Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen: Aftermath
Daphne, Remus, and Tonks entered the hospital wing. In a bed near the door lay Neville. Ernie and Hannah were in beds next to him. They all seemed to be asleep, but Daphne didn't see any obvious wounds on any of them.
Near a bed at the far end of the room were Hermione, Ron, and Luna, and Daphne and the others quickly made their way over to them.
Daphne gasped when she saw Bill, whose face had been ripped and slashed so badly it was almost unrecognizable. Madam Pomfrey was dabbing his wounds with a harsh-smelling green ointment. Before she could even ask anything, the door of the hospital wing opened again, and Harry and Ginny came in. Like Daphne, Harry was shocked when he saw Bill's face.
"Harry…what happened?" Lupin asked. "We saw you running from the tower…"
"Dumbledore is dead," Harry said flatly, and despite already knowing, despite having known it the moment she saw Harry sprinting after the Death Eaters, it was still a harsh blow to hear it. By the way Lupin winced Daphne knew he was in a similar situation.
"How did it happen?" Tonks asked.
"Snape killed him," Harry said, and his expression became so furious that even Daphne was momentarily afraid of him. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was…Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but he knew it was a trap. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, but I was under the Invisibility Cloak, so none of the Death Eaters saw me. Malfoy Disarmed Dumbledore, because Dumbledore had wasted a second on paralyzing me…and then more Death Eaters came…and then Snape. And Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra."
Madam Pomfrey burst into tears, but no one paid any attention to her, except Ginny, who whispered, "Shh! Listen!"
Daphne strained her ears, and she could hear it: a phoenix was singing, and every bit of emotion, of anger, of sadness, of fear, seemed to be in the notes, which resonated deep within her in way nothing else ever could.
She realized she was crying, that everyone else was, too, but with the phoenix song in her heart there was a strange beauty to the mourning.
After what might have been either minutes or hours, McGonagall entered the hospital wing, also looking like she'd been involved in hard fighting. She was followed by Mr. Weasley and Sirius.
"Molly is on her way," McGonagall said. "Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he…when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some–"
"Snape killed Dumbledore," Harry said.
"Snape?!" Sirius exploded. He immediately looked at Daphne. "You said you knew why Dumbledore trusted him, and that it was ironclad!"
Daphne winced at the accusatory tone in Sirius's voice, but worse than that was the look that Harry gave her, that said that he agreed with Sirius. She'd known the moment would come, of course, but seeing Harry, of all people, looking at her like that called up uncomfortable memories to her boggart all those years ago.
"Dumbledore and I were both wrong, I guess," she said flatly.
"What was the secret?" Harry asked.
Daphne looked away. "It doesn't matter anymore. It wasn't enough, clearly. No use worrying about it anymore."
"I don't care. I want to know. I want to know what could have been so strong that both Dumbledore and you believed he wouldn't betray us," Harry said.
Daphne hesitated. If their roles had been reversed, she'd want to know the truth as well, and she wanted nothing more than to tell Harry everything…but she couldn't. Not here, not now. There were just too many people in the room, but even if there weren't, she still didn't want to betray Snape's trust. She had to come up with something else, something that would convince Harry to drop the matter, without revealing anything. And maybe, she knew how she could do it.
"When Dumbledore learned I knew this secret, he asked me to keep it, even from the ones I was closest to. You were even there when he told me that, Harry. Even though Snape, clearly, wasn't worth trusting, I'm still not going to break the promise I made Dumbledore, and certainly not now, of all times."
Harry looked like he wanted to argue, but then he sighed and nodded.
"Would Dumbledore really object to you revealing the information now, though?" Sirius asked.
"Just because he's gone doesn't mean my promise to him is," Daphne said.
"Well, what about you, then, Harry? You were with Dumbledore, weren't you? What were you doing?" Sirius asked.
Harry shook his head. "If you don't already know, I can't tell you. I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't share it with anyone."
"Harry, in light of the situation–" McGonagall began, but Daphne interrupted, "Dumbledore told us once that, if we had important information for him but someone from the Order of the Phoenix tried to dissuade us from bringing it to him, we should remind them that phoenix song is meant to be heard with the heart. Now, this might be about withholding information instead — both Harry's information and mine — but I think it should still count."
Fawkes was still singing his mournful song, and Daphne knew its haunting notes would only emphasize the code phrase Dumbledore had given them, but which they'd never needed to use.
"He said that?" Remus asked, sounding slightly amazed. "He told you those words?"
Daphne and Harry exchanged a look, and then Harry nodded. "Yeah. What…what does it mean?"
"It means he truly saw you as equals in this fight," Sirius said, sounding just as amazed as Remus had done. "'Phoenix song is meant to be heard with the heart' was a signal phrase we used in the first war. It was used by people who weren't official members of the Order of the Phoenix for whatever reason, but whose trustworthiness was guaranteed by Dumbledore himself.
"If someone used it, it meant that no matter how far-fetched or unlikely something they said was, it was of vital importance, and Dumbledore would understand why or how. If he told you to use that phrase, then he was truly convinced of your capabilities."
He grinned ruefully. "I guess I'll drop it, then. The Order of the Lightning Bolt is truly the Order of the Phoenix's equal."
Daphne was speechless, and she could tell that Harry was, too. Though they'd both known Dumbledore had come to respect them, neither of them had truly understood the extent of it until now.
"So…how did things go here, then?" Harry asked after a moment, his voice sounding a bit constrained.
Daphne and the others filled him in on the appearance of the Death Eaters, and how they'd gone to warn the Order of the Phoenix and then joined the battle. When they'd just finished telling him everything, the doors of the hospital wing opened yet again and Mrs. Weasley and Fleur came in.
"Bill," Mrs. Weasley whispered when she approached the bed. She turned to McGonagall. "You said Greyback attacked him? But he hadn't transformed, so what will happen to Bill now?" she asked.
"We don't yet know," McGonagall said, looking helplessly at Remus.
"There will probably be some contamination," Remus said. "It is an odd case, possibly unique…we don't know what his behavior might be like when he wakes up…"
Daphne looked at Bill's mangled face again. It really did look like he'd been attacked by a wild beast. And then she realized what her prediction had meant.
"Claws and teeth…" she muttered. "The prediction I made was about Greyback."
Harry's expression darkened. "He did look like an animal, almost…but Malfoy hadn't expected him to be here, I think. Even he looked afraid of him. But not even Greyback seemed to dare to get in Snape's way…"
Hagrid came into the hospital wing now, telling McGonagall that Dumbledore's body had been moved, and that the Ministry had been informed of what had happened. McGonagall then asked Harry and Hagrid to come with her, while Daphne, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron went to the Gryffindor common room. Daphne had no intention of being anywhere other than with Harry tonight.
Even though they'd known that Dumbledore was likely going to die, and even though Daphne knew that his death had been inevitable even if Malfoy hadn't sent Death Eaters into the school, it was much worse to have it happen for real. It was the difference between knowing and understanding.
Harry joined them in the common room later, explaining that the students would be allowed to stay for the funeral…or at least, the ones who hadn't been picked up by their parents would. He also sent a message to the Order of the Lightning Bolt that he'd explain most of what had happened to all of them the next day.
When the time had arrived for the meeting to start, everyone who was still in school showed up early, as Harry had expected. Neville, who'd run into a cursed barrier trying to get up to the Astronomy Tower, was still recovering and was supported by Luna, while all other injuries had been healed by now.
Harry got to his feet, and everyone in the room fell quiet at once. "First of all, thank you to everyone who heeded our call and joined the fight against the Death Eaters. If you hadn't, there might have been many more victims last night. You'll likely already have heard some rumors, but now you'll get the true story. Dumbledore was killed by Snape, after Draco Malfoy had succeeded in letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts through a Vanishing Cabinet connected with another one in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley."
Angry mutterings and whispers went through the hall. To Daphne's great relief, however, no one seemed to mistrust the Slytherin members of the Order, who'd also joined in with the fight against the Death Eaters.
"How did they know when to strike?" Ernie asked.
"Malfoy had sent Crabbe to Hogsmeade ahead of time, getting him out of Hogwarts through the Vanishing Cabinet. Goyle, meanwhile, used Polyjuice Potion to make it seem like Crabbe was still here — they were in so many detentions already that one of them not turning up to a class wasn't that out of place for them. Crabbe then informed Malfoy with a two-way mirror when Dumbledore and I left the school, as well as when we returned."
"How could the Death Eaters have beaten Dumbledore, though? Last year he beat a group of Aurors without any trouble at all," Dean said, and the angry tone of the whispers now become curious as others wanted to know the same thing.
"Dumbledore and I had left the school. I can't tell you why — Dumbledore made me promise not to reveal it — but he was greatly weakened during the trip. When we returned, in order to save my life, he immobilized me, and lost the chance to defend himself against Malfoy's Disarming Charm in the process," Harry said. "And that brings me to the next thing I want to talk about."
He took a deep breath and looked at his closest friends and girlfriends in turn. "Daphne, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and I…won't be returning to Hogwarts next year. Dumbledore gave us a task to complete, a task that will allow us to finally defeat Voldemort once and for all.
"That doesn't mean, however, that the Order of the Lightning Bolt should be disbanded. You can all still continue to meet up, still continue to train, and I really think you should. Dumbledore was proud of this group and believed it to be exactly what the wizarding world needed in this war, and I…well, I'm also proud of all of us.
"If this year was your last year, but you want to help battle Voldemort and the Death Eaters, go talk to McGonagall and tell her you want to join the Order of the Phoenix. She knows that we exist, and she knows Dumbledore approved. If you're underage and your parents don't want you to return to school, keep practicing everything you've learned here on your own. Teach your family, if they'll listen. Stay safe, whatever you do."
He fell silent. "I…don't know if and when I'll see all of you again, after Dumbledore's funeral. In case this is the last time…I honestly wouldn't have missed any of this for the world, and I think all of us have become much stronger."
"We'll keep fighting, Harry," Neville said. "While you're off doing whatever Dumbledore told you to do, we'll make sure everyone at Hogwarts stays safe, no matter what Voldemort might try."
Cheers of approval went up everywhere in the Room of Requirement, and Daphne grinned. It was hard to imagine that Neville had once been the weakest member of the group. Despite still being injured, he seemed completely determined to fight, and he'd clearly earned the respect from the others as well.
"Neville should be our new leader," Dean said.
"Yeah, and Luna as well," Cho said, smiling at Luna.
"And Tracey," Lucy said.
"And Susan," Hannah added.
"That's actually a pretty good idea," Harry said. "If the four of you all take the lead, the Order will truly show that there's unity here at Hogwarts. If you'll all accept your friends' nominations?" he asked, looking at Neville, Luna, Tracey, and Susan.
One by one, they nodded, their expressions determined even though all four of them seemed surprised at the confidence their Housemates gave them.
"Well, with all of that settled…I think we should all go back to our common rooms for now. Relax while we still can. For the last time, thank you all, and good luck with everything ahead of us," Harry said.
Everyone began to file out, many people coming up to Harry and the others first to wish them luck on their mission, until eventually, as usual, only the five of them remained in the Room of Requirement.
"It's going to be odd, not coming back here," Harry said, looking around.
"Yeah…but I think the group will manage," Daphne said.
"I'm just glad we're staying together," Ginny said softly. She looked at Harry. "I keep expecting you to suddenly sneak off, or something, to go and do everything on your own after all out of some stupidly noble motivation, or something."
Harry smiled faintly. "I might've done, but…I don't want to do this on my own. And Dumbledore even allowed me to tell all of you about the Horcruxes. He knew you'd want to come with me. If love truly is the power I have that Voldemort lacks, having you with me will only make me stronger. Besides, it's not like you wouldn't be in danger otherwise. It's well-known you're my friends, and most people also know Daphne and Ginny are my girlfriends. Voldemort would go after you regardless, so I'd rather have you with me than having to worry about you while I'm off…wherever."
He frowned. "But there's a bit of a problem. To destroy the Horcruxes, we need a weapon capable of putting them beyond magical repair. The sword of Gryffindor could do it, but there's no way for me to get it out of the office; all entrances in and out of Hogwarts are still under heavy guard, and with Scrimgeour himself prowling around, I don't want to have to answer questions about it.
"Dumbledore told me he had a plan for it, but he never got around to telling me what that plan was. Presumably, since he was aware he was going to die, we'll get our hands on it somehow…but before then, the only real option we have is Fiendfyre, and that's exceptionally dangerous, from what Dumbledore told me."
"Well, at least we've got one of the Horcruxes, right?" Ron asked.
Harry, however, slowly shook his head. "We don't. The one Dumbledore and I retrieved was a fake."
He pulled a note out of his robes and handed it to Ron. Daphne read alone over his shoulder.
"But…how are we ever going to find it, then?" Ron asked.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. We'll need to find out who R.A.B. is and work from there, I suppose. Ironic that the one time Dumbledore actually involves me directly, everything goes wrong immediately."
"So what, exactly, happened when you went with him?" Daphne asked.
Harry told them how Dumbledore had taken them to a cave, within which they'd taken a boat to the center of a lake filled with Inferi. The fake Horcrux, a locket, had been placed at the bottom of a basin filled with a potion that couldn't be tampered with in any way, other than drinking it, which Dumbledore had done, supported by Harry. Then, in an attempt to get Dumbledore some water, the Inferi had woken up, and Dumbledore had barely recovered enough to get them out of the cave again, and they'd Apparated back into Hogsmeade, where they'd spotted the Dark Mark. Using brooms borrowed from Madam Rosmerta, they'd flown back to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore had been killed by Snape.
"I chased him down, tried to fight him," Harry said angrily. "But he parried every single spell I tried to use…so I tried to use that last spell I found in the Half-Blood Prince's book, Sectumsempra, the one marked as 'for enemies'."
"Did it work?" Ron asked.
Harry shook his head. "No. Snape parried that, too, and then told me…that he was the Half-Blood Prince. That he had invented those spells."
He clenched his fists angrily. "And it made so much sense, too. The skill at Potions, the fascination with jinxes and hexes…and I just didn't want to see it. Didn't want to accept that the person who helped me so much over the year was actually a Death Eater. I made the same mistake Dumbledore made, despite the warning signs."
Daphne hesitated again. They were alone, now, so she could tell them about Snape, tell them there was more to it than what they knew…but the promise she'd made, to Snape himself and to Dumbledore, to not even reveal the secret to Harry and the others, kept her quiet in spite of her own desire to tell the truth. Hopefully, it would be revealed one day.
She saw Ginny giving her a suspicious look, so she quickly smiled and focused on the conversation again.
"Well…I guess…we should go back to our common rooms. It'll probably be our last time seeing them, unless we come back after everything is over to do our final year," Harry said wistfully.
Daphne could understand why he was reluctant. Hogwarts was Harry's home, far more than any other place. And tomorrow, after Dumbledore's funeral, he'd possibly be leaving it forever.
Daphne didn't mind it nearly as much. While she loved Hogwarts as well, and saw it as a kind of home, it didn't hold the same place for her as it did for Harry. Leaving a year early didn't really bother her, either, and she wasn't entirely sure if she'd ever return to take her final year at all. Maybe if Harry and Ginny went back, she'd go as well.
She was the first to get up. "I'll see you all at breakfast."
She kissed Harry and Ginny goodnight and then left the Room of Requirement, taking her time to walk back to the dungeons. Many Slytherins had already left the school, so when she entered the common room, it was deserted. Tracey was the only person in the dorm.
"Not staying in the Room tonight?" she asked when Daphne entered.
Daphne shook her head. "No. It's…not really the time for it, now. I don't know. Everything is just so weird. We knew Dumbledore would die, but not how it would happen…"
"I didn't think Snape would kill him," Tracey said. "I mean, he wasn't exactly an impartial teacher, and for the first three-and-a-half years, he wasn't a particularly good one, either. But that he'd actually kill Dumbledore…"
Daphne remained silent, her secret still weighing on her mind. "Let's…let's just get some sleep," she said after a few moments.
Tracey seemed to realize that Daphne was hiding something, but fortunately, she didn't ask any other questions, and soon, the dorm was dark and quiet. And in the darkness, Daphne finally allowed all her frustration and sadness to catch up with her, and didn't bother fighting her tears.
Just one more chapter of year six left, and then we go into the final one. I think the story will be finished in the next three weeks, or so.
