The Phantom of Hogwarts
(The True Story)
Chapter Six: The Final Exam
Hermione opened her eyes to see the Great Hall's dance floor played out on the stage in his chamber. Only the people were missing from the magnificent replica.
"Forgive me for removing you from your masquerade."
"I would rather be with you than all the people in the world or dancing across the grandest of stages."
He grasped her hands with his. "Oh, how my heart takes flight to hear you say such things."
"All are true, my Master."
She reached up to touch his face. Her palm could feel smooth skin while her fingers trailed the edge of his mask. He raised a hand and pressed hers tighter against his face.
"I know that you long to see beneath my mask. Though I cannot show you now, I shall soon. For now, the time of your great lesson has arrived, my Angel."
"Teach me all that you wish."
A smile curved his face. "Do you know what the greatest of all magic is?"
Hermione bit her lip as she considered all that she had learned.
"It's love, my Angel. In all the universe, there is no greater magic. Many have tried to understand it. Even more, have tried to control or possess it. The truth is that love … true love must be given. You, my Angel, have given this to me."
If Hermione still breathed, she was unaware, as she anticipated his next words.
"I love you, Hermione Granger. My Angel of Magic."
"I love you too," Hermione breathed.
Then, they were kissing once more. The gentle way that he held her drew her closer to him. She could feel their love surging through her being. As they parted, new courage burned within her.
"May I know your name? The name that you were once called?"
He hesitated, then sighed. "I was once called Harry. Harry James Potter."
"I love you," she breathed, as his eyes sparkled, "Harry James Potter."
"You cannot possibly fathom how long I have waited to hear those words."
"Then I will say them to you every day so that you never have to long to hear them again."
Tears streaked his cheeks as he wiped a strand of hair from her face. "How I wish you could."
"Why can't I?"
"No!" He turned away from her. "You do not understand what it is that you speak of."
She placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Then explain it to me, my … Harry."
"I am the Phantom. I am bound to this castle for all eternity. You are not. You must live your life. The world shall marvel at your majesty while I hold to your love from within my prison."
"You said that love is the greatest of all magic. Surely our love can break this curse."
His breathing became ragged. "There is but one way that remains to break the spell that binds me, and it is far too dangerous."
Hermione moved around to face him. "Is our love not worth the danger?"
"Hermione, my Angel, if I were to fail, then you would be cursed to spend all of eternity in my place. This thought I cannot bear."
She placed her hand beneath his chin. "Then I know that you won't fail. Show me what it is that we must do."
"Very well, my Angel."
He took her by the hand and led her across the chamber. He reached out and waved a hand over the water. From its depths, a plinth rose to meet them.
"All the world has heard of the fabled diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. However, the greatest of all her creations was this." He picked up a black cherry wand from the plinth's center. "Created for her daughter, she crafted it with the precision and skill of the wisest witch of that age. In doing so, she imbibed it with an unexpected ingredient."
"Love."
"Correct, my Angel. The power of her love for her daughter enhanced the properties of her magic as she created her masterpiece. Then, tragedy struck, and her daughter never received this great gift. Before Roena's passing, she placed it here for safekeeping." He presented it to her. "Take it."
Hermione obeyed. The moment she touched the wand, a swirl of magic raced across the surface of the water until it reached them. A floor-length mirror with intricate markings all around its frame rose from the center of the swirl.
"Do you trust me, my Angel?"
"With my heart."
At her words, he disappeared. Moments later, he reappeared inside the mirror. The reflective surface rippled as a golden hand pressed through.
"Take my hand, Hermione, and I shall show you what must be done."
Hermione swallowed, then placed her hand in his. The next moment, she stood on the other side next to him. Swirls of gold surrounded them.
"Where are we?"
"Where the magic meets the night, my Angel. I once entered this portal so that I might rid the world of evil. However, another great evil robbed me of my chance to return home. This mask prevents me from becoming one with the golden swirls. As long as you're holding my hand, the mask protects you as well."
"How do we break this spell?"
"I must face the evil and force it to take my place. This requires a sacrifice—an act of love. Someone must willingly wear this mask and take my place until I have completed the task. Then both of us shall be free."
Hermione handed him the wand, then reached for his mask. His breathing became ragged once more as she removed his cover, then placed it upon her face. Magic flooded her soul as the power of the castle engulfed her being. He gripped her hand tighter, forcing her gaze back to his nearly flawless face. The slightest trace of a scar etched his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt.
"Thank you, my Angel. I shall not fail you."
"I know. Now go. Do what must be done so that we might be free."
Harry stepped through the mirror, then turned to face her image. Through his mask, he could see her eyes, full of love for him. He gripped Ravenclaw's wand. He knew what must be done.
~~~Phantom~~~
Ron's head drooped as the morning sun began to light the horizon. His body slumped against the ropes that bound him to Gryffindor tower. If it hadn't been for the rise and fall of his chest, one would have believed him to be dead.
"Morning."
Ron lifted his head in the direction of the voice, then blinked several times. The Phantom had returned. He went to speak, but nothing came out.
"Forgive me, but you'll have to speak up."
A warmth filled Ron's throat, forcing him to cough. "Please, let me go," he muttered. "I'll never bother Hermione again."
"Twelve hours," Harry hissed. "That's all it took for you to give up on her forever. You never deserved her friendship. How you could believe that you were ever worthy of being a suitor is beyond my comprehension."
Harry waved a hand, and they were in the Gryffindor boy's dorms. Ron laid on his side in his four-poster bed.
"You're better than this, Ron Weasley. You have the potential to be someone. It's time to use the voice you were given for more than just complaining. Rest now, for this shall be a most interesting day."
Harry waved a hand over Ron, and his eyelids slid shut.
~~~Phantom~~~
The Great Hall filled with students and staff while the Headmaster looked on over the podium. His electric-blue eyes scanned every face as they entered. Once the whole of the school had filtered inside and found a seat at their house table, Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I have called this meeting to discuss the disappearance of one of your fellow students, Ms. Hermione Granger." Murmuring spread through the hall. "Many of you were in attendance when she vanished from this very hall. The Hogwarts staff has searched the castle and the grounds without any fortune. Tomorrow, Aurors from the Ministry of Magic will arrive to assist with the search. However, I employ anyone that might have a clue as to her whereabouts, now is the time to lift your voice."
"What about the stranger from the ball?"
"Ms. Brown, the stranger from the ball that impersonated Mr. McLaggen hasn't been seen since then."
"It wasn't a stranger," Ron shouted. "It was the Phantom of Hogwarts! He's taken her! He tied me to the outside of Gryffindor tower and left me there all night!"
More murmuring erupted.
"Everyone. Please settle down." Dumbledore motioned with his hands for quiet. "We must remain calm. Now, Mr. Weasley, I understand that you're distraught. We all are. I have heard of your claim. However, your fellow Gryffindors have assured me that you were in your bed all night."
"It wasn't a dream!" Ron shouted as Neville attempted to drag him back to his seat.
"As for the Phantom of Hogwarts. I can assure everyone that no such person or specter exists."
"Are you certain, Headmaster?"
The Great Hall inhabitants turned to see a man with long black hair and emerald green eyes. He wore a burnt red button-up shirt, black pants, black boots, and a black flowing cloak.
"Who are you, sir?" Dumbledore demanded.
The enchanted ceiling crackled with lightning as a boom of thunder echoed through the Great Hall. "I am the stranger from the Ball, though many of you here know me."
"It's the Phantom!" Luna cried in awe, standing up and pointing towards the entrance.
Harry bowed in her direction.
"Nonsense!" Dumbledore bellowed. "The Phantom of Hogwarts does not exist!"
"You know better than that, Dumbledore," Harry hissed. "After all, you created me." He brandished Rowena Ravenclaw's wand, pointed it at the Headmaster, and earned a squeak of surprise from the Head of Ravenclaw. "You sacrificed me for your greater good, Dumbledore! This is our point of no return! Your games of make-believe have reached an end! This is the final exam!"
The whole of the Great Hall seemed to hold their breath as one.
"You, Dumbledore, sent me back to the days of the Founders. To use my memories to change Salazaar Slytherin's heart and convince him to let go of his ideologies for the sake of the Wizarding world. And it worked! The world that you enjoy is all because of me! Yet the Founders couldn't send me back. Without something tying me to the present, such as a Time-Turner does, I had no way to return."
Harry strolled closer to the staff table.
"Though I learned much from them and they accepted me as family, I longed to return home to my time. Thus, the Founders devised a way to preserve me within this castle until the day arrived that my future self matched my preserved age. Then, our souls could merge and become one. The enchanted a mask to conceal me and keep my soul from being absorbed by the castle's magic."
"This is madness."
"Is it, Dumbledore? Do you know how many former and current Professors that I have tutored during my existence? Always keeping the balance within these walls until the day came that I could leave my prison and walk again in the world of men?" Harry bowed to Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall.
Dumbledore's hands shook so hard they rocked the podium. "What have you done with Ms. Granger?"
Draco and Ron stirred from their seats at this statement.
"I would never harm Ms. Granger, Dumbledore. She is my Angel of Magic. She has allowed me to step through the veil and return to your world once more. She can hear all that we say and see all that happens. When I am done here today, she shall return."
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "If I may. If you're from this time, what is your name?"
"Of course, Minerva." Harry swept her a low bow. "You have always wished to know my name. I could never tell you lest it altered time. Now, at the point of no return, I gladly proclaim to all the world that my name is Harry James Potter!"
"Preposterous!" Dumbledore shouted. "There is no such person!"
"No such person, indeed. I do not exist because you made it so. I came to you when you first became Headmaster. I told you how your great plan had worked and how I had become trapped in the past. Foolishly, I told you my name." Thunder boomed once more. "From that one mistake, you eventually realized who would become my father. You murdered him."
"The death of James Potter was a great tragedy, Phantom! We all mourned for the Potter family."
"Yes, Dumbledore," Harry growled, twisting the wand between his fingers, "we all mourned, and if the magic within this castle allowed me to harm its inhabitants, you would have been dead as well! It was at that moment, I knew what I must do. The Founders had told me that the only way I could ever return without a body to inhabit would be if I found someone to take my place. To become the Phantom!"
Dumbledore pointed a finger. "Is that where Ms. Granger is? Taking your place?"
"She volunteered so that I might walk freely. She shall not suffer my fate. That is reserved for you! In your desire to rid the world of dark lords and dark witches, you became one yourself! You murdered my father on the Quidditch pitch to bury my existence forever!"
Harry swiped the air, and the mirror from the chamber appeared in the Great Hall's entrance. In the mirror's reflection stood Hermione, wearing the Phantom's mask. Ron raced to its frame, and in panic, raised a goblet to shatter the glass.
"No!" Draco shouted as a jet of red light flew from his wand. The spell struck Ron square in the chest and blasted him away from the mirror.
"Thank you, Draco," Harry whispered. "Now, Dumbledore, it's time for you to pay for your sins! Time for you to enter the hell that you condemned me to endure! I would advise that you come quietly, sir."
Faster than one could blink, the podium exploded as Dumbledore drew his wand. He and Harry locked in the throes of battle, trading spell for spell and curse for curse. Hermione waved her arms within the mirror and covered the house tables with golden domes of magic.
"You cannot defeat the Phantom of Hogwarts, Dumbledore!" Harry cried. "I have waited a thousand years to return, and you shall not stop me! Did you believe that upon my return, I would eclipse your greatness? Is that why you murdered my father?"
Professor Snape made to intervene, but Dumbledore blasted her back across the staff table. This one move sealed Dumbledore's fate. Whether because of his momentary lapse or because of the fury from Harry that followed, the Headmaster toppled under a wave of spells the likes of which none had seen before. Dumbledore's wand soared high into the air, spinning through the hall until Harry snatched it. Another flick of his wand and Dumbledore levitated a foot off the floor.
"Now, I send you to your eternal hell, Dumbledore!"
Thunder boomed, and lightning crashed as Harry swiped the air, sending Dumbledore hurdling high into the air as a bolt of lightning left the enchanted sky. The blast sent Dumbledore into the mirror in a blinding flash of light. When the light had faded, Hermione stood where the mirror had once been.
A/N: Well, there's chapter six! I wonder how many will be able to see it! Please review and let me know what you thought. Thanks to all those that have reviewed and PMed me. Special thanks to my Dad, AA, for being beta!
JB