Chapter 12: Returning
Sean magicked the back hatch of his Yugo open and floated the laden stretcher in, then
shut it again. "Okay," he began, turning to face the rest of them. "Everybody in. It'll be a
tight squeeze but I think you all will fit. Especially if you two still want to have a look at
the smuggling compartments," he said to George and Fred, who dispite the events,
grinned and nodded eagerly. Business as usual. "Okay," Sean said, "climb in."
"Wait!" Ginny protested, "What about the boat? We can't leave it."
Sean sighed wearily. "Well, we can't take it with us so that means leaving it."
"No," Harry said, siding with Ginny. "It has our brooms in it. It's still a powerful
boat. We can't let Voldemort get ahold of it."
Sean sighed. "But you guys are clearly in no state to row all the way back to
England in it." Hermione yawned loudly and leaned heavily against Ron as if to
emphasize Sean's point. "Not to mention flying it back," he added.
"No problem," said George. "We'll just rig it up to your Yugo, make it invisible and
fly it back." He paused. "That is if you think your Yugo can handle it."
Sean winced at this slight against his beloved car. "Of course my Yugo can handle
it!" He said definsively. "Just--just let's make it feather light as well."
George grinned. "Agreed."
The group made quick work of tethering the canoe to the car and then piled in.
The twins went first, crawling into the smuggling compartments from where their cries of
delight and awe of Sean's (and Satchel's) handiwork could be heard through out the
entire ride home. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all sat in the passenger are, Harry
upfront next to Sean and the other three in the back seat.
It wasn't long before the three behind in the back fell asleep and the only sounds
to be heard were the soft humming of the engine and an occasional shout from the
smuggling compartments. Harry would have loved to be asleep with them but he could
not let himself fall asleep; neither, it seemed, could Sean. The only way Hary could
distract himself from the pain of losing his only benefactor in the world was to think of
what Sean was going through. His best friend and partner for who knows how long was
not only dead but had betrayed them all and Sean had been forced to kill him. That was
simply harsh.
Sean finally broke the silence by saying, "I guess this leaves Dumbledore trying
to figure out another way to get rid of Voldemort, eh?"
Harry shrugged. "Who knows. If only he had been in that canoe, then it'd all be
over."
"I hear you there."
And neither one of them said another word until they arrived at Hogwarts.
***
Dumbledore was waiting for them when they landed and Harry needed only one
look at his face to know he already knew it hadn't worked. However, only when he
noticed Sirius and Satchel were not among the returnees did his face show real worry.
He quickly saw the injured up to Madame Pomfery's then took Sean and Harry to his
office before he asked any questions.
Once the two of them had made themselves comfortable, Dumbledore began to
speak. "I know yesterday did not go as we anticipated. Voldemort was not on the boat
as we expected, but what else went wrong I must find out from you." There he
stopped and waited for one of them to speak.
Sean started. "Well, Mr. Dumbledore," Sean was the only person Harry had ever
heard call Dumbledore that, "it...it appears that Satchel was not who he seemed to be,"
Sean's voice faltered and broke while saying this. It was the first time Harry had ever
seen such a large crack in the smuggler's smooth, outer demenor. "He's been in league
with Voldemort for-- for who knows how long." He stood up and walked over to one of
Dumbledore's many gadgets and began messing with it. "Probably since the time I lost
the Gremlin in that botched operation." Here he stopped, waiting perhaps for
Dumbledore or Harry to contribute something and when neither one of them did, he
reluctantly continued. "He-he-he killed Sirius," he made an odd sound that seemed like a
mix between a laugh and a sob. "And I killed him." He shrugged and turned back to face
them. "So we're even I guess. A life for a life. A friend for a friend."
Dumbledore said nothing and sat there digesting this information and Harry felt
inexplicably trapped between these two older men. Old, Harry thought, wasn't a phrase
often used to describe Sean, He had seemed eternally jejune. But now it occurred to him
that Sean must be in his late forties at least and Dumbledore...well, Dumbledore was
ancient.
Finally Dumbledore said, "go get some rest, Sean. You've had a long day. I'll have
Proffessor McGonagall set up a room for you. I'm sure she'd be glad to."
Sean nodded and left the room and now Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but it seems as though we just have no luck with this sort of thing." He
sighed wearily. "I'll contact Remus later today and tell him what happened. I imagine he
wouldn't mind going to the trouble of taking on a Godchild-- someone has to be your
benefactor in the Wizarding World."
Harry found his voice and managed to startle a question out of it. "What about
Voldemort, Professor?"
"Voldemort is not about to be defeated. He's too much power and too much
information. We'll have to--" he stopped. "But this should not concern you. You too
should get some rest. I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay with
you, Harry."
Harry shrugged. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel--the fourth person has
just died because of me and I can't help but wonder how many more are going to end up
dead."
Dumbledore looked at him. "If anything, Harry, that should tell you how much
those close to you believe you are worth dying for. You should never forget that. Just--
just make sure you make their sacrifices worth it."
Harry nodded blandly. "I think--I think I'll go to bed now."
"If it's not a problem Harry, would you mind sleeping in the hospital wing tonight?
Madame Pomfrey will have a fit if she's not allowed to make sure of your health herself."
Sean magicked the back hatch of his Yugo open and floated the laden stretcher in, then
shut it again. "Okay," he began, turning to face the rest of them. "Everybody in. It'll be a
tight squeeze but I think you all will fit. Especially if you two still want to have a look at
the smuggling compartments," he said to George and Fred, who dispite the events,
grinned and nodded eagerly. Business as usual. "Okay," Sean said, "climb in."
"Wait!" Ginny protested, "What about the boat? We can't leave it."
Sean sighed wearily. "Well, we can't take it with us so that means leaving it."
"No," Harry said, siding with Ginny. "It has our brooms in it. It's still a powerful
boat. We can't let Voldemort get ahold of it."
Sean sighed. "But you guys are clearly in no state to row all the way back to
England in it." Hermione yawned loudly and leaned heavily against Ron as if to
emphasize Sean's point. "Not to mention flying it back," he added.
"No problem," said George. "We'll just rig it up to your Yugo, make it invisible and
fly it back." He paused. "That is if you think your Yugo can handle it."
Sean winced at this slight against his beloved car. "Of course my Yugo can handle
it!" He said definsively. "Just--just let's make it feather light as well."
George grinned. "Agreed."
The group made quick work of tethering the canoe to the car and then piled in.
The twins went first, crawling into the smuggling compartments from where their cries of
delight and awe of Sean's (and Satchel's) handiwork could be heard through out the
entire ride home. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all sat in the passenger are, Harry
upfront next to Sean and the other three in the back seat.
It wasn't long before the three behind in the back fell asleep and the only sounds
to be heard were the soft humming of the engine and an occasional shout from the
smuggling compartments. Harry would have loved to be asleep with them but he could
not let himself fall asleep; neither, it seemed, could Sean. The only way Hary could
distract himself from the pain of losing his only benefactor in the world was to think of
what Sean was going through. His best friend and partner for who knows how long was
not only dead but had betrayed them all and Sean had been forced to kill him. That was
simply harsh.
Sean finally broke the silence by saying, "I guess this leaves Dumbledore trying
to figure out another way to get rid of Voldemort, eh?"
Harry shrugged. "Who knows. If only he had been in that canoe, then it'd all be
over."
"I hear you there."
And neither one of them said another word until they arrived at Hogwarts.
***
Dumbledore was waiting for them when they landed and Harry needed only one
look at his face to know he already knew it hadn't worked. However, only when he
noticed Sirius and Satchel were not among the returnees did his face show real worry.
He quickly saw the injured up to Madame Pomfery's then took Sean and Harry to his
office before he asked any questions.
Once the two of them had made themselves comfortable, Dumbledore began to
speak. "I know yesterday did not go as we anticipated. Voldemort was not on the boat
as we expected, but what else went wrong I must find out from you." There he
stopped and waited for one of them to speak.
Sean started. "Well, Mr. Dumbledore," Sean was the only person Harry had ever
heard call Dumbledore that, "it...it appears that Satchel was not who he seemed to be,"
Sean's voice faltered and broke while saying this. It was the first time Harry had ever
seen such a large crack in the smuggler's smooth, outer demenor. "He's been in league
with Voldemort for-- for who knows how long." He stood up and walked over to one of
Dumbledore's many gadgets and began messing with it. "Probably since the time I lost
the Gremlin in that botched operation." Here he stopped, waiting perhaps for
Dumbledore or Harry to contribute something and when neither one of them did, he
reluctantly continued. "He-he-he killed Sirius," he made an odd sound that seemed like a
mix between a laugh and a sob. "And I killed him." He shrugged and turned back to face
them. "So we're even I guess. A life for a life. A friend for a friend."
Dumbledore said nothing and sat there digesting this information and Harry felt
inexplicably trapped between these two older men. Old, Harry thought, wasn't a phrase
often used to describe Sean, He had seemed eternally jejune. But now it occurred to him
that Sean must be in his late forties at least and Dumbledore...well, Dumbledore was
ancient.
Finally Dumbledore said, "go get some rest, Sean. You've had a long day. I'll have
Proffessor McGonagall set up a room for you. I'm sure she'd be glad to."
Sean nodded and left the room and now Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but it seems as though we just have no luck with this sort of thing." He
sighed wearily. "I'll contact Remus later today and tell him what happened. I imagine he
wouldn't mind going to the trouble of taking on a Godchild-- someone has to be your
benefactor in the Wizarding World."
Harry found his voice and managed to startle a question out of it. "What about
Voldemort, Professor?"
"Voldemort is not about to be defeated. He's too much power and too much
information. We'll have to--" he stopped. "But this should not concern you. You too
should get some rest. I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay with
you, Harry."
Harry shrugged. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel--the fourth person has
just died because of me and I can't help but wonder how many more are going to end up
dead."
Dumbledore looked at him. "If anything, Harry, that should tell you how much
those close to you believe you are worth dying for. You should never forget that. Just--
just make sure you make their sacrifices worth it."
Harry nodded blandly. "I think--I think I'll go to bed now."
"If it's not a problem Harry, would you mind sleeping in the hospital wing tonight?
Madame Pomfrey will have a fit if she's not allowed to make sure of your health herself."