Chapter 30
Minerva McGonagall screamed at the sight of Albus Dumbledore's collapsed body. Despite her old age, she was still rather spritely, and the moment she saw him, she dashed to him.
"Albus!" she cried, horrified hoping with all hope that he was still alive. She shook him vigorously, until suddenly he coughed, sitting up slowly.
"Minerva," he greeted her.
"Oh Albus, thank goodness you're alright! I was afraid that you were…" McGonagall trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm just fine, Minerva. Though, since Death didn't seem to stop me before, I daresay I could overcome it again."
"Hey! That's my ancestor you're talking about!" Landry joked.
"Whatever do you mean, Miss Beckett?" asked McGonagall, confused.
"It's a long story," Miles said.
"And now is not the time to tell it. Minerva, Grindelwald has the wand. I think he's going after Harry," Dumbledore warned.
"Ha! I knew it! So those chains in the cave were fake!" Landry cried, before she could realize that an 'I told you so' was not really appropriate in this moment.
"Indeed you did, Landry. As did I," Dumbledore smiled.
"What? But you were so insistent on Grindelwald being good!" questioned Landry.
"I had to make sure that Grindelwald thought that his plan was working. I couldn't take any risks," explained Dumbledore.
"That makes sense," Miles said. "But, if you don't mind me asking…what in Merlin's name happened here?"
Dumbledore's face grew grim. "I opened the tomb so that I could retrieve the wand, so as to prevent either Grindelwald, or Voldemort, from claiming it. But there was something I did not anticipate. It seems that Harry put a spell on the tomb that only my blood could break. That is why Voldemort and Grindelwald worked together to deceive me. Only, Grindelwald betrayed Voldemort and took the wand for himself. As I said before, I suspect he's now gone off to find Harry."
"Albus, are you sure you're alright? What spell caused this?" she questioned, gesturing to Dumbledore's black eye.
"It was no spell, Minerva. It seems that, along with my body, I have also regained the carelessness of my younger self," Dumbledore sighed.
"Whatever do you mean?" asked McGonagall.
"Although I was merely pretending to trust Gellert over the past couple of days, I did not put my guard up high enough. Age old emotions snuck up on me, and when it came down to it, I could not bring myself to stun him," Dumbledore explained bitterly.
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Dumbledore," Landry comforted. "It must be really hard, even after all this time."
"He is the only person I've ever been in love with," Dumbledore said wistfully. Landry was surprised at this rare moment of vulnerability from him. She was not sure if it had to do with all his regained 17-year-old hormones, or rather, the fact that he had just been punched very hard in the face. Either way, he was clearly in more pain over it then he would ever let on.
"What should we do?" asked Miles.
"Oh, yeah," Landry said, remembering the task at hand.
"I assume you're aware of our…guests?" McGonagall asked Dumbledore.
"Ah, so you've been reacquainted with them. Excellent," Dumbledore said. This seemed to cheer him up, for he cracked a small smile.
"Yes, I most certainly have. I've sent for Harry, and his entire family as well. I…I can barely believe it, Albus. Harry is…he's going to meet James and Lily," said McGonagall, tearing up again.
"Indeed he is, Minerva," Dumbledore replied. He tried to stand up, but fell back down, placing a hand tenderly to his eye.
"We should get you to Madame Pomfrey, Sir," Landry said, after both she and Miles rushed over to help Dumbledore.
"I feel that that may be wise," Dumbledore chuckled.
With Miles and Landry helping Dumbledore along, McGonagall led them back towards the castle. When they finally reached the entry hall, they ran into Hermione Granger and all of the extended Weasley family. Hermione spotted McGonagall first, and hurriedly walked up to her, with her family trailing behind. "We're here, Professor. Now, would you kindly tell me why?" Hermione questioned.
McGonagall shot a look at Landry, not sure how she should respond. Landry and Miles handed Dumbledore off to McGonagall.
"I promise this will be well worth it, Minister," Landry said.
"Alright, then. What is it?" Hermione asked.
"I can't really explain it," explained Landry.
"Well, just show us, then," Harry Potter suggested.
"Excellent idea, Auror Potter," Landry laughed nervously.
"Just…enjoy this, Harry," McGonagall said, with tears in her eyes.
"Okay?" Harry said, confused.
Landry led Harry, Hermione, and the rest of their family to the Room of Requirement. When they arrived, Albus and Scorpius were just walking up to the blank wall that concealed the Room as well. A very sleepy looking Neville Longbottom, still wearing his bathrobe, and a very excited Lily Potter, grew even more confused at the sight of the Weasley-Granger and Potter families. "Harry? What's going on? Your son and his boyfriend just came to my bedroom and dragged me out of bed, but they wouldn't say why," said Neville.
"Sorry, Mate. I'm as confused as you are," Harry apologized.
"Daddy? What are you doing here?" Lily asked. "Mom, James, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle George…everyone…what the hel…heck."
"Just…you'll see. This will be rather shocking, just to warn you," Scorpius said excitedly.
The door to the Room of Requirement appeared on the wall, and Landry slowly opened it. The group stepped inside.
Harry's jaw dropped. Molly Weasley screamed. Teddy Lupin grinned. George Weasley immediately began to sob.
"Harry," Harry's mother said.
"Son," Harry's father said.
Harry took of his glasses, polished them using the bottom of his shirt, then replaced them. He could not believe what he was seeing. But sure enough, there they were. Sirius was there, too, and Remus. In fact, everyone from the Order was there, even a few faces he barely recognized from photographs.
There was a long silence. Nobody in the room could quite think of what to say. It was Fred Weasley who broke the silence. "Heya, Georgie. Man, you've gotten old. I guess Mum will finally be able to tell us apart."
George sobbed, running towards his twin and tackling him to the ground with a hug. Molly Weasley waddled over to them as fast as her aging joints would carry her, and joined them.
Teddy Lupin, still grinning, walked up to his parents. Sirius, who had been holding his husband's hand, let go as to allow Remus and Tonks to greet their son together.
"What's up? I'm Teddy. You probably know that, though," Teddy said.
"We certainly do," said Remus.
"Before we get on with all this sappy family stuff, I have to ask…what Hogwarts house are you in? Remus and I have had a bet going for years," Tonks said.
Teddy, being a metamorphagus like his mother, turned his hair yellow in response. "Hufflepuff," he said.
"HELL YEAH!" Tonks shrieked, jumping into the air.
"Yeah, I was in Hufflepuff. Head boy in seventh year," Teddy said proudly.
Remus smirked, turning to a flabbergasted Tonks. "Hell yeah," he said.
"Hey, so, I've just gotta ask…who is this giant black dog that's furiously rubbing against my leg?" Teddy asked, as Sirius, in his animagus form, sniffed Teddy thoroughly.
Remus sighed. "That's my husband," he explained.
"Oh, neat. You guys should meet my fiancé. Yo, Vic!" Teddy shouted across the room at a tall girl with long blonde hair.
Victoire Weasley walked over, smiling. "Hi, you must be Teddy's parents I'm Victoire Weasley, soon to be Victoire Lupin," she greeted them, latching on to her fiancé's arm.
"Welcome to the family," Tonks said.
Neville was standing to the side awkwardly, wondering why he had been called for. That was when he caught a glimpse of two very familiar faces wearing very unfamiliar expressions. His eyes widened. Pushing his way through the crowd of crying people, he made his way over to his parents. Neville had spent a lot of time with his parents, but they had tragically lost their memory and sanity when he was an infant. Did he dare hope that maybe they would know him?
"Neville!" cried Alice Longbottom. "Oh, my boy, come here!"
"You…you know who I am?" Neville asked, not daring to believe it.
"I never forgot you," she replied. The three Longbottoms shared a hug.
"Where's your wife and daughter?" Frank Longbottom asked.
"You remember them, too?" Neville asked, surprised.
"I remember bits and pieces from when we were staying at St. Mungo's, and that includes…Hannah and…Lacey?" Frank questioned.
"Neicy," Neville corrected. "I'll send for them right away."
"Wonderful! I'd love to thank them for taking care of you," Alice smiled.
During all of the commotion, Harry and his parents had stood, silent, just staring at each other. The silence, however, spoke volumes. It was Lily who finally spoke. "You look just like your father," she said, looking from Harry, to James, then back to Harry.
"Hey! I don't look nearly that old!" James protested. Harry thought that it was quite strange indeed to be older than your own parents. James and Lily had been killed when they were 21, while Harry had celebrated his 43rd birthday the past summer. It had never fully hit him before that moment that he had already lived more than twice the amount of life that his parents had gotten.
Amongst all the emotional reunions, nobody noticed when McGonagall and Dumbledore entered the room. Dumbledore's black eye had been healed by Madame Pomfrey, and he felt ready for what was to come. McGonagall, blinking back tears, cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, loudly, silencing the room. "But we do, unfortunately, have a war at hand. We believe that Voldemort and Grindelwald are attempting to claim the Hallows. If that is true, we must prepare for battle. The third Hallow, the Cloak of Invisibility, is here in the castle. It is only a matter of time before they come for it," she explained.
"My being here is also not going to help keep them away," Harry pointed out.
"Most certainly not," Dumbledore agreed.
"Very well, then. Myself and the other teachers will secure the castle. We'll send everyone who is under the age of 17, and those who don't want to fight, to the Slytherin dormitory. They will be safest there," McGonagall said.
"I'm having a severe case of déjà vu," mumbled Ron Weasley. It was that statement that made Landry realize that this whole situation was probably hitting very close to home for those who had fought in the first Battle of Hogwarts. Everyone stood in solemn silence for a minute, taking a moment to take in the fact that this was actually happening.
Pippa rolled her eyes. "Well, come on! Don't just stand there! Get to it!"
As various people began shouting orders, the room broke into complete chaos. The crowd began dispersing out of the room, heading out to various parts of the castle to prepare for the approaching war. Pippa made a run for the door, but Landry stopped her.
"You heard what McGonagall said, Pip. You have to go to the Slytherin dorms with the rest of the first years," Landry told her sister.
Pippa raised her eyebrows. "You really, truly, think I'm going to do that, Landry? Have you met me? There's no point in trying to stop me from fighting. I'm going to fight no matter what you say."
Landry bit her lip in thought. She knew that Pippa was right. And, to be honest, Landry thought that she had more than proven her capabilities. "Alright. But be careful, Pippa," Landry gave in.
"I will!" called Pippa as she dashed out the door.
It was then that Landry remembered her newly discovered lineage. She looked around, searching desperately for Dumbledore. She quickly found him, and dashed over to him. "Mr. Dumbledore! Thank goodness you haven't left yet," she said, with a sigh of relief.
"You're concerned about the prophecy," guessed Dumbledore. Landry nodded.
"I just…I wanted to know what I should do. What exactly am I expected to be, Sir?" she asked.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Do you recall the last sentence of the prophecy, Landry?" he asked.
"Not really, Sir," admitted Landry.
"Only you have the power to realign the realms and destroy the Hallows, Landry," Dumbledore said.
"Yeah, and 'right the wrong the imbalances caused,' whatever the heck that means! How do you expect me to do that? I'm a tiny seventeen year old with the physical strength of a stunned flobberworm. How am I supposed to do all of that?" Landry asked, growing very worried.
"I don't know. But that isn't important," said Dumbledore.
"What do you mean? It seems pretty bloody important to me!" Landry panicked.
Dumbledore smiled a small smile. "It's already been prophesied, Landry. It's written in the stars. You don't have to know how you're going to do it, because you already know that you will. Don't waste your time worrying about whether or not you think you can. Because the Universe already knows you can."
Landry took a deep breath. She wasn't entirely sure if she believed him, but he was right that she did not have any time to waste. "Thank you, Sir," Landry said, gratefully. "I'll try."
Landry walked back across the room, towards Miles, Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve, who had waited for her. "Let's do this thing," Landry said to them, not stopping before walking out the door.