It was not how Harry expected it to be.
In his most depressing imaginings and morbid daydreams, he had never considered his return to Hogwarts would be a case of him sneaking back into a virtually empty castle via one of the seven secret passages, alone, and in the dead of night.
Exiting the secret tunnel he had never used before near the edge of the forest, he could make out the path leading to Hagrid's hut. Soft lamplight spilled from gaps in the curtains covering the windows, adding only slightly to the illumination provided by the full moon just beginning to banish the fainter stars with its brightness as it started to show above the distant horizon.
Carefully making his way through the gigantic pumpkins, Harry reached the rickety door of the grounds keeper's hut without incident, and knocked softly.
Fang bayed his usual melancholy tune as Hagrid's unmistakeable massive footfalls sounded through the walls of the wooden house, shaking even the step Harry was standing on.
"Who's there?" the voice of the half giant boomed through the closed door.
"It's me," said Harry quietly.
"Who?" asked Hagrid.
Harry sighed. "It's me – the person you were expecting."
"How can I be sure you who you say you are?" asked the gruff man
Harry resisted the urge to bang his head on the door violently in frustration. Of all the ministry guidelines that had been published, the question and answer method of identifying if somebody really was who they said they were was definitely the most annoying, if not the most ineffectual.
"Hagrid, please let me in," he said, determined to keep any chance of being spotted to a minimum.
There was a brief silence, the curtains rustled, and an eye could be seen peering through the gap in a manner eerily reminiscent of Harry's Aunt Petunia spying on the neighbours.
"Where are you?" Hagrid asked.
"I am under my father's cloak. Now let me in before somebody overhears us," said Harry.
A second later the door swung open and Harry rushed in, closing it behind him. As he dropped the cloak and turned around, a huge crossbow was almost jammed into his eye.
"What was the name of my dragon?" asked Hagrid.
"Norbert!" Harry yelled as he backed into the closed door in a futile attempt to get away from the deadly bolt staring him in the face.
"Oh good, it is you then 'Arry," said Hagrid in a cheery voice, as he lowered the enormous weapon. "Can't be too sure now'er days, what with all that there Polyjucing that's going on and such. Care for a cuppa?"
Harry was spared from answering by the huge form of Fang crashing him to floor as the excited beast tried to say hello in its traditional manner – by licking him to death.
Over one of Hagrid's half gallon buckets of tea, and scones that Harry had to secretly cast softening charms on to be able to chew, he learned that Hagrid had not ventured from the school grounds, except to visit Grawp, in months. The centaurs were apparently waging a war with the Acromantula and no longer cared if he entered the forest or not, so long as he did not aid the enemy. Since the giant spiders were no longer were restrained by Aragog's orders, and were intent on eating Hagrid and anything else they could catch, this was not an issue for him.
Professor McGonagall and other members of the order regularly visited, bringing news and anything else he needed, but feelings towards giants and other 'half-breeds' were running so high on both sides of the war that he didn't feel safe going anywhere anymore.
"That there Rita Skeeter done a right proper job making sure everybody knew what I was," Hagrid said angrily. "Now I can't even go into the pub for a pint without somebody opening their mouth and saying something that starts trouble."
Harry wondered just how stupid somebody had to be to want to start a fight with a person who had to duck to enter rooms, but then most of the wizards Harry had met seemed to be missing a few owls from the rookery. He had often wondered if it was a side effect of using magic, or a tradition of acting like an eleven year old that he had somehow missed out on learning due to his less than stellar upbringing.
Visiting his first friend in the wizarding world and the man who had rescued him from the Dursleys all those years ago, made Harry quite happy though, despite the nervousness his visit entailed. For some reason, at any moment he kept expecting the door to burst open and Voldemort to come marching in.
Mentioning that Hagrid's hut was fully repaired, he noted that it seemed bigger than it had before being partly burnt down. He was rewarded for his recognition with a giant smile.
"Professor McGonagall herself came down and showed me how to do it," Hagrid said. "Couldn't do nothin' to save those Bowtruckles though, poor little things. But anyways, now Fang's got a bit more room for his bed, and I got some extra cupboards for me things."
Finally, Harry could not put it off any longer and asked his friend for the bike, since he had to leave soon. After a brief search, Hagrid found the shrunken motorcycle inside a cupboard, buried under some vicious traps that looked like they could have held a Dragon.
"'ere you go," he said, dusting it off and handing it over to Harry. "Now don't you go tearing around on it 'till you had some lessons, alright? I'll see you back soon and we can take it out for a ride and I'll show you how it works."
Hagrid looked at Harry seriously.
"I reckon it's about time you stopped carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and started to 'ave a bit o' fun. Your dad and Sirius both would 'ave wanted you to have some good times, you know? Even Lilly would have insisted you play a harmless prank or two, 'Arry – not that she ever let anyone see her approve of the things those lads got up to mind you. Hogwarts ain't never seen the likes of 'em before, and probably never will again, but you can still have a good time and 'ave a few a laughs – do sumth'n that'll bring a smile to peoples faces when they talk about it in years to come."
Harry gave the huge man a hug, and Fang a rough pat on the head. The return hug from Hagrid threatened to pop Harry's spine, but he didn't complain.
"You be careful now, 'Arry," Hagrid said, taking a large spotted handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his teary eyes and running nose. "Don't go getting yourself all busted up on some fool adventure."
"You know me, Hagrid," protested Harry smiling. "I always keep safe!"
Harry pulled the cloak back on and slipped out of the door while Hagrid, mindful of Harry's request to stay hidden, pretended to be going outside to collect more firewood.
As Harry trotted off into the night, he could hear the half giant talking to himself, most likely pretending Harry was still there.
-
The entrance he used to enter the castle was another one he had not previously been in before, mainly because Filch was well aware of it, so it was useless for sneaking out of the school undetected. It started near the lake and ended on the first floor behind a painting of some wizards playing a game of cards.
Using the Marauders' map he made his way through the dark and empty corridors to the Headmistress's office, still under the cover of his invisibility cloak, just in case.
Privately, he again wondered if he was starting to become as paranoid as Mad-eye Moody, and if it would make any difference in the end.
Professor McGonagall had somehow arranged for all of the ghosts to be missing, but had left the password to the headmistress's office so that he could go in and take the sword. Remus had tried to explain to Harry the concept of 'plausible deniability', but he still didn't understand why she was insisting on being left out.
"Scottish Shorthair," said Harry to the statue guarding the doorway.
Obediently the gargoyle leapt aside revealing the winding staircase that Harry had last rode on his way from Professor Dumbledore's will reading. Harry took a deep breath and stepped onto the moving staircase letting it carry him to the door of the office.
-
Careful to be as quiet as possible, he removed the sword from its case. The snoring portraits of previous Headmasters didn't stir as he put the glass back over the fake sword made to take its place. All of them were sleeping peacefully, all except for one.
Albus Dumbledore sat watching Harry in the dim light of the full moon shining through the windows. His eyes somehow seemed to be twinkling with the same inner amusement that had become a trademark of the ancient wizard.
Harry froze in his tracks at the sight of his former mentor, who had apparently carried his ability to see through invisibility cloaks over to his portrait. He had so many questions, so any things that he wanted to ask or to say, that he was momentarily stumped. Should he talk to the deceased headmaster and maybe wake up the other portraits, or should he just leave the emotional pain he had been scared of awakening lie and walk out without saying anything?
The decision was taken out of his hands when Dumbledore put a finger to his lips in the age old sign of silence and then motioned for Harry to leave.
Harry paused, still wanting to say something, but no words would come, so he just nodded his thanks, and left as quietly as he had arrived.
-
Instead of immediately leaving the castle, Harry headed to the Room of Requirement. Hermione wanted the book, Snape's sixth grade potion's textbook, and he had another task to attend to while he was here too.
I need somewhere to hide something… I need somewhere to hide something… I need somewhere to hide something, Harry thought, pacing in front of the blank section of wall where he knew the door would appear.
After the third time, the door appeared and Harry wasted no time going into the room. Moonlight spilled in from the high windows, bathing the cathedral like room in its dim light. Broken and hidden junk stood like cliffs through the room, making dark alleyways. Dropping his cloak, Harry lit his wand and walked carefully towards the giant stuffed troll he had used as a maker, stopping briefly to pick up a large blood stained axe.
Turning right at the troll, he stopped in front of the no longer broken vanish cabinet Draco had used to smuggle Death Eaters into the heavily protected school.
Thunk!
The axe splintered the wood of the cabinet with a resounding crunch. He briefly wondered if anybody would ever notice the damage.
Thunk!
It was unfair. The greatest wizard that had ever lived had been fallen by an extremely unlikely series of events.
Thunk!
And now Harry had to complete an almost impossible task, with no great skills or powers and nobody to guide him.
Thunk!
With each swing Harry fed his rage with thoughts and memories.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk! Crash!
The last piece of the cabinet split in two, leaving nothing intact, and Harry was spent.
He dropped the axe and picked up the cloak before walking to the acid damaged cabinet with the bust on top. The Prince's potions book was exactly where he had left it, behind the caged skeleton of the five legged thing.
Harry tucked the book into his jacket and left without another glance at the broken vanishing cabinet, heading for a different secret exit. A slight smile bent his mouth, and he felt much better for some reason.
-
"Are you sure this is it?" Ron asked Hermione for the third time since Harry had joined them.
The trio were standing next to the large mound of earth that Hermione insisted was the entryway to the resting place of three of the four founders of Hogwarts.
"Ron, if I have to tell you again, I swear I am going to make you sit down and go over all of the translations and equations until you understand them yourself. Okay?" Hermione snapped.
Harry could see Ron blanch, even in the colourless light of the moon.
"Let's just let her get on with it, eh?" Harry suggested.
Ron nodded and promptly sat down. Harry joined him. Hermione was carefully watching a pattern she had drawn on the ground, waiting for the moon to be in exactly the right position before trying the incantation to open the burial mound.
Ron dropped off for a nap while Harry stayed near Hermione keeping a lookout. He was watching the path from Hogsmeade when Hermione started softly singing. At first he thought she was just entertaining herself while waiting for the right aspect, but as he tried to make out the words to the strangely familiar tune, he understood - she was casting the spell.
She sang sweetly, if slightly unsteadily, almost as if she was not used to singing, and the melody mixed with the foreign words to evoke pleasant feelings in Harry, feelings he at first did not recognise – feelings of true peace.
Hermione stopped singing as the face of the burial mound started to glow dimly, then faded away to leave an open, stone-lined doorway leading into the darkness beyond.
"That was beautiful, Hermione," said Ron, sitting up.
He had a faraway look on his face that Harry had only before seen when the redhead was thinking of great Quidditch moments. "I dreamt of a choir of angels singing, only to wake up and see one standing in front of me."
Despite the dim moonlight, Harry was sure he could see Hermione blush as she smiled.
"Thank you, Ronald," she said. "Now let's go quickly before it closes."
"Closes?" asked Harry. He had no intention of possibly getting trapped inside a tomb! "What exactly do you mean by 'closes'?"
"Don't worry, we will be able to get out, but the door in is only open for a few minutes. Now let's go," she answered, stepping through the doorway as she lit her wand.
Ron immediately followed her in and Harry had no choice except to go after them.
Walking through the doorway, Harry felt as if he was walking through a gentle waterfall. Magic washed over him, making his body tingle and his hair rustle in the non-existent wind.
On the other side a wide staircase lead downwards into darkness from the landing where Ron and Hermione were waiting. Behind, he could still see the tress and night sky.
"That was pretty cool, eh?" said Ron.
Harry looked around. "Hermione, there is no way this is inside the mound, is there?"
"No," she replied. "The doorway is portal."
"Just like the twin's shop," said Ron excitedly. "They would tell me where they learnt to do that."
Hermione raised her glowing wand and touched a torch hanging from a wall bracket. It instantly burst into bright flame, and then so did the next one down the wall, and then the one after that. Soon the stairs were bathed in the flickering glow of the torches leading all the way down the steep descent.
She extinguished her wand and quickly headed downwards, leaving Harry and Ron to race after her.
It only took them a few minutes to get to the bottom of the stairs. A short hallway led to huge pair of double doors that looked identical to the front doors of Hogwarts. The trio paused outside the locked barricade.
"Do we knock?" asked Ron, looking around.
Harry shrugged. "Can't hurt."
He rapped the door with his fist. "Hello? Anybody home?" he joked.
"Boys," Hermione said, shaking her head and looking slightly disgusted. She tapped the doors with her wand. They obediently swung open as if they had been given a powerful push.
Ron gave Harry a look and they both followed her in.
Beyond the doors lay a room almost identical to the main hall of Hogwarts.
Candles floated before them, shedding soft light over the house banners that hung from the walls.
The three entered the replica hall of Hogwarts and stopped in awed silence. Even the roof looked like the one in Hogwarts, reflecting the night sky above them.
Instead of the staff table, four sarcophaguses lay on the raised dais at the far end. Each of the lids was carved with extremely detailed statues of the founder entombed inside.
"Quickly," said Hermione walking past the empty tables. "We have to put the artefacts in their places."
Harry dug into his backpack as he ran to catch up, and then handed the cup and the staff to his friends. As he grabbed the locket a thought crossed his mind.
"Ah, Hermione? Is this going to work, because Slytherin is not actually inside his coffin, is he?" he asked.
Hermione grabbed the staff and ran to the coffin of Ravenclaw.
"It should do. The magic is in the object and this place, not the body of the founder," she said laying the staff into the groove that it was meant for. It clicked into place, but nothing else happened. "Besides, we don't actually know of Slytherin didn't end up getting buried here. He could have returned – we just don't know."
"Well don't go getting any strange ideas about opening it up to have a look," said Ron, after placing the Cup into Hufflepuff's hands. "Last thing we need is some sort of zombie Slytherin running around."
Harry pushed the locket into hollow at the neck of Salazar Slytherin and thought he felt a slight tingle of magic as it locked into place.
He took the sword and looked at the other two questioningly.
"Go on, Harry," said Hermione. "Nobody deserves to handle that one as much as you do."
Harry shook his head.
"Hermione, you are the smartest witch there is, but you were put into Gryffindor, meaning your courage is even greater than your brains," he said, making her blush. "And Ron, the Weasley's have been Gryffindors for generations. As purebloods, you are probably a descendant of him. I don't have any right to this."
He held out the sword for one of the others to take.
"Mate, stop being stupid and put the ruddy sword in its place," said Ron smiling. "You pulled it from the hat – nobody else could have – so you get to put it back. End of story."
"No, Ron-" said Harry, but Hermione cut him off.
"All of us," she said. "Let's do it together."
Harry looked at Ron and they both nodded.
Gently holding the sword by its blade and handle, the trio pressed it into the waiting hands of the carved statue on the top of the coffin of Godric Gryffindor.
Nothing happened for a second as they stepped back, then a soft glow started radiating from the coffin. The other three coffins joined in, getting brighter and brighter until all four were painful to look at. A roaring noise that sounded like a long wave of the sea breaking on a sandy beach followed the light, growing louder as the light grew brighter.
Power radiated from the coffins.
Harry felt the hairs on his neck stand up as pure magical energy swept down on him in surges, burning in its intensity. He raised his hands to try and shield his eyes, but the light was so bright he could see the shadows of his finger bones through the flesh of his hands.
Next to him Ron stood partly in front of Hermione, trying to shelter her from whatever was happening with his body while shielding his eyes the same was as Harry was. Hermione held Ron's arm with one hand while also holding the other in front of her. Their clothes started flapping, as if in a breeze.
Harry drew his wand and moved over to stand in front of his friends, but the light started pushing on him like a strong wind, driving them back off the dais and towards the doors. At first, he fought it, trying to stay where he could see what was going on, but as the burning feeling grew stronger he realised it was a battle he had no reason to fight.
"Somethings gone wrong," called Hermione. "It shouldn't be like this."
"Let's get out of here!" Ron shouted, pulling on the back of Harry's clothes.
Harry nodded and started moving backwards, keeping his wand out in front of him and his body between the light shining from the dais and his friends. It was impossible to make out details of the coffins anymore. All four light sources had merged into a single sunburst of white light that was still growing brighter.
Stumbling back between the tables, they managed to reach the doors just as the light and noise become unbearable and the pressure threatened to push them over.
"Close the doors!" shouted Hermione over the rushing noise.
Harry grabbed one side of the double doors and started pushing against the tidal force flooding out of the room. Ron and Hermione grabbed the second door and managed to get it closed as Harry struggled with his.
It that moment, Harry had never more regretted the smaller statue his less than healthy upbringing had provided him with. While he was fairly fit, and his young muscles had developed considerably since starting at the magical school, there was no way he was going to be able to get the door shut. He was struggling to keep it half closed.
Seeing Harry's problem, Ron stretched out one hand to grab Harry's door while keeping his other hand on Hermione's. He gripped the edge and Harry watched the veins on his friend's neck bulge as the tall redhead pulled with all of his might to close the heavy wood door against the torrent of magic that was pushing against him.
Harry saw the same see-through effect he had witnessed in his hand happening to Ron as he strained with every fibre of his being to close the doors. The magic almost seemed to recognise that it was going to be denied escape and upped the intensity of the force it was using against the doors, but Ron was up to the challenge.
With his own roar of effort overcoming the noise of the magic, the youngest Weasley man gave a titanic heave and slammed the double doors together. Hermione immediately slid the large metal bolt across, securing them closed, and the trio collapsed to the ground, panting and spent.
The sudden silence after the noise of the magic was deafening.
"What was meant to happen?" Ron asked Hermione. "'Cause I could really have done with some warning, you know?"
"Me too," agreed Harry.
"Er, guys," said Hermione, looking around. "I think we ought to move."
Harry looked up to see what she was looking at, and realised the room was much brighter than when they had first stood there. The source of the light became apparent when he looked at the sides of the door they were leaning against – there was bright white light streaming through the gaps of the frame. Even as he watched, more light began pouring through the joints of the wood panels in the door, as if the magic was slowly burning its way through – and it was getting brighter.
"Run?" he asked, climbing up the door to stand up.
"Definitely," answered Ron, struggling to his feet.
Hermione was already halfway down the hall.
Harry ran after his friends, both him and Ron easily catching up to the girl who had never taken much to any physical sport.
Ron grabbed her hand as he overtook her and started pulling her along to get more speed as they hit the steps leading out.
"Wish I had my brooms," Ron called out.
"Me too," panted Harry, struggling to keep up.
He simply did not have the stamina of his well fed friend though, and soon found himself dropping back as Ron ploughed on, despite his extra burden of helping Hermione.
Behind him, Harry heard a loud crack from the straining doors they had left behind. He look back over his shoulder and saw the brightness had grown almost too much to look at, and he felt a slight push as the magic started reaching him.
"Faster!" he cried to his friends. They only needed a minute more, then they would be out of the mound and the path of the magic.
They were almost to the top when it happened. A loud boom echoed through the walls as the doors holding back the magic gave way. Harry turned at the explosion to look back and saw the flood of light hit the bottom of the stairs like a torrent of water bursting the banks of a river. In a few seconds it would reach them, possibly crushing them with its force. There was no way they could make it out before it struck.
He turned back and raised his wand, pointing it at the unsuspecting backs of his friends.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he said, casting one of the first spells he had ever learned.
With a deft flick of his wand, Harry sent a screaming Hermione and cursing Ron flying up the remaining steps and out into the night, before resuming his race against the inevitable.
The wave of magic caught him half a dozen steps from the top.