CHAPTER 3:The boy who lived
Note: This chapter is really special for me. So I dedicate this chapter to a very great, potatoish, friend of mine :) . Who supported my fanfiction from the start and motivated me to continue writing it. Now, I think you guys will know all about the plot and then after 1 more chapter I'll introduce Ulqiuorra-san. Oh. and if anyone is being confused by the role of the father, then please listen. In the Deathly Hallows, Rowling showed that there was a church in the Godric's Hollow when Harry visited his parents 's graves. That's how the role of Father came.
Credits to my fellow beta Mad-Little-Alice for really putting some strength in this chapter.
Hermione Granger was getting very worried. Harry Hadn't returned yet. Her best friend Harry Potter was participating in the Triwizard tournament and tonight was the final task. After this, Harry will finally be free from all of the burden that he had to face throughout the year. What worried her was what was causing Harry or the rest of the champions to have not arrived with the Triwizard cup. Could it be that none of the champions were able to accomplish the task? No, something was definitely wrong here. Hermione's worries further intensified when she had a glimpse of the headmaster's face.
Dumbledore's face also displayed the same expression of chilling worry that she herself felt. All of a sudden, a very intense feeling arose in her heart. She couldn't exactly tell why she felt it. She could, however, tell that it was undeniably dread. Something terrible had happened, that much she was certain of. It did no good even with the minister and the other judges reassuring Professor Dumbledore , his face showed the same worried expression. Her heart fluttered erratically when the headmaster's face suddenly became alarmed and he immediately left his place, Hermione 's heartbeat increased rapidly thundering inside her chest .She nudged Ron."Ron! Look! Dumbledore left his seat! I'm getting scared now. What if Harry's in trouble." she said. Ron, as oblivious as ever, said, "Don't worry Hermione, Harry will be fine!" This did nothing to calm her.'Harry, please make it here.' she thought.
Hermione's vision blurred for a second, as a huge burst of flames were seen in the middle of the the stadium. As the flames cleared, Dumbledore was revealed standing beside two people who were lying on the ground, unconscious. It didn't take long for Hermione to recognize them. They were Cedric Diggory and... Harry!. This couldn't be happening. Hermione at once dashed towards the middle of the stadium. What she saw made her heart tear into pieces. Harry was almost unrecognizable. He could only be distinguished through his lightning bolt scar and the glasses that were still perched on what was left of his face. The rest of his body was in a mangled, broken state. It looked as if his body had been bathed in blood. His clothes were ripped and torn and his arms and legs were sticking out at odd angles, confirming that they were broken further made her uncomfortable. Hermione found herself staring into Dumbledore's clear blue eyes now clouded with grief, which showed sorrow and grief and told her what she was dreading. But what made Hermione's heart shred further was the agony in Harry's eyes. They were open but showed no signs of life. They were dull and lifeless. The stadium was soon in a panicked state at the sight of the dead students. However, even the panicked sound of the people in the stadium wasn't enough to mask the painful, agonizing scream of one Hermione Granger. "HARRY!"
This couldn't be happening. Harry couldn't have died! She refused to believe it. Hermione knew that someone intentionally put Harry's name in the goblet of fire and he hadn't done anything reckless. The tasks that the champions had to perform even though dangerous, wouldn't threaten their lives. Dumbledore had guaranteed that. Hermione at once rushed towards Harry's body and clutched it. Tears streaming down her face. Her world had blackened now that Harry was not present there. He was the only one who looked up to her. The one whom she cared about the most. But now, she had lost her best friend.
Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder and saw the grief filled face of Albus Dumbledore looking at her. Teachers were soon rushing down towards the place where Dumbledore was standing. Professor McGonagall screamed an ear splitting scream at the sight of the dead bodies of Cedric and Harry. Who would've thought that the head of Gryffindor would care so much for Harry. Professor Flitwick had a sorrowful expression on his face. Even Professor Snape looked as if he were in misery.'I failed you Lily.'he thought. Hagrid was crying loudly muttering "Why'd you had to die Harry." Very soon, they were joined by the Weasleys along with Cedric's parents who rushed towards their son. The Weasleys all screamed Harry's name. Ron, Ginny and Mrs Weasley stood by Harry's body grief stricken. No-one, however, noticed Alastor Moody's evil, triumphant smirk. Except for Dumbledore that is. The wise,old wizard soon put two and two together. The blue eyes of the Headmaster gleamed with cold fury and in a split second, he appeared in front of Moody. The headmaster's wand slashed through the air and the next second, a bloody Moody sprawled to the ground.
The others were surprised by Dumbledore's sudden action but stopped their stream of questions to say anything when he raised his hand to stop them from interrupting his explanation. Even Hermione, who was still clutching Harry, also looked up at the headmaster."This is not the real Alastor Moody. The Moody that I know would never have had such a triumphant expression at such a tragic event. This was an impostor, who had been a part of a very cunning conspiracy that was planned before the start of the school year. The events that had occurred up till now were all part of that conspiracy. This may seem strange, but this plan was carefully conducted by none other than Lord Voldemort ." Gasps were heard from everyone.
"This plan's purpose was to place the impostor with the guise of Alastor and have him put Harry's name in the Goblet of fire in order to make him the triwizard champion. The vital part of the plan was that after Harry successfully qualified the first and second tasks, he would be lured into a maze in the third task." "A cup was placed in the center of the maze and had been converted into a Portkey by the impostor. As soon as Harry touched the portkey, it transported him to the graveyard , where Voldemort waited for Harry. When Harry arrived there, Voldemort using Harry through some means, resurrected himself." , "It is fact and it will be best that we accept it as soon as possible." " He has once again returned to cause mayhem and destruction in this world." " Harry was brutally tortured and then murdered in cold blood by Tom. In the case of Cedric Diggory, the poor lad just arrived with Harry in the graveyard. My theory in this matter is that both of them had touched the cup so that they could tie for the tournament. Cedric was murdered for just having the misfortune to arrive in the graveyard with Harry." Dumbledore finished explaining.
The others were terrified at the horror that had taken place tonight. But none had taken the news as drastically as Hermione, who sobbed uncontrollably with her head bent over Harry's chest. He had been murdered by none other than Voldemort. Harry had to go through so much pain throughout his life. He lost his parents when he was a baby and he was treated like garbage by his relatives. She could now feel his pain. No-one deserved so much pain in their lives. "HARRY! Wake up! Please look at me! Tell me that you are fine!" she screamed. "Miss Granger, I am sending these two to the hospital wing. If you want to stay with Harry, take his hand and Fawkes will take you there."Dumbledore spoke to her. She merely nodded. Fawkes the Phoenix appeared above Harry and in a burst of flames, vanished with Harry and Hermione.
Dumbledore was about to send Cedric to the hospital wing too but Cedric's father Ammos, approached the headmaster and said," Dumbledore, We would like to take Cedric home and make preparations for the burial." "As you wish Ammos. I have no intention of stopping you." Dumbledore replied. Ammos and his wife took off with Cedric's body to make preparations forr his funeral. The minster of magic Cornelius Fudge soon appeared in the stadium. "Dumbledore! What in Merlin's name is going on here! They're saying that Potter and Diggory died!"said Fudge. "Cornelius, Follow me to the great hall. I will explain everything there. Minerva, there is a dog waiting for me in the office. Kindly guide him to the hospital wing." said Dumbledore. If McGonagall found that odd, she didn't acknowledge it. She went to the destination as ordered. The rest followed Dumbledore to the great hall. Upon arriving at the great hall, the Headmaster delivered a speech to the school. In his speech, he explained the return of Voldemort, and The fact that Harry and Cedric were murdered by Voldemort. He then explained that he personally witnessed the Dark Lord's return, having fought him. He finished his speech by asking them to question where their loyalties lay. Fudge called all of this preposterous and blamed Dumbledore for trying to cover up the fact that he couldn't protect his students in the third task, and they had died as a result of an 'accident.' Most of the students were deeply sorrowful at the tragedy that had occurred .
Some of the slytherins such as Draco Mafoy and the children of other death eaters gave each other triumphant smirks. "I am now going to make preparations for Harry's funeral. If any of you is interested to join us for the funeral, can find portkeys in their common rooms. Touch the portkeys after an hour and you will arrive at the destination." said Dumbledore.
After this, Dumbledore, along with the Weasleys, walked to the hospital wing to see Harry. When they arrived there, they saw Hermione sitting next to the bed where Harry laid, still clutching his hand. A large, black dog also sat near the bed whining. It seemed that it also grieved at the loss of Harry. Fawkes was also shedding tears and was singing,sad ,low notes. Mrs Weasley and Ginny approached Hermione and both took hold of her hands in order to comfort her but it was in vain. Hermione was still sobbing herself senseless and she refused to leave Harry's side. Dumbledore approached the distraught girl and he said, " Miss Granger , We shall now leave for the funeral. I have made the arrangements and it has been decided that Harry will be buried in Godric's Hollow alongside his parents." With that , all of them reached the church at Godric's Hollow via Floo powder. The father of the church was waiting for them. " Come Dumbledore but first, we need to clean him." He said. Dumbledore waved his wand and all of the blood on Harry's body was wiped clean and his clothes were repaired. A white cloth enveloped Harry's body and he was placed in his deathbed. Silence filled the church with the exception of the sniffling sound of Hermione , Ginny , Mrs Weasley and the whining Black Dog. No-one questioned the presence of the Dog as each and everyone of them were too much grief-stricken.
As an hour passed by, people began to arrive in the church. The students and teachers of Hogwarts arrived shortly. A surprising number came which was more than half of the total strength. Professor Lupin also appeared shortly, and when seeing the sight of Harry, he had his face in hands. Hagrid was still crying ,with Madame Maxime holding him as a sign of comfort. Various other wizards who somehow had connections with Harry also arrived there in order to pay their last respects to the boy-who-lived. Very soon, the Father began his sermon , describing Harry's life and praying that his soul rest in peace.
Then they went to the site where Harry's grave was dug. To his left and right were the graves of James and Lily Potter. His body was lowered in the ground and then it was covered with mud. Then with a wave of Dumbledore's wand, a Marble stone encased itself upon the spot. The stone revealed a carving that said 'Here lies Harry Potter, the son of James and Lily Potter.'Dumbledore couldn't bring himself to carve 'the boy who lived' on the stone. It was too painful. It reminded him of all the pain and hurt Harry had to face in his life. Then, one by one, witches and wizards went to his grave and placed flowers there. Dark Clouds had begun to rumble with thunder and lightening flashing across the sky. Drops of rainwater soon began to fill the earth. It seemed that even the weather grieved over the loss of Harry.
Hermione was the last one to approach his grave where she laid a flower and said her prayers. Instantly, she broke down, sobbing her heart out . Fred and George Weasley were considered pranksters but on this day , they were too agonized with the loss of their friend. Fred saw Hermione crying by Harry's grave and he approached her. He took hold of her hands and helped her stand up. He then supported her by the arms and took her to the church were they flooed back to the castle. The students were to leave tomorrow morning through the Hogwarts express and this time they had to digest the fact that Harry was not going to be with them.
