Chapter 35: A Role Revealed
A soft gorgeous melody floated delicately through the air. It was the most wondrous thing that had ever passed through Ellie's ears.
"I must be in heaven" was the first though that came to her mind.
The inside of her eyelids were glowing a warm orange colour. The melody continued. It was so peaceful and elegant, nothing like Ellie had ever heard before. Finally, she decided to leave her peaceful state and investigate what the origin of the sound was.
Ellie carefully cracked open her eyes and saw a large deep gold dome standing twenty feet away from where she was laying. Each thread that the dome was composed of was vibrating with the sound of the unearthly music.
Ellie gapped at the sight, but was even more surprised when she saw that Harry and Voldemort were standing in the center of the golden mesh-like dome. The tips of their wands were connected by a narrow stream of light.
"It's good to see you're awake." A voice spoke from behind.
Ellie glanced back and saw Albus Dumbledore staring down at her. He extended his hand to help her to her feet.
"What is that sound?" Ellie asked as she brushed the cold dirt from the red cloak she was wearing.
"It is the phoenix's song. It's created by the Priori Incantatem." Dumbledore replied heavily.
Ellie looked at him quizzically.
"It's the reveres spell effect that occurs when two brother wands are forced into battle against each other."
"Brother wands?" Ellie asked for clarification.
"Yes." Dumbledore continued. "Harry and Voldemort's wands each contain a phoenix feather from the same phoenix." He paused. "Right now Harry's wand is forcing Voldemort's to regurgitate every spell it has ever performed in reverse order."
"Oh" was all that Ellie could think to say.
She stared at Dumbledore, noticing that he looked different in some way. After a moment longer, Ellie finally realized what the difference was. The usual twinkle that always appeared in Dumbledore's eye was not there.
Other wizards and witches were also gazing at the Priori Incantatem. Ellie noticed Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and Mr. Weasley standing off to the side. All of them had tragic expressions fixed on their faces.
"What's really going on?" Ellie asked Dumbledore suspiciously.
She had the feeling she hadn't been told the entire truth yet.
Dumbledore looked at her with a grim look in his eye. But before he could give a reply, the dome surrounding Harry and Voldemort released two rapid flashes of bright gold light.
"It's the beginning of the end." Dumbledore said wearily.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Ellie stammered in shock.
"When the very last spell is extracted from a wand during the Priori Incantatem it creates a chain reaction that reverses every thing that is magic…including every witch, wizard and creature."
"Reverse? What do you mean reverse?" Ellie asked in alarm.
"It means that we will no longer exist. The entire magic world will be gone." Dumbledore answered, glancing back at the Priori Incantatem.
"Does Harry know this?" Ellie asked in a sudden panic.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, he doesn't. He only knows that if he maintains the Priori Incantatem until the very end, he will be able to vanquish Voldemort. I never told him that the entire magic world would be destroyed too." He said, not bothering to look at Ellie.
Ellie was speechless with outrage.
"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL HIM SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THAT?!" She finally erupted.
"Because he wouldn't have gone through with it if he knew." Dumbledore replied calmly.
"Don't you think that avoiding something like no longer existing would be more important?" Ellie asked in disbelief.
"You must understand Miss. Richards, this is the only way to rid the world, both magic and muggle, from Voldemort for once and for all."
"I don't believe that! There has to be another way!" Ellie shouted.
"If there were another way, don't you think I would have stopped this before it even started?"
Ellie stared at the old wizard. Her head was beginning to reel with devastation. She felt helpless, angry and desperate; desperate for it to all stop.
"MAKE IT STOP!" Ellie demanded.
"I can't. Only Harry can stop it, and he can't hear us from within the dome." Dumbledore said lowly.
Ellie stared at Harry through the criss-crosses of the golden strands of light. She wasn't ready to give up yet.
"What about the muggles who do know about the magic world? Don't you think they'll notice if it's vanished? Won't Mr. and Mrs. Granger be upset when they learn that their daughter is gone?" Ellie asked in a furry, the tears just starting to trickle down her cheeks.
"No, they won't." Dumbledore simply replied.
"What do you mean they won't?!" Ellie yelled more confused than ever.
"There won't be anything left for them to remember. We're not just simply going to disappear. The entire history of the world will be altered so that magic never existed at all."
"SO I'M JUST GOING TO FORGET EVERYTHING?!" Ellie had never felt so furious in her life.
"No…you won't."
Ellie stared blankly at Dumbledore.
"But you just said –"
"I know what I just said Miss. Richards." Dumbledore said solemnly.
Ellie could feel her anger starting to subside, and her curiosity take control.
"Why will I remember?" She asked in a much calmer voice.
"Because it is your role." Dumbledore gave a slight grin.
For the first time that night, Ellie caught sight of the twinkle in Dumbledore's eye, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
"My what?"
"Your role Miss. Richards. Everybody has a certain role to fulfill in life. Some of us are destined to be the hero, while others play the villain, and some even play the wise advisor. Each role is important to the entire story, no matter how big or small. In this story, your role is the most vital."
"What is my role?" Ellie asked humbly.
"Your role is to ensure that the magic world never dies."
"How?"
"That is for you to discover on your own. But know this; as long as you remember everyone and everything you've seen in the magic world, we will never truly be gone. You don't think you were blessed with a photographic memory for nothing, do you?" Dumbledore winked.
Ellie stared at him in complete shock.
"You knew this the entire time. That's why you let me stay at Hogwarts. That's why you wouldn't allow my memory to be obliviated. You wanted me to learn as much as possible about the magic world, and remember it all." Ellie said in realization.
Dumbledore nodded.
Ellie stood quietly, watching the Priori Incantatem, as the full weight of her role fell upon her.
Without warning, the gold dome emitted four short bursts of light, and the phoenix song grew louder.
"It's almost over."
Ellie just barely made out Dumbledore's voice over the beautiful sound.
Suddenly, her panic returned in full force.
"Wait! I'm not ready for this!" Ellie screamed. "I don't want this role! I'd rather have Harry! You have to make it stop. Please!"
Dumbledore gave no response to Ellie's pleads, nor did he bother to look at her.
Before Ellie could start shouting again, a white blinding light, lasting several seconds, came from the golden dome. The light was so strong that Ellie could still see it through her tightly covered eyelids.
The phoenix song abruptly stopped, and the light disappeared.
Ellie slowly removed her hands from her face. A thick greyish fog met her eyes. It was so thick that she couldn't see her hand three inches in front of her face.
"Hello?" Ellie's voice sounded hollow against the dead silence.
Her eyes darted around, searching for any outline or shadow.
"Is anyone there?" Ellie said, a bit louder than before.
Gradually, the fog dispersed, slowly revealing shadows of her surroundings. But it wasn't the outline of trees or wizards that came to focus. Ellie's knees gave out when she saw the sight before her. She was no longer amongst a thicket of trees in a park. She was in her very own bedroom, dressed in her pyjamas. Luckily, her bed was behind her to catch her fall.
Ellie stared stunned at her bedroom door, which showed no signs of ever being blown apart into tiny pieces. She even felt her forehead for the deep gash, but there was nothing but smooth skin. Suddenly, Ellie dove to the floor, and began feeling for the shoebox of letters and magic souvenirs she kept hidden beneath her bed, but it wasn't there. Gone…everything was gone.
Ellie sat back on her bed, not knowing what to think.
"Was it all a dream?" The voice in her head asked.
Her heart told her, "No it wasn't a dream. It was all real."
Ellie's grief hit her all at once. She buried her head in her pillow, and cried harder than she had ever cried before.
One of the last memories that passed through her mind before she drifted to sleep was Dumbledore's voice saying, "Because it's your role".
A/N: I apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. Just one more left to go!