HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
I own nothing. Harry Potter and co. belongs to She-Who-Must-be-Worshipped, J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 6: First Wave
On the roof of the Astronomy Tower, overlooking the Hogwarts' grounds below, Harry sat watching as the dark sky slowly illuminates. He could already see the first sign of the day, peeking beyond the sea of trees in the Forbidden Forest. He had been sitting here, doing nothing, since midnight. The wind stirred his unruly black hair and Harry reached with his hand to brush it off, but winced when it made contact with his scar. It had been hurting since dinner, and Harry never got a chance to sleep. He tried, but his efforts were futile; his scar just kept on throbbing. He supposed that whatever Voldemort was up to, he would find it out today. He was already having second thoughts about the hearing later, pretty sure that something bad was going to happen, and that he, Harry, would be in the middle of it.
He sighed. It was always like this, pain and danger just right behind his heels. He guessed that he should be used to it by now.
The sun was finally above the horizon and Harry heard various noises coming from the Forbidden Forest as he grabbed his Firebolt beside him. Professor McGonagall had given it back to him a couple of days ago when she visited Hogwarts. Harry mounted his broom and kicked off, the cool dawn air rushing to his hair as he flew towards the main door.
Nobody was up yet when Harry made his way towards the main hall. There was only one long table in the main hall as there were only few people staying in Hogwarts. Harry sat at the end of the table and waited for the others to arrive. He knew they would be worried once they found out that he didn't sleep at the dormitory last night but Harry hoped that they wouldn't bother him too much about it.
There was a loud pop and Dobby appeared beside him.
"Master Potter sir, you is early."
"Sorry, Dobby. But could you send my breakfast now?"
"Of course! Dobby is delighted to serve Master Harry Potter sir!" said Dobby exuberantly and with a pop, he disappeared.
Harry waited for a while, and after a couple of minutes, plates of different kinds of food appeared in front of him. His stomach made a loud growling sound and couldn't wait anymore for the others so he grabbed a plate of toast and started eating. Five minutes later, Hermione, Ron and Ginny walked in through the doors leading to the entrance hall, looking as if they just got out of bed. Ron let out a huge yawn as they sat around him.
"Mornin'," he mumbled, as he filled his plate with every food within his reach.
"Where were you, Harry? Ron said you weren't in your bed when he woke up," asked Hermione sleepily.
"Oh, I woke up early and decided to fly around for a while," he lied, pointing to his Firebolt beside him. Hermione merely nodded at his explanation and grabbed a toast in front of her. Harry decided that he would wait for Professor Dumbledore until he tells them about his scar.
"Practicing already, Harry? Yeah, maybe I should too," mumbled Ron, a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth, which had not gone unnoticed by Hermione, who was glaring at him now.
"Honestly, Ron! Where are your manners?" asked Hermione, looking fiercely at Ron, who pretended that he hadn't heard her as he continued stuffing his face with eggs.
"He probably had left it in Romania," suggested Harry offhandedly.
"I doubt it," Ginny commented. "He never did show any manners during our stay in Romania. Come to think of it, he never did show any manners if it involves food in all his life."
Ron was about to protest when Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall walked through the doors, and took a seat beside them.
"Ah! I see that everyone's awake," said Professor Dumbledore jovially as he watched Ron wolfing down his food. Hermione kicked Ron under the table, which resulted in him spitting his food at Ginny's face. Ginny looked at Ron furiously and he cowered back, looking frantically at Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall to save him from his sister's wrath. But it was obvious that Professor Dumbledore wasn't about to interfere into their fight as he continued whistling rather tunelessly. Professor McGonagall frowned at the Headmaster and looked like she was about to say something, but Harry had beat her to it.
"My scar had been hurting since last night," he said simply. Silence enveloped the great hall, broken only by Ron's incessant chewing. Nobody spoke for a moment and Harry could even hear the distant noises coming from the Forbidden Forest. He felt rather uncomfortable as he looked around the table. Hermione and Ginny were looking at him, horror evident upon their faces. Professor McGonagall was paler than usual and her mouth formed in a silent 'o'. Ron just continued on eating, completely unaware of what Harry had just said and the sudden silence that engulfed them. But what Harry felt more uncomfortable with, was the expression on Professor Dumbledore's face or the lack of it. He had never seen Professor Dumbledore so expressionless. He just kept on staring at Harry as if trying to read his mind. Harry stared back, hoping that he would be able to catch a glimpse of what Professor Dumbledore was thinking. Ron finally took notice of the silence and looked around him, glancing back and forth from Harry to Professor Dumbledore in an incredible speed. Harry feared that Ron would break his neck if he continued like this.
"What does it mean, Professor?" he asked.
"I'm not really sure about it, but I do have a vague idea," Professor Dumbledore replied, glancing at Professor McGonagall. "Anyway, we'll be leaving shortly, so I suggest that you go and change your clothes."
"I don't think that they should come with us," Harry said immediately, indicating Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Why the hell not?" asked Ron indignantly.
"Yeah! We want to go too!" Ginny shouted. Hermione, surprisingly, didn't say anything. She just looked at Harry expectantly.
"Don't you get it?" Harry hissed at them. "I think Voldemort is going to attack tonight at the Ministry. It will be safer for you if you stayed here in Hogwarts!" Every one of them flinched at the mention of the name of the Dark Lord except Professor Dumbledore.
"But are you sure about that? What if you were wrong? What if you-know-who attacked Hogwarts instead?" Ginny challenged, looking at Harry stubbornly.
Harry's temper was starting to rise. Why couldn't they understand? They would be safer here in Hogwarts; after all, Hogwarts is the safest place in the whole world. Couldn't they understand that he was just looking after them? Then a cold realization dawned on him. He was doing exactly what he hated. He was making decisions for them without their permission. Dumbledore and the rest of the Order have done this to him just last year and he hated it. They made his decisions for him without even consulting him. He looked at Professor Dumbledore, who nodded and smiled sadly at him.
Hermione, noticing the furtive look between Harry and the Headmaster, comprehended what Harry was thinking. Sometimes, it seemed to her that she could read Harry's mind and vice versa. "We'd been through this, Harry. It's our decision to make. We choose to stand by you, whether you like it or not."
Harry didn't show it but he was elated at what Hermione said.
"I see that you had made your decisions, so now please head to your dormitories and change. We'll be meeting here fifteen minutes later," Professor Dumbledore said.
"How are we going to get there, Professor?" asked Ginny.
"By portkey. The Ministry was kind enough to provide one."
They headed back to their dormitories and changed. Fifteen minutes later, they were back at the Great Hall, holding a bicycle wheel. From where it came from, Harry had no idea. Professor McGonagall was to stay at Hogwarts, as it was her duty to supervise the school if the Headmaster was somewhere else. Five seconds later, he felt the familiar tug at his navel and they were off to the Ministry.
The large room was dark and gloomy. The air was bitingly cold and stank of death and decay. Thick moss covered the black charred walls and stone covered floor. In the middle of the room was a stone dais and atop of it stood a throne made of skeletons and bones.
Seated on the throne was the Dark Lord Voldemort and surrounding him were his inner circle of Death Eaters.
"Today will be the day of reckoning!" he shouted at them. "Finally! Our forces had grown since the last war. We are now more powerful than ever. Today we will take England by force! My army of Death Eaters and dark creatures are in their rightful positions at this moment, ready to strike with my command. Nobody would be able to stop us. Not even the old muggle-loving fool and his puny Order would be able to do something. They would all know why I am the Dark Lord! They would all know my power!"
The Death Eaters cheered, thrilled that they would finally take what they believe was rightfully theirs. The Dark Lord motioned for silence and they obliged hastily.
"Leave me now, my faithful servants, and prepare for our trip to the Ministry of Magic. Severus, stay."
The Death Eaters left quietly, closing the dark wooden doors behind them with a loud clang! As ordered, Snape remained, kneeling in front of the dark-hooded Voldemort.
"You will be doing an important and separate mission for me Severus," said the Dark Lord, his red eyes glowing eerily in the dark room. He waved his hand and suddenly, a wooden crate appeared in front of him. "You will take this package personally to an old house of mine. Do not fail me Severus." He then touched the crate with his left hand and murmured, "portus."
"Yes, milord," bowed Severus Snape obligingly. But inwardly, he was cursing. He knew that a magical bomb was hidden inside the crate, no doubt invented by the Russian wizard Inovanov, who had invented several magical objects for the Dark Lord that was purely destructive and useful in wars. The bomb itself was charged with a large amount of negative magical energy that came from sacrificed wizards and muggles, contained in a small stone that can be triggered anywhere by the Dark Lord. The downside of it was, due to its huge magical containment, it took a long time to detonate, and a trained wizard can easily detect it because of it.
Snape debated if he would take the crate but decided that if he didn't, the Dark Lord would merely kill him and send another to do the task. He touched the crate with a little hesitation and felt the familiar sensation of a hook being jerked behind his navel. The dark stone floors disappeared from beneath his feet; the dark chamber, the skeletal throne and the Dark Lord vanished. He was suddenly flying forward in a whirlwind of color and sound.... and realized too late that he was heading towards Hogwarts.
The Dark Lord laughed cruelly as Snape vanished from his sight.
"Are you sure of your findings?" he asked cruelly in the darkness of his chamber. A deep, creepy voice coming from the shadows of the chamber answered him.
"He is the spy, of that we are sure," the voice said eerily. "An Occlumens Master, no doubt he is, but we are the Dark, masters of mind and death."
"Very well. Goodbye, my dear Severus," laughed the Dark Lord. Then he called loudly, "Inovanov!"
A tall, thin, old wizard stepped out of the shadows and kneeled in front of the Dark Lord. "Yes, m'lord?"
"Is it prepared?"
"Yes m'lord."
"Very good. You will now proceed to Oxford and activate it with my command."
"As your orders, m'lord." Inovanov bowed one last time and left the room hurriedly. The Dark Lord stood from his throne after the doors were closed and headed towards the back. He pushed open the steel doors hidden behind black velveteen curtains and stepped through.
"Thank you for your gifts, Lady Morgause," the Dark Lord laughed as a huge metallic dragon-like creature flew right in front of him. He was standing in a rocky cliff and beyond him was different kinds of demonic beasts, waiting to be unleashed to the world.
They landed in a heap at the Atrium, except, of course, Professor Dumbledore. Once Harry had managed to untangle himself from the others, he quickly felt the tension surrounding the air. Looking around, he saw wizards from different countries were standing around, their hands hovering just inches away from their wands. Their mistrustful eyes that were looking at each other warily earlier were now focused on them.
They only relaxed when they saw Professor Dumbledore and some of them even gave him a short nod.
A portly-looking old man approached them and asked for their identities, checking something in his parchment as they introduced themselves. He only looked up when it was Harry's turn and his eyes lingered on his scar for a moment then rolled his parchment and walked away, muttering under his breath that sounded like, "finally, that's the last of them."
Harry's attention was diverted back to the people around them who were now looking at him curiously.
"Who are these people, Professor?" he asked quietly to Professor Dumbledore.
"They are the best aurors from different countries. They are assigned to protect and guard their respective officials that are here now."
"Why are they here? I thought that we are here for Minister Fudge's hearing?" Harry asked confusedly as he looked at the aurors in awe. He wished that he would be one of them someday. That is, if he got to live that long, he thought moodily.
"The International Confederation of Wizards had decided to have an emergency meeting here concerning the return of Voldemort."
"But- but it's too dangerous!" Harry sputtered incredulously. He couldn't believe that they were so stupid to congregate in a closed area that was easily accessed by Voldemort. After all, he had done it before.
"Yes," agreed Dumbledore sadly. "I was against the idea but they were adamant to do it here. They said that they were properly protected in here."
"Just shows how much they knew," Harry grumbled.
Their conversation stopped when an old, thin Asian man walked towards them and greeted Professor Dumbledore warmly.
"Albus! So good to see you again! How long was it.... 20 years?"
"Yes, I believe so, Tojikami," Professor Dumbledore replied, smiling warmly at the Asian man. Tojikami was wearing an odd robe of red in contrast with Professor Dumbledore's purple one. "I would like to introduce Harry Potter. Harry, this is Tojikami Hajime, Head Auror for the Ministry of Magic Japan." Tojikama shook Harry's hand, his eyes lingering on his scar making Harry feel uncomfortable. He hated it when people stared at his scar.
"Nice to finally meet you, Harry. Of course, I had heard much about you." Tojikama smiled at him.
"Nothing good, I suppose," Harry said gloomily.
"On the contrary! You will find that our.... er...." he hesitantly started, looking sideways at Dumbledore, "intelligence officers.... are fairly reasonable and accurate."
When Professor Dumbledore and Tojikama started talking about politics, Harry tuned them out and excused himself, heading towards the fountain in the middle of the foyer where his friends were.
"Honestly! That's why wizards and witches looked down on house-elves and other magical creatures! This is a flagrant disregard of the truth! Where could you find a centaur or a goblin, for that matter, looking up adoringly to wizards and witches? Centaurs would rather eat their tails than associate themselves with wizards! And I speak from experience!" Hermione ranted, indicating the Fountain of the Magical Brethren.
"What about Firenze then?" Ron triumphantly pointed out. Ginny had to put her hand in her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"Of course, he's an exemption! There's always an exemption to the rule! Professor Dumbledore had saved him so he's now repaying his debt. You know how important debts are in the wizarding community!"
"Like Dobby then?" Ron asked, grinning mischievously.
"Yes, liked Dobby," Hermione agreed wholeheartedly, assuming that she had gotten her point across.
"Aha! So that means you're going to give up on spew then?" Ron asked proudly, a smug grin on his face.
"Wha-? What are you on about?" asked Hermione, visibly baffled. She looked from Ginny, who had given up on trying not to laugh, to an amused Harry.
"He just baited you, 'Mione," he said, smiling at her.
"What?" She turned to Ron. "What do you mean?"
"You said that Dobby is an exemption to the house-elves. The same Dobby who loves being free, meaning the others don't. So now you agreed that house-elves do not want to be free! So what's the point of spew?"
Hermione huffed angrily at them and was about to walk away when Viktor Krum himself stepped down from the lifts and headed their way.
"Hermyninny!" he called happily (well, as happily as he can, anyway).
"Viktor!" Hermione called, completely surprised. Ron's smug looked turned quickly to a scowl. "What are you doing here?"
"Vell.... I vas assigned to accompany Minister Zhivkov of Bulgaria here as I haff been before," explained Krum.
"Well, that's good news! You remember my friends, right?" Hermione asked, indicating the three.
"Ov course," Krum began, he then turned towards Harry and shook his hand. "How haff you been, Harry?"
"Good," he said simply. He couldn't understand why he was feeling a sudden dislike towards Krum, but he ignored it, as his scar had been bothering him again.
Krum turned to Ginny then took her hand and kissed it. "I presume that you are Ginny?"
"You would be correct, kind sir," Ginny replied with a playful bow.
"Don," Krum nodded at Ron.
"It's Ron," he glared at Krum. He was already fuming and the small distance between Krum and Hermione seemed to infuriate him more.
Professor Dumbledore decided to interfere at that point and led them towards the lifts.
"Where would the hearing be held?" Harry asked at Professor Dumbledore curiously as everybody squeezed through the lifts.
"Courtroom Ten," Professor Dumbledore replied, into which Harry gulped as the lift started to descend.
Colors were swirling around him in an incredible velocity. But as a Master Occlumens, his mind can adjust to whatever speed that he finds himself into. He could recognize the scenery that he passed through, and was sure that Hogwarts was not far off. With the army the Dark Lord had gathered, Severus Snape knew that Hogwarts would play an important role in the upcoming war. It would be a symbol for hope in the times of darkness. If he could only just shift the destination of the bomb, since defusing it was out of the question, Inovanov was too competent for that, he would be able to save Hogwarts.
With a frustrated growl, Snape accessed his magical reserves and bombarded the crate with pure, raw magical energy, trying to alter its course. But to his horror, he realized that his efforts weren't working; his magic wasn't enough. Unheard of from a Slytherin, Snape decided that he would have to sacrifice himself to save Hogwarts. Opening up to his third gate, Snape unleashed all of his magical energy towards the crate, willing it to change its course. Green aura, tinged with black, surrounded him and the crate. Energy like that of electricity surrounded them, burning some of the pieces of the wooden crate. He could already feel it taking its toll on him. His hands were already shaking, his body weak from the energy released. Blood was coming out of his nose and he could taste some of it in his mouth. He was slowly drifting off to unconsciousness, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
To his utter amazement, he could see that his efforts were finally working. The crate gave a slight tremble and finally crashed to the ground, taking Snape with it. Feeling completely weak, Snape looked around and took notice of his surroundings. He could see nothing but green grass around him and recognized where he was. He was lying on his back on top of a hill, fifty miles south of Hogwarts. It was completely safe from the twenty-mile blast radius of the bomb, but he, on the other hand, was apparently not. He heard a soft whistling sound and Snape glanced at his left and saw that the crate was completely obliterated. Hovering five feet above it, spinning madly was a black orb the size of Hagrid's fist. The bomb had been activated.
Negative energies were emitting out from it, circling the bomb like a black smoke. Sparks of electricity were emanating from it, burning the grass beneath. Stage one of the effects of the bomb was starting to manifest itself. All around him, small insects and grasses were dying and withering. He, himself, could feel his life ebbing away from him. He knew that five minutes later, all life in the ten-mile radius of the bomb would be dead. And another five minutes after that, the bomb would completely blow off, destroying everything in twenty miles of it.
Snape could no longer feel anything. He knew that death was not far off. The last thought that came to his head, before unconsciousness took over him, was that there would be no casualties from this bomb, except for him, and a number of plants of course.
Drifting off to nothingness, Severus Snape never saw an old thin man approach him casually, completely unaffected by the effects of the bomb, and picked him up. With a swirl of robes, the old man and Severus Snape disappeared from the hill, away from the range of the destructive and deadly magical bomb.
A hundred miles away, Voldemort looked up to the cloud-covered sky, as if seeing something he alone could see. "Ah, the bomb had finally gone off. Goodbye Severus, my traitorous servant." He then shifted his attention back to an old red telephone box, across from the roof he was standing on, and smiled grimly. "Play the music."
A deep sinister voice answered him from nowhere. "As you command my Lord. The word would be spread."
Dumbledore pushed the large wooden doors of Courtroom Ten open. Harsh silence immediately befell the area and Harry could feel eyes staring at them. Harry couldn't help but feel a little bit anxious. It hadn't been long since he was here and almost got expelled from Hogwarts. He looked around him to stop the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. In the benches on either side of them were wizards and witches from different countries. Harry deduced that they were members of the International Confederation of Wizards. At the front were the Wizengamot, dressed in their plum colored robes with an elaborately worked silver W on the left-hand side of the chest. Dumbledore left them and walked towards the highest benches at the front while the Asian wizard directed them to the right hand benches. When everyone was settled, Dumbledore stood from his seat at the middle front row and cleared his throat loudly.
"Wizards and witches of the Wizengamot, distinguished members of the International Confederation of Wizards, and honorable guests, we are here for the hearing of the...."
The weather was cold and foreboding. Waves splashed through the rocky cliffs one after another. A lightning streaked across the darkened skies, illuminating for a moment an ominous and dismal fortress atop a headland.
Azkaban.
For centuries, Azkaban had been the primary wizards' goal. Completely surrounded by rocky cliffs, it can only be entered by air or portkey, both watched by the Ministry. Due to its design and location, Azkaban was near impossible to be subjugated. Now guarded by trained Aurors from all over the world since the Dementors' treachery, Azkaban was like as it had been since it was built: formidable and unconquerable.
Until now.
First were the dementors. Sweeping from above, the guards fell almost immediately to their prowess. They were outnumbered and outmatched. Then came the Death Eaters. Flying in their broomsticks, the hundred and so servants of Voldemort easily dominated the remaining guards inside. None of the Aurors survived.
In less than an hour, Azkaban had fallen into the hands of the Dark Lord.
Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt marched through the halls of the Ministry of Magic purposely. After the preliminary introduction by Dumbledore of the staffs and their purpose here, he was assigned to bring the Minister to Courtroom Ten as he was cooped up in his office. When he reached the large wooden double door with the golden lettering 'Minister of Magic' in the middle, he knocked politely three times on it.
"Who is it?" asked by Tonks in a singsong voice through the door.
"This is Auror Shacklebolt to bring Minister Fudge to the courtroom," Kingsley replied in an official tone.
The doors opened and Shacklebolt stepped in. Tonks, wand in hand, was standing in front of the table, completely in between the Minister and himself, as was in the procedures. Minister Fudge seemed to have lost weight and aged in just a couple of weeks. He was now gaunt-looking and the bags under his eyes could be easily seen from a distance.
"Minister, I was assigned by Chief Warlock Dumbledore of the Wizengamot to accompany you to Courtroom Ten. Please," Shacklebolt announced, much to the displeasure of the Minister.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming," he said dejectedly. But as the minister stood from his table, a loud explosion came from downstairs and was followed by a set of screams.
The door of Courtroom Ten burst open and an Auror stepped inside, gasping for breath.
"You.... You-know-who.... in the Atrium," he said in between breaths then fell down on the floor: dead. Blood were all over at the back of his clothes, presumably his. Somebody ran to him and felt his pulse then nodded to the others. "He's dead."
Everyone started to panic.
The thin old man appeared in front of Hogwarts' gates, carrying Snape as if he was a baby. He strode inside and reached the doors leading to the main hall in no time, opening it and hurrying to the Hospital Wing. Halfway there, he was met by Professor McGonagall.
"You!" she gasped, surprised. "What are you doing here?" Then finally took notice of a blood-spattered Snape in his arms. "Come, quickly."
When they arrived in the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey took Snape to a bed and began preparing the needed potions. She then ushered McGonagall and the old man out and closed the doors.
"Now tell me what had happened," McGonagall asked as the doors closed after them. The old man looked at her ominously and said in a deep voice.
"It has started. Alert every one and bring them here. They aren't safe out there anymore," he said then turned to leave. McGonagall watched as Aberforth Dumbledore, brother of Albus Dumbledore, walked out of the castle.
Everyone was standing now. Shouting and cursing filled the room out of fear. Nobody knew what to do. Some wizards made some portkeys but when they touched it, it only fizzled. There was no way out.
When Harry saw that mass hysteria was about to start, he felt the hairs on his back stood. Magical energy crawled into his skin and all over his body. Electricity crackled in the air and crawled in the walls. Harry glanced around him and saw that everyone had finally noticed. They stopped from shouting and watched as electricity crackled all around them. Harry looked around him and saw that even his friends were mesmerized at what was happening. The only man not watching at the spectacle before them was Tojikama. He was staring intently at the front row. Harry looked at where he was staring and found out, to his astonishment, that the magic was coming from Dumbledore. Blue magical energy emitted from him wave after wave. He stood up and everyone fell silent and watched him in awe, some in fear.
Dumbledore walked down from the benches straight to the door.
"Everyone stay here and be quiet. Do not panic," he said and then walked out of Courtroom Ten.
Everybody sat back on their chairs, fear still evident on their faces. Hermione looked at him fearfully as if sensing that he was planning to run after Dumbledore.
"Stubborn old fool," he heard Tojikama muttered behind him. He watched him as he stood and walked outside, presumably after Dumbledore.
Harry just sat there, not knowing what to do. He glanced at his friends and found out that they were as clueless as him.
"What do you reckon, Harry?" Ron asked beside him fearfully.
"I don't know."
"Do you think we should go and help?" asked Ginny apprehensively.
"Of course not!" Hermione rounded at them. "Dumbledore told us to sit here and wait. And for a good reason too! We can't just go out there and risk ourselves, we would only be a hindrance to him!"
But Harry wasn't listening. His mind kept repeating the contents of the prophecy over and over again. Dumbledore couldn't stop Voldemort. He, Harry, was the only one who could. And Dumbledore was now at the Atrium, fighting a battle he could not possibly win. Without realizing what he was doing, Harry stood and ran out the door, barging straight into Lupin who was in the corridor outside the courtroom.
"What was that?" asked Tonks fearfully at Shacklebolt.
"I don't know," he replied, looking at the cowering Fudge.
"Maybe one of us should check it out?" suggested Tonks.
"Yes, you're right. You stay here and protect the Minister while I go and see what is going on."
"No! I forbid you!" shouted Fudge frantically. "None of you is going to leave this place! I command both of you to stay here and protect me!"
"What?" Tonks asked incredulously.
"No, Tonks. He's right. As he is still the Minister of Magic, we are bound to follow his orders. We'll stay here."
"Fine!" spat Tonks. She just hoped that whoever caused that explosion wasn't the one who she thought it was.
Dumbledore got off the lift just in time to see the last five Aurors hit the wall beside him painfully.
"Dumbledore, nice of you to join us," Voldemort hissed from the other side of the Atrium, face completely shrouded by his black hood. Bodies of Aurors were all around him and a large crater could be seen where the fountain once stood.
"Why are you here, Tom?" asked Dumbledore calmly as he passed the gates leading to the Atrium.
"I thought that would be obvious Dumbledore," sneered Voldemort. "I've come to destroy you all."
"No, Tom. I'm going to stop you. It ends right here, right now."
"Do you think you can stop me, old fool? I have regained my powers and acquired even more! You have no absolute chance of defeating me!"
"That is why I'm here to even the odds," said Tojikama as he stepped next to Dumbledore, hands behind his back, red aura dancing around him.
"Remus! What are you doing here?" Harry asked as he looked at Remus and two other wizards he didn't recognize. Hermione and the others just came out of the room panting and were glad to find Harry still there.
"Dumbledore knew that something bad was going to happen so he assigned us to look after you," Remus said gently. Harry's temper was starting to rise again. Didn't they trust him enough to look out for himself? Didn't he, Harry, prove enough of himself?
Remus, as if sensing Harry's anger, tried to placate him. "Listen Harry, don't you think it's a little bit weird that Voldemort attacked from the front? Hadn't you learned enough of Voldemort that he wasn't the type to orchestrate a frontal assault? If so, then what is he doing right now? This is highly unexpected, so we must be cautious and stay on guard."
Harry couldn't argue with Remus' reasoning. It is a bit unnerving that Voldemort was attacking upfront when he had never done so before. But even so, Dumbledore was still in danger. He couldn't just leave the Headmaster to his fate. He must help him.
"But Professor Dumbledore needs help! I highly doubt that the Aurors upstairs could defeat Voldemort if he was confident enough to attack directly by himself," Harry tried to reason to Remus.
"Don't worry about Dumbledore, Harry. He could take care of himself. And besides, Master Tojikama is with him right now."
"The old Japanese guy? What could he do?" Ron asked doubtfully.
"Wait, did you say Master?" Hermione added with awe. But Harry completely agreed with Ron. What could an old man like Tojikama do against the Dark Lord?
"Master Tojikama is a powerful wizard Harry. Never make the mistake of underestimating him. Some even say he is as powerful as Dumbledore," Remus said.
"Ahhh.... Tojikama, nice of you to drop by. I must admit, defeating both of you at the same time would be a bit of a challenge for me, but in the end, I knew I would be the only one standing," sneered Voldemort at the both of them.
Dumbledore and Tojikama didn't answer back; instead, they walked on the either side of Voldemort guardedly, putting the Dark Lord in between them.
"Pincer attack, Dumbledore? It would never work on me," spat Voldemort. Magical energies surrounded them, from Dumbledore's blue, Tojikama's red and finally to Voldemort's black. They stayed like that for a few seconds, warily standing still, waiting who's going to attack first. No one dared to move first; afraid that might make a fatal mistake. But when it started, it started fast and strong.
Courtroom Ten was filled with tense silence. No one dared to speak, as if afraid that someone might hear them, which was impossible, for the room was enchanted so that no one from the outside could hear what was going on inside. It was for security reasons. But they didn't know that it would be for their undoing.
They all felt it at the same time. Absolute fear crawled into their skins, not knowing why or from where it came from. The weak-minded ones started crying while the strong ones tried to hold on.
From the shadows of the darkened room, a deep eerie voice reverberated, scaring the occupants of the room out of their mind.
"Death has come for you, traitors of the blood. The Dark Lord has proclaimed his verdict."
"Who- who are you? Show yourself!" screamed Madame Bones, tears falling down on her eyes.
"We are the Dark, masters of mind and death."
"I-impossible. You- you're gone. Your kind had been killed a long time ago. You had been...." whimpered Madame Bones. But she never finished her cry as death swiftly came for them from above.
Dumbledore sent a powerful reducto curse on the floor beneath Voldemort's feet, blowing up the wood-paneled floor into pieces, revealing the stone floor beneath. The Dark Lord leaped into the air in time, avoiding the full blast of the curse, unaware that Tojikama jumped after him, sending multiple curses at his side. When the first curse whizzed past him, Voldemort, still in air, conjured the silver shield he used the last time he dueled with Dumbledore, blocking the spells coming from his left. But to his dismay, he saw that rocks were coming for him from below in incredible speed, courtesy of Dumbledore. He twisted in the air, feet above him, and extended his right hand towards the coming rocks. With a powerful surge of magic, the rocks exploded in midair.
While Voldemort was busy with the attack of rocks from Dumbledore, Tojikama reached the top of the room and turned over, placing his feet at the ceiling. He hung there for a moment, gathering his entire magical aura at his right hand. Red sparks were emitting from it and Tojikama could feel the temperature rising. When he felt that he couldn't handle the energy anymore, Tojikama aimed his hand at the dark Lord and released it. A huge serpent-like dragon made of burning red force came out of his right hand and streaked at Voldemort with a loud growl.
The Dark Lord noticed it just in time and gathered a large amount of black aura at his thin arms, catching the dragon at its jaw just in time. Due to the force of the collision and power behind the red dragon, Voldemort crashed to the ground forcefully, still holding the dragon on its jaws. He stayed like that for few moments, standing in the broken floor, battling the dragon with all his might.
Dumbledore was watching the struggle with mild interest as he gathered blue magical aura in his wand. After a few moments, he sent it straight to an unsuspecting Voldemort. A huge explosion of red and blue magic filled the room. Dust flew everywhere, mostly covering where Voldemort was moments ago.
A limping Tojikama approached Dumbledore. "You think we did it?"
"I am not sure yet," Dumbledore replied quietly, hoping against hope that somehow, Voldemort wouldn't be able to continue the fight today as he had almost used all of his energy at the last attack. Seconds later, he heard Tojikama crumple to the ground, exhausted beyond belief. Dumbledore glanced back at the circling dusts and saw, to his horror, a lone figure standing in the center.
"That was certainly interesting," Voldemort laughed evilly at Dumbledore.
The doors of Courtroom Ten opened, catching the attention of Harry and the others. Fear crawled all over Harry's body, eating him up from the inside. He couldn't explain why or how he was suddenly frightened but he knew that something terrible was about to happen.
From the inside of the Courtroom Ten, completely covered by shadows, stepped out a man-like creature. It was wearing a long black coat and pants but had no shirt inside. It was tall, a couple of feet below Hagrid, with pale skin and long arms that reached past its knees; its fingers were long, pointy and sharp. The eyes were piercing and pure black without any trace of white. There was no mouth and no nose, just pale skin and hollowed cheeks. It had long thick cord-like steels for its hair. Harry had never seen anything more terrifying than the creature before them.
Harry's knees buckled and he fell to the ground. Ron was already sitting at the corner, a silent scream etched unto his face. Hermione, on his side, was sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. Ginny had fainted a few moments ago. Krum was leaning against the wall, hands on his knees, trying to make it still. The two wizards with Lupin had already run away, screaming at the top of their lungs. The only one that remained standing was Lupin, though it looked like he was having trouble breathing.
The creature looked at him and said in a deep throaty voice, "Your mind is strong, Lycan."
"Who- what are you?" Remus managed to choke out. In a blink of an eye, the creature appeared right in front of Lupin and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up into the air.
"The Dark brings fear. The Dark brings death," it said in its eerie voice. It dragged an unresisting Lupin away and glanced back at Harry, "Come Potter, death awaits thee."
The creature strode up to the stairs with Lupin, disappearing from Harry's line of vision. Harry knew that the creature would kill Lupin with no second thought, so he forced his still weak legs to stand. Leaving the others, Harry walked slowly towards the stairs and up to the floor above. When he reached the landing, he glanced from left to right, and noticed that the black door leading towards the Department of Mysteries was now opened. He headed that way.
"Come Dumbledore, and follow me outside. I have a gift for you," Voldemort said then suddenly vanished.
Dumbledore hesitated a bit, but with a whirl of his cloak, he disappeared from the Atrium.
Harry found the creature waiting for him in the Room of Death. Lupin was lying on the floor, unconscious. Harry could once again hear the whispers from behind the veil, but he ignored it, along with the fear that was starting to grip him once again. His mind was solely focused on saving Remus. Without any preamble, Harry rushed down to the creature, sending every curse he knew on its way.
"Tom, what have you done?" gasped Dumbledore. They were standing on the road beside the red telephone box. Screams could be heard coming from everywhere, sometimes followed by shots of gunfire. Buildings all around him were either burning or were totally demolished.
"Did you think that all those years that I had no body, that I would just sit tight and do nothing? I used those precious moments to build my vast army! And now that army is taking siege of London!" shouted Voldemort gleefully.
"I will not let you do it, Tom. I will stop you right here, right now," said Dumbledore determinedly, blue aura dancing around him once again.
"Do you really believe that you can stop me? No matter, I have a gift for you Dumbledore. Behold my power!" The Dark Lord pointed up to the darkened sky.
Up above them was a spinning black orb.
Harry couldn't believe it. Every curse he threw was nothing to the creature. The spells merely bounced off its body. Harry was getting desperate now. Lupin looked like he needed some medical treatment and Harry could feel the fear coming back. He was having a hard time trying to ignore it.
He must succeed! He was not going to lose now.
Much to his astonishment, he found himself engulfed with the same magic that surrounded him during the battle at Diagon Alley.
Dumbledore was left with no choice. He had tried every spell he knew to banish the bomb but it was of no use, the black smoke emitting from the bomb was too strong, and he knew that a simple shielding charm wouldn't suffice. He stood there for a moment as if waiting for something. Then suddenly a spark emitted in front of him. Then another. Electricity could now be seen emitting all over his body, then crept to the ground beneath him and then to the walls of the buildings surrounding him. Lampposts explode, glasses shattered and the earth itself trembled. The blue aura around Dumbledore expanded, reaching up to the skies. His blue eyes blazed in power.
Voldemort watched in fear. This was Dumbledore in his prime, the same Dumbledore that defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald. Voldemort could feel the power emanating from Dumbledore and couldn't help but fear him even more.
The creature lunged at him swiftly but he was able to evade it in time, rolling sideways away from the creature. Spells were useless so Harry decided to fight the creature the old fashion way. Harry got up from his position just in time as the claws of the creature embedded on the stone floor where he was just earlier. He sent a roundhouse punch on the back of the creature and was surprised to see that it buckled. But his victory was short-lived as the creature sent him flying away, near the arch.
Dumbledore had now successfully opened up to level five of his magical gates. A thing he had only done once before. He stretched his arms towards the orb and focused all of his magical power.
A bright shimmering blue bubble surrounded the bomb, trapping it inside just in time as it blew off. There was a bright flash of light and Dumbledore could feel the pressure coming from the inside of the bubble. He concentrated more, wishing that his magic were enough to trap the magical bomb. The bubble grew smaller and smaller as seconds ticked by. He could feel his body starting to give way. The power of the bomb was so strong that he feared some of the negative energy would leak. Dumbledore was now down on one knee, his eyes closed, sweat pouring all over his face. He gave a last hopeful shove of power and the bubble disappeared along with the remnants of the bomb. He sighed gratefully then collapsed at the ground. He was too old to handle such level of magic. Dumbledore had fought his last battle.
As the mighty falls....
Harry stood up weakly from the floor. He could taste blood in his mouth and he guessed that some of his ribs were broken. He prepared himself for another bout with the creature but the whispering in his head grew frantic. Harry clutched his head and tried to shake the voices out. The whispers grew louder and louder until he couldn't take it anymore and fell down to the ground unconscious.
.... the veil will call....
Voldemort laughed evilly as he watched Dumbledore slump down to the ground. "Goodbye, old friend." Then he vanished, leaving the fallen Dumbledore.
The creature watched as Harry lost his consciousness.
"The job is done. Potter is dead," it said in its cold eerie voice as he picked Harry up and threw him towards the veil. The creature watched Harry passed through the veil and the creature then sunk to the ground as if it was made up of water and disappeared completely.
.... And open up the skies of Ardeth!
A/N: Okay.... another chapter ended.... review people! And thanks to those who did!
