbane Potion?' he said
aporetically. He had only heard of the potion a few times,
but he knew it was very difficult to make. It made sense
that Lupin was glad she did this, since it allowed him to
maintain some control on full moons.
'Yes, she did. I think James encouraged her to figure out a
potion. I was going through some tough times, and believe
me, that potion helped out enormously' he added, as he
moved into the next room. Harry stood up, and walked
over through the doorway as well, to find himself in the
kitchen.
'Of course, the kitchen. Your mother was not one for
cooking. She did try once, and' he muffled a laugh, 'lets
just say it didn't go down that well. James, on the other
hand, proved rather surprisingly, to be a good cook. He
always hassled Lily for not being able to chop onions
without crying' grinned Lupin, as they moved through. It
was a spacious room, with wood cabinets, and a wooden
island in the middle, probably used for such things as yes,
chopping onions. Harry opened one of the cupboards to
find it was full of clean, white plates. He closed it, and
followed Lupin out of the kitchen.
They proceeded to see the dinning room, which had a
very large oak table, that could easily sit twenty people,
and the tea room, which looked like it could be very cozy,
if not sitting under a thick layer of dust. By time they
reached the front of the house again, the sun had set, and
the oil lamps covered the inside of the house in an orange
glow. It was when Lupin turned to go up the staircase, that
Harry stopped for a moment.
'Harry? Are you alright? We don't have to go up there now.
We can come back another time' expressed Lupin
worriedly, as he descended the few stairs he climbed back
down to Harry, who was still at the bottom.
Harry's mind was trying to comprehend what he was
doing. He hadn't been in this house since his parents died.
The bottom floor was not that worried him when he was
walking along the road, it was what would be waiting for
him on the second floor, where his parents actually died,
and where Voldemort once stood, pointing his wand at
Harry.
Harry mustered his courage, and started up the stairwell,
not even looking at Lupin to give a response. The old
wooden stairwell creaked on every step as he climbed.
When he reached the top, he waited for Lupin, who was a
few steps behind.
'Your parents bedroom' put Lupin simply, motioning Harry
to the right, where a doorway stood. Harry entered first,
and saw a large bedroom, not much bigger than Aunt
Petunia and Uncle Vernon's room. It had two windows, on
the walls to the left, and in front of Harry. The bed sat on
the far wall, next to a wardrobe. Harry walked around the
room slowly, and his eyes landed on a vanity, sitting
against the wall close to the door. It had pictures, wizard's
pictures, of people. Harry picked some of them up one at a
time, and saw members of the Order, some unknown
people, and lastly, his parents, young and happy, on a
beach in the summer, waving back at him.
Harry was lost in his emotions. There was so much about
his parents he did not know. What was this picture of?
How where they so happy? He could imagine them
walking around the house, beaming at each other, and
living a happy life.
He had missed this house, even though he had little to no
memories of it. Somehow, walking through it made him
realize that much more, how the Dursley's was never his
real home. It was here.
Tears welled him Harry's eyes as he looked at the picture
in his hand. Remus had remained silent for Harry, and
placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry looked to
him, and smiled, a single tear leaking onto his cheek.
Harry turned back to the picture, seeing his smiling
parents again, and more tears began to fall. He felt he
should restrain himself, however Remus' rubbed his
shoulder in support.
'It's alright to cry Harry. Know that they would be proud of
you, both as the man you are, and the man you will
become' he affirmed sincerely, moving to the doorway
somberly. Harry wiped his tears away, pocketed the
picture of his parents, and moved back into the hallway.
'Now, you are sure you want to do this Harry?' asked
Remus, looking very worried at Harry as they stood in
front of the last room. Harry nodded, looking determinately
at the door opposite them. He slowly walked to the door,
and turned the knob.
Harry's bedroom. The walls, the paint now faded to pale
blue, had gold stars and moons plastered all over. A trunk,
and dresser stood against one wall, and a rocking chair
next to the other, right next to the window. Harry saw the
chair, and could remember his mother sitting in it with him,
rocking him to sleep. It was a memory that he had not had
before, yet he could picture his mother there with him.
Harry's eyes became watered again as he moved farther
into the room. No odd marks were in the room, left by the
horrible incident that happened so many years ago.
Everything was like it was.
Harry moved closer to the crib, which was in the corner of
the room. He looked back to see Lupin giving a supportive
smile from the doorway. Harry was glad he came. He still
had many questions about his parents, however those
could wait until they were back at Grimmauld.
When Harry reached the crib, the reality of the situation
came to him. This was where his mother died, where
Voldemort tried to kill him, Harry. Harry placed a hand on
the crib, and immense pain shot through his scar, causing
him to double over, and fall to the ground.
'Harry!' yelled Lupin, although Harry barely heard him. His
mother's screams where ripping through his mind, and the
high toned laugh that followed made his scar burn even
more. Harry grasped his head, trying hard to focus,
however was swamped by the tremendous pain. He could
feel Lupin's hands on his shoulders, however the pain
coursing through his scar was just too intense to hear
outside his mind. A short, snakelike sentence played in his
head.
'Now, young Harry, our souls shall become intertwined.'
And with a final flash of pain, Harry was overcome, and
passed out.
Spell / Name Meanings -
The Undry – From Irish myth, a cauldron that belonged to
the god Daghda. The cauldron would grant food to a man,
based on his merit. The idea of a wizard's version of a
grocery store I thought would be neat to name after a
mythical cauldron that gave out food.
Leaf and the Lowell – No real meaning, just thought it up
(though the name Lowell belonged to two US poets, an
astronomer, and a president of Harvard)
Lauren – L. laurus: the laurel, bay tree.
Brevamire – L. brevis: small, mire: uncommonly
(Brevamire uncommonly small)
(In respect to his views on house elves. He wishes to have
them free, which means he is part of an uncommonly
small amount of people).
Domus – L. domus: house

- CHAPTER NINE -
The Sorting Hat's Last Song
Hermione was staring at the note left on the counter of the
kitchen. She and Ron had just returned from their date,
and came to see if Harry and Lupin had returned yet. As
she read the letter left by Harry, she couldn't hold in her
feeling of mixed anger and anxiety.
'He went to Godric's Hollow!' she proclaimed loudly to
herself, Ron coming into the kitchen a second later.
'What did you say? Are you OK?' he asked worriedly. He
didn't hear what she said, but judging by the expression
she wore, it wasn't anything good.
'No, I'm not! Harry went to Godric's Hollow!' she stressed,
flashing the letter at him quickly. She wanted to be there
with Harry when he returned, to help him with everything,
and to show how much she was there for him. Ron saw
the look on Hermione's face, and tried his best to reassure
her.
'Don't worry Hermione, don't forget, Lupin went with him.
Maybe this was something Harry wanted to do by himself'
he said, sounding almost too mature for Ron. Hermione
was not going to give up that easy though.
'I know Ron, but we promised, both of us, that we'd be
there when he went back to the Hollow. I wanted to be
there, to show we'd support him.' She was so torn
between yelling and crying, so she settled to pacing
around the kitchen, the note still clutched in her right hand,
her left glued to her lip. Ron moved over slowly, stopped
her, and she immediately broke down and hugged Ron as
hard as possible. Ron felt uneasy, but tried to console her
by patting her back lightly.
'I just hope he's safe' sniffled Hermione. Ron placed a
comforting hand on the side of her head.
'Don't worry, alright? I'm sure-' was all Ron could say, for
at that moment, he was cut off by a loud cracking sound.
The two jumped apart, their hands at their wands, and
turned towards the fireplace where the sound emanated.
'Quick, I need your help!' yelled Lupin, with an
unconscious Harry on his shoulder. Ron quickly ran to
Lupin's side, and helped him with Harry. Hermione was
frozen on the spot. Her face was one of overwhelming
shock. She looked at Harry, and panic overcame her. She
quickly ran to help the three men, as they started to move
across the kitchen.
'What happened?' she asked weakly, as they moved the
unconscious Harry up into his room. Lupin did not respond
until they laid Harry on the bed, his chest rising and falling
at a phenomenally slow rate.
'We went to Godric's Hollow. Everything was alright, but
when he touched his old crib, I don't know, he just
collapsed. He was yelling, and his hands where over his
head. Then the pain I guess became too much, and he
passed out. I have to go get a healer. There's a few in the
order, don't move him!' he urged them flatly, Apparating
away.
Hermione went over to Harry's bed, and watched him, Ron
pulling up two chairs for them to sit on. Harry's breathing
was shallow, and his face was sweaty. Ron put an arm
around Hermione, to try and support her, but it didn't work.
Seeing Harry like that could not stop her from crying, and
tears started to rain from her eyes. She turned to Ron, and
buried her face in his shoulder. Ron held her tightly, as he
looked at his best friend lying on his bed.
'We shouldn't have gone' squeaked Hermione from Ron's
shoulder.
'Harry wanted us to go, probably so he could go alone.
And don't blame yourself for this, alright?' whispered Ron.
'This is exactly why I wanted to go, so nothing bad would
happen. Now look!' she sputtered, taking some of her
anger out on Ron. She knew it wasn't his fault, but the way
he was talking was not making her feel any better.
She moved over, and sat on the side of the bed, placing
her hand on Harry's. Ron moved his chair closer, and
looked on. He knew Hermione just wanted to make sure
Harry was alright. It wasn't anything else, he told himself.
As Hermione took her hand out of Harry's, and moved it to
his forehead, to move some of his hair out of his eyes, she
noticed his scar. She placed her hand on his forehead
over his scar, and closed her eyes, hoping like so many
other times, that Harry would be alright.
Harry's eyes opened wide, his lungs taking in a large gulp
of air, and he grabbed the hand that rested on his
forehead. Hermione shrieked slightly, and nearly fell off
the bed in surprise, but managed to stay on.
'Harry! Harry, are you alright? What happened?' she
asked hurriedly. Harry's eyes moved to Hermione's, and
he saw they were filled with panic. He gave her hand a
warm rub with his thumb, and sat up slowly, Ron moving
over to help him.
'I'm . . . alright' he managed to say, trying to get his
bearings. He saw that he was back at Grimmauld. Lupin
must have brought him back after what happened.
'What happened mate, you don't look so good' indicated
Ron, sitting back in his chair. Harry didn't look good at all.
The colour from his face was gone, and he looked as pale
as a ghost. His hair was sweaty, and his hands were
shaking.
'I . . . I don't know. I was in my room, at the Hollow. I put a
hand on the crib, and I don't know. My scar, it just . . .
burned. More pain than I've ever had before. I heard my
mother screaming, and Voldemort' he breathed.
Hermione's face was still looking grave, her hand behind
Harry just incase he fell back. He was swaying slightly, so
the chance was high.
'Maybe it was being where your mother died that caused
the flash' proposed Hermione. Harry thought about it, and
it made the most sense. Being right at the spot where his
mother died would probably cause his scar to hurt, but to
such a degree?
'Yeah, it was probably that' added Ron. Hermione turned
her head over, and gave Ron a sympathetic smile.
Just at that moment, there was the loud crack of Lupin
returning, with an older woman with a handbag, and Mad-
Eye Moody. The woman, who Hermione knew to be Freya
Aberton, a member of the Order who worked as a healer
at St. Mungo's, quickly moved Ron and Hermione away
from Harry, and started looking over him with her wand.
Harry wanted his two friends to stay there, but let the
healer do her thing.
Hermione and Ron moved over to give her some room,
and went to Lupin and Mad-Eye. Harry could hear
Hermione and Ron tell Lupin that he had just woken up,
and that it was probably caused by a flashback.
'That's what I figured' Lupin replied, nodding, looking
worried. Freya took out a beaker with an amber substance
inside, and gave it to Harry. Harry was unsure as to
whether to take it or not, considering he never met the
woman before, however remembered that Hermione must
trust her enough with the secret, so she was alright. He
tipped the beaker bottoms up, and gulped down the
viscous apple juice like substance. His vision became
hazy, and he quickly faded into sleep.
As Harry's head hit the pillow, Freya snapped close her
handbag, and walked to the four of them.
'He's exhausted, but otherwise I think he will be fine. I
gave him a sleeping potion for now. He should be alright in
the morning, I can imagine. If there are any more
problems, just call. Oh, and I found this in his pocket' she
said, giving a smile to Hermione, and giving her a picture
frame. She Apparated away, and Hermione turned the
frame over to see Harry's parents smiling back, on some
far off beach.
'I think it's alright Moody, I'll take care of things from here'
said Lupin. Moody nodded, his electric blue eye swiveling
around in every direction as usual, and Apparated away
as well. Hermione smiled at the picture she held, and put it
on the nighstand next to Harry. The three left Harry in his
room, resting soundly, and proceeded to the kitchen.
Lupin explained what happened on their trip, in more
detail, and then asked about Ron and Hermione's date.
'It went alright' put Ron. Hermione nodded in agreement,
and gave a sigh. The night had been very busy, and she
was starting to realize how tired she was. She was a little
more relaxed now, knowing that Harry would be alright.
She said goodnight to the two men, and went to bed, still
worked up over the night's events.
The next morning, Hermione woke early. She had a hard
night's sleep, filled with nightmares. She woke numerous
times sweating, and having to slow her breathing and try
to relax before drifting back to sleep. When she woke for
what must have been the sixth time, the sun was on the
verge of rising. She was not pleased, but resolved to get
up, and putting on her house coat, decided to go
downstairs to the kitchen, to wait for Ron to wake up.
When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see
Harry sitting at the table, facing the fireplace.
'He looks so lonely' thought Hermione. She decided to
leave him alone, since he was obviously in deep thinking,
and would want to be alone. She turned, and started out of
the kitchen quietly.
'I made toast' said Harry, still facing the fireplace. He
heard Hermione come down the hallway, and could tell
she was going to leave. He had been down there for a
while, however had enough of sitting alone, and would
enjoy company. Hermione smiled, turned back around,
and sat down next to him. Harry was eating some toast,
with peanut butter and jam.
'How are you feeling?' she asked. He looked better than
last night. Some colour returned to his face, and his hands
had stopped shaking.
'I'm better. And thank you for last night' expressed Harry,
giving Hermione a smile. She furrowed her brow slightly
as she helped herself to some toast.
'Last night? Harry, I didn't do anything' she said, reaching
for the jam. Harry passed it to her, and replied.
'You did. You woke me up' he explained, taking a bite of
his toast and smiling.
'Woke you up?' questioned Hermione. Harry nodded, and
put his finger up indicating he would answer after finishing
his toast. Hermione let a small smile wipe across her face,
remembering Ron and how he answered with food still in
his mouth.
'Yeah. I don't know what was going on before, but I felt
your hand on my forehead. It woke me up, so thank you'
he said nicely, taking a drink of pumpkin juice.
'Enough of me, how was your date last night with Ron?'
asked Harry, changing the subject. He knew Hermione
would pick up on the change, and he hoped she would
allow it and not press the matter.
'Oh, well, it was alright, I guess' she replied, not sounding
too convincing. Harry lowered his glance at her. He knew
she wasn't telling the whole truth. He had wished it went
well for them, but could tell it didn't exactly.
She went on and told Harry about the dinner. She
mentioned some encouraging events to take place,
however Harry felt she was still holding back a little. As
she finished, Ron came groggily into the kitchen, slumping
himself into a seat across from Harry and Hermione.
'Morning. How you feeling mate?' he asked, as he took the
remaining four pieces of toast.
'I'm better, thanks. It was weird. I mean, I was worried if
something would happen, but didn't expect that'
responded Harry. He had decided that morning that he
would not tell Ron or Hermione about the sentence
Voldemort said yet. He himself was trying to understand it.
Their souls would be intertwined? Dumbledore talked
about how Voldemort, by marking Harry, had given him
the powers he would need. He never mentioned anything
about their souls. Harry realized as he was sitting in the
kitchen before Hermione came in, that that one sentence
would take a while to fully understand.
'So, how was it? I mean, Godric's Hollow?' asked
Hermione hesitantly. Harry knew she had been aching to
ask, and had no problem telling them. After all, they
probably wanted to come with him. He felt they at least
deserved an explanation of why he wanted to go alone,
and how the Hollow was.
'First, let me say, I'm sorry. I should have told you where I
was going, because I knew that you both wanted to come'
he started. Hermione put her hand out, and shook her
head. Harry got the idea, and stopped.
'Harry, me and Ron aren't upset. We wanted to go, yes,
but it was your decision. You had every right to go there
alone. I was just glad Lupin showed up when he did' she
added, the other two agreeing.
'For sure. Lupin asked if I wanted to go alone, but he's my
dad's last friend left alive. He deserved to go as much as I
did, so we both went. That, and I didn't know where
Godric's Hollow was anyways' Harry smiled, letting a small
laugh escape.
Harry went on, and told them about the Hollow. The
paintings, the desk, the bedrooms, and finding out what
his parents did for a living. Hermione didn't seem as
surprised about his parents occupations compared to Ron.
'Well, Slughorn did go on and on about your mother and
potions. The Wolfsbane Potion though? I mean, it is one of
the hardest potions in the world to make. To actually
create it? She must have been very skilled' she
complimented, as an owl descended through the open
window, and landed in front of her. It held out its leg, and
Hermione put a Knut in its pouch. She picked up the
Prophet, and started to read. Ron was still going on about
Harry's parents, and sounded very enthused about Harry's
dad's profession, almost more than Harry himself.
'Still though, you dad, an Auror! Think of it, you're following
your father's footsteps!' exclaimed Ron, as he put the
plates in the sink, and used the Self Washing Spell on
them. 'Anybody we know?' he asked, as he came back to
the table. It was almost every morning he asked Hermione
that as she read the paper.
'No, luckily. I haven't seen anyone in here since Terry that
we know. Some more people missing though. There was
an Auror raid at some place called Spinner's End just
outside London, but they found no one there' she said
miserably. Auror raids where happening more often, but
every time it seemed they found nothing. Meanwhile, more
people went missing every day. A few days ago, the
Deputy Head of Administration for the Ministry was found
dead, along with his wife and four children. The Dark Mark
was cast over their house.
The three decided that today would be the day to go to
Diagon Alley. August had passed quickly, and the first of
September was only two days away. Hermione,
surprisingly, had lost track of time, and the mention of two
days until back to school sent her into a ruckus.
'Oh no! I need so many things! I mean, there are our
books, quills, parchment, robes, everything! Com'on!' she
insisted, dragging Ron and Harry through the doorway of
Flourish and Blotts. Very few people where on the street,
and if they were, they generally stayed in packs, moving
from store to store at top speed. The three friends decided
if trouble arose, to Apparate back to Grimmauld regardless
of what happens. They heard from Hagrid and few other
Order members that they had guards on Diagon Alley to
protect students, but there was still a high chance of an
attack.
As the day moved on, and they quickly bought what they
neeed, Hermione finally loosened her grip on the other
two, literally. Harry was relieved, considering the arm of
his shirt had ripped twice because she pulled too hard.
Coming along the street, they passed by Ollivander's. The
store was still closed up, however a sign posted in the
window caught Harry's attention.
A WAND YOU WISH?
GO TO FALBHANAC'S WAND SHOP
LOCATED AT 18B DIAGON ALLEY, NEXT TO
OBSCURUS BOOKS'They found someone to replace Mr.
Ollivander?' Hermione questioned, looking at Harry and
Ron.
'I guess' Harry answered. Looking at his watch, he found
they had the time, and walked down towards the wand
shop. Passing a few groups of closely knit people, they
found the extremely small shop, which looked about the
size of a broom cupboard. There was a small group
waiting outside, and Harry carefully approached the tiny
front window.
Looking through the dirty window, Harry could see a tall
beefy man standing in the room, rummaging through a
mirad of boxes for a short and scared looking girl, while
her mother waited behind her. The large man seemed
jumpy, and sporatic in his pickings for a wand. His white,
waving hair jumped around like a ghostly wildfire as he
moved through the boxes, and the mother held her
daughter tighter as the man moved in more haste.
Finally, the large man pulled out a box, and slammed it on
the table in front of him. The girl and woman both jumped,
and quickly threw down several Galeons, before grabbing
the box, and skurrying out of the store as quick as
possible.
'NEXT PLEAZE! ZEND IN ZEH NEXT CUSTOOMER!'
boomed from inside the store, and out the doorway. The
group waiting outside took careful look at each other, and
a small boy hopped into the store with an older man who
looked like his father.
The little girl and her mother came out and opened the box
quickly to find a dark wooded wand.
'Who is that man?' Hermione asked, after taking a look
inside and seeing the odd man.
'That's Mr. Falbhanac' the little girl said. The mother
looked at Harry and the others, and held her daughter
closely as they walked away quickly. Harry looked to
Hermione, who gave a strange quirk of her brow, and Ron
moved away from the window.
'That man's mental! He doesn't even tell them what's in the
wand, or measure them!' he said, as the group moved
away from the tiny store as the man shouted for the next
customer.
'I hope Mr. Ollivander is alright' Hermione stated, as they
moved back up the street. Harry was looking around
carefully for anything odd.
'I'm sure he's alright. Ollivander's strange, but he's not
stupid' Ron put in.
Soon enough, they finished their purchases quickly, and
made a brief appearance at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
The twins where excited to see them, especially Ron.
'Hey there Harry, Hermione, and oh, who's this one?'
propounded George overly excited.
'He looks kinda ugly, don't you think?' said Fred beamily.
'Almost troll ugly I'd say. That must mean he's our oaf of a
brother. What's his name again?' asked George, turning to
Fred, a mock look of confusion on both their faces. Harry
and Hermione smiled at the twins. Ron, on the other hand,
was looking quite agitated.
'I think I remember . . . what was it, oh yeah, WON WON!'
expelled Fred, throwing his arms into the air.
'WON WON!' bellowed the two of them together, both with
hands flying into the air, and coming from behind the
counter and giving Ron an overly elaborate hug. Harry and
Hermione were laughing so hard, they had to prop
themselves on the nearby shelves from falling over.
Customers in the store, a large amount compared to on
the street, looked at what the commotion was, and joined
the laughing. Ron wasn't too pleased.
'Geroffme!' he shouted angrily, Harry and Hermione, along
with the rest of the store, still laughing too much to help.
The twins finally let go of him, and Ron stomped out of the
store, almost breaking the door on the way out. Harry and
Hermione's laughs died down, and they helped each other
to standing position. The twins still looked very pleased
with themselves.
'I'd better go calm him down. Meet you outside, alright?'
asked Hermione quickly. Harry nodded, and she rushed
out the door, turning left and running pass the window of
the shop.
'So Harry, what brings you to our fine establishment?'
asked Fred as if nothing happened. George went back
behind the counter, to deal with a customer.
'We just thought we'd see how things are' answered Harry,
looking at some of the boxes on the shelves. He noticed
such products as Unbelievable Underpants, Bombastic
Bubblegum, Fainting Fancies, and the well known
Nosebleed Nougat.
'Business is going well. Our defence products are selling
splendidly. Our shield hats and cloaks are in full
production. We even started on something I think even
you might buy, although you already have one' divulged
Fred, moving Harry into the back room of the store. He
flicked his wand, turning on the oil lamp, and picked up a
silver coloured cloak.
'Looks nice' Harry complimented. Fred laughed.
'Maybe now, but it looks much better like this' he said,
throwing the cloak around him, and vanishing.
'You're making invisibility cloaks!' smiled Harry, Fred
reappearing a second later, two feet to the right of where
he left.
'That's right mate. They are hard to make though. This is
the first one that actually works. Takes a few months to
make the material correct. First few we made, we
accidentally put both sides of the cloak in the invisibility
potion. Can't seem to find them now' he explained, putting
the cloak back down, silver side up.
Harry said goodbye to Fred and George, and went to find
Ron and Hermione. Once he was outside, it wasn't too
hard. The two of them were standing in front of Florean
Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, which was closed,
probably because business was too low. Harry figured as
much, wondering who would go out for icecream now.
As Harry walked towards the two of them, he could hear
them bickering. At first he was hesitant to approach, but if
they wanted to fight, they could do it at Grimmauld. Out
here on Diagon Alley, it was not good to linger.
'Oh Ron! It was only a joke!' snapped Hermione. Ron was
walking away from her at the time, but turned around and
glared.
'I don't care! I don't like it when they make fun of me! And
how did they find out about what Lav called me?' he
fumed. Hermione was about to respond, looking fairly
enraged, when Harry stood between them, facing Ron.
'Look, chill out, alright? We've gotten what we needed
here, and we need to head back, alright?' he finished
firmly. Ron looked a little disappointed with himself, and
nodded. Harry turned around to Hermione, still not in the
mood to argue. She nodded as well, her eyes not meeting
Harry's.
'Alright, lets go then' expelled Harry flatly. He thought of
the kitchen at Grimmauld, and Apparated away. His feet
hit the stone floor a few moments later, quickly followed by
Hermione and Ron. Ron apologized, and they all went up
to their rooms, and put their items away in their trunks. By
time they finished, and went back down to the kitchen, it
was about time to go to The Burrow.
Mrs. Weasley had sent an owl a few days before, telling
them to come out for supper. Harry was more than
pleased to go back to The Burrow. They Apparated there,
and knocked on the door, Mrs. Weasley talking through it.
'Who's there?' her muffled voice asked.
'It's us Mom, Ron, Hermione, and Harry' answered Ron.
'OK. Ron, what was the first broom you flew on, Hermione,
what did we talk about at Harry's birthday party, and Harry
dear, what shape did the boggart take when we cleaned
Grimmauld?' she asked in succession. Ron answered the
first correctly, the first broom he flew was an old Swiftstick.
Hermione told her they talked about being a Healer as a
career. Harry told the door the boggart turned into Ron,
and the rest of the Weasley's, and himself.
'Mom, why did we never go to the Undry?' asked Ron, with
a smirk to Harry.
'Because all the weird ones go there, and there's no need
to spend money when we can conjure food for free' she
declared, sounding rather sickened by the idea of going to
the Undry. Ron laughed, and nodded to the other two,
telling them that was the correct answer. The door
unbolted, and swung open.
'Sorry you three. You know, have to be safe' she
confessed as they entered. She closed the door quickly,
and gave all of them separate hugs. Harry came to expect
the bone-crushing hugs now whenever he came to visit.
They all carried on to the sitting room, where Ginny was
sitting with her pygmy puff Arnold.
'Hi guys. It's so good you guys came. I've been going nuts,
being the only one here' she admitted as Harry, Ron, and
Hermione sat down. Harry still felt a little odd around
Ginny, but he could tell she was just happy someone
around her age was here.
'Hi Ginny, excited to be going back?' asked Hermione.
'Definitely! I've been writing a few people. Luna is coming
back. Her dad said it was up to her. Said he was more
worried about some monster or something. Can't
remember the name exactly. She was made a prefect
though' she informed them.
The dinner was very nice, and Harry enjoyed his time. He
carried on many conversations with Ginny, and found they
where without a hint of worry or concern. She seemed to
enjoy just being friends, and so did Harry. Mr. Weasley
joined them just before the meal started. Things at the
ministry were not going well. At least six Aurors had gone
missing in the past week, and numerous people where
being screened for the Imperius Curse. The worst news
was that guards at Azkaban hadn't been heard from for
the past two days, and a Ministry scout team had been
sent to check on them.
On the last day of summer, Harry decided to make sure all
the relevant books had been checked in the library, and
his room, and to make sure his things where packed.
Slytherin's Locket was still there, under numerous books,
as well as the picture from the Hollow Harry brought with
him. A few Order members, like Tonks, Lupin, Dedalus
Diggle, Hestia Jones, and a newer member, Baldric
Branwen, stayed at Grimmauld to escort the three
students to Kings Cross in the morning.
Harry liked Baldric. He was a tall, gangly looking man with
diminutive brown hair and hazel eyes, who worked at the
ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,
and was a seventh year Ravenclaw in Harry's first year.
For a while now, he had been getting information to the
Order about crimes happening around Britain, murders
and kidnappings mostly.
Just as Harry began thinking of going to sleep that night,
Hermione came to see him in the kitchen. Harry had been
talking to Baldric and Tonks about the recent victory for
the Falmouth Falcons over the Appleby Arrows in the
British Quidditch League.
'Do you mind if I talk to Harry?' she inquired shakily. Harry
turned around, and smiled, motioning her to sit down next
to him. Baldric and Tonks said goodnight, and left them.
'What's up Hermione?' questioned Harry, wondering why
she had waited until this late at night to talk.
'Well, you know, tomorrow on the train, we'll have to tell
the prefects what to do and such' she started. Harry had
totally forgotten about being Head Boy. He hadn't even
read the booklet that was sent with his letter. Hermione
seemed to notice his dismayed look.
'Don't worry Harry, I'll do most of the talking. If you can say
a few words here and there, that'll be alright. OK?' she
said. Harry agreed, thankful she had a better idea of what
she was doing than he did, and the two went to sleep.
In the morning, Harry woke up from yet another nightmare.
It was more a dream than nightmare, since nothing
horrible actually happened. He had been having on and off
during the summer.
Harry would start in the Department of Mysteries, with
Hermione, Luna, and oddly enough, Hagrid. Harry would
open a door, and regardless of which one it was, it would
be the room with the veil. Harry would enter the room, and
the door would slam behind him, leaving him by himself.
Harry would walk up to the veil, and start to hear the
voices again. The voices where quiet, and he would move
closer. Just as he almost touched the black curtain, a
voice would speak louder than the rest.
'Don't touch the veil' Sirius' voice would calmly say. Harry
would jump back, and wake up every time at that point. He
didn't like it, because it left him usually disoriented and
upset he wasn't able to talk back.
As he gathered his bearings, and saw his packed trunk on
the floor, he remembered today he would be returning to
Hogwarts. He smiled at the fact that in a few hours, he
would be on his way to the magical school.
He got up, and moved his trunk and Hedwig downstairs.
Since they where all of age, they could simply Apparate to
the platform. Lupin and a few other order members
insisted on accompanying them anyways. They grabbed
their items, shrunk them to fit in their pockets, and got
ready. Harry was worried about bringing Hedwig,
wondering what Apparating would do to her, but figured if
he could survive it alright, she would too. Just end up a
little scared maybe.
The group stood in the kitchen, and Apparated to Platform
9 ¾. Once they arrived, Harry checked on Hedwig. The
siphoning seemed to disorient her, and she was
squawking and flapping her wings madly. Harry tried to
calm her down, but it wasn't working. He opened up her
cage, and she immediately flew out, her right wing
smacking Harry across the face as she took to flight. She
seemed to fly alright, and stopped squawking after a while.
He decided to let her fly, and get her when on the train,
hopefully allowing her to vent some anger. Looking back
down, Harry snickered at Hermione's attempts to calm
Crookshanks, who was hissing madly, his eyes darting
every direction trying to follow the endless noise on the
platform. Ron was already meeting up with his mother and
Ginny, who were farther down the platform.
Harry said goodbye to the guard, and walked down to say
goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and Mad-Eye, who came with
her and Ginny. Lupin made Harry promise to owl or use
Floo to contact the order incase anything was wrong, and
Mrs. Weasley very much ordered them to come to the
Burrow for Christmas, and to Floo if they had any
problems, or talk to Professor McGonagall. Once they
where on the train, Harry felt very odd, as he moved to the
front, since he was always one to sit closer to the back.
Still, the fact that only a few months ago, he had been
expecting never to be on this steamer again, he was
incredibly happy to be back.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny reached the front car,
which had two large compartments. The first was marked
"PREFECTS" on the door, the second "HEADS". Harry
went ahead, and put his trunk and empty cage inside the
head's compartment, on the seat to the right.
It was much like the ones in the rest of the train, except
that it had a bit more space and a wooden table in the
center, which was bolted to the floor. Hermione followed
behind slowly, and put her trunk and Crookshanks on one
of the seats on the left. She plopped herself down next to
Crookshanks' cage, and let him out. He was much more
hospitable now, and purred lightly as Hermione pat him,
while she observed the compartment.
'Harry, do you think Ron should stay in here with us?' she
asked. Harry had sat down, and was watching students
outside enter the train. It was hard to tell if less people
where coming to Hogwarts, but he hoped most would
come back. Hearing Hermione, he pulled his face from the
window.
'Why wouldn't we?' wondered Harry. Ron had always been
with them. Now that Ron and Hermione where sort of
going out, it would make sense they would sit together.
Harry just hoped they wouldn't snog or anything in front of
him. It still made him a little uncomfortable.
'Well, I mean, he's a prefect, and we're heads. We can't
show favouratism' she explained, looking a little
concerned. Harry still couldn't really understand her worry.
'I don't think it matters much Hermione. I mean, everyone
knows we're friends. Just as long as we do our head
duties, and he does his prefect duties, there's nothing
wrong. Don't worry about it' he assured. Hermione smiled,
and as she put Crookshanks on the seat, the whistle blew,
and doors could be heard closing.
'We should go check with the driver, and get our
directions' she proposed. Harry nodded, and the two of
them moved to the hallway, making sure Crookshanks
didn't get out of the room. Prefects where loading into the
second compartment, and Harry was glad to see some
familiar faces. Ron had already entered the compartment
with Ginny, and was talking with other prefects.
They walked across the walkway, and into the engine
room. An old man with a striped conductor's hat was at the
whistle, looking down the train, hanging outside the
window. When Harry closed the door, the man looked in
quickly, letting go of the whistle.
'Whos are you?' he asked harshly, coming back into the
room.
'I am the Head Boy, and she is the Head Girl. We came for
our instructions, and to make sure things are alright'
replied Harry confidently. Hermione looked to Harry and
smiled, her glance lasting a few moments as Harry
observed the drivers reaction. The driver loosened his
expression, and gave a smile as well, the creases in his
face doubling, giving it a resemblance to melted plastic.
Harry thought he looked better upset.
'Alrigh'. Sorry for bein' so mean. I gotta make sure none 'o
the other students come up here yeh know. Ah, here we
are' he said, opening up a drawer, and taking out a roll of
parchment, and giving it to Harry.
'We'll be out'n a sec'. Shouldn't have any problems t'day'
he indicated. Harry and Hermione waved goodbye, and
went back to their compartment, to read their instructions.
'That was very mature Harry' complimented Hermione.
Harry smiled, and put the parchment roll on top of the
table. The whistle blew a final time, and the train gave a
jolt. Harry took out his wand, and tapped the parchment,
which unfolded flat.
Hermione moved over, and sat down next to Harry, and
they read the parchment together. Harry more than once
found himself enjoying the honeysuckle scent again, the
memory of that summer hug creeping back into his mind.
He shook his head slightly, and focused on the letter. The
fact that Hermione smelled nice never distracted him
before. Then again, he never really noticed her scent
before.
He got back to himself, and quickly read the parchment. It
was from McGonagall. They finished reading after a few
moments, and made sure they both understood. It
basically told them to keep up the rotations for patrols, to
take care of any problems, and make sure nothing
happens in general. Members of the Order and Aurors
where on board just incase, but only as a precaution.
McGonagall also said that she wants the heads to hold
weekly meetings with Prefects this year to "discuss issues
they wished resolved." A list of prefects was included, and
she told them to make up a rotation for patrols. It also
stated they had to get into robes right away, to "show the
proper example". Both sighed, but put their robes on,
along with their head badges. The letter finished with
McGonagall saying she would be having an important
meeting with them after the welcoming feast.
As Harry put on his robes, his hand rubbed against his
mother's locket. He hadn't taken it off since it was given to
him, aside when he had showers. He glanced at it for a
moment, then tucked it inside his shirt. They quickly made
a rotation for rounds, putting Ron, Ginny, and Luna's first
to get them out of the way. They finished, and the two
heads went to the prefect's compartment.
As they entered, they found the compartment full of
people. Harry could only guess that most of the prefects
had returned, and was happy to see some friendly faces.
Ron and Ginny were sitting with Luna, who still looked as
dreamy eyed as ever. She luckily did not have a copy of
the Quibbler with her. Harry looked around quickly, and
could see only two Slytherin's, Pansy Parkinson, and
Theodore Nott. Harry was surprised to see him,
considering he had named his father as a death eater.
Hermione looked around the room wearing a smile, and
took a breath.
'Hello everyone. I'm Hermione Granger, and I'm Head Girl.
As everyone knows, this is Harry, and he is Head Boy.
This year at Hogwarts will be hard, not just for us, but for
everyone. Dumbledore isn't there anymore, and less
students will be returning because of what's going on with
Voldemort' she said confidently. Everyone in the room
shuttered except for Harry and Hermione. She let them
settle down, and continued.
'Me and Harry will be very busy this year, and will rely on
you all to help us, the professors, and Hogwarts. Report to
us on any problems you can't deal with. This year, we will
be holding weekly meetings with all the prefects to voice
any concerns or problems. Please write down your names,
what house you belong to, and what you want to do for a
career on this sheet of parchment here before you leave.
I'm hoping that we can work all together and make this
year at Hogwarts the best it can be.' She put the sheet of
blank parchment on the table in the room, along with a
quill, and returned to Harry's side. She smiled at everyone,
and looked to Harry, motioning him to speak. Everyone
was very silent, as the train chugged its way along. Harry
took a breath, and tried to figure something to say. He
never liked public speaking.
'Err, well, keep a good eye out for anything alright? Any
problems, or worries, come to us or your head of house.
That's about it' he finished. Hermione looked a bit
disappointed for a moment, then smiled at everyone, and
put up the rotation schedule with a Sticking Charm. As
Harry and Hermione went and said hello to Luna and other
prefects they knew, everyone else went to check their
times for patrolling. Ron went ahead and did his patrol for
the first twenty minutes, along with a fifth year Ravenclaw
girl. Harry and Hermione meanwhile returned to their
compartment. Harry sat down, and let out a relieved sigh.
Hermione, on the other hand, gave him a displeased look.
'What?' he asked sardonically. She rolled her eyes, and
pat Crookshanks, who had just jumped on her lap.
'"Keep a good eye out"? Harry, com'on, you could have
done way better than that' she replied moodily.
'Well, what did you expect me to say? You said everything
that needed to be said' he responded. It was true, she had
said everything that was in the letter for them to say. What
else could he say to a group of people that didn't like him
anyways.
'I don't know, you could have maybe encouraged them, or
let them know that things will be alright. Everyone's
worried about this year. With Dumbledore gone, and
Voldemort on the loose, the school's in a lot of danger this
year' she fretted, looking downcast.
'How could I encourage them Hermione? I know things
won't be alright, they're going to get worst. You know it
too. Besides, it wouldn't help them anyways. None of them
would believe me' he said, looking out the window. The
train was passing open fields. Harry took a quick glance at
Hermione, and saw a sad look on her face. Her head
lowered, taking a look at the purring ball of ginger cat
sitting on her lap.
'It would help me' she whispered. He looked over to see
her still looking at Crookshanks.
Harry felt horrible. He moved over, and sat down next to
her. Crookshanks gave him a glance, and moved so he
was half on Harry, half on Hermione. Harry pat the cat,
and looked down at the side of Hermione's face. Her hair
was covering it, but she moved her hand over to wipe it,
Harry knew, because she was on the verge of crying.
'Hermione' he started gently. She sniffled, and wiped her
face again. Harry put his hand on her cheek, and moved
her face so he could see her. Her hair was still in her face,
and she moved it away with her hand. Harry looked her
right in the eyes.
'Hermione, I'm sorry. It's like at the beginning of summer,
everything will be alright, OK? I just get flustered
sometimes. Don't worry alright, we'll get through it' he
finished. She sniffled lightly, and sighed.
'Harry, please say you'll beat him. I don't want you to die'
she breathed, the last word barely escaping her mouth.
'Hermione, I don't-' he was interrupted. Hermione placed
her hand on his shoulder, and looked at him pleadingly.
'Please Harry' she asked faintly. Harry looked at her, and
saw how troubled she was about this. He knew, like during
the summer, she was looking for support.
'I will finish him, and everything will be alright' he said
quietly. He rubbed her cheek, and she smiled, still with
tears in her eyes. Harry smiled back, and they gave each
other a hug, Crookshanks jumping off to avoid being
squished.
For the second time that day, Harry found himself awash
in the Hermione's scent. He embraced her warmly, and
closed his eyes. The smell made his head swim lightly,
and he found himself not minding it one bit. Hermione put
her head on his shoulder, and he felt a shiver run through
his chest. He allowed himself to bask in the moment, only
to hear the compartment door slide open. He opened his
eyes quickly, to see Ron coming in.
He looked at the two of them, just as they separated
hurriedly. Ron stood for a moment, a dazed look upon his
face, looking from Harry to Hermione. Harry was worried
that Ron would think something was going on, and his
heart was beating a little faster. He was glad that Ron's
face lightened a bit, and he took a seat across from the
two of them
'We finished our rounds. Things are alright. Some fourth
years in the third car were playing some wild games, but I
stopped them. Are you guys alright?' he asked, now
looking closer at Hermione. She had wiped her eyes more,
but it was clear she had cried. Ron had tried to pet
Crookshanks while talking, but the cat had found himself
under the table, not wanting to be disturbed.
'I'm fine, don't worry' said Hermione tiredly. Harry felt a
little odd in the room.
'I'm going to check on the other prefects. I'll be back in a
moment' he declared quickly, getting up, and leaving
before either of them could protest.
Harry went ahead and decided to check the train, for
fellow Gryffindors, and to just think, while giving time to
Ron and Hermione. He was liking how he and Hermione
were becoming close friends, being able to help each
other out in situations like back in the compartment, but
was confused as to some of the newer things he was
feeling. He knew she was important to him. She always
was, but even more so now, being his secret keeper, and
of course, as one of his best friends. He liked how she
made him feel at ease, and had a knack for knowing what
he was thinking, or what to say. But why was he noticing
how wonderful she felt, or her scent? He though about it
for a while, and concluded it was simply because he had
not been as close with Hermione as he was now. It
couldn't be anything else, because she was with Ron, and
Harry was happy for the both of them.
As Harry walked along, he met up with Dean, Seamus,
Neville, a few other Gryffindors, and members of the
Order, who where patrolling the train. When he came back
and reached the Head compartment, he decided to knock,
so he wouldn't have to see Ron and Hermione snogging.
He went inside, to find Ron just sitting back down on the
right side of the compartment, both he and Hermione
looking at ease.
The rest of the journey was much like years before. Harry
and Ron played wizard's chess and Exploding Snap, while
Hermione read more on their head duties as well as
reviewing some of the texts. The food trolley came early,
which pleased Ron. Luna and Ginny came in and spent
some time with them, enjoying the larger space, and that
their patrols were at the beginning of the ride. After a
while, Harry and Hermione went to check with the driver
again, and found out they where only twenty minutes from
Hogwarts. They went back to the compartment, and told
the others to change into robes. When the train finally
came to a halt, they had arrived at Hogsmede station.
The sun had set a few hours before, and the lights at the
station showed the students their way to the carriages. It
was cool, but wearing their cloaks was enough to keep
warm. Harry stepped off the step with his trunk, and
Hedwig. She had returned about an hour after leaving
Kings Cross. She was much nicer when she came back,
seeming to forgive Harry for the Apparating.
As they departed the train, Harry breathed in the
wonderful smell of Hogsmede. Harry couldn't explain it to
anyone if they asked, but he always loved the smell, the
sound, and site of the town and Hogwarts. He looked up,
and since he couldn't see stars, he knew an overcast sky
hung above him. Harry walked a little down the platform,
and said hi to Hagrid, who was waiting for the first years.
He had a few Aurors with him as well.
'Hiya there Harry! They're here jus' 'n case' he motioned at
the Aurors. 'Now come along firs' years!' he bellowed,
waving his lantern. Harry gave him a wave, and moved to
the carriages. Hermione had made sure the prefects got
everyone on, and they started their way to Hogwarts in the
last carriage to leave. Harry ended up sharing it with
Hermione, Ron, and Luna.
'Well, hopefully this year, we won't have any problems with
Flying Franbockers. I heard they had troubles with them in
Scotland this year. They do terrible damage to people's
toes' Luna said abstractedly, winding her finger in her hair.
Hermione eyes looked up and she sighed, no doubt
realizing that this year would not be without Luna's
oddness. Harry shook his head and stifled his laugh. He
knew how much Hermione just wanted to rage on about
how something like Flying Franbockers could never, or will
never exist. Ron and Ginny were busy looking out at
Hogwarts, as they starting up the slope towards the castle.
When they exited, they found Professor Sprout and two
tall, however very young, Aurors getting students into the
castle with haste. Harry thought the security that he saw
so far was a bit extreme, but followed inside with the other
students. As he passed the Aurors, he was surprised to
see them scanning over Harry, watching him as he
entered the castle. They went through the Entrance Hall,
and into the Great Hall.
Just as it should be, the Great Hall had thousands of
candles suspended above the four house tables, and the
overcast sky mimicked above. Harry, along with
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, who had met up with them
after getting out of the carriage, said goodbye to Luna, and
made their way to the Gryffindor table. Students filed in
from the outside, and Harry was glad to see the bulk of
students had returned. The Slytherin table was noticeably
thinned, but most other houses where the same.
Gryffindor looked almost identical as the year before.
'Did you see, Pavarti and Padma didn't come back'
pointed our Ginny. Harry looked up and down the table,
and found that it was true. Pavarti wasn't there. Lavender
was back, however looked very upset. She must be
feeling that way because of Pavarti.
'Well, I can imagine so. Lavender was saying on the train
ride back before summer that Pavarti had to beg her
mother to stay for the funeral. Her mother agreed, but
picked them up right afterwards' explained Hermione.
The commotion in the hall dwindled as the professors
came in through a side door, and sat down. Professor
McGonagall was sitting in the high-backed golden chair
located in the centre, wearing dark purple, almost black
robes, with gold moon crescents and stars lining the
bottom. Harry thought it was nice she tried more
Dumbledore-like attire, although he considered it funny
that even with these, the moons and stars where evenly
spaced along the bottom of her robes in a single line.
Professor McGonagall was never one for disarray and
disorganization.
Filch, Madame Hooch, and Madam Pomfery where on her
right along with a few others, while Professor Sprout, and
Professor Trelawney sat to her left with some other older
wizards and witches. A middle aged black haired witch
was also present at the staff table, sitting next to Madam
Pomfery. Harry figured she must be a new professor,
filling for one that had left. As he looked at the others, he
was surprised to see Professor Slughorn had returned.
After Dumbledore's death, he could imagine that Slughorn
would feel safe no were, and still believed that Hogwarts
was the safest place to be, which was probably true.
As Harry continued to observe the staff table, he was
reminded how many of the staff he had never met. Harry
always knew there were some professors he would never
really know. Although he figured by the end of this year,
Hermione would probably know them all, since she had
once taken every class available.
Hagrid came in from the side, and waved to Harry, who
happily waved back. He was almost at his seat, when
another man came through the same door.
A young, auburn haired wizard came through the doorway,
and walked along the staff table. He shook Hagrid's hand
as he passed by, and Hagrid seemed very happy to see
the man. He continued on, and took a seat next to
Professor Vector. He looked very young, only a couple of
years older than Harry, and wore murky blue robes. The
wizard studied the hall with a smile for a moment, glancing
at the four tables, the ceiling, and then started talking to
Professor Sprout.
'Do you know who that is?' Harry asked Hermione. She
looked up at the man, and shook her head.
'No. Maybe he's our new Defense teacher, or
Transfiguration. He's awfully young though' she added.
Harry was about to agree, when Professor McGonagall
stood up, and the hall silenced quickly.
'The first years will be arriving any moment with Professor
Flitwick. Please be encouraging, and show respect' she
stated simply. She sat back down, and the doors to the
hall, which had been shut only moments ago, opened.
Professor Flitwick lead a group of young, nervous looking
first years. Harry noticed the frightened looks on their
faces, and remembered being in their shoes. For him, Ron
had gotten him worked up over some horrible task he
would have to do to be sorted. Harry also noticed the
small number of them as well of these first years as well.
Almost half of what is normal for a year.
As they reached the front, Professor Flitwick placed the
three legged stool on which an old and patched hat stood,
in front of the short first years. It seemed he had a fun time
trying to balance the stool without having the hat fall off,
considering the stool was almost as tall as he was. The
first years lined up before the staff table, and faced the
house tables.
Harry looked at them, and saw how pale they looked,
accentuated by the candlelight. Everyone in the hall was
gazing at the old hat sitting in the centre. The hat's brim
opened to form something like a mouth. Harry, like
everyone else took a breath, and he was surprised to see
the Sorting Hat do the same, as if it was getting ready for
a long melody.
For a thousand years I've sung,
Always a different song,
But this year will be different,
And requires one that's long.
So please listen closely,
For I hope you always do,
For this year is important,
To the fate of Hogwarts School.
But let us begin at the start,
Of this wonderful school of ours,
To understand its future,
And recognize its deep scars.
For when Hogwarts school was founded,
Over a thousand years ago,
Four wizards stood united,
Under one unwavering goal.
To teach and pass on their learning,
For those of talent and heart,
For at the beginning they all believed,
They could never fall apart.
"We'll teach those who work hard"
Hufflepuff was heard to speak,
"We'll teach those of purest blood"
Slytherin wanted to seek.
"We'll teach those of cleverness"
Ravenclaw came to attest,
"We'll teach those who are bravest"
Gryffindor told the rest.
So Hogwarts School was started,
For years the Founders taught,
But divisions became apparent,
And houses formed and fought.
Slytherin sought to be unsparing,
"Only pure bloods the school should take,"
While the other Founders believed,
That it would be a mistake.
The houses continued to fight,
And friendships began to degrade,
For Slytherin would no budge,
And the others would not be swayed.
Then one day Slytherin left,
And the Founders reduced to three,
But Slytherin could not embark,
Without leaving one last decree.
"A millennia from this day,
My heir shall return to this school,
To cleanse of its impurities,
And leave only those meant to rule."
And so time has past within these walls,
With Hogwarts safe and sound,
How fast a thousand years can travel,
To find what I have found.
For the year has now arrived,
When Slytherin's heir will return,
But do not worry and do not fret,
For there is one thing left to learn.
Gryffindor left a message too,
Before he passed away,
A message that he told to me,
And now, I will convey.
"When the heir of Slytherin,
Comes to carry out his acts,
Another heir shall stand in his way,
To defend the school from attacks."
"But how to tell who is your heir,"
I asked the man from wild moor,
"He shall be sorted into my house,
And will have yielded my old sword."
And this year it shall be,
Heirs of Slytherin and of Gryffindor,
Decide the fate of Hogwarts,
So there is something I must implore.
You all must stand together,
And protect Hogwarts from its foes,
For if there are divisions,
Then Hogwars will come to close.
I tell you this in worry,
For never have I been wrong,
I feel that this may be,
My last and most important song.
But there can be a first time,
When I can be incorrect,
For I am just a thinking cap,
And was not made to be perfect.
But have sung longer than needed,
For I could not go very fast,
Let us begin this years sorting,
And hope it is not the last.
The last words rang out in the hall, as it lay as quiet as a
cemetery. The professors, including McGonagall, looked
petrified at the Sorting Hat, along with the rest of the hall.
The Hat simply closed its brim, and settled. Ron,
Hermione, and Ginny all turned quickly to Harry. He knew
what they were thinking. His mind, no doubt like the
others, was racing faster than a Quidditch match.
He was the one who used Godric's Sword, when he killed
the Basilisk. Slytherin's Heir was Voldemort. If he was the
only one to have used the sword, and only he could
destroy Voldemort, like the prophecy said, then it all fit.
Like hearing about his parents from Lupin, he just
discovered something new about himself, probably the
most important thing of his life.
Hermione, who was sitting next to him, leaned in close,
still looking aghast.
'Harry . . . ' was all she could manage. Harry barely heard
her, she was whispering so low. It didn't matter though, he
already knew what she was going to say.
The hat that once suggested he would have done well in
Slytherin, had just announced that he, Harry Potter, was
the Heir of Gryffindor, and would decide the fate of
Hogwarts this very year.
After a few silent moments in the Great Hall, Professor
Flitwick apprehensively cleared his throat, and told
Almeton, William to sit down, and be sorted, his hollow
voice ringing in the taciturn hall.
Spell / Name Meanings -
Falbhanac - Scottish Gaelic: falbhanach: wanderer
(Falbhanac wanderer)
Baldric – From the Germanic elements bald: brave, and
ric: power (Baldric power and brave)
Branwen – Welsh. bran:raven, gwen: fair (Branwen fair
raven)

- CHAPTER TEN -
Dumbledore's Offerings
The hall remained quiet as the small number of first years
where sorted into their houses. Many of the first years
were hesitant to place the hat on their head, but did so
after some encouragement from Professor Flitwick.
The majority of the students where sorted into Gryffindor,
with small amounts going to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
Harry was expecting no one to be sorted into Slytherin, but
was surprised when two were, a short dirty blond haired
girl, and a very disgruntled looking boy. Once the sorting
was completed, and the Sorting Hat put away, Professor
McGonagall stood up from her chair. The hall didn't need
to quiet, because it had been like that since the Sorting
Hat began to sing.
'Let the feast begin' she spoke plainly, waving her wand.
Instantly, the house tables became piled with food, and
students started talking loudly about the Sorting Hat's
song. Ron, for what must have been the first time ever, did
not jump at the food and start eating like a starving hyena.
'Harry, did the Hat just say what I think it just said?' he
asked shakily.
'I . . . I don't know' answered Harry. The hat's voice was
repeating in Harry's head over and over again, like a
broken muggle record player.
'Harry, we need to talk to Dumbledore's portrait, and
McGonagall' advised Hermione. Harry nodded in
agreement. The impacts of the song were too important
not to go for help. Harry and the others continued their
meal in quietness, while the rest of the hall continued to
talk loudly about the topic. When the deserts finally left the
table, leaving them clean and polished, Professor
McGonagall stood again, and the hall fell hushed.
'Welcome to Hogwarts to our new students, and to our old
ones, welcome back. Firstly, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has
added thirty seven new items to the list of forbidden items
allowed in the school, bringing the total to nine-hundred
and sixty two. The full list can be viewed in Mr. Filch's
office. He has also reminded me to tell you that no magic
is allowed in the hallways or in between classes.
'Next, our school this year will be under constant guard,
care of the Ministry of Magic. Aurors will be stationed
within the school, as well as on the grounds to ensure
safety in these troubled times. Now I have been told that
they will not interfere with school activities, or studies. If
you encounter any problems, please contact one of your
house prefects, or your Head Boy of Girl' she stated,
looking at Harry and Hermione.
'Finally' she faltered, looking down at the table she stood
over for a moment, 'in light of the current situations, and of
the events last year, I must implore all of you to work
together, and obey the rules. Quidditch will not be taking
place this year, and Hogsmede trips as of this point are
suspended for all students.' She put up one hand, telling
students to calm down. Mentioning no Quidditch or
Hogsmede trips caused the hall to moderately burst into
noise. The racket died down quickly, and the hall returned
to quiet.
'Now, it is late, Prefects please escort your houses to your
dormitories. Everyone have a good night's sleep, and let's
start this year off right' she finished. She sat back down as
the students rose with a clatter, and started their slow
saunter out of the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione said
goodbye to Ron and Ginny, and moved to the staff table.
They had been told in the letter to meet with Professor
McGonagall, however not where.
'Hello to both of you. If you please, I'll meet you in my
office in a few moments. I must tell you though, I liked the
name of Albus' phoenix' she said, getting up from the
headmistresses chair, and leaving out a side doorway, the
bulk of the staff following. Hagrid turned and gave a wave
to the two of them, and ducked into the room before the
door closed with a thud. Harry and Hermione made their
way out of the empty hall, and up towards the
headmistress's office.
'I hope this won't take too long. I mean, I know it's
important, but I'm tired' yawned Hermione, as they walked
up the stairs. Harry was tired too, and was hoping the
same, as they reached the gargoyle in front of the
headmistress' office.
'Fawkes' enunciated Harry. The gargoyle sprang to life,
and moved out of the way for the two of them, as they
stepped on the ascending spiral staircase. They stood in
front of the door with the griffin door knocker for a
moment.
'Should we let ourselves in?' Hermione asked. Harry
nodded, and opened the door. When he did, and entered
the room, he saw the last person he wanted to ever see in
Hogwarts again.
'You!' Harry snarled as he walked into the office. A squat,
mouse haired woman was standing, looking at some of
the portraits. All of them were seeming to be asleep,
however Harry noticed many of them opened an eye or
two, and looked at himself and Hermione, before closing
them again. Hermione was just as baffled and angry to
see the woman as Harry.
'You horrible woman, what are you doing here?' she
demanded. Both Harry and Hermione walked forwards,
and pulled out their wands simultaneously. The woman
gave a small laugh, the same one Harry learned to hate a
few years earlier. She turned towards the two advancing
students, her toad like face looking all the more loathsome
to Harry, her smirk making him think of some curses he
would use on her.
'Now now, we mustn't be attacking an official from the
Ministry of Magic, now should we kids. I don't think the
governors would be happy with that, now would they'
Umbridge replied sweetly, her pouchy eyes looking only at
Harry. Harry had enough of this woman in fifth year, and
was not going to stand for anymore of it. He advanced
even more, Hermione right next to him, as they came
within feet of the woman. She had started to back up, and
bumped into the desk.
'I don't care what the governors think. You will tell me why
you are here, or I will have the pleasure of cursing you out
of this office, and out of this school' threatened Harry.
Hermione didn't need to look at Harry to know he was
telling the truth. Her wand was pointed right at the same
spot as Harry's, at the frumpy woman's heart.
The gargoyle outside made the sound of moving out of the
way for someone, and Harry glanced back. When he did,
Umbridge moved, and when Harry turned around, he
found her wand pointing at his chest. He was surprised,
but smiled. This seemed to slightly infuriate their ex-
defense professor.
'What's so funny Potter? I could curse you, and have no
repercussions, while if you cursed me, you'd be out of
Hogwarts by midnight' she laughed. Hermione took a step
forward, her wand jabbing into Umbridge's rather flaccid
neck.
'If you curse Harry, I'll be the repercussion' she growled.
Umbridge's eyes looked at Hermione with fear, realizing
how much it could not be a bluff. Harry couldn't help
himself smiling at Umbridge's reaction, and what
Hermione said.
The door behind them all opened, and Professor
McGonagall came in, stopping after only a few steps, a
look of befuddlement on her face at what she was seeing.
'What's the meaning of this!' she stormed, waving her
wand and all three of their's zooming out of their hands
and into hers. Harry and Hermione backed away, and
Umbridge let out a noticeable sigh of relief. Harry now
noticed all the portraits were awake, observing the scene.
'Why, we were just having a nice chat, weren't we kids.'
Umbridge looked to Harry and Hermione, and was met
with anger filled stares.
'Be silent Dolores' McGonagall snapped. Umbridge must
have realized the position she was in. She slouched
slightly, and took a seat in front of the headmistress's
desk. McGonagall moved briskly around in behind the
desk, and sat down. Harry and Hermione slowly took
seats on opposite sides of Umbridge, making sure to keep
their distance simply out of anger. Harry felt if she insulted
him even once, he would seriously try to strangle the
woman. McGonagall placed the three wands on the top of
her desk, and looked at Umbridge.
'What are you doing here Dolores? I told you I would meet
with you tomorrow. Surely you know how to read a clock'
she said assertively. Harry held his laugh in. He knew how
much McGonagall disliked Umbridge, and how she must
be enjoying the situation now.
'Yes, well, I took the liberty of coming here tonight, to
discuss the patrol routes and rotations. I had figured it
would be your highest priority, and came to visit with you. I
trust you don't mind I let myself into your office' Umbridge
replied sweetly. McGonagall did not look too impressed.
'It is a priority Dolores, and I do mind you coming into my
office. Know that I will be changing the password the
moment you leave, which is now. I will meet with you
tomorrow, as I told you before. Good night.' McGonagall
waved her wand, and the door to the office opened.
Umbridge stood up, and grabbed her wand. The other
three did not stand as she departed, and she quickly
exited the room. McGonagall noticeably relaxed after the
door was shut, leaning back in her chair and taking off her
witches hat.
'Why is that old bat here?' Harry asked angrily.
'The Ministry, in its infinite wisdom, put her in charge of the
Auror's stationed at Hogwarts. Of course, I asked them to
put me in charge, or anyone else for that matter, however
the Ministry avowed that neither the Aurors, nor Dolores
would interfere with school affairs. I highly doubt that,
however I have no need to worry about her. Neither do
you two, understood?' Harry and Hermione both nodded.
Harry still knew Umbridge would try to make his time as
hard as possible.
'Now, let me first say congratulations to both of you for
making Head Boy and Head Girl. I hope that you both take
the position seriously, and help the professors and staff
when needed. You will both be staying in the Head
Dormitories, located in the East Tower' McGonagall
informed. Hermione looked perplexed.
'I thought we stayed in our house dormitories? And the
East Tower? I didn't know Hogwarts had one' attested
Hermione, looking a bit sad, realizing she didn't know
something about Hogwarts. McGonagall nodded.
'Well, you see, Head Boy and Girl positions have many
duties to attend to. Being in a regular house dormitory
would be too crowded, and you both would need some
space. Also, being Heads, you need to be accessible to all
house prefects and professors. If you where in your house
dormitories, for example, a Hufflepuff prefect could not
come and see you, because they would be unable to get
past the portrait. And I'm sure you would agree, a Slytherin
prefect would definitely not make it far into the Gryffindor
common room before being thrown out.' Harry and
Hermione agreed. It made sense to Harry. He would miss
being in a house dormitory with Ron and everyone else,
but maybe being in his own would be nice too.
'And yes, there is an East Tower, although it is quite small.
You walk along the corridor on the fourth floor, going past
the library, and down a narrow hallway. At the end of this
hallway, there is the painting of Evander the Enlightened.
Simply give your password, and you can enter. Right now,
the password is "Everlasting Magic", however if you
choose to change it, simply tell Evander, and he will
remember, although you would be best to tell me the
password as well.' Harry and Hermione concurred again.
He was sure Hermione would think of a good password.
He could imagine if he had to pick one, it would be
probably something foolish like "I hate Snape".
McGonagall got up, and slowly picked up a piece of
parchment from a bookcase behind her. The desk, which
in Dumbledore's time had numerous silvery objects, was
fairly clean, with some quills, a stack of parchment, and a
bowl of mints. Harry looked up, and only now noticed
Dumbledore's portrait, which was, along with the rest of
them on the walls, looking at the three of them.
McGonagall was looking at Dumbledore's portrait, which
nodded to her. The portrait Dumbledore then turned,
smiled and winked at Harry, causing Harry to smile back.
McGonagall turned around, and sat down.
'I asked you two here, because of Albus' will. He left it
here in the office, and asked that I read the parts
pertaining to you when you returned to Hogwarts' she
started, sounding rather uncertain of herself. Hermione
and Harry were both on the edges of their seats, nodding.
McGonagall unfolded the parchment, and read.
'To Harry Potter, I must say that I am sorry for my passing.
I know you are hurt by it, however you will understand why
my passing happened the way it did. Keep confidence in
yourself, and your friends. Never give up on your quest, or
your love.' McGonagall paused for a moment, then
continued.
'I leave to Harry, my Pensieve. Search my memories
Harry, and I shall hope they will aid you in your journeys.
Godric Gryffindor's Sword shall remain to Hogwarts,
however Harry will have full access to it when needed,
along with the Sorting Hat. I must also ask the
Headmistress if Harry could have access to her office
when required, if he needs to talk to my portrait.'
McGonagall lowered the parchment, and looked at Harry.
'Potter, you have permission to come and talk to Albus'
portrait whenever needed. In his note to me, he made it
plainly clear he wanted you to have access.' Harry
nodded, and McGonagall continued.
'To Miss Hermione Granger, I will say that I know you will
do great things in the future, as long as you never give up
on life's hard questions. Always look at these questions,
and their answers from different perspectives. Also, listen
to your head, as well as your heart, and stay close to your
friends.
'To you, I leave my most cherished books. My personal
notebook, with spells that you will not find in normal
charms books. Show this to Harry as well, since he will
need them too. The second book is an old, but
unimaginably genius work called "Magic of the Ages." It
says it's written by Walvane Worcrane, however I have
never found that name in any history books, and as far as
I know, it is the only copy of it in existence. Finally, there is
a potions book. Keep this book close. It was written by two
people, one of whom is now dead, the other who soon
might be, if not already.
'Please use these books, read them, and make sure they
do not fall into the wrong hands.' McGonagall looked to
Hermione. She nodded very quickly, and McGonagall
continued.
'Please both know that I am proud of you both, and what
you have become, as well as Ronald Weasley. Harry, your
parents would be proud of you, and I am as well. Please
do not shut away your friends in hard times Harry.
Embrace them, and find the love you have been without
for so long. Remember Harry, what makes you and
Voldemort different, is your love.' McGonagall looked up
from the parchment, and leaned back in her chair.
'Do you both understand what was written?' she asked.
Both Harry and Hermione nodded again, having not
spoken since Umbridge was in the office. McGonagall
stood up, Harry and Hermione doing the same, and she
moved to the glass cabinet on the side of the office. She
opened it, and extracted the shimmering Pensieve, placing
it on the desk. She returned to the cabinet, which looked
very devoid of other items, and retrieved three very old,
very tattered looking books, placing them next the
Pensieve.
'Professor, could we possibly talk to Professor
Dumbledore's portrait?' asked Harry hesitantly. She
looked to Harry, however didn't need to respond.
'Harry, you don't need to ask Professor McGonagall's
permission to talk to me' replied Dumbledore's portrait
nicely.
'Would you like me to leave Potter?' asked McGonagall.
'No, please stay. I just wanted to tell him what the Sorting
Hat sung about, and ask him what he thinks it could
mean.' McGonagall nodded, and Harry went ahead and
told the portrait about the song. The heirs, the fate of
Hogwarts, the part about wielding the sword and such.
When he finished, the portrait scratched his head, while
many of the others on the walls were talking amongst
each other.
'Well Harry, I think it would be obvious then. You are the
Heir of Gryffindor. I am not surprised really' replied
Dumbledore.
'But how? I mean, how could I be related to Gryffindor?'
'Well, from your father's side. Your father was a pure
blood, and came from a family long known to be sorted
into Gryffindor, and be surrounded by friends who where
in the same house, and of noble heart. Your father was
just the same, as are you' answered Dumbledore. Harry
still couldn't understand.
'So, you're saying that my father's side goes all the way
back to Gryffindor?' he asked. Dumbledore nodded his
head, and Harry couldn't stop his mouth from opening in
awe.
'I'm surprised you didn't make the connection earlier. Your
parents lived in Godric's Hollow. Did you never notice the
name?'
'Well, yeah, but I never thought it actually meant
Gryffindor' said Harry.
'Yes, it does. The house that originally stood there was
Godric's summer house, although it has been rebuilt over
time.' Other portraits were conversing amongst
themselves, not really trying to quiet their whispers.
'But you said you weren't surprised?' asked Harry.
Dumbledore nodded again.
'When I found out what happened in the Chamber of
Secrets in your second year, and how Fawkes brought
you the Sorting Hat and Godric's Sword, I knew then what
you were. The Sorting Hat had mentioned the Heir of
Slytherin, and the Heir of Gryffindor before, the year the
Chamber was first opened. It said then that the Heir of
Slytherin could only be stopped by the Heir of Gryffindor.
When you defeated Voldemort in the Chamber with the
Hat and the Sword, I knew then you where that Heir.'
'So, what do I do?' Harry asked, his nervousness slipping
slightly into his voice. He felt like things where going out of
control almost. First it was learning of his parents, and
now this heir business, he felt it was becoming too much.
Dumbledore, even in portrait form, still had a way of
making things easier though.
'Harry, it means little, other than reinforcing that what we
already know. I think you would be best to focus on your
studying, and the tasks set in front of you. I think you
would also do best with a good night's sleep. We can talk
more another day' Dumbledore affirmed. Harry still had
many questions, however agreed. He had yawned more
than once while being in the office, and could feel the
sleepiness in his body. Professor McGonagall led the two
Heads with their possessions out of the office, both Harry
and Hermione waving at Dumbledore's portrait, who nicely
waved back.
'If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. If
Dolores causes either of you trouble, come and see me at
once. I know you will both not let me down' she indicated
with probably the warmest smile McGonagall could give.
Harry and Hermione both thanked the Professor, and
started their way out when Hermione turned before the
door.
'Professor, did you find new professors this year?' she
asked. McGonagall sat back down in her chair, and
nodded, looking slightly drained.
'Yes, luckily. You may have seen them at the welcoming
feast. The new transfiguration professor will be Professor
Iona Fourmove, lovely girl, with a good talent at
transfiguring. Our new defence against the dark arts
professor will be Professor Topher Terrwynebas. He was
home schooled in magic by his father, but is more than
qualified. Both are young, and I would ask that you both
introduce yourselves and encourage students to be
supportive of them.' Harry and Hermione said goodnight to
the headmistress, and exited the office. As they walked
along towards the fourth floor corridor, they kept quite
silent.
Harry liked that Hermione didn't run into conversation
about what transpired in McGonagall's office. His mind
was going around in circles fast enough as it was. As they
passed the library, they turned and walked down the
narrow hallway, lit dimly by a few lanterns hung from the
ceiling. As they reached the end, they approached a
painting of a dashing man in maroon robes, holding a
silver scepter. He was standing in front of a white
curtained wall in the painting. He looked at the two tired
students coming towards him, and noticed their badges.
'Ah! The new Head students! Good evening, I am Evander
the Enlightened. I hope that I can help you when needed,
and if not, at least be a nice face to see before you go to
your dormitories. What are your names?' he asked. Harry
never really gotten used to talking to the paintings,
however this one seemed to have his head on correctly.
'I am Hermione Granger, and this is Harry Potter' stated
Hermione, giving another yawn.
'Potter? Oh yes, I remember now. Are you related to
James Potter?'
'Yes, he's my father' replied Harry sleepily.
'Really? And your mother?' Evander asked again.
'Lily Evans.'
'Oh, that is splendid! The tradition never dies! How are
they now?' he asked enthusiastically.
'They're dead' Harry replied flatly. He wouldn't have
minded talking to Evander a few hours earlier, however it
was late, and they both needed to get up early the next
day. Evander seemed disheartened by the response.
'That is too bad, I'm sorry. I can see you are tired, and
rightly so, it's quite late. Password?' Harry was glad he
had gotten the message to finish the conversation.
'Everlasting Magic. And what did you mean, "the tradition
never dies"?' asked Hermione.
'Oh, I can't tell you now. But don't worry, you'll figure it out'
Evander replied with a smirk, the painting hinging
outwards to show a hole that lead to a common room.
Hermione gave a wondrous look to Harry, and they
entered the dormitories.
The circular common room was small, but more than
enough space for two people. A fireplace stood opposite
the entrance way, with two comfy armchairs sitting in front
of it. A desk sat on the right side of the room, and a couch
and two chairs on the other in front of a few bookshelves.
The stone walls had numerous paintings and portraits of
wizards and witches, as well as landscapes. A painting of
Hogwarts stood above the fireplace, although the school
had less towers and the greenhouses did not exist. Harry
figured it must have been an earlier Hogwarts.
As the two looked around the common room, Harry
noticed two doorways on opposite sides of the room. Both
had stairways in them, which lead to their respective
rooms. Harry placed the Pensieve on the table, and sat
down in one of the armchairs by the fire. Hermione put the
books on the table as well, and sat down in the other. The
fire crackled quietly as Harry stared into it, Hermione
looking over Harry.
'Are you alright?' she asked softly. Harry moved his glance
away from the fire, and towards a blank space of carpet in
front of his feet.
'I don't know. There's so much now. I mean, it's all so
confusing. I wish things were easier' he admitted.
Hermione reached over, and placed her hand on top of
his. He felt a sense of relief knowing how Hermione was
there for him, even at a time like now. He knew that of all
the things someone could have done at a moment like
that, placing her hand on his was all he needed for a smile
to wipe across his face. They stared at the fire for a few
moments, before Harry spoke again.
'Thank you Hermione' he said, looking over at her and
giving her hand a light squeeze.
'Anytime' she replied simply, squeezing back, and giving
Harry a smile. She slipped her hand away, said goodnight,
and went up the set of right hand stairs towards her room.
Harry remained in his chair for a few minutes longer,
before he trudged his way up the left hand stairwell into
his room.
Inside, he found a four poster bed, not unlike those in the
regular dormitories. The room itself was slightly larger,
with a curved wall on one side, and flat one on the other.
He figured half the turret was his, the other half was
Hermione's. Harry opened up one set of doors, and found
a wardrobe to hang clothes and robes. He moved over,
and opened the other door, and found it lead to a
washroom. Again, small, but more than enough space for
one person.
Harry put Hedwig's cage up next to the window, and let
her out to hunt. He changed in silence, and opened his
trunk, taking out his parents' photo from Godric's Hollow.
He placed it on the nightstand next to his bed, pulled over
the covers, and laid down. He looked at the photo, his
parents still looking back at him and waving, and grasped
his mother's locket in his hand. He silently wished for
things to be alright, closed his eyes, and fell into much
wanted sleep.
Spell / Name Meanings -
Evander – Roman form of Greek name Euandros. G. eu:
good, aner: man (Evander good man)
Walvane Worcrane – This name is an anagram of
another. I won't be saying what the original name is now,
but you're welcome to guess.
Iona – Name of an island off Scotland. The name of the
island itself comes from Old Norse, and is derived from the
word ey: island.
Fourmove – L. formo: to shape, amoveo: shift (Fourmove
to shape shift) (hence why she's good at Transfiguration)
Topher – Short form of the name Christopher, which is my
name (name connection to that character for me).
Terrwynebas – Alas, this is yet another name I will not be
saying right now. It is a combination of two words,
however I will help people out those who are eager to
know it: neither of the words are Latin or Greek. Good
luck!

- CHAPTER ELEVEN -
Professor Terrwynebas
When Harry woke in the morning, it took a few moments to
remember he was Head Boy. Every time before, he would
be woken by his roommates. Now that he was alone, he
woke to complete silence, with the exception of the odd
bird he would hear from the window. He looked at his
watch, and was glad to find he was early for breakfast. He
continued to lie in bed for a few minutes, embracing the
silence, and silently praying it wasn't a terrible mistake to
return to Hogwarts. After a few moments of this, he let out
an audible sigh, went ahead, got dressed, and proceeded
to the common room. Hermione was already there in her
school robes, reading one of Dumbledore's books.
'Morning' mumbled Harry, as he took a seat in front of the
fireplace and yawned. The dying embers in the fireplace
made the odd crackle here and there. From the large
undraped window on the far wall, Harry could tell the day
would be cloudless and pristine.
'Morning Harry' Hermione acknowledged, not looking up
from the tattered book.
'Couldn't wait, could you?' Harry remarked. Hermione
finally tore her gaze from the ancient book, and smiled.
'Well, I would have started on these last night, but I was
too tired. Could barely sleep wondering what's in them.
This one' she held it up, showing Harry an old leather
bound notebook, 'was Dumbledore's notebook. You
should see it Harry, there's so much stuff in it!'
'Well, maybe you could read more at breakfast, 'cause I'm
hungry' he mentioned, his stomach notifying him of its
emptiness. Hermione marked her page, and stood up.
They exited the Head dormitories, and made their way to
the Great Hall. When they entered, Harry found almost all
the students were looking at newspapers, with fearful
looks on their faces. Harry glanced towards the professor's
table, and found the professors doing just the same.
Professor McGonagall looked almost as worried as she
was after the Sorting Hat's song the night before. Harry
caught sight of a hand waving, and looked to see Ron
beckoning the two towards him. Hermione sat down next
to Ron, and Harry next to Hermione.
'What's everyone looking at?' Harry asked.
'The Prophet. They heard back from Azkaban' informed
Ron quickly, handing the two of them a copy of the Daily
Prophet. The front page was covered with pictures. The
biggest one, just below the headline, showed a ghostly
looking castle on a small island, the Dark Mark floating
above it menacingly.
AZKABAN ATTACKED BY HE WHO MUST NOT BE
NAMED
Ministry Scout Team finds prison deserted, guards
dead Late last night, a scout team sent by the Ministry of
Magic to ascertain the situation at Azkaban Prison,
returned with grim news. The prison has been emptied of
its occupants, the guards killed, and the mark of He Who
Must Not Be Named set floating above the ancient prison.
'We have no comments at this time, however warn people
to follow Ministry guidelines sent out at the beginning of
summer. Those guidelines are again posted in this issue
of the Prophet' told one Ministry official, who after the
stunted comment, scurried away rapidly, and had our
reporter expelled from the Ministry offices. The guidelines
are located in section G-25.
Some reports pointed towards problems at Azkaban over
a fortnight ago. It was supposedly reported that contact
with the prison stopped approximately three weeks ago.
The Daily Prophet reported several muggle ships and
sailboats (devices that use the wind to move a boat across
water) that were last sighted in the area of Azkaban had
gone missing. Muggle newspapers have reported that the
ships were lost due to a hurricane (although wizards in the
Muggle Liaison Office have commented that hurricanes do
not happen in that part of the world).
Now that Azkaban prisoners, some incarcerated for over
fifteen years, are free, it is more likely that the violence
seen over the past few months will continue, if not
increase. Most of these prisoners were guilty of heinous
crimes, including terrorizing muggles, performing illegal
curses, including the infamous Unforgivable Curses, and
murder. The total number of prisoners freed is estimated
at 47.
The Ministry, in a state of utter confusion, did not accept
our worry over Azkaban weeks ago, and we now must fear
as to what could be next. We wonder, since the Ministry is
obviously incapable of protecting the public from He Who
Must Not Be Named, where can we turn? – Continued in
Sections A-9, 12, 13, 16
Harry finished reading, and looked at the pictures. Below
the article, several other small articles were dedicated to
mentioning some of the crimes of the escapees. Most of
the front page was taken up by pictures of the prisoners,
with names and details of how long they were held in
Azkaban, and what for. Harry looked at the various faces,
and saw a few he recognized, including Lucius Malfoy.
'This is horrible' Hermione sighed darkly, Harry nodding in
agreement. Voldemort now had all his old Death Eaters
with him, and could imagine that he must feel happy about
it.
'Where'd you guys go to last night? You left for that
meeting, and didn't come back. I waited in the common
room for hours before I went to bed' commented Ron.
'Well, we had the meeting. Found out that toad Umbridge
is back' Harry started. Ron let out a more than perceptible
swear, Hermione elbowing him in response.
'My thoughts exactly. Ministry put her in charge of the
Aurors at the school. Anyways, we found out Heads have
their own dormitories, in the East Tower' Harry continued.
'You guys don't stay in Gryffindor Tower?' Ron asked
awkwardly. Hermione finally looked away from the paper,
and started getting herself some food.
'No, Professor McGonagall told us Heads have their own
dormitories, for a number of different reasons. I think it'll
be a good change, having more space. Don't worry Ron,
you can come anytime, right Harry?' asked Hermione. She
and Ron both looked at Harry. Harry wondered why she
would even ask.
'Yeah, of course you can. Password is "Quidditch and
Quills"' Harry answered plainly, and taking a bite of his
toast. He and Hermione changed the password that
morning. Since Harry wasn't good at choosing passwords,
they decided on something simple, a word that described
both of them. Harry loved quidditch, and Hermione loved
quills. So they reasoned, for the time being, to put them
together.
'So did you ask about the song?' Ron asked, sounding a
bit more cheerful, and diving into his mound of scrambled
eggs.
'Yeah, Dumbledore's portrait said he expected it. The Hat
sang about the Heir of Slytherin and Gryffindor when the
Chamber of Secrets was first opened, which was way
back in Hagrid's time' Harry explained.
'So . . . are you the Heir of Gryffindor?' Ron asked shakily.
'The Hat said I am. Dumbledore's portrait said it's from my
Dad's side' said Harry. Ron whistled in response. Harry
understood the reaction. Only seven years ago, Harry was
just a regular muggle, no idea of magic. Now, not only was
he a wizard, but a descendant of one of the most famous
wizards to ever live.
The three of them continued on with their breakfast. Harry
and Hermione told Ron about their meeting, and about the
gifts from Dumbledore. Harry began to think that Ron
wasn't too happy that he wasn't left anything. The
numerous students that came to congratulate Harry and
Hermione for becoming Heads probably did not make it
any better. Harry of course felt terrible that they were
doing it in front of Ron, who when someone approached,
would suddenly become enthralled with his empty plate.
Just before breakfast was over, the young looking auburn
haired professor whom Harry saw the night before, came
around the Gryffindor table with timetables, while wearing
scarlet robes. His hair was not as tamed as the night
before, and seemed slightly lost for direction. Harry could
see now, that he was a little heavy in appearence, with
wide set shoulders and a sqaure like frame. He greeted
many of the students with vigor and seemed quite lively.
When he arrived at Harry, he stood back for a moment,
and took a moment to look at him. Harry noticed, by
surprise, that the professor had green eyes as well,
although dulled compared to his, and slightly inset more.
'Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you. I am Professor
Terrwynebas, the school's new Defence Against the Dark
Arts teacher, and Head of Gryffindor House.
Congratulations on appointment to Head Boy. Here is your
timetable. I believe we should schedule a meeting. I have
some issues I wish to discuss, if that is alright with you?'
he smiled, giving Harry his timetable. Harry told the young
professor that it was alright.
'Great. We can arrange a time after our Defence lesson
tomorrow' he said. He then turned to Hermione and Ron,
giving them their timetables.
'Oh, and you must be Hermione Granger, and Ron
Weasley. I've heard much about all of you. I look forward
to seeing you in my class. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have
more timetables to hand out and students to meet' he
exclaimed, moving over to hand timetables to a few third
years.
As the three of them left the Great Hall minutes later, they
started their way to the potions dungeon. All three of them
had double potions in the morning, with transfiguration in
the afternoon. Hermione also had arithmancy in the
afternoon, while Ron and Harry had a free period.
'Well, he seems decent, now doesn't he?' supposed
Hermione, commenting on their first impression of
Professor Terrwynebas. Harry just shrugged his
shoulders.
'I'll judge that when I see what he's teaching.' The three
turned, and started down the steps towards the old potions
classroom.
'I wonder who's teaching potions? I mean, the two new
professors McGonagall talked about are teaching
transfiguration and defence. She didn't mention potions'
Hermione wondered.
'Maybe Slughorn stuck around' Harry proposed.
'Well, as long as he doesn't do that stupid "Slug Club"
thing, I don't mind' Ron commented.
'Agreed' both Harry and Hermione stated, chuckling
slightly. Harry remembered the party he went to last year,
and vowed never to even think of going to another one.
As the three of them descended the stone steps into the
bowels of school, approaching the classroom, they found
several students waiting outside the door. When they
came closer, they were surprised this group included
some sixth years, including some they knew.
'Ginny?' Ron asked. She was talking to Luna, who was
also waiting for the potions class. Ginny turned around,
and greeted the three seventh years.
'Hi there. You guys have potions now too? Weird huh?'
Hermione looked confused.
'I wonder why-' she started, however right then, the door to
the potions dungeon opened, and a large belly wearing a
dark green waistcoat almost bursting at the buttons
preceded the man it was connected to, who had a shiny
bald head, and silvery walrus-like moustache.
'Ah, you're all here! Please, come in, come in!' Professor
Slughorn charmed, opening the door, and moving aside so
the students could make their way past and into chairs. As
Harry passed the door, Slughorn made it a point to say
hello.
'Harry, my boy, good to see you! Terrible incident with
Dumbledore, but we must move on. It is very good to see
you back' he expressed warmly, however still as
thunderous as usual. Harry was taken aback by his last
sentence. He sounded genuinely glad to see Harry again,
and not for his fame. Harry gave a curious look to
Hermione, who looked just as confused. Harry, Hermione,
and Ron took their seats in the back, along with Ernie
Macmillan. Ginny sat with Luna, along with another two
Ravenclaws. Theodore Nott, a girl from Slytherin, and two
Hufflepuffs shared the other table
Harry looked around the dungeon, and found the class
was made of sixth and seventh year students. The same
three cauldrons that stood at the beginning of last year's
first lesson stood again on the desks. Harry could smell
the scents in the air. The cauldron on their desk, Harry
could see, was full of Polyjuice Potion.
Professor Slughorn made his slow amble up to the front of
the class, his round figure obscured slightly by the vapours
in the room.
'Alright, everyone, scales out, potion kits, and Advanced
Potion-Making' he directed. Harry pulled out his new copy
of Advance Potion-Making by Libatius Borage, and his
scales. As much as the used copy he had last year helped
him, he vowed never to use the book again. He kept it,
however had it locked away in Grimmauld. While the
students clamored with their scales and potions kits,
Slughorn moved behind his desk.
'Now, you may be asking why sixth and seventh years are
in the same class. Simply put, there aren't enough of you.
The numbers this year are unfortunately lower than
normal, so for this class, we will be covering potions at
sixth and seventh year levels. Now don't worry, seventh
years will get more than enough time to work on N.E.W.T.
potions' he guaranteed. Hermione let out a sigh of relief.
She became noticeably tense when hearing they would be
doing potions from last year again, no doubt worrying they
wouldn't have enough time for N.E.W.T. potions. The stout
figure of Slughorn moved around in front of his desk now,
and looked at the students.
'Now, I've placed these potions, like last year for your
seventh years, as examples of potions you should be able
to make after your N.E.W.T.s. Only open to sixth years
now, can anyone tell me what this one is?' he asked,
pointing towards the table Ginny sat at were the cauldron
was filled with a soft white coloured potion, with steam
coming off in swirls. Harry had forgotten at the time what
potion it was called, however remembered the smell. Just
as the year before, the scent of treacle tarts, the wood of a
broomstick, and something flowery engulfed his senses.
Something was different though. The flower smell had
changed, and smelled sweeter. It was almost like . . .
'Is it Amortenta?' a Ravenclaw girl asked, who was sitting
at Ginny's table, bringing Harry's mind back to class. That
smell couldn't be what he thought it was. Slughorn smiled
slightly at the girl's response.
'Close, it's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion to
exist. Now, who can tell me what this potion is?' he asked,
now moving from Ginny's table, onto Harry's. One of the
Hufflepuff girls correctly named the Polyjuice Potion, and
Ginny was able to identify Veritaserum, which sat at the
last table.
The rest of the class went without incident. Slughorn
moved around as they brewed their Confidence
Concoction. Harry thought it was a pretty simple potion,
and made it easily. It ended up looking close to the sky
blue colour it should be at the end, although Hermione's
was brewing towards the correct pallid shade. The potion
itself was a lesser version Felix Felicis. It gave the person
confidence to do things they were normally too scared to
do. Of course, the potion had bad effects in some
instances, and was brewed to only have effects lasting
twenty minutes. As they exited the dungeon, Professor
Slughorn called Harry over to his desk. Hermione and Ron
told him they'd meet him in the Great Hall for lunch.
'Harry my boy, how are you doing?' he asked as he took
his seat, the buttons on his waistcoat begging to be let
free. Harry took a seat at one of the tables close to the
professor's desk.
'I'm OK. I didn't expect to see you here this year professor'
Harry admitted honestly. Slughorn gave a trifle of a laugh.
'Neither did I. When Albus passed, I thought I'd be gone
faster than a seeker hot on a snitch. However, during the
summer, I realized that returning to Hogwarts would, once
again, be the safest place to be. I'm an old man, I need
somewhere were I can stay put. All that running around
did me no good. Plus, Albus asked me before he passed,
actually the day it happened, if I would stay at Hogwarts
for this year, promising me he would not bother me
anymore. I agreed, and I sadly see he was correct. I would
have rather put up with his bothers than the current
situation' he confessed.
Harry was staggered at his comments. Slughorn was
always one for personal gain, and never really got
sentimental, except when drinking too much mulled mead.
Slughorn seemed to be in deep thought for a few
moments staring at a wall, before snapping out it, and
looked back at Harry, leaning forward in his chair.
'Now Harry, Albus asked me to help you with some things
this year. I know your mother's talents will be more than
enough, however Albus claimed that you may be making
potions for an out of school project, and may need my
professional assistance' he proclaimed, straightening his
overly-tight waist coat, looking quite content with himself.
Now Harry could see the Slugclub leader coming through.
'Dumbledore said I'd be making out of class potions? Did
he say why?' Harry asked. Slughorn looked slightly
bemused.
'You mean you don't have an out of school project?'
'Err, I do, but . . . never mind. Thank you Professor. If I
need your help, I'll let you know' he assured. Harry got up,
and left the dungeon before Slughorn could ask about the
so called "project", and made his way to the Great Hall. He
found it interesting that Dumbledore got Slughorn to
promise to come back the day he died. Moreover, he
asked him to help Harry with potions for some reason.
Something told him, as he passed through the Entrance
Chamber, that Dumbledore knew more than he told Harry.
'So what did Slughorn want?' Ron asked, while in between
bites of his pasta. Harry gathered some food on his plate,
and started eating before answering Ron.
'Just to tell me he'd help me with any potions I need for
outside of class' he answered. Hermione looked over at
Harry.
'Why would you need to make potions outside of class?'
she asked, looking over her timetable again for what Harry
thought was the fiftieth time that day.
'That's the thing, he said Dumbledore asked him to stay at
Hogwarts, and help me with potions. He asked him on the
day he died too' Harry recounted to Ron and Hermione.
Ron continued to eat, however Hermione looked up from
her timetable.
'He asked on the day he died? That's definitely not a
coincidence, considering that he left me a potions book,
and told Slughorn that you'd need help on potions from
outside of class. Maybe there's a potion in there I should
read about that might help us find the chamber pots' she
deduced.
Hermione decided to start looking at the potions book that
night, in hopes of finding something that could help them
find the Horcruxes. Harry was glad that they were getting
a good start at understanding Horcruxes. The only big
thing left was learning what the Horcruxes were, and
where they are hidden. They finished lunch, and went
ahead to the transfiguration classroom.
Transfiguration class proved to be, well, interesting.
Professor Fourmove, however young, was amazingly
gifted with transfiguration. Her shadowy black hair was set
framing her face, and her blue eyes surveyed the class as
they sat down. Her charcoal robes where simple, but
professor-like in appearance. She began the class by
telling them a bit of her past, and her experience. Harry
found out she had graduated from Hogwarts not too many
years before Harry and the others in the class started. She
had been in Ravenclaw, and remembered McGonagall's
stern teaching style.
'Now, I will tell you that I won't be as strict as the
Headmistress, however as this year you will be taking your
N.E.W.T.s, I expect you all to try your hardest, and pay
attention' she informed, getting up and pacing around the
classroom.
She went on, and told the class the expectations of
N.E.W.T. level transfiguration. Harry was flabbergasted to
learn they would have to do human transfiguration, as well
as demonstrate the ability to transfigure magical creatures,
such as baby dragons, and nifflers. During the class, they
took notes on human and self transfiguration, and how
changing forms can add extra powers to the person,
depending on the animal. As they left, Hermione leaving
Harry and Ron and making off towards the arithmancy
classroom, Ron did not sound pleased with the idea of
transfiguring baby dragons.
'It's mad! Can you imagine me trying to turn a dragon like
Norbert into a teacup!' he ranted, as they made their way
to the East Tower. Ron still had not seen the Head
Dormitories, and Harry figured to show him now, since
they had a free period. They ended up in front Evander not
to long after exiting class. Evander seemed as ebullient as
the night before.
'Oh, hello there Harry! Who is this young lad?' he asked,
giving Ron a look over.
'This is Ron, my best friend, and Hermione's boyfriend.
You'll see him here quite a bit I can imagine' Harry
answered. Evander beamed at Ron.
'Greetings Ron, I am Evander the Enlightened. You say
he's dating Hermione?' he asked Harry, who nodded.
'Ah, well, good for you. Just remember the password, and
things will be fine!'
'Quidditch and Quills' Harry told Evander. Evander bowed
his head, and the portrait swung open to reveal a stone
passage which Harry and Ron followed. It wasn't a long
hallway, only a few steps. They reached the common
room, and sat down in the chairs by the fireplace. Ron was
looking the room over thoroughly.
'Wow, this is nice. You guys are lucky' Ron remarked
enviously. Harry wondered if he was going to relax about
Hermione and himself being Heads.
'Com'on, how about a game of wizard's chess?' Harry
asked, trying to get Ron off the topic. Ron looked around a
little more, before nodding.
The chess games went well. Ron kept winning, and Harry
could see his confidence go up with each win. He was still
trying to beat Ron, and came close sometimes, but chess
was never Harry's game. When it came time to return to
the Great Hall for supper, they had played five games,
Ron winning them all. He was gladly out of his funk when
he sat down at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was already
there.
'Hey there guys, enjoy your break?' she asked as they sat
down, Ron next to her and Harry opposite both of them.
They went ahead, and talked about the prospects of
human transfiguration, and wondering how the DADA
class would be, which they had the next day, in the
afternoon. They left the Great Hall, and the three of them
went to the Head dorms, where Hermione started reading
over the potions book Dumbledore left, while Harry and
Ron looked over Harry's notes on the Horcruxes.
As it stood right now, Harry had to believe, like
Dumbledore did, that there were seven Horcruxes: the
diary, the ring, the locket, Hufflepuff's cup, something of
Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's, Voldemort's pet snake Nagini,
and the living part of the soul. The diary and ring were
both destroyed, and the locket was still secure in Harry's
trunk. The cup, Harry had no idea where to look, and the
snake would have to come last before destroying
Voldemort himself probably, since they stayed so close to
each other. The last Horcrux, Harry had no clue what it
could be, however the idea Dumbledore suggested with it
being an artifact of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, sounded to
all three of them the best idea for now.
By time they finished pouring over Harry's notes, it was
coming close to midnight, and both Harry and Ron were
blurry eyed. Harry wanted to look into the Pensieve,
however decided to wait. He didn't know what memories
would be shown to him when he went in, and was weary
of what he would see. As they packed up his notes,
Hermione stirred in her chair, and stood up, marking her
page in the thick potions book, and wiping her eyes.
'Who ever wrote this book was very intelligent, although
they didn't leave their name. Some of the potions in here
I've never heard of, however I haven't found one that
would be good for finding Horcruxes. I'll keep reading it
though Harry' she reassured. Harry had hoped she would
find something that would at least tell him they were
getting somewhere with research. They had spent almost
a month going through the books at Grimmauld, only to
find nothing. He hoped that coming back to Hogwarts
would jump start the search.
Hermione escorted Ron out of the common room, and
Harry put his notes away in a folder. She came back in a
moment later, looking exceptionally tired.
'Well, goodnight Harry' she said drowsily, and started her
way up the steps to her room. Harry took the folder, and
put it back in his trunk, and went to bed.
As Harry, Hermione, and Ron entered the defence
classroom the next afternoon, Harry was surprised to see
it almost entirely empty. Aside from the desks and seats,
nothing else stood in the room, the walls bare. The black
drapes for the windows were drawn open, allowing the
afternoon sunlight to shine into the room.
The three took their seats in the back, and waited for
everyone else. Once all the students were seated,
Professor Terrwynebas entered through the door to his
office, and came down the stairs. He stopped behind the
desk, and surveyed the class with his green eyes, giving a
smile to Harry as he passed by.
'Hello everyone, welcome to Defence Against the Dark
Arts. I am Professor Topher Terrwynebas, and I will be
your teacher this year. You are all expected, by the end of
this year, to take your N.E.W.T.s, and it is my hope that
you will all be more than ready for any spell the Ministry
wishes to ask of you' he started, still surveying the class.
He walked slowly to the window, and made a quick glance
out, and gave a bleak look at the floor.
'However this year, learning defence spells should not be
for a Ministry test, but for your own safety. As you know,
these are hard times, and as much as I know you want to
learn defence theory, this year will be devoted only to
practical defence spells. That being said, please everyone
stand up' he addressed. Most in the class were hesitant to
stand, however Harry was more than glad to stand. The
prospect of a total practical defence class was what he
always wanted. Professor Terrwynebas smiled again at
Harry, however looked over the rest of the class.
'Unless you wish to be crushed by the desks in front of
you, I would suggest you all stand up' he said again,
pulling out a bright wooded wand. Students quickly moved
out of their chairs as the desks began to rumble slightly in
their places. The moment everyone was standing, the
desks zoomed across the room, and stacked themselves
on top of each other on the right side. Everyone stood
oddly spaced in the room, wondering what would come
next.
'Excellent. Now, today we will be working on a charm
called the Firewall Charm. This charm, when performed
correctly, will create a wall of fire around you. Does
anyone know why this could be beneficial ? Ah, Miss
Granger.' Hermione's hand sprung up the second he said
"does anyone know."
'It can be used to ward off Inferi, and any other animals
that live in the dark. Also, it can sometimes be used to
protect against spells' she answered happily.
'Great, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, everyone stand back
please, and watch.' Students moved to the edges of the
room, while Professor Terrwynebas moved into the center
of the classroom, and raised his wand.
'Your wand must be pointing upwards, and you must keep
it there' he informed. He raised his wand higher, and took
a breath, the class taking additional steps backwards.
Harry was flush against the wall, hoping he would not get
singed.
'Ignamoenia! he enunciated. A scarlet and gold ring of fire
erupted from his wand and surrounded the professor,
staying fairly close to him. The ban of fire burned for a few
seconds, then dissipated. Harry remembered this spell
from the cave he and Dumbledore went into last year.
The class took turns at standing in the middle of the
classroom, and trying the spell. Most people were only
able to produce sparks, or a halo of fire above them, but
never a full ring of fire surrounding them. Professor
Terrwynebas told them they had to be confident though.
'You must trust yourself, and visualize the ring around you.
With your mind, you can make it larger, or bind it tighter to
you. Now, try again' he motioned to Neville, who at first
created a small halo high above his head. Harry could
understand why confidence would be a problem. The idea
of surrounding yourself in fire really did not inspire
confidence.
The class continued to perform the spell sub par.
Hermione had made a fire circle, however it was still too
high above her, but was better than everyone else's.
When Professor Terrwynebas motioned Harry to the
center, he smiled again at him.
'OK Harry, now, just visualize the fire around you,
protecting you. Trust yourself' he encouraged. Harry
raised his wand, and tried to remember the fire around
himself in the cave with Dumbledore.
'Ignamoenia!' he proclaimed. A massive fireball ejected
from his wand, and started circling fast around him. The
flames were close, and Harry tried to control them.
Thinking of more space, the flames moved outwards
slightly, and gave Harry some room. Harry was surprised
he could do it so fast, and visualized the empty classroom,
the flames extinguishing quickly.
'Very well done Harry! Excellent! Did you all notice how
the ring became larger before it went out. Very well done. I
think that will be it for today. Homework, work on this spell,
just make sure you're not too close to anything flammable'
he smirked. The class picked up their books, and started
out the door. Harry told Hermione and Ron he'd meet
them in the Great Hall for supper in a moment. They left,
and Harry approached the Professor, who was stacking
the desks back to their original positions.
'Ah yes, Harry. Good job on the Firewall. You've seen it
done before, haven't you?' he asked. Harry was surprised.
'I have sir. How did you know?' he asked. The professor
laughed as he put the last desk in place.
'"Sir!" Harry, I'm not much older than you. When we're like
this, just the two of us, or even with your friends Hermione
and Ron, please call me Topher. In class, professor, just
as a formality' he consulted. Harry agreed, and Topher
continued.
'Now, how did I know? People who have been inside a
Firewall can usually create it easier, simply because they
already know what it looks like from the inside. Tell me,
who's Firewall were you in?' he asked. Harry chest ached,
remembering the old and weak Dumbledore after drinking
the unknown potion in the cave, warding off the Inferi with
his Firewall.
'Professor Dumbledore's' Harry replied quietly. Topher
nodded somberly.
'I see. There's no need to explain. Now, let us retired to
my office, I have some things I need to discuss' he said,
starting up the stairwell to his office. Harry followed, and
entered.
The office, in which Harry had seen kitten plates, dark
detectors, a water tank, and innumerable pictures of
Lockhart, was much like the classroom, empty. A map of
Britain stood on one wall, some dots moving around
slowly. A number of bookshelves stood along the walls,
and his desk was littered with photos of family members
and stacks of old parchment. He took a seat behind the
desk, and Harry took one of the chairs in front.
'Now Harry, there are a few things I need to know' he
began. Harry shifted slightly. So far, Professor
Terrwynebas seemed great in Harry's mind. However, the
prospect of questions made Harry begin to think
otherwise.
'I'll be blunt, are you fighting against Voldemort?' he asked
intently. Harry was astounded.
'You say his name' Harry observed.
'Yes. My father told me other wizards were scared of his
name, however raised me not to be afraid of a name. He
taught me, and I believe, that a fear of name increases the
fear of the person or thing. Now, Harry, are you?' he
posed again. Harry weighed his options. After a few silent
moments, Topher spoke again, knowing that Harry was
thinking.
'I know you're weary of whether to tell me or not. That's a
good thing, considering the history of defence professors
here. Professor Dumbledore told me about the ones
you've had when I met him last year.' Harry decided to pry
father into the professor before answering his single
question.
'You met Dumbledore?' Harry asked.
'Yes. He sent an owl asking if I wanted to take the defence
professorship. I had to of course show what I knew about
defence, and Professor Dumbledore told me about past
professors. I met Professor Snape, your defence professor
at the time. He seemed quite . . .'
'Revolting' Harry offered tersely. Harry was surprised to
see Professor Terrwynebas grin.
'Something like that, yes. Professor Dumbledore told me
of your relationship with Snape, or lack there of. Anyways,
back to my question. If it is true, and you are the supposed
"Chosen One", I would ask nothing more than to help you
in your quest. I do not need to know the details, it is up to
you how much you choose to tell.' Harry was still
apprehensive, however enjoyed that Professor
Terrwynebas seemed to dislike Snape, and only met him
once. For now, he felt he could maybe tell him a little.
'Yes, I am fighting Voldemort' Harry declared. Professor
Terrwynebas smiled.
'Thank you Harry. Now the only other question I have is
simple: are you in love with anyone?' he asked candidly.
Harry tilted his head and gave an odd look, and became
worried again.
'Why do you ask?'
'I just need to know. You will find out later why, but I
pledge to you that what you tell me will never leave this
room' he assured. Harry wondered a little longer, but gave
an answer that he knew couldn't be taken wrongly.
'No' Harry answered. Professor Terrwynebas face was
crestfallen for a moment, however he recovered and
smiled at Harry. He stood up, as did Harry, and they
moved towards the doorway.
'Now Harry, I wish to make a deal with you. I will help you
when you ask of it. If you need help with spells, defences,
anything I know, I will teach you. I wish to help with the
fight against Voldemort. I have, what you could say, a
personal interest in seeing him fall. The only thing I can
ask, is to simply help me with my teaching. Being home
schooled, I did not have the pleasure of seeing professors
teach, so I might ask for some help, if you are willing.'
Professor Terrwynebas appeared quite honest with his
request. It seemed like a good deal for Harry, just as long
as the professor was trustworthy.
'Why do you want Voldemort to die?' Harry asked.
Professor Terrwynebas laughed aloud.
'Harry, why does anyone want him to be gone? My reason
is the same as anyone else, only a bit closer to home.
There will be another time when I can delve deeper into
that. So what do you say, do we have a deal?' he asked
again, offering Harry his hand. Harry waited a moment,
and accepted, shaking his hand with a firm grip.
'Excellent. Now, you should be off to supper. Let us have a
meeting . . . say, on Saturday night, 8pm in the classroom.
Is that alright with you?' the professor asked.
'Sure, that's fine. Thank you Topher' Harry returned, and
just as he was exiting the classroom, Professor
Terrwynebas called him back in.
'Harry, by the way, how was my first lesson?' he asked.
'Excellent' Harry complimented. The professor smiled, and
Harry made his way toward the Great Hall.
Harry's thoughts of Professor Terrwynebas were high now,
however he would always be suspicious. It was just
because of the times though. You always had to be
suspicious, especially of new people. Topher however
came off to Harry as different from any other Defence
professor before. Most of the other ones were slightly, if
not totally insane. Lupin was the only one that had his
head on his shoulders correctly. Topher was still different
though, but in a good way as Harry saw it.
Since he was close to Harry's age, Harry felt he could
better relate to Topher. He seemed very interested in
fighting Voldemort, and disliked Snape, like Harry did. Plus
this "personal interest", what was that? Maybe Voldemort
killed one of his family members, or a loved one. Or
perhaps he took something from him. And why did he ask
if Harry was in love? That could be a bad thing though,
because if Topher was a Death Eater, then he could
simply capture that person. Harry made a mental note to
keep the answer to that question, which he still didn't know
how to answer, far away for now. In anycase, as he
entered the Great Hall to all the noise of students eating,
he felt this year's Defence class would be his favourite
again.
'So, what do you think of Professor Terrwynebas?'
Hermione asked as Harry sat down across from her and
Ron. Harry decided for the time being, to stay on the
positive side of thinking about Topher.
'Good. He asked if I was fighting Voldemort' Harry began,
Ron doing his usual shudder from hearing the name.
Hermione looked slightly distressed.
'He did? What did you say?' she asked.
'Well, I thought about it. He told me he met Dumbledore
last year, and Snape. Didn't like Snape too much, which is
encouraging. He said if I was, that he wanted to help me'
'So did you tell him?' she reiterated.
'Yeah, but no specifics. Once I know him, then maybe I'll
tell him more. He did ask if I could help him with his
teaching though. I don't see why, that class was great'
Harry boasted, scooping up a large quantity of mashed
potatoes.
'I know! Only practical work! No written homework, and we
get to learn how to actually do good defence spells!' Ron
expressed. Just then, Luna Lovegood came dreamily over
to the three of them, a note in her hand.
'Hello Luna, how are you?' Hermione asked politely. Luna
was sporting her usual butterbeer cork necklace, and what
Harry could see were tomato earrings. Some Gryffindors
sitting by starting giggling, however stopped immediately
after one glare from Harry. Luna seemed not to notice.
'I'm fine. I just wanted to give you this report. Some
students were lurking around the seventh floor cooridor,
close to the Room of Requirement. I just thought you
should know.' She gave Ron a long stare, then gave the
note to Hermione. She thanked Luna, and read over the
note. Luna simply turned, and slowly waltzed back to the
Ravenclaw table.
'We should do something about that. Maybe a sentry or
something to guard the Room?' Hermione supposed.
Harry agreed, and scratched his scar. It had been aching
slightly over the past hour. Hermione looked at him for a
moment, then continued with her meal, as did Harry.
A few moments later, Harry looked up to see Ron looking
at Hermione. She looked up at him, and Ron leaned in. He
tried to give her a kiss, however she turned ever so slightly
just as he came close. He ended up kissing her cheek.
When he retracted, Hermione continued to look at her
food, while Ron gave a robbed look at her. Harry looked
back to his food, pretending he wasn't there.
'Hermione, what's wrong?' Ron whispered earnestly. Harry
glanced up to see Hermione look at Ron uneasily.
'Can we talk later?' she inquired timidly. Ron nodded, and
went back to his food. The two of them kept quiet the rest
of supper, and left before Harry. He decided to go and tell
Professor McGonagall about the seventh floor corridor.
She told Harry that two suits of armour would be placed to
guard the hallway just in case, along with a secret sensor.
By time he finished with McGonagall, the Hall was
practically empty. Harry left, and made his way up to the
fourth floor, and sauntered down the hallway toward the
East Tower.
'Hello Harry! Good to see you. I should warn you, you
might reconsider going in there' Evander suggested warily.
'Why?'
'Well, see for yourself. Password?' Harry said the
password, and as the portrait opened, he could hear Ron
and Hermione arguing. He slowly made his way up the
hallway, and stayed out of eyesight from the two of them.
Harry didn't like to admit he was eavesdropping, however
he didn't want to barge in on them, or just let them go at
each other. His scar continued to ache, and was starting
to sting slightly. It hurt badly to Harry, considering it hadn't
hurt since he went to Godric's Hollow.
'I just don't like it when you do that in public!' Hermione
spoke loudly.
'Why not? What's so wrong about people knowing that we
are going out?' Ron retorted just as loud. Harry could hear
Hermione sigh loudly.
'There's a difference between people knowing, and
showing off! I don't want to parade our kissing in front of
the Great Hall!' Hermione barreled on.
'What, you never want to kiss when there's people
around?' Ron fumed.
'No, it's just . . . I don't know' Hermione sighed.
'What, did you think we would just kiss when we're alone?'
Ron continued to storm. Harry felt they argued enough,
and came around the corner. Both of them were on
opposite sides of the common room, yelling at each other
from across the room. Ron was looking at the corner of
the room.
'No, of course not! It's just . . . Harry' Hermione looked
over and noticed Harry.
'It's because of Harry?' Ron continued, turning his head
slightly, still oblivious to Harry.
'No Ron, Harry' she motioned. Ron turned to see Harry
standing next to the desk. He was red in the face, just like
Hermione.
'Oh, sorry Harry' Ron mumbled, moving towards one of
the chairs.
'It's O-' Harry started, however at that instant, Harry's scar
burst into pain. Harry clutched his scar, and slowly fell to
the floor, yelling aloud in agony.
'HARRY!' Hermione cried, as she and Ron ran over to
him. Harry could feel Voldemort's emotions, something he
hadn't experienced in a while. Harry rolled on the floor,
bumping into Hermione and Ron as he did.
'Harry, what is it? Why are you laughing!' Hermione
pleaded. Harry only noticed when she mentioned it, but he
was laughing, in a very sinister and crackling fashion.
'It's Voldemort . . . He's happy . . . torturing someone'
Harry gasped, as his scar continued to sting aggressively.
'Who's he torturing?' Ron asked hurriedly. Harry tried to
find a face, an image. He could feel Hermione holding his
hand as his other covered his scar as it gave another shot
of pain. Harry could tell through the anguish that
Voldemort had just administered another torture curse at a
man, who Harry could now see cloudily in his mind.
'Malfoy.'
Spell / Name Meanings -
Ignamoenia – L. ignis: fire, moenia: walls (Ignamoenia fire
walls)

- CHAPTER TWELVE -
A Father's Fate
Draco sat quietly in the stone room he had been put into.
He had no idea how long he had occupied the dark
recess, but could tell it numbered at least a few days. The
stuffy, rodent scented air did not help Draco pass the time
easily.
Wormtail checked him a few times, mostly to make sure
he was still alive, and if he needed food. Draco tried to
reason with the rat of a man when he came, trying to
understand what was going on, and honestly trying to get
himself out of his situation. Wormtail however, was not
budging.
'Wormtail, you have to help me escape' he repeated as
Pettigrew made his daily check on the ex-Hogwarts
student. Wormtail, his stature looking notably hunched,
and his eyes dull in their tiredness, looked away into a
corner of the room, assumingly looking for anything out of
place.
'You failed Draco, and that's all that matters to the Dark
Lord' he answered, bustling along through the doorway,
and locking the door behind him hurriedly.
Draco hated the situation. He was in a constant panic,
worried that the next time Wormtail would come in, he
would take him back to Voldemort. He would be tortured
again, or worst. Then there was his father. Draco couldn't
bare the idea of seeing his father tortured. Worst however,
was his mother. She was alone now, not knowing the fate
of either of them. Would Voldemort go after her next? The
anxiety continued to fester in Draco's mind, making him
even more desperate to escape and try to get help from
the one man who saw him.
Meanwhile, in the main chamber, a tall, black robed man
entered through the door, and approached the platform on
which a dark figure sat on a high backed chair. In the dim
torchlight, the silver eyes of the man glimmered slightly.
He kneeled before the dark figure, and bowed, his black
robes billowing around him on the stone floor.
'I have completed your task my Lord. Azkaban has been
emptied, and your mark placed above as a symbol of your
power. I have brought your prisoners here, as requested'
he attested quietly, his head still bowed to the floor. The
dark figure rose from his chair, and took a step forward,
his red coloured eyes looking at the man before him, and
his long fingered hands grasping the sides of his silk-like
midnight robe.
'Very good Lesath, your skills have come to good use.
Turmoil has gripped the wizard world because of your
actions. Rise' the Dark Lord responded unhurriedly.
Lesath stood slowly, his silver eyes glancing at the face of
the Dark Lord. The torchlight in the high ceiling stone room
flickered against the snake-like man's face, painting it
every shade of amber and crimson, the shadows making
him look all the more powerful, and menacing.
'You may retire for now, but first, bring me Snape,
Wormtail, and Bellatrix' Voldemort ordered quietly. Lesath
bowed once more, and exited the chamber. Moments
later, Bellatrix and Wormtail entered, soon followed by
Snape. Bellatrix gave Snape a look of disgust, and all
three kneeled before the Dark Lord.
'Severus, go and get young Draco. Lucius and his
companions have returned, and it is time to show what
happens when someone fails Lord Voldemort' the Dark
Lord hissed. Snape stood quickly, bowed, and exited the
room, his robe billowing behind him as he went.
'Wormtail, Bellatrix my dear, bring in Lucius and the
others' he stated easily. The two rose quickly, bowed low,
and went to get the prisoners. Voldemort smiled visously
as he gazed at the large black snake slithering into view.
'Now we shall set the trap' the Dark Lord hissed in
parseltongue.
Draco paced his stone cell as he heard sounds echoing
from the door. There was movement occurring somewhere
above him, but he couldn't tell by what. He stood next to
the dirty wooden door, and put his head on the side.
Footsteps could be heard, moving quickly, and becoming
louder. Draco had become accustom to hearing Wormtail's
steps, and he moved to the other corner, away from the
small amount of light that was cast by a lantern hanging
from the wall next to the door. The lock slid open noisily,
and the door opened.
'Professor!' Draco expressed wildly. If anyone here could
help him, Snape was that person. Snape closed the door
behind him, and turned back to face Draco. His face was
grim, paler than usual. He placed a long boney finger over
his mouth to show Draco to be quiet.
'The Dark Lord has asked me to come and get you. You
father and the others from Azkaban are here, and will be
punished, along with you' he started, his black eyes boring
into Draco. Draco rose, and came close to Snape.
'My father, he's here! Professor, you have to help us!'
Draco pleaded. Snape once again put his finger to his
pursed lips.
'Be quiet boy. There's nothing to be done about you or
your father. He will be killed, and the fool deserves it. You,
on the other hand, should have completed your task' he
stated. Draco couldn't believe he was doing this,
especially now.
'My father is not a fool you slime! And how could I have
done it! I never wanted to in the first place, I was forced!'
Draco retorted ferociously.
'Shut up boy! A coward as always, like every other Malfoy.
You are coming with me.' Snape moved forward, and
made a grab for Draco's arm. Draco thrashed his arm
away, and moved to the other side of the cell. Snape was
getting agitated.
'You have a choice Draco. Either I bring you to the Dark
Lord, and you come peacefully, or I will curse you, and
you will be levitated to your death' he sneered. Draco was
in a situation that seemed hopeless to escape. He was
being brought to his death. He could feel it, the cold
prickling sensation in his toes and fingertips, knowing what
lied outside the door to this cell. The panic was
overwhelming in his head.
'Please Severus, I beg you, help me!' he cried, clawing at
Snape's robes. Seeing Snape enter his cell had brought a
glimmer of hope to Draco, in this otherwise gloomy and
squalled place. None of the other Death Eaters would help
him, however Snape knew him, and understood his
situation. Snape was loyal to Voldemort though. Draco
saw proof of that when he killed Dumbledore, and no
doubt brought him back to Voldemort so he could be
punished. He still had to try with Snape, he was
desperate.
Snape ripped his robes out of Draco's hands, and Draco
fell to his knees shedding tears. There was no escape, he
was going to die. Snape looked at the crumbling young
man. He grabbed Draco's left arm, pulled him to standing,
and started towards the door.
'Please, no! Severus!' Draco shouted, trying to hold onto
the wall of the room, or anything for that matter. He
couldn't die, not now, not like this. While he inhabited it, he
couldn't stand the stench, or the enclosure. Now he
wanted nothing more than to stay in it.
Snape gave him a tug, and Draco was pulled from the cell,
and the door closed as they reached the platform at the
bottom of the stone stairs. Draco was weeping profusely.
Snape continued to remain silent, and moved Draco up
the stairwell. Only the sounds of their footsteps, and
Draco's sobs echoed in the darkness that surrounded the
two, until they reached the antechamber. The door
through which they had entered before into the large
chamber where Voldemort resided was open, the
flickering of the torches inside projecting the light
outwards. Draco looked at the doorway, and began
moving away from it, against Snape's tugs, trying
desperately to move away from it. Draco knew what
awaited him inside the horrible room. Snape gave a hard
pull, and Draco was thrust into the room.
'Ah, young Draco' the Dark Lord whispered, as Draco
stumbled in. Draco looked around and found numerous
Death Eaters in black cloaks, barely visible in the dim light.
They were lined about the sides of the chamber, the skull
like masks floating ominously in the shadows, their forms
visible with the odd flicker from the torches bracketed on
the walls. They surrounded a group of men and women in
the center of the room, all dressed in black and white
prisoner's outfits, although in the torchlight, the white
looked tawny. All of them looked drained, and filthy, their
uniforms hanging off them as if they all had lost substantial
weight since being issued them. Draco looked at the
group, and felt a pang in his chest. He found his father. He
was the only one with blond hair, and was kneeling directly
in front of the Dark Lord.
'Bring him to me' Voldemort ordered airily. Draco looked to
the voice, and saw the Dark Lord, the light flickering on his
bald head as he stood at the edge of a black stage. Draco
felt two hands grasp his arms, and he was carried in front
of the Dark Lord, and thrown to the hard stone floor. Draco
looked up and found his eyes, those menacing, terrifying,
bloodstained eyes. The Dark Lord grinned evilly, his slit-
like nostrils flaring, and Draco was thrown into utter terror.
Draco was shaking all over, and could not move, even if
he wanted or had too. The chamber was completely silent,
as the Dark Lord moved around behind Draco.
'You have failed once too many times Lucius. Now, watch
as you weak, disgusting, pureblood of a son pays for your
incompetence' he hissed, turning abruptly, and pointing his
wand at Draco's back.
'Crucio!'
Draco immediately fell onto his stomach, and began to roll
on the cold stone floor, screaming in agony. He was
writhing in pain, the anguish spreading the entire length of
his body, his bones feeling as if they were being both
electrified and crushed at the same time. His back arched
as the pain centered on his spine, and his eyes closed
shut, trying to endure the torment. The curse finally lifted
after what felt like an eternity, and Draco fell silent,
whimpering on the cold floor, the sweat that covered his
body making him shiver, his eyes shedding tears of both
pain and fear. He could hear the Dark Lord laughing evilly
at the scene.
'You knew what waited for you Lucius. Did you think
Azkaban was your savior? No other Death Eater has failed
me so utterly, so completely, so stupidly. Did you think
after that disaster in the Department of Mysteries that I
would welcome you back you recreant? Think again' he
hissed angrily. Draco opened his eyes to see Voldemort
aim his wand at his father, the arm of his cloak hanging
loosely. Draco could do nothing as the Dark Lord came
before his father, his slitted eyes open wide, full of
malevolence.
'Crucio!'
Draco could not stand to hear it. His father screamed as
he flailed on the hard floor, thrashing from side to side.
The other prisoners did nothing but continue to look
downwards and remain silent, knowing what was in store
for themselves. Death Eaters in the shadows were doing
the same. Only the Dark Lord moved or spoke, and he
seemed to be enjoying his redemption for the failed tasks.
Draco closed his eyes as he cried even more, hearing his
father. As the cries became rasp and unbearable,
Voldemort pulled his wand away, and glanced at the
remains of the Death Eater in front of him. Lucius was left
barely moving, clawing the stone slowly, his eyes full of
fear and pain.
Draco could not stand to see his father in such a way. His
father had always been prideful in his composure, never
looking down at anyone, especially that filthy house elf
that Harry Potter let free. Always in the best clothes, and
the best possessions, that's what Draco came to expect. It
was part of being a Malfoy. Now, his father, the man he
had always aspired to be, was lying semi-unconscious on
this stone floor, in the filth of his prisoner's uniform, waiting
only for the relief of death to take him.
'Now Lucius, what should become of your son?' Voldemort
asked painfully slow. Draco looked to his father, and found
only a terrified man, knowing the end was near.
'My Lord, please, spare my son' he said quietly, not daring
to look up, breathing heavily. Voldemort turned towards
Draco, and pointed his wand again. Draco looked away,
expecting another torture curse. Voldemort moved his
wand, and Draco was raised against the wall, and turned
towards his father. He was pinned, not able to move or
talk. His feet dangled slightly, as he was raised a few
inches above the floor. Lucius looked to his son in horror,
his mouth agape and his face drained of any colour.
Voldemort grinned wickedly, and turned towards Lucius.
Lucius quickly glanced back down at the stone, but there
was no point really. Voldemort inclined his wand
downward, and raised it slowly, Lucius rising with it until
he was standing, barely. He swayed heavily, his torn and
dirty prisoner's uniform. Draco could have never pictured
his father looking how he did now. This was torture
enough for him.
The Dark Lord moved back in front of Draco, still facing
Lucius. 'Now, you will pay for your incompetence' he
hissed, turning and facing Draco.
'My Lord, please' Lucius begged. Voldemort inclined his
wand at Draco, grinning evilly as he did. While the wand
stayed pointed at his chest, Draco's head was racing with
the reality that his death was imminent. The Dark Lord
then grinned evilly again, and slowly turned towards
Lucius. Draco realized he would not be dying first. His
father would be killed.
Draco could do nothing. Voldemort kept his wand pointed
at his father forever, delaying, dragging the torment longer
and longer. Lucius stared at the wand, then glanced at
Draco, and opened his mouth to speak once last sentance
to his son.
'Avada Kedavra!'
Draco's father was enveloped in a green flash of light.
Draco tried to scream, but nothing would come out. All he
could do was scream violently in his head, as the light died
out, and his father's crumpled figure fell lifeless to the
stone floor with a disgusting thud. Voldemort looked at the
remains of Lucius with repugnance, and flicked his wand
at Draco, making him fall to the floor, finally being able to
scream and cry.
Draco wanted nothing more than to kill Voldemort right
then and there. He made him watch his father plead for his
life, beg, and die. Voldemort motioned two Death Eaters
from the shadows towards him.
'Burn this filth' he ordered. The two lifted Lucius' body, and
dragged it unceremoniously out the door. Draco was filled
with hate. He didn't need a wand, he could just strangle
him here and now. Voldemort turned away from Draco,
and he took advantage. Draco, not thinking of anything
else, tried quickly to get up and lunge at the Dark Lord.
Voldemort, however turned around quickly, just as Draco
started his jump.
'Crucio!'
Draco was thrown back down to the stone floor, and pain
again engulfed his senses. Draco barely had the energy,
and thrashed slowly on the cold floor as the torture curse
moved through his body, Voldemort crackling all the while.
It was lifted finally, and Draco was barely awake due to the
pain. He felt someone grab his upper arm, and he blacked
out.
'Take him back to his cell' Voldemort ordered. Snape
came forward, and grabbed Draco's arm, and dragged him
beyond the door. Once they had exited the chamber,
Snape levitated him, and moved him slowly back to his
cell. Meanwhile, Voldemort was organizing his prisoners.
'Take the rest, and put them in separate cells' he ordered.
Death Eaters came in from all sides, and paired up on
each of the prisoners. Once the prisoners were quietly
shuffled out of the room, Bellatrix came quickly towards
the stage, Wormtail ambled behind her slowly.
'My Lord, why did you spare the boy?' she asked
hesitantly. Voldemort took his seat on the stage, and
looked at the two in front of him.
'I am not finished with young Draco yet. He still has his
uses, and I plan on following them to the end' he explained
to the hollow faced woman, who while Lucius and Draco
were being tortured, smiled viciously, and looked as if
Christmas had came early. 'What have you found about
Potter?'
'My Lord, he has returned to Hogwarts, along with the
mudblood and the blood-traitor' Bellatrix stated speedily.
Voldemort looked to the floor for a moment, thinking.
'Is that all?' he asked, sounding disappointed. Bellatrix
tried to reassure the Dark Lord.
'My Lord, we are continuing with our search' she declared.
Voldemort put his hand up, and she went silent, looking
back at the stone floor.
'You will continue, yes. Young Draco will help you' he
revealed.
'How my Lord?' Wormtail sniffled. At that moment, Snape
returned from bringing Draco to his cell. Both Wormtail
and Bellatrix turned to see him enter the chamber, and
kneel next to them, facing the Dark Lord.
'Severus, you will now watch over young Draco. I have
other tasks set for Wormtail. Check on him, and make
sure he stays alive. I have more plans for him yet. Leave
us' Voldemort told Snape. Snape rose, bowed low, and
exited the chamber, closing the door behind him.
'My Lord, why did you leave him to guard Malfoy?' Bellatrix
asked, not being able to hide her anger at how passive the
Dark Lord was being with Snape.
'My reasons are not your concern' voiced Voldemort.
'But my Lord, he will allow him to escape!' Bellatrix
continued. Voldemort rose from his chair, and Bellatrix
instantly lowered herself into a bow. She knew she had
gone too far.
'That is why your task, aside from learning about Potter, is
to follow Snape and Draco. When they flee, they will lead
you strait to the tattered remains of the Order of the
Phoenix, and Harry Potter.'
 - CHAPTER THIRTEEN -
Closing a Door and Opening a Window
The pain started to retreat, and Harry came back to his
senses. He was still on the floor, and his body ached.
Hermione was there, looking down at him worriedly. Ron
came down, and put an arm behind Harry as he lifted
himself slowly from the floor. His head was still throbbing,
and as he came to a sitting position, he became very
dizzy, and almost fell over again. Luckily, Ron's arm was
still there, and kept him from hitting the floor again.
'Harry mate, you OK?' asked Ron, Harry seeing the
concern on his face. Harry nodded, and Ron and
Hermione helped him slowly to one of the chairs in front of
the fire. Once he was placed, Ron and Hermione took a
seat on the rug in front of the fireplace facing Harry.
'What happened?' Hermione quaked, as she sat cross
legged on the rug.
'I don't know. I felt Voldemort's emotions again' Harry
breathed slowly. His scar didn't hurt anymore, but his body
was still covered in cold sweat, and he was shivering,
even with the fire blazing in the hearth. Hermione noticed,
and took a blanket from the other chair and placed it over
him. Harry smiled at her to say thanks, however she still
looked distressed.
'I thought Voldemort was using Occlumency?' Hermione
commented, looking at Harry and then Ron. Ron gave her
a warm smile, and she lightened a little. Harry could
imagine their fight was still fresh in their minds.
'He wanted me to feel it, I know it' Harry answered. Harry
could tell that it was true. Voldemort kept using
Occlumency on Harry since the end of fifth year. Why
would he let Harry feel his emotions now, unless he
wanted him to? Especially now, while torturing Malfoy.
Ron looked at it through a different light.
'Well, that's horrible that you felt it, but at least Malfoy's
getting what he deserves' he commented, leaning back
and looking at Harry intently. Hermione's brows lowered,
and her eyes snapped over at Ron for the comment.
'Ron, I know Malfoy did some unpleasant things, but no
one deserves to be tortured' she stated assertively. Ron's
rolled his eyes, and his mouth let out a bewildered sigh.
'Unpleasant? Hermione, this is Malfoy. If anyone deserves
it, he does' he replied. Harry's head was beginning to ache
again, with the prospect of their fighting making a glorious
return. Hermione was about to respond, raising herself off
the carpet, when Harry gave a loud, somewhat angry sigh,
and closed his eyes, hoping she would notice. He opened
them and looked at Hermione, who immediately sat back
down, and folded her hands in her lap.
'Can you guys stop please? You're making my head hurt
again' he said flatly, looking between the two of them. Both
Hermione and Ron appeared displeased with themselves,
something that Harry admittedly wanted them to feel.
'Sorry Harry' Ron muttered, Hermione nodding slowly,
staring at the carpet. They sat for a few moments, the fire
crackling slowly. Harry's head wasn't feeling any better
however. After a few more minutes of quiet, Hermione
lifted he head, and looked at Harry.
'Harry, what about Professor Terrwynebas?' she asked.
Harry raised an eyebrow, looking doubtfully at her.
'Hermione, I don't think he had anything to do with that
vision'
'No, no. You said he wants to help you in anyway, right?'
Harry nodded, and she continued. 'Well, maybe he can
teach you Occlumency' she proposed.
'Hermione, I just met him. I don't need another person
drilling my head like Snape, especially someone I don't
know' Harry exasperated.
'But even you thought Snape was just making it easier for
Voldemort. He probably was, but Professor Terrwynebas
could be on our side, and he could help you' she said.
Harry could hear the encouragement in her voice, and
noticed the hopefulness in her eyes. Harry smiled, and
realized, like many times before, that she was probably
right.
'Alright, I have a meeting with him on Saturday night, I'll
ask him then' Harry answered. She smiled, and Harry
decided to go to sleep, standing up. He swayed slightly,
and Ron and Hermione stood quickly to help him.
'I think I'll go to bed' Harry said tiredly. All he wanted now
was to fall onto his bed, and hope that sleeping would
allow him to feel better. He made his way slowly to his
staircase, and started up, stopping after a few steps. The
sound of footsteps from Hermione and Ron exiting through
the portrait hole could be heard, and the opening of the
portrait a few moments later. Harry made his way back
down, to find Hermione taking a seat in front of the
fireplace, curling up with the same blanket Harry just
discarded.
'Are you and Ron alright?' Harry asked quietly. Hermione
jerked her head around at the sound of his voice, but her
face softened as he came and sat back down in the chair
he had only just vacated.
'I thought you were going to bed?' she asked, yawning in
the process, showing her sleepiness. She looked calmer
than she was earlier, the soft glow of the fire shading her
face a warm bronze.
'Well, I thought I'd see if you're alright. That sounded like
quite the row when I came in.' Hermione frowned, and
looked into the fire, then Harry.
'It was stupid. Ron thinks that because I don't kiss him all
the time like Lavender did, that I don't like him. I thought
he was more mature than this' she ranted.
'More mature than what?' Harry asked. He knew that Ron
sometimes showed the maturity level of a ten year old, but
he wondered just how mature she was expecting him to
be. She looked back to the floor for a moment.
'Thinking that all people do when they go out is snog and
whatnot. What a load of rubbish. I mean, you're a guy,
what do you think people would do?' she asked, looking at
him. Harry felt a bit uncomfortable answering, but tried to
give a good answer none the less.
'Well, for me, just being around the person is enough. I
mean, I've only really gone out with Ginny, but with her,
just being around each other was the greatest thing' Harry
admitted. It was true, his time with Ginny was always best
when they just did things like sit in the common room. Of
course, at the time snogging was great, but Harry just
couldn't get enough of holding her in his arms, and
embracing those moments. Harry expected that with
anyone he loved, just being around them would bring
about the best feelings
Hermione smiled at his response. She looked at the arm
of her chair for a moment, then back at him intently. Harry
could not stop a pleasant grin from automatically wiping
across his face.
'See, that's exactly what I think' she said, glancing at Harry
again. She gave a shug, and her smile went away almost
as quickly as it came, as did Harry's. 'I don't know, maybe
if I just explain it to Ron, he'll understand. Thanks Harry.'
She beamed gently again at Harry, got up, and gave him a
kiss on his cheek. Her hair fell in front of Harry only
slightly, but enough to catch a whiff of honeysuckle. His
head was momentarily swimming, however he quickly
gasped his senses, and looked at Hermione, who gave
him an odd look.
'No problem. Goodnight' he said briskly.
'Goodnight' she replied, and went up her staircase to her
room. Harry stayed in the common room for a few
moments thinking.
It couldn't be what he thought, he couldn't be falling for
Hermione. She was dating Ron. It isn't supposed to be like
this. Harry should be happy for them, and he should want
to get back with Ginny. Of course he thought about it,
numerous times, however the more he thought of Ginny,
the more he found faults with her. He was fully agreed with
himself that Ginny, although as lovely and great she was,
just wasn't the girl for him anymore. She would always be
a good friend to him, no doubts in his mind there, but the
idea of dating again didn't exactly make Harry jump for joy.
Harry tried to reassure himself, he was happy for Ron and
Hermione, though not as much as he thought he'd be. He
put up with them dancing around the idea for years, and it
was about time they finally got together.
However the more he saw of them, the more he thought
there were some things out of place. Tonight was a perfect
example of it. They always seemed to be arguing. At first,
Harry thought they would work it out of their systems, but
tonight was proof that it wasn't going away anytime soon.
But the question still remained, was he falling for
Hermione? Again, he couldn't be, he shouldn't. She and
Ron were dating, and it regardless of how he felt, he had
to respect them. After all, they're his best friends. They
even asked his permission, and he gave it. He couldn't
take it back now, just to say "you can't, because I might
like Hermione".
He couldn't even be sure if that was true. Maybe he didn't
like Hermione like that. No, there was no maybe out it, he
didn't, he couldn't even if he did. He stopped dating Ginny
because she would be in danger, and dating anyone else
would put them in danger too. Harry didn't have a choice,
he couldn't date anyone, especially now. He was
convinced, he didn't like Hermione, he couldn't.
'Then why did you smell honeysuckle when you sniffed the
Amorentia?' his mind asked. That scent . . . Harry could
not describe how wonderful it smelled, or of how it
reminded him of holding Hermione in her back yard over
the summer. It was calming, but electrifying, forceful but
soft, intoxicating but soothing, all at the same time. The
number of words Harry could describe went on like this.
He stopped himself however, knowing where that road led.
Harry lowered his head, and didn't bother trying to answer
the daunting question, and went to bed, still thoroughly
confused.
On Saturday, Harry made his way up to the defence
classroom. He spent most of the day in the library with
Ron, Hermione, and Neville, working on their Herbology
essay that was set for them on Friday. Hermione of course
finished first, Neville shortly afterwards. Harry and Ron
asked Neville for help, and in turn, they were able to finish
early enough to practice the Firewall Charm. Neville and
Ron both showed improvement, and could create a fire
ring, however they were still hesitant to lower it below their
head. Hermione, conjuring the Firewall correctly after a
few minutes, decided to return to the common room, to
look through the potions book again.
Harry checked his watch, and it showed two minutes to
eight o'clock. He knocked on the classroom door, and
Professor Terrwynebas told him to come in. Harry entered,
and found the room lit with a few torches bracketed on the
walls. Professor Terrwynebas was sitting at his desk,
leafing through some papers, two candles lit sitting at the
corners. He looked up at Harry, and piled the papers,
shoving them into a drawer, leaving the desk clean except
for the candles. He motioned Harry to a chair set in front of
the desk, and Harry took a seat.
'Well Harry, how are you tonight?' he asked.
'I'm alright. How are you?'
'Slightly cross-eyed from reading, but good enough' he
said, shaking his head from side to side and giving a light
chuckle. He leaned forward and putting his arms on the
desk.
'Now, of course I have things I could start teaching you,
defence spells, non-lethal curses, and so forth, however I
am going to ask if there is anything you want to learn first.
Best to start on something you want to learn' he stated,
leaning back in his chair and surveying Harry.
'There is something' Harry started, glancing at his hands
which sat on his lap. He was twiddling his thumbs, still
worried about whether asking for Occlumency lessons
would the best thing to ask for his first lesson. Topher
leaned forward again, folding his arms on the desk, and
looking at Harry worriedly.
'What is it Harry?' he asked calmly. Harry looked up, and
Topher smiled at him nicely, however unsymmetrical.
When he smiled, only the right side of his mouth would
actually incline upwards. The other half would stay level as
usual.
'Can you teach me Occlumency?' Harry finally asked.
Harry looked at Topher optimistically, hoping that he
wouldn't laugh or become overly encouraging. He was
glad to see him lean back, look down, and let out a small
but understanding laugh. He looked back at Harry, his one
sided smile reaching the other side as well.
'Yes, I can. I understand your concern. You only met me a
few days ago, and now you're asking me to help you
defend your mind. Again, Professor Dumbledore told me
of your . . . lessons with Professor Snape. After that, I
definitely understand your caution' he expressed. Harry
began to wonder just how much Professor Terrwynebas
knew about him.
'So, what we will do, which will hopefully allow you to trust
me, is have you learn both Legilimency and Occlumency'
he stated cheerfully. Harry quirked his brow.
'Both?' he asked. Topher nodded enthusiastically.
'Yes. You can't really learn Occlumency without
Legilimency. Now, of course, teaching Legilimency is
supposed to be taught only by the Ministry of Magic. It's
usually reserved for Aurors and members of Magical Law
Enforcement. So, if you want to learn it, you have to
promise to only use it in proper situations.' His tone
changed, and was now straight forward and stern. He
looked at Harry very closely, and Harry nodded.
'I would never use it in a bad way' Harry promised. Topher
continued to scan Harry, then nodded.
'Alright. So, we'll start with Occlumency, defence of the
mind from outside forces' Topher started. He stood from
his chair, and motioned Harry to stand as well. Harry did
so, and moved around the desk, where Topher conjured
two wooden stools, approximately waist height. Topher
and Harry sat down, facing each other.
'Now, we will start very easily. Rushing Occlumency
usually works against the learner. If I was to, for example,
dive into your mind, you would probably become more
susceptible to Legilimency' he informed.
'So Snape was opening my mind more to Voldemort' Harry
stated hatefully. He thought it was true at the time, and
now he knew it was. His hate towards Snape increased
tenfold, knowing that the visions he saw two years ago
which led to Sirius' death, were helped by Snape.
'It is possible. The fact that you dislike him, and I was told
he didn't exactly favour you either, probably didn't help the
situation. However, I must ask you to focus on the now'
Topher replied. Harry shook his head slightly, and tried to
relax his mind, and calm down. There was no point in
getting frustrated about Snape now. Topher took a breath,
and returned to the lesson.
'First thing I'll teach you, is to notice when someone's
trying to enter your thoughts. Your best defence is the
earliest. If you can stop someone before they get in, then
you're winning before the fight begins, understand?' Harry
nodded.
'Good. Now, I will use my wand, but I want you to try not
to. You can hold your wand in your hand, and if you want
to stop at anytime, tap the desk, OK?' he asked nicely,
motioning to the professor's desk next to them. Harry
nodded, and took out his wand. He was glad Topher was
allowing him to use his wand if needed, and would start off
slowly. Topher took out his wand, which at this distance,
was made of a light coloured wood, with inlaid weavings
and knots circling it.
'Professor, what kind of wood is your wand made of?'
asked Harry. Topher's eyebrows raised, and he took a
glance of his wand.
'Birch. Not the strongest of woods, but it works beautifully
for me. Twelve inches, with griffin feather.'
'So you didn't get it from Mr. Ollivander' Harry reasoned,
since the core wasn't phoenix feather, unicorn hair, or
dragon heartstring. Topher shook his head.
'No, it was made by a wand maker in Ireland. He always
inlaid his wands with knots and weaves you see, that was
his tell. Now, are you ready to begin?' he asked. Harry
started feeling bad about all the tangents he was leading
Topher down. Harry nodded, and Topher raised his wand
at Harry.
'Now, very easy, just focus on your mind. Picture it as a
fortress, with walls and boundaries surrounding it. You
won't let anything get through the walls; you will remain
strong and focused' he instructed. Harry nodded again.
'Legilimens' Topher pronounced quietly.
Harry didn't feel any different. He could see Topher in front
of him, looking at him, however nothing was happening.
Harry was about to ask if something was wrong, when he
noticed it.
It was like a person pushing on a door very slowly.
Something was gradually seeping into his mind. Harry
closed his eyes, and tried to picture the walls, the castle
that encased his mind, his memories, his dreams. The
encroaching continued, and Harry tried harder, trying to
push back the oncoming outside force. He felt the outside
pushing subside, and it finally stopped. Harry opened his
eyes to see Topher smiling at him.
'Not too bad Harry, for a first try. What'd it feel like?'
'Like something was slowly reaching in, trying to push its
way farther. I tried to push back, but it took a lot of effort'
Harry said. He was pleased his head didn't hurt like it did
with every session with Snape.
'Yes, well, I backed out' Topher admitted. Harry's face fell
slightly. 'I could feel you pushing, but you weren't doing it
hard enough. You need to train your mind, in order to
strengthen it. Right now however, you need to realize that
you don't even need to push. Build walls, so that you
never need to. Think of it as someone opening a door. All
you have to do, is make sure the door stays shut, OK?'
Harry nodded, and sat up straight.
'Lets try this again. Remember, I am giving you time to
prepare, so make it count. Legilimens.'
Harry immediately started to focus on his own mind,
closing his eyes. He felt it as one entity, having the ability
to stand by itself, alone. The tiny feeling started trickling in,
and Harry stood his ground. The encroaching of another
person in his head continued, but Harry focused, as hard
as he could, as his mind being one solid block,
impenetrable.
The force of the pushing increased, however Harry
continued to focus as hard as he could. So far it was
working, and Harry was pleased with himself. The pushing
continued, and Harry continued to focus. Suddenly, Harry
heard a tap in the room, and opened his eyes to see what
it was.
Immediately, the pushing crashed in on Harry's mind. A
tall black haired boy was standing in the backyard of a fair-
sized house, hugging a bushy haired girl. Harry never
wanted to leave this hug, it was so great. He could feel her
warmth, and just how much he wanted to never let go, and
never loose such a wonderful person.
Harry realized what was happening, and tapped his wand
hard on the desk. The pushing seized abruptly, and Harry
opened his eyes.
He was still on the stool, and could see Topher sitting
across from him. Harry could smell burning wood, and was
surprised see the professor's desk, which he just tapped,
was in fact, on fire. Topher quickly turned his wand, and
extinguished the flames, Harry helping.
'I'm sorry Topher' Harry professed sadly. The flames were
quickly put out, and Harry looked down at himself. His first
lesson and he messed up, setting the professor's desk on
fire. Not exactly the best first impression. Topher, in the
mean time, was shaking his head.
'It is alright Harry' he chuckled as he turned back to Harry,
'you'd be surprised how many things I blew up at my
house while I was learning.' Harry smiled, and looked up.
Topher was looking up at the ceiling for a moment, then
back at him, grinning.
'Now, why'd you loose control? You where doing great, but
then it all came down.'
'I heard a tap, or something, and lost my concentration'
Harry admitted. Topher took his left hand, and tapped the
side of the stool, making the sound Harry heard. Harry
understood.
'The first lesson in Occlumency: no matter what is going
on, you must stay focused. Don't get distracted by outside
events. If you let your guard down, you leave your mind
vulnerable.' Topher stood from stool, and Harry did too. He
vanished the stools, and put a hand on Harry's shoulder,
leading him towards the doorway.
'What I'd like for you to do is try to work on staying
focused. Read something in a busy part of the school, and
try not to look up, and continue reading. Play a chess
match and focus on nothing else, something like that. How
about we meet next Saturday, if you'd like?' he proposed.
Harry agreed, and turned and left the room, heading back
to the East Tower.
Topher, in the mean time, slowly strolled back to his desk,
and slumped down in his chair. He put his hands behind
his head, leaned back, and smiled to himself, letting a few
light chuckles escape, the chair creaking slightly.
'He is in love' he said lightheartedly. He leaned forward,
pulled out the papers from the desk again, and continuing
his reading, still wearing cheerful smile.
The lessons with Topher continued to improve. Harry was
very busy, with Head duties and homework, but he
managed time to try and maintain good focusing skills,
reading Dumbledore's notebook in hallways and the Great
Hall. As his lessons continued, he became better at
keeping Topher out of his mind. When he did manage to
get through though, he still had a hard time pushing him
out. Topher was polite about it, and only made Harry relive
the memory of him and Hermione hugging. Topher asked
one lesson who the girl was, but Harry said it was just a
friend, and the young professor did not ask again.
Meanwhile in the school, and outside, things were still not
going well. Prefects were constantly coming to either
Harry or Hermione with problems, some as mundane as a
spill of pumpkin juice in the Great Hall, or food in the
dormitories.
Hermione continued to read over the potions and spell
books from Dumbledore, however she was being
meticulous with all three books, and it was taking
sometime to read them all. Harry was still holding out,
however was loosing hope in finding anything in them
worthwhile. He wished Dumbledore left bookmarks or
something, which could have made it simpler. The
situation was not helped by the problems Ron and
Hermione were still having.
They ended up finishing their argument from the night
Harry collapsed. Harry came into the library one day to
find Ron by himself. Ron went on about how Hermione
was being confusing about things, and how he was trying
to get her to calm down and relax for at least some time.
Of course, Harry could imagine Hermione was not in the
mood to relax. There was a war going on, and the three of
them were in the thick of it. Relaxing, even for a short
while, was not high on the list of priorities, especially
Hermione's.
By the end of September, the Pensieve still sat on the
desk where Harry left it, untouched. Every time he passed
it in the common room, he felt anxiety in what may sit in
the memories. He decided, for the time, since he was
overly busy with Head duties and learning Occlumency,
something that Dumbledore wanted him to learn anyways,
that he would leave the Pensieve. He knew he would have
to brave the memories of the former Headmaster
someday, but he honestly was not looking forward to
them.
The lesson that Harry was looking forward to with
Professor Terrwynebas, was on the fourth of October. It
was this date that they set for starting Legilimency training.
Harry wanted to understand how it felt, and hoped learning
it would better allow him to learn Occlumency. As Harry
took his seat on his stool, Topher could see the eagerness
in Harry's posture.
'Now I know you are interested in this lesson. That's good.
But before you go trying to barge into my memories, you
must understand what you're doing.
'When you use Legilimency, you'll feel your mind
branching outwards towards another. It may be
disorientating at first, but you'll get used to it. Once you're
in someone else's mind, it works like the opposite of
Occlumency. You have to push hard on the defenses
someone puts up. Try to look deeper into the persons
mind, and yes, into their eyes. Eye contact is sometimes a
key to Legilimency. Only pros can perform it without eye
contact' Topher stated. Harry was very eager now to try it
out.
'Have you ever been inside a memory?' Topher asked all
of a sudden. Harry was confused.
'What do you mean?'
'Well, I mean, have you ever fallen into a Pensieve, with a
memory inside it?' he elaborated.
'Oh, yeah, Professor Dumbledore's' Harry replied.
'Dumbledore's . . . that must have been something.
Anyways, when you do get past someone's defenses,
you'll find that the mind looks like a Pensieve, full of
shimmering memories. You can see them, and you chose
which one you want to see by pushing your mind toward
that memory, kind of how you would push your head in a
memory stored in a Pensieve. Understand?' he asked. He
was very thorough in these lessons with Harry, and always
stopped to make sure Harry understood everything.
Sometimes Harry didn't like it, but it had on some
occasions allowed for Harry to ask questions without
sounding idiotic.
'Now, at the beginning, you were wary about having me
enter your mind. I hope you believe I'm on your side. But
to understand Legilimency, you'll need a memory of mine.
I already chose one for you, and for your first try, I'll have
very little defenses for you to get through. When you enter
my mind, you'll find only one memory. Push forward, and
enter it like it was in a Pensieve.' Topher put his wand in
his hand, and Harry pointed his wand at Topher. Harry
couldn't believe he was going to do this, actually become a
mind reader!
Topher nodded his head, and Harry took a deep breath.
'Legilimens.'
Harry's head swayed a little with the sudden change. His
brain felt like it was being extended past his own head.
Harry could imagine a fog, a grey shimmering everywhere.
He focused on Topher, and tried the best at what he
should do, and pushed his mind through the fog.
'You're not focusing enough Harry. Your mind is too
clouded' Topher said. Harry understood that it was a literal
meaning. 'You have to empty your mind, and focus solely
on mine' he encouraged quietly.
Harry tried to ignore everything else, and pushed forward
as hard as he could, focused entirely on Topher, boring
into his pale green eyes. With a surprise, the fog Harry
imagined began to lower, and Harry could see a
shimmering mirror ahead of him. At least it looked like a
mirror.
Harry continued to push forward, his head beginning to
ache slightly, and he could feel something pushing back.
He continued to fight, and the image became clearer and
clearer, until he could see it.
It was something like a silver puddle, with people moving
inside of it. The puddle was surrounded by blackness, and
Harry focused on the one object imaged in his mind. His
eyes were still gazing into Topher's, however he was too
focused on the memory to notice anything outside of it.
Harry pushed forward again, and the memory enveloped
him.
A young boy with auburn hair wearing a brown coat and
shorts was running down a dirt path towards a one storey
farm house. It was late afternoon, and the sky was
overcast, making everything all shades of grey. The boy
continued to run down the path towards the grey, wood
paneled house at an ever increasing speed. Trees wiped
by quickly, and the path entered a small field that
preceded the house, when a flash of green light emitted
from one of the rooms of the house.
The boy stopped immediately, standing in the center of the
path, one hundred meters from the house. Footsteps
could be heard against the wooden floor of the house, and
the boy dove into the high grass as a person in black
robes exited the house, two more in the same attire
following.
'What will we do now? She did not give us the information'
one of them said. Harry could tell it was a man. The voice
sounded familiar. One of the others began to stride away
from the house.
'It doesn't matter Avery. The Dark Lord said to either get
her to tell us, or kill her. We have done it, and that is that' a
woman answered. The other two slowly made their way to
the woman, and all three turned back towards the house.
The boy in the grass was watching the scene, his face
pale and his green eyes open to their full extent, clearly
showing how terrified he was.
'For the Dark Lord' the three said, one of them raising their
wand, pointing it above the house.
'MORSMORDRE!' the female Death Eater bellowed. A
vast green ball shot out of her wand, and erupted in the
sky, forming a green skull, a serpent slithering out of its
mouth. She slowly lowered he wand, and the three gazed
at the skull for a moment.
'Lets go, before the husband arrives' the woman said. The
three then disappeared, the cracks of their Apparating
coming a moment later. The boy stayed low in the grass
for a moment, then, disregarding the green skull above the
house, ran for the front door, almost tripping as he vaulted
the front porch. He entered, and turned left into a family
room, stumbling slightly because his feet were moving too
fast.
There, in the center of the room, a woman was lying dead.
Her shoulder length dark brown hair partially covered her
face, and her lilac and periwinkle summer dress
unmarked. The boy fell to his knees, and began to cry
over the still, lifeless woman, his sobs quietly filling the
empty house.
All of a sudden, Harry could feel his mind blanking again,
and being pushed outwards by a very strong force. The
boy and the woman slowly decayed into darkness. Harry
was pushed out of Topher's mind, and he almost fell
backwards. Topher, luckily, grabbed his arm to prevent it.
Harry pulled himself back to sitting, and Topher stood up,
and motioned Harry to sit in front of his desk.
'I'm so sorry' Harry said, realizing that the boy in the
memory was, of course, Professor Terrwynebas as he
took his seat. Topher sat down, and gazed at the desk for
a moment.
'That's the memory I chose to show you, so don't be sorry
for seeing it. And don't worry' he added, seeing Harry's
expression not changing, 'you can ask questions.' Harry
was glad he said it was OK, rather than feeling awkward
having to ask.
'Who was the woman?'
'She was my mother. She worked for the Ministry,
although I'm not sure where exactly. That day, I had spent
at a friend's, who lived a few minutes walk from my house.
I was running back home, because she was supposed to
return from work early to spend some time with me. Of
course, as you saw, when I arrived, she was not alone' he
added darkly.
'So your mother was killed by Death Eaters?' Harry said,
more than asked. Topher nodded anyways.
'Yes, and as you can hear, they wanted information from
her. I've been trying my whole life to find out what the
information could be, but I haven't found anything. I hope,
however, that shows you one the reasons I want
Voldemort to fall' he mentioned. Harry noticed his wording.
'One of the reasons?'
'There are others of course, but those can wait for another
day. Now' he started, changing subjects back to their
lesson, Harry realizing it was his polite manner to say he
asked enough questions. 'What did Legilimency feel like?'
'Well, at first, I was dizzy. My mind was all foggy, and I
couldn't really think straight' Harry explained. Topher
nodded as he spoke. 'Then you told me to focus more,
and I tried, and my mind cleared a bit, and I tried to push
forward, and I saw your memory, and continued pushing.'
Topher leaned forward.
'Yes, all very good Harry. When your mind is weary, it will
be foggy like it was. When you use Legilimency, you have
to focus right from the beginning. If you don't, you can get
lost in the fog. Your pushing forwards was excellent
though. I put up a bit of resistance, and you got through it
nicely' Topher complimented. Just as Topher leaned back
in his chair, a knock at the classroom door came.
'Come in' Topher said loudly, and Hermione entered the
room quickly, the old potions book in her hand. She
slowed her pace as she approached the desk.
'I'm sorry Professor- sorry, Topher, for interrupting, but can
I talk to Harry, it's important' she asked sounding winded.
Her hair was quite mess, and Harry could tell she must
have ran all the way from the East Tower.
'Don't worry Miss Granger, Harry and I are finished for
tonight. Harry, your homework is to continue with
Occlumency training, and start to understand how to clear
the fog, OK?' he asked like so many other times. Harry
stood up, nodded, and left to room, Hermione walking
briskly in front of him.
'What is it?' Harry asked anxiously, however only received
a shushing motion from Hermione as they continued their
quick pace through the castle. At last, they entered the
East Tower, and Hermione sat at the desk, Harry standing
behind her.
'Hermione, what's going on?' Harry asked, starting to
worry if something was wrong. Hermione opened the
potions book, and started leafing through the pages.
'I found something Harry, about Horcruxes' she said
methodically, as she slowed her search, and finally
pointed to the right hand side of the book, were a page of
hand written instructions was listed, the top in one
person's scrolled and even spaced hand writing, the
bottom in another's, more angled and darker printed. The
bottom, for some reason, reminded Harry of something he
read before, but he couldn't exactly place it.
'What is it?' Harry asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next
to Hermione. Harry only noticed now that Ron wasn't in
the room, which lately, was becoming more the normal.
'A potion. Now, it doesn't actually say it's for Horcruxes,
but I'm pretty sure it is' she explained. Harry furrowed his
brow at her.
'Why do you think that?' he asked. She placed her finger
at the top of the page, were it had the title of the so-called
potion:
CASSUS ANIMUS
Harry still didn't understand. 'What does it mean?'
'Well, when I saw the name, I looked it up. "Cassus"
means to destroy, which in itself isn't much help, however
"animus" means the soul Harry! This potion is a soul
destroying potion!' she declared joyfully, looking up at
Harry brightly.
Harry couldn't believe it, Dumbledore did give them a
helping hand. They had a potion that could destroy a soul,
or at least parts of one. Now they could make it, and finally
destroy the Horcrux they found over two months ago.
Harry was so cheerful, he leaned over and gave Hermione
a huge hug, which she eagerly embraced and squeezed
back.
'This is amazing Hermione! You found exactly what we
need!' he expressed, moving back and beaming at her.
She was smiling very brightly, and her cheeks were
slightly flushed.
'The only thing is Harry,' she said, not sounding too
content, 'is that this is a very difficult potion. They don't
even sell some of these ingredients, and some I've never
even heard of. How will we make it?' she asked, now not
looking cheerful at all. Harry was hesitant to say it, but
Dumbledore also provided for them there also.
'Remember Dumbledore said that I would need help with a
potion from Slughorn. He must have known it would be
this potion' Harry said, sounding more confident. He stood
up straight, and grabbed the potions book. Hermione still
was sitting as he turned around in front of the desk,
heading towards the portrait hole.
'Where are you going?' she asked hastily.
'To ask Slughorn' Harry smiled back.
'Now?' she asked, sounding reluctant as she stood and
came around the front of the desk.
'Well, what other time would you go. Com'on' he said,
waving her to follow. She gave a sigh, and followed Harry
out the portrait hole, and towards Slughorn's office. It was
late, however Harry hoped he would be there, so that
Hermione wouldn't berate him for dragging them all the
way to find he wasn't there. They came to his office, and
knocked. To the relief of Harry, muffled footsteps could be
heard emanating from the other side of the door. The door
opened, and the large bellied Professor Slughorn stood in
the doorway, looking at the two Heads.
'Harry m'boy, what brings you down here at such a time?
Oh, Miss Granger too!' he said jovially, beckoning them
into his office. Harry and Hermione sat down in front of his
desk, as he made his slow waddle behind, and sat down
in his chair, the buttons on his waist coat again, begging to
be set free.
'I need help for my project. My out of school project' Harry
specified. He opened the potions book to were his thumb
had marked the page with the potion, and eyed Hermione.
She glanced down at the potions book, the nodded. Harry
handed it slowly to Slughorn, whose sausage like fingers
grabbed it, and he looked at the potion.
'hmmm' he remarked, as he read. Harry and Hermione
gave each other a skeptical look, before Slughorn placed
the old book on the desk.
'Well, this is a complicated potion. Must be quite the
project you're working on. I must say though, I'm not
surprised you're making it. I am very surprised however
that you have this book. It must be filled with interesting
potions, although I wonder why these two worked
together. They didn't exactly get along' he explained.
Harry was very confused.
'You know who wrote this book?' Hermione asked.
Slughorn looked at the two of them dumbfounded.
'Well, of course I do. I could never forget the writing of my
two best students. I thought that's why you had it Harry' he
said, propping up the book to Harry and Hermione could
see where he was pointing.
'You see, this top set of hand writing is your mother Lily's,
and bottom set, is . . . ' he wavered as he saw the reaction
on Harry's face. Harry was still, unable to speak, staring at
the handwriting. Hermione leaned forward in her chair
quickly, noticing Harry's expression, trying to get Professor
Slughorn to continue.
'Who's the bottom sets professor?' she asked hurriedly.
Slughorn tore his gaze from Harry and looked directly at
Hermione.
'Severus Snape's.'
Spell / Name Meanings -
Just for a kicker, thought I'd mention that Topher's wand is
made with Birch, because I was born in January, and that
is the wood for that month in the Celtic Tree Calendar
(another connection there). The fact that his core is a
griffin feather is important in the future.
Cassus Animus – L. casso: to destroy or bring to naught,
animus: the soul (Cassus Animus to destroy the soul)

- CHAPTER FOURTEEN -
 Phoenicreo
Harry was in such an odd state from what Professor
Slughorn said, he didn't even notice he and Hermione
leaving the Professor's office until they were already on
the fourth floor, passing the library.
Harry couldn't describe the sensation he felt while in
Slughorn's office. It wasn't Dumbledore's potions book, it
was his mother's. He held the potions book closely to
himself now as they approached Evander, who as usual,
was quite chipper despite the lack of enthusiasm clearly
placed on the two student's faces. Moonlight from the
open windows lit the corridor dimly and allowed Harry to
see the painting's face.
'Hello there you two! Oh my, are you alright?' he said,
realizing they where not up for a cheerful conversation.
'We're fine Evander. Broomsticks and Books' Hermione
replied shortly. Earlier in the week, they decided to change
the password. They came back to the tower on the
Monday earlier that week to find a second year Hufflepuff
already inside. He told the two of them that he was
delivering a message from one of the prefects, however
Harry still reamed on him, as well as the prefect. Both of
them told everyone at their first meeting of the year, that
prefects should not give out the East Tower password to
regular students. So, they changed it, keeping in fashion
with the last one and naming something each of them
loves, and sticking them together. Of course, Harry loved
Quidditch, and with loving Quidditch, comes loving
Broomsticks. With Hermione it was much the same with
Quills and Books.
Evander glanced at the two of them looking concerned,
then bowed his head. The portrait swung open, and the
two entered quietly. Once in the common room, Harry
slumped himself in his seat in front of the fire, which was
crackling quietly, still clutching the potions book close to
his chest. Hermione slowly came from around the side,
and knelt next to the chair, looking at Harry. Harry looked
at her, and tried desperately not to let his emotions show.
She gave him a warm smile, and Harry gave a weak grin
in response, his eyes overpowering his will, and watering,
however not allowing tears to escape.
This was his mother's potions book. She wrote in it,
created potions. Harry wondered if she ever thought that
one day, a potion she started working on would be the one
that Harry would use against Voldemort. The leather
notebook was worn, but Harry just couldn't get over the
fact that it was actually his mother's.
He could picture his mother, at Godric's Hollow, sitting at
the desk in the sitting room, parchment and scrolls strune
about. A single candle sat on the desk, casting a subtle
light, and a fire burned peacefully in the hearth. She would
be sitting proper in the chair, writing in the notebook he
now held so close.
Since the visit to Godric's Hollow, Harry came to treasure
the items that once belonged to his parents. He still wore
his mother's locket around his neck all the time, it currently
lying under his Hogwarts uniform. His father's cloak sat in
his trunk, always ready for the next adventure, for it was
an invaluable item that helped Harry countless times.
Now, he held this book, his mother's potions notebook. He
was learning so much about them in such a short time,
and seeing these possessions and the Hollow allowed him
to feel closer to them than any other time he could
remember.
'It's OK Harry' Hermione whispered gently to him, reaching
out and placing her hand on Harry's arm. Her hand was
small, and Harry gazed at it for a moment, then looked at
Hermione, who gave him a soft smile and a gentle
squeeze on his arm.
Harry looked at her, and found her expression was full of
warmth and understanding. Harry knew Hermione was
there for him, even now when he tried desperately to hide
his feelings and remain strong. He knew she was telling
him it was OK to let his emotions show. He lowered his
glance, and found his eyes drawn again to the notebook,
and Hermione's hand which was still placed on his
forearm.
It was all too much. He kept everything inside of him since
Dumbledore's funeral. Of course, he did have a tough time
when he returned to Privet Drive, but he was by himself
then, no one saw him. He felt almost obligated to never
show fear or weakness now, especially in front of Ron or
Hermione. But this night, so much occurred, and it
seemed that his mind was just too overwhelmed at
keeping it all under control. As he continued to gaze at the
book and Hermione's hand, Harry could not stop a tear
from trickling down his cheek, slowly carving a path down
his face.
From one tear, many started flowing. He closed his eyes,
and began to sob quietly, his free hand rising to his
forehead, trying to hide his tears from Hermione. A part of
him was screaming to not be there in the room. He could
feel the wantingness to get up and run as fast as possible,
far away from Hermione and the common room. To be by
himself with his pain, and just be alone so no one could
know what he was feeling, or how he was acting. Harry
however stayed routed in his seat. He had run away like
that all his life, and for once wanted someone to be there
to comfort him. Staring at Hermione's hand made him
realize that she was that someone, a person that could
see Harry at his weakest and help him. Hermione stared
for a moment while he cried, then acted.
In one gradual but fluid motion, she reached over, and
embraced Harry in comforting hug. Harry let go of his
barriers, his fears, and allowed the pain and worries to
make its way out. He slowly let go of his mother's
notebook, which fell steadily onto his lap, and his
forehead, and moved his arms around Hermione's small
form, placing the side of his face into her inviting shoulder.
Hermione moved slightly, and sat down on the arm of the
couch, still holding onto Harry.
Harry cried quietly, his breaths taken in light gasps, his
water logged eyes staring into the tiny flame incased in the
fireplace. So much had built up in Harry's head, and now
that he started crying, everything started pouring out,
much like a river breaking free of a dam. The loss of
Dumbledore, the feeling of emptiness, and the worry of
what was to come; all sped through Harry's mind, along
with many other things, as his tears streamed down his
cheeks and dampened Hermione's robes.
Hermione said nothing, and simply held Harry there,
allowing him to vent and being the literal shoulder to cry
on. As his tears began to slow, Harry let out a sniffle, gave
Hermione a featherlike squeeze, and closed his eyes,
mentally thanking her for being there and not judging him
on his actions.
Harry let go, as did Hermione, and he leaned back in the
chair, wiping his cheeks clean. Hermione continued to sit
on the arm of the chair for a moment, to allow Harry to
recover himself.
Harry felt slightly ashamed with himself now, allowing his
emotional barriers down like that in front of Hermione. He
looked up at her and was surprised to see her beaming at
him.
'Thank you Harry' she said amiably.
'For what?' Harry asked shakily, wondering why she would
thank him after that. She placed her left hand on Harry's
shoulder, and tilted her head downwards at him, looking at
him thoughtfully.
'For opening up. It's not good for you to be bottling up
everything like that. And don't say you haven't been,
because I know you have' she explained. Harry smiled
back at her for a moment, then glanced at his hands which
he clasped on his lap.
'Thanks for understanding' Harry said quietly, looking up
for a moment to see her smile again. He still didn't feel
entirely glad about what he did, but he took solace in the
fact that Hermione was probably right, and that she didn't
ask any questions.
Hermione gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze, and stood,
moving over and sitting down in the other chair. She still
faced Harry, as he moved his eyes back towards the
notebook. He opened the cover, and began to read
through it.
The pages, as Harry flipped through slowly, were full of
writing and his mother's work, at varying angles and
sometimes including small diagrams. Potions that Harry
couldn't even pronounce, let alone understand their uses
sat within the confines of this little book. In some places,
little descriptions would be scrolled, such as "for shrinking"
or "invisibility". Hermione continued to look over Harry
closely, as he flipped through the pages. At last, he came
to the potion Hermione found earlier that night.
The top section was written by his mother. It ended just
under halfway through the ingredients and directions, then
someone else's dark printed writing began. Harry now
remembered where he saw the writing before, in his
Advance Potion-Making from the year before, which use to
be Snape's.
'How long will it take to make this?' Harry asked, not
looking up from the writing. His voice was raspy, as it was
still recovering from the crying that ceased only a few
minutes before.
'Seven weeks' Hermione replied. Harry tore his eyes from
the book, and looked at her.
'Seven weeks?'
'Well, the potion says one week for the combined number
of pieces a soul is in. Since you said you think it's in seven
pieces, then seven weeks' said Hermione.
'Can you make it?'
'With Professor Slughorn's help, I can imagine so, yes' she
reassured. Harry glanced at the notebook again, closed it,
stood, and walked over to Hermione, giving it back.
'How soon can you start?' Harry asked. Hermione
accepted the book, and placed it on her lap gently.
'Tomorrow.'
'Alright, if you can do that, I'll see if I can find out more
about that book' Harry said, starting off towards his room.
Hermione turned around in her chair, and gave quizzical
look at Harry's back.
'How will you do that?' she asked. Harry stopped at the
foot of the stairs, and looked at Hermione.
'Somehow I have a feeling the Pensieve will explain a few
things' he answered determinately. Hermione nodded, and
turned around in the chair. Harry started up the stairs, but
stopped short, and came back down slowly.
'By the way' he said, Hermione turning back around to see
him, 'thanks again.'
'Anytime Harry' she replied, smiling again at him. Harry
returned the smile, turned, and headed up the staircase
and into bed.
The next day, Harry woke feeling tired. The previous
night's events circled his mind all night. He experienced
one of those nights where all he wanted was to fall asleep,
however the more he tried, it never came. He laid in his
room for a while in the morning, just staring at the ceiling
of his four poster bed, the room pale and grey in
appearance due to the overcast sky visible through the
side of the window.
Harry closed his eyes, and exhaled slowly, allowing his
chest to fall and stay empty for a few moments. He wanted
to relax, however it was far from possible. The previous
night's venting helped a bit, he could feel it, but it was
more of the unknown of the future that troubled Harry than
the past.
He opened his eyes again, drew a deep breath, and
started his day. After showering and getting dressed,
taking his time doing both, he came down to the common
room to find Hermione looking over the potions book at the
desk.
Harry paused at the bottom of his stairwell, and observed
the scene. Hermione didn't notice Harry was there, and
she continued to look over the notebook, her head inclined
downwards showing the part in her hair. Harry was
reminded of his mental picture of his mother at the Hollow
writing. A smile crossed his face, and he took the last step,
purposely allowing his foot to make a sound. She looked
up at him, and a smiled grew on her face as well.
'Good morning Harry' she said brightly.
'Morning' he answered. She closed the book, and joined
Harry towards the Great Hall. They both entered to find
the house tables slightly less than half full. Sundays
normally saw students entering leisurely, people taking
advantage of the extra sleep available. Harry and
Hermione both made their way to the Gryffindor table, and
found Ron there talking to both Ginny and Luna, who was
visiting from the Ravenclaw table.
'Morning guys' Harry said, dropping himself next to Luna.
Hermione sat herself down next to Harry, placing the
potions book carefully on her lap.
'Find anything yet?' Ron asked, taking a glance at the
book on her lap. Hermione tucked herself closer to the
table so the book was not visible.
'Later' Hermione replied, starting to get some toast. Ron
stared at her for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders,
and looked to Harry.
'I was thinking of going to see Hagrid today, do you want
to come with?' he asked. Harry was struck with surprise.
He hadn't gone to see Hagrid since being back at
Hogwarts. He still planned on going into the Pensieve,
however it made sense that he could do that, then visit
Hagrid. Harry just hoped Hagrid would not be upset with
the lack of visiting.
'Oh my, we haven't seen him since the start of term. I
hope he's doing alright' Hermione said worriedly, as she
spread jam on her toast.
'Definitely, we'll go see him this afternoon. I have to do
some homework this morning, but we'll make the time to
see him' Harry stated. They finished their breakfast
quickly, Ginny and Luna talking about something called
Tymshire Tizzles as they ate, and started their way back
up to the East Tower before telling Ron about the potions
book and the soul destroying potion.
'Honestly, when is that girl going to come back down to
Earth?' Hermione expressed as her, Harry, and Ron
walked up the stairs towards the East Tower.
'With Luna, I think you need to question if she was ever on
Earth to begin with' Harry responded with a chuckle. The
three friends passed the library, and entered the East
Tower.
'Your mother made this?' Ron asked, looking stunned at
the text while sitting in the East Tower common room.
Harry nodded, and Ron glanced back at the book.
'Wow. I mean, I wonder why Dumbledore had it, but it's
great that we have it now. When are we getting started on
it?' he asked.
'Today. You and Hermione have to go and ask Professor
Slughorn for help, since some of the ingredients are
impossible to get' Harry said. Ron looked up from the
book.
'Where are you going?'
'Into the Pensieve' said Harry. Ron knew Harry had been
worried about going in it. He stood up from the table, the
book in his hand, gave Harry a pat on the back, grinning.
'Well, we'll get going then. Good luck mate' he said. Harry
smiled back, and the couple exited through the portrait
hole, leaving Harry alone in the sunlit room. Harry
exhaled, and walked up the stairs to his room silently,
coming back with the shimmering basin. He placed the
rune-marked bowl on the table, and looked into it.
He saw himself in the reflection, and wondered which
memory would be shown to him first. Had Dumbledore
made a sort of play list that would show him certain
memories in order? Harry figured to test it first, and placed
the tip of his wand on the edge of the silver surface.
At once, and image formed in the centre of the bowl. Harry
could make out Dumbledore, talking to a woman in the
Headmaster's office. Harry took a deep breath, and
plunged his face into the image.
Harry was falling only for a moment, then his feet hit the
stone floor of the Headmaster's office. It was just as it was
the year before, with the portraits hung about the room,
the portrait of Dumbledore not on the wall, since the silver
bearded man sat in the high-winged chair behind the desk.
The sight of Dumbledore made Harry feel uneasy, his lack
of presence in the current time becoming painfully obvious
to him again. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He was ready to visit these memories, and see
Dumbledore again, even if it was a non-existant version of
him. He still missed the old man terribly, but he had to
remember, he was gone.
Harry opened his eyes, and moved around to see the face
of the maroon haired woman to whom Professor
Dumbledore was talking to. As her face came into view,
Harry's heart skipped a beat as he noticed her eyes. They
were the same he saw in the mirror every day.
'Thank you for seeing me Albus' Lily said kindly.
Dumbledore lowered his head in a slow nod, and looked
back at Harry's mother. Harry looked at her, and saw the
locket that now hung around his neck. He grasped the
same one that was around his neck, and found himself
smiling lightly at his mother. It looked beautiful on her.
'It was not a problem. How is young Harry doing?' he
asked. Harry understood now this must have taken place
after he was born, but before his parents were murdered.
'Harry is doing great. Of course, James has more
experience catching a snitch than changing a diaper, but
I'm sure he'll get a hang of it' she chuckled. Dumbledore
smiled, and leaned forward, placing his arms on the desk,
the silver objects still littered across its top. Harry smiled at
his mother's comment as well.
'Always a Marauder. Now, what is it you wish to discuss?'
Dumbledore asked. Lily moved in her chair, and sat right
on the edge.
'It's about my potion' she said quietly.
'What about it?' the Headmaster asked.
'I'm stuck on one part. I've added the Ridgeback tooth, the
third fang-molar for potency, but I need more background
in the dark arts for the next section of the potion' she
explained. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, and
placed the tips of his fingers to his chin, his blue eyes
squinting in thought.
'I believe I know someone who could help' he said after a
few moments. The memory swirled around Harry for a
moment. He started becoming dizzy, but luckily the room
slowed down. As the memory finally stood still, he found
himself still in the Headmaster's office, however now a
third person was in the room, standing close to the side of
the Headmaster's desk.
It was Snape. He looked very much as he did in the future,
with the exception of fewer lines on his face, and his skin
tone, which was not as pale. His back robe and greasy
black hair had not changed, and his dark eyes still made
Harry clench his teeth in anger.
'Lily, you remember Severus?' Dumbledore asked. Lily
looked at Snape with a look of mingled disgust, however
nodded after a few moments. Snape in the mean time,
glared at Lily, his face emotionless.
'Yes, however I still do not trust him Albus' she stated
openly, her right hand moving slowly to the pocket on her
dark brown cloak. Snape's eyes locked on her hand,
however, he looked away quickly.
'I know you don't, however he can help us in this situation.
Severus, I need you to work on this potion' Dumbledore
said, motioning to the potions book which sat on the desk
before him. Snape snatched the book up rudely, and
glanced at the half written page.
'What is the purpose of this potion?' he asked, his eyes
moving away from the page to Dumbledore.
'It is a soul destroying potion' Dumbledore answered,
making it sound like he was being asked what flavour tea
he wanted. Snape's eyes grew wide for a moment on
Dumbledore, then back to the potion.
'Well, I must point out' Snape said, giving Lily a sinister
grin, 'that there are already some mistakes here. However'
he continued, now looking back at Dumbledore not
reacting to Lily's astonished look at the comment, 'I will
look into it.' Dumbledore raised from his seat slowly, as
Lily did quickly, her hand still in her pocket.
'Thank you Severus. If you could please start right away
with that' Dumbledore said. Severus bowed his head
slightly, then left the room, again not acknowledging Lily.
Once he was out of the room, and the door closed, Lily
turned back to Dumbledore.
'Albus, you must know someone else who could help,
anyone but him?' she said, allowing her dislike for Snape
to enter her tone.
'He is best suited for it. Besides, he knows something that
will help us. Do not worry Lily' he said, coming around the
desk and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, her
expression however not changing, 'the book will be
returned, and it will be you who will brew the potion. I will
get back to you when he is finished. In the mean time, stay
hidden, and keep an eye out for anything.'
'Alright, just keep an eye on him Albus. I know you trust
him, however I do not, and that is my potions book. Oh,
before I forget, here, in case you need to contact us' she
said, giving Dumbledore a piece of paper. Dumbledore
opened it up, and Harry looked at the rough edged, small
writing.
James, Lily, and Harry Potter are located at Godric's
Hollow
'I'm going down to Hagrid's Hut to give it to him too, since
he's expected for tea tonight' she said.
'I see . . . well, keep safe' Dumbledore said. Lily smiled,
and went to the door. 'And Lily' Dumbledore added, Lily
turning back, 'Happy Halloween.' Lily smiled, turned, and
exited the room. The room shimmered again, and once it
stopped, Harry found Dumbledore sitting in his chair
behind his desk, writing on parchment quietly.
Harry was wondering what would happen, when the flame
in the fireplace erupted all of a sudden. It seemed to Harry
that Dumbledore was not expecting someone to Floo in at
such a time. Harry was even more surprised by the face
that appeared in the fireplace. It was Hagrid, although he
looked terrible, with soot and ash covering his face.
'Hagrid, what is it?' Dumbledore asked hurriedly, getting
up from the chair and crouching down next to the hearth.
Hagrid gave a cough, and turned around for a moment
before responding.
'Potters . . . attacked . . . . Lily and James 'er . . .'er . . .' he
panted, unable to utter the word. He was winded, as if he
just finished a marathon. Dumbledore moved closer to the
fire.
'Harry, is Harry alive?' Dumbledore asked, sounding
almost demanding. Hagrid nodded, and Dumbledore
lowered his glance for a moment, and looked slightly
relieved at the news.
'Hagrid, take Harry and bring him back to Hogwarts. Keep
him safe, make sure Poppy gets a look at him. This is very
important Hagrid' he pressed. Hagrid nodded, and left the
flame. Dumbledore in the mean time, stood, and started
off at a very fast pace to the doorway. Harry hurried along
behind him, as he passed through the corridors of the
school.
Harry could tell that he was headed towards Professor
McGonagall's office. He came to the door, and knocked.
Hurried steps could be heard, and the door opened to
show Professor McGonagall. She looked quite tired, and
was in a sleeping-cloak and her hair was down, which
made her look even sleepier.
'Albus, what is the matter?' she asked, sounding and
looking worried. Dumbledore did not wait for an invitation,
and entered her office, McGonagall quickly locking the
door behind her. Harry walked in quickly enough to be in
the room.
'I have just heard word from Hagrid, Godic's Hollow has
been attacked' he stated. McGonagall placed her hands to
her mouth, and walked quickly towards Dumbledore.
'By who? And what of the Potters?' she asked quietly.
Dumbledore paced to the window, and looked out towards
the grounds, as Professor McGonagall looked on, still
looking terrified by the news.
'By Lord Voldemort, of that I am certain. Young Harry,
Hagrid tells me, is alive, however James and Lily may be
dead. I am worried that Lord Voldemort may still attack. I
must travel to Godric's Hollow right away to understand
the situation fully' Dumbledore said, turning around and
facing McGonagall.
'What can I do Albus?' she quaked. Dumbledore started
his way out, and turned at the door.
'You must protect Hogwarts for the time. Hagrid is bringing
Harry here for Poppy to see him, and keep him safe' he
answered. McGonagall nodded lightly, and Dumbledore
exited the room, Harry quick to follow.
Dumbledore passed through the Entrance Chamber, and
into the grounds. The night was cool, and overcast, the
grass wet with moisture. He reached the gates of the
school, and walked out of the wards. Harry was
surrounded by mist for a second, before he found himself
in front of a burning building, Dumbledore next to him.
It was Godric's Hollow, and it was on fire, every room set
ablaze, looking like the house would soon fall into itself.
Harry looked up, and saw the menacing Dark Mark
floating above the house. Dumbledore looked around, as
did Harry, and found that Hagrid must have already left
with Harry.
'Phoenicreo!' Dumbledore yelled. A red bolt of flame flew
from his wand, and erupted in the middle of the mark. The
Dark Mark vanished in a huge mound of fire, which
swarmed to form a huge fiery phoenix, its head inclined
upwards and wings spread apart, giving it a look of power
and might. The sight made the hairs on Harry's neck stand
up, and gave him goosebumps.
At once, four people Apparated nearby, their wands
pointed in different directions. After they all turned and
saw the house, one of the people approached
Dumbledore, looking very distressed.
'No . . . NO! Dumbledore, what happened?' the man
asked, running to Dumbledore. Harry recongnized the
voice, and moved around to see the man was Remus
Lupin. He was quite younger, not nearly as many grey
hairs as he had now, and his face was not as weathered.
At the moment however, he looked horrified at the scene
in front of him.
'Voldemort has attacked Godric's Hollow' Dumbledore
answered, the evidence for it clearly visible in front of him.
Lupin ran a short distance towards the burning house, the
phoenix still lording over the flames that leaped off the
house. He stopped short, and looked back at Dumbledore,
walking quickly.
'Are James and Lily . . . ' he asked, unable to finish.
'They are dead. Harry is alive though. Hagrid saved him,
and is keeping him safe' he said. The other three Order
members walked forwards, one wearing a violet top hat,
who Harry remembered was Dedalus Diggle, a stately
looking woman Harry noticed as Emmeline Vance, who
was now dead in the future, and Sturgis Podmore. They
moved towards the house, and quickly extinguished the
flames that were engulfing the house. Once all the flames
were doused, Dumbledore moved to the front door, and
stopped the others from entering.
'I need you to keep an eye for trouble, and obliviate any
muggle's memories when they come near' he ordered.
The four looked inside the house for a moment, but
nodded none the less. Lupin looked like he was going to
faint, and be sick at the same. Dumbledore tried to give
him confidence.
'It will be alright Remus. They are gone, but their son lives.
There will be time to morn their loss, but it is not now' he
said. Remus wiped his watery eyes, gave a sniff, and
solemnly nodded his head. Dumbledore placed a
comforting hand on his shoulder, turned, and entered the
house.
The walls, floor, and furniture were black from the fire. As
Dumbledore step inwards in the dark house, Harry's eyes
were drawn to a figure at the bottom of the stairs, lying
motionless.
It was James, lying face down on the floor. The back of his
dark red shirt was covered in ash and soot. Dumbledore
slowly made his way to him, and knelt down, waving his
wand over the body. James' body levitated off the ground,
and turned over slowly to reveal his front. Harry's eyes
welled up at the site.
He remembered seeing his father in the Mirror of Erised,
looking so proud and lively. His face now looked lifeless
and still, his blue eyes empty of any life and his skin pale.
Dumbledore exhaled slowly, closed James' eyes forever,
and placed James' wand on his chest. He flicked his
wand, and Harry's father's body glowed gold for a
moment, and the body vanished.
Dumbledore moved up the stairs, his wand still drawn, and
moved towards Harry's bedroom, taking careful steps not
to fall down a hole in the floor. A scared and disheveled rat
scurried out of the hallway and down the steps at great
speed as Dumbledore made his way towads Harry's room.
When he entered Harry's bedroom, Harry felt his heart fail
as his eyes found Lily's body lying in front of the crib. The
crib itself was partially destroyed, and a large blast mark
plastered the wall behind it. Dumbledore made his way
slowly to Lily, and crouched down and moved some hair
out of her face, showing her green eyes now pale in
comparison to the earlier memory. Harry was now crying,
the sight of his mother like this tearing at his heart.
Dumbledore gave what Harry could only call a sniff, and
solemnly performed the same magic on Lily, vanishing her
body in the same fashion. Once her body was gone, Harry
stared at the space it just vacated, then wiped his eyes, as
Dumbledore stood, and moved towards the crib.
Dumbledore then moved around the room, and stopped
suddenly, his blue eyes stuck squarely on a section of the
floor. There, on the floor not far from where Lily's body
was, a white coloured wand lay on the floor.
Dumbledore very cautiously moved forwards, and
performed numerous spells on the wand. Nothing
happened, and he very carefully picked it up.
It was Voldemort's wand. Harry recognized it from the
times he met Voldemort before. Dumbledore looked
around the room, then back at the wand. He stared at it for
a while, and Harry got the distinct impression that he was
worried about something the wand might tell him. Slowly,
Dumbledore pointed his wand at Voldemort's, and closed
his eyes.
'Prior Incantato' he said quietly.
Voldemort's wand spewed a green light, which swarmed
around in front of it. Dumbledore's eyes grew wide, as the
green reflected in them. The green light swirled around in
a circle for a moment, then made the distinct shape of a
lightning bolt, just like the one on Harry's head.
Dumbledore grasped his own forehead for a moment,
dropping Voldemort's wand in the process. His eyes
squinted for a moment, before growing even larger again.
'No, he couldn't have' he whispered to himself, his
expression blank. It made Harry feel uneasy to see him
react in such a manner.
Harry heard a noise coming from outside, and when he
turned back, he found Dumbledore already making his
way out of the room, Voldemort's wand still lying on the
floor. Harry moved quickly, and caught up to him just as
he exited the house. A few muggles were walking down
the road towards the house, still in their house coats.
'We'll take care of them Albus' Podmore reassured.
Dumbledore nodded, and walked back into the house
slowly, Lupin walking up the steps to follow.
'I have already vanished their bodies to where they will be
buried. There is something however, that I wish for you to
see' Dumbledore motioned Remus upstairs and he
followed. Once they were in Harry's room, Dumbledore
picked up Voldemort's wand, and showed it to Lupin.
'Is that?' Lupin asked, daring not to touch it. Dumbledore
nodded.
'This, is the wand of Lord Voldemort. He has been
destroyed' Dumbledore said. Lupin stared at the wand for
a moment, then at Dumbledore, looking totally awestruck.
'Destroyed? How?' Lupin asked. Dumbledore paced the
room, and stopped, just in front of the window.
'I believe' he started, himself still looking at the alien wand
he held, 'he killed James and Lily, and tried to murder
Harry. Lily appears to have died trying to save Harry. That
would have protected Harry with a very old magic . . . ' he
trailed off, still pacing. Lupin took a step forward, his face
showing his confusion at the situation.
'Old magic?' he asked. Dumbledore turned and nodded
his head.
'Yes, an ancient kind of magic. The protection of love is a
powerful thing. When he tried to murder Harry, the
protection must have been enough to backfire the spell' he
speculated. Lupin shook his head, and turned away.
'So Voldemort is dead?' Lupin asked, sounding
disbelieving. Dumbledore stopped pacing, and
approached the man.
'You know this is Voldemort's wand. It would only be here
if he was gone. . .' Dumbledore trailed off again. Lupin in
the mean time turned in the doorway.
'So what now?' Lupin asked, sounding exhausted.
Dumbledore pocketed Yew wand, and placed a hand on
Lupin's shoulder.
'We will tell the world what has happened, and we shall
make sure Harry will be safe' he said solemnly. Lupin
wiped a tear again from his eye, and started down the
stairwell, Dumbledore following suite.
Harry suddenly started flying upwards in darkness, until
his feet hit the carpeted floor of the common room. He
staggered back a few steps, before regaining his balance.
He looked out the window, and had to adjust his eyes to
the sun beaming in through the windows.
Harry quietly walked over, and sat on one of the chairs. He
had been in the Pensieve for a while, and had
experienced a number of memories. All of them were from
the night his parents died. He couldn't believe that his
mother gave the book to Dumbledore the night she died.
He wondered what this information Snape had that
Dumbledore mentioned. Harry also had a wantingness to
thank Hagrid for what he did the night his parents died.
The time in the Pensieve that troubled him the most, aside
from seeing his parents as they lay dead in their own
house, was the last spell cast by Voldemort's wand. Harry
expected to see the green light like remembered, however
the green forming his lightning bolt was unexpected. That,
with the last words Voldemort said that still echoed in
Harry's head, made him feel very disturbed. There was
more to know about his scar than he believed. He looked
at his watch, and noticed how long he actually spent in the
Pensieve. It was past two in the afternoon.
Harry quickly snatched up his coat, and bolted out the
door, and down the stairwell, making his way to Hagrid's
Hut as fast as possible. He wondered why Hermione and
Ron had not come to get him, however he wondered then,
how can you tell someone is in a Pensieve? He didn't
bother trying to understand it, and instead straightened his
coat, and knocked on Hagrid's door. Harry heard some
rather heavy steps, followed by the large door creaking
open to show the bearded resident.
'Harry, was beginin' to wonder if yeh forgot me' he
boomed, motioning Harry in. Harry entered, and his brow
furrowed as he looked around and found the hut, aside
from himself, Hagrid, and Fang, empty. Harry turned as
Hagrid closed the door.
'Have Hermione and Ron come?' Harry asked. Hagrid
looked at Harry funnily for a moment, then moved over to
the stove, and put a pot of water on for tea.
'No, they haven't bin here yet. I understand and all, you
bein' Head Boy. Yer parents woulda bin proud of yeh' he
expressed warmly. Harry stopped wondering about
Hermione and Ron, and instead smiled at Hagrid's
comments.
'Thanks Hagrid. You got your hut rebuilt, looks great' he
commented. Harry went ahead and asked how things
were going for Hagrid, and found out his classes were
small this year, but the lessons themselves he was getting
used to. They sat and talked for a while about how things
where going, both with the Order, and everything else.
Harry then mentioned his excursion to the Pensieve, just
as Hagrid was pouring the tea.
'I saw Dumbledore's memories of the night my parents
died' Harry said. Hagrid slipped slightly with the tea set,
however managed to regain his balance. He came, and
sat back down across from Harry.
'I see. How are yeh doin' with that?' he asked quietly,
sounding concerned. Harry looked at the massive man,
and remembered seeing him in the memory, protecting
him when he was a baby. Harry smiled.
'Thank you Hagrid for what you did, protecting me like that'
he professed to Hagrid. Hagrid smiled, and Harry could
see his eyes watering slightly.
'Well, I could relate to yeh. You were an orphan, yer
parents dead like that. I had to make sure yeh survived '
he voiced, a sniffle escaping. He gave his eyes a wipe,
and gave another sniffle.
'What happened?' Harry asked. Hagrid had a sip of tea,
then pat Fang.
'Well, I got to yer parents house, an' it was on fire and
such. I went in, found yer mum and dad . . . dead' he said,
as he gave a sniffle, and Harry noticed his eyes beginning
to water at the memories.
'Went to yer crib, an' found yeh there, cryin', but alive. I
Flooed Dumbledore, great man Dumbledore, and he told
me to bring yeh back here. Came outta the house, and
Sirius was there, with his motorbike' he said, Harry's heart
panging at the mention of his godfather. 'Told 'em what
happened, and he said I could take his bike, sayin' "he
had ter find someone". Didn' know at the time what he
meant' Hagrid said, staring off for a moment.
'What happened when you got back to Hogwarts?' Harry
asked. Hagrid looked back, and continued.
'I gotcha back here, an' Poppy hand a look at yer. Other
than yer scar, yeh was alright. After I put yeh down here
and yeh fell asleep, Dumbledore sent me an owl tellin' me
ter bring yeh to yer Aunt's house that night. Kept yeh safe
here, then brought yeh to Privet Drive, and we left yeh
there. I didn' want teh, but Dumbledore said we had teh'
he explained. They talked a little more of things, and soon
enough, Harry was finished his tea, and stood, Hagrid
doing the same.
'Well, it's about supper time, I should go. Thanks again
Hagrid' Harry said, while exited the hut a few moments
later. Harry walked to the Entrance Chamber, only to find
Hermione standing next to the door of the Great Hall,
looking up the stairwell.
'Hermione, where were you? I thought we were going to
Hagrid's? And where's Ron?' Harry asked as he
approached her. She closed the gap half way, and they
stood in the middle of the Entrance Chamber, a few
students passing by.
'Ronald is already inside eating. We went ahead and
started the potion. Ron wasn't paying enough attention
and almost ruined it, but I was able to fix the problem. The
potion has already started brewing, and is sitting in my
room for the time being. It took longer than I initially
thought it would, and by time I was done mixing it, and
stirring it the required three hundred and six times, it was
already supper time. Ron came down around the two
hundredth stir because he was hungry' she explained, not
sounding that entirely pleased.
'So why are you waiting out here?' Harry questioned.
'Waiting to see where you were. I went to the tower, but
you weren't there, so I assumed you went to Hagrid's' she
said, walking slowly towards one of the stairwells. Harry
walked along with her, but stopped as she stepped on the
first stair.
'Hermione, I'm kind of hungry, I was going to-"
'Could we eat in the tower? I wanted to ask you about
something, if you don't mind' she inquired. Harry could tell
something was troubling her, and nodded, starting up the
stairwell as well. Harry talked about his time with Hagrid,
and they entered the East Tower common room together.
'Dobby? Winky?' Hermione said quietly. Immediately, two
cracks resonated in the room, and their creators appeared
in front of the two heads, bowing deeply, their noses
almost touching the carpet.
'Oh, Harry Potter sir! Such an honour to see you alive and
well! Miss Granger too! Dobby and Winky have prepared
supper for Hogwart's most excellent Heads!' Dobby
expounded happily. He gave a snap of his fingers, and the
study table moved into the center of the common room,
and was draped with a white table cloth, one chair sitting
on each side. Harry and Hermione thanked Dobby and
Winky, and took a seat.
'You're looking much better now Winky' Hermione
commented. The house-elf, who was actually looking
better than the last time Harry saw her, bowed to the
comment. She had finally stopped crying, and seemed to
have lost the habit with the butterbeer. She now wore a
light blue dress, which Harry pictured more on a doll than
a house-elf.
'Misses is too kind. I is sorry for my actions before. I was a
bad house elf. Now I is all better, thanks to Dobby' she
motioned, Dobby giving her a smile. Hermione and Harry
looked at each other and laughed at the notion of "elf
love", but where happy they were doing well. Dobby
snapped his fingers again, and food appeared on the
table. Harry and Hermione thanked Dobby and Winky, and
the two house elves left.
'What happened to S.P.E.W.? I thought you didn't like
having house elves do work like this?' Harry said, putting
in a little bit of sarcasm into his voice.
'Dobby and Winky are alright because they're free.
Dobby's even getting paid for being here, so there's no
worries' she justified. Harry inwardly laughed, knowing
how she was working around her own principles, just
barely.
'So what did you want to talk about?' Harry asked as he
started his supper.
'How you are doing' she replied. Harry stopped, and put
down his cutlery. He was worried that since he opened up
the night before, that Hermione would always think
something was bothering him.
'I'm fine Hermione, really, I am' he reassured. Hermione
shook her head.
'No, I mean, are you alright with the Pensieve? Did you go
into it?' she asked hesitantly. Harry went ahead and told
her the memories he experienced, and she seemed to
wonder the same things Harry did, aside from the part
about Voldemort's last spell. Harry neglected to tell her
about the green light forming a lightning bolt.
'I wonder how Pettigrew got his wand then? And how the
house was rebuilt to how it was?' she pondered.
'Yes, well, maybe the Pensieve will tell me more next time
I go in, or maybe I can just ask Dumbledore's portrait'
Harry commented, as he continued his supper. They
continued quietly, until Hermione put her fork down, and
gave a sigh.
'Is there something bothering you?' Harry asked. He felt,
especially after the last night's events, that he should try to
be there for Hermione now if she has a problem.
'Just Ron. I've tried to be patient with him, and I've tried
numerous times to insinuate that I want him to act more
mature, but I'm finding more and more that we are just too
different' she said quietly. Harry felt like changing subjects.
He was never one to like talking about relationships, and
the prospect of discussing Ron and Hermione's didn't
exactly fill him with joy. Still, he was both their friends, and
if they needed help, he should try.
'Sometimes opposites attract' Harry mentioned. She
laughed lightly at the comment, however dropped back
into her sad state again quickly.
'An opposite is not what I want I think. I don't know . . . I'll
keep trying for the next little while, but I'm not sure.
Sometimes I wonder if I even want to stay together with
him' she said, exposing Harry to her inner thoughts. She
snapped out of her stare, and looked at Harry.
'Please don't tell Ron I said this Harry. It's not that I don't
like him, it's just . . .'
'Complicated?' Harry offered, Hermione nodding, still
looking at Harry for a reply to her request. 'Don't worry, I
won't tell Ron. I hope things work out though, which ever
way they should' Harry added.
He had to admit, the idea of Hermione and Ron breaking
up made him worried more about the trio's friendship than
Ron's feelings. Plus there was a small part of him, the
same part that couldn't get enough of that flowery scent,
that was jumping up and down screaming with joy at the
possibility of Ron and Hermione breaking up. Harry
mentally beat that part of his brain into submission
however, running through his reasons why he shouldn't
feel that way. Hermione seemed to notice Harry's inner
conflict.
'Are you alright Harry?' she asked. Harry came back to
reality, and nodded vigorously, probably too much.
Hermione still watched him worriedly as they finished their
meal in light conversation.
Once they finished, Dobby and Winky reappeared, and
vanished everything, bidding the two Heads goodnight.
Hermione went ahead and read Dumbledore's notebook,
while Harry sat at the desk and wrote down the things he
saw in the memories. He made a note to put down the
spell "Phoenicreo", and writing about the spell Voldemort's
wand performed last. He closed his notebook and placed
the usual wards on it, and locking it with his password. He
stretched back, and glanced at his watch, noticing the time
was past 11pm.
'I wonder where Ron is?' Harry asked the Room.
Hermione stirred in her seat, and looked over.
'I don't know. We'll see him tomorrow anyways in class.
Are you finished, there was a spell I wanted to show you
here' she mentioned. Harry got up, and walked over to her
seat, and leaned down to look at the notebook.
'It's a spell can dissolves the Dark Mark. Its incantation is-'
'Phoenicreo' Harry finished. She looked up at him stunned.
'Yes, how did you know?'
'Dumbledore used it over the Hollow to disappear the Mark
the night my parents died' Harry explained. She simply
nodded, and went back to the book.
'Yes, well, it also calls allies of you to your position. Sort of
like the Dark Mark, but more voluntary' she explained. She
looked back up at Harry, and smiled at him. Harry smiled
back, and found himself actually staring at her, becoming
slightly lost in her eyes. They looked at each other for a
few moments, before Harry's mind came back to him.
'I should get to bed' he announced quickly, tearing his
gaze away, Hermione doing the same.
'Yes, you're right, so should I. Goodnight Harry' she said
quickly, as she took the notebook, and walked up her set
of stairs. Harry grabbed his book, and found the part of
him applauding the notion of Hermione and Ron breaking
up doing it a little louder now.
On Halloween, Harry woke to a sunny autumn day. Harry
always enjoyed the Halloween feast, with the thousands of
jack-o-lanterns in the Great Hall, and the atmosphere of
the whole day. He woke up, and started his day, walking
down to the common room to find it empty. Harry assumed
Hermione already made her way to breakfast, and exited
alone.
It didn't take long for Harry to find Hermione however. She
was in one of the hallways, having yet another heated
discussion with Ron. Harry took notice at the number and
volume of these discussions had increased in the last
while.
'No Ron, I just want to have breakfast, and get to class.
We have a test, and we can't waste anytime' she said,
sounding thoroughly upset.
'Alright, fine' Ron answered unhappily. Harry came around
the corner, and found the two at least three feet apart from
each other.
'Hi guys' Harry said awkwardly. Hermione and Ron said
hello quietly, and the three walked to the Great Hall for
breakfast.
The day's lessons went fairly well. The test they had was
in Transfiguration, and Harry thought he did alright. They
had to show they could change a Niffler into a stuffed doll.
Extra points were given for the doll's posture, and if the
doll wasn't a Niffler itself, or Niffler looking. Harry made his
Niffler, who continually made grabs for his neck because
of his mother's locket, into a decent doll, though its dress
was entirely black. Professor Fourmove was pleased none
the less.
When Harry exited, he found Hermione and Ron having
yet another row. Harry never saw them have two in one
day, and he could tell this one was more heated than the
last.
'It doesn't matter Ron! This is our last year, and every test
counts!' Hermione argued. Ron sighed and rolled his eyes.
'You worry too much about tests, really. You know you got
perfect on it anyways' he said. Harry could tell she was
about to start another angry reply, so he stepped in before
she could start.
'Let's go to lunch, alright?' he put in, to break their fight.
Hermione lowered he stance, and walked off towards the
Great Hall by herself. Ron and Harry walked together
farther behind.
'She honestly worries too much. I mean, she knows she
got perfect' Ron commented. The two of them made their
way to lunch, to find Hermione sitting next to Ginny,
making sure not to leave space for Ron to sit on the same
side of the table. As soon as Harry and Ron sat down,
Hermione quickly grabbed up some food, and scuttled
away out the door. Ron just shrugged his shoulders, and
started eating.
'Aren't you going to talk to her?' Ginny asked Ron. Harry
agreed with Ginny, however Ron shook his head.
'She'll be fine. Just needs to blow off some steam' he said,
as he started at his Sheppard's pie. Harry knew it was
more than just steam to be vented, however decided to let
Ron do what he wished. This was what Hermione wanted
to know about, whether Ron would be more grown up or
not in his actions.
Harry didn't see Hermione for the rest of the afternoon. He
had different lessons than her, and during his free period,
he didn't find her in the common room, or the library. He
settled to practicing his Occlumency and Legilimency
training, and figured he would see her during supper time.
When Harry entered the Great Hall that night, with the
usual yet always imaginative carved pumpkins hanging in
the air above the four tables, the dim light emanating from
within each one lighting the hall, he found neither Ron or
Hermione were present. He spent the meal talking to
Neville, Ginny, and the other Gryffindors, however his
mind was beginning to worry if something was wrong.
After the deserts were served, and the students made
their way to their dormitories, Harry made his
unaccompanied trip back to the East Tower. Just as he
turned the corner, he found Evander's portrait just opening
up, and Ron exiting.
Ron was fuming. Harry could see a mix of anger and
sadness in his very red face, and tried to ask what was
wrong, but was met with a hand wave that Harry
understood to mean back off. Harry watched his friend
pass by, and disappear down the stairwell.
Harry turned slowly back to the end of the hallway, and
made his way quietly towards Evander's portrait, which
had closed by itself.
'They had a fight, believe me, I could hear enough of it
from out here. Sounded pretty bad too, you should go and
see how Hermione is doing. Password?' Evander asked.
Harry gave it, and the portrait opened. Harry made is way
up the passage way, and found the common room lit only
by the fireplace, a sobbing lump lay on the floor in front of
it.
As Harry approached slowly, he realized it was Hermione.
She was sitting in front of the fire, her head in her hands,
crying profusely. Evander must have been right, the fight
must have been huge to bring Ron to such a level of
temperament, and Hermione to this. Harry, very carefully,
moved around, making his steps audible so he would not
scare her. Hermione looked up, and Harry's chest ached
at what he saw.
Tears were pouring out of her eyes, and streaming down
her cheeks. Her hair was disheveled and her hands were
shaking as she continued to sob. Harry immediately knelt
down, gave one look at her, and wrapped her in a warm
hug.
She collapse into Harry, and pressed her arms tightly
around him, burying her face into his shoulder. Harry
rubbed her back, and let her cry, much like she had done
earlier in the month. After a few moments, Harry decided
to speak.
'Hermione, what happened?' he asked. He felt her grip
loosen, and he parted himself from her, and looked at her.
Her cheeks were wet, and her eyes bloodshot from the
crying. Harry took out a handkerchief, and gave it to her to
use.
'Ron wanted to have dinner up here' she started, pointing
at the table, which Harry only now noticed was dressed
much like before when he and Hermione ate in the
common room. 'We didn't talk that much really, just about
school. It wasn't that good of a supper' she said. Harry still
didn't understand how it got from there to here.
'But why are you so upset?' he asked. Hermione gave a
sniffle, and wiped her eyes again.
'I took the afternoon to figure out what I wanted, and . . . '
she trailed off again, as tears began to well up in her eyes.
'and?' Harry asked.
'and I don't want Ron. We're just too different, and I just
can't see it working out. We fight too much, surely you
noticed that, and we have totally different priorities. So
tonight' she continued, as tears fell from her eyes again, 'I
broke up with Ron' she confessed, as she began to cry
again. Harry leaned in, and embraced her in another hug,
his face stunned.
He was speechless, at least to some extent. He had a
small feeling it would happen, but not this quickly. From
the time he started seeing them in Grimmauld, he felt
something was out of place. He figured to some degree,
that it was only a matter of time until they broke up,
realizing that they were too different for each other. Still, a
part of him was not ready to have it happen so quickly.
'Oh Harry, I've messed up so badly' she whimpered. Harry
tried to reassure her, however knew it would be hard to
do, at least at this moment.
'You did what you thought was right. You said it yourself,
you would give it a little bit of time, then decide, and that's
what you did' he said somberly.
'But now Ron hates me, and I can imagine you do to' she
said, as she moved away from the hug. Harry however
moved her so he looked right at her.
'I don't hate you, and Ron doesn't either. He's upset, but
he'll get over it' he said determinately. Hermione, her eyes
water logged, still looked upset.
'And you?' she asked. Harry thought for a moment, then
answered.
'I'm here for you' he assured warmly. Hermione gave her
first smile that night, and they hugged each other again.
'Thank you Harry' she said from Harry's shoulder. Harry
smiled, and gave her a squeeze.
'Anytime Hermione.'
Spell / Name Meanings -
Phoenicreo – L. phoenix: phoenix, creo: to create
(Phoenicreo to create a phoenix)

- CHAPTER FIFTEEN -
The Sixth Horcrux
When Harry woke the next morning, his arm was numb
and his neck hurt. He and Hermione had fallen asleep in
the common room, and Hermione was leaning against
Harry's shoulder, cutting off some circulation to it. Harry
looked down, and was amazed at how peaceful she
looked now. Her face was somber as she slept, and Harry
felt he should try not to wake her. He began to move
slowly, but stopped, and wondered why he was trying to
leave. It was a Saturday, so there was no rush to be
getting up.
Harry decided to stay there with Hermione, just moving
slightly so the feeling in his arm would come back. He felt
the warmth returned to his arm, and was surprised to see
that Hermione had fallen asleep holding his hand. Her
hand was small, but fit nicely in Harry's. Harry, being
caught in his daze from waking at the position he found
himself in, decided to leave his hand there, and he closed
his eyes, allowing his head to fall back into the arm of the
chair behind him that the two of them were propped up
against. He gave a sigh, and found it pleasant to be sitting
on the rug with Hermione. He took another breath, and felt
his hand being squeezed gently.
'Hermione?' he asked quietly, looking down to see her stir
slightly, and exhale slowly. She opened her eyes, and
looked up at the upside down Harry, giving a smile, and
closing her eyes again, giving Harry's hand another
squeeze.
'Thank you Harry' she said, eyes still closed. Harry smiled,
and gave her a gentle nudge to get up, finding part of him
protesting against the action. She moved herself off Harry,
and got up, helping Harry to his feet.
'Sorry, I must have hurt your arm' she said, motioning to
his left arm. Harry gave it a stretch, and heard a few
cracks here and there.
'No, it's fine. How are you?' Harry asked hesitantly.
Hermione sat down in one of the chairs, and Harry
followed suite. The curtains were still drawn, but faint
sunlight was creeping its way in. The fire in the hearth was
now reduced to red ambers, which sat and glowed dimly.
'I'm better. I just hope Ron won't hate me now, I never
meant to hurt him' she expressed. Harry understood what
she meant. He had to do the same thing with Ginny when
he broke up with her.
The two of them went ahead, and got themselves
showered and ready for breakfast. Harry found himself
looking at Hermione, and noticing more and more of those
things he should be seeing, and kept mentally slapping
himself out of it. Hermione was very quiet as they
approached the Great Hall, and Harry tried to encourage
her.
'Don't worry. Ron will bounce back. Just give him a little
space, that's all' he said. She stopped, and looked back up
the stairwell towards the East Tower longingly.
'Maybe I should just go and have breakfast up in the
common room' she suggested, turning around slightly. He
knew this shouldn't be as hard as she was making it.
Harry, finding himself suddenly wanting to, grasped her
hand, and turned her around. He found her hand, like it
was up in the common room, was warm and small, and
felt nice in his own. Harry's hand lingered in Hermione's,
and he felt a slight rush when Hermione turned around,
and squeezed back.
'Uh . . . Just come and have breakfast alright? You're
going to see him sooner or later, and there's no point in
avoiding him' Harry explained, laughing inwardly at how
much he sounded like Hermione. Hermione looked down,
and nodded slowly. The two moved towards the Great
Hall, and stopped before the doors. Hermione looked over
at Harry, and Harry smiled, only then noticing that he was
still holding onto Hermione's hand. She smiled at him, and
he quickly, and somewhat begrudgingly, let go. He
couldn't really explain why, but his hand suddenly felt odd,
placed against his side, like it wasn't natural. Meanwhile in
his brain, he was beating himself up for thinking certain
thoughts, reminding himself that she just broke up with
Ron, and he should not be thinking of certain things.
When they entered the Great Hall, Harry wasn't surprise to
see that Ron was absent. He looked and saw Hermione
relax considerably as she noticed this, and she gave a
placid smile, and the two sat down at the Gryffindor table.
Once they were seated, and quietly started getting their
breakfast, Harry began to notice how Hermione spread the
jam on her toast. He never noticed before, but she did
even this in a systematic way, moving from one side, and
going down in straight lines. Harry smiled at her
methodicalness and finding yet another one of her quirks,
however his mind quickly changed tracks as he looked up
towards the entrance. Ginny was coming into the Great
Hall looking very unhappy, her eyes set squarely at
Hermione. Hermione gave a sigh as the fire-haired girl sat
down across from her, looking ready for a war of words.
Harry had a feeling this would be bad.
'Is it true, you broke up with Ron?' she asked, sounding
angry. Hermione, looking down at her plate, gave a single
nod. Harry felt a pang at seeing Hermione like that,
wanting to stand up for her to Ginny. 'Why?' Ginny asked
exasperatedly. Hermione shifted in her seat, and looked
back at her plate. Harry relaxed, and remembered that
Hermione was more than capable of standing up for
herself.
'We're just too different, and I knew it wouldn't work'
Hermione put simply, looking up tentatively for her
reaction. Ginny seemed to be thinking about it for a
moment, and Harry noticed her face relaxed its tension.
'Are you sure?' she asked, this time not sounding as
upset, almost understanding.
'Yes Ginny. I'm sorry, but it's just how I feel. How is Ron?'
she asked desolately. Ginny gave her a quiet look over for
a moment, before answering. Harry looked around, and
found at least ten people on either side of the group were
listening. They noticed Harry's glare, and immediately
went back to their breakfast at face pace.
'He's upset, but don't worry Hermione, he'll be alright. I
wanted to see you guys stay together, but I understand. I
think I just really wanted you to be my sister sometime in
the future' she admitted, giving a little laugh. Hermione
smiled, and looked up at Ginny.
'We are sisters, regardless' said Hermione. Ginny smiled,
got up, and they gave each other reaching hug over the
table. Even more people were watching the scene, and as
Ginny left, waving goodbye to Hermione and Harry, people
burst into conversation, some not bothering to hide their
pointing fingers. Hermione sat back down, and seemed in
a much better mood than before.
After finishing breakfast, Harry debated going to see how
Ron was doing. He wondered if just leaving him alone
might be the best course of action, however felt he should
go and make sure he was doing alright. He said good-bye
to Hermione as she headed towards the library, and made
his way to Gryffindor Tower.
'Oh, well if it isn't our Head Boy. I must say, I haven't
missed your late entries. I do hope you are treating
Evander alright. Password?' the Fat Lady said to Harry.
Harry smiled sarcastically at her comments.
'Together we stand' Harry said to the portrait.
'Indeed we do' the Fat Lady responded, her portrait
opening and allowing Harry access to the Gryffindor
common room.
Harry hadn't made a trip here since the beginning of term,
and his absence must have been noticed. Upon entering,
people called out his name, and came to welcome him
eagerly. Harry said hello to Neville, Seamus, Dean, and a
host of other friends. He still saw some of them in class,
but since he spent a large amount of his time these days
either in the library or the East Tower, he didn't see as
much as he would like to. In the frenzy of greeting
everyone, Harry noticed one face he didn't see, Ron's.
'Harry mate, you should go talk to Ron. Since last night
he's just been shut up in his bed, all down and out with the
curtains drawn. We were going to talk to him, me and
Dean, but he threatened to hex us, so we left him be'
Seamus said, pointing up to Harry's old dormitory. Harry
looked up for a moment at the dormitory door thinking,
then turned to Seamus, Dean, and Ginny.
'You guys up for a game of Quidditch?' he asked all of a
sudden. Seamus and Dean looked confused over the
question, however Ginny was beaming at Harry.
'Of course Harry. Only if Ron plays keeper, and I get a
chance to whip your butt at catching the snitch' she added,
giving Harry a playful punch in the shoulder. Harry smiled,
and looked to Seamus and Dean, who were also smiling
now, knowing the purpose of Harry's question.
'Sure mate! We'll get a few other people to play, upper
year students, it'll be fun. We'll meet you out at the pitch'
Seamus said eagerly. Dean nodded, and the two made
their way up to the dormitory, coming back down a
moment later with their broomsticks in hand. Students in
the common room wondered what they were doing, and
Seamus stopped in the middle of the room, and stood on
one of the chairs so everyone could see and hear him.
'Quidditch scrimmage on the pitch!' he announced.
Everyone cheered excitedly, and students threw down
their books and homework. After getting their cloaks, they
all moved out of the portrait hole and towards the
Quidditch pitch. Seamus and Dean lead the way, and after
everyone left, only Ginny and Harry were left in the
otherwise empty common room.
'Great idea Harry. I hope he comes, I know it'll cheer him
up being on the pitch again. He misses it. Good luck' she
said, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek, and exiting with her
broom, running to catch up with everyone else. Harry
looked up at the dormitory, and made his way up the stairs
and into the circular room, which now only contained four
beds, instead of the usual five. As Seamus mentioned,
only one set of curtains were drawn around one of the
beds. Harry silently walked over, and sat down on one of
the beds near the closed drapes.
'Ron?'
'Go away Harry, just leave me alone' the drapes answered
angrily.
'Why?' Harry asked assertively. He felt if asking what was
wrong wouldn't work, having Ron explain himself might
work instead. It took a few moments before he talked.
'I just . . . Hermione broke up with me' he admitted. The
words sounded painful for Ron to admit, however he did
admit them.
'I know, Hermione told me. You just need to relax' Harry
tried to encourage. Ron gave a cynical laugh.
'"Relax?" Harry, I've liked Hermione since third year! We
finally start going out, and we break up after only three
months' he said. He was right, Harry knew he liked
Hermione since third year, or at least fourth year. Their
little row the night of the Yule Ball made it clear, to Harry
at least, that they liked each other.
'I know something that will make you relax, or at least
cheer you up, if you want' Harry suggested, hoping he
would be interested. Ron gave a huff in response.
'Com'on, everyone's waiting for you' Harry baited.
'Why would they be waiting for me?' Ron asked. Harry
could tell he was getting interested, and pressed on.
'Well, you can't very well start a match without a captain,
now can you?' Harry baited. He heard Ron move on the
bed, and smiled when he opened the curtains quickly,
looking around and finding Harry sitting on one of the
beds. He looked puffy eyed and tired, but he had a light in
his eye that Harry could tell was a small amount of
excitement, sitting within the sadness.
'You didn't' Ron said, looking for reassurance.
'Com'on, all of Gryffindor house is waiting for Hogwart's
best keeper' said Harry, getting up and giving his best
friend a pat on the back.
'I don't want to play Quidditch' Ron pouted, returning to his
depressed state. Harry laughed, knowing how much he
was lying.
'Ron, you live for Quidditch. Just come on, get up and let
out some steam, and have fun while doing it' Harry
reassured. He did hope Ron would come. If Ron didn't
play, then Harry wouldn't either, which means the
scrimmage would probably not go. Harry looked down,
and found Ron drawing out a long breath, and nodding his
head, conceding victory to Harry. Harry even saw a hint of
a smirk.
'I've missed Quidditch' Ron admitted, rubbing his eyes.
'Oh, alright, I'll play!' he expounded all of a sudden. He
was still wearing his clothes from the night before, and
looked very sleepy, but he was quickly opening his trunk
and pulling out his keeper gloves and broomstick. He
turned around, and Harry laughed at the site.
'Maybe you should take a shower before coming' Harry
smirked. Ron's hair was wild looking, standing up in odd
places and giving him the look of a madman, and the
clothes he wore were wrinkly from sitting in the bed. Ron
looked down at himself, still holding his broomstick in one
and his gloves in the other, and for the first time gave a
little laugh.
'Yeah, I guess I should shouldn't I?' he commented. He
threw his broom and gloves on his bed, and made his way
to the showers.
'Just be quick!' Harry yelled, as he made his way back to
the Gryffindor common room. He waited only a few
minutes, taking a look out the window to see the people
sitting at the pitch. Harry was surprised at how many
people were going out, definitely more than just Gryffindor
house. Once Ron was finished, and dressed for success,
the two friends made their way out of the castle.
'Sorry Harry, about earlier. I'm just not feeling that good
about Hermione . . . ' he said trailing off. Harry put his arm
on Ron shoulder.
'Don't worry about it OK. Just try to have some fun with
this, and feel better' Harry replied. Ron smiled back,
although it was a little weak, and he looked at Harry.
'You're not playing?' he asked.
'Course I am!'
'Then where's your broom?' Ron asked. Harry laughed at
himself, and took out his wand.
'Accio Firebolt!' he pronounced. Ron laughed.
'Could never forget that one.'
'It did save my life' Harry said, as a whistling could be
heard, becoming louder. Harry scanned the sky, and
found his broomstick flying towards him at a fantastic
velocity. He reached up, and grabbed it out of the air, and
the two made their way to the pitch.
When they entered the pitch, it was to a tumultuous roar
from the crowd. A large group of students stood in the
middle of the pitch, many with broomsticks looking eager
to play in the little scrimmage. Ron looked stunned.
'I thought you said it was just Gryffindor house! This is
almost the whole school!' he insisted. Harry laughed, and
the two Gryffindors walked up to the crowd, Harry trying to
use his Head Boy power for one of the first times.
'Alright, Ron and I are the captains. We'll pick our teams,
and play. Everyone else, sorry, you'll have to play another
time, but you're more than welcome to watch' he declared.
Some students already looked downtrodden at the remark,
however most looked even more excited.
The students spread out, and Harry and Ron picked their
teams. Harry ended up with Dean, Colin Creevey, and a
Ravenclaw boy, Stephen Cornfoot as his Chasers,
Michael Corner and Andrew Kirke as his Beaters, and
Megan Jones from Hufflepuff as his Keeper. Ron chose
Demelza Robins, Seamus, and Cadwaller from Hufflepuff
as his Chasers, Jack Sloper and Lisa Turpin, a member of
Ravenclaw, his Beaters, and of course Ginny his Seeker.
Ron and Harry decided to use Gryffindor colours, and
coloured their teams' cloaks to distinguish each others
players. Harry's team wore gold, while Ron's red.
They were about to get going, the rest of the hopefuls
making their way up into the stands, when four tall men
came marching onto the field, in the middle of them the
short and stout woman Harry detested so much. She
stopped in front of Harry and Ron, and her toad like face
gave that smile Harry wanted so much to hex away.
'Well well, planning a Quidditch match are we? I thought I
made myself clear when I banned you before Potter, but I
guess you are still a little slow' Umbridge sneered, giving
Harry an evil smirk. Harry's blood began to boil, however
Umbridge didn't bother to notice.
'Now, disband all of you, and get back to the castle. The
Headmistress will be interested to hear how her beloved
Head Boy put all these students in danger' she explained
gladly. Harry could feel his hands shaking, but looked
around Umbridge's rather square frame and felt worry
enter his mind.
It was Professor McGonagall, along with Madam Hooch
and Hagrid, walking down from the castle. From this
distance, Harry was not sure if the Headmistress was
upset or not, however as she approached, Harry's worry
increased as he saw her face. It was not happy.
'Potter, what on Earth are you doing?' she asked, not
acknowledging Umbridge or her Auror cronies. Madam
Hooch stood farther back, while Hagrid kept close to
McGonagall, keeping a close eye on the Aurors. Umbridge
glanced at Hagrid, and took a step back.
'Some students wanted to have a Quidditch scrimmage. I
thought that it would umm, erm . . . help keep students
happy, and um . . . school spirit. Some miss having
Quidditch' Harry tried to explain. Professor McGonagall
didn't have a chance to respond however, since Umbridge
gave a triumphant laugh the moment Harry finished.
'Do you hear this boy! Non-sense! Everyone, back to your
dormitories, and you' she said, pointing a stubby finger at
Harry, 'you will come with me.' Harry could see some of
the students looking upset, and start heading back,
however Professor McGonagall put her hand on Harry's
shoulder, and stopped him from walking.
'Potter, I came to see what you were doing' she started,
Umbridge encouraging students back to the school.
'However' she stated, turning and facing Umbridge,
'Thinking it through, I have no problems with your game.
Madam Hooch, are you willing to referee?' she asked.
Madam Hooch nodded happily, and turned to get her
broom and the trunk with the balls.
Umbridge was of course, outraged. Harry was beaming,
along with everyone else, at the prospect of finally playing
Quidditch after so long. Students that were just a moment
ago slumping their way back to the castle, were climbing
the steps up to the stands eagerly.
'You cannot allow this!' Umbridge demanded, striding up
and looking at the stern-faced Headmistress. Harry was
worried as to what fallout this could have, the Aurors
hands reaching inside their cloaks. He remembered the
last time Professor McGonagall had to face Umbridge with
her Aurors, when she was stunned and had to go to St.
Mungo's. Harry however noticed Hagrid take a step
forward, the Aurors eyeing him cautiously.
'I can, and will. You will place your Aurors that you lovingly
brought with you around the pitch, and protect the
students. Potter' she turned back to Harry, 'next time, tell
me in advance of any plans like this' she stated sharply.
Harry nodded quickly, and Professor McGonagall turned
and walked away towards a set of stands, Hagrid giving a
quick smile to Harry, before turning and following
McGonagall, giving the Aurors a glare. Umbridge stood in
place looking astonished at McGonagall.
Harry turned back to his team, and began talking strategy,
purposely not paying attention to Umbridge. When he
looked up as Madam Hooch placed the trunk in the middle
of the field, Umbridge and her Aurors were disbanding and
moving to different exits from the field. Harry couldn't help
but smile at yet another victory over Umbridge.
'As usual, a clean game. Oh how I've missed this' Madam
Hooch said excitedly, as she looked at the teams.
'You're going down Potter!' Ginny yelled at Harry. He
looked over, and found Ron smiling and looking eager at
getting up on his broom. The balls were released, and
Harry raced after the golden flicker of light high above him,
Ginny right on his tail, as the crowd cheered.
The game ended up being a great thing for Ron, and the
rest of the school. It was drawn out past lunch time, and
Harry's team looked to be winning. However just as
Harry's team advanced to one hundred and twenty points
ahead of Ron's, Ginny made an amazing move for the
Golden Snitch, and caught it right in front of Harry. Harry
was trying to catch it, but the look on Ron's face made him
glad Ginny got it before him.
The crowd celebrated loudly as Ginny, Ron, and the rest
of his team did a victory lap around the pitch. By the
middle of the match almost all of the school had noticed
the scrimmage, and came down to watch, supporters of
Ron's team waving around red banners, Harry's gold. As
everyone started their way back to the castle, Harry
caught up with Ron and the rest of his energetic team.
'Great match Ron!' Harry said. Ron turned, and gave a
wide smile and patted Harry on the back.
'That was great Harry. Exactly what I needed' he
expressed. They started back up to the castle, Harry
thanking Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch, when
he heard someone calling him over around the side of one
of the stands. He bid farewell to Ron, Ginny, and the
others, who were headed to Gryffindor Tower for a
celebratory party, and found Hermione hiding behind the
stands. She was peaking around the side, looking around
at the students walking back up to the castle.
'Hermione, what are you doing?' Harry asked.
'Well, it was pretty obvious when your broomstick
smashed through one of the windows of the common
room and nearly startled me to death were it was going. I
saw everyone here, so I came down and watched the
match. Ginny beat you' she mentioned. Harry looked down
and noticed that she herself had a banner, and scarf on.
He made it a point to notice both of them were gold, and
part of his mind was suddenly sidetracked in focusing on
that fact. He noticed Hermione looking at him, and stirred
his mind back to reality.
'Yeah, that was quite the roll she made to catch it. Caught
me off guard. Anyways, what are you doing here?' he
asked, motioning at the area they were now standing in.
'Well, I saw Ron all happy, and didn't want him to see me'
she answered quietly. Harry rolled his eyes, and sighed.
'Please don't tell me you're going to avoid Ron forever' he
questioned. Hermione looked a little upset at the
comment.
'Well, I don't want him getting upset again. He was just so
happy' she said. Harry could see she was getting a little
emotional again, and tried to calm her down quickly, giving
her shoulders a little squeeze, finding himself for the
second time that day wanting to hold on to her.
'Don't worry about Ron, alright? He'll get better soon
enough. I knew this would get him at least happy now, but
he'll have to deal with seeing you sometime. Besides, it's
not right for you to be feeling terrible all the time either,
right?' he asked, looking right at her.
He knew it would be difficult for the trio's friendship to stay
together after something like this, but he had to try and
keep it together. Harry did not want a repeat of what
happened in fourth year. Plus, he knew Hermione
deserved better than always feeling terrible about what
happened.
Hermione sniffed, and looked away for a moment, wiping
her eyes, however looked back and nodded solemnly,
looking at her feet which suddenly caught all her attention.
'You're right Harry. Sorry' she mumbled, glancing up to
meet Harry's eyes once or twice, still enthralled with her
feet, which she was moving around on the dry November
grass. Harry lifted her chin up slowly, and gave her a
smile, receiving a small one in return.
'Com'on, lets get some lunch' he stated. Hermione
nodded, and the two walked up together to the castle.
They both ate in the Great Hall, and Harry encouraged
Hermione enough to go to Gryffindor Tower for a few
moments. There were enough people in the common
room that Hermione was able to sit and talk to a few
people, without having to really see Ron. Harry spent time
with Ron, and the two had a good afternoon. Ron was
noticeably happier with Quidditch still running through him.
He, Harry, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and many others talked
about their favourite Quidditch teams, and players, while
enjoying the food and drinks some of the upper year
students "knicked" from the kitchens. Harry noticed Ron
look over at Hermione a few times, his smile disappearing,
however he quickly snapped back into conversation.
Harry and Hermione both left at the same time, and went
back to the East Tower. Harry had his lesson with Topher
that night, and needed to prepare. Hermione was just
feeling odd with Ron being in the room, and wanted to
retreat to the peace of the common room, or the library.
Harry found his preparation was not going well, his
thoughts moving every direction, from the Horcruxes and
Voldemort, to Ron and Hermione, and all the questions
brought up by the memories he saw in the Pensieve. He
felt, by time he started his way to the Great Hall for dinner,
that seeing Topher tonight would be best postponed until
next week.
After eating supper, Ron now present in the Great Hall,
Hermione sitting farther down the table with Ginny, Harry
made his way to the Defence classroom to let Professor
Terrwynebas know. Harry was glad to hear that Topher
was perfectly alright with it, since he had extra marking to
be done anyways, and could use the time. Harry noticed
how many of those old scrolls that he had been reading
earlier in the year had made their way back to his desk
top.
Harry went back to the East Tower, and again went for the
Pensieve. He needed answers. Not just the questions
Hermione brought up, about Voldemort's wand and the
Hollow, but he hoped the next set of memories would tell
him where his parents were buried, and more information
on that last spell Voldemort cast. The look that crossed
Dumbledore's face when he checked the last spell cast by
Voldemort's wand still made Harry very uneasy.
'I thought you had your lesson with Topher?' Hermione
asked, as Harry came back down. He hadn't noticed her
on the way up, and carefully placed the basin on the table,
making sure it was steady before responding.
'I need to get some answers first, and I can't think straight
without them' Harry answered. Hermione put down her
notes that she was writing on, and came over and stood
next to Harry. She was in some simple muggle clothes,
and Harry had to admit, he definitely noticed the difference
to her usual Hogwarts robes. Hermione had to look at him
and half-yell to get his attention.
'Harry! Back on Earth?' she said, giving a smile. Harry
came back, and gave a quick smile, and snapped back to
the shimmering bowl on the desk. Hermione gave him
another look, and looked to the bowl as well.
'So, you just put your head in there?' she asked. Harry
was reminded now that she never saw the Pensieve, and
for once he was surprised she didn't know everything
about it.
'Yeah. You tap the surface, and it shows an image of the
memory you're going into. See' he explained, giving the
iridescent silver surface a tap with his wand. The cloudy
surface cleared, and showed a man, who could only be
Albus Dumbledore, walking through a narrow corridor.
Hermione looked to Harry, and gave him a gentle pat on
his shoulder. 'Well, good luck' she said, backing away.
Harry smiled, and looked back to the Pensieve, bending
down slowly and allowing his face to break the cool water-
like surface. Harry felt his feet leave the carpet of the
common room, and after a few moments, he landed easily
in a small and dark hallway.
Harry immediately had to start running to catch up to
Dumbledore. He was walking at a very fast pace, moving
down a series of these dark stone corridors, coloured
amber from the lamps hung just below the ceiling. Harry
finally reachedthe former Headmaster, just as he reached
a heavy wooden door. Dumbledore grabbed the old brass
doorknob, and pulled.
A tidal wave of noise hit Harry as the door opened fully.
Harry looked in, and followed Dumbledore, finding a
massive room, probably half the size of the Great Hall at
Hogwarts, full of wizards and witches, goblins, and other
creatures. Many looked old, very old, their grey and white
hair reflecting their ages. All these people were sat along
the sides of the walls, much like the room Harry had his
trial in a few years ago, on tiered levels.
Dumbledore conversed with a short, portly man with
thinning hair for a moment, before walking up to a central
pedestal, facing a group of almost ancient looking wizards,
halfway up the stands, sitting behind a grand and
elegantly decorated desk, all wearing plum coloured robes
with an elaborate silver "W" on the left. Once Dumbledore
looked to the crowd, they became silent, Harry noticing
how Dumbledore was reaching into his pocket.
'Albus Dumbledore, you have convened the Wizengamot,
the Ministry of Magic High Council, and the Veneforbis
Guard for an emergency meeting. I must say, this better
be important' an old, yet stern looking wizard said, who
was sitting in the middle of the Wizengamot table. Harry
looked around, and found another group of wizards,
wearing dark blue robes with a very small engraved "V" on
the right side of their chests, sitting just below the
Wizengamot. All looked quite mean to Harry, and definitely
meant business. Harry looked to Dumbledore, as the old
man cleared his throat quietly.
'Yes, I have convened you all at this late hour, that I do
apologize for, however this news could not wait. Lord
Voldemort' he started, almost everyone shuddering at the
name, Harry taking notice that the men in the dark blue
robes did not, 'has attacked the house of James and Lily
Potter' he began. A quiet uproar began, Harry hearing
some commenting on how this had nothing to do with
them, or how another attack meant nothing important,
regardless of who it was. The man who first talked to
Dumbledore tapped his wand, and a loud thud could be
heard, reverberating along the ground. Wizards and
witches all now calmed down, while the old wizard looked
to speak again.
'Albus, I know you are the Chief Warlock of this council,
but please tell me you asked for this council to convene for
more than just explaining another attack' he began,
sounding disappointed. Harry knew what Dumbledore
would do next, and was not let down. Dumbledore slowly
retracted his hand which had been kept in his pocket, and
revealed the ivory coloured wand.
'This, is the wand of Lord Voldemort. He attacked Godric's
Hollow, to kill the Potters. James and Lily were found
dead, however their son Harry was found alive,
Voldemort's wand sitting on the floor nearby' he explained.
He had to raise his voice over the outpour of talking and
conversation. The head wizard again tapped his wand,
and the noise subsided. The old wizard stood up from his
chair, and leaned forward, accentuating the bald spot on
his head.
'What are you saying Dumbledore?' he asked.
'Lord Voldemort killed Lily, but she was protecting her son
Harry, which protected him with her love. When Voldemort
tried to kill Harry, the spell backfired, and consumed him,
leaving Harry very much alive, with only a lightning bolt
shaped scar on his forehead!' he exasperated. Harry could
understand, it would be a hard thing to explain, let alone
believe.
'So you are saying, that You-Know-Who was defeated this
night, by a little boy?' the elderly wizard asked. Many in
the room exchanged whispers, but Harry could tell all eyes
were now on Dumbledore.
'Yes! This is the wand of Lord Voldemort; he is dead!' he
expelled. There was a brief pause, when complete silence
enveloped the hall, then an overture of cheering ensued.
Wizards and witches on the Wizengamot were clapping
hands together, and many others in the hall hugged and
cheered loudly. After discussing quietly with the other
members, the head wizard again tapped his wand, the
vibrations pulsing through the ground, and the hall slowly
and unhappily came to quietness again.
'Albus, to prove this, please relinquish the wand to our
expert, so he may authenticate it' the man said. A strange
looking man came up from one of the lower levels towards
the podium quickly, Harry smiling as he remembered the
eerie moon-like eyes of the man who made his own wand,
as well as the one Dumbledore was now giving to him.
'My word! It's true! This is the wand of He Who Must Not
Be Named!' Mr. Ollivander spouted out happily, after
examining the wand for a brief moment. Dumbledore
accepted the wand back, and the hall once more erupted
into cheering and excitement. Dumbledore bowed to the
Wizengamot, and left in the midst of the cheering and
hooting.
'You-Know-Who dead! - Potter boy defeats You-Know-
Who! - Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived! - The Boy Who
Lived!' Harry heard many of the wizards and witches
saying on the way out, the named and titles created that
day that still haunted him.
Dumbledore moved quickly out of the hall, and focused
squarely on the doorway. He ignored the pats and
cheering, and exited into the corridor. The hallway which
stood empty before was now full of people running to let
the world know the news. The memory shimmered, and
Harry was transported to a dark and musty house.
Harry looked around, and knew he was in Grimmauld
Place, before it had been cleaned. The floor was covered
in dust, and the heavy drapes were closed shut, letting no
room for sunlight to enter. Dumbledore made his way out
of the room, which Harry figured was the library, since he
could see the outline of bookshelves, and the two of them
wound their way to the kitchen.
Once Dumbledore entered, members of the Order of the
Phoenix were sitting around the table. Harry recognized
Lupin, who was sitting next to a sobbing pile of a man, his
head on the table. Dumbledore paced over to the man,
and laid a hand on his back. The man snapped up, and
turned around, Harry feeling an immediate white-hot
anger.
It was Pettigrew, his normally watery eyes looking even
more so due to his sobbing. Harry knew full well the
reason he was crying was for the fall of Lord Voldemort,
and not for Harry's parents. Harry felt disgusted by this
show of fake sorrow, Dumbledore seeming to be fooled by
it.
'It will be alright Peter' Dumbledore consoled the rat of a
man. He continued to sob, and nodded. Harry gritted his
teeth, and felt like trying to hex the man, even though it
was a memory. Dumbledore turned, and moved to the
other side of the table.
'How did Voldemort know where they were?' Lupin asked
weakly, tears brimming on his grey eyes. Harry felt for
Remus, having to visit the Hollow so soon after James and
Lily died.
'He must have been told the secret' Dumbledore
reasoned. Remus' tear filled eyes opened in shock to the
statement, and gazed at Dumbledore, who now stood next
to the fireplace, facing the small group.
'Sirius would never do that to James!' he expounded,
getting up from his seat, his dark grey robes hanging off
him unkemptly.
'How else would You-Know-Who know?' Dedalus Diggle
asked, who was sitting in a corner of the kitchen, next to
Sturgis Podmore.
Lupin looked astonished, however Harry could see the
look of realization coming on his face, mingled with
betrayal and sadness. Remus did not just loose one
Marauder tonight, but two. He slowly sank back into his
chair, his utter disbelief clearly present in his posture.
'Are you sure it was even You-Know-Who Albus?' an old,
wheezy wizard said from the other side of the room, his
silver hair contrasting greatly with the dim lit room. Harry
remembered the man was part of the Advance Guard that
helped him escape the Dursley's.
'Certainly' Dumbledore answered quietly, moving towards
the table, and placing the ivory tinted wand on the table.
Many of the Order members moved away from the table
once they realized what was now laying on it.
'My word' one of the men in the room muttered, as
everyone slowly moved back to their original place, gazing
at the wand placed on the table. Everyone was quiet,
Harry wondering if any of them were even breathing, when
Pettigrew stood his round self up.
'I can't believe Sirius would betray James! I'm going to find
him, and show him all that's left of his master!' Pettigrew
yelled out, grabbing the wand, and making for the
doorway. Lupin got up, and made to follow him, but Mad-
Eye Moody, who was sitting next to him, laid a hand on his
shoulder.
'Let 'em be. The man can't duel worth a knut, and he
doesn't know where Sirius is anyways. He'll be back by
the morning' Moody advised. Lupin lowered his head, and
nodded, again slowly taking his seat again.
'What of the boy?' a deep voice asked, who belonged to a
tall and slightly beefy man who was leaning against one of
the walls, his brown hair looking like he just got out of bed.
Dumbledore started to pace across the front of the
fireplace, and looked like he was on his way out.
'He will be kept somewhere safe, and protected. There is
something though . . . I will be back' he said, moving
around and coming next to Lupin, placing a hand on his
back.
'Morn for our lost friends, yes, but rejoice in the demise of
Lord Voldemort' Dumbledore said. He gave one more
thoughtful look to Lupin, receiving a small smile in reply,
and the silver bearded man walked through doorway, and
again the memory shimmered around Harry.
The memory reappeared, and it took Harry a few moments
to adjust to the lighting. Dumbledore was sitting at a desk,
a very old desk, sitting in a exceptionally old room from the
looks of things. Thousands of books of all shapes and
sizes filled the wall shelves, which stretched into the
darkness above, no ceiling visible. Scrolls and stacks of
parchment and various other materials littered wardrobe
and desk tops, except the one Dumbledore sat behind,
which was noticeable larger than all the other desks. Harry
looked around, and found the stacks of books and other
knick knacks stood mostly at his eye level, and he could
them leaving corridors and pathways leading around the
room in odd directions. Harry couldn't find a doorway, or
anyway in or out of the room for that matter.
Harry moved over to Dumbledore, and found him reading
a old, but luckily legible scroll. Even luckier for Harry, it
was written in English. Harry bent lower, and read it
quickly.
The dark act of tearing and splitting ones soul, to prolong
and last past ones normal time of death, is the quest of the
wizard who wishes to create a Horcrux. The making of a
Horcrux requires the direct murder of another human
being, wizard or muggle, and is considered to most as the
wickedest of magical creations. The act of murder causes
the soul of the caster to be torn and ripped for all eternity.
The soul will remain torn within the wizard, never again to
be made whole. It is a mark of the act the wizard has
performed, and a constant reminder to them for all their
life.
For a Horcrux to be formed, the wizard must choose an
object for their fragment of soul to reside in, while the
other remains within their body. It has been speculated
that one could place the torn piece of soul within another
living thing, however it has never been documented, and
is not recommended, as the effects of a fragment of a soul
residing within a body that already contains another soul is
unknown.
Once the murder has taken place, the wizard must readily
have the object, and cast the Horcrux Curse. The curse,
listed below, requires the naming of the catalyst, the action
that will release the soul held within the object. With this
final act, the object would have the torn piece of soul
placed within, thus becoming a Horcrux of that wizard.
The incantation to create the Horcrux is:
Evelloanimus Reponointus
Followed by the name of the object
Be sure you know the exact name of the object, so the
spell will work correctly. Once the caster has done this,
they should feel their life force subside, and may feel light
headed, as the fragment of soul leaves their true body,
and enters the Horcrux. The soul fragment, which will
appear as a green cloud, will swirl around the object, and
take its form, before inhabiting it.
Once this is done, the wand will stay focused on the
object, unable to move. The curse must be completed by
naming the catalyst. This is done by the incantation:
Expedio
Followed by the precise method to release the soulWhen
the soul fragment is released, it will find the nearest living
creature, be it human or otherwise, and will inhabit their
body, using its own life force to regain strength, feeding off
of the creature's own soul. Once the Horcrux has acted
fully, the creature or human's original soul will be
destroyed, and the fragment soul will inhabit the living
form.
Harry was frantic as he read, the same sentence repeating
in his head. He wanted out of this memory, out of the
Pensieve, as fast as possible. It was his luck that the
memory shimmered again, and Harry felt himself lifting
upwards, and rising out. His feet hit the solid ground of the
common room, and he recovered his balance, seeing
Hermione startled by his sudden return. She was sitting at
the desk, a few small pieces of parchment sitting on the
desktop.
'Harry, my goodness, you scared me' she said, Harry
regained his composure, and gave her a quick look. All of
a sudden, she looked very concerned, moving around the
table quickly.
'Harry, are you alright?'
Harry didn't have time to answer. He was sweating, and
panting, but had enough determination and energy to run.
He turned, hearing Hermione calling after him, and bolted
out of the common room, and into the hallway.
He was in a flat sprint, trying as hard as possible to get to
the Headmistresses Office as fast as his legs would bring
him. He had to talk to Dumbledore's Portrait. The
sentences kept playing in his head, and his mind bent
them into a very dark reality, the memory of Voldemort's
last spell cast at Godric's Hollow playing in his mind, the
green lightning bolt boring into his thoughts.
'Now, young Harry, our souls shall become intertwined' in
Voldemort's hiss of a voice.
'No, he couldn't have' in Dumbledore's eerie whisper.
'The soul, which will appear as a green cloud, will swirl
around the object, and take its form, before inhabiting it.'
Harry ran quicker. Times before, he always found himself
right in front of the stone gargoyles before he knew it. Now
it felt like they were purposely hiding on him. He turned
what felt like the twentieth corner, and finally found the
stone sentries, standing quiet in the empty hallway.
'Time Turner!' Harry yelled, hoping his volume would make
them jump over quicker. The guardians jumped out of the
way, and Harry bound up the moving stairwell, entering
through the doorway as quickly as possible, not bothering
to knock.
When he entered, he jogged quickly across the dark office
to Dumbledore's portrait, hoping to see the man there. His
heart leapt when he saw the silver beard, and the former
Headmaster it was attached to sleeping in his portrait.
'Professor Dumbledore!' he yelled, trying to wake him. It
worked, and he stirred, with almost all the other portraits
as well.
'Ah Harry, I was expecting to see you sometime soon.
Good that Minerva didn't hear you yelling in her office' he
noted. Harry turned, and realized Professor McGonagall
was not in the office. He was glad in a sense, since he
wanted only to talk to Dumbledore, but would settle with
the other portraits listening in.
'Is it true, about my scar?' Harry asked, getting right to the
point. Dumbledore sighed, and lowered his head. Harry
was trembling, in both anger and fright as to what the
answer would be, although he had a feeling it would be
the dark answer he already formulated.
'I see you have ventured into my Pensieve' he began,
giving another sigh.
'It is Harry. I was not sure, until you started having flashes
with it, and it reacted to Voldemort. Many thought it was
just a scar, plain and simple, but none of them read the
scroll, to which I imagine you saw the memory for. I am
sorry I did not tell you Harry, however I kept it from you,
much the same reason I kept the prophecy from you' he
explained calmly, but sounding displeased with himself.
Harry was too full of anger however, at being left out of yet
another important piece of information. Dumbledore
looked for a response, but not receiving one, continued.
'I felt that if you knew the truth about your scar, you would
feel tainted, diseased, and unnatural. You know yourself
who you are, and that your scar does not make you any
different a person' Dumbledore said. He continued to look
hopeful at Harry, however Harry was not going to give in.
Harry was filled with nothing but fury at his former
Headmaster. He kept so many secrets from Harry, and
expected Harry to deal with all this at once? Then he had
to get himself killed, and leave Harry all by himself with no
one to help him try and not only destroy these unknown
objects hidden who knows were, but defeat the darkest
sorcerer in the past half century.
'Harry please' Dumbledore pleaded quietly, the other
portraits looking on quietly. Harry didn't bother looking up.
He stood, and walked out of the office to the silence, not
one portrait commenting. Harry walked down the steps,
and back into the hallway, not caring how the portrait
Dumbledore felt.
Harry walked along the corridors of the school slowly, and
as silently as possible, his hands balled in fists. He wasn't
worried about being noticed, but he felt like being quiet,
his mind at a loss as to the true nature of his scar. He had
it all his life, and in the matter of one night, his thoughts
about it completely changed. Dumbledore was right, he
was tainted, he was diseased with it. Harry felt like
scratching at it, cutting it out, blasting it off with his wand
right now, as fast as possible.
Harry looked up after a few minutes, and just like not
finding the Headmistresses Office soon enough, he found
himself in front of Evander all too quickly.
'Harry, you left in a hurry, are you alright?' he asked. Harry
didn't even bother looking up.
'Just open' he demanded, disregarding the password. He
expected Evander to ask for the password, however the
portrait opened, and Harry didn't question it. He entered,
and found Hermione waiting anxiously in the common
room, leaning on the desk biting her nails.
'Harry! My goodness, what's wrong?' she asked, coming
over, and placing a hand on Harry's arm. Harry simply
stared off at the carpet, and made his way to one of the
chairs, almost robotically. He fell into it, and Hermione
knelt down in front of Harry, looking beyond scared,
almost petrified at the blank look on Harry's face.
'Harry, what happened, tell me what is going on' she
questioned, sounding concerned but forceful. Harry placed
his hand to his forehead, but instantly removed it, feeling
as if he would be infected by touching his scar. Hermione
looked to his forehead.
'Is it your scar, is it burning, what is it Harry!' she
demanded, reaching in closer, and looking straight at
Harry, who's head was still hanging. He glanced up, and
could not stop feeling his chest hollowing at her look of
concern. He looked back down, and tried to tell her, his
mind still dark with the reality.
'My scar . . . '
'Your scar, what Harry?' she asked quickly. Harry took a
breath.
'Is a Horcrux.'
Spell / Name Meanings -
Veneforbis Guard – L. veneficus: magical / wizard's,
orbis: circle (Veneforbis Guard Wizard's Circle Guard)
The Horcrux Curse, Evelloanimus Reponointus, and
Expedio - L. evello: to tear out, animus: the soul, repono:
to deposit, intus: within (Evelloanimus Reponointus to tear
out the soul, to deposit within name of object)
L. Expedio: to release (how to release it)
 - CHAPTER SIXTEEN -
Cassus Animus
'Harry, what's the matter? Your defenses are not very
strong tonight' Topher said, as he and Harry sat in the
Defence classroom the Saturday after finding out about
his scar. Hermione had once again been cautious, but a
definite friend for Harry that night. She tried to help Harry
with the reality of it all, but Harry just couldn't get out of his
mindset. Harry kept to himself for most of the week, trying
harder than ever in his life to cover his scar with his hair.
Of course, it never worked.
Sometimes he would forget about his scar, but those
moments were short in existance. A fragment of
Voldemort's soul was on his forehead. Just the thought of
it made him feel repulsive. He found, now that he was
looking, so many people looked at his scar, he wondered if
some of them knew. Sometimes he felt like retreating to
his room, so no one could see him and his deformity.
Before it was a nuisance that people would stare at it, now
he felt people were just reminding him that he was tainted
by it. Even Hermione and Ron looked at him differently, or
at least he thought they did. He noticed the times their
eyes would linger on his forehead for a moment, only to
snap back too quickly.
'It's nothing, really' Harry answered dismissively. Topher
tried, and succeeded three times getting into Harry's mind
tonight, each time replaying the memory of him and
Hermione hugging at the beginning of the summer.
'Harry, you're not a good liar. It's obvious something is
troubling you.' Harry wanted to have this lesson, since he
missed the last one, but knew he wouldn't get through it
without saying something was bothering him.
'Well . . . my friends Ron and Hermione broke up.' It was
true, and it did bother him, though it wasn't the biggest
thing on his mind. Topher leaned back in his chair, and
placed the tips of his fingers on his chin, looking at Harry
thoughtfully.
'I see. And how does that make you feel?'
Harry thought about it and was surprised, in that he
couldn't really answer the question, not in one sentence.
He dwelled on his scar so much the last while, he hadn't
really thought about their break up. He was still very
worried at how Ron and Hermione's friendship would be,
both to each other and himself. He wished they could be
alright with each other, but he knew it wouldn't be the
same as before. Now that he looked back at the week,
they did seem to be getting along better, though keeping
some distance, both talkatively and physically.
And of course, there was happiness that they broke up.
He had that feeling when they started going out it wouldn't
work, and he agreed with Hermione, they were opposites.
He felt shameful feeling happy at their break up though,
knowing the real reason why.
He was happy because of these unforeseen feelings for
Hermione. Harry just couldn't help noticing things about
her now, and it made him feel uneasy and jittery when
near her. He broke up with Ginny to not put her in danger,
and now was falling for his best friend. Worst of it was he
didn't know what he would do. So far, he hoped it was a
phase, and he would eventually be able to look at
Hermione normally again.
But even in these lessons, he found himself starting to
enjoy when Topher would break through his defenses, and
replay that memory of him and Hermione hugging from the
summer. It reminded him of that wonderful feeling he got
when holding Hermione, and she doing the same to him,
her warmth sweeping over him. The familiar yet
intoxicating aroma of honeysuckle, which he noticed more
and more in the common room, along with the cool
summer night air with be reminded, and he could feel his
heart wane with the memory.
'Well, I'm worried about our friendship. Otherwise, I'm
alright' Harry answered, getting back to Topher's question.
Many times this week Harry was caught off guard as his
mind wandered, brought back only by someone yelling
loudly or giving him a poke.
Harry hoped Toper would accept the answer, and not
push farther on the topic. He knew Topher was trying to be
a friend about everything, but Harry still had his
reservations, something that even Topher said was a good
thing for him to have.
'OK. Do you want to skip tonight's lesson, if it's bothering
you?' Topher asked concerningly.
'No, no, I'm alright, really. I'll try to focus more' said Harry,
shifting on his chair. He knew it was times like these, when
he had a lot on his mind that he needed to defend it the
most. Topher looked Harry over for a moment, before
giving a one-sided smile and a brief nod.
'Alright Harry. We'll see how you do' he said, getting up
and motioning Harry over to where he conjured the usual
two stools. Harry took his seat, and Topher took his, giving
a sigh as he sat, rubbing his eyes.
'Are you alright Topher?' Harry asked. The Defence
professor looked exhausted, the shadows under his eyes
giving it away easily. His hair was very messy, though not
as bad as Harry's, and his posture was not its usual. Harry
found when Topher was in class or elsewhere, he always
carried himself straight, and proud. He never slouched,
and even when walking, took determined steps, never
dragging his feet. He had an air of dignity, a strong stance
that gave the impression of a proud person, quite befitting
the Head of Gryffindor House. Tonight, his shoulders were
hutched, if only slightly, and he moved a little slower than
normal.
'Yes, just a tad tired. I've been spending the last few nights
doing some research, and it's kept me up late. I'm just in
need of a day off really. Thank you for the concern though
Harry' he expressed tiredly. He trained his wand at Harry,
and sat more erect.
'Now, because I can tell you have a lot on your mind, we'll
work on controlling emotions, and keeping focus. You've
been progressing very well since we started, but as you
know, you won't always have someone trying to get in
your mind in an empty room with nothing else going on. In
the next while, we'll be moving away from simple defence,
and into more difficult situations. Alright?'
Harry was concerned with the prospect of having harder
lessons of course, but he needed the practice if he wanted
to keep Voldemort out of his head. Harry nodded, and
Topher did the same back.
'Legilimens'
Harry focused more, trying to keep other thoughts out, and
he was gladly able to fend off Topher's attempts twice.
Harry felt his confidence increasing, being that he was
getting back in the hang of things.
'Very good Harry. Now, we'll try something different.
Remember, focus, and control your emotions' he advised.
Harry quirked his brow for a moment, but nodded. He
wondered what Topher was going to do. Maybe try harder,
or focus on another memory other than him and
Hermione's hug.
'Legilimens'
Harry immediately felt the affect of Topher trying to enter
his mind. Harry blocked it well, and was keeping control.
Topher gave a smirk, and Harry felt a little tingle of worry
at what the professor was up to.
'You like Hermione' Topher said plainly.
'What!' Harry yelled, but it was too late. His defenses
came crashing down worst than a house of cards, and
soon Harry was once again plunged into the memory of
him and Hermione hugging. Harry, for only the second
time since their lessons began, tapped the professor's
desk, and the memory vanished.
'What was that about?' Harry shouted, as he stood up and
looked at Topher fiercely. Topher stood, and calmly put his
hand on Harry's wand, which had automatically risen right
to the professor's face without Harry really realizing.
'Harry, first calm down, and lower your wand. Please, take
a seat, so I can explain' he said carefully. Harry glared at
the man for a brief moment, then trudged over and took
his seat. Topher let out a sigh as he vanished the stools,
and slowly took his seat.
'The hardest thing to learn with Occlumency is controlling
your emotions. The greatest ones can, at will, turn stone
cold emotionally. Now, you're learning, but we must start
somewhere. I took advantage of you haning a lot on your
mind, meaning you were probably not too happy. Anger is
the hardest emotion to control, because you can easily
loose yourself in it. And of course, anger is the worst thing
to feel when someone is trying to enter your mind,
because it makes it easier.' Harry was still boring his eyes
at Topher, very displeased at his actions. Topher waited
for some type of response, but not receiving one, moved
onwards.
'I'm sorry I had to get you upset, but it's something you
must learn. You have to control your emotions. The other
person, especially if it's Voldemort, will try very hard to get
you angry, and you can't allow them to. Still' he continued,
now tilting back in his chair, his voice becoming a little
lighter, 'I am surprised that comment got you upset.'
'Why?' Harry snapped, finally saying something aside from
yelling.
'Well, I'm not blind Harry. You and Hermione have been
friends for a long time, and she is very pretty, if you don't
mind me saying. I've seen you two in class and elsewhere
in my travels learning the castle, and you seem to get
along very well.'
'That's because we're friends' Harry said flatly. His mind
was playing enough tricks on him about Hermione, he
didn't need Topher doing it too.
'I know, but still, it isn't all that implausible that you would
like her in a certain sense' Topher stated. Harry huffed,
and looked away at the floor, his mind just going in circles
over the whole issue. He was starting to get a headache
from all the things in his head. Topher leaned in, placing
his elbows on his desk.
'Well, I do know one thing. There are only two reasons
why you would get upset about the comment I made:
either you really don't like her in that fashion, and it got
you upset because that feeling for Hermione doesn't exist,
or you really do like her' he reasoned. Harry looked up,
and found Topher looking at him intently.
'How would me liking her make me mad?' Harry asked,
trying to give the impression he didn't like Hermione.
'Well, you said she and Ron just broke up. Since you're a
friend, you'd feel sad for them. If you liked her as more
than a friend, then you'd also feel glad about their break. I
can imagine feeling both sad for them, but happy for
yourself would make you feel upset and selfish. Me saying
you like Hermione would therefore, make you feel mad' he
explained.
'Yeah, well, I don't have those feelings' Harry answered.
'I told you, you're not a good liar' Topher said, smiling
slightly. Harry was getting aggravated.
'Why does it matter to you?' Harry asked determinately.
This was the thing Harry wondered about. Topher's
intentions were still very much unknown, despite the fact
that he said he wanted to help Harry. He hit a hard spot
with Harry tonight, and Harry was beginning to think
Topher's intentions were not what he thought them to be.
'It matters to me, because I want to help Harry. I told you,
I'll try to help you whether it's learning spells, Occlumency,
or anything else for that matter. These problems are
affecting your mind's defenses, and you (and me if you'll
allow) need to work them out so nothing happens. Plus,
yes, there are other reasons, but you must trust me when I
say, you will learn of those later.' Harry still wasn't
convinced, and if anything was more determined to say
nothing.
'So how does saying whether I have feelings for Hermione
or not solve anything?' Harry asked.
'It'll solve a lot of things, and clear your mind. You have to
understand, out of all the memories you have, the one you
want to relive the most is the one were you are hugging
Hermione. There is something about that memory itself
that makes you want to relive it the most. You may think I
chose that one, but you are wrong; you did.'
'I didn't choose it' Harry said disbelievingly. How could he
choose it; he already knew the caster chose the memory,
not the receiver. Topher shook his head.
'No, you did. When I got through in the beginning, there
were many memories to choose from, however as time
went on, that memory became stronger than the others.
Tonight, for example, that memory stood in the way of all
the others, so I had to enter it. It was as if you wanted me
to enter it, and no other one' Topher clarified. Harry was
caught off guard about this, but pressed forward.
'How do I know you're not lying' he said. Topher chuckled
at this, and leaned back again, his charcoal robes falling
over the sides of the chair slightly.
'Oh, always on guard, very good Harry. Never let it down,
not even with me. I want you to learn that first and
foremost; never tell anything to anyone unless you're
positively sure they can be trusted' he said, now standing
up and moving around to the back of his chair, as he
began pacing back and forth slowly.
'This is however, something that we have to overcome. So
far, yes, aside from one memory, you have no clue what
side I am on. I've said I'm on yours, but that doesn't mean
much. People can say anything. I've let it linger far too
long, and for that I'm sorry.' He continued to pace, then
came to a stop, and looked at Harry for a moment. 'I've
been thinking, and I have a proposition for you' he said
airily, turning to face Harry who was still sitting.
'You want to know about me, and I want to know about
you, but we want to keep the questions close, and only
between the two of us. I know you want to know my
allegiance, and why I am asking about certain things. I
only wish to know about what I ask. So, for the next week,
I want you to think about it, and get back to me on Friday
as to if you are willing to swap questions. And before you
ask, yes, there is a way to make sure I am telling the truth,
without having to resort to Veritaserum. This way is safe,
and no harm would come to either of us as long as we
speak truthfully' he reassured.
'How is that?' Harry asked. Topher sat back down quickly,
and leaned over the desk so he was close to Harry, the
amber light from the candles that sat on the desk making
Topher's earlier pale and dreary eyes appear bright green,
and full of life.
'Have you ever heard of an Unbreakable Vow?'
'He wants to do an Unbreakable Vow with you?' Ron
asked, and he, Harry, and Hermione sat in the East Tower
common room on the Sunday afternoon. Harry had told
them about Topher's idea, but nothing else. They asked
how his lesson went, and he said fine, leaving out the
prodding at Harry's feelings.
'I don't know, this could be a bad thing' Hermione
expressed worriedly while sitting in her chair in front of the
fire which was burning quietly. It was mid November now,
and the weather had gotten colder, so the fire was almost
always going. 'I mean, he probably is on our side, but still,
an Unbreakable Vow is not something to toy around with.'
'Well, he told me that the questions he would be asking
were not out of line, but if they were, the caster would
break the Vow' Harry explained. Harry already had a good
idea as to Topher's questions, and he was worried as to
how to answer them, knowing he didn't even know the
answers himself.
'Well, did he say anything about the questions you can ask
him?' asked Hermione.
'No, not really. He suggested asking if he was loyal to
Hogwarts and our side, and why he will be asking the
questions he's asking. He said there is a reason, but that I
couldn't know right now.' Hermione gave a sigh, and her
brow lowered slightly in thought. She was biting her
bottom lip absently, something that made Harry smile for a
moment.
'That is interesting. Well, he is right, aside from using
Veritaserum, an Unbreakable Vow would make sure he
was telling the truth, or that he wouldn't do anything other
than what he says. Of course, you'd have to tell the truth
as well, so make sure the caster is someone you trust'
Hermione advised. Ron, who was sitting on the chair from
the desk, which he moved to sit with the other two chairs
around the fireplace, nodded.
'Yeah mate. Hey, how about McGonagall? I can imagine
she wouldn't let Topher step over the line without a
smack.' Harry already thought of Professor McGonagall,
and was actually going to ask if she made the most sense.
'Well, I have a week to figure it all out. He asked me to get
back to him in Friday's lesson.' Ron shifted in his chair at
the mention of lessons.
'Oh, by the way, did you guys finish the Potions essay
that's due on Tuesday? I mean, three feet on the Head
Shrinking Potion. No one with any size head could write
that much on it!'
'I have four and a half feet on it already' Hermione
remarked to the fire, turning to give Ron a playful smile.
Ron retorted with a sarcastic grin, and Harry was pleased
to see them getting along better.
'Speaking of potions, how is our little cauldron doing?'
asked Harry, referring to the Horcrux potion. Hermione
looked at her watch.
'It should be ready by Wednesday. I'm still really worried
about how it could go, but we need to try. Do you think we
should tell McGonagall? I mean, what happens if
something goes wrong?'
'We'll just have to make sure nothing goes wrong then,
now won't we?' Harry stated assertively. Ron got up, and
put his chair back to the desk.
'I have to go finish this. Professor Fourmove is pretty strict
with essays. If you're going by the library Hermione, if you
wanted-'
'Yes, I'll come by and help Ron. I need to write this week's
schedule for Prefect rounds, but I should be down in a
little. Besides, I have some reading to do in the library
anyways' Hermione said, as she gave a stretch in her
chair.
'Now there's a surprise' Ron huffed only to Harry, as he
walked down the corridor and out of the East Tower.
'You guys seem to be doing alright' Harry commented.
'Yes, well, we are doing much better. Thank you again for
your help. You know Ron better than me in some senses,
and just letting him come around was best. Of course, with
his potions essay I couldn't not help him, considering if you
want to go anywhere from here, you have to pass the
library' she added with a smile. She got up, and made her
way to the desk, where she kept the old charms book
Dumbledore gave to her along with the Prefect schedules.
She unlocked the dozen or so protective charms on the
drawer, and took it out the parchment rolls for the
schedules, glancing back to see Harry still staring into the
hearth in thought.
'Are you going to talk to Dumbledore's portrait about your
scar?' she asked carefully. Harry stirred from his thought,
which was focused more on Topher's question and his
feelings towards the other person in the room, and allowed
his head to fall.
His scar. Again, he was reminded of it. He hadn't been to
the Headmistresses office since the week before, and he
did not put a thought as to when he would return there.
Hermione seemed to know what was going on in Harry's
head.
'You need to go and talk to him Harry. He must have put a
large amount of thought into it. Plus, you can ask him
about Topher's proposal about the Unbreakable Vow, and
if he knows about the Cassus Animus' she suggested,
moving back to her chair.
'How do I know he's not holding other secrets from me?'
Harry asked, to Hermione and himself.
'Dumbledore had his reasons, but just ask him. He's not a
bad man Harry. Go talk to him' she advised. Harry sighed,
and again realized Hermione was right. He couldn't avoid
Dumbledore forever. He bid Hermione farewell, and went
to the Headmistresses Office. Professor McGonagall was
there, but she was just leaving as Harry entered.
Grey daylight was bathing the room in monochrome
colours. Harry looked across the room, and found
Dumbledore's portrait looking at him directly. Harry
approached quietly, the other portraits in the room sitting
silent as the Head Boy came to Dumbledore's portrait.
Dumbledore gave Harry a placid smile, and Harry felt even
worst about his last "conversation" with his former
Headmaster.
'I was worried you would never come back Harry'
Dumbledore said.
'I'm sorry sir, I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you' Harry
expressed solemnly.
'No Harry, I am sorry. Once again, kept something from
you that I shouldn't have, and made the same mistake
twice. From now on, there will be no secrets, agreed?'
Harry nodded, and found himself more relaxed.
Dumbledore, living or in portrait form, always had a way of
making Harry feel calm, even after a bad conversation.
'So, I gather you're here for more of an explanation?'
Dumbledore asked, Harry nodding.
'Well, years before you were born I had strong evidence
that Voldemort created Horcruxes. It was a growing
concern of course, since his power was rising quickly at
the time. When I heard of your parents from Hagrid, I went
to Godric's Hollow, and found them, along with
Voldemort's wand, and I checked its last spell. I thought at
first it was a Killing Curse that he tried on you, but as you
saw, it was not a green light, but a green cloud, which
coalesced into the shape of your scar. Once I saw that, I
realized what actually happened. He did not try to kill you,
but to mark you with a Horcrux.'
'Why did he do it though?' Harry asked.
'Remember Harry, Voldemort wanted his Horcruxes to be
worthy, things of prominence and importance. He knew
you had a power to defeat him from the prophecy, and in
that, he found you worthy. He knew you would become a
powerful wizard, and I think he wanted to remind you of
him' Dumbledore explained.
'Remind me?'
'Think of it, every single time you look in a mirror, you look
at your scar. It has made you famous. People hear your
name, and always know about your scar. No matter how
powerful you would become as a wizard, he believed you
would always have that scar, reminding you that no matter
how strong you became, you would never be as powerful
as him. That, and the irony of having a Horcrux on the one
person who could defeat him I believe would be very
appeasing to Voldemort.'
'So how do I get rid of it? Harry asked.
'That was something I worked on for many years. Minerva
suggested I remove the scar, but I knew that could
activate the Horcrux. You can't use the potion, because
that would require putting your head in it, which would
surely cause you to die. I believed myself close to a
solution, but the events of last year caused me to abandon
my search for the time. I had to, in the end, give my
research to another. He is making progress, but it is taking
a lot of work.'
Who is it?'
'Professor Terrwynebas. I knew his father well, and I
watched Topher grow up little by little. Loosing his mother
in such a way was hard on him, and then his father just as
he was coming of age. He has had a tough life, and I know
he would want to help you.' Harry was stunned by this
realization.
'Is that why he's been reading those old scrolls? He said
he was doing research, but why didn't he tell me it was
about me?' Harry asked.
'He probably has his reasons. I told him to be cautious
with you, since I knew you would be apprehensive with a
new professor wanting to help you so much.'
'He asked me to take an Unforgivable Vow with him' Harry
exposed. Dumbledore moved in his portrait for a moment,
but nodded thoughtfully.
'Well, it is up to you Harry. If you desire my advice, then it
would simply be to trust your instincts. I gave Topher a
very important assignment, which ties greatly to destroying
the Horcruxes, and to you.' Harry understood, and now
hearing about Topher's assignment, felt himself leaning
towards accepting the Unbreakable Vow, if only slightly.
'We found the potion by the way, in my mother's potion's
book. It's almost ready to try' said Harry.
'That's very good Harry. Now all you need is to find one of
the Horcruxes to use it with. Have you found any leads?'
Dumbledore asked. Harry tilted his head in wonder for a
moment, but remembered he never told Dumbledore
about the locket. Harry explained how the locket from the
cave was a fake, and how he found out the identity of
R.A.B. as well as finding the Horcrux in Grimmauld Place.
At first Dumbledore didn't seem too surprised, but by the
end he was excited and proud for Harry, Hermione, and
Ron.
'That is excellent Harry! I could tell when I grasped the
locket from the basin that it was a fake. That must be the
reason why Regulus was killed. He must have been put in
charge of the locket, like Lucius Malfoy and the Diary, and
was intending on destroying it. He must have been killed
before he could, but hiding it in Grimmauld Place was
brilliant of him to do. I am slightly amazed that I did not
notice it at Grimmauld Place, but you say it was in
Kreacher's cupboard? That may explain it. I was never
fond of that house, and by no means spent much time in it,
let alone searching it. I can imagine it was not an exciting
task.' Harry laughed, knowing full well it was quite the
opposite of exciting.
'Is there anything we should know about the potion before
using it?' Harry asked, getting back on topic.
'Don't put your hand, or any other part of your body in it for
one thing' Dumbledore said.
'Is that what happened to you?'
'Yes, and it was foolish, but needed. Since the Horcrux
was in a ring, I gathered wearing the ring would release it.
You can't just put the Horcrux in the potion, you have to
put it in, and release it. I put the ring on, and the Horcrux
activated. I had to dip my hand in, however the soul was
aggressive, and moved to my forearm. I had to put up to
my elbow in the potion for the soul to loose its power. It
was a painful experience I would hope you not to endure.'
'So how do you think the locket is activated?'
'More than likely in the same fashion as the ring. You must
have found it with its chain correct?' he asked. Harry
nodded. 'Then you must have to put the locket on for it to
open. It's our luck that no one did put it on while it resided
at Grimmauld.'
The door to the office opened, and Professor McGonagall
came back inside with some scrolls of parchment in her
hands, and a distraught look on her face.
'Potter, I must ask if you could continue this conversation
another time. I have something important to talk to
Professor Dumbledore' she stated to Harry. Harry bid
farewell to Dumbledore and McGonagall, left the office,
and headed back to the East Tower, noticing as he
passed the library Hermione helping a confused looking
Ron. Harry walked up to his dormitory, and opened up his
trunk, reaching deep until he felt the cold metal of the
locket. He took it out, and observed it carefully.
'In three days . . .'
Three days however proved to be a long time. With a
prefects meeting on the Monday night, and their potions
essays due on Tuesday, Wednesday seemed like it never
wanted to come. When it did finally arrive, the day
dragged on forever to Harry as he kept waiting anxiously
for the night to come.
Finally when supper came, Harry devoured his meal, and
bound his way up to the East Tower quickly.
Unfortunately, he ran into Professor Trelawney along the
way. She seemed like the year before, or any time for that
matter, walking aimlessly through the castle picking out
cards in a deck. Of course, Harry tried to dart down
another hallway, but her magnified eyes found Harry all
too easily in the empty corridor.
'Oh my dear boy, you are troubled I see. The Inner-eye
can look deeper than the normal, sometimes a trouble for
those gifted like I' she said. Harry could see the stairs to
the library and East Tower. He knew getting away from
Professor Trelawney would not prove easy, with her
ramblings. She was already shuffling through her cards
worriedly. Harry felt like the stairs were tormenting him,
being so close yet so far away.
'I see most horrible times ahead for you my dear. Evil
creeps at the seams, and be weary of those around you.
Those seeming untrusting may not be so. I see you are
searching . . . for shadows I believe. This quest has a
murky ending, but it will come to pass sooner than you
believe, and are prepared for' she expressed overly-
elaborately. She took her deck of cards, and shuffled them
once more, Harry trying to side step her but was unable to,
as she moved closer and mimicked his steps. She
flamboyantly took a card out of the deck, and shivered at
it. Harry had no doubt it foretold death in his future.
'The hanged man,' she whispered hauntingly.
'Abandonment. Sacrifice. I see a difficult decision
approaching . . .' Harry actually looked at the card,
showing a man hanging upside down from his feet
scratching it head, and laughed inwardly. The hair of the
man looked much like his own.
'Sorry Professor, I have to go' Harry finally got in, as he
side stepped his way past the Professor. Just as Harry
walked past, she grabbed his wrist, and took a card from
under her many shawls.
'Keep this person close' she said wildly, sticking the card
in Harry's other hand. She immediately turned and walked
away, looking in odd directions and muttering to herself.
Harry stood wonder-some for a moment, then continued
on his way to the East Tower, sticking the card in his
pocket without looking at it. Probably another death
card he thought as he climbed the stairs.
Once he entered the common room, he found Hermione
already there with the cauldron, the entire room filled with
a dull purple fog. The cauldron was smaller than he
imagined it would be, almost the size of a muggle
basketball. But when he thought of it, the Horcruxes
weren't that big really, aside from Voldemort's snake.
As Harry continued inwards, the smell of rotten vegetables
mixed with sour milk hit him like a tidal wave. He
staggered back when he inhaled, feeling his rushed
supper come up on him with a pungency. Hermione
looked over, and saw Harry's reaction to the smell.
'Nulfragus' she charmed. Immediately Harry's sense of
smell was gone, and he could breath without his food
churning. Harry thanked Hermione, and moved over to the
simmering cauldron next to Ron, who was watching the
thick black liquid apprehensively.
'I have a bad feeling about this' Ron said dreadfully,
looking up at Harry.
'We'll take it slow. If there are any problems, we'll get
Professor McGonagall or Madam Pompfrey. Is it ready?'
Harry asked, unable to keep the shakiness out of the last
sentence. Hermione stirred the tar-like potion, nodded
apprehensively, and Harry made his way around the room.
'I'll go get the Horcrux.'
Harry walked up to his dormitory, and found the locket in
the bottom of his trunk where he left it. He looked at the
ornate serpentine S imprinted on its face, and bound his
way back down to the common room. Both Ron and
Hermione were standing a few feet away from the potion
waiting for Harry.
'So do we just throw it in and duck?' Ron asked.
'No. Dumbledore told me we have to activate it.' Harry
moved closer to the liquid, and could feel his hands
tingling with worry.
'How do you think it's activated? We couldn't open it
before remember' Hermione said, looking worriedly at the
locket in Harry's hand.
'Dumbledore thinks you need to have it around your neck
to open it.' Harry took the chain, and started pulling it over
his head.
'Harry no! I'll do it' Ron said. Harry shook his head, and
placed the chain over his head, and around his neck.
'No Ron. Even you said I was best at defence, and I you
need to know how to do Occlumency for this' Harry said
firmly. Harry was bending the truth a little, but he didn't
want anything to happen to Ron. A lot of things could go
wrong, and Harry couldn't start to explain how he would
feel if Ron was hurt, or worst. This was Harry's job; Ron
and Hermione, he promised himself, would come as far
from harm as possible.
Ron looked to Hermione for support, but found none.
Hermione merely glanced at Harry, and nodded. Harry
was glad she didn't try to convince him not to. Harry
moved closer to the cauldron, and Ron and Hermione
stood on the other side facing him.
'I'll need you to open it once it's under' Harry requested.
Hermione nodded, her eyes wide with worry, and her brow
contorted oddly, showing her fear. Harry gave her a warm
smile, telling her it would be alright. She grinned back
weakly, and Harry looked to the tar coloured potion. He
gradually leaned over, allowing the locket to dangle over
the surface, and slowly lowered himself until the locket
was fully immersed and no longer visible. The potion
continued to sit still, and Harry looked up to Hermione
again, who had her wand pointing to were the locket would
be.
'Patefacio'
A roar, much like that of wind barreling its way through a
wind tunnel filled the entire common room. The potion was
bubbling violently, and dark green fumes were erupting off
its surface. Harry felt the locket tug itself downward,
pulling Harry's face closer to the surface. Harry wildly
reached out, and both Hermione and Ron grabbed his
arms to help support him. The locket continued to weigh
heavier, as the potion bubbled even more, and began
turning violet.
The chain started turning black close to the potion's
surface as if corroding, and the blackness slowly slithered
its way up towards Harry. Harry began panicing, as the
locket continued to weight him down, the chain digging
into his neck painfully. He could hear Voldemort's evil
laugh enter his mind, followed by his snake like voice, and
he closed his eyes to keep control.
'You try and destroy my Horcrux? You will learn that no
one can stop Lord Voldemort' the voice seethed. Harry
could feel the chain begin to shake, and Voldemort's voice
began speaking again in Harry's head, all the while his
scar flaring up in pain. Ron made a quick move and held
Harry's shoulders so his head wouldn't fall into the
cauldron, but it was hard. The locket was pulling Harry into
the portion with a force neither of them could equal.
Hermione saw the anguish on Harry's face as it moved
closer to the surface, took her wand, and cut the chain
before the blackness reached his neck. Voldemort's voice
immediately stopped as the chain fell entirely into the
potion, and Harry flew backwards several steps with fright,
along with Ron and Hermione.
Harry tried steadying himself, and succeeded slightly,
giving Ron and Hermione, who still look concerned, and
nod towards the cauldron, his scar still searing. The three
quickly went back to the potion, and found it churning and
turning a horrible greenish-brown. It continued for a
moment, before calming instantly. The howling sound
stopped, and Harry looked apprehensively at Ron and
Hermione.
They looked back at the potion, and just as they leaned, a
piercing scream hit the three of them as they covered their
ears, Harry only covering one as his other hand was
drawn to his scar. The potion's surface shimmered, and
began reflecting a shadowy face. Harry looked, and found
the face of Tom Riddle from the memories he saw last
year, yelling out in what had to be horrible pain. The face
slowly dissolved away, along with the scream, and the
potion slowly turned putrid green. Once it settled, the face
and the scream gone, the locket floated to the top, along
with the broken chain. The three friends stood for a few
moments just staring at the cauldron, the mist breaking up
in the room, and Harry looked to Ron and then Hermione.
'Thanks for keeping me here' he said. Hermione looked at
Harry, tears in her eyes, and she hugged him ferociously.
Harry, the elation of surviving what happened, and once
more finding himself hugging Hermione, returned the hug
heartily. He closed his eyes, and the soft flowery
honeysuckle once again filled his head. Harry didn't care
about his earlier thoughts from the week, or how his sense
of smell came back, and he inhaled the scent of her hair
deeply. His hands wrapped around her waist, and found
himself smiling at the multitude of sensations he was
feeling, which was causing his chest to flutter.
He felt Hermione easing, and he reluctantly let go. She
smiled up at him with bleary eyes, and she gave a glance
at Ron. Harry turned, and found Ron with a small grin on
his face. Harry stood in front of him, and the two embraced
in a brotherly hug. They held it for a moment, before
breaking smiling at each other. Ron and Hermione looked
at each other, laughed lightly, and embraced as friends.
Harry watched and was glad to see them back to normal.
They let go, and the three looked back at the cauldron.
Hermione vanished the now worthless potion, leaving the
open locket and broken chain. Harry picked it up, and
looked at it thinking.
'What should we do with it?' Ron asked. Harry grasped his
hand around it, and decided.
'Keep it. In the end, Voldemort might like to know what's
happen to his precious trinkets' Harry said. A mischievous
smile grew on Ron's face, and Harry found himself
bouncing back upstairs with the now useless locket. Harry
placed it back in his trunk, and upon closing it, couldn't
help himself laughing with contentment at what happened.
They destroyed a Horcrux. They were actually
succeeding. Best of all, no one was hurt. They found a
Horcrux, a way to destroy it, they made the potion, and
pulled it off without trouble. Harry stood up, and found
himself so full of energy and happiness that he jumped up
in the air with glee. He fell onto his bed, and placed his
hands on his face laughing. His mind was already looking
ahead to his next task.
He took his hands and placed them behind his head while
he stared at the ceiling of his four poster smiling happily.
He laughed, as he took the playing card that Professor
Trelawney gave him out, knowing already which card she
gave him even though not looking at it.
This last moment with Hermione made Harry realize the
truth to Topher's question. He knew the answer. He
laughed at Trelawney's advice to "keep this person close".
He definately planned to do that now. He put the card
above him, and flipped it over to show the face: the queen
of hearts.
Harry thought over the next days, and decided to go
through with the Unbreakable Vow. Hermione and Ron
helped him research it, and pick out questions to ask.
Topher said he would keep his questions clean, but said
nothing about Harry's. He picked three things to get
reassurance or answers too, and was able to get
Professor McGonagall to meet him and Topher the
Saturday night.
'An Unbreakable Vow! Potter, are you sure?' Professor
McGonagall asked on the Saturday night in the defence
classroom. They kept it there so that there would be no
problems. Plus, after the vow was complete, they would
discuss the answers between each other.
'I'm sure Professor. This is just a way to make sure we
answer each other's questions truthfully' Harry reassured.
Topher nodded.
'Yes Professor, that's it. You have permission to break the
Vow if any of my questions are out of line. Only mine.
Harry can ask anything he wants. Two Vows for Harry,
Three for me, that's it.' McGonagall looked to Harry again,
and he smiled to tell her it was alright. She nodded slowly,
and the two men placed their arms on Topher's desk,
locking them together. Harry was first to speak.
'Will you Topher, tell me truthfully if you are loyal to
Hogwarts and myself, before leaving this classroom?'
'I will' he answered, a sting of flame coming out of
Professor McGonagall's wand and placing around their
arms. It felt warm to Harry's skin, like the electric blanket
Dudley had that Harry was never allowed to use.
'Will you Harry, tell me truthfully if you are fighting
Voldemort before leaving this classroom?'
'I will' Harry responded, and another thread of fire burst
from Professor McGonagall's wand, and wrapped itself
around their arms, creating a crossing weave of fire.
'Will you Topher, tell me truthfully why you are asking
these questions tonight, before leaving this classroom?'
'I will.' Again, another band of flame wrapped around their
arms. The strings of fire didn't bind closely to Harry's arm,
but kept his hand locked with Topher's. Topher's last
question was next, and he knew Professor McGonagall
would think of breaking the Vow with it.
'Will you Harry, tell me truthfully if you are in love with
Hermione Granger, before leaving this classroom?'
Professor McGonagall looked wildly at Topher, then Harry.
'Do you want me to break it Harry?' she asked, himself
taking notice of his first name. He shook his head, and
looked back at Topher.
'I will.' With that, yet another cord of flame wrapped around
their arms. Harry could barely see his arm now, it encased
in so many strings. Harry had only his last question to ask,
then he could get his answers.
'Will you Topher, tell me truthfully why I should trust you,
before leaving this classroom?' Harry found it surprising
that Topher smiled at this, but nodded.
'I will.' The final chord of fire spewed out of Professor
McGonagall's wand, and overlaid the other strings.
Professor McGonagall moved her wand, and placed it on
Harry and Topher's hands.
'Solfragis Perletum.' The fire that incaspulated their arms
slowly dissolved into their skins. It did not hurt Harry, but it
was on the brink of hot. Once the fire was gone, Harry and
Topher let go and bid Professor McGonagall farewell.
Once she was gone, Topher locked the door to the
classroom, gave a swish of his wand, and came back to sit
down. He was smiling, and Harry was a little too, finally
glad he would know the truth.
'Now Harry, realize that we must tell the truth. If one of us
doesn't, it'll be obvious when that person walks out of the
room and dies. Don't be worried' he said quietly as Harry's
face probably showed his sudden concern. He knew he
would tell the truth, but he worried if he made a mistake
and didn't. 'Just tell the truth as you know it, and it'll be
fine.' Harry took a breath, and calmed.
'O.K. I'll go first to easy you a little. So, firstly yes, I am
loyal to Hogwarts, and to you Harry. From the time I
arrived here in September, I have always been loyal to
you and Hogwarts, and all those opposed to Lord
Voldemort.' Harry smiled, however feeling a little upset
that he didn't just trust Topher. Then again, the scene from
last week's lesson made him remember why he was being
cautious.
'You're next question' Topher said, scratching his chin
trying to remember, 'was why I am asking these questions
to you tonight. The answer, for the first, is because I want
to know for sure you are fighting Voldemort. You say you
are, but I want to confident that it is true. The second
question . . . is because Dumbledore asked me to find out'
he explained. Harry's mouth could not stop from falling
open.
'Dumbledore told you to ask me about Hermione?' Harry
replied in disbelief.
'Well, not specifically Hermione, but yes, he did. He said
your fate would reside with your love; and who you loved
would become very important this year. I asked you right
away to see if there was already a lady in your life, but you
said no. I realized afterwards I came on too strong, but
when I found that memory of you and Hermione hugging, I
could tell there was something about that girl. When I saw
you two around the castle, I knew then you were in love,
even if not admitting it. With asking you now, it makes it
much easier since if it true, we can move onto more
difficult training and away from Occlumency and
Legilimency for a time. If not, well, then it is no concern for
us now.'
'Why would the person I love be important? Does it have
anything to do with your research?' Harry asked.
'Yes, in a sense. Who you love gives you focus, and
power. You've already been using it with Occlumency.
That memory of you and Hermione, it was forcing itself in
front of other memories. It's something I've heard about in
texts, but never experienced. It is a remarkable feat to
accomplish, and you did it with ease, focusing your mind
and getting lost in that memory. Other powers and focus
can come, and that's part of my research.' He opened his
bottom drawer of his desk, and pulled out the old
parchment rolls, laying one out to show Harry. It was
written in runes and other strange writings.
'This ties in with your last question, why should you trust
me. You should, because of the help I have given you,
and what I've been doing to aid you without your
knowledge. These are very old texts, some dating back to
Egypt. Dumbledore said having love in your case is very
old magic, so I've had to research far back. I've had no
luck really, except a small bit on this page here' he said,
pointing to a corner with characters surrounding a gold
snake eating its own tail, a stick figure man on the right
surrounded by black demon like creatures, and another
stick figure man surrounded by outlined demons.
'What is it?' Harry asked wondrously.
'I'm not sure. The runes are very ancient, but from what
I've deciphered, it tells of a magic that uses the love of one
person to save them, while the hate of another destroy
them. I've looked up more of the symbols, but they have
many odd meanings. This figure in the middle though' he
said, pointing to the snake, 'is an Oroborus.'
'A what?' Harry inquired.
'An Oroborus. A snake eating its own tail. It's symbolized
throughout history as the cyclic nature of the world, both in
the magical and muggle world. How everything comes
back to itself in the end. What I think it means' he
continued, moving his eyes away from the parchment and
to Harry, 'is that this magic is connected somehow to how
a person has been in the past. Sort of like the past
catches up to them. The dark figure' he explained, pointing
to the stick man surrounded by the black demons, 'I
believe is an evil man. The demons are black and
menacing, and the pose of the man suggests pain. The
other figure however has light demons, and he stands
erect. This magic may use the actions of the man against
him. If this is the case, this is what you need to fight
Voldemort. All the deaths he's caused would be forced
back on him, and he would surely perish. You on the other
hand, have never killed anyone, and have acted only out
of defence and love. You would live' he finished.
'Is there anything else?' Harry asked. Topher sighed, and
rolled up the parchment again, putting it back in the
bottom drawer.
'Sadly no. I have to go and find more scrolls and check,
but they are hard to find. This magic is ancient, very
ancient. The scroll I showed you is from Rome, around
300 A.D. It tells of a tail from ancient Egypt about this
magic, but even it is incomplete and shotty in detail. Most
surviving scrolls from ancient Egypt are now in the Ministry
of Magic, and are impossible to get to. But now that you
know my allegiance, why I asked these questions, and my
research, you believe I'm on your side and you can trust
me?' Topher asked. Harry took his seat, amazed at how
much Topher had been researching and helping Harry
without his knowledge.
'I do, and I'm sorry I didn't earlier' Harry said.
'I told you Harry, never let your guard down. But thank
you. Now, I've answered your questions, so it's your turn.
Are you fighting Voldemort?'
'Yes, in as many ways as I can' Harry affirmed. He knew
the next question was coming, and he could feel his chest
shivering answering it.
'Excellent. Now Harry, be honest; are you in love with
Hermione?'
Harry thought back to that summer night, so long ago now,
and the feeling that spread through him. He remembered
her at the Bill and Fleur's wedding, and in that amazing
dress. Seeing her in the Head's compartment on the
Express, and feeling so right sitting next to her, and all the
times in the common room they spent together swept
through his mind. Lastly the hug he shared only three days
earlier, and how he never wanted to leave it, and all the
times in years before he spent with Hermione.
He knew the answer, and there was no doubt or hesitation
in his response.
'Yes.'
Spell / Name Meanings:
Nulfragus - L. nul: no, fragro: to smell (Nulfragus - no
smell)
Patefacio - L. patefacio - to open (Patefacio to open)
The Unbreakable Vow Spell, Solfragis Perletum - L.
fragilis: fragile / breakable, solus: only / alone, per: by,
letum: death (Solfragis Perletum - only breakable by
death)

- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN -
Christmas Tradition
'This is getting out of hand! Look at this' Ron said while
looking over the Daily Prophet.
It was the first week of December, and the ending of
November saw Death Eater attacks increase dramatically,
muggle attacks the most. It was rumored among the
students that the Ministry was starting to crumble under
the overwhelming pressure. Obliviators worked almost non
stop, jumping from place to place to keep muggles in line,
and cover stories in muggle newspapers were becoming
comical. The Daily Prophet had a field day when the
Ministry used a sudden forest fire as the cause for
destroying four muggle homes just north of Bury St.
Edmunds in East Anglia. No forests grew within twenty
kilometers of the houses, since they were all farms.
The wizarding world was also under immense pressure,
even Hogwarts. Within the last few weeks, Aurors could
be found patrolling the corridors more, and Umbridge was
beginning to encroach on students, stopping them in the
halls and interrogating them. Professor McGonagall got
wind of her actions quickly, and put an end to it, but
everyone was still on edge with the mounting tension.
'Well, more students won't be coming back after Christmas
break then I guess' Harry responded to the article. A family
of half blooded wizards was found murdered in their house
the day before. What separated this from the other
families massacred was that the father was an Auror, and
the mother a Ministry official for the Department of Magical
Accidents and Catastrophes. Both served for years in the
Ministry, and had two daughters, eleven and eight. The
Dark Mark was found over their home, located somewhere
in Northampton. It shook many of the families in Britain,
and some students were already gone from Hogwarts,
while many others questioned if they would be returning to
the school after the Christmas break.
'I do hope enough students stay. I mean, Hogwarts is still
one of the safest places to be. The last attack to happen
even close to the castle was in Banchory over a month
ago' Hermione remarked, taking a bite of her toast. Harry,
like so many times lately, found his eyes lingering on
Hermione for a moment, taking careful notice of her
appearance. She looked refreshed, energetic and ready
for the day with books in hand, like she did most mornings.
He couldn't help but feel more alive when he saw her,
even on mornings when he was extremely tired.
'We have our own things to worry about anyways. Are you
two still up to seeing Hagrid today?' Harry asked. The
three of them finally made their way to Hagrid's a few
weeks earlier, but it was a short visit. Hagrid told them the
Centaurs were causing some grief for Grawp, so he
couldn't leave him alone as much. They all decided to
meet up again later, and Hagrid mentioned this particular
morning being best. It was a Saturday, so time was
available for the trio as well.
Ron, who was taking a drink of his pumpkin juice, put it
down and gave a frown. 'Sorry Harry. I'm working on that
defence project Professor Terrwynebas set. I have to go
and check who I'm partnered with, so I can get a good
start at it. I'm just hoping it's not Nott. He's such a
pompous slug' Ron expressed.
Topher told the sixth and seventh years that the next
assignment would be in advanced defence. They would be
paired with someone else in the class, and their project
was to find how best the two's magical abilities could be
merged for defensive purposes. Topher at the time still
had to make the pairings, but said they would be done by
the Saturday morning.
'I still want to see Hagrid, regardless of who I am
partnered with. Even though he might go too hard on the
Mulled Mead sometimes, I feel terrible not seeing him
more, especially after what happened with Dumbledore'
Hermione stated. Ron finished his pumpkin juice, and
looked to Harry and Hermione.
'Well if you two go, tell Hagrid I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I
need a good mark in defence, and if I pull this project off,
Topher might start liking me.'
'What do you mean start? He does like you' Harry
asserted.
'He's stricter on me, like I need to prove something. I
asked him why, and he said I need it. A bunch of rubbish if
you ask me, I think he gets off on it' Ron alleged.
Hermione rolled her eyes, but only so that Harry noticed.
The three started their way to the Defence classroom, and
met up with Luna and Ginny along the way. They were
wondering themselves who they would get paired with.
Topher gave no specifics as to how he was matching the
students. All they knew was that a presentation of each
pairs combined magic was due the last day before
Christmas break.
'Hey, maybe we'll be paired up! That'd be fun' Ginny said
to Luna, who was, as usual, floating along the corridors
and absently gazing out the windows or around the
hallways. Harry wondered sometimes what went through
her mind when she looked like this, which was most of the
time.
'I've been told stories of combined magic, and wonder if
Professor Terrwynebas knows about Letifer Lightning'
Luna said distantly.
'Letifer Lightning?' Ginny asked, Hermione rolling her eyes
for the second time that morning, making Harry grin once
more. Her eyes set back on Harry, and he suddenly found
it hard to do anything but smile weakly at her.
'It's a deadly lightning that kills people who try to combine
magic. It strikes one in every thirty eight thousand wizards,
roughly speaking' Luna explained. Ron stifled his laughter
as they came to the classroom doorway.
' "Roughly speaking" ' Ron remarked to Harry as they
walked through the doorway.
Topher was once again looking over the ancient
parchments. His appearance told Harry he found time to
sleep, which Harry was glad to see. Topher quickly flicked
his wand, and the parchments rolled up, and flew into his
bottom drawer.
'Here for your pairing I presume?' he asked to the group of
five. They all nodded quietly, and Topher moved to the
side of the room, and retrieved a wicker basket; placing it
on his desk, and motioning the group to come closer.
'Rather than pair you myself, and get many complaints,
I've placed all your names in this basket. The basket will
pick the pairs, and spit them out. All you have to do is say
your name, and your name, along with your partner's will
pop out. So who is up first?' he asked contentedly. He
seemed quite excited about this choosing process.
The five were apprehensive at first, but Ginny stepped
forward, and moved in front of the basket.
'Ginny Weasley' she said to the basket. A small piece of
parchment floated out, followed by another. The two
combined into one single piece, and floated onto the desk.
Ginny picked it up, and her shoulders fell.
'I'm with Neville' she frowned looking back at Luna. Luna
smiled back, and Ginny walked back to the group. 'Oh
well, always up for a challenge' she added lightly.
Neville, in the last few months, improved vastly in defence.
He still had some problems, like everyone else, but he
learned quickly. His clumsiness, although still apparent,
was diminishing, and his attitude started showing it. He no
longer hunched when walking or kept quiet like years
before; now he walked straight, and spoke clear and
confidently. He even helped out students in lower years
with Herbology homework, being that he was at least tied
for top with Hermione in that subject. Harry noticed how
students gave him respect now, and he was glad to see it.
'Alright, Ron you're next' Topher said. Ron walked up and
said his name, and the same method of selection occurred
once more. Ron shakily took the parchment, and let out a
laugh, turning around looking astounded.
'I'm doing the project with Luna' he revealed. Harry looked
over to Luna for a response, but found none. She just
stared at Ron, smiled, one of her hands playing with her
blonde hair.
'Excellent. Now Harry' Topher said, motioning towards the
basket. Ron staggered back between Hermione and Luna,
and looked back to Harry. Harry cautiously said his name,
and two pieces of parchment came out, combining into
one. Harry bent down and looked at the names, feeling
himself instantly blush.
'Hermione' he stated. He turned, and found Hermione
looking relieved, and smiling. Harry walked back, and
pocketed the parchment. He turned back to see Topher
smiling with both sides of his mouth.
'Alright, well, off you go! Harry, a word please' he asked.
Hermione told Harry she would wait outside the
classroom, and the rest left, Ron talking to Luna about
practicing. Harry walked back to Topher's desk, and
looked at the basket, then Topher.
'Did you do that on purpose?' he questioned
discontentedly. Harry admitted he was in love with
Hermione, but he didn't want Topher playing matchmaker.
'Believe me Harry, I didn't. I charmed the basket into
pairing people who had some magical connection. The
whole point of this project is to find what that connection
is. The basket may have thought you and Ron could be
paired, maybe even you and Luna, but you and Hermione
seemed to have the strongest connection. But I'll say
again, I didn't tell it to pair you two specifically. I am
however looking forward to what connection you find.'
Harry looked away to the window to avoid Topher's smile
again, knowing he would blush once more.
'You wanted to talk about something?' Harry asked,
remembering Hermione was waiting, as was Hagrid.
'Yes. I was talking to Professor McGonagall and Professor
Dumbledore about my lessons, and I found a problem.
Dueling will take too long for me to cover. We have too
many important topics to learn, and I can't cut any of them
without leaving serious gaps. I would love to just teach a
dueling outside class, but I don't have the time. I have to
continue research, and my own defence learning. When
said I couldn't teach dueling, Dumbledore mentioned you.'
Topher took his seat, leaning back and placing his hands
behind his head, and Harry sat down in front of the desk.
'Harry, a few years ago, you ran a dueling club correct?
Now I know you have enough on your plate as it is, but
this is something students need to understand. You know
this better than any of them. Would you be willing to
restart this club?'
Harry honestly didn't want to start Dumbledore's Army
again. The DA was primarily a way for Harry to rebel
against Umbridge when she took over in fifth year. He
wanted others to learn dueling, and he enjoyed seeing
students progress with spells, but it took time to make
lessons, and teach them. In fifth year, Harry had the time
to spare, but now, he didn't have enough of it. Adding
more wood to the fire would not help keep it under control.
'Topher, I can't. I have too many things going right now; I
don't have the time' Harry responded regretfully. Topher
moved forward in his chair, and took an object out of his
dark green robes. He glanced at it, and then looked at
Harry.
'There is a way, you could have the time' he attested
softly, taking the object and placing it on the desk for Harry
to see. Harry leaned in, and picked it up carefully,
remembering the last time he saw it; in third year, and
around Hermione's neck.
'A Time Turner? But I thought using one was forbidden?'
'Not forbidden, just ill-advised. This Time Turner was
Professor Dumbledore's. It belongs to Hogwarts now, but
it's meant for special circumstances. Very special
circumstances. If you agree to teaching, you would be
allowed to use this to have the time available. You would
only be allowed to use it for this dueling club, nothing else.
Now, Hermione is waiting for you, so if I could have that
please' he said, gesturing to the Time Turner. Harry
handed it back, and he stood up, as did Topher.
'Think about it Harry. The professors are worried about
students not coming back after Christmas. If you
announce you're going to be teaching dueling classes in
the new year, some might return for it. Let me know as
soon as possible what your answer is' he said. Harry left
the room, and he and Hermione made their way to
Hagrid's hut. Harry mentioned Topher's proposal, and
Hermione seemed to agree with him.
'I think it would be a wonderful thing to start the DA again.
People need it Harry, more now than ever. Plus if what the
Sorting Hat comes true, students will have to know how to
duel in case the worst should happen' Hermione
commented as they trudged through the snow. A path was
carved out of the plain of snow that covered the ground,
but it was very narrow, and getting good footing proved
difficult.
A few times Hermione almost fell over, but Harry was
quick to grab her. He could feel his insides shivering when
he would have his hands on her sides helping her up. He
had been close to Hermione like this before, but he found
himself feeling very nervous now. A few times the thought
of just kissing her crept in, but by time he decided no, she
was already walking ahead of him, and he had to run to
catch up.
Once they reached Hagrid's cabin, Harry gave a hollow
knock on the door, and the two waited. It was cold outside,
and both Harry and Hermione were keeping their arms
close to themselves to preserve any warmth. Hagrid
opened the door, and Harry instantly knew Hagrid was in a
good mood.
'Harry, Hermione! Com'on in!' he boomed to the two of
them, wearing an almost idiotic looking smile. Harry and
Hermione exchanged odd looks, but thankfully entered.
Once they took their winter robes, they saw the reason for
Hagrid's smile.
'Bonjour Madame Maxime' Hermione charmed to the
overly-large woman, who was sitting down at the table
with Hagrid. Both of them were sitting within close
distance, but did not seem to be in one of those lovey-
dovey moods, something Harry was thankful for.
'Bonjour Miss Granger, Hagrid was joost telling me about
you t-oo. Congratulation in receiving ze post of 'ead boy
and girl' Madame Maxine said. Harry looked at Hermione
apprehensively.
'You know Hagrid, we can come back another time if you'd
like' he started, Hagrid putting up a waving hand in
response.
'No, yeh not be needin' to do that Harry. Olympe here just
stopped by for a spot 'o tea is all. Com'n pull up a chair' he
said cheerfully. Harry and Hermione took two smaller
wooden chairs from the side, and set them next to the
large table. Once they sat down, silence filled the cabin for
a moment, before Madame Maxime stood. Harry
wondered if her head would hit the ceiling, but luckily it
didn't.
'Well, I should get goe-ing. I 'ave busy-ness to do in
'ogsmede. Nice to see you 'arry and 'ermione' she
expressed. Harry and Hermione waved goodbye, and
Hagrid escorted her out the door. He looked back at Harry
and Hermione, and the two gave him a contented smile
before he closed the door. Once Harry heard the doorknob
click shut, he turned to Hermione.
'They're definitely still going out' he declared. Hermione
smirked as she looked back at the door.
'Well, I think it's a good thing. I couldn't imagine Hagrid
trying with someone else. They are made for each other.'
'In more ways than one' Harry added. They looked at each
other, and burst into chuckles, knowing full well what Harry
meant. Their laughter died down slowly, and silence again
filled the cabin. Harry was looking around the inside of the
cabin, however his eyes periodically fell onto Hermione.
Harry smiled a little when he noticed her twiddling her
thumbs on her lap. She couldn't feel nervous too, could
she?
'What are you doing for Christmas?' Hermione asked
suddenly.
'Well, Ron's not sure if his parents will be staying at the
Burrow. The Delacours invited them to France for
Christmas, and Mr. Weasley's just waiting to see if he can
make a secure Floo connected that will work properly.
Sounds like they will be going though, so I'll probably be
staying here. What about you?'
'I was planning on spending time with my parents and
family, but I'm not sure if it will be safe. The Order put
protection on my family, I asked them to over the summer,
but you remember Remus' last letter. The Order is having
a hard time, and they're stretched thin, so I might stay
here. I can see my parents for a few days maybe, but not
the whole time. Besides, we should use the time to
research' she said matter of factly.
Mentioning staying at Hogwarts made the inside of Harry's
stomach backflip, and sent his mind into thoughts of
walking down deserted and chilly corridors with Hermione,
hand in hand, stopping periodically to kiss, without a care
as to if someone would find them.
'I'm sure you'll figure it out' Harry responded, shaking his
head back to reality.
'Have you gotten any gifts yet?'
'No, not really. We haven't been to Hogsmede since the
summer. Maybe when students go home I'll go and get
some things. How about you?' Harry asked.
'Well, I have a few things, but I do need to get the bulk of
gifts. Maybe if I stay, we can go together, Ron too'
Hermione proposed.
'Sounds good' Harry said, as the door to the cabin opened
up again, and Hagrid came barging in from the cold. He
gave his head a shake, causing a cascade of frozen ice
and snow to fall.
'Sorry 'bout that. Olympe and I haven't seen each other in
a while' he explained, striding over and taking his usually
seat, which creaked in protest to the weight being pushed
on it.
'You two still seeing each other?' Hermione inquired.
Hagrid shifted in his seat, causing it to creak even more.
'Well . . . I mean . . . I guess so, yeah. Wit' Dumbledore's
death and all, we decided ter take 'er easy. I'm hopin' once
all this is over wit', me and her can get tergether' he added
sincerely. Harry looked at Hagrid for a moment, and was
about to change topics when Hermione did it for him.
'How are things with Grawp and the Centaurs?' she asked,
looking to Harry, who smiled for her thinking. Harry felt
bad for Hagrid and Madame Maxime, but he knew how
easily Hagrid could get emotional over things, and didn't
want him to, at least not this visit.
'Grawpy's doin' alright'. The Centaurs are still causin'
troubles, but I got'em in a good spot right now. I'm settin'
up his Christmas Tree next week, yer welcome ta join me
if yeh'd like' he invited cheerfully.
'Sorry Hagrid, we have a project for Professor
Terrwynebas to do, and need the time' Harry replied.
Hagrid nodded solemnly, but he was looking down again.
'Do you know Professor Terrwynebas Hagrid? You
seemed pretty chummy with him at the beginning of the
year' Hermione said.
'Topher? Yeh I know 'em. He's a good lad. Both parents
dead, and livin' by himself by eighteen. Dumbledore, good
man, gave him the position. He's good at defence against
the dark arts' Hagrid explained. Hermione asked how he
knew, and Hagrid seemed to lighten a bit, moving away
from the more depressing topics.
'Met 'em last year, when Dumbledore had his meetin' with
him. Found out his father, Torrin, was killed by them dirty
rottin' Death Eaters just after You Know Who came back.
He ended up livin' on his own fer a while, but Dumbledore
watched'em. He came early in the summer an' helped me
rebuild my hut, while I showed 'em around the castle. He's
a good lad, and mighty good at defence. His father was an
Auror Trainer.'
'An Auror Trainer? Do they exist?' Harry asked
disbelievingly.
'Well, yeh gotta have trainers now don't yeh! 'Course he
was, one o' the best Dumbledore told me. He was retired
o'course, but he taught Topher a lot. After loos'n his wife,
he wanted Topher ter be ready for anythin'. That's why he
home school'd 'em. Didn' want ter take any chances.'
'Wow, I never knew' Hermione whispered. Hagrid got up,
and made his way to the stove, and put a kettle on.
'Yeah, well, don't be tellin' him I told yeh that. I heard from
Dumbledore mostly, and a little from himself. He's very
quiet 'bout it all, 'specially wit' that friend of his' Hagrid said
while looking over the stove.
'What friend?' Harry asked. Hagrid looked down at the
kettle, then started shaking his head.
'I shouldn'a said that. Never you mind 'bout that' he
instructed, upset at himself for letting out that information.
Although Harry wanted to know more about this friend, he
knew not to push it. Hagrid was already in a worried state
about all the happenings, and with the prospect of
Hogwarts closing due to lack of students. Harry and
Hermione stayed with Hagrid for a while, but had to get
back to the castle to do more research.
As they bid farewell to Hagrid, they started their way back
up to the castle. It was snowing now, and the sun had set
already, giving the entire scene a wonderful blue hue. The
snow, the castle, the sky; all of it was draped in ever
darkening shades of sapphire. Hermione was walking in
front of Harry, and even in the cold of the evening, he
could still place the scent of her hair in the crisp night air.
'I'm famished. I swear, once I get to the castle, I'm going
directly to the Great Hall' Hermione commented as she
made her way up the snowy path, her feet crunching all
the while.
'I think Ron must be coming off on you' Harry chuckled.
Hermione stopped and turned in the path. She smiled
sweetly at him, her hand quietly picking up some snow.
Harry knew what was coming.
In a flash, both of them were pelting snow balls at each
other, laughing all the while. The battle was in full swing,
and Harry found himself cheerfully smiling as snow balls
whipped by him, while he darted off the path and into the
snowy embankments.
Harry was good at dodging Hermione's poorly aimed snow
balls, and soon Hermione was running to the castle as fast
as her feet would take her, Harry following quickly,
throwing the odd snow ball at her back. Harry laughed
when one would find its mark, as she would scream and
try to run faster.
Soon after she entered the Entrance Chamber, Harry ran
in behind her, and to his surprise, found the hall empty.
Wondering, he turned around, only to get a snow ball
square in the face. Hearing a girlish laugh, he wiped the
snow off his face, and found Hermione standing in the
doorway in a fit of laughter, propping herself up against
the doorframe. Harry slowly walked over, and she put her
hand up, trying to stop and catch her breath so she could
speak.
'Truce?' she gasped, as she slowly came back to normal
breathing, and stood up without the aid of the doorframe.
She put her hand out to shake, and Harry took it, smirking
all the while, knowing what lie in his left hand. They let go,
and just as Hermione turned to close the doors, Harry took
the small melting piece of ice he was hiding, and slipped it
down the back of her shirt.
It was Harry's turn to laugh now, as she erupted into
shivers, and gave off a high pitched, but soft cry, as the
ice slowly made it down her back. Her arms immediately
shot upwards to her shoulders, and she slowly turned
around, her face shocked and appalled at Harry's action.
'Harry! That's ice cold!' she seethed as she gave another
shiver. Harry still was laughing.
'Way to point out the obvious professor' he chuckled,
receiving a slap on the shoulder.
'I'm going to get back at you Harry Potter' she threatened.
Harry's laughter subsided, and he offered his arm. She
shook herself for a moment, gave a relaxed smile, and
accepting his arm, the two making their way to the Great
Hall.
Many of their fellow sixth and seventh years were talking
about the defence project as they ate. Neville and Ginny
were talking to each other about practice times, while Ron
mentioned he and Luna had already ruled out some
possibilities for their combined magic.
'Well, it's not our patronus', or disarming. We spent a while
just going over some different spells, and some combined,
but nothing really big happened' he commented.
'Were you able to contain yourself while working?'
Hermione asked.
'Once we started working, she turned out alright. She
stopped all that "crumpled this" and "girfneimer that."
She's actually pretty likable once she relaxes a little' he
said, getting back to his chicken pie. Ginny whispered
something to Hermione, and the two shared a small fit of
giggles.
'What?' Ron asked.
'Do you have a thing for Luna?' she asked, breaking into
giggles again. Ron's cheeks turned rosy, and her giggles
increased, and spread to Hermione as well.
'Would you two keep it down!' Ron whispered loudly.
Ginny put her hand to her mouth, and muffled her laughs.
It took a bit of effort.
'Since when?' Hermione asked, her laughs able to stop
before Ginny's.
'I don't know, just the last few months. Just don't be going
and telling her' Ron requested. Ginny broke into another fit
of giggles again, her face growing redder by the second
from the constant laughing. 'What?' Ron said, beginning to
get upset.
'Ronny and Loony, sittin' in a tree' she started, however
not getting any farther from her and Hermione bursting
into laughter again. It took Harry a lot of effort not to laugh
as well, but he was luckily able to keep it to a smile. Ron
of course, was not pleased.
For what must have been the first time in his life, Ron left
his plate, which still had food on it, and left without looking
back. Ginny's face fell as he got up, and she tried to tell
him it was just joke, but Ron was concentrated too much
in getting away from them to hear. Harry decided to try
and go help, telling Hermione he would meet up with her
later. Harry walked quickly out, and found Ron walking
towards Gryffindor Tower.
'Hey Ron, relax. They were just joking' Harry assured as
he got to his side.
'I know Harry. Ginny just reacted like Fred and George
would. I just wish once they wouldn't laugh at me' he said
quietly, slowing his pace as they started down an empty
passage.
'They don't laugh at you Ron. Ginny . . . well, you are right,
she has spent too much time around Fred and George,
but she's just kidding when she does things like that. I
think it's great you like Luna' Harry voiced. He was, of
course, glad for Ron in more than one way. Now that he
admitted he liked someone else, this meant he was over
Hermione. At least Harry hoped that's what it meant.
'Well, thanks Harry. I mean, Luna is a weird one, but I like
that about her. A lot of these girls, they're all the same.
Hermione is different, but we didn't work out, which is fine.
With Luna, she is different, and I just don't mean with the-'
he turned his index fingers around the side of his head,
making a crazy-like pose. 'She's changed a lot since fifth
year.'
By this time, the two were walking up to the seventh floor,
and to the Fat Lady. Ron gave the password, and the two
entered the empty common room. Everyone was eating
supper, so it was not surprising to find it empty.
Once they sat down, Ron gave a sigh, and looked at the
fire with a sullen expression. Harry looked out the window,
watching the white flakes of snow gather on the
windowsill.
'Do you think it's ever going to end?' Ron asked.
'What?'
'This war. Lavender left yesterday after those attacks near
her family's house, and even Seamus is talking about
leaving. He said there are less attacks in Ireland, so he
might be better to go there. I just get worried about Mum
and Dad. Everyone knows we're blood traitors, and you
know as much as I do, that some Death Eaters would love
to sack home.' The picture from Harry's dream of the Dark
Mark floated into his mind again, but he pushed it out
quickly.
'It'll be over soon Ron. Don't worry about your folks, they'll
be fine. Your mum could take on five Death Eaters, and
would still have time to yell at them to tuck in their shirts'
he said, receiving a smile from Ron. Harry looked over to
the door, wondering when Hermione and Ginny would be
getting here. Ron looked at Harry, then the door.
'So how was the visit with Hagrid?' he asked, breaking the
quietness.
'It was alright. Madame Maxime was there visiting, but she
left. Hagrid's doing alright though. Found out Topher's
father was an Auror Trainer.'
'They have those?' Ron asked, Harry grinned.
'Yeah. I think I might ask Topher about it' Harry answered,
looking back at the door. Ron smiled, as he looked at
Harry, and how he was drumming his fingers on the couch
without noticing.
'Do you like her mate?' he asked. Harry was still looking at
the doorway, and snapped his head over when he realized
Ron said something.
'Sorry, what?' said Harry. Ron chuckled.
'Do you like her?' he asked again. Harry's hand began to
drum faster.
'Who?'
'Professor Trelawney. Who do you think! Hermione.' Harry
took his drumming hand and clasped it in his other, to
dampen it. It didn't work that well, and he found his hands
sweating, knowing full well that Ron was looking right at
him.
'I don't know' Harry answered. He didn't know how Ron
would react, and didn't want to start a fight. Ron smiled
again, and looked at Harry thoughtfully.
'Look mate, it's fine if you do. I think it'd be great if you did.
I still like Hermione, but she's a friend. I won't hate you if
you like her' he said wisely. Harry lowered his head and
allowed a sigh out. He was extremely glad Ron
understood the situation. He had to admit, he was also
surprised by his comments, but they were men now, so
being childish about problems didn't occur as much now.
'I do like her Ron, more than anyone else. I'm sorry' Harry
expressed quietly.
'Sorry for what?' Ron asked oddly.
'About Ginny. I said I broke up with her so she'd be safe,
and now I have a thing for another girl.'
'Ginny's fine Harry. Besides, I think she has a thing for a
guy' Ron added.
'Who?'
'Heck if I know. She just said some guy she's friends with'
he explained. Silence again filled the common room, and
Harry looked up from the carpet.
'So what should I do?' Harry asked. He honestly didn't
know. He liked Hermione, but didn't want to have Ginny
mad at him.
'You like her right?' he asked again. Harry nodded, and he
continued. 'Then go for it mate. If you're worried about
Ginny, then just talk to her. For me, you and Hermione
deserve each other' he approved. Harry was smiling at his
comments, on a cloud knowing Ron was alright with him
liking Hermione.
'Thanks Ron' he said. Ron extended his hand, and the two
shook on it. Just then, the portrait hole opened up, and
Hermione and Ginny entered.
'About time' Ron said to the two of them, standing up.
Ginny walked across the room quickly and whispered
something into Ron's ear. The height difference required
Ginny to stand on her tip-toes, but she got her message
through. Ron's expression turned stone cold and pale, and
he looked at Hermione, then Ginny again.
'Oh no' he whimpered, sidestepping Ginny, and running
out of the common room frantically. Ginny burst into
laughter, as did Hermione as the portrait closed. Ginny
turned and saw Harry's perplexed look.
'I told him Hermione and I talked to Luna, and we
"accidentally" let it slip that he liked her' she said, laughing
again.
'You never even talked to Luna, did you?' Harry asked
sarcastically. Ginny continued to laugh, and shook her
head. 'You guys are evil' Harry added, laughing himself.
He could imagine Ron trying desperately to explain to
Luna the situation. For once he would sound weirder than
her. Ginny took a seat on one of the couches sighing, and
Hermione went upstairs to the girl's dormitory.
'She asked if she could look at one of my spell books for
something. She told me Professor Terrwynebas asked you
to start up the DA again.'
'Yeah, I don't know, it's an idea. They don't even know
who's coming back after Christmas' Harry explained,
taking a seat next to Ginny on the couch.
'If you're teaching dueling, more people will return than
you think. Trust me.' Harry smiled as his mind returned to
Hermione, and he began twiddling his thumbs again.
Ginny looked closely at Harry, then glanced up at the
dormitory.
'Just ask her out Harry. She likes you' Ginny said out of
the blue. Harry, shocked, looked at Ginny.
'Gin, we broke up-'
'We broke up because we wanted to. We're friends now
Harry, and if you start going out with Hermione, believe
me, I'll be very happy' she maintained. Harry sighed.
'Am I that obvious? Both you and Ron knew.'
'She's not sure about you liking her, but trust me, she likes
you Harry. She has for years.' Harry couldn't believe what
Ginny was saying, but had no time to digest it. The door
opened, and Hermione came back down the stairs.
'Thanks Ginny. Should we get going Harry?' she asked,
her face bathed in the amber light from the fire, flickering
on her cheeks and intensifying the ripples in her hair.
Harry couldn't help but stare at her, knowing that she liked
him. She actually liked him. Harry had been wondering
about it for a few weeks, and now he knew the truth. He
nodded, and in the process of standing up, felt his knees
shake. Ginny gave him a smile, and Harry and Hermione
left Gryffindor Tower.
'Simula Protego!' Ron and Luna yelled together while
standing back to back in the last defence class before
Christmas. A blue transparent sphere enveloped the two
of them, and Topher motioned some in the class to try
throwing jinxes and spells at the two. Every spell bounced
back from the orb, and Topher clapped, along with most of
the class, at their combined magic.
'Excellent! A combined Shielding Charm. Very effective. I
wouldn't be surprised if it could diffuse an Unforgivable
Curse or two. Good job to both of you' Topher cheered.
Ron and Luna moved to the side, and gave each other a
hug in happiness.
Ron had, the night Ginny tricked him, made an utter fool of
himself in front of Luna, but they started dating. Harry still
hadn't come up with the nerve to tell Hermione the truth,
but he was becoming edgy with it all. The time they spent
working on their combined magic made Harry feel great,
and when they would connect physically, by either
accident or intentional, shivers would run up his spine and
through his chest, making his heart thunder.
'Alright. Ginny and Neville are next. Please take your
place, and good luck' Topher encouraged. The two took
their spots, smiled at each other as they turned, and stood
back to back. Both raised their wands, and tapped their
feet.
'Simula Aflatus!' they yelled together. Every person in the
room, except Ginny and Neville, were thrown back to the
walls of the classroom. People hit the walls, and easily slid
down to the ground. Topher made the walls rubberized for
the day's class, knowing some spells would cause people
to hit them. Once he stood up, everyone again was
clapping, Ginny and Neville taking a bow.
'A combined Blasting Curse. Different, but it definitely
worked well. Good job. Now, Harry and Hermione' he said,
looking over at Harry and smiling.
The two walked to the middle of the room, and Hermione
gave him a warm smile, making his heart momentarily
melt. They stood back to back, and Harry could feel
Hermione's hair grazing his neck like a tiny river of silk. He
put up his wand, and could feel Hermione doing the same.
'When you're ready' Topher relayed. Harry nodded, and
raised his wand above his head like they practiced. It took
them a few days, but they ended up finding a spell that
combined excellently. Harry put in his mind, the memory of
him and Hermione hugging, and took a deep breath.
'Simula Expecto Patronum!' they both yelled. A blinding
white light connected between their wands, and created a
sphere around the two of them, radiating outwards in
pulses, filling the entire room in an alabaster radiance.
Everyone had to cover their eyes, and many fell over in
the process.
While the ivory orb encompassed the two of them, Harry
felt Hermione's hand reach into his own, and grip it tightly.
Harry squeezed back, and he could see the sphere
intensify in its brilliance. He lowered his wand, and broke
the connection. The white shield died out, and the room
returned to normal.
Students in the room stood, and looked awestruck at both
Harry and Hermione. Topher stood, helping Theodore Nott
to his feet, and walked to the two Heads.
'That was amazing you two! I've read of Patronus Sphere's
before, they are quite rare. Very well done! Everyone'
Topher announced, turning to the class, 'excellent job
here! Homework for the holidays: none! Work on your
spells and defenses, and I will see you all in the New
Year. If you have any questions, feel free to owl me here,
or come talk to me.' The class, happy for hearing no
homework, exited the classroom joyfully. Many of the
students said goodbye to Topher, and wished him a good
Christmas. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny waited
behind.
'Bloody hell! That was . . . wow!' Ron expounded, giving
Harry a clap on the shoulder. Ginny came up and smiled
at Harry and Hermione. Harry looked down, and found his
chest tremble, seeing he was still holding onto Hermione's
hand. Even a small thing like that caused him to feel like
jelly.
Once Topher said goodbye to the last student, he turned
and put his hands together. 'Harry, Hermione, that was an
amazing piece of magic. Very well done, all of you. Now,
have you decided about running your dueling club Harry?'
'I'll do it. Everyone needs the practice' Harry answered. He
knew if the fight was coming to Hogwarts, students would
need to know how to duel. If it had to be him to teach
them, so be it.
'That's great Harry, really. Thank you very much. I'll be
announcing it at tonight's dinner, so students know before
leaving on the train tomorrow. Are you staying at Hogwarts
or going somewhere for the break?'
'I'm staying here.'
'I will be as well. If you don't mind, could I talk to Harry
alone' he asked the others. Everyone left the cold
classroom, and Harry took his seat in front of Topher's
desk.
'Harry, would you like to accompany me on a trip this
Sunday? I have a tradition I do every year, since my father
passed away, on December 21st, and I would like for you
to come' Topher requested, sitting down in his chair and
looking out at the snow falling outside the windows.
'Where do you go?' Harry asked.
'To my parents' graves. I go and visit them every winter
solstice. There is something there I think you would be
interested in seeing' he explained.
'I can go with you, sure.' They agreed on a time and place
to meet, and Harry left for lunch.
The morning of the 21st, Harry woke to find a clear blue
sky. He was meeting Topher just after lunch, and planned
on making a trip to Hogsmede that morning to get
Christmas gifts. Hermione, Ron, and Luna were going as
well, and they planned on keeping their shopping as brief
as possible.
They all met in the Entrance Hall, and left together. Harry
and Hermione received permission from Professor
McGonagall to allow them to go, provided they had two
Aurors with them. At first they were upset with this
predicament, but when they reached the gates of the
school, they were happy to see some familiar faces.
'Tonks! Baldric!' Harry exclaimed to the two Aurors. Tonks
was wrapped up in a warm looking winter cape, while
Baldric wore a simple black cloak. Tonks light pink hair
clashed violently with the dark blue shade of her cape.
'Wotcher Harry' Tonks replied, motioning the students to
walk ahead.
'I didn't know you were an Auror' Harry commented to
Baldric, whose hazel eyes continually searched the area
around them.
'Magical Law Enforcement had me crash trained in basic
Auror practices. I'm not an Auror exactly, but I'll suffice for
now' he explained. They walked to Hogsmede easily, and
started their shopping.
Hermione and Luna went with Tonks, while Harry and Ron
went with Baldric. It took the guys a few hours, but they
were able to get all their gifts within reasonable time, save
one.
Harry couldn't find a gift for Hermione. He wanted to give
her something to show his feelings, but couldn't find a
suitable gift. Ron suggested some ideas, but Harry
doubted a silver quill would show his love, or perfume like
Ron gave her the year before. It was when they entered
Stone Sapphire Jewelry Shop that Harry figured he found
his store.
'This is perfect. I have to find something here' Harry
exclaimed as they entered the small shop, the bell above
the door chiming.
Thousands of trinkets and flashy items stood in display
cases, all crammed next to each other, making the tiny
shop look even smaller. A short, elderly man with tiny
spectacles and wispy white hair walked through a small
passageway in between two display cases, and
approached the men.
'Hello there gentlemen. Are you looking for a gift for a
loved one? If so, search no further!' he said jovially. Harry
began looking, but found the items either too small, too
big, or too much of something else to be perfect. He
started looking over a display, when the shopkeeper
looked closely at Harry.
'Oh, I remember when I sold that' he said, motioning to his
locket. Harry reached at it, and like many times before,
shined the exterior of it with his fingers.
'You do?'
'Why yes young sir. Nice chap, bought it for his love. How
did you come by it?' the man asked, rubbing his bushy
white mustache.
'It was my father's' Harry responded.
'I see. Well, are you looking for that special gift for
someone?' the old man asked. Harry nodded, and the
scruffy man moved closer. 'I think I know just the thing
you're looking for.'
The gift Harry was shown was perfect, and he bought it
right away. He didn't have to worry about hiding it, and it
made the ideal thing to get for Hermione, especially in
these circumstances.
They met up with the women, their gifts in tow, and they
headed back to the castle. Harry couldn't help but smile at
Hermione, knowing the gift he would be giving to her.
Once they entered the castle, they put their items away
carefully, and had lunch, Harry leaving early to meet
Professor Terrwynebas just outside his classroom. Topher
was set with his black winter cloak, and the two of them
made their way out of the grounds.
'Now Harry, nothing should happen, but if it does,
Apparate away as fast as possible. Come back to
Hogsmede. Alright?' he asked. Harry nodded, and the two
exited the grounds.
'OK Harry, take my arm. We won't be gone long, but I
don't know, you may wish to stay longer than I. In any
case; one, two, three!' With a turn, Harry felt the siphoning
envelope his body, and as soon as it started, the tube like
feeling left, and Harry's feet hit snow covered ground.
The snow was only a few inches thick here, so it wasn't
too hard to walk around, compared to the several feet of
snow at Hogwarts. Harry looked around, and found
himself in a wooded area, which stood next to an empty
field. It looked familiar to him.
'Where are we?' Harry asked to Topher, who was now
walking down a small path in the woods, moving to a
clearing ahead.
'We're just outside North Nibley, near Bristol' he answered,
continuing forwards, moving the odd branch out of the
way.
North Nibley . . . Harry remembered that name from
somewhere. It was not until they came into a clearing in
the woods that he noticed a familiar looking road running
parallel to the path.
'We're near Godric's Hollow!' Harry proclaimed. Topher
stood at the beginning of the clearing, and smiled at Harry.
'Yes we are. My parents are buried here, in this graveyard'
he explained, motioning to the area in front of the two,
which Harry now saw was littered with simple tombstones.
Some rose taller than others, but most stood one or two
feet, and were made of black or charcoal coloured stone
and granite.
Topher moved around the edge, and walked along until
turning, and stepping three steps in, standing in front of
two stones. Harry stood farther back, and watched Topher
flick his wand, and place a white trillium on each of the
graves. He stayed knelling, and cleared the names off the
tops.
'Harry, you can come closer' he said quietly. Harry slowly
made his way over, his feet crunching on the snow and
dead leaves that lay below, and he read the tombstones
Topher just cleared.
Torrin Terrwynebas
1942 – 1995
Beloved Father, and Teacher
Eleanor Terrwynebas (Potter)
1948 – 1981
Mother, Wife, and Friend
'Potter?' Harry whispered. He looked to Topher, who was
nodding as he stood up. 'But that means-'
Topher put up his hand, walked over to another set of
tombstones, and wiped the snow off the top again. Harry
stood dumbfounded, and Topher encouraged him over.
He and Topher couldn't be related, could they?
Harry slowly made his way, and Topher pointed to the
tombstones he just wiped. Harry leaned in to read the
inscriptions, and his eyes grew wide in astonishment.
James Potter
1958 – 1981
Marauder Forever, and Everlasting Friend
Lily Potter (Evans)
1958 – 1981
Eternally Missed, Mother and Friend
Harry stared at the stones, unable to comprehend where
he was, or what he was looking at. For the longest time he
could remember, he wanted to visit his parents' graves.
With so much happening in the last few months, he forgot
of his request to Lupin to see his them. Topher brought
Harry back with a calmly placed hand on his shoulder.
'I thought you'd like to see them' he expressed somberly.
Harry looked back at him, and gave a thankful smile, as
tears welled up in his eyes, while his hands continued to
lay on his parents headstones.
Harry felt closer to them now than any other time he could
remember. The quietness of the area only increased the
peacefulness Harry was feeling, as he slowly lowered
himself, and kneeled down on the cold ground in between
the two graves. Topher, very quietly, walked away and
gave Harry and his parents some time.
'Mom, Dad. I can't believe I've found you' Harry began,
talking quietly to the ground. 'There's so much I want to
say . . . but I don't have the weeks to say them. I just want
to let you know . . . I'm alright. School's going well, I've
some great friends' he breathed. He could feel the warm
tears falling down his cold cheeks, and he lowered his
head, and gave a small laugh. 'I'm- I'm in love too Mom
and Dad. She's great, and I know you'd like her. I have my
Christmas gift for her, and Dad, I'll try and make you
proud.' Another wave of tears came, and Harry placed his
hands on their headstones again.
Somehow, Harry felt his parents were there with him in
some respect; that they were always around him,
encouraging him and watching out for him. Harry looked at
their grave stones, and felt humbled by being there, in the
cold forest, his legs freezing from laying on the ground.
Harry saw a shadow reappear, and looked up to see
Topher coming back slowly.
'I'm sorry Harry, but we need to get back.' Harry looked
back at the stones, and nodded, slowly getting to his feet,
and taking a step back.
Topher, seeing the look in Harry's eyes, conjured two
white lilies, and gave them to Harry. He placed each on
the stones, and kissed them into place. Harry led the way,
and slowly walked back and onto the path. They walked
quietly, until Harry finally asked the question he was going
to ask earlier.
'On your mother's stone, it said "Potter". Does that mean-
?'
'Yes Harry, we're related. My mother's maiden name was
Potter, though she was only one of your father's cousins.
That would make me a second cousin of yours I believe.'
'So we're family?' Harry asked. Topher stopped where
they first Apparated, and smiled.
'In a sense. I thought you'd like to see your parents, and
hear that, even distantly, you still have some living family'
he maintained. Harry looked back up the path, and back to
Topher.
'Thanks Topher. For everything, really' Harry said. Topher
smiled, and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
'Merry Christmas Harry.'
'Merry Christmas.'
On Christmas Eve, Harry felt like he was walking on
needles. He woke up on the day knowing what he would
be doing that night. He couldn't believe it already arrived.
He was worried if his plan wouldn't work, and would just
cause massive destruction; but having Ron and Ginny
express their hopes for Harry, he felt confident things
would work alright. Of course, by the way he acted, it was
clear he was scared beyond belief.
At breakfast, he was already sitting down at the table
when Hermione came in. Wearing some simple muggle
clothes, Harry literally fell off his chair. He couldn't believe
how wonderful she looked, and internally hated that she
had to look so perfect on this day. He knew it would make
things harder on him later that night.
'Oh my, Harry, are you alright?' she asked, reaching over,
and helping Harry. He accepted her hand, and
immediately felt his palms sweating. She gave a tug, and
he stood up, running into the table in the process, causing
some of the dishes to buckle on the table.
'I'm fine, I'm fine. I . . . um, I have to go and um . . .'
'Help me with a gift' Ron finished. Harry gave Ron a
grateful look, and the two left the Great Hall, which was
filled by a few dozen students who stayed at Hogwarts.
Once they walked out of the Hall, they made their way to
the East Tower.
'Harry mate, you're a mess. You need to relax' he advised.
Harry laughed harshly.
'Relax! It's impossible, you saw how she looked' he stated.
'Look, just be yourself Harry. It's just Hermione.'
'It's not "just Hermione"' Harry commented, as they
entered the common room. Harry threw himself into his
seat, and Ron took his normal one from the desk. Harry
gave a sigh, and allowed his body to go limp in an effort to
relax.
'This is going to be a long day' said Harry to the fire,
rubbing his forehead.
As the day moved on, Harry continually found himself
around Hermione. He, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Ginny
all walked around the grounds, and met up with Hagrid,
who was wrapping Grawp's gift. Hagrid was going to show
them it, however Harry protested when he heard the "gift"
growl.
Once they finished, all of them returned to the East Tower
common room, were Harry and Hermione invited other
upper year students for a get together for Christmas.
The party, though it was a quiet event, went smoothly, and
soon everyone was leaving for supper. Harry and
Hermione stayed late, and cleaned up, and just as
Hermione was leaving, Harry leaned against the desk and
sighed.
'Harry, aren't you coming for supper?' she asked.
'I'll be down in a minute' he answered shakily. She
hesitated for a moment, but nodded, and left. Harry
walked up to his dormitory, and stood in front of the mirror,
trying to encourage himself.
Come on Potter! You love her, and she loves you! Do it
after supper! He took his mother's locket, and once more
shined it with his hand. He closed his eyes, took a deep
breath, and made his way to the Great Hall.
Once supper was done, Hermione asked if Ron and Luna
would be joining them in the Tower, however Ron said
they had to go somewhere. Ginny was meeting up with
someone in the Gryffindor common room, and Harry was
left to walk with Hermione back to the common room. As
Ron walked away with Luna, he gave Harry a thumbs up,
and Harry felt his anxiety increase tenfold. While they
walked to the East Tower, Harry rather clumsily, Hermione
took notice of his nervousness, and tried to calm him
down.
'Harry, are you alright? You've been really nervous looking
lately. Is it about the Horcruxes or Voldemort?' she asked,
placing her hand on Harry's forearm. The act, being so
simple, made Harry feel a massive rush of emotion and
shivers in his chest.
'Let's go for a walk' Harry stated suddenly with confidence.
'Alright, to where? The Kitchens, Gryffindor Tower?'
'No, outside, around the lake' Harry suggested. Hermione
looked at him for a moment, but nodded. They got their
cloaks from the common room, and walked outside onto
the dark grounds.
The lights from the castle allowed them to barely see a
path carved in the snow that led to the lake. They walked
quietly, and as they moved father away from the castle,
they became more dependant on the moon and starlight to
guide them. Soon enough, after a few minutes of walking,
their breaths the only sound breaking the complete
silence, they arrived at the edge of the lake. It was hard to
tell where the edge was, since it was covered in ice, but
they knew they were close. They looked around, and
cleared off the surface of a sizable rock, and sat down
next to each other. Both just looked around at their
surroundings.
The scene was entirely still. The dark hills and mountains
that covered the horizon blending into the dark night sky,
while snow and ice coloured the landscape indigo.
Looking back, the windows of Hogwarts contrasted warm
yellow against the dark blue that coloured the castle
stones. Looking up at the sky, the stars shown brightly in
the cold winter air; the Milky Way streaking across the vast
expanse like a shimmering river running through a dark
and empty gorge. Harry breathed in the cool winter air, the
scent of honeysuckle once more making its presences felt,
and looked high into the night sky.
'Remus is transformed' he spoke quietly, the full moon
radiating brightly against the darkness. Harry looked at
Hermione, and found she was shivering.
'Are you alright?' he asked worriedly. She shivered again,
and Harry wrapped his arms around her, and she gladly
accepted, moving over and sitting on Harry's lap. She
placed her head against Harry's chest, and he looked
down at Hermione.
Her hands were shivering, as was most of her body. Her
hair, though cold, still gave off a vibrant smell of
honeysuckle, and Harry, trying to get her warm, held her
tightly. She placed her hands against Harry's chest, and
she nestled herself right in. Harry, even though cold
himself, felt his insides becoming warmer by the second.
'Do you want to go back to the castle?' Harry asked
quietly, looking down at Hermione. She looked up at him,
and Harry became lost in the sight.
They were both very close to each other. Harry's eyes fell
right on hers, and he found he couldn't look anywhere
else. Even in the darkness, her eyes held an unbelievable
amount of emotion and warmth. Her face was perfect to
Harry, in the most absolute way he could imagine. Her
cheeks, rounded and tinged red from the cold, her nose,
the softest and cutest Harry ever dreamed; her smile, and
the wonderful dimples that only came out when she
smiled, and her simple yet completing chin. It all
manifested into the girl that Harry gazed at in front of him.
Harry felt his chest melt, feeling Hermione so close and
seeing the expression in her face, and her eyes. He
smiled pleasantly at her, and she gave a cozy smile in
response, continuing to gaze at Harry.
'I'm happy where I am thank you' she expressed sweetly.
Harry felt his fingers, along with all his other body parts
tingle with her response, and her gaze. Harry gave her a
gentle squeeze, and she pressed against Harry's chest,
closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. Harry closed his
eyes as well, and rubbed Hermione's back with his hand.
He could barely feel his feet, so he knew they had to
return to the castle. He never wanted to leave this rock,
but he didn't want to freeze to it either.
'Com'on' Harry said softly. Hermione rubbed her head into
Harry's shoulder, eyes still closed, and nodded slowly. She
sat up, and slid off Harry. Harry stood up and the two
slowly made their way back to the castle in silence again,
this time walking arm in arm.
Every once in a while, Harry would glance at Hermione,
and smile at the calm and simple expression on her face.
It felt so wonderful to Harry to have Hermione on his arm,
walking along quietly with no worries.
Once they entered the common room, they both discarded
their cloaks, and changed into some more comfortable
clothing. Harry donned a simple pair of blue pants and a
green sweater, while Hermione wore a dark red knit
sweater, which hugged to her amazingly in Harry's mind,
and a pair of brown pants.
A tradition for the Heads, as they were told by Evander,
was to decorate the Christmas Tree on the night of
Christmas Eve. Harry never really decorated a tree, and
was eager to do it, especially with Hermione. A six foot
pine stood to the side of the fireplace, and once they found
some objects to transfigure into ornaments, they began to
hang them.
As they levitated them into place, Harry continually found
himself staring at Hermione, watching the twinkling and
glow from the ornaments and fire dancing playfully across
her face. Hermione caught his eye sometimes, and gave a
laugh when an ornament he was hanging would fall on his
head.
They finished the tree eventually, and both put their gifts
underneath, as was the custom. As Harry placed his last
gift under, the two of them sitting in front of the tree on the
carpet next to the fireplace, he felt it was the perfect time,
and he could feel his hands and feet trembling with
anticipation.
'Hermione, how would you feel if we exchanged gifts
now?' he asked, trying hard to keep the shakiness out of
his voice. Hermione placed her last gift under the tree, and
looked to Harry, tilting her head cutely in mock thinking,
and giving a cheerful smile.
'Alright, but you have to open mine first!' she expounded.
Harry nodded grinning, and Hermione bolted up to her
room for Harry's gift. Harry stayed in his place, and waited,
mentally encouraging himself. She returned less than a
minute later, looking down at Harry with a curious look,
while holding a small wrapped box.
'You were fast' she noted. Harry gave a shrug, and
Hermione sat back down in front of Harry, closer this time
than before, and placed the small box in front of him.
'Now it isn't the greatest gift, but I thought you would like it'
she confessed. Harry slowly unwrapped the box, and
opened it.
Inside, under a few layers of tissue paper, there was a
clay-like bowl, smooth on the inside, and carved on the
outside with runes and symbols that marked the perimeter.
'A Pensieve?' Harry stated. Hermione nodded, and she
moved the now empty box away and moved closer to
Harry. He could feel his body radiate in shivers as she
came closer.
'I made it. It took a little research, mostly from one of
Dumbledore's books, because you can't make Pensieves
out of anything, and they have to be certain dimensions.
But I thought, with all the thoughts in your head, you might
do well to have somewhere to, say, clean the cupboard'
she exclaimed. Harry examined the small Pensieve, which
was about the size of a small soul bowl, and looked at the
inscriptions.
'What does it say?'
'Around the rim, it says "Herein Lie Memories and
Thoughts for None to See", and on the lower circle, it says
"To Harry Love Hermione". My name' she pointed out a
set of Rune markings, 'I found was quite difficult to
translate.' Harry looked at the bowl carefully, Hermione
watching him closely for his reaction, and he grinned in
happiness.
'Wow, I mean, this is amazing Hermione. Thank you so
much.' She beamed at him heartily, and the both leaned in
and gave each other a hug. They held on for a few
moments, and let go, looking back at each other, still
smiling.
'For your gift, I need you to close your eyes' Harry
instructed.
'As long as your gift isn't slimy, and moves' Hermione
warned, closing her eyes and grinning. Harry got up, and
moved around behind Hermione, next to the tree.
'Harry where are you going?' Hermione asked, eyes still
shut. Harry shushed her, and making sure she wasn't
looking, reached around the back of his neck, and took off
his mother's locket. He opened it, reread the inscription,
and draped the necklace around her neck. He felt her
quiver as his hand and the metal touched her skin. She
opened her eyes, and looked down just as Harry closed
the clasp.
'Oh Harry' she whispered, looking at the silver disk, and
glancing over her shoulder at Harry, who was smiling
intensely.
'Open it' Harry said. Hermione, looking down at the locket
again, turned it in front of her face, and opened it.
Although it was close to her eyes, she could easily make
out the inscription. Harry smiled again as Hermione gave a
sniff, and her eyes began to tear as she read the tiny
inscription.
To my
dearest Hermione
All my love
Harry
Harry had the Jeweler re-inscribe the locket. He knew full
well why his father got it for his mother, and felt it was
more than fitting to give to Hermione twenty years to the
day James gave it to Lily.
Harry gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and a few
tears broke free, and ran down her smooth cheeks. Harry
gave a squeeze to her shoulders, and she sniffled again.
He slowly shuffled his way around, and made it so he was
facing Hermione. She was still holding the locket, and
cried more as she looked into Harry's eyes. Harry thought
she looked absolutely beautiful. He took a deep breath,
and plunged forward, letting his thoughts pour out through
is mouth.
'Hermione, I've known you for so long, and I never want to
loose you. When I've fallen, you picked me up; when I
thought of turning away, you pushed me forward. You've
always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. I
know we have a tough time ahead, and I can't go on
without telling you how much you mean to me' Harry
expressed warmly. He couldn't help as more tears spilled
from Hermione's eyes, tears forming in his eyes at his own
words.
'You mean so much to me Hermione, you always have.
There isn't a day that passes that I'm not grateful for me
and Ron saving you from that Troll in first year. I can't
imagine my world without you, and the truth is' he took a
hiccupped breath, as tears streamed down his face, 'I love
you Hermione.'
Hermione stopped sniffling, and looked directly into
Harry's eyes. Harry found himself lost in a sea of chestnut,
bronze, and chocolate. He felt her eyes penetrating more
than just his exterior, but his soul and his mind. Her
features in the waning firelight were, to Harry, beyond
description.
As they looked at each other, they slowly inched closer.
Harry's body was so far from tingling, feeling on the brink
of electrocution. As Harry felt Hermione's breath on his
face, it send a tremor down his spine, right to his toes.
Harry closed his eyes slowly, and plummeted forward the
seemingly vast space, and their lips connected softly.
At that moment, Harry's mind became nothing; lost to all
other things going on in the universe except this kiss, as
his stomach performed summersaults. Hermione's lips,
though tinged with salt from her tears, were exactly as
Harry imagined; amazing in their fullness, softness, and
every other aspect, with a hint of strawberries.
Harry wasted no time, and wrapped his arms around
Hermione tightly, and she pressed into him, forcefully
pushing her arms around to his back. Harry dared to
deepen their kiss, and Hermione obliged passionately,
returning with as much fire into it as Harry was putting in.
As they began to caress each others backs, and Harry
began running his hands through her hair, their passion
began to burn like a wildfire.
Allowing the world outside themselves to come back into
their minds, they both began to slow their kiss; winding it
down at an infinitely slow pace, letting it gradually turn into
a kiss of love and softness. Harry never wanted the
moment to end, but to instead live in it forever. As they
slowed even further, time itself felt like it was standing still,
the sound of the fireplace moving slower, and the firelight
no longer flickering. They gradually parted, both keeping
their eyes closed; only to open them a moment later,
allowing the silence to fill the room.
The smell of honeysuckle engulfed Harry's senses to the
point were he could no longer remember the smell of
anything else. Hermione's body was pushed so firmly
against his own; he could feel all her curves, her warmth,
even her heart beat, which soothed him beyond
comprehension. He looked at her, and in her eyes, found
affection and desire so immense, he couldn't help but
beam at her. Hermione herself gave a small laugh, and
looked deep into Harry's eyes, tears again starting to form.
'I love you too Harry.' And with that, they then shared their
second kiss, sitting on the rug in front of the Christmas
tree, draped in the glow emanating from the hearth.
Meanwhile outside the common room, Evander the
Enlightened, who had been watching the corridor quietly,
smiled in his portrait.
Spell / Name Meanings:
Letifer Lightning - L. letifer: deadly, mortal (Letifer
Lightning Deadly Lightning)
Torrin - Irish Gaelic. torin: chief
Simula - L. simul: together
Aflatus - L. a-: away, flatus: blast (Aflatus blast away)
Eleanor - Just picked a name really

- CHAPTER EIGHTTEEN -
The Escape
Draco was shivering on his dirty and old bed. He was still
in his cell, drowning in a deep sense of hopelessness. He
had no idea how much time passed since he first came
into this rocky prison, but he could tell a few months
passed. Frost on the ground, and the mist from his breath
told him it was winter. He was lucky that Snape was
watching him; casting a Warming Charm on the room
once a day.
At first, after seeing his father die, Draco was a disaster.
He didn't eat for days, and continually cried; to the point
his eyes couldn't produce any tears, and his head
throbbed heavily, like it was cleaved in half. Snape said
nothing to him when he entered the cell. He simply came
in, dropped some food, and left.
Once he did finish crying, and he started questioning
Snape, the pale man stopped entering the room. He
simply slipped his food through the door, and continued
not to speak. Draco knew there was no point in yelling, or
pleading; seeing how it didn't work for him before. He
simply took the time, and figured things out for himself.
He knew that Voldemort would eventually kill him. It was
only a matter of time. He wondered at first why he wasn't
murdered right away, but he soon realized that keeping
him alive, was much more tormenting. Having to relive his
father's death over and over again, just made Draco feel
beyond devastated. He was sure that was what Voldemort
wanted. It wasn't enough that he physically tortured him-
he had to also mentally and emotionally torture him too.
After a while, he understood that even if he did somehow
get out of his stone cell, he would have to run. Death
Eaters would be on the look for him, and he wouldn't be
safe.
One day, as he sat on the cold floor, he remembered the
words Albus Dumbledore spoke the last night he was at
Hogwarts. He was already unwilling to carry out
Voldemort's task, and Dumbledore's mutterings carried
more meaning than he thought the old man could produce.
He did respect Dumbledore, on some level. He found the
old man's easiness to keep calm in harsh situations
something to be revered. Of course, the old windbag was
constantly pushing goodness and togetherness;
something that made Draco want to spit to the side in
disgust.
But now, in his horrible situation, he could see the
meaning of Dumbledore's words. Voldemort was out for
nothing but himself. Draco's father was loyal to the Dark
Lord for so long, yet was killed in the end. All the Death
Eaters from Azkaban were more than likely dead, and
Draco was set to suffer in his emotional prison.
Draco thought it out, and figured that if he could get out,
he would have to go into hiding, along with his mother, if
she was alive. The Order of the Phoenix would be after
him, along with Voldemort. He was an enemy of both
sides; something he hated himself getting into.
As he rolled over on his uncomfortable bed, he found
himself, for the first time in ages, hoping for his mother to
be alive. He hadn't seen her since the winter before for
Christmas. It was a horrible affair, with his father still
locked in Azkaban. His family lost much respect among
the wizarding elite, and his family's name was beginning to
stand for less.
Christmas was a quiet affair—too quiet. Draco couldn't
stand how dank and depressing the mansion felt when he
was there. His mother constantly worried over Draco with
his task, and he spent most of this time in his old room,
devising how to fix the vanishing cabinet. It was one of the
few times he would be glad to return to Hogwarts.
Since then however, he hadn't seen his mother. He never
heard about her, and didn't know if she was alive.
Internally he hoped she was alright. He always knew that
his father was the hard lined one of the two. She didn't
deserve to die. As much he hated himself sounding like
that dolt Harry Potter, she was innocent.
He inclined his head, and turned it slightly. He could hear
footsteps coming closer. He figured it was Snape as usual,
and put his head back down. The steps stopped outside
the door, and the lock turned. Draco turned around
instantly, and stood up.
Snape hadn't come into his cell in months. The door
opened, and Draco's face fell.
Wormtail's rat face looked at Draco from the doorway, and
he gave a flick of his wand, binding Draco's hands
together.
'What's going on?' Draco asked shakily. Wormtail walked
over, and grabbed Draco's hands, and pushed him out of
the cell with his silver hand. Draco asked again what
Wormtail was doing, but he did not respond.
They started up the arched stone stairwell, and Draco
definitely knew it was winter. There was snow on the
upper steps, and the air was freezing. Draco was only half
way up the flight, and already shivering. He was still in his
raggedy and worn Hogwarts uniform from the summer, so
it didn't provide good warmth.
Draco was pushed once again into the darkened chamber,
and hit the floor hard. He was very weak, and once on the
ground, he could only roll over, and look up at the chair
where two red eyes looked at him, covered over with a
dark cloak.
'How are you doing Draco?' Voldemort asked in mock
politeness. Draco just spat on the ground, and Voldemort
laughed.
'Ah, you think you have no fear now? That you're not
afraid to die, and have nothing to loose? We'll see about
that. Crucio!'
Draco's back arched on the floor as the feeling of being
electrocuted spread through his body. He rolled on the
floor in agony, while just barely hearing the cold laugh of
Voldemort over his own screams. Voldemort lifted the
spell, and Draco finished lying on his side, his cheeks
stained with tears and his whole body shivering and
covered in icy sweat.
'You see Draco' Voldemort continued calmly, getting up
and walking around the chamber, on the brink of the
shadows, 'it's not enough to simply kill you. I realize now
that Lucius got off easy. Disappointment after
disappointment, that's all he was.' Draco could do nothing
to reply. He tried to speak, but couldn't make the words
sound out.
'And your mother, Narcissa.' Draco looked around for
Voldemort, and found the dark figure just next to him. 'She
was a coward, like you, and went into hiding. Lovely Bella
is looking for her now, and I expect they will arrive soon.
When they do, I'm sure you will have a front row seat to
the show' Voldemort sneered, crackling evilly. Draco, rage
stirring in his soul, mustered the strength to push himself
up, and got at least to a kneeling position, looking up at
the Dark Lord.
'Don't you hurt her' Draco threatened. Voldemort smiled,
and approached Draco, who lowered himself slowly.
'I won't hurt her Draco . . . You will' he whispered. His
ghostly face made a malevolent grin, and Draco felt
himself standing up, his anger reaching a boiling point. He
could feel his fists, which were still bound, shaking
violently.
'Did I say you could stand' Voldemort pointed out, flicking
his wand, causing Draco to hit the stone floor again, his
knee caps hitting the surface so hard he heard the crack
as they broke. Draco fell onto his side, and yelled out in
pain, while Voldemort casually sat back down in his chair.
'Snape' he said easily. A figure from the shadows came
forward, and the greasy haired man bowed his head to the
Dark Lord.
'Shut him up, and take him back to his cell' Voldemort
ordered, as Draco continued to yell out. Snape turned,
cast a Silencing Spell on Draco, flicked his wand, and
dragged him by his hands. Once outside the chamber, he
ran his wand over his knees, and fixed them, relieving his
pain.
He picked him up off the cold floor, and the two walked
back down to Draco's cell. He threw Draco onto his bed,
and looked back up the staircase, before entering the cell,
and casting a Silencing Spell on the room. He turned, and
took off the spell on Draco.
'Severus, you have to-'
'Be silent boy. We need to get out of here, soon.'
'Why didn't you try earlier! I've been going through hell the
past six months because of you!' Draco shouted. Snape
ran his hand through his greasy looking hair, and leaned
against one of the walls.
'My reasons are my own, so keep your mouth shut. And
you know nothing of hell, so don't presume you do.' He
gave a sigh, and looked back up. 'I can tell the Dark Lord
is expecting me to let you go' Snape informed.
'So why now?'
'Because if you torture your mother, and she dies, you will
come right after. He knows I will try and free you before
hand, and we will play into his trap, with a twist.'
'Howso?' Draco asked.
'If I free you, I will have to go with you. He is probably
expecting us to go to the Order of the Phoenix, but we
won't. I know somewhere else we can go. It's a place he
wouldn't dare return to' Snape said.
'When will we go?'
'Soon. Not now, it would be too early.' He was looking
around the room, and checking the door every few
seconds.
'He said Bellatrix is getting my mother! We have to save
her' Draco expounded frantically, getting up from his bed.
Snape put up a hand to stop him.
'Worry about yourself. We can't do anything about your
mother now. We don't know where she is.' He lowered his
hand, walked to the door. He stopped short, and looked
back at Draco, who was still standing where he left him.
'Tomorrow night . . . Wait to hear the door, pick up your
wand, and run.' With that, he turned, and exited the room
without a look back. Draco slowly walked over to his
uncomfortable bed, and put his head in his hands.
One more night, and he would be free. At least that was
what Snape said, if he could be trusted. It could just be
another plot by Voldemort-or Snape playing a game on
him- but he needed to take the chance.
How could it get worst? He asked himself, giving a sigh,
and lying down to rest.
'Is it set?' Voldemort hissed to the tall, russet haired man.
He bowed signaling yes, and his head came back up, his
silver eyes penetrating the darkness cast over his face.
'Good. Are you ready Wormtail?' the Dark Lord asked to
the watery-eyed man. He came shuffling up, and nodded,
his silver hand glinting in the dim light.
Snape re-entered the chamber, and found four Death
Eaters close to Voldemort; who was still sitting on his
throne-like chair. He closed the door quietly, then tried to
make his way across the back of the room in the dark, but
of course, he was the one man Voldemort was waiting for.
'Severus. Approach' he said. Snape turned, and presented
himself in from of the Dark Lord, kneeling down, then
standing next to the other four; Pettigrew and Seth on his
right, Avery and Goyle on his left.
'Bella has brought dear Draco's mother. She will be
bringing her down soon. Go and fetch Draco.' Snape kept
control of his emotions, and bowed again, leaving the
room to get Draco. Voldemort leaned back in his chair,
and smiled evilly.
'Goyle, Avery; go to the entranceway. When Draco and
Snape try to escape, try to stun them, but miss. I need
them alive and running. Let them escape, just.' The two
men bowed, and left side by side out the chamber.
Wormtail and Seth moved to be in front of the stage.
'Wormtail, you will wait for Bellatrix, and follow them. If you
are an idiot and are seen or caught-pray they kill you.'
Wormtail, worry ever present in his eyes, bowed quickly,
and scurried out of the room, leaving one Death Eater in
the dark chamber.
'Seth. You have proven yourself, and the next task I give
you is very important' Voldemort started. Seth lowered his
head.
'I will do what you wish my Lord.'
'Good. Your task resides in the Department of Mysteries.'
Draco was lying awake on his bed in the darkness, a sliver
of light coming in under the door. He was bundled as
tightly as could be, since Snape neglected to put a
Warming Charm on the room.
He could hear distant footsteps, and it sounded like a few
people were moving around. A group must have returned
from a raid. There were groups of Death Eaters that would
come and go from the cave all the time.
He was thinking of his mother, probably hiding in some
small away place, trying to keep the world out. He missed
her. It was probably one of the first times in his life he
missed her. He did remember the last time he did; when
he was nine years old, away with his father on a trip to see
the dragons in Romania. They were gone for a week, but
Draco missed his mother terribly. His father of course, was
displeased with his son missing his mother so much, and
after that, Draco tried to quiet that part of him.
Suddenly, Draco sat up, and his head snapped to the
doorway. He could swear he heard the lock click. It was
too early though. Snape said the next night, and he was
only there a few minutes ago.
Getting up hastily, Draco moved through the darkness,
making his way in the direction of the horizontal sliver of
light, and got to the door. He tentatively pushed on it, and
the door opened.
Glancing up the stairwell, he found it was empty, a yellow
flicker of light at the top lighting the steady curve of the
wall. He looked around the ground, and found his wand
sitting on the stone floor. He picked it up quickly, and just
as he stood back up, he heard a scream echo down from
above.
It was a woman's scream, and as the sound moved
through him, he swiftly realized why Snape let him out
now.
They had his mother. Draco didn't think they would have
found her that quickly, thinking they had been searching
since the summer. But realizing they had her, fear and a
sense of boldness filled Draco.
He vaulted up the stairs as quickly as he could go, turning
around the long spiral, and coming to a small hallway. The
woman was still screaming, but the echoes made it
impossible to figure where they were coming from.
A door on the right opened, and Avery came out, wearing
his long black cloak, looking about. His eyes fell on Draco,
and his wand came up quickly. Draco, caught off guard,
ran up a nearby stairwell.
'He's escaped!' Avery yelled, as he shot a Stunning Spell
at Draco, just missing him and hitting the wall.
Draco ran up the stairwell, and found himself in yet
another antechamber. He looked right, then left, and
started going left, when an arm grabbed him on the right.
He turned quickly, and found Snape with a firm grasp,
pulling him in the other direction.
'This way, quickly!' Snape shouted, pushing Draco
forward.
'The screaming . . . my mother!' Draco yelled back to
Snape as they ran upwards, the sounds of Death Eaters
yelling and coming behind them.
'I don't know where she is. Just run!' Snape replied angrily.
Draco came to another landing, and was pushed towards
the left staircase that ran off of it, but stopped as he looked
to the right.
Narcissa and Bellatrix were just starting to move down
another adjoining staircase. Draco's mother was fighting
violently with Bellatrix, but she didn't have a wand, so it
was in vain.
'Mum!' Draco yelled, as Snape ran into his shoulder.
Narcissa and Bellatrix both turned around.
'Draco!' she screamed back. Bellatrix shot a spell at her,
and she fell to the steps.
'No!' Draco shouted. He was pushed forcefully by Snape
up the next staircase, and almost fell over trying to get to
his mother.
'MOVE!' Snape roared. A Death Eater came out of one of
the stairwells, and Snape shot a spell at the man. He
became stiff, and fell over with a thud, and Snape again
pushed Draco upwards, and they moved up the stairwell.
Draco continued to protest, and when Snape gave one
last push, Draco fell over onto dirt. He looked up, and
found he was in a small cave, the night sky visible through
the entrance.
'That was my mother!' Draco screamed at Snape, as tears
made their way down his cheeks. Severus placed a spell
on the way they just came, and turned around. Draco
looked, and found no entranceway to be seen; just rock.
Snape moved across and grabbed Draco's cloak, and
pulled him up.
'If we go back, we die.' he said flatly. He started moving
towards the exit, but Draco stayed in place.
'Draco, if you do not come, you will die.' Draco looked at
the rock once more, then turned and ran out of the fissure.
His feet sinking into the snow, he took a deep breath of he
cool winter air. It had been months since he experienced
open air, and the crispness of the air tickled his nose, and
froze the tears on his face.
He looked around, and found they were in a mountainous
area, with boulders and rocks strewn about. Snape was
walking around a few of them, farther away from the cave.
Draco started off behind, having to take careful steps. He
was still wearing his regular black Hogwarts School shoes,
and they did not fare well on the snowy tops of the rocks.
'Where are you going?' Draco asked, watching his footing,
and taking notice of the brilliantly clear night sky.
'We need to be farther away from the cave. Hurry' he
explained, motioning Draco to move faster. Draco turned
around, and could hear noises coming from the cave. He
made his way quickly over the rocks, and met up with
Snape a few metres away.
'Drink this, quickly' Snape said, giving him a small silver
flask, taking an identical one and drinking the contents.
'What's in it?'
'Just drink it!' Snape spat, putting the flask back in his
robes. Draco emptied the contents, and only when he
came back down, did he look forward, and notice
something incredible in the distance.
'That can't be' he whispered.
'It is. Hold on' Snape said.
A Death Eater came out of the cave, and pointed his wand
at the two of them, but they Apparated away before a spell
could be made. The crack of their Apparating sounded in
the night, and left the area once again silent. The Death
Eater lowered his wand, and turned around to look at the
others behind him.
'They're away' he said, looking at Bellatrix. She smirked,
and turned to the others.
'Good job' she said to the woman next to her.
'It was my pleasure' Narcissa responded simply.

- CHAPTER NINETEEN -
 The First Loss
Harry stirred slowly, feeling a tickle on his nose. He
scratched it slowly, only to feel the silky fibers of
someone's hair. His hand caressed it slowly, and he
smiled warmly when he felt a set of lips press sweetly
against his cheek.
'Morning' Hermione cooed, relaxing her head on Harry's
shoulder. Without opening his eyes, he turned his head
slightly, and kissed her forehead slowly. He pulled away,
and looked down to find Hermione resting peacefully on
his chest.
They were still in the common room. The night before,
they continued their slow drawn out kisses for a while, and
moved off the floor, and onto Harry's chair in front of the
Christmas tree. As night deepened, they relied less on
their kissing, and more on just being close to each other.
Hermione sat down on Harry's lap, and the two slowly
drifted into sleep; the glow of the Christmas lights fading in
their eyes.
Harry, feeling Hermione's beautiful warmth and sweet
scent, gave her a gentle squeeze, and closed his eyes
once more; resting his head against hers.
He could not think of a more peaceful moment in his life.
Just the two of them, sitting so tenderly in front of a
soothing hearth, while an audience of Christmas lights
sparkled like diamonds in the night sky. Looking at her
pose and face, he realized Hermione never looked so
serene. He wanted to stay in this seat forever, more for
her than for himself.
He could feel Hermione dozing back to sleep, as the dark
indigo of the sky showing through the side of a window
allowed Harry to know it was early morning. He again
closed his eyes, and held Hermione close. Being caught in
the beautiful place between wakefulness and sleep,
Hermione breathed deeply, and cuddled closer to Harry,
kissing him gently on his neck, which caused him to shiver
with sudden, but calm lust. He smiled once more, relaxed
his head, and fell once more to sleep.
The second time Harry woke, he found dull sunlight
tiptoeing around the drapes, and basking the common
room in a light hue of grey. He moved his arms, and was
surprised to find Hermione was no longer on him. Opening
his eyes fully, he found her sitting in front of the fireplace,
watching the flames trickle upwards. He moved on the
seat, and she turned her head around.
'How long have you been up?' Harry ask groggily, sitting at
the edge of his seat, and stretching out his arms and back.
Hermione turned around, and got up.
'Only a few minutes. You looked so peaceful, I didn't want
to wake you' she said quietly. She walked over to Harry,
and he stood up slowly. She stopped a few inches away,
and draped her arms around his neck, while he placed his
hands on the small of her back.
They shared a slow, and sensual kiss, and hugged each
other longingly. Harry just still could not comprehend what
happened. He actually told Hermione everything, and now
they were kissing each other. He couldn't stop a small
laugh escape his mouth, and Hermione pulled back and
looked at him oddly.
'What?'
'I guess we're going out?' Harry chuckled softly. Hermione
moved her hands to the back of Harry's head, and pulled
him back down. They shared another small kiss, and
Harry smiled when he looked at her.
'Is that a yes?' he smirked.
'That's a yes' she whispered, beaming at him. Harry
laughed, and they kissed once more. Harry was so full of
happiness, he picked her up, and slowly revolved on the
spot. She squeaked at first, making Harry smile, then
leaned on his chest, allowing her heart to flutter with the
excitement. Harry placed her back down slowly; her
tiptoes, then her entire feet touching the floor, and they
once more parted their lips. Harry could get used to
kissing Hermione this much.
'Shall we go to breakfast?' Hermione asked. Harry sighed,
kissed her forehead, and nodded.
They parted, and went to their dormitories to change into
different clothes. Harry continued to smile as memories
from the night popped into his mind, and he laughed at
how wonderful he felt. Voldemort could be right next to
him, and he wouldn't be bothered.
Harry came down, Hermione coming a moment later, and
giving Crookshanks-who was lying sprawled on the rug in
front of the hearth-a lazy pat, they walked out the portrait
hole hand in hand. Once they entered the hallway, they
heard a small laugh from behind. Turning around, Harry
found Evander beaming intensely at the two Heads.
'Good morning you too. Merry Christmas' he said joyfully.
'Merry Christmas Evander. Why are you in such a good
mood?' Hermone asked. Evander's face turned slightly
pink, and he continued to smile immensely.
'Even though it happens every year, I just can't help but be
happy for Hogwart's Heads on Christmas Eve. So much
love in the air, it's wonderful.'
'Every year?' Harry questioned. Hermione looked up at
Evander, and had the same expression she had when she
knew the answer to a hard question.
'"The tradition never dies!" That's it!' Evander bowed
slowly, and Harry looked at Hermione. 'Every year, the
Head Boy and Girl fall in love on Christmas Eve.'
'Quite so Hermione. It's been happening for generations. I
felt bad for your friend Ron at the beginning of the year,
because I knew you and him would be breaking up'
Evander addressed to Hermione. 'Plus I saw you and
Harry, and you looked like you were meant for each other.'
He smiled at the two of them, and Hermione squeezed
Harry's hand gently.
'Well, we're off to have breakfast. Thanks Evander' Harry
said. Evander waved farewell, and the two continued
along to the Great Hall.
'Do you think it's a spell?' Harry asked, as they started
down a chilly and deserted hallway. Hermione remained
silent for a moment, then turned around and faced Harry,
pulling him close, and looking into his eyes deeply. Harry
chuckled at the aggressive move. To Harry, Hermione was
never one to show aggression in anything outside Elf-
rights or studying.
'I doubt this is a spell' she said quietly, inclining upwards
and kissing Harry. They lingered in the deserted and cold
hallway for a moment, then continued on, after Harry's
stomach gave a growl, making Hermione laugh.
Once they entered through the doors, the small amount of
people at Gryffindor table burst into cheers and hollers
once they looked at the two for a moment. Harry and
Hermione both blushed intensely, and Harry's eyes
immediately fell onto Ron and Ginny. To his relief, both
were clapping and beaming at the two of them. Harry
smiled, and the two of them, Hermione's eyes watering a
little, sat down at the table.
'So you finally pulled it off hey Harry' Dean clapped, giving
Harry a pat on the back. Harry smiled, and sat down in
front of Ron, and the two men looked at each other for a
moment.
'Way to go mate' Ron said with a lighthearted chuckle. He
extended his hand, and Harry, laughing and feeling his
eyes water, accepted, and they shared a firm handshake.
Harry then started getting some food, wiping his eyes
before tears could form.
'So did you open your gifts?' Ron asked, taking a bite of
some toast.
'Actually no, we didn't' Hermione answered.
'Too busy I imagine?' Dean offered, the group breaking
into laughter; Harry and Hermione both ducking their
heads and blushing. Everyone continued with breakfast in
a lighthearted mood, and Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna,
and Ginny came back to the East Tower.
'Thanks for the gift Harry. It's amazing!' Ron expressed
happily. Harry got Ron an invisibility cloak from the twin's
shop, since Harry's was too small now to fit over more
than two people.
'So what did Harry get you for Christmas?' Ginny asked
Hermione. She pulled out the silver locket, and showed it
to Ginny. Ginny looked in closely, and opened it and read
the inscription.
'Oh, that's so sweet Harry' Ginny said. Harry smiled, and
they approached Evander.
'Hello everyone. Merry Christmas! Password?'
'Snitches and studying. We need a new one though'
Hermione said, looking over to Harry.
'Um, how about-' Harry leaned over, and whispered into
her ear. She smiled when he pulled away.
'Perfect. It's different than the others, but shouldn't be a
problem' Hermione attested. They looked up, and Evander
beamed at them.
'New password will be "traditions and tarts' Harry
announced. Evander bowed slowly, and his portrait swung
open. Ron gave Harry an odd look as they all made their
way in.
'How is that different?' he asked. Hermione turned and
explained.
'Before, all the passwords were just something Harry
loved, and something I loved put together. "Broomsticks
and Books", you know, things like that. "Traditions and
tarts" however, are things both of us like.' Ron nodded,
and laughed, thinking only Hermione would put so much
thought into a ruddy password.
Harry and Hermione went ahead, and opened their gifts.
Ron gave Harry a very interesting watch. Much like the
clock at the Weasley homestead, this watch had several
hands, each having a small face attached to the end. The
place where numbers usually appeared, were instead
substituted by letters.
'What do the letters mean?' Harry asked. Ron took out a
folded piece of parchment, and squinted at the small
handwriting.
'Well, it's a lot like the clock at the Burrow. "S" means
school, "T" means traveling, "L" means lost, "MP" still
means mortal peril. Here, take a look.'
'Great, there's even a "D"' Harry noticed.
'What does that stand for?' Ron asked.
'Dead.'
'Oh . . . well, I'm sure none of us will be pointing at that
anytime soon.' Ron smiled, looking over to Hermione,
Ginny, and Luna, giving a smile. Harry thanked Ron for
the gift, asking him to the side for a moment while
Hermione was opening Ginny's gift, Luna looking on.
'Ron, are you sure about me and Hermione?' Harry looked
at Ron carefully, and found Ron give a sigh, and his
shoulders lower slightly.
'I'm happy for you two. Really, I am' Ron said.
'You're not saying everything' Harry responded. Ron
looked out the window, and sighed again.
'Sorry, it'll just take some getting used to. Don't worry
Harry, I'm happy, I really am; it just takes some time.'
Harry turned to check on the girls, and looked back at
Ron.
'It's the same with you and Luna. It's strange seeing you
two together, but I'm happy for you.' Ron turned, and
smiled. 'We're good?' Harry asked.
'Can you just keep the kissing quiet for a while?' Ron
requested quietly.
'No problem' Harry answered. Ron smiled again, and the
two returned to the Christmas tree. The four of them
stayed in the common room for a while, and left at noon
for lunch. Harry, along with a reluctant Ron, wore Mrs.
Weasley's sweaters. Harry's was dark green, with a gold
lion on the front. Ron, who was expecting a red sweater,
was pleased to see it was blue this year, with a red "R" on
it.
At supper that night, while everyone enjoyed the
Christmas Feast—Hermione disregarding the work of the
house elves and digging in-Harry noticed someone was
missing.
'Where's Topher?' he asked. Hermione and Ron looked up
at the staff table, and their faces became confused.
'I thought he was staying around for Christmas?' Ron
asked.
'He did say that' Harry answered. Hermione took another
glance up and shrugged.
'I wouldn't worry about it Harry. Maybe he had some work
do to.'
Once the feast was finished, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and
Luna went back to the East Tower common room, and
played Exploding Snap. They invited Ginny, but she was
meeting up with a friend to exchange gifts.
'Who is this guy?' Ron asked angrily. Ginny rolled her
eyes.
'I'm not saying. You'll just go and try to scare him away
you git.' With that, she turned, and walked towards
Gryffindor Tower.
Harry and Hermione sat closely together, and enjoyed the
time with Ron and Luna. Luna left after a short while, and
Ron stayed for a few moments with his best friends.
'I wonder if Mum and Dad are doing alright' Ron pondered,
sitting down in one of the chairs.
'When are they due back?' Hermione asked, who was
sitting on the rug in front of the hearth.
'Tomorrow afternoon. We're supposed to go and see
them. Are you guys coming?'
'Sure, if it's alright?' Harry asked.
'Of course it is' Ron answered, giving a stretch. 'Well, I
should get going. Congrats guys' he expressed, getting
up. Hermione got up, and gave him a hug.
'Thanks Ron. Congratulations to you and Luna too' Ron
smiled, and waving to Harry, left the common room.
Hermione walked over, and sat down in her chair. She
looked at Harry, who was sitting in his chair, and she
smiled at him.
'So are you going to see your parents?' Harry asked. She
stretched slowly, and nodded in the process.
'Probably after tomorrow for a few days' she responded.
She stood up, and walked over to Harry. She leaned down
and kissed him on the cheek, then stood back up again.
'Night Harry.'
'Goodnight Hermione.' She ambled her way up to her
dormitory. Harry stayed in the common room for a few
moments, then made his own way up to his inviting bed.
The next day, Harry along with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny
went to the Burrow to meet up with the rest of the Weasley
family. Bill and Fleur were planning on coming, as well as
the twins. Charlie was too busy with work to come, and
Mrs. Weasley once again sent an invitation to Percy, but
received no reply.
Harry and the rest were sent to the Burrow via Floo
connection in Professor Fourmove's office, which was
McGonagall's office the previous year. They all arrived
safely, and everyone except the twins were present, and
of course Percy.
'How was France?' Ron asked, as his mother gave him a
bone-crushing hug.
'Just wonderful. How is school? You don't write nearly as
much as I'd like' she expressed, moving over and giving
the same kind of hug to Hermione.
'Hogwarts is doing great. They're worried about how many
students aren't returning, but we won't know until classes
start' Hermione answered. Mrs. Weasley then moved to
Ginny, and embraced her.
'Ginny has a boyfriend' Ron interjected. Ginny gave a
glare worthy of her mother, and Mrs. Weasley smiled at
her only daughter.
'That's nice to hear Ginny. Who is it?' Ginny whispered
into her mother's ear for a moment, and Mrs. Weasley's
face grew a pleasant smile.
'That's wonderful Ginny. And don't worry, not a word' she
added, turning and giving Ron a stern look. Ginny beamed
sarcastically to Ron, and he sighed, rolling his eyes.
'How are you Harry?' Mrs. Weasley asked, getting back to
the hugs. She hugged Harry tightly, and he couldn't
answer until she retracted.
'I'm fine' Harry answered. She looked him over for a
moment, then smiled at him. All of them then made their
way to the kitchen, were supper was being set up. Harry
and Hermione brought up the rear, and just before they
sat down, Mrs. Weasley turned and gasped when she saw
them.
'Are you two seeing each other?' she breathed. Harry
looked over, and realized they were holding hands.
Everyone in the room was looking at the two, and Harry
smiled.
'Yeah, we are.' Mrs. Weasley paused for a moment still
looking at them, as if checking to see if it was true; then
moved around the table, and hugged both of them tightly.
'Oh, I'm so happy for both of you!' she expounded happily.
Arthur, Bill, and Fleur were all smiling at them, as well as
Ron and Ginny. Bill got up, and turned to his father with a
triumphant grin, his fang earring dangling around.
'I believe that's five Galleons dad' he announced happily.
Arthur stubbornly reached into his pocket, and pulled out
five gold coins, giving them to his son with an ill look on
his face.
'Thank you!' Bill smiled, putting the coins in the pocket of
his black jacket he was wearing. He sat back down, and
noticed the odd looks on everyone's faces.
'I bet dad Harry and Hermione would be together by
Christmas' he explained to everyone. Hermione looked
over at him in surprise.
'Of course, you were Head Boy! So who was the Head
Girl?' she asked eagerly. Bill shifted in his seat, and
looked to his wife.
'Her name was Leanna. Leanna Lisenox. We started going
out in our last year, around Christmas. We kept seeing
each other after Hogwarts, but she died less than a month
after being out of school.'
'Oh, I'm sorry Bill' Hermione said sympathetically. Bill
smiled, and gave Fleur a small squeeze.
'It was a long time ago, and besides; things are great now'
he affirmed. Everyone started on supper, and after twenty
minutes or so, a knock came at the front door. Mr.
Weasley got up, his wand in his hand, and yelled through
the door.
'Who is it?'
'It's us, Fred and George. Open the bloody door, it's
freezing out here!' Fred answered, though muffled from
the door. Mr. Weasley put his head down for a moment in
thought, then looked back at the door.
'What did Harry get Ron for Christmas?' he asked. Ron
mentioned Harry's gift to the family just a few minutes
earlier.
'An invisibility cloak, now open the ruddy door!' George
answered. Arthur opened the door, and the twins finally
made their way inside, trampling the snow off their feet.
'About time! Why are you late?' Mrs. Weasley questioned
sternly. The twins looked at each other, and then surveyed
everyone.
'Sorry Mum. Got caught up at work. Hi guys!' George
answered, taking off his coat, and taking a seat, along with
Mr. Weasley. Fred stayed standing, and looked slightly
fidgety.
'What's wrong Fred?' Bill asked, putting down his fork
down.
'Nothing. Um, Hermione, can I ask you something?' he
asked hesitantly.
'Sure, what is it?' she asked. Fred looked at George, then
looked back to Hermione.
'Well, it's sort of private. Can I ask you upstairs?' he asked
again. Hermione quirked her brow, but nodded. She stood,
and walked up the staircase, Fred in tow. Harry watched
them wondrously, and Ron tapped him on the shoulder.
'Probably about a new product' he reckoned. Harry started
back at his chicken, and conversation continued.
'How is business going George? You must be the only
store left open on Diagon Alley' Mr. Weasley stated.
George looked up the staircase, and didn't answer his
father.
'George!' Arthur shouted. George's head snapped back,
and looked to his father, and moved his food around on
his plate.
'Sorry. Business is booming of course. How is Hogwarts?'
he asked, turning to Harry.
'Hogwarts is fine. Professors are worried about how many
students are coming back, but it should be alright. Are you
OK?' he asked. George was acting a little odd, and kept
looking at the staircase.
'No, of course, I'm-'
Right then, the door slammed open, and Baldric Branwen
came running in. His face looked immensely determined,
and when he observed the scene, his eyes came square
on George. George, his face horrified, threw his chair
backwards, and stood, reaching for his wand. Baldric
raised his wand quicker though.
'Stupify!' he yelled. Geroge became rigid, and fell over with
a dull thud. Everyone at the table stood instantly, and
looked at Baldric in astonishment, all their wands pointed
at the intruder.
'What are you doing!' Mrs. Weasley roared. Baldric closed
the door, through which wind and snow was blowing in,
and turned around.
'Wait! Baldric, what's your favourite Quidditch team?' Harry
asked the tall, gangly looking man. It was a while ago they
talked about Quidditch, but Harry remembered.
'The Falmouth Falcons, always and forever' he answered.
Harry knew it was correct, because Baldric told him he
always said "always and forever", because he was from
Falmouth. Everyone looked at Harry, and he nodded,
signalling it was the correct answer.
'I went to check on the twins, and found them unconscious
in the back of their shop. I called Tonks to the shop, and
came here as soon as possible. Where's the imposter
Fred?' Baldric asked quickly. Harry's eyes opened wide,
and he frantically bolted towards the stairs, while everyone
yelled at him to wait.
He didn't know what he could walk into, if they were even
there. He was so upset with himself for just letting
someone walk in and take Hermione like that. He
continued to hope she was still there, and alright.
He came to the second floor landing, and pushed open
Ginny's room to find a bizarre sight.
Hermione was standing on the side of the room, her wand
pointing at another Hermione who was lying on the floor.
When Harry entered the room, the standing Hermione
looked up at him and beamed warmly at him.
'Harry, it wasn't Fred. He brought me up here, and
knocked me out. He must have taken Polyjuice Potion,
because when I came to, he, or I should say she, was just
about to take my wand, but I jinxed her just in time' she
explained. The Hermione on the floor began to stir, and
the standing Hermione moved forward, her wand pointing
right at the other girl's heart.
'Uh . . . Harry! Harry, it's me, Hermione! She's an
imposter!' the Hermione on the floor professed. By now,
Ron and Baldric made their way up, and were standing
behind Harry observing the situation.
'How are we going to tell?' Baldric asked. Harry knew of a
sure way of knowing, but wasn't looking forward to doing
it.
'Lower your wand' he said to the standing Hermione. She
looked at him for a moment, and took a step forward at the
Hermione on the ground.
'She's the imposter!'
'If you're the real Hermione, you'll trust me' Harry said
slowly. Hermione still looked agitated, but lowered her
wand. Ron came in, and took her wand, as well as the one
on the floor, and stood back. Harry approached the
Hermione on the floor, and knelt down; pointing his wand
at her forehead.
'Legilimens'
Harry concentrated hard, and must have caught her off
guard. There were no barriers, and he immediately found
hundreds of memories flashing in his mind. He slowed
them down, and found a silvery memory of two people in a
wooded area. He focused more, and plunged into the
memory.
Two people were hugging each other in a dark backyard.
A black haired boy was breathing deeply, while a short
brown haired girl cried quietly. Harry could see the girl
sniffling, and burying her head in his shoulder.
'Be careful Harry, please' she whispered, her voice that of
Hermione's. The boy stroked her back tenderly, and slowly
moved his hands to her face, and moved so they looked at
each other.
'I will be fine, and you will be too, alright? Everything will
be fine' the boy affirmed, his voice that of Harry's. They
looked at each other, and Hermione began nodding
slowly. She looked up at him, smiled warmly, and moved
in, kissing his cheek sweetly. Harry was blushing when
she retracted, and the memory began to shimmer.
Harry pulled out of the spell, and found himself looking at
Hermione on the floor of Ginny's room. She was smiling at
him, and he grinned at her for a moment, then turned to
the other Hermione. The fake Hermione looked at Harry,
and lunged at Ron's hand, where he held the wands.
'Petrificus Totalus!' Harry yelled, but it was too late. The
imposter was able to grab his or her wand, and Apparated
before the spell hit. Baldric swore loudly, then came in and
looked at Hermione.
'Are you alright?' he asked. Hermione slowly got up,
helped by Harry, and nodded.
'He said they were coming here soon' she explained.
Baldric looked at Ron, then Harry, and stood up.
'We need more Order members here now. I need to go
and get them' he stated. He started out the door, but Harry
stopped him.
'Wait. You need to stay with the imposter downstairs. The
Order is everywhere; it'll take time to get people. I'll get
them here' he assured. Baldric looked down the stairs,
then nodded assertively to Harry.
'I'll come' Hermione declared.
'Me too' Ron added. The three of them made their way
back downstairs, and found Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, and
Ginny watching the fake George carefully-Bill with his
wand trained on the imposter's chest. Mrs. Weasley was
crying, while looking out the darkened window. She saw
the three coming down, and she ran over and hugged
Hermione.
'Oh dear, are you alright?'
'I'm fine, thanks to Harry. The imposter Fred said Death
Eaters were coming here soon.'
'Soon! Oh no, we need to Floo the Order now! Arthur went
to check the twin's shop' Mrs. Weasley stammered,
walking over to the hearth hurriedly, and getting some
Floo Powder. Harry walked to the door, and looked at the
fake and unconscious George on the floor, then to Mrs.
Weasley.
'I'm going to get Order members, don't worry Mrs.
Weasley' said Harry. He walked out before she could ask
how or protest, and Ron and Hermione followed. Harry
walked a few meters out from the house, his feet
crunching on the ground and the darkness of the night
surrounding him and the others, and turned back. Ron and
Hermione stood next to him, and he thought hard of
various Order members. He raised his wand, so it pointed
just above The Burrow.
Just as he was about to say his spell, numerous cracks
resounded around them in the darkness. They looked
around quickly, and ran as fast as they could to some
nearby trees. Green, purple, and red spells rained down
on them as they moved, and when Harry turned around
after he reached the cover of a tree, he could see at six or
more black cloaked Death Eaters standing in the garden.
At least three were moving towards them, while the others
started towards the house.
'Stupify!' Hermione yelled, hitting one of the approaching
Death Eaters. The cloaked figure fell over, and the other
two intensified their assault. Harry needed to call more
Order members here before they entered the house.
'Cover me!' Harry ordered to his friends. Ron, and
Hermione moved around, and continued to shoot
Disarming and Stunning Spells, while Harry moved closer
to the house. He once again thought of Order members,
and raised his wand quickly.
'Phoenicreo!' he bellowed. A massive fireball erupted from
his wand, and exploded above the house, to show a huge
and fire-made phoenix. It spread its wide wings, and
inclined its head upwards, making a shiver run up Harry's
spine, while he continued to think of various Order
members. Death Eaters stopped their approach to the
doorway, and turned around.
A few apprehensive seconds later, numerous pops
occurred around them. Tonks, Moody, Shacklebolt were
present, along with Charlie, Topher, Professor Flitwick,
and a few others. Wasting no time, they began dueling
fiercy with the Death Eaters.
Harry moved back to the others, and luckily found them
alright-though some of the branches around them were
badly singed. Tonks and Charlie were battling with the
nearby Death Eaters, and the three Hogwarts students
came slowly out of the trees, and tried to help.
'Stupify!' Harry yelled at one of the black cloaked figures.
The person fell over, and Tonks, who was dueling with the
man, ran over.
'Are you alright? What's happened?' she asked hurriedly.
'The twins were attacked. We don't know if they're alive,
but their attackers took Polyjuice Potion, and came here.
We stopped them early enough, but Hermione said one of
them mentioned more Death Eaters coming soon.' Harry
looked around, and saw Kingsley get hit in the leg with a
spell. Mad-Eye Moody was nearby, and cast a Disarming
Spell on the Death Eater. The cloaked figure was blown
back and hit the ground unconscious.
Another pop came in the midst of the cracks and whips of
spells, and Mr. Weasley appeared. He glanced at the
scene for a moment startled, then started helping Topher,
who was bleeding badly from one of his arms.
It must have been obvious to the Death Eaters, as it was
to Harry, that they were loosing. Death Eaters that were
not unconscious took one glance around, and Apparated
away, while two or three were left lying on the ground.
Some of the Order members made their way to the
Hogwarts students, while others secured the area and
went into the house to check inside.
'Are you three alright?' Mr. Weasley asked, his voice
sounding winded. Harry and the rest nodded.
'The twins were brought to St. Mungo's. Fred didn't look
too good, but they're safe now. I need you three and Ginny
to go back to Hogwarts, now' he dictated. Harry could see
Ron about to protest, but Hermione cut in first.
'Please Mr. Weasley, can we go to St. Mungo's instead?'
Hermione proposed, receiving a grin from Ron. Mr.
Weasley sighed, and nodded.
'Can you go with them Filius?' Arthur asked the short man.
He nodded, and walked over to Harry and Hermione. Ron
went and returned with Ginny, telling her where they were
going.
They all Apparated to St. Mungo's, and went up to the
forth floor where the twins were being treated. All five of
them had to painfully wait in a small waiting room at the
end of the hallway. Ginny was sobbing into Ron's
shoulder, and Harry was rubbing Hermione's hand, as she
looked blankly at the floor. All they were told when they
came in was that George looked like he would be alright,
but Fred was not doing as well.
'Are you alright?' Harry asked Hermione. She snapped out
of her trance, and nodded lightly.
'I was worried, I'll admit it, but I knew you would catch on.'
'Sorry . . . about using Legilimency' Harry said quietly,
looking down at his feet.
'It's fine Harry. Really, it didn't hurt, and I like that memory
anyways' she answered, lifting his head. He smiled, and
they gave each other a short kiss. The four of them, along
with Professor Flitwick waited for a while before hearing
any news from either The Burrow, or the room down the
hall.
Finally, around one hour later, Tonks, Charlie, and Mr.
Weasley came onto the floor. Ginny jumped out of her
chair, and hugged her father like a little girl would hug her
daddy. He smiled, and returned it, and they came to the
others.
'Is everyone alright?' Hermione asked. Arthur shook his
head.
'Kingsley took a bad jinx to one of his legs, but he's getting
checked out. That other fellow, what's his name, Toper?'
'Topher' Harry offered.
'Yes, he was clipped by an odd curse right after he
Apparated. Ripped up his arm pretty bad. He's downstairs
getting checked. Any news on Fred and George?'
'Nothing. They said George was sleeping, and should be
fine, but no word on Fred' Ron relayed. Arthur lowered his
head, and placed it in his hands, giving a sigh.
'I told them to close the store, I told them!' he muttered to
himself. Ginny came over, and looked at her father,
placing a hand on his back.
'It's not your fault dad.' He nodded, but kept his head on
his lap. Just then, Mrs. Weasley, along with Bill and Fleur
came onto the floor, and Arthur gave his wife a hug. She
was still crying, and muttering into her husband's ear.
'Mr. and Mrs. Weasley?' a Healer asked behind them,
holding a small white clipboard. They broke their embrace,
and looked at the short man who spoke. Everyone got up,
and gathered around to hear any news.
'George will be alright. He was under a few odd curses,
but we managed to clear them up' the Healer stated.
Everyone still stood on their tip-toes to hear the rest.
'And Fred?' Mrs. Weasley asked shakily, tears again
brimming on her eyes. The Healer looked down at his
clipboard silently, and Mrs. Weasley began to sob more.
Harry's mind was already formulating what the Healer was
going to say.
'I'm sorry, but we couldn't save him' the short man spoke.
Everyone stood motionless for a moment, then Mrs.
Weasley howled in pain, and collapsed into her husband's
chest, crying like Harry never saw before. Mr. Weasley's
eyes began to brim, and he started to cry as well.
The entire group slowly looked at each other in shock, and
enveloped Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in a sorrowful hug.
Harry-who was at first too stunned to cry-began realizing
he would never again see or talk to Fred ever again.
The group stood there for what felt like an eternity,
drowning in their grief for the loss of such a wonderful
person. The twins were no more; it would only be George.
Harry felt like the natural order of the world was broken,
and tears formed in his eyes, and he hugged harder,
Hermione on his right, Ron on his left. They both looked at
him with tears flowing down their cheeks, and squeezed
his shoulders in support.
It was the first loss for the Weasley family in the Second
War, and deep down, below the tears and sorrow, Harry
prayed it would be the only one.
Spell / Name Meanings:
Leanna Lisenox - Lee (Old Eng. "leah" meadow) + Anna
(Latinate form of Hannah), Lisen (L. "licens" free) + ox (L.
"ferox" spirit) (Lisenox free spirit)

- CHAPTER TWENTY -
 Guardians of Hogwarts
The funeral took place two days later. Mrs. Weasley was
beyond sad-she was completely devastated. Mr. Weasley,
along with the rest of the family helped in the grieving
process, but everyone had a terrible time.
They stayed in St. Mungo's for that first night, to stay by
George. As hard as it was for everyone, they knew the
hardest hit would be George. Waking up to find his
brother-his best friend-his equal, was no more; Harry
couldn't comprehend how he would feel.
When George did stir, Mr. Weasley was the one to break
the news. Harry could see in George's face that he knew
something was wrong before he was told. He woke up,
and looked around to find Fred, and only found an empty
bed next to him.
The family took turns consoling, and just supporting
George. Everyone went in one at a time, and made sure
never to leave him alone. As much as he might ask to be
left alone, they never did. George continued to talk about
times he and Fred shared, and some of their lesser known
pranks that they accomplished. Harry's time in the room
made him miss Fred even more, but also made sure he
would never forget him either.
George was brought home to The Burrow the next day. He
stayed in his old room, and Bill and Charlie cleaned up the
store, and closed it up properly for the time. One of
George's assistants, Verity, came and tried to help
George. They were close, the family found out, and
George seemed to open up with her.
On the day of the funeral, everyone made their way quietly
to a nearby hill not far from The Burrow. Harry never
ventured this way, and when he arrived at the top, he
found a small white-picket fence surrounding a small
cemetery. A wide branching Oak tree stood near the
middle of the stones, and provided a skeleton-like canopy;
the dark brown contrasting greatly against the grey sky
and ivory snow.
The ceremony was somber and quiet. Mrs. Weasley wept
while the Cleric performed the funeral rights. Mr. Weasley,
along with Bill held onto her tightly. George stood like a
statue, lost in perpetual sorrow and grief. Charlie, Ron,
Ginny, Harry, and Hermione stood close to George for
support. A cold December wind blew through the group,
which also included numerous Order members, Hogwarts
professors, many regulars at the joke shop, and people
from George's year at Hogwarts, including Lee Jordan.
Once the Cleric finished, he gave his wand a slow wave,
and the ground covered over the casket. The Weasley
family had a long tradition of burying their relatives in a
manner much like that of muggles. The Cleric then came
and handed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Fred's wand. Mrs.
Weasley was too overwhelmed to accept it, and Mr.
Weasley-tears trickling down his cheeks—grasped his
son's wand, and nodded thankfully to the Cleric.
With an immense amount of tears in his eyes, Mr.
Weasley looked to his family, and down at his downcast
wife. His waterlogged eyes then moved to the area where
Fred was buried. In a horribly slow and painful move, he
took hold of Fred's wand with both of his hands.
The wind died, and everyone was silent. Closing his eyes,
and allowing a sob to exit his mouth, Mr. Weasley-in pure
and utter anguish—snapped his late-son's wand. The
sound of the snapping wood echoed across the open
plain, and seemed intensified by the lack of wind or even
breath from the mourners.
Mrs. Weasley doubled over in grief as the sound
penetrated her soul, and Mr. Weasley held on to her
tightly, the wand fragments now held in his hand firmly.
His fingers ran the length of the wood behind Mrs.
Weasley's back, and he cried as a mourning father would
for his lost son. People watching the scene cried for the
parents, and Hermione held Harry's arm for support, as
she wiped her tears.
Mr. Weasley recovered himself enough after a few
moments, and began helping his wife down the hill.
Everyone made their way back to The Burrow silently, and
sat down to talk with each other quietly. Most conversation
revolved around Fred, and how wonderful a person he
was in life. The pranks he made with George, and the time
they went through the halls in Hogwarts with Harry yelling
'Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard
coming through" in his second year were talked about,
along with many other wonderful memories that—even in
the sad atmosphere—made people smile.
Harry felt it helped George a lot to have so many people
there helping him and the family. Although he never
smiled, Harry could tell he was improving, if only slightly.
He did worry if George would ever return to the fun-loving
person he used to be, but only time would tell.
Hermione went through the Weasley family, and gave
them her sympathies and good-byes. She was leaving to
go and see her own family for a few days. She and Mrs.
Weasley held a long and drawn out hug, and both women
cried in each others arms. Hermione then took Harry by
the hand, and they walked outside by themselves.
'I'll be back at Hogwarts in a few days' she said quietly to
Harry as they walked into the snow covered garden. They
stopped a few meters from the house, and Hermione
turned to face Harry. She draped her arms around Harry,
their coats making the move harder to do than usual, and
they kissed short, but sweetly.
Hermione pulled back, and she glanced up to the hill with
the Oak tree. Tears began brimming, as they had for many
people that day, and she hugged Harry tightly.
'Harry I'm so worried' she admitted to Harry's shoulder.
Harry squeezed back, and stroked her rippled and slightly
frizzed hair.
'Don't worry Hermione. Just see your parents, and enjoy
the time. I'll see you when you come back alright?' he
asked encouragingly. Hermione stayed in the hug, and
she nodded. They parted, and he gave her a kiss. She
took a few steps back, and sighed.
She gave a small wave, Harry retuning it, and she
Apparated to her home. Harry looked up at the hill for a
moment, the cold December wind nipping at his nose,
then returned to The Burrow.
Harry went and sat by Ron in the sitting room. He and
Ginny were sitting with Bill and Fleur; all of whom were
quiet. Ron gave Harry a placid smile, and looked back to
the fire. Harry looked around the room, and found George
moving towards the small group, facing Harry. Everyone
stood up, and George put a shaky hand on Harry's
shoulder. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, and his face
was pale.
'Whatever you need to defeat Voldemort—whatever you
want—I'll make it' he asserted. It was the most confident
sentence Harry heard him say since he was released from
St. Mungo's.
'Thanks George. We'll get him' Harry answered strongly,
placing a hand on George's shoulder. George's
expression turned to one of determination and hardness,
and the two hugged each other tightly. Ron pat his
brother's shoulder, and George gave him a shadow of a
smile, and turned to Ginny to hug her. Harry faced Ron
with a new found sense of confidence.
'We need to find out what the Order knows about the
attack. There had to be a reason behind it' Harry
reasoned. Ron nodded, and the two of them made their
way to a group of Order members, including Tonks,
Shacklebolt—who's leg was working fine now-, Lupin, and
a few others.
'How are you doing Harry?' Remus asked, looking tired
and drained, the creases on his face as apparent as ever.
'I'm fine. I figured you would still be transformed; that's
why I didn't think to call you to help' Harry responded. He
remembered the full moon on Christmas Eve, and knew it
took Remus a few days to recover.
'Yes, I figured as much, thank you. I am sad to hear about
Fred, but glad to hear no one else was hurt seriously.
Might I ask where you learned how to perform the Phoenix
Fire?'
'Sorry, the what?' Harry asked.
'Phoenix Fire. It's the spell Dumbledore always used to
gather Order members when needed. Last time he used it
was the night your parents died' Lupin explained.
'I saw it in his Pensieve, and in a spell book. I thought I'd
try it out' Harry answered. Lupin smiled, and Moody looked
surprised. Well, as surprised as a man with one electric
blue eye could look like.
'Try it out? You mean that was your first time doing it
Potter?' the ex-Auror asked gruffly. Harry nodded
diminutively, and Moody looked at Lupin.
'The Phoenix Fire is a very hard spell; that's why
Dumbledore was the only one to use it. You must have
been very focused to make it work. Well done!' Lupin
praised. Harry couldn't help his cheeks blush a little with
the praise, and turned his mind to the reason he came and
saw the group of men.
'Does the Order have any ideas why the attack
happened?' he asked.
'So far, we think Voldemort wanted to make an example of
Fred and George. They continued on working like nothing
was wrong, and he probably didn't like that. The imposter
who was captured was a younger man; totally devoted to
Voldemort. He's in Azkaban now, along with the captured
Death Eaters, but they told the Ministry what their plan
was' Remus explained.
'So what was it?' Ron asked.
'They were going to enter The Burrow, and try to learn as
much as possible about Hogwarts and, more specifically,
you Harry. One was even supposed to impersonate
Hermione if he could. The two would stay in here with the
family until the surprise Death Eater attack. This way, they
could either stay with the family if the attack failed, or turn
on the family and surprise them by attacking. It was lucky
Baldric checked on the twins, or it could have been a lot
worst.' Remus rubbed his forehead, and Tonks placed a
comforting hand on his shoulder.
'Where is Baldric?' Ron asked. Remus looked up, and
placed a short smile on his face, trying to stave off his
tiredness.
'He had some business at the Ministry. He'll be around
later I'm sure' he answered.
'How is your leg Kingsley?' Harry asked. The tall man lifted
his leg, and stretched it back for show.
'Good as new. Got hit by three separate spells at once,
made for a bad combination' he answered in his deep
voice. Harry looked around for a moment for the other
injury from the night, and for the second time that week,
noticed someone missing.
'Was Topher not invited?' Harry inquired. Ron looked
around as well, and shrugged his shoulders.
'He was, but he asked me to give you this' Tonks said,
giving Harry a sealed piece of parchment. Harry ran his
wand over the seal, and opened it.
Dear Harry,
My injury healed, and I am sorry I could not make it to
Fred's funeral. I had pressing matters to attend to
regarding my research, of which I would like you to see
when you return to Hogwarts.
Please give my regards to the Weasley family in my
absence.
Sincerely,
Topher
Harry folded up the parchment, and put it in his pocket.
When he looked up, he found the group around him
looking at him expectantly.
'He said he was busy doing research' Harry answered,
everyone nodding their understanding.
'You know, I saw him in the Ministry a few days ago'
Tonks mentioned.
'In the Ministry?' Ron asked, giving Harry a strange look.
Tonks nodded.
'Yeah, making his way to the administration offices on the
Level One. I didn't know he was your DADA professor,
otherwise I would have said hello.' Ron again gave a
strange look to Harry, and he understood his meaning.
What was Topher doing in the Ministry for Magic? He
never mentioned going there, or needing to go there.
Going back to the message, he mentioned more research.
Harry decided for the time, to keep his ponderings and
wonders low, and continue to be with his family.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny returned to Hogwarts two days
later. The mood in The Burrow remained quiet and
solemn, but Harry could feel the healing process taking
place when he left. Mrs. Weasley's crying was lessened,
and George started talking more to everyone, and started
spending less time in his old room.
The entire family, the day Harry returned to Hogwarts,
went to the shop, to slowly allow the healing to continue,
and was surprised by an amazing outpour of mourning.
In front of the door, where the closed sign hung, hundreds
of flowers were laid on the snow. Deep pink and white
Roses stood out from the rest, all laid in pairs—no singles,
and no bunches. Light purple Statices and various colours
of Zinnias made the memorial burst with colour and
warmth against the pale grey of the snow; while mingled
within the Roses and colour, the constant blue of Forget-
Me-Not brought the whole scene to completeness.
Littered within the grief-grown flower garden, dozens upon
dozens of notes of gratitude and sadness to both Fred and
George were present. Picking a few up, George cried at
the wonderful messages of thanks and encouragement to
fight on that was held within the notes. The family left the
flowers be, and everyone returned to The Burrow, were
Harry and the others left back to Hogwarts through the
fireplace.
When they arrived, Professor McGonagall gave her
sympathies to them all and their family. Harry told her of
Hermione's visit to her parents, and she nicely decided to
wait until after she returned to have a meeting with the two
of them about this next month and duties.
Walking through the hallways towards the East Tower,
Harry was surprised at the number of students. Some
must have come back earlier, because the number on
Christmas was not as high as he was seeing. Of course it
was not near the number in a regular year, or the number
before Christmas Holidays, but it was promising.
Wasting no time, Harry put his items in his dormitory, sent
his letter to Hermione using the same owl she was allowed
to use during the past summer, Capella, and made his
way to the Defence classroom.
Harry knocked on the door, and found no sound coming
from inside. He looked up and down the corridor, and
finding it empty, tried banging on the door. Finally, after
several moments, the door opened, and Topher peered
out.
'Harry! Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know you came back'
he said, inviting Harry inside. Harry entered, and turned
when he saw Topher once again sealing the door, and
casting a few silent charms on it.
'How was the service?' he asked, as he moved around,
and motioned Harry to sit in front of his desk, which had a
single sheet of very, very old yellowed parchment.
'Quiet, but nice.' Topher sat down, and nodded slowly.
'I am sorry I couldn't be there. After my arm was healed, I
needed to come back here right away.'
'Where were you on Christmas? You weren't in the Great
Hall for the feast' Harry inquired. Topher smiled—with both
sides—and leaned back a little.
'Very attentive Harry. I was busy doing my research. I wish
I could have done it another day, but I was allowed an
opportunity I couldn't pass. How was your Christmas?' he
asked, Harry knowing he was trying to steer the
conversation away from his research.
'It was fine. Why were you in the Ministry for Magic?' Harry
let out. Harry was worried if he was becoming too nosy,
but relaxed when Topher again smiled, even larger than
before.
'You catch everything, don't you? Yes, I was in the
Ministry, on Christmas in fact' he divulged.
'Doing what, if you don't mind me asking?' Harry, in the
few seconds that passed, realized he should be a little
less demanding with the man—who not only just a week
earlier showed him his parents graves—but also was a
professor, and on his side.
'I don't mind at all Harry, really. I have a friend, actually
one of Dumbledore's friends, that allowed me access to a
very old room. The lack of staff in the Ministry made it
easier to do on Christmas' Topher explained quietly, as if
still worried someone could hear, even though he
obviously put a Silencing Charm on the room.
'And old room? Where?' Harry asked, some of his wonder
escaping into his voice.
'Have you ever been in the lower levels of the Ministry?'
'Yeah, I was charged with underage wizardry when I was
fifteen, and had my trial in Courtroom Ten, on Level Ten.'
'Along the hallway to the courtroom there are rooms that
run off, with large wooden doors. They're record rooms,
where the Ministry stores all its very old parchment
records, incase they need them.' Harry's brow furrowed
slightly at the news.
'Why did you need Ministry records?' he asked. Topher
stood up beaming again, and pulled out the parchment roll
Harry had seen before, with the snake and figures.
'The magic on this scroll' he explained, pointing to the
scroll, 'is said to be Egyptian. As I told you, most—if not
all—the remaining scrolls from Egypt are in the Ministry. I
know getting access to those will be impossible, but
finding the records of what the Ministry has is different. I
contacted this friend of Dumbledore, and asked him if he
could get the records. He did one better, and was able to
allow me access to the rooms. He told the guard it was for
a school project on History of Magic, and that he would
supervise.'
'So what did you find?' Topher put away the scroll with the
snake, and motioned to the ancient looking parchment that
was on his desk in the first place.
'This scroll here. It's very promising, because it talks about
an expedition into a very ancient, and powerfully magical
tomb, and the retrieval of many scrolls and other artifacts.'
'Why is that so different than any other expedition?' Harry
asked, some doubt in his voice. Topher bent down over
the scroll, and pointed at a section that looked to be
written in some odd form of writing and pictures.
'This is what makes this different' Topher remarked.
'What is it?' Harry got up, and moved around to see the
parchment correctly.
'The recorder wrote down a part of the hieroglyphics that
were found on some of the items recovered from the tomb'
Harry looked at the pictures, and tilted his head.
'But I remember seeing hieroglyphics at the museum when
I was a young, and they didn't look like this' he confessed.
Topher simply continued smiling, and nodding.
'Yes, because those were muggle hieroglyphics—these
are wizard's' he informed, sounding neither
condescending nor boastful.
'So, have you figured out what is says?' Harry asked
hesitantly. Topher shook his head, but pointed one of his
fingers at a prominent symbol.
'No, only this one' he professed. Harry looked down, and
found him pointing to a hieroglyph of something that
resembled a stork, followed by a semi-circle and two
diagonal lines.
'What does it mean?'
'Have you ever heard of Thoth?' Topher asked somewhat
dramatically. Wracking his brain, the name sounded
vaguely familiar to Harry; possibly from History of Magic.
'I think so. Wasn't he a really powerful wizard?' He never
liked History of Magic, but he hoped he was right here.
Where was Hermione when he needed her?
'The most powerful wizard to ever live actually. It was
written that he could control the sky and the earth, talk to
animals, and perform magic the world has never seen.
Muggles thought he was a God, and wrote him as the God
of wisdom, the moon, time, magic, and writing.
'It was believed, by wizard historians, that before Thoth
died, he wrote all his knowledge in a book. It was put in
the tomb of a prince, and protected by immortal guards
and countless powerful spells and curses.'
'And you think this record is of an expedition to that tomb?'
Harry questioned. Topher motioned Harry to sit back
down, and he did so. Topher then leaned back in his chair,
and put his fingers to his chin.
'That I'm unsure of. I still need to decipher the rest of the
scroll. But, I'll tell you this Harry; the Book of Thoth was
believed to have a terrible curse set upon it. Anyone to
remove it from the tomb would suffer a terrible life, and
death, if they didn't return it to its proper place of rest.'
'And?'
'And at the bottom of this scroll, the recorder wrote that all
the men on this expedition died within two months, along
with their families. Almost all died very horrifically, I might
add; some by dragons, some by horrible plagues, and so
on.' Harry leaned back, and let out an astonished breath,
however was still pessimistic about it all.
'So you think this, what was it, Oroborus thing, is in this
book, that you think the Ministry has, or had?' Harry
questioned. Topher chuckled a little, and smiled.
'I know, it sounds like a long shot. The Book of Thoth is
just a myth really. Those who believe it existed, think it
was lost thousands of years ago. The magic to defeat
Voldemort would definitely reside in the Book of Thoth
however, so I'm going to try. I still need to do more
research, and that's why I came here. With this revelation,
I think I'm on the right path. For the time, let me worry
about this, and you worry about your dueling lessons'
Topher asserted calmly.
'Yeah, well, I still need to plan those out' Harry admitted.
'I'd suggest you go and do that then' Topher said easily.
Harry smiled, and stood up, Topher doing the same.
'Oh, and well done with Hermione' he added. Harry's smile
increased, and Topher laughed.
'Thanks for the advice from before by the way' said Harry.
Topher came around the desk, and started to walk Harry
out leisurely.
'Not a problem Harry. I could see you needed a little kick
in the pants to get moving.' Topher and Harry bid farewell
to each other, and Harry returned to the East Tower. Once
he sat down at the desk, he started planning out his first
dueling lesson.
'Do you think a lot of people will show up?' Ron asked, as
he, Harry, and Hermione moved through the hallway. It
was the first week back, and the school numbers were
almost identical to that from before Christmas. Seamus
stayed, and many others that were debating not to before
did as well. Seamus himself said it was because of the
dueling lessons. That, and he didn't find the idea of
spending all that time around his grandmother to be too
exciting.
'I've had a lot of people ask me about the dueling club, so I
can imagine so' Hermione put in. So far, Harry had many
people come and ask him the time and place to go for the
meeting. Harry decided to have the lessons on
Wednesday nights, and once more, in the Room of
Requirement.
They started up the flight of stairs towards the seventh
floor. As they turned the corner, Harry found a mob of
people standing the hallway.
'Bloody hell!' Ron voiced, looking at Harry, his surprise
plainly showing on his face. Harry moved into the throng of
people, to where the doorway to the Room of Requirement
would be. One thing he did know; he would need to think
of a bigger room.
Ron and Hermione, knowing what to do, cleared some
space for Harry to think of the room he needed, while he
paced. Three times he walked across the barrier, and
finally a doorway appeared. He walked over, and opened
the door, while the others watched.
Walking in, Harry found the room to be a mixture of the
Great Hall, and the library. Although not as huge as the
Great Hall, it was wide and long, and more than large
enough for the new members of the club. Bookshelves
lined the stone walls, except for the ends where massive
stone-cut fireplaces stood, and red carpeting filled the
floor.
While the mass of students entered the room, Harry
walked towards the far end, where a heavy wood table
was sitting, with one blank scroll of parchment, a quill, and
a few wooden chairs sitting around it. Hermione walked up
behind Harry, as well as Ron, and both smiled at him.
'This will be perfect' Harry said gazing around the hall,
turning around and hearing the door close shut.
Over a hundred people now stood in the room, all looking
squarely at Harry. As if reading his mind, a small stage
appeared in front of him, and he stood on it, so even
people in the back could see him. He cleared his throat,
and was once again reminded about how he hated talking
in front of a crowd.
'Hello everyone. This is going to be the dueling club. For
starters, I am in charge. If you have a problem with me, or
start trouble, you're out. Next, this is for protection only.
Don't use these spells on friends, or for pranks. You do,
and you'll find yourself out of Hogwarts.' Everyone was
listening to Harry carefully, and the air seemed thick with
the seriousness of Harry's claims.
'To start, I need everyone to get in a line, and sign their
name on the parchment roll up here. People who were in
the DA, I need you up here first' Harry announced. He
came off the stage, and let out a sigh. Hermione beamed
at him, and started getting people in line, while Ron took
the parchment roll, and got it ready for people to sign.
Quickly, old members of the DA came to the front,
including Neville, Luna, Ginny, Susan Bones, both
Creevey brothers, Ernie Macmillan, Dean, and Seamus.
They all quickly signed their names, and made their way
over to Harry, who was standing away from the crowd of
chatting new members.
'Now this is a turn out!' Ernie cheered, the other members
agreeing. Harry smiled, and looked at the old members.
'I'll need you're help guys. Ernie is right, there's a lot of
people here, and I can't teach them all-'
'Harry' Seamus interrupted, 'we'll help, don't worry. This
isn't for us anymore, this is for Hogwarts.' The statement
shook Harry with its truth, and the other members agreed
with Seamus and his assessment.
'Thanks guys. Today I planned on just trying Disarming
Spells; simple and easy, since there are people from every
year. If you guys can just go through and help people out,
that'd be great' said Harry. Everyone nodded, and Harry
turned back to see the line halfway done. He went ahead
and sat down next to Ron and Hermione behind the table.
'Harry, this will be great. There are students from every
year, and every house. It's exactly like the Sorting Hat
said; "You all must stand together, and protect Hogwarts
from its foes"' Hermione proclaimed.
'Yeah, well I'm just-wait, how in the world did you
remember that?' Harry asked disbelievingly.
'Oh you know, a little Memory Potion here . . .'
'I knew it! You do take that stuff!' Ron expounded, turning
to the two of them. Hermione rolled her eyes, and smirked
at Harry. The final students signed their name on the now
long list, and Harry stood once again on the stage,
Hermione just off the stage behind him with the scroll.
'Alright, first thing we'll be doing-'
'Is coming up with a name' Hermione insisted. Harry
turned around, and she stood up on the stage next to
Harry, and smiled at the crowd.
'I thought we were using "Dumbledore's Army" again?'
Ginny asked, who was standing in front.
'We used Dumbledore's Army, because it was pertinent to
the time. Calling the club that now wouldn't make as much
sense. We need a name that reflects what we're doing'
Hermione justified. There was a slight murmur between
the students, and Colin Creevey spoke up
'We're defending Hogwarts, and ourselves' he put in.
People nodded, and the murmur continued.
'We're guardians' Luna voiced simply, but loud enough for
people to hear. The noise level lowered, and everyone
looked at her.
'Sorry?' Harry asked. Luna approached the stage and
explained.
'We're protectors of Hogwarts. That makes us guardians.'
The statement sounded good, but the effect was lessened
by Luna playing with her Butterbeer cork necklace, and
looking around at the lantern lights after she was done.
'Guardians of Hogwarts!' a few energetic students shouted
together after a second or two. Everyone clapped in
agreement, and Hermione smiled.
'Alright, Guardians of Hogwarts it is' she said, writing the
name on the top of the parchment.
'The Guard for short' Seamus added. The murmur grew
again, to one of excitement. Hermione mouthed sorry, and
Harry returned to his lesson.
'To start, I need everyone to pair up. We're going to start
with disarming spells.' The mass of students, moved into
pairs, and Harry and his helpers started moving through
the crowd helping students. Harry found that it helped to
pair the younger students together, and keep the older
ones with students in their year. In this manner, Harry
could get more DA members to help the younger, less
focused students, while the older students progressed
easier.
The meeting ended after an hour, and it looked to be
doing great. Many of the older students could perform the
charm easily. Some first years were even getting it, but
most had some difficulty. As everyone filed out of the
room, talking happily over the lesson and its worth, Harry
asked the older DA members to say back.
'Thanks again guys for all the help. Since the Guard is so
large, I'll really need your help' Harry requested. Everyone
looked at each other in thought, and Neville stepped
forward.
'Seamus and Ernie are right; we're doing this for
Hogwarts. I'll help as much as I can' he said confidently.
Harry smiled at Neville, and looked to the rest. They all
nodded in agreement, and stepped forward as well.
'We'll help Harry. You helped us, now we'll help you' Ernie
said nobly.
'OK. You guys will still be the DA, to make things easy. I
doubt you guys still have your Galleons, right?' Harry
asked. At the mention of Galleons, every one of the
members reached into their pockets, and pulled out the
fake Galleons that Hermione made two years prior. Harry
couldn't hide the surprise on his face, and it was obvious,
since all the DA members chuckled at his reaction.
'Oh, well . . . in that case, if I need to get a hold of you
guys outside lessons, just check the Galleon' he said.
Everyone agreed, and headed out of the room. Ron left
with Luna, and left Harry and Hermione in the cavernous
room. As the door closed, Hermione turned to Harry, and
beamed at him as she approached.
'This is wonderful Harry. If we can teach them well
enough, they'll have a chance when Voldemort comes.'
She kissed Harry, and he returned it, but stopped it short.
He started pacing around, and Hermione tilted her head in
worry.
'Harry, what's the matter?' she asked. Harry sighed, and
smiled when she placed a comforting hand on his
shoulder.
'How are we going to find the other Horcruxes?' he
questioned. He stepped away, and her hand fell to her
side.
'How many are left?'
'If there are six, with the part in Voldemort, then there's
Hufflepuff's Cup, Nagini, and my . . . my scar.' Harry once
again placed his hand to his forehead, and felt a shiver run
through him, as it did when he remembered the deformity.
Hermione came around in front of him, and gently took his
hand in hers, and kissed his forehead.
'Then let's focus on the Cup. Have you talked to
Dumbledore about it?' Harry shook his head, and she
smiled sweetly at him.
'Well, go talk to him, and we'll get started.' Harry smiled at
Hermione, and they left the room.
The next night, Harry made his way to Professor
McGonagall's office. She was inside talking to Professor
Fourmove, and the two graciously left the office so he
could talk to Dumbledore's Portrait by himself.
'Hello Harry. I should start by congratulating you and Miss
Granger' he said, smiling warmly.
'How did you find out?' Harry asked, as he took a seat.
'Being a portrait has its advantages. That, and I know
about the tradition.' He smiled again, and the Head Boy
laughed.
'It seemed everyone knew about it but me. Was it you that
chose Hermione and I to be Heads?' Harry asked,
wondering if it was Dumbledore that was playing match-
maker. Dumbledore shook his head.
'No. I recommended you two, but the staff selected you.
The Governors then approved, and sent the badges. Don't
think it was the tradition that put you two together. I could
tell from very early on that you two would make it together
in some manner.' Dumbledore then smiled again, and
fixed his hat.
'So how are your lesson with Topher going?' he asked.
'They're going well. He said we're going to start on more
advanced magic now.'
'That's very good Harry. I was told you and Hermione
performed a Patronus Sphere. That is a great feat.'
'Why is it so hard to do? We just did a Patronus at the
same time' Harry mentioned.
'It's hard, because not only do the casters have to do the
charm at the same time, but also have to be using the
exact same happy thought or memory.'
'Really?' Harry asked. Hermione used the memory of the
hug as well? Dumbledore nodded, and Harry felt his
insides warm with the realization.
'I have also heard you started a dueling club to help the
students and Topher.'
'Yeah, sort of like the DA in fifth year. It's a lot bigger
though, at least a third of the school.'
'Yes, well, be expecting more Harry. Dark times are
approaching, and students need to be prepared for the
worst. Have you named the club?'
'Guardians of Hogwarts. The old DA members are helping
me out. We had our first meeting last night, and it seemed
to work well.' Dumbledore nodded, looking off to the side
in thought.
'Guardians you say? A better choice of name than I think
you know.' Harry's brow furrowed, and Dumbledore
continued.
'I suggest talking to Miss Granger about that. I daresay
you have read Hogwarts: A History, but it will shed some
light.' Harry nodded, and made a mental note to ask her
once he returned to the East Tower. 'Have you made any
way with the Horcruxes?' Dumbledore asked.
'Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about' Harry
informed.
'Oh, I see. And what is it you wish to discuss?'
'Well, by my count, there are three Horcruxes left to
destroy: Hufflepuff's Cup, Nagini, and my scar.'
'That sounds correct' Dumbledore affirmed.
'Do you have ideas where Hufflepuff's Cup could be?'
'Ideas? Hundreds of them, however many are outlandish
and I know, false. The places I think that are most
plausible, I have already shown you.'
'You have?' Harry questioned. Dumbledore nodded.
'I did, just this past year, in the Pensieve.'
'So showing me those memories wasn't just for the history
lesson?' Harry asked, trying not to sound rude.
Dumbledore smiled.
'Not entirely. It is important for you to know Lord
Voldemort's history, but yes, there was this reason as well.
Do you remember the places you saw?' Harry stretched
his mind, trying to remember.
'There was: the Orphanage, Hogwarts, the Gaunt House,
Riddle's House, the old lady's house, what was her
name?'
'Hepzibah Smith' Dumbledore offered.
'Yeah. You think the Cup could be at one of those places?'
'Not all of them. We can rule out the Gaunt House,
because the ring was there. Also, there is little chance one
resides in Hepzibah Smith's home.'
'Why is that sir?'
'Because it is no more. It was destroyed in a very violent
fire a few weeks after her death. There is nothing left of it.'
Harry nodded his head, and thought for a moment.
'So we need to go and search Hogwarts, as well as the
Riddle House and the Orphanage?' Dumbledore nodded.
'I would start with the castle. Though I am sure there is
nothing here, a Cup could easily be hidden somewhere.'
Harry's memory was still working well however, and he
wondered about a Horcrux being in the castle.
'But how could Voldemort get one in here?' Harry asked.
'Remember, Tom came back to ask for the Defence
Against the Dark Arts position. He could have hidden it
then' Dumbledore stated. Harry's face fell into dismay wit
the prospect of searching the entire castle, and
Dumbledore seemed to notice.
'I think it may be best to enlist the help of the house elves
here. They can search the castle much more thoroughly
than students.' Harry's face lightened with the idea, since it
would make things a great deal better, and would not
require him to get on his hands and knees, searching the
dungeons and bowels of the castle for a flimsy cup.
'I'll get started right away' Harry said, getting up.
'Please give my condolences to the Weasley's. Fred will
be remembered as one of those wonderful people, who
could always bring a ray of sunshine to a room.'
'It'll be tough, especially for George.' Dumbledore leaned
in portrait to face Harry more seriously.
'Get him to help you Harry. George will be looking for
methods of pouring his sorrow and grief out. If you do not
help him focus, he could do something rash, and serious
consequences could arise.' Harry walked to the portrait, so
he faced it closely.
'He did offer to help me' Harry mentioned.
'Good, good. Think of items your Guardians or you and
your friends could use to fight Death Eaters, or find the
Horcruxes. Get him working, get him motivated, and
driven to fight those who took his brother. He will be better
for it in the end.' Harry could see his reasoning, and
nodded confidently. He bid Dumbledore farewell, and went
back to the East Tower.
Upon entering, Harry found Hermione sitting at the desk
reading a book. She looked up at Harry, and waved him
over quickly.
'What's up?' he asked lightly, leaning down next to her, the
perfume of honeysuckle wafting under his nose.
'The Guardians of Hogwarts existed before' she claimed.
Harry looked at her wondrously, and she nodded, pointing
to the text, which Harry saw was Hogwarts: A History.
After the departure of Salazar Slytherin, the remaining
Founders believed that the school could be threatened by
him, or his descendants. There were still many problems
in both the muggle world, and the wizarding worlds at the
time. With the beginning of the Wizard's Civil War, the
Founders created Guardians to protect Hogwarts.
The Guardians of Hogwarts stood for almost a century,
until the Civil War subsided. By this time, around the year
1080AD in the Muggle calendar, the Wizarding world was
beginning to calm, and Hogwarts, which had been closed
for several years, was reopened. Salazar Slytherin's
whereabouts was unknown; however he was never seen
alive again. The Founders, agreeing with each other that
the school was safe, disbanded the Guardians.
'You see. These Guardians of Hogwarts protected
Hogwarts like we will be. We couldn't have picked a better
name' Hermione said happily, giving Harry a nice smile.
'Maybe Luna read Hogwarts: A History, and thought of the
name from there' she suggested, looking at Harry for a
response. Harry looked at her and laughed openly.
'No, I think that was just Luna being Luna. Besides, I think
you're the only person who has ever read that book.' Harry
smirked at Hermione, and received a smack on his
shoulder-with the aforementioned book—for the comment.
Harry held his shoulder, but continued laughing.
Hermione's eyes focused on Harry with a tinge of
annoyance.
'What?' she asked, questioning Harry's increased laughter
after the swipe at his shoulder.
'Finally you found a good use for that book' he laughed.
Hermione smacked him in the shoulder again with the
book.
Spell / Name Meanings:
The flowers placed in front of the twin's shop, and their
meanings:
Forget-Me-Not - Faithful love; Undying hope; Memories;
Do not forget; True love
Rose (Deep Pink) - Thank you
Rose (White) - Innocence; Purity; Heavenly; Secrecy;
Silence; Charm
Statice - Sympathy; Rememberance
Zinnia - Thoughts of absent friends

- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -
Forgotten Magic
As classes moved into the end of January, they became
increasingly difficult. Harry and Ron tried to keep up with
the increasing workload, but realized they had to focus
more on the Horcruxes and Voldemort. Hermione was at
first reluctant to wane on her school work, but was
eventually subdued by the other two.
'Hermione, you can't expect to do everything perfect this
year in class. We have to work on the Chamber Pots' Ron
maintained, while they were eating lunch. The Great Hall
was a buzz that day, as the second meeting of The Guard
was taking place that night.
'I know guys, I know. It's just hard for me to purposely not
do homework' Hermione admitted. Ron stifled his laugh,
knowing how easy it would be for him, and Harry spoke
up.
'Don't worry Hermione. You'll still have time for homework,
it's just we have to work on bigger things. We have The
Guard tonight, and then we need to get moving on the
Cup.' He lowered his voice in the last part, just in case.
Hermione nodded, and she held Harry's hand under the
table in thanks for the reassurance.
'Have you talked to Dobby yet?' Ron asked, jumping back
into the conversation. Harry asked Dobby check
everywhere in the school for Hufflepuff's Cup. He gave a
good description of the cup, but Harry was worried about
Dobby's enthusiasm to help. Knowing him, he might just
knick every cup in the castle to show Harry.
'I haven't heard back yet. I'm sure he'll be done soon'
Harry answered. They finished their lunch, and started
their way up to the Charms classroom. They turn down a
corridor, and were stopped in a deserted hallway by a
small creature with tennis-ball sized green eyes, wearing a
massive number of both socks, and hats; extending his
small height by almost half a foot.
'Harry Potter sir! Dobby has been a good house elf, and
found several cups that match his description' the house
elf stated, bowing low, and looking up and Harry and the
others.
'Where did you put them Dobby?' Harry asked.
'Dobby puts them in the Come and Go Room, hidden from
others they are' Dobby explained, with a smile. Harry
looked Ron's watch, knowing his only pointed to people's
fates, and realized he did not have the time to check the
Room of Requirement and go to Charms.
'I don't have the time to-' he started, but stopped himself.
Harry already had to go to the Room of Requirement to
prepare things, and tell the DA what he was planning. This
meant he had to use the Time Turner. He neglected to use
it so far, but he desperately wanted to see the Cups
Dobby found.
'What are you thinking Harry?' Hermione questioned.
Harry thought for one more moment, and decided.
'I need to see those Cups, and plan tonight's lesson. I can
use the Time Turner to check them before the DA arrives
tonight' he said eagerly. Hermione was the one who used
the Time Turner before, so Harry waited for her reaction,
since he was still new to the whole process. She thought
for a moment, then began nodding.
'It sounds good Harry. All you need to do is tell Dobby to
meet you outside the Room at a certain time. Since you'll
be in the Room the whole time, you won't have to worry
about you running into yourself' she justified. Harry told
Dobby to wait outside the Room of Requirement one hour
before supper.
When Harry arrived in the hallway outside the Room of
Requirement just before supper, Ron and Hermione both
stood at the ends, making sure no one would come down.
They both nodded to Harry, and he put the Time Turner
chain around his neck. He gave the silver hourglass one
inversion, and he was transported back one hour. The
sound and shadows of people walking by began slowing
down, and when everything stopped, the hallway was
empty.
'Dobby?' Harry called quietly. The house elf came out from
behind the statue of Barnabas the Barmy, who was trying
to teach Trolls ballet, and bowed in front of him.
'Harry Potter is always on time he is!' Dobby
complimented. Harry smiled, and Dobby quickly scurried
over to where the doorway would be, and he paced across
the entrance five times, until a large wooden door
appeared. Dobby opened the door, reaching up to push
the door, and motioned Harry to follow.
Harry walked in, and found a room that was a mess of old
bookshelves, tables, and various other pieces of furniture
and knick knacks. Dobby was making his way through the
small passageways, and stopped once he turned a corner.
Harry came around, and his heart fell.
There, sitting on the floor, was a massive pile of cups.
Hundreds, maybe even thousands of cups, of all different
sizes and colours sat in a huge pile, which climbed to a
height above Dobby's own head. Dobby looked up at
Harry expectantly, a large smile on his face, and Harry
sighed.
'Is Harry Potter upset with Dobby?' he asked, sounding
already devastated. Not bothering for a response, the
small creature began crying profusely, and right when
Harry was about to comfort him, he began banging his
head on a nearby desk top, yelling 'Bad Dobby! Bad
Dobby!' Harry wrenched Dobby away from the desk, and
held his head so he wouldn't be able to hurt himself
anymore.
'I'm not upset Dobby, really. It's just a big pile, that's all'
Harry said calmly, hoping to get Dobby more relaxed.
Harry did bend the truth a little; it wasn't a big pile, it was a
huge pile. Why Dobby would hide something so easily
noticeable in a room like this, Harry didn't know.
Luckily, Dobby calmed down, and straightened his socks.
'I is sorry Harry Potter. I tries to do well in finding his cup.
In times of need, Dobby wants to help Harry Potter.' Harry
smiled at Dobby, moved over to the pile, and started going
through them.
Constantly looking at a nearby clock, he had to go through
the cups quickly. The only thing he was looking for was
the gold cup, engraved with a golden badger. He had to
trudge through many cups, of all different sizes, shapes,
and colours. Dobby stood behind him, and caught the
cups he threw away, knowing they weren't the one he was
looking for.
As the pile began to fade, and the stone floor became
visible once more, Harry's heart was feeling a mixture of
failure and success. Checking the last tea cup—which was
baby blue in colour with one handle, and a wide brim—he
unceremoniously lobbed it in the air behind him, and
Dobby caught it, placing it in another pile, which he had
built. Harry then continued to sit on the stone floor, and
sighed loudly.
'Did Harry Potter find his cup?' Dobby asked. Harry
debated how to answer, not wanting Dobby to start
banging his head again.
'No, but that's alright Dobby. I don't know where it is, and
needed to check here first. Now, are you sure those are all
the cups that you could find that came close to my
description?' Harry asked.
'Yes sir. Dobby collected every cup from the castle that
had gold on it, regardless of shape or placement. Dobby
checked from lowest dungeon, and the Odd Rooms, to the
highest tower, and brought them for Harry Potter here!' the
house elf explained, not looking too happy. Harry thought
he would start banging his head again, and stood up.
'You did a great job Dobby, really, you did. You helped out
tremendously. It's almost five, so can you do something for
me?'
'Anything for Harry Potter!' the house elf squeaked,
moving forward and looking right up at Harry with his
tennis ball sized eyes.
'Can you put back all these cups were you found them by
six?' he asked. He needed to room clear by six for The
Guard. Dobby luckily bowed, and looked back up at Harry.
'Of course, Dobby can have it cleared in half the time!' he
expounded. Harry thanked him again, and went to the
door that lead out into the corridor. He waited for the old
and dusty grandfather clock to strike five, and then opened
the door.
When he opened it, he found the hallway empty. Walking
out, the door slammed behind him, and Ron and
Hermione came from either ends of the hallway.
'So, did Dobby find it?' Ron asked, as he approached.
Harry's stomach gave a rumble, as for him it was an extra
hour of no food, and he started off towards the Great Hall
before answering.
'He found about ten thousand cups, but not one was the
one we need' Harry told his two friends, and they made
their way down the stairwells towards the Great Hall.
'Are you sure he checked everywhere?' Hermione asked.
'Pretty sure. Dobby's pretty thorough with things, and I told
him this was important.' Harry's stomach gave another
rumble, and he continued on.
'Well, at least we don't have to worry about the cup being
in Hogwarts then. That only leaves the other two places'
Hermione said evenly, as the three entered the Great Hall.
They all sat down, and just as they were getting their
meals together, Hermione looked up at the head table,
and nearly sprayed Ginny-who was sitting next to her-with
pumpkin juice.
'What?' Ron asked. Hermione, still working on her juice,
tilted her head towards the head table. Harry looked, and
held him mouth from spitting out his food in laughter, and
horror.
Dobby was moving along the head table, placing the cups
he "acquired" back to where they belonged. Professor
McGonagall, and most of the other Professors, gave a
strange look at the house elf as he moved down the table.
Once he got to the end, he scurried towards Harry. Harry's
eyes grew wide as he noticed Professor McGonagall
watching Dobby move down towards Harry. Harry gave
Hermione a nervous glance, and Dobby halted next to
Harry.
'Harry Potter sir, Dobby has returned all the cups!' he said
happily. Harry quietly thanked the elf, and Dobby—with a
snap of his fingers—vanished. Harry dared a glance to the
head table, and found Professor McGonagall's eyes boring
into him. He quickly looked back to his food, and for the
rest of the meal, never looked up from the table.
Once he finished, he quickly got up and went to the Room
of Requirement, again avoiding a look at the head table.
So far, he had an easy time keeping the Horcruxes secret
from Professor McGonagall, and he didn't feel breaking
that streak. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville all joined
him, and once they reached the seventh floor corridor,
they found a few energetic Guard members waiting.
Harry performed his walk, and the doorway appeared.
Opening the room, he found the same room as the week
before. People started filing in, and Harry checked the old
clock on the wall. They still had a few minutes until he
would start, so in the mean time, he talked to his DA.
'Tonight we'll finish up with Disarming Charms. Next is the
Shield Charm. I want people to know how to do at least
these two before anything else' Harry explained to the
small DA, which filtered in slowly.
Keeping an open door policy, Hermione suggested
allowing new members in when they wanted. She and
Ginny stayed at the heavy table with the scroll, signing up
any new students. After a few minutes past, and the hall
was getting full, Seamus closed the door with a thud, and
returned to the front with the other DA members.
'Harry, at least fifty new students signed up. This is going
great!' Hermione said cheerfully, giving Harry's arm a
squeeze. He smiled brightly at her, and took a step onto
the stage.
'Alright everyone, welcome to the second meeting of The
Guard. To new members, welcome. Please tell your
friends that they can come out if they'd like, but they'd be
best to join now, before we get too far ahead.
'Tonight we'll be finishing with Disarming Spells, and
moving onto the Shield Charm. I need everyone to pair up
again, and we'll continue with Disarming for now. For
those who already know, or want to try, the Shield Charm
is "Protego."'
Harry was about to step off the stage, when a small
second year Hufflepuff put up her hand and spoke.
'Are we going to learn how to do a Patronus?' she asked.
A good number of students, mostly the younger ones,
nodded their heads, and looked to Harry.
'Yeah, Professor Terrwynebas is going to teach us, but
can we learn it here?' a young Slytherin asked. Harry's
head stuck on him for a moment, realizing only now, that
many more Slytherins were present in The Guard.
'We will be learning them, but not right now. We need to
get the basics first' Harry answered. Many student
moaned at this answer, and some even looked angry.
'Can you even cast a Patronus?' a pale faced, short haired
Slytherin asked, who looked to be in his fourth or fifth year.
Harry, meeting this question yet again, rolled his eyes, and
didn't even bother answering. Instead he thought of he
and Hermione's kiss on Christmas Eve, and raised his
wand.
'Expecto Patronum' he articulated. The bright silver
phoenix flew out of his wand, and soared over the heads
of the students. Many of them ducked, a few shrieked, and
many awed at the sight. The phoenix circled back, and
dissolved just above Harry, and many of the students, still
looking awed, burst into cheers. Harry blushed slightly,
and motioned the DA to start their rounds. The group
hesitated, all of them looking extremely confused at Harry,
and slowly moved into the mass of students, who were
eagerly trying their Disarming Spells, with a few Shield
Charms popping up here and there.
As Harry stepped off the stage, Neville came over, his
brow lowered in concern.
'What happened to your Patronus Harry? Didn't it use to
be a stag?' he asked. He could understand the DA's odd
looks now.
'It changed over the summer. Now it's a phoenix. If you
could, can you tell the other DA members that, so I don't'
have a dozen people asking me?' Harry asked. Neville
nodded, and started his way through the students, helping
a very short, first year Ravenclaw with his defenses.
Once the lesson was over, all the older students could
perform the Disarming Spell well, as well as the Shield
Charm. Luckily, most of the younger students got the
Shield Charm easier than the Disarming, but it was looking
promising. Many of the students talked to the DA
members before leaving about other people joining.
'That went really well, considering the size of the group'
Dean asserted, the other DA members agreeing. They all
hung back, to talk to Harry and the others.
'Yeah Harry, The Guard will be the entire school by the
end of the month!' Susan Bones boasted.
'Hopefully it will. If what the Sorting Hat said comes true,
everyone will need to know how to defend themselves'
Hermione insisted. The group went silent, and everyone
looked at the floor for a moment, remembering the
warning the Hat gave.
'Is You-Know-Who Slytherin's Heir?' Denis Creevey asked
quietly. Everyone looked at him for a moment, then to
Harry. Harry looked at everyone, then slowly nodded. He
could see their faces growing immediately worried, and
tried to reassure them.
'This is why we're making The Guard. There's probably
more Aurors here than at the Ministry. The professor's are
here as well. It's only a precaution that we're training the
Guard.' Harry let the words sink in, and both Colin and
Denis Creevey looked at each other, nodded, then looked
at Harry.
'We're not scared Harry. Our uncle was killed two months
ago by Death Eaters, and we know the risks' Colin stated.
They both took a step forward and glanced at everyone,
before returning to Harry.
'We'd fight for Hogwarts until the very end' Denis said
proudly.
'We'd fight against him until the end' Colin added,
sounding just as determined. Harry was moved by their
statements, but didn't want to think of that yet.
'I know guys, but for now, let's not think about "the end".
Invite any students that ask about our meeting to next
week, and we should be working a little more the Shield
Charm, then starting on the Stunning and Revival Spells.
Any questions, just come see me, Hermione, or Ron. OK?'
Harry asked the group. They all agreed, and left the room.
'Terrwynebas owes you good Harry. This club is going to
be huge! Might be an idea to get some of the staff to help'
Ron pitched in, once it was only him, Harry, Hermione,
Ginny, and Luna. Harry thought of asking some of the
staff, but for the moment, decided not to.
'If the club gets over half the school, then we'll ask. I just
don't want the staff encroaching on my teaching' Harry
admitted. He could see probably if Professor McGonagall
had to follow his orders.
'They won't Harry. Oh, speaking of Topher, he wanted to
see you after the meeting tonight' Luna stated.
'You call him Topher?' Harry asked. Luna nodded slowly,
like one would if under water.
'He said I could call him Topher. He's a nice professor. He
doesn't laugh at me like some of other ones' Luna
responded with her usual oddness. Ginny looked at Ron
with a smirk, and he retorted with a sarcastic grin. Luna
noticed neither.
'Alright, I'll go see him then. I'll see you later in the
common room' Harry mentioned to Hermione. She smiled
at him sweetly, and he left for Topher's office.
He knocked on the door, and Topher opened it from his
desk with his wand.
'Come in Harry. Sorry for the short notice, but I wanted to
ask you something' he explained as Harry sat down in
front of his desk, where he was marking some papers,
which appeared to be on boggarts.
'Harry, why did you have that house elf checking every
single cup in the castle?' he asked straightforwardly, still
marking his papers and not looking up. Harry couldn't hide
his surprise to the question, and Topher smiled, putting
down his quill and looking up, showing he was not upset
about it.
'Professor McGonagall asked me after supper if I knew
why the elf took all the cups. I saw him talk to you
afterwards, and thought to ask. She's waiting for me to get
back to her, before she asks you; so if the reason is one
you don't want her to know about, you'd be best to tell me'
Topher suggested.
'It's about Voldemort. I can't say much about it, it's a
secret' Harry admitted. Topher nodded, and leaned back
in his chair to stretch, his dull grey robes stretching
slightly.
'Is it about the Horcruxes?' Topher asked, as if asking if
Harry wanted a cup of tea. Harry almost fell off his seat.
'What? I mean—How do you-?' Harry stuttered. Topher
smiled again, and leaned forward.
'Dumbledore told me a little of your task. I don't know
much, and frankly I don't need to. He said you would tell
me if you needed help, but so far I'm guessing it's going
alright. But is this cup searching about it?' Harry still
couldn't believe what Topher knew. From the start, he
knew about the Horcruxes, yet never mentioned it.
'Yes, it was about that' Harry finally uttered. Topher
nodded in thought, then picked up his red-marked quill.
'Alright. I'll Professor McGonagall you were searching for a
cup you lost, and the house elf got a little too excited in
looking for a cup. Are you still planning on making it to our
lesson on Saturday?' he asked, moving away from the
topic of Horcruxes.
'Yeah—how did you know about Horcruxes all this time
and not tell me?' Harry asked, his voice showing some of
his discontent. Topher put his quill down again, and
sighed.
'Dumbledore told me you'd come to me if you needed
help. I still talk to his portrait, and he could have told me
more, but he wanted you to tell me. Realize Harry, I do
know a little about a Horcrux, but nothing about what
you're doing, except that it has to do with Voldemort.
'Believe me, if you want my help with it, I'll give it. Of
course you'd have to tell me about everything, but again, I
leave that to you. I asked if you're coming on Saturday,
because if you don't mind, I would like Hermione to come
as well.' Harry decided to leave the issue of Horcruxes
behind for now.
'Why do you want Hermione to come?' Harry asked. He
wasn't upset about it, just curious.
'As I'm told, she's done very well in History of Magic, and
Ancient Runes. I'm going to be telling you about the scrolls
I've been deciphering, and she can more than likely help
with the history' Topher said easily.
'So we're not working on any magic?' Harry questioned,
sounding a little upset with a history lesson.
'You need to know the history of this magic, to know what
I'm trying to find. Professor Dumbledore believed this was
the only thing that could help you, so it's important to
know.' Harry still was not too happy, and Topher must
have noticed.
'Don't worry Harry, we'll be getting back to spells and
Legilimency next week, I promise' he reassured.
'Alright, I'll ask Hermione' Harry said.
'Good, good. How is the dueling club going?' he asked.
'Really well actually. Almost half the school is in it.'
'That's great to hear, really. Well, I need to get back to
grading these papers on boggarts. I'll see you on Saturday
evening' Topher said. Harry left the office, and made his
way to the East Tower. He asked Hermione about the
lesson on Saturday, and she seemed very interested.
'Sure Harry, if you don't mind. I mean, I've read a lot of
ancient magic in one of the books Professor Dumbledore
gave to me, so hopefully it will help. Of course I don't know
much of Egyptian hieroglyphs, but still, it will be interesting
to learn' she exclaimed, sounding excited over the lesson.
Within five minutes of Harry telling Hermione of the lesson,
he found her sitting down reading books on hieroglyphs.
That Saturday night, they made their way to the defence
classroom. They walked slowly along the cold hallways,
while Hermione went on and on about Egyptian items she
read of. Harry listened to it as they walked, but began
wanting her to relax about it all.
'Then, when they finished burying him in his tomb, they
placed these really old curses on the tomb, and enchanted
guards to-' she was saying. Harry shook his head, and
planted a kiss on her lips in mid-sentence.
She squeaked for a moment, then fell into the kiss easily;
allowing her form to relax and move close to Harry. They
kissed for a few moments, and Harry pulled away, looking
at Hermione longingly. She was about to speak—probably
to ask a question—when Harry placed his finger on her
moist lips.
'Please, relax' he whispered closely. She gazed at him for
a moment, and she smiled warmly. She nodded slightly,
and draped her arms around Harry's neck, and they kissed
again.
'It's just really fascinating. Sometimes I just get excited'
she confessed, as they continued on towards the
classroom. She blushed a little, and Harry chuckled as
they reached the doorway.
'Now I know to hand you a book to get your excited' Harry
noted, looking down and Hermione.
'Well, it's not the only thing that gets me excited' she
replied, giggling again in that un-Hermione-like fashion.
She reached up and gave Harry a quick kiss, they
knocked on the door, and entered.
Topher was going through a number of old parchment
scrolls, and arranging them in specific order. He looked
up, seeing the two Heads, and beamed at the two of them.
'Ah, perfect. I hope you are both doing well. Come and sit
down' he said, motioning to a set of chairs in front of his
desk. They sat down, and Topher did the same, although
the pile of scrolls hid him slightly.
'Thank you for coming Hermione' Topher started. 'I wanted
to hear your opinion of this, as well as any input you may
have.'
'Of course Topher, I'll help as much as possible' Hermione
reassured, giving Harry a glance and a smile.
'Good. Tonight, we're going to be talking about the ancient
wizard Thoth, his book, and the tale of Setna. Do you
know about any of these things, before I begin?' Topher
asked the two of them. Harry shoook his head, and looked
to Hermione. She bit her lip in thought, something Harry
had to admit, he found cute, and she nodded.
'Thoth was an Egyptian God; of magic I believe. He was
very powerful, and supposedly wrote all his secrets in an
powerful book called the Book of Thoth, even though it
was thought to actually be on a scroll' she explained. She
waited for a response, but got none, and continued.
'It was believed that the scroll was buried with a Prince,
and protected by spells and guardians. That's about all the
information I could really find in the short time frame' she
finished, sounding upset with her lack of knowledge on the
subject. Topher leaned forward in his chair, and stood;
beginning to pace behind the desk.
'That's all correct Hermione. Believe me, you know more
than most people already, so don't be disheartened. It is
forgotten magic, known to very few people' he maintained.
She grinned at this, and Topher continued.
'Yes, it was believed buried with an Egyptian Prince. Most
of the names are meaningless to us, but his name was
Nefrekeptah, and he was the son of Amenhotep. He was
considered the most powerful wizard of his time, and it
was believed to be because of the Book. As I told Harry,
the Book was believed to house magic the world had
never seen. Very ancient and massive magic not meant
for human eyes.' He stopped pacing for a moment, then
turned and sat back down, this time on the side of this
desk.
'The story of Setna is usually used as a warning for greed.
You see, Setna was a scholar, and a very powerful wizard,
but he was not satisfied with knowing that Nefre- . . .
Nefrek- . . . well, the Prince—who lived centuries before
Setna-was more powerful than him. He sought to find the
Book of Thoth, and learn of its secrets.
'He and his brother went to the Prince's tomb, and
confronted the guardians, which were called kas. They are
mummified bodies that are forever guarding the tomb. Kas
have caused many problems for wizards in Egypt,
because they aren't Inferi, and they're not dead. They're
something different. The only way to keep them from
causing trouble, is to leave the tomb alone.' Harry was
surprised to find himself actually interested in hearing
about all this, and the old magic. He glanced at Hermione,
and a wide smile wiped across his face, seeing how she
was sitting on the edge of her seat, eating up every word
Topher said.
'Setna and his brother however, wanted the Book. They
were told the horrible story of the Prince's life, and how he
lost everything in the pursuit of knowledge and power. His
son and wife—which were the kas that guarded the
tomb—were dead within hours of his reading the book. He
had the power to restore them to life, but it would not work.
'Setna heard of this story, but was not swayed. The kas
realized there was no chance of changing his mind, and
they played an old game, similar to chess, for the book.
Setna was loosing, and he used magic against the kas,
stole the book, and left the tomb. The kas yelled to him he
would come back, crawling and begging for forgiveness.'
Topher took a breath from the long story, and shifted in his
chair. Hermione was itching to hear more.
'So what happened?' she asked hurriedly.
'What was expected; Setna read the book. His father
begged him to return it, but he didn't. One day, he fell in
love with a beautiful woman. Of course he was married,
with a child, and he loved both of them very much. The
beautiful woman said he would have to murder them both
to have her. He was so charmed by this woman, magically
of course, that he did just that. He murdered his own wife
and child, and returned to the woman. The woman turned
into a corpse, and Setna woke up.'
'Woke up? Wait, it was a dream?' Hermione almost
shouted. Harry laughed at how much she was getting into
the story. Topher smiled, and nodded.
'Yes, as the story goes, it was a dream. He went as fast as
possible, and found his family alive. He told his father, and
he conceded to return the Book, exactly as the kas said he
would; crawling and begging. The kas accepted the return,
but stated that their bodies were buried in different parts of
Egypt. They said that if Setna returned the bodies, and
reunited them with the Prince, the dream would then not
come to pass. He did as they asked, and the Book of
Thoth was believed to still be guarded in that tomb, waiting
for the rise of the god Osiris.' He sighed after the long
winded story, while Harry quirked his brow in confusion.
'Why is that story important? I mean, we don't even know
if the Book exists' he voiced.
'True, but if it does exist, then the chance of this story
being real is high, in which case, who ever uses the Book
must be careful with their loved-ones. In the tale—the
wizardsthat used the Book—all their loved and cherished
ones died. If the power to destroy Voldemort is in this
book, we have to be very careful with it.' Topher was
looking very hard at the two heads. Harry still had
questions though.
'What does this have to do with love though? Dumbledore
always went on and on about how that was my power.'
Topher nodded again.
'You see Harry, the Book of Thoth—as I just said—causes
the loved ones of the wizard who uses it to die. The use of
the Book is then driven by that love. If, say, Voldemot was
to use the Book, it wouldn't work, because he has no one
he loves. You on the other hand, have many you love, so
the Book would be useful to you.
'What makes it especially driven for you, is the love that is
implanted in you by your parents, and your devotion to
those you love. You saw Setna, and the Prince: they let
their loved ones die for power. You are not like that; you
do not want power, you want the love. You would be able
to use the Book, and would be driven to return it as Setna
did, to keep your loved ones alive!'
Hermione's eyes were blazing in a mixture of hope and
realization at Topher's explanation. This magic, though
believed lost thousands of years ago, is exactly what he
needed to defeat Voldemort. The problem of course, was
that she was the one he loved the most. If he found the
Book of Thoth, she might die in the process of him using it.
Harry was speechless. He thought when Dumbledore
mentioned love being his power, that he would have a
spell or something that would use love, or some projection
of his love that would do something; something that did
not sound too believable to Harry.
This magic however, sounded more believable. Granted
they didn't know if it existed or not, but the idea of forcing
Voldemort's own spells on himself, and all the while being
driven by Harry's power to love others sounded perfect. It
was a power Voldemort would never know, because he
never loved anyone. Harry started smiling as the gears
began to click in his head, and seemed to believe more
and more about this theory.
'This sounds great!' Harry expounded, reaching over and
holding Hermione's hand, which was shaking slightly.
Harry's face fell when he looked, and she gave a placid
smile. Topher seemed to understand.
'Don't worry Hermione. Remember, Setna keeps his family
alive by repaying the kas. Worrying about curses on the
Book should wait until we actually find it' Topher put forth.
Hermione bit her lip again, and nodded.
'But Topher, you said this Book has a lot of magic; how
sure are you that it will contain the magic Harry needs?'
she asked seriously. Topher sorted through the parchment
rolls, and brought out the one with the snake in a circle.
'I forgot to show this to you. This is an ancient scroll,
explaining very ancient magic from Egypt. Now, I'm not
sure of the runes, but this symbol is-'
'It's an Oroborus Circlet, I've seen it before!' she
interrupted, reaching into her bag, and looking for a
notebook. Topher gave a queer look at Harry, and he
shrugged his shoulders.
'Hermione, where did you see it?' Harry asked. Hermione
was still looking through, and finally pulled out the old
notebook Dumbledore gave her.
'In here. This is the notebook by that unknown author. I
remember seeing this image—the one of a snake eating
its own tail.' She began flipping through the pages, and
both Harry and Topher were waiting on their tip-toes. She
finally stopped on a page, and pointed.
'Here' she stated, putting the book on the desk. Harry
leaned in, and Topher came around so he could read it.
Believed an ancient symbol of magical foundations, the
Oroborus Light is believed to be one of the most powerful
incantations in magical theory.
Research done on the spell is limited due to its obscurity,
however it is believed by many that this spell, which is
marked in historical documents by a serpent in a circle
eating its own tale, may cause a cascading effect on one's
wand.
Depictions of this spell generally show two figures
standing on opposite sides of the Oroborus. One character
is usually marked as light, while the other dark. The light
character is most often pictured standing erect and
withstanding little torment, while the dark figure is usually
disfigured or—in many cases—dead, with demons circling
around it.
This suggests that the spell casts the owner's past spells
on themselves. It is debated what effect this could have,
but no records exists of the spell being performed.
Topher looked at Hermione and Harry, and smiled—with
both sides of his mouth.
'This is excellent, really excellent. Do you mind if I look at
this for a moment?' Topher asked, referring to the book.
Hermione passed it to him, and he began flipping through
it, pacing around the room, while Harry and Hermione
talked quietly.
'Harry, this is wonderful. I mean, I do hope nothing will
happen to me or anyone else-'
'It won't, I promise' Harry reassured.
'I know, but think of this! This is exactly what you need to
destroy Voldemort! And the best part is, you wouldn't be
killing him!' she said happily, smiling.
'What do you mean, of course I'd have to kill him' Harry
stated. Hermione smiled even more, her cheeks growing
red, and she moved closer, and whispered to him.
'No Harry, you wouldn't. This says it uses the person's
own spells against them. Voldemort's probably killed
hundreds of people. His own Killing Curses would kill him!'
She was overjoyed by this, and continued to smile
immensely at Harry. Harry's brain slowly ingested the
information, and sure enough, he found himself with a
smile on his face so large, it actually hurt his cheeks.
He forgot about Topher in the room, and kissed Hermione
passionately with the wonderful news, feeling totally
overjoyed. They however heard someone clear their
throat, and they separated immediately, both blushing
intensely.
'Well, I'm glad you two are happy about my research, but I
must ask: where did you get this book again?' he
questioned. Harry and Hermione both laughed at his
comment.
'Um, Dumbledore' Hermione answered, regaining some of
her composure.
'I see, and he said he didn't know who the author was?'
'That's right' Hermione said, though looking at Topher
oddly.
'Hmm' Topher replied, walking over to the blackboard, and
writing down the author's name.
Walvane Worcrane
He stood back from the name for a moment, then turned
to the Heads; who were both excited, but wondrous at the
Professor's thoughts.
'You know' he said as he started walking around to the
other side of the desk, 'my father—when I was young—
use to give me word puzzles to do. Simple ones of course
at the start, but they got harder. There was only one kind I
never liked. Any guesses?' Harry gave Hermione a weird
look, and was not disappointed, as she gave one back,
and she ventured a guess.
'Crosswords?'
'No. Anagrams' he admitted. He walked over to the board,
and slowly began writing another name underneath. Once
the first three letters were written, Hermione got up from
her seat, and was shocked.
'How did I not see that?' she almost shouted at herself,
seeing the name. Topher stepped back, and smiled at the
two, handing back the book.
'I think that's enough for tonight. We'll meet up again next
week, alright Harry?' he said with all too much simplicity.
Harry nodded and—still filled with happiness—came
around and clapped Topher on the back, thanking him for
the hope he was giving Harry. Topher smiled back, and
Harry almost dragged Hermione out of the room, as she
was still staring at the two names on the board.
Walvane Worcrane
 Rowena Ravenclaw
A/N - Alright folks, this chapter has a good amount of
info on Ancient Egypt and the story of Setna and the
Book of Thoth. For those interested in hearing the
whole story, my reference is from a site called
touregypt (dot) net. You can also read a little bit of the
Book of Thoth on that wonderful creation known as
Wikipedia.

- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO -
The Riddle and the Orphanage
'Did you know the note book was Ravenclaw's?' Harry
asked Dumbledore's portrait, as he stood in the
Headmistress' Office the following Thursday afternoon.
Learning the note book was Ravenclaw's was important,
as it was something of the founders, and therefore, a
possible Horcrux. Dumbledore seemed to be thinking
along the same lines as Harry's thoughts.
'I had some idea, yes. Don't worry Harry, it is not a
Horcrux. It has not left this office in at least one hundred
and eighty-six years, much longer than Voldemort has
been alive' he reassured. Harry relaxed a bit with this
news, but his head was still swimming with all the new
information, with the ancient magic, this book, and the
Horcruxes.
'Dobby searched the entire castle, and couldn't find
Hufflepuff's Cup' Harry informed. Dumbledore pondered
on this for a moment, then nodded.
'That makes sense in some manners. I never expected
Lord Voldemort to place one inside Hogwarts. It's much
too busy, and if he did find a good hiding spot for it, it
would have to be good enough not to be found for
thousands of years, rendering it fairly useless.'
'So where should we look next?'
'The Riddle House, and the orphanage. Although much
like Hogwarts, I doubt the Horcrux to be in the Riddle
House, it would be best to check just in case. The house
and its grounds will probably cause your scar to burn
terribly, so I would advise you to bring companions, and
perhaps some of the Order. I have been discussing with
Minerva, and right now it is unclear where Voldemort is
exactly, so be very weary if you venture outside Hogwarts'
grounds' he advised. Harry nodded, and was not exactly
happy with the prospect of returning to the Riddle House,
where he had his nightmare of that muggle man being
murdered, and then the graveyard next to the house
where Voldemort came back. Those two areas were
forever imprinted on his mind.
'Don't worry Harry, just check for the Cup. If it is not there,
then do not linger, and come back to the castle as quickly
as possible.'
'When should I go?' Harry asked. He didn't want to make
his absence that noticeable.
'I believe this weekend would be best. It is a New Moon,
and you would be best hidden from attackers in case
problems should arise. Again, bring help Harry if you go,
and be cautious.' Harry nodded, and decided to change
subjects.
'Topher told me about his research, and the Book of
Thoth.' Dumbledore smiled, and nodded.
'And?' the late Headmaster asked, tilting his head forward
in his frame.
'And?' Harry wondered.
'What do you think of it?'
'Oh, well, it's um . . . it sounds good, but it's just that . . .
we don't know if . . . '
'If it exists, I know' Dumbledore finished. 'Topher will find
where the scroll is. Have faith Harry, he is fighting this war
as much as you are.' Mentioning the war again, Harry was
reminded of what Hagrid said about Topher, and a friend.
'Professor, someone told me about Topher having a
friend, an odd friend or something' Harry started, hoping to
encourage Dumbledore to go ahead and finish.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't.
'Hagrid let something slip now didn't he? Well, I think you
can agree that is not surprising. However that is
something you must as Topher. I know of this friend, if he
would call him a friend anymore, but it is not my place to
tell you. Topher trusts me as I trust him, so I must abide by
that' Dumbledore explained calmly. Harry understood, and
decided it was time to leave. He stood up, and smiled.
'I'll come back here before leaving on Saturday for the
House. I'll Floo Remus and a few others just in case.' The
two bid farewell to each other, and Harry returned to the
East Tower.
Harry went and told Hermione of the venture, and she was
just as worried as Harry. They went to Gryffindor Tower,
since they had to post a notice on the message board
about being in the halls after hours, and told Ron about
the trip. He reacted worst than Hermione.
'This weekend!' he said loudly, Harry and Hermione
shushing him. They went into Ron's dormitory, and locked
the door; casting a Silencing Charm on it as well.
'Yes, this weekend. Dumbledore said it's the best time.
Besides, we've been stuck in this castle too long. We need
to go searching' Harry assessed.
'Yeah, but going to You-Know-Who's childhood house isn't
exactly my idea of a first trip' Ron admitted nervously.
'Don't worry. We're just searching, and Dumbledore
suggested getting some Order members. I just don't know
what excuse I'm going to give them' Harry said.
'Maybe you could ask Topher to help. He was there with
the other Order members at The Burrow. Maybe he could
ask them, so it wouldn't be so conspicuous' Hermione
suggested.
Harry decided to ask Topher, and telling him a tiny amount
about why they were going. He insisted that Harry didn't
have to tell him anything, but Harry felt he had the right to
know at least something. The chance of Death Eaters
being there would be high.
'We're going to look for something' Harry declared to
Topher, while sitting in his office on the Thursday
afternoon. He had a free period, and asked Topher at
breakfast that morning if he could talk to him.
'Let me guess: a cup, right?' he speculated. Harry nodded,
and Topher chuckled.
'Something important about this cup now isn't there?
Alright Harry, I'll contact Remus and Moody. The three of
us should be alright. When are you going?'
'On Saturday, after dark. I'm hoping it won't take that long,
but it's a big house' Harry professed with a hint of
grimness.
'Don't worry Harry. I'll contact those two, and I'll get them
to meet us outside the gates at seven pm.' Harry left,
giving a sigh, and could tell looking around for Horcruxes
would not be an easy task.
On the Saturday, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all finished
their supper quickly, and got their cloaks. Harry and Ron
took both of their invisibility cloaks as well, and just as they
were exiting the Entrance Chamber, and starting off
towards the gates, Filch yelled from behind them.
'Where are you three going?' he shouted, stomping
towards them. Harry sighed, and looked towards the gate,
seeing the Auror guards, along with two other people.
'We're going somewhere. We have permission from
Professor McGonagall' Harry responded. They needed to
leave soon, since they were late. Filch however, was
uncompromising as usual.
'Permission? We'll see. You're all coming with me to the
Headmistresses Office, and we'll see if you have
"permission."' He sneered, pointing towards the staircase,
and Harry's blood began boiling at how this was working
out. Just as he was about to take a step forward, rescue
came.
Professor Terrwynebas came out of the Great Hall, just
finishing tying his black traveling cloak up, and looked up
to the odd scene. A few straggling students were watching
the three seventh years, who were still in the doorway,
and Filch, who was staring down the students down.
'Com'on, let's get a move on!' Filch stated loudly again.
Topher glanced at Harry, and stepped forward.
'Mr. Filch, don't worry. These three are coming with me to
the Forest. Are you three ready?' he asked, looking at
them. They all nodded, and Harry smiled thankfully at
Topher. He smiled back with one side, and looked at Filch,
who was still waiting for the students to accompany him.
'Thank you Mr. Filch, there's no need' Topher said politely.
Filch looked livid at the four of them, and Topher turned
and started out before he could do anything. Harry and the
rest didn't hesitate, and followed him outside, and into the
grounds.
The frosty early February air bit at Harry's cheeks as the
group briskly made their way down the incline towards the
gates. No one talked—as they were all focused on getting
their quickly, and soon enough, they reached the gates.
Two black cloaked Aurors stood guard on the inside, and
on the outside stood Remus and Moody.
'Sorry for being late there. Mr. Filch seemed to suddenly
gain an interest in Harry's whereabouts' Topher said to the
two men on the other side. They nodded, and the two
Aurors looked at each other questioningly.
'Alright, firstly the questions. Remus, why did you say I
was meant to join The Order?' Topher asked.
'Because of your father, and what happened to him.
Dumbledore knew then you would join The Order. Of
course, Voldemort was defeated soon after, but when we
started up, he knew you would join' Remus answered
easily.
'And Moody, what'd you tell be about taking the DADA
position?' Moody shifted on his leg, and his electric-blue
eye swiveled around behind his head, checking behind
them.
'I told yeh it was a good choice, just to focus on practical
work. It's more important for them to learn spells than
study history of dementors.' Harry looked to Topher, and
he nodded showing it was the correct answer. Hermione
smiled a little, and leaned in towards Harry.
'I just read on the history of dementors' she whispered into
Harry's ear, making him smile at her, and a slight shiver
run down his spine from feeling her breath in his ear.
'Alright, you can open the gates' Topher instructed the
guards. They looked at each other again, and stayed in
their spots.
'Where are you going? Does Supervisor Umbridge know
about this?' one of the men asked. Harry was wishing he
put the invisibility cloak on earlier, so the Aurors wouldn't
see them. If it was only Topher leaving, they would have
opened it with no problems.
'We have permission from Professor McGonagall. Plus I
am supervising them, and these are the Heads of the
school, and a Prefect. Heads are allowed to leave the
school when needed, even in these times. Now open the
gate' Topher demanded, sounding level but with a tinge of
force. The guards looked at each other again, and one of
them unlocked the gates.
The four moved out of the protection of Hogwarts, and
Remus shook Harry's hand. Only Harry, Hermione, and
Ron knew where they were going, so they all looked at
him in wonder.
'Alright Harry, where are we taking our nice stroll?' Remus
asked. Harry only noticed now he had his wand out, along
with Moody and Topher.
'We're going to an old manor to find a cup. My scar might
burn, and I won't lie, there may be Death Eaters around,
but we need to search the house' Harry explained. Lupin
looked worried, and glanced at Moody and then Topher.
'OK. If there's any trouble, any at all, you are to Apparate
back here. No fighting, alright? If any of us' Topher said,
motioning to himself, Moody, and Remus, 'gets hurt, don't
try to help, we will be alright.' Harry nodded, knowing the
gravity of the situation if Death Eaters attacked.
'Well, lets get moving, the night's not getting any younger.
We'll all side Apparate together, since you guys are the
ones who know where we're going' Remus said, stepping
forward. Hermione looked a little uncertain.
'Um, actually, only Harry knows. But it will still work' she
commented quietly. Remus was not making a happy face
over the news, but went ahead and motioned everyone to
hold on to each other.
'Just think of where you're going hard alright Harry?' he
told Harry. Harry nodded, and thought as hard as possible
of the lawn in front of the old manor on the hill; next to the
cemetery he would never forget.
'One, two, three-' Remus said, and with a twist, he felt
Hermione bumping into him slightly as the feeling of being
passed through a tube engulfed him. The siphoning
continued to push against him on all angles, and just as he
felt his head becoming light, his feet his hard dirt road, and
the group arrived at their destination.
The sight made Harry's chest cringe, remembering that
horrible night over two years prior. They landed on the dirt
road that passed between the graveyard and the hill that
the house stood on-the darkness of the night intensified by
the lack of any lights in the area. The night sky was
sparkling like an ocean of stars; the moon vacant from the
sky because of its newness.
Slowly turning his head, he stared at the graveyard, which
stood at a slight distance, and his scar seared as the
memory of seeing the form stepping out of the cauldron
entered his mind. The images flashed before his eyes, of
Voldemort's first night returned, of being tortured on the
cold grass, and of seeing Cedric fall lifeless to the ground.
'Harry' he heard dimly. His scar gave another burn as the
memory continued to play, and he came back to the dirt
road when he felt a hand on his upper arm.
'Harry, are you alright?' Hermione asked, looking out at
the graveyard, then at Harry worriedly. Harry closed his
eyes, and tried clearing his mind. Hermione gave his arm
a gentle squeeze in support, and he found himself falling
into the memory of them on Christmas. His scar subdued,
and he opened his eyes, and took hold of Hermione's
hand, looking back up at the graveyard.
'This is where Voldemort came back, when Cedric died' he
explained. She gazed at the graveyard again, and Topher
brought them back to their task.
'Harry, Hermione, Ron; let's get going. There's a disturbing
feeling in the air; we should be quick' he instructed.
Remus and Moody agreed, the latter's electric blue eye
swiveling in every direction, and the group made their way
cautiously towards the gate of the property. Ron made to
open it, but Moody pulled him back forcefully before laying
a hand on the gate.
'Don't be stupid boy! Ostendo Incantatem' Moody spoke
gruffly, his wand pointed towards the gates. The black old
gates seethed and a black, tar-like liquid started seeping
down all parts of it, bubbling. Ron looked horrified at the
liquid, and Moody grabbed a twig on the ground, and
pushed against the gate. Once the twig touched the black
liquid, it started moving up towards Moody's hand. Moody
dropped the twig instantly, and before it even hit the
ground, it was encompassed in black. Everyone jumped
back, and looked at the twig carefully, and just as they
thought it was safe, the twig burst into flame, and vanished
after a few seconds. Ron was as pale as Nearly Headless
Nick.
'Thanks' he whimpered. Remus blasted the odd tar
covered gates open, and the group carefully walked onto
the pathway that led to the house. Harry walked over the
threshold, and felt his scar hurt again. Some memories
from the Pensieve, of the young Tom Riddle came to the
front of his mind. He shook his head, and continued on
with the closely packed group towards the derelict manor.
It was old, and very large. It was a country manor, and
would have been a beautiful place to live, perhaps a few
decades earlier. Some of the windows where shattered, or
boarded up, the roof was loosing tiles, and ivy remained
unchecked against the walls, as it sprawled across its
face. It was damp, and in the earliness of February, the
dead trees nearby and brown and dry grass that showed
in the patch-worked snow made the house seem dead in
itself; something from the past that should have been
buried long ago.
As they walked up, Remus stopped, and turned towards
Harry. 'Harry, what's the importance of this house?'
'Yeah Harry, even I have to ask. This place screams
darkness' Topher added. The group was three-quarters to
the house, and stopped, turning towards Harry. He sighed,
and decided to just tell them.
'This is the Riddle House. It's Voldemort's father's old
house.' The reaction, was as Harry expected.
'Voldemort's father! Why in the world do you need to come
here!' Remus said, loosing a bit of his calmness. Moody
placed a hand on his forearm to calm him down, but it
didn't work that well.
'We're searching for something really important, and
Dumbledore thought it might be here' Harry answered
quietly. The house was so close, and yet they were
standing in front of it arguing about why they were there.
Remus was upset, but closed his eyes and took a huge
breath.
'Alright, alright. We didn't come all this way to turn around.
I want each of you to stick closely to one of us though,
understand? No one goes anywhere alone' he ordered.
Everyone nodded, and they once again moved closer to
the front doorway, which was boarded shut. Remus
swished his wand, and the wooden planks flew off and
passed over the group.
'Alright. Harry, you'll come with me on the first floor, Ron
with Topher on the secon, Hermione with Moody on the
third. Take things slow, and we'll meet back up on the
ground floor. Be careful.' Everyone nodded, and Moody
once again placed the Revealing Charm on the door, and
nothing appeared to happen at first. Remus waited for a
few seconds, and waved his wand to open the door, but
still nothing happened. Topher gave an unhappy sigh, and
levitated one of the boards that were on the door.
'Move' he stated. Remus moved out of the way, and with a
flick of his wand, Topher sent the board crashing into the
door, opening it fully. The board hit a wall inside the house
with a crack, and hit the wooden floor loudly. Harry looked
at Topher, but he was already making his way inside.
'We don't have the time. We need to be quick; cautious,
but quick. Let's go' he stated, entering the house with his
wand brandished. The three students followed after, and
Remus and Moody followed closely. They walked into a
long and wide hallway, that had rooms branching off from
it on both sides. The house inside was pitch black, and all
six of them had to cast light with their wands to see.
At least an inch of dust covered every surface, and the
floor told Harry no one stepped in the house in decades.
The walls were all covered in red patterned wall paper,
faded from all the years. Victorian-like paintings hung the
walls, and walking up to an old cabinet, old black and
white pictures of family sat on top. They all slowly walked
farther into the dark and hauntingly-empty house, and
stopped at the stairwell.
'A gold cup with two handles, and a badger right?' Ron
asked quietly in the wandlight. Harry nodded, and Ron
looked up at the stairwell, then around the floor they all
were on.
'This is going to take some time, more so in the dark' he
uttered. Harry forgot to tell them of one more helper he
was planning on asking to come.
'Just wait. Dobby?' he called quietly. A fantastically loud
crack occurred near them, and all three older men turned
instantly towards its source, to find a shivering and scared
house elf.
'Please sirs! Don't curse Dobby! Harry Potter called for
Dobby's help, and Dobby came with quick speed!' He
crouched low, and only stood up after the three wands
pointing at him lowered, and resumed their cautious
scanning of the house.
'Dobby, we're still looking for that cup, we think it's in here.
Can you help us search for it?' he asked. Dobby scurried
over quickly, and nodded excitedly.
'Oh yes sirs! I can help find Harry Potter's cup!'
'Good. Start on the top floor, and work down' Harry
instructed. Dobby nodded happily, and with a snap, he
disappeared.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron bid each other farewell, and
they moved to their floors. Remus and Harry stayed very
close, and moved back up the corridor, and started in the
first room.
Checking the old sitting room, Harry had to be very
meticulous with his search. So many trinkets littered every
surface, all still covered in massive amounts of dust.
Remus kept watch around the room, and notice Harry's
problem.
'Here, move back' he said. He swished his wand, and all
the dust vanished from all the surfaces, including the floor,
and Harry thanked Remus. His task was much easier now,
since he could actually see the colour of the items.
Moving along into the dinning room, and found a large
hard wood table, with chairs set out. Eeriness crept
through the air, as their wandlight fell on the surface of the
table, and Harry found table setting for three set. Some
bowls, and other items for dinner were placed, all full of
decomposing remnants of food. Harry took careful look at
all the cups on the table, and he and Remus were startled
by creaking above them, but remembered the others in the
house.
The kitchen took a long time, but Harry couldn't find a cup
that looked like Hufflepuff's. Coming back into the hallway,
they met up with Hermione and Moody, who couldn't find
anything. Dobby was moving through the second floor,
since he finished the third, and he didn't find the cup
either. Moving into the last room, the drawing room,
Remus entered first, and stopped in the doorway stiff.
'What's wrong Remus?' Moody asked, his eye still
swiveling in all directions.
'Something terrible happened here' he answered gravely.
He moved in slowly, and when Harry entered, his scar
burst into immense pain. He was on his knees before he
even remembered where he was, as his knees sunk
through the heavy dust and blew it into his face, making
him cough as his face screwed up in pain.
'Harry, Harry what is it!' Hermione asked frantically,
moving over and preventing Harry from falling over.
Remus was already turned around, and trying to get him
out of the room. Moody kept watch, and Topher and Ron
came down the stairs quickly.
Harry could hear distant laughing, and the screams of
three distinct people, and he tried to use his Occlumency.
Feeling his mind as its own, and focusing once more on
some happy memory, the pain from his scar subsided, and
when his memory of the hug from the summer pasted
though, the pain stopped completely.
He opened up his eyes, and found himself kneeling on the
dusty floor, with Hermione holding onto his side. Remus
was giving orders to get out of the house as fast as
possible.
'That's it, we need to leave now. Ron, come help me with-'
'I'm fine Remus. Someone was murdered in this room, and
it just hurt a little. I'm fine, really' he asserted. Remus was
not convinced however.
'I don't care Harry, this is too dangerous. Let's go.' He
moved over, and pulled Harry up, but Harry shrugged him
off.
'No, we need to find the cup. Did you have any luck?'
Harry asked Ron. Remus stopped his exit, and stood in
the room, still very attentive to any sounds.
Ron shook his head. 'No, nothing. Dobby was just
finishing, and then coming down here.'
Harry turned, and still holding his Occlumency strong,
started looking around the drawing room. Keeping the cup
in his room would make the most sense now to Harry,
remembering this is Voldemort. Hiding it in the room he
killed his father in would be expected by Voldemort.
Harry started going over the room closely. Hermione and
Ron both entered, and everyone remained quiet. Over the
fireplace, Harry noticed some cups sitting, and his heart
leapt when he noticed a gold, double handled one.
'Ron, Hermione!' he called, as he moved forward, and
dusted off the cup with his wand. It was a gold cup like he
was looking for, except the sides were bland; no badger.
Hermione cast a Revealing Charm on the cup, and
nothing happened. Harry looked at both of his friends
hesitantly, and carefully picked up the cup.
Topher and Remus were both watching on quietly. Harry
looked at the cup, but found it was just a normal cup. He
sighed, and just then a green mist lifted off the cup. Ron
was horrified, and Hermione screamed as the mist rose,
but it simply disappeared, and everyone kept still. Harry
looked back at the cup, and found something sitting inside
it.
'There's a note' he claimed, pulling out a folded piece of
parchment. He carefully unwrapped it, and moved his
wand over so he and the others could read it.
I know what you seek,
a vessel of old,
brave you must be,
to be looking so bold.
But find it you won't,
within this old shack,
a clue I shall give you,
before oncoming attack.
Hid by the faithful,
and kept by the strong,
orphaned by its keepers,
to where it should not belong.
This ancient doubled chalice,
grazed with the golden brock,
can be found in this place,
in the room, in the chest, with the clock.
So go and find this trinket,
and tempt your precious fate,
for the faithful are now coming,
and will make hard, your easy escape.
It was at this moment, when the three students read the
last line, that they turned to the doorway of the room, as
something began pounding outside the house.
'We need to leave, now!' Remus ordered. Just as Moody
walked into the room with the rest of them, the front door
burst open, and flew down the hallway, smashing into the
wall Moody was just standing next to. Topher took to the
doorframe, and shot a Stunning Spell down the hallway,
as shouts and orders could be heard outside the house,
and down the hall.
'Get everyone back to Hogwarts!' Topher bellowed, as he
again threw a spell down the hallway. Remus told them all
to Apparate away, and everyone except for Topher turned
on the spot, and vanished; everyone except Harry.
Harry turned, but just spun out, and fell over. He
Apparated many times before, and couldn't understand.
He tried again, but once more, he just continued to twist
on the spot. Topher was still desperately trying to hold off
the Death Eaters, and make time to Apparate away
himself.
'Harry, what are you doing, get out of here! Stupefy!' he
yelled, casting a Death Eater down the hallway to fall over.
'I don't know, I can't!' Harry responded frantically. The
darkness didn't help the situation, as Topher was only
visible when a spell would crash into a nearby wall. He
gave off a volley of several different curses, then slammed
the door, and performed numerous silent charms on it.
Pounding on the outside of the door came loudly, but the
door stood its ground.
'We need to go, now. Let's go, we'll side Apparate. One,
two, three!' he said quickly, grabbing Harry's arm, and
twisting. Harry tried hard to concentrate on staying with
Topher, but neither of them left the room. They both
twisted around, and almost fell over.
'They must have cast an Anti-Apparation Charm on the
house. We need to get out' he exclaimed. Harry's mind
began to sink as he realized getting out of a room that
they purposely locked themselves in, surrounded by Death
Eaters could only lead to capture.
Topher was thinking quickly, glancing out a very small
window, when the door began to budge. It was not being
pounded anymore, but instead hit with a Blasting Curse.
'The charms must be failing. Prepare yourself Harry, put
your cloak on!' he ordered forcefully. Harry pocketed the
letter and cup, took out his wand, and draped his cloak
over him. The door blasted open, flying off its hinges, and
smashing against the fireplace on the other side.
Everything was quiet for a moment, when the outline of a
dark cloak entered the room quietly. It was dark in the far
part of the room, and it was hard to tell if anyone was
actually there. Topher stood ready, when a cold voice
yelled out.
'Expelliarmus!'
Topher's wand was lifted out of his hand, and flew into the
darkness. The room was put into total blackness for a
moment, before a noise of something slamming into the
wall came, and a fire was started in the hearth. A hand
came into sight on the far side of the room in the
darkness, holding a dark coloured wand, and it whisked at
the door, locking it.
'Ah Toph, I have been waiting for this reunion for a long
time' the voice said darkly, still remaining in the shadows.
Topher looked beyond rage.
'Waiting to face me without a wand, right? Just like last
time. Never tough enough to face me like a man' he
voiced, drenched in a hatred Harry thought he could never
possess. The man in the shadows laughed, and finally
took a step forward into the firelight to reveal his face.
A tall and slender man came into view, wearing the
darkest of robes. The hood hung over his face, and
contrasted greatly with his skin, which looked as if it had
not seen the light of day for years. A small portion of the
man's brownish-red hair was visible in the front, and his
silver eyes bore into Topher's with a vengeance. Topher
stood motionless for the time, but when the man in the
cloak smirked, Topher's hands balled into fists.
'I am facing you equally Toph. Just like your father faced
his equal when he died' the man charmed evily.
'You know nothing of being equal Seth' Topher responded.
He moved his hand over slightly, and nudged Harry in the
shoulder. Seth couldn't see Harry, so he didn't notice the
move.
'We'll see. You were dumb enough to try and steal my
master's item. Of course, you must have noticed that you
can't Apparate. How easy you forget your father's
teachings-'
'Stun him' Topher whispered. Harry shot a Stunning Spell
at the Death Eater, and he easily fell over before he could
understand. Topher ran over to the man quickly, and
grabbed his wand. Harry pulled off his cloak, and watched
Topher aim at the man.
'Expello Per Sentia' he said aggressively. The man
immediately vanished, and Topher turned around to Harry
quickly.
'Where's the cup?' he asked, as shouting was still going
on, and the door was once again being hit with curses.
Harry pulled the cup out of his pocket, and Topher hastily
took it from his hand, and threw it across the room.
'What are-'
'Back to Hogwarts. One, two, three!' he yelled, as the door
was beginning to break down again. He grabbed a tight
hold of Harry's wrist, and Harry gave a twist, and felt the
siphoning envelope him. Topher was moving along next to
him, and they quickly hit the ground outside the gates of
Hogwarts, where Remus, and the others were all standing
around worriedly.
'Thank Merlin! What happened?' Remus expounded
joyfully, coming over and giving Harry a hug. Harry
accepted it, and comforted his father's old friend,
reassuring him he was alright.
'The cup Harry had was cast with a Disapparation Charm.
Anyone holding it couldn't Apparate. When you guys left,
he was still there with me. Now, lets get back inside the
gates before anything else happens' Topher informed.
They all quickly moved to the gates, and when they
opened, Harry's face fell as he found a not-so welcoming
welcome committee there for them, which consisted of
Professor McGonagall, Mr. Filch, and of course,
Umbridge.
'Where were you all at this time of night, and . . . wait, is
that a scorch mark! What have you been doing!' Professor
McGonagall questioned sternly, noticing a burn on Harry's
cloak that must have come from the fire when he
approached Topher. Filch was positively glowing at the
scene, and Umbridge was her usual chipper self, wearing
a confident smirk.
'I can explain Professor' Harry started, loosing his
confidence in an instant, when the Professor looked at
him. Filch was looking ready to dance with Umbridge he
was so happy.
'Shall I get the whips ready Headmistress?' he asked
eagerly, rubbing his hands together. McGonagall stared at
Harry and the others for a second, before looking to her
side, and remembering Filch and Umbridge.
'No Mr. Filch, that won't be necessary. You six will come
with me to my office, now' she commanded. The three
students started their way up to the castle, and the adults
followed. Filch grumbled his way back to the castle,
muttering about students getting away with everything,
and Umbridge stayed at the gates for a moment thinking.
'What yeh thinking about Supervisor?' one of the guards
asked. She turned, and looked back up at the group
heading for the castle.
'I think it's time I called in a friend to help with Mr. Potter'
she said to herself, starting her way up to the castle
herself.
Harry and the rest made their way into the Headmistress's
Office, and immediately knew they were in for trouble.
Professor McGonagall came around her desk, and rather
forcefully took her hat off, and sat in her chair, looking over
the Order members, and her students.
'Where were you? And don't tell me you can't tell me' she
added. Her voiced told Harry she was uncompromising
with answering, and did so truthfully.
'We went to the Riddle House' he answered.
'Why did you go there, and why did it require your fellow
students, a professor, and two Order members?' she
asked exasperatively. Harry looked to Dumbledore's
portrait for help, and he was relieved to see the former
Headmaster smiling at him.
'I asked him to Minerva. He has that task I told you about
to do, and the Riddle House was a place he needed to
check' Dumbledore put simply. Harry watched
McGonagall's reaction carefully, and breathed a sigh of
relief when her shoulders relaxed.
'Alright, but next time tell me where you are going, and
when. I don't want Dolores getting wind of this, and
causing unneeded trouble. Now, you three to your
dormitories. Remus, Moody, if you could wait outside for a
moment, I need to talk to Topher alone, then you two
afterwards.' Harry and the rest bid McGonagall goodnight,
and Harry received a meaningful wink from Topher.
Remus and Moody bid the three of them goodnight, telling
them to just Floo if they need help again, and Harry, Ron,
and Hermione started off.
'So what happened when we left? Remus wanted to go
back, but Moody kept him with us. You should have seen
it, I thought they were going to duel about it' Ron informed.
Harry told them about the cup, and more particularly, the
Death Eater that knew Topher. They all started off towards
the East Tower, when Harry stopped at the base of the
staircase.
'What's wrong Harry?' Hermione asked, placing a hand on
his shoulder.
'Topher wants to talk to me, and I have questions' he said.
The wink told Harry he wanted to speak to him.
'Well, he'll come by this corridor, so you'll see him. At least
we know the cup isn't in the Riddle House' Hermione
pointed out with a sigh. 'Hey' she added, with some worry,
'did Dobby get out?'
'I don't know. Dobby?' Harry voiced, and with a crack, the
many socked house elf appeared next to them.
'Oh Harry Potter has called on Dobby again! Dobby is ever
so lucky!' he squeaked.
'Are you alright? We didn't know what happened to you?'
Hermione asked. Dobby looked horrified at her, then
began to sob; his cries echoing in the large hallway. All
three tried to shush him, and succeeded slightly.
'I is sorry miss. Dobby is still trying to get used to being
asked if he's is OK' he said, sniffing loudly. 'But Dobby is
good. Dobby put charms on the back door, and other door
to the drawing room for his friends.' Dobby smiled up at
Harry and the rest, and they smiled back.
'Thanks Dobby. Why don't you go and get some sleep'
Harry suggested. The house elf gladly accepted, and
vanished. It was then that footsteps could be heard, and
Topher came around the corner looking tired.
'Oh, there you are. Thank you for staying up. I thought it
would be best if I explained what happened' he said.
Hermione and Ron started up the stairs, but Topher said it
was alright.
'You'll hear it from Harry anyways. Let's go to my office.'
The group went to his office, and lighting a few candles,
they all relaxed in the quiet room, and sat down for a
moment or two before going on.
'You see, firstly, as I said, the cup inhibited you from
Apparating. When the man said to remember my father's
training, he was talking about foreign objects, and how if
something is going wrong, it's more than likely because of
them. I thought it was the Death Eaters casting a charm
on the house, but I was wrong. Harry threw the cup away,
and we came back.
'Now, as for the man that came in the room, he is a Death
Eater. His name is Seth, and he . . . used to be my best
friend.'
'Your best friend?' Harry asked in surprise. Topher
nodded, and continued.
'Remember the first memory I showed you, about how I
was at a friend's house; he was that friend. We grew up
together, and were friends for years. He was home
schooled as well, so we got along great with that. My dad
taught him some things on defence, and his mother taught
me some things on potions.
'When we became older, around your ages, he began to
change a little. He told me that some of his uncles and
relatives were Death Eaters, but for the longest time he
hated them. He wanted nothing to do with them. He was
pretty normal back then; liked Quidditch—pretty good size
for a Beater actually—and he was looking at going into
Magical Law Enforcement. We thought we'd be great,
since I was hoping for Auror training.'
'So what happened?' Hermione asked. Topher lowered his
head, and sighed.
'Once day, after I hadn't talked to Seth in a while, he left.
Didn't know where he went, and I was worried. I tried
search for him, but couldn't find anything. My father
helped, but no one knew; not even his own mother. We
were coming back home for a search outside Thirsk, when
we found him; standing outside our house.
'He changed a lot. Looked like he did tonight; pale, skinny,
almost unnatural. He was in a black cloak, and I assumed
the worst; he became one of them. My father took out his
wand, and approached him, but at least ten more black
cloaked figures Apparated around us, and both our wands
few out of our hands. He laughed, and told us how wrong
we were to fight against Voldemort; how he was the true
leader. He said my father's redemption was impossible,
but mine wasn't. I had to watch as my father was tortured,
then murdered by my best friend.'
The three students sat motionless in their seats at the
utter disbelief at the memory. Harry couldn't imagine
having to watch someone like Ron or Hermione kill his
parents right in front of him. Hagrid said Topher lost his
father, but never mentioned he actually had to watch him
die. It did explain the mystery behind his friend though.
'It was that guy that was there tonight, he murdered your
father?' Harry asked, trying to be as patient as possible.
Topher looked at the three of them, then nodded back to
Harry.
'Yes, Seth did that. He's deep in Voldemort's circles now. I
wouldn't like anything more than to kill him, but I know I
won't. I could have done that tonight, but I just put him in a
bad spot for the time.'
'Bad spot?' Harry questioned.
'Yeah, it's a spell I'm going to teach you next weekend. It's
called the Destination Charm. You just think of where you
want to send someone, and banish them there. It's hard to
do, and it's not polite to do it to friends. But for enemies, it
works easy. Like tonight, I sent him to the middle of the
Pacific. He'll get wet, cold, and all that other stuff, which is
good enough for now.' Topher actually smiled this victory
in this, and stood up.
'Well, you should all be getting to bed. It's late, and if the
Headmistress found you here, she'd have my head.' They
all agreed, and left for their dormitories.
'Well, there's only one more place left to check' said Harry.
Ron gave a sigh, and looked up towards the stairwell that
lead to Gryffindor Tower.
'Only one more place, with Death Eater's appearing out of
no where, and almost getting killed. Shouldn't be a
problem now should it?' he said with a chuckle. He bid the
two Heads goodnight, and went up to his tower.
With Ron gone, the couple walked slowly back hand in
hand, and when they entered their common room,
Hermione held Harry in a tight embrace, clinging on to him
like she was the only thing keeping him there.
'I was so worried tonight. Promise me you'll be more
careful when we check the Orphanage?' she stated. Harry
knew it wasn't a question, and nodded, giving her a kiss.
They went to their dormitories, and Harry took the riddle
that he found in the cup, and put it in his trunk for safe
keeping.
Harry went and talked to Dumbledore's portrait the next
day about the whole trip, and expressed his sorry about
the incident that occurred.
'I am sorry to hear it did not go well, but at least we know
the cup is not there, and no one was hurt. This riddle, can
you say it to me?' he asked. Harry dictated the riddle back
to Dumbledore, and he nodded after a few moment of
stroking his beard.
'And what do you make of it?' he asked Harry. Harry
looked at the riddle, and tried to figure things out. He was
never good at riddles.
'Er . . . the cup isn't in the Riddle's House . . . um, it's being
guarded . . . it's were it shouldn't belong . . . and it's in a
chest, in a room with a clock. That could be anywhere
though' Harry concluded gloomily. Dumbledore nodded
again, but was not convinced.
'Look at the wording Harry. "Orphaned by its keepers,
where it should not belong" . . . '
'What, the Orphanage?' Harry wondered. Dumbledore
nodded again, and Harry tilted his head in confusion.
'We already thought that. Besides, how do we know this is
even talking about Hufflepuff's Cup?' Harry asked
'It says "a vessel", and "a doubled chalice, grazed with the
golden brock." A brock is a badger, so I'm sure it's talking
about the cup in question.'
'So . . . so when should we go to the Orphanage? Should
we wait, or get more Order members this time?' Harry
asked. Dumbledore thought once more, and surprising to
Harry, shook his head.
'No, no more Order members. In fact, only you, Ron,
Hermione, and Topher if you wish. Keep it to a minimum.
As for time, I think you should go tonight.'
'Tonight! We just got back last night, and really, we just got
back.'
'I know Harry, but I have been conversing with my fellow
portraits, and they have found that things are getting
worst. St. Mungo's is starting to become over crowded,
and soon they won't be able to keep up. The Auror
Department is scattered everywhere, and the Ministry in
general is in chaos. We need to move fast Harry; faster
now than ever.' Harry was of course worried on many
fronts about this endeavor, since Professor McGonagall
said to tell her when they would be leaving the grounds,
and the idea of telling her the next day of another trip did
not bode well in Harry's mind.
'Professor McGonagall probably won't let us go' Harry
mentioned.
'She's already given you permission' Dumbledore
asserted, nodding towards her desk, where a sheet of
parchment was sitting, giving he, Hermione, and Ron
permission to be escorted by Topher off the school
grounds that night. Harry sighed, realizing he really had no
choice in the matter now when they would be going to the
Orphanage. He pocketed the note, and agreed with
Dumbledore.
'Just be careful Harry. Be weary of others, and keep watch
of Death Eaters' he advised. Harry said goodbye, and
joined Hermione and the others in the Great Hall for lunch.
He got Hermione and Ron alone in the East Tower, and
explained their trip for that night. Hermione protested
about going that night, but Ron surprisingly was for it.
'One of Luna's neighbors was killed on Friday by Death
Eaters. Luna's a little shaken, but alright' he explained,
seeing Hermione's response, 'but we need to get moving
with these Horcruxes. Are we meeting Remus and Moody
again?' Harry lowered his head, and started pacing
around, and Ron grew nervous. 'Harry? They are coming,
right?'
With a sigh, Harry elaborated. 'No, they aren't. It'll be us,
and Topher. Dumbledore thought it would be best if we
lessen how many people go. He said it would be less
impact, and less people to worry about.' Ron was not
convinced, as was Hermione, but they both nodded.
'We'll be fine guys, don't worry. We'll Apparate back like
we did last night if there are troubles' Harry said, trying to
sound encouraging and mask his own discontent. He
thought they would have had at least a few days, maybe a
week, or even a month before trying the other place; not
one day.
'When do we leave?' Hermione asked.
'Same time as last night; seven.' They all started off on
their homework for their classes, however Harry found it
hard to concentrate. He wrote a few lines in his
transfiguration essay, but did not get close to the foot and
a half he planned too. When seven came close, the three
once again donned their cloaks, and quietly exited the
Entrance Chamber. Luckily this time, Filch was not around
to bug them.
They reached the gates, where a different set of guards
were waiting, along with Topher. He was talking to them
about some matter, and when he saw Harry and the rest,
he bid the guards goodnight.
'Hello everyone. I know you're worried because of Remus
and Moody not being here, but don't worry. Apparate if
there is trouble, alright?' Topher encouraged. They all
nodded, and the guards opened the gates. Harry assumed
Topher got them to be more accommodating to them
tonight. They all walked out of the grounds, and turned
towards each other.
'Alright, everyone hold on to each other. Same as last
night; Harry, you know where we're going?' Topher asked.
Harry nodded, and hold onto Hermione and Ron, he
thought hard of the Orphanage he saw in the Pensieve.
They all gave a twist, and Apparated away.
Once their feet hit the ground, they looked around the dark
night, and found themselves standing in front of an old and
dilapidated square building, surrounded by high iron
railings. Stone stairs lead up to an old set of grey wooden
doors, and an empty courtyard bordered the building.
They looked around the empty darkened street, and slowly
started up towards the front steps.
'What is this place?' Topher asked quietly, as they moved
forwards.
'This was the orphanage that Voldemort grew up in' Harry
answered. Topher looked astonished at Harry, but kept
moving after a second. He wiped the front door, and it
revealed an old bronze name plate.
Perdita Orphanage
Founded September 1897
Hermione cast the Revealing Charm on the door, but
nothing happened. Topher kept watch of them from
behind, and Ron slowly opened the door.
Once he budged it open, it gave an all-mighty creak, that
echoed around the entire neighborhood. They all cringed
with the sound, and Ron forcefully opened the door the
rest of the way, hoping to dampen the impact, but the
damage was done.
'Well, if anyone's here, they know we're around' Ron
droned. They slowly made their way in, and lit their wands.
The inside of the orphanage was much like that of the
Riddle House: covered in a large amount of dust, and
damp beyond words. The walls were bare, and the white
of the drywall was stained grey and yellow. The wooden
floor boards creaked with every step, and the group
stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
'We're looking for a room with a chest, and a clock. Look
everywhere, but be careful' Harry said to Ron and
Hermione.
'Hermione, you go with Harry, I'll go with Ron' Topher
stipulated. They all nodded, and Ron and Topher started
up the stairs, while Harry and Hermione started moving
around the bottom floor.
As they walked through some of the small office-like
rooms, and the common rooms, Harry felt something was
not right in the building. They heard Ron and Topher
moving around upstairs, and were kept on their toes with
every creak.
Moving into the kitchen, they continued to check, but Harry
was feeling there was no chance it was on the bottom
floor. They didn't find any chests, or even a clock in any of
the rooms. As he finished checking through a cupboard,
he turned and found Hermione looking worried at him.
'What's wrong?' Harry asked quickly, moving over and
placing a hand on her shoulder.
'There isn't any noise coming from upstairs' she pointed
out. Harry listened, and realized it was true. He hadn't
noticed that Ron and Topher's footsteps stopped
sometime in the last while, and fear gripped his mind.
'Let's go check' he told Hermione, taking her hand, and
moving around the house, and to the stairwell. They
stopped at the bottom, still straining their ears to hear
something, but there was no sound. They cautiously
moved upstairs, and tried as hard as possible to lessen
the groans of the stairs. Once they reached the top, they
heard the sound of a chair being moved in a nearby room,
and both of them raised their wands in that direction.
Silence again filled the house, and Harry's mind was
thinking the worst; that Death Eater's had caught Ron and
Topher. In a house like this, it would be easy to catch
someone off guard. They slowly moved down the hallway,
and stopped when they noticed a small amber light
coming from one of the rooms. Harry looked at Hermione,
and she nodded to continue.
They moved down the hallway, pass a few old and moldy
smelling bedrooms, and came closer to the lit room. They
were close to it, when a sound of an opening door
groaned behind them. They both turned around fast, but
found nothing moving. They moved back towards the
stairwell to find the source of the sound, and stopped
when one of the doors moved.
Standing completely still, Harry looked at Hermione, and
took one step forward, his wand still pointed at the
doorway.
Suddenly, a blast of red light came from behind them, and
hit Hermione square in the back. She slowly fell over, and
Harry panicked.
'Hermione!' he yelled, crouching down and checking
Hermione. He pointed his wand, and shot a Stunning Spell
in the direction near the lit room. He saw he missed, but
saw the face of his attacker. His rage boiled to
overwhelming levels, and he was about to send a barrage
of spells at the man, when a Stunning Spell hit him from
behind, and Harry fell over next to Hermione.
Unable to move—anger swimming through his veins—he
watched as the two men he wanted nothing more than to
banish from the Earth walk up from opposite directions.
'Move them into the room with the others' the taller man
stated, who came from the lit room. The other nodded,
and levitated Harry and Hermione to the room at the end
of the hallway. Looking around as much as he could, he
found Topher and Ron bound and gagged in one corner,
next to an old and heavy looking wooden chest. The light
in the room emanated from a small fireplace on the
opposite wall, and the blonde haired man dropped
Hermione and Harry down on the floor.
Harry, anger running through him like violent river,
summoned his non-verbal spell, and he was released from
the bind, but he found his wand was not in his hand. Anger
still hot on his mind, he resorted to jumping on the nearby
younger man.
He was in mid air when the dark haired taller man bound
him around the sides with a white chord that shot out of
his wand. Harry fell to the floor hard, and was unable to
move.
'I'm going to kill you!' Harry raged at the two men. The
younger man in black looked at the other, and the taller
man walked over to Harry.
'I'm sure you want to, but you won't Potter. You will sit
there, and listen' the man answered evenly. Harry was still
trying to work against his ropes, but to no avail.
'I'm going to listen to you, you rat! You're a bloody
murderer!' Harry yelled back. The tall man was loosing
patience.
'I am not a murder!' he yelled back. Harry laughed
sarcastically in response.
'You killed Dumbledore! And you are just as guilty you
slime!' he spat at the other man. The taller man pushed
Harry back against the wall, so he was sitting next to
Hermione, who was bound by ropes as well, and gagged
like the others.
'I know why you came here Potter' Snape said, changing
the conversation.
'Oh do you?'
'Yes, I do. Looking for a cup I imagine. I'm surprised your
small mind was able to solve my riddle.' Harry's mind was
twisting in both rage, and hopelessness in the words. If
Snape had the cup, the chances of finding it was gone, let
alone destroy it.
'You won't find it here though Potter' he added. Harry's
mind was burning with being told this whole trip was now
wasted, and he could have lead all of them to death.
'Then why won't you just kill us?' Harry responded.
'Because that is not my plan. We are enemies of
Voldemort, and such, your allies' he divulged. The room
was silent for a moment, then Harry laughed again.
'Allies? You have to be kidding! I can't believe you, and
Dumbledore was a madman to believe you before!' Snape
was getting aggravated by this, and stood forward.
'You want to know why Dumbledore trusted me? I'll show
you why!' he yelled, reaching into his dark robes, and
throwing two objects on the dusty floor. They hit with a
thud, and skidded across the floor, so they sat right in front
of Harry. He looked at them in shock.
It was a gold cup, with two handles, but broken entirely in
half. The gold badger was parted right down the middle,
and Harry's face was shocked as he looked up at Snape.
'You won't find Hufflepuff's Cup, because I destroyed it
seventeen years ago!'
Spell / Name Meanings:
Ostendo Incantatem - L. ostendo: show, incantatem: the
art of enchanting (Ostendo Incantatem show the
enchantment)
Expello Per Sentia - L. expello: banish, per: through,
sententia: thought (Expello Per Sentia banish through
thought)
Perdita - L. Perditus - lost, name of Hermione's daughter
in "A Winter's Tale"
Brock - older term for badger (Old English brocc)

- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE -
Snivelling the Cup
'I don't believe you' Harry responded, still shocked at the
statement. If Snape destroyed Huffleuff's Cup so long ago,
why would Dumbledore send him to find it now? It made
no sense to Harry.
'I can prove it to you' Snape said calmly, looking over to
the corner of the room. Draco kept checking the doorway,
and out the window.
'Draco, we are safe here. The Dark Lord would not step
inside these walls unless absolutely needed' reassured
Snape.
'I don't care Snape. Even I don't trust you' Draco said,
peering around the old and musty curtains. Snape turned
back to Harry and the others, who were still struggling
against their binds.
'If you're on my side, then why did you attack us and tie us
up then hey?' Harry spat.
'Because you're appallingly predictable Potter. I knew you
would try to kill me if I didn't explain my situation first'
Snape replied.
'I still want to kill you; you killed Dumbledore!' Harry
replied. Snape was getting frustrated again with the
situation.
'He was already dying you stupid boy! He drank a
Dolomors Potion. It causes the person to relive every
horrible moment in their life, and then kills them slowly,
and painfully. He was begging me to kill him.' Harry
laughed harshly.
'Oh, so now you're a saint? You killed him, and I saw it!
You killed him with a Killing Curse!' Harry almost shouted.
He was trying to sit up, but having a terrible time against
his bonds.
'Potter, if we were still at Hogwarts, I'd take points from
you for your stupidity! If you saw me perform the curse,
then you would have noticed how Dumbledore rose up in
the air; the Killing Curse doesn't do that! If I hit him with a
true Killing Curse, he would have just fallen over. I said the
Killing Curse, but performed a silent Levitation Charm, so
he would rise over the edge of the tower. It was the fall
that killed him.'
'I don't believe you. You're a murderer, plain and simple'
Harry retorted angrily. Snape stood for a moment watching
Harry, then approached him—his face emotionless as
usual. Hermione and the others wiggled violently to get
free, but it was no use. Harry watched the man come
closer, and wished for nothing more than his wand in his
hand, so he could kill him. Snape bent down, and pulled
out a pocket watch, and opened it.
Harry wondered what he was doing, but understood when
he put the tip of his wand against his temple. A silver
string of water-like material came out, and he cast it into
the bottom of the watch back, which filled it perfectly.
'Let's try this then, and see if you can get it through your
dimwitted brain' he said calmly once again. He moved the
watch closer to Harry's face, and Harry tried to squirm
away, but he couldn't move well enough. The tip of his
nose touched the silver memory, and Harry was pulled
inside.
Harry's side hit the stone floor hard, as he was still bound
in his cords. He glanced around as best as he could, and
found himself in the Headmistress's Office. It was
Dumbledore however, who was sitting behind the desk,
with all his silver instruments on the desk in front him. It
was night, and Dumbledore was quietly writing on
something. Only the sound of his quill against the
parchment filled the room, until a knock came at the door.
Dumbledore called the person to enter, and Snape came
into the dark room. Harry's anger came again to a boiling
point, seeing Snape and Dumbledore in the same room.
'You asked to see me Professor' Snape stated, his black
cloak following closely behind him and blending into the
dark corners of the room as he approached. Dumbledore
nodded, and motioned Snape to sit. He did so, and
Dumbledore put down his quill with which he was writing.
'Tonight I will be leaving the castle with Mr. Potter to look
for the locket. I believe it is in the cave Regulus told you
of.' Snape had no reaction to this news, and Dumbledore
continued on. 'Have you learned anything from Mr.
Malfoy?"
'Nothing new Professor. He is trying to fix something, but I
think he has finished his work. The Dark Lord has called
several followers to him the last few days, so I am
concerned something may occur' Snape mentioned.
'It is possible. With my absence, Voldemort may attack the
castle. I have called you here to tell you that, in the event
something may happen, you must ensure Draco's survival.
I believe, knowing Voldemort's past, the locket will be well
guarded, and may result in my injury becoming worst' he
explained, gesturing to his blackened arm, that made
Harry cringe with remembrance of the injury.
'What are you saying Professor?' Snape asked.
'If I return, and the infection has spread farther, or the
cave's defences were beyond me, I want you to do what I
know Draco is not capable of.' Snape stared at
Dumbledore without blinking, and then leaned in slightly.
'Albus, I can't . . . I can't kill you.'
'You must. If I live, then you and Mr. Malfoy will die. My
part in this war is coming to an end, I can see that much.
You do not have to kill me with the Killing Curse. Fake the
curse, and let me fall over the edge of the castle. You will
have appeared to kill me, and I will be dead. I do not want
Draco becoming a murderer, because you know just as
well as I that he walks far from his father's path.'
Snape sat in the chair motionless, and Dumbledore let him
for a few moments, before inclining his head, and looking
over the edge of his half-moon spectacles. Snape lowered
his head, and rubbed his forehead in frustration.
'I know this is a lot I ask of your Severus. I am sorry, but it
is the only way. You would have to leave with the Death
Eaters, but I am sure your Occlumency would keep you
safe' Snape looked up at the old man again, and his
eyes—Harry noticed—rested on Dumbledore's blackened
arm. He looked back at Dumbledore, and slowly, with
sadness in his face Harry never knew he could express,
nodded.
'Thank you Severus. You have helped both the Order and
myself countless times, and I hope you and Harry will
overcome your problems, and work together.' Snape's
face changed slightly at the mentioning of Harry's name,
but it was short lived.
'I will try Professor.'
Harry was then pushed outwards, and found himself
hitting another stone floor, this time with Snape in front of
him holding the pocket watch. Harry looked at Hermione,
and found her eyes looking worriedly.
'Is that proof enough?' Snape asked snidely, Harry's head
snapping back to the greasy haired man. Harry was still
trying to process all the information.
'How do I know that isn't fake?' Harry asked, trying a long
shot excuse. Snape sighed with annoyance.
'Potter, you can't fake a memory, no one can. That is a
memory, you just saw me pull it out!' Harry was still
wracking his brain trying to understand.
All this time, it was obvious to Harry that Snape was evil.
He constantly ridiculed and harassed Harry at Hogwarts,
and never showed him any respect. He continually told
Harry how horrible he thought James and Sirius were, and
he antagonized Sirius in staying in Grimmauld all that
time. He put Harry through all that torment during his
Occlumency "lessons," and last year—Harry just now
remembering—he stunned Professor Flitwick during his
escape from Hogwarts.
'Then why did you always treat me like rubbish, and teach
me Occlumency wrong? Why did you stun Professor
Flitwick last year? Why . . . Why were you so evil?' Harry
questioned. There were so many questions at Snape's
loyalty passing through Harry's mind, it was hard to keep it
in order.
'I treated you like that to maintain my secret. Everyone
was to suspect I was a Death Eater, and still was. Why did
I treat you so? Because I did hate your father, and his ill-
mannered "friends". Lupin I could tolerate, since he
normally kept his mouth shut; but the arrogant Black? The
idiot Pettigrew? And Potter, the worst of them all? No, I
could never learn to abide their presence. You are much
like your father, and as such, you are arrogant, boastful,
and untalented. I despised that Dumbledore took a liking
to you, though I understood his reasonings.
'And I knew you would be terrible with Occlumency.
Always too much misplaced anger, and immaturity, just
like your father; you would never succeed. If you wanted
to be treated as the "famous Harry Potter," then you
should be a natural at everything right? I made it my point
to show there are some things you could never learn with
all that falsely placed glory.'
Harry was going to respond, but let it slip. He had a feeling
he could use his Legilimency later to his advantage if he
needed.
'Stunning Flitwick and being my normal cheerful self was
again, part of being the Death Eater.' Harry laughed again
at this.
'So what, it was all just one big act? Is that what I'm
supposed to believe? That still doesn't explain Hufflepuff's
Cup, or why we're still tied up on this stinking floor' Harry
commented, trying to still figure a solid question to prove
Snape's allegiance. Harry knew before hand that you
could not fake a memory, but he needed to try.
'It was an act Potter, some of it. Hufflepuff's Cup will
require another dip into the watch. As to your restraints, I
am willing to let you free, but with no wands. If any of you
even twitch, you will be back in those binds.' Snape
motioned Draco to pick up all their wands, and he did so,
stepping back to the far corner of the room. Snape moved
over, and with a swish of his wand, their bonds were lifted.
Harry stood up quickly, as did the others, and stayed in
place.
Snape took the memory out of the watch lid, and put it
back to his temple. He then closed his eyes for a moment,
Draco keeping his own wand trained on the four others in
the room, and Snape again pulled out a memory, and
dropped it into the lid of the watch.
Just as he was opened his eyes and looked at Harry,
Topher shot out his hand, and his wand soared out of
Draco's shaking hand, and across the room. Snape's eyes
snapped to him, and Harry took action.
'Expelliarmus!' Topher yelled, while Harry gave Snape's
leg a kick to disorient him. Draco's wand, along with the
others flew across the room and into Topher's hand, and
Snape's wand flew over as well as he yelled out in pain
and clutched his leg. Harry heard a snap when he hit it,
and was inwardly pleased with himself.
'Here' Topher said, lobbing Harry and the other's their
wands, and keeping his trained on Draco. Snape was on
one knee, still holding onto his left leg.
Harry took his wand, and pointed it directly at Snape's
heart. Only a few minutes ago he wished for this situation;
for him to have his wand, and for Snape to be at the
receiving end of it. But as Snape looked at him, he found
his thoughts changed on the situation.
Harry was starting to feel unsure about Snape. Making
him see that first memory caused Harry to question his
belief that Snape was entirely evil. He still felt Snape killed
Dumbledore, but Snape's explanation about the Killing
Curse was correct; it didn't cause the victim to rise in the
air.
Confusion was gripping Harry, and he felt that this was
what Snape wanted; to make Harry question his
intentions, and make him unsure.
Ron moved over to the window Draco just finished looking
out of, and looked back to the rest of the group. 'There's
no one the-' he started, looking back out. Fear gripped his
face, and he leaned closer to the dirty window pane.
'There are Death Eaters here! They're coming into the
building!'
Topher ran to the window, and Hermione kept her wand
on Draco. Draco looked petrified, looking from the window
to the door. Any bit of colour from his face disappeared,
and he looked like he could faint at any moment.
'You knew they were coming! You're still a Death Eater!'
Harry snarled, moving forward—his wand jabbing into his
Snape's neck. Topher moved away from the window, and
came over to Harry.
'Harry, we need to go. They'll be here any moment.'
Topher looked at Snape for a moment, then back to Harry.
'They didn't come for you Potter, they're here for us. We
need to go with you. Give me my wand, and let's get out'
Snape asserted. Harry was not convinced.
'I don't believe you. You stunned us and were waiting for
other Death Eaters, that's why Draco was watching.'
'They killed my father and my mother! They're chasing us!'
Draco shouted frantically. The doors downstairs banged
open, and people began to stomp inside, and up the stairs
at the end of the hallway.
Topher still held Draco and Snape's wands, and was
hesitantly waiting for Harry to respond. The pounding
footsteps of the Death Eaters in the house were becoming
louder, and both Hermione and Ron came closer waiting
for Harry to decide.
'Let's leave them here. Apparate back to Hogwarts' Harry
decided. Topher and the others nodded slowly, while
Draco breathed in deeply with the answer and moved into
the corner of the room looking scared beyond words.
Snape looked at Harry, and did nothing, then glanced at
Topher.
Harry knew this was an act, and that when the Death
Eaters would enter the room, Snape would act calm, and
Draco would stop is pathetic dramatics. Harry and the
others took a step back, and thought of the gates of
Hogwarts. The pounding steps were approaching the
room, and the four gave a turn, but nothing happened.
Topher sighed angrily, and hastily waved his wand at the
door, locking it.
'They cast another Anti-Apparation Charm on the building.
We're going to have to fight our way out.' A loud pounding
on the door came, and Harry could hear spells being
slammed against the outside of the door. Harry, Hermione,
Ron, and Topher moved in front of the door, ready for who
might come through. Snape moved over, and Draco came
and helped him on to his feet.
'We need to get out of the house. Stun, blast, just clear the
way and run' Topher directed. They all nodded, and the
door continued to creak as spells blasted its exterior. The
spell began to loose its strength, and the door began to
budge. Harry held on to Hermione's hand, looked at her
for support, and looked back just as the door blasted off its
hinges and across the room.
'STUPEFY!'
'AFLATUS!'
'CRUCIO!'
All three spells came flying out of wands; the first from
Harry, the second from Topher, and the third from the
incoming Death Eater. The Cruciatus Curse flew past all
four of them, and the Death Eater was slammed against
the opposite wall of the hallway like a piece of lumber
against a house. More spells were being shot through the
doorway though, from the sides by other Death Eaters.
Harry and the others dived to the edges of the room, and
Harry found himself next to Topher, while Ron and
Hermione were on the other side of the room. Snape and
Draco were a few feet from Harry on the same side, trying
hard to not get hit by spells.
The room was alight by red, blue, and green lights as
spells flew from the doorway, as well as from the sides of
the room. There were more Death Eaters though, and
Harry found himself Shielding himself more than throwing
offensive spells.
'Protego!' Harry yelled, as a Disarming Spell shot from the
doorway. The spell deflected to the ceiling, and Harry
looked back to see a Stunning Spell fly from the doorway,
and hit Hermione in the chest.
'HERMIONE!' Harry yelled, trying to get up and reach her.
Topher held him down, and pulled him back towards the
wall, just as a Cruciatus Curse missed him.
'I'm giving Snape and Draco their wands' Topher yelled
between spells. Harry was still keeping an eye on
Hermione, who Ron was moving behind him to protect
her, and looked back. Not waiting for a response, Topher
took the two wands, and threw them to their owners. Harry
looked back frantically, but found Snape moving closer,
and shooting off a Disarming Spell at the doorway, while
Draco cast a Stunning Spell at a Death Eater.
Topher gave Harry a nudge to continue, and the two of
them, along with Snape and Draco shot off a barrage of
spells and curses at once, overwhelming the Death Eaters
on the other side. Topher moved closer to the side of the
doorway as the others continued, and just as there was a
tiny gap in spells, turned in the doorway, and moved his
wand in a massive right to left movement. Spells from the
Death Eaters stopped at once, and the Orphanage went
eerily silent. Harry wasted no time, and rushed over to the
other side of the room to see Hermione.
'Hermione, Hermione? Are you alright?' he asked
frantically. Ron used a Renneverative Spell to revive her,
and she was slightly groggy. She nodded, and Harry
helped her up, along with Ron.
'Thanks Mate, are you alright?' Harry asked Ron, who had
a nasty looking cut on his arm. He nodded, and the three
of them turned towards the doorway to see Topher binding
the Death Eaters in the hallway, Draco again looking out
the window, and Snape standing in the middle of the
room, fixing his leg that Harry only minutes before kicked.
'Do you believe me now?' Snape asked, a large amount of
resentment present in his voice.
'For now. We need to get out of here, fast' Harry
responded, making his way to the doorway. Topher was
already down the hallway, calling everyone else to hurry
up. The Death Eaters were gone, and the doors in the
hallway were all locked; muffles coming from each of
them.
Harry and the rest moved down the hallway quickly, and
down the stairwell towards the entranceway. Exiting
through the front doors, they moved out into the bare
courtyard as the cool outside air made Harry shiver
slightly. Making their way across, the wind caught up in
some of the trees just outside the yard, and Harry turned
to see the trees swaying. They continued on, and stopped
just as they reached the front gates. Topher opened it for
everyone, and they made their way across the street
hurriedly. Harry glanced back at the gate just as Topher
was turning, when a bolt of red light hit his back and he fell
over.
'Topher!' Harry yelled, running over with Hermione and
Ron. Snape followed quickly, and looked around for the
culprit. It didn't take long for Harry to see that it came from
a dark-cloaked figure standing close by. The figure
removed its hood, to reveal Bellatrix Lestrange; laughing
evilly at the group in the hollow night.
Hermione reached over and held onto Harry's hand, more
than likely to keep him from launching at the woman who
murdered Sirius. It worked, and Harry's mind kept level,
and he squeezed her hand back. Bella looked at Harry
and Hermione for a moment with her cold and dark eyes,
then her gaze moved to Snape, who moved in front of
them.
'Ah Severus, I knew you would be so foolish. The Dark
Lord will be pleased when I drag you before him. Crucio!'
Her Torture Curse whizzed by Snape, and he took his
wand and raised it to respond.
'Sectumsempra!' he expelled. Bellatrix screamed in pain
as gashes appeared on her face and front. A particularly
nasty looking gash was right under her left eye, and
extended all the way to her chin. Snape did not bother to
wait, and stunned her quickly; silencing her screams, and
causing her to fall over with a thump on the pavement.
'We have to move. Get to the other side of the street'
Snape ordered sternly, as Hermione revived Topher. The
group moved over, and kept close watch of the
Orphanage. Noise and bangs were coming from the
building, and they quickly moved farther away so they
would be able to Apparate.
'We need to go with you' Snape told Harry and the rest.
Harry was hesitant for a moment, but seeing him injure
Bellatrix like that made his case a bit stronger in Harry's
mind.
'Alright. Give him the address' Harry told Hermione. She
looked at Harry questioningly, just as another loud bang
occurred inside the Orphanage.
'Hermione, give him the bloody address!' Harry restated,
some anger encroaching into his voice. She hastily
reached into her pocket, and found a scrap piece of
parchment and her traveling quill, and wrote down a small
sentence. She gave it first to Snape, who read quickly,
then to Draco—who was still looking around frantically for
Death Eaters. Once he finished, Hermione burned the
parchment, and looked at the rest.
'Topher, Side-Apparate with Draco, I'll Side-Apparate with
Snape. Unless you want to get splinched, I'd suggest
going right to Grimmauld' Harry declared. Snape looked to
protest—probably because he thought it was childish—but
the Death Eaters from the Orphanage burst out of the front
doors, and began pelting curses at them. Topher quickly
moved, and grabbed Draco's hand, twisting on spot, and
disappearing with Draco. Ron and Hermione Apparated
away with speed, and Harry—thinking of Grimmauld's
front lawn—looked to turn when Snape grabbed his arm.
'NOW!' he yelled, and Harry gave a turn, feeling the
siphoning envelope him, with Snape bumping into him
along the way.
The group of Death Eaters stopped firing spells, and two
walked over to Bellatrix—their steps sounding in the empty
courtyard. Snape's Stunner was just lifting, and she stood
up—blood still trickling down her chin.
'Are you alright Bella?' one of the masked men asked in a
hoarse voice. She wiped her brow, and looked to where
Harry and the others just vanished from.
'I'm better than alright. The not only is the mudblood their
secret keeper, but she and Potter are in love. The Dark
Lord will be very pleased about this.' She turned, ordered
the others back to the caves—and with an evil grin—
Apparated herself.
Landing on the parched front lawn, Harry and Snape were
right next to the others. The air here was cold and still;
very much like that outside the Orphanage—minus the
spells flying through the air of course. The group quickly
entered the house, and Harry made his way to the kitchen
to make sure no Order members were there. He thought
he was in luck, seeing very few lamps lit, when he found
Lupin sitting at the table.
'Harry! What are you doing here?' he asked, looking up
from the Daily Prophet that he was reading. Harry, for the
first time he could imagine, was upset to see Lupin. It
would have made things easier if no one was around. He
would have to explain the whole situation to Lupin before
Snape and Draco could enter the room, otherwise there
would be yet another duel.
'I was doing something. Remus, I need to you do
something for me, please' he started off, sounding very
cautious like he was approaching a live tiger. Lupin could
tell something was up.
'Harry, is everything alright?'
'Everything is fine, I just need you to do one thing.' Lupin
put down his cup, and looked at Harry in wonder.
'Alright Harry, what is it?' Harry took a deep breath, and
approached his father's old friend.
'I need your wand' Harry articulated. Lupin did look to
question his request, but must have caught the look of
hope in Harry's face. He pulled out his wand from his grey
robes, and gave it to Harry.
'Thanks Remus. Now, please, I need you to not go off your
rocker over this' Harry began, walking over to the doorway
to where Topher and the rest were waiting.
'Over what?' Lupin asked again, sounding more worried
now than before. Not having his wand in his pocket made
him feel exposed, even if he was in a secret house.
Harry gave a deep breath, and opened the door, letting
Topher in, followed by Hermione, Ron, Draco, and finally,
Snape.
'Oh, hi there Topher, Hermione . . . Ron, Ron! Malfoy is
behi- YOU!' Lupin yelled. He started off sounding alright,
but by the end he was off his seat, automatically reaching
for his wand that Harry luckily got from him before hand.
Harry swiftly moved back into the room, and tried to calm
Lupin down.
'Harry, what are you doing! He's a Death Eater, he killed
Dumbledore for Merlin's sake!'
'Remus, REMUS!' Harry yelled, trying to get him to stop.
Snape remained quiet, as did Draco—who was looking at
his surroundings in mingled disgust—as they stood on the
opposite side of the table.
'Remus, they're on our side! Dumbledore was already
dying from a potion, and knew he was going to die. He told
Snape to levitate him over the edge of the castle' Harry
divulged to both Lupin and the others. Lupin snapped his
eyes to Harry, still looking for answers.
'How do you know?' he asked, still sounding frantic, but
slightly calmer.
'He showed me a memory of him and Dumbledore before
we left Hogwarts the night he died.' Lupin looked over at
Ron and Hermione for help, but they were just as
confused as he was. He looked to Topher, and found he
was the calmest of the whole group.
'It's true Remus, Severus is on our side. Dumbledore told
me last year why he trusted him, and showed me the
same memory that is locked in Snape's pocket watch that
proves his allegiance' he professed. Lupin was still
confused, but Harry was quickly angered by this
information.
'You knew about the cup! Why didn't you tell me! Why did
you and Dumbledore lead me on, we could have been
killed!' Harry shouted, side stepping Lupin. Snape
remained quiet, and Topher was taken aback with this
outburst.
'I had to stay quiet Harry, Dumbledore made me promise.
You have to ask him why, I don't know. All he said is you
would be going to two places: an old manor, and an
orphanage. He said I would have to go with you both
times, and that you would be looking for Snape.'
'I wasn't looking for Snape, I was looking for the cup' Harry
said confusedly.
'Did you find it?' Lupin asked.
'Here' Snape voiced, speaking for the first time. He pulled
out the shards of Hufflepuff's Cup, and threw them on the
table. Lupin looked at Snape with disgust, hesitantly
walked to the table, and looked at the cup for a moment,
before finding the halves of the badger.
'Is this?'
'Yes, it's Helga Hufflepuff's mark' Snape answered
monotonously. Lupin turned with the shards still in his
hands, and looked at Harry.
'This was the cup you were looking for? Why is it so
important?'
'Because . . . well, erm-'
'Because it was a Horcrux' Hermione announced,
sounding thoroughly annoyed at Harry dancing around the
subject.
'A what?' Lupin responded, not understanding the gravity
her statement.
'A Horcrux; something that contains a piece of someone's
soul. It was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes' she exposed.
Lupin reacted in the correct fashion now, and immediately
threw the cup pieces out of his hand, and let them land
with a clunk on the table top.
'Voldemort's soul? What- . . . what are you talking about?'
he asked, confusion gripping him entirely.
'It's a long story Remus, and we don't have time. I need to
see that memory in Snape's pocket watch, and we need to
get back to Hogwarts before McGonagall comes looking
for us' Harry remarked. Lupin looked back at the cup with
worry, but kept quiet, and nodded, sitting back at the
table—though keeping some distance from the cup.
'Sit down, and give me the watch' Harry instructed to
Snape. He felt a bit triumphant, being able to order Snape
around, even if they were on the same side. Snape was of
course displeased by the tone, but sat down, and
produced the watch. Draco sat down as well, and
continued looking around the room. Topher took a seat
across from Draco, and kept his wand out just in case.
Harry moved the watch closer and Hermione and Ron
approached him from both sides.
'I want to see this' Hermione stated.
'Yeah, me too mate. If this was what made Dumbledore
trust Snape, I want to see it' Ron added. Harry nodded,
and gave Lupin his wand back.
'Keep an eye on them. We'll be back in a second.' Lupin
seemed better with his wand in his hand now, and
nodded. Topher did so as well, and Harry opened up the
watch, and found the silver memory still inside.
'Um, Harry . . . how do you-I mean, how do I-'
'Just stick your nose in it, and it'll do the rest' Harry
answered. Ron nodded, and Harry bent over the watch,
and entered the memory.
Harry landed in a sitting room—which had the look of a
miniature library—and soon Ron and Hermione landed
next to him.
The walls were covered in shelves full of old leather-bound
books, of which most appeared motionless for years. A
worn and neglected sofa, a cracked leather armchair and
a shaky wooden table sat under a small flood of amber
flicker from an oil lamp hanging above. On the table stood
a small iron cauldron, filled with a black tar-like potion that
was steaming a purple mist, which was fogging the room
slowly as it spread outwards, hugging the floor.
'Where are we?' Hermione asked quietly. Harry shrugged
his shoulders, and observed the room carefully.
Harry saw movement in the corner of the room, and found
Snape walking from the shadows towards the cauldron.
He came forward quietly, and sprinkled an orange paprika-
like substance into it, and the potion turned even deeper
black; absorbing all the light that fell on it from the old and
dusty lamp above. The purple mist intensified, and began
filling the air. Luckily, Harry remembered this was a
memory, so he would be saved from smelling the potion.
'That's the Cassus Animus potion' Hermione pointed out.
Harry nodded, and all three were startled by a knock
sounding through the room.
Snape's head jerked up from the potion, and faced the
door. He moved around the table—his footsteps creaking
the floor below him—and opened the door. He mumbled
something to the person outside, and opened the door
fully to reveal Albus Dumbledore standing outside; his
silver beard standing out in the darkness.
Dumbledore entered the room in a grey and dark blue
coloured robe, and glanced at the walls, and the ceiling.
Snape closed the door behind him, and turned to see
Dumbledore smiling.
'I quite like small houses. You're never too far away from
anything, and can get anywhere with only a few paces.'
Snape continued to frown at the old man, and moved
closer to the potion, entering the light.
'This is not a house, this is a slum' Snape pointed out
bluntly. Dumbledore continued to glance around, and his
gaze fell eventually found Snape's unhappy look.
Dumbledore looked at the cauldron, and stepped forward.
'Ah, is this the potion?' he asked, trying to forget his
attempt at being nice to Snape.
'It is. It's ready to be used.'
'I understand, do you have the item?' Dumbledore asked.
Snape moved to the section of the room farthest from the
door, and reached up to one of the many dusty books. It
was hard for Harry to see in the darkness, but Snape
pulled down on one of the books, and a section of books
on the same shelf next to it opened up like a cupboard.
The books were only an inch deep, and mounted onto a
wooden cabinet door. In the hollow, a single golden object
stood in the centre. Snape carefully reached in, took hold
of the object, and moved back into the lamp light, the
hidden cupboard door closing.
The instant the light cast on the item, it was easy for Harry
to distinguish it as Hufflepuff's Cup. Though it was very
worn and tarnished—the gold unreflective and dull—the
cup was still a magnificent piece. The handles looked like
a set of arms of a plump woman, her hands resting on her
waist in frustration. The golden badger, even though it was
not well maintained, stood proud on the side of the cup.
Snape offered it carefully to Dumbledore, and he took a
cautious hold of it. He looked at it closely. He tilted the cup
in the dim light, and with his other hand, moved his half-
moon shaped glasses to take careful examination of the
badger.
'Amazing, simply amazing. This cup is over twelve-
hundred years old. It is a shame Voldemort had to pick
such an object as a Horcrux' he commented, holding down
from his vision, and instead looking towards the murky
potion. He took a few steps forward holding the cup
closely, and leaned over slightly. He quickly pointed his
wand at his nose, and sighed in contentment. Snape
approached, and Dumbledore leaned away from the
potion.
'Not the most pleasant smell is it?' Dumbledore stated
rhetorically. 'The cup needs to be put in the potion. The
only question is whether the soul needs to be activated for
the potion to work.' He paced around for a moment, his
eyes fixed on the cup in his hands, and turned back to
Snape, still pacing—his robes following behind him and
kicking up dust from the floor.
'Hmm . . . How do you think the cup could be activated?'
Dumbledore asked, placing said object on the table next to
the potion that would destroy it.
'Since it's a cup, I gather drinking from it would be the
most likely method' Snape answered, the lack of
enthusiasm clear. Harry was beginning to notice how he
would look out at the door every once in a while. He
wondered if Snape was doing this either because he was
worried of someone entering, or he was expecting
someone.
'That sounds correct. Let's try just dropping the cup in first'
Dumbledore suggested. Snape nodded shortly.
Dumbledore took his wand, and levitated the gold cup
above the surface of the black potion. He lowered it
slowly, so the potion oozed around it, and let his wand go
after the cup filled, and was lost to sight. The room was
dead to sound, and only the small amount of dust in the air
moved in the lamp light. A few seconds past, and the
potion continued to stay dormant like a pond, and
Dumbledore took his wand, and lifted the cup out.
'It appears it will need to be activated. I gather the metal of
the cup protects it from the potion. Shall I activate it?'
Dumbledore asked, as he tipped the cup allowing the
potion to pour out slowly like molasses. The cup slowly
lowered to the table once again, and with a flick, was
clean of any remaining potion.
'I will do it Albus. It will be a testament to my true loyalty,
and redemption for what the Dark Lord did to my friend' he
asserted. Dumbledore lowered his head in agreement,
and took a step back.
Snape was apprehensive for a moment, but walked up to
the table, and took hold of the cup. It was going to be a
difficult thing to do, and Harry knew it. Snape had to take a
drink from the cup, but at the same time throw it into the
potion. It seemed to Harry that the Snape in the memory
was having the same dilemma in his mind, and
Dumbledore stepped forward.
'Might I suggest doing this' he offered, levitating the cup
into the potion, so it floated on top. He then gave a swish
to the cauldron, and the cup seemed to stop bobbing in
the thick potion. Snape gave a curious look at
Dumbledore, and he approached the cauldron with
caution. He looked at the cup, and found it not to be
moving, in any direction. Wondering, he gave the cauldron
a slight nudge, and the cup and the potion remained
motionless.
'I solidified the potion. This way, you can drink from the
cup, and it will be submerged in the potion' he explained.
Snape glanced at Dumbledore and nodded with the
realization, and pointed his wand at the cup. A small jet of
water came out, and filled the cup half way. Dumbledore
came closer with his wand out just in case, and Snape
picked up the cauldron. It was small, but Harry could tell it
weighed enough from the struggle Snape was having with
it. He lifted it up and tilted it slightly. The potion remained
motionless, and the cup stayed in the centre. With one
final jerk of the cauldron, the water came falling out of the
cup, and Snape drank the liquid.
As fast as he could, he lowered the cauldron and hastily
set it back on the table. A massive roar filled the little room
like that of a tornado, and Dumbledore swished his wand
at the potion, and the cup fell into the darkness of the
blackened liquid as it began to bubble violently, and dark
green fumes erupted from its surface. Many of the old
books on the walls began falling down and slamming onto
the floor as it seemed the tiny room was being shook by a
massive being like someone would shake a muggle snow
globe. Snape moved to the edge of the room, next to
where Dumbledore was, and in the midst of all the noise
and chaos, he grabbed his head and hunched over in
pain.
'Severus, Severus are you alright?' Dumbledore asked
worriedly, as put his hands on Snape's shoulders trying to
steady him.
'The Dark Lord . . . he . . . he knows' Snape stuttered in
pain. The cauldron gave a violent rumble, making the
flimsy table it was sitting on almost snap like a twig, and
the potion began to churn and fade into a vile shade of
olive. Snape seemed to recover, and slowly stood with
Dumbledore's aid. Dumbledore was still looking at him
worriedly, but Snape just nodded, and they looked back at
the potion. As they looked back, the potion seemed to
calm instantly, and the howling and violent rattling of the
rooms ceased.
They both stayed back, and watched the potion carefully.
Harry remembered what came next, and covered his ears,
Hermione and Ron doing the same. It helped very little
though, as a sudden, piercing scream blasted the entire
room, and no doubt half the country. The brownish green
surface of the potion reflected a shadowy face, which
looked much like that of the older Tom Riddle, who was
screaming in excruciating pain. The face slowly sank lower
until no longer visible, and it, along with the scream, died
away and the potion finally turned a sick, swampy green.
Dumbledore and Snape both approached, and looked in to
find the cup, broken exactly in two, floating in the potion.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and with a heavy clang of
metal on metal, the two cup pieces rang against the
bottom of the now empty cauldron. He reached in, and
pulled out the two sections. Examining it carefully, Harry
noticed the badger was broken exactly down the middle.
Snape was panting, as if he just ran a marathon, and
Dumbledore approaching him with the cup pieces.
'Are you alright?' he asked. Snape took a few breaths, and
nodded.
'I am . . . The Dark Lord . . . was inside . . . my head . . . he
never has . . . been before' he panted. Dumbledore moved
Snape over, and sat him down in the cracked leather
chair.
'I imagine that was the part of his soul. What did it say?'
'It said I was a fool to try and destroy his Horcrux . . . and
that nothing could stop him' Snape responded, still
gathering his breath. Dumbledore nodded, and took a seat
on the edge of the couch.
'Meant for those who are weak minded. One needs the
mental strength I believe to make the soul stay in the
potion.' Snape nodded, and looked at the shards that
Dumbledore put down next to the empty cauldron.
'You have my trust now Severus Snape' Dumbledore
acknowledged, holding out his hand. Snape took it with a
firm grip, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were pushed out
of the memory.
Harry landed back in the kitchen of Grimmauld, and
everyone was still sitting down. Harry looked at Snape,
who looked vastly weathered to his younger self in the
memory, and sat down. Hermione and Ron sat down next
to him, and they too looked at Snape.
'Do you trust me now?' Snape asked to Harry.
'We'll see, I have questions. When was this?'
'About two months before your parents died.'
'And who was this "friend" of yours?' Snape paused for a
moment, breaking his gaze with Harry, and looked back,
his expression changed slightly.
'Regulus Black.'
'You knew Regulus?' Lupin asked. Snape nodded, and
continued.
'Of course I knew him, he was a Death Eater. We
understood each other. He was from a family that didn't
understand him, and so was I. I helped him move into the
deeper circles of the Dark Lord's service.'
'Why did he die?' Harry asked. Sirius always said he got in
too far, and was murdered, but Harry always wondered
why Regulus was killed, and what scared him to want to
get out.
'Because he, like me, learned what the Dark Lord was
doing. The Dark Lord called a meeting of his closest and
most trustworthy Death Eaters: Bellatrix, Lucius, Rosier,
myself, and Regulus. At first, the Dark Lord was unsure of
Regulus, but I swore he was trustworthy. He took us to a
distant cave, and revealed his deepest secret to us.
'He told us of his Horcruxes. At the time, they were hidden,
but he wished for a single and trusted Death Eater to
guard each of them. Lucius was given a diary, Rosier a
ring, Regulus a locket, Bellatrix a snake, and myself, a
cup. He told each of us where they were, and to check on
them.'
'He just told you? Just like that?' Ron asked sounding
astonished.
'He was at the height of his power Mr. Weasley, and quite
arrogant. He did not tell us exactly what the objects were.
He said it was important they remain safe, and that they
contained the power to do great, evil deeds. He knew his
Horcruxes were safe, but he wanted to make sure. If we
all died trying to get to them, then he would be satisfied. If
we didn't, then he'd kill us anyways, and hide it once
again.'
'So what happened?' Hermione asked.
'We left, and when I met up with Regulus, he was petrified
beyond words. At first I thought he was worried over
guarding the locket, but he was worried over the locket
itself. Coming from such a notably dark family, he knew
what the locket really was, and how evil a Horcrux was.
'He said he didn't want to be a part of the Dark Lord's
service anymore; that he wanted out. I told him he should
reconsider, but he wouldn't have it. He said he made a
terrible mistake, and that Sirius was right to discourage
him from becoming a Death Eater.'
'So how did he end up dead?' Harry asked again, wanting
Snape to get to the point.
'I told him about my work with the Order, and the potion I
was making with your mother. At the time, the potion was
brewing, and he told me he would get the locket so it could
be destroyed with the cup, that I found in the muggle
Orphanage behind some terrible curses. He left, but never
returned.
'I found out later from Bellatrix that he ended up here, at
Grimmauld, and that he professed to his mother that he
was joining the Order of the Phoenix. He said he stole the
locket, but she didn't believe him, nor did anyone else for
that matter. She was so disgusted by him—turning into his
brother Sirius—she disowned him, and called Bellatrix to
bring him before the Dark Lord. I had to watch as he was
tortured over and over again, until at last put to death. The
Dark Lord sent several Death Eaters to the cave, and
none came out, which meant the protection must have
been strong enough.'
'That's how he died?' Lupin asked, his voice croaking from
not speaking in a while. Snape nodded slowly, and took a
deep breath.
'It was then that I knew my allegiance to the Order. I felt I
had to fight the Dark Lord, not just because I wanted to,
but because I owed it to Regulus. It was because of me
that he died.'
Silence filled the room for a moment as everyone took in
Snape's words. Remembering back to the horrible
Occlumency lessons, Harry remembered seeing Snape as
a child with his parents yelling, and how he looked so
helpless. Then he remembered those memories from
when his father and Sirius tormented him, and for the first
time in Harry's life, he felt bad for Snape, learning now of
how he lost his best friend.
Regardless of how mean he was to everyone, he had a
horribly tough life. Always being picked on, then falling into
the ranks of Death Eaters, and having his best friend killed
in front of him, knowing it was his fault. This feeling of
sorrow to Snape however was short lived as he once
again returned to his snide self.
'So do you trust me, or are you going to throw us to the
Death Eaters?' Snape asked.
'Firstly, you can stop with the attitude, and secondly, I trust
you, but what about Draco?' Harry answered.
'What about me Potter? I hate this as much as you do, but
the Dark Lord killed my parents. He made me watch my
father get tortured in front of me' Draco informed grimly to
the rest of them.
'It's true, I was there' Snape reassured.
'So why should we trust you?' Harry asked Draco. Draco
was getting noticeably frustrated.
'Because I want him dead! I'm not my father, I don't want
to be my father. I looked up to him all my life, and in the
end it was nothing. He was reduced to living in a cell, then
being let free only to be murdered by the man he loved
more than his own bloody family. I hate the Dark Lord, and
I hate Bellatrix!' Draco spat.
'Well that's all well and good, but we need proof' Hermione
explained.
'I don't have any' Draco responded. Harry was unpleased
by this, but Topher rose from his seat, and smiled.
'I have a solution' he announced, pulling out a piece of
parchment, and writing something on the top.
'Both of you, sign this' he instructed, pushing the
parchment and quill towards Draco, who looked at it oddly.
'What is it?'
'We need proof, this will help' Topher answered, however
Draco was still hesitant. 'Don't worry Draco, it won't hurt
you, and nothing will happen so long as you remain loyal
to the Order' he explained. Draco carefully picked up the
quill, and wrote his name on the parchment. Snape
followed without question, and Topher quickly summoned
it back to him, and pocketed it.
'Good, we have insurance, just in case. Now' he said
louder, getting up from his chair again, 'we need to return
to Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall will be wondering
where we all are if we don't show for breakfast.'
'Breakfast?' Harry questioned. Topher smiled with one
side, and motioned to the small window, through which
Harry noticed a dull blue sky peering through.
'It's morning! We have to get back!' Hermione asserted
anxiously.
'Alright. Remus, can you put them upstairs, and make sure
they stay out of the way?' Harry asked, getting up from his
chair.
'I can, sure. I'm the only one here right now, but Kingsley
is supposed to stop by this morning sometime.' Lupin got
up from his seat, and turned to Harry. 'Harry, I am a bit
nervous having both of them in here though, with me by
myself' he disclosed. Topher came over, and reassured
him though.
'Don't worry Remus. They do anything' he said,
brandishing the parchment they just signed, 'and you won't
have any troubles.' He looked at Lupin, smiling with both
sides, and Lupin nodded.
'We'll be back soon—and don't think of going anywhere'
Harry stated aggressively.
'We're prisoner's Potter, whether we like it or not' Snape
remarked bitterly. Harry smiled at the idea that now Snape
was confined to Grimmauld, and turned to Hermione, Ron,
and Topher.
'Let's go, back to the gates' Topher said quickly. Harry
thought of the gates, and gave a turn, Apparating out of
Grimmauld.
His feet landing on damp grass, Harry was surprised by
how bright it was. The sun hadn't risen yet, but it was
close. The sky was a dark shade of blue, and was on the
brink of declaring day.
The four of them walked up to the gates, and Topher
talked to one of the gate keepers. He seemed to have a
difficult time with the man he was talking to, and came
walking back in frustration.
'Something wrong?' Ron asked. Topher sighed, and
rubbed his forehead.
'The guards I talked to last night I knew. They had no
troubles letting us in or out, but they switched a few hours
ago. I didn't think we would be that long, and these new
guards are pompous yaks. They've called Umbridge
down.' The mention of Umbridge made Harry's mind sink.
He knew she would have a field day with this, and have a
delightful time telling Professor McGonagall how she
found "that Potter boy" outside the castle again all night.
Harry worried for Topher too, because his job could be in
jeopardy.
The group stood in the morning chill in quietness, waiting
for the plump and exceedingly annoying woman to come
from the castle. Harry saw her walking down, and she
seemed to be purposely taking a long time to get there. By
time she did arrive at the gates, the sun was rising and
casting morning rays on the castle.
'Open the gates' she instructed to the keepers. They
opened them, and the group entered. Umbridge's toad-like
face grinned at Harry, and she stood in front of the group.
'You three may leave. Professor Terrwynebas, Professor
McGonagall would like to speak to you. Granger and
Weasley, Professor Fourmove will be speaking with you,
and as for you Potter' she pointed, with a stubby finger,
'you'll be coming with me.'
Harry sighed, and the group sauntered up towards the
castle. Umbridge motioned towards the small chamber
located off the Entrance Hall that was usually for the first
years before being sorted. Hermione gave Harry a
sorrowful look, and he tried to smile, but there was no use.
He was tired, thoroughly confused over the night's events,
and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on his bed in
the East Tower.
He slouched his way to the door, and looked back to see
Umbridge standing closely behind him, grinning happily,
like she just caught a huge fly. Harry sighed, and opened
the door, only to find the second most disgusting person
he wanted to see in Hogwarts there, sitting on a chair, with
one sitting in front of her. Her long and painted red
fingernails clutched a piece of parchment, along with a red
quill.
'Oh, Harry, so wonderful to see you again' Rita Skeeter
said happily, motioning him to sit down, and giving a large
grin to Umbridge, who entered the room and closed the
door behind her.
Harry wondered what else this day would throw at him.
Spell / Name Meanings:
Dolomors Potion - L. dolor: pain, suffering, mors: death
(Dolomors Potion suffering death)

- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR -
The Darkness Approaches
'Alright Harry, if you're unwilling to give me information on
your trips out of Hogwarts at night, I'll just have to report
my own theories. Now, what about you and Miss
Granger?' Rita Skeeter asked Harry, after pelting him with
questions about the two nights before; Harry not
answering any of them.
'What about her?' Harry asked, sounding aggravated.
'Well, I believe I was right all along wasn't I? You two are
an item. Very touching' she added, scratching down notes
on her parchment. The room they were in was small, and
Umbridge seemed to make it smaller with her pacing
around Skeeter and Harry, who were sitting in the middle
of the room on the only chairs.
'Things between Hermione and I are none of your
business. Besides, I thought you were done with your
writing days' Harry mentioned, his eyes locking onto
Umbridge, who continued her slow encircling, like a
vulture waiting for an injured animal to die.
'Oh Harry, my business is a fickle one, and there are
always opportunities. My good friend Dolores told me she
could set up an interview with you, and I have several
papers already itching to publish this lovely little chat.'
'I doubt they will when you learn nothing from me' Harry
responded. Skeeter laughed harshly at this, and wrote
another comment on her parchment. Umbridge was
behind her, and tried to read, but Skeeter saw her leaning,
and clutched the parchment close to her, hiding it from the
vulture's sight. Harry wondered why she would keep
secret the notes she was taking on Harry from Umbridge,
but figured it was Skeeter being paranoid over her only
break in the last two years since her last interview with
Harry.
'Oh, I'm sure we'll learn plenty from you Harry. We have all
the time in the world' Rita explained happily, looking at
Harry with her bug-like eyes peering through her fake
jeweled spectacles.
It was then that a loud knock came at the door to the
room. Skeeter clutched to her parchment dearly with her
large, man-like hands, and Umbridge gave a sigh—
strutting over to the doorway, and opening it slowly. She
carefully peered out the doorway, but immediately closed
it when a spell was fired at her from someone on the other
side, and smashed into the door with a crack. She turned
back to Harry, who was turned in his seat, and she looked
completely infuriated.
'This is an imposter! Potter is outside. Leave him, I must
catch that boy' Umbridge told Skeeter. Harry gave a
strange look to both Umbridge and Skeeter, but stayed in
his seat.
'I'll stay here and watch this one; you bring the boy here'
Skeeter told Umbridge. Umbridge nodded, and opened the
heavy wooden door cautiously. Not having any spells cast
at her, she swung it open quickly, and ordered two Aurors
passing by to search for Harry. The door closed with a
thud, and to Harry's surprise, Skeeter pointed her wand at
the door, and it locked with a click.
'Hmmm' she said quietly, looking at a patch of stone floor
in front of her with a strange expression. She wrote
something short on her parchment, and stood from her
chair. She turned, and began to pace around behind her
chair, and looked back at Harry.
'Well then, if you're not Harry Potter, then there is no need
for you' she stated in a rather dark tone compared to her
normal, rather annoying one. She pointed her wand at
Harry, and he quickly dove out of the way before the spell
she cast hit him, and instead turned the chair he was
sitting on into shards of wood.
'Expelliarmus!' Harry yelled, his wand pointed at Skeeter.
She moved out of the way quickly, and was able to avoid
the spell.
Skeeter then turned, and kicked her chair at Harry. Harry
dove again to miss getting hit by the chair, but in his dive,
Rita cast her own Disarming Spell, and Harry's wand flew
out of his hand while he was still in mid-flight. Harry hit the
stone floor hard, and felt naked without his wand, as it was
now happily in Rita's hand.
'What, did Voldemort get to you?' Harry asked angrily from
the floor, looking up at an oddly emotionless Skeeter.
'Something like that, yes' she answered, as the door
began to thud and pound from the outside. She pointed
her wand at Harry's chest, and he desperately tried to
think of a way out.
'Ava- . . . Avad- . . . ' Skeeter started, but began to
twitching violently. Her wand was still pointed at Harry, but
it seemed like she was struggling somehow to say the
curse.
Wasting no time, Harry reached up and stole back his
wand. Skeeter was still struggling, and had closed her
eyes like she was fighting some internal battle. Harry
backed up, and tried to open the door, but just as he
reached it, it seemed Skeeter finished the battle.
'Ava- . . . Avada . . . Avada Kedavra!' she shouted, the
green light flashing towards Harry. He hastily threw
himself to the stone floor, and luckily dodged the Killing
Curse as it slammed into the heavy wooden door. He
looked up and found Rita's expression lifeless, and her
eyes hazed as she continued to fire spells at Harry; the
pounding on the door becoming more intense.
Harry ran behind a stone pillar that stood in the corner of
the room, and quickly reached into his pocket. He was
desperate, and had only one way to escape the room. He
would try to fight back, but Skeeter was firing so many
Killing Curses, he would for sure get hit by one if he tried
to get into a good position.
Pulling it out of his pocket, he put the Time Turner around
his neck, and just as another Killing Curse was being fired
by Skeeter, and a booming crack came from the door, he
flipped the hourglass once.
The scene around him began to change, and he saw both
he and Skeeter dueling, then Umbridge re-entered, and
she was pacing in a circle. Everyone looked shadowy, and
before he knew it, Harry and Umbridge were out of the
room, and soon after that, Skeeter was too. The room
slowly returned to normal, and only Harry was inside, still
standing behind the pillar.
Harry wasted no time, and ran out of the room towards the
Headmistress's Office. Heaving the password to the stone
gargoyles, Harry quickly entered and found the office
empty. Fear beginning to enter Harry's mind, he asked
some of the portraits, and learned the Headmistress left to
go and speak to a professor. Which one, they did not
know, but Harry ran out and began his early morning and
tired search.
Checking the Charms room and the Astronomy office,
Harry found both of them were empty. Time was running
out quickly for Harry, and he needed to hurry. He and the
others would be returning to the castle very soon.
While running to the Potions dungeon, Harry suddenly
stopped, and remembered what Umbridge said when they
arrived. He turned around, and made a mad dash to the
Transfiguration classroom, where he finally found
Professor McGonagall, talking with Professor Fourmove.
'Potter, What is the matter?' McGonagall asked after Harry
ran through the doorway and approached the two
professors, catching his breath from the sprint.
'Where's Umbridge?' Harry asked. Professor McGonagall
looked at Professor Fourmove, and then to Harry.
'She's more than likely looking after her rounds. What is
wrong Potter; why did you run here, and what are you
doing up so early in the morning?' Harry looked around,
and took a seat at one of the desks, and the Headmistress
and Potions Master came closer.
'Professor Terrwynebas, Ron, Hermione and I are going to
be coming back to the castle soon. We had to make
another trip to find . . . something.'
'Going to be coming back? But you're here' Professor
Fourmove pointed out. Harry reached under his collar, and
pulled out the Time Turner to show the two Professors.
Professor McGonagall was not impressed.
'Potter, we gave you that Time Tuner under the notion you
would be using it only for your lessons, not to warn us you
are coming back from field trip to save you from getting in
trouble' she explained flatly.
'Professor, Umbridge is going to be letting a Death Eater
into the castle in the next hour-'
'Stop Potter' McGonagall said abruptly, putting her hand
up. 'You cannot come back in time to warn us of things to
come.'
'But I know I already did!' Harry avowed.
'And how is this?' McGonagall asked.
'Because Umbridge tells us that you want to see Professor
Terrwynebas, and that Professor Fourmove wants to see
Me, Hermione, and Ron. Where you planning on doing
that just now?' Harry asked. McGonagall looked again to
Fourmove, but just for a moment.
'No Potter we were not. Who is this Death Eater Umbridge
is bringing into the castle?'
'Rita Skeeter. She tried to kill me' Harry divulged.
Professor McGonagall was stunned by this name.
'Skeeter? She could not be a Death Eater; she does not fit
the profile. She's much too . . . selfish. But you say she
tries to kill you?' she asked. Harry nodded, and Professor
McGonagall thought for a moment.
'When are you due back?' she asked, Harry taking a
glance at the old clock on the left-hand wall.
'In about ten minutes' Harry realized, hoping the two
women would make a decisive choice.
'Alright Potter, we will do this, but there is a lot of
explaining to be done once this is all over. Iona, can you
go and inform Dolores about our requests for Professor
Terrwynebas and the students?' The young transfiguration
professor agreed, and quickly exited the room. Professor
McGonagall signaled Harry to move as well, and they
began their way to her office.
'Was this trip tonight successful?' she asked as they
climbed the quiet and empty stone stairwells, lit with a
dampened morning glow from the windows.
'Somewhat. It's hard to explain, and I need to ask
Professor Dumbledore's portrait some questions first if you
don't mind' Harry asked, trying to sound as polite as
possible, remembering how he felt manipulated again by
Dumbledore.
'Very well Potter, but quickly. I am glad to see you are
safe, but I disagree with the time you are arriving back at
the castle. I was told by Professor Dumbledore's portrait
that these excursions were to last no longer than three
hours' McGonagall informed as they reached her office.
They entered quietly, and McGonagall let Harry walk in
first. He moved right to Dumbledore's portrait.
'Good morning Harry. I am very glad to see you alive and
well. How was your trip last night?' he asked, like one
would ask how a trip to the corner store went.
'You knew about the Cup? It was already gone' Harry said
darkly.
'It is gone, yes Harry.'
'Then why in Merlin did you send me out to find something
that you know doesn't exist anymore!' Harry yelled, his
hands clenched in fists at his sides. Professor McGonagall
looked to interrupt with her dislike for Harry's tone, but
Dumbledore raised his hand to motion it was alright.
'You needed to find Severus' Dumbledore answered
simply. All that did however was enrage Harry more.
'Oh yes, find Snape. He stunned all of us, and tied us up! I
was ready to kill him, and part of me still wants to!'
'I know Harry, and I am sorry. I did not know how Severus
would go about trying to convince you of his allegiance,
but-'
'Why the lie?' Harry interrupted. 'Why did you lie to me
about the Cup?'
Dumbledore lowered his head, and sighed. 'I did not really
lie to you Harry. You were still searching for the Cup, but
the shards of it are in Severus' possession. So, to find the
Cup, you needed to find Severus.'
'But why do we need to; the Cup's already destroyed.
Snape can go rot as far as I care' Harry admitted, looking
away from Dumbledore's reaction.
'Harry' Dumbledore started, leaning forward in his painting,
and lowering his voice to calm either Harry, himself, or
both of them. 'Harry, you saw the memory; Severus
destroyed a Horcrux. He was the first to destroy a
Horcrux; before me, before you. That is important Harry,
because it is proof of which side Severus is on. He can be
difficult sometimes, I know' he continued, as Harry gave a
harsh laugh, 'but he has helped me, the Order, and yes
Harry, you. He has helped you more than you know.'
'How? By teaching me Occlumency wrong? By taunting
Sirius? By always preaching about how horribly he thinks
my father was?' Harry stated, anger again rising back up
in his chest and his stomach.
'No Harry. For some things, you will have to talk to
Severus about, but the Occlumency was partly my fault. I
know he taught you incorrectly, and it was not entirely my
idea to do that.'
'What do you mean "entirely"? Did you tell him to teach me
wrong; to allow Voldemort to get more into my head?'
Harry ranted at the painting.
'No Harry. I simply asked Severus to find out what you
were seeing, and what, if anything, your visions could be.
He found the only way to get the visions to come up, was
to make you relive harsh memories, and get you angry. He
only told me after some time, and it was then that I
stopped your lessons. I knew they were doing worst for
you than good.'
'You didn't stop them; I did. I looked into his memories,
and he threw me out of his office.'
'Yes Harry, and who do you think told him to leave his
memories in a Pensieve like that? Don't think I forgot a few
years ago, when you got curious of my Pensieve'
Dumbledore informed cautiously.
'You mean, you knew I would look into it, and see those
memories?' Harry asked in disbelief, wondering if he was
so predictable. Dumbledore nodded, and the vision of
Harry as Dumbledore's puppet began to increase in
Harry's mind. Harry was going to respond back angrily,
when the door to the office opened, and Professor
Terrwynebas, along with Hermione, Ron, and Professor
Fourmove came inside.
'Harry? How in the blazes did you get up here before us?'
Ron asked, looking up at Harry in wonder.
'I have to go and stop Umbridge' Harry told Professor
McGonagall all of a sudden, dropping his conversation for
now with Dumbledore's portrait, and remembering his past
self.
'No, I want you to first tell me what happened' she
demanded. Harry told her quickly about going into the side
room from the Entrance Chamber, and how Umbridge and
Skeeter were there. He explained about Umbridge
answering the door, and mentioning an imposter, then
how the problems with Skeeter start. Professor
McGonagall understood it well enough, and was
convinced that Harry would not actually see his past self.
'Well, it sounds clear. Professor Fourmove, go with Potter
and bring Dolores up to my office for a nice chat.
Professor Terrwynebas, can you detain Rita once
Umbridge is out?' Professor McGonagall asked. They all
nodded, and as they left, Professor Dumbledore cleared
his throat.
'Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, can you stay here, I wish to
discuss something with you?' he asked. They both looked
at Harry, and he knew full well that Dumbledore wanted to
talk about him. Harry nodded to them with a bit of dislike to
Dumbledore's talking behind his back, and they stayed
behind.
Walking down the cool stairwells in the early morning light,
Professor Fourmove remained quiet, along with Harry and
Topher. They reached the Entrance Chamber, and Harry
led them to the side chamber. Both the Professors waited
around the corner, as Harry walked up, and banged on the
door.
Some shuffled footsteps could be heard, and just as the
doorway opened up, and Harry caught Umbridge's toad-
like face, he shot a Blasting Curse at the door, and she
quickly closed it. Harry moved quickly down the hallway,
and right on queue, Umbridge opened the door, and took
notice of Harry running away.
'You two' she yelled at two passing Aurors. 'Get Potter!'
she ordered as she slammed the door behind her, and
began moving her short hoof-like legs down the stone
hallway, coming around the corner to find three wands
pointing at her. She stopped abruptly, and the two black
cloaked Aurors bumped into her back. The three of them
looked at the two Professors and Harry.
'You will give me your wand. The Headmistress wishes to
have a word' Professor Fourmove said sweetly. Umbridge
raised her rather bulbous chin, and the two Aurors behind
her moved closer.
'I think not. Potter here is to be questioned, and you have
no authority over me Professors' Umbridge replied, looking
at Harry with a sick grin.
'I have no troubles banishing you and your guards to the
Forbidden Forest. I'm sure the centaurs will be thrilled to
see you. Isn't that right Firenze?' Topher asked, looking
around the group.
Harry smiled brightly as he saw Umbridge's eyes grow
wide as the sound of hooves against stone could be heard
growing louder behind the group. Harry tilted his head
around Umbridge's wide frame, and found the large
centaur walking towards the group. The Aurors looked to
see him, but Umbridge tried desparately to maintain
herself, and not look at the approaching Divination
Professor.
'Mercury predicted the traveling of people to evil places,
and of a sacrifice to be made for those who venture' he
informed the group, coming closer and looking at Harry
with his bright blue eyes. Umbridge, who had begun to
shake, looked down to the stone floor, noticed his long
shadow approaching, and burst through the Professors
and Harry quickly.
'Alright! I will go to McGonagall's office! Here!' she
shouted, throwing her wand back to Professor Fourmove.
'There's an imposter in that room down the hallway' she
explained to the Professors as she began walking up the
stairwell, still not looking back.
'Don't worry, we already know' Topher responded.
Professor Fourmove ran to catch up to Umbridge, and
took her up towards the Headmistress' Office, along with
the two Aurors. Topher and Harry bid Firenze goodbye—
as he was on his way out towards Hagrid's Hut, and
approached the side chamber door. A crash came from
within, and they hurried up.
Trying to open the door, and then using a spell, the door
failed to move. 'There must be a Cementing Spell on it.
We're just going to have to blast our way through it'
Topher said. They backed up a little, and heard Harry from
inside the room.
'What, did Voldemort get to you?' the Harry inside the
room said. Harry and Topher both pointed their wands at
the door, and began throwing Blasting Curses at it. It
looked like the curses were having some effect; yet when
Topher stopped, he walked up and tried to push the door,
but found it to be exactly how it was before.
'Avada Kedavra!' came from the other side of the door,
and both Harry and Topher stood back again, and threw
Blasting Curses again at the door; at a closer distance and
with a quickened pace. Just as Harry began worrying if the
door would actually come down, he saw it creak open after
a barrage, and Topher quickly vaulted into the room—the
door making a loud booming sound when it opened—and
Harry followed behind.
Reaching inside, he found the same chair as before in
pieces on the floor. The corner of the room was empty,
and Topher bound Rita in cords, and took her wand from
her.
'Harry, pick up her notepad please' Topher asked,
motioning to the clipboard and the dropped red quill. Harry
took it, and looked at the paper and was surprised.
'It's blank' he exposed, showing it to Topher. Rita laughed
harshly again, and looked at Harry again with a hazy
expression.
'The Dark Lord will soon have you in his clutches Potter.
You and your Mudblood love will plead for death before
the end' she hissed. Topher tapped her with his wand, and
she fell into a deep sleep.
'Whoops' he said sarcastically, bringing her out of the
room. Some early risers came down—or up—from their
dormitories, hearing the sound of the curses. They all had
their wands out, and as Harry looked at the two dozen or
so, he was proud to see students from all four houses, and
every one of them were members of the Guard.
'We heard Blasting Curses and assumed the worst' Neville
informed, who was still managing with the arm of his shirt.
'Harry, is that Rita Skeeter?' Ginny asked, who was
standing with a few other Gryffindors as they saw Topher
levitate her above the ground. A few more students were
arriving with their wands, and asking others what was
happening.
'It is. I'll explain later' Harry said quickly, looking at the
group.
'Yes, everyone back to their dormitories, now' Topher
ordered. Harry almost forgot he was Head of Gryffindor
house, and all the students hurried quickly back to their
dormitories, no doubt to tell all the rest of the students.
Topher gave a flick of his wand, and the three began their
way to the Headmistress' Office.
'Well, there goes any secrecy' Topher admitted as they
approached the first staircase.
'Why would she be working for Voldemort?' Harry
wondered aloud as they climbed the stairs, and Topher
levitated Rita up.
'She's not working for them on purpose Harry. Did you
notice her eyes?'
'I did, they were hazy, and it had me wondering. Was she-'
'Yes, under the Imperious Curse I believe. Was probably
ordered to gather information on you, and try to kill you if
possible' Topher suggested. They moved up into the next
staircase, and remained quiet for a while as Rita was
slowly levitated in front of them.
'How did you know about Umbridge and the centaurs?'
Harry asked as the came closer to the Headmistress's
Office.
'When she came to the castle in August to work out the
rounds for her Aurors, Professor McGonagall told me
about her little trip in the Forbidden Forest, and her love
for centaurs. Just in case something like that situation
occurred' he explained, a smile wiping across his face, as
they rounded the last corner, and reached the
Headmistress' Office. They entered, and brought Rita in;
finding Professor's McGonagall, Fourmove, Slughorn, and
Flitwick; Madam Pomfrey, Umbridge, Hermione, Ron, and
the two black cloaked Aurors.
'Was there any trouble? Are you both alright?' Professor
McGonagall asked.
'We're fine Professor, although by breakfast every student
will know that Rita here is in the castle. It seems she was
under an Imperious Curse. Strange you did not notice her
eyes Dolores' Topher pointed out, everyone focusing on
the stout woman.
'She was wearing a cloak when she entered, so students
and staff would not wonder. I asked her about her eyes,
but she said it was just a healing spell that was wearing
off' Umbridge justified. Professor McGonagall looked away
in disbelieve of Umbridge's stupidity, while both Madam
Pomfrey and Professor Fourmove laughed at it.
'A healing charm? Even I'm no good at Healing, and know
that no charm for the eyes has any lasting external effects'
Professor Fourmove exclaimed.
'Why not?' Hermione asked.
'Because it would impede the person's vision' Fourmove
answered, Hermione nodding in understanding.
'That has nothing to do with what's happened. Do we
know anything about who could have cursed Rita, or any
information she took?' Professor McGonagall asked,
getting the conversation back on track.
'She asked me where I have been going on my trips
outside the castle, and . . . ' Harry hesitated, glancing at
Hermione for a moment. Professor McGonagall was not
up for waiting however.
'And Potter?'
'And about me and Hermione' he admitted, looking at
Hermione who was nearby. She looked a bit worried over
the news, her brown eyes growing slightly wider, but she
stayed collected.
'Don't worry' Harry continued, 'I didn't tell her anything, I
swear' he reassured both Professor McGonagall and
Hermione. Hermione smiled lightly at Harry, and nodded
knowing he was truthful.
'We believe you Potter. Is this the notepad she wrote on?'
Professor McGonagall asked. Harry nodded, and handed
it over. She gave it Professor Flitwick, and he placed it on
a chair to look at it. After waving his wand over it a few
times, he scratched his head slightly, and looked at the
notepad again.
'This notepad is connected to another I believe. When
someone writes something, it appears on the other
notepad' he explained.
'So someone was getting Rita's notes' Professor
Fourmove stated.
'Yes, and you can judge how far away the other notepad
is, by how fast the ink disappears' he pointed out. He took
the red quill, and everyone leaned in closely to see him
write.
I have the real Potter. What should I ask?
The writing evaporated quickly, and before the tiny
Charms professor finished the dot on the question mark,
almost all the other writing was gone.
'Is it me, or was that fast?' Ron questioned rhetorically.
'Very fast. The other notepad must be no farther than
Hogsmede' Professor Flitwick maintained.
'Professor Fourmove, contact the Ministry, and let them
know about this immediately' Professor McGonagall
stated. The black haired professor nodded, and quickly
exited the room.
'Poppy, can you take Rita to the Hospital Wing. I want her
isolated, so none of the students see her' Professor
McGonagall maintained. Madam Pomfrey agreed, and
levitated Rita out of the office.
'Professor Slughorn, can you please bring up some
Veritaserum for Rita; we need to—'
'There's a response!' Professor Flitwick squeaked, as
writing appeared in dark faced letters.
Ask Potter if he is searching for something in the
Department of Mysteries
Harry immediately looked at Topher, who wore just as
worried a face as Harry did.
'The Department of Mysteries? Harry m'boy, you aren't
looking for something down there are yeh?' Professor
Slughorn asked gruffly. The professors, along with all the
portraits—who had been listening to every word—looked
at Harry for an answer.
'I . . . I am, I think' he responded, looking to Topher for
help.
'We're both looking for something. Something very
important, powerful, and dangerous' he professed.
'And just how are you getting information about the
Department of Mysteries?' Umbridge inquired rudely from
her side of the room.
'You let someone who was clearly under an Imperious
Curse into the castle, which almost resulted in a student
being killed Dolores. You are in no way justified in asking
a question, so stand there and be silent' Professor
McGonagall commanded, Umbridge responding by huffing
and turning away slightly from the group, no one really
caring about her performance.
'I have a source inside. Voldemort shouldn't know though,
I've only dealt with one man, and he's trustworthy' Topher
explained, everyone except Harry, Hermione, and Ron
shivering at the word Voldemort.
'As I was saying, Professor Slughorn, can you please
bring up a bottle of Veritaserum to find out where Ms.
Skeeter has been, so we may know how long she's been
under the Curse' Professor McGonagall asked. Professor
Slughorn agreed, and waddled out of the office towards
his potion's room in the depths of the castle.
'Professor Flitwick, can you please find out as much
information as possible about that parchment. Find out
where that person is on the other side, and what else they
have been asking about.'
'Are you sure it's best to have him reading it alone? I
mean, remember the diary and Ginny?' Hermione said,
looking at Professor McGonagall.
'Do not worry Miss Granger. I will take great care of this
parchment, and will be sure not to read too much into it.
Now, if you will excuse me' Flitwick requested, picking up
the parchment and walking out the door.
'Now, Dolores, what to do with you?' Professor
McGonagall wondered.
'You can not lock me up; I am the Supervisor of the Auror
detail' she announced, trying to raise herself up to look a
measly one and a half centimeters taller. It did not work.
'We will survive, do not worry Dolores. These two Aurors
will escort you to the North Tower, where you will wait until
a Ministry official arrives to relieve you' McGonagall said, a
bit of what Harry thought was happiness seeping into her
voice.
Umbridge looked at the two Aurors, and was surprised to
see them coming next to her, and holding her arms as
they began to walk. The three quietly exited the
Headmistress' Office, and McGonagall put her hand to her
forehead, and for the first time Harry could remember; she
showed signs of tiredness. She quietly moved around her
desk, and sat down in the high winged chair.
'Potter, did I hear you correctly earlier? Did you go out
searching for Severus Snape?' McGonagall asked to the
group in her office, which now consisted of the same one
that just returned to the castle that early morning.
'We didn't go searching for him, but we found him. He's at
Grimmauld right now with Malfoy' Harry informed.
'Malfoy? Draco Malfoy? Both of them at Grimmauld? By
heavens Potter, you can't be serious? Snape killed
Professor Dumbledore, and Draco Malfoy set it all up!'
McGonagall said loudly, her eyes wide with a mixture of
wonder and anger.
'No Minerva, Severus Snape did not kill me in the way you
think' Professor Dumbledore's portrait announced quietly.
Everyone looked at the portrait, as it took a deep breath
(although many would question why it would need to
breath), and continued on.
'I drank a potion that night that was killing me. Snape
levitated me over the edge, and let me fall, because I was
already dying—quite painfully I might add.'
'Potter, is this true?' McGonagall asked, turning around to
face Harry.
'I guess. I didn't know what the potion was, or did. Snape
told me the same thing though; that he levitated him over
the edge, and it was Dumbledore's own decision, not his'
Harry admitted, though not too happily.
'Severus said it was a Dolomors Potion' Topher put in.
McGonagall's face grew pale slightly, and she looked
gravely at the portrait.
'Oh Albus, is that . . . is that true?' she asked gravely to
Dumbledore. He nodded, and she closed her eyes for a
moment before nodding. 'I understand. So that means . . .'
'That means' the portrait continued, 'that Severus Snape is
on our side. I trust Harry here can confirm his allegiance.'
Dumbledore looked at Harry over his half-moon shaped
spectacles, and Harry nodded.
'It's true, Snape's on our side' he admitted despondently.
'But what of Draco? Surely he can not be trusted, after
what he did' Professor McGonagall said, looking at the
portrait.
'Young Mr. Malfoy is more of a worry, because I do not
know what has happened to him since he left Hogwarts.
Did he tell you anything Harry?'
'He said Voldemort murdered both his parents—his father
right in front of him. He said he hates him' Harry explained.
'Hmm' the portrait responded, thinking for a moment while
other portraits in the room conversed quietly. 'Did he say
he wanted to help us?'
Harry took a moment to try and remember back, but the
morning was turning into a blur fast. He was quite tired
from the lack of sleep.
'He said he wanted Voldemort dead, and Bellatrix' Harry
said, remembering Draco's rantings in Grimmauld.
'Don't worry Professor McGonagall' Topher assured,
reaching into his pocket, and pulling out the piece of
parchment he had both Snape and Malfoy sign. 'A bit of
insurance, just in case' he explained, putting the
parchment on the desktop.
'What is this?' Professor McGonagall asked, picking it up
and reading it.
'It's a Bonded Parchment. Both Severus and Draco signed
it, swearing allegiance to the Order. If either of them break
it . . . well, let's just say, they won't get that far' Topher said
with a devilish smile.
'Bonded Parchment?' Ron asked, Hermione turning to him
quickly.
'It's the spell I put on the sign-up sheet for the DA' she
informed quietly.
'Alright' Professor McGonagall said, taking the parchment
and putting it in a pocket of her green robe. 'If you three
could go to the Great Hall for breakfast, I have some
things to discuss with Professor Terrwynebas here. Please
inform the students that Rita is visiting the castle for
Prophet business. You may have the morning off from
classes to rest.' Harry protested.
'Professor, I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore's
portrait more, there are questions I have that need-'
'I know Potter, I know' she admitted, holding up a calm
hand. 'But this is important. Perhaps Miss Granger and Mr.
Weasley can help you' she offered.
'Harry, let's go to breakfast, please' Hermione insisted,
holding onto his arm, as both support, and to keep him
from jumping around the Professors, to yell at
Dumbledore's portrait.
'We will talk later Harry, I promise' Dumbledore assured
from his portrait, looking at Harry with his gentle blue eyes.
Harry sighed tiredly, and nodded.
'Please report back here at six tonight, after supper. You
can discuss more with Professor Dumbledore then, and
we will be having a meeting with some Order members to
discuss what is to be done with Mr. Malfoy and Severus'
Professor McGonagall maintained. Harry agreed, and he,
along with Ron and Hermione, left the Headmistress'
Office, and began their slow and sleepy walk to the Great
Hall.
'So what did Dumbledore talk to you two about while I was
gone?' Harry asked, getting right to the point.
'He told us about Snape basically, and that we should try
to support and help you' Hermione said calmly, still holding
onto his arm.
'Yeah mate, that was about it. He knows you're mad, but
he wants you to come back and talk to him later tonight'
Ron put in, Harry looking at his red-haired friend in
astonishment.
'Why does he want me to go back? Just to hear more of
how I'm his little puppet in his game, and for me to just get
more angry at it all' Harry asked. Hermione stopped Harry
in the middle of the hallway, and looked at him closely.
'Harry, you're not a puppet. He's always felt horrible for
keeping things from you, but he needs you to go back,
because you know more than him, and he wants to help
you' she explained to him, trying to maintain a lock on his
eyes as they darted around.
'Let's go get some food, and some sleep. I swear, I'm
gonna fall over if I don't sit down' Ron insisted, as he
continued down the stairwell. Harry sighed, and Hermione
placed her finger on his chin, raising his head to look at
her.
'Ron's right, it's been a long night. Let's get some
breakfast, and then we can sleep alright?' she asked
sweetly. Harry looked at her as she was basked in the
morning rays of the sun, and he nodded. She moved
closer, and gave him a slow and seemingly time-stopping
kiss. For the moment as they lingered—Harry forgot his
earlier problems, and took comfort in Hermione's ability to
calm him in even the tensest moments. His shoulders fell,
and he relaxed his arms as they draped around
Hermione's comforting form.
'I'll meet you two in the Great Hall!' Ron shouted from the
other end of the hallway, as he looked back at his two
friends, and left. Harry did not bother responding, and
instead allowed his kiss with Hermione to continue quietly
in the empty stone hallway; the orange and yellow from
the sun casting down through his closed eyes.
Harry and Hermione slowly parted, and Harry smiled at
Hermione, as she moved her arms around his neck, and
began playing with his hair in the back of his head.
'You missed that, didn't you?' she asked playfully. Harry
smiled, and gave her a hug, looking out the window to see
the cool morning mist spreading through the Forbidden
Forest. Harry's thoughts turned to the multitude of tasks
before him, and worry to Rita Skeeter's questions about
him and the girl he held in his arms.
'Don't worry Harry' Hermione said, as they moved to look
at each other again. 'You'll be alright; we're all hear for
you' she encouraged. Harry moved a strand of her auburn
hair out of her face, and placed it slowly behind her ear.
'I'm worried about you. If Rita was asking, that means he
knows' he admitted.
'Then we'll face him together' she said determinately, but
still softly. Harry gave her a kiss, and the two started their
way to the Great Hall hand in hand.
Turning around the corridor, Harry could hear a couple
behind a stone pillar making some rather obvious noise.
Taking out his wand, he moved around, and his mouth fell
open at the sight.
'Neville!' Harry breathed, as Hermione came around and
looked as well. The couple instantly broke apart, and the
other individual was identified.
'Ginny!' Hermione said, sounding and looking astonished.
Neville was blushing like a tomato, as was Ginny, who
was still keeping a hold of Neville's hand to keep him from
falling over in embarrassment.
'Don't tell Ron please. For the love of Merlin, don't tell Ron'
Ginny pleaded quickly. Neville was still looking like he just
ate something rather distasteful.
'How long have you two-?' Hermione asked.
'A couple of months' Ginny answered. Neville was getting
pale, and looked at Harry with immense worry.
'I'm . . . I'm sorry Harry' he finally voiced.
'Sorry?' Harry asked.
'Because . . . because you . . . and Ginny, last year . . .' he
began, as he started to hyper-ventilate.
'Relax Neville, I think it's great you two' Harry said with a
smile, looking at both Neville and Ginny. Ginny smiled
happily at Harry, and gave him a hug.
'Thank you Harry' she whispered in his ear happily. Neville
hunched over and slowly regained his breath, and Ginny
moved back over and gave him short kiss.
'Com'on, let's go to breakfast' Harry insisted after a short
laugh at it all. Everyone agreed, and as they started down
the stairwell, Ginny asked about Skeeter.
'So what was she doing in the castle, and why did
Professor Terrwynebas stun her?'
'If anyone asks, she was here for a Prophet article.
Truthfully, she was under an Imperious Curse to get
information on me' Harry explained quietly.
'Are you alright?' Neville asked.
'I'm fine, yeah. But McGonagall is having a meeting tonight
with some Order members about it all. We'll have to see
how things are with the fake story at the Guard meeting
tomorrow night.'
As they entered the Great Hall, it seemed the truth was
not going to wait until the next night. A surprisingly large
number of students were up early on this Monday
morning, and Harry had to rethink his plan.
'Why was Skeeter here—who was that woman—why was
she stunned—'
'Alright! The Guard will meet tonight at eight pm in the
Room of Requirement. For those still wishing to join, find
out from other members were it is. We'll explain what
happened then' Harry affirmed. Everyone seemed to
accept that, and made their way back to the house tables.
Ron was already diving into his food when Harry and the
others sat down, and he gave both Ginny and Neville an
odd look.
'Are you two seeing each other?' he asked, taking careful
look at Ginny. Neville dropped his fork at the question, and
on his way to pick it up, banged his head on the table.
'We are, is that a problem?' Ginny asked angrily. Ron was
going to respond, when Hermione interrupted.
'That's great Ginny, and you too Neville.'
'Yeah, that's wonderful guys!' Harry added in, making Ron
look at his friends, as they casually started at their
breakfast.
'So Ron, is it a problem?' Ginny asked again, Neville
stopping for a moment to wait for his response. Both Harry
and Hermione glanced at Ron, and he gave a sigh.
'No, it's great. Congrats guys' he said with a chuckle,
digging into some jam for his toast. Harry and the others
smiled at each other, and broke into laughs when Ron
began looking at them questioningly.
As breakfast continued, the daily owls came swooping into
the Great Hall, and the regular Daily Prophet landed in
front of Hermione, carried by a Burrowing Owl. Harry was
going to look at it with her, when another owl found itself in
front of Harry.
'Hedwig, what do you have there girl?' he asked, taking a
note that was in her beak. The snowy owl took a few
pieces of bacon from Harry's plate as he read, and waited
for his response.
Dear Harry,
Can you come by the hut tomorrow afternoon? Grawpy
and I have a surprise for you!
Hagrid
'Hagrid asked us to come by his Hut tomorrow' Harry
informed Ron and Hermione.
'We have a free period before supper' Hermione
answered, looking through the front page of the Prophet,
which was stamped with dangerous and wanted wizards
and witches. Harry wrote a reply telling Hagrid of the time
they could be expected, and Hedwig—after a soft pat—
flew off and through to the outside.
'Things are getting worst' Hermione stated, placing the
newspaper down on the table. 'Over thirty dead in one
night, and five missing. The Ministry is so overrun, they're
even having trouble protecting St. Mungo's, Muggles, and
even the Ministry itself.'
'I hope Dad's alright' Ron said with a tinge of fear, looking
at Ginny who looked just as worried.
'It says the Ministry is still safe, but that Ministry officials
are so spread out, it wouldn't take much defeat it'
Hermione said, reiterating the newsprint.
Breakfast finished quickly, and still more people came to
question Harry about Skeeter. He continued to explain that
he would tell everyone at the Guard meeting that night,
and it seemed most of the students in the castle would be
showing up.
The trio bid farewell to the others, and very sluggishly
made their way to the towers. Ron asked if he could sleep
in the East Tower, because there would not be any
students going through it, and they let him sleep in the
common room. Hermione charmed a make-shift bed for
him, and although it was not a four-poster, he fell asleep
almost instantly. Harry and Hermione, both overly tired
from the day before and the night spent away, gave each
other a kiss, and slumped their way to their dormitories.
Harry changed slowly, and fell asleep quickly on his bed.
After what felt like a short sleep, filled with odd and yet
wonderful dreams of himself and Hermione, as well as
Luna, Draco, and Crookshanks; he woke up to find the
room dark. He figured he closed the drapes before going
to sleep, but as he rolled over and looked out, he was
surprised to see that it was in fact dark outside. He smiled
as the stars twinkled in the night sky, and remembered
back to his kiss with Hermione that morning, and her
insistence in being calm with Dumbledore.
Sitting up all of a sudden—making his head dizzy for a
moment—he looked out the window, and began panicking;
it was already the evening, and he missed his afternoon
classes. He hastily got up from his bed, and frantically
searched for his wand. Finding it, he made light, and
realized he was still in his clothes from the day before. He
ran to his trunk, and threw on his Hogwarts robes quickly,
making sure his Head Boy badge was on, and vaulted his
way down the staircase—still feeling groggy and knowing
his hair looked as messy as ever.
Reaching the common room, he looked and found
Hermione sitting at the desk, and Ron still asleep on the
bed in the middle of the room; in between the two chairs
and the fire, which was burning quietly.
'What time is it?' Harry asked quietly, approaching
Hermione.
'It's five thirty. Don't worry, I talked to Professor Fourmove
about class, and she said it was alright to miss it' she
informed.
'So how long have you been up?' Harry asked, going over
to take a look at Ron, who was sprawled out on the make-
shift bed, looking to fall off soon.
'About an hour or so. I went to talk to Professor Fourmove,
and just checked about Rita Skeeter.'
'And?'
'She was under an Imperious Curse, and had been for
quite some time. There's no idea who, but someone very
skilled at it. Professor McGonagall said she'd explain more
at the meeting tonight. Don't forget you have a Guard
meeting tonight too' Hermione reminded Harry.
Harry quickly planned out his meeting for the Guard, and
just as he finished, Ron finally fell out of the bed, and with
a thud, woke up and got ready for supper. The three of
them left and quickly ate supper, and Harry dialed his
fake-Galleon to let the DA members know about the
meeting tonight. He confirmed the meeting with members,
and the trio left the Great Hall; making their way to the
Headmistress' Office again.
Not seeing much of the day light was effecting Harry's
eyes a little, but adjusted and hoped he could sleep that
night so he would not become a day sleeper. Being awake
only at night made the castle feel darker, and less vibrant
than usual.
'Stars and Moons' Harry said to the gargoyles, and they
jumped out of the way for the three students. They all
entered, finding Professor McGonagall sitting at her desk,
with Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Baldric.
'Harry, Hermione, Ron; are you alright?' Remus asked,
getting up from his chair and looking over Harry carefully.
'We're fine, just tired a little. We came to talk to Professor
Dumbledore' Harry voiced, hoping to remind Professor
McGonagall. Harry did not expect, or really want anyone
else in the room during his conversation, but it seemed he
was not that lucky.
'We know Potter. He told me that he wanted us all here for
your conversation, in that it dealt with subjects we should
all know about' Professor McGonagall divulged. Harry was
not pleased, but went ahead towards the portrait.
'Where is Professor Terrwynebas?' Hermione asked.
'He will be arriving shortly with someone of importance. Do
not worry Miss Granger' Dumbledore offered, before
looking back at Harry.
'Harry, I know you have many questions, and that most
revolve around Severus' he started, Harry staying calm
like Hermione asked him to. 'I want you to ask me what is
on your mind, and I will do my best to explain everything.'
Harry took a deep breath, and tried to forget the extra five
people in the room.
'Why didn't you tell me I was searching for Snape, and not
the cup?' he asked calmly, Hermione smiling at Harry for
keeping relaxed.
'Because I knew if you were searching for Severus, you
would wish to murder him. Regardless of what I could say
to you, I knew you would not believe he was on our side. I
knew it would take seeing his memories, and his
destroying that cup to make you believe.'
'So why did you get me to search the castle, the Riddle
House, and the Orphanage if you knew he would be at the
Orphanage? We almost got killed in the House' Harry
asked, some heat entering his voice, but he continued to
stay relatively relaxed.
'Part of our plan, in case Severus would have to escape
from the Death Eaters and Voldemort, was for him to hide
in two places: the Riddle House, and the Orphanage. Both
are heavily entrenched in Voldemort's mind, and he would
not step into those buildings lightly. They already had
magical spells on them, and would be good places for him
to hide.
'The problem was, which one was he in? I figured by this
time, he would have had to escape Voldemort, and
hopefully Mr. Malfoy with him. So, it took a search of both
places to find him. Searching Hogwarts was honestly just
to get you thinking you were looking for the cup. I am
sorry, but I had to deceive you in that way' Dumbledore
said, still sounding as calm as he ever did.
'What about Topher?' Harry asked all of a sudden.
'What about him Harry?'
'How much did you tell him about me? He's still a stranger
to me in many ways, yet he knows more about me than I
tell him' Harry stated. He did not like questioning Topher
behind his back, but it was something that troubled him.
'I told Professor Terrwynebas as much as he needed to
know. He is a very open individual with the ones he trusts
Harry, so I'm sure you can ask him, and he will tell you
whatever you wish to know. But as for my part, I told him
that it was important to continue my research to help you,
to go with you on any trips you may take to find objects
called "Horcruxes", and about your need for extra lessons
on defence—focusing specifically on spells that use love.'
'That's it?' Harry asked.
'Basically, yes. I told him about Snape of course, because
I knew on at least one of these trips, you would be going
out to find him, even though you would say you were
looking for a cup. Anything else he knows, it would be
from either other staff, or from you directly. Do you still not
trust him?' Dumbledore asked, looking over his half-moon
spectacles.
'No, I do, believe me I do. It just bothered me how much
he knew about me' Harry admitted.
'Well, realize that there were things you knew about him
before he told you. It works both ways Harry.' Harry
nodded, and Dumbledore decided to change subjects. 'So,
when is your next meeting for the Guardians?'
'Tonight, at eight in the Room of Requirement. It looks like
the Guard will be over half the students in the castle' Harry
appraised.
'That's wonderful Harry' Remus said, Harry turning and
just remembering the others in the room.
'Yes, we were wondering' Hermione started, looking at
Harry, 'could some of the staff come and help students?'
Professor McGonagall pondered for a moment, and
nodded. 'I believe it is possible, however staff would be
doing it voluntarily. I can not make all the staff help during
non-classroom hours, but I will encourage it entirely.' Harry
was happy to hear this, and turned around as a knock
came at the door, and Professors Sprout, Sinistra,
Flitwick, Slughorn, and the rest of the staff entered into the
office—Professor Binns floating through the wall.
Professor McGonagall took her seat at her high-winged
chair, and the professors conjured their own chairs, and
sat around the edges of the bookshelves in the room.
Harry looked at the group, and still found that Professor
Terrwynebas was absent from the office.
'As you all are aware, Rita Skeeter was allowed into
Hogwarts early this morning by Dolores Umbridge. Rita
was under an Imperious Curse, and Dolores neglected to
notice. Rita attacked Mr. Potter here, but we were able to
subdue her before any injuries took place. Ms. Skeeter
was brought to the Hospital Wing, and is now stable, while
Dolores is secure in the North Tower, pending a
replacement from the Ministry.'
'What information were you able to get from the
parchment?' Professor Fourmove asked Professor
Flitwick.
'Very little. It seems I do a terrible written impression of
Rita, and the other person quickly stopped writing. They
were asking mostly about Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, as
well as the Department of Mysteries, and Hogwarts.'
'What did you find out from the Veritaserum?' Professor
McGonagall asked Madam Pomfrey.
'She was under the Imperious Curse for a while; at least a
few months. Who knows how much information she's
gathered since then.'
'Who is in charge of the Aurors at the moment?' Professor
Sinistra asked, after a few quiet moments.
'This gentleman here, Baldric Branwen is in charge for the
moment. Nymphadora is assisting, but all seems to be
running smoothly. I think the Ministry will not send a
replacement quickly, because of the troubles they are
having themselves.'
'Yes, what is the news from the Ministry?' Professor
Sprout asked, looking over at Tonks, who gave a sigh, and
turned around in her chair to face everyone.
'In the past two days, there have been nine attempts to
storm the Ministry. All have failed, but we are loosing
numbers. The Ministry is calling up trainees to guard the
Ministry entrances, however Death Eaters are not holding
anything back. The Minister himself is rumored to be
coming here in the next few weeks, to discuss setting up
the Ministry here.' The portraits breathed and started
talking almost as loudly as the professors did.
'You mean, the Ministry is actually going to be overrun?'
Professor Slughorn asked worriedly.
'It's worst than before. You-Know-Who has many more
followers, and the Dementors and Giants are moving
through the country side like brushfire. There are even
reports of Death Eaters attacked Dragon keeps in
Romania, as well as in Portugal and Sweden' Tonks said
dreadfully. Everyone was deeply quiet with the
information, and Hermione held onto Harry's hand shakily.
Harry noticed, and placed his hand on top, trying to calm
her.
'So what should we do? We can't continue classes like
normal with all this chaos' Madam Hooch expressed
evenly.
'I agree Rolanda, but we must maintain order. The
students must be kept in the castle, and classes must
continue. Mr. Potter, along with Miss Granger and Mr.
Weasley have started a student defence organization to
train students in the event that the castle is attacked. They
have asked if any of you can, to come and help them with
their lessons. The group is rapidly expanding to the entire
school, and they need help.' Hagrid stood up at this, and
looked at the other staff.
'I don' know abou' the rest of yeh, but if Hogwarts is
attack'd, I want'a make sure all the students er able to
defend themselves. I'll help yeh Harry' he said proudly,
walking over and extending his large hand. Harry stood,
and accepted it greatfully.
'I'll help too Potter' Professor Sprout said, offering her
hand. Soon, almost all the professors were offering to
help. Professor Trelawney admitted she could not duel at
all, and Madam Pomfrey offered to help train some upper
year students in quick healing spells. Madam Pince, the
librarian, agreed to have books on effective defence spells
available to the students and staff, and Professor Binns
explained he would talk to the ghosts about helping in
some manner.
Harry told all the staff about the meeting that night, and
they agreed to come and help out with the lesson. Talk
moved on towards the Order, and news of it was less
heartening than the Ministry.
Numerous Order members had gone missing in the past
few weeks, and large portions of England remained
unprotected. Most Order members were centered in
London, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Dublin, and here in
Hogsmede; to protect the town, but more so Hogwarts.
Grimmauld became closer to that of a refuge for members,
many of whom arrived at the house with injuries and other
sicknesses. Snape and Draco had in the one day since
their arrival helped with injured members, as well as work
on potions for healing purposes. Harry was surprised of
course to hear them helping the Order, but tried to remind
himself they were on the same side now.
The Order decided for the time to let Draco and Snape
continue their work at Grimmauld. It was not under any
attack, and the magic protecting the house was still strong
as Order members were inside. Of course, it was easy to
let them stay there, since they could not leave the house,
and could not tell anyone where it was.
As eight approached, Harry reminded Professor
McGonagall about the Guard's meeting, and everyone
stood, and made their way to the Room of Requirement.
Reaching the staircase, Harry was shocked by the
massive number of people waiting at least two hallways
away from the Room.
'This has to be every student in the castle!' Professor
Flitwick squeaked from his low vantage point. Harry
glanced around, and smiled brightly at the mix of all four
houses, and years of students that mingled together
waiting for the meeting.
'We can't fit everyone into the Room we have, and it'll take
at least an hour to get there' Ron proclaimed.
'Can we do this in the Great Hall Professor?' Hermione
asked Professor McGonagall.
'Of course. Filius, can you and Remus clear out the tables
for the students?' she asked. Harry turned, and smiled at
Remus, thinking he had left.
'Even though I'm not a Professor, I can still help out!' he
said with a smile, leaving to the Great Hall. Hagrid began
bellowing at the students to make their way to the Great
Hall, and soon every student in the castle, along with most
of the staff, and a few Order members were assembled.
Harry nervously stood on the platform where the staff table
would have sat, and cleared his throat.
'Welcome to our new members. This is the third meeting
of the Guardians of Hogwarts, and we've decided to move
into the Great Hall, because we're the whole school now.'
A group of students began cheering over this, and soon
the whole hall was erupting in pride over the unity of the
school. Harry was beaming at the outpour, as was the
staff, Ron, and Hermione.
'The Professors and some members of the Order of the
Phoenix have offered to help, and will be moving around
with DA members.'
'What happened with Rita Skeeter?' a short second year
Ravenclaw asked who was close to the front. Harry
glanced at Professor McGonagall for a moment, and she
nodded.
'She was under an Imperious Curse. That makes learning
these spells even more important, so please work hard,
and try your best. This is just in case, but it is very
important to learn' Harry advised. He stepped down, and
told the DA, and staff that Shield Charms would be the
focus tonight, as well as Disarming, and Blasting Curses.
Hermione offered the lead the group to go with Madam
Pomfrey with healing spells, and after a few upper year
students and DA members went with her, Harry began his
lesson with the Guard.
Midway through, as spells and Shield Charms appeared
throughout the hall, Harry felt someone tug on his sleeve,
and he turned to find Luna smiling at him.
'What's wrong Luna?'
'Topher wanted to see you' she stated, motioning towards
the doorway that led to the offset room where Harry went
after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Harry told
Ron and Professor McGonagall where he was going, and
he quietly entered the side chamber.
Walking down the dark lit steps, Harry came to the base,
and found Topher standing towards a side wall, looking at
some of the many old trophies that littered the room from
the floor to almost the ceiling.
'Oh Harry, it's good you have come. Is there anyone else
with you?' he asked, sounding anxious.
'No, I came myself. Topher, what's going on, why are you
here?' Harry asked. Topher gave a flick of his wand, and
the door up the stairs clicked. Harry was beginning to get
nervous over his moves.
'I have someone I wish for you to meet, and you must
promise me you'll keep his identity a secret.'
'I promise' Harry affirmed, as the two of them moved
across the room quietly in the dim light.
'I mean it Harry, you can't tell this to anyone; not even
Hermione' he stressed.
'I promise Topher. Who am I meeting?' Harry asked, as
they came to a pile of trophies covered by an old and
beaten cloth.
'You're meeting me Mr. Potter' an old and raspy voice
sounded. The old cloth began to move, and a man
emerged from the other side; an old man Harry did not
expect to find in Hogwarts, since he only ever saw him in
his bar in Hogsmede.
'Harry, this is my contact in the Department of Mysteries:
Aberforth Dumbledore.'

- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE -
Viktor's Influence
Harry looked at the old and grumpy man in surprise. He
remembered seeing him in the Hog's Head, and thinking
he looked like a dodgy version of his brother Albus. He did
not have the long silver beard that Dumbledore had, but
rather a smoky, and tattered grey one.
'You're Topher's man in the Department of Mysteries?'
Harry asked disbelievingly.
'I am Mr. Potter' Aberforth answered easily, letting down
his hood to show a top of grey and wispy hair.
'But . . . how?' Harry questioned, unable to comprehend it
all. Aberforth, as Harry knew, was a very shady person.
Dumbledore himself said he did not know much about his
dealings, only that he got into trouble for something
involving a goat, of which Harry did not wish to learn
about.
Topher smirked, and looked at Aberforth, who nodded his
head. 'I told you he would be inquisitive' Topher said to the
old man, turning to Harry. 'Harry, you know that Aberforth
is a member of the Order?'
'Yes.'
'Well, his job has been a very secretive one. He started
this before you were even born, and has continued on with
it.'
'What, trying to find the Book?' Harry asked, Aberforth
shushing him for mentioning the Book so openly, even
though it was just the three of them.
'Not exactly. Perhaps it's best if you tell him' Topher
suggested to Aberforth. He agreed, and looked at Harry
over his spectacles, which resembled Dumbledore's. They
were half-mooned, but the top of them was not a straight
line, but rather curved upwards to make non-congruent
ovals.
'It was decided a while ago that I would research and find
out what is hidden in the Ministry for Magic, particularly in
the Department of Mysteries.'
'Why?' Harry asked.
'At the time, it was needed to help Albus and the Guard'
Aberforth informed.
'The Guard?' Harry asked.
'Yes, the Veneforbis Guard. It was, and still is, a very
secretive organization that protects the most powerful and
dangerous objects in the wizarding world. About sixty
years ago, the rise of Grindelwald was starting to worry
the Guard, and they elected me to find out what was kept
within the confines of the Ministry, since they had been
banned from it by the Ministry. Fortunately, Grindelwald
became careless, and Albus was able to subdue him.'
'So you've been researching for over fifty years?' Harry
questioned, Aberforth shaking his head.
'No. When Grindelwald was imprisoned, the Guard
decided there was no need for my research. I wished to
continue, because I did not get far, but the Guard instead
dismissed me, making up a false story of me charming a
goat.
'When Voldemort began his rise, Albus was sure he would
be inspired by Grindelwald. Grindelwald was known for
being interested in powerful magical objects, and
Voldemort—being much younger and from Salazar
Slytherin's bloodline—would have a much greater chance
of getting some of these objects. He would not be as
clumsy as Grindelwald.
'So, when Albus started the Order of the Phoenix, he
asked me to continue my research, working around the
Guard, since I was out of favour with them anyways. It
was then that I bought my bar, the Hog's Head.'
'You needed to research the Department of Mysteries, so
you bought a bar?' Harry questioned with a raised
eyebrow.
'My time short time in the Guard allowed me to see that
Unspeakables enjoy certain places, and the Hog's Head
was one of them. A dark, uninviting, and—most
importantly—empty bar is just what the Unspeakables like.
Going to a place like Three Broomsticks is great when you
can talk about your work with friends and coworkers, but
for Unspeakables, it's the last thing they want. They want
a place they can sit without meeting someone they know,
or someone asking about their work.' Aberforth rearranged
his cloak, and continued on, looking at Harry with his
chalky blue eyes.
'So, I bought the bar, and started working there myself. It
allowed me to keep as low a profile as the Unspeakables
themselves. At first, I stayed quiet, and just got used to the
usual faces. As time went, some became more talkative,
knowing I was as secluded as they were. I started asking
simple questions, using the excuse of an old and rather
disheveled man wishing to know of more excitement.'
'And this is how you did your research? By asking men at
a bar?' Harry asked, not sounding too pleased with this
line of research.
'Yes, and earning their respect. They knew who I was, and
eventually learned I was a member of the Order of the
Phoenix. Some shunned me away for questioning them,
however the better ones understood the needs of the
Order, and my research. After Voldemort returned a few
years back, Unspeakables were ordered not to discuss
anything to outsiders, but many of my patrons discussed
things with me, knowing my long history.'
'You see Harry' Topher put in, allowing Aberforth a break,
'Aberforth has never been in the Department of Mysteries,
but knows much about it from his patrons. Albus kept
Aberforth very much in the loop with his research on
ancient magic, and so introduced me to him. I have been
making trips to Hogsmede, and Aberforth has been
making inquiries to his patrons on items I ask him to.'
Harry, surprising to even himself, was smiling at the
cleverness of it all. He wondered when Topher mentioned
a friend in the Department of Mysteries, but he never
thought that it would be Dumbledore's brother.
'You should have said you had a contact with people in the
Department of Mysteries. You said your contact was
actually in the Department' Harry declared.
'Yes, well, it was important that Aberforth's identity
remained quiet while he talked to the Unspeakables. I said
he was in the Department of Mysteries, because then if
anyone overheard, it would be almost impossible for them
to find out who it was, since Unspeakables are hard to find
and there are a lot of them' Topher explained.
'So . . . what have you found out?' Harry asked, eager to
hear.
'Much. The Unspeakables I've talked to say the Ministry is
having terrible security issues. The security guard has had
to be replaced sixteen times this month alone.'
'Sixteen times!' Harry exclaimed, not believing that
Ministry was having that much trouble.
'I know, the news is not good. The Unspeakables have all
but sealed the Department of Mysteries on worry of Death
Eater attacks. They have to undergo dozens of checks by
other Unspeakables before they are allowed to enter the
Department, for fear of Death Eater spies or people under
the Imperious Curse. So far, they have caught at least
thirty people trying to get in. One got as far as the Planet
Room before they realized he was cursed' Aberforth
professed.
'Why are so many Death Eaters trying to get into the
Department of Mysteries?' asked Harry.
'Well, you remember Rita's notepad?' Topher asked, Harry
nodding. 'When it asked if you were looking for something
in the Department of Mysteries, it confirmed our belief that
Voldemort is searching for something down there;
something worth great sacrifice, and thus, very powerful.'
'What do you think he's after?' Harry wondered to the two
men.
'We are unsure, as are the Unspeakables. Those caught
were looking all over the Department, but they don't know
what for' Aberforth explained.
'But what about the Book?' Harry asked, wanting to get to
the point.
'Some of the Unspeakables have heard of this book, but
none are sure it is in the Ministry. They know it is not in
some rooms, such as the Planet Room, the Hall of
Prophecy, and the Veil Room' Aberforth remarked, Harry's
mind cringing at the reminder of the Veil Room, and of
Sirius' death. 'The ones who believe it is in the Ministry,
think it is in Room Number Nine.'
'Room Number Nine?' Harry asked.
'Yes, it's the only locked door from the circle chamber. The
only record of the door ever being opened was for a
member of the Veneforbis Guard at least five hundred
years ago.'
'The Department of Mysteries is that old?' Harry asked,
getting a bit off topic. He could not have thought the
Ministry was that old.
'No, not in that way. The level the Department of Mysteries
is on was itself an old Veneforbis keep, where they kept all
their secret items, such as the Veil of Death, and the
Imperium Pillar. Their name, the Veneforbis Guard, is
Latin for "the Wizard's Circle Guard". It comes from the
actual circle chamber. Each member would stand in front
of one of the doors in their meetings. The man who
entered the chamber all those years ago, was the guard
who stood in front of the door to Room Number Nine. His
name was Merlin.'
'Merlin!' both Topher and Harry expounded. Harry gave
Topher a slight look, realizing Aberforth must have not told
him everything.
'Yes, supposedly. I personally doubt if it was the famous
Merlin. The records are sketchy, but it says he entered the
room, and exited, but never commented on what was
inside or how he entered' Aberforth said.
'But that doesn't tell us if it's the Book of Thoth' Topher
pointed out.
'True, but it may suggest it. Merlin may have realized what
the Book was, and did not read it for fear of his loved
ones. He wrote in some of his texts that he did lay his
eyes on the Book of Thoth, but turned away from it, saying
it brought nothing but greed and death.' Aberforth waited
for a moment, as there was some movement from the
door, and Topher checked before returning quickly.
'One of the Unspeakables gave me the best lead however
on the Book, and it unfortunately leads us away from the
Ministry. He is the Keeper of Scrolls, and told me in his
searching, he found several mentions of tombs in Egypt
that were tagged for danger. There was one specifically
that mentioned a prince's tomb that was so well protected,
they could not enter the outer chamber. The name wrote
on the guard tablets was that of Nefrekeptah.'
'That's the tomb the Book was originally placed in! Did
they ever get in?' Topher asked hastily.
'He didn't know. There was an expedition on record that
was able to enter the tomb, and something was brought
back to England, but everyone on the expedition died
within three days from strange illness, unexpected deaths,
or horrible magical mishaps.'
'But they brought something back. Is there any other
record?' Topher asked.
'No, because all the members of the expedition died so
soon. The object that was brought back was never
cataloged, and it seems to have disappeared. The
Unspeakable suggested going to Egypt and checking the
tomb itself. They are heavily guarded by curse breakers,
but it would be the best way of finding out if the Book was
indeed found, and brought back here.'
Everyone turned quickly and faced the doorway, as they
heard the door creak open, and Aberforth quickly placed
the cloak over his head, and turned, to once again look
like a lump of objects.
Ginny came down quietly, and looked at both Harry and
Topher.
'Um Harry, some of the DA members were wondering
where you are. Are things alright?' she asked, looking
concerned at Harry.
'Yeah, of course Ginny. I was just talking to the Professor
here. I didn't want anyone listening in and he said it was
important, so we came down here' Harry answered. Ginny
did not look exactly accepting of the answer, but nodded.
'Alright. Sorry Professor, but we need Harry up in the
Great Hall. We're almost done, and the DA members were
just waiting you to dismiss the Guard.'
'Don't worry Ginny, Harry will be up in a moment, I
promise' Topher exclaimed. Ginny gave one last look at
Harry, and walked back up the stone stairs, and through
the doorway again.
'Harry, can you please meet me in my office on Saturday?
Aberforth has to talk to some more contacts before we talk
again.' Harry agreed, and just as he began to leave the
room, Topher called up to him for one more thing.
'Oh Harry, can you come down and let us know when the
Hall is clear, so Aberforth here can leave without worry?'
he asked. Harry agreed, and he left as Topher began
discussing how he and Aberforth would meet on the
Saturday.
'Harry, where have you been? Ron says you were gone
almost the whole time' Hermione asked as Harry entered
the Great Hall. Students were still firing spells, and
practicing Shield Charms. Professors and DA members
were scattered throughout the mass of students, and
everyone looked very confident with their magic.
'I'll tell you later. How have things been going?' Harry
asked, looking at a short first year Ravenclaw boy trying
out a Shield Charm. A long blonde haired Hufflepuff tried
firing a Disarming Spell at him, and the Shield Charm put
off by the young Ravenclaw held up, and the Disarming
Spell shot off towards the ceiling.
'Things are great Harry. Some of the Slytherins disliked
being partnered with Gryffindors, but most are alright. The
group that went with Madam Pomfrey did great. We
learned how to conjure stretchers, seal cuts, and how to
meant simple broken bones' Hermione informed with a
smile.
'That's great. It's about time to finish though' Harry
decided. He walked over to the front platform, and in the
midst of all the spells, few noticed his waiting for everyone.
He smiled at Hermione, and leaned over to whisper to her.
'Watch this. Topher showed me this one' he said to
Hermione. She looked worried, but he smiled again.
'Rutipluvia!' Harry called, and a red string of light spiraled
from his wand, and cast across the clouds above the
crowd in the Great Hall. All the spells ceased, and
everyone looked up at Harry, and then to the clouds above
as sparkling red raindrops came falling from the ceiling in
slow motion like embers from a campfire. They evaporated
before they reached the people below, but the effect did
as Harry wished, and everyone was quiet.
'Alright, this has been a great meeting! We are all done for
tonight, but we will be having another meeting next week'
Harry started. A large amount of students began
disagreeing with it, and many of the younger ones came
forward with protests.
'No, please Harry! I've never been able to cast a
Disarming Spell before tonight!' said one young Hufflepuff.
'Yeah, and we need to learn to defend ourselves!' a tall
Ravenclaw boy said.
Amidst the noise and protests to waiting a week for the
next meeting, Harry raised his hands, and everyone
calmly quieted down. Some Slytherins continued to talk,
however a stern look from Professor McGonagall quieted
them down instantly.
'We can't meet twice a week, it's too much. We still have
classes and homework to be done' Harry professed to
everyone. Students still disliked the decision, and a few
DA members approached.
'Harry, I'm sure some of us are willing to look after another
group if they want to practice extra' Neville advised, other
DA members agreeing. Another group came to the front,
and Harry was surprised to see it was made up of other
upper year students, including some Slytherins, like
Theodore Nott.
'What do you want?' Ron asked Nott heatedly. His eyes
narrowed at Ron's question, and looked to Harry.
'Look, if some people want to have another meeting, some
of us upper years are willing to help out' he announced to
Harry and the DA. Some members of the DA, Harry
included, wondered about this sudden eagerness to help.
'Why do you want to help? Why should we trust you
Slytherins?' Ginny questioned forcefully.
'Look, we all need to get along' Hermione put in, hoping to
remind everyone of the Sorting Hat's warnings.
'As much as I'd like to disagree with Granger' Nott
responded, 'she's right. We don't want Hogwarts to be
destroyed, and . . . well, we don't want to get killed either.'
'Always looking out for yourselves, aren't you Slytherin's'
one of the Hufflepuff Prefects commented.
'Well if we're dead, it won't help Hogwarts now will it?' Nott
retorted angrily.
'Enough!' Harry ordered. Nott lowered himself, and looked
back at Harry and the others. 'If the upper year students
want to help, I think it's great. Professor' he addressed,
looking at the Headmistress, 'is there another night that
some of the professors might be willing to come and help
out students?'
'Well Potter, I cannot, but you are welcome to ask the
other professors.'
'If you meet on Thursday nights, I can help on that night
Potter' Professor Flitwick said, Harry smiling and nodding
happily at the short professor's support.
'I can help yeh too Harry!' Hagrid boomed, scaring some
of the younger students around him. Harry gathered they
were still getting used to such a massive man.
'Although it will take away from my marking, I am sure I
can spare a few hours to helping the Guardians' Professor
Sinistra commented. Several DA members agreed to
come on Thursday nights as well, and Harry was happy to
announce to the waiting Guard that an extra session was
to be started on Thursday. Many of the younger students
beamed widely at Harry and his helpers for this, and just
before Harry was about to dismiss the Guard, Hermione
asked him to wait for a moment, and pulled him aside as
Neville coordinated the DA, upper years, and staff for
Thursday night. Harry decided to put him in charge of the
second session, and Neville proudly took the placement.
'Harry, we need to have some thing to say before
everyone leaves. People need to leave here proud of what
they're doing, and feel united. We need a motto or
something' she suggested. Harry believed it was a good
idea to have a motto, but was at a loss for what to say.
'Just pick a simple phrase, like "For Hogwarts" or
something like that. Just something to get them all stirred
up about.' Harry thought it was a good idea, and figured
her example was decent enough. He nodded, and
returned to the platform, where Neville had finished his
plans.
'It's all set Harry. I just need to talk to you about what to
cover' he explained. They agreed to meet in the East
Tower before the meeting, and the students and staff
looked at Harry.
'So, there will be an extra session on Thursday. Any
questions, just ask a DA member, or the staff, and please,
get your friends to come out. Now before we leave' he
continued, looking at Hermione and blushing slightly at
asking the group to do something—that even though he
agreed with a few moments earlier—felt slightly foolish,
'we are all going to say the Guard's motto. This will now be
done at the end of every session, on Mondays and
Thursdays. Our motto is "For Hogwarts."'
There was mixed reactions to the announcement. Some
nodded, and agreed with the motto, while others snickered
at it, and thought it was rather lame. Harry wanted to see if
it could work though. It was not enough to have everyone
here and practicing spells; they had to actually believe in
being one group, and united by one goal.
'So, when I say "For Hogwarts", I want everyone to say it
back.' He waited for a moment, looking at the staff and
DA, who all nodded in encouragement.
'For Hogwarts!' Harry shouted.
'For Hogwarts' came back, but rather subdued. The staff
and the DA shouted it, but less than half the students in
the hall replied, and most whispered it. Some began
moving towards the doorway, but a spell shot through the
air, over all their heads, and the heavy wooden doors
snapped shut. Everyone turned, and even Harry was
flabbergasted to find the spell was cast by Hermione, who
looked thoroughly displeased with everyone.
'I can't believe you all! You all were cheering so much
about being here and united, yet you can't yell it out!' she
said loudly to the students. Those who were snickering
earlier now wore long faces, and looked at the floor.
'Now, everyone say it! For Hogwarts!' she shouted.
'For Hogwarts' the crowd responded, a little louder than
the first time.
'For Hogwarts!' she shouted again, looking at the DA and
staff.
'For Hogwarts!' the students answered, again rising in
volume, but still not loud enough. Hermione was seriously
getting frustrated.
'FOR HOGWARTS!' she yelled again, Harry and some of
the DA helping out.
'FOR HOGWARTS!' the crowd yelled back loudly. Their
voices echoed in the Hall for a few moments, and slowly
faded into the silence that followed it. Harry allowed the
quietness to linger, and glanced at Hermione, who still
looked upset, shook her head at Harry in disappointment
at the school.
'We need to stand together, like the Sorting Hat said.
Hogwarts is safe for now, but there may be a time when it
isn't, and we need to fight together to protect this castle. I
don't know about all of you, but I can't imagine a world
without Hogwarts; this is our home' Harry spoke, his voice
the only one sounding in the Hall.
'We're learning these spells to help each other, and
ourselves; to keep this castle safe, and keep Hogwarts
alive. We are doing this for Hogwarts. For Hogwarts!' he
yelled.
'FOR HOGWARTS!' the Guard yelled back, the cheer
echoing again in the silence that followed it.
'See you all next meeting' Harry finished quietly. Professor
Flitwick lifted the spell on the doors, and everyone began
moving out of the Hall, talking amongst themselves over
the meeting, and the closing comments.
'Well, that was interesting' Ron commented, looking at
Hermione and Harry. Hermione let out a huff, and glared
at the students as they left.
'Well, they need to understand what's going on. This isn't
just a study group for their Defence class, this is real stuff'
she ranted. Harry put his hand on her shoulder, and she
closed her eyes, sighing.
'We know Hermione. Don't worry, they'll understand soon
enough' Harry insisted, giving her a smile.
'I know they'll understand, I'm just worried it'll be too late'
she responded.
'Well, we should go. So are you going to tell us where you
were Harry?' Ron asked.
'I was talking to Topher. I actually need to go and talk to
him a bit more, but I'll meet you two up in the Tower and
explain, alright?' Harry asked. Ron glanced at Harry for a
moment, and agreed. Harry gave Hermione a quick kiss,
telling her to calm down.
Once the two of them left and the Hall was empty, he
walked over to the side chamber door. He opened it and
found Topher standing halfway up the stairs.
'Is everyone gone?' he asked. Harry nodded, and Topher
motioned Aberforth upwards. The grey lump of cloth
began to move, and the old man made his way up the
stone cut stairwell.
'Come, I must make a quiet departure' Aberforth quipped
to the two of them. Harry and Topher flanked him as they
made their way across the empty Great Hall, but looked
up suddenly when the wooden doors opened, and Colin
Creevey entered.
'Harry, I just wanted to—who . . . Harry, who is that?' he
questioned, reaching for his wand. Harry approached
quickly, and Aberforth and Topher followed towards the
doorway.
'Colin, you need to do one thing for me please' Harry
prompted as Colin continued to look at Topher and
Aberforth.
'Isn't that the barkeeper frpm the Hog's Head?' he asked.
'Colin, you need to keep this secret' Harry requested,
getting Colin's attention.
'Yes Mr. Creevey, it is of utmost importance you keep this
secret' Topher exclaimed, as he and Aberforth passed by.
Topher walked through the doorway first, and waved
Aberforth through, so it was only Harry and Colin left in the
Hall.
'Colin, can you-'
'Sure Harry, no problem. I didn't see anyone but you and
Professor Terrwynebas' Colin answered. 'I came to ask if
you wanted help with planning the lessons.'
Harry let out a sigh, and smiled at Colin. 'Could you help
Neville on the Thursday nights? I think he'll be alright, but
he might need the help.'
'Of course. I'll go and talk to him about it. Thanks Harry.'
Harry and Colin left the Great Hall, and parted ways as
Harry began his way to the East Tower. Once he entered,
he found Ron and Hermione standing near the fire.
'So what happened with Topher?' Ron asked as Harry
came forward.
'Topher's contact in the Department of Mysteries thinks we
should look for the Book in Egypt' Harry informed his
friends. Both Harry and Hermione took turns explaining
the whole situation with the Book and the Ministry to Ron
the week before, so he was up to date with it all.
'Egypt? Did this contact say somewhere specifically? I
mean, if he thinks it could still be in Egypt, it could be
anywhere!' Hermione fretted.
'Well, not anywhere. Probably in the Wizard's Valley' Ron
exclaimed, receiving identical astonished looks from Harry
and Hermione.
'How do you-' Hermione started.
'We went to Egypt a few years ago, remember? Bill
showed us around. Most of the wizard's tombs are in the
Valley. Right scary most of them are, but it's probably the
best place to start.'
'Is there any way Bill might know about this prince's tomb?'
Hermione asked hastily.
'He might, I'm not quite sure.' The trio remained silent for a
moment, all three of them in deep thought over what to do.
If the Book was in Egypt, how were they going to find it, let
alone get there? Harry drew blanks on figuring it all out.
Only Ron knew where they were going, and Harry knew
he could not Side-Apparate with both himself and
Hermione.
'Could you contact Bill, and ask him?' Hermione inquired,
her brow furrowed in calculating thought.
'I don't know. An owl would probably get intercepted, and
Floo is too far. Maybe Professor McGonagall could help us
figure a way to get him?' Ron suggested.
'We should go ask. Even if the tomb is there, how are we
going to get to Egypt? We can't Apparate' Harry stated,
looking at a bewildered Ron, and a still calculating
Hermione.
'Is the Valley near the Nile?' Hermione asked Ron.
'Yeah, why?'
'I think I know a way to get there. It might require some
outside help though' she explained. The way she
expressed it, Harry was unsure what she was thinking of.
'Let's go ask Professor McGonagall' Hermione decided,
turning and leading the way to the doorway.
'Now?' Harry asked. He did want to get going on this, and
find the Book, but the last few days were very trying, and
he was not up for asking Professor McGonagall something
she might easily disincline to do.
'Yes now Harry. You need to find this Book, and we can't
waste time' Hermione maintained. Harry understood and
agreed, though he gave his dormitory stairs a longing
gaze as he passed by towards the doorway.
The group made their way up through the empty and dark
passages and staircases, and finally reached the
Headmistress' Office. Giving the password, they entered,
and were welcomed in by Professor McGonagall.
'Well done with your meeting tonight Potter. Although it
would have been nice to see you more involved with your
colleagues, Professor Terrwynebas explained you two had
a meeting.'
'Thank you Professor' Harry responded, walking up with
Hermione and Ron to her desk, where stacks of
parchment and books were piled.
'Now, what was it you wished to discuss?' the
Headmistress asked, Harry looking over her shoulder for a
moment to see that Dumbledore had vacated his portrait
for the time. Professor McGonagall noticed his glance, and
looked herself.
'Albus has a few other portraits he visits now and then. He
will return shortly I'm sure.'
'I see. Professor, we need to get in touch with Ron's
brother Bill in Egypt. Do you know of anyway to reach
him?' Harry asked.
'Egypt? Oh my, that is a distance. What is it you need to
know?' she asked, looking at the three of them.
'We just need to ask him one question Professor'
Hermione divulged.
'If it is just one question, then the only way we can give
him the message is if someone Apparates there. Perhaps
your parents will know the best way to contact him. Is it
imperative you ask him right now?' she questioned.
'It is very important Professor. Can you please help us?
Harry asked. Professor McGonagall sized up the three
students, and nodded-getting up from her chair, and
moving towards the fireplace. She took some Floo
powder, and threw it into the hearth, causing it to erupt in
green flames. She knelt down, and Harry, Ron, and
Hermione came over as she put her head into the flames.
'The Burrow!'
The three students could hear her talking to someone,
who was more than likely Mrs. Weasley. She mentioned
Bill, and Egypt, and asked some questions about Charlie
and George. She thanked Mrs. Weasley, and pulled back
from the fire, and stood up—wiping some of the soot off
her dark green robes, garnered with a splash of red tartan
on her shoulder. She seemed to think for a moment before
raising her wand.
'Expecto Patronum' she charmed, and a silver owl flew
from her wand. It came swooping back around, and
hovered in front of her flapping its broad wings before
flying out the open window. She took her seat again
quietly, and Harry slowly walked back to one of the three
seats set in front of her desk. Seeing the confused look on
the three student's faces, she explained her actions.
'Charlie Weasley is on his way here. He was at the
Burrow, and offered to message Bill for you three. He
should be arriving momentarily to the castle. I sent a
notice with my Patronus to Baldric at the front gates to be
expecting him.'
'Why is Charlie at home? Shouldn't he be in Romania with
the dragons?' Ron asked worriedly.
'His dragon colony was attacked by Giants, and the
keepers had no choice but to abandon their posts. They
left the dragons bound by reinforced magical chains, and
quarantined the area, but they had to leave. Giants don't
much care for dragons, so they should leave them alone.'
'But will the chains keep them? I mean it's horrible to cage
an animal, but if the dragons ever escaped-' Hermione
expressed nervously.
'I know Miss Granger. The Ministry is trying to work with
the Romanian Ministry, however both are having more
troubling matters. Speaking of the Ministry, you should
know that the Minister for Magic will be coming to the
castle this Sunday.'
'Why is he coming here?' Ron asked.
'The things Tonks mentioned when Rita was captured
have been spreading. Many, including myself, believe the
Minister is coming here to prepare the castle for a
temporary Ministry.'
'Is it getting that bad?' Hermione asked shakily, Professor
McGonagall nodding slowly in response.
'It seems You-Know-Who is very interested in capturing
the Ministry. Spies have been found on every level, but
most are concentrated in the Department of Mysteries.
Several of the late Headmasters have portraits in the
Ministry, and they have been telling me it is the worst they
have ever seen.' A knock at the outer door made
Professor McGonagall get up from her seat, and move
around to open the door, and Hermione leaned over to
speak to Harry, Ron doing the same.
'Harry, if the Book isn't in Egypt, and the Ministry is
overthrown, how will we get to the Department of
Mysteries?' she fretted. Harry had to admit, it was a worry,
but if Aberforth believed it might be in Egypt, they had to
look for it there.
Professor McGonagall entered a few moments later with
Charlie Weasley in tow. He greeted the group, and
maintained he was alright after the Giant attack.
'Giants don't like dragons, especially the fire-breathing
ones. We all got out alright, I just hope the chains hold, so
none start flying over the Muggles. Now, what has you
bringing me all the way here? Mum was just making some
of her strawberry tarts' he informed, both Harry and Ron
salivating slightly at the mentioning of Mrs. Weasley's
strawberry tarts. Harry missed them quite a bit.
'We need to ask Bill a question in Egypt, and Professor
McGonagall said we could only do it by Apparation' said
Hermione, as Harry and Ron's minds moved away from
Mrs. Weasley's kitchen, and back to the Headmistress'
Office.
'Well, it'll be quite the trip, but if you really need it. What's
the question?'
'We need to know if he knows where the tomb of . . . what
was his name? He was a prince' Harry recited, trying to
remember the prince's name. He remembered it started
with an N, but much of the rest of it was lost to him.
'It was Nefre- . . . Nefrek- . . . oh blast, I forget! Professor
Terrwynebas knows it though' Hermione voiced. Professor
McGonagall once again moved to the fire, cast some Floo
Powder into it, and placed her head within the green
flames, calling Topher's office. She pulled back in a
moment later, and the fire died out quickly.
'He is on his way up to give you the name' she explained.
'Thanks for doing this Charlie' Harry said, as Charlie
moved over and leaned on the side of the desk while
everyone waited for Topher's arrival.
'Not a problem Harry. Professor McGonagall told Mum it
was important, and I want to help. How are things going
on here?' he asked. Harry and the others gave him a brief
explanation of how things were with classes and the
Guard. He was happy to hear that even though the world
outside the castle seemed on the brink of falling, the
students were still doing alright, and after a few minutes,
Topher arrived, with one of his many rolls of old
parchment.
'Hi there Topher, how's it going?' Charlie asked him, giving
him a handshake.
'I'm alright Charlie. A bit overworked though. Perhaps
when this is all over, I should take a vacation if the
Headmistress allows' he stated, giving Professor
McGonagall a smirk.
'So, what's this prince's name?' Charlie questioned.
'Nefrekeptah. Why did you need to know?'
'These three need someone to ask Bill about a tomb or
something of that prince' Charlie explained, motioning to
Harry and the others, who looked sheepishly at Topher.
Harry did not tell Topher of his plans to ask Bill.
'I see. If that's the case, you must ask if he knows of a
tomb that nothing was taken from, or only one object. If he
finds either, ask him if everyone who entered the tomb
died within a week. I don't know if it would be on record,
but it is important.'
'Alright, so the prince's name is Nefrek-, Nefrek-'
'Nefrekeptah' Topher again answered.
'Right, Neh-frek-ep-tah. That's a mouthful. Is that it Harry?'
Charlie inquired.
'Yes. How long will it take for you to get back?' Harry
asked.
'Oh, a few minutes if I find him fast enough. If he's on
patrol, it may take longer, but let's hope he's off. Alright,
well, see you in a bit' he bid, giving a wave of his hand.
'Travel safe Mr. Weasley' Professor McGonagall said.
'Don't I always?' Charlie answered with a smile at the
doorway. He turned, and started off to the gates, while
Topher turned to Harry and the others.
'Professor, could I talk to these three alone?' he asked
calmly. Harry began to wonder if he disliked going around
him for this, and the look in Topher's eyes made his palms
sweat slightly.
'Charlie will be a while, so if you could take your
conversation to your office or the East Tower, I have
business that needs attending too. I will contact all of you
when he returns' she reassured. The four of them exited
the Headmistress' Office, and agreed to go to the East
Tower, since it was closer than the Defence Office.
The three students and Professor remained quiet through
the whole journey. Harry looked out the windows as they
passed through a hallway, and looked up at the dark and
cloudy sky.
The group passed the library, and Evander greeted the
Heads and their guests.
'Oh, and new chap, splendid! And your name is?' he
asked cheerfully.
'My name is Professor Topher Terrwynebas. I am the
Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and Head of
Gryffindor House' Topher informed to the painting, still
sounding much calmer than the stern expression on his
face showed.
'Ah, wonderful to meet you Professor. Welcome to the
East Tower' Evander articulated happily. Topher thanked
him, and turned to Harry to give the password.
'The Leaky Locket' Harry gave to Evander. He bowed, and
the painting swung open.
'That's an odd password' Topher exclaimed as they
entered the common room. He looked about, and seemed
to like the room, forgetting his stern attitude for a moment.
'We used to do two separate things we liked, but now we
do things be both like: the Leaky Cauldron, and
Hermione's Locket. It was my mother's' Harry clarified.
'Harry, why did you act so rashly? Did you tell them about-'
'No Topher, I didn't tell them about my run in with Colin,
because it wasn't that important' Harry maintained, cutting
him off before mentioning Aberforth's name.
'What happened with Colin?' Ron asked.
'Oh nothing, he wanted to help with the extra Guard
meeting, so I told him to talk to Neville, that's it. He came
back into the Great Hall after everyone left, and walked in
on me and Topher talking, that's all' Harry justified. Topher
lightened a little at Harry's story, but was still not pleased
with his actions.
'Still Harry, you should have waited before going off and
contacting someone all the way in Egypt. It was an idea to
check there, not a certainty.'
'I know, but we need to start searching for the Book. The
Ministry is doing terribly, and things are getting worst.
Unless you know of another place the Book may be, or
another way I can defeat Voldemort, we need to get
started finding it. Besides, the Minister is coming here on
Sunday, and it won't be any easier for us to check once he
gets here' Harry ranted. Topher put his hand up and tried
to calm Harry down.
'I know Harry, we need to get moving on this, but we need
to plan things out. You did plan a good thing tonight with
getting Charlie to go and ask, but he's at risk Harry. If he
gets caught by Voldemort, he could learn of what we are
trying to find.'
'But Voldemort might be after it himself!' Harry said loudly,
loosing some of his calmness. So much had taken place in
the past day, it was too much to having to keep going with
arguing. Hermione came closer and tenderly placed her
hand in his, and he sighed as she squeezed lightly, and
placed her other hand on his back to relax him.
'Voldemort can't use the Book of Thoth, remember? It's
driven by the love of others, so he couldn't use it even if he
did find it' Topher stated, loosing most of the agitation in
his voice.
'I know, but he's looking for something in the Department
of Mysteries' Harry said tiredly.
'Here, why don't you three take a seat. You've been busy
all day with your classes and the Guard meeting tonight.
Plus that incident with Rita and Snape this past weekend'
Topher said sympathetically, motioning Harry to sit down,
and conjuring a wooden chair for Ron. They all sat down
slowly—Hermione still holding onto Harry's hand—and
Topher conjured another chair identical to Ron's, and sat
down.
'Alright, say Charlie comes back, and Bill knows of
Nefrekeptah's tomb; how do you plan on getting to Egypt?
It's a long ways away.'
Harry sighed at this, and let his head fall to the back of the
chair. Topher was right about taking time to plan things
out, because he had no idea how the three of them would
get to Egypt; four if Topher came himself.
'I know a way' Hermione put in, reminding Harry of what
she said earlier of outside help.
'How? You can't Apparate, and Flooing will not work. A
Portkey is possible, but you would have to get someone
who has been to Egypt to do it. Plus the Portkey Office is
closed, and has been for the past month because of the
attacks' Topher said, stressing the lack of options.
'I know, but Ron said the Wizard's Valley, where all the
tombs are, is near the Nile. We could sail there' she
proposed. Ron openly laughed at this.
'Sail! Hermione, have you ever been in a Muggle boat? I
sure haven't, and can't imagine going all the way to Egypt
on one! It would take years!' he claimed outlandishly.
'No Ron, I don't mean sail in a Muggle sailboat.
Remember the Durmstrang ship? It popped out of the
water like a rubber ducky.'
'What's a rubber ducky?' Topher asked, seriously not
knowing what a rubber ducky was.
'It's not important, the fact is, we could use that ship, and
"sail" there' she exclaimed cheerfully. Harry was
impressed at her thought, but not totally convinced.
'Yeah, but Hermione, how are we going to get the ship? I
can't imagine Durmstrang would be up to sharing,
especially with things going how they are' he admitted
unhappily. Hermione looked at him grinning; her cheeks
blushing slightly.
'What if I told you I've been writing Viktor still?' she
inquired, Ron rolling his eyes.
'You're still writing to that git?' he asked harshly. Her
expression became instantly cold, and she turned to face
Ron.
'Yes, I have been. And that git has a lot of pull at
Durmstrang. I'm sure if I asked him, he could get the ship
here for us to use.'
'Would this ship work Harry?' Topher asked.
Harry thought it over, and even though the ship might not
be available for them to use, it was worth a try. If Bill knew
where the tomb was, it would allow them to know for sure
if the Book was there or not. If it was not there, then they
would have to assume it was in the Department of
Mysteries. Harry just hoped if they did not find it, some
record might exist of where it went.
'It would, I think. I don't know how it works, but I think it
would get us there quickly.'
'So how are you going to get hold of Viktor? An owl would
get intercepted' questioned Ron. Hermione was silent for a
moment, before sighing, and rubbing her forehead.
'I think an owl is the only way. Maybe we can put some
protective charms on Hedwig or something' she offered.
'There are some charms we can place on your owl that
should protect her' Topher exclaimed. A burst of green
flames from the fireplace came behind Topher, and he
stood quickly—waving his wand and making the chair
disappear.
Professor McGonagall's head came into view in the
flames. 'Charlie Weasley has returned from his trip. He is
waiting here in my office.'
The group left the East Tower, and walked quickly to the
Headmistress' Office. Once they made their way in, they
found Charlie wiping off sand from his face and shirt. He
was plastered with desert sand.
'Phew! Man, that was one of the two things I didn't miss
about Egypt' he confessed, still wiping off the sand and
covering Professor McGonagall's floor in it.
'What things?' Harry asked, smiling at the amount of sand
he accumulated.
'The sandstorms, and the scorpions' he declared, looking
at the floor and the small bit of Sahara he was creating in
the Headmistress' Office. 'Sorry Professor.'
'It is alright. Did you find Bill?' she asked.
'Yes, and to answer your question' he said, turning to
Harry, 'he does know about your tomb. It's one of a few
that are kept under strict guard. Unfortunately, they call
the one you asked about the "Death Tomb." Anyone, and
everyone who has gone in, has ended up dead in less
than two days.'
'Was there any records of the tomb?' Topher asked.
Charlie vanished the sand on the floor, leaving the carpet
as it was, and shook his head.
'Bill said he'd check for you guys, but it'd take time. He
said to get back to him on Saturday. Did you want me to
come back here to Apparate?'
'We might have the means to go to Egypt, if Professor
McGonagall will allow' Hermione mentioned, everyone
looking at the Professor.
'To Egypt! You can't be serious Miss Granger. I disliked
you going around England in these times, but to Egypt . . .
I am sorry, but that is too far.' Harry's face fell at this
ruling, as did Ron and Hermione's. Topher did not want to
loose that easily though.
'Professor, we need to go. It's very important, it's-'
'For your research, yes, I can imagine so' she stated
forcefully. 'Topher, I have been very lenient with Harry and
you, but this is too far. I cannot have my Head Boy and
Girl, plus a Professor and Prefect going all the way to
Egypt while we are in the middle of a war, to research
something that I don't even know about!' Even Charlie
recoiled at the ferocity of her explanation.
'But Professor-' Harry began.
'But nothing Potter. It is my duty to keep you students
safe, and I would be doing my job poorly if I let you go.'
'Minerva, if what we're looking for is there, it would change
the tide of the war!' Topher boasted passionately.
'It is not your responsibility to look for objects to help our
side; that is for the Ministry and the Order. And what
happens if you do not find it there? Will there be another
trip, and another, and another?' Harry was getting more
than disgruntled with this sudden road block, and took
advantage of a new face that came into the room.
'Professor Dumbledore!'
'Hello everyone, I am sorry for my absence. I was detained
by the Minister, who seemed quite disheveled with how
things have been going.' Harry wasted no time, and
walked right up to his portrait, hoping to get more support.
If Dumbledore supported them, then McGonagall might let
them go. It was a small chance, but he had to try.
'Professor, we think the Book is in Egypt. We need to go
there this weekend to look in one of the tombs' he said
rapidly.
'You cannot go to Egypt Potter! It is too dangerous'
Professor McGonagall maintained, looking at Dumbledore
for support for her.
He thought for a moment, as everyone was waiting for his
response, and nodded. 'Professor McGonagall is correct, it
is too dangerous.' The group's faces fell, Harry and
Topher's especially at the comment.
'Unless you can find a way there that is both secretive and
safe' he added, the students' and Topher's faces lighting
up again while McGonagall protested the addition.
'But Albus-'
'We do have a way sir!' Harry attested, apologizing silently
for interrupting the Headmistress. Many of the portraits in
the office were listening to the conversation, and some
looked unhappy at his act.
'We thought of asking Durmstrang if we could use their
ship. I still write to Viktor Krum, and he has a lot of sway
there' Hermione declared. Dumbledore thought for a
moment, while some of the portraits talked amongst
themselves. Professor McGonagall remained quiet, and
waiting like everyone else for Dumbledore's reply.
'That ship is very safe. I have been on it only once, and
realized I do quite poorly on the water. It was very well
defended though, and is a good manner of transportation
for long distances. Tell me, Everard?' Dumbledore asked,
looking up the wall towards a portrait of sallow-faced
wizard with black hair.
'Yes Albus?' he replied in a thick voice, like one sounds
after eating too much toffee or peanut butter.
'Do you still have a portrait in Durmstrang?' he asked,
Harry and the rest's faces lighting up like the morning sun.
Albus noticed Harry's beaming smile, and winked at him
quickly.
'I do Albus, I do. They did me the great honour of doing so
after Hogwarts and Durmstrang agreed to friendship after
over two hundred years of rivalry, not helped by you
Fortescue' he commented, turning to a red-nosed wizard
who was just down the wall from him.
'Oh those Durmstrangs had it com'n to themselves'
Fortescue responded gruffly.
'Please gentlemen, settle. Can you please go to
Durmstrang, and ask for Viktor Krum?' Dumbledore asked.
'But Professor' Hermione put in, taking a step forward, 'I
doubt Viktor is there. Wouldn't he be with his Quidditch
Team?' Everard left his painting anyway.
Dumbledore shook his head. 'No Miss Granger, the
Quidditch League had to cancel this season due to the
war. Ludovectus here has his portrait in the Magical
Games Department, and heard all about it. Mr. Krum,
Everard has told us, is now teaching Flying and Magical
Transport Technique at Durmstrang Institute.'
Ron chuckled a bit at the news. 'Hey, maybe there is some
smarts mixed in with the sawdust' he joked. Harry turned
to Professor McGonagall, chancing his luck again.
'Professor, we have to go. We need to get this Book. It
holds the key to destroying Voldemort. We're only going to
check one tomb, and we'll have curse breakers there with
us, as well as Topher, and Bill.'
'And Viktor' Everard added, everyone looking up at him.
He smiled widely, and took in a deep breath. 'Professor
Krum was there, and I informed him of the Head Student's
requests. When I told him the Heads were Harry Potter
and Hermione Granger, he quickly agreed, and asked the
Durmstrang High Master, Vladimir Malislovia.'
'The High Master extends his greetings to the Hogwarts
Headmaster and Head Students, and will gladly help with
Hogwarts need by use of his ship. He only asks when you
require his fine ship and crew, so he may send Professor
Krum, who has requested command of the ship for this
excursion.'
The spotlight was on Professor McGonagall now, as every
portrait and person in the room was looking for her
answer. The pressure to agree was overwhelming, and
part of Harry disliked that it had to be done this way, but
they needed to go and find out if the Book of Thoth was in
Egypt.
Professor McGonagall slowly moved around her desk, and
came to a rest facing Harry and the rest. She rubbed her
forehead, and sighed.
'I can't believe I am doing this' she breathed, looking up at
the portrait. 'Tell the High Master I thank him for the use of
his ship, and he may send Professor Krum on Saturday
morning.'
Spell / Name Meanings:
Imperium Pillar - L. imperium: power to command
Rutipluvia - L. rutilus: red, pluvia: rain (Rutipluvia red rain)
Owl - symbol for wisdom (as Minerva was the Roman
goddess of wisdom)
Ludovectus - L. ludio: player, provectus: old (Ludovectus
old player)
Vladimir - Russia/Bulgarian: to rule with greatness

- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX-
The Tomb of the Prince
'I'm telling you Ron, I've just been writing to him' Hermione
restated to Ron tiredly as she, Ron, Harry, Professor
McGonagall, and various other students and faculty waited
on the shore of the Black Lake Saturday morning. Ron
had hounded Hermione about the whole writing business
with Viktor, and she was getting quite annoyed with it all.
'You kept writing to him all this time and didn't tell us?' Ron
asked, pushing his luck.
'Excuse me? I don't need to tell you who I am writing to,
now do I?' Hermione snapped back. Harry had to admit he
didn't think she still wrote to Viktor, and he felt odd about it
all; but he did not need this argument.
'Can you two stop it? They'll be here any moment' Harry
interrupted. Hermione huffed at Ron, and he turned back
to watching the Black Lake.
'Hey, did Snape or Malfoy ever say where Vol- . . .
Voldemort was?' Ron asked. He was still getting used to
saying the Dark Lord's name, but Harry was happy that he
was at least saying it now.
Harry shook his head, and sighed. 'No, they can't. Snape
tried, but he started having convulsions. Remus thinks
Voldemort put a spell like a Fidelius Charm on the place
he is. The only thing he could say was "near."'
'Near?' Ron said, looking at Harry questioningly.
'Yeah, that was it. Don't have a clue what it could mean'
Harry exclaimed, looking over at Hermione as she
watched the lake with a dull expression.
'Maybe he was saying it was near Grimmauld?' Ron
wondered.
'Maybe he meant near Hogwarts' Hermione said quietly,
continuing to look at the lake. Harry felt there was
something on her mind other than the impending trip.
'Well, either way, we don't know where Voldemort is.
Everyone was excited that they might know, but that idea
flopped pretty quickly' Harry admitted despondently to
Ron.
'What about the Order? Do they have any ideas?' Ron
inquired.
'No. They've been looking everywhere, but don't really
know. They thought he was near Sheffield, but they
couldn't find any trace of him. He's been staying pretty low
all this time, and most of the Order think he's waiting to
come out until he attacks the strongest place' Harry
attested.
'What, the Ministry?' Ron asked.
'Hogwarts' Hermione answered bleakly, turning to give
Harry a worried expression. Harry moved closer, and took
hold of her hand, trying to give her comfort. He knew just
as she did that the safest place in England would sooner
or later probably become the deadliest. If he was waiting
for Hogwarts, when he did act, he would hold nothing
back.
Ron talked quietly to Luna for a moment, as Harry spoke
to Hermione. 'Don't worry Hermione, things-' he stopped
for a moment, as his scar singed. 'Things will be alright' he
finished, smiling pleasantly.
'I need to check on my parents. They haven't written back
since last week and I'm worried' Hermione whispered to
Harry. He hugged her warmly, and nodded.
'We'll check when we get back tonight' he assured. She
looked up at him, her brown eyes full of worry—with a
dwindling amount of hope—and she nodded. Harry leaned
down and kissed her sweetly, and she pressed her hands
into his back like she was holding on for dear life.
For a moment, Harry forgot about the other people there
and closed his eyes, feeling only Hermione and the brunt
of her concern and inner turmoil through her lips and her
hushed breath. He slowly and unhappily pulled back from
Hermione, and looked into her auburn eyes; the reminder
of all his love for her being remembered in that instant on
the banks of the Black Lake. He smiled as her eyes
seemed to brighten a little, and the worry faded.
'There's a mast!' Neville exclaimed from behind them,
pointing out to the middle of the lake. Harry dejectedly tore
his gaze from Hermione, and looked out over the calm
surface of the water.
In the middle of the lake, there was indeed a mast poking
out. Soon enough, the booms and eventually the hull of a
ship sprouted out of the depths, and slowly rocked back
and forth regaining its direction. The sails unfolded and
took their shape and as Harry remembered, were
emblazoned with the double-headed eagle.
In the day time, the ship looked much better than at night
in the dim moonlight. The hull of the ship was made from
long and heavy wooden beams, and the intricate inlay on
the front gave the ship some majesty to it. It still, to any
normal person, looked like it was ready to lie down on the
bottom of the lake for much needed rest, but it floated
peacefully and stopped a few hundred feet away from the
shore. A small boat was lowered to the surface of the now
calm water, and several people boarded it, and started
across to the waiting group.
The approaching boat had several younger boys in it, all
wearing dark red jackets. Harry could easily make out
Viktor Krum standing at the stem of the boat as it moved
closer. His thick black eyebrows were visible from even
this distance. He was watching the water carefully, and his
inclined head made his already overly-curved nose look
even more arched.
Sloping onto the bank of the lake, Viktor walked out of the
boat, and greeted Professor McGonagall. He gained a few
pounds, and his face was a bit fuller, but Harry thought it
was a good change. He looked a bit happier now,
although that could be because he was smiling as well. He
was never a fan of smiling last time Harry saw him.
'Hello Professor' he declared, shaking her hand while his
students brought the boat farther onto to shore.
'Hello Professor, and thank you for coming. I trust the
journey went smoothly?' she asked casually.
'It vent good, thank you Headmistress. Ve always get a
nice greeting from the squid. Now, vhere are my
passengers?' he asked, looking around. Harry, Hermione,
Ron, and Topher all approached, along with Remus,
Tonks and Baldric. Baldric had to place another Auror in
charge to coordinate the Auror patrols, but he managed it.
When Remus told him of the trip, he made it his goal to go
with Harry and the others to help out.
'Harry! It is vonderful to see you again' Viktor declared,
coming over and patting him on the shoulder. His extra
weight put a bit of power behind his arm, and Harry
stumbled from the friendly greeting.
'Herm-own-ninny, I've missed you' he professed, giving
her a hug.
'I missed you too Viktor—Sorry, Professor.'
'Please keep it to Viktor. Even I am getting used to
"Professor Krum."' He admitted, chuckling a bit.
'Ah, this is your friend Ron, right?' he asked shaking Ron's
hand, then turning to meet Topher and the others.
'He remembers my name!' Ron whispered, causing Harry
to roll his eyes.
'So, are ve ready to leave?' Viktor asked as he finished
with the pleasantries.
'Yes, I believe we are. Thank you again Professor' Harry
said to Professor McGonagall as they began to enter the
boat with the others.
'You must return to the grounds before supper time
tonight, all of you. Yes Professor Krum, that includes you.
You and your crew are invited to dine with us in the Great
Hall' Professor McGonagall announced. Viktor bowed his
head appreciatively, and entered the boat last.
'If ve are dinning here tonight, ve will definitely return
before! My students have never been to Hogwart's Grand
Hall' he smiled. He gave a flick of his wand, and the small
boat gave a jolt; beginning to move across the water at a
gradual pace.
Harry did not think the boat would hold so many people,
but they all sat comfortably as the Durmstrang students
kept an eye on the water while the boat moved itself.
Harry glanced at Ron about half way to the ship, and could
see his face turning green.
'Are you alright Ron?' he asked, Ron shaking his head
slowly.
'I don't like boats' was his short reply, looking back at the
shore longingly. Hermione took out her wand and pointed
it at his midsection.
'Immotus'
Ron turned around quickly, and stared at Hermione as she
smiled and put her wand away. 'Better?'
'Much, thanks' Ron answered. Everyone kept quiet as they
moved farther away from the shore. The group of students
and staff on shore watched the boat reach the ship, and
started back towards the castle.
'Up the ladder' Viktor said, motioning to a rope ladder that
hung over the side. It was a tough climb, and Tonks
almost fell into the water, but everyone eventually made it
to the deck.
The floor planks were worn, but clean of debris. The masts
towered over the crew and passengers, and the flag on
the top flapped leisurely in the light wind against the
overcast sky. The crew seemed very accustom to the ship,
and immediately began rigging the sails, and tying down
ropes to the cleats on the bulkheads. Viktor, who boarded
the ship first, came out from a cabin near the back, and
greeted everyone.
'Velcome to the Dobrynya Nikitich, the finest ship in all of
Europe. My crew is ready to cast off, so can you tell me
now vhere are ve going?' Viktor asked, sounding a bit
unhappy at being kept in the dark. Professor McGonagall
wanted to tell the Durmstrang High Master where his ship
was going, but Harry and Topher stressed the secrecy of it
all.
'The Nile River, in Egypt' Topher answered.
'The Nile! It is a long river, so how do you know vhere you
vant to be exactly?' Viktor asked, his thick eyebrows
furrowed as he paced the deck while his students
continued their rigging.
'As close to the Wizard's Valley as possible' Hermione
specified.
'Ah, that will be easy. Ve vent there last month' Viktor
informed cheerfully. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief,
however Hermione's jaw dropped in astonishment.
'Your students go to Egypt!'
'Yes, for both our Magical History and Transportation
classes' Viktor remarked, smiling at Hermione's
enthusiasm. Harry frowned a bit at Viktor's glances at
Hermione, but it lifted when Hermione came over and
began berating Harry about why Hogwarts did not do a trip
like that.
'I mean, that is such an experience! Actually going to
Egypt and learning the history!' she exclaimed to Harry as
they moved into an open area of the deck while Viktor set
the helm.
'Been there, done that' Ron yawned as he gave a stretch,
and scratched his stomach. 'Hey, do you know exactly
how we hold our breath when this ship goes underwater?'
'Dunno' Harry said, as Viktor came back down from the
stern of the ship where the wheel was.
'Ve are set. It is very simple; just hold your breath. Ve will
be undervater for only a few seconds. Just hold on to the
ship, and trust me; do not let go. The last student who let
go . . . vell, ve are still looking for him' he informed with a
nervous chuckle. The group nodded, and moved closer to
the centre mast as the crew continued to prepare the ship.
'James would have loved this ship I think' Remus offered
to the group, staying close to the mast. Harry smiled at
him, and turned when Viktor yelled out to his crew to dive
the ship. Harry could see Viktor taking his wand, and
placing the tip on the wheel.
The whole ship began to vibrate intensely, and the crew
hurried to batten all the sails. Harry worried the old ship
would fall apart against the increasing shaking, and he
became startled when the floor boards began to rattle.
Suddenly, just as the sails reached the booms and
magically tied to them, Harry's stomach—and the ship's
deck—gave out from underneath him, and the ship began
to descend rapidly, as if the water had been removed from
underneath it. The feeling reminded him of the one Muggle
rollercoaster he had tried when he was a child, which had
just a few too many hills and turns for Harry's liking.
Harry held on tightly to the centre mast with one arm,
while the other was slowly being crushed by Hermione's
monstrously tight grip. He looked at her and laughed at
how her expression was a mixture of fear, and excitement.
Harry beamed at her, and luckily took a breath just when
the frozen cold water of the Black Lake stormed the deck
of the ship, and plunged the group and the ship into the
depths.
The group of students on the shore watched as the mast
disappeared, and they slowly continued their way back to
the castle.
Meanwhile, watching from a nearby mountain-top, a black-
haired woman moved a set of odd looking binoculars away
from her face, and smirked. A round, and untidy man
came running up quickly from the beaten path that
meandered through the boulders and rocks strewn about.
'Did you see the ship? I wonder where they went to'
Wormtail pondered, looking at the calm and collected
woman. She sighed, and leaned against the rock next to
her.
'I have a good idea where they are headed' Bellatrix
commented, looking at the strange binoculars. 'It's a
shame we had to kill one of those blood-traitors who made
these; their listening range is excellent.' She moved off the
rock, and Wormtail backed away to let her take the lead.
'Pity the Mudblood hasn't learned about her parents' she
quipped, looking back out towards the lake. 'Come, we
must tell the Dark Lord of this new predicament.'
Keeping his eyes closed, a roar unlike any he ever heard
rushed passed Harry's ears, while the water surrounded
him and the others. The ship continued to fall, and Harry
dared not to open his eyes. Just as his gulp of air began to
wane, and the need to air started to scratch at the back of
his throat, the ship gave an almighty push upwards, and
began to rise.
The move surprised Harry, and with the jolt, all his
remaining air shot out of his mouth. Opening his eyes, he
could see the blueness of the water surrounding everyone
as if suspended in time. Bright sunlight sparkled down
through the surface of the water as the ship seemed to
rise at an incredible speed. A few fish zoomed past Harry
as his lungs cried for air, and began to burn.
Just as he began to panic for air, his face broke the
surface, and he gratefully inhaled warm and humid air.
As the ship rose out of the water, everyone opened their
eyes, and adjusted to the bright sunlight and colourful
wildlife that surrounded them. Water sloshed about on the
deck as the ship rocked angrily as it gained its equilibrium,
causing Harry and the others to loose their grip on the
mast.
Viktor's voice rang out, and the Durmstrang students
began unfurling the sails, and drying off the water from
themselves, and the deck. Harry and the others slowly
stood, and looked about the ship, and the river they stood
on.
They arrived in Egypt. Harry had never been outside
England before, and even though a small amount of
vegetation hid the vast expanses of desert, Harry was
smiling at his first trip outside his home country. The green
delta, followed by the sandy hills; both overlaid with the
perfectly blue sky gave the sight a simplicity to Harry.
'Velcome to Egypt!' Viktor called, coming down the steps
from the bridge and smiling at his friends. 'The Vizard's
Valley is over there. Ve should meet with the Gringotts
officials first.'
Harry went ahead and told Viktor about meeting Bill, and
that the group going to shore agreed to meet with Bill
rather than go through the officials. Viktor understood the
need to keep their trip quiet, and the crew lowered the
small boat onto the surface of the Nile. A few crew
members moved down into the boat, and Harry and the
others followed.
Viktor spoke to the remaining crew in Bulgarian, probably
leaving orders, and came down the ladder as well.
Tapping his wand, the boat again gave a jolt, and started
across the river. Harry continued to look about, as did
Hermione and the others, and he smiled at a Heron flew
across the delta gracefully.
Reaching the shore, the crew jumped out, and levitated
the boat onto the bank. Viktor stepped out, and offered his
hand to Hermione. She smiled, and took hold of it as she
exited the boat and stepped on the sandy ground. Harry
wondered if he was seeing these simple acts in a blown-
up way, but shook his head, and took his first step onto
Egypt.
'So, where are we to meet Bill?' Remus asked, stepping
out and helping Tonks.
'He said he'd meet us here' Harry stated, looking back at
the ship. The remaining crew were securing the sails, and
lowering a massive iron anchor.
With a loud crack, Harry turned to see the tall and slender
form of Bill Weasley come towards the group. He had
discarded some of his grunge-like clothes for lighter garb.
He still wore his dragon-skin boots, and his long ponytail
and fanged earring. The scaring on his face still looked ill,
but Harry smiled at Bill's determination to not let it bother
him.
'Hey there everybody! Sorry I'm late, had to make sure my
shift was covered. How was the trip?' he asked as he
approached and shook everyone's hand.
'The trip was great, thanks to Viktor here' Hermione
exclaimed, motioning to Viktor.
'Well I'll be, Viktor Krum! I heard you're teaching at
Durmstrang now.'
'I am, thank you' Viktor responded, shaking Bill's hand.
'So, you're the crazy git that wants to go to the Death
Tomb?' Bill asked turning the Harry.
'I think so. Topher thinks what we're looking for might be
there.'
'Oh hey Topher, didn't see you there. I trust Ron isn't
giving you any troubles?' Bill asked, making Ron feel
humiliated.
'No more than his girlfriend' Topher responded with a
smirk, making Ron blush at Bill's reaction.
'Oh, our Ronny has a girly-friend' Bill chuckled, giving Ron
a playful shot to the arm. 'Does Mum know?'
'Yes, she knows! Now can we get going already to this
bloody tomb!' Ron ranted, putting everyone back on track.
'Right, the tomb, it's a bit of a hike, but it shouldn't take
long' Bill attested, as he started off towards a path that led
through the wilderness near the delta. The Durmstrang
students stayed with the boat, and Viktor decided to come
with the group.
As they walked along, everyone stayed fairly quiet, but
Harry felt the need to ask Bill how things were going.
'Well, they aren't that grand Harry, not at all. I was
enjoying that desk job in London, but they ordered me
back here to guard the tombs. Fleur wasn't too happy as
you'd expect, but I've been Apparating back every two
weeks or so to see her, Mum, Dad, Charlie and George.'
'How is George by the way?' Harry asked.
Bill sighed as he moved a branch in the way of the path.
'He's alright; about as well as can be expected. He's been
working mad on those things you ask him for, and all the
orders he's been having from people. He's not even
charging people anymore, and you should see the people
working for him.'
'He hired more people?'
'No, people volunteered, dozens of them. Of course
George had a few Order members go through them, but
they all checked out. He's been so focused on helping
people out . . . it's a good thing though. He needed focus
after . . . after Fred' Bill admitted crestfallenly as they came
to a clearing in the trees.
'Alright folks, now to get to the Valley, we need to use
these' Bill announced to the group, flicking his wand at
what appeared to be nothing than sand. The sand sifted
away, and two large carpets popped out of the ground and
hovered. They were both very inticately woven, with
shades of sky blue, golden yellow, ivory white, sea grass
green, and vibrant patches of red.
'Flying carpets!' Tonks expounded joyfully. Bill smiled, and
easily slid himself onto the nearest one. He turned, as
everyone still looked at him surprisingly, and he laughed.
'Oh com'on, they don't bite—well, at least these models
don't. Just slide on, and hold onto the edges. Just don't
lean too much to the sides' he emphasized.
Viktor gladly slid onto the front of the second one, and
everyone found space on the two carpets. Harry,
Hermione, and Ron went with Bill, while Topher, Remus,
Tonks, and Baldric went with Viktor. Both carpets dipped
with the new occupants, and everyone made sure to stay
in the centre.
'Now, hold on!' Bill said loudly as he pulled on the edge of
the carpet, and with a speed almost equal to Harry's
Firebolt, it carried the four of them high over the tree line.
Harry, along with the others held on tightly to the sides,
and huddled closely as they soared over the delta, and out
into the desert. The group had to lean forwards to maintain
balance, but luckily no one slipped or moved too abruptly.
Hermione held onto Harry tightly, and he smiled at being
reminded of her dislike of flying.
It had been a while since Harry had been flying, and the
experience reminded him how he sorely missed it. The
sand dunes and the odd colourful bird or slow moving
camel passed beneath them as they continued along their
way under the bright and hot sun. The wind was as dry as
the landscape, but the feeling of it through his hair and
across his face made Harry relax a little, even if they were
in grave danger during this trip.
Speeding up, Harry saw Bill smiling as he turned the
carpet gently and began towards a winding valley in the
distance, surrounded by rocky outcroppings. Bill changed
his grip on the edge of the carpet ever-so slightly, and it
began to descend to the valley floor. Harry could see
numerous people walking around the area, with deep
looking caverns cut out of the rock strewn about the valley.
The carpet slowed down as they came close, and
stopped—hovering a few inches off the ground.
'Here we are' Bill announced, as he turned and Harry
looked to see Viktor pulling up his carpet next to theirs.
The look on Remus' face made Harry smile.
'Not a fan of carpets?' Harry asked him as they stepped
off.
'Even I'm no good at riding a broom, and would prefer it to
one of these' he maintained, Tonks laughing at him.
'Oh they aren't that bad Remus' Baldric put in chuckling.
Leaving the carpets, Bill escorted them along one of the
many paths that wound through the valley between the
rock and sandstone. Some of the passer-bys took careful
look at Harry and the others, as they were definitely not
dressed for the climate. Harry was already sweating after
only two minutes of walking, considering he was wearing
black pants and a black cloak.
Walking around the valley for a few more minutes, they
turned a corner and found a rock face with two English
wizards standing guard in front. Both wore sandy-coloured
clothes, and had thick leather belts on. One of them, the
taller of the two, put up his hand and the group stopped.
'What is your purpose here?' he asked.
'We come to visit the tomb of Nefrekeptah' Topher
explained. The guard looked over the group slowly with his
bright brown eyes, stopping for a moment on Harry.
'There is no tomb here by that name' the guard replied
straightly.
'Oh com'on; I work here, and we all know this is the Death
Tomb' Bill insisted.
'This is the tomb of Nefrekeptah' Topher maintained.
'You cannot enter the tomb' the guard stated roughly to
the group, giving up his short and pointless fight to prove
no tomb existed.
'You don't understand, we need to get inside. It's very
important we go inside' Hermione insisted.
'No, you cannot. No one has entered this tomb in over a
century, and we are not about to make an exception' the
guard responded harshly.
'What are we going to do?' Harry asked Topher worriedly.
'I'm not sure Harry. Perhaps we should ask the Gringotts
officials' he suggested. Bill agreed it would be the best
option, but before they left the guards halted them.
'Stop! You cannot leave without giving us your names for
record' the second, smaller guard professed loudly. His
voice was much more higher pitched than the other's. No
one was keen on giving their names, but did so since the
guards would not let them leave otherwise. Both guards
looked at Harry when he gave his name, but they reacted
far stranger to Topher's.
'Terrwynebas? Did you say your last name is
Terrwynebas' the tall guard asked.
'Yes, I did' Topher answered despondently. Both guards
looked at each other surprisingly, and Harry wondered
what was going on.
'If I was to say I have found the ultimate treasure-' the tall
guard stated oddly.
'Then I would ask what name you gave to your new child'
Topher suddenly spoke back monotonously. The guards
were just as surprised by the response as the rest of the
group. The two guards conversed for a moment while
Harry looked at Topher in astonishment.
'How did you-'
'My mother told me that riddle when I was a child' he
answered, sounding unsure of what was going on. The tall
guard turned back and approached Topher.
'Please show me your wand' he asked. Topher hesitated
for a moment, but handed it over. The guard ran his own
wand from the handle to the tip of Topher's wand. When
he finished, strange contrastive markings appeared within
the knots woven into Topher's wand, and the guard looked
surprised at Topher, who looked to have as much
understanding about it all as Harry.
'We are allowed to open this tomb to Chamber Members
of the Order of the Veneforbis Guard. You may enter, with
three companions only' the guard proclaimed, bowing his
head to Topher. Everyone, even the second guard, was
still astonished by this.
'Harry, Hermione, Ron; come with me. Everyone else, we
will be back momentarily' Topher exclaimed briskly before
anyone could ask. The tall guard moved back to the stone
face, and with the other, tapped their wand on the rock.
Nothing happened, and the four visitors looked at the tall
guard.
'You must complete the stage' he explained to Topher.
Topher hesitated for a moment, then placed the tip of his
wand on the rock face. The markings, which shone icy-
blue against the birch wood, appeared again, and a small
portal opened into the depths of the valley rock.
Wasting now time, Topher plunged himself into the
darkened tunnel, and Harry gave a quick and worried
glance to Hermione and Ron, before running in after him.
The remaining two swiftly followed, as the rest of the
group watched in awe.
'Does anyone know what that was about?' Baldric asked
as he turned to Bill.
'Something tells me there's more to Topher than we
thought' Remus stated, looking at Tonks.
Meanwhile in the rocky cave, Harry, Ron, and Hermione
caught up to Topher, who was waiting a few feet down.
'Topher, what's going on? How were you able to get us in
here?' Harry asked, looking about the cave. The narrow
walls were flat and smoothed, as was the ceiling which
stood less than six feet from the sandy floor. Ron had to
bend quite a bit, while Harry and Topher had to hunch
slightly; but for Hermione it was alright.
Topher, who had brightened the tunnel with his wand,
looked down the tunnel, and sighed. 'If my mother told me
that riddle, and only Veneforbis members can get in here
with that riddle-'
'Then your mother was a Guard' Hermione finished,
Topher staring at the rock face for a moment before
nodding.
'Maybe that's why she was killed?' Harry suggested. If
Topher's mother was killed for not giving up a secret, it
could easily fit she was in the Veneforbis Guard.
'Perhaps. It could explain why my wand can open the
cave. She had a Griffin Feather core too. We have other
pressing matters though. We need to be careful in here,
so keep your wands out, and watch your feet—and your
heads' he advised. The three students cast Lumos spells
to better light the tunnel, and they began down the tunnel.
Walking down into the depths, Harry saw several
scorpions crawling along the sand, startling Ron due to
their resemblance to spiders. They continued for several
moments with no troubles until they came to a fork in the
tunnel. Both paths looked identical, and Topher looked
down one, and then the other.
'Which way should we go?' Harry asked the others.
'Whichever way is more north' Topher offered. Hermione
smiled at Harry, and motioned him to use his wand.
'Point me' he said, after placing his wand on his open
palm. His wand instantly pointed down the path to the
right, and the others smiled at him.
Moving farther down, they came to part of the tunnel that
opened up. Writing appeared on the wall next to them, like
the kind on the scroll Topher had. The wide chamber
ahead was wider than the tunnel before, but perpetually
dark. The light from the three wands did not moved into
the chambr ahead at all.
'Find your way through the . . . the netherworld, with the
thought-spirit that guides your path' Topher read from the
inlaid writing.
'The netherworld? That sounds encouraging' Ron quipped,
keeping close eye on the ground.
'"Thought-spirit that guides your path?"' Hermione
reiterated, biting her bottom lip and thinking. 'A Patronus.'
'A Patronus?' Harry asked.
'Yes, they were once called "thought-spirits". There must
be Dementors, or Lethifolds ahead' she figured. Ron rolled
his eyes, and looked at Harry.
'Beautiful. Can't we go anywhere were the passageway is
just a passageway?' Harry clapped him on the shoulder,
and nodded understandingly.
'Alright, Patronus it is. Pick a good memory, it may be your
last' Topher said in mock cheerfulness, raising his wand.
Harry thought hard of his waking on Christmas Day, with
Hermione nestled so closely to him. Hermione took hold of
his hand, and he smiled at her warmly.
'Christmas morning?' she asked, Harry nodding with a
smirk. They both raised their wands down the darkened
tunnel, and smiled at each other.
'Simula Expecto Patronum!' they both yelled. A bright
sphere enveloped the two of them, and brilliant white light
expanded into the tunnel ahead in massive pulses.
'Expecto Patronum!' both Topher and Ron yelled. Out of
Topher's wand a beautiful alabaster snowy owl flew out
and soared into the tunnel ahead, while Ron's brave terrier
leaped out of his wand and began bounding its way
around the chamber. Topher glanced back at his students,
and ran forward into the chamber, jumping from side to
side as the floor seemed to reach up at him. Ron quickly
followed, jumping up higher than Harry had ever seen him
before as the floor continued to reach upwards. Harry and
Hermione—keeping their wands pointed forwards,
followed quickly as Topher and Ron moved farther down.
It seemed the instant they entered the chamber, their
minds turned to dark memories. Topher was still moving
ahead, his owl Patronus flying down at black, rug-like
objects that slithered across the ground, and Ron was
moving forward too, but Harry and Hermione were
slowing.
Their Patronus Sphere died within moments, and the two
of them were plunged into darkness. As memories of
Sirius' death began filling into Harry's mind, he focused as
hard as he could on Hermione's hand, and her presence
near him. His Occlumency began forcing the painful
memory out, and as he began feeling a disgusting fur-like
creature begin up his leg, he pointed his wand at the
ground.
'Expecto Patronum!' he yelled, and a white phoenix came
out, and pounded the black rug-like creature away. Harry
moved his wand towards Hermione, and the phoenix
cleared away more of these creatures as Hermione was
continuing to struggle with her memories.
'Legilimens' Harry charmed, pointing his wand at
Hermione. He could see the memory of himself falling off
his broomstick; lying in the hospital wing, flashing in front
of him. He pulled her out of those memories, and looked
into the memory of Christmas night.
'Com'on Hermione!' he encouraged as he forced the
memory in front.
'Expecto Patronum!' she yelled as she squeezed Harry's
hand, and her silvery otter blasted out of her wand, and
moved around the two of them with Harry's phoenix.
'Com'on you two! Ron, help them' Topher called from
farther down, his owl still circling. Ron bound back to his
friends, and grabbed Harry's arm. Harry started running
towards the end of the chamber with Hermione in tow,
while he kept his good memory forward and his Patronus
flying ahead of them with Hermione and Ron's. They
reached the end, and as their Patronus' dissolved, Topher
cast light along the tunnel again, and smiled at the three of
them.
'Thanks mate' Harry panted.
'Just another walk in the park' he replied happily, smiling
at Hermione who was also gaining her breath. Harry was
going to ask why Ron and Topher were not hit with evil
memories like him and Hermione, but Topher moved
farther down the tunnel.
'Alright, let's keep going' Topher insisted, moving down.
The chamber behind them quieted instantly, and returned
to its peaceful darkness. Ron followed behind Topher with
his wand lit, and Hermione smiled at Harry; giving his
hand a gentle squeeze.
'Thanks for the help back there.'
'Not a problem. That was worst than dementors' Harry
admitted. He was not looking forward to the trip back up.
'I know, and Ron and Topher didn't seem affected'
Hermione observed.
'Perhaps it's the magic in the cave' Harry offered.
As they descended farther into the cave, the air became
thick and dusty, like it had not been breathed in thousands
of years. Moving along a bend in the tunnel, the group
stopped as a torch, bracketed against the side of the wall,
erupted into flames as they approached.
'We must be close' Topher whispered, pointing his wand
down the passageway as they slowed their pace. The
torches continued to light as they walked, and looking
down, Harry saw a strange blue light emanating at the
end.
'Did I mention I'm not a fan of old and creepy tunnels?'
Ron mentioned as they moved towards the blue light and
their footsteps sounded in the silent tomb.
'I don't think any of use are fans of this tunnel' Harry
admitted.
Moving closer, the four of them stayed together as they
reached a stone-cut room at the end of the long
passageway, which contained thousands of pots and
statues, most made of either shinning gold or amber clay.
The ceiling rose a few more feet here, and Ron and the
others gladly stretched their backs fully, however not
taking deep breaths as the air was tinged with the odor of
decayed animals and death. The blue light came from a
tiny blue flame burning above what appeared to be a
sandstone tomb, flanked by two smaller ones.
Moving their wand-light around, they found the walls
covered in ancient markings, hieroglyphs, and strange
looking runes. Several large statues—life size—of warriors
and guards stood around the room, protecting the three
tombs that lay together. Hermione moved around towards
the front again, and screamed when her wand-light fell
upon a dead and rather decayed body.
Harry and Ron immediately jumped, and ran over. The
body was an ill shade of grey, and the skin was gone. The
skeleton was about all that remained, along with the
tattered remains of the person's clothes.
Looking to the left, Harry found another body similar to the
first, though this one was obviously a child. Topher came
around from behind as his eyes scanned the walls
eagerly.
'Alright, we need to look for the Book. It'll be a scroll, not
very big, and possibly with a gold circlet around it' he
stated, looking again along the walls, trying to read the
writing. Harry still held on to Hermione, as they turned and
looked at the walls as well.
'You will not find the Book here Harry Potter' a ghostly
voice whispered behind Harry. Now all four of them
screamed as they turned to see the ash coloured skeleton
on the right standing somehow, as well as the other child-
sized one on the left. Its eye holes looked right at Harry,
and he felt nothing more than utter terror at the site.
The skeleton's just "looked" at Harry and the others,
seeming to wait for a response. 'How- . . . how do you . . .
how do you know my name?' Harry asked very carefully.
Skeletons were something they neglected to teach
defenses against in class.
'We know the name of all who seek the Book of Thoth' the
skeleton answered in its raspy voice, still looking at the
three of them.
'As well as the fate of those who use it' the smaller
skeleton added, Ron jumping at the second voice. This
skeleton's voice—though not as aged as the other—still
sent shivers down Harry's spine. The notion of just turning
and running back to England seemed very entertaining at
the moment.
'For we are the Kas of Nefrekeptah, his wife and son' the
ka of the woman spoke.
'We . . . we need the Book, to defeat an evil wizard' Harry
stated shakily. Hermione was still holding onto Harry's arm
tightly, and her eyes continued to dart between the two
skeletons. Ron was holding onto Harry's other arm, and
Topher stayed close to the group while still looking about
the chamber.
'Seeking the Book is not the answer to your question Harry
Potter' the ka of the woman asserted. Harry looked at
Topher for some help, and he cleared his throat.
'We're looking for the Oroborus Light' Topher professed
weakly. The woman ka's skull snapped towards Topher,
and tilted as it examined him while the child ka pointed at
him with a bony finger.
'You do not seek the Oroborus Light Topher Terrwynebas.
What you seek will find you soon, and you will be faced
with a choice that leads to the same result' the child ka
told Topher quietly.
'Is the Oroborus Light in the Book of Thoth?' Topher
asked, looking down at the child skeleton.
'All magic is within the Book' the woman ka explained from
the other side of the room.
'Is the Oroborus Light what we need to kill Voldemort?'
Hermione asked, speaking for the first time to the kas. The
woman ka scanned Hermione, and gazed at her for a
moment.
'The love that drives the power' the ka whispered.
'And the one that protects the wielder' the child ka spoke,
looking at Ron.
'Can the Oroborus Light help me kill Voldemort?' Harry
asked, frustrated without getting a clear answer.
'You cannot kill Voldemort Harry Potter, and that is not
what you seek. The Oroborus Light has only the power to
reflect prior acts.'
'So what is it I seek if not to kill Voldemort?' Harry asked,
his tolerance for the skeletal guards waning.
'To destroy him, wielding the Oroborus Light with the
power he knows not' the child ka responded, looking up at
Harry.
'So where is the Book of Thoth?' Harry asked hurriedly,
hearing that in fact they were on the right path.
'Taken by those who should not have. The fates of those
terrible, but returned not to where the scroll should be' the
woman ka expressed darkly.
'Where?' Harry almost yelled at the kas, loosing his
patience. His voice echoed up the tunnel, and Hermione
squeezed his hand to try keep him calm.
'You already know Harry Potter. You did not come here to
ask where it is. You came here to ask the results if you
use it' the woman ka spoke. Harry turned to Topher, and
understood the wording.
'It's in the Department of Mysteries like Aberforth figured'
Harry asserted.
'Aberforth?' Hermione asked.
'Not now, we have to leave, and get back to Hogwarts'
Topher declared, however Harry taking a step forward
towards the woman ka.
'So . . . what is the result of me using the Book?' Harry
asked shakily. The woman ka turned its head to its long
ago living child, before looking back at Harry.
'What you fear the most, for whether you use the Book or
not, the same result will come to pass' the woman ka
spoke darkly. The comment did not boost Harry's
confidence at all, knowing it could mean many things,
none of which were good.
'Is there anyway, I can . . . change the result?'
'Only one, and it will lead back to here' the child ka told
Harry.
'When?'
'When the world is lost, and the snake is broken' the
woman ka spoke. Harry's mind turned to dark thoughts
and unhappy predictions. "When the world is lost" could
only be taken in so many ways, none of which where that
bright. Coupled with "the snake is broken" just confused
Harry more.
'Come on Harry, Hermione, Ron; we need to get back to
the surface' Topher encouraged.
'Yes, you should; for eight of you set foot on Egypt, but
only seven will depart' the woman ka informed darkly.
'The last will fall to the sand and never rise again' said the
child ka.
The group glanced at each other quickly with the warning,
bowed to the kas, and turned to head back up the tunnel
when the woman ka spoke once more.
'Know Harry Potter that the sign of the golden feather
upon the stone will mark the beginning of the end.'
Harry stared at the ka for a moment, before turning and
running with the rest of the group as fast as possible back
up the tunnel towards the outside. The group quickly
moved through the darkened passageway, and past the
chamber filled with the moving floor. Reaching the
entranceway again, Remus, Tonks, Bill, and Baldric all
looked worriedly at the group coming out.
'Harry, Topher, Ron, Hermione—is everything O.K.?'
Remus asked as he looked at Harry who was looking
about frantically.
'We need to get back to the ship, now!' he stated quickly.
Remus looked at Bill, and he lead the way as the group
left the two puzzled guards, and started back towards the
carpets.
'What happened Harry?' Tonks asked as they ran.
'Not now, we have to get back!' he maintained, trying to
stay with Bill as he reached the carpets. The guards and
other wizards and witches walking about looked at the
group with mixed emotions as they reached the area they
first landed in.
'Harry, for the love of Merlin, why are we running?' Baldric
asked as he panted.
'They said someone wouldn't make it back to the ship'
Hermione answered for Harry.
'Who said?' Remus asked, looking at the group.
'The kas! We need to—' Harry started, but was cut off by a
blast that smashed into the sand next to the group.
Everyone fell to the ground as panic broke out, and spells
began firing from the hilltops down on the group.
'Get on! Get on!' Bill yelled out as Remus, Viktor, Tonks,
and Baldric tried to fire spells back and protect the
students. Harry moved and helped Hermione and Ron to
the carpet, but Ron slipped on a rock and fell hard on the
ground.
'Ron, com'on!' Harry yelled at his friend as he scrambled
on the ground. Remus and the others were still firing
spells, but were moving backwards towards the carpets.
As Harry and Hermione reached the carpet with Bill, they
shouted at the others to move. Ron got up from the sandy
ground quickly with blood on his chin and started running
for the carpet just ahead of the others, when the hollow
face of Bellatrix Lestrange showed itself from around a
corner of a nearby rock wall, and smiled evilly as she held
up her wand at the running group.
'Avada Kedavra!'
Spell / Name Meanings:
Immotus - L. immotus - unmoved
Dobrynya Nikitich - In Slavic mythology, dipicted as a
dragonslayer who killed Zmey Gorynych, a green three
headed dragon that spit fire. (Source: Wikipedia)
 - CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN-
Falling and the Feather
'NO!' Harry and Hermione screamed, as the green light of
the Killing Curse overtook its prey.
The gleam in his eye told Harry he knew it was coming. A
never-ending gaze stuck to Harry and Hermione, as the
green light collapsed against him, and his eyes became
dulled, and his expression lost. His body gave way, and
with the remaining momentum, and fell silently to the
sandy ground as the rest of the group turned to see him.
Hermione struggled to get up and run to save him, but
Harry pulled her back knowing it was too late. Viktor Krum
was dead.
Remus, Tonks, Baldric, and Topher looked at their fallen
friend, and Remus quickly grabbed Tonks and pulled her
to the carpet. Bellatrix moved away from her rocky shield,
and Topher looked at the killer.
With no remorse, or lack of concern for the other Death
Eaters on the ledges firing spells at the Gringotts guards,
Topher thrusted his wand out at the pale woman.
'PERSECTUM DEXTRA!' Topher shouted with a rage
greater than that Harry remembered he gave to his old
best friend.
The spell shot at Bella's right hand, and she screamed in
pain as deep gashes ripped across it—making her drop
her wand. Her face was contorted in horrible pain and
anger, and her eyes looked malevolently at Topher. He
wasted no time, as spells and curses fell around his feet,
and he pointed his wand again at Bellatrix, just as she
tried reaching for her wand.
'EXPELLO PER HORRESENTIA!' he yelled, Bella just
looking up before she vanished with her wand still laying in
the sand covered in blood. Remus and Tonks where still
trying to protect Topher—who was still out in the open—
but where having a hard time as the Death Eaters began
bombarding the group.
'Topher! Hurry!' Harry yelled, as curses fell from the hill
tops. He snapped out of his angered trance, quickly
whisked his wand over Viktor's body to make it disappear,
picked up Viktor's wand, and ran rapidly to the carpet.
Harry turned and moved closer to the centre of the carpet
with Ron and Hermione, while the others hurried to the
second carpet. Baldric was taking the reigns of the other
carpet, and once Topher dove on, both carpets rocketed
up into the air. Harry and the others continued to shoot
spells at the black cloaked Death Eaters, but stopped after
they were a good distance away.
Landing quickly in the open area of the forest, the group
ran as quickly as they could to the boat, where the crew
was still waiting.
'Vere is Professor Krum?' the oldest student asked, whose
red tunic had a single black star over each shoulder. He
was looking at the group, but his face stopped on
Hermione, would had tears staining her cheeks as she
shakily entered the boat with Harry's help.
'He was killed by Death Eaters, we need to get back to the
ship before they get here' Harry insisted as everyone
entered the boat before being invited.
'Killed! Vere is his body?' the student asked, as he
motioned the students to set up defensive stations around
the boat.
'Topher vanished it. Get in the boat; we need to get back
to Hogwarts!' Ron remarked quickly as he entered the
boat. The student turned towards the forest, and looked
back again the group.
'How do ve know he is-' the student asked, cut off by a
Stunning Spell hitting one of the students standing near
the edge of the forest. The students hit the ground, and
the older one moved towards his injured comrade.
'Bill get in the boat!' Remus ordered. The students were
running to the boat, and getting it ready as the oldest
student helped pull the injured student to safety.
'I can't Remus, I need to help my friends. I'll Apparate back
to England if there's trouble' he maintained. He gave one
last glance at the group, and with a crack, he Apparated
away.
Yelling orders in Bulgarian, the boat began to move across
the water, while the group caught its breath. Hermione
was still upset about Viktor, and his students were
shocked by it.
'I am Borislav, Durmstrang Chief Student. Once back on
board, ve vill go back to your school' he stated, looking
over the silent group. Ron was looking blankly at
Hermione and Harry as they moved across the Nile
peacefully.
'Here is Professor Krum's wand' Topher spoke quietly,
handing over the heavy wand to Borislav. He took it
slowly, and looked at it like a precious gem. The students'
heads were hung in sadness over the loss of their beloved
professor.
Once they boarded the ship, Harry looked back and could
see smoke billowing from the horizon. Hermione stood
next to him sniffling, and Ron looked out at the water while
the crew heard the news, and solemnly prepared the ship.
'I can't believe he's gone' Hermione whispered, Harry
giving her a hug.
'He remembered my name' Rom commented quietly.
'Oh Ron' Hermione whispered, turning and embracing Ron
in a hug. Ron looked wondrously at Harry for a moment,
but accepted the hug. Harry in the mean time moved over
to Topher, who was standing near the mast.
'So the Book is in the Ministry' Topher said, noticing
Harry's approach.
'It sounds like it. How will we get there?' Harry asked,
taking a look back to see Ron and Hermione talking
quietly.
'Well, the Minister is coming tomorrow, so perhaps we can
ask him' Topher assumed, speaking softly. The crew and
passengers were so quiet, Harry felt he had gone deaf
from the lack of sound. Even as the crew moved about,
Harry could see them taking slow steps, and placing—not
stomping—their feet as they walked. Sound was not
warranted with their thoughts.
Borislav came down from the bridge and informed the
group the ship was ready. Taking hold of the mast like
before, the group looked as Borislav took the helm and the
ship dove under the rippling water. No orders were yelled,
no alert sounded. The crew just looked, and held its breath
as the ship silently slipped beneath the water.
Rising out of the Black Lake, Harry gained his breath
again, and held on as the ship regained its balance—
sounding like an angry tree in the wind. Once everything
sat relatively still, everyone let go, and Borislav came back
down the stairs, walking heavily as he was a fairly stout
man.
'Ve vill anchor the ship, and everyone vill go ashore. I
must contact the High Master' he explained. Topher
assured him it would be done, and the crew lowered the
first boat, as well as a second. Setting the anchor over the
side and securing the ship, Harry and the others entered
their boat with some students and Borislav, while the rest
of the twenty-man crew boarded the other. Before leaving,
two students went ahead and raised a black flag to the top
of the mast, and everyone looked up at it as it slowly
flapped in the light wind. With everyone off the ship, the
two boats glided across the calm water towards the shore,
no word spoken on either.
Once they arrived on shore, Professor McGonagall came
down from the castle, along with a few other professors
and students. Seeing the expression on everyone's faces
stopped the Headmistress from talking, and she observed
the group carefully.
'Where is Professor Krum?' she asked, looking at Harry
and the others. Other professors, such as Madam Hooch
and Professor Fourmove looked over the group with grim
faces, while the mention of their late professor's name
caused the proud sons of Durmstrang to lower their heads
and fall deeper into sadness.
'We were attacked by Death Eaters, and he was killed
saving us' Topher finally answered after several silent
moments. The Durmstrang students did not look up, and
Professor McGonagall looked to be caught between two
conflicting emotions. Harry guessed they were rage and
sadness.
'Who is head student here?' she asked, her momentary
lapse in facial expression gone. Borislav came forward
and asked the professor for use of her office to contact the
High Master. She agreed, and ordered everyone into the
castle.
'Remus, Tonks, can you please see to it that our guests
are given a good meal, and left alone. I do not want our
students gocking over them after what has happened.
Borislav can use my office after I speak with the rest of
your group' They both accepted, and moved the students
into one of the old classrooms on the ground floor. They
called house elves, and kept the Durmstrang students
there while they sat in silence and disbelief. A regular
Hogwarts student would not even know they were there,
except for of course the existence of their ship floating in
the Black Lake.
Moving through the staircases and halls, Topher, Baldric,
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all moved behind the quick-
paced Headmistress. Professor McGonagall never even
told them to follow her, but they knew better. She walked
through the halls and never once looked back, or made a
comment. Harry could not remember her looking like this,
and he was very scared what might happen.
Reaching her office, she waved the stone gargoyles off,
and entered. Everyone quietly made their way in, and
patiently waited as the Headmistress slowly took her seat,
and allowed her head to lower its gaze at the desktop.
'How?' was all she asked.
'We were looking in a tomb, and when we came out Death
Eaters showed up somehow. We don't know how they
knew we were there, but they had the numbers. We were
able to get back to the ship, but Viktor died from a Killing
Curse' Topher explained.
'From Bellatrix Lestrange' Hermione added quietly.
McGonagall never looked up, or change her posture, and
it made the tips of Harry's fingers twitch with worry. He
was waiting for the dragon to rear its head.
'Were there any more causalities' she asked, sounding like
the calm before the raging storm of a Headmistress'
discontent.
'No Headmistress. We were able to vanish Viktor's body,
and we managed his wand' Baldric informed cautiously.
McGonagall nodded slowly, and continued looking down
at the desk. Harry could see her breathing was slow, and
that she was trying very hard to keep herself collected.
She slowly stood up, and everyone recoiled slightly. She
looked up at everyone, and again took a deep breath.
'Harry, you are never again leaving this castle until it either
closes or you graduate.'
'But . . . but Professor-'
'NO BUTS POTTER!' she yelled, everyone stepping back
instinctively. Harry knew he should not have pressed his
luck. He woke up the dragon.
'Because of your little escapade, a friend and fellow
professor is dead! You have been going on these trips for
Merlin knows what, and I have had it! I do not care if Albus
agrees with your going, you are not! You will stay within
this castle, not even in the grounds!' she bellowed. Harry
felt horrible at the realization that she was right, and that
Viktor had died because of him, however Topher did not
wish to give up so easily.
'Professor-' he started, being met with a shook finger.
'Oh no Topher, not this time. I have had it with your extra
trips, and secret meetings with people. I am tired of being
left in the dark, and expected just to agree with everything!
I am putting my foot down. You, like Potter, are not
allowed to leave this castle. If you do, then consider
yourself dismissed!'
Harry and the others all looked at Topher and McGonagall
with this threat. Topher was looking at being fired now for
trying to help Harry. Harry felt like he was sinking into the
ground with all the guilt.
'We were looking for the Book of Thoth' Hermione
suddenly announced from her side of the room. Topher
looked at her with wide-eyed disbelief, while McGonagall
glanced at her before turning away and sighing angrily.
'"The Book of Thoth?" It does not even exist!' she
proclaimed.
'It does, and now we know where it is' Ron put in, although
truthfully he had no idea, and really neither did Harry or
Topher.
'No, I just said, you are not leaving the castle, any of you.
Baldric, go and work out the new rotations, since we are
getting more Aurors tomorrow' she ordered, flicking her
wand and motioning him to leave. He gave everyone a
hopeful look, and exited the tension-filled office. Topher
again tried to reason with McGonagall, but it was not
happening.
'Professor please, we need to-'
'You are pushing your luck Professor. Because of you, I
now have to inform the High Master of Durmstrang that
one of his best professors has been killed because of
some search for an item that does not even exist. Now,
out!'
Topher turned, and exited quickly, with the rest following.
Once they were outside the office, they stopped and let
out a collective anger filled sigh.
'I can't believe it! We finally know where it is, and we can't
get to it!' Topher fumed, kicking the wall and hurting his
toes in the process.
'Maybe we can ask the Minister tomorrow still?' Harry
wondered, Hermione not looking too optimistic.
'I don't think that will make Professor McGonagall anymore
sympathetic to our cause, going around her back.'
'So what are we supposed to do?' Ron asked the group.
Everyone one thought for a moment, before Topher
responded.
'We should wait. I do not care if I loose my position here,
as long as we get that scroll. If worst comes to worst, we'll
have to sneak our way out of the castle, and break into the
Ministry.'
'That doesn't sound too promising' Hermione admitted
darkly.
'Well, we might not have another choice. It's either that, or
wait for Voldemort to come knocking on Evander's portrait
asking for Harry to come out' Topher exclaimed.
It was a horrible situation they were in, and it did not help
that news from the wizarding world was becoming
grimmer by he day. Harry learned over the week that the
muggle government was having a horrible time, and there
was talk of civil unrest in London and various other cities.
Riots in Paris, Berlin, and Rome were causing chaos in
the muggle world. There were even rumors of the British
Parliament falling into disarray, with members missing and
others unable to agree on anything. Blame was being
placed primarily on the Muggle Prime Minister, and it
looked like Marshall Law would soon be called.
'I need to go and tell Aberforth about this trip. I'll come see
you later on all this. Please tell the Durmstrang students
Viktor's body was vanished to their ship's lower hold'
Topher told the group. They agreed, and he whisked off to
his office. The others in the mean time went down to the
ground floor, and checked in with the Durmstrang
students.
Walking down to the ground level, Harry found Remus
standing outside the door of Classroom Five. Walking up,
the still dirt covered and sweaty students asked how their
foreign friends were doing.
'Well, only Borislav speaks English, so I've been asking
him to stay close. They're not too well though. Borislav
said Krum was revered at Durmstrang. You know, a past
student who's known world wide, comes back to teach at
the small school he loved.'
'Do you know if they are still staying for dinner?' Hermione
asked, looking into the room and finding the red-suited
students quietly talking amongst themselves in Bulgarian,
and other Slavic-sounding languages.
'Borislav went with Tonks to contact the High Master, so I
don't know. I can imagine McGonagall is going crazy
enough with the Ministry coming tomorrow, and those
attacks in London.'
'Attacks in London?' Ron asked, looking at Harry and
Hermione.
'Diagon Alley. It was early this morning too; terrible
incident. Death Eaters moved through the street from
Knockturn Alley, and destroyed some of the shops. People
were panicked beyond belief, and the Ministry had a
terrible time trying to stop them.'
'Is everything alright now?' Hermione asked worriedly.
'Well, it took forever for the Aurors to show up, but by that
time it looked like the Death Eaters were backing away
anyways. They could have easily destroyed most of the
Alley, but I think You-Know-Who just wanted to show he
could do it. The Ministry closed all the shops on Diagon
Alley, and the Leaky Cauldron.'
'You can't be serious, it's can't be that bad' Harry
remarked disbelievingly. Remus closed the door quietly
that lead into the classroom, and looked at the students
seriously.
'It's not that bad Harry, it's worst. Voldemort is attacking
Wizards and Muggles, and has more followers than ever
before. Diagon Alley is closed, and the Undry was
attacked and reduced to a hole in the ground just this
week. The Order has lost contact with almost a dozen
members over the past two weeks. It's more disturbing
than you think' Remus continued, seeing their reactions to
all this news. 'Most of the missing members were last seen
in Hogsmede.'
'Does the Order have any ideas why?' Harry asked his
father's old friend.
'Tonks tells me the Ministry has been observing the area
around Hogsmede for a time, and they think there's
something different about this area compared to the rest of
Britain.'
'Of course, Hogwarts is here' Ron maintained.
'Perhaps, but the Tonks told me the Ministry thinks . . .' he
trailed off.
'Thinks what Remus?' Harry insisted. Remus looked up
and down the hallway, and leaned in closely to the group.
'The Ministry thinks Voldemort might be hiding in the
mountains around Hogwarts' he explained grimly. An ice-
like feeling poured down Harry's back, and his chest
hollowed at the idea. Looking at Hermione and Ron, he
found equally frightened looks on their faces.
Before they could comment about it, Tonks and Borislav
came down the staircase, and looked at the group. They
must have mistaken their expressions for sadness for
Viktor, because they approached without any worry.
'The High Master is of course devastated with the news,
and asked the students to return right away. Borislav will
tell the students, and they will depart immediately' Tonks
informed the group as the Chief Student went into the
room an announced to his crew the new orders. Remus
and Tonks helped lead the students back to the Lake,
while Harry and the others made their way to the East
Tower. They had missed lunch, but even Ron was not
hungry after the death of their friend.
'Oh my, what is the matter?' Evander asked the group.
'One of our friends died this morning' Harry answered
sadly. Evander understood the need not to prod, and
opened after the password was given.
Walking inside, they realized the Common Room was not
empty. Luna was sitting on one of the chairs near the
bookshelf, while Neville and Ginny where sitting on the
couch.
Luna was the first to notice the groups entrance, and she
got up quickly and gave Ron a hug—her blond hair
flashing behind her. 'What happened Ronald?'
'We . . . we ran into some trouble' Ron answered bleakly.
'No one died, did they?' Neville asked as he and Ginny
stood up, and approached the group. Hermione began to
tear at the mention of death, and Harry answered.
'Viktor Krum died while saving us.'
Hermione's tears increase with the voicing of it again, and
Ginny moved over and gave her a sisterly hug. Everyone
just stood silently as Hermione's sobs filled the room
quietly.
The group moved itself to the sitting area, and Ron and
Neville conjured stools. They still needed to cover chairs in
Charms, but stools were much easier anyways.
Hermione slowed her tears as time moved on, and she
gained back her confident expression. Of course Harry
knew she was still breaking inside. He wondered why she
was so upset, considering they only went to the Yule Ball
together, but not knowing they still wrote to each other
meant they had kept up with each other since then. He
was a dear friend to her; a pen pal.
'Did you find what you were looking for?' Neville asked
Harry quietly, pulling the attention away from Hermione,
which she wanted.
'Sort of, it's complicated. We think we know where it is, but
we can't go outside the castle.'
'Do you know why? Professor McGonagall just told us at
lunch about that. Is there something wrong in Hogsmede?'
Neville questioned, looking at Ron and Harry. Harry
wondered for a moment whether he should answer, but
realized there was no point in holding it from Neville. He
could be trusted, as well as everyone else in the room.
'Diagon Alley was attacked this morning, and the Ministry'
he breathed for a moment, looking at his friends, 'thinks
Voldemort is near Hogsmede.'
Neville gulped nervously, and his eyes grew to as large as
Quaffles. Even Luna, who normally continued her dream-
like gaze, looked scared at the news, and held onto Ron's
hand tighter.
'He's . . . he's near Hogwarts?' Neville stuttered. Harry
looked at Ron, and they both looked at Hermione.
'Near' Hermione voiced, speaking what was sounding
through all of their minds.
Just as silence again enveloped the group, the hearth
erupted into green flames, and a face they did not expect
to see again that day popped up into the flames.
'I need you Mr. Potter and Miss Granger in my office now'
Professor McGonagall ordered from the hearth. Her head
vanished and the flames died before Harry or Hermione
could even open their mouths to respond.
Looking at each other questioningly, Ron insisted they go,
and that the rest of them would wait for them in the East
Tower. Harry got up with Hermione, and walked hand in
hand out of the Tower, and towards the Headmistress'
Office. Harry wondered what else could go wrong this day.
'Are you alright?' Harry asked as they walked.
'I'm alright Harry. Viktor . . . he will always hold a special
place' she admitted, wiping her eyes.
'You did kiss him in fourth year didn't you?' Harry asked.
Hermione smiled for the first time since the tomb, and
Harry squeezed her hand.
'It was terrible. I almost poked his eye out with my nose I
was so nervous. Coupled with my bad aim didn't help' she
divulged, letting out a chuckle as some tears escaped her
eyes with the memory. Harry was glad she was at least
focusing on the good times.
'We still need to check on my parents' Hermione reminded
Harry quietly as she wiped away the tears. They agreed to
ask Professor McGonagall or Remus after whatever the
Headmistress wanted to see them for. Harry figured it was
because of the trip.
Walking into her office, they found the Headmistress
arguing with the portraits, and not looking an ounce
happier than before.
'There is no other way! The Governors have already
approved it, so there is nothing I can do' she was stating to
a portrait of a round man with only a border of white hair
around the sides and back of his head. He looked at
Professor McGonagall, and reached his wide stomach
with his pudgy hands.
'Hogwarts is not a safe-house for the Ministry, it is a
school. The Governors, even in my time, were always a
source of idiocy' the portrait explained with its jovial
sounding voice. Professor McGonagall turned away from
the portraits, and her eyes fell on her two Head students.
'Good, you are here. You will call a meeting of all the
House Prefects, just as soon as we are finished with the
staff meeting.'
'What staff mee-' Harry asked, just as the door opened
behind them, and professors began filing in. Topher was in
the group, though he was still not looking too pleased with
the morning's activities.
'The Minister of Magic will be arriving in any moment'
Professor McGonagall informed the group once they were
all inside. The professors, along with Harry and Hermione
looked flabbergasted at each other and the Headmistres.
'But, I thought they were coming tomorrow' said Madam
Pomfrey.
'They were Poppy, but this early this afternoon the Ministry
of Magic was attacked' Professor McGonagall declared,
gasps escaping some of the professor's mouths.
'How severely?' Topher asked with a glazed look on his
face.
'The Minister ordered the evacuation and relocation of all
Ministry offices and personnel to Hogwarts.' The
professors broke out into discussion and worry over the
news.
'What are we to do with the students?' Professor Flitwick
asked. Professor McGonagall lowered her head, and
placed her hands on her desk.
'We have no choice but to send them home. Classes
cannot continue with such disarray going on, and if the
Ministry is setting up here classes will be impossible.'
Harry's hope from the morning of finding the Book, which
died a bit in the tomb, was now plummeting through his
heart on its way to the floor.
'The Ministry can't just barge in here and take over!'
Madam Hooch raged, some of the other professors
agreeing.
'The Board of Governors has given the Ministry permission
to setting up here, as well as emergency control over the
castle. They have also ordered the closing of the school,
and that all students must be returned home by the end of
Monday.' Harry could not believe what was happening.
The Ministry of Magic had fallen. If even the Ministry was
running from Voldemort, what could he do? The Order
was crumbling under immense strain, and Hogwarts—
Harry's last hope—was now being closed. He would have
to say goodbye to the East Tower, and goodbye to the
students, the staff; everything. His hopes were being
destroyed right this moment, and one look at Topher made
Harry realize that his were being crushed too.
Plus there was the Book of Thoth. How could they get to
the Department of Mysteries now if Voldemort controlled
the Ministry? Harry's mind was cascading with all the
harsh news being piled on it, and he looked to Hermione
who squeezed his hand knowing his thoughts were turning
to hopelessness.
'What must we do Professor?' Professor Sinistra asked
once the initial shock was overcome by the professors.
'I need Heads of House to inform your students of the
events taking place and of their return to home on
Monday. All students are forbidden to go on the ground
floor, as the Ministry will be setting up there. The Hospital
Wing Poppy, I am sorry to say, will be stationed by St.
Mungo's Healers, and patients. Please make sure
everything is in working order for them. The Great Hall will
still be available to us until Monday afternoon, after which
it will be set up as extra space for the Healers.
'To the rest of you, please remain calm, and do not flee
the castle. Please help the students, and help the Heads
of House. Have your offices cleared by Monday, so
nothing is lost.' Professor McGonagall looked up and
stared around the portraits, who looked at her closely.
'Our Head Boy and Girl' she stated, looking around at
them, 'will inform the Prefects of this, and will make sure
the Prefects coordinate the students packing.' Harry and
Hermione both nodded solemnly, and gave each other a
short, disheartened glance.
'Hagrid, can you please inform Hogsmede Station to
prepare the Hogwarts Express for the students?'
McGonagall asked to the large man, who had a tough time
entering through the door. He was sniffling with all the
news and with the closing of the castle he called home for
over fifty years.
'Yeah' he answered shortly, wiping his nose on this
handkerchief. Professor McGonagall smiled politely at
Hagrid, and nodded her head to her staff.
The staff waited for a moment, then began filing out
silently without word from Professor McGonagall. She
turned and glanced at all the portraits on the wall, and
looked as if she felt alone in the office. Once all the staff
was gone, and Harry and Hermione started back to the
East Tower, the door to the Headmistress' Office closed
with a click of the knob, and she looked up at the silent
and attentive portraits.
'This is the end of Hogwarts. Retreat to your other
portraits, and find peace there' she spoke hauntingly quiet.
The portraits all looked at her for a moment, then inclined
their heads or bowed to McGonagall, and every one of
them—including Dumbledore—left their frames quietly.
Professor McGonagall was left staring at the empty
frames. Breathing a hushed breath, she slowly lowered
her head—placing her face in her hands—as her quiet
sobs filled the empty office.
'Remus, can you please go and check on them?'
Hermione asked fearfully. Hermione and Harry's first move
was not back to the East Tower, but down to the ground
floor, where Remus and Tonks were just returning to the
castle after reporting back to Grimmauld Place amd
finding out about the Ministry.
'We'll go check Hermione. Tonks and I will go to make
sure they are alright, and come straight back' he
reassured. Harry and Hermione thanked the two Order
members, and went back to the East Tower, where Ron
and the others were still waiting.
'So what's happening? Did you get more grief for the trip?'
Ron asked as Harry and Hermione came in and sat down
slowly.
'They're closing Hogwarts' Hermione told the group of
friends.
'What! Why are they doing that? This is the safest place in
all of Britain!' Ginny raged.
'The Ministry of Magic was attacked this afternoon, and
everyone was evacuated' Harry explained slowly.
'You mean . . . it's gone? Voldemort controls the Ministry?'
Ron asked with a hollow voice.
'I'd guess just the building. The Ministry is setting up on
the ground floor, so students aren't allowed there except
the Great Hall' Harry informed.
'We need to have a meeting with all the Prefects to
coordinate the students, so they are ready to leave by
Monday' Hermione said to the group.
'I'll tell the other Gryffindor Prefects' Ginny declared.
'And I'll get the Ravenclaw Prefects, though they laugh at
me when I'm not around' Luna delightfully added.
Harry and Hermione thanked them, and Neville and Ginny
returned to Gryffindor Tower, while Luna gave Ron a kiss,
and started off towards Ravenclaw Tower. Hermione went
ahead and sent a note via Floo to both the Hufflepuff and
Slytherin common rooms for Prefects to come to the East
Tower.
'I have to go and check on Dad. If the Ministry was
attacked, and he was at work . . .' Ron trailed off, not
wanting to verbalize the dreadful thoughts.
'Go to Professor Fourmove's office. She has a Floo there
remember?' Hermione suggested. Ron agreed going to
Professor McGonagall's would not be a good move, and
started off to the Transfiguation professor's office.
Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione both went back to the
ground floor, waiting for Remus and Tonks to return. It
seemed the Minister had arrived, as wizards and witches
were filing in through the Entrance Chamber, and into the
various classrooms. Aurors, dressed in black robes, where
rushing to and fro as other people levitated stacks of files,
or other items through the crowd. The noise coming from
everyone was intense, as some tried to find their
colleagues, and others where their department was being
set up. Injured wizards and witches were brought through
the crowd and up towards the Hospital Wing, as Healers
followed with medi-kits and other items.
It was hard trying to see if Remus or Tonks had returned
yet, and the large moving crowd just made it worst. Harry
and Hermione had to stand right next to the wall in order
to not be swept away. Looking through the throng of
people, Harry was surprised to spot a familiar face. Well,
at least a formally familiar face.
'Hermione, look' he said, motioning to a man walking
through with the others. He was easy to spot, as he was
the only one with such bright red hair.
'Percy?' Hermione questioned, Harry nodding.
Percy Weasley, a man who once liked Harry, then
suddenly changed to hating him, was walking through with
the crowd. He carried several parchment files, as well as
other items of lesser importance. His face was paler than
before, and it seemed he had given up his prim and proper
appearance, with his hair reaching his shoulders in stringy
bunches, and his suit and cloak dirty and ripped. He was
unshaven as well, and looked as if he had not slept in
weeks.
Percy continued through with the crowd with an
expressionless face, and turned the corner towards some
of the classrooms. Harry gave Hermione a strange look,
and looked out again to find Remus and Tonks—her pale
pink hair, which had replaced her usual bright pink, still
easily noticeable in the crowd—making their way to the
Heads quickly.
'Harry, Hermione, we need to talk somewhere' Remus
urged. Hermione's face dropped into panic, and she led
the way through the crowd. She pushed, shoved; did
everything to move as fast as possible away from the
crowd and noise. Running up to the second floor, she
opened up a usually unused classroom, and Remus
closed the door behind him.
'Remus, are my parents . . . are they-' Hermione stuttered,
as tears began to threaten again. Harry came over quickly
and held on to her tightly and she squeezed back strongly
as they waited for Remus to answer.
'Your parents are alive' he started, Hermione looking up at
the ceiling relaxing, and still tears falling down her face.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, yet he noticed the ill look
on Remus' face. He looked at Tonks, and continued. 'But
they were in a car accident'
Hermione's eyes opened wide again, and she looked up at
Remus horrified. 'An accident? Are they alright? Are they
hurt? Tell me Remus!' she shouted, bursting out of Harry's
arms and approaching the grey haired man. Remus put
his hands up, and placed them on her shoulders to try and
calm her.
'Your mother is fine, a broken arm, but nothing serious.
Your father, as the Muggle doctors told us, is paralyzed
from his waist down. I'm sorry Hermione' he expressed
sincerely as Hermione heard the news. Remus moved
forwards as Hermione began breathing harshly, and gave
her a hug, which she gently accepted as she digested the
news.
'Was it Voldemort?' she asked between hiccups.
'We think so; Death Eaters terrorizing Muggles. It seems
they did not target them specifically because they are your
parents' Tonks insisted. Hermione nodded, and backed
away from Remus.
'We have Mad-Eye and Baldric there watching their room
just in case. Baldric was supposed to stay here, but with
the Ministry showing up, he was no longer needed' Remus
explained. Harry moved forwards, and took Hermione's
arm.
'Com'on Hermione, we have that Prefect meeting' he
reminded. She nodded, and they both thanked Remus and
Tonks for their trip, and then went back to the East Tower.
The news of Hermione's parents just added to what
seemed the most horrible day Harry could remember. It
felt like decades ago he woke up hopeful he would find the
Book of Thoth. How could so many things go wrong in one
day?
Reaching the East Tower, they entered to find all the
House Prefects there waiting. They worked out the
schedule for organizing the students, and answered
questions from the students. Supposedly some students'
parents had already come to get them that day after
hearing the news of the Ministry and Diagon Alley.
The night was a quiet one, with Ron and a few others in
the East Tower, talking over what was happening. Ron
was able to Floo the Burrow, and found out his father was
able to escape alright, and that Bill had returned safely.
The Burrow had been set up by the Order as a
headquarters for that area of the country. Ron and the
others were still very worried over the openness of the
house, since it would not take much to attack it like after
Christmas. The Weasleys however would Apparate to
Grimmauld if trouble aroused.
The next day, the mood around the castle was ghostly.
Students spent most of their time in their common rooms,
and the hallways were empty. Neville and a few other
students asked Harry to have one last meeting of the
Guard, but he declined because there was no purpose.
Hogwarts, as of the next day, would no longer be a school.
It did not help brighten the mood in the castle that
Umbridge had been released from her home in the North
Tower. She seemed to be seeking retribution on the staff
and students now as she took control over the Aurors
again, and began patrols of the school. She had no
problems starting arguments with professors and students
over things, and enjoyed every moment of it.
Hermione and Harry took the day and slowly packed up all
their possessions. It felt wrong packing up robes and
books so early in the year, but it had to be done. Packing
up his school books, and his clothes, he smiled when he
found the Pensieve Hermione made for him. He had yet to
use it, but planned on making use of it sometime.
Coming down to the common room, Harry sat down in
front of the dormant fireplace; Hermione doing the same a
moment later.
'Where are you going to go?' Hermione asked.
Harry sighed, and looked at the fireplace. 'Grimmauld
Place. I have to keep helping the Order, and besides; it's
my house.'
'I have to see my parents, but I'll be going there too' she
professed, smiling at Harry. 'I'm surprised the Minister
didn't ask to see you.'
'I'm not complaining. He asked for help from the Order, but
even if he did ask me for help, I wouldn't do it. I have my
own things to worry about' Harry admitted. Hermione
nodded in agreement.
'You know, there's still one more Horcrux left' Hermione
mentioned cautiously.
'Two. Nagini, and this' Harry answered, pointing to his
forehead and lowering his glance to the carpet.
'How are we going to destroy your scar, and the snake?'
'I don't know Hermione' Harry answered flatly, looking up
and putting his hands to his face. There were still so many
things left to do, and even if he succeeded in some of
them, he still had others left. Sometimes Harry felt the
world was against him, and not just Voldemort.
The door to the Tower opened, and Harry turned around
annoyed to see who it was. So far, almost every Prefect
had come in with questions, and numerous Aurors had
argued with Evander at wanting in the Tower. Harry's face
brightened at least a little at seeing Topher walk up the
hallway.
'Harry, I'm sorry to barge in like this-' he admitted.
'It's fine' Harry answered, getting up from his chair. Topher
walked the rest of the way in, and greeted Hermione.
'I am sorry I did not get back to you sooner, but it was a
busy day yesterday. Where are you going after the train
ride tomorrow?' he asked. Harry answered, but Topher
said he could not understand what he was saying. Harry
tried again, speaking slowly, but it still seemed not to work.
Only when Hermione came over and gave Topher a piece
of parchment, did he understand.
'Ah, a Fidelius Charm. Thank you Hermione. I have a
favour to ask of you Harry' Topher continued, taking the
parchment and burning it with his wand. 'Can I go with you
to this place? We need to continue with looking for the
Book.'
'Topher' Harry started, turning and letting his shoulder
drop as reminders of the last two days filtered through his
tired mind. 'There's no point. Hogwarts is gone, the Order
is almost destroyed, and the Ministry, it is destroyed. How
do you think we can get to the Ministry now, let alone the
Department of Mysteries? There's no point.'
'Harry don't talk like that' Hermione insisted, moving
around to Harry. 'Even if we have to leave Hogwarts, we'll
keep looking for the Book. We'll find it' she pressed. Harry
looked at Hermione, and at Topher, and paced towards
the window. It seemed so long ago he remembered
Hermione telling him about his Firebolt breaking through
this window to the Quidditch Pitch. Looking down, still not
having responded to Hermione, his eyes fell upon the
white tomb of Albus Dumbledore.
'I wish he was still here' Harry whispered, feeling
Hermione's hand on his back as she looked out also.
'Alright, we'll work out of Grimmauld Place' Harry
answered Topher.
'OK. Hagrid wanted to see you before tomorrow.'
Harry turned away from the window and back towards the
professor. 'But we aren't allowed on the grounds.'
'Do you think that matters now? Besides, Professor
McGonagall said until you graduate, or the school closes.
Guess what, it's closing' Topher responded dejectly. Harry
looked out at the tomb again, and nodded.
'Alright, we'll go see Hagrid and see how he is doing.'
'Good. I'll be up in my office if you need me. Aberforth is
still in Hogsmede, but he'll be leaving on the train with the
students, so he will more than likely join us' Topher
assumed. He said goodbye to the Heads and left the
Tower for his office, running into Ron and Luna who where
on their way in.
'Anything new?' Ron asked Harry, coming into the
common room.
'No, he just asked to come to Grimmauld to continue the
research. We're going to see Hagrid now, want to come
with?'
They agreed, and made their way down the castle to the
ground floor, where Ministry officials where walking around
rapidly and paper memos flew through the air. Harry and
the others gained permission to go see Hagrid, and
started their way out. The sky was overcast, and it was
cool, but warm enough not to warrant coats. It was already
later in the day, and the sky was beginning to shade as
sunset was approaching slowly.
Walking towards Hagrid's small hut, which had smoke
billowing from its chimney, Harry turned abruptly to the
right the moment the doors to the Entrance Chamber
closed.
'Um Harry?' Ron questioned as they walked quickly to
catch up to him. 'Where are you going?'
'I want to go see him' Harry attested.
'Who?' Ron asked, realizing when they came down an
incline, and he took notice of the white tomb.
Harry had neglected coming here the whole year. With
Dumbledore's portrait, it felt like he never really left, and so
there was little need to come down here to visit the
memorial. Now that his portrait had left—as Professor
McGonagall told him earlier that morning when he
requested to speak to him—Harry could feel that hole in
his heart that was from not having Dumbledore there.
Everyone stayed close to each other as Aurors on patrol
stared at them, but Harry took no notice of them.
Reaching the white stone tomb, Harry slowly approached
it, and stood up on the front section, just before the actual
tomb itself.
Harry slowly ran his hand over the coarse stone surface,
and could remember the funeral for Dumbledore. All the
sadness, and the hollow feeling in his chest from the loss
of the beloved man entered again in his chest, and he felt
himself sway when Hermione came up and looked at the
tomb too, with Ron and Luna following suit.
'I miss him' Harry whispered, Hermione taking his hand.
'We all do Harry. He's still here though, remember? As
long as those who are loyal to him are here at Hogwarts'
she reminded him quietly.
'I remember when Dumbledore gave me some candy. He
was always a nice man, and believed some of the stories I
told him' Luna added. Harry looked up at her, and smiled
warmly at her.
Harry was still very loyal to Dumbledore, even if he held
truths from Harry after death. Dumbledore always looked
out for Harry, and helped him in ways he could never
thank enough for. He remembered the morning after
waking up from his search for the Philosopher's Stone.
Dumbledore was so comforting to see, and Harry
remembered how he just seemed to bring confidence to
everyone, even when close to death last year.
As the thoughts of the late Headmaster poured through his
mind, a single tear of sorrow for Dumbledore's absence
fell from his cheek, and landed on the white stone.
Looking at the tomb, a sound—an almost unearthly
sound—echoed through the glen. Harry and the others
looked up at the sky, as the sound—a song—reached
their ears, and filled their hearts with hope. The song was
beautiful as it moved through the glen and passed through
the trees, and over the Lake, and through the students.
Harry closed his eyes as the song grew in volume, and
stirred his desire to fight on and battle through whatever
fate threw at him. The tomb in Egypt, the Ministry falling,
the closing of Hogwarts; they were all meant to destroy his
spirit. This song though, it was affecting him. Reminding
him of all those who died before him—his parents, Sirius,
and Dumbledore—fighting against the darkness that
spread across the country.
Opening his eyes, he looked at Hermione, and then to
Ron, and realized he had to keep fighting—not for
himself—but for his friends, his family, and his love. The
song grew louder as its melodic notes spread across the
grounds, and caused the Aurors to even stop their patrols.
Looking at the tomb, Harry found something added to it.
Lying flat on the white stone was a majestically brilliant
gold feather. Harry did not know how it got there, as he
was too wrapped in the song that was still echoing around
them. Reaching over, he picked it up, and gazed at it.
The feather was beautiful, and sparkled even though the
sky was cloudy. It was a long feather, over a foot, and as
he looked it over Harry ran his fingers through the
filaments. As his finger ran through the silk-like strands, a
feeling of confidence built inside him like never before, and
he looked at Hermione.
Hermione however was looking at the tomb with wide
eyes. 'Harry' she whispered, still looking at the tomb. Harry
turned his head, and the source of the song was realized.
Sitting on the white tomb, a vivid scarlet bird glanced at
the students. Its stunningly fire-brazened wing feathers
shone bright, and its tail feathers were as golden as the
sun. Its gaze focused on Harry, and Harry looked at the
feather quickly, before looking at the others in surprise.
'Fawkes?'
The phoenix bowed its head to Harry, and continued to
look at the students. Harry had no idea what to do with
him, but luckily Fawkes took the next move.
Taking flight in what looked like a blaze of fire, the bird
soared over the group, and landed itself pleasantly on
Harry's shoulder, clucking its beak.
'It's great to see you back' Harry said to the bird as he
stroked its head, feeling the heat coming off the bird like
warmth from the hearth. Its position on his shoulder gave
Harry a sense of reassurance and strength.
The group moved over to pet the bird, when a massive
explosion erupted from the direction of Hogsmede. Harry
and the others turned quickly, Fawkes keeping tight hold
on Harry, and they could see the towering flames coming
from the town.
The guards at the gate were running inside, baring them
shut and yelling to others as another thunderous blast
came from the town, and sent a huge fireball up into the
air. The group of friends could do nothing but watch in
horror as the flames licked the sky, and sent smoke
upwards. The Aurors on patrol where all running back to
the castle, while more bound towards the gates to help
secure them. Harry looked at the others, and swallowed
deeply.
It took only a few moments before a bright green bolt of
light shot up from the ground, and exploded into a massive
skull, with a snake slithering from its mouth over the
flames. Even from this distance, Harry could hear the
screams and yells from the town as more blasts occurred.
Looking at the Dark Mark and the flames rising above the
town, the eerie voice of the female ka rung in Harry's
head.
"The sign of the golden feather upon the stone will mark
the beginning of the end."
Harry looked at the golden feather, and realized what had
happened.
'We're not going home' Ron uttered fearfully.
The hope and determination to fight that was only a
moment before present in Harry vanished with his friend's
words and the presence of the Dark Mark over Hogsmede.
Harry looked at Hermione, and found just as much worry
in her face and eyes, and he felt Fawkes crow softly,
giving Harry a squeeze of his shoulders.
If they were trapped in the castle, and they could not
escape, then they had to fight. Just as the Sorting Hat said
in the beginning of the year, the fight was coming to
Hogwarts, and Harry had to fight for his school, his home.
Starting off to the castle with a determination that
transferred instantly to his friends, he looked at Ron
seriously. The Aurors and other Ministry personnel were
running past frantically, however Harry's group moved
confidently and focused while Fawkes held on to Harry's
shoulder.
'Order the Guardians to meet in the Room of Requirement.
If Voldemort is looking for a fight, we'll give him one he'll
never forget.'
Spell / Name Meanings:
Persectum Dextra - L. perseco: to cut through, dextera:
the right hand (Persectum Dextra to cut through the right
hand)
Expello Per Horresentia - L. expello: banish, per:
through, horrendus: horrible/dreadful, sentia: thought
(Expello Per Horresentia Banish through horrible thought)
(this is a variant of a previous spell, Expello Per Sentia)
Borislav - Slavic - bor: battle, slav: glory (fame in battle)

- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT-
Finding the Key
'It has begun' a cloaked Death Eater told the Dark Lord, as
he sat on his throne-like chair. Voldemort rose from his
chair slowly, and the Death Eater, along with his
companions shrunk to the floor.
'Has it?' the Dark Lord hissed, his piercingly crimson eyes
surveying the group of his Death Eaters.
'Yes My Lord, as you requested' the Death Eater
responded obediently.
The Dark Lord scanned the ranks in front of him, and his
eyes narrowed. 'Fenrir' he called, and a large man
approached with matted grey hair, and dark black eyes.
'Yes My Lord' he responded in his raspy, bark-like voice.
'Destroy the town of Hogsmede, and cast my mark over it.
Make sure you capture Hogsmede Station, and destroy all
roads leading away from the town' the Dark Lord ordered.
Fenrir bowed before his feet, and nodded.
'Of course My Lord. Do you want Hogwarts attacked as
well?' Fenrir asked, licking his lips at the thought of all
those students.
'No, leave Hogwarts alone. If you step one foot in those
grounds, you will receive a worse fate than Potter'
Voldemort answered viciously. Fenrir lowered himself
further to the floor, and nodded. He got up, and hurried out
of the chamber, along with a dozen or so Death Eaters.
Voldemort went ahead and ordered the other Death
Eaters to gather others from the country side. Three were
sent to the Giants, while others were kept near the cave to
patrol the mountains and the roads. With the last Death
Eater leaving, the russet haired Lesath came down the
steps, and entered the chamber.
He came to the platform, and knelt before the Dark Lord in
respect. 'The Ministry has been secured.'
'And the Department of Mysteries?' Voldemort asked.
'Cleared, though there is one door that cannot be opened
in the circle chamber' Lesath answered, some hesitation in
his voice to announce a failure. Voldemort was not
bothered however.
'I know of this door, and do not worry, it will be opened
soon.' The Dark Lord again rose from his seat, and moved
towards his trusty Death Eater.
'You have proven yourself useful Lesath.'
'I serve only you My Lord' he answered humbly. Voldemort
allowed him to rise, and moved towards the doorway.
'Very good Lesath. Now, return to the Ministry, and
continue as planned.'
'My Lord, are you sure Potter is meaning to go there?' he
asked, regretting the question the second he finished
asking. Voldemort luckily did not become enraged.
'Yes Lesath, and I wish for the Ministry to look exactly as I
planned for Harry Potter when he arrives. It will be he that
opens the Locked Door to find the Sekhem Scepter. It is
then that I want you to attack, and capture the Scepter. Do
not fail me.' Lesath bowed in understanding, and left the
chamber to return to the Ministry.
Moments later, as Voldemort paced to the far side of the
chamber, the door opened loudly, and the Dark Lord's red
eyes fell on an enraged Bellatrix Lestrange. Her right hand
was disfigured, and she was cradling it in her left hand.
'Nice of you to return Bella' Voldemort said quietly, while
Bellatrix huffed, not keeping her usual composure.
'One of Potter's friends banished me to a bloody volcano! I
hadn't my wand, and could not fix my hand' she ranted.
Voldemort did not approve of her tone, and moved closer,
reaching for his wand.
'You lost your wand?' he asked, his voice tinged with
anger. Bellatrix immediately dropped her angry attitude,
and fell to her knees before the Dark Lord.
'I am sorry My Lord, I have no excuse I know. I was able to
kill one of their group but-'
'But you lost your wand' Voldemort again stated in
disappointment. He placed his wand on her injured hand,
and she screamed in pain as the bones cracked and
moved back into place slowly. She knew they could have
been moved instantly with no pain, but understood this
was her punishment. Once it was done, she moved her
hand stiffly, and took notice of the permanent scars etched
across her hand and palm. It still hurt to bend her fingers,
and she winced as she made a fist. Voldemort
disregarded her pain, and pulled out another wand from
his robes.
'You have proven yourself before Bella, and it saved you
this time' he hissed slowly. 'But know that one more
mistake and your time will be over.' He handed over her
wand, and she graciously accepted, kissing the hems of
his cloak. Even gripping her wand hurt her hand.
'I will not let you down My Lord' she affirmed. Bellatrix felt
the Dark Mark on her arm tingle, and Voldemort looked up
for a moment. He closed his eyes as he took in a deep
breath, and moved towards the doorway.
'Come Nagini, I have something for you to see' Voldemort
hissed, as he moved out into the antechamber while his
black cloak billowed behind him. His large black snake
slithered out of the room, and up the stairs with his master.
Bellatrix hesitated for a moment, and then ran to join the
Dark Lord.
Reaching the outside, she moved through the small cave
that was littered with what appeared to be small chicken
bones, and other small skeletons. Moving out into the
open, she could hear the screams and explosions that
were happening on the other side of the mountain.
Stepping around the boulders and rocks, she found the
Dark Lord looking out at the scene. He spoke in hisses to
the snake, and it slithered down the mountain side
towards the stile at the end of the road. Approaching the
Dark Lord, she looked on reverently as she saw his slit-
like nose breathing in deeply, and a sinister grin appear on
his face.
'I can smell the fear coming from the castle' he claimed,
looking out at Hogwarts just next to the Dark Mark in the
sky. Bellatrix looked at the scurrying specks of people
running around the grounds in the dying sunlight, and
smiled evilly knowing the end was near.
'Will we be attacking the castle tonight My Lord?' Bella
asked, eager to voice that she would lead the charge.
'No, not yet. A loyal follower is still burrows in the Ministry.
He will act on your information about the Mudblood, and
push Potter past his breaking point.'
Another blast erupted from Hogsmede, as Aurors and
other Ministry personal ran up the slopes to Hogwarts
castle. Several people moved quickly in the other direction
to secure the gates, and help check people running from
the fires in Hogsmede.
Running towards the castle, Harry felt his scar erupt in
pain as he and his friends reached the doors. He fell over
onto the ground just before the door, and Fawkes—who
had been on his shoulder—lifted him back up, and Ron
and Hermione pulled him through the doors. He pushed as
hard as he could on Voldemort's intruding thoughts, and
was just able to keep him out. Once he made it through
the doors, the intrusion ceased.
The scene inside the castle was worse than the view
outside of it. People were running in all directions, and it
seemed order had been completely lost. People were
pushing to get farther into the castle, while others tried to
find their partners or coworkers in the mess.
'Go to the East Tower' Harry told Fawkes. The beautiful
red bird lifted off of Harry's shoulder, and took flight in a
flash of scarlet light. The crowd momentarily stopped its
shoving and pushing, and everyone looked up at the
phoenix as it flew up and out of sight.
The crowd then continued again quietly, and Harry
grabbed hold of Hermione's hand, and they started their
way through the crowd in a human chain.
Finally reaching the staircase, the group bounded up the
stairs and towards the Room of Requirement. Along the
way, they ran into several worried students, who all
followed Harry and the others as they found out about the
Guard meeting.
Reaching the hallway, Harry was surprised—and out of
breath—to find a door already present along the wall.
Hesitating for a moment, he pushed it open and his mouth
fell open at what was inside.
Walking in, he found the entire Guard waiting for him and
the others. Hearing the doorway open, everyone turned
towards Harry expectantly.
Harry quickly made his way to the front of the large
group—which was packed tightly in the room, since it was
the one from before. Along the way, Harry found out
Neville had called all the Guard there. He did so right after
the first explosion in Hogsmede.
'Harry, what's going on?' a scared first year Hufflepuff girl
asked. Many of the students looked fearful as another
boom came from outside, and many jumped at the sound.
'Hogsmede is under attack' Harry answered, then getting
pelted with new questions.
'Are we still going home—how will we get out—will I see
my mum and dad—'
'I don't know!' Harry yelled at the questions. Everyone
silenced, and Hermione came up and tried to help.
'We're going to go and talk to Professor McGonagall about
it all. In the mean time, please go back to your Common
Rooms.'
'What about the Ministry? They'll protect us won't they?' a
third year Ravenclaw boy asked.
'That's why they are here, but we need to be ready' Harry
admitted. It was at this statement that the group began to
rumble with conversations and worry, and some of the
Gryffindors began showing some of their bravery.
'Let them come! We're ready to fight!' Seamus yelled, and
a surprising number of students agreeing with him and
cheering.
'That's great everyone, but if we can get everyone out,
then that will be done. For now, go back to your Common
Rooms please, and don't straggle. It there's any news,
we'll call another meeting' Hermione advised. The scared
students still looked afraid, and the students ready to dive
into battle looked displeased.
'Stay calm, and don't panic. We'll go find out what is
happening, and tell all of you soon. For now, stay put in
your Common Rooms. This meeting is over for now. For
Hogwarts!' Harry said.
'FOR HOGWARTS!' came back loudly from everyone. The
group quieted instantly, and began moving out of the
room. When about half the students were out, Professor
Terrwynebas came into the room, and ran up towards
Harry and the rest.
'Hello Topher' Luna expressed lightly.
'Hello Luna. The Order has called a meeting in the
Headmistress' Office, along with the Ministry. You bunch
better come' he exclaimed. They agreed, and Topher lead
the way to the Headmistress' Office, with Harry, Hermione,
Ron, Luna, Neville, and Ginny in tow. The hallways were
empty the whole trip, and looking out the windows, Harry's
mind was filled with worry at seeing Hogsmede in such a
state.
Reaching the office, Topher gave the password, and the
group moved up into the office quickly. Once they opened
the doors, they found Remus, Tonks, Kingsley
Shacklebolt, Dedalus Diggle, and Mad-Eye Moody from
the Order, all standing on the right side, while several
older looking Aurors stood on the left. Several wizards and
witches stood at the end of the Aurors, including Percy
Weasley and Dolores Umbridge. Several Hogwarts staff
were crammed into the space at the end of the Order
members, while Professor McGonagall was standing
behind her desk, with Rufus Scrimgeour standing in front.
Still having the appearance of an old lion, Scrimgeour was
talking to his Aurors when Neville closed the door—rather
noisily—and his attention was shifted to Harry and the
others.
'Ah, Mr. Potter decided to come. Stand over there and just
pay attention' Scrimgeour ordered. Harry obeyed, and
moved next to Remus and the others in the Order.
Scrimgeour continued with his plans, but Harry's attention
was drawn to Percy Weasley, who was watching him and
the others carefully.
'-move the perimeter back to the edge of the forest, and
send your centaur into the forest to warn the others.'
'Firenze was banished from his people, he would not be
listened to' McGonagall explained, Umbridge whispering
something to a Percy, who nodded while the toad
chuckled at her own words.
'I don't care Minerva, if we can get those centaurs fighting
for us, then I don't care if he lives or dies' Scrimgeour
admitted.
'They will not fight for you, only for themselves and the
forest' McGonagall insisted. Scrimgeour shook his head,
and wiped his brow in frustration.
'Alright, then when You-Know-Who's Death Eaters come,
we'll drive them into the forest, and that should spark the
centaurs to help us. Now, patrols will be-'
'Um, Minister' Hermione interrupted, Scrimgeour looking
appalled at her. 'What about the students?'
'We have no choice but to keep them in their Common
Rooms. Hogsmede Station is inaccessible, and the Floo
connections are not working because of the Floo Network
being shut down.'
'What about Portkeys?' Ron asked.
'We have looked into that boy, but they are not working
properly for some reason. Students will stay in their
Common Rooms, and out of the way. Now, with the
patrols-'
'Excuse me Minister' Harry interrupted again, Scrimgeour
reaching what looked like his breaking point. 'Why can't
the students fight?'
Umbridge laughed aloud, and most of the Aurors rolled
their eyes at the comment. 'Because Potter' Scrimgeour
answered, 'I don't want the students to be killed.'
'But we can help' Neville put in.
'Enough! Students are ordered to stay in their Common
Rooms. You did not want to help before, and you won't
now Potter. Now get out, and do not get in the way of
Ministry personnel!' Scrimgeour shouted at the students.
Harry looked to McGonagall for help, but she merely
sighed, and nodded at them to leave.
Harry, frustrated at the inability to help and the idiocy of
the Minister, left the office with the other students, and
went into an empty classroom in the next hallway.
'What are we going to do?' Ron asked as he slumped
himself into one of the desks. Harry sighed and moved to
one of the windows, which looked out onto the Black Lake.
'I don't know Ron. We still have the snake to destroy
before we get the Book.'
'What snake? What book?' Ginny asked.
'It's a long story Gin. Right now we need to try and protect
the students. Perhaps staying in the Common Rooms is
the best course of action' Hermione proposed.
'Hermione, you know as well as I that if Death Eaters get
into the castle, they'll kill all the students. Having them
cooped up in the Common Rooms just makes it easier for
Death Eaters to find them' Ron professed. The mood with
the group of friends was low, and Harry lowered his head,
and sighed.
Things were going so horribly wrong; he could see no end
that didn't lead to failure. Sighing again, the door to the
classroom opened, and a disgruntled looking Professor
McGonagall came in, along with Professor Fourmove and
several other of Hogwarts staff and Order members'.
'What is going on professor?' Hermione asked the
Headmistress as Professor Vector closed the door to the
classroom.
'Rufus has asked all students to remain in their
dormitories, and Hogwarts staff to patrol the hallways.
Ministry staff will look after the ground floor, and the
grounds, but they do not have enough people to protect
the entire castle' she informed dismally.
'We can't just sit in the dormitories while people die all
around us!' Ron raged, Luna coming over and placing her
hand on his shoulder.
'We understand Mr. Weasley. The Minister does not seem
to understand that if the castle is breeched, most if not all
the students would be vulnerable, with no means of
escaping. I want you to call the Guardians to a meeting to
discuss what they wish to do' McGonagall told Harry and
the others.
'I'll tell the Ravenclaws. I'm sure they'll listen to me this
time' Luna put in, with her own causal oddness.
'I'll go to Gryffindor Tower. Everyone there is in the Guard,
so we'll be there' Ginny asserted confidently.
'And we will go tell the Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins'
Professor Sprout maintained, motioning to herself and
Professor Slughorn, who surprisingly was still in the castle.
Harry had expected him to have jump ship already, and be
half way around the world.
The two professors and Luna and Ginny left the room, and
Harry and the others began their way to the Room of
Requirement again.
'Professor, where is Professor Terrwynebas?' Harry asked
as they rushed through the empty corridors with the
smoke from Hogsmede billowing up into the darkening
sky. Harry could tell by looking outside that Hogsmede
was burning, and that the flames would light up the
normally peaceful night-time sight.
'Topher explained he had to go and meet someone. Of
course I am not pleased with that, but we have bigger
spiders to catch' she quipped, Ron looking about worriedly
at the mentioning of spiders. Hermione rolled her eyes,
and they continued on.
Reaching the room, Harry paced three times in front, and
a large wooden door appeared on the wall. He opened it,
and smiled at the Great Hall, replicated in its entirety.
Everyone filed in, and moved to the front where the staff
table would normally stand. All the house tables were
absent, and the night sky stood above them, some orange
flickering apparent on the fringes. Harry knew the orange
aurora was from the fires in Hogsmede.
'Now Potter' Professor McGonagall said as they waited,
'the Guardians are yours, not mine, but you will follow my
orders if I give them, understand?'
'Yes Professor' Harry answered. He knew the strain on
everyone's minds with the last few hours' events, and how
it was making everyone—especially himself—very
nervous.
Students began filing in, and Harry was pleased to find
several unexpected, yet welcoming faces come in with
Ginny. Harry and the others moved over and smiled at the
new arrivals.
'George, Charlie, Bill; what are you all doing here?' Harry
asked in astonishment as he shook their hands and Ron
gave them claps on their shoulders. They all had white
laundry looking bags over their shoulders, and put them
down happily as they moved out of the way for the
students.
'We all came here after Bill got back from Egypt. Figured
the Burrow was too much in the open, especially with the
Ministry gone. It's a shame what happened to Krum, he
was a good man' Charlie told the group.
'Where are Mum and Dad?' Ron asked quickly.
'They're downstairs with some of the Ministry officials. We
saw Percy on the way in, but the git just looked the other
way' Bill explained, the scaring on his face now tanned by
the sun from his time in Egypt.
'So what's in the bags?' Harry asked, George—who
looked to be wearing a permanent frown—smiled ever-so-
slightly, before moving over to his bag, and pulling out
some of the items.
Inside the bags, where dozens of Invisibility Cloaks, Shield
Cloaks, Wildfire Whiz-Bangs, Darkness Droppings, Decoy
Detonators, and a host of other items that made Harry's
eyes light up.
'George' he said, looking up and seeing Hermione, Ron,
and the others looking just like he felt, 'this is amazing!'
George did not smile in his old way, or make a big scene
about it, but merely smirked slightly, and moved his bag
over to a table which was placed near the side of the wall.
'How are you George?' Hermione asked sincerely, as he
put the bag on the table, and started laying out items in
their own separate piles.
He stopped for a moment as Hermione waited for an
answer, and he turned to find the entire group looking at
him. He lowered his head for a moment, and sighed. 'I'm
fine Hermione. I just want to help end this war, and make
Fred proud.'
'You will George, don't worry. Did you see that they kept
that area of swamp you two made a few years back?'
Hermione asked, smiling at the memory of that horrible
mess, and how enraged Umbridge was. Harry could
remember Fred and George's last words: "Give her hell
from us Peeves." It made Harry smile, knowing for a fact
that since her return, Peeves has made it his mission to
bombard her all the time.
'I . . . I saw it' George answered, the first real smile in what
felt like ages wiping across his face. 'That was a fun day.'
'It was. Now, let's get to business, and we can all make
Fred proud' Hermione insisted. George looked up at her
and the others, and nodded determinately. He turned back
to his bag of tricks, and Bill and Charlie brought theirs over
and pat George on the back as they helped sort them.
Once Harry returned to where the Professors and Order
members were still standing, he turned and found the fake
Great Hall full with students. He knew for a fact that every
student was here, from every house. Everyone—even the
pure-blood Slytherins—were worried about what was to
come.
Professor McGonagall took the centre of the front stage,
and everyone quieted immediately.
'Firstly, regardless of what I, or Mr. Potter might say, you
must not panic. You must all stand together and not waver
in your decisions. Times are grim, as you are all no doubt
aware, but I must stress that you must all look out for one-
another, and protect each other carefully.' Harry looked
out at the mass of students, and could see the worry and
reality of the situation in his fellow students' eyes.
'Hogsmede has been attacked, and Hogsmede Station is
inaccessible. Hogwarts has become our last salvation, and
you have two options my dear students. I leave the
decision to you, because it is not my life that is in danger,
but all of yours as well.
'The Minister of Magic has ordered all students to remain
in their Dormitories. You would be safe there, but only for
a time. The Ministry will fight against whatever is put
against this castle, but the prospect, I will not lie, is not
good.
'The second option is to fulfill your role as Guardians, and
fight to protect Hogwarts. I wish for you to do the first, but
again, it is now not my decision to make. As of tomorrow
morning, you are no longer students of this school, but
either wizarding youth, or Guardians of Hogwarts.
Professors will be staying here to protect the castle, but
again, the outlook is not pleasant.'
She paused for a moment as the students remained quiet,
and she sighed. 'Choose wisely my dear students, for
whether you decide to stay in your Dormitories, or defend
Hogwarts, you all have my utmost respect. You are the
few who chose to return knowing the dangers, and I pray
you do not suffer for such an act of immense bravery.'
Professor McGonagall looked out at the group, and silently
walked back and with the other professors, who supported
her with welcoming pats on her shoulders. The crowd of
students murmured with the speech, and Harry—looking
at Hermione, Ron, and the others, then the Weasley
brothers—moved up to the stage, and the crowd died
down again.
Harry tried to slow his mind down, and focus on the task at
hand, but it was hard to do. Everyone was looking right at
him on this stage, and he could feel his fingers tingle with
the prospect of telling all these innocent students what he
thinks they should do.
He could see some of the students in front look at him
worriedly, and Hermione was about to come up on stage
when Harry looked down, and put is hand out to tell her
no. Regardless of how he felt now, he had to remain
strong, and focused for everyone else. Dumbledore did it
even under all the pain of that potion, and it was Harry's
turn now.
It was difficult though, but lucky for Harry, he could again
hear a sweet note of music running through the air. Harry
smiled as he kept looking down at his feet, and he could
hear the students awe as Harry heard the familiar flap of
wings enter the hall, and the warm grip of Fawkes land on
his shoulder.
The crowd did not murmur, or break out into massive
conversation, but rather looked on, like they were
watching the most beautiful flower blossom in front of
them.
Harry looked up finally at the crowd, and knew what he
must do.
'This is Fawkes. He was Professor Dumbledore's phoenix,
and he returned just a few hours ago while I was outside,
just before the first explosion. He came back because he
knew we needed his help, just like I know Hogwarts needs
ours. We've called this castle our school, our home, our
life for years, and countless people before us have done
the same thing. You ask any of them, and they remember
the Sorting, Quidditch, the Halloween Feast, OWLs, the
classes-'
'The detentions!' George offered from his side of the hall,
making people laugh, and Harry smile brightly at what had
to be his first joke since Fred died.
'Yes!' Harry admitted, pointing at George and showing his
smile. 'We all have memories here, and we can't abandon
them now. The Ministry is defending the outside of the
castle, but it's the inside that's vulnerable. We know this
castle, some better than others' he claimed, again looking
at George, 'but we can fight! We can show Lord Voldemort
that he can frighten us, but we will stand up to him, and
fight for our school. We will fight for all those memories, all
our friends, and every brick that makes this castle
Hogwarts. We can fight, and blood hell we can win!' he
shouted, and the student cheered loudly. Fawkes gave a
soft crow, and leapt off Harry's shoulder.
The students watched the bird take flight in the hall, and
watched it circle of Harry. It sung the most beautiful and
fluid notes, and seemed to just make Harry's blood boil
with pride and courage. Fawkes stopped for a moment,
and Harry looked up to see him hovering a few feet above
him looking down.
Suddenly filled with a need to perform the charm and
envelope Fawkes in his native flames, Harry raised his
wand and pointed it directly at the phoenix.
'Phoenicreo!' Harry yelled, a massive fireball erupted from
his wand, and burst into a huge fire-made phoenix, which
spread its wings and inclined its head upwards. The song
Fawkes was singing seemed intensified, and Harry
thought of only him, and no one else.
Harry could see the shiver run through the students as the
phoenix song grew, and the Phoenicreo died out. Fawkes
flew over the students, and enveloped himself in a ball of
flames, leaving the hall.
'What's your choice? Do we hide, or do we fight?' Harry
asked the crowd.
'We fight!' many of the Gryffindors shouted back, Seamus,
Neville, and Dean being the loudest.
'WE FIGHT!' the rest of the students yelled out at different
moments. It was clear enough what the decision was as
everyone burst into yelling and cheering. The rest of the
DA came up on stage and many of them clapped Harry on
the shoulder or cheered with the crowd. Harry looked back
at the professors, and found many of the clapping along
with the students. Professor Fourmove was actually
cheering on the crowd, while farther down the line, Hagrid
was weeping tears of joy, and giving Harry a thumbs up.
'Harry that was great!' Hermione said.
'Yeah mate, what a speech!' Ron put in.
Harry smiled at his friends, and pointed his wand up at the
ceiling. 'Rutipluvia!'
The red droplets of light fell from the sky above them, and
the crowd bottled its excitement for the time. Harry very
much doubted they knew what was in store for them, but
the first step was keeping positive.
Harry turned to the DA, and asked the professors and
Order members to come forward, along with the Weasley
brothers. 'We need to break off into teams, so we can
distribute groups in different parts of the castle.'
'Most should go on the first floor, around the staircases to
the Entrance Hall. If Death Eaters make it in, they'll have
to go up those steps first' Bill advised.
'Yes, and each group should have a professor with them
as well, in case difficulties arise' Professor Fourmove
offered.
Harry and the others went ahead and delegated each
professor or Order member with a DA member. There
would be a total of twenty-three groups, and each was
given distinct areas. Professor Slughorn was surprisingly
insistent that he get the dungeon levels, since his office
and House were located there.
'I thought you would have left by now' Harry admitted to
him aside from the group.
'Harry m'boy' he replied, clapping him on the shoulder
roughly, 'Dumbledore told me, like you did, that Hogwarts
is the safest place to be. That has not changed, and I was
content to stay put and keep away from the fighting. But
when the fighting comes to you, there is very little choice
left. Besides, I taught one of Britain's best dueling
champions. He gave me lessons himself, so I'm sure I
could give some Death Eaters a run for their galleons.' He
smiled through his walrus-like silvery moustache.
'Besides' he added, leaning in and some of his heavy
weight bearing down on Harry, 'if we come through this,
well, you'll be my most famous student yet!' Harry smiled
at the bald man whose brown waistcoat buttons were
screaming to be let free. Harry returned to the group, and
continued with the other professors and Order members.
Harry was pleased he was got Remus, and positioned on
the first floor by the Defence classroom. Harry and Remus
had a good connection now, especially after helping check
on Hermione's parents for him.
Hermione herself was with Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital
Wing with the group that worked on healing spells. If the
castle was breeched, it was unlikely the Great Hall would
remain in their procession, so the Hospital Wing was going
to be their place for injuries. Medi-guards, as Hermione
called them, would also be in some of the groups that
were farther away from the Hospital Wing, just in case.
Once all the groups were made, everyone went ahead and
worked out their rotations and met members of their
groups. Each one varied, with different students from
different houses, and different years. Harry was too busy
with distributing the Shield Cloaks and Invisibility Cloaks to
find out exactly who was in his group. All the Cloaks were
going to groups on the dungeon levels, and the first and
second floors. No one was going on the ground level, as
the Ministry had that covered well enough.
Just as everyone understood their role, and were getting
help from their professors and DA members, Topher finally
entered the Room, and moved quickly through the
students and found Harry.
'Harry, you have to come with me, it's important.'
'I have to dismiss the Guard' Harry explained. Topher
nodded, and Harry took the stage again, as everyone was
getting talks from their group leaders. The leaders saw
Harry take the stage, and quieted down.
'Make sure you know where to meet your group leaders,
and make sure you bring any cloaks or anything else you
need. You all have positions to hold, and there are enough
of us to hold back and defeat the Death Eaters. When you
hear the phoenix cry, drop what you're doing, and go to
your positions.'
'Before we go' Hermione cut in, jumping up on stage,
'there's one more thing we need.' She reached into her
pocket, and pulled a circular badge out. It was small, only
an inch in diameter, with a silver shield imprinted over a
white H on a black sea. She showed it to Harry, and he
nodded at it with a smile.
'Before we go, everyone needs to get the Guardian's
badge. It will go on the left shoulder of your cloaks. The
Guardians will be one house' she proclaimed. Everyone
looked at each other with smiles, and Hermione jumped
down off the stage and moved to the doorway to give out
the badges, while everyone looked back at Harry.
'Be strong, and stand your ground. Voldemort will regret
the day he thought Hogwarts would fall. For Hogwarts!'
'FOR HOGWARTS!' the students shouted back, cheering
loudly, and exiting the room. Each of them got their new
badge, and it was placed on their cloaks.
As students were exiting, Hermione came up quickly, and
smiled at Harry. 'I have an idea! I'll be back in a few
minutes!' she claimed, running back and leaving with
Luna. Harry was wondering what was going on, but
decided to leave it be for now.
'Harry, you need to come, quickly' Topher insisted again.
Harry left the Room of Requirement, Ron staying with his
brothers, and the two of them moved down several flights
of stairs. They remained quiet, and they entered an old
classroom on the first floor, where someone was already
waiting, standing near one of the windows looking out.
'Aberforth? What are you doing here?' Harry asked as
Aberforth turned from the window. Topher closed the door
quickly behind them, and performed some spells on it
while Aberforth moved closer to Harry.
'I was lucky to get out of Hogsmede before anything
happened. I'm afraid my beloved bar is up in smoke.'
'I'm sorry' Harry said.
'Oh not to worry' Aberforth responded gruffly.
'So what's going on?' Harry asked, getting to the point.
'We still need to find the Book' Topher maintained.
'Topher, we have enough to worry about just sitting here in
Hogwarts! The Ministry was lost, and Hogwarts is
surrounded; how do you expect to get there, let alone get
into the Department of Mysteries with Death Eaters all
over the place?' Harry asked incredulously.
'Do you want to defeat Voldemort or not?' Topher asked
Harry seriously. The room was silent for a few moments
as the question hung in the air, and Harry looked to the
floor, realizing his loss of determination.
'I want to fight' he answered.
'Good, then we'll have to find a way out of the castle, and
then get to the Ministry' Topher explained.
'But even when we get there' Harry responded, 'how are
we going to get the Locked Door open? We don't know
how.'
Harry was trying to think of a way they could find out, but
nothing was coming to mind. It would be a disaster if they
somehow got to the circular room, only to be thumped by
a lock.
'I may have the solution to that problem' Aberforth
announced, smiling at Harry over his oval classes.
'Of course, the Unspeakables!' Topher declared. Aberforth
however shook his head.
'No, no. They are no doubt hiding, or worse. No, I could
not find any of them if my life depended on it, but there is a
group we may be able to find that would know how to
enter the room.'
'Who?' Harry asked.
'The Veneforbis Guard' Aberforth answered.
'How would we find them? If they weren't killed trying to
protect the Department of Mysteries-' Topher stated, being
met with a waved hand from Aberforth.
'I know Topher, they could be anywhere, but we must
check. Someone in the Ministry might know how to reach
them. Tell me, did members of the Wizengamot come with
the Ministry?'
'I believe so, we would have to ask someone' Topher
remarked.
'A member of the Wizengamot might know. Let's go and
see' Aberforth insisted. He turned back towards the door,
and he, along with Harry and Topher, started down the
hallway, and down to the first floor.
Getting onto the first floor, Harry found the Ministry still in
disarray. Aurors and Healers ran through the hallways,
and while walking past, Harry could see people in the old
classrooms with charts and maps out arguing over things.
Continuing on, Topher found Tonks with some of the
Aurors, and found out what classroom the Wizengamot
were. Before leaving, Topher took Tonks to the side so no
one could hear.
'Tonks, we need a huge favour' Topher said, looking at the
pale-pink haired woman. She looked behind her for a
moment, and back at Topher.
'I'll try Toph, what is it?' she asked.
'We need to as much information about the Ministry as
possible. How many Death Eaters there are, any important
information' he professed quietly. Harry was standing with
Aberforth a few feet away, but he could hear their
conversation, and see Tonks' reaction to the question.
She looked behind her again, and leaned in closer. 'They
sent a Baldric and Kingsley to check out the Ministry.
They'll be getting back within the hour' she informed.
'When they get back, I'll come and let you know.'
'Thanks Tonks' Topher responded, giving her a smile.
They left the Auror's room, and Harry smiled up at Topher.
'Do you have a thing for Tonks?' he asked, Topher smiling
with both sides and letting out a laugh.
'She's cute Harry, but I think she's into older men. I've
seen her and Remus, and they're pretty close. Besides,
I'm kind of seeing someone anyways' he maintained as
they moved through the throng of people. Harry was going
to ask who, but they came to Classroom Two, the smallest
one on the ground floor.
Walking into the classroom, Harry found a group of tired
looking wizards and witches. Aberforth looked very at
home in this room, and he moved slowly between the
people, all talking quietly with each other, until he reached
a very old woman, with a old and weathered face. Harry
remembered her from his trial a few years before.
'Ah Griselda' Aberforth expressed warmly. The woman
looked up, and her face tripled in lines as she smiled up at
Aberforth, and gave him a light hug. Harry could see
Aberforth not even touching her, which Harry understood.
He imagined giving her a hug would make her snap like a
twig.
'Aberforth, it's so wonderful to see you. How is your pub
doing?' she asked as she took her seat.
'Up in smoke I'm afraid' he answered calmly. 'We need
your help Griselda.'
'Well, I do not know what help I could be now, but I will try'
she answered.
'We are looking for a member of the Veneforbis Guard'
Aberforth said to the old woman.
'A Chamber member' Topher added, the old lady's tired
brown eyes looking up at him.
'A Chamber member? Oh Aberforth, why are you looking
for- . . . you're trying to get into the Room Number Nine
aren't you?' she asserted.
'Please Griselda, we need to get there. Harry here needs
to get what is inside' Aberforth maintained.
'Oh, hello Mr. Potter. I'm afraid my eye-sight is not all it
used to be. And you are?' she asked, looking at Topher.
'Topher Terrwynebas' he answered, reaching his hand
out. The woman's eyes grew wide for a moment, then
looked at Aberforth as she shook his hand lightly with her
wrinkled hand.
'Terrwynebas' she reiterated quietly, looking back up at
Topher, then glancing at Harry. If Topher's mother was a
Chamber member, it was probable that she knew her.
'Please Griselda' Aberforth again asked. She looked down
at her lap, letting out an old and weary sigh, before looking
back up at Topher.
'I knew your mother, and your father. They were wonderful
people' she admitted. 'The Veneforbis Guard is very
secretive, but the man you need to contact is Fletcher
Follit.'
Topher looked at Aberforth and Griselda with surprise.
'That was the man who made my wand!' he exclaimed.
Griselda nodded slowly.
'Of course, he makes the wand for all the Veneforbis
members. There is only one problem.'
'What is that dear Griselda?' Aberforth asked, leaning in
and taking hold of her hand.
'Your brother Albus was the only one whom I knew was
able to contact him. He used that delightful phoenix of his I
believe' she explained. Aberforth's eyes moved down,
however Harry's eyes lit up at the remark, and he smiled
brightly.
'Well, I guess we'll have to find another way' Aberforth
remarked dejectedly.
'No we don't! Fawkes came back, just today!' Harry
announced happily.
'He came back?' Topher asked, Harry nodding.
'Yes, just as the attack on Hogsmede started!' Harry
expounded. Griselda smiled at the energetic teen, and at
Topher.
'Good luck Harry Potter, and you too Mr. Terrwynebas'
she said pleasantly. Aberforth and the others bid her
farewell, and quickly raced towards the stairs.
'Harry, you say Fawkes returned just today?' Aberforth
asked as they climbed to the first floor.
'Yes, just when my friends and I were visiting
Dumbledore's—I mean Albus'—tomb' Harry explained as
they moved to the next stairwell. They were walking along
quickly, when a scream was heard behind them. Harry
and the others turned, and his heartbeat increased tenfold,
and his blood felt like it turned to ice.
Down the hallway, Hermione was being held at wand-
point. She was struggling against the man's arm, but he
pushed his wand tip deeper into her neck, and Harry's
mind was running with panic.
'Don't do it Percy!' Topher yelled, as he raised his wand,
stepping forward. Harry moved to take his wand out as
well, but Percy held Hermione tighter.
'Don't think about it Potter!' he yelled. 'The Dark Lord will
be pleased when I've killed your dear sweet Mudblood' he
added, as his mouth twitched angrily. Hermione's eyes
were wide with fear, and Harry felt powerless as Percy
kept his wand on her neck.
'Put her down Percy!' Topher yelled again, his wand still
fixed on him.
'Let her go!' came from behind Percy, and he turned to his
side to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley coming up the stairs.
Mr. Weasley had his wand pointed at Percy, but Mrs.
Weasley was approaching him quietly.
'Get back you old hag!' Percy yelled at his mother. She
stopped for a moment as her eyes glistened in the firelight
from the torches at his terrible words, but she continued.
'Percy dear, you're no murderer. Why can't I have the
sweet young man I raised back? The one who always
fretted over his homework, and loved to help around the
house' she said quietly, as she reached her hand out to
her son.
'Get back! I swear, I'll- I'll do it!' he yelled, looking back at
Topher, and again at Mrs. Weasley.
'Just take my hand Percy, and let's sit down and talk,
please' she pleaded as a tear escaped her eyes. Percy's
eyes darted from Mrs. Weasley to Topher again, then his
father, and back to Mrs. Weasley.
'I- . . . I can- . . . I-'
'Please Percy, we love you' Mrs. Weasley whispered, her
hand only inches from his arm, which was still wrapped
around Hermione's shoulders. Percy was shaking
violently, and as Mrs. Weasley touched her son's arm, his
grasp let go of Hermione.
Hermione ran quickly towards Harry, but as Mrs. Weasley
reached for her son, his eyes grew wide, and he turned
back to Hermione and Harry. He violently pushed his
mother down, and raised his wand towards Hermione.
'AVAD-A—AHH!' he screamed as his wand moved
skyward abruptly, and he fell over convulsing. Mr.
Weasley ran up, along with Topher, and they both kicked
away Percy's wand. Hermione hugged Harry, and they
walked up slowly, helping Mrs. Weasley to her feet.
'Are you alright Hermione dear?' she asked, looking down
at her son on the floor, who was knocked out cold.
'I'm fine. He caught me when Luna and I were coming
back up from the kitchens.'
'Why were you in the kitchens?' Harry asked
disappointedly.
'Luna and I thought the house elves could help. They can
Apparate inside the castle, so they could help injured
students by bringing them to the Hospital Wing. As well,
they could help out students by delivering messages and
help students with short-cuts and such' she explained.
'We went and talked to Dobby and a few others, and they
agreed to help. Luna and I were coming back up, when
Percy grabbed me and took my wand. Luna ran to get
help, and he brought me up here searching for you.'
'I'm sorry Hermione' Harry admitted, giving her a warm
hug. Harry was just so happy she was alright, he held on
tightly, and inhaled her aroma longingly.
'It's alright Harry, I should have been more careful. Will he
be alright?' she asked, turning to see Topher and Mr.
Weasley checking Percy out, while Aberforth checked his
head. Topher handed Hermione her wand, and he put it in
her pocket.
'I think he's been under an Imperious Curse, for a very
long time too. Only Lord Voldemort himself could have
held it for such a time I believe' Aberforth insisted.
'Will he be alright?' Mr. Weasley asked as he held his
unconscious son's hand. Luna came down the stairwell,
and had Ron, Ginny, and Neville in tow.
'Mum, what happened?' Ginny asked as she ran up and
gave her mother a big hug. Mrs. Weasley was still crying,
and she hugged her daughter tightly.
'Who's that?' Ron asked, as he approached Percy.
'Percy was under an Imperious Curse' Harry explained, as
Luna asked if Hermione was alright.
'We need to move him to the Hospital Wing. Poppy can
get him into better health, and perhaps figure out how long
he's been under the curse' Aberforth reckoned. Mr.
Weasley levitated his son towards the Hospital Wing. Mrs.
Weasley moved down with them, with Ginny and Luna
following to help her.
'Percy, under an Imperious Curse?' Ron questioned,
Topher putting his wand away and sighing.
'It is possible. We're lucky for his own will kept him from
killing Hermione, and broke the curse. I think that's why his
wand shot up at the end there.'
'So could that be why he started acting so strange all
those years ago?' Hermione suggested.
'Perhaps. We need to get to the East Tower. We may
have found a way to open that locked door in the
Department of Mysteries where the Book is' Harry
explained as they continued their way up the stairwells.
'Hello there Harry and Hermione! I see Ron, Ginny,
Neville, and Luna here too, excellent. And oh, another
visitor! Although with how things are in the lower levels, I
am not surprised' Evander maintained. Aberforth looked
up at the painting, and Evander laughed.
'Oh, it's Aberforth Dumbledore! It was hard to recognize
you with the beard! How are you my old chap?' Evander
asked lightheartedly.
'I am in a hurry Evander' Aberforth insisted. 'But it is nice
to see your cheerful self again' he added. Evander waited
no further, and with the password, swung open for the
three men.
'You know Evander?' Harry asked as they moved up the
hallway.
'Yes, although I haven't seen him since I was at Hogwarts.
I visited my brother here in the East Tower many times,
though I think he grew annoyed at my constant asking for
help with transfiguration' Aberforth admitted, as they
entered the common.
They all entered the common room, and found Fawkes
perched above the fireplace, since a real perch was
unavailable.
'So he is back' Topher whispered.
'Yeah, so we can ask him to find that guy, and hopefully
he'll know how to get into the room' Harry exclaimed as he
moved over to Fawkes.
'What guy, and what room?' Ginny asked. Harry realized
that Neville, Ginny, and Luna really did not have a clue
what they were going after.
'It's a long story. We're trying to find a book-'
'A very important book' Topher put in.
'-that we think holds magic that will destroy Voldemort. We
thought it was in Egypt-'
'So that's why the Durmstrang Ship was here?' Neville
asked, Harry nodding.
'Yes, but the book wasn't there. But we found out it was in
the Department of Mysteries. Remember when we went
there-'
'Who could forget' Ginny claimed, looking at the others.
'There was a door that we couldn't open remember?' Harry
asked. The three nodded, and he continued. 'The book is
in that room, and Fawkes knows how to contact a guy who
might-'
'Harry, Harry' Ginny cut in. 'So basically, we need a book
in that locked room, and you're trying to figure out how to
open up the door?' she asked. Harry nodded, and she
sighed angrily. 'Why the bloody hell didn't you just say
that!'
'We need to get moving, time is of the essence' Topher
instructed, breaking up the conversation. Ginny smiled at
Harry to let him know she was joking, but he already
knew.
Walking up to Fawkes, the bright red phoenix crooked its
neck, and looked at Harry with its black eyes.
'So only Fawkes knows where this guy is?' Hermione
asked, Harry nodding.
'Looks like he came back just when we needed him' Ron
commented.
'Topher, what was his name again?' Harry asked.
'Fletcher Follit.'
'Fawkes?' Harry asked the bird. He had to admit, it felt
strange talking to a bird surrounded by people, but he
continued on when the phoenix looked at him directly.
'Do you know where Fletcher Follit is?' he asked. Fawkes
looked at Harry for a few moments, then lightly bobbed his
head a few times.
'I guess that's a yes' Ron smirked. Harry moved to the
desk, and wrote down on a piece of parchment the
question about how to open Room Number Nine's door in
the Department of Mysteries. He went back to the group,
and held up the letter for Fawkes.
'Can you deliver this to him, and bring me back a
response? I don't care if you have to peck at him, fly
around his head, anything; just bring back an answer, O.K.
Fawkes?' he asked. Fawkes grabbed the letter in his beak
quickly, and jumped off the mantle, and burst into flames
above their heads—startling them all with his speed.
'How long do you think he's going to take?' Neville asked.
'I'm not sure. We have to find out about the Ministry first'
Harry told the group.
'What? Harry, you're not seriously thinking of going to the
Department of Mysteries again, not now!' Ginny argued.
'Gin, we have no choice. Harry needs this to defeat
Voldemort' Hermione explained to the red-head.
'What about Hogwarts? What if it gets attacked while
you're gone?' she questioned determinately. 'The
Guardians need you Harry.'
'I know Ginny, but if I don't go now, I might never have the
chance again. I want you, Neville, Luna, and the other DA
members to take charge. Fawkes will stay here, and I will
tell him to sound the warning if the castle is attacked.'
'And Miss Weasley, we do not plan to stay in the Ministry
for very long; in and out. If there are too many Death
Eaters, we will come back. We don't plan on dying' Topher
assured.
'We should go and wait for word from Nymphadora'
Aberforth said from his side of the room. Harry ran up to
his dormitory first, and grabbed three items from his trunk,
before coming back down. The group filed out of the East
Tower, and moved down to the first floor to the Defence
classroom.
Topher left the group in the classroom, and went down to
the ground floor to find out if Tonks had learned about the
Ministry. Harry and the others talked about Percy, and the
plans for the Guard, and Harry gave Neville one of the
items he retrieved from his trunk.
'An old piece of parchment?' Neville questioned.
'Not just a piece of parchment' Harry informed, taking it,
and placing his wand on the top. 'I solemnly swear that I
am up to no good.'
The Marauder's Map became visible, and Neville, Ginny,
Luna, and even Aberforth moved in closer to see the map
as Harry unfolded it.
'Is this-?' Ginny whispered.
'It's Hogwarts. You can see everyone in the castle, and
where they are' Harry told them.
'You know, I heard about a map like this existing for a
castle in Germany, though reports were that it was eaten
by a Gaulic Dragon' Luna fluttered in.
'I'm giving this to you if Hogwarts is attacked while we are
away. You can see where Death Eaters are and where
groups should move to' Harry instructed. Neville took the
map, although he was not sure of how to use it exactly.
Topher came back into the room, and motioned the group
to come with him. They all left, and Topher brought them
to where Professor Fourmove, Professor McGonagall,
Remus, and Mad-Eye Moody were standing, just near the
staircase to the ground floor.
'What is the news from the Ministry?' Topher asked, as the
professors and Order members noticed the students and
Aberforth, but did not bother to get angry at them being in
the halls.
'We're not sure, Baldric and Kingsley couldn't get back
here, but luckily they're Order members, so they went to
Grimmauld Place. But that's all the Ministry knows from
the tracking maps' Remus explained, as Tonks came up
the stairs looking dreadfully tired.
'Did Remus tell you?' Tonks asked Topher.
'Yes, and we need to get to Grimmauld to find out about
the Ministry. We need to get to the Department of
Mysteries.' Professor McGonagall was becoming quickly
enraged.
'You can't be serious! You are still going on about this,
even now when Death Eaters are climbing up the front
lawn!'
'Professor, with all due respect, Harry needs the Book of
Thoth! It's the only way he can kill Voldemort. If Death
Eaters get inside Hogwarts, Voldemort will follow after,
and none of us can kill him except Harry with that Book!'
Topher maintained forcefully.
'What happens if Death Eaters are swarming through the
Ministry? What will you do?' McGonagall asked Topher
sternly.
'We'll come back here. Please, trust us Minerva. Albus
was researching this for years, and I've been working with
Aberforth here on figuring out what Harry needed, and
where it was. He needs this Book, because it does exist-'
'And it was brought back to England and put in the
Department of Mysteries-' Aberforth put in.
'And put under protection by the Veneforbis Guard' Topher
said.
'Let's say it does exist, how do you know it is there?'
McGonagall questioned.
'The guardians of the tomb in Egypt said it was where we
thought it was, which is the Department of Mysteries. My
mother was murdered by Voldemort because she was a
Chamber Member of the Guard, and she was keeping a
secret that he could not find out. Voldemort has been
putting spies in the Department of Mysteries and now he
has captured the Ministry. He is trying to get the Book!'
'Then he may already have it' Mad-Eye offered gruffly.
'No, if he had it, we'd know. We need to get there, and
fast, before Hogwarts is attacked' Topher pressed. Harry
could see his hands shaking with the rushing he was
trying to impose on McGonagall.
'Albus always said there was something special about you
Potter, and I guess it is about time I realize what that might
be' she claimed, looking at Harry thoughtfully. Hurried
steps could be heard behind them, and everyone turned to
see Bill Weasley running up the steps.
'We got word from Baldric and Kingsley about the Ministry'
he huffed.
'And?' almost everyone said at once.
'It's empty' Bill replied.
'Empty?' Remus reiterated, and Bill nodded.
'We don't know the specifics, but that's what was on the
parchment they banished to us.'
'If Voldemort pulled all his Death Eaters out of the Ministry,
it may be to attack Hogwarts. We need to go and get that
information from them, and get to the Ministry' Topher
insisted rapidly.
McGonagall looked up at the ceiling for a moment, and
sighed. 'Remus, Tonks; you will go with Potter and Topher
here to Grimmauld Place, where you will make the fastest
trip to the Ministry ever known to man-kind, understand?'
she asked, looking at Topher and the others.
'Thank you professor' Harry said to Professor McGonagall.
She smiled at him, and placed a kind hand on his
shoulder.
'Be safe Harry. The Guardians need you and your friends,
as does Hogwarts' she expressed warmly. Harry smiled at
her, and he looked at Hermione and Ron.
'If we're to go, it better be now' Aberforth maintained.
'You're coming with us?' Ron remarked.
'Of course I am boy! I know more about the Department of
Mysteries than anyone else' he bellowed proudly. Harry
decided not to press the matter, and he shook hands with
Professor McGonagall, Mad-Eye, and Professor
Fourmove.
'Good luck Potter' Professor Fourmove said. Harry gave
Neville a good handshake, and hugged Luna but not
Ginny.
'Oh no, you're not doing that to me' Ginny explained.
'You'll hug me when you get back.' Harry smiled, and
agreed to that deal. He turned around, and was surprised
to find out who Topher's little romantic interest was.
'Take care Topher' Professor Fourmove said, giving
Topher a kiss. Harry and the others snickered at the small
kiss, and both Topher and Professor Fourmove blushed.
'Oh enough of that! Let's go' Topher waved. The group of
seven, consisting of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Topher,
Aberforth, Remus, and Tonks all moved down the fire-lit
stairwell, and looked up at the two Professors, Mad-Eye,
and the two students, who waved back.
'What about Faw-' Hermione was asking, when a ball of
fire erupted just above them, and Fawkes flew down. He
dropped a note to Harry, and soared up into the castle.
Harry caught the note, and his shoulders slumped when
he found a riddle on it.
The lock you wish to open see
The room you wish to explore,
With wizard's key you must be
To open that one door.
But the key must special see
To it you have a rapport,
It must have in it a special name
Your name, minus the door.
Oh how Harry started to hate riddles. Why couldn't this
man just write "You need to do this" and simply state it. In
a time like this, having to solve a riddle was just not
needed, or warranted in Harry's books.
'Oh no, a bloody riddle again' Ron moaned as he looked at
it under the firelight.
'Any ideas?' Harry asked the group as Topher looked at
the note.
'Well, wizard's don't have keys normally, we have wands.
So I gather the first part is saying you need a wand to
open the lock' Hermione insisted.
'Yeah, well I have one of those, but the second part is kind
of confusing. It says I need one I have a rapport with, and
is has to have in it a special name?' Harry questioned.
'Your name minus the door' Topher whispered, thinking for
a moment.
'There is no door in Harry' Ron pointed out.
'Or in Potter' Hermione added.
'Yes' Topher said as he paced for a moment, 'but there is
one in Gryffindor.'
'But that's not my name' Harry exclaimed.
'But it was your family name' Aberforth proclaimed.
'So' Hermione started, 'you need a wizard's key with a
Gryffindor minus the door in its name.'
'I need a Gryffin wand?' Harry questioned.
'No' Topher said, coming back to the group with the note.
'You need a wand with a Gryffin inside of it. You need my
wand to open the door.'
Topher held up his wand, and the riddle finally dawned on
Harry and the others. 'Of course, you said the wand maker
made all the Veneforbis wands, and that he made yours
and your parents' Harry professed.
'I imagine that's why he's not well known, and Gryffin
feathers aren't used more often' Topher concluded. 'Well,
we need to get going, and fast. We need to see what
Baldric and Kingsley found out,'
The group moved determinately through the shadowy
halls, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley saw them, and asked
them where they were going. They stopped while they
explained it quickly to Ron's parents, and Harry was
surprised by their reactions.
'Oh, be safe Ronny!' Mrs. Weasley muttered, crushing
Ron in a hug. Mr. Weasley came up and shook Harry's
hand. Harry had expected them to both protest against the
move, but they were all adults now, and deep down, Harry
felt they knew how important it was that they went.
'Good luck son' Mr. Weasley said. Harry smiled up and
could feel his eyes sting with tears, as he changed the
handshake into a hug, which Mr. Weasley returned.
They said goodbye, and with one last bone-crushing hug
from Mrs. Weasley, the group slipped out the doors, and
into the grounds.
Hogsmede was still burning brightly, and the night sky was
bright with orange flares, and the menacing Dark Mark
that still floated over the town as it burned. The group
stood for a moment, then continued determinately down
the slopes towards the gates.
'Halt! Students are not allowed outside their Dormitories,
and no one is allowed out! Go back to the castle!' the head
gatekeeper announced to the group, as some of the
gatekeepers turned and looked out towards the road that
lead up to the gate.
'We are leaving, so please move' Topher asked politely.
'Stewart, this is Harry Potter. We are going to get
something that can and will save us from You-Know-Who'
Tonks explained to her fellow Auror. The head
gatekeeper, who Harry assumed was Stewart, looked
towards the gates, and back at the group.
'Where is Potter?' he asked. Harry was hesitant, but came
to the front of the group, and faced the gatekeeper. All of
them were wearing black cloaks, and Stewart took his
hood off to show a black-haired man in his thirties, with
dark brown eyes and pale skin.
'I've heard the stories about you Potter. Although it's
against the Minister's orders, I think if anyone can stop
You-Know-Who, it's you Harry. Good luck' he stated,
offering his hand. Harry, with an astonished look, shook it,
and Stewart ordered the guards to move out of the way
and stand ready.
The gates opened just enough for each of them to slip out
one at a time, and once Tonks was through, they were
shut again, and sealed.
'Thanks Stewie!' Tonks called back quietly.
'Alright everyone, to Grimmauld Place first, then onwards.
May Merlin protect us' Topher told the group, and with a
series of cracks, they all Apparated to Grimmauld Place.
Spell / Name Meanings:
Sekhem Scepter - A symbol in Ancient Egypt for power
and control
For more information, see Fletcher - Middle English:
Maker of Arrows
Follit - Manx Gaelic: Secret (Fletcher Follit Maker of
Secret Arrows)
Stewart - Old English: house guard

- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE-
Through the Locked Door
Landing on the lawn of Number Twelve and One Third
Grimmauld Place, the group quickly dashed into the
house. Hermione hastily gave Aberforth the new address
to Grimmauld, and once he was inside, the door closed
behind them quickly.
'They're probably in the kitchen' Remus remarked, panting
from the sprint. Aberforth was looking about the hallway,
no doubt to look at any changes that had occurred to the
house in the last while.
The group moved down into the kitchen, and found the
two people they were looking for, sitting across from the
two now permanent residence of the house.
'Harry, Remus—what are you guys all doing here?' Baldric
asked as he and Kingsley stood up. Snape and Draco
remained seated, and continued to look as if they both just
ate something foul tasting—which Harry knew, was
Snape's normal expression.
'We needed your information on the Ministry, it's urgent'
Remus explained. Baldric and Kingsley both glanced at
Snape and Draco, then back to the group.
'Oh bloody hell, they're on our side! Tell us about the
Ministry' Harry ranted. He knew it would be hard for the
Order to accept Snape and Malfoy—since even he found it
hard, and he knew about the Cup—but now was not the
time to be debating their allegiance. Harry saw the
memory, and talked to Dumbledore and understood that
Snape, destroying a Horcrux, clearly showed he was on
their side, even if he was a pretentious git. Draco was
more of a question, but with both parents killed by
Voldemort, it could be inferred that he was wanting a bit of
revenge, at least in his own cowardly way.
The group sat around the table, and Baldric explained how
they found the Ministry. To put in one word, they found it
empty, just as their note said before. Both Baldric and
Kingsley went through the Atrium, and through the first few
levels and found no one.
'It was eerie, like everyone had Apparated away and left
everything they were doing' Baldric explained, Kingsley
nodding his head.
'It was strange for sure. When we left, the place was a
mess, but it's like the Ministry just called in a cleaning
crew. All the files were away in the cabinets, chairs were
tucked in, even my desk was clean. Now believe me,
that's a feat!'
'So what should we do?' Ron asked nervously, looking at
Harry and the others.
'We need to get to the Department of Mysteries' Topher
insisted.
'And the Dark Lord knows' Snape spoke from his side of
the table.
'He knows?' Harry asked, Snape rolling his eyes upwards,
and Draco sighing in frustration.
'Honestly Potter, how you survived until now baffles me.
Even I can tell that's a trap. The Dark Lord attacked the
Ministry, and all of a sudden it's empty, just when you
need to go to the Department of Mysteries? You
Gryffindors can't be that dimwitted' Draco sneered.
'Oh, and what would you suggest Ferret?' Ron smirked,
Draco standing up and his eyes growing wide at the name.
'Enough!' Tonks interrupted. Draco sat down, with Snape's
hand pushing on his forearm, and Ron huffed. 'Draco's
right, it has to be a trap. What are we going to do?'
'Couldn't we just Apparate into the Department of
Mysteries?' Hermione asked, Aberforth shaking his old,
grey head.
'No my dear, you cannot. You can only Apparate in the
Atrium, it's part of the security' Aberforth voiced roughly.
'Wait a second' Harry said, looking at Topher and the
others. 'How could Voldemort know about us needing to
get into the Department of Mysteries?'
'Who knows Harry. Perhaps we were overheard sometime
during our trip to Egypt' Topher offered.
'Or there's a spy in Hogwarts' Ron added grimly.
'Well, Percy was under an Imperious Curse. He could
have eavesdropped on any number of conversations, and
found out we were planning to go there' Hermione offered,
Topher shaking his head.
'No, he couldn't have heard. We kept it quiet, and he was
never even close to us when we were discussing it.'
'Right now it doesn't matter how Voldemort found out, just
that he knows' Aberforth maintained, wiping his glasses.
Everyone stayed silent for a few moments, until Topher
finally spoke up. 'Well, we need to get there, and time is of
the essence. We'll have to Apparate into the Atrium, and
make a run for it.'
'You realize you'll all be dead before you even make it to
the lifts?' Snape asserted dolefully. Harry could
understand even more-so the rest of the Order's
reluctance to accepting Snape. He could at least act like
he wanted to help them.
'It doesn't matter Snape, they need to get to the
Department of Mysteries. If You-Know-Who knows they
are coming, there's going to be an attack either way'
Baldric declared.
'Potter, if you had any smarts, you would wait a week
before barging into the Ministry. Even then you'd still get
killed, although I wouldn't mind that much' Draco
professed with a smirk.
'Well Malfoy, we can't wait a week, Hogwarts is
surrounded. Voldemort's hide out was just outside
Hogsmeade, and he's destroyed the town already. That's
why we have to be quick, and that's why you two are
coming with us' Harry explained evilly to Snape and
Draco.
'I'm not coming with you Potter!' Draco laughed, looking at
Snape for reassurance.
'You're under protection of the Order right now, and we
can easily rescind that protection and give you over to
You-Know-Who' Tonks informed them.
'Severus, we need your help if we are to pull this off. If you
are indeed a member of the Order, then you will do us the
pleasure of helping us. We will be returning to Hogwarts
afterwards, and we need all Order members there to help
with the coming attack' Remus put forward. Harry was a
caught slightly off guard by Remus' politeness, but
remembered that he was always like that, except with
people he really hated, like Pettigrew.
Snape surveyed the group for a moment as Draco
continued to look for support in not going, but Snape
slowly nodded his head.
'I deplore situations such as these, but we must. If
Hogwarts falls, then we wouldn't be safe here anyways' he
added. Internally Harry rolled his eyes at Snape, still
thinking of his own safety before anyone else like a true
Slytherin.
Draco on the other hand was not willing to go so easily.
'No! I am not some house elf you order to do work! I am
staying here, even if this place is a cesspool!'
Snape turned his head to say something, when Draco
suddenly stood up and took out his wand. Topher, Remus,
and Tonks all had their wands pointing at Draco almost
instantly, and his silver eyes darted between the three
wands pointed at his chest.
'Don't do this Draco, we're not making you come' Remus
explained, Draco laughing.
'What a load of rubbish!'
'Draco' Topher stated, taking a step forward, 'you are
either on our side helping us, or on his side. If you desert
or betray us, believe me, you'll wish you were dead.' He
moved his one hand slowly, and pulled out the parchment
that he and Snape had signed earlier when they first
arrived at Grimmauld.
'What, you think a piece of parchment will scare me?'
Draco asked. Topher lowered his wand, and read the
parchment aloud.
'I, Draco Malfoy, hereby assert my allegiance to the Order
of the Phoenix. If by my own cause, I abandon, betray,
desert, or leave any member or post of the Order of the
Phoenix that contradicts orders that I have received, I will
immediately be banished to Azkaban Prison without my
wand, charged and convicted of treason. I will be locked in
a high security cell, and await Dementors to come and
carry out my sentence of death by means of a Dementor's
Kiss. These acts will be enacted magically, and cannot be
stopped once they have begun.
'This contract is binding, and will dissolve when the orders
I have been given from the Order of the Phoenix are
fulfilled, the Order of the Phoenix ceases to exist, or I die
due to carrying out my orders. Signed, Draco Malfoy.'
Topher looked up from the parchment, and smiled at
Draco as he looked wide-eyed at him.
'I never signed that!' he argued.
'No, you did Draco. Now you are being ordered to come
with us to aid Harry to get into the Department of
Mysteries, and help us return to Hogwarts and defend the
castle from the oncoming attack' Topher declared.
Malfoy looked around the room, his wand still held up, and
he continued to look very angry, which Harry expected.
'Draco, you don't want to get your soul sucked out; it's not
a pleasant experience' Aberforth put in, Draco looking at
the old man with squinted eyes.
'Who is this old codger?' he asked rudely.
'I am Aberforth Dumbledore you whiny little twerp'
Aberforth answered sternly, not pleased with Draco's tone.
Harry was a bit shocked to see Aberforth get so upset, but
then again, he was never that grand with the younger folk,
let alone being called names by them to his face.
Draco continued to looked about, and Snape glanced
down at the table for a moment, speaking tiredly. 'You
stupid boy, you must choose a side. Those who try to play
both sides wind up dead before anyone else; as even a
poor Slytherin I'd expect you to know that. If you wish to
face death, then go back to the Dark Lord. If you wish to
live, you must come with Potter and the others to the
Ministry, and back to Hogwarts. There is no middle road
for your cowardly mind to travel.'
'I'd rather be a living coward than a dead idiot!' Malfoy
boasted.
'Spoken like a true Malfoy. Just look where it landed your
father' Snape retorted, the anger in Draco's eyes
increasing tenfold with the mentioning of his father.
'Don't you speak of my father in such a foul tongue you
half-blood slime!'
'Oh shut-up!' Harry shouted. It was getting to be too much
to him. 'Here it is Malfoy: either you come with us and
come back to Hogwarts and fight, or you stay here, and
we burn down this house with you inside of it. Believe me,
we'll make it so you can't get out, you'll burn to death, and
this "cesspool" will be the last thing you ever know, along
with Mrs. Black's annoying screams.'
Even Harry had to admit, he was stunned with his threat.
He was threatening to kill Malfoy, and even though he had
threatened him before, this time he was actually serious
about it. If Malfoy would not help, then Harry would not just
let him sit and do nothing while they fought a war.
Plus, Harry had a bit of a laugh at the fact that he had-in
the course of less than one year-threatened to burn down
the house twice. Sirius would be very proud he thought.
Everyone of course was shocked at Harry's threat, and
looked to Draco, who still had his wand up—Remus,
Tonks, and Topher all having their wands up still too. He
looked about for a moment, somehow still contemplating,
before dropping his hand to his side, and slumping back
onto his chair.
'You're doing the right thing Draco' Remus assured,
getting only a huff from Malfoy. Harry loved every moment
of seeing Draco totally defeated, and surrounded by
people who just wanted to point and laugh at him. He
looked over at Ron, and smiled; Ron actually was
laughing, and pointing, if only slightly. Harry imagined this
was going into his memory bank, right next to seeing
Draco as a ferret.
'Let's get going. We do have the invisibility cloaks, as well
as a few other tricks they may not know about. But speed
is a necessity' Kingsley told the group. They all nodded,
and everyone stood up.
Everyone quietly made their way out of the kitchen, Malfoy
getting pushed by Snape and Baldric. No one was really
looking at each other as they moved forward in the empty
house. Everyone knew the chances of this endeavor were
low, but they had to try. Harry was more concerned with
Ron and Hermione's well being over any of the others, but
he realized the chances of everyone coming back alive
was slim, let alone actually getting the Book—if indeed it
was there.
Too many questions, doubts, and worries began swarming
in Harry's mind about the whole trip now. Should they go,
knowing it is a trap? What happens if they are attacked?
What happens if the Book is not even there? What
happens if someone is killed . . .
'Harry?' a voice called distantly. Harry turned to his right,
and found Hermione looking up at him carefully.
'It'll be alright Harry, we'll all be alright. We'll find the door,
you'll go in, find the Book, and we'll get out. Besides, we
can all fight, thanks to you' she assured calmly. Harry had
to admit, the way Hermione could read his mind like that
made him question if she did know Legilimency, and just
kept it from him for moments like this.
Harry let go of that thought however, and smiled briefly
back. Hermione gave him a peck on the cheek as they
exited the house, and the group made their way onto the
lawn. The cool air moved through Harry's lungs as a shiver
went down his spine, and as he exhaled, the mist of his
breath hung in the air for a few moments before escaping
upwards.
'So you two have your cloaks right?' Topher asked Harry
and Ron. They both nodded, and showed them to the
group.
'Alright. Harry, you and Hermione under your cloak, Ron
under yours. Draco, you'll stand in the middle of us. We'll
take it slow, but we need to get to the Department of
Mysteries together' Remus explained. Everyone agreed—
except Draco of course—and they took their places. Harry
and Hermione moved close together, and Ron moved next
to them. Topher, Baldric, Tonks, Remus, Kingsley,
Aberforth and Snape all took positions around the
students.
'So we will Apparate to the Atrium. Put the cloaks on now,
and be careful' Kingsley advised to the group.
Harry and Hermione looked at Ron, who looked back with
a worried smile, and they draped themselves under the
cloaks. Hermione held on to Harry's hand tightly, and she
leaned up and whispered in his ear as Kingsley talked to
the other members quickly.
'We're going to make it through this Harry' she whispered,
her breath circling into Harry's ear and making him
tremble. Hermione pulled back so her nose grazed Harry's
cheek, and Harry observed at her soft face, and kissed
her. She returned the exchange heatedly, and he forgot
the people surrounding them. It had been some time since
they could loose themselves with each other. He wrapped
his arms around her, and their fiery kiss pushed forward.
That is, until both of them got a nudge from the side. They
broke their longing kiss, and looked to see no one there.
'Honestly guys, do you have to do that now?' Ron's voice
sounded. Harry and Hermione chuckled, and Harry gave
Hermione a quick kiss, cupping her cheeks in his hands.
'Alright, is everyone ready?' Baldric asked.
'Yes' Harry answered, leaning back and looking at the
group.
'On three' Kingsley instructed. Harry looked at Hermione,
and she smiled up at him. 'One . . . two . . . three!' and with
a squeeze of his hand, Harry turned—as did Hermione
and the others—and the siphoning and tube-like
experience enveloped Harry.
His feet landed on the hard floor, and he looked around.
He could not tell if anyone but Hermione was there—since
she was still holding onto his hand. He wondered for a
moment if they Apparated into a cupboard or wardrobe,
when suddenly eight points of light appeared around them
in the darkness.
Everyone made it there safe and sound, and the group
took some moments to looked around the hall. They had,
as they moved their wandlight around, Apparated just next
to the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The statues shone
dully in the white light from the wands, and as Kingsley
and Baldric looked about, the others moved closer
together.
'Was it dark like this when you came last?' Remus
whispered as Kingsley returned, Baldric shortly
afterwards.
'No, this is strange. All the lamps were still lit. Perhaps
when we get to the levels, the lights will be on there'
Kingsley suggested, his deep voicing echoing in the
taciturn hall.
'Well, let's get going. Which way is it to the gates?' Topher
asked, looking about into the darkness. It was like they
were set on a plateau, surrounded by a dark, and infinitely
deep expanse. Their wandlight died quickly in the
darkness, as if something was wrapping around the group,
and the air was bitter and cool.
'The gates should be this way, let's go' Baldric informed,
starting to walking into the darkness. Everyone followed
quickly, and Harry found out Ron was indeed there also
under his cloak, since he bumped into Hermione as they
walked. All their footsteps reverberated in the dark and
empty chasm, and Harry had the distinct feeling like the
group was in a vast cavern, with dark and menacing
creatures watching them from the depths, waiting for
someone to go astray from the group so they could snatch
them up.
Pushing on the gates, the metal on metal of the hinges
screamed against each other, and sounded through the
hall. Harry knew already that if Death Eaters did not know
before they were there, they did now. The group moved
through quickly, and left them open for when they needed
to leave.
Baldric lead the way as the group hastily walked towards
the staircases. The lifts would make too much noise, and
even if they were working, it would be too easy to attack
the group as they came out.
The staircase, as Harry expected, was also black in its
lighting. Everyone moved slowly down the stairs, and
Harry and Hermione had to lift up the cloak in order not to
trip over it.
All the walking by wandlight, somehow reminded Harry of
times when the power would go out at Privet Drive. He
remembered times when, at night, the power would go
out, and Dudley would cry until millions of candles were lit.
Harry always got one stubby candle at those times, but he
remembered walking through the house with his one
candle, much like tonight with his wand.
Coming out next to the lifts, Baldric, Kingsley, and Tonks
moved forwards and kept watch of the dark, obsidian
hallways as the group made their way to the door across
from the lifts. It was still dark everywhere, and the group
continued with their lit wands. Harry wondered why the
Death Eaters were waiting, but he realized that pulling
them deeper into the Ministry would make their escape
harder.
Looking at the door, Remus glanced at the group—who
looked at each other. 'Perhaps you should lead the way,
I've never been here before' he admitted, looking at
Topher.
'I think perhaps I should lead the way, along with our
invisible friends who have been here before' Aberforth put
forward. Remus nodded, and Harry and Hermione moved
forward—feeling Ron was moving forward too when he
bumped into Harry—or Harry bumped into him. Being
under two different cloaks brought about numerous
problems compared to just being under the same one.
Aberforth opened the door, and shone his wandlight down
the plain stone corridor towards the end where another
door stood. Once Harry, Hermione, and Ron moved in,
Remus soon followed.
Tonks went next, but just as she passed the doorway, a
purple bolt of light emanated from the darkness
surrounding the guards outside, and slammed into the
wall.
'RUN!' Kingsley yelled, as the hallway outside the lifts was
suddenly thrown into darkness. Kingsley, Baldric, Snape,
and Topher had to put out their Lumos spells out in order
to defend themselves, and so doing, pushed their
surroundings into shadows.
The commotion rendered with Aberforth and the others in
the corridor, and they all turned—pushing Draco, who had
followed them closely inside, out of the way. They heard a
loud thud of a door being shut, and when Aberforth and
the other's lights reached the end, they found their four
companions panting, but present.
'What happened?' Harry asked, taking the cloak off and
raising his wand to cast the light better. Remus and Tonks
were helping them all stand up, and it seemed Kingsley
had a terrible looking gash on his hand.
'Death Eaters were waiting in the shadows. Probably
hoping to split us apart and confuse us. Weird thing is that
they only shot one spell' Kingsley pointed out, trying to fix
his hand with a spell. It worked well enough, though he still
winced when he moved his thumb.
'Great, so we're going to die on the way out, unless we die
in here' Draco voiced, everyone looking over at him
malevolently.
'Can't we just send him to Azkaban anyways? I mean, who
would mind that?' Ron inquired to Harry and Hermione,
loud enough so everyone could hear.
'We have to keep going. Who knows what we'll meet in the
next section' Topher stated. Baldric put a Locking Spell on
the door to keep the Death Eaters on the outside, indeed,
outside, and the group made their way towards the plain
black door at the end or the corridor. The sight of the door
reminded Harry of what happened two years prior to this
visit, and the realization that the room where the Veil was,
was close at hand.
'Let us hope there aren't too many surprises behind this
door' Aberforth commented, reaching up with his wand
and waving it in from the door. A blue V appeared on the
black door, right about where a peep hole would go, and
he went ahead and opened the door. Harry had never
seen the V on the door before, he just remembered it
being plain black.
Moving forward, Harry found the circular room as it was
two years prior. It was lit by blue-flamed candles, which
were bracketed along the walls between the doors, went
completely around the room. Everything in the room was
black, from the black marble floor which was reflective as
the surface of the Black Lake, to the walls, and all the
doors. There were twelve doors in total, black and without
handles, and it seemed Hermione was also reminded of
another problem they faced.
'Now we need to find which door is which' she declared,
as the group moved in. Draco was coming in last, and just
as he moved to close the door, Harry, Hermione, and Ron
lunged forward to stop it before it closed fully.
'What are you—are you trying to kill me?' Draco ranted as
Harry and the others were getting up.
'Whenever you close one of the doors, the room revolves,
and you can't figure which door is which. We have to mark
the door before we close it, so we don't loose track'
Hermione explained, taking her wand and putting a red X
on the door.
'I'll be honest, I was trying to kill Malfoy' Ron admitted,
getting a smirk from Draco.
'OK, let's do this' Harry asserted, taking the door, and
closing it. It shut with a loud thud, and the room began to
rumble. Being new to the experience, Tonks took hold of
Remus' arm forcefully, as the others looked around
worriedly. Draco was panicking beyond words, and Harry
could see out of the corner of his eye Ron's smirk.
Then the candles on the walls began to move sideways,
and the room started to revolve around quickly. The red X
whipped around the group, clashing against the blue of the
candles which imprinted a blue line in Harry's vision,
before the room finally came to rest—the red X now next
to Topher on the right side of the room.
'Well, that was dizzying' Tonks remarked. Everyone
recovered their balance and eyesight, and looked about.
'So which one should we try?' Baldric questioned.
'Well, we need to eliminate the wrong ones, so it's just a
matter of trying all of them until one doesn't open'
Aberforth explained. He moved over to the door closest to
him, and placing his wand on the door, it opened to reveal
a dark room.
'There's one do-' Baldric said, before turning quickly.
All at once, numerous doors opened in the circular
chamber, and black cloaked Death Eaters stormed the
room and began shouting spells at the group members.
'STUPEFY!' Topher, Baldric, Remus, and Tonks yelled as
the Death Eaters turned towards them.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!' came from some of the Death Eaters
not stunned, several bangs coming as the spells hitting the
walls.
Harry dove to the ground with Hermione, thankful that she
was still alive, but horror struck his mind as he saw what
looked like a timbering tree falling to the ground. It was the
lifeless form of one of their companions. The man's body
crashed to the floor with a sickening thud—his hazel eyes
still open, looking up at the ceiling. Harry had no time to
fully understand what happened, as the Death Eaters
continued to flood into the room.
Everyone in the group lunged for the nearest door as they
continued to fire spells at the Death Eaters, and the Death
Eaters pursued. Harry and Hermione dove through a door
that Remus held open, and the situation was plunged into
chaos. Remus quickly closed the door as a spell smashed
into the doorframe, and the three of them turned to check
if any Death Eaters were present in whatever room they
were in. It appeared to be empty of other people, and
Remus glanced at Harry.
'Did you . . . did you see . . .?' Remus tried to ask.
'Baldric is dead' Hermione said in a hushed voice, holding
onto Harry's arm tightly, her other hand with her wand
raised. Harry lost track of everyone else in the chaos, and
he did not know whether anyone else was dead. Ron had
gone out of view as he dove for the door, and Remus
closed it before he could look back.
Remus looked down to the stone floor, and sniffed quietly.
'He was a good man.'
Harry had watched Baldric fall to the floor. He
remembered the day they went strolling through
Hogsmeade when he got the locket reinscribed, and when
during the summer when they talked about Quidditch.
Baldric was always talking about how great the Falmouth
Falcons were, and Harry would miss that fun and
energetic voice, even though he only knew the man for a
short while. Harry would never forget how he saved
Hermione from the imposter twin just after Christmas.
A pounding on the door brought the three of them back to
the present, and they all moved farther into the room.
'Did either of you see anyone else fall?' Harry asked
quietly.
'Aberforth and Kingsley made it through a door, and I think
Kingsley was pulling Draco with him. I saw Topher stun
some of the Death Eaters as Snape jumped through one
of the doors' Remus told Harry and Hermione.
'What about Ron?' Harry asked worriedly. Please Merlin,
let Ron be alright. Let Ron be alive.
'Topher pushed him into a room before we jumped'
Hermione reassured, Harry breathing a sigh of relief.
His relief was short lived however, as the pounding on the
door increased, and the shouts of many Death Eaters
resounded from the walls around the room. Looking
ahead, Harry found they were in what Luna called two
years before, the Planet Room. The dark room was—as
they moved farther in—full of planets of different sizes, just
floating in space.
The three of them kept to the edge, and just grazed past a
beach-ball size Jupiter. They were trying to get to a side
door that lead into another room, when the door blasted
open, and Death Eaters came through, and looked about.
Remus and the others turned around quickly, and ran
along the edge of the room towards the door on the other
side. Several of the Death Eaters tried to fire spells at
Harry and the others, but the spells would not fly through
the groupings of planets. Hermione opened the door
quickly, and Harry turned just as they moved into the next
room to see some Death Eaters actually flipping upside
down and floating as they tried to cut across the Planet
Room—no doubt mixed up in the weightlessness.
'Harry, Hermione, Remus! Are you guys alright?' Topher
asked as they shut the door. Harry—even in the worry and
sadness of what happened already—smiled at Topher,
seeing he was alright.
'We're fine. Some Death Eaters are in the last room.
Where's-'
'Harry, Hermione!' Ron yelled from the other side of the
room. Harry had never seen this room before, and it
looked different than the others. Then again, all the rooms
looked different.
It was a stone room, dark, but tinged in an blue glow that
radiated from the ceiling, which was speckled with stars
like the night sky. The room itself seemed to hum with a
low tone, which calmed Harry even in the situation he and
his friends were in.
'This room is beautiful' Hermione commented, as she
stepped forward, and looked up at the stars above. Blue
clouds moved slowly across the expanse, though they
were transparent enough to let the starlight shine through.
'Are you alright Ron?' Harry asked as Ron approached, a
gash visible on his chin.
'I'm alright. Took a bit of fall on the stone down there' he
explained, pointing to a stone pillar that stood alone in
what appeared to be the centre of the room. Remus,
Topher, and Snape where securing the doorways into the
room.
The mellowness of the room seemed to ease Harry's
thoughts, pushing away the sadness for Baldric's death,
and he became intrigued by the pillar in the centre.
Walking towards it, Harry did not even take notice that the
stone of the floor turned to green, dew soaked grass.
The pillar, which stood more like an obelisk, was made of
a charcoal coloured stone, which was inlaid with strange
symbols, some looking to Harry like stars and
constellations.
Harry was finding himself even more fascinated by the
obelisk, and found Ron and Hermione equally interested in
it. Hermione was on the verge of running towards it, her
eyes bright in the blue hue from the sky.
'What do you think it is?' she asked as they came closer,
again not noticing the transition from grass to stone. The
obelisk stood over ten feet high, and its tip, as Harry
looked up at the majestic sky above, pointed directly at
what appeared to be the brightest star.
'Who knows? It's so amazing though' Ron commented,
looking up at it as well.
'Harry! Ron, Hermione! Get away from that!' a shout came
from behind them. None of them turned around, but rather
looked on reverently at the pillar. Harry glanced farther
down towards the base of it, and found what appeared to
be a hand-pad. The outline of a hand was imprinted into
the stone, and Harry—the other two following—knelt down
and looked at it curiously.
'Wonder if my hand is meant to fit on it?' Ron wondered.
Harry looked at his friend with surprise.
'What do you mean your hand? If anything, my hand
would fit in it' he asserted, Hermione snickering.
'That is clearly meant for a woman's hand. Here, let's see'
she insisted, reaching her hand over. She was about to
place it in the handprint, when Ron swatted her hand
away.
'What do you think you're doing? Who said you could go
first? I get to go first' he declared. Hermione looked
infuriated with him, as did Harry.
'Who said you should go first? I'm the one who found the
pillar!' Harry ranted, Ron extending his hand, but Harry
swatting it away.
'What are you all about? You're just up in a knot because
you know my hand will fit and yours won't. Upset that for
once you'll be second best' Ron argued.
'Oh yeah, we'll see about that!' Harry barked, reaching his
hand out towards the imprint. Just as his fingers grazed
the edge, Ron jumped him, and Harry struggled to place
his hand on the imprint. He had to prove he was the one
meant for the pillar, and as he struggled with Ron,
Hermione joined in; all three trying desperately to both
fight off the others, and get their own hand into the imprint.
Just as the three of them seemed utterly tangled, they
suddenly became frozen—their arms snapping to their
sides, and their legs snapping together. They lay next to
each other, and watched as Topher, Remus, and Snape
walked over, and quickly levitated the three of them away
from the pillar. Harry was screaming inside for the act, and
conjured his non-verbal charm, and escaped the binding,
falling to the ground with a dull thud.
'What was all that about?' he yelled at the three men,
getting up and wiping off some of the dew.
'Harry, that is the Imperium Pillar. It makes people think
that it belongs to them, and they try to place their hand on
the base. Instead of showing to be theirs, it sucks their life-
force out, and kills them' Topher explained, Remus and
Snape finally stopping with their levitation, and releasing
the other two from the body-binds. They were just as
upset as Harry was.
'I was about to show them-' Ron was shouting at the
others.
'That pillar-' Hermione started.
'Would have killed you! We need to get back to the circle
chamber, now!' Topher stated. Remus agreed, and the
group started off towards another door, when a door
behind them blew open, and spells began raining down on
them.
'RUN!' Remus yelled, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione
glanced back at the pillar hopefully, and ran forward after
a helpful push from Topher and Snape.
'CRUCIO!' came from one of the Death Eaters—a male—
and it hit Remus right in the chest. Harry turned as he
heard his father's friend's yells of agony, and he stopped
running. He took his wand, and focused on the Death
Eater who was holding the curse.
Thinking hard for a moment on the memory of the shack
Uncle Vernon made the family go to when Hagrid came
and delivered his first Hogwarts letter, he pointed his
wand.
'Expello Per Sentia!' Harry yelled, and will a strange
feeling—like a brain freeze from eating something like ice
cream too quickly—the Death Eater vanished from his
spot, and Remus recovered enough to get up and run.
'Good job Harry!' Topher exclaimed as Harry moved back
with the others towards the door that Hermione and Ron
reached. It was one that lead back to the circle chamber.
Harry and the others ran through it quickly, and when they
shut it, the circular chamber again rumbled, and revolved
rapidly. The blue from the candles barreled around them,
until finally the room settled, and locked back into place.
Turning around, Harry found Baldric's body had been
vanished. Perhaps someone from the other group did it, or
Death Eaters did, but the room was clear again, like it was
when they first entered.
'Harry needs to get in the room, and we need to find the
others. Here Harry, take my wand' Topher said, offering
his wand. Harry was affronted with the suddenness of it
all, but Topher was insistent.
'Harry, you must get into the room, and Mr. Follit was clear
about it. I shall take great care of your wand, trust me' he
insisted. Harry handed his own wand to Topher, and Harry
took hold of Topher's bright tinted wand. It was lighter than
his, but longer.
'Put your cloak on, and we will all leave the chamber.
Aberforth told me that the room could only be opened
when the opener was alone' Topher informed. Harry hated
the idea of being alone in the chamber, since a group of
Death Eaters could easily storm in on him. Plus, he still did
not know which door was which. The X Hermione placed
on the first door had long since vanished, and all the doors
looked identical in their blackness.
'Go on Harry, it's why we came here' Hermione voiced.
Harry looked at the others—even Snape—and nodded
determinately. This moment was the one he had been
waiting for, and he had to face it with his head held high.
'Alright, let's go. We'll find the others and fight off the
Death Eaters as long as we can, so be quick Harry, but
safe. Remember, you're looking for an old scroll, probably
with a gold band around it' Topher reminded Harry. Harry
nodded, and Remus smiled at him brightly.
'James, Lily, and Sirius would be proud Harry, I know I am.
Be safe.'
Harry smiled at Remus, and Ron came over and gave a
quick—but strong—hug, not saying any words. Finally,
Hermione came up and kissed Harry quickly.
'I expect to see you back at Hogwarts Mr. Potter' she
claimed, with a cute smile afterwards. Harry laughed, and
pulled the cloak over himself.
Topher opened one of the doors, and looked inside to find
a dark corridor. No spells came flying at him, so he
ushered the others forward. Snape never said a word to
Harry, but the look on his face was less of that than the
usual smug grimace. Hermione waned in the doorway for
a moment, looking into the room where Harry was still
standing, before she disappeared behind view, and
Topher was the last to leave.
'If you find the Book of Thoth Harry, do not use any magic
from it, not yet. And do not lie about the wand, tell them
who it belongs to.'
'Tell who?' Harry asked, but received no reply as Topher
turned and closed the door. The room thundered again as
the continuous wall began to move, and soon enough was
swirling past Harry. The blue candles finally stopped
moving, and the doors found their place again.
The quietness of the room was much like Harry's mind. He
did not know what he was supposed to do. Should he
randomly start checking doors?
Thinking that would have to be the solution, Harry took a
step forward, but accidentally stood on the edge of his
cloak. He retained his balance, but in the dance that
followed, Topher's wand fell to the floor. It clattered loudly
against the shimmering surface, and just as Harry picked it
up—the tip dragged across the smooth surface, and drew
a blue line that glimmered on the surface.
Wonder filled Harry, and he looked at the line
questioningly. He had not seen a blue line on the floor
before, though he never dropped his wand on the floor
either.
Remembering back to when they first entered the circle
chamber, Harry understood a connection, and took the
wand, and drew another line to make a V on the floor.
The blue V sat for a moment, before the candles in the
room flickered. Harry pondered what would happen next,
but what occurred indeed surprised him.
A large, shimmering blue V appeared on the floor, and
without any cracks, pops, or sounds whatsoever, twelve
wizards appeared in the room, each standing in front of a
door. Each one was wearing the same dark blue robes
with the silver "V" on the right side of the chest like Harry
remembered in Dumbledore's memory from the night his
parents died.
'We know you are here' a man with a calm, but aged voice
pronounced. Harry took off the invisibility cloak, and he
looked at the wizards. Their faces were hard to make out
in the dim blue light, but it was apparent that most—if not
all of them—were much older than Harry; perhaps older
than Aberforth.
'Your name boy, and what you're doing here' another
voice said, this one not nearly as calm or content as the
other that preceded it.
'My name is Harry Potter, and I am here to enter Room
Number Nine to retrieve the Book of Thoth' Harry
professed. One or two of the blue cloaked figures
whispered to another, but most stayed routed in place.
'Your wand Mr. Potter' one ordered. Harry held Topher's
wand in front of him, and it suddenly flew out of his hands
to the wizard standing in front of the door directly ahead of
Harry. A few tense moments passed, until the man in front
of Harry finally spoke again.
'This is not your wand Mr. Potter.'
'I know, it belongs to Topher Terrwynebas' Harry
explained. Harry was beginning to understand Topher's
last remark.
'Torrin and Eleanor's son' a new voice said, Harry turning
to see its originator.
Harry could see the wizards whispering to each other,
however they did so at such a quiet level that Harry could
not hear. Just as Harry was going to ask, the wizard in
front who stood ahead of him took a step forward, and his
face fell into the blue light.
He was indeed an old man, very old. The wrinkles on his
face were numerous, and his cheeks were pot marked and
worn like a man who has been through many battles-both
physical and otherwise. His old and faded brown eyes
protruded slightly, and his nose was prominent, and had a
strange dent in the middle of it, like someone took a
hammer and broke its normal straightness.
'Secure the chamber' the man ordered. The other wizards
turned, took their wands, and pushed the tips into the
doors. Nothing seemed to happen to Harry, but they
turned back towards the chamber again after a moment.
'Harry Potter, we are the Chamber Members of the
Veneforbis Guard. We have safeguarded this chamber
and its rooms for centuries; protecting the wondrous and
dangerous magic held within.
'As we have known, you are the Heir of Godric Gryffindor,
and have come to fulfill your purpose. Know that your fate
rests in your hands alone, and what you find in the Locked
Room does not control you, but rather you control it.'
The Guards standing in front of the doors moved forward,
and one by one came in front of Harry, and bowed their
heads to him with their hands in front of their chests, and
their wands between their hands. Each filed back in front
of the doors they guarded, and waited for the old man to
speak again.
He walked forward slowly—and with a limp as Harry
noticed—and looked at Harry carefully. 'Be strong son.
The world rests on what you find in that room, and how
you use it. Be brave with your actions, and smart with your
intentions.'
The old man stood to the side, and pointed his wand at the
door he was at first guarding. A symbol in blue appeared
on the door—that of a triangle superimposed by a circle—
and he looked back at Harry, giving back Topher's wand.
'Go forth and meet your destiny Harry Potter. Please tell
Topher his mother would be proud that he walked in this
chamber, and aided you by his wand. Your friend who
perished in this chamber, Baldric; his body has been
returned to Hogwarts, so that he may receive the proper
respects. Good luck to you Harry, and the wizarding
world. Post Tenebras, Lux.'
'Post Tenebras, Lux' the other Guards voiced solemnly in
the blue lit chamber. The old Guard moved around so he
was behind Harry, and Harry—with Topher's wand in his
hand—stepped forward towards the door with the
markings. Just as the other Guards had done, he placed
the tip of Topher's wand on the door, and a loud and
hollow thud occurred behind the door. It slowly opened to
reveal a dark passage way, lit with more blue candles.
Harry looked back to the Guards, and found them standing
their posts, looking at Harry. Harry turned, and with his
head held high, and looked determinately down the
corridor. He took his first step over the threshold, through
the Locked Door, and into the passage way.
Mere steps in, the door closed with a deafening boom, and
Harry looked forward to find the trickle of blue candles
continue down a stone corridor. His shoes echoed on the
stone floor, and his breathing seemed loud in the silent
passage.
Continuing for a minute or so, Harry came upon a
chamber at the end of the passage way. It was as dark as
dark could be, but the moment he set a foot into the room,
large pyres of flame erupted from cauldron-like pedestals,
to reveal a small, stone chamber.
The four pyres were set in the corners, illuminating the
entire room. The walls were covered in large slabs of
sandstone, on which hieroglyphs, and other paintings and
caricatures were imprinted. The pictures fascinated Harry
as he looked about, and as he came to the middle of one
of the walls, he stopped, and his eyes grew wide.
Here, a painting of snake eating its own tale in the form of
a circle—an Oroborus—was portrayed. Harry looked over
the painting carefully, but the runes, or whatever they
were, he could not read. Inside the Oroborus was, what
appeared to Harry, the symbol for a tablet or book.
Harry's interest was peaked, and he looked again to the
walls to find out anything. As he looked about the room, he
found something that escaped his vision at first.
In the middle of the chamber, a stone pedestal stood. No
markings were present on the pedestal except for the
same triangle with the circle, imprinted on each side near
the top.
Moving towards it, he found the pedestal itself was on a
raised platform. Taking a step on to the platform, a bright
white light shone down from some unknown source onto
the pedestal, showing what lay on top of it.
Harry's eyes grew wide, and he was absolutely amazed by
the sight. Placed on top of the ancient pedestal was a
scroll. The scroll was long, at least a foot wide, and was
wrapped and held by a gold band. Moving closer, Harry
examined the scroll carefully, however not touching it.
The scroll was made of parchment, or something close to
it. It looked more like cloth than paper though. No writing
was visible on it, although it seemed to be very worn.
The gold band, as Harry inspected it, was in fact a snake.
Like the Oroborus, the snake was eating its own tail,
tightly wound around the parchment, and keeping it in a
roll. The snake itself was small, only about the width of
Harry's middle finger. The skin was made of tiny scales,
and its fangs were long and sharp.
Harry agreed with himself that this had to be the Book of
Thoth. Topher said it would be a scroll, and this was the
only scroll in the room.
He had to be careful though. This was stuff he knew
nothing about, and problems could easily arise. Not having
Topher or Hermione there did not help the situation.
He decided to take it slow. He took Topher's wand, and
very carefully touched the tip to the scroll. The parchment
simply depressed and came back up, like any regular
paper. He wondered if it would have snapped in half since
it was so old, but it was alright.
Harry then looked to the gold snake. He touched the end
of the wand on the snake, and at first nothing happened.
Suddenly however, the gold snake unraveled itself, and it
reared its head, and slithered at Harry. Harry tried to
remove the wand, but the snake took hold of the wand,
began coiling around the wand, moving closer to his hand.
Harry panicked, and tried to let go of the wand, but the
snake moved with such speed, its cold metalic body was
already fully wound around the want, and was beginning
to wind around his hand. The metal felt ice cold against
Harry's skin, and while the snake began wrapping itself
around his wrist, Harry was desperately trying to push the
snake off his hand. His attempts were not working
however, and soon the heavy, gold tube-like snake was
coiling around his wrist, wrapping itself closer and closer
together.
Harry's wrist was now covered by the snake and its many
turns next to itself, and at the last moment, the snake's
head reached across its own body, and devoured its own
tail, ceasing to move. The snake solidified around his wrist
like a bracelet, and Harry felt lightheaded all of a sudden.
His mind flashed with images of Hermione, Ron, and other
people, before slowing down, and relaxing.
Harry looked at the bracelet which was now bound to his
wrist and lower forearm. The snake was wrapped tight
around, enough to make it impossible to remove or
squeeze his hand through. It was heavy, but not so much
that it hindered his movement. Looking back at the
pedestal, his eyes caught black scratches on the
parchment scroll that only now appeared. Slowly picking it
up, Harry unraveled a tiny amount or the scroll to see that
writing, in English, had appeared on the parchment.
Numerous spells were written down, with their
pronunciation, their effects, and even diagrams. It seemed
as if the parchment itself read Harry's mind, and gave him
spells he would need right away. One, Concedo
Apparecum, would allow him and the others to Apparate
from anywhere, to anywhere, regardless of security or
boundaries, like the ones that do not allow Apparition in
Hogwarts, or here in the Ministry.
Reading on, Harry found others that would be beneficial,
and he picked up the scroll. The spotlight on the pedestal
died instantly when Harry lifted it, and after he read one or
two more spells, he rolled up the scroll, gave one last look
at the chamber, and began running back up the corridor to
get back to his companions-the gold Oroborus bracelet
weighing down slightly on his right arm.
Meanwhile, as the snake was slithering up Harry's hand
and forming the bracelet, outside the Locked Room
Hermione suddenly became dizzy, and fell over while she
and the others were walking through one of the rooms.
Ron helped her up, and asked if she was alright, and she
was, though she had a feeling something magical had
enacted on her.
Little did she know a spell over four thousand years old
had only just begun to take its effects.
A/N - So, thoughts? We finally have Harry with the
Book of Thoth, and the Oroborus Circlet. Things will,
as you can see, lead to the inevitable in the next two
or three chapters. Oh, I'm excited, aren't you? The BIG
showdown that everyone's been waiting for:)
Please review though folks, and let me know your
thoughts on this chapter! Thanks!
Spell / Name Meanings:
Post Tenebras, Lux - Latin: "After the darkness, light"
Concedo Apparecum - Latin: concedo - to allow, grant,
apparecum - a play on Apparate (Concedo Apparecum to
allow or grant Apparition)

- CHAPTER THIRTY -
The Book of Thoth
Stepping out of the chamber with the golden circlet on his
arm and the scroll in his hand, the pyres died, and the blue
candles that lined the corridor snuffed out, as if a non-
existent gust of wind carried off their flame. Harry was
plunged into darkness and his nervousness increased
tenfold. He cast a Lumos spell, but in the short interval of
darkness, he could hear things moving around in the
chamber—reminding him of the spiders from the
Forbidden Forest.
Harry was very careful as he looked about, and examined
the walls and floor around him. Things appeared to be
alright, but the sound of tiny insects and slithering
continued to come from all around him. His worry was
already high enough for his friends outside the corridor; he
turned towards the way out, and began walking out
quickly.
The noises persisted, and he quickened his pace as heard
the sound of stones moving and larger, more frightening
things coming from the chamber behind him. He
continually turned around to see if anything was there, but
only the hissing and screeches of whatever was behind
him persisted. That is, until what had to be the fifth time he
was checking, he turned around and found what was
chasing him.
Harry could see the outlines of his chasers, turned back
quickly to run up the corridor, and screamed as he found
long, curved fangs right in front of his face, dripping with
spit.
'You're going to die!' the creature hissed, Harry refocusing
to see it was a yellow snake, coming from a hole in the
ceiling—its body curving around and coming at Harry's
eye-sight.
The snake lunged at Harry, but Harry dodged the snake's
deadly jaws, and ran up the corridor with his wand light
guiding him. It was clear now that snakes, and other
creatures were chasing him. Turning back, he regretted it
instantly, seeing thousands of snakes of various sizes all
climbing up the corridor and along the walls. Black insect-
like creatures—no doubt spiders, scorpions, and a mix of
other wonderful insects—were also in the mix, screeching
all the while and causing the panic in Harry's mind to push
him into franticness.
The door seemed to be miles away as Harry panted and
continued running with all possible speed. The serpentine
circlet glimmered gold in his wand light, and with one look
at it he found his mind again flashing with thoughts and
memories of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and other people he
cared for deeply. Looking away from the bracelet, his
heart leaped at the sight of the black, heavy door at the
end.
Reaching the door, he turned and found the mass
slithering in his light. He was forced to choose between
keeping the light and being attacked or firing off spells, but
being thrown into darkness.
The snakes would not wait for an answer, and Harry
chose to fight.
'Aflatus!' he bellowed. The blue light of his Blasting Curse
lit the corridor for a moment and his eyes grew wide as he
saw thousands of snakes and other creatures—with many
legs—down the corridor. He could not even tell if his
Blasting Curse worked because of the darkness, so he
continued to throw spells into the abyss of hissing,
clicking, and slithering.
The curses were having some effect, but the sheer
number of black, insect-like beings just pushed closer and
closer together, while more and more snakes continued to
slither forward with their fangs raised, and their voices
hissing the word "die."
His back right against the wall, Harry was sweating and
his voice growing rasp as he continued to volley curse
after curse. He knew he could not keep this going. He tried
focusing on the snakes and yelling in parseltongue to stop,
but they continued ferociously.
Sending another spell off and hearing the creatures in the
darkness hit the corridor walls, a sharp and stabbing pain
struck Harry in the arm, and he screamed in anguish.
Reaching over, he was horrified to find a snake biting into
his arm, its fangs pressed deeply into his muscle and not
letting go.
Not thinking over the pain, Harry took the snake and
pulled its fangs out, throwing it in the direction of the
corridor. The noise in the corridor grew to a sickening
anthem, and Harry held onto his bleeding left arm
preparing for the worst. He would not even make it out of
the corridor, and be attacked by thousands of disgusting
creatures in the darkness.
But the sounds of the slithering snakes and crawling
insects quite suddenly stopped. Harry could feel, all
around him, the presence of the creatures. Several
scorpions were crawling across his shoes, and the feeling
made him gag and tremble with the fear of not knowing
what was going on.
Harry waited for a moment, wondering why they stopped
their attack, and lit the corridor.
The snakes were gazing at the bracelet. It was now facing
them since Harry was holding his still bleeding arm. Harry
was petrified with fear as he found thousands of black
eyes and slithering tongues looking at him, and the idea
they were just waiting to kill him in the most awful way
passed through his mind with sickening reality, all while he
was trying to remain conscious.
Harry wondered why the snakes were staring at the
bracelet, and moved it a little. The heads of the snakes
moved with it, and very slowly, Harry moved the scroll to
his eyes. He knew Topher said not to use the Book, but
had Topher mentioned thousands of snakes and other
things trying to kill him?
Unraveling the scroll slowly, hearing the slithers and
whispers of the snakes, he found a clear sentence printed
on the parchment.
Banish them, add cunctus
Harry had to think for a moment, since he could feel the
slow acting venom of the snake in his blood, but it dawned
on him what to do. Letting go of his arm, the blood now
running down freely, he pointed his wand at the mass of
terrifying snakes and creatures. Some of the snakes
reared their heads and looked ready to strike.
'Expello Per Sentia Cunctus!' Harry shouted, thinking of
the only place he felt all these creatures belonged—in the
tomb in Egypt. The corridor went dark, and a wind
funneled around him for a moment, then died down, and
the corridor was quiet. He opened his eyes hesitantly, and
cast a light.
All the creatures had vanished. Harry was careful to check
every side of him a few times before he relaxed a bit, and
checked his arm in the wand light. The cuts were deep
and the loss of blood was making Harry feel even worse
with the mix of the snake's venom.
The Banishing Spell worked easily for Harry, even in his
mental state. He figured it had to be because of Topher's
wand. It was not as powerful as his own, he could tell, but
it seemed to let him perform more complicated magic with
greater ease.
Putting Topher's wand tip to the door face, Harry expected
the door to burst open, but it did not move.
Harry tried again and again, but nothing happened. He
began to wonder if perhaps the way in was not the way
out, but was not willing to go back into the chamber to find
out. Time was limited, and the more he was on that side of
the door, the more time Hermione, Ron, and the others
had against all the Death Eaters.
Harry felt horrible about thinking of using the Book to help
him again. He knew Topher said not to use any spells it
may present, but how was he to get out? He tried the
wand over and over again, and he tried using various
spells—including a Blasting Curse—but the door
remained. He tried pushing the door, pulling it, kicking it—
nothing seemed to work.
After several stumbling paces about the corridor, his head
beginning to pound and his eyesight beginning to dizzy
with more and more severity, Harry concluded there was
no way out but to use the Book. He hoped in only using
one tiny spell, it would not cause much damage or worry
with Topher. The first spell did not seem to cause much
harm, and it was actually just an add on to one he already
knew.
Taking a breath, he took the scroll, and slowly unraveled
it. It already had writing on it, and Harry read it under the
light from his wand.
The way out is in front of you
Glittering on your right, before your eyes,
Be quick to use this route young Harry
Before another friend dies.
Harry finished, and swore loudly with his rasp voice, which
echoed down the chamber. 'Bloody riddles! I swear, if I
see another one' he threatened to his surroundings.
Perhaps the Book was listening and would not do that to
him again.
But he used the advice given. He could not imagine many
repercussions from reading a riddle. He had to read it over
a few times before understanding it though.
'In front of me, but on my right?' he asked. He was facing
ahead, but to his right was the wall. He began to wipe
away the dust and cobwebs that covered the wall, but
could not find anything shiny, and looking up made him
feel so dizzy he almost fell over. He gave an angry sigh
when he found nothing but blank rock face, but he paused
for a moment when he reached higher.
'Glittering on my right' he whispered, lowering his arm and
turning his wrist to see the Circlet reflect the wand light
into his eyes of the snake.
Looking forward, he pushed the Circlet against the door,
and the door sprang to life, opening towards him. He stood
back, rolled up the Book of Thoth, and exited the corridor
to find—to Harry's surprise—the Veneforbis Guard still
there.
The door closed with a deafening thud, Harry turned back
to the Veneforbis Guard to find them taking positions
around the chamber. The old man, whom Harry now
figured was the leader, walked up slowly, and bowed in
front of Harry, while the other Guards turned inwards, and
bowed as well. Harry was wondering why they were still
there, but he resolved for the time to bow back, still
clutching his bleeding arm. In the bow, he almost fell
forwards onto the floor.
'Sn- . . . sn- . . . snakes' Harry panted, feeling like he
would pass out. The old Guard took a step forward, and
with a sweep of his wand the deep, gauging bite was
sealed, feeling cool like it had been under an ice pack. He
continued in giving Harry a goblet, which was full of a clear
substance. Harry wondered for a moment, but was too
tired to question it, and drank. It was just water.
'I thought you would have left' Harry remarked oddly,
giving back the cup. His head was still light, but he felt a
bit better. Harry's right arm was itchy, and he scratched it
while the old Guard remained quiet. Having this bracelet
device on his arm was something to get accustom to.
'We will help your escape from this level, but no further.
You are now a part of what we are bound to protect, and
we must see to your well being, but beyond these walls it
is up to you, and your loved ones to protect the Book, and
the Oroborus Circlet' the old Guard said. Harry took notice
of the name, and let the other troubles wait a moment.
'So this will show me how to perform the Oroborus Light?
The bracelet?' Harry asked, looking at it as it shone in the
dull firelight of the chamber. The old man shook his head.
'No my boy, any magic you wish to perform will come from
the Book. The Circlet will bind you to whatever magic you
perform from the Book.'
'Bind me? What do you mean? I had to use magic inside-'
'It does not matter now, and I cannot say. We do not have
the time; but young Mr. Terrwynebas may know. You must
leave this place now, along with your companions. Call his
companions to the Circle Chamber' the old man ordered to
his other comrades. They all tapped their respective door
with their wands, and stood back—their blue cloaks
billowing slightly.
Harry wondered if it would work, but all of a sudden
Remus, Kingsley, and Draco came through one door,
Aberforth, Tonks and Ron through another, and finally
Topher, Snape, and Hermione through another. They all
closed their doors quickly, and where startled by all the
old, blue cloaked Guards standing around Harry.
'How did we all- . . . Harry, did you- . . . ' Remus tried to
ask as he looked about the room, his befuddlement clearly
showing.
'The Guards summoned you all here. They're going to
help us escape' Harry informed the group. The group of
Harry's companions surveyed the Guards carefully while
Topher took a step forward and looked at Harry seriously.
'Harry, did you get into-'
'Yes Topher, I got in, and I have the Book' Harry asserted,
lifting up the parchment scroll.
'Harry, what's on your arm?' Hermione asked worriedly,
her eyes fixed on the Circlet.
'All of you must leave now before it's too late. We will
escort you out of this level' the head Guard told the group.
'There are Death Eaters everywhere, how will you old
geezers help us? You'll probably just slow us down' Draco
put in with his usual enthusiasm. Ron lifted his fist behind
Draco, but luckily Tonks pulled it back down before he
could strike.
'You're a Malfoy, aren't you? Kings of Whiners are easy to
notice. We will get you to the lifts, but further we can not
go. We must remain here and protect the other artifacts'
the old Guard stated.
'That should work. Getting out of here I think was
supposed to be the hardest part. If we can get to the
Atrium, we can all Apparate back to Hogwarts without
worry' Kingsley affirmed to the group.
'That's a long run though, even just from the lifts' Tonks
admitted dejectedly.
'Harry, what is that on your arm? And are you sure you're
alright' Hermione asked again as she came closer to him.
She looked very worried at the bracelet, and also at his
face. The loss of blood and stark terror of the dark corridor
made Harry's face blanched, and his forehead drenched in
a cold sweat.
'I'm alright, just a bit lightheaded. This is the seal that was
around the Book, it latched on when I put Topher's wand
on it. Oh, by the way' Harry exclaimed, taking a few steps
towards Topher, 'here's your wand, worked like a dream.'
Topher smiled, and returned Harry's wand to him.
'It was my job Harry, and besides, your wand was
interesting to use. Quite a bit of spunk in it for sure' Topher
quipped.
'Harry, is that affecting you?' Hermione questioned again,
not daring to touch the bracelet.
'I'm alright Hermione, it was the snakes that wore me out'
he assured, looking into her worried eyes.
'Snakes?' Hermione asked, Topher batting down before
Harry could respond.
'We'll discuss it at Hogwarts. Right now, we have to leave.
Are you alright to travel Harry?' Topher asked, Harry
nodding. Hermione was still very concerned about it all, as
was Ron and some of the others. Hermione looked at
Harry, and he took hold of her hand and could feel it
shaking.
'The Circle Chamber will not move now, so Death Eaters
caught in the rooms will not be able to escape. Is
everyone of your party here?' the old Guard asked as he
surveyed the group.
'Where is Baldric?' Remus questioned quietly the old
Guard, the death being reminded to everyone.
'His body was sent to Hogwarts, to be given respects' the
old Guard informed. Harry and the others looked at each
other with grim faces. Again, they had left the castle, and
come back one short.
'Then we are all here Durward' Aberforth voiced to the old
Guard.
'Thank you Aberforth, it is good to finally meet you here. I
must apologize for my previous masters' choice about the
rumour and such, though you do hope you understand
their reasoning' the old Guard, whose name Harry now
knew was Durward, said.
'I understood, though I was not pleased with their choice'
Aberforth declared gruffly, as one of the Guards opened
up one of the doors opposite Harry to reveal the corridor
that led to the lifts.
'Well, at least I helped you a little in the early days, right?'
Durward pointed out as several of the Guards moved into
the corridor, followed by Tonks, and Kingsley. Luckily
Aberforth just nodded without a word, and they could all
focus on the task at hand.
As Harry, Hermione, Topher, and Durward brought up the
rear of the group, the door to the Circle Chamber closed,
and everyone was now in the corridor leading to the lifts.
'Did you know Eleanor Terrwynebas?' Topher asked
Durward quietly. Harry could understand his asking, even
at a time like this. The time was available, and it was not
too often that you could meet someone who knew your
parents. Harry remembered his inquisitiveness with
Remus about his parents when they first met.
'Yes Topher, most of us knew your mother, and your
father. They were wonderful people. Your mother was the
first woman to Guard the Ninth Room.'
'You mean-'
'Yes' Durward continued, 'she guarded the room the Book
of Thoth was in. We understood with her death that
Voldemort was looking for what lay behind the Locked
Door, as Grindelwald was trying before him. At the time,
our reports had Voldemort looking for an object called the
Sekhem Scepter however, not the Book of Thoth. We
believe that Voldemort thought—and still thinks—that this
scepter is in Room Number Nine.'
As the group reached the outer door, the Veneforbis
Guard members performed an elaborate spell on the door,
and opened it with ease. Remus and the others warned
them frantically about the Death Eaters outside before
they opened it, Draco almost shouting it before Snape
slapped a Silencing Spell on him, but the Guards
remained calm, and stepped outside.
'So Voldemort is after this Sekhem Scepter? Does he
know about the Book?' Topher asked in succession as the
group began walking out of the corridor under protection of
the Veneforbis Guard. Harry was expecting to hear shouts
and spells ricochet down the corridor, but instead heard
nothing but a few shoes upon stone floor.
Durward stopped just a few feet from the exit, and turned
to Topher, along with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
'Yes, and probably yes. Such a powerful magical object,
myth or not, would not be unknown to him. But do now
worry yourselves with Voldemort's intentions, because you
now have greater concerns.' Durward came over to Harry,
and placed an old, wrinkled hand on his shoulder. 'Be
careful young Potter with the Book of Thoth. With the
magic it brings, the power, the visions; it can destroy you,
and your loved ones. Use it wisely, and we shall see you
again.'
'We have to go Harry' Remus voiced loudly from the other
side of the doorway, Harry seeing the group all waiting in
the lift, except for Hermione, Ron, and Topher, who were
with Harry.
'Just remember young Harry; the Book does not work in
straight lines, but circles. What you use from the Book, will
be brought back upon you. An eye for an eye, a death for
a death' Durward spoke gravely.
'Harry, we have to get back' Hermione insisted, pulling his
left arm. Durward bowed once more, and Harry returned it
quickly, with an extremely puzzled and frightened look on
his face, before leaving out the doorway. As he, Hermione,
and Ron moved across towards the lifts, Harry could see
the dozens of Death Eaters along both sides. The Guards
had some sort of semi-transparent blue barrier on both
sides that was not allowing any of the Death Eaters to do
anything but watch their prey slip by. Harry could imagine
a lot of good uses a spell like that could have for
Hogwarts.
'Do you remember what your mother told you?' Durward
asked Topher, who was just leaving in the doorway.
'I never forgot, and if needed I will do so' Topher
responded seriously. Durward gave a smile that tripled the
lines on his old face, and bowed.
'Post Tenebras, Lux Topher Terrwynebas, Progeny of the
Veneforbis Guard' Durward said to Topher, rising back up
with a smile not unlike the ones Professor Dumbledore
gave to Harry when saying something insightful. Topher,
even from Harry's vantage point on the lift, was noticeably
affected by the goodbye, looking at Durward for a moment
before glancing down at the floor and taking a breath.
'Post Tenebras, Lux' Topher responded confidently,
bowing to the Guard, and giving Durward one last look
before walking to the lifts quickly.
'What was that about?' Ron asked, receiving a jab from
Hermione. Even Harry knew not to ask so quickly.
'Not now, we still have the Atrium to handle. Once we are
back at Hogwarts' Topher ordered to the group. The iron
gates on the lift shut with a clang, and the lift began to
move. Harry saw the Veneforbis Guard continuing their
hold on the Death Eaters until the lift blocked his sight. If
they had not stuck around, Harry and the others' escape
just from that level would not have happened without
injuries, and he was sure more deaths would have taken
place.
Rising up, Hermione held on tight to Harry's left arm. Harry
could feel her swaying a bit, and asked if she was alright.
She did look a bit flushed, but everyone sort of did with all
the running. Plus, Harry did not know exactly how long he
was in the Room, and felt bad that he could have kept the
group running around for a long while.
'I'm fine Harry, I was just worried about you. Does it hurt?'
she asked, pointing to the Circlet. Hermione was always
worried about unknown magical objects, ever since what
happened with Ginny and Tom Riddle's Diary. The idea of
there being a mysterious bracelet of unknown nature on
Harry's arm did not inspire confidence.
'No, it's fine. Snake bite hurt more, but that old Guard fixed
it, though it's still sore. Are you sure you're alright?' Harry
asked again. Remembering Topher's voicing what could
happen to loved ones with the Book, his worry was entirely
focused on Hermione. It did not matter if they made it out
of the Ministry, Hermione had to be alright.
Hermione reached up and gave Harry a kiss, and Harry
relaxed for a moment, even with Draco's sounds of disgust
about the exchange. Harry heard Ron say something
along the lines of Draco wished he could be kissing
Hermione, and a little scrap broke out on the packed,
amber-lit lift. Harry and Hermione had to smile a bit at
Ron, even in this situation, knowing he had been aching to
have at Draco. The fight was short lived as Snape told
both of them he would turn them both into frogs, and leave
them for the Death Eaters if they kept it up. Harry had to
wonder by the look on the sinister man's face who he
would have more enjoyment turning into a frog: Ron or
Draco.
'Level Eight: Atrium. Have a nice day' the lift voiced.
The grills for the lift opened, and Kingsley, Tonks, Remus,
and Snape walked out with their wands raised with lights
cast. They began to quietly move forward, but told the
others to wait in the lift.
'Something is amiss' Aberforth exclaimed, Topher
nodding.
'Really?' Draco questioned sarcastically, Harry seeing
Ron's eyes bulging in anger.
'Even if we got past the Department of Mysteries,
Voldemort should have lots of Death Eaters up here just in
case. Something isn't adding up' Topher maintained,
looking ahead at the others.
'You know, you people are the worst at trying to predict the
Dark Lord, you know that?' Draco questioned to the others
in the lift, Ron's temper visibly beginning to flare up again.
'No wonder we're not going to make it out of here alive. I
should hav-'
Draco's voiced stopped, and Harry turned expecting to see
him lying on the floor with Ron's fist print on his face, but
Draco was gone, Topher's wand pointing at where he was
a moment before.
'I swear' Topher admitted, 'that boy would not shut up, no
wonder he thought we would die. Don't worry Hermione'
he continued, seeing Hermione's look at his rash action 'I
sent him back to Hogwarts, though he isn't in the best of
places. The protection in the Forbidden Forest has been
weakened the past few days, probably from Voldemort, so
I should have placed him near Hagrid's Hut. I told Hagrid,
because he warned me of Malfoy before we left, to be
ready to snatch him up from the forest if he hears a girly
scream. If Malfoy has a brain, he'll go with Hagrid and wait
until we return.'
'Malfoy with a brain, ha! At least he's gone now' Ron
praised, smiling for the first time on their trip. Harry looked
ahead, and found Tonks walking back quickly.
'Come quickly, it's best if we stay together. Our wand-light
dies quickly, so we can't tell who is out there. Just be
careful' she advised. Aberforth stepped out first, then
Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed, Topher coming last.
Walking past the old guard station, where Harry had to
surrender his wand when he first came to the Ministry,
they entered the vast emptiness of the Atrium, finding it
even darker than before. In Harry's memory, it seemed
that at least before there were the shadowy outlines of the
walls, and one could only just see a few feet in front of
oneself. Now however, it was perpetual darkness
everywhere. The black hollow that surrounded the closely
knit group seemed to be pressing in on them, as it trying to
snuff out their collective wand light.
A scuffle from the darkness near Tonks made the group
shift as they slowly walked. They were in a circle
formation, trying to move closer to where they Apparation
area was. They needed to get far enough away from the
entrance that it would pose no problems, since they were
sure the Death Eaters would have put spells to not allow
Apparation.
Another noise came from the opposite side, and the group
again shifted. Harry could hear and feel everyone's
collective breaths as each noise came, knowing it was
caused by someone—or something.
'Crucio!' came from the darkness near Ron, and the group
turned suddenly.
'Protego!' Ron shouted, and the curse seemed to deflect
enough to not cause him much pain.
'Expelliarmus!' Remus yelled, his spell flying into the
darkness. The black surrounding was so deep, Harry lost
sight of the spell before it even hit a wall. It seemed like it
vanished in a cloud, and they heard an echo of its effect.
Hermione helped Ron up, along with Kingsley, and the
darkness was back to silence, everyone's wands raised.
Harry's nerves were getting to him now, not being able to
see the enemy, and having such darkness surrounding
them. Reminders of the corridor came back to him, and he
swore he could hear the slithering of snakes and the
pattering of insects, and moving around his feet.
It seemed everyone felt the same way about the black
surroundings, and tried to move quicker. In the darkness,
it seemed the distance was ten times what it was when
they first arrived. As they shuffled around, more scuffles
could be heard coming from the darkness, coming in more
directions. Just as Harry was sure they had found the
Fountain of Magical Brethren, since his leg bumped into
something, he turned to find the guard's desk. Everyone
turned, and the group sighed collectively.
'We went in a circle?' Ron whispered.
'It must be the darkness. Com'on, we have to find our way
out' Tonks insisted. The look on Ron's face was no doubt
the same expression on Harry's. The Atrium had become
a labyrinth of darkness and hidden enemies.
The group started out again, when suddenly another curse
flew at the group.
'Aflatus!' came from the darkness, and Ron, Remus, and
Tonks where thrown back into the others.
'Reducto!' came from a totally different angle, and blasted
the floor that the group was just standing on. Bricks and
tiles blasted up into the darkness, and the group tried
desperately to gain control while the debris rained down
on them from the darkness above.
'Impedimenta!' Topher yelled, taking his wand and
slashing it through the air. Again the darkness hid any
effect, so all the group could do is throw random spells
into the darkness.
'Crucio!' came again from the dark, hitting Ron straight in
the chest.
'NO!' Harry shouted as the curse ran through Ron, making
him yell in agony while Remus and the others tried to fight
back against the darkness and their hidden foes.
'Finite!' Hermione expounded, her wand pointing at Ron.
Ron relaxed, and slowly got up with Harry and Hermione's
help.
'Diffindo!' came from the darkness, and the spell hit Tonks
right in the hand. She screamed, and Harry watched in
horror as he saw her fall to the ground, trying to stop the
bleeding. Her left hand had been completely severed.
Remus tried desperately to help out, but just as he knelt
down to help, he himself was hit with a Body Bind Curse
and fell over, hitting the stone ground hard.
All around them, spells were flying from the darkness and
Topher, Kingsley, Aberforth, and Snape were trying to
fight back and protect the group.
'We need to get out of here now!' Kingsley yelled back,
dodging a curse that just misses Hermione.
'Avada Kedavra!' came loudly out from the darkness. The
green light pushed through the darkness, and was
heading directly at Harry.
Snape tackled Harry's legs and pushed him to the ground
with him. The Killing Curse just missed the group, and flied
through, and back into the darkness.
'Use the bloody Book Potter! We're all going to die unless
you use it!' Snape ordered him with rage, as he got back
up and continued firing blindly into the darkness.
'No Harry, don't use the-AHH!' Topher screamed, as a
Cruciatus Curse pulsed through him and he fell over onto
the floor. Hermione quickly lifted it, while Ron stood up
and took his place.
'Stupefy!' Ron yelled, as Harry took the scroll, and unrolled
it enough to see the writing. There were spells written, two
of them. Hermione threw spells into the darkness with her
wand, while her other hand was on Harry's forearm, and
he raised his wand upwards.
'Caecus Columeni!' Harry read loudly. He suddenly felt the
snake turn hot on his arm, but not to the point of burning.
He kept his wand aloft, and could see a beautiful funnel of
pure white light come out of the tip, and cascade all
around the group, and through the darkness. The light was
so strong, it overtook the darkness, and surrounded,
wiping around and creating a solid wall, with a wind that
funneled around in the centre. The spells ceased to enter
the circle, from the outside and Topher and the others
shielded their eyes as they turned inwards.
The spell was complete, and Harry lowered his wand. The
light stayed, and everyone gathered themselves and
turned to Harry. Hermione was looking even worse now,
and Harry knew they had to get back to Hogwarts right
away. Harry looked down, and went ahead with the
second spell that was put on the parchment. It was the
same one he read earlier.
'Concedo Apparecum' he charmed. Nothing appeared to
happen, but Harry had this internal feeling that it would all
work now. He could tell, somehow, that the group could
Apparate directly to the Great Hall, or anywhere in
Hogwarts.
'Apparate back to Hogwarts, right to the Defense
Classroom' Harry ordered everyone above the roar of the
wind. Remus and Kingsley had stopped Tonks' bleeding
wrist, and she sadly carried her dismembered hand in the
other hand along with her wand.
'Will it work? What about the barriers?' Kingsley asked
loudly over the roar of the wind.
'It'll work, trust me!' Harry yelled back. Kingsley looked at
Harry for a moment before nodding, and turned quickly,
making a loud crack. Remus held on to Tonks tightly as
she put her head on his shoulder, and the two of them
together turned on the spot.
'Off we go, everyone Apparate!' Topher yelled. Harry
looked and found the white walls around them beginning
to fade. Hermione was still holding onto his forearm, and
looking at her, Harry began panicking. Her face was pale,
and her eyes were lulling. She looked like she was about
to faint.
'Hermione?' he asked.
'Go Potter!' Snape yelled as their surroundings turned
grey, like a morning fog.
Harry took a tight hold on Hermione, Ron helping him out,
and the three of them turned just as Aberforth turned on
the spot, along with Snape and Topher, heading back to
Hogwarts.
In the Atrium meanwhile, the blinding light that had
surrounded and incapacitated the numerous Death Eaters
had died finally. The regular torch lights were brought back
up, and the glowing light showed at least two dozen Death
Eaters all around the area Harry and the others had just
vacated, none of them injured.
'They escaped' a short female Death Eater told a tall and
slender man with silver eyes. He furrowed his brow in
frustration, and paced across the empty place in the
centre, just near the Fountain of Magical Brethren. He took
his hood off, showing his russet hair, and he gripped his
wand tightly.
'REDUCTO!' he yelled. The wizard in the Fountain blasted
into thousands of tiny pieces that rained down across the
Atrium floor. He was fuming in rage at having lost the
group.
'Lesath-' a Death Eater, a young woman, started.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!' Lesath bellowed, killing the woman
instantly. The green light enveloped her before she could
even scream, and her body fell to the stone floor with a
sickening thud. Lesath was still breathing tensely, and the
others kept their distance.
He knew the Dark Lord would not forgive him for failing at
this. Harry Potter escaped, and he saw the shining gold in
his hand. He had the Sekhem Scepter.
Landing in the Defence Classroom, Harry grasped her
quickly as Hermione passed out. She was covered in a
cold sweat, and her face was pale, her lips loosing their
usual warm pink colour. Harry did not even notice if
everyone else made it, it did not matter at the moment.
Keeping hold of her and Ron still helping, the two bolted
out of the room with Hermione between them, heading
directly to the Hospital Wing.
'Hermione? Hermione! Hermione, wake up!' Harry talked
to her, as they moved through the halls.
'Make a hole! Move!' Ron yelled out at students as they
went. The students quickly moved out of the way, and
along the way Luna and Neville saw them, and started
after.
'Ron, Harry, what happened? We saw you back on the
map-' Neville asked as he tried to catch up.
Harry did not even hear Neville. His eyes never left
Hermione's face as they moved through the various
passageways and stairwells. He was so entirely focused
on her, he did not even notice the change in the Oroborus
Circlet.
'My goodness, don't tell me the attack has begun!' Madam
Pomfrey said in mild hysterics. Harry and Ron placed
Hermione on one of the beds carefully, and Harry took
hold of her hand, still looking her over.
'Mr. Potter, please, I need to look at her' Madam Pomfrey
told him. Harry, with the help of Ron's hand on his
shoulder, moved back and let the school nurse examine
Hermione. Neville and Luna had come in a few moments
after Harry and Ron. Luna had given Ron a hug once they
lay Hermione down, and Neville was still trying to
understand what happened.
'So that was what you went for?' Neville asked, pointing to
circlet on Harry's arm.
'Yeah' Harry answered abstractly, still looking at
Hermione. Merlin, let her be alright.
This was the thing he wanted to avoid, and the worse
thing that could happen. He promised himself months ago
to keep Hermione out of harms way, and now look what
happened. He knew it had something to do with the Book,
there was no other answer.
Those implications of having the Book that they worried
about months before were now at the forefront of Harry's
mind. He had to figure out what was going on, and he
needed to find out how to keep Hermione safe—and more
importantly—alive. If what Durward said was true, Harry
would not end Hermione's life to end Voldemort's. If it had
to be that, it was not worth it.
'Harry? Harry, she'll . . . she'll be alright, you'll see' Neville
encouraged. Ron and Luna had come closer, and were
looking on at Hermione and Harry.
Harry was watching every move Madam Pomfrey was
making; every wave of her wand, every "hmm" and every
pause. He just wanted her to turn around and say she was
resting, but he knew it was not something that simple.
Harry had used magic from the Book, and what the old
Guard told him was coming true: it was coming back on
him.
Coming in through the doors, Remus and Kingsley
brought in Tonks, who was still holding on to her hand.
Harry did not even question how he and Ron had made it
to the Hospital Wing first, but even if he did, it did not
matter. Tonks was alright, though in some pain. Madam
Pomfrey was starting towards her, but Tonks put up her
still attached hand and shook her head.
'Take care of Hermione first, I'm alright' she insisted.
Madam Pomfrey looked at her for a moment, but nodded,
and turned back to Hermione. Harry mouthed thank you to
Tonks, and she nodded, a tear escaping as she glanced at
Hermione on her bed on the other side of the Wing.
After stooping over her a few more tense moments,
Madam Pomfrey turned around and walked over to Harry,
Neville, Ron, and Luna.
'My dear, I'm not sure what has come over her, but I will
keep working on her. It appears to be Dark Magic affecting
her, but I don't know enough about it.'
Harry looked at Ron, and he nodded, giving Luna a quick
kiss and running out of the Wing.
'Use the cloak!' Harry yelled after him.
'Where is he going?' Luna asked.
'Getting someone who knows enough about the Dark Arts'
Harry answered darkly. Madam Pomfrey went ahead and
tended to Tonks, reattaching her hand. It looked like it was
more painful to have it reattached than severed, but Tonks
was tough and worked through it. Remus was right there
next to her, holding her other hand while she squeezed
hard against the pain. Harry in the mean time walked back
to Hermione, and held her hand—which was horrifyingly
cool to the touch—and looked over her with extreme
precision.
He could not believe it was happening. All the time he had
wasted not thinking of what could happen to Hermione
over this, and now she was here. Harry could give the
world to be the one on the bed dying, and Hermione
watching over him.
Looking at a shine of silver, Harry reached over and held
Hermione's locket, which she had never taken off since
Christmas. It still had the inscription, but no pictures yet.
Hermione had mentioned they would have to go and get
some for it after things settled.
It was with this memory that tears threatened Harry's eyes.
He could not loose Hermione, he couldn't. He had to find
some other way aside from the Book. He was now
regretting even trying to find the Book, and felt like taking
the bracelet and tearing it off, just to make sure Hermione
would be safe. Voldemort could have the castle, he could
have Britain—but death could not take Hermione. It
couldn't.
'Harry, what's going on?' Neville asked, looking right at
him.
'We had to go to the Department of Mysteries. I had to go
and get this scroll, and the bracelet locked onto my arm'
Harry informed quickly. He did not want to get into the
entire story, since it would take too long.
'So what happened to Hermione?' Luna asked quietly.
Harry saw she was as worried, since Hermione was
probably very close to a best friend for Luna, after Ginny.
'It's the bracelet, it's making her sick. If I don't get it off
soon, she might-'
Harry could not say it.
Ron came back in panting heavily. He stooped to gain his
breath, but nodded to Harry quickly before he could ask.
Harry moved around and closed the doors to the Hospital
Wing, and locked them with a charm.
'Mr. Potter, what are you-'
'Madam Pomfrey' Harry interrupted, 'I need you not to get
worried over who is in the room.'
'Well I'm not, so why-SNAPE!' she shrieked, taking her
wand up and pointing it at the greasy haired man who had
just appeared from under an invisibility cloak.
'Poppy, he is on our side! Put your wand down and listen'
Remus insisted. Harry had never seen Madam Pomfrey
look so on guard with someone, she looked fierce with
rage against this man whom a few years before she
looked to for help.
Harry came up and placed his hand on her arm, and her
head jerked towards Harry. She glanced at Snape again,
and back at Remus, before lowering her wand.
'If you hurt her-' she warned with such anger in her voice
Harry never thought she could possess.
Snape nodded shortly as he always did in his smug way,
moved towards Hermione without a word, and Harry's
worry began to rise again. Having the fate of Hermione in
Snape's hands was not something Harry would have even
pictured in his nightmares.
Walking over next to her, Harry watched Snape closely.
He ran his wand over her from her head to her toe and
back again. Harry looked at her face and found it peaceful
in her sleep, but the reality of her condition pushed
through how she looked.
'I think she's under a Necolentus Curse.'
'What is that?' Harry asked.
'She's dying, if I'm correct.'
'You don't know?' Harry questioned heatedly.
'Well Potter, I have never encountered one before, but it is
clear she is dying' Snape pointed out.
'Can't you do anything?' Ron asked, coming up with Luna
and Neville.
Snape stood up, and was in thought for several moments.
The time being wasted did not make Harry any less tense.
'Well, can you?' Harry yelled. Luna jumped at his outburst,
but Snape merely glanced at Hermione again, and then at
Harry.
'I may be able to revive her for a time, but the Curse will
continue to work against her. You need to take that
bracelet off' Snape informed.
'How do you know it's the bracelet?' Remus asked.
'Because a Necolentus Curse is only caused by magical
objects that could be used for dark purposes. If what I
heard is correct about this scroll, it is most definitely old,
and most definitely cursed. You've gotten yourself into
another mess Potter, and you need to take that bracelet
off, or Miss Granger will die.'
'You said you could revive her, do it!' Harry ordered.
Snape did not give a smug expression or quip, rather he
took the cloak, threw it over himself, and went out of the
Hospital Wing.
Harry was in a mix of anger and worry over everything. He
looked at Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley.
'I'm sorry Harry, but we have to see what's been
happening. We'll go and tell Minerva about what's
happened, and what happened to Baldric. We'll all come
by as soon as possible' Tonks insisted, looking at
Hermione and again her eyes glistening. Harry nodded
slowly, and she continued in giving Harry a hug. Her hair
had turned so pale, the pink was almost a light rose
colour.
'Be strong Harry, for Hermione. We'll all pull through this'
Remus insisted with confidence. He clapped Harry in the
shoulder, closest to what Harry would think a father would
do, and Harry looked at the old Marauder and nodded.
Kingsley and Harry just looked at each other for a moment
in silent understanding, and nodded to each other. As the
three of them were leaving, Ginny, Seamus, Dean, and
numerous other students came into the Hospital Wing,
along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Bill and Fleur,
and Charlie.
'Oh Ronny dear, thank Merlin!' Mrs. Weasley expounded,
giving her son a massive hug. Mr. Weasley just looked at
Harry, and gave him a hug, which Harry embraced
warmly.
Mrs. Weasley was going to come and hug Harry, but then
she saw Hermione on the bed, and her face fell quickly.
Hermione was surrounded by over a dozen people.
'How . . . how is-' Ginny tried to ask.
'We don't know. Snape has gone to get something that
might help' Harry answered.
'Snape! Why is that traitor here?' Seamus asked angrily.
'He's on our side' Ron told everyone. Harry was expecting
everyone to question it, but they all stayed quiet.
'What's been happening here?' Ron asked. Harry had
forgotten about the impending attack on Hogwarts, with all
his worry focused on the person in front of him.
'Nothing. They have the town, but haven't moved in. Oh,
they found Draco Malfoy screaming through the Forbidden
Forest with about twenty centaurs on his tail. He's being
kept in one of the classrooms in the Dungeons right now
under guard' Charlie told everyone.
'Why didn't they attack?' Harry asked quietly.
'We don't know. We thought it might have been because
of our extra people' Bill told Harry.
'What extra people?' Harry asked. Bill pointed to the
window, and Harry begrudgingly walked over and looked
out at the Black Lake. The Sun was on the verge of rising,
and it was only when he saw how it was early morning and
that they had been at the Ministry all night, that Harry's
drowsiness became apparent. He could still focus enough
to see what Bill was motioning to.
'The Durmstrang Ship?' Harry asked, several people
nodding.
'After they had a service for Viktor, they came to help.
Their High Master told Professor McGonagall that if one of
their own is killed, it is up to the entire school to avenge
them. They got here late last night after you bunch left'
George told Harry and the others.
'We've been going over the rotations with the Guard on
the floors. The Durmstrang students know a bunch of
different spells, so we mixed them all in with the Guard
groups. Everyone is ready, and with two minutes notice,
everyone will be in place' Neville informed Harry. Harry
walked over to Neville, and pat him on the shoulder.
'That's great Neville, it really is. I'm so glad you've been
helping out' Harry admitted, glancing again at Hermione.
'It's like Hermione said, we're doing it for Hogwarts' Neville
said, Harry smiling slightly at being reminded of
Hermione's rant in the Room of Requirement.
The doors to the Hospital Wing opened again, and a few
moments later, Snape appeared after taking off the
Invisibility Cloak. Harry could see everyone reaching for
their wands, and many of them looking vengeful, but
Snape disregarded their reactions and went straight to
Hermione. For once, Harry was approving of Snape's
harshness.
He took a silvery-blue, luminescent potion, and gave it to
Hermione. Everyone held their breath for a moment as
Hermione's chest continued to rise and fall slowly. Then
she took a quick breath, and her eyes fluttered open. She
remained lying down, and Harry, along with Mrs. Weasley,
Ron, and most of everyone else, rushed to the side of the
bed.
'Hermione? Hermione, are you alright?' Harry asked
anxiously. Hermione closed her eyes tiredly, nodded, and
Harry's heart was lightened beyond belief. Hermione was
still there, he hadn't lost her. Harry made a quick decision,
and told her of it.
'Hermione, I'm going to get this bracelet off, and bring the
Book back. It has to be the Book that's doing this, and I
won't-'
'No' she whispered, everyone leaning in closely to hear
her. 'Find the Light Harry, you have to find the Light.'
'But Hermione . . . you could- . . . you could- die' Harry
muttered darkly. She lifted her hand with great difficulty it
seemed, and took hold of Harry's hand.
'If you don't, then we all die. Find it Harry, I'll be alright.'
'Is she awake? Everyone shoo!' Madam Pomfrey ordered.
The group moved out of the way, and everyone except
Harry gave the school nurse room.
'Mr. Potter, please, I need to ask her some questions, and
she needs her rest' Madam Pomfrey told him,
compassionately, but still with some force. Harry looked at
Hermione once more, and she smiled up at him brightly.
'I'll be fine Harry, go' she insisted again. Harry gave her a
kiss, letting it sit for a moment, then got up and let Madam
Pomfrey talk to her. They spoke in whispers, and when
Madam Pomfrey left, Hermione was fast asleep.
'I need everyone out. One person can stay with her, but
that is it' Madam Pomfrey informed. Mrs. Weasley was
elected to stay first, and accepted, since she was planning
on helping out with Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing
any way.
'Besides, I can make sure Percy is alright too' she
explained, motioning towards the other end of the ward,
where a head of stringy red hair was visible. He was still
pale, but Mrs. Weasley explained he was getting better.
The times he was awake, they found out he had been
under and Imperious for a long while. He thought Moody
put it on him back in Harry's fourth year, but it was actually
Barty Crouch Jr.
Most of the students left the Hospital Wing and went back
to their dormitories, or to breakfast. Meals were being
taken in the Room of Requirement, since it could be made
identical to the Great Hall, and everyone knew where it
was.
'She'll be alright mate. Com'on, I need some food. Not
point in fighting a war on an empty stomach' Ron
reasoned as he, Harry, Ginny, and Luna walked away
from the Hospital Wing. Harry was doing better now that
Hermione was at least conscious, and he chuckled at
Ron's comment. He could always be trusted on to think
about his stomach first.
'What about the bracelet?' Harry questioned, looking down
and his eyes growing. 'Hey, it changed colour.'
It had indeed changed colour—well, shade to be precise.
The old snake had dulled as if from age, and was now a
dark golden shade. It worried him, but since he did not
know what it could mean, he could only assume the worst.
'Just put your cloak over it' Ron suggested, starting up the
steps to Gryffindor Tower. 'I'll meet you in the Room of
Requirement!' he boasted, turning the corner.
'Don't worry Harry, Hermione will pull through' Ginny
insisted, giving a smile to Harry, and a hug. He embraced
her warmly, and was thankful she was there as a friend for
him. She too left, and Harry was left walking with Luna.
The way to Ravenclaw Tower went by the East Tower, so
they went together.
'You know, some bracelets mean things. My father once
went to a Muggle shop, and they had something called a
"Friendship bracelet". Quite an odd thing to find, but he got
me two. I'm guessing it's one of those strange Muggle
traditions were you give one to your friend, and it sort of
reserves you.'
'Uh huh' Harry answered. Harry wondered as they walked
through the halls with the morning sunlight shining
through, if Luna had a book on how to randomly mention
the oddest things.
'I'm going to give my other bracelet to Hermione, she's a
good friend' Luna added. Harry smiled at her, seeing she
was wearing what appeared to be asparagus earrings.
They parted near the library, and Harry went ahead to the
empty East Tower. Evander was quite heartbroken to hear
Hermione was not doing well, but as always, was
optimistic about the outcome.
'Oh don't worry Harry m'boy, she'll pull through. Trust me,
she'll be back here telling me about your strange habits in
no time!'
'Strange habits?' Harry asked accusingly, Evander's eyes
darting from side to side.
'Oh, it's nothing. Password?' he asked quickly. Harry was
too tired to question it, and went ahead, changed and got
his cloak on—which had the Guard's silver shield with the
imprinted "H" on his shoulder—and went to the Room of
Requirement. He wanted to sleep, and he knew sooner or
later he would fall asleep while walking, but he managed
to get to the Room, talking to a few students along the way
about what was going on.
Getting to the Room, Harry entered, to see the Great Hall,
with its four house tables. Something was different though,
and it took a few moments of scanning to find Ron to
realize it. Ron was sitting at the Ravenclaw table.
'Harry, over here!' he shouted. A few students noticed him,
and waved or said hello, and Harry quickly walked over to
Ron. A few people asked about Hermione, but he
reassured them, since he did not want people worried
about her as much as he was.
'Ron, why are you at the Ravenclaw table?' Harry asked. It
was when he got there that he realized that people of all
houses were sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and all the
others. All the houses were mixed up, and no table was
devoted to a specific house.
'Something the DA cooked up Harry. All the students—
sorry, Guardians—all the Guardians are sitting with their
groups, and all the groups are made up of different
houses' Ron explained.
'Yeah Harry' Ernie Macmillan chimed in, who was sitting
across from Ron, 'we thought mixing them all up would
help. Some of the Slytherins gave us some trouble-'
'Hey, not all of us; we're not all that immature' Daphne
Greengrass asserted.
'But everyone seems to be getting along alright' Ernie
maintained.
Harry was quite inspired by this co-mingling of houses. It
was so strange to see Slytherins sitting next to Hufflepuffs,
yet there it was. He sat down next to Ron, and had some
food, though it did not sit well due to the lack of sleep he
was experiencing. Harry actually found some of the
Slytherins around him decent, though sometimes rude or
excessively arrogant or sarcastic.
After finishing quickly, Harry decided he had to get sleep.
He was still debating about the Book, since he knew what
could happen and did not feel ready to make such a huge
decision that could result in harm to Hermione. After
eating, he decided the least he could do was get some
sleep, and then decide.
Harry talked to some of the Professors before going
however. Professor McGonagall told Harry that Baldric
was returned safe and sound, and that he would be buried
after all the chaos. She was still trying to get the Minister
to listen to her, but he would not take it. The only thing she
really knew was that they had no idea why the attack
hadn't happened yet.
Hagrid told Harry about Malfoy. Evidently, he had shown
up in the Forbidden Forest as Topher mentioned, and
went about screaming for his life. Hagrid was able to get
him however—even though he confessed to Harry he
would have been happy to hear the centaurs stopping his
screams—and he was, as Harry already knew, in the
dungeons. Allowing Malfoy out was not yet totally
agreeable, so for the time, he would stay to the side.
Topher was not there for breakfast, but Harry assumed he
had been smart and went right to bed. Tonks was sitting
with the staff as well, and told Harry that Kingsley had
Ministry business to do, and Remus was busy in the
dungeons. Harry hoped he was not picked to watch
Malfoy.
Getting back to the East Tower, Harry took his robe off,
and sat down in front of the quiet fire while the sunlight
moved through the windows. It felt like ages since he had
sat in the chair, and the quietness of the room reminded
him again of Hermione. He looked at the bracelet, and
began trying desperately to get it off, but of course it would
not budge.
Looking to the ceiling, he sighed, and decided he should
get some sleep. He wanted to make sure of one thing
however.
'Dobby?' Harry asked the room, and with a crack, the
small house-elf appeared.
'Oh yes Harry Potter! I is sorry to hears about your
missies, as is the other elves' Dobby professed.
'Thank you Dobby. Have the house elves worked out how
they will be helping the students?' Harry asked tiredly,
rubbing his already messy hair.
'Oh yeses sir! Dobby has been a good house elf, and has
told all the other elves what theys should do! Help tell
messages, bring the sick masters to the Crosses Wing,
and helps the masters!'
Harry smiled at Dobby, and got up from his chair. 'Good
work Dobby. I have one more job, if you're willing. It's just
for you, and I don't want you telling anyone else.' Dobby's
eyes grew wider and wider as Harry spoke.
'Oh Harry Potter can trust Dobby! Dobby would do
anything for Harry Potter!'
'Can you, without being seen, come get me, regardless of
where I am, if something happens to Hermione. If she gets
worse, or better, I want to know.'
'Harry Potter can count on Dobby!' Dobby expounded
proudly. Harry bid him good-day, and the enthusiastic
house elf left with a crack. Harry was just about to start up
his stairs when the portrait opened, and Harry—thinking
for habit's sake it was Hermione—looked to see a very
tired Topher coming up.
'What's wrong Topher?' Harry asked, his eyes lulling.
'You need to find out how to make the Oroborus Light, you
need to read the Book Harry' Topher insisted. Harry
sighed in a mixture of frustration and tiredness.
'I need to think whether or not I should do this Topher.
Hermione could die if I use it. Maybe there's another way-'
'There is no other way Harry!' Topher argued. 'I know you
are tired, but this is no time to be taking nap! Voldemort is
right outside the bloody gates, you need to know how to
do this magic, and you need to know now! Baldric did not
die so you could just sit on the Book!'
'Oh, so now I'm responsible for him too, just like Viktor!'
Harry yelled. There were so many things going on, and he
was so tired and frustrated with everything and all the
pressure of being the savior for everyone; being
responsible for everyone and everything.
'No Harry, you're not-'
'Oh no, I am Topher! I'm responsible for all the deaths! For
my parents, for Sirius, for Dumbledore, for Viktor, for
Baldric, and if I use this Book, then I'll be killing Hermione!'
Harry shouted in rage.
'You don't know it will kill Hermione!' Topher spat back, but
that did not help.
'You heard those bloody skeletons, the worst thing will
come to happen, and for me, that's Hermione dying!'
'How do you know it's not Voldemort taking over
everything?' Topher asked.
'I don't know!' Harry screamed back, turning and walking
away from Topher. All he wanted was to go to sleep and
decide later, and yet Topher would not let him.
Harry walked over and slumped himself into his chair
again, and he could hear Topher walking up. Why did he
have to have all these decisions to make? Why is it him
that had to work out the Guard, get the Book, fight
Voldemort?
'Harry' Topher started cautiously, 'I'm trying to help.'
'Yeah, well, you're not helping' Harry retorted bluntly.
Topher took a breath for a moment, then sat down in
Hermione's chair.
'If you don't use that Book, Hogwarts will be destroyed,
and you along with it Harry. What will be the point of
having a clear conscious when you're dead, along with all
your friends and loved ones—including Hermione.'
Harry put his head in his hands—feeling the cold metal of
the bracelet against his ear—and he leaned over.
'I don't want to loose her' Harry whispered to himself.
'And you won't Harry. The Kas told us that you could
possibly save yourself and Hermione from such a fate.'
'But we don't know how!' Harry professed, tears now
falling from his eyes over all the pressure and torment
ripping at him.
Topher stood, and walked over next to Harry. 'I'll make a
deal with you Harry: you read the book and learn how to
use the Oroborus Light, and I will make sure Hermione
lives.'
He waited for a moment to let Harry think, and he
extended his hand. Harry realized that whether he used
the Book or not, Hermione would die. It was a heart-
wrenching reality, but Topher's promise to make sure
Hermione lived struck something with Harry.
Topher had given and told Harry everything he asked for
in the past year. Harry had no idea what the Book of Thoth
was, or what the ancient magic could be, yet here he was,
with the Book in his hands, and the magic just a read
away. Topher had delivered on everything he said he
would, and Harry remembered to what he said when he
asked what he was there for: to help him in any way he
could.
Harry stood up and realized he had to do this. Something
told him that Topher would do everything he could to keep
Hermione alive, and part of him pleaded for it to come
true. Harry needed this Oroborus Light to defeat
Voldemort. If Harry did not have it, he knew he could die.
Harry wiped his eyes, and looked Topher straight into his
pale green eyes. 'If you promise to keep her alive' he said,
giving a sniff, 'then I'll read the Book.'
Topher took a step forward and placed a hand on Harry's
shoulder. 'I won't let her die Harry, you have my word. You
won't see me anywhere but the Hospital Wing the whole
time. I'll protect it from Death Eaters, and keep Hermione
alive. I promise Harry, more than I've promised anything
else.'
Harry looked down and nodded, and the two men
embraced in a hug. Topher was no longer a professor to
Harry, and in a sense, he really never was. Topher had
become a true friend, and had helped Harry so much.
Harry actually owed Topher for making him admit he loved
Hermione.
'Thank you Topher' Harry expressed heartily. The two men
retracted, and chuckled.
'We're not done yet Harry. Voldemort still has to attack,
the Ministry is still being stupid, and we have that Malfoy
boy in the dungeons.'
'Is Remus guarding him? Tonks told me Remus had to go
to the dungeons' Harry maintained. Topher shook his
head.
'No, it's a Full Moon tomorrow night, so he had to get
ready for- . . . what is it?' Topher asked. Harry's eyes grew
wide when he heard this information.
'They'll attack tomorrow night. The Full Moon,
Werewolves' Harry voiced grimly.
'If they attack tomorrow . . . you need to start reading that
now Harry. I'll go tell the Order and professors about it, but
I want to make sure the Book has the magic you need.'
Harry looked at the scroll in his hand, and Topher gave
him an encouraging smile. Harry took a deep breath,
closed his eyes, and thought as hard as possible of the
picture of the Oroborus, the characters he saw on the old
scrolls, and what he wanted to do: to force Voldemort's
own magic on him.
Harry unraveled the scroll, and hesitantly opened his eyes.
Topher was watching his reaction, and Harry's face—
when he saw what was written—fell almost instantly.
'What, what is it?' Topher asked, looking at the Book.
Harry's heart jumped and his fingers tingled when he
opened his eyes and found the Oroborus in the middle of
the page, with the red and blue figures on either side, but
the rest of it instantly brought his thoughts to darkness.
'It's written in Runes!' Harry boasted.
'Runes? Do you know Ancient Runes?'
'No, do you?' Harry asked, Topher shaking his head.
'I'm terrible at it' Topher admitted, looking at the scroll for a
second. 'Why would the Book give you the spell you want,
in a way you can't read?' Topher asked, turning around
and pacing about the common room.
'Maybe I'm supposed to learn Ancient Runes?' Harry
proposed, Topher shaking his head.
'No, you need this tomorrow. No . . . no, it has to be-'
Topher stopped suddenly, and turned to Harry.
'What?' Harry asked, Topher coming up quickly.
'Hermione.'
'What about her?' Harry asked, getting a bit nervous.
'She has to teach you it! No one can read this except for
you. I look at it and see a blank scroll, but what if the
person who gives you the power to use it, like the Kas
said, can read it too? Why else would it give the spell to
you in Runes!'
'So you're saying' Harry ventured, 'that the Book put it in
Runes so that Hermione would have to read it?'
'Think about it' Topher said, some enthusiasm seeming to
come in. He was proud he figured this out so quickly. 'If
Hermione is sick from you using the magic, her teaching
you the magic you want to know the most is amazingly
ironic, and very circular.
'I'm telling you Harry, she has to teach it to you. She'll be
awake in a while, I suggest you get some sleep. When she
is awake, you have to get her to teach you the spell. We
only have until tomorrow night. After that, it'll be too late.'
A/N - Don't forget folks, please review!
Spell / Name Meanings:
Expello Per Sentia Cunctus - L. Expello Per Sentia:
banish through thought, cunctus - L. all, all collectively
(Expello Per Sentia Cunctus banish all through thought)
Durward - Old English: door guard
Caesus Columeni - L. caecus: to blind, co: with, lumen:
light (Caesus Columeni To blind with light)
Necolentus Curse - L. lentus: slow, slowly, neco: to kill,
put to death (Necolentus Curse to put to death slowly
curse)
 - CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE -
The Visions
The room was dark. Harry knew where he was though; the
East Tower Common Room. He started walking into the
room, and the hearth slowly lit into a fire, lighting the quiet
tower, and the single object standing in the room.
The chairs, the couch, the desk; everything was gone,
except for a tall, wardrobe-like object in the middle of the
room. Harry could not make out exactly what it was, as the
light from the hearth behind it contrasted too much with
the object.
But as he came closer, he began to see it was not a
wardrobe. He could see a reflection in the surface, as well
as a frame, and some ancient writing along the top.
Walking even closer, the reflection—he found—was not
himself, but Hermione's. It was the Mirror of Erised.
Harry just looked at the Mirror in the silent room, and he
smiled as Hermione smirked at him cutely, and seemed to
beckon to someone out of the frame. Harry came into the
reflection, smiling cheerfully, and seeming to be at an
impossible state of joy—compared to the Harry that was
looking at the Mirror. He gave Hermione a warm hug, and
kissed her passionately, being suddenly interrupted by a
pretty, young girl, who ran into them, and looked up
expectantly.
The Harry in the reflection seemed to laugh, and pick the
girl up, the real Harry noticing that the scar on the
reflection's forehead was gone. The cute young girl—
around four years of age—turned, and waved at the real
Harry. Harry waved back, and returned a painful smile to
the girl. She had dark brown hair, which was much
smoother than Hermione's frizzled hair, and her eyes were
bright hazel, full of energy and life.
Harry continued to watch the mirror in the dark room for a
while, until the hearth suddenly extinguished, and the
reflection turned black; replaced with a horrifying image. It
was Hermione—her skin inhumanly pale—lying on a stone
floor, which was strune with bricks and debris. The image
in the mirror backed away from Hermione, and Harry saw
she was in one of the hallways in Hogwarts, which was on
fire. People were fleeing all around Hermione, as flashes
of light moved through the hall, and people were hit with
curses and spells. Students and Ministry wizards and
witches were being killed, and black cloaked figures
chased after the remainder, while the stone of the castle
continued to fall all around the chaos. Harry swore he
could hear the screams.
Harry gripped the edges of the mirror frame, and began
shaking it violently, wishing the previous reflection to
return. Hermione could not die, and Hogwarts couldn't fall.
Hermione, Ron, his other friends, the students, the
Houses, the castle; it was his world, he couldn't loose it.
'The love that drives the power' came from a ghostly voice
behind him. Harry turned quickly, enraged by the
reflection, and did not flinch when he found a decayed,
sand-coloured skeleton standing there, its black eye-
sockets looking right at Harry.
'BRING HER BACK!' Harry yelled, turning to see the
reflection was still of Hermione's lifeless body in the
destroyed hallway.
'It is what you fear the most, for whether you use the Book
or not, that the same result will come to pass' the ka
spoke, Harry understanding this was the woman ka from
the tomb, but not really caring that much.
'SHE CAN'T DIE!' Harry screamed, walking closer to the
skeleton angrily. It moved its boned arms, and its skeletal
hand rose up to stop Harry before he could start
dismantling it bone by bone.
'There is only one way you can change the result, and it
will lead back to here' another, smaller voice came, which
when Harry turned found it came from the child ka,
standing where the mirror was just a moment ago. The
child skeleton was tiny, perhaps only reaching Harry's
midsection.
'When the world is lost, and the snake is broken' the
woman ka added in its rasp voice.
'WHAT DO YOU MEAN?' Harry shouted. The ka turned,
and walked—rather quickly for a skeleton—out of the
door, and Harry chased after it.
Harry came out the door, and found himself in the hallway
outside the Defence classroom on the second floor. He
was now in his robes, which were ripped and burned, and
he looked around the area, finding no one. Everything
looked dark, and the hallway was oddly unlit. Harry cast
his wand light, and found the floor was strune with—of all
things—bright coloured apples and various other fruits.
He started walking down the hallway, hoping to find the
ka, when he came to a corner, and turned to find the
Hospital Wing. The Hospital Wing, as Harry knew, was
farther away from the Defence classroom, but when he
turned to see the hallway with the classroom at the end,
he found a different hall behind him.
'Harry, oh Harry, you have to come in' Mrs. Weasley said,
Harry turning to see the plump woman there, looking very
tired. Her hands were shaking as they found Harry's
shoulders, and the two walked into the Hospital Wing.
The sight would be strange, but for Harry, it seemed
normal, and he was not surprised. Dumbledore was there,
standing near a window, looking out at the night sky. The
moonlight was casting through the tall window, and made
his beard sparkle just a bit, and gave him an ancient,
stone like look.
Looking about, Harry found Ginny, crying profusely and
sitting on a stool near an empty bed, Dobby, who was
standing near the doors with Gryffindor's Sword slumped
over his shoulder, and Hermione, lying on the hospital bed
very still.
Harry could not explain why, but he went to Dumbledore
first. He approached the old man near the window, but
stopped as he turned slowly. Just as he faced Harry and
looked at him over his half-moon spectacles, he took a
somber step forward and suddenly turned into Luna.
'You know Harry, I like the friendship bracelet you gave
Hermione. It's much better than mine' she said calmly,
moving around Harry, and walking over to Hermione.
Harry turned, wondering, and walked over to Hermione.
'You're too late' Ginny whimpered from her stool, her
cheeks stained with tears.
Harry stared at Hermione, and his heart felt like it left his
body as he saw her lying there motionless. Harry moved
to grasp her hand, when his eyes were drawn to his arm.
The circlet, which he had not noticed until now, was
cracked along the length of it. The snake itself was dark,
almost black now. Harry looked at Hermione's arm, and
found an outline—something close to an imprint or
tattoo—of the circlet on it, marked in black.
Harry's eyes began to water, and as his tears fell while he
gazed at Hermione's peaceful face, he closed his eyes.
With those cheerful, and wonderful moments from his past
with Hermione—the laughter, the kisses, the hugs—he
began to cry as the memories passed through his mind. A
crack, the sound of metal on metal, sounded, and Harry
opened his eyes.
Looking down at his arm, he found the circlet had finished
breaking, and was cracked right down the middle. A small
droplet of water—one of Harry's tears—had fallen on the
area that was still holding it together, and the bracelet had
completely split.
His head swayed as the two pieces fell from his arm, and
crashed to the stone floor with a loud and resonating
clang. The black outline on Hermione's arm imprinted
darkly, and Luna casually bent down, and picked up the
two fragments of the circlet.
'Oh, it's broken, what a shame. Here you are' she said as
if passing pumpkin juice at a dinner table, reaching over
and giving Harry what was in her hands. Harry looked, and
found—of all things—Topher's wand, and a live snake,
which was slithering its tongue about, and looking at
Harry.
'You're going to die!'
'What of the boy and the Scepter?'
'I- . . . I am not sure, my Lord' the man replied worriedly.
'Then become sure Wormtail, or I will feed you to Nagini'
the Dark Lord responded harshly.
'Yes my Lord' the rat faced man answered quickly, bowing
before the Dark Lord, and scurrying out of the chamber.
Turning around the corner, he walked down into the
darkness. A few seconds passed, before a disheveled rat
scampered across the antechamber, and started hopping
up the steps towards the outer halls. The cave system was
very extensive, and the number of Death Eaters swarming
through the immense caves was growing every day. There
were Death Eaters from all over, rallying behind the might
and severity of the Dark Lord.
'I DON'T KNOW BELLA!' came from one of the corridors.
The rat stopped, and sniffed the air before, looking around
and moving out of the way before a rather large black
boot, belonging to a big, black cloaked man, could crush
him on the stone stair. The man did not even notice the
rat, and continued upwards, stomping his feet along the
way.
Whispering now came from a room at the end of the
corridor, which had its door open slightly, and candle light
creeping out along the edges. As the rat moved even
closer, scurrying along the edge of the floor near the wall,
he began to hear the whispers easier.
'How could they get away?' a woman asked
disappointedly, the rat knowing it was Bellatrix.
'I do not know Bella, I think Potter was using the Scepter.
Either that or Toph whipped up some of his stupid father's
magic' the man replied.
'If Potter has the Scepter, the Dark Lord will not be
pleased' Bella whispered with some sickening confidence.
'How am I to regain the Dark Lord's trust?' the man asked.
Bellatrix laughed harshly.
'"Trust?" Do you think the Dark Lord ever did, or would
trust you with anything? Lesath, I am the Dark Lord's most
trusted, and that is all you need to understand.'
Rustling and footsteps sounded, coming towards the door.
'I know about Potter's girl' Lesath spoke suddenly, the
footsteps halting.
'Oh do you?' Bellatrix asked unconvinced of his statement.
'Oh yes, and I plan on becoming the Dark Lord's most
trusted, when I find the girl, and bring the Dark Lord her
dead body, along with a destroyed Harry Potter.'
Bellatrix laughed harshly again at this. 'And what of your
friend?'
'HE IS NOT MY FRIEND!' Lesath raged suddenly. 'AND
HE WILL DIE AT MY WAND LIKE HIS FATHER.'
'Yes' Bellatrix reminisced, 'his mother was quite an
interesting death to bring about, but a pleasure as always.
Tell me then, how do you plan on doing this all by
yourself?'
'Do you think I will tell you my plans?' Lesath asked
incredulously.
'I think you want to tell me, to boast, thinking a young
scamp as yourself can outwit the Dark Lord's favourite.'
There was a pause for a few moments, and the rat moved
closer to hear the details.
'Firstly, I plan on using this' Lesath said, the rat hearing
something like metal on metal, or metal on glass. 'Second,
I know a hidden passage into Hogwarts, and plan on using
it. Once I am inside, it will be easy to find the Mudblood,
and Potter. I will have both of them for the Dark Lord
before you have even made it to the Great Hall.' Lesath
sounded very pleased with himself, and the rat moved
even closer, so it could peer inside, hoping to see what
made that first sound.
'It is no concern to me how you waste your time Lesath'
Bellatrix replied, the rat seeing Lesath put something away
in his cloak. 'I will have Hogwarts burning to the ground,
and Potter dead at the Dark Lord's feet before you have
even begun this childish plan. As for the Mudblood, Fenrir
has plans for her, and if you have a brain in that half-blood
head, I would leave him to it. Now go to the Dark Lord and
tell him of yet another of your failures. Perhaps he may
save you the embarrassment, and kill you before you
mess up again.'
The sound of footsteps again filled the air, and the rat
scurried as quickly as he could down the hallway, turning
around the corner and back down towards the
antechamber, to inform the Dark Lord that Lesath had
returned.
Meanwhile, Bella opened the door, and saw a familiar rat's
tail and silver paw whipping around the corner, and she
smirked as she started off, a concerned and angry Lesath
behind her.
'HARRY POTTER SIR!'
'HARRY POTTER SIR! Mr. Harry Potter must wake up!'
Harry bolted up, and raised his wand, pointing it down at
what was making the noise. He found two grey, boney
hands held up in defence. The last thing he remembered
was seeing a snake in his hand, telling him he was going
to die.
'Please Harry Potter sir, it is only Dobby!' the house elf
announced, moving his hands to show his large tennis-ball
like eyes. Harry took a moment to realize he was in his
room, and that the Mirror, Hermione, the snake—it was all
a dream.
'I'm sorry Dobby. What's wrong, has the attack begun,
what time is it—wait—is Hermione alright?'
'Pleases Harry Potter sir, he is asking too many questions
at once for Dobby!' Harry took a breath, and moved over
on his bed—since he had fallen asleep on top with his
cloak still on.
'Is Hermione alright?' Harry asked Dobby, looking at him.
Harry's heart was stopped as he waited, but luckily Dobby
nodded, and he relaxed a bit. He had been gripping the
side of the bed with his hands, and did not notice how
hard he was until after he looked down to take a breath to
relax.
'Harry Potter's misses is awake sir! Harry Potter asked
Dobby to come and get him when his Misses woke up!'
'Hermione's awake!' Harry yelled, Dobby nodding happily.
Harry jumped up from his bed, and made for the door.
'Harry Potter sir! Coming with Dobby is much faster than
sir running!'
Harry turned at the door, agreed, and walked back, taking
hold of Dobby's knobby hand.
'Just don't misaim' Harry advised.
'Dobby would never, especially with Harry Potter!' he
answered, giving a smile that made Harry cringe, seeing
all his crooked and broken teeth. Dobby gave a snap of
his fingers, and the two disappeared.
With a crack—frightening the bulk of students and other
people in the Hospital Wing—Harry and Dobby appeared.
The process of moving with Dobby was a lot like
Apparating, but mixed with what looked like Flooing. While
being pushed from all sides by the same siphoning, he
could see various rooms, hallways, and other places in
Hogwarts flashing before him in rapid succession.
'Merlin! You scared us to death Mr. Potter' Madam
Pomfrey accosted.
'Where's Hermione?' Harry asked urgently.
'I'm here Harry' came from behind Madam Pomfrey. The
school nurse moved, and Harry beamed at Hermione, who
was still lying on the hospital bed, but was currently
propped up by several pillows. Her voice was a bit raspy,
but Harry was just relieved to see her awake and—more
importantly—alive. The dream was still very much fresh in
his mind.
Harry quickly bound over, and gave her a kiss, which she
embraced slowly. He kissed her on the forehead
afterwards, and smiled at her. She grinned back, but
motioned with her eyes next to Harry. Dobby had followed
him, waiting to hear if things were alright.
'Always looking out for the elves, aren't you?' Harry stated,
Hermione nodding happily, though again, slowly.
'Thank you Dobby, you can go back to . . . well, whatever
you were doing' Harry told Dobby.
'Oh thank you Harry Potter sir! Dobby is very pleased to
see Harry Potter's misses is doing well!' the house elf said,
and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone again.
'How are you feeling?' Harry asked Hermione, after pulling
up a stool and taking hold of her hands. She was
purposely moving around the bracelet so she was not
touching it.
'I'm alright. Madam Pomfrey gave me some potions that
are helping, but I'm still pretty weak. What's the news on
Voldemort? And how is the Book coming along, did you
find the spell?' Harry looked down for a moment, and
decided the good news should come first. Well, the better
news at least; neither piece of information was in fact
"good news".
'Topher believes Voldemort's going to attack tomorrow
night, when there's a full moon.'
'Werewolves' Hermione whispered with tinge of fear.
'I know, we didn't really talk about them to the Guard, but
I'm going to ask the professors to help tonight. Otherwise,
things are going alright. The Durmstrang ship returned,
and their school came to help, for Viktor's death' Harry
informed, keeping the last part quiet. Hermione was still
fairly affected by his death.
'That's . . . that's good Harry. Viktor I think would have
wanted that. What about the Book? Have you looked at it?'
she pressed, knowing he was avoiding it.
'Topher talked me into looking at it' Harry started, looking
away.
'And?' Hermione insisted.
'Well, here, let me show you' Harry said quietly, taking the
scroll out of his pocket, where he had put it before falling
asleep, and unraveling it. The runes were still printed on it
with black writing, and he turned it towards Hermione.
She took hold of it very carefully, and put it down on her
lap. She scanned it over a few times, and then looked at
Harry.
'Why is it in runes? You don't know how to read runes,
unless you've been holding out on me' she said, looking at
him with a raised eyebrow.
'No, I can't read the bloody thing' Harry professed bluntly.
'Topher thinks it's in runes so only you can read it.'
'But you're the one who has to read it.'
'Topher thinks-' Harry hesitated, Hermione noticing, and
placing her hand on his. 'Topher thinks you have to teach
the spell to me.' Hermione, of course, asked why.
'Something about you making it possible to see the writing,
but this is the spell I want to use, and you get sick from it, I
can't remember it all. Basically, you have to teach me a
spell that'll get you sicker.'
Hermione waited for a moment, looking over the Book
again, before nodding. 'I understand. It is very ironic for
me to teach you the spell you want the most, when I get
sick from you using the magic. The idea of me teaching
you the magic that could kill me-'
'It will not kill you Hermione; you're not going to die' Harry
declared forcefully, leaning forward and looking at her
intensely.
'Harry, you have to understand tha-'
'No,' Harry interrupted, 'I do understand. You are not
dying, and that is that. I will use the Book, but you are not
going to die, alright? Topher is going to find a way to keep
you here, and we'll pull through this.'
Harry was almost pleading with Hermione, and himself, to
believe what he was saying. He knew it was such a long
shot, and so many things could go wrong, or not work out,
but he had to keep hoping. Somehow, part of him believed
that if Hermione believed in it all, so would he.
She glanced down again at the scroll, and then at Harry
once more. She looked down at her lap, moving one of her
hands to wipe a tear, and nodded.
'Why is it I always think we're going to die?' she asked,
more tears spilling. Harry moved closer, but made sure to
keep the bracelet far enough away from her that it didn't
concern her.
'Well, be happy that for once you've been wrong a lot in
that department' Harry quipped, Hermione letting out some
chuckles, and Harry's heart filling up with energy at the
sound of her laugh. The last few days had been such an
ordeal, it was wonderful to know she could still do it.
'I can be happy for that' she said, smiling, and laughing a
bit again before a bout of coughs took hold. Harry held on
to her, and her coughing slowly subsided, and she smiled
again at Harry.
'I have to read this for a bit to decipher and translate it into
English. Could you ask someone to get my Ancient Runes
book for me in my room?' Harry called for Winky, who was
still doing splendidly thanks to Dobby, and she gladly went
and got Hermione's book which—when Harry took hold of
it—weighed at least ten pounds.
'It'll take a little while Harry. I'll stay up and translate it, but
you should go and see how the Guard is doing, and talk to
Professor Dumbledore. There's a lot to do in the next day.'
Harry agreed, though he wished he could just stay there
and watch her read. There was something calming about
seeing her totally enveloped in her reading, even if it was
a spell to destroy the most deadly wizard in the last half-
century.
'Alright. I'll be back in two hours. Just don't go anywhere
on me' Harry insisted. Hermione lowered the scroll for a
moment, and leaned over to Harry.
'Unfortunately Mr. Potter' she maintained with some
attitude, 'I couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted to. And
believe me, I want to. The idea of sitting this all out in the
Hospital Wing, I feel like a damsel in distress or
something. It's so repulsive.'
Harry gave her a kiss, and could hear Madam Pomfrey
muttering a few beds away.
'Uch, kids these days . . . this is not a make-out house!'
Both Hermione and Harry smiled and finished the kiss,
and Harry stood up. 'You're no damsel, so don't worry.'
He received a pillow to the side of the head for that, and
walked out of the Hospital Wing, looking back to see
Hermione smiling at him, and opening up her Runes book.
Walking up towards the Headmistress' Office, Harry could
see it was already mid-afternoon. The sunlight did not
make it through the dark grey clouds in the sky, and
looking out, he could see that Hogsmeade was still
burning, and parts of the Forbidden Forest were on fire.
The centaurs would not be happy with that.
'Harry!' came from a hallway, and Harry turned to see Ron
running towards him.
'Ron, what's the matter?' Harry asked as Ron finally
reached him and caught his breath for a moment.
'How's . . . Hermione?' he asked as he stood up from his
bent position.
'She's alright mate. She's looking at the scroll right now.'
'She is? I thought you-'
'It's a long story' Harry responded.
'Neville and a few other of the DA are making a meeting
tonight in the Room. Word about the attack tomorrow night
spread pretty quickly' Ron stated. The Room of
Requirement had been such a local hub of activity the past
few days, it had now just been short formed to "The
Room". The idea it used to be a secret was now long over.
'Thank Merlin for Neville' Harry commented, as they
continued up towards the Headmistress' Office.
'Who'd have thought you'd say that someday' Ron
mentioned, the two smiling, though both were very
nervous.
'How are you Ron?' Harry asked after a few silent
moments. Ron had been fairly quiet about all that had
been happening in the last few weeks. Harry sometimes
forgot this was his entire world, and his entire family was
now in Hogwarts.
Ron took a few moments to think, and gave a smile to
Harry. 'I'm alright Harry. At least Mum and Dad are here,
and even that git Percy, though I guess now I can't blame
him for saying all those things, and giving us so much grief
about his git-faced reports.'
Harry felt that having the Weasleys here was a good thing.
If even one of them was not there, it would create a lot of
worry within the family. At least if things turned dark, they
would all be together to face it.
'And how's George making out?' Harry asked. He still
worried about how Fred's death was affecting him, since
he could not imagine loosing your twin. It would be like
loosing half yourself.
'He's working hard Harry, he really is. You should see
what he has in store for the Death Eaters when they come
in. Just stand clear of some of the stairwells, that's all I'll
say for now. He's going to tell the Guard tonight what he's
done. He was boasting about a newer creation called a
"Rush'n'Flush," something like a big toilet or something.'
The two continued to talk about how each other were
doing as they their way to the Headmistress' Office. Harry
told Ron about the Book, and how Hermione was doing,
as well as parts of his dream. Ron, like Harry, had no idea
what the dream could mean exactly, but Harry expected
that, since he did not know too.
Ron, Harry knew, was very worried about everything. He
had already lost one brother, and the idea of possibly
loosing more family, maybe even his Mum or Dad, was
something that Harry too worried about. He and Luna
were sticking close to each other a lot, and she had
worries of her own too. The last time she heard from her
father was weeks ago, and the letter had told her he was
leaving the house, but did not say where to.
Once the two best friends made it to the Headmistress'
Office, they entered and found the Order there, along with
some Ministry officials. Luckily, Scrimgeour was not there.
'Hello Mr. Potter. Professor Terrwynebas has mentioned
your concern about tomorrow night being a full moon, and
we are all agreed it is most likely that it will be then that
You Know Who will attack. Some members of the Ministry'
Professor McGonagall said, looking about to some gruff
looking wizards and witches, 'feel the Minister is not doing
the proper job. The Minister has placed wizards all along
the ground level, and around the castle, but has left the
Forbidden Forrest open, thinking the centaurs will defend
it for him. So, these chaps have come to help us, with
Arthur leading them.' At this, Mr. Weasley so aptly waved
at Harry, Ron trying to hide himself from the
embarrassment.
The meeting itself was kept short, but most of it glossed
over Harry. He knew his job, and most of the others knew
theirs. It was just a matter of making sure everyone did
what they were meant to. Harry had no idea how
Voldemort would get into the castle, let alone where they
would meet, but it would happen sometime, that he knew.
During the meeting, his mind was totally focused on
Hermione however. How would Topher find a way to keep
her alive from something so old, a spell no one had—it
seemed—ever broken? When the meeting finished, Harry
noticed Topher was busy talking to Snape, but Professor
McGonagall stopped Harry from talking to them, asking
him for a word alone.
'How is Hermione?' she asked, sitting down behind her
desk and looking at Harry.
'She's alright for now. Madam Pomfrey isn't sure how
she's sick, or if she's getting better or worse' Harry
admitted.
'I must tell you Potter, I have had many students and staff
asking if she is alright. Word travels fast these days of
injuries and the likes. I want you to ask Miss Granger, if
she could—with Madam Pomfrey's permission—come to
dinner in the Room tonight. It would do the students well to
see their Head Girl up and about, even if she is in her
state.'
'She'll be there' Harry asserted. Professor McGonagall
smiled at this, and Harry looked around for a moment.
'Professor, where did all the portraits go?' Harry asked,
finally inquiring as to the lack of listening paintings. All the
frames were empty, and he noticed a while ago, but
neglected to ask as more important events were on his
mind.
'Oh' Professor McGonagall acknowledged, looking up at
the empty frames, 'they left a little time ago, to go to their
other portraits to be safer. If you wish to talk to Professor
Dumbledore, he may hear you if you call him.'
At that, the tired Headmistress stood, and walked out of
her office, knowing full well Harry intended on speaking to
Dumbledore. Harry heard the door click shut, and stood
from his chair, the leather squeaking a bit in the hallowed
room. Harry's footsteps almost echoed in the chamber as
he walked around the desk, and in front of Dumbledore's
empty frame.
'Professor?' Harry called quietly. 'Professor Dumbledore,
are you there?'
Harry waited, and called a couple more times, but the
former Headmaster did not show.
Just as Harry turned, and began his way out of the office
quietly, a wonderfully familiar voice spoke from behind
him.
'You wonder why I saw socks, don't you?'
Harry turned, and smiled at the silver bearded, half-moon
bespectacled man in the portrait.
'Sorry?' Harry asked.
'Why socks? Why of all the things I could have seen in the
Mirror of Erised, did I see socks?' Dumbledore questioned
again. Harry of course reached the portrait, still with no
idea why he would ask such a question, and Dumbledore
smiled in his oh-so Dumbledore manner.
'Some people enjoy simplicity in life Harry. For some, it's
enjoying one's work, like Mr. Ollivander and his wands. He
gets very little for his wands, but it's the craft of making
them he enjoys. For others it may be raising children, like
Molly Weasley. Did you ever wonder why she never
decided to work? She loves her children so deeply, she
wanted to be there for every step, every fall, and every
cry.
'For me, socks would have done me wonders. A book—
something people seemed to think I never had an excess
of—a silvery gadget, a new robe; they were all pleasant
gifts, but really did nothing to make my life better.'
'And socks would?' Harry questioned, lowering his glance,
wondering if Dumbledore had lost some marbles on his
trips to his other portraits.
'They did for Dobby. Socks have many benefits, and alas,
my feet always wished for a lovely pair of socks. Too
much walking for such a long time I'm afraid.'
'So why didn't you get some yourself?' Harry asked. He
could not believe he was having a conversation about
socks on the day before the castle would be attacked.
There were so many other things Dumbledore could be
telling Harry—more important things for sure—yet here
they were, discussing socks.
'There's something in having something given to you, that
makes that something more important Harry. When
someone gives you something, it is for some reason, and
it's in that reason that you find solace. You gave the sock
to Dobby, to free him from Lucius' oppression. It was in
your reason for giving the sock to him that he loved it—
and loves you—so much. He knows you did not give it to
him just as a passing gift, but rather because you thought
he was above being just a house elf, and being under that
treatment.'
'Alright' Harry responded, 'but why are you telling me this?'
'You must understand Harry that many times, it is not just
what is being given to you, but the reason why they are
giving it to you, that makes it worth something special, and
gives it deeper meaning.'
'Topher told you about Hermione and the Book, didn't he?'
Harry assessed. Dumbledore nodded shortly, and Harry
gave an angry sigh.
'You don't like that he told me? He is trying to help, and he
came to ask how he may come about saving her from the
curse that is upon her.' Harry realized that it made sense,
but he still disliked how Dumbledore knew of things before
Harry told him. It seemed to always be happening.
'Hermione giving you the magic you need, may just be
what is needed for the spell to work. She is giving this to
you because she loves you, and it is in that, that the spell
will work.'
'I already told Hermione to translate the scroll for me'
Harry informed abruptly. For once, Dumbledore was
actually behind in his knowledge of things. It made Harry
feel a little better.
Dumbledore waited for a moment, then smiled. 'That is
good to hear Harry. I will admit, I thought you would have
been more stubborn about the whole ordeal, putting your
trust that Hermione will make it with Topher and the old
magic. Topher will find a way to save her, just keep hope
Harry. Know that Hermione giving you the Light, she
believes you will live, and she will too. It is much the same
as the magic your mother gave to you.' At this, Harry's
confusion moved up to another level.
'What does my mother have to do with this?' Harry
inquired.
'It relates to when she died saving you. Her love for you
was so strong, she was willing to die for you, and it was in
this that you were given this wonderful magic that is part of
your very being.'
'But Hermione can't die!' Harry said, rather loudly. He was
starting to feel everyone was expecting her to die. Even
she herself said she thought she would die.
'I know Harry' Dumbledore replied calmly, 'I know. But the
fact that she is willing to die to save you from your own
death, is the exact power you need for this Oroborus Light
to work.'
'But that's not the same as my mother. She had the choice
to die or not, Hermione doesn't.' At this, Dumbledore
squinted his eyes for a moment in thought.
'She did have the choice, yes, but there is a reason why
she had that choice to begin with. Didn't you ever wonder
why Voldemort killed your father, but gave your mother the
choice?'
Again, Harry was surprised that he was talking about such
an odd topic, but he allowed it, because he had never
really thought of it before. He knew Dumbledore said she
had the choice, and died saving him, but Harry never
questioned why she was given the choice in the first place.
Dumbledore, seeing Harry's thought-filled look, continued
on.
'Now I do not know exactly why, but I believe it was
because of Mr. Pettigrew.'
'That filthy betrayer?' Harry questioned, his abhorrence of
the man clearly making a presence.
'Yes Harry, I think he wanted her to live, of all people.
Peter Pettigrew, not being the most courageous or indeed
loyal man-' at this Harry laughed aloud, knowing full well it
was an understatement, '-he always liked Lily. Not
necessarily in the romantic sense, but he respected her for
transcending the social ladder, and trying to stick up for
people who were less fortunate. Peter was always one of
those people, and it was not surprising that he and Lily got
along quite amicably.'
'You mean to say' Harry stated, 'that Pettigrew and my
mother were good friends?' Harry asked sickeningly.
Dumbledore tilted his head, and nodded just a bit.
'Both of them, in their earlier years at Hogwarts, were very
much outcasts. Your mother was a Muggleborn, and
young Peter was quite inept at a variety of levels, or so it
seemed.'
'Then how did Pettigrew become a Marauder?' Harry
asked.
'Well, idolizing James and the others for their quick fame,
he stuck around them constantly, and was in fact the
person who introduced your father to Lily.'
'WHAT?' Harry almost yelled disbelievingly. Dumbledore
put a hand up hoping to get Harry to relax a little to hear
the rest.
'Yes. James did not notice her much before, as he was too
busy with other matters really, and a little young to be
looking at the girls. But, if I remember correctly, it was
Peter who introduced James to Lily, during their first year I
believe. James, Sirius, and Remus began letting Peter into
their circle, though when he found out Remus was a
Werewolf, they had to allow him to become part of their
group.'
'But what does this have to do with my mother having the
choice to live or die?' Harry asked, bringing the
conversation back to the point.
'Because she was friends with him before James and the
others. Peter, with the way he is easily manipulated by
people who are more powerful than him, was probably
turned against your father and Sirius and Remus. Your
mother, on the other hand, held some deeper feeling with
him, and it is my belief that when your parents made him
their Secret Keeper, and he went to Voldemort, he was
corrupted in his feelings about James, mixed also with the
fear of Voldemort himself, but Voldemort could not break
Peter's feelings towards Lily.'
'Are you saying Pettigrew was in love with my mother?'
Harry asked, feeling like he just ate something that tasted
terrible.
'No, perhaps not in love, but he probably felt his friendship
with Lily was a very close one. Love would not be too
surprising though. I think Peter's one request—or
demand—to Voldemort, in return for getting the address,
was that Lily be given the choice to die or live, or at least
given the opportunity to escape. He did not feel she
deserved to die, and the way she always treated Peter, it
was clear he would feel more terrible over her death, than
James'.'
Harry was of course speechless at this point, and
Dumbledore decided to bring the strange conversation to
close.
'We can discuss this, at length Harry, another time
however. Time is not to be wasted as of late, and you
must go and learn what you need. I am very confident in
Topher, as you should be too with what he has done in
this short time, that he will keep Hermione with us.
'You must have faith in your friends Harry. Mr. Weasley,
Miss Lovegood, Mr. Longbottom, even young Mr. Creevy;
it is necessary for you to rely on them for help and
support.'
'I do Professor' Harry maintained. 'It just feels like
everyone is getting me ready to accept that she will die,
even if I get rid of Voldemort.'
'We all fear for Miss Granger's health Harry, but just look
at how your fellow students react to seeing her tonight in
the Room of Requirement, and you will see how your
friends will shine through the darkness.' Dumbledore
seemed to check his odd looking watch on his wrist, and
smiled through his beard at Harry.
'I am sorry to cut this short Harry, but I have been a busy
portrait lately. I'm due to meet with a friend in France, who
you may see soon. Just trust your feelings Harry, let
Hermione help you, and believe that Topher is doing the
right thing.'
Harry said goodbye to Dumbledore, the former
Headmaster leaving the portrait quickly, and Harry went
back to Hermione in the Hospital Wing.
Walking by many groups of students, practicing defensive
and offensive magic in the halls—with the professors
actually stopping to help rather than take House points
off—he eventually made it. Many of the students asked
about Hermione and about the bracelet on his arm, but
most of the upper year students knew better, and shushed
them away before Harry could make up some odd story, at
least about the bracelet.
While walking, Harry continued to think about
Dumbledore's comments. He knew Hermione was giving
him what was needed, but was the price worth it? And
what was all that stuff about Pettigrew and his mother?
Pettigrew wanted his mother to given the chance to live? A
lot of good that did, of course she would protect her baby.
Coming into the Hospital Wing, Harry was happy to see
several students inside, talking with Madam Pomfrey, and
seeming to be going over procedures for injuries.
'Now over here, we will put patients with combined curses.
This area must be kept clean at all times, and patients
must be diagnosed quickly, and correctly. We don't want
to be giving the wrong potion to someone, and turning
them into a potato' she chuckled, none of the students
laughing at all, and in fact looking quite serious.
'Right. Now, onto-' Madam Pomfrey continued, moving the
group of twelve or so students to another area of the
Wing. Harry came over to Hermione's bed, where she was
snoozing quietly with her Runes book across her lap—no
doubt cutting off circulation to her lower half—and the
scroll held tightly in her hand.
Harry sat down on the stool for a moment to just look at
her breathe peacefully, and leaned over to kiss her on the
forehead. Just as he closed his eyes, felt the softness of
her hair against his nose, and smelled her wonderfully
honeysuckle scent, reminding him of some of the
wonderful times they spent in the past few months, words
reached his ears that made him smile.
'I told you, I don't want to be a damsel in distress.'
Harry backed away, and found Hermione looking at him
seriously for a moment, before a grin, then a smile, and
inevitably chuckles came to her. Harry smiled brightly at
her laughter, and gave her a kiss, which she returned
fervently, as if not seeing him in over a year. And once
again Harry heard comments from Madam Pomfrey and
her roaming peanut gallery.
'How are you feeling?' Harry asked as he sat back down.
'Everyone keeps asking me the same question, but I'm
fine Harry. A little tired, a little stiff, but I'm alright. I went
through at translated most of the scroll.'
'Most?' Harry questioned.
'Well, some of them translate easy. Like this sentence
here,' she pointed to one of the lines on the scroll, 'it says:
"Think only of your good and just acts." This one however'
she pointed to another line, which was along the bottom of
all the writing, 'is complicated. It seems to be saying
something, then "to follow your heart and the evil one will
perish."'
'Did you find an incantation?' Harry asked hopefully,
Hermione looking down again, and despondently shaking
her head.
'That's the thing I didn't understand. Usually in runes, the
incantation is clear, and the pronunciation sometimes is a
trick, but the spells are put in obvious places. The left
corner, in the centre of the page; but with this, I can't find it
anywhere. It just keeps explaining how the caster must
keep good thoughts in their head, think only of their loved
ones, and try to keep control and take any punishments
that are deserving from their prior acts. It tells you what to
do, but not how to actually make the spell.'
Harry took hold of the scroll, and looked at the odd
markings and symbols. Why would the Book just say how
to act while the spell was being used, instead of actually
giving him the incantation?
'Perhaps it will give you the incantation when you need it
most' Hermione offered, Harry looking down and shaking
his head.
'That wouldn't be much help now would it. Would I have
time to sit down and read while Voldemort's trying to kill
me?' Harry asked tersely, standing up and rolling up the
scroll as he paced around.
'Don't worry Harry, we'll find it' Hermione insisted,
watching Harry walk around the foot of the hospital bed.
'Why can't it just say "say this, do this" and so on? Why all
this backdoor work to get nothing?' Harry asked with a hint
of anger at it all. Hermione was sick, and the Book had not
even given him what he wanted.
'Perhaps you thought of the wrong thing when you asked
the scroll for the spell?' Hermione suggested, Harry still
not happy with it all.
'No Hermione-' he maintained, trying to keep hold of his
anger, '-I thought it up correctly.' He was now at the wall,
and was leaning against it, trying to figure out how he
could get the incantation.
'Well' Hermione started again, 'maybe we missed
something.'
'We didn't miss anything!' Harry ranted, the anger at
everything starting to come out. He turned from the wall
and started pacing along the side of the Hospital Wing
with the scroll held tightly in his hand.
'Maybe everyone's right; we will all die' Harry added,
Hermione sitting up, though with much difficulty.
'Harry, please don't do this! You've been working so hard,
don't loose hope when you need it the most!' Hermione
pleaded, Harry noticing her wording and getting angrier.
'Did Dumbledore tell you to say that?' he asked
aggressively, Hermione looking quite confused.
'Dumbledore? Harry, what are you-'
'Dumbledore told me the same thing, "don't loose hope".
That's all anyone has said to me, "don't loose hope", and
look where it's gotten me!'
'Yes, look where it has you Harry! You found the tomb,
found the Book, got back to Hogwarts, have an army
waiting for Voldemort, and you have all your friends and
family that love you right next to you! You even found out
you have family with Topher! What else do you want
Harry?' Hermione argued, her voice rising, though still very
weak.
'I want you to be alright, and I want this bloody scroll to
give me the bloody incantation so I can destroy
Voldemort!' Harry yelled loudly. Madam Pomfrey and her
group were all looking at Harry and Hermione, since their
argument could not be avoided.
Hermione slowly laid back down without answering, and
took a slow breath, Harry realizing what he had done. She
was already so sick, and here he was worrying about
himself. He felt so low, like he was a selfish git for yelling
at the girl he loved—and who loved him—the most, and
wanted to survive.
He sat back down on the stool quickly, and came close to
Hermione, holding her hand without caring about the
bracelet keeping away from her hand. She was lying back
down on the bed, eyes closed.
'I'm sorry Hermione, I am. Please forgive me' Harry
whispered. Hermione's breaths were shallow and slow,
and her eyes fluttered open a bit, but she slowly moved
her hands over, and squeezed his gently.
'I know Harry' she voiced quietly. 'Everyone's strung up
with things going on.' She took hold of the Book with
Harry, and looked at him closely.
'Just look at the Book Harry. Find the spell, and don't
worry about me. I know sometimes things can be overly
difficult, especially for you Harry, but stay positive and
keep your hope Harry.'
She raised herself a bit towards Harry, and he bent down
to give her a kiss. They were just settling into it nicely,
when Hermione suddenly jumped back.
'What's wrong?' Harry asked worriedly, seeing her
expression. She was looking at Harry's hand, and when he
looked down quickly, he noticed what she felt.
Her hand was just grazing the bracelet, which had a crack
along the bottom that was not there before. The fissure
was right at the bottom, and moving towards the other end
of the bracelet, across the snake's body.
'It wasn't like that when I came in here' Harry pointed out,
looking at it closely. The bracelet was still very much on
his arm, but this small crack worried him a lot, still having
vague memories on his dream from earlier in the day.
'You have to go Harry. Madam Pomfrey is almost done
with her student healers, then they are going for dinner. I'll
see you afterwards.'
Harry tore his attention from the bracelet to Hermione, and
shook his head.
'No, you're coming too. Everyone in the school has been
asking what is going on with you. Professor McGonagall
even asked if you could come tonight.'
'Can you help me get there?' Hermione asked hopefully,
already starting to sit up and move around. Harry knew
she would want to go.
'Of course' Harry replied softly, helping her sit up and
swing her legs around. She was still cold to the touch, her
face was pale, and her hands shaking a bit, but her
determination was willing over her sickness, and she slid
off the bed. Madam Pomfrey ordered to get back in bed,
but after the numerous rebuttles from Harry, Hermione,
and the other students about it being "no doubt, the last
good meal to be had at Hogwarts", she reluctantly
accepted, though warned if Hermione got worse she
would be back in the Hospital Wing in a second.
Hermione got changed slowly behind a curtain, while
Harry continued to look over the bracelet. Why had it
cracked? He remembered in his dream it was entirely in
half, but why? What did the cracking signify? Was it from
his yelling at Hermione, or perhaps his loss of hope for
that time?
He resolved to push it aside, focus on Hermione, and
getting to the Room. Hermione finished changing into her
black school robes, which only intensified the paleness in
her cheeks and face, and the two walked arm in arm
towards the Room of Requirement, taking their time of
course.
'Do you remember when we got our Hogwarts letters back
in the Summer?' Hermione asked as they paced along the
fourth floor corridor.
''Course I do. I hid my Head Boy badge and planned on
mailing it back' Harry answered.
'Are you glad you took my advice?' Hermione asked as
they came to a stairwell. Harry stopped the two of them
near a window, and turned towards Hermione. A couple of
pit stops along the way wouldn't hurt anyone.
'Very glad' he admitted closely, wrapping his arms around
her gently and giving her a kiss. Hermione let herself fall
into the kiss, and put her arms around his neck as they let
her sickness go unnoticed, and they continued their
mellow and deeply quiet exchange.
Slowly, Harry could smell the musty dew of a summer's
night, and pungent traces of wild flowers. The sound of a
distant wind rustling leaves came to his ears, and when he
pulled back from the kiss and opened his eyes, he was
astonished to see that he and Hermione were standing in
Hermione's back yard, like during the summer.
'Harry? Harry what's wrong?' Hermione asked, since he
pulled away suddenly. They were still both in their school
robes, but it was like they had just been transported back
to that time.
'Don't you see this? How did we get here?' he asked,
Hermione looking at him oddly as he continued to glance
around from side to side.
'See what? Harry what are you seeing?' She asked
vehemently.
'We're in your backyard, like at the beginning of the
summer. I thought we were in Hogwarts? You have to be
seeing this' Harry maintained. How did they get here, why
couldn't she see it? She had to see it.
'I don't Harry, we're in Hogwarts, on the fourth floor near
the West Stairwell' Hermione insisted nervously. Harry
turned his head away from the house—which had some
lights on and looked just like it did that night—and glanced
to where Professor Flitwick should have been, but instead
found a stone staircase. Turning, he jumped back when he
saw that he and Hermione were now back in Hogwarts.
'Harry? Harry, are you alright? Do you know where you
are?' she asked carefully.
'Where did-I was, no, we were just-' Harry babbled, trying
to make sense of it.
'We were in my backyard' Hermione started.
'Yes, just like during the summer. You didn't see it?' Harry
asked again, Hermione shaking her head, and taking a
step towards him and placing her hands on his neck.
'Are you O.K.?' she asked, looking him over. Harry
remembered that the skeletons from the tomb said the
bracelet could give him visions, but he expected ones like
in dreams and such, not while he was awake. And was it
the bracelet, or was he just tired?
'I'm . . . I'm alright, it's just- . . . why did I see that?'
'Maybe there's something about that place or us being
there that means something, and the bracelet showed it to
you' Hermione offered, giving him a small kiss. 'Maybe
you're just tired, it's been a long few days for everyone.
Com'on Harry, let's go. Just take it easy.'
The two continued on, Harry still trying to understand the
vision, when they finally reached the door to the Room of
Requirement. It was of course already there, and several
students walked by greeting the two Heads, encouraging
Hermione for making it out of the Hospital Wing. George
passed by to go in, and asked how much the two of them
had bribed Madam Pomfrey to let her out.
Entering the fake Great Hall, they made it about two steps
in when all the students erupted into cheers and hollers.
Hermione's face became filled with colour as she blushed
at the student's cheers, and they both slowly made their
way to a table, this time what used to be the Slytherin
table of all places, where Ron and some other friends
were.
'All the House tables-' Hermione started.
'Are no more' Ron asserted.
'We're Guardians now, so we all belong to the same
house' Ernie Macmillan told Hermione, who looked around
for a moment, receiving a warm smile from several of the
staff, and she beamed brightly at Harry, though still some
of her colour escaping her face. Harry glanced at the staff
table, and noticed—rather worriedly—that Hagrid was not
there. He hoped he was doing alright.
'I quite like having the Houses mixed up. All the
Ravenclaw girls used to make fun of me while I ate' Luna
put in oh-so dreamily, Harry giving a smile to Ron while he
motioned Harry to remain quiet and not make any
comments, since he knew several interesting ones could
be made.
'You did it Harry, you unified the school. Everyone is
working together' Hermione expressed cheerfully.
'No, we did it' Harry said to her. She smiled, and their
attention was brought to the front when Professor
McGonagall stood, and silence spread across the Hall.
'The rumours you have all been hearing, about the attack
coming tomorrow, are all true' she started bluntly, many of
the students breaking into conversation and whispers.
'But, we will be ready. With the leadership of your Head
Boy and Head Girl-' to which the students broke out into
thunderous applause, George giving a whistle or two.
Students around Harry and Hermione came over and pat
them on the back, and Hermione was beaming brighter
than Harry had ever seen her before—sick or not.
'As well as several other students, like Mr. Longbottom-' to
which Neville as well received a loud applause, his face
turning ruby red, -'we are ready for what will come.
'We also have allies and our dear friends of Durmstrang
here with us to fight-' the Durmstrang students getting a
loud round of cheers, their High Master standing up from
the staff table and raising his hands in triumph, '-as well as
others from the Ministry, and-'
Suddenly the door to the hall opened loudly, and
everyone's head snapped around. In came two very large
people, and Harry beamed brightly as his big friend gave
him a shy wave.
'Sorry 'bout bein' late Headmistress!' Hagrid boomed,
clearly excited about having the tallest woman Harry had
ever seen on his arm.
'Excoose moi 'eadmistress' Madam Maxime professed,
both she and Hagrid starting to walk towards the staff
table. 'Beauxbatons, a bee-leever in close friendsheep,
wishes to stand weeth 'ogwarts during this dark time. As
friends, we stand to-geder, and will fight again-st our com-
man foe' Madam Maxime spoke, she and Hagrid reaching
the staff table. Madam Maxime extended a hand to
Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress' accepting the
comparably larger hand. Whispers erupted in the hall, and
Madam Maxime smiled at Hagrid as she called out in
French to the door.
With that, at least a hundred or two girls came in, all of
different ages. They wore flowing blue-silk robes, and as
they all filed in to the back of the hall, the students began
talking loudly and craning their necks to see the
Beauxbatons' students. Madam Maxime walked in front of
her students and smiled.
'Beauxbatons 'ill fight with 'ogwarts. Nous lutterons!'
'Et triomphe!' the Beauxbatons students shouted, taking a
bow to the hall. Hermione and many other students stood
up and cheered, and Harry followed suite, though not
having a clue what they said. He was already half-
standing, along with half the other male students, just
trying to get a good look at all the good looking girls.
Madam Maxime went along and shook hands with the
other professors, and took a few moments with the
Durmstrang High Master. Meanwhile, space was made for
the new arrivals, though the hall was now very packed
with chattering students of three different schools, all
spaced through out. Professor McGonagall had to talk to
Madam Maxime and Hagrid for a moment, so the students
were allowed to talk. Hermione was talking about how
wonderful it was Hagrid brought them here, though she
was worried how they might distract some of the male
students. She used Ron as a perfect example, as she
pointed out how he was trying to make room for some girls
next to him. Ron was not even listening, and Hermione
resorted to rolling her eyes, and looking about. Harry
laughed, and looked up when Ron turned around, getting
a tap on his shoulder.
'Bonjour Ron, bonjour Harry!' a young girl with curly blond
hair said.
'That means hello' Hermione informed.
'I know that!' Ron bolstered. Harry was trying to remember
who this was. She was quite beautiful, though a little
young. Harry still had to say something.
'Hi . . . erm, sorry I can't-'
'Gabrielle!' someone called, and the young girl turned and
ran to hug Fleur, who was sitting with Bill at a table near
the staff table.
'That answers the question' Harry commented, the sisters
breaking into fast sounding French.
'It eez nice to see you two!' Gabrielle said, turning back
and telling Ron and Harry, giving both of them a kiss on
the cheek before walking off with her sister.
'She's too young to be in school' Hermione pointed out as
they walked away, Ron looking about again. Luna said
something to him, and Harry was happy to see his
attention shifted back to her.
'Why do you care about that now? Maybe they let students
in early in France, who knows?' Ernie asked.
'And who cares?' Ron added, looking up and seeing
Hermione's look. 'Except you of course.'
The hall began to settle again as the new arrivals found
places to sit, and once Madam Maxime and Hagrid were
placed at the staff table—which had to be lengthened a bit
due to the extra people—Professor McGonagall again
stood from her chair.
The speech she continued to give was brief, but expected.
The hall was too noisy with the new additions, and she
simply told everyone to keep safe, that she was proud,
and that whatever happened in the next day, everyone
would stand united against it.
'Professor Dumbledore would have been proud to see all
of Hogwarts, her past students, and her friends from afar
at her side to fight against the darkness that threatens all
of us. Albus would have been proud' was her last
comment. She took her seat, and the entire hall stood up
and cheered for her. Harry smiled as wiped away a tear as
he saw Hagrid crying profusely over her words about
Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall was the
Headmistress during a time of extreme conflict and worry,
and she held the school together.
The meal itself was loud, and full of energy. It seemed for
the time that everyone forgot about the war and the
impending battle, and just enjoyed the visitors and friends
there.
Just before the meal ended, as Harry began to notice
Topher continued to look around the hall, a white, snowy
owl flew into the room from the open doorway, and soared
towards the front. Harry wondered why Hedwig was
bringing mail, but realized it was not her when the owl
landed near Topher, and he excused himself from the
table, and brought the owl along the edge of the hall, and
out the door. Hermione glanced at Harry, and nodded at
him to go and see what was going on.
Exiting the loud hall, Harry found Topher near one of the
windows, the owl sitting on the ledge while Topher read a
letter.
'His name is Polaris. Quite a lovely owl, a gift actually,
from Hagrid, for helping him rebuild his hut' Topher told
Harry, not turning around to see it was indeed him. Harry
came to the window, and looked at the owl. It was
beautiful, but Hedwig he thought was nicer.
'Hagrid does have an eye for nice owls' Harry commented,
looking out and seeing the smoke from Hogsmeade.
'It's a note from the Veneforbis Guard. I asked them for
help with Hermione's curse' Topher told Harry, knowing
that's what brought him out there.
'And?' Harry asked.
'And they can't help, not their place. I wasn't expecting
help, but thought to ask.'
'Do you . . . do you have any ideas how to save her?'
Harry asked nervously. He had this feeling Topher had no
idea what he was doing.
'Severus has a few, but I would like to find another way if
possible, simply because all his ways could kill her in the
end anyways.' Topher took a sigh, and turned towards the
hallway. From the state of his face, with his eyes looking
tired and his face unshaven for at least a few days, it was
clear he was again loosing lots—if not all—his sleep over
this.
'Don't worry Harry, I know a sure-fire way to keep her
alive, but it can only be done when it's needed the most. It
will work, I know it will, but I'm trying to find other means
before that. Com'on' he insisted slowly, 'come back inside
and enjoy the feast. All three schools together in a not-real
Great Hall, it doesn't happen every day.'
Topher clapped Harry on the shoulder, and gave him a
one-sided grin, then walked back slowly to the Hall. Harry
stayed at the window however, and gave Polaris a pat,
before he flew off, probably for the Owlery.
'It's not every day you have to defeat Voldemort either' he
whispered to himself. He looked out over the Black Lake,
and at the coloured clouds hoping as he had many times.
There was so much did not want to loose, but to keep it,
he needed the spell.
Taking out the Book, he closed his eyes and felt a light
wind against his face as he thought has hard as he could,
asking the Book to give him the incantation. He needed it
now more than ever, because if he did not get it, not even
his love for Hermione could save him from Voldemort.
A flash—a vision—moved in front of his eyes, and he
opened them quickly. He swore he could see Fawkes,
flying over him with what looked a stick in his claws. He
could not understand what it was, but he continued to look
down, and slowly unravel the scroll.
His eyes lit up brightly as writing—in English—was on the
scroll.
To bring about judgment on those who are dark, the light
must prevail.
The Oroborus Light must come forth and bind them to
their acts.
With the love of the light, the dark will perish.
Aepiliobarnus, Oroborus Lumnatium
And with this, the dark will fall, and the love of the light will
die.
With the love of the light, the dark will perish.
And it was with this last line, that Harry turned and ran into
the Room, to find Hermione on the floor, surrounded by
students while staff yelled at them to move out of the way.
Harry watched in shock as Madam Pomfrey reached her,
and said words that turned his blood to ice.
'She's not breathing.'
A/N - So there we are folks, quite a terrible cliffhanger
I know. There's more H/Hr in this I find, which was not
my original intention, but I hope it went well. As for
the battle, what do you think the next chapter and the
one after that are for? To give a preview, the next
chapter (what this chapter was originally going to be
titled before it got all changed around) is titled "The
Meeting of the Heirs". Quite an exciting chapter to be
written. :)
So yeah folks, please review and let me know your
thoughts! Oh, and what do you think of the incantation
of the Oroborus Light? The meaning is below (oh, and
for people still wondering, you'll find out Topher's last
name meaning probably in the next chapter).
Spell / Name Meanings:
Nous lutterons - French: Nous lutterons We will fight
Et triomphe - French: Et triomphe and triumph
The Oroborus Light - Aepiliobarnus, Oroborus
Lumnatium
Aepiliobarnus Welsh: A- - with, Epilio - to bring forth, barn
- judgment (Aepiliobarnus bring forth judgment with)
Oroborus Oroborus
Lumnatium Latin: Lumen - Light
Aepiliobarnus, Oroborus Lumnatium To bring forth
judgment with the Oroborus Light

- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO-
The Meeting of the Heirs
'Mr. Potter?' Madam Pomfrey asked, as Harry stood
outside the Hospital Wing. He felt like a father waiting to
hear about his new born baby, except much, much worse.
Hermione had collapse in the Room of Requirement, and
Madam Pomfrey had to get the House Elves to bring her
and Hermione to the Hospital Wing. Harry almost
screamed out Dobby's name, and Dobby got him to the
Hospital Wing right after Hermione.
Harry however, was so out of his nerves, he was just
trying to take hold of Hermione's hand, see her face;
something to know she was still there with him. Madam
Pomfrey had no choice but to get Ron—who had been
Apparated with Winky—to take Harry out of the Hospital
Wing to wait. Ron did so, but only after Madam Pomfrey
told both of them quickly that Hermione would be alright.
Harry was full of fear. It was such a fear he had only really
experienced once before: during the DA's excursion into
the Department of Mysteries. Seeing Hermione hit against
the wall, and having that feeling of utter helplessness pour
over him; it made him realize that Hermione's warm brown
hair, her deep auburn eyes, and those crafty hands could
be there right in front of him, but she herself could be
beyond reach, and there was nothing he could do to bring
her back.
It was that fear that now coursed through his veins, and
nothing else registered. He did not even notice Ron was
there with him, trying to talk to him and calm him down
outside the Hospital Wing doors. Nothing could calm Harry
now, except to see Hermione's bright eyes looking at him,
and that wonderfully soft voice in the air. Just the thought
of what he wanted the most made his eyes threaten tears.
As Harry paced to and fro in front of the Hospital Wing
doors, his ears were totally in tune to the sounds from
inside the room. Very little could be heard, but his heart
almost leapt out of chest when he heard coughing. The
idea that he would be so happy to hear Hermione
coughing would normally be quite nonsensical, but for this
time, hearing anything that was a sign of life was good.
When the doors did finally open, and Madam Pomfrey
called him over, Harry rushed towards, and the school
nurse put her hand up quickly. Harry could tell just by the
look on her face that his own face was filled with worry.
'She is resting, but she is alright. She is terribly sick, and
as I told all of you, she should not have been out of bed for
that feast. Now, please go and leave her to her rest'
Madam Pomfrey instructed. Harry would not have that
though. He was not going to just leave with Hermione in
that state.
'Madam Pomfrey, I must see Hermione' Harry insisted,
finally saying something. He had not spoken a word since
he yelled out for Dobby in the Room.
She waited for a moment to answer, but lowered her head,
and nodded. 'Alright, but only four of you. I won't have
everyone in here.'
Turning around, it was then that Harry realized at least half
of the feasts' attendance came to the Hospital Wing. Not
just people from Hogwarts, but even a few Beauxbatons
and Durmstrang students came. He had been so worried
and focused on Hermione, he hadn't noticed.
Harry wasted no time, and entered the quiet Hospital
Wing, Ron, Ginny, and Neville in tow. They assured
everyone to let them know about Hermione's condition in
an hour or two at the Guard meeting.
Walking straight to Hermione without waiting for the
others, Harry sat down on a stool, and looked over her
carefully.
Just an hour before, she was weak, yes, but cheerful. The
look of her bright red cheeks when the Hall cheered for
her arrival moved through Harry's mind like a slow moving
picture show, and he took her clammy hand in his, and
tried what he could to be there for her.
Ron, Ginny, and Neville all walked over slowly, and stood
on the other side from Harry. Hermione was breathing
again, though her breaths were shallow. She was still
pale, but she was alive, that was the important part.
'How did this happen?' Ginny asked hesitantly after a few
silent moments.
'She was alright, but then she just fell over' Neville added
quietly. He moved over and wrapped his arm around
Ginny as she began to tear over her best friend lying on
the Hospital bed. Harry looked up and remembered his
strange dream from earlier in the day, but moved back to
Hermione. He wanted to forget that dream, but still, he
remembered parts of it. Slowly—with fear again spreading
through his chest—he glanced at the bracelet.
Just as he saw it, he looked away as the shivers in his
chest intensified, and his hands tingled with fear. His head
was down, looking at his shoes, and the others took notice
of him quickly.
'Harry, what wrong? Are you alright?' Ron asked worriedly.
Ginny unfortunately, noticed what made Harry look away.
'Harry, what happened to the bracelet, it's—'
'Breaking' Harry whispered, as he looked at Hermione in
the bed and a tear fell down his cheek. It was coming true;
the dream was coming true.
The circlet had indeed broken farther down the length of it.
The split in it was now a quarter of the length, moving
towards the front. The sight of the bracelet breaking, made
Harry feel more of that terrible, helpless fear. It was as if
he could not stop it now. It would break, and Hermione
would die.
'Why is it breaking?' Neville asked, not knowing any better
than to not ask in the first place.
'It's the magic' another voice said, the groups' attention
being diverted towards the doorway.
'Professor Terrwynebas! Do you know what's causing
this?' Ginny asked hurriedly.
'In a way, I believe I do, yes' he answered cryptically,
walking over to Hermione's bed.
'You see, when Harry found the Book, in order to open it,
he had to activate the snake that was guarding it—'
'You mean the one on his arm?' Neville asked, Topher
nodding.
'But that is an Oroborus, a binding, magical entity that will
hold all his magic to him. Whatever magic he performs,
especially from the Book, it will come back onto him in
some manner or form.'
'But why is Hermione sick?' Neville asked.
'Because it is Harry's love for her that allows him to use
the Book. It is very complicated, but the magic is coming
back on Hermione, not Harry.'
'But she didn't do anything!' Ginny argued.
'I know Miss Weasley, I know, but the Book doesn't care. If
Harry uses magic from the Book, she will get even worse.'
Everyone looked at Hermione for a few moments, before
Ginny looked over at Topher again.
'Does that mean, she could . . . –die?'
Harry looked at Topher, and his heart sank as Topher
waited. Why could he not say "no" right away? The fact
that he had to think about it, made Harry agree that it
Hermione would die, and Topher would fail in finding a
way to keep Hermione alive.
'It is my job to make sure that does not happen, and it
won't Harry, so stop thinking it will' Topher said, looking at
Harry.
'Did you use Legilimency for that?' Harry questioned
heatedly. He was not going to save Hermione, and now he
was reading Harry's bloody mind, wasting time.
'Could you three give us a moment?' Topher asked the
others politely. Ron, Ginny, and Neville gave a glance
towards Hermione and Harry, then walked through the
door. Topher pulled up a stool next to Harry, and looked at
him carefully.
'Harry, anyone who knows anything about you, can tell just
by the look on your face you are already trying to accept
she will die. She will not die Harry, you must trust me. I
have given you so many reasons to trust me, you must try
to continue doing that.'
'But you don't know how to save her!' Harry bit back,
snapping his eyes back to Hermione.
'I do Harry. I know a way to save her, but I want to find
another way, because it requires something that I would
like to keep.'
'Well, if you have to give up some little trinket to keep
Hermione alive, you should' Harry told him gruffly. It took a
few moments of silence for Harry to realize he was being
overly selfish about it all, considering Topher just admitted
he could save Hermione.
'Topher, I'm sorr-'
'It's alright Harry, I understand. Hermione means the world
to you, and believe me, I will give up that little trinket. Just
remember what Hermione would want you to focus on: the
Guard, Hogwarts, and Voldemort. Would she rather have
you here, sitting next to her all night, or out there trying to
help others prepare for the attack?'
Harry glanced off into space while he thought, and
realized that as much as he wanted to stay with Hermione
in the Hospital Wing for the entire attack and protect her
and only her, he had to help everyone else. It was not so
much that he would help every single person, but he
knew, just like how the Hall applauded Hermione's
appearance tonight, just being there would help others.
'I'm not trying to guilt you Harry, I'm not. I'm just trying to
get you to realize, two days from now, you could be
standing up in the East Tower with Hermione, having the
best snog-fest-'
'Toph!' Harry said, blushing and the trace of a smile wiping
across his face at his train of thought.
'Well! I'm just saying you have to look forward to things
like that, alright? None of this "doom and gloom" stuff. I
know things look terrible now, they always do, but you
have to keep good memories, and good hopes with you.
Especially if there will be Dementors, not to mention any
animals that Voldemort might bring into the castle.'
It was at this mention, that Harry was reminded of yet
another terrible thing he still had left.
'Topher, there's a snake, a really big one that Voldemort
has. It's like his pet, and—' Harry trailed off.
'And?' Topher asked, tilting his head downward. Harry told
Topher very little of Horcruxes, but it was not like he had
much choice with the situation.
'And we think it's a Horcrux. Well, Dumbledore thought it
was a Horcrux. I need to find a way to destroy it, but the
potion we used for another Horcrux, took weeks to brew,'
'Maybe the Book will tell you. But I know' Topher added,
seeing the look on Harry's face, 'you want to avoid using
the book. I'll look in some of my old books, and I'll ask
Severus to take a look at some of his, um, shadier books.'
'I still can't believe he's on our side' Harry mentioned,
Topher letting out a chuckle, which seemed a bit out of
place, but good to hear none the less. It reminded Harry of
how much Topher did not have much of a like towards
Snape too.
'I know, he is quite a dark character. He can't strut around
like he used to last year, but he's still very arrogant. Good
Slytherin I gather, just poor bedside manners. Oh, and to
let you know, he'll be helping you out with the Werewolf
training tonight.'
'Lovely' Harry responded darkly, looking back at
Hermione.
Topher looked at Harry and Hermione for a moment,
before getting up. 'Alright Harry, I'm going to start on that
Horcrux stuff. I have an idea for something, but need to
check it. But you should let Ron and the others in, let them
know what's happening Harry, ask for their help. They're
your friends, don't forget that. I'll see you later tonight at
the meeting.' Harry thanked Topher, and the Defence
Professor went out the doors, Ron and the others coming
back in, and sitting down.
They were quiet for a moment, then Harry glanced at
Hermione's face, and looked at his friends.
'Alright, here's what's going on . . .'
-
'CRUCIO!'
The russet haired man screamed in pain as he felt the
torture curse spread through him. The feeling of a
thousand needles in his muscles finally lifted, and he
gasped as he felt the hard stone beneath him, and the
cold sweat that dominated every surface of his body.
'You let Potter get the Scepter, and walk out of the
Department of Mysteries? I thought you were up to this
Lesath—'
'I was My Lord!' Lesath pleaded.
'Do not interrupt your Lord! CRUCIO!' came from a woman
Lesath knew was Bellatrix. She was trying to be his
favourite, and the torture curse caused him immense pain,
but anger as well, and he yelled out at her as the pain
continued.
Finally she stopped, and Lesath could swear he was
smoking from the feeling of being electrocuted. He could
hear Bellatrix laughing in the hollow chamber, and Lesath
was filled with a rage that almost equaled that which he
had towards Topher. He wanted to kill Bellatrix, right now,
with as much violence and pain he could bring about.
'Do not interrupt me either Bella, or you shall join him' the
Dark Lord hissed. Lesath could hear Bellatrix apologizing
like a wimpy dog, and it made him feel better, on the
inside at least. The Dark Lord was smart enough to know
when Bellatrix was just sucking up.
'Leave us' the Dark Lord commanded. Black forms moved
from the shadowy sides of the room, some that Lesath did
not know even existed there before. When they all left, it
was only him, the Dark Lord, and a hissing sound from the
darkness.
'Wormtail tells me you have a plan to enter Hogwarts
through a tunnel, and capture Potter and his Mudblood'
the Dark Lord exclaimed slowly. Lesath was angry with
Wormtail of course, but nodded, he head still very much
pointed towards the floor.
'It was a proposal I was going to suggest to you My Lord. I
would never try it without your approval' he stressed. He
had to watch his wording, knowing the Dark Lord was a
cunning man.
The Dark Lord was silent for a moment, before hissing
more to his lowly Death Eater. 'You will carry out this-ss
plan, but will use a tunnel only I know of, one that is
secret—very ssss-secret. It will bring you to the Second
Floor of Hogwarts, which is very close to the Defence
Against the Dark Arts classroom.' The news was already
thrilling Lesath. Not only was he being allowed to carry out
his plan, but he will be close to where Topher will be. He
could even kill him, in his own office!
'Of course My Lord, when shall I go?' Lesath asked
excitedly, keeping his head facing the stone floor. He
could see from the shadows cast upon the floor that the
Dark Lord had risen from his chair, and was moving about,
on the edge of the darkness.
'Tonight Lesath, and you will either complete this task, or
die. The once you reach the end of the tunnel, you will
enter a large chamber. Follow the passageway, and crawl
up the large pipe at the end. You will be in a washroom,
on the Second Floor. From there, you will kill the
Mudblood, and bring Potter to me.'
'Yes My Lord, I will do all of this, and I will not fail' Lesath
professed confidently.
'You should hope so Lesath. Other, more bloodthirsty
followers will be following the same path into the depths of
Hogwarts.'
'I will not fail My Lord' Lesath restated.
Lesath was released for the time, and Voldemort called in
Bellatrix, along with Wormtail and Fenrir.
'Fenrir, gather your Werewolf brethren. Your services will
be needed in Hogwarts' the Dark Lord expressed easily.
Fenrir licked his lips, bowed, and left quickly. Wormtail
wondered why they were being released a day early.
'My Lord, the Full Moon isn't until tomorrow night. Sure,
they would be better to-'
'Silence Wormtail' the Dark Lord hissed, Pettigrew
hunkering low to the ground in submission. Even Bella
gave the rat of a man a disgusted glance.
'The sight of a transforming Werewolf will I'm sure scare
many in Hogwarts' the Dark Lord informed.
'Bellatrix, you will tell our friends with the Giants to begin
their attack on the Forbidden Forest. Go to Hogsmede,
and wait for the Mark to be put above the school. Flow
through the gates and into the grounds, swallow up the
castle, and leave no one alive.'
'What of Lesath?' she inquired. She had to know if she
would be ordering him or not.
'He is of no concern to you Bellatrix, now go' Voldemort
ordered. Bellatrix was upset, not knowing if Lesath was in
serious trouble for messing up again, or if the Dark Lord
had been some how deceived by that ridiculous plan. But
she knew not to press the Dark Lord, and bowed quickly.
She still planned on catching Potter and his Mudblood
before Lesath could.
Bellatrix left the room, running into Lesath reentering the
chamber, giving her a sly smirk, and she quickened her
pace towards the exit. The Dark Lord could never make a
mistake, but trusting Lesath with this was one to Bella.
She was determined, more than ever before, to show the
Dark Lord how Lesath was a failure. The others can kill
the students and Ministry; she was going to beat Lesath
and prove who the Dark Lord's favourite was.
Meanwhile in the chamber, Wormtail was given his orders.
He took them, trying not to show or feel hesitation, and he
walked into one of the shadowy corners of the room, never
coming out.
Once he transformed into a rat, he scurried into the black,
rocky tunnel that was hidden in the darkness, and moved
as quickly as he could towards the end. It took half a day
to reach Hogwarts, and he had to get there as quickly as
possible.
Maybe this is the moment the Sorting Hat told me about . .
.
-
'ENOUGH!'
Snape was beginning to lose his nerve, trying to get all
these frightened Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students to
learn the spells. Luckily, the Durmstrang students knew
some defence against Werewolves, since they focused
more on the Dark Arts, but Snape was griping about the
other ones.
'Would you stop yelling at them!' Ron spat at Snape, not
with a shout, but loud enough that a few nearby students
heard, with some silent "thank yous" whispered.
'Oh be silent Weasley. If you want them to get bitten and
live with the curse, then I'll stop wasting my time. This is
not a miniscule defence club you do on the weekends, this
is life and death. These children will die unless they learn,
so if a bit of yelling and discipline are needed, so be it'
Snape defended darkly. He was still as arrogant as ever,
but he was no longer a professor, and these were not his
students. Taking away house points or detentions did not
matter anymore.
'And they don't need a loud-mouthed git telling them how
they will die tomorrow unless they learn spells some
seventh years can't even get!' Harry retorted forcefully. He
was not going to let Snape yell at these students. He had
enough of it when Snape taught Potions. Just because he
was back in Hogwarts didn't mean he could take up those
old habits.
'If they don't want to face reality, then I will leave them for
you to train Potter. Just remember who is helping
Terrwynebas with Granger' Snape voiced forebodingly,
turning and leaving the Room of Requirement with his
black cloak billowing behind him. Harry told Ron to
continue with training, and ran after Snape.
'Snape! Snape!' Harry shouted as he chased the greasy-
haired man's shadow. He finally caught up to him, but
Snape continued to walk briskly forward towards the
Defence classroom, ignoring Harry
'What is wrong with you?' Harry argued, Snape finally
acknowledging Harry's presence.
'You still think this is a game, don't you Potter? Everything
is a game to you. "Be polite, don't yell, say please;" do you
think this will do any good when these students are dead?'
Snape questioned. He stopped for a moment, but in the
second that Harry thought how to answer, he started back
with his quick pace down a stairwell, Sir Headless Nick
floating by.
'Why are you so scared?' Harry retorted, coming down the
stairs after him.
'Potter, if you think I am scared—'
'I don't think, I know you're scared' Harry interrupted.
'Go back to your Guards Potter, and leave me to my work
trying for some reason to save Granger.'
Snape turned and continued towards the Defence
classroom, but Harry wanted to know this. Ron, Neville,
and the others could take care of the Guards for the
moment.
'No, you're going to tell me why. I'm going to keep bugging
you, over and over again, until you tell me why you're—'
'You are just as arrogant as your father, thinking you
should know everything about everyone. I don't have to tell
you, and I won't, now GO!' Snape shouted, looking back
slightly before continuing forward. Harry was left standing
in the hallway, and decided to come back to it later. It did
not matter much now why he was scared, but he still
wanted to know.
Coming back to the Room of Requirement, Ron and the
others had divide people up into groups, to practice the
spells to be used against Werewolves. Durmstrang
students were trying to help where they could, and as
Harry came around a group of quiet chatting students—
comprised mostly of Durmstrang and Slytherin—they all
backed away and started to work on the spells.
'Everything alright here Nott?' Harry asked.
'Perfectly, now can you leave so we can practice with our
Durmstrang chums here?' he replied arrogantly. Harry
walked away, and took a glance back as he saw them
talking to each other again.
Harry could not hear what they were saying, but Pansy
Parkinson could. She did not know what Nott was up to,
but her gossipy ears were tuned into his conversation.
'So when the attack comes, meet on the Third Floor
corridor. We can take out students and staff on the higher
levels. Best to stay clear of the lower ones.'
'Vhy is dat?' one of the Durmstrang students asked, Nott
and the others leaning in closer.
'Father told me so. Death Eaters will be too busy on the
Ground and First Floor, and Potter will be too busy trying
to keep his Mudblood safe in the Hospital Wing. We'll work
from the top down, and the Dark Lord will praise us for our
work. Tell any other Durmstrang students if they want to
be on the right side.'
'Com'on people, work on those spells!' Ernie Macmillan
voiced nearby, breaking up the conversation again, Pansy
glancing to see the Durmstrang students smile and nod
shortly, as they went back to practicing spells.
The meeting finished with a trickle of students leaving.
Many stayed until they could barely stand due to
sleepiness. Harry, other seventh years, and DA members
continued to help people, and tried to stay focused. But
even they got tired, and eventually Harry told people they
should go.
Harry knew no one in the castle would really sleep, but
they had to try. Even with all the things going around his
mind—Hermione, Voldemort, Nagini, his Scar, the
Weasleys—he knew he would fall asleep soon, or at least
loose enough energy to stand.
Many of the DA members lingered in the Room as the
younger first and second years that were left slouched out
and to their dormitories. Harry was yawning when he got a
tap on the shoulder from someone, and was surprised to
see it was Pansy Parkinson standing there.
'Pansy, you should go to sleep. Everyone will need it'
Harry commented. Pansy looked worried about
something—aside from the impending attack—and moved
close to Harry to whisper to him.
'I need to speak to you . . . alone.'
Harry glanced at her oddly for a moment, but agreed. It
was weird, but he could tell she was truly concerned about
something, and was not hiding anything. Later, he would
realize this was his Legilimency working.
'Don't worry Pansy, things will be alright' Harry comforted,
as they walked to the far end of the fake Hall. They were
out of earshot of the others, but kept to whispers.
'No, it's not about the attack Harry. Well, it is, but—oh
blast it! Nott was talking to some Durmstrang students
about turning on students and fighting for You-Know-Who.'
Harry tried not to glance at Nott, who was still in the
Room, but his eyes connected. Unfortunately, he was
looking at him at that very instant.
'How do you know?' Harry questioned.
'I heard them talking during the meeting tonight. They said
something about the Third Floor corridor, and attacking
students, but not much more. I feel disgusted telling you,
but I don't want You-Know-Who to win.'
'Well, thanks any way Pansy. I'll keep an eye on him'
Harry affirmed, beginning to walk away.
'And Harry,' Pansy added, sounding a little more hopeful,
'will you let Draco out? He's a good dueler, one of the
best. And I thought he was on our side.'
Harry gave a sigh, and looked up at the dark, cloud-like
ceiling. 'We'll see Pansy.'
Once the DA was dismissed, Harry's eyes coming too
many times on Nott's face, he, Neville, Ginny, Luna, and
Ron left the Room and went towards the Hospital Wing.
Harry felt the Room was almost happy they left, since the
instant the door was closed, it vanished, and Harry swore
he heard a sigh of relief from the wall. The suit of armour
even admitted the Room would be happy.
'It hates to be overused, you know? Likes a good amount
of variety, it does.'
'So what did Pansy want?' Ginny asked abruptly.
'She told me someone is planning on betraying the
students, and fighting for Voldemort' Harry answered,
Neville shrugging a little at the mention of his name.
Luckily by this time, Ron was used to it, so they did not
have to deal with his spasm-like flinches.
'Betraying? But how?' Ron asked as they turned a corner
and walked down a calm hallway. The night sky was still
extremely dark with the clouds covering the stars, and red
trickles of light came from the fires that still burned in
Hogsmeade.
'I don't know. I'm not even sure whether she's telling the
truth or not, but she did mention someone specific.'
'Who?' Neville asked.
'Theodore Nott.'
'Well, if it was anybody, it would be him' Ginny assessed.
'We'll have to keep an eye on him in the next while. Use
the map for now, it should work' Neville advised.
'Just as long as he doesn't leave the castle' Ron added, as
they came into the Hospital Wing, to find several student
Healers in, but no Madam Pomfrey. Harry figured she
must be a sleep, and went to Hermione's bed, where
Topher was sitting. Harry clapped him on the shoulder,
and he turned his head and smirked. Harry's face
brightened when he saw Hermione was awake, and
smiling weakly up at him.
'I need to borrow him for a moment, is that alright?' Topher
asked Hermione. She nodded slowly, and Harry gave her
a kiss before walking out of the Hospital Wing. The others
pulled up stools and began talking to Hermione, letting
them know what was going on.
'I think I found a spell' Topher declared as they quickly
walked towards the Defence classroom. Harry wanted to
see Hermione, but he knew to go with Topher. This spell
was very important.
'A spell for the Horc—'
'Jelly Jars' Topher interrupted, giving a smirk, and Harry
nodding.
'There's only one trick to it' Topher continued, opening the
door and Harry following him to his office in the back of the
classroom. 'It uses Dementors.'
'Dementors?' Harry questioned. Topher's office was pitch
black, and with a wave of his wand, candles lit the room in
a dull amber light.
'Yes, that's the tricky part. The spell was in a very old—
and very dark—book. I found it in the Professor's section
of the library, and—'
'There's a Professor's section?' Harry asked.
'Yes there is. Don't think just because you can't see it,
doesn't mean it's not there' he added with a knowing look,
and a brief grin. 'Now, this spell, it's called the Dementors
Purge.' He took a black, leather bound book, and put it
down on his desk, turning it to face Harry. There was a
picture of a man, and the ghostly figure of a dementor
flying at what his wand was pointing at.
'What does it do?' Harry asked, shivers running up his
spine at the picture of the dementor. It looked quite lifelike,
for a picture at least.
'It uses a sort of Dementors Call, along with Legilimency
and Occlumency, to bring dementors to you, and suck the
soul out of what you're putting the spell on. It requires you
bring up bad memories in the other, and keep good ones
in yours. That way, the dementors will move towards your
target more than you. And, since I imagine you're going to
be using this on a snake, it can't cast a patronus. The dark
memories will only intensify, until a dementor sucks its
soul out, probably destroying the Jelly Jar.'
'Probably?' Harry noticed.
'Well, I don't know for sure, I just found this spell, and it
doesn't mention anything about doing it on animals, let
alone ones with more than one soul in them.'
Harry sighed, but straightened up. 'What's the
incantation?' Topher turned the book around, and
skimmed the worn writing. He put down his wand before
saying it.
'Accio Demevesco, and for the love of Merlin, don't say it
with your wand in hand until you need it. Unfortunately,
you can't practice this one before using it, but you have to
keep your mind ready. When you see this snake, you have
to use the Dementors Purge, and then immediately start
with your Legilimency on it.'
Harry put down his wand, and looked at the book. 'Accio
Demavesco.'
'No, Dem-e-vesco' Topher corrected.
'Demevesco, right. Accio Demevesco.'
'Yes. Hopefully, Voldemort's planning on using
Dementors, so they won't take too long to get to you. Trick
is, finding the snake before it finds you.' Harry nodded,
and Topher shifted in his seat before continuing. 'Has the
Book told you the incantation?'
'It did' Harry answered after a brief moment. Topher
almost fell off his seat with happiness.
'It did! That's great Harry! Do you remember it?' Topher
asked excitedly. It was like he just found out Christmas
was tomorrow and he had hundreds of presents waiting
for him.
'I . . . do, but what about Hermione? Have you figured out
how to save her?' Harry asked, almost pleadingly.
Hermione was the first and last thing on his mind, before
everything else like the Horcruxes and Voldemort. Even
though he already said he found a way, he needed
reassurance. Once he used the spell, he knew there
would be no way back.
Topher sat back down, and smiled at Harry. 'I have Harry,
I have. But I have something to warn you about.' With this,
Harry's fingers began to tingle with worry.
'At sometime during the battle, you'll be given something.
When you've gotten it, you'll know Hermione is safe.'
'Given something, what do you mean?' Harry asked. At
this, Topher stood, and motioned Harry up, and towards
the door.
'You'll know Harry, don't worry. Go and see Hermione, and
get some sleep.'
Just as they reached the door, Harry had to ask about one
more thing.
'Topher, there's . . . well, another Horcrux as well, one I
didn't mention before.'
'Oh?'
'Yeah, you see it's- . . . it's my scar' Harry divulged. He
waited to see what Topher's reaction would be. He
expected a step back and a careful stare at his forehead,
but what came was a bit of a surprise.
'If what I think should happen when you use the Light does
happen, it should not be a problem Harry. Worry about the
snake, and Voldemort, and you and Hermione will be
alright.'
Harry left, thanking Topher, and went back to the Hospital
Wing to see Hermione again with the others. Topher in the
mean time went back to his office, and took his lovely
snowy owl on his arm.
'I'm going to need you to deliver something for me
tomorrow to Fawkes, Polaris. Once you take it, and bring it
to Fawkes, you'll belong to Hermione afterwards.'
-
'HARRY!'
Harry bolted up right from his sleepless lie down, and
clambered to the doorway of his room with his cloak half
on.
'HARRY! HARRY WAKE UP!'
'What, what is it?' Harry shouted back, coming down the
steps to see Ron red faced and looking beyond grim.
'The attack's begun!'
'What!'
'Giants are coming through the forest and the dementors
are almost through the protective charms around the
castle.'
'What about the Werewolves?' Harry questioned, as they
briskly walked out the door of the East Tower and towards
the Room of Requirement. Harry had run about and make
sure the Book was in his pocket, as well as some presents
for Voldemort. The night before, he put the memories of
his mother's death and other unpleasant memories in the
Pensieve Hermione made for him, and made sure it was in
the desk, and locked it with his wand.
'Looks like nothing so far, not really sure. The Ground
Floor is a mess, everyone in the bloody Ministry is just
running around. Dad said so far they haven't seen any
wizards or Werewolves' Ron informed. They were walking
along the corridor, the morning sunlight not making much
impact due to the overcast dark skies. It looked like it was
still the dead of night.
'Well, Werewolves can only come out in the nighttime any
way, right?' Harry proposed, Ron not looking so
convinced.
'Let's hope so.'
Along the way, dozens of Guards met up with Harry and
Ron, and bounded towards the Room of Requirement.
Luna came and held Ron's hand as they moved quickly.
When they passed windows, everyone tried to see the
Forbidden Forest. Harry caught a glimpse of the trees
swaying from side to side, and arrows flying through the
sky with roars and yells filling the air.
'Centaurs must be giving them a run for their galleons'
Ron insisted.
Reaching the Room, Harry walked in to find everyone
there, alert and ready. Harry felt like a general on the
verge of a great siege, and his army was ready, dressed in
their cloaks with the silver H of their Guard badges on their
shoulders.
It seemed most people arrived within good time, and many
were scared. They were huddled in groups together,
holding on and trying to support each other as the roar of
voices echoed in the Hall. Harry was of course very
scared too, knowing what he would face today.
Getting to the other end, after plowing through the
multitude of students from three different schools, he
found the professors, the Order, and several Ministry
members.
'How are you doing Harry?' came from the old figure of
Aberforth, who was standing near Moody.
'I'm- . . . I'm alright' Harry replied. What did he expect the
answer to be?
'Don't fret young Harry. We'll have the best members of
the Order with you, you'll be safe for as long as we can
make you' Aberforth insisted. It took Harry a moment to
remember that Aberforth was a Dumbledore, and he
nodded at the old man trying to comfort Harry. In the time,
he also remembered Aberforth's lack of dealing with
students.
Ron had already gone and found the other Weasleys, who
were talking amongst each other, giving many hugs
between each other. Aberforth gave Harry a rather rough
clap on the shoulder, and Harry continued towards the
Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley was already half way to
hysterics.
'Oh Harry dear! Are you alright? Don't worry, we'll all be
watching out for you, and you'll be safe, I prom-'
'Mrs. Weasley, I know, I know. I'm just glad you're all here'
Harry interrupted. He knew she would have kept going
with it. She stared at him with those wide, worried eyes of
hers, and gave him a bone-crushing hug, coupled with
tears and sobs. Harry gave her as warm a hug in return as
he could, and she let go, and quickly turned back towards
Mr. Weasley.
'Mr. Potter, we must get the Guards into their groups, so
they can disperse throughout the castle' Professor
McGonagall exclaimed, walking over briskly.
'Where's Hagrid?' Harry asked all of a sudden, realizing
his big friend was not there.
'He is keeping in contact with the centaurs. He took some
students from Durmstrang and some upper years to help
the centaurs. He hoped with helping them, the centaurs
would agree to be allies for the time.'
Harry hated not having Hagrid around, not knowing what
could happen to him, but he had bigger issues to deal
with. Hagrid had taken a lot in his years, he would be
alright.
He quickly cast the red rain over the hall, and the Guard
broke up into its separate groups. Many of the younger
students were shivering in fear, and already a few had to
be taken out because they broke into uncontrollable sobs
and crying.
Harry moved to his group—to be put near the staircase on
the Second Floor—and found them all trying to hide what
he knew lie in each of them.
His group consisted of: himself, Dean Thomas, Colin
Creevy, Padma Patil, Orla Quirke, Megan Jones, Daphne
Greengrass, Graham Pritchard, Aaron Tomlinson, Vivian
Vimcount, and Chris Milne. They had some Beauxbatons
students with them, including Fleur's sister Gabrielle, and
also some strapping young men from Durmstrang. In total,
his group numbered to around twenty five. Luckily, Ron's
group was placed right down the hall from Harry, and his
group had Luna and some others in it, while Neville's
group was only one corridor away, which had Ginny in it.
Harry greeted his group, many of whom were still
extremely scared and shaking, and he turned towards the
others, speaking loud enough to be heard.
'Don't be afraid. Voldemort will try, but he'll lose! We've
been training for months, and we're ready! This will be the
day that we prove, that Hogwarts is here to stay! For
Hogwarts!'
'FOR HOGWARTS!' the entire hall yelled. Many of the
older students, knowing it was needed, cheered loudly and
encouraged the others, and the mass of students became
a roar of energy.
'Alright, let's go' Harry told his group. They all carefully got
up and started their way out of the hall, when the entire
room shook, and many students fell on the floor. The
younger ones were crying and scared beyond their wits,
but Harry pulled some of them up, and continued out the
door, while many of the students continued to cheer over
the boom, and kept spirits high.
'Good luck Ron' Harry told his best friend in the midst of
the rush of students. Ron came up, and the two gave each
other a hug. The cracks of House Elves moving people
around the castle continued around everyone, like
firecrackers.
'You just stay alive, or I'll have them put "Harry Potter,
stupid git" on your tombstone' Ron joked, Harry actually
chuckling a bit. Ron could always make him crack a smile.
'Seriously Harry, watch out' Ron added. Harry nodded,
and the two brought their groups through the halls, which
were packed with other groups and hundreds of students
on their ways to the positions.
'Don't worry Potter, I'll keep an eye on the young'uns. Just
keep your eyes open' Moody advised as they walked, and
he hobbled along. Moody was placed with him, along with
several other Order members, and some from the Ministry,
including Bill.
'I gotta ask, is it alright for you to be out helping us with the
Moon?' Harry asked Bill as he dropped back a bit in the
group, which was hustling down a narrow corridor.
'Poppy actually said it could help. I can smell other
Werewolves around, and I'm not as affected by their bites
now, so I imagine that'll help us. I won't transform though,
not like Lupin, but he's in the dungeons.'
'Dungeons!' Harry realized, just as Topher bound towards
him. Topher was in charge of a group guarding the
Hospital Wing.
'Topher, I have to go down to the dungeons to talk to
Draco' Harry told him. Topher told Moody to take the
group onwards, and Harry and Topher split off, and down
a stairwell.
'Shouldn't we get Dobby to bring us?' Harry asked, Topher
shaking his head.
'House Elves are too busy moving professors and other
people. We'll get one of the ghosts to help us. Ah here, Sir
Nick!' Topher called ahead, seeing the shimmering,
almost-decapitated man floating over the students. Topher
asked him to check the stairwell nearby to make sure
getting to the dungeons would be alright, and he gladly
flew through the floor.
'We'll go there now quickly, but remember Harry, you have
to find that snake. You can't sit there with your group to
defend that part of the castle, you have to go searching.'
'But I don't even know where it could be!' Harry remarked
as they quickly ran past the Ground Floor and the chaos
that was the Ministry. Sir Nick kept an eye open around
the corner, and let them know it was alright.
'Use that delightful map of yours then Harry. But if you're
using the Dementors Purge, you have to find it alone. Any
other people there, they could get their souls sucked out
too' Topher advised, as they reached the dungeons. Harry
could hear the thousands of feet above them, pounding on
the stone floors as they moved. They reached some of the
old cells, and found Draco, and Lupin.
'Potter, you have to let me out, for Merlin's sake! This
beast is going to eat me!'
'Oh, be quiet, Malfoy' Lupin moaned from the next cell,
sitting on the floor and looking very exhausted.
'How are you?' Harry asked. He never saw Lupin in his
controlled transformation; he always did it privately.
'I'm fine Harry, just tired. The attack has begun, hasn't it?'
'Yeah, earlier than we thought.'
'Fenrir was probably growing anxious. Plus the sight of a
Werewolf transforming isn't exactly the most pleasant
thing for a child to see. Is the sky overcast and dark?'
Lupin asked. Harry nodded, and Lupin sighed. 'Then be
ready to have Werewolves in the daytime.'
'How can they—'
'The sky has to be dark for most to transform. Some have
to see the Full Moon itself, like me, but others just need
darkness, and the Full Moon. The moon is full now, but
Voldemort needs darkness, so he's brought that.'
'Potter, let me out before he bites me and I turn into one of
those beasts!' Malfoy again begged from his cell, reaching
around the bars.
'Let him out Harry. He'll be screaming too much and
attract attention' Lupin sighed. Harry let Malfoy go, and
they called a House Elf, Moky, to bring him to Harry's
group. Draco of course complained about the House Elf,
but Topher forced him, and he vanished. Harry and
Topher left Remus with their best lucks, and the two went
to the Hospital Wing, for Harry to see Hermione just once
more.
Reaching inside, the student Healers were running
everywhere, preparing stations and beds. House Elves
were helping as well, getting things done in record time.
They kept popping in to and out of the room, the cracks
almost never stopped.
With another loud eruption of fire outside the windows,
Harry walked over, took Hermione's hand, and she
opened her eyes and smiled.
'It started, didn't it?' she whispered, Harry nodding, and
kissing her hand gently. How he wished she could be
there next to him, fighting against what was coming at
them. He knew she hated just sitting in this bed, not being
able to do anything.
'I told you, I will not be a damsel in distress' she added,
Harry quirking his brow.
'When did you learn Legilimency?' Harry asked. She
smirked cutely, and motioned him closer.
'You don't need Legilimency to read your mind' she
answered, Harry smirked, his eyes getting watery, before
swooping down and kissing her. It seemed the world
dissolved around them as they slowly exchanged the kiss.
Her shaky hand reached up behind his head, and became
calmed once it started running through his messy hair.
Harry backed away, and smiled at her, Hermione doing
the same.
'You're going to win Harry, I know you are' she spoke
softly.
Harry could feel the bracelet grow hot against his arm, and
squeezed Hermione's hands, as if he never wanted to let
go. In the instant he blinked, the sight of Hermione on his
lap on Christmas morning flashed in front of his eyes, and
it caused him to beam intensely at Hermione.
'Just . . . just stay here with me, Hermione' Harry
professed. She rose up slightly, and kissed him sweetly,
and Harry could feel the bracelet again growing hot.
'Harry, we have to go' came from behind the couple. Harry
reluctantly stood up, and for the first time, Hermione
purposely put her hand right on the bracelet.
A flash of images, from many different points in Harry's
life, moved through his mind and indeed his eyes. It was
there and gone so quickly, he could not understand what it
was at all.
'Trust yourself Harry. Just remember we all care for you,
and we all love you' Hermione maintained. Harry nodded
quietly, and Hermione pulled on his arm, bringing him
closer.
'And I love you Harry, with every fiber of my being.' Harry
gave her one more kiss, and with noses touching, he
answered the same.
'I love you too Hermione, more than anything in the world.'
'Harry, we have to go' the voice sounded again, Harry
looking to see it was Topher. Harry started to walk away,
and he had a terrible feeling this was the last time he
would see Hermione alive. He held on to her hand for as
long as possible, and the instant she became out of reach,
the bracelet again cracked, this time reaching half-way,
and the vision of Hermione on the bed from his dream
flashed in front of his eyes. Harry continued to watch
Hermione as he and Topher left the Hospital Wing, until
the doors blocked his view, and tears finally fell from his
eyes.
'Harry' Topher told him straightforwardly, with his hands on
his shoulders. 'Go, get the map, and find that snake.
Dementors are already moving up the grounds, they'll be
in the castle soon. You have to find the snake, and don't
worry about Hermione—she will live. Dobby!' Topher
called, the House Elf appearing out of nowhere.
'Take Harry to Neville Longbottom please. I want you to
stay with him the whole time, understand? Never leave his
side!'
'Yes Professor Terrwynebas! Dobby will be honoured to
help Harry Potter! Come Harry Potter, Dobby will bring you
Mr. Longbottom!' Dobby held out his tiny hand, and Harry
felt by the look on Topher's face, that he knew something
was going to happen.
'Just keep an eye above you Harry, look out for Fawkes,
remember the spells, remember that Hermione will be
safe, and that she loves you.' Harry looked at Topher for a
moment, before nodding.
'Let's go Dobby' Harry said, giving a smile to Topher
before disappearing.
Reaching Neville's group, Harry got the map off him, and
unfolded it nearby.
'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'
The writing appeared as expected, and Harry could see
the hundreds of markers moving about the grounds,
strange names appeared to be romping around the edge
of the Forest, but it took a moment to realize those were
probably Giants. Harry worriedly scanned, but sighed
when he found Hagrid still there, coming back to the castle
with a group of students.
Suddenly Harry could feel a dark and cold chill run through
him, and he knew what was coming. The air grew dry and
frozen, and the torches diminished and burnt out. He hid
the map, and Dobby clamped to his leg shivering. The
halls grew dark, and Harry could hear students and others
screaming in the distance.
Dark thoughts began to filter into Harry's mind, and he
could tell Dobby was really being affected by the
Dementors. He kept trying whispering things like "please
Master Malfoy" and "bad Dobby. Harry did not wait for the
memories to intensify, and took out his wand, thinking of
the kiss he just had with Hermione in the Hospital Wing.
'Expecto Patronum!'
A glorious phoenix burst out of his wand, and moved down
the hallway. Harry could see at least four dementors
moving around the area near the staircase, and at the
sight of Harry's patronus, students from the groups began
firing off their patronus'.
A bright silvery frog came from one side, while a dimmer
shark came from the other. After a moment, dozens of
Patronus' pushed the dementors back down, and many of
the Order and Ministry people kept theirs moving down the
stairwell.
Turning back to the map in the moment before another
attack, Harry switched to the Second Floor, trying to find
the snake, and his eyes grew wide and he triple checked
to make sure he was seeing it correctly. His blood almost
turned to boiling hot lava as he felt a long standing hatred
rise up in him, seeing the name that was on the map.
Standing in Moaning Myrtle's washroom, was Peter
Pettigrew.
Harry ordered Dobby to bring him outside the washroom,
and he was there a moment later. The two startled a
student group nearby, and Seamus walked up quickly.
'Harry, thank Merlin you're here! Dementors are
everywhere, and we're starting to get word that Death
Eaters are making their way into the grounds. No
Werewolves luckily.'
'Seamus, if any one or any thing comes out of this
washroom other than me or Dobby, I need you to stop it,
alright?' Harry ordered carefully.
'Erm, alright Harry. Hey you three, come here!' Seamus
yelled to some of his group members, as Harry looked at
the map again. Pettigrew was still inside, pacing around.
Harry took his wand in his hand, put the map in his pocket,
and went to the doorway.
Taking a deep breath, he opened up the door slowly, and
peered in.
The washroom was ten times darker than the hallway, but
Harry could see Pettigrew, standing near one of the sinks.
'I think you're an evil fellow' the voice of Moaning Myrtle
said in the washroom.
'I'm not! I'm here to warn Harry Potter, I have to find him!'
'Stupefy!' Harry yelled. Pettigrew fell to the stone floor
hard, and Harry burst into the washroom with Dobby on
his tail. Myrtle was clapping her hands and sighing in
relief.
'Oh Harry, I knew you'd come!' Myrtle announced, flying
down and coming just a bit too close to Harry than he'd
like.
'Where did he come from?' Harry asked Myrtle, as she
floated away towards the toilets again.
'Oh I'm not sure, I just finished swirling around the pipes
when I heard something in here, and came up to see. He
was making an awful amount of noise, muttering
something about you and the Sorting Hat, then about a
chamber and Werewolves. He kept looking around him
too, something about a snake.'
Harry made sure Pettigrew was still, and walked over
quickly to the stall Myrtle was in.
'Myrtle, did you say he was talking about a snake?'
'Well I don't know! Why don't you just ask him yourself'
Myrtle answered through the door.
'Because he's a lying piece of filth, and I couldn't trust him.'
'Well, then there's no need for me now is there!' Myrtle
screeched, the water in the toilet splashing about as she
zoomed back down.
Harry could hear more yells coming from outside the door,
and could tell that the Dementors were attacking again.
Harry needed to find the snake, and he had very few
options. Checking the map again, Dobby still by his side,
he still could not find anything close to the snake—though
with so many names, it was hard to find a specific one.
Harry paced for a moment, and realized he had to hear
what Pettigrew said. There was something fishy about why
he was trying to warn Harry. Harry made sure to take
Pettigrew's wand away before lifting the curse.
Once the spell was lifted, Harry walked over to the
shivering filth that was Pettigrew, and pointed his wand
right at his rat-like face. 'Tell me why I shouldn't kill you?'
'Oh Harry, you mustn't! I've done terrible things, don't be
like me! I came to warn you—'
'Warn me? About what, the attack? You're a bit late for
that Pettigrew.'
'No! About the Werewolves! They're not coming from the
outside!'
'Uch! I don't have time for this' Harry guffawed, pointing his
wand at the traitor and planning to stun him again, and get
Dobby to lock him in the dungeon.
'They're coming in from the Chamber!'
'What chamber?' Harry questioned, Pettigrew pointing to
the sink that did not work. The one that lead to the
Chamber of Secrets.
'You're lying, they can't get into the Chamber from another
route' Harry maintained.
'You don't know the Chamber as the Dark Lord does
Harry, trust me, Werewolves are coming up from there!'
'Why should I trust a traitor like you? You betrayed my
parents, and you expect me to believe you're on my side
now?' Harry ranted darkly, stepping forward and Pettigrew
growing more scared.
'They know about Hermione!' Pettigrew shouted. Harry's
eyes grew wide with the announcement, but realized it
was a generalization.
'They probably do, so what?' Harry inquired.
'A man named Lesath is going to try and kill her! He's
going to take something to make it through the castle, and
he's going to kill her!'
'Lesath is after Topher, not Hermione' Harry pointed out.
'IT DOESN'T MATTER HARRY!' Pettigrew shouted. 'He
wants you and Hermione dead! And I have to help you,
the Sorting Hat told me I would!'
'The Sorting Hat? What a bunch of—'
'It's true! It almost put me in Slytherin, but it told me that
even though I'd all these horrible things, I would face the
chance to help who I've caused the most suffering to! It's
you Harry! I have to help you!'
'I should just throw you out into the hall and let the
Dementors deal with you!' Harry yelled.
'Harry please! I beg of you! I have to help you!'
'I don't need—' Harry started, his attention being drawn to
the sink that lead to the Chamber of Secrets. It began to
move, and Harry could hear a rumble come from the
depths.
'Oh no! It's the Werewolves! If we stay in here, they'll tear
us to pieces! Harry, we have to—'
At that moment, a large beast with matted grey hair
erupted from the tube that lead to the Chamber, and
howled loudly, resonating in the tiny washroom. Its teeth
were long and sharp, and it seemed to tower over Harry
as it sniffed, and caught his scent.
'Fenrir' Harry heard Pettigrew whisper from his corner on
the floor.
The Werewolf began to step closer to Harry, its jaws
dripping of spit. The eyes are what made Harry the most
fearful—those hideously evil yellow eyes.
Dobby was crouching into the corner so much, Harry could
feel him trying to tear away at the stone. He had lost all
sense of being a House Elf in the face of this terrible
creature, and became just like any other person.
Harry put his wand up to fight, but the Werewolf was close
enough to bat away his wand, scratching Harry along his
hand with its long yellow nails.
Harry was defenseless, and Greyback knew it. Just as the
Werewolf reared itself on its back legs to lunge forward,
Pettigrew ran from the other side of the room.
'NOOO!'
And with an almighty howl, just as the huge Werewolf
came down, Pettigrew's silvery hand punctured its chest,
and the Werewolf screamed in pain as it fell to the side,
bringing Pettigrew along with it.
Harry was in shock for a moment as he looked at the dead
Werewolf, and Pettigrew taking his blood-soaked silver
hand and trying desperately to wipe it off. Harry quickly
walked over, and picked up the wands that Greyback
thrashed away. Harry's hand was badly injured, but
nothing could be done for that.
Pettigrew carefully stood up, keeping distance from the
dead Werewolf, and again Harry trained his wand on him.
'You still don't believe me!' Pettigrew yelled in hysterics,
his eyes large like those of a madman.
Harry took another glance at the dead Werewolf in front of
him, and his mind began to question things, when
suddenly another image flashed in front of his eyes. He
saw himself, standing in the Chamber, and Pettigrew was
there with him, along with Voldemort.
He looked at Pettigrew again, and realized that as much
as he would want to hurt the piece of rubbish, he did save
his life just now. Perhaps the story about the Sorting Hat
was correct. Harry realized that if he did believe Pettigrew,
he would never show his back to him.
'Where's the snake?' Harry asked, as the rumbling from
the tube increased more and more every passing moment.
Fenrir must have wanted to have first dibs on the students.
'The Dark Lord's snake is with him, in the Chamber, why?'
'That's none of your business. You're coming with me,
back into the Chamber. Dobby, I need you to go and get
something for me' Harry told the House Elf. He whispered
what to get, and Dobby went away with a crack, leaving
only Harry and Pettigrew.
'But what about your Mudblood?'
'Her name is Hermione!' Harry yelled, putting his wand-tip
to the rat-faced man's neck. 'And she will live. That Lesath
guy won't kill her, and I won't either.'
Dobby returned with a snap, and he climbed onto Harry's
back as he motioned Pettigrew towards the sink, which
had started to close. Harry looked carefully at the snake
imprinted on the tap, and said "open up".
The sink began to open up again, and just as Pettigrew
began to question the object Dobby went to get, but Harry
pushed him in, and with one last deep breath, Harry
plunged himself into the dark tube.
Moving from side to side, with Dobby clinging for dear life
on his back, Harry finally came to the bottom. Pettigrew
was still there surprisingly, and was motioning Harry along
a different path than he took before last time he was there.
Growls and fast moving paces could be heard coming
from down several pipes, and Pettigrew looked petrified. 'I
think . . . I think, this way' he said, starting off down a
tunnel, stopping a few feet in, and turning around quickly.
'No! Not that way!' he exclaimed, running out and turning
down another pipe. Harry took the object Dobby got for
him, and told him to go and warn Seamus and the others
about the Werewolves coming up through the washroom.
'But Professor told Dobby to—'
'Dobby, you have to go! I'm ordering you!'
Dobby nodded his head, and snapped his fingers, leaving.
Pettigrew lead Harry through innumerable pipes, but all
the way, Harry always had his wand on him, just in case.
Harry's robes were wet along the edges, and his feet were
soaked, but finally they came to a dry surface. Worry was
pouring through his mind as he thought of everything that
was happening above him, and around him, but he had to
press on. Everything depended on him beating Voldemort.
But if Pettigrew was lying, and just making him run around
pointlessly . . .
'Stop' Harry shouted.
'Shhh! The Dark Lord might hear you!' Pettigrew quivered.
'He's not even down here! You're lying! You've just been
wasting my time down here, while he's up above killing
people! I should have known you piece of—'
An almighty rumble shook the pipes they were in, and
Harry dove into the antechamber that Pettigrew was
standing in. The pipes behind Harry collapsed into
themselves, and Harry got up to see that indeed,
Pettigrew had led him to the Chamber.
Still getting Pettigrew to go forward, Harry entered the
massive temple-like chamber, and memories from his
Second Year filtered through. He remembered seeing
Ginny lying at the end, but this time there was nothing.
Walking past the stone pillars and the stone-carved
snakes, they came to the middle of the chamber, seeing
the immense statue of Salazar Slytherin on the other side.
Hearing a slither from the darkness on his side, Harry
turned and tried to listen. Another slither on the other side
made him turn again, and again, and again. Pettigrew was
shaking in fear, knowing he had betrayed Voldemort, and
was more than likely going to die.
Coming into view, a large black snake slithered into view
on Harry's far right, its tongue moving in and out
methodically.
'Well done Wormtail' came from the shadows, Harry's fear
and anger rising at the same moment.
'You did what Bellatrix and Lesath could not, quite
surprising for an idiot such as yourself' the voice of the
Dark Lord said, echoing in the chamber. Harry could not
tell where he was, but he could feel he was there. His scar
was already burning a bit, but he was unsure if that was
from Voldemort, or his own rage at Pettigrew.
'That's right Harry' the darkness said, 'Peter here played
you for a fool, again.'
'YOU BLOODY LIAR!' Harry yelled, his wand pointing at
Pettigrew.
'Go on Harry, kill him. He deserves nothing less. He
betrayed your parents, brought the one who killed them
back to life, tricking you in the process, and now he's lead
you to your own death.'
Harry could feel something pressing into his mind, but he
tried to keep it out. He wanted so badly to hurt Pettigrew,
but part of him wouldn't let it happen. His Occlumency was
working for the time, but the pressure continued to
increase, and soon all he could hear and think was "kill
him, kill him, kill him . . ." The snake-like voice was
becoming almost droning, and Harry pointed his wand,
when his eyes fell on the bracelet, and for a split moment,
Hermione's face came to the front.
'Accio Demevesco!' Harry yelled, abruptly turning his wand
to the snake.
'Kill him!' Voldemort ordered from the shadows, and the
snake quickly started to move towards Harry, its teeth
barred.
'Legilimens!' Harry shouted, plunging into the snake's
mind. Harry could feel the coldness already starting to
come around him, and he tried to find the darkest
memories he could find.
A painful lashing—the breaking of a tooth—none of them
seemed to work right away. The snake grew closer, and
got to the point where Harry had to use the thing Dobby
got for him: Gryffindor's Sword.
He swung it at the snake, and in the instances it moved
away, Harry peared in deeper. Finally, Harry found one
hidden away—having a horribly painful spell being
performed on the snake. It was the darkest, and Harry
could tell. The snake stopped in its tracks and began to
convulse and coil as it tried to fight back.
Harry could feel the freezing air against his skin, and he
continued to plunge the snake into that terrible memory.
He could see Voldemort, casting a green spell on the
snake, and the snake crying out in pain.
At this point, the Dementors were there, and Harry knew it.
He pulled Hermione's bright face to the front of his mind,
and his memory of that kiss from the Summer was so
strong, it actually made him smile.
'NO! Avada Kedavra!' Voldemort yelled from the shadows.
Harry was too focused on the snake, and just as he saw
the green light, Pettigrew—unarmed and almost totally
forgotten—threw himself in front, and was enveloped by
the light. His lifeless body fell to the stone floor, and into
the darkness.
By now, it was too late for the snake. Harry had no reason
to continue with the Legilimency, as dozens of Dementors
were circling. It was so dark in the Chamber, he could not
see anything, and part of him was happy for that, because
moments later, a bone-chilling screech filled the Chamber,
followed by a dull thud.
Harry could feel the Dementors closing in on him now, and
he had no choice but to cast his Patronus. His
Occlumency was holding up very well, but he could tell,
there were dozens of Dementors around the Chamber.
The bright phoenix flew out of his wand, and cleared away
almost all the dementors. Dull light returned to the
Chamber, and on the floor, the snake was lying dead.
Harry had just destroyed another Horcrux.
Looking up, Harry now saw Voldemort, who had moved
into the light in the time. It was just the two of them now.
He looked up with his blood red eyes, and took one step
forward. Harry expected him to look livid over killing his
snake—and destroying a Horcrux, but he smirked evily,
and his slit-like nose flared.
'Your "friend" Topher is killing Hermione at this very
moment.'
Spell / Name Meanings:
Accio Demevesco - Latin: accio, from accerso - to
summon, demevesco - deme- from Dementor, vesco - L.
to feed (Accio Demevesco to summon Dementors to feed)

- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE-
The Oroborus Light
'What did Harry say?' Seamus asked as another rumble
sounded from the lower levels. Even up on the Second
Floor, they could hear the people fleeing and the stone
walls being hit by spells. Death Eaters had already started
into the castle, and the Dementors were still moving
through the upper levels.
'Mr. Harry Potter ordered Dobby to tells his Finny-gan that
Were-wolvies were coming up through the sink in poor
Miss Myrtle's lavatory' Dobby told Seamus, hunkered
down and cringing with each successive blast from below,
and icy-chill that would come from Dementors getting
nearer.
'Wait, Harry said—Expecto Patronum!' Seamus yelled as
he looked up and cast his Patronus over Dobby. The
Dementor which had been approaching them flew off
down the hall, and Seamus lowered his wand, and
glanced back to Dobby, who appeared even worse with
his eyes open to their full extent, giving him a look close to
that of a scared little puppy.
'What did Harry say Dobby, Werewolves coming out of the
sink in the lav?'
Dobby took a moment to look around, before nodding, and
raising a shaky hand, pointing towards Moaning Myrtle's
washroom.
'How can Werewolves come out of the—'
Right then, a hideous scream came from the washroom,
and the door was smashed across the hall. A young
Ravenclaw boy was hit in the back with it, and fell down
hard onto the stone floor.
Seamus's body filled with fear as he saw the dark and
shaggy hair of a Werewolf appear on the edge of the
doorframe. Its snout and head coming into view, it gasped,
and howled in such a manner that made over half the
students in Seamus' group forget the Werewolf spells, and
flee with fear.
Seamus was closest to the Werewolf, and as it sniffed the
air, at least five more moved out of the washroom. The
first caught his scent, and glared directly at Seamus, along
with two others, and all three began to growl menacingly
while they stalked towards him. Dobby had already left to
bring the boy injured by the door away, and Seamus
continued to walk backwards alone.
Just as the first—with dark brown, almost blood red hair—
flared its jaws and crouched, a spell hit its side, and it was
pushed over, but it was completely enraged. The other two
turned away from Seamus, and ran at the group of
Guardians down the hall, where the spell had originated.
But the first was still moving towards Seamus.
'Stupefy!' he tried, but the Werewolf merely shook it off. He
continued to try other spells, but the ones they practiced
for Werewolves were not coming into his mind, and he
began to misfire the easy spells.
The Werewolf had enough, and lunged forward onto
Seamus with such a force that he was knocked
backwards, hitting the wall and pain screaming across his
back as he fell straight onto his front. A long gash
stretched right across his torso, and he yelled out as he
bled on the stone floor, knowing he was extremely injured,
and possibly had a broken back. The Werewolf could
smell the blood, and was becoming even more ravenous.
Seamus looked over to where his wand could be, but in
the darkness, and the pain, he could not find it.
The foul smelling breath of the Werewolf was infecting the
air around Seamus, and he knew these would be his last
moments. He would be torn to pieces by a Werewolf, and
never know if Harry and the others won. He would be a
blip, a nothing that died two minutes into the fight, alone in
a corridor, killed by a sickly twisted Werewolf.
Tears were streaming down his face as his end seemed to
blast into his mind more and more. He would never see
his mother and father again, he would never see Ireland
again . . . he'd never see her again. The physical pain was
overcome by the psychological and emotional pain of the
moment, which was almost unbearable.
The Werewolf growled again, and just as it lunged down to
bite him right in the neck, it was suddenly picked up from
behind, and yelped as it was brutally thrown against a
wall. The throw was so hard, it's neck snapped instantly,
and it harshly fell dead just feet from Seamus. He could
see the yellow eyes of the Werewolf slowly dim, and close.
Still in great pain, and unable to move without causing
more damage, he turned his eyes just enough to see a
shaggy bearded man towering over him.
'Yeh'll be alrigh' Seamus, yeh'll be alrigh'. Minkus!' Hagrid
called worriedly, and a short, bright blue eyed House Elf
appeared with a crack.
'Master Hagrid called!'
'Take Seamus ter the Hospital Wing!'
Minkus took Seamus' hand, and with a tearful and hoarse
thank you, the two vanished away. Seamus had been
saved from the Werewolve's bite, but the others were
loose in the castle.
Meanwhile, Hagrid and his group of students and staff
rushed towards Ron's group, which also included
Professor McGonagall. Hagrid had to tell her of the
situation outside.
Once Hagrid's group was quickly by, echoes of screams,
falling debris, and the roars of the Werewolves broke the
silence in the hallway that was just moments before filled
with Seamus' group.
A face quietly peaked its way out of Myrtle's washroom,
and a man came out into the empty hallway, and smiled
with one side of his mouth.
'Time to go see Hermione, and please the Dark Lord.'
-
'Ron, look out!' Aberforth called as a piece of stone came
crashing down. Ron dove to the ground scraping his
hands and knees, but he was luckily still alive. The stone
hit the floor with such a pounding, the floor shook all
around and many students were thrown off their feet.
'Ronald! Are you alright?' Luna asked as she ran over to
help him. Ron slowly got up, and needed additional help
from a very nervous Denis Creevy.
'We need to get you to the Hospital Wing' Luna concluded,
Ron shaking his head.
'They're dealing with broken skulls and combined curses, I
have scratches, I'll be fine.'
They moved Ron around the corner, and rested him
against the wall for a moment. Denis in the mean time ran
back to help the group.
Hagrid had made it to Professor McGonagall, and Ron
heard everything that was happening. So far, the Giants
were pretty tied up in the forest, but the Centaurs were
being pummeled. What good would arrows be against
creatures that have skin almost as thick as dragons'?
Hagrid had to make a run for it back to the castle, knowing
full well the Giants would soon be in the grounds. Students
would not stand a chance against such big creatures. Still,
Hagrid was hopeful.
'Don' worry Headmistress, Grawpy will talk to 'em!'
'They'll probably kill him Hagrid!' McGonagall raved.
'You just wait Headmistress! He's got a lot'o'spunk in 'im
he does.'
'It's not his "spunk" that I'm concerned about! Aflatus!'
Professor McGonagall called out, throwing back a Death
Eater that was coming around a corner. They had begun
to overrun the Ministry on the first level, and were now
moving up quickly.
Just as the wave of Death Eaters moved back, someone
else came running up the corridor.
'Topher? Watcha doin' up 'ere? Aren' yeh supposta be
watchin' the Hospital Wing?' Hagrid asked as he
approached.
'I know, I know. It's a madhouse down there, but I needed
to tell you, don't send any more students to the Hospital
Wing, it's over-flowing. You have to send them up to the
higher levels. Madam Pomfrey wants you to put them in
the fifth and sixth floor classrooms.'
'Very well Topher, just make sure they are protected. You
could have just sent a House Elf up to tell us that'
McGonagall informed.
'I know Headmistress, but I wanted to make sure the
message was understandable. You know how those
bloody House Elves get.'
'Yes . . .' McGonagall answered, Hagrid looking at her
oddly.
'I have to get back. Where is Harry?' Topher asked,
looking about and seeing Ron and Luna nearby. Ron gave
him a polite smile, but Topher merely glanced at him with
a straight face, and looked back to Professor McGonagall.
'He was with his group, but left. Some said he went into
the Second Floor washroom down the hall, where the
Werewolves came out of, and others say he went to the
Hospital Wing. But since you did not see him, I would
venture he is not there' Professor McGonagall explained.
'Right, thank you Headmistress, Rubeus' Topher nodded,
turning, and running down a hallway that led to the First
Floor.
'Is it jus' me, or—'
'No, I agree Hagrid. Topher would never down-talk about
House Elves, but it might be the pressure of the moment.'
'I was meanin' callin' me "Rubeus."'
-
'Simula Alfatus!' both Neville and Ginny yelled, pushing
back at least a dozen black cloaked Death Eaters, and a
few of their own people who were standing near by.
'Stupefy!' Jack Sloper yelled out, fighting back a Death
Eater who came out of a short corridor.
Neville could not believe the numbers that were storming
up the stairwells. If students were still on the First Floor,
they must be trapped or fighting with all their fiber,
because his group alone was having a terrible time.
Already one third of the students had to be sent to the
Hospital Wing for combined curses, or tumbling debris.
'Watch out Miss Robins!' Professor Flitwick yelled out.
Demelza Robins turned quickly to see a large black haired
Werewolf barreling down the hallway right at her.
She screamed, lost in total fear as it came closer, and she
turned and ran. The Werewolf horrifically lunged at her
exposed back, and bit straight into the back of her neck,
killing her instantly. The Werewolf landed straight on her
when they both hit the ground, and the sight caused the
younger Guardians to look on in fear, while the older ones
grew infuriated.
'ARGENVENTUS!' Neville screamed out with blinding rage
at the Werewolf. A shower of small, silver daggers shot
out of his wand, and hit the Werewolf with such ferocity, it
yelped as the hundreds of daggers pierced its shaggy
exterior. It stumbled off Demelza's body, and Neville
moved forward with his wand still trained on the injured
creature.
'AFLATUS!' Neville yelled out, and the injured Werewolf
was flung with great speed across the room, and though
an open window. One or two of the students looked over
and watched as it dropped hundreds of feet down the cliff,
and died on the rocks below.
Neville stayed there for a moment as he breathed heavily,
and looked at Demelza's body. She was so young, and
should not have died. He should have been watching her
more, protecting her since she was in his group.
'Neville? Neville!' Ginny shouted, grabbing a hold of him
and looking into his eyes. She had ash on her face and a
cut along her jaw bone.
'Neville, we have to keep fighting!' she insisted, giving him
a shake. The group was still fighting on against the
onslaught, and he shook his head, and nodded, looking to
the side. Ginny planted a quick but passionate kiss on him
to try and give him some consolation, and the two of them
together continued the fight. Professor Flitwick in the
mean time vanished Demelza's body to the Hospital Wing.
Just as Neville began firing off a spell, he saw Theodore
Nott side step out of the group, and run up a staircase to
the third floor.
'Nott' he whispered, jumping across the hallway entrance,
narrowly avoiding a Cruciatus Curse.
'Neville, where are you going!' Ginny yelled at him, Fleur
keeping a hold on her from running across too.
'Noh Ginny, we need you 'ere.'
'No Fleur, I am going. Keep an eye on the students, and
tell Professor Flitwick we've gone to the Third Floor' Ginny
instructed forcefully. Fleur hesitated, but gave Ginny a hug
and a kiss, and fired off spells down the hallway as Ginny
ran across, and up the stairwell, jumping to the side as a
curse blasted away part of the stairs.
Reaching the Third Floor—which was much calmer than
the Second, she ran towards the corridor that Pansy said
Nott was meeting at. She wanted to find Neville, but knew
he would follow Nott.
Coming closer, she could hear people talking in quiet
voices, and just as she looked around the corner,
someone grabbed her from behind, and put their hand
over her mouth.
In a firm grip, she was spun around, and she found it was
Neville. He gave her a sign to be quiet, and let her go,
which allowed her to pinch him just enough so it stinged.
The two looked around the edge, and found at least
twenty students—all of them except Nott from
Durmstrang—huddled around looking nervous. Nott was
talking to them, but in the mean time, Neville and Ginny
were trying to figure out what to do.
'We can't attack them. We'll get two, maybe three of them,
but that's it. They have the numbers' Neville reasoned.
Hearing a shuffle from behind, the two backed into a
corner, and kept their wands ready. The steps slowed, and
someone came around, and kept to the wall quietly,
looking in.
'Pansy?' Neville whispered, nearly startling the girl.
She came closer, and brought her friend Tracey Davis,
who was from Neville's own group.
'We have to stop them' she said.
'But how? There are so many of them' Tracey interjected
nervously.
Neville thought it over for a moment as the group inside
continued to talk quietly, and he decided what they would
do.
'Alright. Pansy and I will go in first and blast them to the
walls, Ginny and Tracy, stun them all as fast as you can,
alright?' Neville asked. They all nodded, and glanced
around the side.
The group seemed to be growing agitated, and some
began to even yell and push some others. It seemed to
Neville they found the best time to strike.
'Now!'
'Alfatus!' both Pansy and Neville yelled out as they came
around the corner. Most of the Durmstrang students were
caught off guard, but a few put up Shield Charms. Nott
was missed as well, as he dove to the stone floor.
One of the Durmstrang students threw a spell at the
Guards, and they scattered. Pansy was not fast enough
however, and she screamed as massive slashes and cuts
ripped across her body. She hit the floor hard, and Neville
and the others continued to try to stun the other students
that had been thrown back.
Neville was aiming at Nott, when he noticed Theodore was
stunning the Durmstrang students. Nott scurried over to
Neville, and continued to fire as he spoke.
'Thank Merlin you showed up. Stupefy!' he yelled out. 'I
had hoped Pansy heard that conversation with these
dunst Durmstrang students. Petrificus Totalus!'
'You mean you planned this?' Neville asked, Theodore
nodding before taking a spell in the chest, and falling over
in convulsions. Neville pulled him to the side and took the
spell off, looking over to see Ginny and Tracey trying to
fight back more of the students.
Neville and Theodore waited for a moment, then ran
forward stunning as many as they could. Just as they
reached Ginny and Tracey, keeping an eye on Pansy, it
seemed most of the Durmstrang students were stunned.
Some were actually helping the Guardians stun and
incapacitate their fellow students.
Just as the last students were frozen, and fell down with
some collective thuds, Neville and the others got up and
walked to the three Durmstrang students that helped
them. Tracey ran to Pansy and called for House Elf, who
brought the two students to the Hospital Wing.
'Why didn't you tell us what you were planning!' Neville
yelled at Theodore. 'These are Durmstrang students,
they're good at the Dark Arts! You see what they did to
Pansy' he ranted.
'You planned this! You idiot!' said Ginny, raising her hand
to smack him in the face. Neville was quick enough and
caught her hand.
'I couldn't tell you guys, 'cause then you'd mess it all up!'
Theodore responded, suddenly turning like the others at a
sound that came from down the hall.
'We have to get back to our group. Let's go' Ginny told the
others. The three Guardians, and three Durmstrang
students began to walk down the hallways towards the
stairs, when a girl—from Beauxbatons—along with a
Hogwarts second year boy came around the corner. Both
looked like they were in shock, and Ginny ran forwards
quickly to check on them, Neville and the others keeping
an eye on their surroundings.
'Are you two alright?' she asked tenderly, reaching out and
cupping their faces which wore blank expressions. A loud
bang came from the stairwell, and the three Durmstrang
ran ahead to help their comrades. The two younger
students meanwhile continued to look forward for a
moment with dazed looks.
'We'll get you to—' Ginny started, when suddenly the boy
raised his wand at Ginny. She stood back and reached for
her wand, but the boy saw her move.
'GINNY NO!' Neville yelled, moving forward quickly.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!' the boy shouted.
Neville screamed out, but it was too late. Ginny was hit
square in the chest with the bright green light, and fell to
the ground, her flaming red hair swaying slowly and flaring
along the floor. Neville's terrified scream echoed in the
hallway, and the thump from Ginny hitting the floor
resonated as the boy easily put his wand back down to his
side, and continued to look drearily forward.
Theodore beat Neville at stunning the two students,
knowing that Neville might have the urge to kill them.
Neville may not have noticed, but Theodore knew the two
of them had been put under an Imperious Curse.
Neville ran out of Theodore's grip—since he was holding
him back from throttling the students—and he went over
and picked up Ginny, tears pouring out of his eyes.
'Ginny! GINNY! WAKE UP!' Neville yelled out as he held
on to her tightly.
Her face was bright, and she was still as warm as always.
He grazed her cheek, and ran his hands through her hair,
before breaking down into unimaginable pain, whispering
her name over and over again.
He did not want to leave this spot now. He wanted to be
here with her, just holding on to her for as long as
possible. She couldn't be gone, she just couldn't.
Theodore was kneeling down to console Neville, when he
stood up, a hollow laughter making its presence in the
hallway. Neville was overcome with grief and disbelief to
notice anything around him. Ginny, sadly, was gone.
'Oh how I love using the weak to do my bidding' a sinister
voice sounded, Theodore grimacing and holding up his
wand. He could not tell where the voice was coming from,
but he knew who it belonged to.
'This is what you get young Nott, for betraying your father
and the Dark Lord. AVADA KEDAVRA!' came from behind
him, and Theodore did not even see the green light until it
pasted over his eyes.
Stepping out of the shadows, the Death Eater laughed as
Theodore's lifeless body fell to the ground with a sickening
thud, and she gained a view of Neville on the floor.
'Oh, pour Longbottom. Did the child kill your girlfriend?'
Bellatrix asked in a sinister voice.
Neville heard the voice of the woman who murdered his
parents, and looked up—passing Theodore's body along
the way—and glared evilly.
'I'm going to kill you' Neville growled, looking at the woman
with his bloodshot and tear-filled eyes as she laughed
again.
'Oh really? The big boy's going to try and fight? Let's see if
you put up as much as your parents before they cracked.
Crucio!'
And with that, Neville was torn away from Ginny, the girl
he loved so dearly, as the horrible and painful torture
curse spread through his body, and he yelled out in agony
and rage.
-
There were just too many coming at them.
'Expello Per Sentia!' Topher yelled out as another Death
Eater rounded the side of the hallway. They continued to
pound through the Ground Floor, and many just kept
running past the First and on to the Second and higher
levels. At some points defending the Hospital Wing was
not so hard, but as time progressed, the fighting became
more and more intense, leading to what it was now: a
continual firestorm of spells and curses.
The Death Eater was vanished from his spot, and Topher
continued to fight. He was sending as many Death Eaters
as he could to the one place he knew they would have a
hard time returning from—the depths of the Black Lake.
Dumbledore told him of the Merpeople's protectiveness,
and of their dislike for outsiders in their realm. They would
be able to tell that these Death Eaters were evil people,
and Topher knew if that was the case, none would see the
sky again.
'Argenventus!' Mr. Weasley yelled out, as he saw a
Werewolf running down a side corridor. He clipped it in the
back, but it did enough to make it hit the floor, and skid to
the end of the hallway, crying out in pain.
Death Eaters were dug in around the corners leading to
the Hospital Wing, and there was no way of getting extra
people there to defend it, aside from House Elves. But
Topher and the others in his group ordered Madam
Pomfrey to keep the doors as locked as possible, so that
Death Eaters could not walk in.
'Avada Kedavra!' came from one of the Death Eaters, and
Snape dove out of the way towards Topher.
'We cannot stay here like this, we must get help, or
abandon the Hospital Wing' Snape insisted as he
continued to use spells against the Death Eaters. They
seemed particularly focused on getting Snape.
'We are not leaving the Hospital Wing. I'll go and get a
ghost to look for more help, just keep fighting!' Topher
exclaimed. Snape rolled his eyes, but nodded. He knew
even though Topher did not go to Hogwarts, it was more
of that idiotic Gryffindor mentality that was making him
want to protect the Hospital Wing.
Topher ran over to a small hallway, and began fighting off
whoever and whatever he found, trying to get to Professor
McGonagall or Professor Fourmove's group. He quickly
found one of the ghosts, the Grey Lady, and asked her to
tell some of the other groups about the Hospital Wing. She
understood quickly, and vanished through the ceiling with
haste.
As he continued on, he quietly came to the stairwell
clogged with Death Eaters, and a few Mountain Trolls
coming up behind the group. He knew it would be
impossible for one man to make it up. Professor
Fourmove's group was the only accessible one to him,
since both Kingsley's and Tonks' groups were on the other
side of the castle. Plus, he wanted to see how she was
doing, and that she was not hurt.
Running down the hallway, keeping to the shadowy sides,
he stopped for a moment as he saw someone run down a
corridor, and had to take a second look.
Did he just see himself pass by?
Shaking his head, he ran farther ahead, peered around
the corner, however found the hallway empty. He figured it
had to be someone who perhaps looked like him, and
continued on quickly to Professor Fourmove's group.
Iona was having her own difficulties as well. Half of her
Durmstrang students up and left half an hour after the
attack began, not telling her where they were going, while
the Beauxbatons students were all too young, and much
too scared to fight.
'Oh Topher, thank Merlin you came back! We need help, I
have almost no students to really fight here' she
commented quickly, giving him a hug and kiss.
'Stupefy!' Earnie Macmillan yelled out, stunning a tall
Death Eater that was only a few feet away. 'Com'on! For
Hogwarts!' he encouraged, the students firing back as
hard as they could.
'What do you mean came back?' Topher asked, giving her
a strange look.
'Expelliarmus!' Iona yelled out, before looking back at
Topher. 'You were here just a second ago, asking where
Harry might be, and Hermione.'
Topher thought for a moment, then his eyes grew wide.
He did see himself running along the hallways earlier.
'What did you say Iona, what did you say?' he asked
urgently.
'I told you I didn't know where Harry was, and that
Hermione was in the Hospital Wing' she said, Topher
getting up half way through, and calculating what to do.
'Topher, what's—'
Topher swooped down and gave her a passionate kiss
that some of the students smiled at a little, in the break of
almost getting killed.
'I have to get back to the Hospital Wing. Take all your
students and get there as soon as you can. I love you' he
yelled back, as he began running back to the Hospital
Wing.
'Crucio!' someone yelled out as he was running, and he
was momentarily thrown off his feet, and felt the searing
pain of a torture curse. He fell to the ground hard, and he
quickly gained control of himself, and countered the curse
before it could become harsher.
Standing up quickly, he could see a Death Eater—a pale
square-shaped man—standing on the opposite side of the
hallway. The Death Eater shot another spell at Topher, but
he was fast enough this time.
'Protego!' he yelled, and the curse bounced off and hit the
ceiling.
'Ah, not a student? Good, Good. I was looking for a good
duel today' the Death Eater—Antonin Dolohov—said, in a
raspy voice.
'You may find one you can't win. Confundo!' Topher yelled
out. Dolohov shielded himself, and threw a Killing Curse at
Topher. Topher was able to avoid the spell.
'Expello Per Sentia!' he yelled, thinking again of the Black
Lake. Dolohov was able to somehow vanish and ended up
around the corner of a pillar.
'Sectumsempra!' Dolohov yelled out. Topher took his
wand and moved it about in an arc, bringing the red spell
into his left hand, and shooting it upwards.
'Levicorpus!' Topher yelled out, catching Dolohov by
surprise and turning him upside down.
Just as Topher raised his wand to banish him to the Black
Lake, Dolohov swished his wand, and cast a jet of purple
light in a zigzag pattern towards Topher.
Ignamoenia! Topher thought quickly, blocking most of the
spell with a massive ring of fire. Part of the curse made it
through however, and he could feel his insides rip slightly,
and cause a stitch.
Topher painfully kept on his feet, and rashly thrust his
wand towards Dolohov, banishing him away quickly. He
still thought of the Black Lake, just a few hundred feet
above it.
Turning about, an explosion rocked the wall above him,
and Topher limped away before the stone fell down. He
made it a few feet, and lunged himself at the wall so he
could look down at the Hospital Wing.
Fear entered his mind as he saw an exact duplicate of
himself standing there, off to the side of the fighting,
conversing with Kevin Entwhistle, one of the Hogwarts
students in his group.
Topher knew who it was, and knew what he was planning.
He had to stop him, but there was no way he could make it
to the Hospital Wing without having a confrontation in a
place that would cause too much confusion.
Coughing, a small amount of blood coming out of his
mouth, he called for Trinket, one of the House Elves.
'Master Terrwynebas called' Trinket said.
'Take me . . . to the . . . Hospital Wing' he gasped. The
small House Elf took hold of Topher's arm, and the two
went to the Hospital Wing.
Landing with a crack, Topher glanced around the Hospital
Wing, and found the casualties were higher than he would
have thought. Madam Pomfrey, and many Healers were
running about, trying to take care of what looked like
hundreds of students and adults.
Student Healers were also scurrying to and fro, trying to
heal the simpler spells and administer potions to patients.
Some were screaming in pain, while others were simply in
shock, and did not know what was going on. Several were
even fighting against the Healers to go and fight more,
even though their legs were transfigured into Octopus
tentacles.
'Professor Terrwynebas, what's the matter?' a young
Hufflepuff student healer asked him as he stood amidst
the chaos.
'Professor Terrwynebas, are things going better outside?'
Madam Pomfrey asked from farther down, trying to shout
over the noise.
'No, we're doing terrible, and—oww!' he gasped, as the
student healer checked his midsection, which he was
holding on to because it hurt.
'Then why haven't any new injuries come in? We haven't
had anyone come in for ten minutes, until you' Madam
Pomfrey explained. The student healer ran her wand over
Topher's midsection, and he felt better with his insides
placed how they should be.
Getting up, he knew who caused the trouble. He probably
told them to divert students to another location, or told
them the Hospital Wing was lost entirely.
A loud bang came from the Hospital Wing door that
caused everyone inside to turn their head, and shiver.
Healers began moving faster, and another boom came.
Topher walked over to the door—through the dozens of
patients and healers—and closer to it, could hear people
barking out orders.
'We can't keep it Topher! We have to go higher up, the
Hospital Wing will be alright!' Mr. Weasley was yelling.
'We have to stay and fi—' a voice shouted over the noise,
before turning into a bone chilling yell.
'George!' Mr. Weasley yelled, Topher getting ready to get
out there.
'Go back! Go up to the Second Floor!' Topher heard,
strangely in his own voice.
Topher could hear the students and other people getting
up and making a run for it. The Death Eaters seemed to
be going after them, and not the Hospital Wing door. The
Hospital Wing itself had become silent in the fighting
outside, and a single knock sounded on the door.
'Madam Pomfrey, open the door! We have to get these
people out!' Topher's voice sounded from the other side.
Madam Pomfrey had no idea what was going on, and she
remained silent.
'You're not getting in here Lesath' Topher shouted back
through the door. An enraged yell came from the other
side, and the door began being bombarded by spells,
nudging ever so little with each one.
'Topher—' came from the side of the Hospital Wing.
Topher turned, and saw Hermione lying there, reaching up
with her arm.
'What is it Hermione?' Topher asked calmly as he came
over, and took her hand. Healers and patients were
getting together and moving farther away from the doors.
Capable—and many incapable—patients and Healers
were gathering by the doorway, getting ready to fight.
'Give me my wand' Hermione told Topher, pointing over to
her wand. Topher smirked, and gave it to her, helping her
sit up, and lean against her bed facing the doorway.
Topher stood nearby, ready. He knew Hermione should
not be even sitting up, but she had to fight.
More and more spells were hitting the door, and Topher
knew there were dozens of Death Eaters now out there.
The door was cracking, and with a final barrage, it blew off
its hinges, and was levitated over the people by several
Healers in the back.
A massive Mountain Troll stumbled into the Hospital Wing,
and gave its log tree log club a mighty swing, hitting half a
dozen students against the wall.
Spells and curses engulfed the air in an instant, as the
firefight broke out. Several patients and Healers fell from
curses, while others pressed on bravely. House Elves
were helping moving patients and Healers as fast as
possible, and helping with the defence as well.
The Troll was continuing its rampage, and no one seemed
to know how to bring it down.
'Go for the eyes!' Topher yelled out. Several Ministry
wizards shot Confundus Spells at the Troll's eyes, and it
reached up yelling in anger, dropping its club and
stumbling around. It began walking outwards, running into
Death Eaters. The Troll continued outwards, until a green
Killing Curse was thrown against it, and it timbered
forward onto the stone just outside the Hospital Wing.
Meanwhile inside, Topher stayed close to Hermione, and
his eyes grew cold when the russet hair and steel grey
eyes of Lesath came into view. Calmly turning the corner
and walking up to them, shielding himself from the other
spells, Hermione threw a Banishing Curse at him, but he
shielded himself from that as well. The energy from just
making the spell made Hermione almost fall over.
'Hello Toph. Just give me the girl and I'll let you live'
Lesath explained with a sinister smirk.
'You will not lay a hand on her' Topher growled, walking in
front of her.
'Very well. Crucio!' Lesath yelled. Topher could not dive
out of the way, because the curse would hit Hermione, so
he had to stand his ground. The curse hit him face on, and
he yelled out as the pain of thousands of needles
everywhere radiated across his body. Death Eaters were
piling into the Hospital Wing, and the weary patients and
tired Healers were being beaten back ruthlessly.
'Ah Toph, I knew you would come to this. Trying to do
something you simply cannot handle. It will be a shame for
Potter to see his love bird die in front of him.'
'Expelliarmus!' Hermione shouted suddenly, Lesath's
wand coming partially out of his hand, enough for Topher
to stand up quickly.
Seeing what was going on with the other students and
Healers, Topher realized he had to help them first. Many
students and Healers were dead, and the Death Eaters
were continuing to kill more people. Topher diverted his
attention, and gave a wide slashing motion towards the
mass of Death Eaters, and the bulk of them vanished
instantly in a puff of grey smoke. In the time, Lesath
regained use of his wand, and focused on Hermione.
'Crucio!' he yelled, Topher not able to reach her in time.
She fell off her bed to the ground screaming in pain as the
torture curse ran through her body.
Topher, so exhausted and enraged beyond the point of
limits at Lesath, trained his wand on Lesath.
'Crucio!' he yelled out, and the curse on Hermione was
lifted as Lesath was taken so off guard, he actually was
thrown a few feet backwards, and landed on his back
yelling out in pain, while Topher continued running the
torture curse through him.
'I can't believe I ever called you a friend! You murdered my
father, and now I will murder you!' Topher shouted, as he
stepped forward, and lifted the curse after a prolonged
time. Healers and students, free from most of the fighting
for the time, were being vanished away by House Elves,
and were almost all gone. A House Elf came to bring
Hermione away, but she stayed in her place, avowing to
help Topher.
'Topher . . . don't . . . do it' Hermione whispered from
beside her bed. Topher was breathing heavily, and he
realized she was right. He could not become him, he could
not become a cold blooded murder.
Walking backwards to see if she was alright, Lesath took
his moment of compassion for his own advantage.
'Legilimens!' Lesath bellowed.
Topher's mind was clouded for a moment, before he was
plunged into terrible memories of his childhood. Watching
his father die, seeing his mother's lifeless body in the
sitting room—it took him a few moments to realize what
was going on.
Pushing out as hard as he could, he could begin to hear
and smell the outside world again—the burning curtains,
the crumbling stone—he was in Hogwarts, and had to
protect Hermione.
Pushing even farther, he pointed his wand at Lesath, and
cast his own Legilimency spell. He plunged Lesath into his
worst memories—of being beaten by his family, of getting
the torture curse over and over again by Death Eaters—
Topher was keeping hold. He noticed the cool chill that
entered the room, and continued to press as hard as he
could towards the darkest memories.
But Lesath was strong. He was still able to fight back, and
used what he thought was Topher's misplaced mind to
attack and end this.
'You never learned Topher. Never focus on one thing.
Avada Kedavra!' he yelled at, pointing at Hermione.
The green jet cast forward, and Topher let go of his
Legilimency, finishing the silent spell he was performing.
He made a promise to Harry, and was not going to let him
down, no matter what.
Jumping across, Topher and the curse collided in mid air.
The green light enveloped Topher completely, and he fell
to the stone floor, his life—the little trinket—given to keep
a promise. Hermione could do nothing but watch in horror
as the man who had become Harry and many other's
friend, die saving her life, being killed by the same man
who murdered his father. She was in such a state of
shock, tears could not even make their way forward.
She shivered violently as the chill continued to fill the
room, not knowing anymore if it was from seeing Topher
dead on the floor in front of her, or what she knew was
coming nearer. She crouched farther back away from
Topher's body, and Lesath crackled and laughed in
victory.
'Now to have my f—' he started, before noticeably
shivering. He had not notice what Topher and Hermione
noticed before. Topher was not just thinking about one
thing, he had been thinking of the same thing Hermione
was—Dementors were near.
'Legilimens' Hermione whimpered, trying desperately to
perform magic she had never performed before. Her mind
was thrown into grayness, and she felt sick to her
stomach, but she quickly found terrible memories floating
about in the clouds. She plunged through them, and used
all her strength to keep them at the top, staring angrily into
the cold eyes of the Death Eater in front of her.
Focused on his worst memories, a lone Dementor turned
around the corner of the Hospital Wing, and looked about,
seeing Lesath. By this time, all the Healers and patients
had left, and the few Death Eaters that survived Topher's
banishment, had ran out and towards the staircase.
Lesath turned around, and Hermione had no choice but to
let go from exhaustion. She pushed as hard as she could,
and hoped it was enough. Lesath tried to perform a
Patronus, but the dark memories brought forward by
Topher and Hermione were too terrible.
The Dementor was pulled like a magnet to the man, and
soon enough Lesath was on his knees, holding his head
and calling out for it to stop. Hermione braced herself, and
tried to perform her own Occlumency to keep good
memories forward. Topher could not have died, and then
she die too.
Hearing the steps, Hermione closed her eyes and focused
on shutting her mind, knowing what was going to come.
Inside she knew Topher planned for Lesath for this fate. It
was something worst than dying.
She covered her ears and buried her head in her knees as
she started hearing Lesath scream for his life. Moments
past, and the cold mist spread through Hermione. Finally,
after a gripping several moments, she could feel a dull
thud on the floor, and waited for a few seconds before
looking.
Lesath was dead, his skin coloured a dull blue like that of
someone with hypothermia, and his eyes wide open and
lifeless in their emptiness. Topher lay not far from him, but
the Dementor was still in the room, bearing down on
Hermione. She had no strength left for a spell, and
continued desperately to keep good memories in her
mind, but they were fading fast.
Just before she lost consciousness, Hermione heard
rushed footsteps, and saw a bright white owl swoop down
from above.
-
'Expecto Patronum!' Professor McGonagall yelled out,
casting the Dementor away with her alabaster owl
patronus. She saw it there, and realized there was
someone still alive in the abandoned Hospital Wing.
Running forward, she found Hermione lying on the ground.
She ran her wand over her, and breathed a short sigh of
relief in seeing she was still alive—if only barely. Standing
up, she enlisted the help of Dobby to bring her up to the
Gryffindor Common Room, where a make-shift Hospital
Wing was being made.
After Dobby and Hermione left, Dobby looking very, very
nervous at Hermione's condition, Professor McGonagall
began walking out when she found Topher.
Getting nervous looks from students and Ministry people
in her small group, she knelt down, and wiped a stray hair
out of Topher's face. He was much too young to die here,
especially with what he had accomplished in one year.
She knew however that if he had to die here today, it had
to be like this. Not from an accident or a terrible injury—
but from defending a castle he knew for less than a year,
and protecting his students.
'Professor please, we have to go!' Michael Corner insisted.
Professor McGonagall gave him one last look, and nodded
to her group, ushering them out—wiping a small tear in
her eye as she looked at the Hospital Wing, and the
destruction and death.
Once they left, a few minutes passed before Polaris glided
down through one of the blasted out windows, and landed
near Topher's body. He pecked at Topher's shoulder once
or twice to sadly have no reply, then hopped over, and
grabbed up what Topher told him to. The owl then took off,
and made for the East Tower.
-
'Stupefy!' George yelled as he ran up the staircase. He,
along with his father and the rest of Topher's group were
making its way up towards the higher levels. Topher
stayed back to get the Hospital Wing evacuated, and even
though half the group wanted to stay, he ordered them to
leave. The group left, looking smaller than it actually was,
since many students were under Invisibility Cloaks.
'Quick, down this way!' Shirley Fawcett yelled out, pointing
towards a staircase that led to the Divination Classroom.
'No! Not that way, there's a surprise down there' George
warned, as they moved around the corner, and literally
bumped into the group with Ron and Luna.
'Arthur!' Aberforth exclaimed, turning around the corner,
and bringing Mr. Weasley farther back to ask what has
been happening.
To put it simply, they were loosing. Death Eaters had
control of various parts of the castle. There was no way to
know how the Ministry on the Ground Floor was doing, but
the Guardians were putting up a heck of a fight. They were
falling back, but the Death Eaters were taking many hits.
Even while they were quickly informing each other,
George's "surprise" went off in the stairwell, and half the
Guardians stopped as a massive tidal wave barreled down
the hallway, carrying over twenty Death Eaters down
another staircase, bringing them to the lower regions of
the castle.
'What of the other groups?' Snape asked urgently.
'Mad-Eye's group we're unsure of, but we have seen parts
of that group moving upwards. Professor Fourmove has
moved towards Ravenclaw Tower since the Hospital Wing
had to be abandoned, Tonks and Kingsley we don't know,
and as for Professor Flitwick and Neville Longbottom's
group, it was split up along a corridor while we were
running' Professor McGonagall told the others.
'We need to find Harry, and Hermione' Ron put forth.
'Hermione is safe in Gryffindor Tower, and Harry, no one
knows where he is' Professor McGonagall informed.
'Well where is Topher? He should know' Luna proposed.
'Topher is dead' Professor McGonagall announced to
them. Ron and Luna were speechless for a moment,
before a Blasting Curse rocked the wall near their huddle,
and they realized their time was up.
'Com'on! Higher up folks' Mr. Weasley ordered. The two
groups moved into one larger one, and together moved
higher up.
Another blast along the wall separated Ron, Luna, and
George from the others. Ron was already holding back,
concerned about Harry.
'Ronald, we have to get going! Can you walk?' Luna
asked.
'We need to find Harry. Neville has the map, so we need
to find him, so we can find Harry. Harry needs us' Ron
said forcibly.
'Alright mate, let's go get Harry!' George expounded, lifting
up his brother and the three of them running down the
hallway, ducking from curses flying above and around
them.
'George, Ron!' Arthur yelled as he saw them running
away.
'Keep moving Arthur, they can take care of themselves!'
Aberforth maintained. Arthur did not want to leave them,
but turned and began helping the Guardians and students
up.
Turning around the corner, George, Ron and Luna started
back down to the lower levels, towards the area Neville's
group was last seen, in hopes of finding him soon. Harry
had been lost for a while now, and there could be no
doubts that he was in trouble.
-
'Oh come now Longbottom, your father didn't start crying
until about the fifth round' Bellatrix mentioned in mock
disappointment. Neville had been tortured with her curses
over and over again, and even though he was screaming
as loud as he could to gain attention and help, no one was
coming.
Crawling along the stone floor, his hands and legs
bleeding from thrashing against the stones, he was trying
desperately to get his wand. He had to fight back, and he
had to hold on. He had to do it for his parents, and Ginny.
Almost getting within reach, Bellatrix evilly kicked his wand
farther away, and laughed as Neville's head dropped, and
he began crawling again.
'Oh how I enjoy this! Crucio!' she yelled out, and Neville
was plunged into yet another horrible event. Bellatrix was
so focused on torturing Neville, completing the triad of
torture victims in his one family, for a moment she forgot
the Dark Lord's plans.
'Com'on Longbottom, tell me where Potter is' Bellatrix
expressed gleefully, over Neville's continued yells of
agony.
'Stupefy!'
The spell hit Bellatrix, and she landed on the ground
motionless, her wand a few feet away.
Taking in deep breaths, Neville felt a set of hands reach
him, and help him up. His vision was terrible, but he was
almost more afraid of who saved him, compared to who
was torturing him.
'Come on Longbottom, move your fat behind' Malfoy
argued, trying to pull him up, but not succeeding well.
Neville stood up slowly, and with frantic pulls from Draco,
the two ran down the hallway away from Bellatrix. Neville
could not believe Draco Malfoy saved him.
'Why did you-'
'Because I know what it's like having that witch torture you,
and keep your big trap shut. We have to get to the higher
levels, all the groups fled' Draco informed.
Running down a hallway, they rounded a stairwell to see
Peeves, of all things, throwing apples and other bright
coloured fruits at Death Eaters trying to run up the stairs.
They would try to curse him away with magic, but he
would simply throw more fruits, and go through the wall.
The suits of armour were also periodically thrashing out
and leveling Death Eaters that ran by.
Neville and Draco continued onwards, carefully getting
around the stairwell and the fruit, and both raised their
wands as a group in black cloaks came bustling around a
corner. Squinting, Neville sighed in relief as he saw Ron
and George's red hair.
'Neville! Thank Merlin, are you alright? Do you have the
map?' Ron asked hurriedly, hearing the commotion going
on behind them.
Neville shakily nodded he was alright, pulled out the map,
and gave it quickly to Ron. George was eye balling Draco,
keeping his wand up, while Draco looked about, keeping
his cloak nearby.
The map made them realize things were much worse than
they thought. The entire Ground Level, and most of the
First Floor were overrun by Death Eaters. The Second
Floor was stronger, but packs of Death Eaters were
roaming around the higher levels. In the Grounds, the
strange names of Giants roamed about, along with some
other names which Ron assumed were Centaurs. Ron
was looking for Harry's name, but in passing, he could
swear he saw the name Norbert.
Looking through all the names, Ron and the others
skimmed through and could not find Harry's name.
'Where is he?' Luna questioned. Draco was growing
impatient as they stood in the hallway, just a hundred feet
from a group of Death Eaters.
'We can find Potter later, we need to—'
'We're finding him now Malfoy. If I'm thinking right, we
have to get to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom on the Second
Floor' Ron maintained.
'That's three ruddy floors down! We'll never make it' Draco
claimed. Ron looked over the map and planned their
route, seeing how the Death Eaters were moving around
'Let's go' George gestured, starting off the group. Ron and
Luna were quick to follow, and Neville gave Draco a push
forward to make sure he went as well.
Getting down one flight of stairs, they were running down
towards another staircase, when Neville was thrown
sideways against the wall, and slumped to the floor with a
gash on his forehead, and blood trickling down his cheek
bone.
The others stopped, and two Death Eaters came around
and started firing spells at them.
'GO!' Neville yelled at them.
Taking one last look, they bolted down the hallway, and
turned abruptly, with the Death Eaters following. They ran
away leaving Neville alone, and the figure of who cursed
him against the wall walked up laughing.
'Round two it seems Longbottom' Bellatrix stated happily,
with a sinister grin wiping across her face. Neville tried to
raise his wand before she could do anything, but his
reflexes were hampered.
She again placed the torture curse on Neville, and the
pain was becoming all too much. His mind was beginning
to gloss over, and he was forgetting where he was, or
what was going on.
It seemed to Neville that it would never end, when
suddenly a spell hit Bellatrix from behind.
'Expelliarmus!'
Bella lifted the Cruciatus Curse long enough for Neville to
regain his bearings, and look to see what appeared to be
no one there.
Reaching for her wand, Neville took advantage of her
divided attention.
'Satipovinus!' Neville shouted, a long chord of vine plant
shooting out from his wand, and wrapped tightly around
Bellatrix. The binding was tight, and Bellatrix struggled
against the vine.
Neville stood, and heard a bustling from the hallway,
seeing someone take off an Invisibility Cloak. It was
Draco.
'I want this witch to suffer. Crucio!' Draco yelled, casting a
rather weak Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix. She was actually
laughing while it lasted, and looked at Draco.
'Oh you stupid boy, you're terrible at Unforgivable Curses.
You're even worse than your father' she said, breaking out
of the vines quickly.
'Sectumsempra!' she yelled out, Draco jumping out of the
way and the stone smashing behind him.
'Sectumsempra!' Draco shouted, and gashes ripped
across Bellatrix's body. She stumbled over yelling out in
rage, but she kept standing.
'CRUCIO!' she screamed out at Draco, and he was literally
thrown back onto the ground and against the wall. The
pain was unbearable, and he was on the verge of passing
out from it all.
'Aflatus!' Neville spouted, the curse being broken and
Bellatrix being thrown forward, landing in front of a bend in
the hallway.
Neville steadied himself, and was getting himself ready to
fight. The woman was beyond livid, as was Neville.
Just as she was standing up, Neville raised his wand, but
heard the growl of a Werewolf nearby. He turned, but was
tackled from the side as a massive weight of hairy animal
pummeled into him.
Bellatrix laughed aloud as the Werewolf overpowered
Neville, and bit down into his shoulder. Neville screamed
in pain as he felt his blood spill out onto the stone.
Bellatrix, from her position down the hall, walked forward,
and continued to torture Neville as the Werewolf torn into
him.
Neville's screams stirred Draco on the floor, and he
opened his eyes, and tried to lift his head, but the
pounding along the back of his skull was too extreme. He
saw Bellatrix, and the Werewolf over Neville, and raised
his wand.
'Wingardium Leviosa' Draco whispered. Bellatrix did not
notice Draco on the floor, and with the spell, the Werewolf
was slowly raised above Neville, and closer to Bellatrix.
She suddenly noticed the spell, turned, but at that
moment, Draco let go, and the Werewolf then lunged at
Bellatrix.
The Werewolf slashed and bit down on Bellatrix, and she
struggled to fight it back. She pointed her wand, and with a
well placed Killing Curse, she killed the Werewolf, but the
damage was done.
Struggling against the floor, she was trying to stand again.
Both Draco, and Neville—who was terribly injured by
alive—saw her struggling, and pointed up towards the
ceiling.
Both cast weak blasting curses above, but combined
together, it was enough to make the stone crack and
break above, making it fall down. Bellatrix screamed as
she looked up, and with the thunder of the stones, she
was buried.
Draco crawled along the floor slowly, holing the back of his
head to keep the pounding to a minimum, and eventually
reached Neville. He was in a horrible state, and needed
help quickly.
'Is . . . Is she- . . . is she—'
'She's dead' Draco sighed. Neville let his head fall back,
and closed his eyes. The two of them, a Gryffindor and a
Slytherin, had avenged their parents, and rid the world of
Bellatrix Lestrange.
-
It was only the two of them in the huge chamber, unaware
of the turmoil and suffering that was occurring above.
'You're lying.'
'Am I Harry? I know you have always asked if Topher was
on your side or not. Part of him was always a mystery to
you, and you always thought he was working for me.'
Harry knew he was using his Legilimency, and reaching
into some of his fears. He knew Topher better though.
'Topher would never work for you. He will keep Hermione
alive, and there's nothing you can do about it.'
'Perhaps Harry, perhaps. But, let us rejoice in our current
situation!' Voldemort exclaimed, turning his back and
walking down towards the large statue of Salazar
Slytherin. 'As you no doubt heard from the Sorting Hat, we
are the heirs of the greatest wizards to ever live. The Heirs
of Slytherin and Gryffindor, meeting in Salazar's secret
chamber, to duel each other until the death.'
'Yeah, your death' Harry growled, Voldemort laughing in a
hiss.
'Oh, you may find killing me is much harder than you know
Harry. I know you have the Scepter, but are too worried
about your friends. Ronald—'
A flash of pain crossed Harry's mind, as he could see Ron
screaming in pain as he was being cursed by a Death
Eater. The image came and went in a blink, but the image
was so clear, so painful, it made Harry beg to help him.
'Neville—'
Another thrashing pain passed, as he saw Neville getting
thrashed and screaming in pain as a Werewolf bore down
on him. Blood was everywhere, and the look on his face
was showing an amount of pain that made Harry feel sick
to his stomach.
'And dear Hermione—'
The worst pain of the three, Harry's vision was clouded by
the image of Hermione, lying on the floor of the Gryffindor
Common Room, her eyes open but the warmth, and life in
them gone, leaving them blank and empty. Harry felt like
the picture sat there forever, and he could feel tears
running down his face.
'Go to her Harry, save her' Voldemort encouraged darkly.
Harry wanted to go to her, deeply. It pained him not
knowing how his friends and Hermione were doing. Where
they alive? Had those things happened to all of them? The
images looked so real.
'She's safe' Harry whispered, trying to reassure himself.
'No she is not Harry. None of them are. You fear for their
lives, and rightly so. They will die if you don't go and
protect them' Voldemort said calmly, walking across the
hall.
Harry's mind was pushed more into believing they were all
in deep trouble. He had to find out what was going on, he
had to know Hermione and the others were still alive. He
knew some of them could die, but he wanted none to.
Hermione was in the forefront of his mind however. Her
face, times he spent with her, and the picture of her in the
Hospital Wing, and on the Gryffindor Common Room floor
washed over his mind, and he almost began to step back
to run and find her, when he looked down.
His wand in his hand, he noticed the circlet. It was broken,
but still together.
As pleasant memories of Hermione and himself passed
easily by, he realized she had to be still alive. The circlet
was darker, and it had cracked farther down the length,
but it was still there. If the dream he had was correct, only
when it broke in half meant Hermione had passed.
Reaching behind him, he pulled out the object that Dobby
had brought to him earlier. Something told him, earlier that
day, that he would need Gryffindor's Sword.
'We already destroyed your Horcruxes' Harry told
Voldemort sternly. It had the effect on the Dark Lord that
Harry wanted. The pushing on Harry's mind into the dark
memories and pictures of Hermione lifted instantly, and
Voldemort stopped his strut around the chamber, and
snapped his head towards Harry.
'Legilimens!' Voldemort shouted, moving quickly towards
Harry and bearing his wand down. The force that he
pressed the spell down, Harry actually slipped to his
knees, and closed his eyes as he could feel Voldemort
invading.
Finding the Locket in Grimmauld and destroying it with the
potion—seeing the fragments of the cup on the floor—
Dumbledore with the broken ring on his finger—Harry
stabbing Tom Riddle's Diary—they all moved through
Harry's head, and reaching the end, Harry felt an
unimaginable pain—like having a dozen migraines at
once—press on his brain. He could hear Voldemort
shouting in anger, and he pushed—pushed as hard as he
could—moving his mind towards memories of Hermione.
Harry found strength in memories of her, and knew
Voldemort would be pushed away from them. Sure
enough, Harry pushed Voldemort out, and he fell back
against the stone ground, seeing Voldemort's flaring red
eyes looking at him.
Voldemort extended his wand, and Harry howled in pain
as a torture curse spread through his body. He could feel
the full hatred and anger of Voldemort with every needle
prick, and he writhed on the ground as he Voldemort
pushed on farther, fueled by his rage.
Letting go, Harry felt the smoke coming off him as
Voldemort stepped around and growled in anger.
'Get up Potter, get up!' he shouted, flicking his wand and
raising Harry up onto his feet. He had dropped both his
wand and the sword, and was swaying as he stood.
'Let's us dispense with the pleasantries. Bow!' he ordered,
bowing quickly himself. Harry gathered his thoughts, and
realized something in Voldemort's eyes that he had never
seen before: Voldemort was worried. He had relied on his
Horcruxes being there. Now with them gone, he knew he
was vulnerable, something he had feared about all his life.
Harry went ahead, and bowed to Voldemort. Last time he
was in this situation, he was forced to bow, but this time,
he was here because he wanted to be. He had to end this,
once and for all.
'Crucio!' Voldemort shouted, and Harry was again thrown
down to the floor. Voldemort was pressing the curse
harder than ever before. He made Harry relive all the
terrible moments in his memory—seeing Cedric die, Sirius
fall through the Veil, Hermione getting knocked against the
wall in the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore in agony
and dying in front of him—all while the feeling of
thousands of needles stabbing him everywhere continued
without end.
Voldemort was enraged beyond comprehension. He let go
again, and Harry took a few moments to realize where he
was. He opened his eyes, and saw his wand lying nearby.
He reached for it, but Voldemort waved his wand, and
Harry's left arm was snapped back to his side.
'How could a weakingly like you destroy my Horcruxes?'
Voldemort asked as he walked around.
'It wasn't just me' Harry whispered.
'It's only you now Potter, as it is meant to be. Your friends
cannot save you from your fate now.' And with that, Harry
was pulled across the floor, and scrapes were made on
his face, and hands. His robes ripped, and he was
disorientated. Voldemort raised him up, and threw him
across the hall like a rag doll. Harry came crashing down
against the wall, and felt his arm break harshly.
Harry was now meters away from his wand and the sword,
and hadn't cast one spell against Voldemort. He was
relentless with his anger, hearing of the fate of his
Horcruxes, and was bent on putting Harry through as
much pain as possible before dying.
With more and more torture curses, more screams of
anguish, and cuts and gashes striking across his body,
Harry was pressed farther into darker memories by
Voldemort's Legilimency. He was being attacked on every
level, and could not focus to even defend on one.
A loud rumble shook the entire chamber, and Voldemort
grinned evilly as his slit-like nostrils flared as he breathed
in. He looked at Harry, mangled and dreary on the ground,
and his grin left his face quickly.
'Hogwarts is falling Harry. Your army is being killed as we
speak. Hermione will be dead, as will your friends. I will
take this castle and burn it to the ground. I think after all
this time, it's what Salazar would have wanted' Voldemort
proposed, Harry continuing to crawl along the ground,
pulling himself with his one good arm.
Voldemort walked around, and picked Harry up from his
right arm, looking at the circlet. He examined it closely,
and threw Harry back down to the ground.
'The Oroborus Circlet, impressive Potter. Too bad you
won't have a chance to use it' he commented.
Taking a few steps farther away, he took in a deep breath
and looked at the statue of Salazar Slytherin. 'Well Harry
Potter, you time has come. The Heir of Gryffindor will die,
and the blood of Salazar Slytherin will dominate the
wizarding world as it should.'
Voldemort turned, and pulled Harry to a standing position.
He wanted Harry to grace him with a worthy death.
'The Prophecy will be fulfilled. Avada Kedavra!'
Harry dropped quickly before the green light could reach
him, and he rolled over his broken arm, and grabbed up
Gryffindor's Sword.
'Crucio!' Voldemort yelled out. The spell shot out, and
swinging Gryffindor's Sword, it made contact, and blasted
off towards Voldemort. He flung the spell off to the ceiling,
and in the second of time, Harry let go of Gryffindor's
Sword, and picked up his wand.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!' Voldemort shouted.
'AEPILIOBARNUS!' Harry shouted.
The strings of light collided—green on red—and the Priori
Incantatum was formed. Voldemort pushed forward, and
the ball of light along the connection moved closer to
Harry, but Harry again glanced at the bracelet, and
pushed as hard as he could, thinking only of Hermione
and his friends.
The chamber was lit in the thousands of colours that
spewed from the connection. Voldemort was loosing this
battle of thoughts, and Harry could see him pulling away.
He could not allow Voldemort to break the connection.
'OROBORUS LUMNATIUM!'' Harry shouted.
From Harry's wand, two massive golden snakes—made
entirely of light—burst out and encircled the connection.
The pulse along the connection was moved towards the
centre, and the two snakes converged, and the two
separated, one moving towards Voldemort, and the other
towards Harry.
With a force he could not fight against, Harry's wand was
ripped out of his hand—as was Voldemort's. The golden
snake advanced along the still present connection, and
rearing its head, it turned around Harry, and held him
tightly, its head coming back in front. His wand and
Voldemort's had moved by an invisible force down the
connection to the center, and both turned so they were
facing their owners.
Massive pulses of blue light shone out from the centre
were the wands were, and with the snakes—both wrapped
around their victims—extending their heads to the wands.
The moment the snakes touched the wands, a bright flash
of light extended outwards, and for a brief moment, Harry
saw Voldemort looking absolutely helpless in the clutches
of the snake.
Harry was suddenly pressed into dark memories from his
past. He could see Sirius falling through the Veil, Dudley
bullying him when he was a kid. The memories continued,
and quietly, and somewhat abstractly, he could hear his
voice whisper a spell.
'Accio Demevesco'
Harry now understood what was happening. His wand was
throwing his own spells back at him. He had to remember
what to do, what the Book told him to do, and what Topher
and Hermione told him.
Keep good thoughts in your head Harry Hermione's voice
echoed.
Feeling the chill of the Dementor's approaching, he closed
his eyes and focused on Hermione and his friends.
Summers spent at the Burrow, speaking with Sirius in
Grimmauld Place, talking to Lupin about his parents.
The spells continued to fire back at Harry, with faster and
faster succession. The roar of the wind and the brightness
of the white light made it impossible to see Voldemort, but
Harry could see the flashes of green light that attacked
him, and knew this would be the end of him. Already
multiple Killing Curses must have hit him, causing at least
some if not the same damage.
Being stunned and jostled about, held in place by the
golden snake, Harry was suddenly thrashed about, and
deep cuts ripped across his chest and face. He yelled out
in pain as he heard his own voice echo the spell
"sectumsempra", and realized it must have been from
when he cursed Draco the year before.
More spells, and more pressure built as Harry went further
and further back. The spells became lighter as time went
on, noticeably because Harry did not perform such harder
spells. He was still focusing entirely on Hermione. He was
loosing himself in the memory of himself and Hermione in
the backyard of the Granger's house, stuck in that forever
lasting hug.
Harry felt the snake gripping on him tighter, and his
breathing became troubled. The snake had curled around,
and was now facing Harry.
Harry, bleeding and fatigued, wondered what it was doing,
when suddenly it bit down, straight into his forehead.
He screamed in pain as memories flashed of seeing his
mother being killed, and a dark cloaked figure stepping
over her body. The snake's bite was more than just
burning his forehead, it was as if it was on fire. He could
not move to put the fire out, and he screamed out more as
the pain grew to unimaginable levels.
Just as the memory came to its end, hearing Voldemort
tell Harry that they shall be connected, the fire on his
forehead ceased, and the snake pulled back, and
extended its head back towards the wand. The snake
opened its mouth, and a dark ball of smoke escaped, and
traveled into the mouth of Voldemort's snake. For a
moment, Harry could see Voldemort's snake, and was
horrified to see it had turned completely black. Harry's by
this time was almost pure white.
In an instant of looking closely, Harry saw Voldemort, and
looked away instantly. His body was being thrashed about,
and with the torture and killing curses hitting him, he
inaudibly screamed. He was receiving punishment for over
fifty years of evil acts, and was going through such pain no
one had ever gone through before. Dumbledore was right;
this was worst than dying. In such a state, Voldemort
would be begging for Death to release him.
Harry's vision was soon unfocused and hazy, and he could
feel the light around him gloss over, and his energy was
gone. Breathing was even a hard thing to keep going.
Just as things looked lost, and Harry's mind could no
longer fight against the dark memories, his ashen snake
took hold of his wand, and clamped down on it, breaking it
in half.
With the love of the light, the dark will perish echoed in a
soft voice.
The snake then dissolved, and Harry fell to the ground
limply. It took him minutes, if not longer, to realize he was
still alive. He had no idea where he was or what had
happened, but opening his eyes, he remembered
everything.
He had to see what happened to Voldemort, and when he
lifted his head with all the energy he had, he looked to see
a black cloak lying on the floor. He painfully crawled along
the floor , trying to see clearer what happened.
Reaching the wands, he found his wand was broken in
half, and next to it was Voldemort's Yew wand, broken not
just in one piece, but seven.
The phoenix feathers inside were exposed, and Harry
again heard the soft voice echo.
With the love of the light, the dark will perish
Harry could not believe it, but Voldemort was indeed gone.
Part of him did not want to believe it, but it had to be true,
his wand was snapped. Letting his head fall, a sweet
sound came into the air, and a flash of fire flew over Harry,
landing next to him to reveal Fawkes.
'I . . . I . . . did . . . it' Harry whispered to the bird. Fawkes
hopped over, grabbing up his two feathers from the
wands, and extended his other foot towards Harry. In it,
was a bright coloured wand.
'To- . . . Topher's . . . wand?' Harry asked as his eyes
drooped. Before he could even ask, he passed out on the
floor of the Chamber of Secrets. Fawkes stayed with him
on the floor, and moments later, the golden Oroborus
bracelet on his wrist gave one final and resounding crack,
and broke in two.
With that, high up in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione Granger
slowly exhaled a breath, and slipped into the shadows.
A/N - There you are folks, some deaths (some I know
you will hate me for), and some you might like. Now
this is not the end folks, no no. There are still 2 more
chapters left, and there's still a few things left to do-
important things to do-in the next chapter.
Of course folks, if you have any suggestions or
improvement comments, please make them. :)
And please remember to review folks, and let me
know your thoughts. :)
Spell / Name Meanings:
Argenventus - L. argentum - silver, ventus - wind
(Argenventus silver wind)
Satipovinus - L. sato - to plant, stipo - to press around,
vin - vine (Satipovinus to plant vine and press around)
And finally folks, you get to know Topher's last name
meaning:
Terrwynebas -Terrwyn - (Welsh) - Brave, fierce, mighty, e
- combining vowel, bas - (Gaelic) - Death (Terrwynebas
brave death)
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR-
Hope and Sacrifice
Arthur Weasley, with a band of Guardians and members
of the Order of the Phoenix were running up towards
Gryffindor Tower with haste. He was so worried about
Ginny, George, Ron, and especially Harry. He knew
Charlie and Bill could take care of themselves, but the
others had never been in this sort of situation. Death
Eaters were hot on their trail as they ran up the stairs, and
the Order members were trying to cover the Guardians
running towards the open portrait of the Fat Lady.
'Stupefy!' Arthur yelled as he took cover behind a corner.
There were dozens of Death Eaters storming up the
stairwells, coming at the group from various angles. Mad-
Eye, who they had run into on the way up, was trying to
keep everyone knowing who was coming up where with
his eye.
'Arthur! On your right!' he yelled. Arthur quickly turned just
as he saw the shadows coming around the wall, and he
stunned the first Death Eater, with a Hufflepuff Guardian
stunning the second, but not the third.
'Avada Kedavra!' the third one yelled, the green light flying
past Arthur and killing the young Hufflepuff on the steps
where he stood. His body fell to the stairs, and rolled down
several of them before coming to a sickening halt next to a
wall, his wand clinking to a stop a few stairs higher.
'Aflatus!' Professor McGonagall yelled out behind Arthur,
throwing the Death Eater down the stairs.
'Move Arthur!' she shouted. Mr. Weasley got up and ran
as fast as he could, but stopped short to go back and help
Mad-Eye.
'Go Arthur! I'm fine, go!' Mad-Eye yelled out. Just as Arthur
turned, Mad-Eye looked with his electric-blue eye behind
him, and quickly pushed Arthur down to avoid a Killing
Curse.
Both men fell over, and Arthur scrambled up the steps,
pushing several Guardians higher, and turned around to
see Mad-Eye trying to reach for his walking stick. He
quickly turned over on the stairs, but a Death Eater saw
his move, and aimed.
'No!' Arthur yelled in vein.
'Avada Kedavra!' the Death Eater cursed. With a painful
lunge to cover a young Slytherin Guardian, Mad-Eye was
hit in the chest with the Killing Curse, and he fell heavily
onto the stairs dead. Arthur was routed in place for
moment, but was grabbed by Snape and other Order
members, and brought back to the present.
'Move Arthur, he's dead!' Snape yelled. He took one more
glance at Mad-Eye's body, ducking as a curse blasted the
stone next to him, and ran up with the others. Two more
Guardians were killed, and one Order member before they
reached the Fat Lady's portrait, and got it closed. Arthur
was even more concerned now with George, Ron, Ginny,
and Harry now.
Turning around, Arthur and the others found the Gryffindor
Common Room in chaos. Patients from the Hospital Wing
were strune about, and the paintings on the walls were
ripped and thrashed. Those who were not injured were
panicking, knowing full well that there was no escape from
the Common Room.
'Why are the paintings gashed so? What happened?'
Professor McGonagall questioned several of the students,
all of whom looked close to fainting. One particularly
scared second year Ravenclaw boy tried to explain, but it
was hard to say even one word.
'Were- . . . werew- . . .'
'Werewolves?' Professor McGonagall finished, the boy
nodding and breaking down into tears. A fifth year
Hufflepuff girl took hold of the boy as he continued to cry.
'His sister was killed by a Werewolf. We came up here
because we were told the Hospital Wing was full, and
when we got here, the- . . . the Werewolves were all
around us' the girl explained, tears forming in her eyes.
'We fought as best as we could Professor, but—'
'It's alright dear, you did your best. We will be safe in the
Common Room now' Professor McGonagall assured. She
gave both the boy and girl a comforting pat on the
shoulder, taking a moment to realize that her students
were dying. Hogwarts' students—her students-were dying
inside the castle. Just the notion of how many could be
dead made her weak in the knees, and she grasped the
back of a chair to steady herself.
The Headmistress calmed herself by looking about at the
students that were still alive. She and the others had to
protect who they could. There could be other groups—like
this one—dozens of them, fighting off the evil vermin that
infested the castle. She had to keep hope that somehow
things would work out. That Harry would succeed, and the
Guardians would hold.
Wiping away her watery eyes, she looked up, and walked
determinately to a group of Order members, who were
discussing what was to be done.
'Are the Werewolves-'
'There are no more left in the Common Room Professor.
Alive, that is' Snape informed.
'I am afraid we are cornered' Aberforth expressed
grievously to her and some of the others.
'It seems the Death Eaters have us trapped in here. The
Floo isn't working, and the only way in or out is past the
Fat Lady' Mr. Weasley stated.
And sure enough, as if on cue, Blasting Curses began to
pound against the other side of the portrait. The Fat Lady
herself ran from her portrait once it was closed behind Mr.
Weasley; however that did not mean the Death Eaters
couldn't find other ways to get through.
With each consecutive blast, the Guardians and everyone
else shivered knowing there was no escape from it. Death
Eaters had made it this far into the castle, it was doubtful
one door would stop them now.
'We have no choice, we must defend this room. The
portrait hole provides a bottleneck, we can defend it well'
Aberforth insisted.
'What about the wounded?' Arthur questioned.
'They will have to fight, or stay back, that's it. There is no
other place for them to go' Snape deduced. Madam
Pomfrey moved those on stretchers to the back, and was
sure to check them. Hermione was very weak, but she
was still with them. At odd moments she would whisper
things, or thrash violently, but no one could hear her
mumblings. It was clear however, that she was in a dark
place.
They pushed the injured farther back into the Common
Room, some going into the dormitories, and those able to
fight got into positions that would give them the best cover.
Of course, there could be no cover from a Killing Curse,
but they crossed their fingers anyways.
While they moved everyone around, and the blasting on
the door became more rampant, Sir Nick came swooping
in quickly, and went straight to Professor McGonagall.
'Sir Nick! What is—'
'I am sorry Headmistress to interrupt, but time is of course
short. There are many groups, like yours, keeping safe in
the towers. Yours seems to be the biggest, but there are
other groups in the dungeons we're unsure about.'
'What of the Death Eaters?' Arthur questioned fervently.
Sir Nick looked to the door, and sighed.
'At least twice as many as in here I'm afraid, but many are
standing and waiting. The portrait hole is not so wide.'
'What of Harry? Is there any news of Harry?' Professor
McGonagall asked quickly.
'None that we know of. Myrtle mentioned Harry in the
Second Floor Toilet with a rat of a man-'
'Pettigrew?' Snape suggested to the others.
'But I wouldn't have the foggiest notion as to why he was
there. We checked there many times; if he was there, the
boy isn't anymore.'
'Very well, go ahead and let the other groups know what's
going on. Tell them to keep fighting' Professor McGonagall
told the ghost. Sir Nick nodded, and quickly flew through
the wall of the Common Room.
'If Pettigrew captured Harry-' Arthur proposed.
'We don't have the time. Little can be done about Potter's
fate now, we must worry about ourselves' Snape pointed
out.
Everyone began to take their places, and with the
departure of Sir Nick, Professor McGonagall felt slightly
elated to know there were many students still alive.
The pounding on the doorway increased, to the point
where it became a never ending rumble of thunder.
Professor McGonagall was farther back near the furniture,
while Arthur and Aberforth were with a group behind one
of the staircases. In total, there were about thirty
Guardians and Order members that were fighting off who
knew how many Death Eaters, with at least the same
number of injured or student healers.
'Blast them, don't stun them!' Snape ordered to the group.
'Aim at the ones outside the room!' Aberforth advised.
'Keep behind your cover!' Arthur yelled.
Quietness hovered over the Common Room as the rumble
of the Blasting Curses continued, and cracks in the
wooden frame began to be heard. Just as the wood began
to snap and break apart, Denis Creevey turned to help out
a two shivering students: a first year, and second year.
'Don't worry guys, we'll be alright.'
The two nodded after moment, and the second year
whispered 'for Hogwarts.' The first year looked at the
second year, and nodded intently, both looking back at
Denis. He got the idea, and looked back at the other
Guardians.
'For Hogwarts!'
'For Hogwarts!' everyone yelled out, raising their wands
up. In that instant, the door finally gave way, and blasted
across the room and smashed into one of the windows of
the Common Room.
Spells engulfed the Common Room as the Guardians and
members of the Order of the Phoenix stood their ground,
while Death Eaters spread into the Common Room, and
gained ground.
Just a few moments into the attack, a wisp of black smoke
ran through all the Death Eaters, and they suddenly
screamed in pain, dropping their wands and grasping their
forearms. Almost all of them instantly fell over yelling out,
and the Guardians did not waste time in stunning them.
Arthur and the others quickly ran out from their cover to
get the last few that were still yelling out. The Guardians
and Order members were all in shock over what occurred.
It took a few moments to realize that Snape too was
holding onto his forearm.
'Madam Pomfrey! Come over here!' Professor McGonagall
called, coming over to Snape. No reply came, and she
turned quickly to see what was happening.
Madam Pomfrey was scurrying about over one patient,
with three student healers nearby running around getting
potions and performing spells on the patient.
'The Dark Lord-' Snape whispered, as he winced in more
pain.
'The Dark Lord is dead' he whispered again, reeling in
pain. Professor McGonagall's mouth literally fell, and she
stared at Snape. He was still hurting terribly, and
Professor McGonagall again called for Madam Pomfrey.
She finally closed her mouth, and turned to see what was
happening.
Madam Pomfrey was still scurrying over the one patient,
and as she turned around the bed, Professor McGonagall
realized who the patient was that Madam Pomfrey was
tending to.
She left Snape, as he motioned he would be alright, and
ran over to Madam Pomfrey and Hermione.
'I'm loosing her' Madam Pomfrey told the Headmistress,
trying desperately to bring Hermione back. Professor
McGonagall took a sad look at Hermione's face, and
realized what had happened.
'Poppy' McGonagall tried to console, placing her hand on
the nurse's arm.
'No! I won't loose her!' Poppy insisted, shrugging off the
Headmistress' hand. Professor McGonagall waited a
moment, then took hold of the woman's shoulders, and
finally got her attention. Poppy was crying as she breathed
deeply, shakily holding onto a beaker of some substance
in one hand, and her trembling wand in the other. Looking
at the Headmistress only made her weep harder. Her
student healers were crying as well, and supporting the
school nurse.
'She's gone Poppy' McGonagall breathed.
-
Ron ran forward behind the next wall, and called Luna and
George towards him. Death Eaters were running all over
the place and their brilliant idea of letting the Werewolves
in ahead of them was now backfiring on them. They had to
fight them off themselves.
Running down another flight of stairs, they had to walk
around a giant hole on the left side. They reached the next
floor down, and just as they were coming out to get to the
next stairwell, they saw a body on the floor. They had
checked several of the bodies along the way to make sure
it wasn't any of their friends, and coming up to this body,
Ron and George were checking the area when Luna
screeched.
'Luna! What is i—Ginny? GINNY!' Ron yelled out, realizing
the body they had found was in fact his little sister's.
'Ginny? Ginny wake up!' Ron said to her body, Luna
already erupting into tears, and collapsing onto Ginny's left
arm, clutching it dearly. George came over and tears
began to shed, but he somehow wiped his eyes and
grabbed hold of Ron.
'Ron- . . . we have to- . . . we have to find Harry, Ron. We
can't bring Ginny back. Harry needs us' George insisted,
his voice full of sadness, looking at his sister. Luna was
inconsolable, and after a few moments, Ron's grief turned
into determination and anger, and both he and George
continued on, leaving Luna to bring Ginny up to Gryffindor
Tower. Ron started off, but his mind was totally lost with
the sudden realization about his sister.
'We . . . we have to- . . . we have to go-'
'Ron' George stopped him in the hall. Ron was
hyperventilating, and his sense of direction was totally lost
as his mind was still on the floor with his sister's body.
'Ron, where are we going? We need to find Harry, Ginny
would have wanted us to find him.'
Ron glanced down the hallway, regaining his composure,
and was trying to breathe normally. George looked at him
closely, and realized there could be nothing better done
that giving his brother a hug.
George moved his arms around Ron, and Ron collapsed
into his old brother, his eyes flowing like a rushing river. In
his mind, memories of Ginny smiling brightly at The
Burrow while frolicking about in the garden ran through.
Times when he saw her smile, cry, cheer, rant, and laugh;
they all somehow found their places in Ron's head at that
moment, and the impact of Ginny's death began to take
Ron's mind into overdrive.
'Alright Ron, we have to find Harry' George reiterated. He
knew Ron was drenched in sorrow for Ginny, and he was
too, but Harry needed their help. Right at that moment,
George was keeping himself in shock in order to be there
for Harry. He promised Harry he would help him in anyway
possible, and if that meant keeping Ron on track, so be it.
'Harry' Ron whispered.
'Yes Ron' George stated, backing up and holding Ron by
the shoulders. 'We have to find Harry. Where is he?'
Ron looked about for a bit, and started to come back to
where he was. 'Harry.'
George let go of him slowly. Looking about quickly, Ron
remembered what about his best friend.
'Harry. This way' Ron suddenly spoke, and ran down the
nearby staircase, and down a hallway. George quickly
caught up to him as he slowed near a corner, and they
both peered around to see one Werewolf standing near
the doorway to Myrtle's Washroom.
'Hopefully there is only one of them' George spoke. Ron
gulped, and George moved slightly over.
'We'll run on three' George advised his wand ready. Ron
moved his wand up, and nodded. George counted to
three, and they both stormed around the corner.
The Werewolf heard them, and began hurdling towards
them; its barks and growls loud, and its blood-drenched
teeth menacing.
'Argenventus!' the brothers yelled together, and hundreds
of silver darts shot out of their wands at the creature.
Running into the silver rain full bore, the Werewolf yelped
as the silver daggers dug in, and killed it before it fell to
the ground.
Ron and George slowed, and carefully walked past the
beast, not knowing for sure it was dead or not, and looked
around the corner with wands raised to find no other
guards.
Not wasting time, Ron bolted through the door, and
George followed. Sealing it shut, George turned to hear a
hideous scream echoing in the washroom.
'AHH—Oh, it's only you' Moaning Myrtle whimpered.
'Bloody Hell! Now every Death Eater in the castle knows
we're here!' George complained.
'Well, it's not nice to run into someone's home uninvited'
Myrtle responded. Ron was not in the mood for
conversation however.
'Did Harry go into the Chamber?' Ron asked, in a very
demanding tone.
'Oh Harry, I wish he was a ghost. Why I would-'
'MYRTLE!' Ron yelled.
'Oh yes, he went in there, with the fat man. I told him the
fat man was evil, but did he listen, NO!' Myrtle erupted.
Ron did not bother to care about Myrtle's emotional
outbursts, and instead turned towards the tapestry that
Harry had touched before. The tapestry was sealed
however, and it needed the sound of a snake to open it.
'Blast! You need to speak Parseltongue in order to open
it!' Ron explained angrily. That was the way Harry was
able to get in, but how were they to get inside.
'I know someone who speaks the snakey-talk' came a
voice from the far stall. Both George and Ron turned, and
frowned as Myrtle poked her head out and giggled.
'What?' Ron questioned straightforwardly.
'The Bloody Baron can do the whole snakey-talk. I've only
heard him do it once, and it's a terrible sound.'
George approached quickly, and Ron examined the
tapestry to see if he could get it open himself. 'Myrtle, find
the Bloody Baron and get him down here, now!'
'I don't take orders!' Myrtle argued.
'If you don't get him, we can't go and save Harry. Imagine
what Harry will think when he realizes you saved him!'
George put forward. Myrtle's face began to awe, and Ron
cursed loudly in the background at failing to charm the
tapestry open.
'Ooo! Harry will kiss me! I'll be a moment' Myrtle
announced, racing through the ceiling.
George walked back to see Ron fiddling with the pipes,
but just as George was about to tell him to stop, Myrtle
came flying back, and with her came the Bloody Baron, as
evil and hauntingly bloody as ever.
'Baron, can you—'
'Bloody Baron!' Ron corrected his brother.
'Bloody Baron, can you speak Parseltongue?' George
asked. The Baron waited a moment, but nodded. He was
not one for many words.
'Can you please just say "open up" towards this tapestry,
please sir? It is extremely important' Ron asked. The
Baron was not looking pleased with the request, but
hovered closer, and whispered something so quietly, no
one understood if it was English or Parseltongue.
But only a moment later, the sink gave a rumble, and
descended to reveal a pipe. George and Ron wasted no
time, thanked the Bloody Baron, and threw themselves
into the pipe—down into the depths of the Chamber of
Secrets.
Reaching the bottom of the slimy tube, the two brothers
fell onto hundreds of tiny skeletons and grime. Ron had
been here before, but for George, he was a new comer for
this part of the castle.
'This way' Ron insisted, leading the way into the darkness.
-
'H-a-r-r-y?' a voice called distantly.
'Harry?' it called again, pounding into his head.
Harry heard the voice faintly. It sounded familiar, and
although the desire to slip back into the darkness was
strong, Harry had to wake up to see who spoke the words.
He had to see the face that belonged to the voice.
He could hear the voice again, and this time it was not
alone.
'Is he alive?' another voice asked.
'He's breathing-' the voice said, the rest of the sentence
too soft to hear except the ending. 'It's not safe' the first
voice whispered.
Harry could hear them faintly, but opening his eyes proved
almost impossible. He could not feel anything around him,
or his body itself. He could not tell if he was in water, on
the floor, on grass; anywhere. Only the sound reached his
thoughts, and even then much of what the voices were
saying made no sense to him.
The two voices conversed for a moment in inaudible
tones, then a resonating crack rang out, and penetrated
Harry's mind like an arrow. The sound was immensely
painful, like someone had taken a hammer and rapped it
on his skull.
Harry tried to calm the pain, but it pushed past and now he
could hear nothing but a ringing in his ears.
Time passed, and suddenly Harry felt someone touch
him—grab hold of his arm. It felt like a vice-grip taking hold
of a heavy metal beam, and Harry heard the voice again.
'Harry? What did you say?' the voice asked.
Harry was trying to speak, but nothing was coming out. He
was trying, but the energy was not there. He tried lifting his
head, but the muscles gave out, and with that, Harry fell
back into the darkness.
-
'Hermione . . .'
'He said something' George whispered.
'Harry? What did you say?' Ron asked closely, holding
onto his arm. He thought he saw Harry's head lift, but
Harry did not move.
Harry's breathing was shallow and his body was strewn
with cuts and gashes; one of his arms looking terribly
injured. His hair was matted with blood and his face
covered in ash. When Ron first found him, he honestly
thought Harry was dead.
'Madam Pomfrey needs to see him' George insisted
urgently, looking about the large chamber. 'Dobby, can
you take him?'
They had called Dobby to them, and the moment he saw
Harry, he began balling intensely. George shushed him
well enough so his cries became quiet whimpers, but he
was still very affected by seeing Harry in such a state.
Rubbing his nose and face, Dobby sniffed and looked at
Ron, who looked at him.
'Dobby, take Harry up to Madam Pomfrey right away. He's
alive, don't worry, but he needs your help.'
Dobby did not even reply. He ran forward, took hold of
Harry's arm, and immediately vanished away. Ron and
George were left in the Chamber alone, and it was after
Harry left that they noticed the broken wands, the broken
bracelet, and the black cloak.
Ron walked over, and examined the wands, George
warning him.
'Don't touch those!'
Ron stopped, and looked over with an annoyed
expression. 'I know that!'
He turned back, and hunched down close to see the
fragments. The wands were broken, one into a lot of
pieces. The cores, phoenix feathers, were gone. Looking
back, he noticed bracelet that was on Harry's arm, now
was lying cleaved in half on the floor where Harry was.
Both parts were completely black now.
'George, come here' he said to his brother.
'What is it?' George asked as he approached, still looking
about, worried of entities in the shadows. The Chamber
had a knack for making odd and creepy sounds at random
intervals, in various directions and volumes.
Seeing the wands, without the cores in them, Ron looked
at George, only to receive a hunch of his shoulders.
'I don't know why they're like that, but never mind. We
need to see how Harry is.' George got up, and began to
walk in the direction he was sure they came from.
'What are we going to do with these? Ron asked as he too
stood up.
'Leave them Ron, we don't have the time, and we don't
know what'll happen if we touch them' George said,
turning back around and walking farther.
'That's the wrong way' he called to his brother, George
turning around, and starting towards him.
Ron shrugged, and looked back at the wands. He knew
they were too important to leave down here. He pointed
his wand down at that, and was about to shrink all the
objects and put them in his pocket, when a loud crack
rang in the Chamber. The two Weasleys took out their
wands and pointed it at the new addition to the Chamber.
'Pleases sirs! It is only Dobby!'
Both brothers lowered their wands, and walked forward.
'Why did you come back?' Ron asked.
'To help Harry Potter's friends get back to the Common
Room!' Dobby said hurriedly, hoping over and taking hold
of Ron's arm before he could respond. Dobby was
dragging him over to George when Ron looked back at the
items on the ground.
'What about those?' he asked Dobby. The House Elf
stopped for a second, snapped his fingers, and the objects
vanished away. He then continued over to George, and
the moment he took his hand, all three left the Chamber,
and appeared in the Gryffindor Common Room.
-
'This way!' Professor Fourmove called to several of her
Guardians as they exited Ravenclaw Tower.
For some reason, all the Death Eaters that stormed
Ravenclaw Tower became suddenly injured. The young
professor could not explain it, but every one of them fell to
the floor screaming, holding their arms like they were
being burned. She let no moment be wasted, and had all
the Death Eaters stunned and locked away safely before
any could recover.
At the moment, she was running through the halls, hoping
to find injured people, or Death Eaters that were still
kicking around. She brought a good number of Guardians
with her, along with a few Beauxbaton's students that were
part of her original group.
'Eet is so froid!' said one of the Beauxbaton's girls as they
went through a hallway with windows on the side.
Professor Fourmove did not hear—or was paying attention
for that matter—to the girl's comment. Her eyes were fixed
on what was happening outside the castle.
The Guardians all noticed, and looked out the windows in
awe as the giant beast rained another heavy ball of fire
onto its prey as they fled into the Forbidden Forest and
into the Commons.
'Come, we must hasten our pace' Professor Fourmove
stated assertively. She tore her eyes from the sight, and
continued on down the hallway, her party following after a
moment, and a second glance at the scene.
'I owe Hagrid more credit' Ernie Macmillan commented to
himself as they ran up to Professor Fourmove.
Coming up to a corner, the black-haired professor halted
her group as she peered around the side. Ernie, being the
oldest Guardian there, came up to the front, and took a
quick glance as the professor was figuring what to do.
Down the hall, standing amidst several bodies, were two
Mountain Trolls. Both seemed to be preoccupied with
some of the statues, but the two of them in a tight space
like that would cause significant damage to the Guardians
should they try to pass.
Turning back, Ernie saw Fourmove with a calculating
expression, and tried to offer an option.
'We could make a diversion, and get the Guardians
around.' At this, the professor looked up.
'We need to incapacitate them though Mr. Macmillan. If we
leave them here, the next group would run into them. No,
we need to stun them, and get them out of the castle.'
She stood thinking for a moment longer, then got up, and
looked around again. She seemed to be counting
something, and then turned back to her Guardians.
'Alright. The Trolls will be preoccupied with the statues,
and I need this half to stun the Troll on the left, and this
half the Troll on the right. Do it all together, so Macmillan,
you lead the left half, Parkinson, the right. I will go ahead
and animate the statues.'
Ernie and Pansy both nodded, and told their halves what
they would do. Ernie had a question, but when he turned,
Professor Fourmove was already gone down the hall. He
looked around the corner—most of the Guardians trying to
as well—and saw her craftily walking down the hall.
Whispering charms, the statues changed into different
objects. A gryphon statue turned into a tiger and began
slashing at the right Troll, while another statue—of a lion—
turned into a flock of gulls, and began pecking at the left
Troll.
A flock of gulls, a tiger, a swarm of locusts, two
rhinoceroses, and what looked like a heard of elk
swarmed around the Trolls by time the Professor was
done. Ernie and Pansy called their halves forward, and the
group ran around the corner.
'NOW!' Ernie yelled, both halves stopping in the hall about
ten feet from Trolls wand raising their wands.
'STUPEFY!' came from all the voices. The Trolls looked
over for a moment, but with all the combined spells, they
suddenly became limp, and fell over with a thunderous
clatter. Professor Fourmove, who was off to the side when
the group ran up, waved her wand, and all the animals
and insects returned to their stone precursors.
Getting up to the trolls, Professor Fourmove thought for a
moment, then waved her wand—making one of the trolls
disappear, then the other.
'Where did they go?' a second year asked, looking at the
Professor.
'They're out of the castle, and that is good enough. Keep
moving' she ordered. Several members of the group
checked the bodies, but sadly none were alive. A few
students broke into tears and sorrow, knowing some of the
victims.
Iona was just glad that Topher taught her that Banishing
Spell. She hoped he was alright. There was something in
the way he said good-bye in the middle of the battle that
was disconcerting to her.
'Professor! Down here!' someone yelled ahead of the
group. Fourmove quickened her pace, and came around
the corner to find two bodies on the floor. There was a
heap of stones—which appeared to come from the
collapsed ceiling above them—and the group moved
around them.
Ernie Macmillan was standing over one of the bodies,
Pansy Parkinson crying over the other.
'Oh Draco! Professor, come help!' she called. The group
rushed to the two bodies, and some stepped away with
shock.
Lying on the ground, were Draco Malfoy and Neville
Longbottom. Draco's head was covered in blood, and his
robes were ripped and cuts were strewn all over his body.
Neville was much worse however, with large gashes
striking across his face and his torso. One of his legs was
set at a disturbing angle, and the sight of him and Draco
made a few younger Guardians turn and vomit.
'Don't touch them!' the professor shouted loudly, as Pansy
moved closer to Draco. 'It looks like they were attacked by
a Werewolf. They could still transform. We need to—'
Suddenly, shuffles were heard from around the corner,
and the group quickly took to the sides of the hall. The
shuffles slowed, and a head appeared around the corner.
'Oh no, Neville!' a woman's voice sounded, and the owner
of the voice came around the corner and knelt down by
the body.
'Tonks!' Professor Fourmove expounded, the pale-pink
haired woman looking up quickly with her wand ready.
'Iona! Oh thank Merlin! Are you alright?' Tonks asked as
she stood up, and the group moved away from the walls.
Nymphadora's group then made their way around the
corner. It was a very small group—only six Guardians and
two Durmstrang boys—but they were there.
'We're fine, but they aren't. I think they've been bitten by a
Werewolf.'
'We have to get them to the dungeons then, and lock them
up just in case' Tonks suggested, Iona agreeing.
A loud roar came from the outside of the castle, and
everyone looked at each other.
'Can you take them down there? We need to get to the
Ground Floor, and then outside to see what is going on.'
'There was a dragon' Jimmy Peakes mentioned quickly.
'A dragon? Oh my, this is so bizarre! All the Death Eaters
fall over like that, and now a dragon!' Tonks said in
disbelief. 'Alright, we'll take them down to the dungeons,
and meet you in the grounds. Be careful.'
Tonks' Guardians levitated Draco and Neville, and began
moving them down the hall, while Tonks hung back for a
moment.
'Any news on Harry?' she asked, worry present in her
voice.
'No. We were all up in Ravenclaw Tower when the Death
Eaters fell. Sir Nick came and told us Professor
McGonagall had a large group in Gryffindor Tower, but no
word if Harry was with them' Fourmove explained.
Tonks looked off for a moment, then nodded, and left with
her group to the dungeons.
Getting to the Ground Floor was a very hard journey. Most
of the stairwells were battered and destroyed, and the
number of dead bodies—of Death Eaters, Guardians,
members of the Order, and Ministry members—increased
dramatically. Many of the older Guardians had to help the
younger ones through, and when they reached the Ground
Floor, they found it in total disarray.
Charred remains of paintings and drapes were all over the
floors, while burnt doors were thrown across hallways and
lay on the ground. The bodies on this floor were all moved
to the sides—probably by Death Eaters to get through
quickly. All the Guardians were scanning the bodies, some
screaming out when they found a family member, running
over and holding on to them as tears poured from their
weary eyes.
Loud bangs and roars were still coming from the outside
however, and Professor Fourmove needed to get there
and find out what was going on. She moved quickly
through the halls, turning the corner and getting a horrified
look at the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was in shambles. The House Tables were
broken into pieces, and thrown about the room. Almost all
the windows were blown out and destroyed, and the
ceiling was sprayed with holes and broken wood.
Looking away quickly to focus on the present, she turned
towards the front doors—which were gone, and walked
outside with her group close behind. They lost a few along
the way as they broke down and wept over the bodies of
their family members.
Reaching to doorway, she peered outside and her mouth
opened in awe, along with many of the Guardians.
'Go Norbert! That's ma boy!'
A massive fireball flew across the ripped and torn grass,
and erupted into flame against the trees as roars and
howls filled the air.
The Guardians were pushing to see what was going on,
but everyone backed away when the loud pounds of feet
shook the ground.
'Hagrid!' Professor Fourmove called.
'Oi! Professor, look a' Norbert! Such a good little boy!'
Hagrid called from across the field.
The massive black dragon was stomping across the
grounds, shooting out fire at the giants as they fled into the
forest. Many of the students turned and cringed as the
dragon lunged at a nearby giant—which was trying to beat
the dragon with a club—and began ripping into it. Several
of the students also pointed out all the arrows flying in the
forest at the giants running in away from the fire.
'Little! Hagrid, get out of there!' Professor Fourmove called
again, taking a few steps out and telling the others to stay
inside.
'Oh, it's alrigh' Professor, Norbert 'members his mommy!'
Hagrid answered happily, looking at the vicious dragon
snacking on some of the dead bodies.
'It'll kill you! For Merlin's sake, get inside!' Professor
Fourmove screeched, Hagrid waving his hand at the
woman and taking a few steps forward. He was still a
good three hundred feet from her, the dragon very close to
him.
'Oh never you min—Hey! Norby, no biting! Ow! I said no—
' he ordered to the dragon, getting pushed down by a large
claw. Hagrid was a big man, but a dragon was much too
massive and dangerous.
Tonks just then arrived with her group, and came out to
see Professor Fourmove running towards Hagrid, trying to
help him into the castle. She ran out as well, and some of
the Guardians closely followed.
'Go for the eyes!' Tonks shouted to the group. All of them
began spraying spells on to the dragon, and before it
could take a bite of Hagrid, who was still yelling "no
Norbert! Mommy says no," the spells hit the beast. Many
had no effect, but a few hit the dragon's eyes, and the
beast released Hagrid. It let out a massive bellow, turning
upwards and flapping its massive wings out and taking
flight. The group held back for a moment, before running
over and helping Hagrid up.
'Hagrid, are you alright?' Tonks asked hastily as they
reached the man. He held out his arms for help, and it
took three Guardians on each arm to raise him up. It took
another four to hold him up, as he realized the sting in his
lower half was in fact a broken leg.
'Are you alright?' Ernie asked again worriedly, seeing the
pain on Hagrid's face.
'I'm alrigh'. I need ta get to the Hospital Wing.'
Holding him up, a rumble of thunder spread through the
ground, and the group raised their wands in all directions,
many looking to the sky for the dragon. A large shadow
emerged from the forest and spread towards them. As it
moved closer, the group began to hear a clatter of hooves
that shook the ground.
'If the sky could be seen, Mars would be shining brightly'
one of the centaurs commented as a herd of about ten of
them came up to the group, and halted suddenly, throwing
dust into the air.
'Brightly indeed. Mars has been shining fiercely these
nights of late' another, brown haired centaur added.
'Are—are you—going to attack us?' a Ravenclaw boy
asked, all the centaurs taking an intimidating look at him.
'Mind your tongue human. We are not wild animals that
attack anything, like these giants who invaded our forest
as the scarlet moon told us' a dark haired centaur asserted
firmly.
'You knew they were going to attack?' Iona asked
incredulously.
'You humans never could read the stars and planets as we
have. The blood moon has been looming above our forest,
telling us death would come this night' a shady white
centaur explained rather arrogantly.
'So you're not going to attack us?' the same Ravenclaw
boy asked, his wand still half raised. The centaurs were
agitated with the question.
'Try to use your magic human, and see what becomes of
you. Many of our kin have been killed tonight because of
your war' the brown haired centaur challenged.
'Don' be takin' it personal Bane, these young'uns have
been through a lot tonight' Hagrid told Bane, the
Guardians turning him around slowly to see the centaurs.
'You humans, always trying to justify your hate. And you
have much to answer to as well Hagrid, sending the
Outcast into our forest.'
'I only sent 'im in ta warn yeh about—'
'Enough!' a red-haired centaur interrupted, taking steps
forward and turning to Bane. 'Even after all we have fought
against, you still bicker. Mercury told us a messenger
would arrive soon, and so he did in the Outcast.'
'He should have been arrowed the moment his foot
stepped into our forest' Bane commented.
'As the stars told us, the messenger would reclaim his
place amongst us, and the Outcast did so in death. Many
of our brothers and sisters perished this night protecting
our forest' the red-haired centaur voiced solemnly.
'The blood moon told us of death' one of the centaurs
commented.
'Firenze is dead?' Hagrid asked gravely.
'The Outcast is dead, as are many others. Mars is shining
brightly' another centaur expressed straightforwardly.
'And with Venus rising in the East, a time of rebirth is near.
The forest is free from its trespassers, none of whom
escaped our steady arrows. The forest shall again be at
peace.'
Several of the centaurs looked to the sky, as did some of
the Guardians. A small part in the black clouds let
sparkling stars peak through, as well as the dim full moon,
indeed coloured blood red. It was a lunar eclipse.
The Guardians were astonished at the centaurs prediction.
They pointed up, and as they gazed, the centaurs turned
and walked back into the forest. The red-haired centaur
stayed in place for a moment, and Hagrid looked at him.
'Thank yeh Ronan. Best be wit' yeh' Hagrid professed
tiredly.
Ronan bowed his head quietly, and walked off with the
others, and into the forest. The group turned, and began
towards the castle.
'Where's your group?' Professor Fourmove asked, looking
about at the destroyed grounds. Massive holes and
gouges were engraved into the landscape, while trees in
the Forbidden Forest burned, the thick black smoke
burning into the sinister night sky.
Moving towards the castle with a quick pace, Hagrid
answered between the grunts of pain while about a dozen
Guardians helped him.
'Took cover in the Greenhouses they did.'
'I'll go' Tonks declared, turning and running along the side
of the castle towards the Greenhouses with three
Guardians.
Reaching the Entrance Hall, the group began to hobble
towards the stairwell, when Professor McGonagall and
Professor Flitwick came down at a very quick pace,
followed by several Guardians, all of whom were glancing
at the walls, debris, and dead bodies with horrified
expressions.
'Oh my! Hagrid, what has happened!' Professor
McGonagall sounded, coming down and looking at him,
after the shock of seeing the devastation of their
surroundings. The Guardians lowered him to the stairs,
and he laid down as he explained. Professor Fourmove
was just as eager to hear about the others.
'What of Harry? And the Hospital Wing? And Topher—is
Topher alright?' she asked rapidly, walking up to Professor
Flitwick.
Everyone seemed to have the same questions, and turned
towards the tiny professor—who had a harsh cut across
his cheek.
'You must ask Professor McGonagall of those. My group
was cornered by the Headmistress' Office for most of the
night.'
All the eyes now turned to Professor McGonagall. She
stood, and took a deep breath.
'Is he alive Minerva?' Hagrid asked from the stairs.
'Harry is alive. He's badly injured, but is being treated in
the Gryffindor Common Room.'
To this, many of the Guardians cheered and breathed
some relief. They all knew that meant that Voldemort was
defeated, and Harry won.
'The Hospital Wing was over-run. We were able to get
almost everyone out, but some did not make it.' At this,
Professor McGonagall turned to Iona. The Transfiguration
professor was already in tears as the Headmistress
approached.
'Professor Terrwynebas protected the students until his
last breath' she told Professor Fourmove. Iona looked at
her for a moment—a single tear running down her
cheek—then fell into the Headmistress sobbing
uncontrollably. Professor McGonagall hugged her warmly,
and held on to her while the others looked on sadly.
'Come, Iona. We can grieve in time, we must see that
everyone is found, and the injured helped' Professor
McGonagall said quietly, trying to give the woman some
strength. There were many people—including Hagrid—
who needed a Healer, and they needed to move quickly.
Professor Fourmove stepped away, and nodded slowly,
wiping her cheeks. Professor McGonagall motioned to
Ernie Macmillan and Denis Creevy, and they helped
Professor Fourmove take a seat for a moment to collect
herself.
'What 'bout Hermione? Did she get out of teh Hospital
Wing?' Hagrid asked, looking up at the Headmistress.
Professor Fourmove looked up as well, and Professor
McGonagall turned and took a breath.
'Miss Granger did get out of the Hospital Wing, but during
the attack . . . ' she said, turning and looking off at the
ceiling and rubbing her forehead.
'No. No- . . . she- . . . can't be' Hagrid stuttered.
Professor McGonagall stared at him for a moment. She
could see the hurt in his eyes from already seeing
students perish. The same look must have been in her
eyes as well.
She continued to stare, and as his large questioning eyes
continued to look at her, a single tear from her eye told
enough. She took a step forward, and kneeling down,
embraced the man as his shoulders began to shudder,
and he started to cry uncontrollably on the steps next to
the ruined Great Hall.
-
'When the world is lost, and the snake is broken'
Harry suddenly opened his eyes. He heard several voices
speaking, most of them far away. With his blurred vision,
could distinguish a single person sitting nearby, and
before he could guess who it was, they spoke.
'Harry! Harry, thank Merlin, you're awake!'
Harry tried to reach for his glasses with his one free arm—
the other in a sling of some sorts—and luckily they were
placed in his hand by his bedside friend. Once the glasses
were on his face, he smiled, and tried to sit up a little
better. His friend helped him up, and with one glance, the
two shared an aching hug that Harry had been
desperately needing.
'Oh Ron, I'm so happy to see you' Harry spoke, his voice
raspy from the long sleep that he just woke from.
Harry pressed into Ron, and felt a pinch in his arm when it
was pushed next to Ron's chest. He closed his eyes and
smiled through the pain—something that hurt his face,
which was still recovering from the cuts. The moment his
eyes opened however, just as he backed away from Ron,
his mind turned to deep worry about everyone else.
He found he was in the Hospital Wing, or what was left of
it. The walls were covered in blast marks, and most of the
windows were blown out. The doorway had been smashed
to pieces, and many of the large stone blocks laid across
the floor, with several of the beds near the entrance
flipped over and mangled.
'How's everyone else? Where's Ginny, and George, and
Mum, and Dad, and . . . Hermione?' he asked in
succession. Ron's face—which bore a number of nasty
untreated cuts—became grave, and he turned away from
Harry for a moment.
'Ron' he murmured, his curiosity over powering his anxiety
of facing reality. 'Ron, tell me.'
Ron looked up to the ceiling, tears now engulfing his eyes,
and he sniffed as he looked at Harry's blanket in front of
him. Harry reached out and held Ron's hand to give
support, but his mind was already formulating what
happened. In the seemingly perpetual wait, Harry kept
telling himself the same thing over and over again in his
head.
All of them couldn't be dead. They couldn't. Please let
most of them survive.
Ron wiped his nose, and gave Harry's face a glance
before slowly answering.
'Mum and Dad are alright' he sniffed, Harry breathing
some relief. He could still get fussed over by Mrs.
Weasley, and still laugh at Mr. Weasleys' fascination with
Muggle items.
'George was with me when we found you . . . in the
Chamber and all' he continued, wiping his nose again.
'He's up in Gryffindor Tower helping Mum with the injured.'
Ron then took a deep breath, as more tears spilled from
his eyes, dropping in pats on the blanket.
'Gi—Ginny—' he stuttered, breaking into more tears, his
head falling. Harry could feel his shoulders shuddering
and his eyes tearing themselves, seeing Ron in such a
state, and knowing what he was trying to say.
'Gi—Ginny is . . . is g-g-gone' Ron uttered, looking up, and
totally breaking down. Harry was in same state, hearing
the words voiced, and for a moment could not breathe.
Ginny was . . . gone. Harry's mind reeled with memories of
her: sitting in the Common Room and playing with her long
red hair, playing Quidditch and watching her fly about
beautifully, seeing her face that first time at the Burrow
when she ran back upstairs; the wonderful memories piled
over each other in a seeming mountain of emotions and
good times. All of it was crashing down in an avalanche of
sorrow now, realizing he would never see her face light up
again, never hear her laugh or watch that amazing red hair
flow behind her.
The two best friends—deep in their sadness—embraced
each other and wept. Harry did not, and could not, feel the
pain in his arm from holding on to Ron so hard. The pain
in his soul, in his heart, was overwhelming. He would
never see Ginny again.
They sat there for a long time, trying both to comfort each
other, and help with the pain of it all. This battle would
have much of that, playing out with many friends and
families, lasting many years.
Harry very slowly pulled away from Ron after awhile, his
eyes dry of tears because they had none left. There were
still many people's fates he had to know of, and as much
as Ginny's passing was painful, there could still be others.
'What about Hermione and the others? Please tell me
Ron, I need to know. Is Hermione safe?' Harry asked,
sniffing here and there.
Ron wiped his face again, reaching for a cloth on a table
nearby. He mumbled some things to himself, and Harry
again held on to him and asked once more. It only came to
Harry later on that it was a hard burden to put on Ron,
making him tell the fates of everyone. As much as Harry
wanted to know, in retrospect, he should have not pushed
Ron so hard at a time that was so devastating to
everyone.
'Well—there—there's so many people to tell. Professor
McGonagall and most of the staff are alright—'
'What about Hermione?' Harry interrupted. His thoughts
were teetering on this information, and Ron's reluctance to
answer made Harry think the worst.
'—and Hagrid is alive, though he has a really bad break in
his leg—'
'Ron!' Harry shouted, his voice trembling knowing that Ron
would not be answering because of one reason. Harry's
eyes were wide, and tunnel vision on Ron's face.
Harry's shout got the attention of many people who did not
notice his waking state earlier. Madam Pomfrey being one
of them, she started to walk over, and Harry took Ron—as
he was still looking down—and shook him.
'Tell me Ron! Is Hermione alive!'
Just as Madam Pomfrey came within feet of Harry's bed,
Ron made a slow and almost non-existent shake of his
head, still pointed down at Harry's blanket.
The shakes of his red-haired head played in slow motion.
With such a small motion, Harry's body hollowed to a point
where he thought he left it. His chest ached so terribly, he
actually clutched it with his slinged arm, and lost the
energy he had to stay sitting up.
Madam Pomfrey came up quickly, and began shooing Ron
away. Harry was still holding onto Ron's hand, visions of
Hermione playing in front of his eyes. So many memories,
smiles, kisses, and adventures; they pushed Harry into a
world so entrenched and revolving around Hermione, he
thought he would never again see the normal world.
As Ron's hand moved away slowly, Harry grasped it
tighter, and with a resolute determination, he pulled
himself up.
'Please Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter needs his sleep' Madam
Pomfrey said.
'No!' Harry shouted, 'I need to see Hermione! Take me to
Hermione!'
'Just relax Mr. Potter. Take this, and you'll feel better' she
offered, holding a beaker full of a green liquid.
'"Feel better?" I am seeing Hermione, now! Take me to
Hermione now Ron!' he demanded. In one swift motion, he
ripped the blanket off his bed, and swung his legs around.
He stood up—almost falling over—but Ron steadied him.
With one determined glance, Ron looked at him, and
nodded.
'Mr. Potter, get back here! You're in no condition—'
'I'll show you what condition I'm in if you keep up!' Harry
threatened, reaching over with his hand towards the bed
stand. His reach was too short, however the wand quickly
zoomed into his hand, and he pointed it threateningly at
Madam Pomfrey. The Hospital Nurse backed down
instantly, seeing the look in Harry's eyes, and the two
shattered friends limped out of the Hospital Wing. They
were about to start up towards Gryffindor Tower, when
Dobby—covered in many hats and various other pieces of
clothing—walked around the corner, and stopped in front
of them. He bowed, thinking they were normal students
leaving the Hospital Wing, and continued on, only to stop
again, and take a second glance.
'Harry Potter! Oh, Dobby can not explain how—'
'Can you take us to Gryffindor Tower?' Ron questioned
roughly. He did not want Dobby going off on how happy he
was to see Harry.
'Of course! Dobby will do anything for Harry Potter and his
Weezy!'
Dobby walked forward quickly, and with a snap of his
fingers, the three of them landed in Gryffindor Tower. The
resulting crack frightened several people, but their fright
turned to surprise when they saw Harry.
'Harry! Harry, you're awake!' Denis Creevey so astutely
pointed out, running through several people trying to come
up and shake Harry's hand. Ron pushed forward, and
neglected Denis entirely.
'Out of my way! Oh Harry, thank Merlin!' Mrs. Weasley
admitted joyfully, having to walk through the crowd in the
Common Room to get to him. Harry took the hug without
objection, getting a faint whiff of Mrs. Weasley's
characteristic smell—which consisted of flowers, newly
baked tarts, and a stuffy old sofa—but his heart sunk
deeply when he looked in the direction he saw Mrs.
Weasley came from, and could see Hermione.
Harry became limp, and Mrs. Weasley knew exactly why.
She turned, still holding on to him, and both she and Ron
helped him across the room. Everyone made space, and
as the last student moved, she came into full view, and
Harry felt a pang in his body he had never felt before, nor
would never be without.
She looked absolutely beautiful. So much so, it made
Harry feel like the world had been lost to the darkness.
Her face was pallid and smooth, and her expression was
calm and almost enchanting—the same she had when
reading a great book. Her wonderfully frizzled and slightly
rippled hair cascaded around her shoulders, and framed
her face elegantly. The robes she was wearing where her
normal Hogwarts ones, fixed no doubt by Mrs. Weasley to
look perfectly in place, with every button done up, and not
a speck of dust on it.
'I'm so sorry Harry' Mrs. Weasley whispered.
Harry came closer, and as he reached the couch
Hermione was lying on, his mind was begging she was
just taking a nap. He was trying so hard to tell himself she
was not gone, but as he came ever closer, his feet began
to tremble with each step, knowing he was coming closer
to having to face the truth.
Taking that last step, his feet gave out—as well as Ron
and Mrs. Weasley's grip with the sudden shift—and he fell
in front of the couch, his hands reaching up to Hermione.
Ron made to quickly pick him up, but Mrs. Weasley wisely
advised against it.
Everyone watched as he slowly moved to Hermione, and
began trembling uncontrollably. Tears formed again from
his weary eyes, and poured like rain as he clutched her
arm and side, looking at her face.
It was the first time many of the students had seen Harry
cry, and it made nearly all of them to break down
themselves. To see someone who had suffered through
so much, and who had helped so many keeping strong all
the while, in such a devastated state; it was hard for
everyone.
Mrs. Weasley came over slowly, and reaching out, she
placed a comforting hand on his back. Harry did not even
look to see who it was, but merely reached over, and fell
into her motherly shoulder.
Harry's world was gone now. Such a sudden hole was
thrust into his soul, he was completely lost. He never knew
something could hurt so much. So much of his being
hated that he had lived and beat Voldemort. It was his
fault that Hermione died, and the realization of that fact
came on to Harry like a plague, making him fall even
farther into the dark recesses of his mind.
Someone ran up through the throng of people, and
reached Ron. It was Luna, and she gave Ron a hug, her
face suddenly growing sad as she looked at Harry.
Somehow, in the midst of such sadness and
overwhelming sorrow, Harry heard Luna whisper to Ron.
He looked up at the two of them, his face drenched in
sweat and tears. Luna dropped down, placing one of her
hands on Harry's shoulder.
'It's alright Harry, we're all here for you. All your friends are
here' she reassured. She moved her other hand into view,
and it was this movement that caught Harry's attention for
a moment.
He had seen this moment before. His tears were slowing
as he tried to process everything, and his staring made
Luna look at Ron worriedly.
'Harry? Harry, can you hear me?' she asked, looking at
him closer. She noticed what he was looking at, and
moved it forward.
'I- . . . well, Professor McGonagall asked me to bring this
to—'
Harry immediately reached over and grabbed the pieces
of the bracelet from her hand. They were completely
black, and broken in two right down the middle. Harry
glanced at his own arm, and only realized then that
indeed, the bracelet had fallen off his arm.
His mind was trying desperately to remember where he
saw this scene before. It seemed like something was
missing, just out of reach of his dreary and sorrow-filled
mind.
'When the world is lost, and the snake is broken'
With the sudden realization, Harry examined the pieces of
the bracelet, and shrugged the people off of him, trying to
stand up.
'Harry? Harry, what's the matter?' Mrs. Weasley asked
apprehensively.
'I need to go' Harry stated aloud, mostly to himself than to
anyone else.
'Harry, where do you need to go?' Luna asked, Harry now
standing up, moving some of his hair out of his face to
continue to look at the pieces of the bracelet. The moment
he moved his hair, several nearby students whispered
about his scar, but Harry did no notice.
He looked over the bracelet, and stared at Hermione for a
few moments before, looking over at Ron and the others
with a strong determination in his face.
'"There's only one way you can change the result" . . .
change the result' Harry whispered non-coherently.
'Change what result? What are you talking about Harry?'
Ron asked, giving a very nervous glance at Mrs. Weasley
and some of the others. Harry quickly knelt back down
next to Hermione, and leaned in closely to her ear—her
gentle hair skimming over Harry's lips giving him a slight
shiver.
'I'm going to save you Hermione. Stay with me' he spoke
softly, reaching over and kissing her lifeless lips.
He stood, and moved people away as he bound to the
portraitway. Ron, and many of the others begged him
where he was going, but he kept looking forward. He was
three flights down from Gryffindor Tower before Ron could
catch up with him and finally get an answer.
'Harry! Where the bloody hell are you going?' he
demanded as he continued to run alongside.
'I have to save her.'
'Harry, she's gone' Ron tried to assert.
'No- . . . no, I can change it' Harry responded dully. They
came around the corner, and the two of them were now on
the Second Floor.
'Harry, you- . . . you can't. She's dead' Ron professed. This
statement did what Ron had been trying to do for the past
five floors, and Harry stopped in his tracks half way to the
First Floor.
'They said I could change the result Ron, I can change it!'
Harry boasted, Ron becoming increasingly confused and
scared. The look in Harry's eyes was almost mad.
'Who?'
'The Ka's Ron! They told me I could change what
happened!'
He continued down at a hastened pace, and Ron
scrambled to catch up to him again. Harry walked past the
Defence classroom and found the floor speckled with
apples and oranges, from Peeves' attacks earlier. This
again resonated in Harry's memory from his dream, and
he continued on unwaveringly.
'They never said that Harry' Ron declared. By now, they
were outside in the grounds. It was sunny outside, making
the mounds of dirt and broken ground contrast greatly with
the spotty patches of bottle green grass and cerulean sky.
'In my dream' Harry whispered.
'What?'
'In my dream Ron, they said it in my dream!'
Ron was getting overly concerned with Harry's ramblings.
He wanted Hermione back as well, but he needed to save
Harry from doing something he may regret.
'Harry' Ron said forcefully, running in front of him, and
grabbing his shoulders to hopefully talk some sense into
him. 'She's gone, you can't bring her back. You had a
dream, it doesn't make it real.'
'Yes it does Ron!' Harry argued. The light in Harry's eyes
made Ron nervous. He knew when Harry believed in
something like this so hardily, it was hard to convince him
of anything else. It pained him beyond belief to try and
bring him to the reality that Hermione was gone.
'No one can bring someone back from the dead. She's
gone Harry.'
Harry sighed, and looked down for a moment, before
analyzing Ron.
'Let me do this Ron, please. I know it'll work.'
Ron looked back at the broken castle, many of the towers
smoking, and the grounds destroyed, and then at his best
friend in front of him, equally broken and ruined. As much
as he knew nothing could be done, he needed to be there
for Harry. Even if it meant going with him to prove the
dead could not be brought back.
'Where are we going?' Ron asked, Harry grinning. After
seeing him with Hermione only a few minutes before, Ron
thought he'd never be able to smile.
'Egypt, back to the tomb.'
Ron breathed for a moment, then nodded, and helped
Harry out of the grounds. They had no troubles getting
past the gates—the savior Harry Potter asking to get by.
The problem of how to get to Egypt rose in Ron's mind,
but Harry was not concerned.
'I'll get us there. You'll have to Side-Apparate, so hold on
tight' Harry advised. Ron took hold of his arm carefully,
and Harry pointed his wand back towards Hogwarts.
'Accio Book of Thoth!'
A whooshing sound filled the air momentarily, and Harry
reached out and grabbed a scroll that had flown from the
castle. He closed his eyes for a moment, before unrolling
the scroll and reading it.
'Simula Apparecum!' Harry shouted, thinking hard of the
Egyptian dune that they had visited before.
Giving a quick turn with Ron next to him, the two of them
were squeezed from all sides, and the tube-like feeling of
Apparating enveloped them. The time it took was longer
than either of them had ever experienced. It was
impossible to even try and open ones' eyes to see what
was passing by them, and the flipping of both their
stomachs continued. They tried to hold down their
stomachs, but for such a long time, it was impossible.
Finally planting their feet deep in the desert sand, both fell
away from each other and wrenched. They recovered
themselves slowly, and helped each other up, finally
glancing at their surroundings.
They arrived in the valley that they had visited before,
however the scene was much different. Blast craters
scorched the sand, and the few bits of vegetation near the
Nile were burnt and destroyed. It looked as if no one was
around anymore, and the two students decided not to try
and find out.
Harry led the way as they jogged down the path towards
the cave. Ron continued to look behind them, worried
about lingering foes. With the winds and dust that spun up
in the air within the valley, it made it difficult to see more
than a hundred yards in any direction.
Reaching the face of the tomb, they stood for a moment
trying to open the doorway. Harry's mind was vague on
the details of how their first visit went, but luckily Ron
remembered a little better.
'How are we going to get in? Those wizards are gone' Ron
observed dismally as they scanned the surface of the
sandstone doorway.
The wind continued to whip around them, throwing sand
and dust in their eyes as they tried to get inside. Ron
suggested blasting it down, but Harry worried it would
collapse the tunnel.
'Then try what opened it before! Maybe we don't need the
other wizards' Ron shouted over the howling wind.
Harry wiped his face and took out Topher's wand, and
placed the tip on the rock face. Bright blue markings
shown along the wand, and the ground shook below them
as a small portal opened.
The two of them ran into the dark tunnel, and sprinted into
the depths. The crunch of scorpions and spiders beneath
their feet made Ron lift his feet high and track lightly, even
though it did not matter much. Harry was not even
concerned with the sound, and moved faster.
Reaching a fork in the tunnel, Harry dashed to the right
option, remembering to use Topher's advice of taking the
most northerly tunnel.
'Expecto Patronum!' Harry shouted as he continued to run
with speed into a very dark section of the tunnel. His mind
full of thoughts of Hermione, a phoenix emerged from the
wand, and engulfed the chamber ahead of him. Ron, in
the mean time, was now about ten feet behind him, trying
to catch up.
The trek to the stone chamber at the end was a blur to
Harry. He could never remember himself running so fast
before in his life. Hermione was the only thing in his mind,
and he had to find a way to bring her back. The Ka's told
him it could be done, and he would do anything.
Reaching the chamber, the three tombs, along with all the
statues and pots made of clay, bronze, and other fine
metals. The tiny blue-flame above the center tomb was
still burning as before, and the foul stench of death and
totting corpses again filled the damp and musty air.
Ron finally caught up, and bumped into Harry as he was
turning around to check behind him for scorpions and
other distasteful creatures chasing him.
Harry walked around several statues, and came into view
of the decaying Ka's, lying across the front of the two
smaller tombs. He stepped slowly ahead towards them,
and took the fragments of the bracelet and the scroll out of
his pocket.
'As we foretold, the wielder has returned to us' a hollow
voice sounded in the chamber, Harry snapping his head
up to see the two Ka's standing, their ancient rags hanging
from their skeletons.
'Two less than the last, and with a different purpose in
their minds' the smaller Ka spoke in a ghostly voice, still
causing the hairs on Harry's back to raise.
Harry took another step forward, and closed his eyes as
he saw Hermione standing in front of him, in her backyard
at the beginning of Summer. Seeing her smile, and those
bright brown eyes, he opened his eyes and looked
determinately at the skeletal guards of the tomb.
'You know why I came' Harry spoke lowly.
'We know what you seek to save Harry Potter' the smaller
Ka stated in a ghostly manner.
'And we know what must be done if you truly seek this' the
other explained.
'For the love that drives the power is a strong.'
'But the power to bring forth that love from the nether
regions is stronger' the child Ka informed.
'The protector of the love has allowed this power to come
to light, yet sacrifice is needed' the taller Ka spoke.
'The protector of the love, who?' Harry asked.
'The one who's wand you hold now' the taller skeleton
explained, pointing at Topher's wand. 'Dying so that your
love may continue on, the protector of the love fulfilled
their role.'
'As has the protector of the wielder' the small Ka added in
with its raspy voice, gazing at Ron with its eye sockets.
Harry turned to Ron with shock in his face. 'Topher's . .
dead?' Ron looked at him, and nodded solemnly. Harry
had been so focused on saving Hemrione, he never even
considered that Topher could be gone.
'What- . . . what do you mean "sacrifice"?' Harry asked the
Ka's after a moment to let Topher's passing sink in.
'To call your love from the nether regions, one life must be
sacrificed.'
'One life for another' the taller Ka stated.
'Then take mine. Bring Hermione back' Harry asserted,
Ron stepping towards him.
'Harry, no! Don't do it! Hermione wouldn't want you to
sacrifice yourself to save hers.'
'Ron, she needs to come back. I'm the one that caused
her death; it's my life to give.' Ron came closer to him, and
looked at him.
'Harry, I want Hermione back as well, but not at the price
of your life! Just accept that she's gone' Ron pleaded with
him, as Harry glanced at the Ka's, who were waiting
patiently.
Harry lowered his head, and placed a hand on Ron's
shoulder.
'I can't live knowing I caused her death Ron. She needs to
live, and I'm willing to give my life for that.'
'Stop playing the hero Harry! You beat Voldemort and
Hogwarts is saved! I know, some people died, but you
knew that would happen! You can't keep thinking you can
save everyone!' Ron argued. He realized this had gone
too far. Yes, Harry was right about being able to save
Hermione, but this sacrifice was just too far. He was not
willing to let Harry be killed.
'Ron, this isn't your decision' Harry responded coldly. He
turned, and took a step towards the Ka's, but Ron took
hold of him and tried to keep him from doing this.
'Harry stop! Don't do this!'
Harry turned, but suddenly Ron was gone. He looked
around the chamber worriedly, the amber light flickering
along the walls, and came to the Ka's.
'Where is Ron?' Harry demanded.
'The protector has been returned to the broken castle' the
child Ka told.
'Why?'
The tall Ka tilted its scull at Harry, and took half a step
towards Harry, the bones cracking together with the
motion.
'Only one life can be given to save the love of the wielder-'
'And for this, the protector of that life must be allayed of his
obligation' the child Ka spoke.
Harry looked down for a moment in thought, and nodded
slowly. This is what he wanted. He needed to bring
Hermione back, even if it meant he had to die.
'Will you return the Book of Thoth and the Oroborus Circlet
to this tomb and to whom it should be released to?' the
woman Ka asked, taking rickety steps towards Harry, and
holding out its hand.
Looking down at his hands, he reached into his pockets,
and pulling out the circlet and the scroll. He held them
together, and with each blink of his eyes, the vision of
Hermione's smiling face burned itself into his mind.
He took the pieces of the bracelet and the scroll, and
handed them over to the Ka. He dropped them into its
hand, and the Ka gently took them, and backed away. It
took the bracelet pieces, and put them around the scroll.
The pieces suddenly fused together, and the colour turned
back to bright and gloriously shimmering gold. Harry felt a
wave of dizziness come over him, and he held on to a
nearby statue to keep on his feet.
The Ka took the scroll with the bracelet holding it together,
and placed it below the blue flame on the center tomb.
'Now the circle can be completed. You have returned the
Book of Thoth to us, and are willing to give your life to
save your love' the woman Ka said. It was not phrased as
a question, though it sounded more like she was asking
for reassurance from Harry.
Harry again closed his eyes, and Hermione was all that he
could see in his mind. The wonderful morning of
Christmas and all those walks along the halls at Hogwarts;
every beautiful moment with her poured through his mind
as he stood there. She had to live, there was nothing
Harry was more certain of in his entire life.
'Hermione has to live. I'm willing' Harry said confidently.
The woman Ka looked back at its child, and both of them
came closer to Harry. He tried not to flinch as they
approached, the dark eye holes in their skulls staring at
him. The woman Ka reached over, and its skeletal hand
was placed on Harry's shoulder.
'Then let it be done.'

- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE-
Out of the Ashes
The room was cast in an obsidian darkness, and eerie
quietness. The drapes on the windows were closed,
though most of them were burnt and had many holes and
rips in them, allowing a dull moonlight to creep by into the
room.
Sitting up and looking about, she found the room itself to
be empty, with ancient fossil-like embers placed in the
fireplace, as if it had been snuffed out centuries ago. The
walls were scorched and pitted with blast marks from
spells and soot caused by fire. Many of the paintings had
their frames broken and splintered on the floor, while the
furniture—once a welcoming and comfy shade of
maroon—now lay in ruins across the floor in piles of
broken wood and scorched leather.
Tentatively taking a step off the table which she appeared
to be lying on, her bare feet touched the cold and littered
carpet below, and her body shivered as the drafty air
bombarded her skin.
She began to walk about slowly, wondering what had
happened, and imagining the horror that might have taken
place in this very room. Why was she here? Where was
everyone? Did the castle fall? Was everyone dead?
She continued to pace about quietly, watching her feet to
make sure she did not step on anything. Her mind was
spiraling through millions of questions, and all she wanted
to do is find someone to tell her what's going on.
What about Voldemort? And the Death Eaters? What
about Ron and Luna? What about—
'Hermione!'
She quickly turned around, and in the process fell over
from the scare as well from the sudden movement. She
had reached for her wand, but her pocket was empty. The
person who called her name was approaching quickly,
throwing debris out of the way, while the room spun for a
moment as Hermione regained her bearings.
'Hermione! For Merlin's sake, you're alive!' the voice yelled
again.
'I know that Ronald, I can hear you screaming it right in
front of me!' she bit back, taking Ron's extended hand and
lifting herself up.
'You were dead, I swear you—' Ron mumbled as he
embraced her in a bone-crushing hug, indicative more of
Mrs. Weasley.
'Ron—'
'Yes, you were dead, I remember—' he continued, backing
up a moment and looking over her as if some fragile piece
of art.
'Ronald—'
'But then how are you alive now—' he began to ask as he
squinted oddly.
'RON!' Hermione finally yelled, Ron snapping out of his
stupor. 'Where's Harry? Is he alright? Where is everyone?
Did we lose? Where's—'
'We won Hermione' he started, placing his hands on her
shoulders to calm her down. 'Death Eaters are all out of
the castle now. It's only been two days, and we still have a
lot of cleaning to do.'
'Two days? I've been sleeping for two whole days?'
'Well, you were dead. Um, maybe not—I don't know' Ron
stuttered.
'What about Harry?' Hermione insisted. Ron looked away
for a moment, and with the simple reaction, Hermione's
fingers grew instantly cold with anxiety. He couldn't be . . .
'Hermione . . . after the battle . . .'
'Hermione!' someone else yelled, coming through the
portrait hole. Hermione took glance at Luna coming in, but
turned back to Ron.
'We thought you were de—'
'Ron, where is Harry?' Hermione interrupted Luna, looking
back at Ron almost maniacally. Luna knew her place not
to be upset over Hermione's interruption.
'After the battle, after you . . . died, he remembered
something that those skeleton things in the tomb said—'
'The Kas' Hermione stated rapidly, Ron nodding slowly,
causing Hermione's angst to increase exponentially.
'Yeah, well, after Harry found out you were dead, he went
back to the tomb. . .'
'And?' Hermione almost shouted in anger and worry.
'And we don't know.'
'What do you mean you don't know? He's your best friend
for Merlin's sake!'
'We tried to get into the tomb, but the bloody door won't
open, and we can't Apparate in!' Ron responded
aggressively. Ron had, over the last two days, had a
terrible time trying to realize that Harry might be gone, and
it annoyed him that Hermione thought he did not try
anything to find him.
In the two days that Hermione was lying "dead", Ron had
coordinated as big of a rescue party as he could. There
were more wizards trying to get to Harry than there were
in Hogwarts helping with repairs and injuries. Arthur
Weasley was working with what remained of the Ministry,
pouring through texts in Department of Mysteries as all the
departments worked on methods of extracting Harry.
Ron stayed in Egypt with the curse breakers and the other
wizards and witches, trying to help out. At the time, he was
the only one left alive who had been in the tomb, so he
was the closest thing to an expert about it. He only
returned to Hogwarts twice a day to hear from the Ministry
and get updates from the professors on their efforts. This
return was the second for that day, as he was going up to
his dormitory to get a change of clothes for the next day.
'I need to get there, I need to find him' Hermione asserted,
turning towards the portrait hole. She began to walk
towards it when her legs gave out from underneath her.
She fell to the floor hard, and Luna and Ron came running
over to help her up.
'Hermione, you need food, and you need to regain your
energy before you go running off to Egypt' Ron insisted.
'Ronald's right Hermione. You only really come back from
the dead once. Twice is rare' Luna pointed out.
'I need . . . to find Har—' Hermione whispered, before
passing out.
-
'Hermione . . .'
His voice echoed into eternity, and as she turned, trying to
see into the shadows that engulfed her, she tried
desperately to see where he was.
'Harry! Harry, where are you?' she yelled, her voice
repeating back from the echoes multiple times before
dying out in the emptiness of space.
She grasped for her wand, and tried lighting up the area,
but it made little difference. She tried several spells, even
summoning Harry to her, but nothing worked. The
powerlessness of her efforts was causing her to panic and
tears to fall as she continued yelling out to Harry to try and
save him.
'I can't—I can't see you! Harry, where are you?' she asked
again desperately, her eyes brimming with tears.
The silence that followed seemed to cause the darkness
to encroach on Hermione's space, pushing towards her on
all sides. She crouched down to stay in the light of her
wand, and she began shaking with fear. She never liked
small spaces, and this darkness continued to advance on
her. As the threatening darkness began clawing at her
from all sides, his voice finally returned as if a whisper,
coming from all around her.
'I am in you Hermione . . . your memories, your magic,
your kiss . . .'
'I . . . I don't understand, I have to save you!' Hermione
sputtered out as tears ran down her cheeks. Hearing his
voice so close and soft, it was as if he was right there next
to her.
'The love that drives the power may yet save wielder' a
raspy voice, not Harry's, echoed around her, causing her
bones to shiver. 'As the wielder controlled the power to
save that which he could not do without, and not to gain
that which he was without, so his fate lies with that which
drove the power. For the love now possesses that which
the wielder must have to live, and only she can bear the
trinity upon the wielder to complete the circle.'
The voice stopped for a moment as something began to
form into the stone underneath Hermione. It was burning
into the stone, and as she looked, she found it was a
triangle, superimposed onto a circle. Her mind wondered
for a moment, as she recollected seeing this image before.
'Three points, three sides of the triangle' the wicked voice
continued to speak from the shadows. By now Hermione
realized it was the voice of the taller Ka, the mother, from
the Tomb. 'The circle must be completed now, as the
sands of time continue to flow. For on the third day when
the Sun touches the Tomb, the phoenix will never again
rise from the ashes.'
The triangle and circle burst into flame all around
Hermione, and as she shielded her eyes, her surroundings
lit up and she saw Harry a few feet away, standing
between the Kas from the Tomb.
'I am in you Hermione . . .'
'HARRY!' she screamed, trying to reach out to him. Harry
smiled pleasantly, before suddenly erupting into flames.
His tussled black hair, his bright green eyes, his body; it all
burned away in an instant, leaving only the tattered
remains of his clothes and his skeleton, like the Kas
standing next to him.
'NO!'
'Hermione!' someone yelled.
She bolted up, and was suddenly held by a pair of firm but
comforting arms. She had a cold sweat running all over,
and she was panting heavily as the vision of Harry was
literally burning into her mind.
'It's all right dear' Mrs. Weasley cooed, rubbing her back
gently. 'It was just a dream.'
'A dream . . .' Hermione whispered. 'A dream! I have to
go!' she exclaimed, shrugging off Mrs. Weasley's hands
and getting off the bed. She was in the girl's dormitory in
Gryffindor Tower, and it was only her and Mrs. Weasley.
'Hermione, you need your rest dear' Mrs. Weasley
insisted, picking up the lantern that lit the room to see
where she was going.
'I have to save Harry! I know where he is!'
'Hermione' Mrs. Weasley began sympathetically, stepping
over and placing a hand on her shoulder. 'Harry's gone.'
'No he isn't! I have to go and save him!' Hermione
persisted, grabbing up her traveling cloak and her wand.
Mrs. Weasley was still trying to tell Hermione as calmly
and quietly as possible that Harry was more than likely
gone, but Hermione was not listening. The only thing that
Hermione could hear was what the Ka said in her dream.
'The circle must be completed now, as the sands of time
continue to flow. For on the third day when the Sun
touches the Tomb . . .'
Running down the stairs, Mrs. Weasley pleading with her
to stay, she dashed out the portrait hole, and towards the
grounds. She bundled her cloak tight, and as she ran
through the floors, she could see the destruction the attack
had inflicted on the rest of the castle. The library was
looked completely destroyed, as was the state of the
Charms classroom, and she had to back up and take
another route along the third floor when she came around
a corner to find an entire section of the floor was gone,
dropping straight down to the first floor.
Reaching to Entrance Chamber, where dozens of wizards
and witches were still working to clean up everything and
organize the dead in what was left of the Great Hall, she
turned towards the doorway, and was confronted by Ron,
Luna, and Neville. All three barred her way out, and she
stopped in front of them angrily.
'Hermione, where are you going? You should be upstairs
resting' Ron declared seriously.
'I'm going to save Harry.'
'Hermione' Neville started hesitantly, 'the Order has been
trying, they can't get in.'
'I know, but maybe they're missing something that I'll
figure out.'
'Hermione, these are the best members of the Order, and
the Ministry and . . . well, everything! Dad's at the Ministry
trying to figure it out, and they have the best curse
breakers working it out . . . well, the best curse breakers
still alive that is' Ron added with a frown.
'Hermione's right, they are missing something. It's just the
like the Hidden Treasure of Yum-Yum Kittumockle' Luna
chimed in.
Hermione suppressed the urge to scream at something so
dumb sounding, and settled for an angry groan. Luna, of
course, went ahead and explained herself anyways.
'It's true. With the Treasure, you need a special wand to
open it. Last guess was a Rowan wood with Snortuckle
Sheaf feather wand, but I think the chap who tried that
was turned into a chicken. But Ronald told me it was the
same as the tomb, minus the chicken. Only Topher's wand
would work, right?' The other three all looked at each other
with sudden realization, and Hermione's eyes grew bright
with hope. She lunged over at Luna and gave her a huge
hug.
'Oh Luna! You're the smartest girl I've ever met!' she said
happily, running onto the path towards the gates. Ron and
Neville glanced at Luna with smiles, while Luna observed
a pig-shaped cloud in the night sky, and the three of them
rushed to catch up to Hermione. Once they got past the
gates—only then being told that the Anti-Apparation spells
on the grounds had been neutralized—Hermione stopped
and the others finally were able to ask where they were
going.
'The Department of Mysteries. We need to get Durward.'
She gave a quick thought and Apparated away, Ron and
Neville nodded at each other, Luna glancing at another
cloud, this one cow-shaped, before all three of them
following Hermione.
Landing in the Entrance Chamber of what was left of the
Ministry, they ran up to Hermione and began pelting her
with questions.
'Why do we need that old crow?'
'Yeah, what does he have to do with anything? Shouldn't
we try to find Topher's wand, if it was the one that opened
the Tomb before like Luna said?' Neville added to Ron's
question.
'Don't you remember that letter from Fawkes before we
went to the Tomb? Only Griffin feather wands can open
the tomb, and only the Veneforbis Guard have those
cores! Topher's family was in the Veneforbis, and that's
why his worked. Durward is also in the Veneforbis, so his
will work too!' Hermione pointed out happily.
The Ministry was in heavy reconstruction and cleaning up,
and the four of them running through was not really
noticed by many. Only when they got to the Department of
Mysteries did they get stopped by Aurors, who would not
let them pass.
'No, you are not allowed down here. Turn around, and go
back upstairs. The Department is closed due to break-ins.'
'We know that, we were some of the people that were
breaking in! We need to talk to Durward' Ron argued,
Neville rubbing his forehead in frustration.
'You four broke in- . . . take them!' the Auror yelled, other
black-cloaked Aurors coming towards them. Hermione and
the others struck their wands up quickly, ready to duel.
They were willing to do anything that could save Harry.
'What is going on here?' a calm but gruff voice sounded
behind one of the taller Aurors. They turned, and an old
man limped forwards, wearing dark robes with the blue V
on the front.
'Durward! Thank Merlin you're here' Hermione professed.
'We need your help—' Ron started.
'—to save Harry' Hermione finished. Durward glanced
over the four of them for a moment, and then turned
towards the Auror.
'Leave us now' Durward ordered the Aurors. They obeyed
quickly, and left the five of them alone just outside the
door to the Department of Mysteries.
'Judging that you are alive now—' he started, pointing at
Hermione '—Harry went back to the Tomb?' All four of
them nodded, and he scratched his bearded chin for a
moment.
'What makes you think he is alive, when he most certainly
is dead?' Durward asked forwardly.
'Because the Kas—the um, guards in the tomb—'
'I know what the Kas are' Durward stipulated crustily,
Hermione continuing.
'They told me I could save him.'
'When did they tell you that?' Ron asked wondrously.
'Just tonight in a dream; I heard Harry too.' Hermione
understood it was a leap. Normally she herself would
never go on a venture based on someone's dream about
someone who is in all likelihood dead. She would
understand it was the person's desire to see the other
alive, that they would go to any length to save them, or
hold on to the tiniest hope that they would still be alive,
even when that hope was long past its due date.
But this dream was just too real to dismiss, and she had to
hold on to this hope. She understood beyond clarity now
why Harry went to the Department of Mysteries two years
before to try and save Sirius. She understood at the time it
was more than likely a trap, but it did not matter to Harry.
All that mattered was that someone he loved was in
danger, and needed to be helped. It held the same for
Hermione, and not even logic could keep her from
completing this.
'I heard Harry this afternoon in my nap' Luna fluttered in
suddenly, Durward giving her a strange look, as he
probably did not notice she was even there before she
spoke.
'You did?' Hermione asked with surprise, her brow
furrowing.
'He said he liked my turnip earrings.'
Durward sighed with displeasure, as Hermione rolled her
eyes in rage from the three seconds of wasted time. The
old man turned back to Hermione, and Ron walked over to
Luna to remind her of the seriousness of the situation.
Luna replied that from Harry's comment, she thought
maybe turnips might be important to his finding.
'What did Harry tell you in his dream?' Durward asked.
Hermione explained her dream, and what the Ka told her,
and Durward quickly understood. When Hermione
mentioned the triangle superimposed on the circle,
Durward's eyes grew wide for a moment, and he hurried
all of them out of the Ministry to get to Egypt as soon as
possible.
Hermione knew there was a rush. Aside from Harry being
there for almost three full days, the Ka explained what
would happen to Harry if she did not get to him before
sunrise. It did not take much for Hermione to understand
that "the phoenix" the Ka spoke of was Harry, his patronus
making that clear.
Hermione was still weak, and Neville and Luna hadn't
been to the Wizard's Valley where the tomb was, so they
all Side-Along Apparated together. The trip through the
dark siphoning tube was tough on all of them, and after
what felt like an eternity of being squeezed from all sides,
Hermione's feet finally fell into the sand, and she fell over.
'Are you alright miss?' Durward asked, offering his
wrinkled hand. Hermione accepted, and slowly got back
up, letting her feet settle into the cool sand.
'I'm alright thank you. We need to get to the tomb'
Hermione stressed. By this time, the darkness in the sky
was beginning to fade, and in the east, the horizon was
starting to lighten.
'Right, let us hurry' Durward stated. Ron lead the way
towards the tomb, where even at this time late in the
night—or early in the morning depending on your
prospective—there were at least a dozen wizards and
witches working on the doorway.
'Ron, we think we've made progress. We might be able to
blast through if—'
'No, it won't work. There's only one way to open it, and he
has it' Ron concluded, interrupting one of the curse
breakers who were working on the tomb.
'Stand away' Durward instructed. He walked up to the
tomb door, and placed his wand tip on the surface.
Speaking in whispers of what sounded like a strange
language, the odd markings like those that appeared on
Topher's wand appeared, this time bright red rather than
the icy-blue. Durward stood back after the markings
vanished from his wand, and with a loud rumble, a small
opening came into existence, leading down into a fire-lit
tunnel. The entire group of wizards and witches began to
move forward, however Durward stopped them.
'Only I and three others may enter. Any more would cause
great death' he advised darkly. The others nodded in
understanding, and Ron, Hermione, and Neville moved
towards the entry. They quickly agreed that Luna should
wait outside, however as Neville moved towards the
opening, Durward stopped him.
'No boy, you stay here. She comes' he stipulated, pointing
at Luna. Neville was going to protest, but Hermione and
Ron yelled from the tunnel to hurry, as the sunlight was
moving ever closer.
Neville backed away, and Luna rushed forward and dove
in, Durward following quickly and the opening shutting
behind them.
The tunnel was much the same as before, with a sandy
floor and flat smoothed walls. Torches lined the sides this
time, so there was no need for wandlight as before.
Reaching Ron and Hermione, they came to the fork in the
tunnel, and took the right path as before. They came to the
opening in the cave where the Lethifolds were, but as they
approached, Durward continued on without worry, and
walked normally. Wondering, the others paced slowly into
the chamber, to find it empty. Rather than question the
disappearance of the Lethifolds, Ron and Hermione ran
forward with Luna in tow.
They moved into the last parts of the tunnel, where the air
was musty and old. Ron still did not like dark and creepy
tunnels, but his will to save Harry was foremost in his
mind. Hermione, her body screaming at her to stop
running, was pushing forward with every last ounce of
strength. Several times she fell over into the sand, and
Durward and the others had to help her up and move her
farther.
Finally, Hermione could see the burial chamber, and she
fought against her weak muscles to get to it. The last long
corridor towards the chamber seemed to take forever, and
several times Hermione swore she heard Harry's voice
echoing as it had in her dreams. She was not sure if it was
the tiredness that was causing it, or if it was actually
happening.
Ron and Luna helped Hermione the last few feet, and they
entered the dark and awful smelling room. The Kas were
still there, standing in front of the two smaller tombs. The
blue flame that burned above the center tomb continued to
flicker, and as Durward examined the room, his wandlight
moved over the top of the center tomb, and Hermione's
heart felt like it was being crushed at the sight in front of
her.
It was Harry's body, lying on top of the center tomb.
Durward rushed forward and tried to look for a pulse, but
as he slowly moved away and looked down, Hermione
began crying uncontrollably as her legs gave out and she
fell into Ron's arms.
They were too late, he was dead. She tried as much as
she could and it was not enough. All she wanted was to
save him, as he did for her. She was drenched in such
sadness that she did not think could exist, and as Luna
moved over to comfort her with Ron, Ron looked up and
his body grew stiff.
'Hermione-' he whispered.
Hermione turned, still enveloped in Ron's arms, and her
watery eyes found the Kas looking at her with their dark
hollows of their eye sockets. Ron helped her turn to face
them, and she wiped her eyes as best as she could, but
the tears continued to flow like a mighty river of sorrow.
'We know what you have come for' the taller Ka spoke
hoarsely.
'And you have been told how to find it' the smaller one
added.
'I- . . . I- . . . ' Hermione tried to speak, but nothing was
coming. Did she still have time? If she did, it was winding
down. Harry's life was in her hands, and her mind was
lost. She had to focus, but it was such a heavy weight on
her, nothing but panic ran through her veins.
'What do you want Hermione?' Durward asked quickly.
Ron and Luna were much like Hermione, and had no idea
what to do. Durward knew the scripts and history, and he
knew his purpose. He had to guide the three points—the
three sides of the triangle—to where they had to be. He
was the circle.
'I- . . . I want Harry!' Hermione whimpered, Harry's name
coming as a sputter of tears and heartache.
'Then remember your dream. Harry said he was in you,
correct?' Durward asked, Hermione nodding, her tears still
falling. She was trying so hard to gain control of her
emotions and think, but every time she tried, memories of
Harry would pour through her mind, and make her even
worse.
'How was he in you?' Durward asked hastily, trying to
snap her out of her state.
'In my . . . my memories, magic, and kiss' Hermione
recalled, sniffing.
'Sounds like a Patronus' Luna mentioned quietly.
'What?' Ron asked nervously.
'That's the other thing Harry told me. He said he always
liked my Patronus: the dancing hare' she explained. 'You
use memories and magic to make a Patronus, at least I
do.'
'A . . . Patronus . . . ' Hermione repeated.
Just as she looked over again at Harry's body, the blue
flame above him on the pedestal began to flicker and dim.
Everyone's eyes grew wide at the realization of what it
symbolized.
'It's almost sunrise, bring her over here!' Durward ordered.
Ron and Luna helped her over next to Harry's body, as the
Kas turned and watched quietly, their skeletons scratching
and cracking as their bones moved.
'Whether you use the Book or not, the same result will
come to pass Harry Potter' the woman Ka spoke darkly,
more as the quiet sound of a memory.
'Only one way exists to change the result, and it will lead
you back here' the child Ka whispered to the group.
'When the world is lost and the snake is broken' the
woman Ka spoke, Ron keeping his eyes on them carefully.
Hermione came right next to Harry's body, and her tears
continued to run down her cheeks, devastated to see him
lifeless on the tomb. The blue flame continued to flicker
and grow smaller, and Hermione began to panic again.
Her head was frantic with all the different voices.
'I am in you Hermione . . . your memories, your magic,
your kiss . . .'
'We know what you have come for . . . and you have been
told how to find it.'
'A Patronus.'
'The flame is dying, you must act now!' Durward snapped.
Ron moved to the other side of the tomb, and held on to
Hermione's hand along with Luna, who was standing
between them at the foot of the tomb that Harry's body
was lying on. Ron looked at Hermione with such a
determination in his eyes, her eyes could not move away
from them.
'Think good thoughts Hermione, you know what to do.'
The stare between the two friends last only a fraction of a
second, but it gave Hermione what she needed. Ron
trusted and believed in her, and with Harry's words, she
did the only thing she could think of doing. Swiftly taking
out her wand, she waved it above Harry's body.
'Expecto Patronum!'
At first only a wisp of cloud came from her wand, but as
she closed her eyes, she buried her mind in the happiest
memories of Harry. She could remember seeing him catch
that first snitch on the Quidditch Pitch, remember that
glance of total understanding when running through the
tasks to the Philosopher's Stone.
The memories began cascading through her mind like an
avalanche, and as they continued to pile through her mind
more and more, her patronus finally came into existence,
and her beautiful otter jumped out of her wand and onto
the tomb. In the instant, she opened her eyes, and looked
at her Patronus as it glanced at her.
'Bring him back' she told it pleadingly. The otter turned,
and dove into the blue flame above the tomb.
'I am in you Hermione . . . your memories, your magic,
your kiss . . .'
With her memories and magic now done, Hermione—
continuing to flood her mind with the happy memories of
Harry—bent down to return the last bit of Harry to his
body, and kissed his lips softly.
The blue flame erupted into a fireball as her lips met his,
and Hermione was suddenly transported back to the East
Tower Common Room during Christmas.
'For your gift, I need you to close your eyes' Harry
instructed. Hermione was intrigued by the mysteriousness
of this, but went along in a playful manner.
They spent all of Christmas Eve together, and were
relaxing peacefully after dinner. The two of them were
sitting in front of the hearth, and decided to exchange
Christmas gifts. Hermione had rushed upstairs to get
Harry's Pensieve, and he liked it immensely. Now it was
Harry's turn to give her gift, and her mind was very
interested.
'As long as your gift isn't slimy, and moves' Hermione
warned, closing her eyes and grinning. She could hear
Harry getting up and moving around behind her, which
made her wonder.
'Harry where are you going?' she asked, tempted to open
her eyes and look to see what was going on. Harry merely
shushed her, and she heard something click open then
shut. Her mind was wondering about what it could be, until
she suddenly felt the chill of a metal necklace and warmth
of Harry's hands brushed across her skin. She quivered
from the cold metal on her skin, as well as Harry's soft
touch, and as he closed the clasp on the back of her neck,
she opened her eyes and looked down at the beautiful
silver locket.
It was Harry's mother's locket. She knew how much he
cherished all his parent's possessions. Since finding the
locket, she never saw Harry without it, and to be given
such a heartwarming and loving gift, it made Hermione
awe at his caring.
'Oh Harry' she whispered, glancing over her shoulder at
Harry, who was smiling intensely. She could not believe
he was giving her such a thing.
'Open it' Harry said simply. She looked down again at the
silver locket, and slowly opened it, her hands tingling.
The inscription on the inside made her heart warm
immensely, and tears came to her eyes. He had thought of
everything, every little detail that could have been thought
of, and it was all perfect. She had never been given such a
gift. It was past wonderful—it was something that made
her feel loved beyond words.
For months she had been feeling a lot for Harry, but
keeping it as locked away as possible for fear it may ruin
their friendship. While at the beginning it was hard to see,
by the beginning of December Harry was starting to warm
to her. With this locket though, Hermione needed no more
proof that not only Harry liked her, that she liked Harry.
To my
dearest Hermione
All my love
Harry
Harry gently placed his tender and steady hands on
Hermione's shoulders, and a few tears broke free, and ran
down her cheeks. He was being quiet and calm just as
she wished he would be.
Harry gave a squeeze to her shoulders, and she sniffled
again. She continued to look at the locket, and as Harry
moved around to face her, more tears came from
Hermione's eyes. He looked so handsome in the firelight,
and his soft smile made her smile brightly, as the tears
became ones of happiness. She hated to cry in front of
Harry, feeling like a blubber-face, but the beauty of his gift
and his caring was a bit overwhelming to her at the time.
'Hermione, I've known you for so long, and I never want to
loose you. When I've fallen, you picked me up; when I
thought of turning away, you pushed me forward. You've
always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it.'
'He always deserved it and more' voiced in her head.
'I know we have a tough time ahead, and I can't go on
without telling you how much you mean to me' Harry
expressed warmly. Hermione had waited so long to hear
this from Harry, it was all too much for both of them, and
even he began to tear from it all, which made Hermione
love him all the more.
'You mean so much to me Hermione, you always have.
There isn't a day that passes that I'm not grateful for Ron
and me saving you from that Troll in first year. I can't
imagine my world without you, and the truth is' he took a
hiccupped breath, as tears streamed down his face, 'I love
you Hermione.'
Hearing the words aloud, Hermione's tears suddenly
ceased, and her sniffling silenced. She gazed at him, into
the clouds of eloquent emerald, contemplative sage, and
radiant viridian that swirled in his eyes.
She always found his eyes to peer past the exterior, and
down into the depths of her soul, and right now she was
experiencing exactly that. His gaze wound its way into the
recesses of her mind, all the way past the logic and
reason, down to the most elemental foundations of her. It
moved past it all, and reached the true woman under all
the school work and reason.
Biting her lip, she began that terrifying but exciting lean
forward. Harry was in this with her, and as they came to
the pinnacle, she could feel Harry's warm breath against
her neck, causing a shiver to spread all the way to her
toes. She had never felt so nervous before in her life, but
deep down she knew it was meant to be.
As their lips finally came together, Hermione felt like she
was floating in space. The sounds and smells of their
surroundings died out, and only the kiss existed in the
universe. It moved so sensually and slow, but with the
pressure released, it soon became fiery.
Harry gave into the moment and wrapped his arms around
Hermione, which drove Hermione's heart uncontrollably.
She let go of all her inhibitions and let her body free. She
pushed against Harry forcefully, letting her hands explore
Harry's arms and shoulders. The fire in both of them
continued to grow as they deepened their kiss, and as
Harry's hands began running almost effortlessly through
her hair, Hermione was falling into all the passion with no
intention of letting it go.
As the crackle of the fire came back to her, the kiss
slowed, winding down at an infinitely slow pace, letting it
gradually turn into a kiss of love and softness. Hermione
felt like time itself was stopped, and the two of them were
the only people left in the world. The feel of his hair, his
shoulders, his face—she caressed them all slowly, until
finally they looked at each other with such a gaze that
moved past words. Harry looked at her and beamed
brightly, Hermione so happy with it all that a smile would
not do, and she laughed in his arms.
'I love you too Harry.'
He opened his eyes, only to squint and raise his hand to
block the brilliant sunlight that was coming through the
windows. Why she left the drapes open in the morning, no
one would know, but it bugged him immensely, especially
on his days off.
But he had to get going. There was a big ceremony at the
school today, as they had finally finished rebuilding it all. It
took almost two full years since the end of the war to get it
all done, but Hogwarts would again be what it always was.
He could not wait to see the school he loved so much, and
all the friends that had moved on since the end of the war.
Sitting up in bed, he yawned loudly, and got out of bed.
Glancing at the pictures on the dresser, he went into the
washroom and got ready for the day. Once finished, he
came into the kitchen and fixed himself a good breakfast
of cereal and toast, and looked through the post that an
owl had delivered earlier that morning.
'From Molly Weasley' he read, tearing open the letter.
Hello dear,
The rest of the family will be arriving at Hogwarts at 2pm
for the ceremony, and we expect to see you there ON
TIME! None of this walking in 20 minutes late like the
ceremony at the Ministry!
I sent a package to you, and you will wear what I sent this
time, or there will be trouble!
Love Mum
He looked over at the counter, and indeed there was a
package. He laughed as he got up, and brought the parcel
over onto the kitchen table.
'Oh Mum, I knew you wouldn't let me down' he chuckled,
opening the package to find a set of black dress robes. He
took them out, and was amazed that she had actually
picked out a set of decent looking dress robes. He knew
that if he wore his old set of robes she would be enraged,
but he had to wear his old cloak. Going back to Hogwarts
for the opening ceremony, he had to wear his Hogwarts
cloak, which still bore the Guardians' shield.
Putting on the robes and getting his Hogwarts cloak, he
looked at himself in the mirror, and a tiny bit of sadness
entered his mind.
So much had happened in the past few years, many times
he dreamed of being back at Hogwarts. To be only three
years younger, and live in the castle like he did. To always
be surrounded by his family and friends, it was something
he missed. It was almost impossible to feel alone at
Hogwarts and The Burrow during those days, but now that
everyone had moved on, the world seemed a lot bigger,
and he missed the closeness.
Seeing the time on the clock, he got himself ready to
leave. He had to give a speech, something he always
hated, and went over it a few times before leaving. It
mentioned the past, the future; things he was not too
motivated to talk about. Hermione had helped him with the
speech, as it was more of something for her, but she told
him he had to say what he wanted to say. He even asked
Luna for help, but talking about all the new supposed
Lemuratums that she said would haunt the castle grounds
did not really spark his interest.
He gave a sigh, and opted to go ahead. Getting himself
ready for the barrage of people and questions, he
breathed in the quietness of home before thinking of
Hogsmede, and Apparating away.
Landing in the town, he smiled at the buildings that had
been built to replace the charred remains of the old ones.
They looked almost identical to what was there before, but
of course some scars could never be fixed.
He was greeted in the streets by several people, asking
him about the war and things he had done. It was common
knowledge now for people to know what he did in the war,
and people still marveled at all the things that had
occurred. Two years after however, people had gradually
become less pestering to him and the family, which
allowed him and everyone else to move on with more
normal lives. Well, as normal as could be.
Reaching the ground of Hogwarts, he smiled brightly at
the huge drape that hid Hogwarts from all the wondering
eyes. Would it look the same as before? Would it feel like
it did, walking through the hallways?
He knew it would never be as it was before, but all
buildings go through changes, just as the people who go
through them do. Everyone who had returned to Hogwarts
that day had changed; for better or worse was still left to
be seen by some, but the castle itself could never be as it
was.
'Thank Merlin you showed up at the right time' came a
voice from behind him. He turned, and grinned happily.
'Hey, I'm always on time Mum! And thanks for the robes,
they fit like an invisibility cloak' he chimed happily, as Mrs.
Weasley looked him over, and found a crease that needed
to be wiped out on his shoulder.
'I see the cloak wasn't to your liking though?' she noted,
giving a frown that quickly became a bright smile.
'Oh you look dapper. I think most people wore their
Hogwarts cloaks back today' she mentioned.
'Hello son' Mr. Weasley expressed happily, giving a
handshake.
'How are things at the Ministry?'
'Just wonderful, wonderful. The Minister should be arriving
soon I imagine, but you'll meet him when you give your
speech.'
'Right . . . my speech' he mentioned grimly.
'Oh come now, you'll do grand, isn't that right Luna?' Mr.
Weasley asked, as Luna walked over. She wore her
Hogwarts robes all the way down to the socks, was
happily brandishing her turnip earrings.
'I'm sure you'll be wonderful. People are really interested
in Lemuratrums. We sold out the last copy of the Quibbler,
and the feature was on them.'
He smiled awkwardly at Luna as she smiled brightly and
twiddled with her blonde hair, and his fingers began to
fidget in his pockets. She gave him luck on his speech, a
kiss on the cheek, and found her seat in front of the
podium by the rest of the Weasleys. Hundreds of seats
were set up on the grass in front of the podium, all facing
the castle.
As everyone took their seats, and he went to his place on
the stage, people waved at him happily, and he returned
the favour. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were conversing
amongst themselves, and as he looked down the row, he
smiled at Luna—who was talking to Colin Creevy, who
found a career as a photographer with the Quibbler and
the Daily Prophet.
Looking about, he was becoming anxious as time drew
near, and people began to take their seats. Once
everyone had taken their place, two ominous empty seats
sitting next to Mr. Weasley, the Master of Ceremonies—
Professor McGonagall—took the podium.
'Welcome past students, professors, and friends, to the
grounds of Hogwarts. This day has been two years in the
making, and all of us have returned to these grounds to
usher in a new era for our society.
'While we celebrate the reopening of Hogwarts to the
wizarding world, and the continuation of education that
these grounds have provided for over a millennia, we must
acknowledge the terrible price that was paid by those who
believed in this school, and our way of life.'
She faltered for a moment, looking down the row of
dignitaries on the stage, and looked up at the sky.
'Many of us were here when the war came, and many
never left these grounds when the war left. We honour our
lost friends, revere their sacrifice, and cherish their
devotion by standing here today, continuing to hold on to
and defend what they wished to preserve.'
'And out of the ashes of the war, we have all rebuilt our
world, never forgetting those who died valiantly. We have
rebuilt our families, our homes, our lives, and now after
two long and changing years, we have rebuilt a place that
will always be a shining beacon of hope; a place that will
never forget the brave, clever, fair, and cunning wizards,
witches, and beings that perished to preserve it.
'Yet as we remember the departed, we look forward as
well. As I look at the rebuilding of Hogwarts, I see it not as
the end of a dream from the old world, but as the
beginning of a new hope for the future. Let this castle
stand for yet another millennia, and remind the world that
you must never tickle a sleeping dragon, for within it there
is a spirit that neither time nor wizard-kind can destroy.'
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and she
smiled brightly at everyone. He was very respectful of
Professor McGonagall's speech, having some essence of
Dumbledore's wisdom.
In the moments as the crowd began to fade, his heart
began to race as he knew he was the first speech after
Professor McGonagall. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled up at
him encouragingly, however his eyes were trying to find
the two people whose seats were still empty next to the
Weasleys.Where were they?
'It is my distinct pleasure to introduce the first to speak at
this ceremony. He stood by his beliefs and those whom he
loved, and conquered that which most thought was
impossible. He overcame adversity, and in the end, helped
shape the world that we now are blessed to live in—'
Professor McGonagall spoke graciously. He was still trying
to look through the hundreds of faces, seeing if either of
them where there, but it seemed they were not. Where
could you be Hermione and Ron?
'Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Harry Potter.'
Harry stood from his seat on the stage to thunderous
applause, and he smiled sheepishly. He could imagine
how red his face must have looked, but he tried to
maintain his composure, and shook Professor
McGonagall's hand.
'James and Lily would be very proud, as would Albus' she
avowed, beaming at him as she turned and took her seat.
Harry stayed focused on the podium as he walked forward
to more applause, and after several moments of standing
at the podium and looking out at the crowd, a smile broke
across his face. He was still nervous, but knowing
everyone was so supportive, it helped. He still wished that
Ron and Hermione would be there though.
The applause began to dim, and Harry shuffled the paper
that had his speech. The sweat on his forehead became
all the more apparent to him as he looked down at the
words, and adjusted his glasses. The words seemed
blurry and his anxiety began to rise again.
Looking up again, he found the crowd had finished, and
took their seats again. Hundreds of people were looking
up at Harry, waiting for him to speak wonderful words and
inspire everyone. His mouth was so dry, as he tried to say
hello, he erupted into coughs.
Clearing his throat, and regaining his composure, he
shuffled his papers again, and looked out at the people.
'Hello everyone. It's great to be here again at Hogwarts,
seeing it rebuilt with all my family and friends' he said,
pausing for a moment. 'Well, not all my family and friends'
he added sadly, looking down at the paper again. The
instant he finished the line, he kicked himself internally.
'Wonderful way to start a speech Harry.'
'Hogwarts was my home, and I think it will always be my
home. Everyone remembers their times at Hogwarts,
whether it be the Sorting Hat, Quidditch, or the OWLs' he
added with a smile, remembering Fred and George's
intrusion on one of his OWLs. He looked out again at the
crowd trying to see Hermione or Ron, but still they had not
shown. Even Mrs. Weasley was looking around.
'I think it's important that the people—our friends and
family—who perished here, fought to save not just the
people that stood with them, but the essence of Hogwarts
itself. They fought for every stone that made this castle,
and as those brave wizards, witches, and creatures fell,
part of the castle fell with them.'
'But in the last two years, we have taken those fallen
stones, infused with characters of our lost friends, and we
made it right. With their strength, we put the rock-hard
floors back to their rightful place, waiting for the paces of
the anxious and young. With their determination, we lifted
walls out of the ashes, and stone by stone, they found
their places.' He paused for a moment, looking up again to
try and find Hermione. 'And with their love, that love which
could never—'
Glancing up, he saw her, and his voice stumbled. She was
glowing in the bright sunshine. She stood at the foot of the
isle between the two sections of seats. Wearing her
Hogwarts robes, as was expected, Harry's mind was
instantly transplanted back to three years before, seeing
her in the Great Hall, walking up towards him. She looked
so beautiful in her Hogwarts robes, he forgot about the
speech, the people; everything.
'That love . . . that love, err . . . which could never die, we
stand here today. It was with their love, and our love for
them, that pulled us through the darkest times, and gave
us the courage and strength to continue on.'
Hermione beamed at him wonderfully, and took her seat
next to Mrs. Weasley, turning back to shake Hagrid's
massive hand before looking back up at Harry.
'And continue we have, and two years later from those
dark and worrisome days, we have all come back here to
see what their sacrifice has given us. They gave us this
castle, these grounds, and our families. They gave us our
future, and for that, we will remember them.'
Harry stood back, and received a roaring ovation. He
could see Hermione smiling brighter than ever before, and
Harry mouthed a "thank you" to her, as most of the speech
was written by her. Harry always hated public speaking.
Various other dignitaries spoke, including Neville, the new
Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and the crowd
applauded everyone. Neville had been offered the
Herbology position, however decided to teach Defence.
Even with the war over, he wanted to make sure that
students would be prepared, and he did not trust another
person to teach the students in defence, after the myriad
of professors he and the others had gone through. He had
been holding the position for over a year, and was happily
still alive, making it clear that the curse on the job was
broken.
Once the speeches were done, the castle was unveiled,
and the crowd cheered and applauded. Hogwarts had not
been seen complete in over two years, and now it was just
how it was. The magnificent towers, the strong stone
walls, all against the pallid blue sky and course green
grass; Hogwarts looked wonderful.
Everyone began to walk towards the front doors, and
Harry moved towards Hermione and the Weasleys.
Hermione walked forward with a bright face, and the two
of them kissed each other passionately. Hermione knew
that the speech would be tough, and not just because
Harry had no idea what to say. Remembering all those
friends who died: Ginny, Topher, Mad-Eye, Fred, Viktor,
Baldric, and many others, made it almost impossible for
Harry to function. They both knew that coming back to
Hogwarts was going to be tough for everyone. Plus, there
were other things on Harry's mind to worry him.
'What did the healer say?' Harry asked, suddenly breaking
the kiss remembering why she was late. Hermione's face
grew bright red, and she smiled exuberantly. The reaction
made Harry laugh he was so happy, and he kissed her
again, realizing what was to come.
'Umm, you two?' a voice came from in front of them. Harry
and Hermione separated from their exchange, both still
beaming intensely. The crowd that initially surrounded the
area had moved towards the castle, and only a few were
left around Harry and the others.
'So, you decided to show finally?' Harry asked Ron, who
was the one trying to get their attention.
'Yes, where were you Ronald? Did you not get my
package?' Mrs. Weasley asked tersely.
'I did Mum, but I was having troubles with Fionn. He was
up all night and kept us both up' Ron stated tiredly.
Mentioning it, Harry could see he and Luna did in fact look
quite tired.
'Well I told that using Luna's . . . "odd" techniques wouldn't
work!' Mrs. Weasley ranted, Ron nodding his head as
always to his mother's rants.
'Yes Mum, well, we realized that, and now he's doing fine.
I was late, making sure that Uncle George understood
what he needed to do while I was away. Sorry Harry' Ron
added, looking at his old friend with a frown.
'It's no trouble Ron.'
'That still sounds too funny to be true: Uncle George'
Hermione laughed.
'And hey, why am I getting all the nagging, Hermione was
late too!' Ron maintained, as if hoping to spread some of
the blame off him.
'Yes, well, there is good reason for that' Hermione said,
looking at Harry with a glowing smile.
'Oh, what is it Hermione?' Mr. Weasley asked.
'Well . . . Harry and I might be in need of baby clothes in
the next while' she told them, her face cherry red and
cheerful.
Mrs. Weasley had almost the same reaction as she had
when she found out Luna was going to have a child: she
cried happily.
'Oh Hermione, Harry dear!' she began, tears falling from
her face. She gave Harry a compressing hug as Mr.
Weasley gave a hug to Hermione, then they switched, Mr.
Weasley shaking Harry's hand.
'Congrats Harry my boy.'
'Thanks Dad, thank Mum' Harry answered.
Luna gave Hermione a warming hug, and her along with
Mrs. Weasley went into discussion with Hermione, while
Ron came over and shook Harry's hand, which then
became a hug.
'Good on ya mate' Ron told his best friend.
'Thanks Ron.'
Just then, as the group relished in the news, a large figure
approached.
'How are you Hagrid?' Hermione asked their big friend.
'Jus' grand Hermione! Got me hut all in order an' such,
and Grawpy's doin' just fine wit' teh Centaurs' he boasted.
'That's great Hagrid' Harry said.
'Actually, we'll have to look for a new place now, won't
we?' Hermione mentioned to Harry.
'Well, you're always welcome at the Burrow dears' Mrs.
Weasley expressed happily.
'New place? Why yeh lookin' for a new place?' Hagrid
asked.
'Hermione's pregnant' Ron explained simply to Hagrid.
Hagrid reacted much in the same manner as he did with
finding out about Luna the previous year: loudly.
'Yeh are! That's wonderful!' he boomed, grabbing the
attention of several people around their group, including
several reporters, who started towards their group with
questions ready.
'Here we go' Harry murmured. Hagrid apologized, but
Harry reassured him it was not his fault.
'Mr. Potter, what is your position of Seamus Finnigan's
crusade for better Werewolf rights?' one reporter asked.
'Seamus is one of my best friends, and I support him,
Neville Longbottom, and Remus Lupin in their efforts, as
does everyone else here' Harry replied.
'What do you plan to do now that Hogwarts is rebuilt?'
another reporter asked.
'I'm not sure, but for the moment I'm going to enjoy
Hogwarts.'
'Is it true that there might be a book written about your
life?' a short woman reporter asked. Harry simply laughed,
and the group walked towards Hogwarts leaving the
reporters.
While walking through the halls of Hogwarts, Harry was
reminded of all the wonderful—and some less wonderful—
memories that he had within the castle. He could see
differences here and there, and it reminded him that this
was not the same castle. But he attempted to gloss over
the changes, and focus on the consistent.
'Maybe a book about your life might be a good idea'
Hermione mentioned quietly, knowing the reaction it would
get.
'What? Of all the people, I would never expect you to
suggest that' Harry responded evenly.
'Well' Hermione explained, looking out a window across
the Black Lake, 'it would make things clear for people, and
get people to listen to your actual history.'
'You know I don't like all that publicity' Harry grumbled,
Hermione taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
'I know Harry, but it could give people the right side of the
story, and let them know about people who deserve to be
known. Let them know about Ginny, and Dumbledore, and
Topher, and Fred, and everyone else.'
Harry looked out across the Lake, as he had many times
before, and Hermione gave him a kiss on the shoulder.
'Can you believe, years from now, another Potter will be
walking through these halls' Hermione professed, Harry
letting out a laugh.
'Along with another Weasley, oh, that will be something'
he grinned, looking at Hermione's soft face.
'I love you.'
'I love you too Harry' Hermione said, giving him a warm
and slow kiss, as if they were still back in the East Tower
on Christmas Eve.
'I wonder—'
'—if Evander is still here' Harry finished her sentence, the
two thinking of the same memory.
They briskly walked towards the library, and turned down
the hallway towards the portrait at the end. Surely enough,
an appreciative welcome came from the portrait, and they
smiled.
'Why, if it isn't Harry Potter and Hermione Granger!'
Evander expounded.
'That would be Hermione Potter actually' Hermione
corrected, Evander beaming.
'Well of course! The tradition never dies!' he voiced
happily. 'So, do you remember the password?'
'Err . . .' Harry wondered, looking at Hermione.
'Everlasting Magic' Hermione answered, Evander smiling.
'Very good Mrs. Potter, very good. Love is, and will always
be, an everlasting magic' Evander replied happily, turning
open for the two of them.
They entered the East Tower, and found the desk, the
hearth, the chairs: all the same. They walked around the
room, carefully examining the details of the room in awe,
remembering all the memories they both had.
'I always loved this room' Hermione attested.
'So did I. It was always a wonderful thing to wake up and
see you first before anyone else.'
They kissed, and as Harry began looking up towards his
old room, Hermione took hold of his hand.
'You know Harry' she began, sounding a bit mischievous,
'I always wanted to see how your room looked.'
Harry grinned, and the two of them went up the stairs with
haste.
'Thank you so very much Mr. Potter, for allowing me to
write this book' Miss Crebell stated again, expressing her
profound thanks.
It took a few years before Harry was willing to let his story
be published, but he decided to do it not for himself, but
for those who did not live to tell their stories. Few people
knew the stories of Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, or
Topher Terrwynebas. People needed to know their stories,
as well as Harry's.
'I told you Lavanya, you don't need to keep thanking me. I
just want to make sure my friends and family that died
through the years are remembered, and my story is set
straight. And for the love of Merlin, call me Harry.'
'It will Mr. Po—sorry, Harry, it will, I promise' she
reassured. Harry sat back in his seat at his and
Hermione's home near Bridlington. Hermione took Aiden
to see Luna and Fionn that afternoon, allowing Harry and
Lavanya to start on Harry's book.
'So I guess a good place to start would be when I got my
letter from Hogwarts, right?' Harry asked, Lavanya waiting
with her quill. Harry set a strict policy of no Quick-Quotes
Quills.
'Well, I actually thought we could start earlier than that'
she suggested nervously. This was going to be about his
life, and she was only a young writer, so she did want to
keep this story for her.
'What do you mean?' Harry asked.
'Well, everyone basically knows the story of how you lost
your scar' she began, Harry unconsciously reaching up
and grazing his now clear forehead. Harry remembered
the first time he saw himself in a mirror after Voldemort
was defeated, and he could not believe that his scar—the
one thing that always identified Harry and Harry—was
gone.
'But I thought we could start how you got your scar in the
first place' Lavanya finished.
Harry took his hand off his forehead, and looked at
Lavanya for a moment.
'That makes sense actually, though I know little of
beginning of my life, as anyone does.' Lavanya nodded,
and Harry took a deep breath, looking out the window at
the calm sea that stretched out before the house.
He could smell the lingering scent of Honeysuckle in the
air, mixed with the playful aroma of his baby, and he
smiled knowing they were going to be safe. Aiden would
grow up, go to Hogwarts, and live life in peace, while he
and Hermione would continue with their life together.
Hogwarts, would persist as it always had, and the sacrifice
of those who fought to save the castle would never be
forgotten. The Houses still existed, and the Sorting Hat
was proven wrong, continuing to sort new students and
sing new songs. As Professor Flitwick commented in the
first year back, 'well of course it can be wrong, after all, it's
only a hat!'
Harry's friends and family would remain strong and
together, weathering all the times to come. The Burrow
would always remain The Burrow, and many celebrations
continued to be held in the garden and in the kitchen.
And even thinking back to the Dursley's, they too
continued on. Petunia, on news of Aiden's birth, came and
held her great-nephew with pride, and ties—loose as they
were—formed between her and Harry's family.
And it came to Harry, as he thought of all this, how much
his scar changed his life. It made him "The Boy Who
Lived", and it set him on his life path. It made him the man
he was, and thinking back, he was actually glad that
Voldemort marked him, because it did not just take away
his family, it gave it back to him as well.
'Well, you see' Harry started, 'my scar, wasn't like any
other scar . . .'
THE END
Spell / Name Meanings -
Lemuratrum - L. lemures: ghosts / phantoms, -atrum:
dark (Lemuratrum dark phantoms)
Fionn - Irish Gaelic Fionn: fair or white
Lavanya Crebell - Sanskirt: Lavanya: beauty / grace, L.
creo: to make, libellus: little book (Lavanya Crebell to
make a beautiful little book)
Aiden - Old Irish, from Aodhan, from Aodh, from Aed: fire