Chapter 18
Miles, Landry, and Dumbledore sprinted back through the castle, their hearts pounding. Landry was internally scolding herself for forgetting the resurrection stone in the Ravenclaw common room, but she knew that all she could do now was try her hardest to get it back before someone else did. But with Grindelwald and some Death Eaters on the loose, this didn't seem a likely scenario. Sure enough, when the trio finally reached Ravenclaw tower, it was too late. The door swung open, and to their horror, Amycus Carrow was standing in the middle of the common room, holding the stone in hand. He sneered wickedly upon seeing them. "Well, well, well," he snickered. "What do we have here? Meddling mudbloods and…" Suddenly, Amycus's face paled. "Albus Dumbledore…no, you were killed! And how have you become young again? Unless…" He looked to the stone.
"I'm afraid so, Amycus," Dumbledore said.
"That's right!" said Miles bravely. "We've got THE Albus Dumbledore on our team! You're toast!"
Amycus cackled. "Oh, is that what you think?"
Amycus turned the stone over three times in his hand. It began to glow once more, and a shape started to form in the same spot where Dumbledore and Grindelwald had appeared. As the shape grew clearer, a chilling, sinister cackle filled the air. Two red eyes opened. Voldemort inhaled slowly, breathing once again. "The resurrection stone," he said, looking to Amycus. "You've done well, Amycus. You will be rewarded."
Amycus bowed deeply. "Thank you, my Lord, but there is no greater reward than to be in your presence once more."
"Ah, yes. How right you are," Voldemort replied. He then turned to Landry, Miles and Dumbledore.
"Filthy mudbloods," he spat. "If I had my wand, I would rid this world of you right now. Where is my wand, Amycus?"
"I'm sorry, my Lord, but it was destroyed long ago. However, my sister is at the grave of Albus Dumbledore right now, retrieving the Elder wand for you."
"Fool!" Voldemort cried. "You know that wand will not work for me. I must be too powerful for it."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong," said Dumbledore.
"How dare you!" shouted Voldemort. "Who are you to speak to me that way?"
"Don't you recognize me, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.
Voldemort looked at him, and suddenly, his eyes grew wide.
"Albus Dumbledore…no, it cannot be!"
"But it is, Tom. I am back, just like you." Dumbledore replied.
"No matter," said Voldemort, regaining his composure. "I will deal with you all later! Now, back to business. Amycus, the Elder wand will not do…wait, no…it is coming back to me now, yes…I never truly owned the wand. It was owned by who last disarmed its previous owner, not who killed them. So, to gain its alliance, I must simply disarm its current owner. Who might that be, Amycus?"
"Harry Potter, my Lord," Amycus said.
"Of course. How could I have expected any less? This time, I will defeat him. Once and for all. Now, shall we go retrieve my wand?"
Voldemort grabbed hold of Amycus and they disapparated.
"This is bad. This is very, very bad," said Miles, his bravery leaving him.
"Come, children, we must go tell the Headmistress about this," said Dumbledore.
"Is anyone else wondering how they apparated off of Hogwarts grounds?" Landry asked.
"I guess there's an exception to the 'no apparating' restriction for people who have been resurrected from the dead," replied Miles, as Dumbledore led the two teenagers out of the Ravenclaw common room.
Minutes later, Landry, Miles, and Dumbledore entered McGonagall's office, out of breath from running. Immediately, Landry and Miles were attacked with hugs. "Thank goodness you're okay!" cried Genevieve, throwing her arms around them. "We were so worried!"
Albus, Pippa, and Scorpius were there, too, and the boys quickly joined in on the group hug. Pippa however, stood angrily in the corner with her arms crossed.
"Thanks a lot, Landry! Because of you, McGonagall confiscated my invisibility cloak!" Pippa grumbled. But her anger did not last long, for soon she was in the middle of the hug. Dumbledore stood to the side, awkwardly, until Scorpius noticed him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am Albus Dumbledore," he said.
"Y-you're Dumbledore? The Dumbledore? As in….DUMBLEDORE?!" Pippa gasped. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"That is correct," Dumbledore stated. "But It seems that I have been brought back to life for the time being."
"That stone we found in the woods was the Resurrection Stone," Landry explained. "And I may have accidentally brought him…and, um, Grindelwald…back to life."
"Hold up! Grindelwald? Gellert Grindelwald? Evil Grindelwald?" Genevieve said, in horror.
"The very same," stated Dumbledore, with a slight pain in his eyes that only Landry noticed.
"And Professor McGonagall tells us there are freaking Death Eaters in the castle? Could this get any worse?" Scorpius cried, flopping down in a chair.
"Actually, yes it could," said Miles. "One of said Death Eaters may have…kind of…resurrected Voldemort."
Albus and Scorpius grew pale with fear. They both remembered how terrifying it had been to face Voldemort once before. They did not wish to do it again.
"You're saying that we're now dealing with the two most evil Wizards of all time?" asked Pippa.
"Indeed," Dumbledore responded solemnly.
"Awesome!" cried Pippa. "Now this is an adventure!"
Albus, who had been particularly quiet, turned to Dumbledore.
"Hello, sir. It's, um, a pleasure to meet you. I'm….Albus. Albus Potter," he said to Dumbledore.
"Your father is Harry Potter?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," said Albus.
"I see," said Dumbledore, clearly thinking this discovery over in great detail. "It's very nice to meet you, too, Albus."
"Thank you, sir. Oh, wait, you didn't get any of our names, did you?" Albus asked.
"I did not," replied Dumbledore.
"Okay, so, um, this is my boyfriend, Scorpius Malfoy, then there's Landry Beckett, her boyfriend, Miles Chester, her little sister, Pippa Beckett, and our best friend Genevieve Malcolm."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all, children, though it is truly unfortunate that I am meeting you under such terrible circumstances." Dumbledore replied, acknowledging each of them.
"I can't imagine how you must be feeling," Landry said to him. "I mean, not only did you just literally come back to life, but now you-and all of us-are faced with the task of facing these two monsters. Especially what with you and Grindelwald's, um, history."
"Wait, what history?" asked Pippa.
Dumbledore sighed. "When we were very young," he began, "Gellert and I were quite close."
"You two were friends?" asked a shocked Scorpius.
Dumbledore's expression grew pained. "Well, yes. But we were also, as you would say…dating," he explained.
"WHAT?" gasped Pippa. "No way! You and Grindelwald were boyfriends? But he's, like, super evil! And you're, like, super…not evil!"
"Love is a funny thing. It is a magic surpassing any we can create with our wands." Dumbledore said.
"Dad was right. You are cryptic," Albus said.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Is that what he said about me?"
"Well, he also said that you're one of the bravest men he's ever known," Albus answered.
"Did he, now?" asked Dumbledore thoughtfully. "Alas, I can't say I know what I ever did to deserve that title."
"Well, I'd say it would take a lot of guts to have to defeat someone you were in love with," Scorpius pointed out. "I sure couldn't do it!"
"Me neither," Albus agreed, taking Scorpius's hand in his own. "But I suppose that's why we aren't in Gryffindor."
"It is not what you are that defines what house you are sorted into, but what you value," Dumbledore said.
At that moment, McGonagall burst into the room. She breathed a deep sigh of relief upon seeing Landry, Miles, and Dumbledore. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright! What on earth took you so long? I went out searching for you!"
"I'm afraid things have gotten even worse, Minerva," Dumbledore said grimly.
"How so?" McGonagall asked, with dread in her voice.
"It's all my fault," said Landry, sorrowfully. "I accidentally left the Resurrection Stone in the Ravenclaw common room. We went back to get it as soon as I realized, but it was too late. The Death Eaters got to it first. H-He's back," Landry said, tears beginning to drip down her face. Miles wrapped her in a hug.
"Who's back?" asked McGonagall, hoping with all hope that Landry had not meant what she thought she had.
"Don't make her say it, please, Professor. I think you know who," Scorpius answered.
Pippa snorted. "Ha! 'you know who'…You-Know-Who….get it?"
They all got it, but nobody replied. Pippa realized that it may not have been the best time for that joke.
"So let me get this straight…not only is Grindelwald back, but Voldemort as well?"
"This is true, Minerva," replied Dumbledore.
"What should we do, Albus?" McGonagall asked.
"I don't know," said the two Albuses simultaneously. They looked at each other.
"Do we have any idea what either of their plans are?" McGonagall asked.
"Grindelwald did not specify, but I suspect he's reverted back to his old plans of exposing Wizardkind. Voldemort, however, is currently removing the Elder wand from my grave so he can finally make it his," Dumbledore responded.
"How does he plan on 'making it his?'" questioned Miles.
"To gain control of the Elder wand, one must disarm its owner," McGonagall said.
"Who owns the wand?" Genevieve asked.
"Harry Potter," said McGonagall.
Suddenly, there was a crash from the fireplace, and Harry Potter himself came shooting into the room.