Silent Heat
Absent Touch
The hills and trees rolled by outside of the Hogwarts Express. It was the perfect day to start a new term. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were beginning their seventh year at the school. They were currently engaged in a light conversation about N.E.W.T. testing and the difficulty of the courses they would be taking. The compartment door slid open and a tall, red-haired girl leapt in, giggling.
"Harry!" exclaimed Ginny Weasley. "Absolutely smashing! And how was your summer?" She sat on his lap, crushing his open course prospectus.
Harry laughed and kissed her fiercely on the tip of her nose. Over the years, Ginny had grown taller and fuller. Her robes hung off her body with grace. Harry felt very lucky indeed to have such a beautiful girlfriend. Ron snorted and pulled Hermione closer. Hermione too, had grown into a lady. Although not as tall as Ginny, she was almost 7 inches taller than when she had started at the school. Ron had stopped growing, and was now the same height as Harry. Both had become strong young men with shapely bodies from playing Quidditch. Harry had learned that the messiness of his hair was attractive, and had stopped trying to make it lie flat. Ron had grown his out so that his bangs swept his eyebrows when he turned his head.
"Well it's good to see that you two are having a nice little reunion," Ron said sarcastically. "After all, it's not as if Harry wasn't at the Burrow for the entire summer or anything."
Harry and Hermione had spent the vacation with the Weasley family. For once, Harry wasn't forced to spend break with the Dursley's. Voldemort had been defeated at last the previous year.
In the middle of the night, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had broken into Hogwarts. Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, had seen them and alerted Filch. By the time Filch alerted Dumbledore, the Dark Lord had shouted "Morsmordre!" and the Great Hall had been filled with the Dark Mark. Light was spilling through the school, waking many of the students. Harry, Ron, and Hermione leapt out of bed and met in the Gryffindor common room. They had overheard a conversation between Snape and Dumbledore; Snape had been telling him that the Dark Mark on his arm had been getting stronger. They knew he was planning an attack, but they didn't know when or where. The three Gryffindors ran out the portrait hole and into the corridor, and were immediately surrounded by Death Eaters. Dumbledore's voice rang through the halls, magically magnified so that it reached through the entire school. "Students, report to your common room immediately! Heads of Houses, please report to my office. Prefects..."
But at that moment a high, cruel voice had cut off Dumbledore's. The laugh chimed through the school. "It certainly is nice to be back." it said.
"Voldemort," whispered Hermione. The surrounding Death Eaters laughed, their wands pointed at Harry.
They heard Voldemort's voice say "Avada Kedavra!"
"Oh no!" shouted Hermione.
"Stupefy!" yelled one of the Death Eaters and pulled back their hood to reveal Lucius Malfoy. Hermione crumpled; Harry and Ron whipped out their wands and both shouted "Expelliarmus!"
Lucius Malfoy waved his wand and the spell bounced off of him and burned a hole through the Fat Lady's painting. She shrieked and ran away. Harry and Ron could hear people shouting inside Gryffindor tower, but none of them could get out with the Fat Lady gone.
"You're coming with us," said Lucius Malfoy, and he pulled Harry forward with a flick of his wand. Another Death Eater muttered "Crucio!" under his breath and Ron fell screaming to the floor. Harry was powerless to do anything but watch; Malfoy's spell had too tight of a hold on his body.
The Death Eaters laughed as Ron lay panting on the floor. Harry was struggling with all his strength, but not even Moody's classes could prepare him for a curse this strong. Malfoy beckoned Harry forward and they left Ron gasping for air in the middle of the corridor.
When they had reached the Great Hall, Voldemort was standing over a body. His laugh was still echoing around the school, but was ten times as loud in the room. As Harry was pulled closer, he saw that the body was that of Vincent Crabbe, Draco Malfoy's friend.
"Yes, Harry," whispered Voldemort, his voice now back to normal. "You see what happens when you try to resist me? Little Vincent here tried to stop his father from going any farther, and see where he ended up? I am powerful, Harry. More powerful than you will ever be." He laughed.
"Tom Riddle," came a deep voice, "Well met." The doors to the Hall swung open, and Dumbledore stood silhoutted in the entrance. His wand was in his hand and his eyes were burning.
"Dumbledore," said Voldemort, his voice icy. "Stand back." He shot fiery red coils out of his wand. They sailed over to Dumbledore and wrapped themselves around his body. For a moment, Dumbledore stood motionless, but then flung out his arms and the coils turned white and shot towards the Death Eaters. They formed a barrier between them and Voldemort.
Voldemort laughed. "Very well," he said. "I'll take you first, shall I? Then I'll finish off the boy." He pointed his wand at Harry and shouted, "Crucio!"
Harry was filled with an intense pain. It was ten times worse than anything he'd ever felt before, including the other times he had been struck with the curse. His scar burned and he felt as though his skin was melting off. He was doubled up on the floor, unable to hear anything but his own screams. He could feel heat ricocheting inside of his body. His head was pounding, and he was sure it was going to burst.
Through the daze, he heard someone shout, "NO!" and suddenly the pain was gone. He opened his eyes, and saw through the tears Voldemort sailing backwards and slamming into the wall. He crumpled, but was up again in an instant. When he stood, he seemed to grow taller and taller until he was almost 10 feet high. His eyes glowed, and he raised his wand towards Dumbledore.
Harry felt fury rush through him. No one would be harming Dumbledore tonight. He lifted his arm as much as he was able and said as loud as he could, "Avada Kedavra!" A powerful stream of green light lit up the entire Hall, forcing the Death Eaters to shield their eyes. Harry was momentarily blinded himself, but when he could see again, he saw a small figure laying on the floor. The Death Eaters were rushing forward to encircle their lord; Dumbledore was running towards Harry; Harry could feel something lift him up and float him gently out the doors, but before he could leave, there came a terrible, high-pitched scream like nothing he had ever heard before. Harry fell to the floor and struggled to sit up.
The Death Eaters were now backing away from the Dark Lord's body as quickly as possible. Dumbledore was approaching the body slowly, as though unsure of hat what was happening. A cloud of black dust rose up from the place where Voldemort lay and swirled around the Great Hall. It blocked out the starry ceiling and started changing into different shapes. Faces stretched out of the mass of dust, their mouths open, screaming. Voldemort was being lifted off the ground and high into the air, where he lay motionless underneath the Dark Mark which had endured the entire time. His eyes were open and glowed eerily green in the light. Suddenly, the cloud of dust rushed forward and enveloped both the Dark Lord and his Mark. There was pitch black and no sound but that of the Death Eaters' sobbing and Harry's gasping. Dumbledore pointed his wand straight up and shouted, "Fotizo!"
The room was illuminiated with a silver light. It shot through the dust, dispersing it. The Death Eaters shouted and sent spells at Dumbledore, but they bounced off of him as easily as though he were made of rubber. Voldemort's body floated down to Dumbledore's feet, and the light pulsed brighter. It seemed almost alive; Harry could hear a sound like a heartbeat echoing through the Great Hall. As soon as Voldemort's figure had touched the ground, the light disappeared and the Death Eaters crumpled.
Dumbledore strode over to Harry, helped him to his feet, and whispered, "Well done."
The next thing Harry remembered was waking up in the hospital wing, surrounded by the Weasley family and Hermione.