Okay, the end is very near. I know how it will end, it's all up here, in my head. : - ) I like my laptop, now I can sit outside enjoying the wonderful weather and write at the same time : - ) This chapter happens to be just a bit longer than the other chapters, couldn't cut it off anywhere, I felt like I needed to get it all in this chapter. And I've worked on it quite a bit, please tell me what you think because as usual, I'm not too sure. We'll see, I might just rewrite the chapter... Or just add some more details to it. And I might just write a sequal : - ) I would never make Dumbledore evil, he's one of my favourite characters actually, but I'm not good at writing about him... He hasn't had a big part in my fanfiction, but he will definitely get a big part in the final chapter... I just thought, since Rowling has made him a bit suspicious at times in the books that he would have that sort of mystic aura in my fanficiton as well... I'm not too sure I did it properly though... Oh, well, please review : - )
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry and Co, I'm just playing around with her excellent characters.
A FLIGHT THROUGH THE WOODS
Harry didn't get much sleep that night. He lay awake wondering what had happened to Melinda. Dumbledore had not seemed as convinced as he had tried to sound, and that made Harry wonder what kind of mission she'd been on. And then there was the dream he'd had. How was he supposed to find the book before Voldemort?
He sighed and turned over in the bed. The minutes seemed like hours, he couldn't sleep. How was he supposed to sleep with all this new information? He stared up the ceiling, trying to not think for a while but it was impossible.
Suddenly, their bedroom was lit up by the rays of the morning sun. Harry sat up, it was finally morning. Ron started to mumble something and put his pillow on his ears. Dean and Seamus sat up, looking real tired and yawning. Harry got up and got dressed; Ron was slowly getting dressed while looking really tired and just a bit annoyed.
As they walked to class, Harry told them quietly about the events that had occurred during the night. He didn't tell them everything though, he just couldn't tell them about the dream he'd had about Lycurgis.
"She's gone?" Ron said sounding worried.
"Well, Dumbledore said she was on a mission, but I don't understand why she would cut off her contact with everyone" Harry said and looked at the dark orb.
"Well, from what you told us about the incident at Hogsmeade, she's probably fully capable of taking care of herself." Hermione said, but she didn't sound as convinced as she thought.
"Yeah, but still" Ron said and looked at the orb.
"There's just one thing I don't understand, Harry. What were you doing up at that hour?" Hermione said thoughtfully and looked at him.
"I couldn't sleep" Harry said still looking at the orb.
Hermione looked at Ron and then Harry.
"She will come back, Harry" Hermione said.
Harry wasn't convinced, he thought talking about it with Ron and Hermione would ease his thoughts, but it hadn't.
He felt himself doze off every now and then during the day, Ron elbowed him as he almost fell asleep during classes. He just couldn't seem to focus. And the teachers gave them even more homework than usual. Harry didn't get much done that day. He was still thinking about the book, and Melinda. He'd been trying to clear his head, tried to think that everything would be alright. It didn't work though. The fear of once again loosing someone close was something he just couldn't take right now.
That night he fell asleep as his head hit the pillow. Too tired to think. The voices were there again in his dreams. He tossed around in his sleep, trying to make them stop. But then, all of the sudden, there was but one voice. And suddenly, Harry heard his godfather's voice.
"Harry, you haven't got much time"
Harry opened his eyes, once again gasping for air. Sirius, it was Sirius. It felt so real, as if he'd been there, talking to him. But it couldn't' be, he thought to himself, that was impossible. It was just another dream... He felt really anxious, so he got up and walked towards the window, trying to sort his thoughts out. And as he looked down, he saw it. A big black dog, sitting in the moonlight, looking up at him.
He didn't waste a moment; he got dressed real quickly, grabbed his invisibility cloak and left the room. He heard someone calling his name but he didn't care. Sirius had been there, he knew it. Harry ran as fast as he could, though he was on his watch for Filch and his cat Mrs Norris, under his cloak. As he got outside, he pulled off the cloak and looked around. The black dog was not far from Hagrid's hut. It turned and ran into the old dark forest. Harry didn't even stop and hesitate, he ran after it.
"Sirius!" he called out but the dog did not stop.
It lead him deeper into the forest, Harry pulled out his wand and continued to follow the black dog. Why didn't Sirius stop? He thought silently.
"Sirius, wait!" Harry called out but the dog kept running, sometimes it stopped and looked back to see if Harry was keeping up with him. Then suddenly, it stopped in front of what seemed to be a portal. It was glowing with a pale blue light. The dog looked at Harry, wiggled its tale and went in.
"No, Sirius, wait!" Harry called out and ran towards the portal but hesitated in front of it.
He looked at it; it could very well be a trap. He knew time was of the essence, he had to make a choice soon. There was no time to get any help, he couldn't turn back now. He made his choice and walked through the portal. Suddenly, he was in a corridor, lit up by a faint blue light. It was windowless, as in his dream. It was all exactly as it had been in that dream he'd had. Behind him was a wall, the portal was gone. There was no turning back now, he thought and started to panic.
There was no sign of the big black dog. It suddenly occurred to him, how stupid it had been to follow that dog, it was probably not even Sirius. Though something within him had believed it, something inside seemed to have forced him to do it without even thinking of the consequences. If Voldemort had set up a trap for him, then he would face him, Harry thought grimly.
"Hello?" he called out.
His voice echoed in the corridor. Fear filled his heart, a fear of finding what he'd found in that dream. He wouldn't find them dead, he thought silently, this wasn't really like the dream, something was different but he just couldn't figure out what.
At the end of the corridor he reached a great room. It was empty, and dead silent. The dark walls in the corridors were empty; there were no paintings or anything on them. Harry wondered where he was, and how he was supposed to get back.
He reached the next corridor; he suddenly noticed a glow coming from the room up ahead. He hurried towards it and stopped at the door opening. The glow came from a small wooden box that lay on a small table in the middle of the room. There were great paintings on the walls in this room, they seemed really old and looked a lot like the ones Melinda had had in her house. But Harry's eyes were fixed on that box in the middle of the room. He walked towards it, and as he opened it, the whole room seemed to come alive. The fireplace was lit, Harry was sure there hadn't been a fire there as he'd entered the room. And the room was now filled with eerie music, but Harry hardly noticed it, all he saw was the book that lay in the box, it almost seemed to be calling for him to pick it up, enticing him. He stared at it for a moment; it was intoxicating, just holding the book in his hands. He just kept stared at it for a while. So this was the book, he thought silently, overwhelmed by the power that was flowing within him. It was very tempting, to open the book. And what harm could it possibly do, Harry thought to himself.
"Potter!"
Harry twitched, pulled the book close to him and raised his wand. As he looked up he saw professor Snape stumble into the room. He seemed to be hurt, Harry made an attempt to rush to him, but then he froze. Voldemort entered the room, his red eyes fixated on Harry.
"Get out" Snape called out as he fell to the floor.
"I always knew you were a traitor, Snape" Voldemort said and pointed his wand at the professor. "Crucio!"
Snape cried out in pain as he lay on his back on the floor. Harry reached for his wand and pointed it at Voldemort; he didn't know what to do.
"Why don't you hand me that book, Potter, and I just might let this professor of yours live."
"No" Harry said sternly.
"Don't give him the book, Potter" Snape said weakly where he lay.
Harry looked at Snape, then at Voldemort.
"Well, what's it going to be, Potter?" Voldemort said still pointing his wand at Snape.
Harry tried to think. He didn't know what to do, if he gave Voldemort the book he would kill them both. It wouldn't matter what he did. Snape seemed to be out cold now, he just lay there.
"Give me the book, Potter!" Voldemort snapped.
Then suddenly, Harry felt something burning within his pocket. He reached in and got the orb, it was glowing again.
"Melinda, I've got the book" he shouted.
Suddenly a swarm of ravens flew out of the orb and morphed into Melinda.
"Harry, get out of here" Melinda said calmly while looking at Voldemort. "And whatever you do, don't open the book."
"Do you really think you can challenge me, ancient one?" Voldemort said.
"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" she said calmly.
"This will be interesting..." Voldemort said.
Melinda raised her hand and started to mumble something in an old language; Harry made his move and ran out of the room without looking back. He ran through the corridors and noticed that the portal was open once again. Harry hesitated and looked back, holding the book close to him. Then he went through and found himself in the forest again. But this time, he was not alone. He found himself surrounded by death eaters.
"Well, well" Lucius Malfoy, Harry thought as he froze on the spot.
There were too many of them, Harry thought silently as he looked around, pointing his wand at Malfoy.
"You will not get away this time, baby Potter" Bellatrix Lestrange said.
Harry would recognize that voice anytime. He tried to make out how many there were, but he already knew they were too many.
"Give us the book, Potter" Lucius snapped.
"You'll have to kill me first" Harry said and pulled out his wand.
They all laughed, Harry looked around panicking. They couldn't have the book, Voldemort couldn't have the book.
"Well, that is easier said than done..."
They started to walk towards Harry, who stood very still. This was the end, Harry thought. He could not hold them back, not all of them. He could however fight back. Then suddenly, there was a noise, he looked up and saw something moving up in the trees. It jumped down in front of him and Harry discovered it was a man. Professor Gallagher to be exact.
"Harry, stand back" he said and looked around.
"So, Dumbledore has recruited a vampire" Lucius said. "A vampire as a teacher, I do believe he's lost his marbles this time."
"I haven't tasted human blood for centuries. Perhaps I will taste some tonight" professor Gallagher said coolly while looking at Malfoy with his wand raised.
"Do you really believe you can protect Potter all alone, Gallagher?" Lucius said and came out of the shadows.
"Who says I'm alone?"
Suddenly a battle broke out. Harry saw members of the order fighting the death eaters. Professor Gallagher turned around and looked at Harry, then at the book.
"Harry, get back to the school, you will be safe there."
"I can stay and fight!"
"No, not this time. There's a time to stay and fight, and one to run. And this time I need you to run. You're too important, Harry"
"But, Melinda's still in there..."
"She'll be fine. Now go!"
Professor Gallagher walked into the field of battle, and Harry ran into the forest. He heard Lucius scream to them all to follow Harry, and he heard Bellatrix laughter. Harry kept on running, looking over his shoulder when he dared to, to see if any death eaters were following him. His heart was pounding hard in his chest; he jumped in behind a tree just to catch his breath. He listened for a while, but he didn't hear anything. He couldn't be far from Hogwarts now, he thought. Then suddenly, he heard a voice that made his heart freeze.
"Potter, I know you're here. Give me the book, and your death will be swift"
It was Voldemort; his voice could still give Harry the creeps. He closed his eyes, he could do this. He'd stood up against Voldemort before, he could do it again. He had to.
"You're very good at getting in the way, Potter." Voldemort said.
Harry closed his eyes, he couldn't run anymore. So he walked out of the shadows and faced Voldemort, his wand steadily in his hand. He held the book close to him; he would die before he would let Voldemort have it.
"What did you do to her?" Harry growled.
"You will probably never see her again, Potter" Voldemort sneered.
They stood there, wand against wand. Harry suddenly felt the warmth from the orb that lay in his pocket. She was still alive, she had to be.
"Caring about people is your greatest weakness, Potter." Voldemort snarled.
"And underestimating them is yours" Harry said.
Then suddenly, he felt the book moving in his hand. Then suddenly, he lost his hold of it and it flew open in front of him and started to glow brightly. Harry stared at it, and then he grabbed it before Voldemort had the chance to. He once again felt the power of the book flowing through him. Voldemort had been staring at the book, when Harry had grabbed it he started to shoot curses at Harry. To his surprise, the book protected Harry from them.
"You must destroy the book" Lycurgis voice echoed inside of him. "It was never meant to remain behind, Harry, destroy it!"
He looked at the page that was displayed; the text was written in a language Harry didn't understand. It was as if something else had taken him over, as he started to read the text on the page. Then suddenly, the book seemed to be coming alive. Voldemort was shouting at him, trying to use his magic on Harry but the book kept on shielding him from the dark lords' magic.
"No!" he shouted as Harry read the last phrase from the book.
The book exploded into a bright light and then it was gone. Harry fell back, and he felt very weak. He had heard Voldemort cry out in anger, and Harry thought that this was the end. He couldn't fight off Voldemort now, he was too weak. At least Voldemort didn't have the book, Harry thought quietly to himself. Then there were noises all around him, footsteps Harry thought quietly. A moment later he felt someone gently lifted up his head. He opened his eyes and looked into professor Dumbledore's kind but now worried blue eyes. Hermione and Ron sat on his other side, looking down at him.
"Melinda?" Harry said silently.
"I'm here, Harry" Melinda stood behind Dumbledore, leaning towards professor Gallagher as if she was too weak to stand up herself. "It's over now"
"Voldemort... is he..."
"He's gone, Harry" Dumbledore said softly.
"Professor Snape... What happened to..."
"He will be fine, Harry" professor Dumbledore interrupted still looking at Harry. "Rest now"
Harry felt himself drift away into a soothing welcoming darkness...
End of chapter 20
Well, only one more chapter to go... And it didn't get that ugly actually... : - ) I might add a chapter about the ancient ones, from Melinda's point of view, we'll just see about that... I'm not sure that's allowed here though... Oh, well... Please tell me what you think about this chapter and my crazy ideas : - )
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry and Co, I'm just playing around with her excellent characters.
A FLIGHT THROUGH THE WOODS
Harry didn't get much sleep that night. He lay awake wondering what had happened to Melinda. Dumbledore had not seemed as convinced as he had tried to sound, and that made Harry wonder what kind of mission she'd been on. And then there was the dream he'd had. How was he supposed to find the book before Voldemort?
He sighed and turned over in the bed. The minutes seemed like hours, he couldn't sleep. How was he supposed to sleep with all this new information? He stared up the ceiling, trying to not think for a while but it was impossible.
Suddenly, their bedroom was lit up by the rays of the morning sun. Harry sat up, it was finally morning. Ron started to mumble something and put his pillow on his ears. Dean and Seamus sat up, looking real tired and yawning. Harry got up and got dressed; Ron was slowly getting dressed while looking really tired and just a bit annoyed.
As they walked to class, Harry told them quietly about the events that had occurred during the night. He didn't tell them everything though, he just couldn't tell them about the dream he'd had about Lycurgis.
"She's gone?" Ron said sounding worried.
"Well, Dumbledore said she was on a mission, but I don't understand why she would cut off her contact with everyone" Harry said and looked at the dark orb.
"Well, from what you told us about the incident at Hogsmeade, she's probably fully capable of taking care of herself." Hermione said, but she didn't sound as convinced as she thought.
"Yeah, but still" Ron said and looked at the orb.
"There's just one thing I don't understand, Harry. What were you doing up at that hour?" Hermione said thoughtfully and looked at him.
"I couldn't sleep" Harry said still looking at the orb.
Hermione looked at Ron and then Harry.
"She will come back, Harry" Hermione said.
Harry wasn't convinced, he thought talking about it with Ron and Hermione would ease his thoughts, but it hadn't.
He felt himself doze off every now and then during the day, Ron elbowed him as he almost fell asleep during classes. He just couldn't seem to focus. And the teachers gave them even more homework than usual. Harry didn't get much done that day. He was still thinking about the book, and Melinda. He'd been trying to clear his head, tried to think that everything would be alright. It didn't work though. The fear of once again loosing someone close was something he just couldn't take right now.
That night he fell asleep as his head hit the pillow. Too tired to think. The voices were there again in his dreams. He tossed around in his sleep, trying to make them stop. But then, all of the sudden, there was but one voice. And suddenly, Harry heard his godfather's voice.
"Harry, you haven't got much time"
Harry opened his eyes, once again gasping for air. Sirius, it was Sirius. It felt so real, as if he'd been there, talking to him. But it couldn't' be, he thought to himself, that was impossible. It was just another dream... He felt really anxious, so he got up and walked towards the window, trying to sort his thoughts out. And as he looked down, he saw it. A big black dog, sitting in the moonlight, looking up at him.
He didn't waste a moment; he got dressed real quickly, grabbed his invisibility cloak and left the room. He heard someone calling his name but he didn't care. Sirius had been there, he knew it. Harry ran as fast as he could, though he was on his watch for Filch and his cat Mrs Norris, under his cloak. As he got outside, he pulled off the cloak and looked around. The black dog was not far from Hagrid's hut. It turned and ran into the old dark forest. Harry didn't even stop and hesitate, he ran after it.
"Sirius!" he called out but the dog did not stop.
It lead him deeper into the forest, Harry pulled out his wand and continued to follow the black dog. Why didn't Sirius stop? He thought silently.
"Sirius, wait!" Harry called out but the dog kept running, sometimes it stopped and looked back to see if Harry was keeping up with him. Then suddenly, it stopped in front of what seemed to be a portal. It was glowing with a pale blue light. The dog looked at Harry, wiggled its tale and went in.
"No, Sirius, wait!" Harry called out and ran towards the portal but hesitated in front of it.
He looked at it; it could very well be a trap. He knew time was of the essence, he had to make a choice soon. There was no time to get any help, he couldn't turn back now. He made his choice and walked through the portal. Suddenly, he was in a corridor, lit up by a faint blue light. It was windowless, as in his dream. It was all exactly as it had been in that dream he'd had. Behind him was a wall, the portal was gone. There was no turning back now, he thought and started to panic.
There was no sign of the big black dog. It suddenly occurred to him, how stupid it had been to follow that dog, it was probably not even Sirius. Though something within him had believed it, something inside seemed to have forced him to do it without even thinking of the consequences. If Voldemort had set up a trap for him, then he would face him, Harry thought grimly.
"Hello?" he called out.
His voice echoed in the corridor. Fear filled his heart, a fear of finding what he'd found in that dream. He wouldn't find them dead, he thought silently, this wasn't really like the dream, something was different but he just couldn't figure out what.
At the end of the corridor he reached a great room. It was empty, and dead silent. The dark walls in the corridors were empty; there were no paintings or anything on them. Harry wondered where he was, and how he was supposed to get back.
He reached the next corridor; he suddenly noticed a glow coming from the room up ahead. He hurried towards it and stopped at the door opening. The glow came from a small wooden box that lay on a small table in the middle of the room. There were great paintings on the walls in this room, they seemed really old and looked a lot like the ones Melinda had had in her house. But Harry's eyes were fixed on that box in the middle of the room. He walked towards it, and as he opened it, the whole room seemed to come alive. The fireplace was lit, Harry was sure there hadn't been a fire there as he'd entered the room. And the room was now filled with eerie music, but Harry hardly noticed it, all he saw was the book that lay in the box, it almost seemed to be calling for him to pick it up, enticing him. He stared at it for a moment; it was intoxicating, just holding the book in his hands. He just kept stared at it for a while. So this was the book, he thought silently, overwhelmed by the power that was flowing within him. It was very tempting, to open the book. And what harm could it possibly do, Harry thought to himself.
"Potter!"
Harry twitched, pulled the book close to him and raised his wand. As he looked up he saw professor Snape stumble into the room. He seemed to be hurt, Harry made an attempt to rush to him, but then he froze. Voldemort entered the room, his red eyes fixated on Harry.
"Get out" Snape called out as he fell to the floor.
"I always knew you were a traitor, Snape" Voldemort said and pointed his wand at the professor. "Crucio!"
Snape cried out in pain as he lay on his back on the floor. Harry reached for his wand and pointed it at Voldemort; he didn't know what to do.
"Why don't you hand me that book, Potter, and I just might let this professor of yours live."
"No" Harry said sternly.
"Don't give him the book, Potter" Snape said weakly where he lay.
Harry looked at Snape, then at Voldemort.
"Well, what's it going to be, Potter?" Voldemort said still pointing his wand at Snape.
Harry tried to think. He didn't know what to do, if he gave Voldemort the book he would kill them both. It wouldn't matter what he did. Snape seemed to be out cold now, he just lay there.
"Give me the book, Potter!" Voldemort snapped.
Then suddenly, Harry felt something burning within his pocket. He reached in and got the orb, it was glowing again.
"Melinda, I've got the book" he shouted.
Suddenly a swarm of ravens flew out of the orb and morphed into Melinda.
"Harry, get out of here" Melinda said calmly while looking at Voldemort. "And whatever you do, don't open the book."
"Do you really think you can challenge me, ancient one?" Voldemort said.
"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" she said calmly.
"This will be interesting..." Voldemort said.
Melinda raised her hand and started to mumble something in an old language; Harry made his move and ran out of the room without looking back. He ran through the corridors and noticed that the portal was open once again. Harry hesitated and looked back, holding the book close to him. Then he went through and found himself in the forest again. But this time, he was not alone. He found himself surrounded by death eaters.
"Well, well" Lucius Malfoy, Harry thought as he froze on the spot.
There were too many of them, Harry thought silently as he looked around, pointing his wand at Malfoy.
"You will not get away this time, baby Potter" Bellatrix Lestrange said.
Harry would recognize that voice anytime. He tried to make out how many there were, but he already knew they were too many.
"Give us the book, Potter" Lucius snapped.
"You'll have to kill me first" Harry said and pulled out his wand.
They all laughed, Harry looked around panicking. They couldn't have the book, Voldemort couldn't have the book.
"Well, that is easier said than done..."
They started to walk towards Harry, who stood very still. This was the end, Harry thought. He could not hold them back, not all of them. He could however fight back. Then suddenly, there was a noise, he looked up and saw something moving up in the trees. It jumped down in front of him and Harry discovered it was a man. Professor Gallagher to be exact.
"Harry, stand back" he said and looked around.
"So, Dumbledore has recruited a vampire" Lucius said. "A vampire as a teacher, I do believe he's lost his marbles this time."
"I haven't tasted human blood for centuries. Perhaps I will taste some tonight" professor Gallagher said coolly while looking at Malfoy with his wand raised.
"Do you really believe you can protect Potter all alone, Gallagher?" Lucius said and came out of the shadows.
"Who says I'm alone?"
Suddenly a battle broke out. Harry saw members of the order fighting the death eaters. Professor Gallagher turned around and looked at Harry, then at the book.
"Harry, get back to the school, you will be safe there."
"I can stay and fight!"
"No, not this time. There's a time to stay and fight, and one to run. And this time I need you to run. You're too important, Harry"
"But, Melinda's still in there..."
"She'll be fine. Now go!"
Professor Gallagher walked into the field of battle, and Harry ran into the forest. He heard Lucius scream to them all to follow Harry, and he heard Bellatrix laughter. Harry kept on running, looking over his shoulder when he dared to, to see if any death eaters were following him. His heart was pounding hard in his chest; he jumped in behind a tree just to catch his breath. He listened for a while, but he didn't hear anything. He couldn't be far from Hogwarts now, he thought. Then suddenly, he heard a voice that made his heart freeze.
"Potter, I know you're here. Give me the book, and your death will be swift"
It was Voldemort; his voice could still give Harry the creeps. He closed his eyes, he could do this. He'd stood up against Voldemort before, he could do it again. He had to.
"You're very good at getting in the way, Potter." Voldemort said.
Harry closed his eyes, he couldn't run anymore. So he walked out of the shadows and faced Voldemort, his wand steadily in his hand. He held the book close to him; he would die before he would let Voldemort have it.
"What did you do to her?" Harry growled.
"You will probably never see her again, Potter" Voldemort sneered.
They stood there, wand against wand. Harry suddenly felt the warmth from the orb that lay in his pocket. She was still alive, she had to be.
"Caring about people is your greatest weakness, Potter." Voldemort snarled.
"And underestimating them is yours" Harry said.
Then suddenly, he felt the book moving in his hand. Then suddenly, he lost his hold of it and it flew open in front of him and started to glow brightly. Harry stared at it, and then he grabbed it before Voldemort had the chance to. He once again felt the power of the book flowing through him. Voldemort had been staring at the book, when Harry had grabbed it he started to shoot curses at Harry. To his surprise, the book protected Harry from them.
"You must destroy the book" Lycurgis voice echoed inside of him. "It was never meant to remain behind, Harry, destroy it!"
He looked at the page that was displayed; the text was written in a language Harry didn't understand. It was as if something else had taken him over, as he started to read the text on the page. Then suddenly, the book seemed to be coming alive. Voldemort was shouting at him, trying to use his magic on Harry but the book kept on shielding him from the dark lords' magic.
"No!" he shouted as Harry read the last phrase from the book.
The book exploded into a bright light and then it was gone. Harry fell back, and he felt very weak. He had heard Voldemort cry out in anger, and Harry thought that this was the end. He couldn't fight off Voldemort now, he was too weak. At least Voldemort didn't have the book, Harry thought quietly to himself. Then there were noises all around him, footsteps Harry thought quietly. A moment later he felt someone gently lifted up his head. He opened his eyes and looked into professor Dumbledore's kind but now worried blue eyes. Hermione and Ron sat on his other side, looking down at him.
"Melinda?" Harry said silently.
"I'm here, Harry" Melinda stood behind Dumbledore, leaning towards professor Gallagher as if she was too weak to stand up herself. "It's over now"
"Voldemort... is he..."
"He's gone, Harry" Dumbledore said softly.
"Professor Snape... What happened to..."
"He will be fine, Harry" professor Dumbledore interrupted still looking at Harry. "Rest now"
Harry felt himself drift away into a soothing welcoming darkness...
End of chapter 20
Well, only one more chapter to go... And it didn't get that ugly actually... : - ) I might add a chapter about the ancient ones, from Melinda's point of view, we'll just see about that... I'm not sure that's allowed here though... Oh, well... Please tell me what you think about this chapter and my crazy ideas : - )