Part Thirty-Eight

Professor Dumbledore stood at the entrance to Hogwarts looking towards the Shrieking Shack. Now it would never be used again for the one who needed it most was no more. He shook his head sadly. There was no use thinking about "what-ifs." A sudden noise startled him and he looked in another direction as a centaur approached carrying a bundle of robes.

"Good evening, Firenze," he said calmly, wondering why the centaur had left the Forest.

"Good evening, Headmaster Dumbledore," said Firenze. "I thought you might find something I found deep in the forest very interesting."

"Oh?"

Firenze trotted forward and placed the bundle of robes at Dumbledore's feet and then turned and headed back to the Forest. Dumbledore looked down. The robes that the centaur had been carrying were black and hooded, the man inside wore a white mask. He reached down and pulled off the mask and for once he was struck speechless.

The man's name was Rabaston Lestrange. He had graduated from Hogwarts only three years ago. What had happened to him? He looked like he had met with the business end of a train. His neck was clearly broken and so were a great many other bones. He picked the man up and went up to the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey, I have a man here and I would like you to give me your expert opinion on what happened to him to cause all these injuries..." He was interrupted by a moan from the man in his arms. (Get your minds out of the gutter, people)

"Large black dog... A grim... Must be my time... Wait he's attacking the other man... A stag..." With that the man drew his last breath.

After a full examination, Madam Pomfrey said, "Well, there is some truth to what he was rambling about. There are two puncture wounds that would correspond with the antlers of a stag. But why would a stag attack a human, they aren't known for doing that. As to his other wounds, it seems that Mr. Lestrange had a head-on collision with something very hard. Most likely a tree. It appears, by the way that the wounds on his back are torn from the puncture marks, that he was picked up and thrown by the stag that attacked him."

"Interesting," was the only thing that Dumbledore could think of saying.

After leaving the Death Eater's body with Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore walked with a heavy heart towards the Great Hall. It was ten minutes to five and the magical community would be arriving soon. He had had to make a hard choice as to who would be the new Head Boy and Girl as his choices were somewhat limited. He knew that there would be much argument from the teachers as well as the students as the pairing would not go down well with either.

He entered the Great Hall to find all the teachers present. Some were in tears and the rest of them looked depressed. The one who looked the most upset was, of course, Minerva McGonagall. She had been the four students' Head of House since they arrived and, though she would never admit to it out loud, they were her favorites.

"Well, I have a few things that I would like to tell you before everyone shows up so they won't come as such a shock when I announce it later. First, as you all know, I have had to appoint a new Head Boy and Girl. The Head Boy was very difficult to pick as the other nominees are also... unavailable. I searched my mind for a long time and finally went the direct route and picked the person who is in fourth place behind the Marauders."

Professor McGonagall spoke up, "Dumbledore, surely you don't mean..."

Dumbledore said, "Yes, I'm afraid our best choice would now be Mr. Malfoy. I know that he doesn't always get on that well with the other students (AN: An understatement if I ever heard one), but he's a qualified leader. As I am afraid that Miss Evans's friends would object if I tried to pick one of them for Head Girl, I have chosen someone from Ravenclaw. The new Head Girl will be Marlene McKinnon."

Fifteen minutes later, all the parents and students from the school arrived and filed silently into the Great Hall. The four tables had been replaced by a good many chairs. This time was mostly for the people who had known and loved the Potters Senior. The time would come later for the Marauders and Lily after the adults had left.

Dumbledore stood up. "We are here today to remember two of the best people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They took their responsibilities in life very seriously and never had a harsh word to say about anyone. Though they didn't agree with what certain people in the

wizarding world felt and acted on, they showed these people the same respect as they did the people they agreed with. I would like you all now to think things over and if some of you would like to come up and say a few things to the rest, we would be very happy to have you do so."

Sirius- What would you have us do, Lily? I don't care that we would be seen as insane, we can not allow IT to remain free after what IT has done.

Lily- Look, Sirius, I know that it was hard for you to hear that IT would betray all of you, and I'm not saying that IT shouldn't be punished, all I'm saying is that we need to think things through.

James- What do you propose we do, Lily?

Lily- Here's what I think we should do. Okay, we all know that everyone thinks you guys are dead, but I don't think that they think I am. We will all go to the castle and I will slip in through the side door beside the teachers' table and get Dumbledore's attention. I will bring him to his office where we will explain all we know about IT and ITs doings.

Remus- I agree with Lily. I mean, I know that I want to kill IT for what he has done and what he will do if we don't stop him, but that is the most logical way to handle this. I'm sure that now that we know what happens we can set things right.

Others- (nod reluctantly)

James- What time is it?

Lily- (looks at her watch) Wow, it's already 6:30 pm. We've no doubt missed the memorial service with all the parents. And I doubt that the second one will last much longer.

Sirius- Then let's go.

They all stood up and, James tucking the book beneath his arm, walked out of the Whomping Willow. They were startled when an owl swooped down and dropped a newspaper at their feet.