figured that would get people to review, hehe... anyway, next chapter!
Chapter Seventeen
The Loyal Servants
Albus felt the moment that Faykan and Harry were taken from the Hogwarts grounds. However, with no way of knowing where they had been taken, he had no means of doing anything to rescue Harry. He had to trust that Faykan would stop at nothing to bring them back safely. When, nearly a half hour later, Severus and Karkaroff gasped and clutched their forearms, Albus knew what had happened. Voldemort had found a way to rise again. Karkaroff made an excuse and left, practically running as he made for the gates to Hogsmeade. Albus doubted if he'd ever see the ex-Death Eater again.
It wasn't long afterward that they two boys reappeared in front of the maze. The crowds cheered, not realizing what Albus saw. Both boys were there, but only Harry's magical signature. Faykan had died, saving Harry most likely. Not exactly the way Albus wished the boy to have passed, facing down a newly resurrected Voldemort, but at least in the end he had served Albus' purposes in preserving Harry.
Harry had realized that his best friend was dead just as Albus reached him. He was rocking with Faykan's body in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Albus took his shoulders, forcing him to look away from the dead boy's body. "Harry! Harry!" he said, distracting him as Severus attempted to pry his fingers from Faykan.
"NO!" Harry screamed as he felt Severus trying to remove Faykan from him, and tightened his grip. "He's back, He's back, Voldemort." Harry whispered as he wept. "And he… and he… he killed him… HE KILLED HIM!" Albus staggered back slightly as he felt the seal he had placed on Harry's magic give way completly. Harry's eyes turned from their emerald green to a brilliant white as a conjured wind swirled around them all, billowing cloaks and causing Albus' beard to flap wildly. Harry spoke, and he voice was unrecognizable from the young boy Albus knew. "Faykan, lasto beth nîn, tolo dan nangalad!" [1] The light and presence of power drifted away from Harry after he spoke. Albus gaped; he hadn't expected Faykan to have taught the elven language to Harry, it could prove to be a powerful advantage. As Albus pondered the possibilities, and consequences of this situation, Cornelius came over from the judges table, looking white and appalled.
"My God… Undol!" he whispered. "Dumbledore… he's dead!"
The uttered words spread around the stands, people shouted, screamed it like cries against the heavens, "He's dead!" "He's dead!" "Faykan Undol! Dead!"
"Harry, let go of him," Cornelius said, joining Severus in prying Harry's fingers from Faykan. Deep cuts were left in the dead boy's skin from where Harry had been clutching him. The moment they released him to try and move the corpse, Harry dived back onto it. Albus moved in, pulled Harry up and embraced him, firstly to stop him preventing the removal of Faykan's body, and secondly to comfort the boy as he wailed and thrashed, trying with all his might to break away from Albus. The crowd pressed in, trying to find out what happened, while rumors circulated.
"He'll need to go to the hospital wind!" Cornelius said over the noise of the crowd, indicating Harry's leg, which had a massive vertical slash down it. "I'll take Harry, Dumbledore, I'll take him…"
"No, I would prefer to keep Harry in my sight right now, for his own safety." Albus replied, beckoning Alastor forward. "Alastor, hold Harry for me while I get the crowd back into the castle." Alastor threw his free arm around Harry and pried him off Albus as he turned to the crowd. Silently casting Sonorus, Albus started to speak, "Attention, something terrible has happened, until we can figure out what has occurred may I please have everyone go back to the castle in an orderly fashion, and await us in the Great Hall."
Albus turned to take Harry back from Alastor so he could question him, but they had vanished, and Albus finally realized it. It was not Alastor Moody who had shown up to teach this year. "Severus, Minerva, come quickly!" he said, sprinting back toward the castle.
It took far longer than Albus would have desired to find where the imposter Moody had taken Harry. Not only did they have to press through the returning crowds, but they had to guess the destination. Luckily their first choice was correct. Sprinting into the Defense room, Albus heard Moody's voice from the office at the rear of the room. "Mad, am I?" the imposter was saying, "We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him, and now… I conquer you!"
Albus would have wanted to sneak in, but there was no time. "Stupefy!" He bellowed, and with a great splintering and crashing, the door was blasted apart, and the thick, red jet of light threw the imposter backward onto the office floor. Harry was sitting, dazed and still in shock in a chair, still staring where the false Professor had been standing. Then he whipped around and stared fearfully as Albus swarmed the room with his magic, seeking out any more threats. Flipping over the imposter to reveal his face, Albus turned to look at Harry. Severus went to investigate the table of Dark Detectors while Minerva took Harry's arm, patting it in a comforting way.
"Come along Potter, hospital wing…"
"No," Albus said sharply.
"Dumbledore he ought to, look at him, he's been through enough tonight…"
"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand," Albus said curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight."
"Moody," Harry said. He was in a state of complete disbelief. "How can it have been Moody?"
"This is not Alastor Moody," Albus said quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew… and I followed."
Dumbledore bent down over the imposters limp form and put a hand inside his robes. He pulled out Alastor's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he turned to Severus and Minerva.
"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, and come back here."
After they had left, Albus set to find the real Alastor, looking first in the many compartmented trunk. He finally found him in the seventh layer of the trunk, in a deep pit. Alastor was stunned and extremely weak. Under his orders he had Harry throw him the imposter's cloak to wrap around Alastor, as he was very cold. He then climbed back out and explained the brilliance of the imposter's scheme, using Polyjuice Potion coupled with Alastor's real habit of drinking only from his hip flask to maintain his disguise. He also suggested that the imposter might, at the time of his plan's fruition, have not taken the potion as regularly, and therefore may change within the hour.
Together Albus and Harry then watched the imposter, and after nearly fifteen minutes, the potion began to wear off. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole and started to shrink. The long mane of grizzled gray hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning the color of straw. Suddenly, with a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.
It was Barty Crouch Jr... Severus confirmed it when he returned, Winky in tow. Minerva came in right behind, staring at the unconscious man on the floor. The elf shrieked and flung herself onto the young man's chest. "You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!"
"He is simply Stunned, Winky," Albus said calmly to the hysterical creature. "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion? Minerva, now is the time to take Harry to my office, then return."
Minerva jumped at the chance to remove her little lion from all this unpleasantness. Albus was thankful, because there were probably going to be some things that Harry should not hear, concerning the fate of Faykan. Severus handed him the Veritaserum as Minerva gently pushed Harry through the door. Albus bent over Barty Jr. and forced his mouth open, pouring three steady drops onto the younger man's tongue. Then he pointed his wand and said, "Enervate."
Crouch opened his eyes, at the sight of Albus he snarled, lunging forward slightly, only to be forced back by Severus' wand pressing into his cheek. "Can you hear me?" Albus asked, testing the truth serum. "Yes," Carty Jr. said, against his will.
"I would like you to tell us," Albus continued softly, "how you came to be here.
How did you escape from Azkaban?"
Crouch took a deep, shuddering breath, and began to speak in a flat, expressionless voice, explaining that his father switched him and his dying mother, as a last wish for her. Winky cried for him to stop, but the truth potion would not allow it. He continued, putting all the pieces that Albus had collected together, explaining that Berta Jorkins had discovered him at his father's house, and her memory was modified. She then was found by Voldemort in Albania, and Voldemort, being carried by Peter Pettigrew, was taken to liberate Barty after the World Cup, placing his father under the Imperius Curse in turn, and sending him to impersonate Alastor.
"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and Dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole boom-slang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."
"Now we know who was stealing form your stores Severus," Albus commented as Barty took a breath.
"I waited for the Triwizard Tournament to begin. Dumbledore asked me to watch Faykan Undol during the time before, to stress the boy, make him weaker. Then he asked he to place the boy's name in the Goblet of Fire, it was a simple matter to slip Potters name under a fourth school at the same time…"
"Why did Dumbledore want you to put Undol's name in the Goblet?" Severus asked before Albus could change the subject. He closed his eyes in defeat as Barty answered.
"To get him killed."
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Sirius paced the length of Dumbledore's office after Professor McGonagall let him inside. He was itching to see Harry as soon as possible, but Dumbledore forbade him to reveal himself to anyone. He stopped when the door reopened and Minerva led Harry inside.
"Stay here for the Headmaster please Potter," she said before leaving again.
Sirius' heart broke when he saw Harry's face, blank and seemingly drained of the excitement and joy he had seen in his eyes only months ago. The second McGonagall closed the door, Sirius leapt to Harry, changing back to human form. Pulling his godson to him, Sirius cradled his head as fresh waves of sobs were torn from the boy's throat. "Harry… Harry… Oh Harry I'm so sorry." Sirius whispered, rubbing small circles across the boy's back, urging him to release all his emotion. Harry looked like he wanted to speak, but no sound emerged. "Don't talk, I know, I know what happened." Sirius consoled. He had truly liked Faykan, and was devastated himself that the proud, wise boy had turned out to be Voldemort's first victim in his new reign of terror.
"I…I hate him…" Harry said hoarsely. Sirius understood completely. When James had died, Sirius had completely lost control of his emotion, hunting down Pettigrew before thinking of anything or anyone else. Dumbledore's phoenix swooped down to them and settled on the chair next to Harry, blinking tears into the massive gash on his leg.
Moments later Dumbledore himself walked in, looking mournful and agitated about something, the prior events most likely, and settled behind his desk. Harry stopped weeping and gave the Headmaster a sidelong look. Dumbledore gazed at him earnestly.
"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze Harry?" he said, pain etched in his voice.
"We can leave that till morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" said Sirius harshly, clutching Harry tighter to him. "Let him have a sleep. Let him rest."
"If I thought I could help you," Dumbledore said gently to Harry, "by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened."
The phoenix gave a soft warble of song, and the room seemed to fill with warmth, the cold dread of death seemed father away for the moment. It seemed to strengthen Harry, because he took a deep breath and began to speak, still wrapped in Sirius' arms. He told them of the horrible ritual he was forced to participate in, and Sirius swore he could see a smile of triumph in Dumbledore's eye for a moment, but he motioned for Harry to continue. Harry spoke of the mock duel he and Voldemort started, before Faykan intervened. At the mention of Faykan's name, Harry stuttered to a stop and gave a small gasping sob, but forced himself to continue on with how they battled all the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, continually fleeing to the portkey. He ended with how Voldemort and the Death Eaters all shot the killing curse simultaneously, and Faykan was thrown backward onto Harry, just as he grasped the cup.
When Harry fell silent, Dumbledore leaned forward, "I will say it again; you have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight Harry. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it, and you have now given us all we have a right to expect. You will come with me to the hospital wing. I do not want you returning to the dormitory tonight. A Sleeping Potion and some peace... Sirius, would you like to stay with him?"
Sirius nodded. He transformed back into the great black dog and walked with Harry and Dumbledore out of the office, accompanying them down a flight of stairs to the hospital wing.
When Dumbledore pushed open the door. Sirius saw Harry's friends and a pair of people that looked like Weasleys grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. They appeared to be demanding to know where Harry was and what had happened to him. All of them whipped around as Harry, Dumbledore, and Sirius entered, and the red haired woman let out a kind of muffled scream.
"Harry! Oh Harry!"
She dashed forward, but Dumbledore restrained them all, telling them that Harry needed peace and rest for the time being, proceeded to put Harry straight to bed.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Severus was appalled with Albus. The man had conspired to kill a fourteen year old boy, for a reason he would not confide with Severus. The man was no worse than Voldemort. Severus stormed to the classroom where Filius had lain Faykan's body to rest for the time being, Severus himself planned to give the boy a proper funeral that would have made his parents proud.
As he closed the door behind him, he saw Faykan's body, resting almost peacefully on the teacher's desk. Filius had done a supreme job of mending the boy's shattered arms, although there were new scars where what appeared to have been pieces of the boy's wand had imbedded itself into his skin. They were powerful magical wounds, and like the scar the boy had already, they would never heal, even if the boy was alive to heal. Severus approached, trembling slightly as he looked down at the boy who he had fought against, chided, been attacked by, and finally had comforted over the last four years. Severus' hands shook as he straightened the boy's robes around him, making him look as if he was only sleeping. A slip of parchment fell from the boy's robes as he maneuvered the arms across Faykan's chest. Severus picked it up gingerly, it was very old. Opening it he read the short message.
'The Treegarth of Orthanc is the home of Faykan Undol.'
Severus felt the magic of a Fidelius charm break over him, and smiled slightly. This small piece of parchment had given Severus all he needed to make sure the boy was laid to rest as he should be. He looked down at Faykan one last time, preparing to leave and collect the boy's possessions before anyone decided to 'acquire' them. "I swear to you, I will avenge the wrongs done to you Faykan Undol. From both sides of this war…"
He was just passing the Hospital Wing when Minerva and Fudge went by, barging into the ward. Worried at what the idiotic little man was up to now, Severus followed.
"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of Mrs. Weasley.
"He's not here," said Mrs. Weasley angrily. "This is a hospital wing. Minister, don't you think you'd do better to…"
But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward.
"What has happened?" said Dumbledore sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva I'm surprised at you, I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch."
"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "The Minister has seen to that!"
Severus had never seen Professor McGonagall lose control like this. There were angry blotches of color in her cheeks, and her hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.
"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but…"
Severus raised his eyebrows, knowing full well what a dementor would do upon seeing an escaped Death Eater.
"My dear woman!" roared Fudge, who rather looked more like a blathering baboon than angry, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous…"
But Minerva's rage drowned Fudge's voice completely.
"The moment that… that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and… and…"
"By all accounts, he is no loss!" blustered Fudge. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths'."
"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."
"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" blustered Fudge. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"
"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."
Severus glared at Dumbledore, knowing he would never admit his hand in this affair, but resenting it regardless.
Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore. "You-Know-Who... returned? Preposterous! Come now, Dumbledore..."
"As Minerva and Severus would doubtlessly tell you," said Dumbledore, "we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort, learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins, went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."
"See here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, looking like they were all trying to play a bad joke on him, "you… you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who… back? Come now, come now... certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders, but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore..."
"When Harry touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, he was transported straight to Voldemort," said Dumbledore steadily. "He witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office."
Severus twitched in anger, far be it from Dumbledore to even mention the other person who had been there, who had lost their life in that madness.
Dumbledore glanced around toward Potter, and Severus, who had followed his eyes, saw that the boy was awake, "I am afraid I cannot permit you to question Harry tonight." Dumbledore said.
Fudge's stupid little smile of disbelief lingered. He too glanced at Potter, then looked back at Dumbledore, and said, "You are… err… prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?"
There was a moment's silence, which was broken by the large black dog near Potter's bed growling. His hackles were raised, and he was baring his teeth at Fudge.
"Certainly, I believe Harry," said Dumbledore. His eyes were blazing now. "I heard Crouch's confession, and I heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; the two stories make sense, they explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer."
Fudge still had that strange smile on his face. Once again, he glanced at Potter before answering.
"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who... well..."
Fudge shot Potter another look.
"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge," Potter said quietly.
The Weasleys, Granger, and Draco all jumped. None of them had realized that Potter was awake.
Fudge reddened slightly, but a defiant and obstinate look came over his face.
"And if I have?" he said, looking at Dumbledore. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place…"
"I assume that you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar?" said Dumbledore coolly.
"You admit that he has been having these pains, then?" said Fudge quickly. "Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly, hallucinations?"
"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, taking a step toward Fudge, and his magic illuminated the room as he became irritated at Fudge's idiocy. "Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord
Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous."
Fudge had taken half a step back from Dumbledore, but he looked no less stubborn.
"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before..."
"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" Potter shouted. He tried to get out of bed again, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy…"
Severus jerked, knowing that Potter now probably knew of a certainty of his status, but as Potter looked at him, Severus saw no malice in his eyes.
"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, visibly affronted. "A very old family… donations to excellent causes…"
"Macnair!" Harry continued.
"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"
"Avery… Nott… Crabbe… Goyle…"
"You are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" said Fudge angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heavens sake Dumbledore, the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year too, his tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them, the boy can talk to snakes Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy?"
"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Faykan Undol! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!"
"I see no evidence to the contrary!" shouted Fudge, now matching her anger, his face purpling. "It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"
"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the Dementors…"
Severus stopped listening as Dumbledore and Fudge argued about politics and what he knew as Dumbledore secret agenda for what the Ministry should do, not that he would take a direct hand in it. Fudge was not hearing any of it either though, due to his bigotry and corruption.
"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I… I shall act as I see fit."
Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand. "Now, see here, Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger. "I've given you free rein, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -"
"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."
It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..."
Severus decided to act Gryffindorish for once in his life, and strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.
"There," he said harshly, hoping the idiot man would see sense with the true glaring at him in the face. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Apparate instantly at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."
Fudge stepped back from Severus too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word he had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Severus' arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."
He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped at Potter's bed.
"Your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto the bedside table. "One thousand Galleons... There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances..."
He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around Potter's bed.
"There is work to be done," he said. "Molly... am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"
"Of course you can," said the Weasley matriarch. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."
"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."
"I'll go to Dad," said Bill, standing up. "I'll go now."
"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry…"
"Leave it to me," said Bill.
He clapped a hand on Potter's shoulder, kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room.
"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also, if she will consent to come, Madame Maxime."
Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word.
"Poppy," Dumbledore said to Madam Pomfrey, "would you be very kind and go down to Professor Moody's office, where I think you will find a house elf called Winky in considerable distress? Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens."
"Very… very well," said Madam Pomfrey, looking startled, and she too left.
Dumbledore made sure that the door was closed, and that Madam Pomfrey's footsteps had died away, before he spoke again.
"And now," he said, "it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius... if you could resume your usual form."
The great black dog looked up at Dumbledore, then, in an instant, turned back into a man.
Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back from the bed.
"Sirius Black!" she shrieked, pointing at him.
"Mum, shut up!" her youngest son yelled. "It's okay!"
Severus had not yelled or jumped backward, in fact he remained completely unchanged by the fact that his school rival had materialized in the room.
"What, no snide remark Snape?" Black asked, looking confused at him.
"I… do not care anymore." Severus said, surprising himself with the sincerity, "this night has been full of enough distress without our old feud adding to it. You are here for Potter, while I, while I am here for the memory of the fallen…"
Everyone in the room was staring at him, but Severus forced himself to not care about their scrutiny.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and began speaking again, "I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher… the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."
"But…" Potter started to complain.
"You'll see me very soon. Harry," said Black, turning to him. "I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don't you?"
"Yeah," said Potter. "Yeah... of course I do."
Black grasped the boy's hand briefly, nodded to Dumbledore, transformed again into the black dog, and ran the length of the room to the door, whose handle he turned with a paw. Then he was gone.
"Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to him, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready... if you are prepared ..."
"I am," Severus replied, glaring slightly at the old man.
"Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, and Severus swept from the room, preparing himself to face the Dark Lord.
[1] lasto beth nîn, tolo dan nan galad : hear my voice, come back to the light.