Chapter 31: Coming Clean
"Deflecto!" Harry yelled at the same time a jet of light escaped the tips of Bellatrix's wand.
A translucent red light emitted from Harry's wand and it formed a shield in the shape of a phoenix between Janieve and her mother.
The spell hit the shield and reflected back at Bellatrix. It hit her squarely on the chest, a look of surprise on her striking face, as her lips contorted into a silent "O" and gradually, as if in slow motion, she tumbled backwards.
"Bella!" Rodolphus screamed as he rushed forward to catch his wife. She fell stiffly into his arms and he shook her hard. "Bella!"
Harry heard someone yelling incoherently. The scream got louder and nearer until Harry realised that they actually came from his own mouth. His body convulsed as he dropped to his knees, his arms flailed wildly and his body flapped like a fish without water. He tried desperately to regain control over himself and all he succeeded in doing was to vomit his guts out.
Voldemort apparated before them, screaming like Harry had moments earlier.
"You killed my servant!" Voldemort hissed vehemently.
Harry felt weak from all the puking. His stomach was empty and his chest hurt from all the heaving. His tongue tasted sour. His mind was numbing quickly and he could barely hear the people screaming his name. He felt so exhausted that he thought if Voldemort was to kill him now, then so be it.
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Janieve whirled to see Bellatrix toppled over. Janieve's knees buckled and she fell on her bottoms.
"Harry!" Ron shouted. Janieve turned her head slightly to see Harry doubled over, throwing up. She felt like throwing up herself.
"No!" Hermione shouted. She was standing between Harry and Voldemort now. Voldemort swung his wand at her and she was flung a few feet away like a stumbling rock in his way.
Next, it was Ron. Then, Seamus. Then, Dean. Then, Neville.
Janieve felt paralysed with sick apprehension. The scene swirled before her eyes yet she found no strength to stop any of it.
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"Potter," Voldemort spoke coldly. "Potter, look at me."
Harry shook his head. His jet black hair was damp with perspiration and it clung to his forehead.
"I said look at me!" Voldemort gritted.
Harry's scar seared. "Ahh!" he cried in pain. He grabbed his head and looked up at Voldemort.
"Leave him alone!"
Harry looked over his shoulder and saw Lupin. Catching up on him were Kingsley, Arthur Weasley, Tonks, Bill, Amelia Bones, Moody, Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore, and two other Harry recognised to be from the Order.
"Werewolf," Voldemort spat, "Who are you to stop me? You're just a dirty half-blood."
"And so are you," Lupin replied coolly.
"I only want the boy tonight," Voldemort hissed angrily.
"And you'll have to get through us first," Lupin answered. "Stupefy!"
Voldemort swerved to the left and the stunning spell missed him by an inch.
"Emmeline! Get the kids out of here!" Lupin yelled and ducked a spell from Voldemort. Moody went to Lupin's help while Mr. Weasley took on Lucius Malfoy. Tonks leapt away from a spell sent by Avery.
"Come on, Harry," Emmeline said to him. "Could you get the rest? I'll get Ginny."
"Hermione! You okay?" Harry asked as he helped her on her feet.
"I'm fine," she answered, "I'll get Ron."
Harry went over to Janieve, who sat in a daze amidst the jets of light shot back and forth. "Janny!" he shouted as he sprinted towards her with his head bent low. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I- I don't know," she replied.
"Come on, we need to get out of here," Harry urged. He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up. Harry walked unsteadily towards Hermione, Ron, Neville and Seamus. Janieve was practically leaning her entire weight on him. When he reached them, Emmeline had joined them with Dean and an unconscious Ginny.
"Is she going to be okay?" Ron asked worriedly.
"Yes. She was hit by a powerful stunning spell. But she will be fine." Emmeline informed him.
"What about them?" Hermione asked, gesturing at the Order members, "maybe we should stay to help?"
"No they can handle it," Emmeline said sternly, "Dumbledore's on his way."
"Now, we'll get out of here with this portkey," she told them, "Quick." They each held on to a part of a navy blue velvet covered book.
Harry felt the familiar tug and jerk of teleportation as he felt himself pulled out of Little Hangleton.
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"Harry will you please sit down?" Hermione pleaded.
Harry stopped pacing and sat on the couch next to Hermione. He began twiddling his thumb and shaking his legs. What if something happen to Lupin? Harry thought worriedly. What if something happen to anyone of them?
Hermione slapped a hand down on his legs. "They will be fine," she said, reading his thoughts. Harry gave her a feeble smile.
"Hermione, what happened after you were captured? Did they hurt you?" Ron asked.
"No, they didn't," Hermione said slowly like she was recalling something, "I think they only wanted to lure Jan to me."
The attention focus shifted to Janieve. She was still sitting next to the fireplace in a daze. Her eyes were transfixed on the dying fire since they got back to the Gryffindor common room a while ago.
Ron walked towards her. "Look, er, I'm sorry about, you know…" Ron said awkwardly. He extended a hand out towards her.
"I'm sorry too. I was wrong about you," Seamus said as he stood up and walked towards her. Dean followed.
"Thanks for saving my life back there," Neville added.
Janieve snapped out of her reverie and startled as if it was only then did she notice the presence of the four boys standing before her.
"What?" she asked. Ron turned to look at Harry questioningly.
The door to the common room swung open and in came tall woman with black rimmed glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and her hair scrunched up in a bun.
"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione and Neville shouted in unison.
"I came to inform you that Miss Ginny Weasley had come to. You may visit her at the hospital wing," she said.
As everyone scrambled out of the common room, McGonagall grabbed Harry's arm and said, "please come with me to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore wishes to speak to you."
"And you too," she added, looking at Janieve.
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"Take a seat," Professor Dumbledore offered.
"Professor Dumbledore, is everyone okay?" Harry asked when both Janieve and he were seated.
"They are fine. Everyone's back at the headquarters," he assured them. Harry noticed the age lines beneath his headmaster's eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that Dumbledore was really old. Somehow, that thought had never crossed Harry's mind.
"Professor, why is Voldemort so determined to kill me?" Janieve asked.
"Janieve, has it occurred to you why I placed you with the sixth years when you had no prior knowledge of magic?" he asked.
Janieve shook her head.
"Other than the fact that you might stick out like a sore thumb among the first years, I wanted you to be friends with Harry," he said.
"What?" Harry blurted.
"Why?" Janieve asked.
"A few weeks before school started, which was a week before we found you, an ex-Professor from Hogwarts made a prophecy about Harry," Dumbledore explained.
"Professor Trelawney!" Harry interrupted. Janieve looked between the two of them in puzzlement.
"I went to Hogsmeade to meet Professor Snape. He had some secret information for me. At the Hogs Head inn, I saw Sybill. She spoke in the same way she did sixteen years ago when she made the prophecy about you. There was no one at the bar except for me, Trelawney, and the man serving us.
A few weeks after that, I heard he disappeared. I knew something bad was going to happen. Then Harry you had that vision of Voldemort during your Herbology lesson. I knew it was a matter of time before Voldemort found out the content of the prophecy."
"It was Professor Trelawney!" Harry exclaimed in realisation.
"Unfortunately we are unable to find her to date," Dumbledore said.
"What was the prophecy about?" Janieve asked.
"Perhaps I'll show you," Dumbledore replied. He pointed his wand at his head and drew out a strand of silvery memory. He dipped them into the Pensieve and the three of them watched it swirled for a moment. Dumbledore then prodded the liquid and raise a figure out of it.
Professor Trelawney, draped in shawl, spoke in an ethereal yet harsh voice Harry had seen more than once before.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will find his power… The power to vanquish will be found in the progeny of his right hand man… His very own servant who had shown immense loyalty to him will be the bearers of the power, born in the heart of the second month, born in the same year as the one who will use the power to vanquish the Dark Lord…
Professor Trelawney slowly revolved back into the basin.
"I don't –" Janieve began, but was cut off by Harry.
"That power is – is Janieve?" Harry stuttered. "I thought you said it was my mother's love?"
"Yes and yes, Harry," Dumbledore answered him wearily. "Your mother indeed bestowed the power to protect you. When she sacrificed her life to save you, she sealed the spell to protect you from Voldemort. But I suppose that is not enough for you to defeat him."
It suddenly made sense to Harry why Wormtail had tried to stop Voldemort from fighting them upon seeing Harry's arrival. Everything suddenly made sense to him.
"But, how?" Janieve asked. "How can I help him?"
"I don't know, Janieve," Dumbledore said, his eyes looking sad and tired, "That's my guess as good as yours."
