Harry shuddered at the thought that a mirror could have that kind of an impact on people.

Harry looked at Sirius and Hermione.

"Why do you have to drag my friends into this, Voldemort? Why can't it just be you and me?" said Harry.

"Because I want to prove something to you. I want to show you that you cannot trust anyone, Harry. I want to show you that anyone, even those that you thought were close to you, and loyal to you could be waiting to bring you to me! The ones you love could be nothing like they seem," Voldemort said, a cruel smile on his face.

Harry was still trying to figure out what to do to break the curse. He suddenly had a flashback, to the Quidditch game against Slytherin. He saw Malfoy, saying, "What do you do to get rid of a Quidditch player?" Get rid of his broomstick, Harry thought silently. But, what if you want to get rid of a wizard?

His eyes widened as he heard his own voice answer: "It's so obvious! Get — rid — of — his — wand — " Harry knew he had to get rid of Voldemort's wand. But, how would he do that?

Harry chose his words carefully. "Voldemort, are you going to untie me?

"Why should I untie you, Harry?" Voldemort asked.

"If I'm not, then your followers may no be so interested in you anymore," Harry said.

"Why would that be?" Voldemort asked.

"Well, if you cannot kill me unless I am tied up, then maybe you are not as powerful as you think."

"Don't talk like that! I am more powerful than any other wizard, and all of my best followers know it!" Voldemort said.

"Anyone could kill me like this though, if they knew the curse. Sirius could kill me. Hermione could kill me. Even Wormtail could kill me! I bet any one of your followers could kill me right now, as I am. So, if I'm not untied, what makes you any more powerful than any of your followers?"

"All lies, Harry! I don't have to untie you to prove my power!" Voldemort said.

"I don't even have a wand, Voldemort. Surely you could beat me untied if I don't have a wand?" Harry said in his most mocking tone of voice.

Voldemort glared at Harry, furious. "Untie him, Wormtail."

Harry was relieved, mentally.

Obediently, Wormtail bent down, and untied the ropes that bound Harry, and he then stepped back, next to Sirius and Hermione.

Harry stood up, and faced Voldemort. Voldemort had a horrible smile, and said, "Oh, you're not facing me, Harry. How stupid do you think I am? No, you are going to face your friend Hermione."

"What?" said Harry.

Hermione looked surprised. "My Lord, are you sure? I know how much killing Harry means to you."

Voldemort hissed, "You cannot kill him! If you kill him, I will kill you. You're dueling him, and that's all! Understood?" Hermione nodded.

"I won't fight her!" said Harry. He couldn't fight Hermione, he just couldn't.

Hermione laughed, but it wasn't her usual laugh; it was a dark, cold, and pitiless laugh. "What, are you scared you're going to hurt me Harry? Or are you scared I'm going to hurt you?"

Harry said nothing. He'd just have to go through with this, even though he really didn't want to. He pulled out his wand and stood facing Hermione.

Voldemort smiled. "Ah, our brave Harry Potter. Let's see how well you duel against your friends. Wands ready! Now, bow to each other." Hermione bowed, and Harry bent his knees, not taking his eyes off of Hermione. "Now, on the count of three… one… two — "

But, before Voldemort said three, Hermione shouted, "Accio!" Harry's wand shot out of his hands and into hers. She caught it and smiled triumphantly. Then, she shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Harry began to rise up into the air. He locked his eyes onto Hermione's. He noticed that they were usually dark and small. "Hermione! Hermione, you're my friend!"

"I'm no longer your friend, Harry, can't you see?" said Hermione. "I've found stronger people to support. I am now fully on Lord Voldemort's side. And I don't have any sympathy for you or any of your supporters." She cut off the spell, and Harry fell from six feet off of the ground. He scraped his arm using it to ease his landing.

Voldemort laughed. "Enough. Give his wand to me." Hermione tossed Harry's wand to Voldemort, and Harry saw Voldemort stick it into a pocket in his robes. He turned to Harry. "I trust you've had enough, Potter? You do see that your friendship is a weakness now, don't you?"

"How is it a weakness?" demanded Harry.

"If you had been facing me, Potter, would you have hesitated to attack me?" asked Voldemort. Harry shook his head. "I thought so. So, the only reason you didn't attack Hermione was because you still think she is your friend, although she will never be again. That is where I have an advantage, Potter. I have no friends. There is no one I would regret attacking, or killing."

Harry said, "What about your Death-Eaters who went to Azkaban for you?"

"They shall be rewarded. But that doesn't mean I would sacrifice my life if I had a choice. If they were to face me in a duel, they would die as everyone else has," explained Voldemort, "And as you are about to."

Voldemort was staring at Harry. His eyes were livid, filled with rage, and hate. They glowed a blood red and frightened Harry. Voldemort pulled out his wand, and pointed it at Harry.

"This is it, Harry Potter. No one will save you. No one can save you. Crucio!"

Harry felt a horrible pain sear through his body. He screamed, and Voldemort ended the pain. Harry fell to the floor. Voldemort laughed. "If only the world could see their beloved Harry Potter, 'the boy who lived.' Everyone will fall to their knees when they learn that I have killed you. They'll beg me for forgiveness for thinking that a small boy could ever stop Lord Voldemort. You should have known it would be only a matter of time until I killed you, Harry. Even Dumbledore must've known that. Goodbye, Harry Potter."

As Voldemort raised the wand to kill Harry, Harry heard himself say, again, "Get — rid — of — his — wand —" Harry gathered all of his strength, and leapt up, and grabbed Voldemort's wand.

"NO! Get off!" Voldemort yelled, and placed his finger directly on Harry's scar. The horrible pain was too awful for Harry even to scream, and it was hard for Harry to see… but he kept a firm hold on the wand. Suddenly, Harry felt himself fly through the air and felt a sharp pain in his head, and there was a nasty smack as he hit the edge of a table. His glasses flew off of his face, and Harry heard them land a few feet away. He opened his eyes and saw Voldemort's wand in his hands.

"NO!" Voldemort screamed.

But Harry knew what he had to do, and he did it. He grabbed the wand, and broke it into two pieces, right in the middle.

The effects were immediate: a huge white light exploded into the room, nearly blinding Harry.

A shadowy ghost-like person came out of the wand. Harry squinted, and recognized the face, even though it was blurred without his glasses. "Rachel? Rachel Braham?"

The girl nodded.

"I know your sister. She's great," said Harry. He thought he saw the girl smile.

Voldemort himself was watching in horror as black cracks were spreading all over his tall, thin body. Then, they began glowing… Voldemort was screaming… and he became a huge white light.

Harry covered his eyes, and looked away. He heard Voldemort mutter, "My body… my body…"

Harry decided to take advantage of Voldemort's distraction, and he leapt up and began racing away. He had just made it out the door when he slipped on a wet stick and fell flat on his face. He lay there for a moment, hurt, and Voldemort Apparated to Harry's side.

"You think you can escape, Potter? You have ruined me! But you have not destroyed my power!" He grabbed the back of Harry's neck, and Harry screamed.

Then, Harry heard a voice he thought was Sirius cry, "Harry, you're wand! Get your wand! It's in his robe pocket!"

Harry fought the blinding pain and grabbed for Voldemort's cloak. He pulled out his wand and used all his strength to shout, "Expelliarmus!"

Voldemort shot backwards. Harry waited for Voldemort to attack again, but he didn't. Harry began to assume that Voldemort had been knocked out. He fell to his knees and felt around for his glasses. He found them, put them on, and the world came into focus. He saw Voldemort, and nearly gasped.

In Harry's second year, he had met Voldemort as Tom Riddle, a sixteen-year-old boy at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had told him afterwards that Tom had performed loads of spells on himself for a disguise, to make him look completely different. But now, the disguise was gone. Voldemort looked just like Tom Riddle had, only very old.

Breathing heavily, barely moving, Harry stood, staring at Voldemort's knocked out, completely changed body. Ghosts were still coming out of Voldemort's wand, eyeing Harry nervously.

Harry turned, and saw Sirius, pale, holding a fainted Hermione.

Harry felt something pressing on his feet, looked down, and saw Pettigrew sobbing, his hands on Harry's feet.

"Forgive me, Harry! Please forgive me! I'll go to Azkaban now, I'll pay for my crime!"

"Shut up, will you?" Harry said. Pettigrew immediately fell silent. Harry turned to Voldemort's body. "What do we do now?"

"Please, Harry! Take me back with you!" begged Wormtail.

"Don't listen to him, Harry," said Sirius. "He's a dirty liar."

"I'll go to Azkaban, Harry! I swear! And I won't break out," Wormtail begged.

"Azkaban is the next place Voldemort is going to take over, Wormtail!" said Sirius. "Do you think I didn't know that?"

"Please Harry!"

"Sirius, he can prove you're innocent," said Harry.

"There'll be other ways. If we take him back, Voldemort will follow him."

"So? Voldemort is going to find me again anyway," said Harry.

"We've got to get out of here, Harry! You've got to get back to Hogwarts, as does Hermione," said Sirius. "Here." Sirius picked up Harry's Invisibility Cloak from the table, and tossed to Harry, who caught it. He moved towards the door. Harry glumly followed after him, leaving Wormtail behind.

"Come on, Harry," Sirius said. "How'd you get here?"

"Broomstick. It's over here," Harry said, and he dug through the woodpile and retrieved his Firebolt. He was about to get on when Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, I just want to make sure that you know how incredible a thing you have just done. You saved Hermione and me and ruined Voldemort's disguise. Very few wizards could do that," said Sirius.

"I just broke his wand in half," Harry said, embarrassed.

"Very few wizards could have even gotten hold of his wand, Harry. Everything was… well, just incredible!"
"I'd have died if you hadn't given told me how to get my wand back though," Harry said darkly. "It's only because of you that I'm alive."

"Harry, so what? Just because I helped you get a wand doesn't mean I saved your life! I mean, you had to use it properly to save yourself. Besides, you still lived! You're alive, Harry. And, you've destroyed Voldemort's disguise."

"Let's just get back," said Harry, mounting his broom, shrugging off Sirius' hand.

"All right. Harry, if you need rest, I'll fly the broomstick," offered Sirius.

"No thanks… I want to fly…" said Harry.

Sirius, holding on firmly to Hermione, who was still fainted, climbed on behind Harry, and they took off.

They were very silent and hardly talked at all on the ride back to Hogwarts. They landed at one point, and started a fire, which they used to heat some of the food Dobby had given Harry.

They took off again the next afternoon. When they were about five miles from Hogwarts, Harry spotted Hedwig flying towards them.

She flew swiftly, and paused when she reached Harry. She was flapping her wings, and Harry was floating on the broomstick.

Harry detached a letter from her leg, and she flew back to the castle.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Sirius.

Harry unrolled the letter, and read it:

Dear Harry,

If Sirius is with you, you must drop him off somewhere else.

Cornelius Fudge has come, because he heard of Hermione's disappearance. Unless you can prove that he is innocent on the spot, you cannot bring Sirius to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore

"Just land here, Harry," Sirius said. "I'll find my way… trust me."

Harry didn't want to really, but he landed. Sirius climbed off, and helped Harry position Hermione on his lap, so Harry could carry her and fly.

"Sirius, are you sure you'll be all right?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, Harry. I promise. You just take care of Hermione," Sirius said.

Harry waved goodbye to Sirius, who changed into a shaggy black dog, and disappeared into the woods. Harry, with Hermione in hand, took off.

He flew on and on for hours. Soon the sun went down, and Harry was flying in darkness.

He flew over the forest surrounding the Hogwarts grounds, stopped over Hagrid's hut, and hovered. Harry saw Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge standing next to one another on the ground in front of the house. Dumbledore was waving up at him. Beside Fudge was a Dementor.

Dreading having to deal with Fudge, Harry tilted his broomstick downwards, and landed with a soft thump on the ground, in front of Dumbledore and Fudge. Even as Harry was landing, Fudge moved in on him. Before he even touched the ground, Harry felt a familiar cold inside his bones…

"Get that Dementor away from here, Cornelius!" Dumbledore said, but Fudge wasn't listening.

"Well, Mr. Potter, welcome back. I never thought you would sink so low as to run away from Hogwarts! I thought that you of all people would want to stay, and not be expelled," said Fudge.

Before Harry could speak, Dumbledore said, "Cornelius! Do remember that you are talking to Harry Potter. I have told you already: Voldemort kidnapped Ms. Granger, and Harry went, with my permission, to save her. You see? He has brought her back." He pointed to Hermione, who hadn't woken up, in Harry's arms.

"So? You never actually searched for her! He — he could've hidden her, and then cursed her to make it seem as if she'd passed out," Fudge spat, eyeing Harry furiously. He did, however, say to the Dementor, "Keep your distance from him unless I tell you to come closer."

"Why the heck would I do something like that?" Harry shouted, furious with Fudge for being so blind and so stupid.

"Harry, please. Cornelius, Harry would never do something as horrible as that. True, he may not follow every school rule, but he would never hurt a friend," Dumbledore assured Fudge.

"You're mixed up, Dumbledore! You're relying on information from an insane murderer, a stupid Potions professor that used to be a Death Eater, and," Fudge turned to Harry, "a disturbed Parselmouth!"

Harry went red, and had to restrain himself from throwing his hands around Fudge's thick neck.

Dumbledore's eyes filled with a fury Harry had never seen before. "Did you ever consider, Cornelius, that that disturbed Parselmouth may have saved your life?"

"What're you talking about, Dumbledore?" Fudge asked indignantly.

Coolly, Dumbledore answered, "No one knows where Voldemort was going to go after he killed the Potters. Voldemort could have been planning to kill you."

Fudge was startled by this. "Me, Dumbledore? Surely you don't think You-Know-Who would…"

"It's a possibility," Dumbledore said, eyeing Fudge as if he disliked him. "And, judging by recent events, I'd say it is also a possibility that Harry will have to save your life again."

Fudge couldn't take this. "I don't want my life in his hands," Fudge yelled, jabbing his thumb in Harry's direction.

"You may not have a choice, Cornelius."

"That's it, I'm leaving, Dumbledore. I don't have to listen to this," Fudge said, turning to leave. However, Dumbledore put his hand on Fudge's shoulder, making him pause.

"One day, perhaps one day very soon, there will be a war, Cornelius. A war of unprecedented importance, between good and evil. Every witch and wizard will have to choose to stand behind either Harry or Lord Voldemort. The choice, Cornelius is up to you."

Harry saw Fudge shiver, but say nothing. Dumbledore removed his hand, and Fudge immediately snapped, "Hard for Harry to fight a war against You-Know-Who if You-Know-Who's dead, isn't it?"

Dumbledore had had enough. "Why are you lying to yourself and everyone around you, Cornelius?" he shouted.

Fudge stared blankly for a moment before asking, "What are you talking about, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore said coolly, "You had me fooled, Cornelius. I really believed you thought Voldemort wasn't back. But now I see that you knew the truth all along, but you just acted as if you didn't to excuse yourself from doing anything. Brilliant, really. Why would anyone doubt that you really didn't believe Voldemort was gone? There's no direct evidence that would show that Voldemort is acting and not his followers."

Fudge narrowed his eyes. "You really think I would sink that low, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore merely said, "No, Cornelius. I know you would. Because you have." Fudge had no reply to this and left swiftly.

Harry and Dumbledore silently watched Fudge walk off into the distance. Finally, when Fudge was out of sight, Dumbledore sighed very deeply. "Come, Harry. We must get Hermione to the Hospital Wing. You look like you could use some tending to as well."

"Yeah." Harry grinned, trying to cheer Dumbledore and himself up. "I've got a rather nasty cut on my forehead…"

Harry, assisted by Dumbledore, carried Hermione to the Hospital Wing. On the way, Harry explained everything that happened on the journey. He got through most of the first half without any interruption, only Dumbledore raising his eyebrows or frowning occasionally. However, when Harry reached the point about breaking Voldemort's wand, Dumbledore froze. He turned suddenly to Harry.

"You broke Voldemort's wand?" Dumbledore asked wearily. Harry nodded. "Harry, do you know how remarkable that is?"

But… but it wasn't hard, sir. It was like breaking a stick. And, I mean, in a sense that what is was, just breaking a stick… a magic stick…" Harry said.

"That's not the point. Voldemort's wand is his most prized possession, and he's very protective of it. You must have been very strong to be able to pry it out of his grip. What happened afterward?"

Harry explained, and Dumbledore seemed even more amazed.

"He turned back into a person, Harry? You broke all of the charms he put on himself to make him unrecognizable?"

"Yeah. Only he was… er — " Harry began, but, eyeing Dumbledore, decided not to finish.

"He was what, Harry?"

"He was… old."

Harry saw Dumbledore smile timidly. "It happens to all of us, Harry."

Harry finished the story as they reached the Hospital Wing.

Dumbledore knocked on the door of the Hospital Wing, and said, "Poppy? It's Albus."

Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, opened the door a minute later. She had a nightcap on, and looked ruffled. "What is the matter, Albus? Do you have any idea what —" Her eyes saw Harry, and Hermione, and she said no more. "Come in."

Harry and Dumbledore carried Hermione in, and laid her on a hospital bed. Dumbledore insisted that Harry sit down on one as well, and Harry obeyed.

Madame Pomfrey immediately looked over Hermione. "She's still breathing. She should wake in a few hours…"

"Couldn't you wake her now?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, yes. However, she'll wake up on her own, I'm sure. Might be better to let her come out of this naturally," Madame Pomfrey said. "In any case, she doesn't have anything worse than a scratch on her. However, I'd like her to stay for observation. Now, this one," she said, moving towards Harry, "looks like he needs bandages. I'll also grab some chocolate." She left for bandages and a piece of chocolate.

"Harry, I'm not going to give you the sleeping potion this time," Dumbledore said.

At the end of last year, after Harry had faced Voldemort, Dumbledore had given Harry a potion that put him in a dreamless sleep.

"I gave it to you in last year because you seemed more traumatized than you do now. If you would like the potion, I shall give it to you. However, I believe that you are fit to return to your dormitory after receiving bandages and a piece of chocolate if you would like. That does mean that you will have to choose yourself if you want to tell people what happened. And if you do not, you will have to say so yourself," Dumbledore said wisely. He handed Harry a slip of paper. On it was written:

Harry Potter has my permission to return to Gryffindor tower this evening.

Albus Dumbledore.

"I believe that you may need this," Dumbledore smiled.

Harry nodded, and Madame Pomfrey came back.

"Here you are," she said, handing Harry a large piece of fudge from Honeydukes. As Harry chewed on it lovingly, she wrapped bandages around a cut on his hand, and a nasty cut on the side of his head from where it had hit the table. "You're always getting hurt, Potter. You ought to be more careful!"

"I think I'd like to go now," Harry said, turning to Dumbledore, who nodded.

"Go? Potter, you and Ms. Granger should stay here. It's nearly midnight, just stay here until morning," Madame Pomfrey said.

"Poppy, I gave Harry permission to go back to his dormitory," Dumbledore explained. Madame Pomfrey looked taken aback.

"Back to his dormitory? But Albus, it's the middle of the night! He should just stay here, he can go back first thing in the morning."

"I gave him my word, Poppy," Dumbledore said firmly. Madame Pomfrey sighed, and shook her head. Dumbledore nodded at Harry, who hopped out of the hospital bed.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, opening the door.

"Harry. Tomorrow afternoon, after lunch, meet me in my office, please," Dumbledore said. "I would like to talk to you."

Harry nodded, and left. He maneuvered his way through the long hallways, and down the many corridors.

He was passing the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when Peeves shot out of the door.

He turned, and saw Harry. And his eyes widened with joy.

"Ah! Potter has returned, but Potter is sneaking around! Naughty, naughty Harry Potter! Filch would be happy to see you…"

"Peeves, I've got a note from Dumbledore," Harry said. "You can't get me into trouble."

But those turned out to be the worst words that Harry had chosen to say.

Peeves's eyes filled with anger, and he flew behind Harry, and lifted him up by the collar, and spun Harry around, yelling, "Can't get Potter into trouble! Can't get Potter into trouble!"

"PEEVES! PEEVES STOP!" Harry called. Harry pulled out his wand, and cried, "Expelliarmus!" Peeves shot backwards, and Harry fell with a thump on the floor. Not knowing whether Peeves was behind him or not, Harry leapt up onto his feet and ran.

He finally arrived, nearly breathless, in front of the portrait hole to Gryffindor.

The Fat Lady had woken up because of Harry's loud breathing, and appeared irritated.

"Where have you been? Haven't seen you for a couple days now. Do you have any clue what time it is?" she asked annoyed.

"You don't want to know where I've been, trust me. Cirdog."

She swung open, and Harry stepped in. He kept walking, and nearly tripped over someone lying close to the door.

"What the — " he whispered. He knelt down. A roaring fire was burning, and it provided just enough light for Harry to see who was lying in front of him. Jessica Braham was sound asleep on the floor, her glasses on a table near her. Harry smiled. It was good to see her.

He stood up and gasped, looking around.

Asleep in three armchairs by the fire were Ron, Fred, and George, Ginny sleeping at Fred's feet. Seamus was asleep at a chair by the table, between the Creevy brothers. Neville was asleep on a couch by the far wall, and Lee Jordan was on the floor in front of him. Alicia, Katie, and Angelina were asleep together on the stairs.

Harry looked back at the table, and underneath it, he saw Dobby, curled up, hugging his knees to himself, asleep.

Everywhere on the floor were Gryffindors. Over the fireplace was a large banner, which read:

Welcome back Harry Potter!

Dean Thomas, who was a great drawer, had drawn a great picture of Harry himself on it. And all the Gryffindors had signed it.

Harry sighed, and stepped carefully over people, and found a space in front of Ron where he lay down.

He closed his eyes, and his last thought was, I hope that Ron doesn't wake in the middle of the night and step on my face.

Harry slept for hours. And, for those hours, Voldemort didn't exist. Harry Potter was not famous and had no scar and both of his parents.

For those few, precious hours in which Harry slept, he was no different from any of the other Gryffindors. He was the same as the ones who slept with him on the floor that night, and all the Gryffindors who had come for years before.