A/N I find that if you play instrumental music in the background while listening to this is really helps. Sad music though, maybe like the end of Gladiator instrumental music. It really brings the point across, thats how I wrote it, with slow instrumental music on, and I find it easier to write that way. It enspires me!
The Final Letter
Harry felt a cooling breeze on his back as he crouched over Dumbledore. Slowly opening one eye, he looked around and saw the gates into Hogwarts staring him right in the face. He let out a loud sigh of relief as he realised that he was still alive, Voldemort's spell hadn't hit him. He laughed to himself as he thought of Voldemort's frustration. Now to wake up Dumbledore.
"Sir, you can get up now," He said to the old, cold man, "You don't have to play dead anymore, we're back!"
Harry's smile faded as he realised what was happening, this man wasn't actually playing for fun, he was dead… Dumbledore was dead…
But it couldn't be; Harry wouldn't believe it. He was the greatest wizard Harry had ever known, he wasn't dead!
"Professor!" He shouted, but Dumbledore didn't move. "Professor, get up!" Nothing. "Wake up!"
Harry didn't know what to do, he couldn't stop the tears from coming and he couldn't leave Dumbledore to get help. "No!" He shouted to the nothingness of the air. He lent over his headmaster and cried, he didn't know how long he had been there when he heard a voice.
"Mr Potter!" McGonagall shouted from inside the gates to the school grounds.
Harry lifted his tear strewn face and saw her running towards him.
"What happened? Albus sent a message…"
Her eyes fell upon the dead body that Harry held, and she instantly fell backwards. Harry jumped up to catch her and hold her steady.
"What… What happened?" She asked, holding back her tears.
"It was Voldemort," Harry rushed out, "I wasn't with him. I just was the flash and flew towards it. Then Voldemort was laughing. And he heard me. Then he was after me. Then I got me and Dumbledore out of there as fast as I could. Then…"
"Slow down Potter!" McGonagall said calmly. "You're saying 'You-know-who' did this? To Albus Dumbledore? The greatest wizard alive?"
Harry slowly nodded and let another tear fall down his face as he thought that he could have prevented it from happening. If only Dumbledore had sent up red sparks to signal him; He'd probably still be alive right now.
"Harry," McGonagall placed a shaky hand on his shoulder but didn't take her eyes off Dumbledore, "I need you to go back to the castle, fetch madam Pomfrey, tell her to come to the gates. Then," She gulped, "Send a letter to your parents to inform the Order."
"But," Harry started.
"Go Potter!" McGonagall shouted at him.
He nodded slowly at her, looked at Dumbledore for one last time, and sprinted back to the castle.
All over the castle grounds for the coming weeks there were glum faces, teary eyes and angered souls. Surprisingly, the news of Dumbledore's death did not spread that quickly. Harry had done as McGonagall had asked and sent a letter straight to his parents after calling Madam Pomfrey, informing them of the tragedy. He'd done it hurriedly in the boys' dormitories before sprinting back off to the owlry to send it with Hedwig. He stayed there for half the night, staring into the sky before Ron and Hermione finally came and found him.
Two weeks had now past and Dumbledore's funeral had been and gone; Harry had never seen so many people in all his life, and doubted he would ever again. The atmosphere in the castle was something he'd never seen or felt before either. He would often be wandering around the dark corridors at night, only to see other people out and about; even teachers, and they weren't telling students off. But there was no doubt about it, Harry was the worst of them all. Ron and Hermione would sometimes be talking to him about nothing related to Dumbledore, and he'd say he had to go somewhere, and often he would run off to the gates, and stare at the place where Dumbledore had once laid, dead. Ron and Hermione would come to get him, but he'd usually be just sitting, cross-legged, staring. Ginny didn't know if Harry was ever going to remember that they were together. Of course, she was upset as well, but his 'staring' was just getting silly to her now.
Harry was sitting in the common room one Friday night, staring into the fire as Ron and Hermione sat and worked, when a little second year came up to him, the same one as when he got his letter from Dumbledore at the start of the year.
"I'm sorry about Dumbledore," Harry heard him say. It wasn't the first time someone had told him that, "Professor McGonagall wanted me to give you this."
The second year handed Harry a small note and ran off back to his friends in the corner.
Harry sighed and was scared to open it; he didn't know what it was going to say.
"Open it mate," Ron urged.
Harry slowly unfolded the paper and saw a different type of handwriting, not so slanted, but straight and rigid.
-
My Potter,
I'm sorry to have to bother you this late at night Mr Potter, but please would you come to my office immediately, there is something here I need you to see. My password is 'headteacher'.
Professor McGonagall.
-
"It's from McGonagall," Harry said after sighing.
"What does she want?" Hermione asked.
"She wants me to go see her right now," Harry explained.
"Go on then!" Hermione ushered him.
Harry looked at her, he couldn't find the words he wanted to say anywhere within him. The letter wasn't the same as the ones he used to get; McGonagall was formal and put her password right there on the page, plain as day. Dumbledore used to make it funny in a sneaky way, and he was informal and friendly to Harry, rather than calling him by his last name. Would nothing ever be the same again? Hermione seemed to understand what he was thinking.
"It's ok Harry, she won't ask you to go anywhere," She said comfortingly, "And if she does, you can just say no."
Harry nodded and lifted himself out of his chair.
He waved them both goodbye and started towards the portrait door, but as he got closer it opened and he walked straight into Ginny.
"I was just coming to see you!" She said happily.
"Oh, I have to go Gin," He said apologetically.
"Oh," She replied sadly, "Well, where? I'll come with you!"
"You can't," Harry replied quickly.
"Why? I never see you anymore," She said sadly.
"I'm just busy, I'm sorry," He lifted her head to look her in the eyes, and then kissed her on her lips. "Love you," He smiled.
Ginny couldn't help but smile back as Harry walked off towards the portrait door.
Harry knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office and walked in. He was surprised to see McGonagall sitting on Dumbledore's chair, he almost shouted at her. But then he remembered that his wasn't Dumbledore's office anymore, it was hers, and that wasn't his chair, it was hers.
He walked along the room and sat himself down on the chair opposite McGonagall, just as he used to do, not waiting for an invitation.
"Mr Potter, I'd appreciate it if you waited before sitting down," McGonagall shouted at him.
Harry mumbled a 'sorry' and looked everywhere around the office but at her, he couldn't bear to see her sitting in Dumbledore's chair. He soon saw what he had been dreading; Albus Dumbledore was sitting quite happily in a picture frame, smiling at Harry through the glass. "Hello," Dumbledore nodded at him. Harry looked away immediately and tried not to be sick. He didn't know why seeing him made him feel this way, but it did.
"Down to business Mr Potter, if you don't mind," McGonagall said.
Harry looked at her and she started talking.
"I've been sorting through Albus's things, and I found a note, addressed to you," She held out the worn, torn paper with his name on the front.
"I haven't read it, so if you could be quick please," She waved the note underneath his nose as to get his attention, but his mind wasn't in the room, it was solely in that note.
This was the last ever thing he would receive from Albus Dumbledore, he was terrified as to what it would say, he was even scared to take it. But soon he couldn't stand it any longer and snatched it out of McGonagall's hand.
-
Dear Harry,
If you're reading this then I am probably not around any longer. Either that or you're rummaging through my personal things, as usual!
Hopefully I have told you all about the Horcruxes I found, Harry. And hopefully we found some more together since your seventh year started. I have no doubt that it was Voldemort who killed me Harry, either that or I have done it myself. I hope you did not try your best to save me if you were there at the time, and I thank you for being the best student I have ever had attend my school. You may not be the brightest Harry, but you are most certainly the bravest, and have the most courage.
I do not doubt that I will not be the only person to die in your life, Harry, so please don't fool yourself into thinking that I was a one-off. Voldemort has powers that you and I can only dream of; but you also have powers that Voldemort can only dream of; use them to the full, wisely and to your advantage.
You will not be needing the Horcruxes once you have destroyed them Harry, throw them away, do what you will with them after you kill Voldemort's soul. If you need help destroying the Horcruxes, turn to Miss Granger, I have reason to believe she is one of the brightest in the school. If she is still baffled, take the problem to Professor McGonagall, I've always had faith in her. When Voldemort's snake is concerned, I believe all you must do to that horcrux is use the killing curse, and it shall die, as it is a living item. I trust you know what you have left to find, and the dangers you must face in finding them. But I trust you Harry, you are the one, you will save the world. Have the same faith in yourself as I do. You will not let me down, you won't let anyone down. Believe in yourself as you believed in me. I trust you Harry.
Your's faithfully,
Albus Dumbledore.
-
Harry scrunched the note in his hand as he cried. He cried for the entire world, so the world could feel his screaming. At that point he decided he would be a proper person again. Not one of those that wander the corridors at night, not one of those who stare into nothing. Not anymore. Dumbledore believed in him. He would do it for Dumbledore if not the whole world. He was going to find the Horcruxes for him.
"Potter," McGonagall made him jump. He had forgotten where he was through the crying. "May I see it?"
At first Harry pulled the note back towards him, but then decided it was for the best. She was, after all, his new head teacher. He bent double again after giving her the letter, and cried a little more.
When he heard McGonagall sigh he looked up. He was sitting, a lot more relaxed than she had done when he entered the room, and she was looking at him with soft eyes.
"Harry," She said, "Albus and yourself seemed to have a relationship which I could never replace, and I'll never try to. I wasn't even aware that you two went off to find Horcruxes, I didn't even know there were any," She paused for a moment as if she was finding it hard to speak, "There is a part of Dumbledore in you somewhere, you were very close. I… I just want you to know that if ever you need to exit the school tell me and I'll let you out. I'm behind you, and, if you ever need me, I'm here, as Dumbledore was."
Harry then realised that he wasn't actually the only person upset about Dumbledore's death. McGonagall tried her hardest to smile at him, but nothing came out. She handed the note back to him and he stood up, also trying to smile. But more tears fell out of his eyes and he decided it was best to leave, as he saw her eyes do the same.
He walked back slowly to the common room, crying the whole way, the note clutched in his hand. As he finally stepped through the portrait hole, he saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny waiting to greet him.
"Harry!" Ginny ran to hug him as he saw how red with tears his face was.
"What happened mate?" Ron asked.
"Don't worry, Harry, we're with you the whole way," Hermione comforted.
"Yeah, we all are," Ginny added.
Harry said nothing but went to sit on the sofa in front of the fire. He gave a loud sigh and handed Ron the letter from Dumbledore. Hermione bent over to read it, as did Ginny, but he held her back.
"Why can't I read it?" She moaned.
"Because," Harry started, "They're in this with me."
"So am I!" Ginny argued back.
"No, you're really not," Harry answered back, adding, "You couldn't handle it and I'm not putting you in danger."
"I wouldn't be in danger, I'd be with you!"
"You'd be with Voldemort!" Harry shouted at her.
"I want to read it!" Ginny tried to change the subject.
She got up and walked towards Ron and Hermione, where Hermione was crying. Harry jumped up and pushed her back down.
"That letter is my private business!" He yelled at her, "Mine, not yours! If I don't want you to read it you don't ok?"
Ginny screwed up her face and started to cry. She ran off quickly up the stairs as Harry sat back down.
"Bit harsh Harry," Hermione said after wiping away the tears.
"No, it's not. I explained to her that I didn't want her getting hurt, but she wouldn't listen," He replied stonily.
The three sat there long into the night talking about Dumbledore's final letter to Harry, how they were going to find the horcruxes that were left, and do exams all in the same year. Each agreed that they would be together, no matter what. They started the adventure together in their first year, and they would finish it, together, side by side, the three of them, best friends until the day they died.
A/N Aww poor Harry's going through a bit of a ruff spot isn't he. But he's got friends to help him through! Bit of a cliché but who cares? It's what makes good stories! You know what else makes good stories? Good reviews! Please?
