CHAPTER TWELVE:
Voldemort cursed again, storming towards Harry. "I may not be able to kill you with a curse, but I will strangle you with my bare hands," he shouted, grabbing Harry by the hair. "You'll only die trying," Ginny whispered quietly. "Is that your opinion?" Voldemort snapped, turning to face her. "How honoured I am to have been given the opinion of a Mage," he continued, letting go of Harry to walk over to Ginny. She stared at him with her brown eyes, never taking her gaze off his. "Don't mess with me, little girl," Voldemort whispered menacingly. "You've seen what happens to those that do," he flicked his eyes towards James who was standing stone still. He walked away, making his way back to Harry. "Stand up!" he shouted. Harry winced and stood up, holding his broken and bloody arm to his chest. "You may be protected by the love of your mother, the strength of your father.but that doesn't mean I cannot kill you. I have waited seventeen years for this, Harry. Seventeen years. And I will be damned if I let you slip through my fingers again," he hissed, spitting on his face. With a look of pure venom on his face, he wrapped his hands around Harry's neck and began to squeeze. ? Cornelius Fudge jumped awake as a tawny owl tapped its beak against his window. Sighing, he rolled over, shaking the whole bed as he stood up. What now, he thought as he opened the window and pulled the note off the owl's leg. Unfolding it, he leaned towards the light filtering in through the window.
Dear Cornelius, Dumbledore dead. Help needed immediately. School may be in danger Minerva McGonagall.
The note said, the words scrawled hurriedly against a ripped piece of parchment. A cold fist curled around Fudge's heart. This could only mean one thing.Voldemort. He quickly pulled on his cloak, not bothering to take off his pyjamas to get changed. He closed his eyes. I have to Apparate to outside the Hogwarts grounds, he thought. He opened his eyes and let his mind do the work. His last thought as his body disappeared from the room was, I'll go down in history as the man who killed Voldemort.
? Ginny stared at Voldemort, whose face was going red with the force he was using; he could touch Harry, her mother's shield wasn't strong enough to prevent that, but he could not harm Harry. She saw out of the corner of her eye Dumbledore raise his wand slowly- now was the perfect time. Even if Voldemort did somehow manage to move out of the way, Harry would be protected. "Avada Kedavra!" Dumbledore yelled out, his wand aimed at Voldemort. There was a blinding green flash, not as large as the one that had killed Dobby, but stronger. Ginny, James and Sirius all closed their eyes, the brightness blinding them. As the green dulled, as quickly as it had ignited, the three of them, and Harry and Dumbledore stared eagerly at the motionless body lying on the floor. Voldemort lay spread eagled on the ground at Harry's feet. There was a stunned silence. "H-he's dead," Ginny whispered, the amazement in her voice undisguised. "All these years and he's- gone," she continued. Dumbledore slowly walked over towards the motionless body. Using the foot of his boot, he rolled Voldemort's body over. The pale skin as coated in dirt, his eyes slits of white. "He's dead!" Ginny yelled happily all of a sudden. James and Sirius yelled with her, James rushing over to Harry's side to help him up. "Can I let off some fireworks, Albus?" Sirius asked, the huge grin on his face allowing, for one moment, the pain of a prisoner to disappear. Dumbledore frowned, motioning a hand to silence them. He leaned his head closer towards Voldemort's face. "Uh- Albus, what are you.doing?" James asked nervously, silently approaching Dumbledore, who frowned even more. "Ssh!" he said. He leaned his ear to Voldemort's mouth. All of a sudden, his eyes widened with horror. He jumped back, his wand once again raised. "What? What is it?" Ginny asked, looking around apprehensively. "He- he's." Dumbledore's voice trailed off, his mouth dry. "He's what?" "He's alive.he's still breathing." "WHAT?" James and Sirius shouted out in unison. They turned to Voldemort's body, which was as motionless as it had been before. "He's dead! Look, he's not moving at all," Harry said desperately, staring first at Voldemort, than at Dumbledore, than back again. He was still lying on the ground, nursing his broken and bloody arm. "His body is dead.but he's alive inside," Dumbledore's eyes were wide. "We have to kill him now, before he strengthens, before he finds another body to inhabit." "How can he be alive on the inside? What are you talking about?" James asked confused, his eyes wild. Ginny stared at Dumbledore, her eyes seeming to penetrate through his head, through to his very thoughts. "Ellisius Cotrous," she whispered, her eyes closing. "What?" Sirius asked distractedly. "He's become one of the." she swallowed slightly, closing her eyes. "One of the living dead." ? Hermione stood at the edge of the forest, glancing around wildly. Dobby was gone; she shouldn't have trusted him. She sighed and began to run further forward, passing Snape's motionless body, then Ron's. What is this? She thought. Everyone's fainting, dying or disappearing. She leant against a tree, panting for breath while trying to stretch out a stitch. She was tired and- She stopped suddenly in her thoughts, her ears alert. She could hear breathing, right behind her. As slowly as possible, trying not to move anything or to make any noise, she turned around. There, staring face to face with her was- "Mr. Fudge," she gasped aloud, before cursing herself inside her head. What an idiot! She thought to herself; he has no idea who I am. "Please, young lady, I advise that you leave these forests immediately.there is danger around here. You must leave, now, before I summon a-" "With all respect Sir, please shut up. You don't understand what is happening. You-Know-Who is here, in these forests. I have to go and help-" "What?" Fudge exclaimed suddenly. "Here? In the forest? Go. Now!" Fudge yelled out angrily. He pushed Hermione aside, causing her head to crack sharply against a tree before her eyes rolled backwards and she fell to the floor unconscious. ? Harry stared at Voldemort's body, his head spinning as he crawled along the ground. Though his body didn't seem to be moving, he could hear short rasps of breath every so often, escaping from Voldemort's lips. "Well, are you going to curse him or not?" Sirius asked, staring confused at Dumbledore. "I can't curse him; his body is now like a shield against him. He's living on the inside. There's only one way to kill him," Dumbledore said. "How's that?" James asked hurriedly. "I need.the Dementor's Kiss," Dumbledore replied. Harry shivered, his fingers curling around his wand as he thought of the dark hooded creatures. "I know something," Ginny said suddenly, her voice raised in excitement. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before. James, Dumbledore. We can use James," she continued, staring at Dumbledore wildly. Dumbledore first glanced at James, then at Voldemort then back again. "You're right," Dumbledore agreed suddenly. "James, come here." "What are you going to use me for?" James asked cautiously, stepping towards Dumbledore slowly. "There are tow kinds of living dead. You are one of them, and Voldemort is the other kind. Because you have been brought back from the dead, your body doesn't shield you. But because Voldemort is so evil he cannot physically die, he is shielded. Do you get me?" Ginny explained quickly as Dumbledore pointed his wand at James, begin to mutter slowly. James nodded, keeping an eye both on Voldemort and Dumbledore. "So, Dumbledore will, well he is now at the moment, perform a curse on you, and when you touch Voldemort you will suck his body away from him, leaving him unshielded, free for Dumbledore to kill," Ginny finished off excitedly. "It can only be used if there are the two types of living dead around, and one of them willing." James looked green at the sight of having to touch Voldemort, let alone suck his body away from him. Harry watched from the corner. "Will it hurt?" James asked warily, speaking loudly to be heard over Dumbledore's incessant mumbling. "It shouldn't.but it's only been performed once before, so we can't be sure," Ginny said. "Step back Sirius," she warned as Dumbledore finished his muttering. A gold glow seemed to surround James' body. Harry watched amazed as James walked over towards Voldemort's body. "Don't let go, whatever happens, until we say so," Dumbledore quickly said before James' hand rested on Voldemort's forehead. Harry couldn't see, as a gold spray seemed to cover them like a morning fog, a toxic mist that threatened to choke him as he crawled backwards away from it. He could barely breathe as everything faded from sight and his body numbed; he couldn't even feel the ground beneath him His head spun lazily, circling around a black nothing, causing stabs of pain to spray out from his scar down his body before a final loud crack thundered inside his head and everything went black. ? Draco stared at the scene before him. Dumbledore, Ginny and Sirius were leaning against trees, there eyes closed tightly; Harry lay awkwardly on the ground near them, his face calm as though he was unconscious- "He is, Draco," Lily said quietly. Draco jumped. He forgot that she could read his mind. "Is it working?" Draco asked her softly. "So far.." "What's wrong with Harry?" he asked, staring at Harry and his awkward position. "He's connected to both of them. It's probably hurting him more than its hurting James," Lily replied, glancing around. "What are you looking for?" Draco asked, glancing up as well. Lily motioned for him to be quiet, not taking her eyes off the sky above them. Finally, she stared back at him. "It's time to go back," she said, walking over to him. "What do you mean, go back?" Draco panicked. "If I go to where you are, I won't be able to be brought back to life again." "Of course you will. You just won't be able to see what's happening here.if that makes sense," Lily quickly added as an afterthought. Draco nodded. "It does. Will you go back to where you were?" he asked. "Yes. Draco, thanks again for giving James the chance to see Harry.I know how much it will mean to him," Lily began, stepping closer to Draco. "I-" Draco began, before he was cut off by a loud bursting noise that shook his ears. "What the?" he asked glancing around. He stared at Lily and she smiled.he understood. They were 'going back'. Like pieces falling out of a complete jigsaw, the image of Ginny, Harry, James, Dumbledore, Sirius and Voldemort before Draco shattered away. The colours blurred and faded, flashing into a dark pool of black before there was a bright white and Draco was alone again, all images of Lily and the others gone. ? Harry blinked his eyes slowly, staring at a ceiling that seemed all too familiar to him. He tried to raise his head before being forced to lower it as it spun heavily. He could hear a low mumble of voices in the corner. "W-who's there?" he asked dazedly. He could hear footsteps come towards him, the shoes tapping on the floor. "You're in the Infirmary, Harry," Madam Pomfrey's voice seemed to echo throughout his head. All of a sudden, some sweet chocolate was being stuffed into his mouth. By now, he could lift his head and lean back against the pillow. "Professor Dumbledore!" he exclaimed as he laid eyes on him. "What happened? Is Voldemort dead?" he asked excitedly. Dumbledore sighed and walked over to him. "Harry," he began. "Well, just when James was about to complete the spell, he was, um, knocked over, shall we put it, by Cornelius Fudge-" "What?" Harry exclaimed, spitting out chocolate. Dumbledore could only shrug his shoulders, anger glinting in his eyes. "But, you still got Voldemort, right?" he said. "Voldemort's dead, isn't he?" he looked at Dumbledore expectantly. "Unfortunately.no. His inner self managed to escape his body when Fudge interfered. Therefore, should he ever return, which he most undoubtedly will, we have no idea as to who he is going to be. Why, he might even inhabit a baby's body to renew his life span," Dumbledore stated angrily, shaking his head. "But that's inhumane!" Harry exclaimed furiously. "Voldemort himself is inhumane, Harry," Dumbledore sighed and stared at the bed across from Harry. "I better go check on Siria. We have to keep her in condition for when she performs the spell." "What spell?" Harry asked suddenly. "Well, you see Harry, Siria is what is known as a Crosser. She witnesses actions of the dead living in this world," Dumbledore replied. "That's what she was talking about! She was going on before about how she'd recognised James, and how she 'heard' things. But how did you find out she was a Crosser?" Harry quizzed. "It's rather sad, really. You see, when she sees dead people, they cannot see her. To them, I suppose, they are just living in Heaven. But Siria's sees them as normal.she thinks they are real, unless she knows better," Dumbledore was cut short by Harry. "Yeah, but how did you find out?" he interrupted impatiently. "She saw Draco. She didn't know that he was dead, and she hugged him, and.well, it was very traumatic for her to see her brother and then realise that he is dead, and just living in her world." With that, Dumbledore stood up and left Harry, who lay back down on the bed and watch Siria cry soundlessly in her bed opposite him.
Voldemort cursed again, storming towards Harry. "I may not be able to kill you with a curse, but I will strangle you with my bare hands," he shouted, grabbing Harry by the hair. "You'll only die trying," Ginny whispered quietly. "Is that your opinion?" Voldemort snapped, turning to face her. "How honoured I am to have been given the opinion of a Mage," he continued, letting go of Harry to walk over to Ginny. She stared at him with her brown eyes, never taking her gaze off his. "Don't mess with me, little girl," Voldemort whispered menacingly. "You've seen what happens to those that do," he flicked his eyes towards James who was standing stone still. He walked away, making his way back to Harry. "Stand up!" he shouted. Harry winced and stood up, holding his broken and bloody arm to his chest. "You may be protected by the love of your mother, the strength of your father.but that doesn't mean I cannot kill you. I have waited seventeen years for this, Harry. Seventeen years. And I will be damned if I let you slip through my fingers again," he hissed, spitting on his face. With a look of pure venom on his face, he wrapped his hands around Harry's neck and began to squeeze. ? Cornelius Fudge jumped awake as a tawny owl tapped its beak against his window. Sighing, he rolled over, shaking the whole bed as he stood up. What now, he thought as he opened the window and pulled the note off the owl's leg. Unfolding it, he leaned towards the light filtering in through the window.
Dear Cornelius, Dumbledore dead. Help needed immediately. School may be in danger Minerva McGonagall.
The note said, the words scrawled hurriedly against a ripped piece of parchment. A cold fist curled around Fudge's heart. This could only mean one thing.Voldemort. He quickly pulled on his cloak, not bothering to take off his pyjamas to get changed. He closed his eyes. I have to Apparate to outside the Hogwarts grounds, he thought. He opened his eyes and let his mind do the work. His last thought as his body disappeared from the room was, I'll go down in history as the man who killed Voldemort.
? Ginny stared at Voldemort, whose face was going red with the force he was using; he could touch Harry, her mother's shield wasn't strong enough to prevent that, but he could not harm Harry. She saw out of the corner of her eye Dumbledore raise his wand slowly- now was the perfect time. Even if Voldemort did somehow manage to move out of the way, Harry would be protected. "Avada Kedavra!" Dumbledore yelled out, his wand aimed at Voldemort. There was a blinding green flash, not as large as the one that had killed Dobby, but stronger. Ginny, James and Sirius all closed their eyes, the brightness blinding them. As the green dulled, as quickly as it had ignited, the three of them, and Harry and Dumbledore stared eagerly at the motionless body lying on the floor. Voldemort lay spread eagled on the ground at Harry's feet. There was a stunned silence. "H-he's dead," Ginny whispered, the amazement in her voice undisguised. "All these years and he's- gone," she continued. Dumbledore slowly walked over towards the motionless body. Using the foot of his boot, he rolled Voldemort's body over. The pale skin as coated in dirt, his eyes slits of white. "He's dead!" Ginny yelled happily all of a sudden. James and Sirius yelled with her, James rushing over to Harry's side to help him up. "Can I let off some fireworks, Albus?" Sirius asked, the huge grin on his face allowing, for one moment, the pain of a prisoner to disappear. Dumbledore frowned, motioning a hand to silence them. He leaned his head closer towards Voldemort's face. "Uh- Albus, what are you.doing?" James asked nervously, silently approaching Dumbledore, who frowned even more. "Ssh!" he said. He leaned his ear to Voldemort's mouth. All of a sudden, his eyes widened with horror. He jumped back, his wand once again raised. "What? What is it?" Ginny asked, looking around apprehensively. "He- he's." Dumbledore's voice trailed off, his mouth dry. "He's what?" "He's alive.he's still breathing." "WHAT?" James and Sirius shouted out in unison. They turned to Voldemort's body, which was as motionless as it had been before. "He's dead! Look, he's not moving at all," Harry said desperately, staring first at Voldemort, than at Dumbledore, than back again. He was still lying on the ground, nursing his broken and bloody arm. "His body is dead.but he's alive inside," Dumbledore's eyes were wide. "We have to kill him now, before he strengthens, before he finds another body to inhabit." "How can he be alive on the inside? What are you talking about?" James asked confused, his eyes wild. Ginny stared at Dumbledore, her eyes seeming to penetrate through his head, through to his very thoughts. "Ellisius Cotrous," she whispered, her eyes closing. "What?" Sirius asked distractedly. "He's become one of the." she swallowed slightly, closing her eyes. "One of the living dead." ? Hermione stood at the edge of the forest, glancing around wildly. Dobby was gone; she shouldn't have trusted him. She sighed and began to run further forward, passing Snape's motionless body, then Ron's. What is this? She thought. Everyone's fainting, dying or disappearing. She leant against a tree, panting for breath while trying to stretch out a stitch. She was tired and- She stopped suddenly in her thoughts, her ears alert. She could hear breathing, right behind her. As slowly as possible, trying not to move anything or to make any noise, she turned around. There, staring face to face with her was- "Mr. Fudge," she gasped aloud, before cursing herself inside her head. What an idiot! She thought to herself; he has no idea who I am. "Please, young lady, I advise that you leave these forests immediately.there is danger around here. You must leave, now, before I summon a-" "With all respect Sir, please shut up. You don't understand what is happening. You-Know-Who is here, in these forests. I have to go and help-" "What?" Fudge exclaimed suddenly. "Here? In the forest? Go. Now!" Fudge yelled out angrily. He pushed Hermione aside, causing her head to crack sharply against a tree before her eyes rolled backwards and she fell to the floor unconscious. ? Harry stared at Voldemort's body, his head spinning as he crawled along the ground. Though his body didn't seem to be moving, he could hear short rasps of breath every so often, escaping from Voldemort's lips. "Well, are you going to curse him or not?" Sirius asked, staring confused at Dumbledore. "I can't curse him; his body is now like a shield against him. He's living on the inside. There's only one way to kill him," Dumbledore said. "How's that?" James asked hurriedly. "I need.the Dementor's Kiss," Dumbledore replied. Harry shivered, his fingers curling around his wand as he thought of the dark hooded creatures. "I know something," Ginny said suddenly, her voice raised in excitement. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before. James, Dumbledore. We can use James," she continued, staring at Dumbledore wildly. Dumbledore first glanced at James, then at Voldemort then back again. "You're right," Dumbledore agreed suddenly. "James, come here." "What are you going to use me for?" James asked cautiously, stepping towards Dumbledore slowly. "There are tow kinds of living dead. You are one of them, and Voldemort is the other kind. Because you have been brought back from the dead, your body doesn't shield you. But because Voldemort is so evil he cannot physically die, he is shielded. Do you get me?" Ginny explained quickly as Dumbledore pointed his wand at James, begin to mutter slowly. James nodded, keeping an eye both on Voldemort and Dumbledore. "So, Dumbledore will, well he is now at the moment, perform a curse on you, and when you touch Voldemort you will suck his body away from him, leaving him unshielded, free for Dumbledore to kill," Ginny finished off excitedly. "It can only be used if there are the two types of living dead around, and one of them willing." James looked green at the sight of having to touch Voldemort, let alone suck his body away from him. Harry watched from the corner. "Will it hurt?" James asked warily, speaking loudly to be heard over Dumbledore's incessant mumbling. "It shouldn't.but it's only been performed once before, so we can't be sure," Ginny said. "Step back Sirius," she warned as Dumbledore finished his muttering. A gold glow seemed to surround James' body. Harry watched amazed as James walked over towards Voldemort's body. "Don't let go, whatever happens, until we say so," Dumbledore quickly said before James' hand rested on Voldemort's forehead. Harry couldn't see, as a gold spray seemed to cover them like a morning fog, a toxic mist that threatened to choke him as he crawled backwards away from it. He could barely breathe as everything faded from sight and his body numbed; he couldn't even feel the ground beneath him His head spun lazily, circling around a black nothing, causing stabs of pain to spray out from his scar down his body before a final loud crack thundered inside his head and everything went black. ? Draco stared at the scene before him. Dumbledore, Ginny and Sirius were leaning against trees, there eyes closed tightly; Harry lay awkwardly on the ground near them, his face calm as though he was unconscious- "He is, Draco," Lily said quietly. Draco jumped. He forgot that she could read his mind. "Is it working?" Draco asked her softly. "So far.." "What's wrong with Harry?" he asked, staring at Harry and his awkward position. "He's connected to both of them. It's probably hurting him more than its hurting James," Lily replied, glancing around. "What are you looking for?" Draco asked, glancing up as well. Lily motioned for him to be quiet, not taking her eyes off the sky above them. Finally, she stared back at him. "It's time to go back," she said, walking over to him. "What do you mean, go back?" Draco panicked. "If I go to where you are, I won't be able to be brought back to life again." "Of course you will. You just won't be able to see what's happening here.if that makes sense," Lily quickly added as an afterthought. Draco nodded. "It does. Will you go back to where you were?" he asked. "Yes. Draco, thanks again for giving James the chance to see Harry.I know how much it will mean to him," Lily began, stepping closer to Draco. "I-" Draco began, before he was cut off by a loud bursting noise that shook his ears. "What the?" he asked glancing around. He stared at Lily and she smiled.he understood. They were 'going back'. Like pieces falling out of a complete jigsaw, the image of Ginny, Harry, James, Dumbledore, Sirius and Voldemort before Draco shattered away. The colours blurred and faded, flashing into a dark pool of black before there was a bright white and Draco was alone again, all images of Lily and the others gone. ? Harry blinked his eyes slowly, staring at a ceiling that seemed all too familiar to him. He tried to raise his head before being forced to lower it as it spun heavily. He could hear a low mumble of voices in the corner. "W-who's there?" he asked dazedly. He could hear footsteps come towards him, the shoes tapping on the floor. "You're in the Infirmary, Harry," Madam Pomfrey's voice seemed to echo throughout his head. All of a sudden, some sweet chocolate was being stuffed into his mouth. By now, he could lift his head and lean back against the pillow. "Professor Dumbledore!" he exclaimed as he laid eyes on him. "What happened? Is Voldemort dead?" he asked excitedly. Dumbledore sighed and walked over to him. "Harry," he began. "Well, just when James was about to complete the spell, he was, um, knocked over, shall we put it, by Cornelius Fudge-" "What?" Harry exclaimed, spitting out chocolate. Dumbledore could only shrug his shoulders, anger glinting in his eyes. "But, you still got Voldemort, right?" he said. "Voldemort's dead, isn't he?" he looked at Dumbledore expectantly. "Unfortunately.no. His inner self managed to escape his body when Fudge interfered. Therefore, should he ever return, which he most undoubtedly will, we have no idea as to who he is going to be. Why, he might even inhabit a baby's body to renew his life span," Dumbledore stated angrily, shaking his head. "But that's inhumane!" Harry exclaimed furiously. "Voldemort himself is inhumane, Harry," Dumbledore sighed and stared at the bed across from Harry. "I better go check on Siria. We have to keep her in condition for when she performs the spell." "What spell?" Harry asked suddenly. "Well, you see Harry, Siria is what is known as a Crosser. She witnesses actions of the dead living in this world," Dumbledore replied. "That's what she was talking about! She was going on before about how she'd recognised James, and how she 'heard' things. But how did you find out she was a Crosser?" Harry quizzed. "It's rather sad, really. You see, when she sees dead people, they cannot see her. To them, I suppose, they are just living in Heaven. But Siria's sees them as normal.she thinks they are real, unless she knows better," Dumbledore was cut short by Harry. "Yeah, but how did you find out?" he interrupted impatiently. "She saw Draco. She didn't know that he was dead, and she hugged him, and.well, it was very traumatic for her to see her brother and then realise that he is dead, and just living in her world." With that, Dumbledore stood up and left Harry, who lay back down on the bed and watch Siria cry soundlessly in her bed opposite him.