CHAPTER 19 – I'LL GIVE YOU SPECIAL SERVICES

Harry ran his hands along the main doors. There was a tingle in his heart as he graced the doorstep of his first true home. His three friends gave him a moment to savor the feeling. The moment was too short for Harry.

"I never thought about this before," Hermione started, "but how are we supposed to get in? I mean, there is security, wards and protection, all around the school."

Harry smiled for a minute as he looked at the doors. He had thought about this at several points throughout the journey, and came to one conclusion: Dumbledore knew what he was doing. He braced his hands on the doors and pushed with all his might. When the seal broke the doors swung under their own power, which caused Harry to stumble forward a half step. The doors snapped into place and allowed the four friends to gaze into what once was their school.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked. Harry gave her a small smile before he answered.

"Dumbledore will only truly be gone when none here are loyal to him." When they still didn't understand he explained further. "I think he knew we would come back… or at least that I would." They nodded in understanding and the quartet walked forward to gaze into the Great Hall.

The entire castle was eerie. There was no noise, no breeze, no people; just a dusty smell and a dark emptiness. Memories flooded back to the four as they looked, with sadness, into the room that always held the most life. Always were there people, joining together, to eat, laugh, celebrate, and even mourn. Never had they seen it so empty, quiet, and devoid of feeling.

Harry ushered his friends into the hallway. "Better not to dwell," he told them. They followed him to the trophy room, memories passing with each hallway. As they entered the room they immediately began searching the shelves for their target.

"I found it!" Ginny shouted after several minutes. They rushed to her and crowded to stare at the award. It was a plain plaque with no discerning features, only the name. Tom Riddle.

Harry approached the trophy case and ran his hand over the glass in front of the award. The hairs all over his body stood on end. He felt a slight tingle in his hand and it began to warm up as if he had placed it in front of a roaring fireplace.

"There's definitely some magic here," he stated, "but I don't know what."

"Are you doing what you said Dumbledore did at the cave?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "But I can feel some sort of energy coming off of the award, I just can't identify it. I feel a tingle and a warmness throughout my hand."

"Maybe it will feel different when we take the protection charm off of it," Hermione said hopefully.

"Maybe," Harry said. He lowered his voice, speaking to the air. "It was right here this whole time and no one knew." There was a moment of quiet as everyone was thinking what Harry just said. He broke the silence quickly. "Why don't you three head up to the library and start working on that protection spell."

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked him in a worried tone. Harry stared down the hall, unsure of how he felt about the approaching minutes.

"I have an office to visit… for the last time." His friends nodded glumly and turned to leave the room. "I shouldn't be too long and I'll meet you up there. And remember," he said with a mischievous smile, "there's no one here so there is no restricted section."

They returned his smile and left to go to the library. Harry took one last look at the award, sighed, and walked down the hall to his former Headmaster's office. As he approached the gargoyle, he hoped that the same magic that worked on the doors applied to this situation. He stepped in front of the statue and stared at it. After a handful of seconds it began to move aside and Harry stepped onto the stairs.

Dumbledore's office was exactly how he left it that fateful night. The silver trinkets were spread across the desks throughout. All the portraits were empty as was Fawkes' perch. Harry didn't know how to feel about it. He felt sad about his friend's death but he felt happy that the office was not decimated. He pushed his emotions aside with a deep sigh and headed towards the study.

It was bigger than Harry would have imagined. Bookshelves, filled with dusty collections, lined the walls of the circular room. In the middle of the room, bathed in sunlight from the one narrow window, was a small circular table. Harry approached the table to see his mentor's last research effort.

He stopped as he got close enough to see what was on the table. Dumbledore's pensieve lay flat on the table next to four books. One of the books was a guide on memories and how to store, see, and return them. Two of the books were advanced defensive techniques and the last was the story of the founders.

He knew, Harry thought. He knew he wasn't going to come back that night. These books were left for me. He sat down in the rickety chair and leafed through the books. Deciding to leave the founders book he packed the other things in his bag and walked out of the Headmaster's study.

At the exit of the office Harry turned to gaze one last time at the place where so much of his life was explained to him. He remembered the twinkle in his eyes, the gentleness in his voice, and the playfulness in his personality. He remembered the conviction to his beliefs, the protectiveness over his students, and his unwavering courage to do what was right and not what was easy. He remembered the greatest Headmaster in Hogwart's history.

A single tear tracked his way down his cheek as he turned and walked out of the office for the last time. Thank you. He could not let himself falter in this mission. This was for Dumbledore.

As he stepped away from the gargoyle he was standing in front of his three friends who were trying to gauge his emotions. "I'm okay," he told them. Ginny stepped forward and snaked her hand into his. "Did you guys find it already?"

"I think we got it," Hermione said confidently. "It was in the restricted section," she said with a smile.

"Alright," Harry said with a sigh. "No better time than the present." The four walked briskly back to the trophy room. As he passed the windows he noticed that it was almost dark outside. He had spent more time in the office than he thought. They stepped into the trophy room and paused, gazing at their target.

"How far back can you be and still have the spell effective?" Harry asked.

"Probably ten feet," Hermione replied after taking a moment to think about it.

"Take all ten feet," Harry told her. "I have a feeling that when it realizes what we're doing that it'll strike out. We'll be there to protect you but no matter what happens you can't stop, okay?" Hermione nodded tentatively. "We'll do it here," he pointed to a spot on the floor, "I'll flank you on one side and Ron and Ginny will flank you on the other." The two Weasley's nodded their agreement. "As soon as something happens throw up a shield around Hermione. And 'Mione," she looked up at him, "you can't stop okay? No matter what don't stop, even if someone gets hit you have to complete the spell." She nodded again as they approached the spot and took up their positions.

Harry gave Hermione a nod to indicate they were starting. She began her incantation out of the book, tracing intricate patterns in the air with her wand. This went on for about a minute with no reaction from the horcrux. Then Harry felt it.

He could feel the heat coming from the trophy case in front of him. He knew that the award was getting ready to defend itself. Suddenly there was a burst of magic that Harry felt and it was the only warning he got. He threw his wand arm in front of Hermione a second before the blast came. A red beam shot out from the trophy so quick that no one saw it.

"Declino," Harry shouted. The red beam glanced off his wand and took a gouge out of the wall to the side. Immediately Ron and Ginny stepped in front of Hermione throwing up their Protego shields. Harry followed a second later. The next beam was not a blast but a constant wave of energy. The three shields reinforced each other to keep the spell away. When one shield failed, the other two would step up as the third was recast. This went on for two minutes, keeping Hermione safe to finish the spell.

As soon as the incantation was finished the red beam stopped. Out of breath and cautious, the three brought down their shields. They stood there for a moment to gather themselves. Harry stepped forward to the trophy case, extending his hand. When he touched the glass he felt the same tingle through his hand as before but there was no warmth.

"It worked," he said as he slowly slide the glass to the side. He tentatively took the award in one hand and removed it from it's place. The four stared at the plaque, thankful that the spell was a success.

"Good job Hermione," Harry told her. "And good shields you two. Nobody froze up and that's what saved us."

"Nice reactions speedy," Ginny replied. "If you hadn't caught that first blast I don't think anyone would have survived, judging by that," she nodded to the huge slash in the wall.

"Now," Hermione said, still a bit flustered, "how do we destroy it?" As she said this an odd feeling came over Harry. There was a small mental touch to his mind and his scar began to prick.

"We got bigger problems," Harry said. "He's here… Voldemort."