RISING FROM THE ASHES
Chapter Five – Raising a Spectacle
"Now we shall commence," said Aberforth as if nothing had happened.
He lifted a veil behind him to reveal a portrait of Albus Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling just as they had when he was still alive.
"What the portrait is able to say is only what has already been written by Albus in his will," Aberforth explained, "It cannot think for itself, and it does not replace the wisdom of my brother in any way." He nodded at the portrait, sat down, and said curtly, "Begin."
"I, Albus Dumbledore, hereby bestow Fawkes, my phoenix, upon Rubeus Hagrid…."
Fawkes' silver cage appeared from thin air in front of Hagrid, who began to sob.
"Great man, Dumbledore," he choked out, "Leavin' me 'is phoenix. He always knew how much I loved tha' bird, he did. I'll take good care o' ye, I will," he promised Fawkes, who had risen from the ashes since Harry had last seen him, and was once again in his glorious adult form. However, he did not have the same air about him that he had prior to Dumbledore's death. Fawkes had his plumed head hung in sorrow.
"…A quart of goat's blood, a sack of silver Mooncalf's droppings, powdered aconite, dragon liver, chopped daisy roots, and a pewter cauldron to Remus Lupin. I also request that he return to Hogwarts to fill the position of Defense against the Dark Arts professor…"
The said items appeared at Lupin's feet in the pewter cauldron. Baffled, he stared at them.
"Why would Dumbledore leave him that?" Ron whispered to Harry, who shrugged, but Hermione clasped her hands over her mouth and gasped.
"Professor Lupin!" she exclaimed. All eyes turned on her, and she blushed slightly but continued on. "I – I remember reading somewhere that ancient legend said that those ingredients could cure lycanthropy, but there are no recorded cases of it being successful…"
Lupin's eyes widened. "If Dumbledore seems to believe it is true," he said slowly, "Then it must be…" He stared into his hands wonderingly.
Aberforth coughed, and Lupin looked up.
"…To Minerva McGonagall, I leave my gratitude for her assistance all these years in the running of Hogwarts, the best of wishes for her success in the position of Headmistress of Hogwarts…"
Professor McGonagall wiped a tear from her eye, drawing a handkerchief from her pocket to blow her nose.
"…I leave my own edition of Hogwarts, a History, which has been handed down through the Dumbledore family for generations since its original publication, with additional notes made by each owner to Hermione Granger…"
Hermione's eyebrows shot up as the book, worn with age, appeared in her lap. She picked it up and caressed it lovingly, smiling softly.
"…To Luna Lovegood, I leave my half-moon spectacles, for she has a unique perception of the word that they will help her to hone…"
The glasses appeared on the bridge of Luna's nose, sliding down to its tip, and she peered serenely through them, gazing around the table calmly, pausing to analyze each person. Harry could feel her piercing gaze upon him, but did not look up to meet her eyes.
"…To Ginevra Weasley, I leave two lightning bolt pendants that will act as communication devices between her and whoever she wishes to give the second one to…"
Harry and Ginny glanced at each other briefly, Ginny's face turning crimson to match her brilliant red hair as the package fell in front of her.
"…To Ronald Weasley, I leave a chess set that mirrors our current situation. In time, Mr. Weasley, you will learn how to use it, but it must be on your own. Miss Granger will be unable to assist you this time…"
As Ron's package materialized; everyone at the table, save Dudley and Luna, chuckled as his ears turned red, and Hermione's cheeks pink.
"…I leave the very rare Leigheas Pian to Neville Longbottom, in observance of his developing botanical abilities…"
Neville smiled proudly as the plant appeared in front of him. It had a very bizarre appearance. A thick green stalk branched off to several smaller stalks. These curled upwards and met a few inches above the center of the main stalk. They were connected by a bright red heart-shaped ball with black anthers sticking out from it. White petals surrounded the heart-shaped ball, each with a blue dot in its center. Coming from the middle of the ball was a long tube, about a foot in length that sloshed slightly as it swayed in its place.
"…To Fred and George Weasley, I leave half of my gold. They may spend it however they choose, however I request that they spend a good sum of it on developing that superb joke shop of theirs. I leave my remaining gold and possessions to Aberforth Dumbledore, my brother. They may obtain the gold at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. My vault number is 673, ask for Ragnook. Instructions are written on the piece of parchment."
"Yes!" Fred shouted, jumping up from his seat as the aforementioned piece of parchment appeared in front of them, "Thank you, Dumbledore!" He sat back down, and he and George exchanged pleased grins.
"…I leave my pensive and the sword of Gryffindor to Harry Potter…"
The sword and pensive materialized in front of Harry. He gingerly picked up the sword, turning the blade over in his hands.
"How am I supposed to carry this out?" he asked Ron in a whisper, motioning to the pensive. Ron simply shrugged his shoulders, still staring at his chess set.
Dudley squirmed in his seat, looking uncomfortable and very nervous. Harry was surprised he hadn't said or done anything to interfere with the reading of the will. He had, in fact, been surprisingly well-behaved.
"To Dudley Dursley I leave the gift of knowledge. Use it well…"
Dudley gasped as a folded piece of parchment. Hands shaking, he opened it and read silently, eyes darting side to side and, upon reaching the end of the parchment, widening in shock.
Dudley screamed a long, loud, terrible scream, and passed out
Aunt Petunia came bursting in.
"Dudders!" she whimpered, rushing to his side, and clutching his hand, "What did they do to you?" She grabbed the piece of parchment from his outstretched palm and scanned it with her eyes.
"Oh my..."
Aberforth Dumbledore stood up.
"I SAID THAT NO ONE WHOSE NAME IS NOT INCLUDED ON THE LIST OF INHERITORS WAS TO ENTER THIS ROOM DURING THE READING OF MY BROTHER'S WILL!" He shouted, marching over to where Aunt Petunia stood in shock.
She shrank away from him, parchment clutched to her chest.
Aberforth snatched it from her hands, and began to read aloud.
"Dated April 6th.
Dear Dudley Dursley," he began.
"I see it of great importance to inform you of a fact that has been hidden from you since birth. I take it you remember my visit to your home nearly one year ago? Do you remember my mentioning that your cousin, Harry, was lucky to have escaped the appalling damage that your parents had inflicted upon you? Did you ever wonder, my boy, just what that damage was?"
Aunt Petunia began to sob, great fat tears running down her horse-like face in rivets.
"Hush!" Aberforth snarled at her, and continued.
"You were raised with a hatred of the Wizarding race. Your father, Vernon Dursley, taught you that we were all freaks, who needed to be stamped out and put in mental hospitals. Your mother, Petunia Dursley, taught you that we were people to be afraid of. For ten years, you lived with a wizard under your roof and were not aware of it. However, you have had the knowledge of Harry Potter's magical abilities for five years now. You know that he attends a school for magic, Hogwarts. You know that he received this letter on his eleventh birthday, and has been attending the school ever since. What you are not aware of, however, is that you too should be attending this school as well."
Harry gasped.
Dudley? A wizard?
It was unthinkable. How could it be? His cousin, plain ordinary Dudley Dursley, was capable of doing magic?
"However," Aberforth continued calmly, "Your fear and hatred of what you yourself were caused your subconscious to repress all of your magical abilities. This does not mean that you have lost your wizardry, simply that it is dormant and cannot be called upon except in a time of great urgency.
You are welcome to attend Hogwarts school, should you so desire. Of course, you will be much older than the other first years, but compensations can be made.
Dudley, we wizards are not ones to be afraid of. Although magic can be used for good and bad, Muggles such as your parents tend to be afraid of what they do not know more than the effects of spells and the like.
Do not be afraid of something that can be used for great good. Be afraid of what you, yourself, have become. For sometimes it pays to trust in the unknown. And sometimes, it pays to take a deeper look into what you may not necessarily have a clear understanding of, no matter how much you think you do.
Signed,
Albus Dumbledore."
Aberforth rolled up the scroll, and announced
"The reading of the last will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is complete. You are free to go." He then strode purposefully out of the room.
Harry, still in shock, heaved the pensive off of the desk, and clutched the sword at his side. Stunned, the other inheritors followed him with their possessions in tow.
"Oh," said Fred when they met back up with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, "Hang on, mum, dad. We've got to stop at Dumbledore's vault. He's – er – he's left us some gold, and we want to split it with you."
George nodded in agreement.
"No, boys," Mrs. Weasley insisted, "Dumbledore left it to you, we couldn't possibly…"
"Mum," Fred interrupted, "It's alright. It'll help pay for Bill's wedding, and you can get that kneazle you've always wanted."
"Well…" said Mrs. Weasley uncertainly, "I suppose…"
"He said to ask for Ragnook," George put in.
"Alright, let's go then," said Mr. Weasley, looking pleasantly surprised.
"Excuse me," he said, striding up to the front desk of Gringotts, "May we please speak with Ragnook?"
"Certainly," the goblin at the desk replied in a hoarse rasp, "Ragnook!" he called.
"Yes?" A grey-skinned goblin poked his head out from behind a stack of parchment.
"These people are requesting your assistance," the first goblin informed him.
Grumbling, the goblin called Ragnook set aside his quill and strode over to where the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione stood.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"We were told to see you," George told him.
"Ah…yes…" said Ragnook, taking the parchment from his hand, "Follow me."
He walked toward a door at the side of the building, and opened it.
"We shall be using a method of transportation other than cart for this particular vault," he said, smiling for the first time since their acquaintance.
Once everyone was past the door, he closed it behind them with a click.
Harry heard Ron gulp audibly beside him as they were thrown into pitch blackness.