A/N: Shorter than usual, I know, but rest assured that more is coming shortly.

Chapter Twenty- Three

The Song Charm

The voice vanished at once after this startling revelation, leaving Harry quite alone; the voices in his head had even shut up for a pleasant change. It also seemed that Harry's ears had suddenly left for an early vacation without leaving a note, as everything turned deadly silent.

Well, sniped a voice in his head after a moment, moderately assuring him of his sanity, don't just stand there! Are you utterly daft, or is it just a mask? Go tell Ginny and the others, this is obviously important! Also shocking, thanks for being understanding.

He shook himself mentally, then hurried back the way he had just came, towards the Great Hall once more. The hall was still buzzing with the usual early morning passersby, but Harry's eyes immediately swept over the other people, looking for the fiery red Weasley hair. Unfortunately, only one head he spotted sported this hair; Ginny had obviously left, leaving Ron and Hermione to themselves.

He bounded down towards the couple, who both appeared to be quite dissolved into the conversation they were having.

"Ron!" he yelled in the quietest voice he could manage under the circumstances—half the hall turned to curiously face the interrupter of their breakfast. Harry felt his face heat slightly and slid down into the seat next to Ron. After shooting him several disgruntled looks, everyone went back to their meals.

Harry turned to Ron again.

"I thought you were gone," amended the red haired boy as he observed Harry. "Anything wrong?"

"Yes, there's something wrong," said Harry in a small voice. Dropping his voice even lower, he went on, "Firenze just spoke to me."

"Who's Firenze?" queried Ron. "I don't remember a Firenze being a student here."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Firenze is a centaur," he explained quickly. "I met him in first year in the Forbidden Forest. I saw him again the other day—that's where I was when you all thought Voldemort had me." Ron winced slightly at the name, something he hadn't done in a long time—though maybe, Harry reasoned silently, he hadn't winced entirely over the name.

"Then how did he speak to you?" Hermione asked, suddenly picking up on the conversation.

"He uses a Divination trick that lets you read people's thoughts and speak to them without actually speaking. It's really complex Divination, I suppose, because Trelawney never told us anything about that. But that's not important—what he said is what I was trying to tell you. He told me to bring you lot—you, Ginny, me, and Hermione—to the gardens. Said something had entered there that wasn't supposed to."

"Didn't give a reason why he wanted to see us in particular, did he?" Ron quipped. "'Cause, bluntly, what help are we?"

"I've murdered Urdais before Ron," Harry reminded the two of them in a flat tone. "It's not terribly difficult. Just aim and hope it hits them or your dead five seconds later."

Grinning serenely at the looks of horror crossing their faces, Harry stood up.

"Just be in the common room as soon as you get out of Arithmancy, Hermione, and we'll meet you there. Off to get Ginny, then, I guess."

"Don't tell Ginny anything," said Ron as Harry began to walk away. Harry turned slowly to face his friend, confusion evident on his face. "I don't want her in danger. She's too young to be going off on vendettas like we do."

"'Vendettas'?" Harry sputtered. "You think the things we do are vendettas'? Look Ron," he added reasonably, his anger subsiding, "I don't want her involved in this any more than you, but you have to face the facts. Ginny is as important as we are in anything we do from now on. You have to understand that."

"No," gritted Ron, his hands balling up to fists, though there was a pleading edge to his voice as he continued, "she's my sister, Harry. I don't want her hurt."

"Potter, Weasley, Granger—discuss this later," sneered a voice from nearby. Professor Snape stepped up in front of Harry, his crooked nose just reaching the tip of Harry's head. "Breakfast is over and class begins in ten minutes. Get out of here."

Grumbling to himself, Harry marched off without saying anything to Ron or Hermione.

He was just going to get his trumpet when a thought hit him. He groped through his robes for his wand, then pulled it out and concentrated fully on the trumpet.

"Accio trumpet," he whispered so that no one would hear.

After waiting a few moments, the familiar buzzing noise reached his ears again; his trumpet case came zooming down the nearby stairwell and flew into his hand promptly. Harry smiled in satisfaction, then walked off to the entrance hall to wait for Professor Trins to escort he and the others to band.

"Good morning, Harry," greeted Trins, just as exuberantly as ever, a grin spreading across his weathered face.

"What's so good about it, eh?" Harry grumbled.

Seeming mildly surprised, Trins frowned.

"Welltry not to see things from that point of view," he suggested mildly. "Try to ask yourself what's not good about itso what isn't good about your day thus far?"

This time it was Harry's turn to frown as Trins gave him a quizzical glance from behind a pair of glasses. After several moments of silence between the two, the professor smiled.

"See? The day's perfection is just waiting for you to discover that it's there. Nothing can be too bad."

Ron, Dean, and Lavender arrived shortly, and Trins grinned once more.

"Let's go, then," he said. "Oh yes, and if Professor Tari works with you at all today, you might need to watch out—only she's on a bit of a warpath this morning. She can be a tad—er—eccentric under pressure."

The sun washed over them as they walked out into the crisp air. The weather had warmed considerably since January's thunder storms. The lake was sparkling in the sunlight, casting a bright glare on everything.

"Professor, Draco Malfoy won't be making it today—" started Ron suddenly.

"I know, Ron," said Trins sternly. "I understand Kirk had the fortune—er, that is to say misfortune—of pummeling Mr. Malfoy in a ratherhilarious assault."

The four of them burst out laughing, and Trins eventually joined along with them. When they arrived at the glen used specially for the purposes of band and graduation ceremonies, they had gradually stopped laughing. Tari was storming through the minuscule amount of chairs, placing music on the stands in front of each one—which came to a total of five.

"You're late," said Professor Tari pointedly as Harry took his seat behind Ron and Lavender. Dean flopped down lazily next to him, slowly pulling his music out of his trumpet case.

"Am I?" Trins wondered when a bell rang seconds later. A grin broke out across his face. "Er—you were saying something about our tardiness, I believe?"

"Oh, shaddup," snapped Tari. Harry and the others gave her incredulous looks. "Put up Bristol Bay Legend. We'll have to work it from the beginning I supposeunless you."

"I'll be happy to take the band through the piece, dear," coaxed Trins charmingly. "You just rest your pretty little self."

Tari gave him an exasperated smile before trudging over to a leather chair behind the platform used by the band professors to direct from. She plopped down in it with a sigh and seemed to fall instantly asleep.

"Ah, yes," said Professor Trins, eyeing the suspicious (and shocked) looks on the faces of his students. "Yes, wellBristol Bay, please."

Lavender voiced the inevitable question on all of their minds after a moment of silence—

"Are you and Professor Tari dating?" she asked keenly.

To their delight and horror, a blush crept at the edges of Professor Trins's face.

"Bristol Bay, please," he repeated, this time more sternly than before. Seeing Lavender open her mouth in protest to his lack of an answer, his eyes bulged slightly as he added menacingly, "Bristol Bay, please," through gritted teeth. Harry, Ron, and Dean didn't need telling four times; they quickly spread the music before them as Trins brought up his wand to conduct with.

Lavender didn't seem satisfied, though.

"But Professor—I want to know!" she said, apparently not knowing a better reason to press the matter.

"For heaven's sake, Murry, just tell the girl!" said an obviously-awake Tari without moving or opening her eyes.

"No, we're not dating, Lavender," said Trins, an odd grin spreading across his face, "we're married."

Lavender let out a small squeal of either happiness or shock (Harry guessed, though, that it was more of a goody-I've-got-more-gossip-to-spread-across-Hogwarts kind of gasp) as Trins began directing, only to cut furiously off moments later.

"SEE?!" he shouted. "GET YOUR MIND ON THE MUSIC, MISS BROWN, AND OFF THE RELATIONSHIP OF MYSELF AND PROFESSOR TARI! WE ARE HERE TO PLAY BRISTOL BAY LEGEND, NOT DISCUSS MY LOVE LIFE! IS THAT QUITE CLEAR, MISS BROWN?!"

Spittle showered everyone through his little speech to Lavender, who shrank down in her chair and mumbled a small "okay" to him. The color gradually returned to his face as they began the song once more, and by the end he was perfectly cheerful once more.

"What d'you reckon, Harry?" whispered Dean as Trins told them that they would be performing at the graduation ceremonies.

"I reckon he's having a mood swing again," Harry responded thoughtfully after a moment.

Dean sniggered loudly.

"Dean, Harry!" Trins's voice whipped at them, startling them. "Pay attention!"

"Oh yeah," replied Dean in an undertone as a smile creased the professor's face once more.

"Thank you," he said coolly.

"Ginny—there's something going on," said Harry urgently when he found himself alone with the girl in the common room later that evening.

Ginny's attention swiveled over to Harry curiously, her brown eyes round.

"What is it?"

He quickly related to her all that Firenze had told him, carefully avoiding the details of his and Ron's argument to prevent any further sibling rivalry.

"So we're going there tonight?" Ginny asked quietly as he finished.

Harry nodded firmly.

"I'll lead you all there," he explained. "Bring your wand and meet me in the entrance hall in twenty minutes."

This time Ginny nodded in affirmation.

"I'll be there."

Harry forced a very small, strained smile. "Thank you," he said, then wandered hurriedly upstairs to the boys' dorm. "Ron," he directed to his best friend, "meet me downstairs in twenty minutes, the entrance hall. Tell Hermi the same."

"All right," said Ron, tucking his wand into the pocket of his robes.

Harry quickly shuffled through his trunk, searching for the Marauders' Map and Invisibility Cloak. He found both just as quick as he had arrived, then checked to make sure his wand was in his pocket. After being assured that all of these were in check, he stuffed his cloak in his other pocket, the map in yet another, and scurried on downstairs and towards the entrance hall.

By the time he reached the hall, the twenty minutes had elapsed into nothing; still there was no sign of Ginny, Ron, or Hermione. Checking his watch, he saw it was nearly four o'clock—lessons had ended at two, having only had band in the morning and double potions at noon, after lunch. Meaning that he and the others should've been there two hours ago.

Well, had you not been dwindling through the library, we would be on time, wouldn't we, Mr. Potter? he snapped at himself. He then smirked as another half of him added, Last time I ever go to the library to look up information on song charms.

"I'm here, Harry," said Ginny as she rushed breathlessly up. "Sorry I'm a little late. Are Ron and Hermione here yet?"

Her answer came without Harry having to say anything as the aforementioned couple appeared through the crowd of people. Harry subsequently felt a dull throb in his scar as his mind shifted idly from seeing Ginny back to the task at hand.

"How are we supposed to all fit under the cloak?" Ron asked in an undertone, his eyes slightly narrowed as he eyed Ginny.

"We can't," Harry responded in an equally flat tone, though it was Ron himself he was eyeing oddly. "I'll sneak out on my own accord, they won't expel me. You three get under the cloak and meet me at the edge of the forest nearHagrid's."

"Wait a second," said Ginny impatiently. "What cloak?"

Harry would've laughed out loud had the situation not been so serious.

"Invisibility Cloak," he instead offered. "I've had it since first year. I'll keep the map."

"All right," agreed Ginny, satisfied with his explanation. She eyed Harry severely. "Be careful."

"I will," he promised. "You too. See you in a moment."

Ron led Hermione and Ginny off to a far corner, then disappeared from view. Harry cast a quick glance around, then pretended to fall into the large doors; one opened with a creak, just enough for Harry to hear three sets of feet scuttle quickly by. Harry once more glanced around, then hurried back upstairs to fetch his Firebolt.

Fortunately, Dean and Neville weren't in the dormitory, leaving him to himself. Harry grabbed his broomstick, pushed a window open slightly, swung his leg over and kicked off, soaring out the window and towards the forest. He urged his Firebolt to go faster, the wind tousling his hair worse than it already was; after several moments, he landed neatly next to Hagrid's cabin, a few feet into the forest.

Harry swiftly pulled the hood of his cloak over his head as the forest loomed mysteriously around him, a fog settling slowly in.

"Harry?" whispered a voice from nearby.

Harry jumped and spun around, his wand drawn before him. Ginny stood there, Ron and Hermione close behind her, their wands all out.

"Yeah, it's me," he said, relaxing his wand arm slightly. "Follow me, stick close."

He felt Ginny slyly grab his hand from behind his back and squeeze it tightly with her small one. He tossed his Firebolt down, and Ron threw the Invisibility Cloak over it, then they marched towards the gardens briskly.

"Keep your wands out," he nearly mouthed over his shoulder.

Their footsteps crunched against the mixture of leaves and snow, reverberating eerily around them. Harry consciously heard every noise within a half mile away, it seemed; every rustle of leaves, every bird's distant chirping. He pressed forward, peering cautiously through the thick fog.

After walking for what seemed an eternity, the meadow came into abrupt view, suddenly materializing all around them. For several seconds, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were lost in the moment, seeing the magnificently emerald-green grass, the marvelous fountains, and the various flowers blossoming all around.

Harry, however, noticed a mild difference in the airgone was the minute tingling sensation of knowing he was in a place where no harm could befall himthe air was filled with a mysterious pretenselike someone was sucking out all of the happiness.

"Dementors," he whispered furiously.

"What?" Ginny asked quietly, their being apprehensive having left upon entering the gardens.

"There are Dementors here," whispered Harry, glancing through the haze. "I don't know where—I just know that they're here."

Ginny passed this information to Ron and Hermione, who appeared equally startled by the information. An eerie silence fell over the four of them as Harry glanced worriedly around.

"Lumos," he muttered. A narrow beam of light shot out of his wand; he directed it up the ironclad path that he and Firenze had traveled on just a day before. The knowledge of that was somehow unsettling. He motioned for the others to follow him and started down the path. Ginny's hand once more found his as they walked.

The distant rumbling reached Harry's ears first; the roaring of the rivers that intersected here.

"Just rivers," he said softly over his shoulder.

There was a chorus of sighs of relief before long. Slowly, the gardens began to fade into sight on either side of them, forming walls of green that surrounded them. A dim light shown towards the end of the tunnel, marking the entrance to the actual gardens.

"Just ahead," said Harry quietly.

And then, very abrupt once more, flowers started popping up. The formations that Harry had awed at just yesterday were all around them, feeling the air with a tingling sensation that comforted Harry slightly. Apart from that, the gardens were just as silent as the meadow had been.

"Wow," breathed Ginny as she, Ron, and Hermione wandered through the flowers.

Harry directed his wand's light to his left, then right. There was nothing to either side, no sign of a struggle, a departure, nothing. Harry's heart skipped a beat, however, as he saw a narrow streak of crimson below himblood. Several feet in front of him was a pool of the same blood, the trail of it having led up there. A sickening nausea swept over him as he clutched his stomach and staggered backwards, right into Ginny.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing his appearance.

Vaguely he gestured to the blood. Ginny's reaction was much like his as she stumbled a bit and looked away.

"Whose is it?" she questioned, shielding her eyes from the sight by burying her face into Harry's shoulder.

Harry said nothing for what seemed like a long time, then something clicked—where were Ron and Hermione?

"I dunno," Ginny mumbled when he voiced this question. Her eyes grew round as she suggested wildly, "What if something got them?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," said Harry reassuringly, though he himself wouldn't have put it past whatever was out there.

Suddenly a scream echoed in Harry's mind.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girlstand aside."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"

The familiar white mist swirled through the conscious half of Harry's brain as what seemed like an army of Dementors swarmed forward.

"Do not perform the Kiss," directed a high voice. "Not yet."

"Expecto Patronum!" cried Harry, concentrating on the happiest thought he could conjure — seeing Lord Voldemort fall to the ground in a heap of ashes, dead. The white stag burst from his wand and shot at the Dementors, startling them. "RUN, GINNY!" he shouted as loud as he could.

He paused just long enough to see a trail of fiery red hair dart back the way they had come.

"Expecto Patronum!" he yelped again, his wand wildly pointed over his shoulder as he ran. Another stag burst out and flew at the Dementors.

"DO NOT LET HIM GET AWAY!" yelled Lord Voldemort's voice. "GET HIM! GET HIM!"

Harry sprinted fast as he could towards the meadow, but it was at no avail; he tripped over a cobblestone and fell to his face. The Dementors glided out of the haze and towards him; a high cackle sounded from Voldemort; Harry held his wand tightly before him, knowing this was the end, but he'd give another spell a try.

"DUCO CANTO!" he shouted as loud as he could.

Nothing moved for several moments. The forest was shrouded in mist as the Dementors came to a halt. Voldemort's laughter subsided as they all realized what spell he had used—a Song Charm. A very powerful Song Charm. Harry held his breath and waited, hoping against hope that it would work—

Suddenly a horrible screeching noise filtered through the still air, like the cries of a banshee or the merpeople when speaking above water. Harry's hands flew to his ears and shielded them from it, but the Dementors weren't quick enoughthe first ranks fell down immediately, turning into crumpled heaps of ash on the groundrank after rank of them was destroyed, flattened to the dust of the ground until none remained.

The sinewy form of Lord Voldemort, the Reaper, and Urdai appeared at the light. A misty voice rang out softly in the stillness—

"Do not think it is yet over. This game has only begun to be played."

They vanished, fading slowly away. Clutching his chest with a quivering hand, Harry decided that he'd be going to the library a little more than planned if it would help that much. He then collapsed into an oblivious, blissful slumber.