Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Beginning of the End
Harry's footsteps thundered in the halls as he pounded up the stairs. He had a terrible feeling in his gut, that maybe one of the Death Eaters had sneaked off and done something to the younger members of the DA Hermione had ushered away. He wondered which Death Eater had killed Charlie.
And as he rounded the corridor leading to the hospital wing, he feared that Peter Pettigrew had just dropped Tabitha somewhere, or maybe finished her off and fled.
Harry came to a halt in the hospital wing, gasping for breath. He looked around wildly … every bed was empty, except for one blocked off by a curtain. Snape.
Tabitha wasn't here.
Harry dropped to his hands and knees, still gasping. His head was swimming. Why wasn't she here? Harry couldn't lose her, the only family he had left …
"Mr. Potter! Merlin's beard, what is this? Come here, calm down, what's happened? Has the attack stopped?"
Madam Pomfrey had appeared and was on the floor beside Harry, trying to help him up, but he pulled away.
"Mr. Potter, what is it? What's happened?"
"Tabitha," Harry sobbed. "She's not here."
"No, a healer from St. Mungo's just took her."
Harry looked up. "What?"
"I sent an owl to St. Mungo's as soon as I saw her, the poor thing. They took her not a moment ago. What is happening downstairs? Was that … that wasn't Peter Pettigrew who brought Professor McNoira in, was it?"
"I'm telling you, I'm fine. I was knocked out, is all … it wasn't the Killing Curse, clearly, as I'm not dead … Mum, would you stop fussing over me!"
Harry whipped around. Mrs. Weasley had Fred in a full-body bind and was steering him into the hospital wing as he floated in mid-air. She dropped him onto a bed and released the bind. He immediately tried to stand up.
"Madam Pomfrey, he was hit with something … he looked dead when we saw him … oh but I'm so relieved … would you look him over, make sure everything is all right? Harry!"
Mrs. Weasley had spotted Harry. "Oh, goodness, you're all right. You rushed out of the Great Hall so quickly; we were so worried."
She wrapped him in a great big hug as Madam Pomfrey turned her attention to Fred. She didn't know about Charlie … if she did, she wouldn't be acting this way … unless Charlie had been hit with a spell like Fred, and he wasn't dead at all, but had only looked like he was …
"Harry, what is it?" Mrs. Weasley stared down at him, her brow furrowed in concern.
"Mrs. Weasley, is … is everyone else all right?"
"Everyone, I think, xcept for that boy, that poor boy, with the dark hair?" Mrs. Weasley shuddered.
"No one else, though?"
"No, Harry, I--but what do you know? Has something happened?"
Harry averted his eyes. Warm tears dripped down his face. Mrs. Weasley pulled him down onto a cot and smoothed back his hair. "Has something happened to Tabitha?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Harry shook his head. "Well, yes, actually," he said. "She's been taken to St. Mungo's, but Charlie …"
Mrs. Weasley froze.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry sobbed. "I s-saw him downstairs …"
"Downstairs?" she said slowly, standing up and walking toward the door. Her pace quickened, until she was running as fast as she could to the Great Hall. Without thinking, Harry raced after her.
His heart pounded as they reached the Great Hall. The Death Eaters were lying in a pile in the center of the room, paralyzed by the effects of the Weasley twins' Fantastic Freezing Guns. Mad-Eye Moody was standing awkwardly beside Mrs. Figg, his hand on her shoulder as his magical eye roved around in its socket. Professor McGonagall and Hagrid were speaking gently to all the members of the DA--even the young ones Hermione had escorted from the Hall--and telling them about Professor Dumbledore, as well comforting them while Danny Flanagan's body lay on a magicked stretcher, covered with Professor McGonagall's green mourning robe. The rest of the Order were circling the room, magically repairing everything that had been blasted with wayward spells and watching the pile of Death Eaters.
Sheer instinct must have taken Mrs. Weasley to the antechamber at the end of the Hall. Harry reached the door just as she spotted Charlie.
A sharp intake of breath was followed by a long, low wail and sobbing. Mr. Weasley took her in his arms to comfort her. Tonks was hugging Hermione, Ginny, and Ron tightly while Lupin stood between Bill and George, his arms stretched around their shoulders. Charlie was still on the ground, half-covered by the tapestry. Harry still expected to see his hand twitch, but Charlie remained still.
By dawn, the Great Hall had been cleaned as if nothing had happened there. The Death Eaters had been moved to the dungeons. They were being guarded closely by members of the Order of the Phoenix, who were armed with both their wands and Fantastic Freezing Guns.
Mad-Eye Moody, Aberforth Dumbledore and several Aurors had tried to clean up the grounds, where they found the bodies of nine dragon keepers and Norbert. The ground around Norbert's keep was stained through with the dragon's blood; the magical blood had seeped so deeply into the ground that no one could clean it up properly. The keepers' bodies had been placed on stretchers near Danny Flanagan, and the dragon reserve where the men and Charlie had worked was contacted about their keepers and their dragon. Harry could hear Hagrid howling with drunken despair over Norbert's crumpled body.
Danny Flanagan's parents had been notified by owl to come to Hogwarts at once; Professor McGonagall had met them at the entrance to the school and led them up to her office. From a window in the Great Hall, Harry watched them leave; Mrs. Flanagan was crying into Mr. Flanagan's shoulder as he magicked a green-covered stretcher toward Hogsmeade.
The Weasleys and Hermione were in the hospital wing with Fred, telling him about Charlie. Tonks and Lupin had gone to Ireland to get Tabitha's grandparents and bring them to St. Mungo's.
And here Harry was, in the Great Hall with every member of the DA. They were all asleep in fluffy sleeping bags on the floor. Only Harry was awake.
The sun was almost completely up when Professor McGonagall appeared at Harry's side.
"This has been a most difficult year," she said softly. "Though, I am afraid to say. It will only get worse, at least until Voldemort is stopped."
"Why wasn't he here tonight?" Harry said angrily, his eyes filling with tears. "We might have been able to stop him tonight."
"We think he didn't come because he wasn't sure Professor Dumbledore was dead."
"What?"
"From what we gathered from the Death Eaters whose mouths have not been paralyzed and who are willing to speak, Voldemort did not trust AJ Moody, given who AJ's uncle is. He didn't want to arrive at Hogwarts only to find Dumbledore alive and well--he is not stupid or power-hungry enough to attempt to attack the most powerful wizard in the world in his own realm. So he sent his Death Eaters. But now … now he knows for sure."
After a moment, Professor McGonagall added, "We are closing down Hogwarts, effective tomorrow. Parents have been notified, and I will tell the students in just a little while's time at breakfast."
"But Professor, they won't be safe!"
"They won't be safe here, Potter. In their own homes, they run little risk of coming up against Voldemort or the Death Eaters. But Hogwarts is not the safe haven it once was. Tonight proved that."
She sighed. "The students will pack up and go home. I will insist that Hermione Granger leave as well, but I seriously doubt she will agree to that. And, as she is of age, she can choose to stay here. This will be the new base for the Order of the Phoenix. Arthur and Molly Weasley have already decided to stay here indefinitely with their family. Nymphadora Tonks will be living here as well, with her parents. They feel they will be safer here. Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Arabella Figg--they are all staying here."
"Hogwarts is becoming a fortress," Harry said.
"Yes, it appears it is."
"What about the Death Eaters? We can't send them back to Azkaban; they've escaped from their twice already!"
"We are keeping them here. I'm warning you now, Harry, it won't be long before the Ministry of Magic arrives here to try to take over. They will try to reopen the school and pretend that everything is safe. They will try to take the two dozen Death Eaters currently locked away in our dungeons. We will fight them if we have to, Harry.
"We stand alone against Voldemort."
Breakfast was unusually solemn that morning. Ginny, Ron, George, Bill and Hermione came down from the hospital wing, still a mess from the night before. They joined Harry at the Gryffindor table, where he was sitting with Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and the rest of the Gryffindor DA members. Danny Flanagan's friends looked very small and scared.
"How's Fred?" Harry asked.
"Asleep, most of the night," George said.
"And your mum and dad?"
"Left this morning to tell our grandparents," Bill said quietly. "And to arrange another funeral."
"I'm sorry," Harry said. "It's so hard to believe …"
"It was Malfoy's dad that got him," Seamus Finnigan said hesitantly. "I--I saw your brother fighting him," he told the Weasleys. "They were going into that room off the Great Hall, just after you stopped Mr. Malfoy from killing Draco, Harry. I saw Mr. Malfoy come out a few minutes later, but I was blocking spells. I didn't think about not seeing Professor Weasley come out."
"Malfoy," Bill growled. "I could just go down to that dungeon and kill him myself--my little brother."
"He almost killed his own son," Harry said.
"And you stopped him!" Neville Longbottom replied. "How could you save Malfoy, Harry?"
Harry shrugged. "I dunno," he said quickly.
Just then, Professor McGonagall stood up and silenced the room. "I am sure many of you have heard about what transpired in this very room last night," she said. "I am afraid I am not quite as adept as Professor Dumbledore in situations such as these, but as of two days ago, it is my duty to step in as Deputy Headmistress. Professor Albus Dumbledore died two mornings ago."
There was a great murmur in the hall. Professor McGonagall silenced them again. "He had been very ill. I assure you, there was nothing suspicious regarding his death. He was on bedrest since his collapse at the Quidditch match several weeks ago. To protect Hogwarts from Lord Voldemort, who, despite reports otherwise, has most assuredly returned, we hid his illness from you all, and we were planning on hiding his death, as well.
"But news of his death was leaked to Lord Voldemort, and last night, Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts. They killed eleven people, including one of your classmates and one of your professors. Danny Flanagan was killed when he appeared in the Great Hall with a number of other students. They came prepared to fight the Death Eaters."
"How did you know what was going on?" Hermione asked Dean, Neville, and Seamus.
"We heard that Fantastic Freezing Gun banging against the door, trying to fly out," Dean said. "We followed it downstairs and heard the fight, then we ran around to the other common rooms, trying to wake all our members."
"Losing Danny is only a reminder of our loss from two years ago, when Cedric Diggory was killed. It is always sad to lose a student and a friend, and times like these only make it more so. In addition to losing Danny, Professor Tabitha McNoira is now at St. Mungo's in a very grave state after being badly injured last night, and, I am sorry to tell you all, Professor Charlie Weasley was killed."
The entire hall broke into another murmur, looking over at the Gryffindor table.
"Because of the events of last night," Professor McGonagall continued, avoiding mention of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's involvement in the attack, "it is my decision to close Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry until an undetermined time.
There was a great cry of protest. "Your parents have been notified," Professor McGonagall said over the noise, "and I assure you, they are all too pleased with this course of action. Right now, Hogwarts is not safe for any of you. Not until Voldemort is defeated. I am very sorry this has happened."
That afternoon, trunks were packed and the students wandered around the castle, spending their last afternoon with friends. Professor McGonagall forbade them from entering the grounds, which were still rich with Norbert's blood. Many of the students were very jumpy, as though they expected to turn a corner and find Voldemort waiting for them. The news about Malfoy's definitely being a Death Eater spread quickly, as did the story that Harry saved him from his own father.
Harry and his friends said goodbye to their mates before leaving for Hogsmeade that same evening. While the rest of the school would be going home on the Hogwarts Express the next morning, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, George and Bill were going to visit Tabitha at St. Mungo's.
On the train to London, Ron finally asked Harry the question that had been plaguing them all. "Why did you save Malfoy, Harry?"
"I felt sorry for him," Harry replied. He had been thinking about this all day, waiting for his friends to ask. "Malfoy's dad was about to kill him to save his own life. My parents both gave up their lives to save me. My parents might be dead, but I know they loved me. But Malfoy … his dad doesn't seem to love him at all."
"I think that's very honorable," Hermione said after a moment. "Even if it was Malfoy you saved."
When they arrived at St. Mungo's, the healers only allowed Harry into Tabitha's room.
She was sitting up in bed, waiting for him. "You look well," Harry said.
"I've nearly recovered from my cousin's attack, if that's what you mean," Tabitha replied stiffly.
"Your husband's died, so now you're going to be cruel to me again?" Harry snapped.
Tabitha's eyes filled with tears. Harry leaned his head in his hands. "I'm sorry," he moaned. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't want to fight, Tabitha."
"I know," she sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I--I didn't mean to sound cruel."
"When will you be allowed to leave?" Harry asked.
"This evening," Tabitha replied. "And it looks like everyone's turned out to bring me home. To Hogwarts."
"You've heard that it's been closed."
"Of course. I think it's a wonderful idea. The students aren't safe there anymore. Once I'm well, I plan on taking shifts guarding our prisoners, perhaps fighting off the Ministry if they try to come in and take over," she smiled. "Of course, I probably won't be allowed around the prisoners, as I'm apt to try to kill my cousin Bellatrix."
"Seamus Finnigan thinks it was Lucius Malfoy who killed Charlie," Harry said softly.
"Well, even more reason for me to not be allowed around the prisoners. I'm not joking, either, Harry--I would kill them if I had the chance."
"I believe you, Tabitha."
"I suppose this is it," Tabitha said. "Now we and the Order are officially alone against Voldemort."
"That's what Professor McGonagall said."
"Well, it's true. We'll all be hidden away at Hogwarts, guarding our prisoners, fighting off the Ministry, plotting against Voldemort--and all that work we did on the potions, for nothing. Norbert was killed before we could add the last bit of blood." She shook her head. "We're in dark times, Harry. We must all stick together, no matter how we are feeling. We have to continue on without Professor Dumbledore, and the Weasleys and I, we have to get on without … without Charlie." Harry took Tabitha's hand as she began to cry again.
"It's all right," he said. "At least we'll all be together. We'll protect each other. I'm going to get Voldemort. I won't let him hurt anyone else I love."
There was a tap on the door, and a moment later, an older man and woman poked their heads in. The man looked remarkably like Harry and James Potter.
"Is it all right if we come in?" the woman asked.
"Yes, please do. Harry, these are my grandparents, Harrison and Maggie Potter--your great-aunt and -uncle. They'll be living with us at Hogwarts, for their own safety."
Harry felt, for the first time in a while, a happy sense of warmth wash over him. For the moment at least, he didn't have to think of what was coming.
The End