Hey everyone!
Thank you sooo much for all the reviews for the last chapter! You're awesome! I hope you keep it up and help me to reach over a thousand reviews!
Because of the positive feedback I was a lot quicker with writing the next chapter ^_^
Thanks to EKdude for beta-ing! Can you believe it only took him a few hours to send the chapter back to me? xD
Enjoy!
Chapter 40
Harry felt a sharp pang in his chest and gasped. He opened his eyes only to immediately clench them shut again and groaned softly. He had directly looked into the light of a wand.
"Put that thing somewhere else…" he muttered and shook his head a little bit.
He heard a chuckle and suddenly his memories came rushing back to him. 'I must be in the Hospital Wing…'
But something was amiss. He still had his eyes closed, but a frown made its way to his face. That chuckle… that had definitely not been Madam Pomfrey's – that woman would instead have swatted him over the head for such a comment. He opened his eyes again and found himself looking at Perenelle who gave him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Harry," she said softly and then frowned. "I didn't mean to wake you up, but you've got yourself some nasty injuries there."
Harry didn't even bother to reply and looked down at his chest. The wound where Bellatrix had hit him with that dagger was now, after the blood had been cleaned away, looking rather nasty. Then his eyes wandered to his shoulder and he grimaced. That wound looked just disgusting!
The skin around the wound was raw and swollen. The wound itself omitted the slight smell of burned flesh and black liquid was mixed with the blood that flowed out of it. Perenelle seemed to have noticed where his attention was focused on and clicked her tongue.
"Nicolas is currently brewing an antidote against that acid that keeps the wound from closing up. Were you hit with the Atterus curse?"
He nodded carefully and duly noted that the curtains were drawn around his bed. "Yeah… Voldemort got me…" suddenly he groaned when Perenelle pressed her wand into the wound on his chest. "What're you doing?"
"I can't give you a healing-potion because in every single one is a little bit of dragon-blood and that wouldn't help you at all now. You've got slight internal bleeding in your chest, and I have to get as near to it as possible to heal it with a wand."
"Great…" he winced when her wand twisted in a very unpleasant way and nausea hit him.
Harry took a deep breath and looked at the over six-hundred year old woman in the body of a forty year old one. "Why exactly are you treating me and not Madam Pomfrey?"
Perenelle looked up from the wound and shrugged slightly. "She's currently busy with Nymphadora and Sirius. Those two are off worse than the rest – but don't worry they'll be fine in a few hours!" she reassured him quickly when his eyes widened.
He opened his mouth to ask more about his godfather and about his friends, but suddenly another wave of nausea hit him and he closed his eyes with a groan. He started to take deep steadying breaths and didn't open his eyes again until he felt liquid pouring over the wound on his shoulder. Then he felt a hand at his neck and noted slightly embarrassed that someone was lifting his head up.
"Drink that. The potion must work from the inside as well," Nicolas, who had arrived moments before, told him and gave him an encouraging nod which he was barely able to make out.
Harry obediently swallowed the potion and broke out into a couching fit when a disgusting taste assaulted his mouth. Before he was even able to determine what that disgusting taste was, another potion was forced down his throat. He blinked and sighed in relief when the nausea disappeared. Harry then noticed that he could hear footsteps and soft murmuring. He looked past Nicolas and noticed the Alchemist had drawn back his curtains.
The Hospital Wing was filled with people. Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were both fine it seemed, where sitting on a small desk, talking quietly with Remus here and there adding something to their conversation while Narcissa healed some of his bruises. Tonks had a bandage around her head and chest and was looking like she had just emptied her stomach into the bucket she was holding. Harry could catch a glimpse of his godfather, before the curtains around said man's bed closed themselves. He was unconscious, but breathing evenly. Madam Pomfrey was hurrying around the room, here and there giving someone a potion and then stopping to help Moody put his magical eye back in. Harry looked away and shuddered slightly.
His eyes travelled to the four other beds that had the curtains closed around them and guessed that his friends were in them, but before he could ask how everyone was, the doors of the Hospital Wing burst open, making everyone jump and with a little difficulty Harry could recognize Fred, George and Luna running into the room.
"Madam Pomfrey!" called Fred loudly, but then the three halted in their steps. "Um… what?"
It was Professor McGonagall who answered. "Misters Weasley, Miss Lovegood? What are you doing here after curfew?"
The twins looked at each other and Harry had to smile slightly. Luna could very well have tacked along randomly, because she was dreamily staring around the room. Fred opened his mouth to answer, but George beat him to it.
"Professor? What're you doing here?" he looked around the room and Harry then noticed that he had the slip of parchment in his hands, that they had given them before they had gone to the Ministry. The red-head held the paper up to is twin. "Weren't you supposed to be at Umbride's hearing? I guess we won't need that then…"
"I asked you a question!" reminded McGonagall the three.
Luna's eyes suddenly lost their dreamy look and she eyed not McGonagall, but Dumbledore. "You've already been at the Ministry, haven't you? The record of the prophecy is destroyed, yes?"
Harry could see the surprise in all of the adults' faces and had to repress a chuckle, for he knew it would only make him end up coughing. He settled for shaking his head slightly. Luna was definitely something else…
"Indeed," replied Dumbledore jovially and his eyes shortly met Harry's. "May I inquire how you know that?" He asked and looked at the Twins. "I guess by your lack of reaction, that you two know what Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Draco had planned as well?"
Fred snatched the piece of parchment out of his twin's hand and gave it to Dumbledore. "They gave us this. We were supposed to look for a member of the Order if we didn't get a message from them in two hours… we waited half-an-hour longer than that…"
"Are they okay?" asked George.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, they're all resting at the moment. Your parents are here as well. They're currently with your brother who's in the second bed on the right side. Feel free to join them."
The twins nodded and with another small look around the room, disappeared behind the curtains of their brother's bed.
McGonagall, who looked like she was about to explode, turned to Dumbledore: "Albus did I understand them right? They didn't simply rush off to the Ministry, but they planned all that?"
The headmaster only nodded. "It seems so, doesn't it?"
"Oh… wait until they're all awake!"
Harry gulped slightly and gave Nicolas a desperate look. The man smirked at him, but nodded and closed the curtains around his bed. Harry closed his eyes. Now was definitely a good time to start sleeping…
…HPHPHP…
"Harry?" asked a reluctant voice.
He gave a small smile and opened his eyes once more. "I hate it to wake up in this room, y'know?"
Hermione smiled softly and squeezed his hand which he noticed she had been holding. Ignoring her protests, he slowly sat up and tried to clear his head. He looked around, but saw his curtains drawn around the two of them. He patted the bed with his hand and Hermione abandoned her chair and sat down next to him. "What happened? How long was I out?"
She looked at her watch. "Mrs. Flamel gave you a sleeping-potion. It's been six hours. It's nearly five AM. How're you feeling? Are you okay?"
He looked down at his heavily bandaged chest and his bandaged shoulder. "I feel sore, but other than that… I guess I'm fine." He caressed her check. "And how are you feeling?"
She shrugged slightly. "Tired but fine. Madam Pomfrey was able to heal the scratches I had in no time and… she gave me something to calm my nerves… after the Cruciatus…"
Harry growled slightly. "He'll pay for hurting you!" He took a deep breath and saw the slight circles under her eyes. "I hope you slept at least a little."
She nodded. "I was able to catch two hours of sleep, but woke up when Neville, Draco and Narcissa left around three."
His eyes narrowed. "What about Ron? Whatever happened to him? He was fine when I last saw him."
Hermione frowned slightly. "He's still sleeping. I'm not really sure because I wasn't with him, but according to Draco he was attacked by some sort of… brains. I've never heard something like that though."
He frowned. "Brains?"
She nodded and he had to smile when her hand went up to his mop of hair, trying to smooth it down. "I know it sounds silly and you can bet that I'll do some research about them. Dumbledore said something along the lines of 'thoughts can leave deeper scars than anything else'.
She stood up and opened the curtains to let in some of the light coming from the rising sun.
Harry pursed his lips. "Dumbledore… well the Headmaster and I surely will have a long talk today… he still owns me an explanation for what happened in Snape's quarters four days ago."
He blinked when Hermione nudged his elbow and sat down again. "First you've got to rest. We can be lucky that no one was seriously injured."
"Now that you mention it!" exclaimed Harry. "What about Sirius? Is he okay?"
"Oh, yes." Hermione chuckled slightly. "Yes he definitely is. He threw a temper-tantrum after Madame Pomfrey threw him out as well."
"She threw him out?" he asked incredulously. "But what about his injuries?"
"His injuries weren't really that serious, just painful to look at. And there were so many, that's why he lost so much blood. It took her around an hour to heal him and she ordered him to keep it low for the next few days because he's got a slight concussion. She originally planned to keep him here, but no, he got into an argument with Snape, who brought in some potions and she decided to throw him out."
"How come I didn't wake up? Sirius and Snape arguing should be heard in Australia."
Now it was Hermione's turn to look at him incredulously. "Um… if the curtains are closed around your bed, a silencing charm will rise up to give the patients some privacy." She smiled at him. "And probably prevent anyone from hearing things which are none of their business. I guess you'd know because, well… you have been here rather often."
He nodded. "I'm just glad no one died…"
She sighed and took his hand back into hers. "Yes…"
Harry sighed and looked down at the floor. "It was just damn close sometimes and according to you Ron's still out of it. What if…"
Hermione shook her head and raised his chin to look him in the eyes. "Not what if." she said firmly. "Everything went out okay and no one died or was heavily injured. You should be proud Harry. Not blaming yourself because Ron decided to do some brainstorming."
He snorted when he looked over to the hospital bed that was occupied by Ron. "You're probably right…"
Hermione nodded and cuddled herself into his arms. He played with her soft curls and closed his eyes to clear his thoughts.
'BOOM!'
Harry and Hermione sat bolt-upright in bed and even Ron had woken up and sat straight like a candle. His eyes were wide and he was looking around frantically for the cause of the noise.
"I thought you said something about silencing charms?" he asked.
"HARRY!" shouted a vaguely familiar voice and now he knew what the noise before had been.
The doors of the hospital wing had been blown open with full force and Sirius had drawn his curtains back, nearly ripping them off. He was followed by Remus. Both were panting slightly, but had disbelieving smiles on their faces.
Sirius stormed over to him and Harry saw, that he had the newest edition of the Daily Prophet clutched in his hand. "Look at this! J-just look Harry! I can't believe it… look!"
Wondering why the Prophet had already arrived – it was only five after all; Harry had to hold back his laughter and took the Prophet from him. He looked at the front page, with sprouted two big headlines and titled his head.
...HP...
SPECIAL EDITION:
HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED HAS RETURNED!
Attack at the Ministry successfully beat down by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore!
by Rita Skeeter
Last night this reporter was witness to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return! And be assured that we all can be lucky, that our Ministry still exists after the events of last night!
Due to a trial taking place at Azkaban (for detailed information look at page 4), the Ministry was deserted. And someone took this opportunity.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked the Ministry!
Our sources say that he was after a specific prophecy that was located in the Department of Mysteries in the depths of the Ministry, concerning himself and Mr. Harry Potter. The full contents of this prophecy are unknown.
Questionable is, what Harry Potter himself, who was accompanied by Draco Black, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom had been doing there, or how they knew to prepare for an attack, but we can be thankful for their appearance and bravery.
We have to thank Aurors Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shaklebold and Alastor Moody, Ministry employee Arthur Weasley, Hogwarts staff Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin and Narcissa Black because they also fought to protect the Ministry.
Unknown is when Albus Dumbledore arrived, but he gave a short statement, just like Harry Potter when we questioned them.
Albus Dumbledore shortly after his fight with You-Know-Who, addressed the crowd with following words: "You-Know-Who is back. I arrived just in time to see Harry successfully injuring and distracting him. You also shall know that You-Know-Who's true name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. There is no need to fear his name."
"He is back. There is no denying it. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (note that Mr. Potter also called him by his name) is alive once again. I was called crazy for even suggesting something like that last year. But now you saw it for yourself. My friends and I often reminded Minister Fudge, that he should pay all those attacks on the small villages more attention. He didn't listen…" those were the exact words Mr. Potter said to the assembled crowd.
Why didn't Minister Fudge do something against the attacks? Is he even suited for the position as the Minister any longer? Will we be able to live without fear in the future, or do we have to prepare for a war, that had last been seen fifteen years ago? Those questions can't be answered.
…HP…
Harry looked at Sirius, who was bouncing up and down on his feet and shook his head. "I don't know what your problem is. It was clear that they announce Riddle's return today."
Sirius gave and exasperated cry and frantically pointed his fingers at the other headline. "I MEANT THIS!"
Harry chuckled and tried to concentrate on the article, ignoring Sirius' constant babbling.
…HP…
SIRIUS BLACK CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES!
Peter Pettigrew alive and captured!
by Rita Skeeter
Sirius Orion Black's status as the Head of the most Noble and Ancient House of Black was restored after Pettigrew's interrogation this morning.
Peter Pettigrew is convicted to be the true murderer of thirteen muggles as well as of the death of James Hadrian Potter and Lily Marie Potter nee Evans, parents to the Boy-Who-Lived.
After the events at the Ministry yesterday he was handed over to Amelia Bones by young Mr. Harry Potter himself. It was revealed that Pettigrew is an unregistered Animagus in form of a rat and therefore was able to hide amongst those animals.
Once again the judgment of the Ministry should be questioned, because Mr. Black was sentenced to Azkaban fifteen years ago – without trial.
When Mr. Potter handed over the unconscious Pettigrew he seemed furious, as you could gain out of his words, after the Minister had refused to acknowledge the arguments brought forth by the young man for the lack of evidence.
"Use Veritaserum you ignorant fool! I want to see an article about Sirius' innocence in tomorrow's 'Daily Prophet'. Should he not be declared innocent, I swear in front of all those people, that I make your life a living hell… when I'm trough with you, you will wish, that it had been He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named you were dealing with", so Mr. Potter.
If you are wondering why Mr. Potter defended Mr. Black so strongly, it is because said man is his godfather.
Peter Pettigrew was not sentenced to Azkaban as the Wizengamont decided that he will be executed immediately. The first suggestion was the Dementor's Kiss, but Albus Dumbledore said that the Dementors were no longer under the Ministry's full control. Therefore Pettigrew will instead be send through the Veil of Death. The exact date is yet to be arranged.
Mr. Black was given a compensation of 2.000.000 galleons for his stay in the wizardring prison. This reporter hopes that Mr. Black will be able to forget his time in Azkaban and wishes him a good future.
…HP…
Harry shook his head with a smile. He couldn't say that he was surprised because of the articles, for he had been quite clear with Fudge the day before, but that Rita Skeeter actually quoted exactly what he had said without adding something else… that was definitely a huge surprise!
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but can anybody tell me why you're so bloody noisy?"
"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione delighted. "You're finally awake!"
Harry looked over to his red-headed friend and smirked when he grumbled and sat up with a small wince and looked at his bandaged arms, before looking to them. "How's a bloke supposed to sleep with all that babbling?"
"At least we have a reason to be loud," retorted Harry. "You simply continued to sleep because you're lazy!" he chuckled good-naturally. "How're you feeling? I heard you were attacked by… brains?"
Ron groaned. "Don't remind me. I don't know what came over me when I touched that thing…" he rolled his shoulders. "Say what's all this about? And why's Sirius jumping up and down like an excited puppy?"
Harry looked at his godfather who was really jumping up and down in excitement and chuckled.
"I'M FREE!" he bellowed suddenly and Ron nearly fell of his bed in shock, while Harry, Hermione and Remus rubbed their ears.
"W-what?" gasped Ron wide-eyed and looked from Sirius to Harry, who beamed at him. "How? When?"
"I'm afraid those questions will have to wait Mr. Weasley," a strict feminine voice interjected and Madam Pomfrey entered the room.
She eyed Harry critically before she waved her wand in his direction. She seemed satisfied and nodded to herself and only then seemed to notice that everyone had abruptly fallen silent after her arrival. The medi-witch frowned. "Is something the matter?"
"You won't keep me here, will you?" asked Harry with the best puppy-dog-eyes he could muster. "I promise to be extra careful the next few days, but please, let me out!"
She looked at him and he was startled when she started to smile. "I'm not dumb, Mr. Potter. Even if I forbade it, you would still manage to sneak out. Is there anything else apart from the soreness you feel at the moment?"
Harry grinned. "Relief."
"Oh, very funny. I expect to see you here at least twice a day for the next three days," replied Pomfrey and turned to Ron who opened his mouth to say something, before sighing. "Yes, Mr. Weasley, if I don't find anything suspicious you may also leave after a quick check-up. With the condition to come back three times a day until I tell you not to, so that I can apply some salve on your arms."
Ron nodded eagerly and Madam Pomfrey started to unwrap the bandages on his arms without magic.
Harry turned back to Hermione. "Say… would you mind going with Ron when he's finished? Try to find Neville and Draco and then get... Luna, Blaise, Daphne and Astoria, Fred, George, Ginny… uh… Theo, Susan and Padma to come to the training room around eight this evening."
Hermione nodded and conjured a piece of parchment to write down the names. "Do you have anything specific in mind?"
"I want to tell some members of the H.A what exactly happened and what they have to expect in the future."
"That's a good idea," answered Hermione. "I'll see what we can arrange." She turned to Ron, who was grinning happily when Madam Pomfrey grudgingly wrapped a new bandage around his arms and Harry guessed that she hadn't found anything wrong with how they were healing.
Ron looked at them and grinned. "So what is it I heard about Sirius being free?"
"I'll explain it to you while we look for Draco and Neville, okay?" suggested Hermione and Ron nodded. He gave Sirius, who was still bouncing up and down a high five when the two left and Harry looked at his godfather and honorary uncle.
"It's nice to finally see you as a free man, Siri," whispered Harry and blinked when he found himself in a bone-crushing hug.
"You can't imagine how happy I am!" Sirius nearly squealed and made no indication to let go of him anytime soon. "I don't know how you managed to capture that rat, but I'll be eternally grateful that you did. Y'know… it was Amelia Bones who came over here just about half an hour ago who told me I'm a free man. She also gave me the Daily Prophet and said she would ensure that the compensation would be send to my Gringotts Account immediately. But you know what's best?"
Harry had to chuckle at the flood of words sprouting out of his godfather's mouth and shook his head. "No, what?"
"I get to throw Pettigrew through the veil myself if I want to!"
Harry's smile disappeared and he frowned. "I… I don't think that would be wise…"
Sirius finally let go of him and held him at arms-length to look at him. "Why in Merlin's name not?"
Harry bit his lip. "I don't think it would make you feel better and… to be honest… I think it would make you a murderer… I mean, killing someone in self-defense is different than deliberately killing someone by pushing him through the veil. Remember what I told you last year. I doubt Dad would've wanted you to kill him." He crossed his arms. "And secondly: I don't want to see you near that blasted veil ever again!"
Sirius let go of him with a sigh and flopped down on the bed next to him. "Yeah… I understand what you mean… and you're probably right."
"I agree with Harry as well," Remus said and sat down across from them. "I think we should finally finish that chapter of our lives. And how to finish it better than with the thought of you finally being free?"
They were silent for a short time, until something else came to Harry's mind and he cleared his throat.
"So… I know that you've been to Azkaban before you came to the Ministry yesterday. Tell me, how exactly did Umbridge's trial go? What was the verdict?"
"The Wizengamont was just finalizing everything when the alarms for the wards in the DoM went off," replied Remus and Sirius nodded.
The black-haired animagus swung his legs up and was now sitting Indian-style. "As far as I'm concerned Umbridge is history."
Harry felt glee rising up in him and leaned forwards. "So?"
"Prison," stated Sirius. "She got twenty-five years."
Harry's face fell and he looked at him in disbelief. "Only?"
Sirius shrugged slightly. "Well, she didn't have the dark mark and as stupid as it may sound, but there were only three major charges to be brought forth against her, the rest were only more or less minor cases of assault."
The Marauder scratched his nose. "And even so, she was only," he rolled his eyes there, "accessory to the murder of Rose's parents' and the Cruciatus curse on you was the only case of grievous bodily harm she committed. The third major crime was that she was involved in lots of bribery. "
Harry was stumped and stared at his godfather with his mouth slightly open. It wasn't every day that you heard the nearly hyperactive animagus talk like that and he surely hadn't expected an answer like that.
"Well… okay. I guess she already made herself at home in Azkaban then?"
Sirius and Remus shared a look and simultaneously shook their heads. It was Remus who answered: "No. She'll be brought to Nurmengard this evening."
"Nurmen- are you sure?" asked Harry wide-eyed and then a smirk went to his face when he realized the implications of that. "Twenty-five years you said… in Nurmengard… well I'll be damned if she's able to be present at her release."
Nurmengard had been built by orders of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald at the height of his power, to hold his opponents. It was supposedly located somewhere in the German Sea, but only a few select people knew of its exact location because of the strong wards surrounding it. Harry had heard Dumbledore and Nicolas where two of these few. Funnily enough, Grindelwald was being held in the top-most cell inside his own prison ever since Dumbledore had defeated him.
In terms of magical defenses Nurmengard was said to be better protected than Azkaban – and it was also known to be crueler. Harry didn't know anything specific. In the contrary to Azkaban, it had a lot of non-magical defenses including deadly traps and high walls.
Sirius frowned and Harry saw him shudder slightly. "Azkaban is bad, but to be brought to Nurmengard… I don't think she'll hold up very well…"
"It may sound cruel, but I agree. She hasn't got what it takes to last more than ten years there if you ask me, "said Remus carelessly and Harry snickered.
"Whose idea was it to put her there?" wanted Harry to know. He was sure to worship the ground this person walked on.
Sirius chuckled. "It was the idea of Demetri Durell. I believe you know him?"
"Demetri? You mean Selwyn's sire is part of the Wizengamont?"
"Yep our dear Alexander was there's well – in the disguise of being Alexander Durell - Demetri's little brother. And believe it or not, up to now nobody has found out that they're vampires. Demetri simply claims that it is a tradition in his family that all male heirs have the same name, so no one gets suspicious."
"Just how many identities does that vampire have?" murmured Harry.
Sirius shrugged. "Who cares? He's an expert when it comes to spying. We're just lucky that he's on our side, just like Demetri."
Harry nodded and looked at his watch. He stood up. "I need to see Dumbledore now. I'll see you later, okay?"
…HPHPHP…
When Harry entered the Headmaster's office, he noticed his heart beating faster than normal. He was nervous and not just a little bit. He spotted Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, frowning at a stack of papers. When he saw Harry, he gave a small friendly smile.
Not waiting for a greeting, Harry crossed his arms. "Why didn't you remove the prophecy from the Ministry?"
Dumbledore sighed and gestured for Harry to sit down on a chair he had just conjured in front of him. "The answer is short: I wasn't able to. I tried, but it would reappear every time I took it away from the shelf and I would simply hold a small glass ball in my hand."
Harry raised his eyebrow at that and Dumbledore looked at him over his half-moon spectacles. "You must understand that only those the prophecy is about can remove it. I'm afraid I have to admit, that I wasn't aware of this detail until a week ago, for it is not public knowledge. I spend all the time looking for a charm to remove it – of course my attempts proved to be futile."
With a sigh, Harry accepted the answer. It was good enough. He himself hadn't known that prophecies could only be removed by the people they were about. And it seemed that Nicolas had not known this as well. He was the one that had taught Harry about all these things after all.
Deciding to no longer waste time with finding a reason to fault the Headmaster for the battle last night, he thought about what had bothered him the most for the last few days.
"Professor, what exactly happened back then? What was this strange feeling I had when I passed out in Snape's quarters?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, I'm afraid I will have to ask you a very big favor. I know you will not be happy with what I want and can tell you, so I ask you to stay calm."
Harry's eyes narrowed, but after some time he nodded.
Dumbledore sighed in relief and Harry could see that - this time - it wasn't easy for the headmaster to not simply tell him everything.
"First of all I can't tell you what exactly happened five days ago, for it requires a lot more research on my part. I can only tell you that it must have something to do with Voldemort and your connection to him," he raised his hand to silence Harry when he started to interrupt.
"I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but please, bear with me. I surely do not want to keep you in the dark – I won't make that mistake again, but this time I must ask you to simply be content with what I tell you now - and if only to put an old man at ease. I don't want to scare you with assumptions and half-truths."
Harry looked deeply into the Headmaster's eyes and after a long time gave a soft sigh and nodded. Their little talk certainly didn't go as planned, but Dumbledore was right. He wasn't happy with that answer at all, but even so, he had to admit, that he wasn't interested in worrying about things that could very well be false in the end. He had enough real worries and would wait until the old wizard was really sure if the incident five days ago was worth worrying about or if it was just another strange reaction to the dragon-blood.
He wanted to stand up, but Dumbledore stopped him. "Please, I have something else to tell you. It is something I have found out while Umbridge reigned over Hogwarts in my stead. However, under no circumstances must you tell anybody else than your most trusted friends – provided they know Occlumency."
Harry shook his head. "I would never spread around secrets like gossip."
"I know," smiled Dumbledore, "it's just to be sure. You are the first person I tell this and will be told if I deem it necessary to let anyone else know of my discovery."
He nodded in acceptance and felt dread rising up in him. "So… what is it?"
Dumbledore took a lot of time to formulate his answer it seemed. "During my research, I stumbled upon something I had completely forgotten about." He opened a small drawer on his desk and Harry's eyes widened when he took a familiar looking diary with a hole in the middle out of it.
"I'm sure you recognize Tom Riddle's diary."
"Really now, how could I forget that blasted thing?" murmured Harry and automatically rubbed his arm where the Basilisk-fang had pierced his flesh. He shook his head and tried to come up with an answer to why Dumbledore showed it to him now of all times.
"Then you also remember that it contained an exact image – a memory if you want – of Tom when he was sixteen years old." This time he didn't wait for an answer but put the diary back into the drawer. "This made me start thinking. I don't claim to be all-knowing, but never in my life have I come across a spell that would make it possible to do what Tom did."
Harry frowned. "But isn't the Marauder's Map something like the diary as well? I mean, I remember back in third year when it started to insult Snape on its own when he tried to read it…"
"Oh no," answered Dumbledore with a grim chuckle that certainly didn't fit him. "That wonderful map you have doesn't contain the memories and thoughts of your father and his friends, but merely a small reflection of their personalities. That's what makes the map able to… let's call it communicate."
"What is it then?" wanted Harry to know and noticed that he was getting impatient.
"Tom... no, Voldemort, has created something which is impossible for the human mind to fully understand. What I'm talking about can't exactly be created with a specific spell, but only with a special intent. He created something that is more evil, more sinister and so utterly dark that the Unforgivables look like light spells. He has killed many to achieve what he wants... but some deaths were not just for the sake of his inane desire to kill all muggles," said Dumbledore and Harry gulped. He had never seen the old man that serious.
Dumbledore sighed and looked him directly in the eye. "Some of his killings had the purpose to ensure that his soul would not leave the mortal world. That Tom would stay practically immortal – able to return. And he did it not just once."
Harry looked at the headmaster, waiting for something more, but it didn't come. His thoughts travelled back to his training with Nicolas, Perenelle and Narcissa and all the curses, wards, potions and rituals he had read about and practiced himself. Suddenly his mind stopped at the rituals.
"More than once...?" he whispered quietly.
And then, as if he had been struck by the Cruciatus, realization hit him. The truth hit him harder than every curse, punch or torture had ever done. He jumped up from his chair and stared at Dumbledore. He could see his own horrified expression in the Professor's grave-looking eyes – wishing, no, begging it to be a sick joke.
"Was it… was it intentional?" he stuttered barely able to suppress the shaking in his voice. "I mean, did Voldemort know what he was doing there?"
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Sadly, yes. There is no doubt in my mind that he knew what he was doing."
"How can… anybody cripple himself that much? How can anybody go… go to such lengths to stay immortal?"
He looked Dumbledore in the eyes and hoped against hope that he would find the normally present twinkle in them that told him, the man already had a plan.
When he didn't find the reassurance he had looked for he turned around. "I… damn! I… I will take my leave now… thank you Professor for telling me..." he whispered with a shaky voice he barely recognized as his own. "Excuse me, but you gave me a lot to think about..."
...HPHPHP...
Harry dashed to the Room of Requirement in a daze. His mind was absolutely blank and the only thing he desperately wanted was to wake up from that horrible nightmare. A grimace formed on his face when he realized that his hands were shaking and on top of that he felt the cold sweat on his skin.
With a heavy breath he opened the door after having passed the wall three times and stopped.
Draco, Hermione, Ron and Neville were sitting on the sofa and on the chairs in front of the fireplace. How should they be able... how could they kill someone, who wasn't able to be killed? All the hopes that had built up in Harry for the last two years... shattered because of one disgusting word!
That's how Voldemort had been able to return after he himself had stopped him as a baby. And now Harry knew that he would do it over and over again. Who knew how often? The terror Voldemort currently inflicted would come back even if they killed him.
When he looked at his friends, he felt a terrible pain rise up in his chest. Would Voldemort be able to carry out the treats he had made? Would he... kill them all when he was able to return again and again? Maybe even stronger with every time he did so?
'Yes. Yes, of course he would!' thought Harry and chocked on his own breath.
That caught his friends' attention and they looked up from the books they were reading – or in Ron's and Neville's case – the game of chess they were playing. Hermione had immediately jumped up with the first look at his face and was running in his direction.
She felt his forehead. "Harry! Harry, what's wrong? You look horrible, what happened? Harry!"
He embraced her tightly and took another chocked breath. She stiffened slightly.
"You're shaking..." whispered Hermione quietly and he heard the worry in her voice. Her hands travelled up and then rested on both sides of his face.
"Mate, Harry... what happened?" asked Ron, who still had bandages on his forearm, frightened while Neville was staring at him with wide eyes. Draco as well looked at him with dread. The blond knew that something really bad must have happened for Harry to be that shaken.
"Please tell us... what happened?" asked Hermione again; more desperate this time and returned his embrace.
He tightened his grip around her and blinked rapidly, looking over her shoulder to the others. "Voldemort... Horcruxes..."
"What? Harry, what are you talking about?" asked Hermione frantically.
He took a deep breath. "Voldemort has… he has made Horcruxes…"
"H-h-horcruxes?" stuttered Draco shaking his head furiously; his voice taking on a very high pitch. He stopped shaking his head and sunk back onto the sofa. "As in...," he gulped, "plural?"
Harry shortly closed his eyes and then nodded. "Yes... plural..."
The horrified expressions, the hopelessness that immediately crept into the eyes of his friends after those two words and Hermione's desperate cry of "NO!" were the last things it took to break the barrier Harry had built up. He let go of his stubbornness and sunk down on the ground with his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. He gritted his teeth.
Hermione was sitting next to him and was holding onto him for dear life. His shirt was getting wet on his shoulder and he knew that she was crying. He shook his head. The meeting with the H.A members was definitely cancelled for today.
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Dark Phoenix of Slytherin