HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATH OF THE OLD RULE
(WARNING: THIS IS A PRE-HBP STORY … THE READER MUST NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS OF HBP TO APPRECIATE THE STORY.)
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 16
ODE TO FALLEN WARRIORS
Albus Dumbledore looked grave as Hermione saw him approach. He was taking each step with resolve, and yet his head was slightly bent forward, his gaze definitely focusing on the ground a few feet in front of him -Â his piercing blue eyes purposely remaining lower than hers … Had the Headmaster ever failed to look at her in the eye before? Something was wrong. She tried to get her hands back to the front of her, but sadly remembered that they were shackled to the rock wall to which she had been pinned for hours.
But how? How had Dumbledore managed to find her? And more pressingly, what about …
She brushed the question aside to warn him. `Professor! Thomas Winslow, he's in here, quick!'
Dumbledore stopped his measured pace. For the first time, the old man looked up at her, smiling faintly, but not out of joy. This smile showed he was relieved to find her, but there was sadness in it.
`Don't worry, dear Hermione. No one will stop me. It's all … over.'
Her Headmaster calling her by her first name had been a rare occurrence, and there was undeniable defeat in his voice. Something was definitely wrong. What exactly had he meant by `over'?
A violent, piercing, breathtaking jab of pain suddenly lashed at her, striking her right through the chest. She immediately felt nauseous, and sensed her heart accelerating -Â much too quickly, she thought. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she suddenly found herself gasping for air.
Harry! Something had happened to Harry!
Before this moment, Hermione had no idea she could feel this horrible. Her worst fear had finally come true! Dumbledore was about to admit to her that the man she loved, the one she had agonized over for most of her teenage and young adult life, was gone for good. His penetrating, glittering green eyes would never look into hers again. She would never again try to untidy his messy hair. She would never feel his long, powerful arms around her. The tears came instantly, and before long her face was wet with tears and she had a very hard time containing her increasingly uncontrollable sobs.
`Miss Granger', Dumbledore continued, `I know you're an intelligent woman, so I'll go straight to the point. I'm afraid I have some disturbing news …'
The Headmaster's voice was now barely a whisper. Glancing up over his shoulder, she saw the full tragedy of their situation coming to life right before her eyes. Three men had just entered the cave behind Dumbledore, and were walking towards the both of them, smiling triumphantly: Lord Maldemort, Igor Karkaroff, and Thomas Winslow. The unholy triumvirate representing evil itself. They all held their wands at chest height, keeping them voluntarily pointed at the back of the wise, old leader that stood in front of her.
She tried to talk, but her mouth and throat had become incredibly parched. It was Dumbledore who sympathetically uttered the next word.
`We've been betrayed. Someone in our midst tipped off Winslow, and he and his kronies ambushed Harry and his team in the forest. It was … quick, cruel, and … bloody, from what I saw when I arrived. I don't think anyone saw anything coming before it was too late. It was nothing short of a massacre. All team members were mercilessly slaughtered like dogs. Including -'
Albus Dumbledore paused, tears now streaming down his own wrinkled and tired cheeks. For the first time, the Headmaster looked … very old, and weary of living.
Hermione herself started shaking violently, no longer able to hold her sobs. Her legs gave way from under her, but since she was shackled, she collapsed -Â and found herself ridiculously hanging from her chains, her feet desperately moving to try to regain some kind of solid footing.
Albus Dumbledore straightened up, trying to convey a sense of what this moment represented -Â the abrupt end, the sad conclusion, of what had amounted to a new era.
`Harry fought with all his strength and skill. But in the end, he was greatly outnumbered. They … they killed him too.'
Hermione closed her eyes, and winced real hard, convinced that if she could just hold it long enough, if she just wished it away hard enough, then everything would go away.
But of course, it couldn't.
`NNN-NNNN-NOOOOOOO!' The shriek of desperation that came out of Hermione Granger was the truest expression of the uttermost despair that could possibly be felt by a human being. It was a scream of agony, of someone who had just been placed in the most painful and deadly situation against their will, without any chance of doing anything about it.
The scream echoed against the walls of the deserted cave. In a flash, Hermione opened her eyes. Dumbledore was gone, and so were Karkaroff, Maldemort and Winslow.
She was … alone.
Shivering and gasping for breath, Hermione looked frantically around her … Seeing no one, she tried to shake off the blurriness of her vision after shedding so many tears, but nothing changed.
She instantly melted inside and exactly then, a wave of overwhelming relief washed over her, over and over again, as she slowly took in the fact that she had just awoken from one of the worst nightmare of her life.
`Oh my! A DREAM! It was just a dream … just a dream! Oh, Harry, please get here soon, I can't take this anymore!'
Her lips and mouth were dry, and her aching muscles were starting to cramp. In the predicament she was in, it didn't help making her more comfortable. Trying to cope with the discomfort, she bit her lip and tears came, but not from the bite -Â rather, they came from the burning pain that was now radiating from each muscle and ligament of her body. She realized that she was already suffering from severe dehydration.
She started laughing nervously, trying awkwardly to move her feet and hands to get rid of the numbness of being in the same position for hours.
And yet, despite her precarious situation, she somehow felt a sense of overwhelming joy … Harry was still alive and hopefully, coming soon.
---------------
The stairs kept going down, without an end in sight. Wherever this flight of steps was taking Harry and Ginny, it appeared to be deep within the bowels of the earth.
`Harry? Are you sure this is going to lead us to Hermione?' Ginny's quivering voice betrayed the terror she was feeling at the very moment.
Harry stopped and looked back at her, an indulgent smile on his face. His friend had been through more than enough life-threatening situations since the previous autumn, and it had somewhat shaken her usual fiery spirit.
`Ginny, as long as we keep close together, we'll be okay. Don't worry, I have your back. Having Hermione in my life doesn't mean I care any less about you as I always did!'
Seeing Ginny about to break down, Harry moved towards her quickly and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. All of the sudden, the tension in her whole body melted away, and she found herself overtaken with sobs and shakes. Harry held on, and whispered in her ear softly, `It's okay, you're fine. You'll get through this, I know you will!'
She regained her composure after a few minutes, and looked up at Harry. `Thank you, I needed that. I'm feeling better now.'
She kissed him softly on the cheek, and grinned. `We should get going, these stairs seem to go down forever!'
Harry smiled faintly, surprised at Ginny's quick rebound. `All right then, let's go then! Lumos!'
Harry lifted his wand forward and above his head. They had been going down steps in total darkness for about fifteen minutes. They resumed their descent, the natural tunnel gradually losing its steep incline. After another ten minutes, they reached a corridor with no more steps, at the end of which a faint, greenish light seemed to be glowing. It was, quite literally, the light at the end of the tunnel. The stuffiness of the air down the stairwell also dissipated, and they both took deep breaths.
`Finally!' uttered Ginny, still out of breath. `Just how deep to you think -'
`SSHHH!' Harry looked at her with reprimanding eyes. They were close to their enemy's lair, and this was not the time to be detected beforehand. Especially since Harry was still feeling like they were walking blind, without any control on the situation at hand or the information that had led them there.
They arrived in front of a towering, dark green double curtain, which seemed to form the entrance into some kind of wider expanse of the underground tunnel they had been following. Indeed, the tunnel's ceiling had suddenly shot up towards a much higher point, while the tunnel floor remained at the same level. Furthermore, the sides of the tunnel had seemed to get dramatically wider as they had approached the source of light from afar.
The curtains were not completely closed, and from between the two thick pieces of tapestry a light was emanating - the source of the glow they had seen from afar.
Harry glanced over to Ginny. He whispered, `Are you ready?'
She nodded with assurance. `As ready as I'll ever be, I guess ...' She took out her wand, and readied herself to follow Harry's lead.
Harry slid himself between the two curtains, trying as much as he could not to touch them. There was no telling what kind of charm had been put on them to prevent intruders from getting past undetected. Harry was almost through when his worst fear came true: a deafening, gong-like sound resonated three times all over what seemed to be a gigantic cave opening, echoing from wall to wall for what seemed like hours. He quickly motioned Ginny to follow, since there was no hiding the fact that someone had entered the lair. Fortunately, she was quick enough to go through at almost the same time as he did and after a few seconds, silence enveloped the ominous space once more. Not losing a second, Harry grabbed HaGinny's hand and, bending in half, jogged all the way to the wall on his far right to finally reach a corner of the room. Cowering to the ground to remain concealed by the semi-darkness, Harry fumbled through the light backpack he had brought with him on this mission. He took out his invisibility cloak and covered himself and Ginny who was crouched on the floor right beside him.
Harry whispered very faintly. `Okay, okay … at least we can wait here a few minutes, and see what happens … I'm sure this noise has awoken whoever -Â or whatever - calls this place "home"Â …'
Still holding its breath, Harry surveyed the room around him. He had a surprisingly complete view of the cave from the corner where they were hiding, with the exception of the area ahead of him on his far right. This place reminded Harry of the Slytherin common room back at Hogwarts. Except that … there was something more sinister to this place, more morbid. There were books on the whole left side of the room, on shelves apparently carved directly in the rock itself directly to the right of where they were. Harry realized that they were in some kind of rectangular enclosure within the right side of the cave with a very low ceiling. A few feet in front of them laid two dark marble study tables, on which some books had been left open. The ceiling of the cave itself appeared to be incredibly high, but barely reached ten feet in the small `study hall' where they were hidden. When he had entered the room, he had seen in front of him briefly and had not been able to make the other end - the wall directly across the entrance seemed at least a hundred yards away, and appeared covered in dark green tapestries similar to the curtains forming the entrance of the cave.
Harry reasoned that the first part cave was probably in the shape of a large `L', which went straight from the curtains for more than a hundred yards and then turned towards the right at a 90 degree angle. Wherever Hermione was, it had to be in that part of the cave - or further.
To his increasing surprise, no Dark Wizard or giant - or any beast for that matter -Â came out of the cave in front of him.
He looked at Ginny tentatively. `I think it's safe to move forward … let's go.'
She nodded silently, and they started to make their way to the other part of the cave.
---------------
Ron was trying to listen to Dumbledore explaining how and where they would go from there, but he found it difficult to concentrate. Dumbledore had informed him that he would be the team leader, but the details were not yet clear.
He felt responsible, and yet didn't know why. Hermione had jumped off the rock, and he had stayed up there at the most five minutes before getting down himself to investigate the noise. Could he have done anything more? Hermione was a seasoned fighter, even in the face of a non-expected event. Ron reasoned that she would have fallen prey to the trap even if their `incident' had not taken place.
Maybe I should have walked her in, Ron thought. But even then, he and Harry knew Hermione was quite capable of taking care of herself and resented being treated like a baby.
He then thought about kissing her, and felt light-headed. He knew the kiss had been out of place, and that Hermione hadn't reacted quite positively, but he didn't regret his gesture. It was now obvious to Ron that he still loved Hermione.
Dumbledore was continuing on about planning a surprise raid on Maldemort's raid since he knew its exact location.
Ron, for the first time of his life, felt a wave of depression hitting him. He had to love the only girl that he could never have. Unless …
Unless Harry is out of the picture … The horrible thought came, and stuck around. Ron felt incredibly bad. They were in a war, and it was possible that Harry wouldn't come out of it on the victorious side.
`I'm so selfish!', he mused out loud, only to realize the whole room was staring at him.
`Do you need some precisions, Mr. Weasley?' Dumbledore's voice was kind, but his eyes betrayed his annoyance at the fact that Ron wasn't listening to instructions.
`No Sir, that's quite all right. I'm ready to go!'
The meeting was apparently over. Everybody stood and started gathering their effects, and after a few minute, gathered around Ron. With a heavy sigh, he picked up his pack and headed towards the entrance of the refuge, not exactly knowing what was in store next …
---------------
Hermione was looking straight in front of her with mounting apprehension. There was no mistaking the gong that had resonated a few minutes before: someone had just come in the cave. And this time she knew she was wide awake, and not dreaming. Her captors were back, and with them, the rage and fury of having been deceived by a prisoner.
`I'm going to die for sure, they're going to kill me', she whimpered, knowing Maldemort and his kronies would not be forgiving this time around.
But something felt definitely odd and out of scenario. She had indeed heard the gong - which she now knew was a forewarning of someone coming in. She had heard it many times, the last time being the day before when a visitor had come to give what she assumed were news to Karkaroff and Maldemort. Since that day, she had not seen Winslow, who was supposed to keep a tight watch on her.
A thought occurred to her. `Maybe they just plan to leave me here, and they'll never come back!'
Seized by the panic of that thought, she screamed as hard as she could, `WHO'S THERE? Please help me, whoever you are! SHOW YOURSELF! HELP!'
Immediately, she heard some muffled voices, and the sound of running steps.
`HERMIONE! HERMIONE!'
A tall silhouette adorned with a mop of untidy black hair suddenly appeared from a recess of the cave far in front of where she was held, and came running towards her. She couldn't believe it was even possible, and yet, there he was. He had found her.
Warmth overflowed her body, and tears came rushing down, wetting her cheeks in a matter of seconds. She barely whispered as the familiar hands started waving a wand, working quickly and frantically to finally manage to break her chains.
`Harry … you found me …' The chains fell on the floor with a loud clang, and Hermione felt her legs give way from under her. At the same time a pair of strong, muscular arms wrapped themselves around her, and she felt a soft warmth around her hear, just before she heard the soothing, reassuring voice.
`I've got you, you're safe. I'm not letting you go ... I -Â IÂ - I love you so much, I thought I had lost you!' Harry was himself trying to maintain composure, but sobs were hard to contain, even for him. He had half-expected to find her body, or not find her at all, which would probably have been much worse.
`I SEE WE'RE ARRIVING JUST IN TIME!'
There was no mistaking that dark, sinister voice. Before he could even move, Harry felt a wave of ice envelop him, and literally freeze him into place. He tried to reach for his wand, but somehow his hand was categorically refusing to obey his brain. He attempted to turn his head, to see on the other side, but nothing happened. His eyes, however, were still able to move left and right. From his point of view, he saw Hermione, apparently frozen herself, still wrapped in his arms. They had been hit by some kind of immobilizing charm or curse, that allowed them however to see and hear what was going on - without the ability to move.
Before long, the ugly faces of Maldemort and Karkaroff came around to face the both of them.
`Well, isn't that … touching, Igor! Frozen in time in their love for each other!' Maldemort then exploded in a maniacal laugh that reverberated all around the sinister hideout.
But Karkaroff didn't seem to share in the laughter. He kept looking left and right, and the sombre look on his face betrayed a hint of nervousness.
`I urge you, Master, not to underestimate our enemies. We should finish what we came here to do, and then leave as quickly as possible!'
Maldemort's face suddenly lost its twisted glee. `Yes, Igor, yes. I'm aware of your "worries"Â …' He then turned back to Harry and Hermione, and with pent up rage deforming his face, he started to talk rather quickly.
`Harry Potter! You have stomped our plans for the last time. It is quite fitting that your little … lassie is here with you, because she will be part of it as well. Indeed … I must admit, you are quite the actress, Miss Granger. I actually believed your story, and almost fell into a trap in doing so - so I'm sure you'll understand that it is imperative that you die as well. Yes, sadly, I'm going to kill you both now. I should have done it a long time ago, simply and quickly. Ah, the desire for revenge! It makes you lose opportunities, and it makes you weak, doesn't it? I'm not going to repeat that mistake! So … Let's proceed, shall we?"
He slowly, deliberately drew out his wand from underneath his cloak. Harry was thinking furiously fast, trying to imagine a way to get out of this predicament. But there was nothing coming to him. His luck had ran out, he was going to die miserably, taking Hermione with him -Â the worst scenario he had ever imagined.
But just then, he vaguely heard a vaguely familiar masculine voice from afar, screaming what sounded like a spell of some sort. A deafening explosion of purple light right in front of him made him temporarily blind, and then he heard another voice, a feminine - and familiar one - this time.
`Ginny!' He thought with relief. Less than a second later, a burning sensation came over him, and he collapsed to the floor with Hermione. But right then, flashes and deafening noises overtook the cave, and confusion ensued. Apparently, Maldemort and Karkaroff had also moved on to more urgent matters, since Harry had the distinct feeling that there was nobody left around him.
`I'll be back for you guys, Harry! They need my help down there!'
Ginny's footsteps faded away into the pandemonium of screams and voices. A fight had broken out, and Harry wasn't sure whether this meant good news or not: they were still vastly outnumbered, and an open fight on unfamiliar grounds meant a potentially grim conclusion for his team. The floor started to shake slightly, and a few pieces of rock even fell down from the ceiling of the cave.
Instinctively, Harry crawled from his position to shield Hermione - who was lying on the floor a few feet away with her face turned away from him - with his body. As he had suspected, they both could move again.
`Are you okay?' Harry probed, making sure to be heard over the noise. `Please talk to me!'
Hermione glanced back and nodded without talking. She pointed towards the corner of the `L' where Harry saw Ginny intensely involved in a fight with a hooded Dark wizard. The curses and countercurses were flying, but she seemed to be gaining an advantage. Harry suddenly saw a green flash of light shoot out from Ginny's wand, and when her opponent stopped moving and fell back, Harry knew she had killed someone for the first time.
Harry drew his own wand and jumped to his feet. He grabbed Hermione's hand, looked at her intently, and whispered, `Stay here! You don't have a wand! I'll come back for you!'
Hermione looked at him defiantly. `NO WAY! I'm not leaving your side again! I'll find a way to get a wand, don't worry about me!'
There was no time to argue, and Harry knew full well that she wouldn't listen to reason on the issue.
`Ok, then. But stay close and don't leave my side!' They both took off towards the battle zone, but before they knew it, a Dark wizard had jumped from a corner right in front of him, wand in the air, cutting their route.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALLUS!"
The wizard keeled over, and fell on his face. Harry had been quicker than his opponent would ever dream to become. Hermione jumped to him and manage to take his wand away.
`It won't be the best, but at least I can defend myself!'
`All right Hermione! Let's go! YOU TAKE THE RIGHT SIDE, I'LL TAKE THE LEFT!' It was becoming extremely hard to be heard over the noise. Hermione proceeded forward, crouched, to cross the first part of the `L' and she soon reached the wall on the other side of them. Harry slowly moved forward on an angle, and reached his wall. They started following their respective rock wall, separated by about a hundred feet, and quickly turned the corner to land right on the edge of the main battle scene. Harry was taken aback and gasped. There were at least thirty dark wizards battling with what appeared to be a handful of their own original group, perhaps fifteen wizards. In a quick sweep of the room, Harry saw Ginny and Ron, both taking on opponents, with quite apparent success. But some of the fighters were not even using wands: they were going at it with fists and sticks, and whatever other item they had been carrying. Harry glanced afar straight in front of him towards the other side to his right to try to locate where Hermione was; he couldn't make the other side of the room, however, since a lot of smoke of multiple colours was now overtaking this section of the cave.
Harry saw Maldemort about twenty feet ahead of him, his back against the wall and his face partly hidden by his cloak …Â He had apparently just finished off his opponent. Harry couldn't recognize who, but swallowed hard at the thought that his team would unavoidably suffer some -Â perhaps many -Â casualties. He lunged forward to engage Maldemort, who was trying to remain concealed under his hood.
Before he could reach him however, Karkaroff appeared out of nowhere about ten feet in front of him, with a sadistic smile on his face and blood covering the left side of his cloak.
`At last! You can really show us what you're made of, Potter! Maybe you'll last a little longer than your friend … Dean, was it?' he said, looking back at where Maldemort had stood a few seconds ago.
Harry's insides ignited with rage. `You'll pay for this', he hissed between his teeth. He immediately pointed his wand forward at Karkaroff, assuming a battle position.
Karkaroff had already launched a silent spell, but Harry managed to instinctively protect himself by thinking, `Protego!'
Holding Karkaroff's defiant stare, and refusing to back out, Harry purposely closed his mind, and started breathing really slowly. This was going to be a battle to the death, and he had to focus. A coolness came over him, and emotions left his now fully engaged brain. Everything around him gradually faded away, still to be processed by a deep recess of his mind; but at this very moment, all he saw, breathed or heard were his enemy's thoughts and ideas - and fears. His foe's weaknesses, also, were now very apparent to Harry.
Harry would defeat him, he knew it. In his mind, he could clearly `hear' Karkaroff, already thinking about who to take on next. He was underestimating him … one last time.
`SECTIONARIO!' Harry purposely used a cryptic spell, very little known even by dark wizards. Harry knew that Karkaroff's reflexes wouldn't be as quick as before, his mind not accustomed to the name of that spell.
Harry hadn't uttered a single word, but his arm shot forward. A blueish, fiery beam of light slashed the air with a high-pitched sound, hitting Karkaroff right under his left knee before he could even react.
Karkaroff didn't move right away, and the smile didn't move from his face. It was as if he hadn't realized what had just happened.
`I guess that one didn't work, Potter!' Karkaroff spat.
A thin red line, however, started to soil the perimeter of his upper calf slowly, thickening as seconds went by.
Harry, down on one knee and his wand still extended forward, fire in his eyes, taunted Karkaroff to move.
`Why don't you come closer, you coward! Let's finish this off as men, without wands!'
Karkaroff made to move towards Harry, but his left calf and foot remained firmly on the ground while the upper part of his leg separated from them right below the knee, where Harry's spell had hit him. In a gush of blood and a sudden scream of pain and agony, Karkaroff collapsed forward, face first.
`YOU! AARGH! I will …'
His wand hand sprung forward, and in an agonizing screech, Karkaroff managed to utter an `Expelliarmus!'
Harry was caught off guard; he had expected Karkaroff to stop moving as he fell. Instead, he powerlessly witnessed his own wand fly away from his hand.
Instinctively, he realized he would have to act quickly, and his eyes instantly darted away from his wand to face Karkaroff again. Indeed, the opponent's lips were already pronouncing words, and Harry knew exactly what they were despite not being able to hear them. Furthermore, the greenish glow at the tip of the wand left no doubt. He had perhaps a half-second before death would hit him right between the eyes.
A sharp jab of pain just then exploded in his scar.
It seemed, in the moment that followed, that time itself suspended its course. His last second before dying would last for a while, Harry thought. Eerily, all he could hear was his own thoughts, as every sound around him became muted. His eyes showed him everything and everyone around him dancing in slow motion. But Harry distinctly saw a shadow jump in front of him, during that fleeting second … When Harry looked again, Karkaroff was now unconscious, bleeding profusely from his severed limb, and gasping for breath, his face quickly turning to a shade of ashen grey. His hand was limp on the floor, wand a few inches from it.
Harry sensed that something important had just taken place, an event that had just saved his life … Harry slowly attempted to fathom if and why he was still alive.
He couldn't brood too long, however. At that precise moment, a high-pitched girl's voice echoed across the cave.
`HARRY! HARRY! OVER HERE, QUICK!'
The scream yanked him back to reality, and he was back at full speed in the pandemonium of sounds, screams, lights and smoke … He followed Ginny's voice, staying low and trying to conceal himself. He reached the area where the main battle was going on. Many bodies were lying on the cold stone floor, but at least ten duels were still going on, amidst the blinding light of flashes of spells and counter-sells of all colours and, of course, the constant deafening noises.
He immediately saw why Ginny had called. She had just finished off a Dark Wizard, and pointed at Hermione, who was in a fierce battle against … Draco Malfoy.
Harry's heart constricted immediately. `NO! Not him!' he thought, immediately pouncing forward between them and pushing Malfoy to the floor.
`Why, Potter,' Malfoy said as he quickly got back up and drew back, his wand pointed towards Harry, `you finally decided to show up to "protect" your little girlfriend … It's about time. I was stalling and letting her think she could fight for real!'
Harry controlled his rage. `She's ten times the wizard you'll ever be, Malfoy. I'll give you a chance …. give yourself up NOW, and avoid dying!'
Malfoy snickered. `That's a coward's way out, isn't it? You think I don't read your bluff? If you're really as strong as you "pretend" to be, fight me!'
Harry clenched his teeth, and with just a slight movement from his wand arm, pronounced the word in his head.
`CRUCIO!'
More from sheer terror than from a calculated reflex or duel move, Malfoy jumped sideways and with his free, extended arm grabbed Hermione's leg. He pulled with all his might as Harry's curse hit the wall behind him. Hermione fell to the floor, and for a few seconds, fought with all her might to get away from Draco. Almost at the same instant, Harry was grabbed from behind by two wizards trying to get a hold of him. His wand fell to the floor, and his foes managed to drag him far enough so that he lost sight of the battle between Hermione and Draco.
In a sudden twist of desperation, Harry shook himself from side to side with a shrieking scream, and feeling the grip pulling him back ease, freed himself by suddenly dropping to the floor, immediately rolling sideways to face his attackers. While rolling, he had quickly grabbed a second wand hidden and tucked in his belt on the backside of his pants. Extending his arm, Harry managed to cast two successive spells and neutralized both his assailants -Â Dark wizards whose faces he had never seen before. The two were hit right in the chest with a streak of purple light, and fell backwards without any reaction whatsoever showing on their face except utter amazement.
`ACCIO wand!' Harry screamed, anxious to retrieve his old phoenix-feathered friend. In a second, the wand was back in his hand, and he put away his back-up.
`HERMIONE!' He screamed, trying to get back to the fight he had been trying to pick a few seconds earlier with Draco Malfoy.
As he made the few steps to get back to the spot he had been just a few moments before, he noticed that the intensity of the battle seemed to be waning. Furthermore, to his surprise, there appeared to be more of his own left standing than of the others. He finally managed to find Hermione, who was standing still on top of a limp body. Draco seemed to be dead …
`Did you …' Harry enquired, wondering about the surprised look on Hermione's face.
`No, it wasn't me! We were fighting, I had just missed him with the Cruciatus curse, and he was about to retaliate, but out of nowhere, there was a streak of light that hit him, and he fell to the floor!'
Harry didn't have time to give that mystery too much thought. `HARRY! Over there! Quick!' Harry squinted, and looked in the direction of that familiar voice. Through the smoke, he caught a glimpse of Ginny Weasley, who was motioning him towards her vehemently. She, however, wasn't engaged in any fight of any sort.
Harry started running, Hermione on his heels, and suddenly became aware of what was happening. A circle had formed, composed of most wizards who were left standing … mostly friends of Harry, with a few Dark wizards. Two tall fighters were in the middle of the circle, facing each other, walking in circle slowly, wand extended in front of them.
`Harry, it's …' Hermione choked.
Harry nodded. He had recognized Maldemort, but also his beloved Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Both seemed involved in a very intense mental battle, judging from the look on their faces. Curses and counter-curses were probably flying, filling the airspace between them. There seemed to be electricity within the circle, particularly right between the two opponents.
Suddenly, a sequence of events took place in the blink of an eye. Dumbledore was forcefully thrown back to the edge of the circle, falling hardly on the stone floor. Before the Headmaster could even move away, a streak of fiery red light cut the silence and instantaneously traversed the few feet between Maldemort and his opponent, hitting him squarely on the right hand - his wand hand. When Harry blinked and looked again, the hand had vanished, reduced into a heap of black ashes that was quickly getting dispersed on the floor besides Dumbledore.
Harry sprung into action. `NO! NOOO! Expelliarmus!'
Maldemort had not expected this, and his wand flew in the air, only to be caught by a Dark wizard, who quickly threw it back to its leader.
The next spell came from Maldemort, although it was a silent spell. Harry saw the green jet of light, and heard the rushing sound. His scar exploded in pain beyond anything he had ever felt. In slow motion, he noticed his surroundings … He saw Dumbledore back on his feet and throwing curses, he saw Ginny screaming, he saw other wizards scrambling …
But just then, he saw her.
Her bushy hair messed up from the fight gave her a charm he had not even known before. Her face, wet with tears, showed her pain and her distress. But the eyes … Those dark brown eyes showed something he knew to be the most powerful force in the universe. A force that had saved him once before, when he was only a baby.
In Hermione's eyes, Harry saw love. The deepest, purest and most powerful expression of what it meant to care for someone.
He looked again, only to be blinded by green light. He felt a blow right on the middle of his forehead, and fire overtaking his brain. It lasted a second or so. Harry felt himself lift off his feet, and fly. But strangely, he then felt himself hit something really hard, and realized he had hit the floor. The dull pain on his left shoulder was a hint that he was nowhere near death.
But then, all traces of pain in his scar disappeared. He opened his eyes, for they had almost automatically closed, blinded by the flash of light.
In front of him, about ten feet away, stood a shaky Maldemort with an utter look of disbelief on his face, and a trembling hand.
It slowly dawned on him. HE HAD LIVED - again. Harry started laughing, in a way that did nothing to take away Maldemort's shock and terror. He was slowly backing up, realizing he would not have the upper hand. Still on the floor, Harry fixated his gaze on him. He didn't want Maldemort to escape.
`Harry! Harry! Get up, quickly!' The voice was Hermione's. Harry's battle instincts came rushing back, and he immediately stood to his feet. She was vulnerable, Maldemort could still hurt them.
`HERMIONE, be careful! Maldemort is still -'
`AVADA KEDAVRA!' The scream was loud and clear, and powerful. Harry's heart sank, and a wave of nausea started gripping his stomach. Hermione had made a tragic mistake, Harry thought, with panic rising towards his chest.
But somehow, Hermione had now reached him, grabbed him and forced them both to the floor. Harry knew the manoeuvre, having executed it himself so many times to shield her or somebody else. They both took out their wand, and turned around at the same time towards their attacker. The next curse was bound to be coming to hit them.
Instead, they both gasped at the sight of Maldemort, eyes wide-open, mouth hanging, slowly falling face first towards the hard rock floor right in front of him. A dull thud followed as he reached the ground, and his wand hit the floor and bounced away from his lifeless corpse.
`What the …?! WHO was that?' Harry turned towards Hermione, who seemed as dumbfounded as he was. He then looked around, and saw a Dark Wizard approaching from a recess in the cave directly behind where Maldemort had stood just minutes ago.
He then turned away from them to go directly where Dumbledore was still lying on the floor, and extended his hand towards the Headmaster.
`Thank you, dear boy. I thought you would never be able to get away with it!'
A familiar voice came from under the hood. `It wasn't easy, Professor, but in the end, they were blinded by their rage and desire for revenge …'
Dumbledore was now up on his feet, apparently assessing every limb of his tall frame to make sure every part of him was intact. His hand was unfortunately lost forever, and he sighed at the sight of the end of his wrist.
`I guess I'll have to do something about this!' he murmured, before turning his back towards their mysterious benefactor.
The Headmaster grinned mischievously, as if this was the natural outcome that everyone should have predicted.
He spoke to the hooded wizard again. `Better help our friends, before they lose the ability to speak.'
He was referring, of course, to Harry and Hermione, who hadn't grasped quite yet what had just happened.
The dark-hooded figure walked the few steps and offered his hand to Harry, who in turn helped Hermione get back up on her feet.
Harry turned around and squinted, trying to make the face under the hood.
`Oh, I guess this is no longer necessary,' the voice under the cloak said. Harry knew that voice. It was raspier than usual, and lower, but it was undoubtedly familiar.
The Dark wizard finally took down his hood, and with both his hands, rearranged his messy black hair. It wasn't as greasy as usual, but the long black hair fell back to frame an emaciated white face that they both knew very well.
Harry and Hermione gasped as they instantly recognized the face they had both learned to mistrust.
Thomas Winslow was looking at them, a sly grin beaming from ear to ear.
----------
`You saved my life, you git! Why did you have to go and play "hero"?' Harry murmured between his teeth, pounding desperately on the chest of a lifeless body on the ground. He, Hermione and Ginny were crouched around it as the rest of their battalion surrounded.
Ronald Weasley lay dead on the cold stone floor, eyes wide open, a slight look of surprise forever etched on his pallid face.
Ginny was weeping silently, hiding her face in Hermione's shoulder, and a very solemn atmosphere was now filling the emptiness of the hideous cave. Hermione Granger, however, was surprisingly emotionless. Her face was of stone, and all of her body was rigid. If anyone could have read her feelings at that very moment, they would have detected intense sadness, but also a deep sense of … relief. Hermione's dilemma was over, in a sense. She would no longer have to try to maintain Ron and Harry's friendship intact as she endeavoured to let herself love Harry as deeply as she knew she could.
She looked at Harry, trying to hide the rising guilt in her soul. But Harry was gazing into space, not really catching her eye.
Suddenly, no longer holding back any tears, Harry cried out from the deepest part of himself, attempting somehow to extricate the pain of having lost a friend more precious than anyone he would ever know. Despite their falling out of the previous weeks and their frequent disagreements, Harry knew … he was who he had become because of Ronald Weasley's friendship, the bond that had kept him from going over the edge over the years.
After a few minutes, Harry robotically looked around him. For the first time, he fully took in the scene and registered the kind of devastating battle that had just taken place. To his relief, most of his teammates were still standing, except for Ron, and a few unfortunate others. Dean Thomas was on the floor, crumpled in a position that left no doubt as to whether or not Karkaroff had lied about his encounter with him. Harry, painfully, grasped the responsibility of Dean's death.
The rising of Maldemort had cost him : Hermione's parents, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and now … Ronald Weasley. Harry didn't bother counting the other victims from their unit, not wanting to put a face on them. But knowing they were also gone was unfathomable. It would torment him for the rest of his life.
`And all this', he mused, `when I thought Voldemort was finally gone …'
He finally caught Hermione's eye, and instinctively, knew what she was feeling. Moving towards her, he gave her a hug, and buried his face in her hair. He started shaking, and the tears flowed again. After a few seconds, they became full-fledged sobs, and Hermione cried with him.
The rest of the group slowly gathered in a circle around them, and everyone fell to their knees. Together, they cried, in silence, over the loss of their departed comrades. Neither of the fighters could tell, afterwards, how long they all remained. But all remembered a soft weeping sound rising after a few minutes, that became a chant and a surprisingly harmonious melody expressing the grief and sadness - but at the same time, the hope of better and happier days. An ode, somehow, to fallen warriors.
`It's over', Harry whispered in her hair, `it's over … But at what price!'
Hermione, through her tears, replied with deep sigh, and murmured. `Yeah … at what price …'
She, of everyone, had suffered the most personal loss.
Harry, gaining back his composure, stood and started examining the room around them more closely as the others undertook the grim task of gathering the bodies of their friends.
Something seemed strange, like something didn't fit right. Harry's instincts were making him feel uneasy. `Can someone tell me where the Headmaster is? And where is Winslow, for that matter?'
Everyone shrugged and started looking around. Apparently, no one had seen them leave, if that's what they had done. One thing for sure, they weren't in the main room - despite the fact that they had been just a few moments before.
They suddenly heard a desolating shriek that ripped through the solemn silence of the cave.
Harry sprung up, wand in hand, only to see a blond-haired wizard approaching along the eastern wall of the cave, holding and dragging a bewildered Luna Lovegood with one arm while pressing a silver dagger on her neck right across her carotid artery with the other free hand. He was applying enough pressure on the blade for a small line of blood to start trickling down Luna's neck. She was terrified, and a soft whimper could be heard from up close.
`POTTER! THIS AIN'T OVER YET!' Draco Malfoy was trying to appear menacing, and yet, he was trembling slightly and his voice wasn't so assured. `BACK OFF, EVERYONE! OR I KILL HER!'
Rage and disgust overtook Harry. `Malfoy … You're not thinking', Harry hissed. `This is going to end with you dying after all! LET HER GO!'
Malfoy grinned sadistically. `Why, Potter … you mean to tell me that you would let another one of your dear friend die tonight? I thought you were more "noble" than that!'
Harry bit down hard on his lower lip. Each member of his team had slowly gotten up and approached. With the rock wall behind him, Malfoy now had nowhere to go … and fifteen wands pointed directly at the center of his chest. Even if he killed Luna, he would be dead before he even thought of making another move. Something else what on Malfoy's mind, and Harry started to have an inkling as to what it was.
Harry breathed hard, still looking around for a sign of Dumbledore. The Headmaster had literally vanished out of thin air.
`What do you want, Malfoy? Whatever you do, you're a dead man, you can already see that … So why don't you let Lovegood go, and we'll talk. I'll even spare your life!'
Malfoy snickered, and hissed, through his teeth, `No, I don't think so. Let's do an exchange, shall we? Give me Granger, and I don't kill this one! Then you let us both walk out of here!'
Harry was now faced with an impossible choice, and Malfoy knew it. Manipulating people had always been his strong suit. Harry now had to choose between sparing either Hermione's life or Luna's.
However, as usual, Malfoy had underestimated his enemy, and overestimated his own power. Always his fatal mistake.
In a flash, the dagger flew from his hand - and landed perfectly, after rotating a few times in mid-air, right in Harry's left hand. Immediately following, Luna shot her elbow upwards behind her with all the force she could muster, crunching bone right under Draco's chin and breaking his jaw. He fell to the floor screaming in pain, and at least ten people were about to cast one final spell on him when a loud, angry voice shouted.
`STOP! STOP NOW!! HE IS MINE, NOBODY ELSE FINISHES HIM OFF!'
Hermione Granger was slowly approaching, clearing her path towards Malfoy. She was breathing hard and shallow, rage and fury freely showing on her face and through her eyes. Her wand was out of her pocket, ready to strike, and her step was assured.
Harry panicked, instinctively guessing what she was about to do. He jumped towards her, and grabbed her wrists, trying to hold her back.
`Don't do this in cold blood, Hermione! It will change you! You will never be the same!'
For a rare occurrence, Hermione looked at Harry with condescendence, and shoved both his arms off with surprising strength.
`You'll never understand, Harry! He hurt me, in a way that no one ever could! Give me one good reason why I should let him live. JUST GIVE ME ONE REASON!'
`BECAUSE WE DIDN'T RAISE YOU TO BE A MURDERER!' shouted a masculine voice behind them, a familiar voice that neither Harry nor Hermione had heard in almost a year. Everyone turned around towards the deep part of the cave, trying to see who had spoken.
Harry turned around also, only to see Albus Dumbledore and Thomas Winslow approaching. They were accompanied by two people, a man and a woman in their late forties. Harry gasped, and quickly looked back towards Hermione, who looked positively aghast.
She had dropped her wand and stood frozen into place, mouth open and tears flowing freely down her flustered cheeks. She was staring at the man who had just spoken, shock and disbelief etched all across her face.
Her voice was raspy and teary when she finally managed a barely audible sound.
`DAD … MOM!'
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