Chapter 27
"Holy shit!" Sirius cried, staring at the monitor in horror. "Dobby!" The house elf popped into the room. "Go find Charles! Tell him to get up here now! It's an emergency!"
Dobby left without a moment of hesitation. When Charles came into the room, he looked at the monitor. "Oh, my God."
"Dobby!" he called, and once again the elf was there. "Tell Harry to come to the control room right away, then go get Dumbledore. While you're at Hogwarts, ask Professors McGonagall and Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey to wait 15 minutes, and then apparate to Diagon Alley. When you've done that, go to the ministry and inform Robert Parsons, Head of the DMLE, what is happening."
The elf disappeared again.
"Sirius, will you wake Remus and then both of you go to the Safe Haven? We're going to need the Order and the DA down there to help."
Sirius slid out of his chair and left the room. Charley sat down at the control panel. "This is it," he whispered.
Harry came running into the control room. "What's wrong, Granddad?" He glanced at the monitor and his face paled. "Oh!"
"This is it, Harry," Charles said. "Are you ready for this? Do you know what to do?"
Harry took a deep breath and let it out. "Yes, sir," he said.
"Then put your shield up. Do you remember the other spells?"
"Yes, Sir," he said. He tapped his head with his wand. "Contego Infragilis Valde!" He felt the tingle begin at his head and slowly move down to his feet.
"I'm going to transport you down, now. Concentrate. Remember what we talked about. And get that damn shell around him before he hurts anyone else."
"Yes, Sir," Harry said. He gave his grandfather a brief hug, and then was transported out of the trunk.
"God go with you, my grandson," Charles whispered.
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Diagon Alley was in chaos. Crying children, screaming Witches and shouting Wizards ran in all directions, trying to get out of the fray. Curses were being fired rapidly from the center of town. People were lying on the street and in front of buildings, injured or dead.
Suddenly, Harry Potter appeared and began running toward the disturbance. As those in the crowd recognized him, they felt a sense of calm and began to pull themselves together. Here was their savior, the Chosen One, come to rescue them. Here was their hero.
The atmosphere that had been filled with panic moments before began to change. People began to find their courage. Braver souls went out into the street to aid the wounded. People helped mothers to calm their children. Merchants unlocked their doors, offering shelter and the use of their fireplaces for flooing out of the Alley. People formed orderly lines, allowing those mothers with children to go first.
Harry Potter walked alone down the main street of Diagon Alley toward the most feared Wizard the world had ever known. Voldemort smiled, for this is what he had been waiting for.
"Ah, Harry. There you are. Welcome to my little party."
Harry drew his wand, but before he could use it, Voldemort struck him with the Cruciatus curse. Ignoring the curse, Harry waved his wand over his head in an arch and cried, "Contineo Valde!"
Suddenly, Harry and Voldemort were trapped within a large transparent dome.
Immediately Albus Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Defense Association arrived. Dumbledore took down the anti-apparition wards, and the aurors and Hogwarts staff apparated in.
They got to work, helping the people who had been trapped in Diagon Alley. Stretchers were conjured, and the dead and wounded were sent to St. Mungos. Mothers and children who had not yet reached the floo were portkeyed out. All who wished to leave did so, and when the work was done, they all turned to watch what was happening inside the transparent dome.
It was at that moment that Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the new arrivals discovered that it was Harry who was trapped inside the dome with Voldemort.
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Harry and Voldemort stood at opposite ends of the dome, their wands pointing at each other.
"How long do you think this shield can hold me, Harry?" Voldemort asked in amusement.
"Until I release it," Harry said calmly.
Voldemort chuckled. "Or until you die."
Harry remained silent.
"What is this magic you've been using, Harry? Is it something that Dumbledore taught you?"
"It's a magic you could never use, Tom."
"And why is that?"
"Because it's involves a power that you don't possess. It's what saved me from the killing curse when I was a baby. It's the power that the Dark Lord knows not."
"Again you quote from the prophecy. Why don't you tell me the entire thing, Harry?"
So, Harry told him the prophecy:
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.
Born as the 7th month dies;
Born to parents who have defied him thrice;
And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal,
But he shall have power that the Dark Lord knows not.
And either must die at the hands of the other,
For neither can live while the other survives.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the 7th month dies.
Voldemort's eyes lit up. "It did not say you would vanquish me, then. It only said that you could. And that one of us has to kill the other, but it does not predict who will be the victor."
"That's right," Harry said.
Voldemort threw back his head and roared with laughter. "So, you are not even sure that you can kill me, are you?" he asked.
Harry did not answer.
The Dark Lord shook his head. "I almost feel sorry for you, Harry, because even if you managed to win the victory today, it would be to no avail. I have made myself immortal. I will come back as I did before."
"I know all about your attempts to become immortal, Tom. I know how you split your soul into 7 pieces and made horcruxes. I had to hunt them all down and destroy them."
"You lie!" Voldemort said furiously.
Harry shook his head and ticked them off on his fingers. "The ring was at the Gaunt house; the locket was in the cave, originally, but Regulus Black had found out about it and had taken it, so that one was actually at the old Black mansion. Let's see. Oh, yes. The baby tooth was at the orphanage. Nice touch, by the way. The diary I destroy in my second year in the Chamber of Secrets. The plaque for services to the school was in the Hogwart's trophy room. And, finally, Nagini was with you the entire time, until her unfortunate demise. Is that all? Oh, no. There's one more, isn't there, Tom?"
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted. The curse hit Harry in the chest. Voldemort waited for him to fall, but Harry just smiled.
"Anyway," Harry continued as if nothing had happened. "I need to take care of the last horcrux."
"There are no more horcruxes!" Voldemort raged.
"There is still one small piece of soul left inside you," Harry said.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screamed desperately, his wand shaking violently in his hand.
Harry raised his wand before the Dark Lord could cast another curse. "Expello Animus!"
A violet colored mist poured out of his wand and surrounded Voldemort. The Dark Lord's eyes met Harry's. They were wide with horror. His mouth was moving as if he was trying to speak, but no sound emerged. He clutched at his chest and fell to his knees, his eyes never leaving Harry's. After a moment, the life faded from his eyes and he fell forward onto his face.
Harry waited until the violet mist had disappeared, and then he ended the dome shield charm.
Sirius reached him first, and Harry fell into his arms, burying his head in his godfather's shoulder. "We've got to get him out of here," Sirius said to Remus, as he noticed all the people rushing forward to congratulate Harry. Suddenly, the three of them disappeared, transported back into the trunk.
Charles rushed out of the Control Room into the Library. "Take him into his bedroom," he said.
Sirius lifted him up and carried him into his room, followed by Charles and Remus.
By the time they reached his bedroom, Harry was sobbing hysterically. Sirius laid Harry on the bed and tried to straighten up so he could sit beside him, but Harry clung to him tightly, crying into his shoulder. "NO! Don't leave! Please! I don't want to be alone."
"I'm not going to leave you, Harry," Sirius said, picking him back up. He sat down on the side of the bed, holding Harry in his lap as if he were a small child, and rocking him back and forth. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm here. Your whole family is here," he said gently, looking up at the portrait that had recently been placed in the room. The grandparents, parents, and baby Harry were all in the portrait, watching helplessly.
"I'll go get a calming potion," Charles said, leaving the room. Remus sat down in a chair near the bed.
Outside the bedroom door, Charles ran into Dumbledore. "How is he?" the headmaster asked.
Charles shook his head. "He's not hurt physically," he said. From inside the room, even through the closed door, they could hear his grandson sobbing.
"May I see him?"
"Only family is allowed in right now, Albus," he said pointedly.
Albus nodded. "Then, may I see him as his great great grandfather?"
Charles took Albus's arm and led him into the lounge. "Do you intend to be his great great grandfather, Albus? Because that's the only way you're getting in there." He sighed. "Look, I know what happened, and I know why you made the decisions you did. But it's over now, Albus. You don't have to hide anything anymore. You can acknowledge that you have a family."
"I'm ready to do that, Charles."
"Then all I ask is that, when Harry's ready, you explain to him what happened. Everything. I want him to know why he had a family member who left him in the abusive hands of the Dursleys when his parents died. Are you willing to do that, Albus?"
"Yes. I am."
"All right, then. You can go in as his great great grandfather, but not as his headmaster. And definitely not as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."
"I understand," Albus said, and went into Harry's bedroom. Inside he nodded to Sirius and Remus and the members of the Potter family in the portrait, then conjured a chair and sat down near Remus. He sat silently, just wanting to be there for Harry. Dobby and Winky popped into the room and silently sat down at the foot of the bed.
"He was watching me!" Harry sobbed into Sirius's shoulder. "He never took his eyes off mine! I saw the life go out of them! It was . . . it was horrible!"
Sirius held him tighter, continuing to rock. "I know it was, Harry, I know it was."
"Sirius, I killed him! I'm just a kid, and I killed a man! I saw his eyes! They were watching me while he died!" The sobs got louder.
Charles came into the room and handed Sirius the potion.
"Here, Harry," Sirius said. "Take this potion. It'll help you calm down."
Harry raised his head and allowed Sirius to pour the potion in his mouth, then laid his head back down on his godfather's shoulder. "I-If I fall asleep, p-promise you w-won't leave me a-alone."
"I promise," Sirius said. "We all promise, Harry. You won't be left alone for a minute."
Little by little, the sobs faded into spasmodic breathing, and Harry was asleep.