Chapter 39
"You left Grindelwald in the broom closet?" Dumbledore gasped, his eyes growing wide.
"It just slipped my mind," Harry said, as he began to pace.
"Well, we have to go get him, then!" said Landry.
"Right! Yes!" Harry nodded, as he began to walk very quickly across the courtyard.
Landry, Miles, and Dumbledore chased Harry through what was left of the castle, but when they arrived at the broom closet where Grindelwald had been trapped, they found it was too late. The door was laying, unhinged, on the floor. It had been kicked down from the inside. Draco was standing there, staring at the place where the door to the closet had once been, along with Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve. Landry figured they must've had the same realization that Harry had.
"This is not good," Albus said.
"You think, Sherlock?" Genevieve said sarcastically.
"Who's Sherlock?" Scorpius asked.
"I'll explain it to you later," replied Genevieve, with an eye roll.
"This is why I told you to hang him upside down!" Miles exclaimed.
"Okay, now, let's think," Landry began. "Where would a resurrected mass murderer, who has some kind of thing for Dumbledore, go if he had just kicked down a door while wearing magic blocking handcuffs?"
"My best prediction would be that he is trying to locate me," Dumbledore suggested.
"Okay, so where would he go if he was looking for you?" asked Albus.
"I'm not sure," Dumbledore confessed. "Grindelwald attended Durmstrang Academy, not Hogwarts. So it is highly improbable that he would have a specific location in mind at all."
Draco groaned. "What do you suggest we do, then?"
As the group stood together, thinking, a solution came to them. Literally.
An extremely angry Grindelwald was hurdling down the hall, with his hands cuffed behind his back.
"Hello, Gellert," Dumbledore said calmly.
It was as though steam was coming out of Grindelwald's ears. "You know what I am capable of, Albus," he said, through gritted teeth.
"I do," Dumbledore agreed. "However, I'm not too concerned about your magical capabilities at the moment, considering that you are currently locked tightly into those magic-blocking handcuffs."
"Oh, I wasn't talking about my magic, Albus," Grindelwald said, a smirk spreading across his face. "Or don't you recall? I seem to remember that it would not have required my magic at all to kill your sister."
Dumbledore was silent. Grindelwald had hit a nerve. "I suppose we won't ever know which one of us cast that curse that pushed the poor, young girl over the edge. It could have been me, yes. It also could have been Aberforth. But, it is equally likely that it was your spell that killed Ariana," Grindelwald said, in a sickening tone.
"I…" Dumbledore could not craft a response.
Grindelwald grinned wickedly. "It is too bad that we had to have that fight, is it not? If we hadn't, well, maybe Ariana would've had the life she deserved."
It was in that moment that everything suddenly made sense to Landry. "I- I know what to do," she said.
"What?" asked Miles, unsure of whether he had heard her correctly.
"I know what to do! I figured out the prophecy!" Landry exclaimed.
"The daughter of Death will come into the light," Landry recited. "That's me. Here I am, in the light. Then the prophecy states that 'the symbol of her linage will shine brighter than the stars, and she will be faced with a deathly challenge.' The symbol of my lineage is my thestral Patronus, which is very shiny, if I do say so myself. My 'deathly challenge' was this whole battle, obviously," explained Landry.
"Right, that makes sense," Scorpius said. "Go on."
"She will find the stone her ancestor made, and the balance of life and death will be tampered with," Landry continued to recite. "That all happened. Then it says that 'only she has the ability to realign the realms and disassemble the tools that are said to be her master,' which I did!"
"Okay, great, I'm glad you figured it out, but now may not have been the best time to go over it, Landry," Albus said.
"No, wait, there's one more line," said Landry "Only she can right the wrong the imbalances caused."
It dawned on everyone in the group at the same moment.
"Ariana," said Dumbledore.
"No!" cried Grindelwald, but before he could protest further, Landry suddenly reached her hands out towards him.
Landry's palms began to glow, as did Grindelwald himself.
"What's happening? gasped Grindelwald, in a panic.
"You're going back to where you belong," Landry said with determination.
And, just like that, Grindelwald was gone.
"What in the name of Merlin?" Genevieve gasped.
"I'll fill you in later, Gen," Landry promised.
"Do you really think you can bring her back?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I do," answered Landry. "Remember, it's like you said. I don't have to worry about whether or not I think I can do it, because I already know. It's been prophecised. It's written in the stars."
Landry closed her eyes and reached out her arms, picturing the portrait she remembered seeing of Ariana Dumbledore in her 'Advanced History of Magic' book. She pictured the small girl, with strawberry blonde hair and bright, blue eyes. With all she had in her, Landry willed the girl to be there in front of her.
A girl-shaped space in the middle of the corridor began to glow. Light radiated from it, and from Landry herself, until the whole hallway was bright as starlight. When the light began to fade, there was something in its place. Or rather, someone.
"Albus?" questioned Ariana. She looked around, blinking, clearly disoriented by her new surroundings.
"Ana," Dumbledore gasped.
"Where are we? Where have you been? Who are these people?" Ariana asked.
"You're at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Harry offered.
"What? But…that means…" Ariana trailed off, not daring to believe what she had just realized to be true.
"You're alive, Ana," Dumbledore said, engulfing his little sister in a hug.
"But how?" Ariana wondered. "Is this where you've been for the past few days?"
Dumbledore, Landry, and the rest of the group found themselves recapping the entire happenings of their adventure to Ariana, who listened with fascination the entire time.
"So, if I'm understanding this correctly," Ariana began, feeling very unsure of whether or not she was understanding, "This brunette girl accidentally brought Albus and Gellert back to life using a stone that was created by Death himself?"
"That is correct," Dumbledore said with a nod.
"And then, after that, the wicked followers of the dark wizard Voldemort used the stone to bring him back as well?" Ariana questioned.
"Yup," Scorpius confirmed.
Ariana nodded. "After that, you all embarked on a quest to defeat both Voldemort and Gellert, and found that a lot of other people had also been resurrected. You freed them, with the help of Gellert, who tricked you into thinking he was no longer evil, and then came back to Hogwarts after Voldemort and his followers attacked your campsite. Gellert then used Albus to get the Elder Wand, fleeing after he did so."
"That was when the battle started," Genevieve pointed out.
"Right," said Ariana. "You ultimately won the battle, defeating both Gellert and Voldemort, as well as all of Voldemort's followers."
"Don't forget about how Landry destroyed the Hallows and fulfilled the prophecy," said Miles, proudly grinning at his girlfriend.
"Yes, of course," Ariana agreed. "And now I'm alive again!"
"You can come to Hogwarts with us!" Landry realized.
Ariana's face suddenly fell. "No, I can't" she said, turning away sadly.
"Why not? What's wrong, Ariana?" Albus asked.
"I'm…well, I'm not a squib. I have magic, It's just…" she trailed off.
"Ariana is an Obscurus," Dumbledore stated bluntly.
Landry's eyes widened.
"What's an Obscurus?" Albus asked, curiously.
"They were very common in America during the Witch Trials, when young witches and wizards would try to internalize their magic so as to avoid being prosecuted," Landry explained. "It's a sort of magical parasite, when a person's powers turn against them. It is usually deadly to its host, and can be extremely dangerous to those around them."
Landry realized a little too late that that may not have been the best way to describe an Obscurus, for Ariana looked more upset now then before.
"You know what?" Miles said, a determined look coming across his face. "Who cares if she's an Obscurus? We'll find a way to make it work. This school has survived multiple wars, a giant snake, Dementors, many Tri-Wizard championships, Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, and the descendant of Death. I think it can withstand a 14-year-old girl."
"Yeah, Miles is right!" Genevieve agreed.
"We'll talk to Professor Longbottom right away," Landry said firmly. "Nobody should be denied the chance to come to Hogwarts. Besides, your Obscurial was created because you were trying to conceal your magic. If you learn to control your power, I don't see why it isn't possible that you could defeat the Obscurial."
Ariana looked up hopefully at her brother. "Albus? Do you think it could be possible?"
Dumbledore took a deep breath. "It has never been done before, but I think after what we have been through, we can all agree that nothing is impossible."
Ariana grinned.
"Then it's settled! Ariana, you're going to Hogwarts! You can start next semester after the winter Holiday!" Miles exclaimed.
"This is the best day ever! I get to go to Hogwarts with my brother!" Ariana squealed.
"I'm afraid you don't" Dumbledore said, sadly.
"What? But they just said that-"
Dumbledore cut Ariana off. "No, I don't mean about going to school. I mean about going with me."