Harry Potter #7
Chapter #?
Voldemort's
Final Downfall
Part 2:
The Decision
"W-Wha— Huh?" Harry squeezed out. Was it true? Had Voldemort actually attacked the Ministry of Magic? Please let it not be so, Harry's mind screamed.
The Gryffindor students moved to avoid Harry in a way he hadn't seen since his Second Year. Completely in his striped pajamas, Harry followed Professor McGonagall to the door.
"Professor—" Ron and Hermione said in unison. By their tones Harry could tell they wanted to join him in wherever he was going, and quite honestly, he would have been overjoyed to have them at his side; he desperately needed a friend.
"Absolutely not!" Professor McGonagall snapped as if she'd been waiting for them to protest. "You two — and all of you — must return to your beds immediately! What I have to say to Harry is none of your concern. Now come along…"
She ushered the girls out before closing the door to the boys' dormitory. As the girls climbed their staircase, Harry caught a glimpse of a sympathetic, almost sad look from Ginny. Hermione, too, looked deeply concerned, and none of the girls looked like they were going to sleep at all for the rest of the night.
Once Harry and Professor McGonagall had passed through the portrait hole, the pain in Harry's head subsided enough to pose his first question to her. He didn't want her do know that he might have dreamt the attack, so he played it innocently.
"P-Professor? What, um, what happened?"
Professor McGonagall let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Harry," she said with as much calm as she could muster, "You know as well as I — and probably better — that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has just taken control of the Ministry of Magic. You were detected."
"Huh?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"Mr. Potter," she said with a little spice added to her voice, "How can you seriously think of entering the Magical world as a learned wizard — or becoming an Auror, for that matter — when you don't even know how a Security Globe works?" She took Harry by the hand and led him to the stone gargoyle in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Cherry Fruitcake," she said, and the gargoyle leaped aside. As they stepped onto the moving stairway, Harry asked his next question.
"So…what are we gonna do?" Harry asked, thinking that he'd be able to understand his Professor's answer now that his head had nearly stopped hurting.
"That's exactly what we're going to discuss." Professor McGonagall replied, and she opened the office door.
The office was still the same as it had been a few hours ago, when Harry had been here to talk to Dumbledore. Except this time, the room was full of people. Nearly every teacher stood by, seemingly waiting for Professor McGonagall's return. Also with them were Stuart Ackerley, a short, Fourth Year Ravenclaw, and Susan Bones. Harry entered and Professor McGonagall went to stand behind Dumbledore's desk. One of the strange, silver instruments was on it, and Professor McGonagall began gazing deeply into a small hole, as if it were a telescope.
After a short while in which nobody spoke, Professor McGonagall closed the instrument (or at least, that's what it looked like to Harry) and pushed it aside while saying, "Well, You-Know-Who is no longer there, but a few of his followers are."
There was a sudden tension in the air and Harry guessed that the object she was gazing in somehow allowed her to see into the Ministry. But if Voldemort wasn't there, where was he?
"Shoul' I call th' others, Minerva?" boomed Hagrid's voice from the far end of the group of teachers.
Professor McGonagall pondered this suggestion for a moment, and then said, "Have you spoken with Firenze, yet?"
Hagrid rolled his eyes. "Yes, Minerva. Bu' he woul'n't stop talkin' abou' Mars to let meh get one single word in!"
Professor McGonagall sighed, "Very well."
She was about to dismiss Hagrid, when Harry remembered something that was said to him almost six years before. In fact, it might have been six years to the very same night!
"Wait a minute, Hagrid," Harry said quickly. Hagrid had his enormous hand on the door handle and didn't turn around. He stopped before opening the door to acknowledge his attention to Harry, however. "What exactly did Firenze say?" Harry inquired.
Hagrid turned and Harry saw he had an eyebrow raised. "Jus' tha' Mars was brigh'er than ever before and jus' abou' straigh' up. He said it so many times I think I'll remember it fo' the rest o' my life. Why?"
Harry decided he didn't want to go deep into the story of when he had first met Firenze in the Forbidden Forest right before he was taken back to Hagrid. That night, former Professor Quirrell, with Voldemort on the back of his head, had slaughtered a Unicorn for its blood. Harry had been rescued by Firenze, who afterward would just would not stop stargazing. He had repeatedly said, "Mars is bright tonight." Not many days later, Voldemort attempted to gain possession of the Philosopher's Stone, the key to Immortality, and to kill Harry. Harry felt the sign might just mean trouble ahead.
"Oh, nothing," said Harry, "Just wondering."
Hagrid eyed him up and down, then, as if remembering his task, flung the door open a sped down the staircase.
"Would you be so kind as to shut the door, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked.
Once Harry had closed the door, the short Ravenclaw boy, Stuart, asked the first question. "So what are we doing here, anyway?" he groaned sleepily. Professor McGonagall looked at the other teachers, many of whom gave reverent nods. Harry suddenly felt like he did not want to be here.
"Mr. Ackerley," Professor McGonagall began, "There was an attack about one hour ago at the Ministry of Magic."
Stuart's eyes went wide and Susan gave a yelp as she brought her hands to her mouth. "What happened?" Stuart asked, dumbfounded.
"Stuart," Professor McGonagall said with more sympathy than Harry had before seen, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers attacked."
Now it was Stuart who brought a hand to his mouth in horror. Susan let out a mangled scream and shrank to the floor, quivering and sobbing. Professor Sprout knelt with her and hugged her, saying, "There, there…"
"My Auntie!" Susan wailed between sobs.
Stuart cursed loudly. "He would have had to get passed security, wouldn't he?" he asked as though he already knew the answer.
Professor Binns, the ghost teacher of History of Magic, shook his silvery head sadly. "I knew Eric, your father, quite well…" he said dreamily.
"We don't know what happened to him," said Professor McGonagall, "We had no globes watching—"
"So you're just gonna stand there and assume my dad's dead, are you?" Stuart roared. Susan started crying louder.
"This is not a time to get angry, Mr. Ackerley." Professor McGonagall said, her own temper rising.
"And what about him?" he asked with an accusing finger pointed at Harry, "Other than that scar on his forehead, what has he got to do with this? He doesn't — and didn't — have any relatives in the Ministry!"
"He," Professor McGonagall breathed angrily, "has everything to do with this!" Then she paused, calmed herself and said, "Sorry, but here's no more time to discuss this. I must tell you that I have reason to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is coming here right now."
A hideous gasp filled the room. Professor Sprout looked up in alarm from Susan, who was still crying into her knees, which had been pulled up to her eyes. Harry wanted to comfort her, but he had absolutely no idea how. He knew well what it felt like to loose someone dear, and now Susan was right in the same boat he was.
"What should we do?" squeaked small Professor Flitwick, "What is your plan, Headmistress?"
Professor McGonagall slumped into Dumbledore's old chair. She did not know what to do. With Dumbledore gone, the students were helpless to an attack by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The painful answer was obvious.
"We…" Professor McGonagall began weakly, "I'm afraid we'll… have to close the school…"
"No!" Harry exclaimed and everyone jumped. "We – we can defend ourselves, Professor! The D.A.! We Seventh Years can—"
"No, Potter!" Professor McGonagall snapped, "We will not put any student's life in danger! And you are not authorized to have your say in a decision like this! The decision must be quick, and acted upon promptly!" She turned to the teachers, "Does anyone know of any reason why we should not send students home as soon as possible?"
Every teacher shook their heads. Harry took the time to quickly scan through the teachers and he noticed that one teacher in particular was missing: Snape!
"Then is everyone agreed to ending the school year early in this time of crisis?" Professor McGonagall asked.
All heads nodded.
"Then it is decided." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and went on, as if dictating, "This Wednesday morning of the 27th of May, Hogwarts is officially closed due to the threat of an attack on its students. All Exams and classes are canceled until further notice. Students will be returning to their respective homes immediately. We apologize for the inconvenience. Signed, Professor Minerva McGonagall."
Once she had finished speaking, Harry noticed a scarlet and black striped quill writing furiously on a piece of parchment. The parchment then rolled itself up and sealed itself with wax in the shape of the Hogwarts crest.
Then Professor McGonagall seemed to give instructions directly to the quill, "I want you to write a copy of this letter for every student at Hogwarts and send the owls out to deliver them to their families."
Without the slightest pause, the quill rose into the air and shot out of a window toward the Owlery like an arrow.
The room became strangely quiet. Harry was completely speechless. Hogwarts was shut down. That was it. By the overwhelming silence, Harry guessed everyone else was reeling too.
Professor McGonagall told Professor Sprout and Flitwick to escort Susan and Stuart to their houses, and to announce that Hogwarts was being evacuated immediately. She then excused all the other teachers to make ready for immediate departure.
"You go on your own, Harry," Professor McGonagall said with a sigh, "I have to summon the Hogwarts Express, announce the news to the Slytherins, and wait for Hagrid…" She trailed off into thought and motioned with a sweeping of her hand for Harry to leave. Before he left however, she added, "Oh, and will you wake up the other Gryffindor students and tell them the news?"
Harry agreed and descended the stairs, closing the door behind him. Slightly nervous about walking the halls alone and unarmed when Voldemort could be entering the castle at any moment, Harry made his way briskly to the Gryffindor tower. He kept a wary eye down every hall and out every window he passed. He saw no sign of movement, but didn't stop until he gave the password at the Fat Lady's portrait, and climbed through the hole into the common room.
Only glowing coals remained in the fireplace. All was dark and quiet. Harry knew better than to believe everyone had gone to sleep. His screaming, combined with what they had heard Professor McGonagall say, would allow none of them to fall asleep. So Harry made his way up to his dormitory to get his wand and some day clothes.
Harry pushed the dormitory door open and sure enough, he found Seamus, Neville, Ron, and Colin sitting on their beds, talking feverishly. When they saw Harry, the room was silent for only an instant before each bore down on him with their questions.
"What happened?" Seamus asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Colin asked, "You alright?"
"What's going on?" Ron asked.
"Are you allowed to tell us?" asked Neville curiously.
Harry was taken aback by their abruptness and, after staggering a moment, said, "Um, uh yeah. I can tell you."
"Then what is it?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Yeah!" Seamus and Colin said together.
"Hold on!" Harry yelled. He didn't have time for this! Voldemort could blast his way through the Fat Lady's portrait as easily as he could blast his way through anything! So Harry decided to say something exactly to that effect. "Voldemort's coming here right now!" he thundered while the others jumped and Neville fell off his bed. "We're evacuating the school! Now get dressed! All of you! And only bring what you need to take home!"
Each of the boys' faces had gone white. It was a while before Ron started tearing his clothes to dress in out of the dresser and Seamus asked, "Um…How do you know that?"
"It's what Professor McGonagall said." Harry said breathlessly.
That was enough for Seamus. He too started taking his clothes out and began dressing. For a moment, Harry was also about to get dressed, but decided the girls needed to hear these instructions too. "I'll be right back," Harry said, and, grabbing his wand, left the dormitory.
After descending the spiral staircase, Harry brought his wand to his throat and whispered, "Sonorus," so he could be heard by everyone in the Gryffindor tower. He turned to face both staircases that led up to the boys' and girls' wings, and made his announcement.
"Atten—" his rumbling voice startled him. He forced himself to keep speaking regardless of having stammered slightly. "Attention all Gryffindor students," his voice echoed, "The Dark Lord has attacked the Ministry of Magic and is now on his way to Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall has ordered that all students prepare for immediate departure. Take only what you need. With any luck, you'll be safe and sound in your homes by morning."
As students began emerging from their rooms, Harry pointed his wand at his throat and tried to whisper, but it came out as a regular yell, "Quietus!"
Ginny had come down and was staring at Harry as though he had said something hideously vulgar. Parvati and Lavender were also descending the stairs and looked too stunned for words. The boys, who had already dressed, joined Harry in the common room.
"What did he just tell you?" Ron scolded, "Go on! Get ready!"
The girls that had come downstairs immediately followed the Head Boy's orders and left to start packing up. Harry then went up to his dormitory alone to change. Once he was fully dressed, trunks were hauled (and some magically floated) down, and Harry made sure that every Gryffindor was ready to leave before setting off.
The Gryffindor tower had been his home, and now Harry was saying goodbye to it for the last time. Where was he going to go to now? The Dursleys had said they never wanted to see him again, so Number Four, Privet Drive was out of the question. Could he go to Number 12, Grimmauld Place? He supposed he could apparate there once he was off the Hogwarts grounds. There might be someone from the Order who could help. Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, or any of the others could protect him there. But Harry could not bear to leave this place – the place where so many marvelous things had occurred. He was leaving his past behind and moving on to adulthood – to become an all-out Auror. To say that Harry would miss this place was a major understatement.
Ron kept his wand pointed at his trunks, which were levitating a foot above the ground. "Well," he asked, looking at everyone else who was waiting, "should we go now?"
Harry let out a deep, sentimental sigh. Then said, "Yes. Let's go."
* * *