The Riddle of Jim Lillian
Part Seven: Harry's Tale
Standard Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
WARNING: Major Character Deaths
Part Seven Summary: The truth about what happened on the Astronomy Tower is revealed.
June 5th, 1998 early morning (the day of the Final Battle):
The first thing most people noticed about Harry when they would first meet him was his scar: a jagged lightning-bolt shaped scar right on his forehead that had been with him for all of his life. His aunt and uncle told him that he got it in the car crash where his parents died. When Harry turned eleven and was introduced into the Wizarding world, he discovered that he had actually received the scar when the most feared wizard of the time had attempted to kill him.
From that point on, the scar brought him notoriety, fame, and infamy as The-Boy-Who-Lived. At first, Harry was amused by the novelty of the attention, but he quickly learned to detest it. All the staring, pointing, and hushed whispers soon drove the young boy to distraction.
Then there was the "connection" that was a part of his scar. Harry would sometimes get visions from Voldemort, painful visions where the Dark Lord would torture or murder some poor soul. Harry would also feel a sharp, sometimes blinding, pain originating from his scar whenever Voldemort was near him or feeling particularly angry. Harry had recently mastered Occlumency to block out these visions and to help dull the pain.
Normally, Harry only felt sharp pain in relation with his scar.
On this particular day, for some reason, was different.
It was a slight pressure, as if an invisible finger from inside his skull was pushing on his scar. It was strong enough that it woke him from his sleep.
The pressure grew slightly, almost negligibly, when Dumbledore told Harry and Hermione about Voldemort's hidden spy and how Snape had died trying to discover the spy's identity.
Again, the pressure grew a little more when McGonagall levitated his two friends, Neville and Ginny, into the Hospital Ward. But Harry did not notice at that time the increased pressure due to his concern over his friends' conditions.
When Dumbledore told Harry of his fear that this was a sign that The Dark Lord was going to attack, Harry became aware that the pressure in his scar had grown significantly and felt like it had two invisible fingers pushing down on it.
The sensation became a dull ache as he and Hermione raced towards the stairs leading up to the Astronomy Tower. But Harry paid the twinge no heed. His best friend, his first friend, was up on the Astronomy Tower alone and needed to be warned of the immediate threat.
Then Harry heard something faint behind them as they reached the stairwell; the sound of something being dragged along the cold stone floor.
"Hermione, wait!" Harry's hand held Hermione's shoulder. "Something's wrong…"
Hermione was about to ask him what was wrong when a loud crash echoed through the hall.
"What was that?" Hermione asked. Harry read the Marauder's Map. He quickly found the two tiny dots with his and Hermione's names, but a few feet away he saw a slowly moving dot marked "Ginny Weasley" headed in their direction.
"Bollocks!" Harry cursed. "It's Ginny! How did she get away from Pomfrey?"
Hermione pulled away from Harry and started to head up the stairs.
"Harry, you go and make sure Ginny is okay. I'll get Ron," Hermione shouted. For a brief second Harry and Hermione's eyes locked.
It was near the end of his sixth year, after Harry had mastered his Occlumency, that he had also picked up a bit of Legilimency. Under Dumbledore's tutelage, Harry had learned the obscure skill fairly quickly. Because of his training, he could read people's emotions when he looked in their eyes. He could tell if someone was sad, happy, truthful or even lying. When he looked in Hermione's eyes as she ran up the stairs, he read her fear and anxiety.
Then Harry remembered that Ron had not made eye contact with him in nearly a year. A stray thought entered Harry's mind; was Ron hiding something? The pressure in his scar increased.
"Oh, no," Harry muttered. "Hermione, wait!" he shouted after her, but she continued to run up the stairs. Harry bolted after her.
He was a few steps behind Hermione when she burst through the door.
"Ron! Ron! Where are you?" Harry could hear Hermione shout. Just as Harry ran though the open door, he heard a voice shout out, "EXPELLIARMUS!"
With a bang, Hermione was thrown backwards as her wand flew from her hand. Harry caught his girlfriend before she could hit the floor.
Harry quickly scanned the rooftop, looking for their attacker. At first, he saw no one. Then, he saw two disembodied feet on the floor, a pair of rather large feet. Harry raised his eyes up and saw two hands floating in the air. Hermione's wand was gripped in the left hand, while the right hand held… Ron's wand.
A bodiless voice cackled as Hermione's wand was casually tossed over the tower's edge. Hermione cried out in horror as she saw her wand fall out of sight.
"ACCIO MARAUDERS' MAP!" the voice yelled, and the magical map flew from Harry's hand. The floating left hand deftly snatched the map from the air.
"Never know when this might come in handy," the voice, which sounded all too familiar, said as the hand and map disappeared under an invisibility cloak.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked to Harry.
"Aren't you supposed to be the cleverest witch in our generation?" the voice said from thin air. "I'm very disappointed in you, Hermione."
"R... Ron?" Hermione stuttered.
"And here I thought you would have caught on when I stole Harry's wand from under your nose," Ron said smugly.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.
"This morning, when I delivered that box of Chocolate Frogs," Ron said. "You mean to say you didn't see me do it? Oh, this is rich!"
"Ron, what did you do?" Harry demanded.
"What I had to," Ron's voice hissed. "Of course Ginny and Neville almost ended up ruining everything…"
"Oh, god no," Hermione said softly as she started to cry. "Please Ron, fight it! Harry can throw off the Imperius, maybe you can, too. Please fight it."
A low, mean chuckle filtered through the air.
"Take it off, Ron," Harry firmly said. "Take off my invisibility cloak."
Slowly Ron pulled the cloak off, revealing his red hair and freckled face.
Harry locked eyes with his best friend and saw anger, jealously, and greed in him. But Harry did not sense any outside or alien influence; no one was manipulating Ron.
"Oh, no," Harry said dejectedly.
"That's right, Harry, it's just me in here," Ron said wickedly as he tapped the side of his head with his finger.
It all started to make sense to Harry now. Why Ron would never look at him over the past year. Harry had thought it was because the two were growing apart, like Hermione had said. But now, Harry realized that it was because Ron was hiding something. Something terrible.
"You've been planning this for months," Harry said dejectedly.
"Yeah, a few weeks before term stared," Ron said. "I had to approach that ferret, Malfoy. I told him I had some information his master wanted. Told him it was about the prophesy."
Harry caught an image, a memory, from Ron's eyes. In the vision, Ron knelt before Voldemort and kissed the hem of The Dark Lord's robes. Harry felt Ron's fear and trepidation as his lips touched the fabric.
"Why did you do it, Ron? Why?" Hermione asked, fighting the tears that streamed down her face.
"Why?" Ron sneered at Hermione. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be me? Do you?
"Since the day I was born, I have had to live in someone else's shadow. Five older brothers, all of them better than me. All of them accomplished something noteworthy before I even had a chance. Two Head Boys, a Quidditch captain, and two world-famous pranksters. Hell, even the birth of the first Weasley girl in generations made Ginny better than me."
"Don't tell me that's why you used the Cruciatus Curse on her?" Harry demanded with bile burning his throat.
"No, she was supposed to stay in her damned room," Ron said as he leveled his wand at the raven-haired man. Harry flinched as another of Ron's memories entered his mind. Harry saw Ginny writhing on the floor, screaming in pain. He felt Ron had focused on his sister's vibrant red hair and his hatred of that hair, his family's hair. Hatred that was aimed towards Ron, himself. Oddly Harry felt Ron's self-loathing, his wish and desire to punish himself, fuel the Unforgivable Curse.
"I told her to leave, but she wouldn't listen to me," Ron continued. "No one ever listens to me."
"Is that why you betrayed Harry? Because you wanted to be more 'noteworthy' than your siblings?" Hermione said venomously.
"Not entirely," Ron said. "The only chance I had of distinguishing myself was shattered when he became my friend. Now, not only was I just another Weasley, but I was The-Boy-Who-Lived's sidekick."
"Ron, you were never my sidekick!" Harry shouted.
"You have no idea what it's like to be me, living in your damned shadow," Ron's eyes bulged with anger. "For the past seven years, whenever I met someone the first thing they would ask me is what you were really like. Even when my family went to Egypt and the Prophet wrote up an article on us, they had to mention that I went to school with the Great Harry Potter, didn't they?"
"I never asked for that, Ron," Harry hissed.
"But you got it! You get everything!"
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"I had nothing; no money, no fame, nothing. I grew up in a hovel with an overbearing mother and six siblings to compete against. You had everything handed to you from when you were just a baby; money, power, fame and any girl you could want."
"I got that crap when my parents were murdered. I LOST MY ENTIRE FAMILY! AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS MONEY AND FAME?" Harry shouted. He found himself trying to move towards Ron, to hit him, to make him bleed. But Hermione held Harry back. "I lived in a cupboard for ten years!"
"Oh, poor Harry-kins, what a rough life you had," Ron mocked him. "And when poor misunderstood little Harry turned eleven he found out he was rich and one of the most famous people in the world. Must have been tough, that one."
"I would have given you anything, just to live your life for one day," Harry said dejectedly.
"Would you have given her to me?" Ron said and he pointed his wand at Hermione.
"What?" Harry said bewilderedly
"You knew I fancied her," Ron hissed, "and you still took her away from me."
"Harry and I didn't start dating until after you and Luna became a couple," Hermione said.
"Oh, please, I may be slow but I am not stupid," Ron shouted "I've seen the way the two of you have been acting around each other for years. How, whenever Harry needed something, you would drop everything to help him. You dropped your vacation to go skiing in our fifth year just because Harry was in a sour mood. I saw how Harry would stand so close to you and how he would lean into you whenever you two would work on a project together.
"I had to give up on Hermione, you…" Ron pointed his wand menacingly at Harry, "you took my chance away. I had to settle for Loony Luna."
Again, Harry locked eyes with his former friend and Harry received another disturbing image from Ron's mind. Luna's body lay motionless and battered deep in the Forbidden Forest.
"My god, Ron, what did you do to Luna?" Harry asked.
"I had to practice the Unforgivable Curses on someone, didn't I?" Ron snickered. "And let's be honest, who's going to miss the loony chit? Hell, all I had to do was use the Imperius and make her write a simple letter claiming that her idiot father took her along on another of those asinine journeys searching for a stupid non-existent animal. It was so easy, and it allowed me so much practice. Maybe I should show how adept I am on Hermione?"
"If you hurt her, I'll…" Harry began to say as he tried to shield Hermione from Ron.
"You'll do what? You'll curse me?" Ron interrupted while laughing manically. "I'd like to see that considering I'm the only one here with a wand.
"You just told me that you would give me anything, right? But you couldn't give me fame or power now could you?" Ron said. "But he can; my Master can and will."
"You betrayed us for fame?" Hermione asked with tears in her eyes.
"I, Ronald Bilius Weasley, will be known throughout history as The Dark Lord's greatest Lieutenant. The one who helped him achieve his destiny.
"I told You-Know-Who about the prophesy, about how Harry is the only one who can stop him. The Dark Lord came up with the plan for me to destroy your wand," Ron chuckled. "That part of the plan is done. Now all I have to do is signal him, and it will be the end for you, Potter."
Ron pointed his wand to the sky and shouted, "MORSMORDRE!" A giant green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth erupted from Ron's wand and hovered a dozen feet about the Tower.
"Fame? Is that why you did it? For Fame?" a voice said thickly from behind Harry and Hermione. They turned to see Ginny's hunched-over form limp towards them.
"Ginny?" Ron gasped, shocked at the damage he had done to his sister.
"You murdered Neville and t-t-tor…" Ginny found that she could not bring herself to say that word. "Why you hurt me…for fame?"
Suddenly, Harry felt as if his scar was being pushed in the direction of the front gates. He looked towards the gates with a sense of foreboding. Someone was coming.
Dozens of pops echoed through the school grounds. Harry saw scores of black-robed figures appear just outside the entrance to the school. The gates swung open and a tall and skinny form walked in.
The castle began to shake and tremble.
"My Master is here," Ron said proudly.
Harry looked at Hermione and said to Ron, without bothering to look at him:
"Ron, take me to him."
"What?" Ron asked in annoyed tone.
"Take me to Voldemort." Ron shuddered as Harry said the dreaded name.
"Harry, no!" Hermione pleaded with him.
"Take me to Voldemort. Hand deliver me," Harry stared at the man who used to be his best friend. "I'm sure that would get you some more brownie-points."
"What's the catch?" Ron eyed Harry suspiciously.
"The girls go free," Harry said. "You let them escape."
"Harry, no, I won't leave you!" Hermione begged.
"Screw this; even in defeat you can't help from being fucking noble!" Ron yelled with fire in his eyes. "So bloody righteous all the time! Just once I'd like to see you cower!"
An evil smirk played across Ron's face as he pointed his wand at Harry's chest.
"My Master said not to kill you; he didn't say anything about roughing you up a bit. It looks like I will finally get see you cower. Don't worry, Harry," Ron said evilly. "This will hurt you more then it does me."
Harry saw the rage and hatred build up behind his friend's eyes. Harry caught glimpses from Ron's mind of Ginny and Luna being tortured under the Cruciatus.
"CRU-!" Harry braced himself as Ron shouted the curse. Time seemed to slow to an agonizingly slow pace for Harry as he saw Ginny launch herself at her brother, interrupting Ron's curse. The smaller girl attacked Ron, beating her fists into his face and chest.
"How could you!" she was screaming at Ron, "To Neville! To Harry! TO ME!"
Ginny continued to pummel her brother in her blind rage. The force of her blows drove him backwards, towards the edge of the roof.
"Ginny, look out!" Harry called out, trying to warn her.
The back of Ron's legs hit the low wall surrounding the roof and he pitched backwards. Ron's hands flayed, and he let go of Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Harry saw out of the corner of his eye his Cloak get picked up by a gust of wind and fly towards the Forbidden Forest. Ron's wand was flung out of his hand and fell hundreds of feet to the earth as he franticly swung his hands around, trying to find something to stop him from falling.
His hands found Ginny.
Ron desperately latched onto his sister's robes, but Ron was much larger than Ginny and started to drag her over the edge as well. Harry lunged at the two siblings and grabbed Ginny around the shoulders. He instinctively grabbed Ron's hand that was holding onto Ginny. Harry saw a look of absolute loathing mar Ron's face as Harry's hand grabbed his. Ron tore his hand from Harry's grip in a fit of rage.
Harry and Ginny watched in horror as Ron tumbled down the facade of the Tower. Ron's fingernails tore off and his fingers snapped as he clawed at the stonework, helplessly trying to stop his fall. His body made a disgusting cracking noises every time he hit an outcropping. Halfway through his fall, Ron's screams ceased. But Harry could still see the dreadful expression on his former friend's face. After what felt like hours for Harry and Ginny, Ron hit a low roof and his lifeless body rolled off of the roof and landed on the grassy earth like a boneless sack of meat.
Harry stared at the limp form, hundreds of feet below, wishing for it to move. Wishing that Ron would stand up and tell him it was just some stupid practical joke. That he would be okay.
But deep in Harry's heart, he knew that would never happen. Ron had betrayed him and sold his soul to the devil, tortured Ginny and murdered their friends.
"Goodbye, Ron," Harry said sadly as tears fell from his eyes.
"He's dead; I killed him," Ginny moaned.
Harry pulled Ginny into a standing position. Hermione stood next to them with her trembling hands in front of her face, tears staining her cheeks.
"I killed him, I killed Ron," Ginny cried.
"No, you didn't," Harry said as he held her. "The Ron that was your brother, the Ron we knew, that we loved, died when he made that deal with Voldemort. The thing that did that to us, to you, deserved to be punished."
"But this'll kill Mum," Ginny groaned into Harry's chest.
Harry thought of Mrs. Weasley's reaction to her son's betrayal and death. He imagined her screaming and crying, and her self-recriminations, wondering what it was that she had done that made Ron do such evil things.
Then Harry imagined the Weasley family; a family that Harry loved, being torn apart not only by their grief and ill-placed guilt, but also by the media and society. The Weasley clan would be forever known as the family that bred a traitor.
"No one has to know," Harry said after some thought. "We'll say Draco did it."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked through her tears.
"We'll say that Harry and I found Draco fighting with Ron; that Draco pushed Ron off of the Tower," Hermione said, picking up on Harry's concept. "And that you were not up here; you were not a witness to the event."
"We'll also say that Malfoy confessed to being the spy and that he was Neville's killer as well as the person who used the Cruciatus Curse on you," Harry finished.
"Do you think anyone will believe it?" Ginny moaned.
"Everyone already knows Malfoy is an evil git," Hermione said as she rubbed Ginny's back comfortingly. "Earlier today, Professor Dumbledore confirmed that Malfoy took Voldemort's Dark Mark."
"Come on, we have to get out of here," Harry said as he guided Ginny and Hermione toward the stairway.
Harry felt an odd tugging sensation on his scar as the trio made their way down the stairs.
"We can't be of any use to Dumbledore or the other professors; none of us has our wands," Hermione stated. It seemed to Harry that Hermione had slipped into her "lecture" mode as a way for her to cope with her grief and shock. "We would be more of a hindrance than a help. I think we should go to Sinestra's office, since it's the nearest one, and use its fireplace to floo to the Ministry."
As they approached Sinestra's office, Hermione said, "I hope the door isn't locked."
"We're due for a spot of luck, I reckon," Harry said hopefully as he reached for the doorknob. Before his hand touched the cold metal, a barely audible click sounded from the latch. He paused for a moment to consider the sound before he twisted the knob and pushed the door open.
Apparently they where due for some luck, not only was the door unlocked, but the fire still burned in the fireplace.
"You go first," Harry said to Hermione. "I'll follow you with Ginny; I'm afraid she isn't able to state the destination properly in her condition."
The brunette witch walked over to the hearth and reached into a small pot on the mantle. Hermione took a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fire. The fire rapidly turned green. She took another pinch of the powder and stepped into the green flames.
Harry felt another strange tug on his scar as he prepared himself to follow his girlfriend.
"Ministry of Magic!" Hermione said in a loud and clear voice, as she closed her eyes.
Nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see a puzzled look on Harry and Ginny's faces.
"St. Mungo's!" Hermione practically shouted, and yet she still remained in Sinestra's office.
"The Burrow!" Hermione said desperately as she threw another pinch of floo into the fire.
"It's not working?" Ginny said disbelievingly. "Why isn't it working?"
"Dammit! They must have blocked the floo network somehow!" Hermione stated as she stepped out of the magical fire. "The Death Eaters probably did it to stop anyone from fetching reinforcements."
"What are we going to do?" Ginny begged.
Hermione furrowed her brow and chewed on her lower lip, obviously contemplation their options. Harry paced in front of the fireplace, trying to think of a safe and secure place within the castle.
"How about we go to the Headmaster's office," Harry said.
"Harry, that will be one of the first places they will look," Hermione sounded out.
"Yeah, but it should take them a long time to get through the security measures," Harry told her. "Hopefully long enough for reinforcements to get here."
"But what if Professor McGonagall didn't get to the Ministry before they cut off the floo?" Hermione asked.
"Hermione, do you have a better plan?"
"The Room of Requirement. I doubt that Ron told Voldemort or his henchmen about it," Hermione stated. "Besides, we can just ask the Room to provide a secure area in which no one who wants to harm us can get in."
"Brilliant!" Harry said. "Hopefully we won't run into any Death Eaters on the way."
The trio made their way down the stairs as Harry felt his scar being pulled in the direction of the main doors of the school an instant before a large explosion rocked the castle.
"Oh, gods, they're in the castle," Ginny said ominously.
Harry and Hermione sped up while carrying a hobbling Ginny. Harry could hear dozens of curses and hexes being thrown in the distance with screams following shortly there after. The curses died down and Harry felt another tug on his scar, stronger than before.
The entire castle trembled again and Harry's scar prickled.
"Voldemort just walked in," Harry warned the two women.
The three moved down another flight of stairs when they heard the taunts echoing throughout the castle's corridors.
"Come out, boy!"
"Don't make us hunt you down; you'll only make it worse!"
"You don't want us to take out our frustration on your Mudblood."
Harry slowed a pace.
"Ignore them, Harry," Hermione implored. "Keep moving."
Harry began to move when he sensed, rather than heard, Voldemort shout an order.
"Spread out, search the castle, but leave Potter to me!" Voldemort hissed. "Kill everyone else!"
Harry's scar was tugged roughly towards the direction where he sensed Voldemort.
Harry stopped moving as realization set in. His scar was guiding him toward Voldemort, toward his destiny. It was happening. The thing that the prophesy predicted a year before his birth. The thing he had trained for the past two years to face. It was happening now.
"It's time," Harry said simply. The rough tugging stopped and was replaced by a gentle push, as if destiny was guiding him.
Hermione turned to see why Harry had stopped. She paled as she saw the look of determination on his face.
"No Harry, please no…" Hermione begged.
Harry could hear a number of footsteps coming from in front of them.
"Take Ginny and get to the Room of Requirement," Harry said, trying his best to ignore Hermione's pleas. "I'll create a distraction."
"No, Harry, they will capture you and take you to Voldemort," Hermione said as tears fell down her face. "They'll kill you; you don't even have a wand."
"I have to do this Hermione. I'm the only one who can stop him," Harry said looking into her eyes. "Besides, I'll find Dumbledore. He'll protect me until I get to Riddle. You know they are all afraid of the old man; the Death Eaters will drop like flies with Dumbledore around. I'm sure I can get a wand off of some unconscious Death Eater."
Harry remembered all the times he had looked into her eyes in the past. How they always showed concern, compassion, and loyalty. And how, over the past year, they showed loved.
Harry cupped Hermione's face in his hands and stared deep into her eyes. In that moment, nothing else existed, no Death Eaters, no Voldemort, just the two of them.
"It's time, Hermione. I need to do this," Harry said as he brushed a tear away from her cheek.
"Then let me be with you," Hermione pleaded.
"You will be with me always," he replied as he laid her hands on his chest, just over his heart, "in here. But I need for you to be safe; I cannot do this if you are not safe."
Harry leaned close to Hermione's face, his breath danced across her lips. Harry hesitated before kissing her.
"I love you, Hermione." Hermione gasped slightly as Harry uttered those words for the first time. Harry kissed her.
He poured everything he had into that one kiss, as if it were the first, and last, kiss he would ever have. He let go of his fear, doubt, and uncertainty. He gave her all of his happiness, hope, and love. Hermione returned the kiss with all of her being, all of her love.
The two broke the kiss as another explosion rocked the foundation of the castle. They could hear Death Eaters moving closer as the fiends continued taunting and threatening them.
Hermione sputtered as she tried to tell Harry the most important thing in the world. A few simple words that he never let her say to him.
Harry saw a group of over ten Death Eaters when he bolted around a corner.
"Hey, you prats!" Harry shouted while he waved his hands franticly. "Over here!"
An onslaught of curses erupted from the Death Eaters wands as Harry ducked and weaved deftly out of harm's way. The raven-haired man ran full-tilt down the hall.
"After him!" a masked Death Eater shouted, and the group charged after the retreating teen.
Back where he left the two women, Hermione finally forced herself to say the words.
"I love you, Harry."
Harry looked over his shoulder as he raced down the corridor. All of the Death Eaters were in pursuit. The Death Eaters had left Ginny and Hermione alone and chased after him; Harry's plan had worked.
Harry turned a corner as a bright yellow curse ripped by his ear, missing him by inches. Several more curses flew by him as he raced up a flight of stairs.
"Come back here, Potter. You have nowhere to run!" a voice that Harry recognized as belonging to Lucius Malfoy shouted. "We have dozens of Death Eaters throughout the castle. There is no escape!"
Harry ignored Malfoy as he ran up another set of stairs and then another. He found himself somewhere on the third floor with his lungs burning and a stitch in his side. Harry realized that he would not be able to run from them for much longer.
An orange bolt rocketed by Harry's shoulder and hit a nearby suit of armor, crushing it. Harry cringed as he thought of what would have happened if he had been hit with that disturbing orange crushing hex.
As Harry dashed around the corner, he saw a man in periwinkle blue robes standing at the end of the corridor.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry shouted.
"Harry, get behind me," the ancient wizard commanded. Harry ran past Dumbledore and dove behind a large statue of some anonymous historic wizard.
The Death Eaters froze monetarily as they saw Dumbledore standing in front of them. A large Death Eater whipped his wand at the old Headmaster, and a blue bolt erupted from the tip. The remaining villains took this as their cue to launch a barrage of their own curses. Dumbledore began to wave his wand in an intricate pattern as the curses sailed toward him.
An enormous explosion rattled the stonework of the castle, and Harry covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the thunderous sound. In an instant it was all over.
As Harry surveyed what was left of the battle from behind the statue, he noticed at least three Death Eaters were down; one had his arms tied in a painful-looking knot around his legs. While another seemed to have had his entire body glued to the ceiling. And the third Death Eater appeared to have had his head magically swapped with his left foot. The remaining seven must have ducked for cover, obviously terrified of Dumbledore.
"Harry, we must get you to safety," Dumbledore said as he turned to Harry.
"But, Professor, I have to…" Harry was about to tell Dumbledore about how he thought it was time to face his destiny, when he saw a small dark blot on the Professor's robes. The blot was on Dumbledore's right side of his chest and it was growing rapidly. "Professor?"
Dumbledore followed Harry's eyes and put his hand on the spot. When the Headmaster pulled his hand away for his robes, he saw that his palm was covered in blood.
"Oh, my…" Dumbledore said with a little surprise and began to pitch forward.
TBC