Harry's Last Save…
I was there you know… At the end of things, I mean. He'd been brought in after feeling unwell for several weeks and most people had guessed, rightly as it turned out, his body was slowly shutting down. He never seemed to be bothered by it; in fact I rather think he was ready to welcome death like an old friend or something. Every Healer knew his tale, knew his life and knew he was upset at not having any of his friends for the last fifty years of his life.
"If you are the one to find me dead, Madam Healer" the old man would say in the most old fashioned of politeness, "Make sure I am carrying three pieces of gold to pay the ferryman" and I simply smiled and nodded indulgently. It was not until after he died and I carried out his request that a Muggle Born friend told me the background of the phrase…
The day he died, news came in of a hostage situation with some New Death Eaters, as they styled themselves, getting hold of a lot of children and threatening to kill one every hour until their demands were met. The old man had been signing papers, nobody had the heart or guts to remove him from his job, and heard all about it. Energy seemed to fill him with a renewed spirit and he got out of bed and carefully dressed in his uniform – the old style seen only in museums and photographs. Truth be told, only the man in front of me was ever seen wearing it – a blood red tunic with a black belt and a pointed star as the buckle. Black trousers with a gold stripe on each leg and dragon hide boots completed the outfit along with a cape.
Nobody ever knew why he had a long trenchcoat like cape, but he always wore it…
"I hear there is a hostage situation" the man said.
"Yes" the Healer in his room replied, "They've taken at least four adults hostage as well as two dozen young children. I'm told they have already killed another three children as a warning to the Aurors"
"Tell me where to find those responsible – then dig more graves" the extremely old man said. "If you excuse me, Master Healer, it seems as if I have to go do a little cleaning up" and he apperated out of the room.
#
"Crucio!" the man screamed and the 9 year old was hit by the curse and she screamed until she passed out from the pain. "I can't wait to break her"
"And I this one" said his companion – just before the door broke apart and disintegrated against the far wall.
"And I can't wait to break the pair of you" somebody stepped through the swirling dust dressed in the old style uniform with one hand holding their wand and the other resting on the hilt of a sword. "Surrender, and I promise you a fair trial"
"Go to hell, old man…" the pair snarled and fired curses at him. The old man simply frowned before smirking and walking forward and allowing the curses to hit him. The Death Eaters started to panic as they cast more and more powerful spells which seemed to have no effect.
"Old man?" and swung with his wand in a slashing motion at the throat of the one on the left as he drew the sword and stabbed the other in the heart. "Looks like this old man beat your arses"
"You… might… win" croaked one as they drowned in their own blood, "But so do we…" and he pulled a switch out of his robe and pressed it – dying as he did so. The old man blinked as a flash filled the room and he saw a rapidly approaching fireball. He cast a summoning spell which gathered all the children to him, dead and alive, before channelling all of his magic into a shield spell that enclosed them all and took the blast.
The rescue team couldn't get in for at least an hour, but when they did, they found all of the children in the shield, dead and alive, with the eldest of the group holding the sword that the old man had always carried into battle. At the sound of the Aurors, the other children gathered in a protective circle around his body whilst the girl holding the sword stepped forward and held it as best as she could. There was silence between the adults and the frightened, angry, hurt and confused as creaking noises echoed through the building and dust still fell from the ceiling. Bracing herself for an attack, she spoke the same words that had been spoken by a House Elf named Dobby two hundred years before
"You will not harm Harry Potter"
