Chapter 11- A Missing Dean
Hermione woke with a start after her ears were filled with the shrill screaming of someone beside her. She raised a tired arm and put all her sleepy force behind it to slap that she thought was Ron. Yet it wasn't. She felt her palm make contact with old and crumpling flesh. She opened her eyes and realized that the rude awakening came from now a red and swollen house elf.
Hermione retracted in
surprise. "Dobby!" She whispered angrily, the evident shock could
be heard in her voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Ma'am,
Dobby is sorry. Your wheezy has been up looking for the headmaster,"
Dobby answered in a whining, hurt voice.
"What? Why?" The day was getting more and more confusing as Hermione sat up starting to fully awaken,
"The headmaster is gone!" Dobby screamed and started hitting himself with various things around Hermione's bed. Hermione had to grab him and hold him tightly before he or her things would be broken.
"Dobby, stop," whispered Hermione firmly. "Now tell me what happened."
Dobby breathed heavily for a while before starting, "Dobby was making breakfast in the kitchen like everyday. Dobby went to serve Dumbledore as always. But..." Dobby's eyes started to brim with tears and his lips quivered. "The headmaster is gone!" He wailed again.
"Dobby calm down!" Hermione ordered, but with a note of concern. "Just relax. We'll take care of this." She left Dobby sobbing in her room and entered a distressed and confused meeting room.
She looked around and saw everyone coming in and out of different doors, staring down on the ground or shaking their heads. They all looked worried and they were all sweaty. Everyone looked like they were just walking around aimlessly; some of them had their mouths hanging open and eyes bulging, staring into space. She spotted Ron entering the meeting room rubbing his forehead hard until his face was flaming red. She ran up to him and gave him a kiss.
"Oh! Good Morning," said Ron sounding a little startled.
"So what happened,
honey?"
"Oh... nothing," said Ron dismissively.
Hermione glared at him. She knew that there was more to the situation since Dobby had already told her. She gave Ron that I-know-there's-more-to-this look.
"Alright! Alright!" Ron said with his arms up in the air. "Dumbledore is missing." He sighed deeply looking very worried. "We haven't found him yet. Dobby-"
"Told me already," interrupted Hermione.
Ron turned to look at her directly then said, "Look, I don't want you to worry. You already have enough on your head, with these jewels."
"We've been
through this already, Ron!" Hermione said heatedly. "I don't
want you to treat me like I'm unable to do anything!" Ron looked
a little sad but he conceded with a nod. Hermione brightened up.
"Right. Now did you guys try finding him outside?"
Ron
smacked his forehead. Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron called out,
"Does anyone want to go and find Dumbledore outside?" He grinned
shyly at Hermione.
"I will!" Dean volunteered quickly. He hurried to the door but then stopped and murmured, "I... uh... maybe not..."
"Dean! For goodness
sake!" Ron bellowed. "Just go!"
Dean whimpered softly and
ran out the door. Ron heaved a sigh and thought worriedly about the
headmaster: what had happened to him? Was he all right? Ron knew that
he should not be worrying so much. After all, Dumbledore was the
wizard Voldemort feared. Yet, he was growing old and tired. He was a
phoenix in the brink of his burning day. They had to find him. He was
the cornerstone of the rebellion. Even with his lack of involvement
in the present endeavor, he was still important to the rebels. Ron
could see this truth as he watched the others running helplessly in
an effort to find him. He felt helpless too; detached from the living
world like a ghost overlooking trouble but he could do nothing about
it.
"Where's Fawkes? It can find Dumbledore anywhere," Hermione suggested.
"Gone too." Dumbledore probably used it to go around: whatever magic they used was undetectable," answered Ron frowning.
"Dobby?"
"We tried that," said Ron unenthusiastically, "Hermione, I'm so worried. Dumbledore could be anywhere. It's dangerous." Ron's hands were shaking frantically.
"I think we should go out too. I don't think Dean'll be able to find Dumbledore by himself."
Ron nodded in agreement and the two of them were off. They rushed out of the meeting room and on to the tunnel. Their steps were quick and their eyes were wide alert. They sped past the damp areas of the underground, made a few turns, and then were outside under the glare of the blaring sun. Ron squinted his eyes to see better then looked around. It was a wide-open field. The cold fall air had begun to creep into the land, and the sun's bright light was the only warmth from the cold sting. They walked on for a while to the nearest cluster of homes. Death Eaters were bound to be in these areas, roaming around and having a little bit of fun.
"This is bad. We forgot our hats and coats," Ron whispered to Hermione.
"We'll be fine," said Hermione confidently, "We can always obliviate any Death Eater we meet."
"True. But wouldn't
they detect it?"
"Don't be silly. Those Death Eaters use
memory charms ten times each day."
"Well, I hope you still remember your obliviate lessons 'cause here's one coming now." Ron lifted his finger slightly and pointed at a hooded man coming straight at them.
"Turn right." Hermione ordered in a hushed voice and they both turned to a dark alley on the right side.
"Why are we going here?" Ron asked perplexed.
"So no one can see us when we jinx that guy," answered Hermione matter-of-factly.
They continued walking until there was a dead end. They turned around and saw the hooded man still coming. They pulled out their wands and prepared to fire. The man was coming closer and closer. He held up a hand.
"Oblivi-"Hermione started to say.
"Wait!" Shouted Draco from under the hood. "You don't want to be doing that."
The two quickly stowed away their wands feeling a little relieved. Hermione managed a smile as Draco revealed his head and came closer to them. He looked at them for quite a while surely asking himself why they had gone out of the underground and visited a village filled with Death Eaters.
"So what are you doing here?" He asked strictly.
"We-"
But Draco wasn't listening. He continued, "Do you know what would have happened if they had seen you? Do you know how much I just risked by suddenly leaving Voldemort?" He sounded tired and annoyed. Ron had to shake him before he realized that there were still two people listening to him.
"Dumbledore's gone!" said Ron urgently.
"What is wrong with you two?" Draco continued absentmindedly. "What?" He exclaimed. "Where? How?" He stopped himself for a moment looking astounded. "Wait," He said in a serious tone, "I would know if he was captured or killed by the Death Eaters."
"Unless you're working for them!" Hermione blurted out angrily. "I knew you would do something like this! What are you planning?" Hermione was bearing down ferociously on Draco, who had his mouth hanging open in disbelief, and Ron felt that he had to do something quickly before his Hermione's raging hormones would explode.
"Stop!" Ron ordered Hermione imperatively. "We are not going to fight amongst each other again! Voldemort has done this before. Promise me that this will never happen again." His voice was firm, strict, void of emotion. He did not want the recurrence of past mistakes: It would only set them back. His sister Ginny died because everyone thought Voldemort was controlling her again. She was eliminated because of false incriminations. He fought back the tears that were filling his eyes.
"Say sorry..." he said, "and make it sincere!"
"Sorry," both Draco and Hermione murmured coldly. Both had their backs to each other: Hermione bright read, and Draco pale white.
Draco turned to Ron sharply and shoved him a bright blue robe. "I came to give you this," he said with contempt, "I'll go and see if we know anything about the headmaster." He walked away; his steps were quick and rigid.
Ron rounded on Hermione, who looked down on the ground, then walked ahead. Hermione followed but found it hard to keep up with Ron's long strides. Ron obviously was furious at what just happened but Hermione could not help but be suspicious of Malfoy. Why at this time, when they were at the brink of defeating Voldemort, did this crisis suddenly happen? Only Malfoy had contact with Voldemort so he was the only one who could tell him the whereabouts of Dumbledore. It had to be Malfoy. She swore that that disgusting pureblood was never supposed to be trusted, from the beginning. She was right to have made this vow. Malfoy was just biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
"You know that he's the only one in contact with Voldemort," started Hermione to Ron after concluding her thought.
"Hermione calm down," said Ron strongly, "If Malfoy had told Voldemort where Dumbledore was, we wouldn't be here looking for him!" He stopped a few meters before the exit of the dark alley and spread the blue sheet open. The reverse side of it was liquidy silver; it was an invisibility cloak. "And what kind of evil person would give us an invisibility cloak?" Ron went sarcastically and covered them both with the cloak.
"I'm sorry." Said Hermione sadly. She really was. Although she still would not trust Malfoy, it was hardly possible that he had planned all this from the beginning. It was not good to jump into conclusions, just like that. If she really thought that it was that sick bastard Draco, she had to have evidence: right now, she had squat.
"Well, I'm glad we're over with that." Ron sighed.
They walked out of the Dark Alley; invisibility cloak covering them- and proceeded to the streets. It was the most normal looking town they've seen: Most of the houses were intact; no Dark Mark hovered above them; many people were joyously chatting over fences. It was the town where most of the Death Eaters lived: the place where they were sure to find Dumbledore if he had been held captive. It was disgustingly clean and happy when everywhere else was chaotic and depressing. Both Ron and Hermione looked around with their faces contorted in disgust. They searched every dark corner, peered into every visible window, and slipped past crowds of people and open doors to look for Dumbledore. Yet, he was not there.
After long hours of walking and looking, Hermione sat on a stone step looking exasperated. She stared at the sun, past it's peak, and sighed worriedly. "Oh, where is he?" She asked the ground beneath her frustratingly. Yet it did nothing but stare back at her coldly. "You know, I think we should try a different approach," said Ron, who was also looking quite exhausted and red all over.
"Maybe we should go visit Hogwarts," suggested Hermione in an off-voice.
"Are you crazy?" Ron exclaimed. "You know Voldemort's there."
"Well, I was thinking. If Draco's having a meeting here, then maybe he's here too."
Ron thought about it for a second and it made sense. "You have a point," he said, "But how are we going to get there when we can't apparate to the school?"
"Portkey?"
"Too risky. I think they can track that too."
"Then how about this," said Hermione with a seductive lash of her tongue, and she kissed Ron. Ron just felt himself being dragged by the burst of red light into the front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hermione looked at him for a second with a twinkle in her eye. She had hung on to the cloak tightly too, so they entered the castle still unseen. The first thing they saw as they came inside was a skeleton hanging on the opposite side of the door. It wore an eerie grin that used to be the shriek that came out of the living being the moment it had been killed. Below it, in big red letters wrote: "Non-magical wizard is as worse as non-magical blood. Kill all who are not worthy to the eyes of the great snake!" On the floor sat an old dying cat, which sang loudly the meows of melancholy that it felt deep in its heart, with cat fur on the floor around it. It seemed, to both Hermione and Ron that the cat had been sitting there for the longest of time; staring into the festering carcass until it had been all rotten and only bone was left. Hermione looked away shuddering and Ron hugged her tight.
They passed the frightful image of the skeleton and went up to the changing staircases. None of the ghosts that they used to see as students in the school was left. The usually exciting and adventurous trips down the halls, and up the stairs had become long, quiet, and eerie. Each corner was a potential danger. Each dark area was an unseen death. The castle felt so empty and lifeless.
"So where do we go now?" Ron asked from the corner of his mouth.
"Let's go to the Headmaster's office," whispered Hermione back.
And so they went down the statue of the gargoyle and stood there for a while looking dumbfounded: they did not know the password. They stared at each other for quite a long time until Hermione got so tired that she hugged Ron tight and teleported them there in another red flash.
"We should do that more often," said Ron blushing. Hermione only smiled. She smiled that usual smile that enticed Ron. She looked so beautiful yet so reserved with that single gesture.
"Well, he's not here so..." Hermione gave him another kiss and FLASH! They were at Hogsmeade. Hermione turned around and Ron followed suit. The Hog's Head was still there standing, although it looked shaken and in shambles. "Let's go in," said Hermione confidently.
The Hog's Head, inside, looked a lot worse. There were overturned tables, a broken bar, and several chairs that were obviously flung all over the place. The very odd bar that they had visited in their fifth year was the battle site of the last effort to regain control of Hogwart's castle. Here, Neville Longbottom was hit and killed by the flash of green light: the forbidden killing curse. He died peacefully, his body feeling cold and looked pale but his face was smiling. That day, he had saved Harry Potter from death. He dove after the spell that was to hit the scarred boy and he saved him, only for Harry to die at a later time.
"His death was not vain," said Ron softly to the wind. He knew exactly that Hermione was thinking of the same thing. He hugged her tightly and prayed that the war would be over soon. The pain that Voldemort inflicted upon all of them was becoming too great to bear. Like a drug, the collecting of the seven celestial jewels kept them up and happy. Yet they all knew the truth, and suffered from it. Just one more jewel and they'd be really free. They can once again soak in the warmth of the sun and feel the fresh air, and the cold clean water of the surface. The underground, slowly, was driving them all insane and they're desperate to get out.
They left the Hog's Head in another burst of red light, and were standing in the middle of Diagon Alley. Surprisingly, this section of the town had not changed. After all, Voldemort would not want to halt the trade and economy and force the other countries to take action because of that. A full-scale global war was something he was not prepared for. Especially since he had little troops loyal to him. There were still eager kids that ran about looking at the shop windows in awe at its different magical goods. There was still a hustle and bustle in the streets. However, diversity had been tossed out the window. Only pureblood men and women walked about buying with their usual pureblooded taste. It was not unusual to see a gang of rowdy teens torturing a helpless squib or muggle.
Even then, Dumbledore could not be found. Time was running out. The sun was quickly setting and the two could almost hear the faint ticking sound of a clock as their stomachs grumbled. They visited the house of the late Sirius Black, Grimmauld Place. They went to check the burial grounds of the rebels. They came to Privet Drive, which was reduced to a huge clearing as though a molting hot fire had consumed it, and to Godric's Hollow. There was no sign of Dumbledore anywhere.
"Maybe we should go to Romania," Ron said with hopelessness and exhaustion in his voice.
"C'mon, Ron. We're not breaking international law." Hermione felt the painful churning of her stomach, the pounding of her heart, the throbbing of her veins and muscles. She was tired and she could no longer deny it. "I want to go home, Ron," she said with a sad feeling in her heart. "I know we should go look for Dumbledore..." she eyed Ron carefully but he was listening intently. "But I'm tired. We need to rest. Even for just an hour."
Ron understood how Hermione felt. She was pregnant, bulky, almost dragging her belly behind her. He could tell how tired those sparkling beautiful eyes were. He kissed her and said, "Okay. Let's just go back," he paused for a while then added, "maybe Dean found Him."
They were cloaked in a bright red light and disappeared. They were back in the meeting room with the invisibility cloak still over their heads. They took it out and hastily ran to the nearest cushiony chair available. For some reason, everyone was sitting down and looking very quiet. They were all intent on listening to someone who had just been interrupted by Ron and Hermione's entrance. They leered at them as though they were two rude kids playing carelessly in an important meeting. It turns out; the speaker was an aged man with a white beard that grew almost to the ground. He was wearing a red silky robe with a matching wizard's hat. The man addressing the crowd was none other than Dumbledore. Hermione shifted a surprised gasp.
"I have realized," Dumbledore began, "that I had caused a great commotion while I was away." He sounded very frail and tired. His usual strong and released tone was replaced with a quivering rasp. He had not looked so old and weak. Sometimes, his face glimmered with tears. "And I'm sorry..." he paused for a breath of air, "I, a mere old and dying man, only wished to see the light of life for one last time before I take my rest." People in the crowd were crying, too. Hermione could not believe what Dumbledore was saying. He was not going to kill himself anytime soon, was he? "I know this may seem odd to many of you but death is really the best gift life could offer a hardworking man." Again he paused for another breath. "As of now, I am handing to you the responsibilities of the future. It is your task now. Some way, you will be triumphant." He looked up at the ceiling, breathed one last breath of air, "I will pass into the shadows anytime soon. My time will come. I wish you not to grieve." He glanced at Ronald and Hermione. "Sorry to have worried you."
Dumbledore left a room that was dead silent. Everyone was bewildered, shocked, and unable to speak. Dumbledore sounded like he had made an ultimatum. Nobody in the room could accept that Dumbledore was going to die. They all hoped that he was going to live forever: like the phoenix that rose from its ashes to fight the curse of life once again. It was too hard for anyone to accept the death of a great being; A person who fought for the goodness of mankind. It felt so surreal.
The sunset was gloomy and dark. Nobody cared about the night. No one bothered to talk about the last jewel or to listen to Cho about the journey of the six warriors. None of them felt like doing anything. When Draco burst in the door, with his face puffy and red, telling them about how Voldemort said he captured someone useful, no one cared to listen to him. They just shrugged him off and told him that Dumbledore was alright. Everyone slept late and many spent a long time staring into space, thinking.
Hermione and Ron lay awake in their beds, unable to sleep. Hermione turned to her side and looked at Ron. He turned to face her too. They both stared at each other grimly. "He will always be remembered," Ron choked as he caressed Hermione's silky hair.
"I'm sure he'll be alright."
"We just have to learn to let go."
"It's not so hard," whispered Hermione. Yet she knew she wasn't telling the truth. It was hard to let go. Nothing made her heart wrench tightly more than knowing that anytime soon, Dumbledore would just be a memory. Nothing made her feel more lonely more than knowing that once all seven jewels were collected, and the incantation was recited, she would also be just a memory. A tear fell from her eyes to Ron's hand as she fell asleep.
