AUTHORS NOTE! :P
Hi everybody! How you all been?
There is only one more chapter left guys :( I have to say, I have loved writing this, and you guys are all amazing :)
Can we get to 500 reviews before this story is finished? We're close enough now!
Now I shall answer some reviews...
gmbookworm: Thanks :) I know, I can't stand it! Its waaaay too hot.
BethZ: Well the Warner Bro's Studios is in the outskirts of London, but we're staying in a hotel close to King's Cross! Isn't that awesome? I'll be there from the 18th to the 22nd :D I write the chapters on Fanfiction, so I don't know how many pages exactly... :)
Arkell26: I agree hahaa :)
SevLoverKat: I suppose you'll have to see... :)
PatrickNotStar: hahaha thanks :)
I realised that I made a mistake in the Priori Incantatem chapter. Max's mom should of come out of Voly's wand before James and Lily. So let's just pretend that she did, kay?
Now, on with the chapter!
Enjoy!
-Rach ;)
Max's POV
Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Crouch for a minute with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand, and ropes flew out of it that tied up Barty Crouch tightly. He turned to McGonagall.
"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard while I take Harry and Max upstairs?"
I tightened my hold on Harry's hand, not wanting to let him go. My head was still spinning, and I knew that if I let him go, I'd probably fall to the ground and that wasn't something I wanted to do. Not now.
"Of course," McGonagall agreed. She pulled out her wand, looking slightly nauseous, and pointed it at Barty Crouch, her hand quite steady. It was then that I realised just how much of a freaking badass McGonagall was.
"Severus"- Dumbledore turned to Snape- "please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go back to the grounds and get Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He probably wants to question Crouch himself. Tell him I'll be in the hospital wing in half an hours time if he needs me."
Snape nodded and swept out of the room.
"Harry? Max?" Dumbledore said gently. I straightened up from where I had been leaning against the desk, with Harry doing the same beside me. We both swayed dangerously. The pain in my wrist and ribs, which I hadn't noticed the whole time Crouch had been talking, returned in full measure. I saw Harry look down at his leg, that even I could see was as alarmingly swollen as my wrist. I also realised that I was shaking. Dumbledore gripped Harry's arm, and Harry was still holding my hand, so while Dumbledore helped Harry out into the dark corridor, and Harry helped me.
"I want you to come up to my office first," he said quietly as we headed up the passageway. "Sirius is waiting for us there."
My head shot up. Sirius? He was here? I almost smiled. After almost a year, I was going to see my father. But I couldn't help but feel worried. What if he was caught? If Fudge caught Sirius, Sirius would either end up back in Azkaban until he died, or else the dementors would perform the Kiss on him- which was when the dementors sucked a persons soul out.
A kind of numbness had washed over me, for which I was grateful. I didn't want to have to feel the pain, or remember what happened tonight. The only thing I could feel and focus on was my hand in Harry's. I noticed that he was running his thumb gently over my fingers. I didn't know if he was trying to comfort me, or himself.
Suddenly, Harry spoke up. "Professor, where are Mr and Mrs Diggory?" he mumbled.
Oh yeah, I thought, Cedric asked us to return him to his parents. Did we do that? I can't remember...
"I believe they are with Professor Sprout," Dumbledore answered. His voice, which had been so calm and controlled while interrogating Barty Crouch, shook slightly for the first time. "She was Head of his house, and knew him best."
We had reached the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore gave the password, and it sprang aside, and we went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. Dumbledore pushed it open, and Sirius was standing there. His face was white and gaunt as it had been when he had escaped from Azkaban. In one swift moment, he had crossed the room.
"Harry, Max, are you all right? I knew it- I knew something like this- what happened?"
I could only imagine what we looked like. Harry's face was dirty, sweaty and bloody. His robes were torn and also covered in blood. I'm guessing that I looked the same- bruised, dirty and bloody.
Sirius'shands shook as he helped me and Harry into the chairs in front of the desk.
"What happened?" he asked again, more urgently.
Dumbledore started telling Sirius everything Crouch had said. I was only half listening. I was so tired, and every bone in my body was aching. I wanted nothing more than to sit here with Harry, until I eventually fall asleep and not have to feel anything.
There was a rush of wings. I recognised Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix. Fawkes left his perch, flew across the room and landed gently on Harry's knee.
"Hi, Fawkes," Harry said quietly, stroking the bird's scarlet and golden plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at us. I would of petted him, but Harry was still holding my hand, and I wasn't going to do anything with my broken wrist. But there was something comforting about about Harry beside me, holding my hand, my dad standing in the same room, and Fawkes soft, peaceful gaze.
Dumbledore stopped talking. He sat down opposite us, behind his desk. He was looking at me and Harry, but I avoided his eyes. I felt suddenly ashamed of myself. How did I let Crouch get the jump on me? How could I have been so stupid and weak? What the hell was wrong with me?
"I need to know everything that happened tonight. Max, if you don't mind, I would like to start with what happened to you after Crouch knocked you out," Dumbledore said.
"We can leave that till morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" Sirius said harshly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Let the two of them rest, have a sleep."
I felt a rush of gratitude towards my dad, but Dumbledore took no notice of Sirius's words. He leaned forward towards me and Harry. Harry squeezed my fingers before raising his head and looking Dumbledore in the eyes.
If he can find the strength to do that, so can I, I thought, squeezing his fingers back. I raised my head and gritted my teeth, and then I looked Dumbledore in the eyes. His gaze was flickering between me and Harry. He could probably feel the reluctance we both had to retelling the events of what happened tonight.
"If I thought I could help you," Dumbledore said gently, "by putting you both into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. The two of you have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of either of you. Now, I ask you both to demonstrate your courage one last time. I ask you to tell me what happened, starting with you, Max."
Fawkes let out a soft, quivering note, and I recognised the noise from the graveyard. Somehow, the noise, combined with Harry's hand in mine, and Sirius's hand on my shoulder, I managed to focus and get strength.
I took a deep breath, careful not to aggravate my ribs, and I began to tell them. As I spoke, visions of everything that happened before Harry and Cedric showed up flashed before my eyes; waking up in that graveyard, tied up; I saw Wormtail as he hit and kicked me; felt the crack when I broke my wrist to get out of the ropes; and of course, being tortured.
When I mentioned the Cruciatus Curse, Sirius's hand tightened on my shoulder and his face paled even more. He looked like he wanted to interrupt, but Dumbledore silently held up his hand.
When I got to the part where Harry and Cedric showed up and I woke up, Dumbledore stopped me, and asked for Harry to continue. So Harry told his story, with me inputting something every now and then. Once again, I saw the sparkling surface of the potion that had brought Voldemort back to his body; saw the Death Eaters Apparating around us, laughing when we got tortured; I saw Cedric's body, lying on the ground beside the Triwizard Cup.
More than once, Sirius tried to say something, but for those times as well, Dumbledore would just raise his hand again to stop him. For this, I was glad, because it was easier to help Harry explain, and to remember what happened now that we started, and I probably wouldn't be able to keep going if we were interrupted. It was even kinda a relief... it felt like I was getting poison taken from my body. I knew that when we finished, I would feel better.
When we got to the part where Wormtail cut our arms with the dagger, however, Sirius let out an exclamation and Dumbledore stood up so fast that I started. Dumbledore walked around the desk and told us to stretch out our arms. For us to do this, we had to let go of each others arms. We showed them the long, identical cut underneath the tear in our shirts.
"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection that my- that my mother left in me- he'd have it too. And he was right- he could touch me without being in pain himself, he touched my face."
Dumbledore turned to me. I shrugged. "I still don't know what he wanted with me. All I have is what Crouch said earlier, and that fact that he seemed annoyed that I helped Harry defeat him before. Maybe he thought the avian DNA would make him stronger as well or something. "
For an instant, I thought I saw something like triumph in his eyes. But next second it was gone, and I was sure that I had imagined it, because when he sat back down at his desk, he looked as old and weary as I had ever seen him.
"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Please continue."
So we went on; we explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and between the two of us, told them most of Voldemort's speech. Then how we had been untied and given back our wands, prepared to duel. When we got to the part where Harry was tortured, and I was tortured again, Sirius looked like he was going to get sick.
But when we reached the part where the golden beam of light had connected our three wands, neither of us could continue. I could see again Cedric emerging, then the old man, Bertha Jorkins, my mum, Harry's parents...
I was glad when Sirius broke the silence.
"The wands connected?" Sirius said. "Why?"
I looked up at Dumbledore again as he muttered, "Priori Incantatem."
"The Reverse Spell thing?" Sirius asked.
"Exactly," Dumbledore. "Harry's wand, and Max's wand, share the same core as the one in Voldemort's. Each of them contain the feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This phoenix, actually," he added, pointing to Fawkes.
"Wait- we have the same wand cores?" I asked, pointing between me and Harry, who looked just as amazed. Dumbledore nodded.
"And our wand feathers come from Fawkes?" Harry said.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Mr Ollivander wrote to tell me when you bought the second wand, Max, and then again when Harry bought the third, a few days later, four years ago."
"So what happens when a wand meets it brother- or brothers?" Sirius asked.
"They will not work properly against each other," Dumbledore explained calmly. "If however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle... a very rare effect will take place. One, or two, of the wands will force the other to regurgitate the spells it has performed- in reverse. The most recent first... and then those which preceded it..."
He looked interrogatively at us, and we both nodded.
"Which means," Dumbledore said slowly, "that some form of Cedric much have reappeared."
We nodded again.
"Wait- Diggory came back to life?" Sirius said sharply.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No spell can reawaken the dead. All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo... A shadow of the living Cedric emerged from the wand... am I correct?"
"He spoke to us," Harry said, who was suddenly shaking again. I grabbed hold of his arm again. "The...the ghost Cedric, or whatever it was... it spoke."
"An echo," Dumbledore explained, "which kept Cedric's appearance and character. I'm guessing other forms appeared."
"An old guy," I said, "Bertha Jorkins. And..."
"Your mother?" Dumbledore said quietly. He looked at Harry. "And your parents?"
"Yeah," I said. Harry just nodded.
Sirius's grip on my shoulder was so tight it was painful.
"The last murders the wand performed," Dumbledore said, nodding. "In reverse order. More would have showed up, had you kept the connection longer. Very well, Harry, Max... this echoes, these shadows... what did they do?"
Harry described how the figures had all emerged from the wand had walked around the edge of the golden web, how Voldemort seemed frightened of them, how Lily had told us what to do, and Cedric's request. Then Harry stopped and seemed like he couldn't continue. I tried to speak, to explain what happened next, but nothing would come out of my mouth.
"I will say it again," Dumbledore said, "you have both shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight. The two of you have shown courage equal to those who fought against Voldemort at the height of his powers, and that's including your parents. You have both shouldered an adults burden and found yourselves equal to it. Now, you shall both come with me to the hospital wing. I do not want you two returning to Gryffindor Tower tonight. Sleeping Potions, I believe, are in order... Sirius, I imagine you would like to stay with them?"
Sirius nodded and stood up. He transformed into the great black dog and walked with us down to the hospital wing.
When Dumbledore pushed the door open, I saw Mrs Weasley, Bill, Angel, Gazzy, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Ron and Hermione huddled around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. It looked like they were demanding to know where me and Harry were, and what happened to us. All of them wheeled around as me, Harry, Dumbledore and the large black dog entered and Mrs Weasley let out a muffled scream.
"Max! Harry!"
She started to hurry towards us, but Dumbledore stepped in between us.
"Molly," he said, "please listen to me. Harry and Max have been through quite an ordeal tonight. They have just had to relive it for me. What they need now is sleep, peace, and quiet. If they would like you all to stay," he added, looking around at the rest of the flock, Bill, Ron and Hermione, "you may do so. But I do not want anyone questioning them until they are ready to answer, and that certainly isn't this evening."
Mrs Weasley nodded, tears in her eyes. She was very pale. She rounded on the other people in the room, and as if they'd been noisy, she hissed, "Didn't you hear? They need quiet!"
"Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey said, looking down at the dog that was Sirius, "may I ask wha-"
"This dog shall be remaining with Harry and Max for a while," Dumbledore said. "I assure you, he is very well trained."
I felt a great sense of gratitude towards Dumbledore for telling the others not to question us tonight. It's not like I didn't want them here, I did- it was just the thought of having to relive it once more, was more than I could handle. I was like being back at the School.
"I will back as soon as I have met with Fudge," Dumbledore said. "I would like you both to stay here tomorrow while I address the school." He left.
As Madam Pomfrey led us over to a nearby bed, I spotted the real Moody lying unconscious on a bed in the far end of the room. I tapped Harry slightly on the hand as nodded my head towards Moody. "Will he be okay?" he asked.
"He'll be fine," Madam Pomfrey said, handing me and Harry some pyjamas, and leading Harry towards one bed, and me towards the one beside it. She closed the curtains around our beds to get changed. I tried to take off my filthy robes myself, but with a broken wrist, cracked ribs and a concussion, it was kinda tricky.
I hissed quietly when pain shot through my wrist as I tried to take off my shirt. But Madam Pomfrey heard it anyway, and opened my curtains slightly. She must of seen my swollen wrist because she called for Mrs Weasley and they both came in, and together they helped me out of my dirty uniform and into the pyjamas. After I had climbed into bed, Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains around me and Harry's beds, then disappeared to get some potions and bandages.
The flock, Ron, Hermione, Bill and Mrs Weasley all settled themselves into chairs around our beds. Angel climbed up onto my bed and looked at me with big, tear filled eyes.
"It's okay, Angel," I said gently, in the same voice I use when she has nightmares, "I'm fine. Just sleepy." But Angel didn't want to leave my side, so she ended up sitting by my feet, holding onto my good hand. A few minutes later, the Gasman climbed up beside her, staring at me worriedly.
Madam Pomfrey finally came back out, her arms full of bottles of potion and a few bandages. She fixed up Harry's leg first, then she fixed my wrist and ribs, and she gave me a potion for my concussion, then she wrapped my wrist and ribs in thick bandages, and told me she'll remove them in the morning.
Then she came back holding two goblets full of some purple potion.
"You'll need to drink all of this," she told me and Harry, "It's a potion for dreamless sleep."
Me and Harry took the goblets, and I drank a few mouthfuls. Immediately, I felt myself becoming drowsy. Everything around me was becoming hazy. Before I could finish the potion, I was asleep.
I woke up so warm, so sleepy, so pain-free, that I didn't want to open my eyes or move, I wanted to go back to sleep. The room was dimly lit, and I was sure it was still night time, and I had a feeling that I hadn't been asleep very long.
Then I heard whispering around me.
"They'll wake Harry and Max if they don't shut up!"
"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?"
I slowly opened my eyes. I saw Mrs Weasley and Bill standing in between me and Harry's beds. I turned my head slightly, and saw that Harry was awake too, but he wasn't wearing his glasses and was squinting to see who was at the end of his bed. He must of sensed someone looking at him, because he turned his head a little too, and when he saw me awake, he smiled brightly. I grinned back, but that was when I heard all the shouting as well, and it sounded like they were running towards the hospital wing.
"That's Fudge's voice," Mrs Weasley was saying, "And that's Minevra McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they shouting about?"
"Regrettable, but at the time Minerva-" Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly.
"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" McGonagall yelled. "When Dumbledore finds out-"
I saw the doors to the hospital wing burst open. Unnoticed to any of the people around our beds, who were all staring at the door, even Angel and Gazzy who were still on the bottom of my bed, I sent up a little bit, leaning on my elbows. I saw Harry sitting up and putting on his glasses out of the corner of my eye.
Fudge came striding up the ward, McGonagall and Snape at his heels.
"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded.
"He's not here," Mrs Weasley said.
"Obviously," Nudge added under her breath, but I still heard her. I couldn't help but grin.
"This is a hospital wing," Mrs Weasley continued, "Minister, don't you think you'd do better to-"
But the door opened again and Dumbledore came sweeping down the ward.
"What has happened?" Dumbledore asked sharply, looking from Fudge to McGonagall.
"Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you- I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch-"
"There is no need to guard him any more Dumbledore!" McGonagall shouted. "The Minister has seen to that!"
I had never seen McGonagall so angry. She was trembling with fury, and her hands were balled into fists.
"When we told Mr Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events," Snape said in a low voice, "he seemed to feel like his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him to the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch-"
"I told him you wouldn't approve of it, Albus!" McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow a dementor into the school grounds after what happened last year, but-"
"My dear woman," Fudge roared, so loud that it made my head pound and I winced, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me while interviewing dangerous-"
But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned out Fudge's.
"The moment that- that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling, "it swooped down onto Crouch and- and-"
I felt a chill through my stomach as McGonagall struggled to find words for what happened next, but I did not need her to finish the sentence. The dementors had administered the Kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked it's soul of of his body. He was worse than dead.
"By all accounts, he is of no loss," Fudge blustered, his face redder than a tomato. "He's been responsible for several deaths."
"But now he cannot give testimony, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, sounding like he just wanted to slap Fudge. Well, I didn't blame him. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."
"Why he killed them? Well that's no mystery!" Fudge cried. "He was a lunatic. A raving, murderous lunatic. From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing the whole thing under You-Know-Who's orders!"
"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those deaths were mere by-products to bring Voldemort back to full strength again. The plan has worked. Voldemort has restored his body."
Fudge looked as if someone hit him in the head. Dazed and blinking, he stared at Dumbledore as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. He began to stutter, still staring at Dumbledore.
"You-Know-Who...returned? Preposterous! Come now, Dumbledore..."
"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you," Dumbledore said, "we heard Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veriteserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort, learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins- went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry and Max. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch helped Voldemort return."
"See here, Dumbledore," Fudge said, and I was shocked to see a smile spread across his face, "you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who has returned? Come now, come now... certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting off You-Know-Who's instructions- but to just take the word of a lunatic, Dumbledore..."
"Crouch rendered Max unconscious, and brought her Voldemort. When Harry touched the Triwizard Cup, he was taken straight to Voldemort too," Dumbledore said. "They both witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain everything to you if you will step up to my office."
Dumbledore looked around, and when he saw that me and Harry were awake, he shook his head. "I cannot permit you to question Harry and Max tonight."
Fudge's curious smile lingered. He looked around too, and saw that we were both awake. He looked back at Dumbledore and said, "You are- er- prepared to take Maximum's and Harry's word on this, Dumbledore?"
There was a moment of silence, which was broken by Sirius growling. His hackles were raised, and he was baring his teeth at Fudge.
"Of course I believe them," Dumbledore said, his eyes blazing. "I heard Crouch's confession, and heard Harry and Max's account of what happened; the two stories together make sense. It explains everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer."
Fudge still had that strange smile on his lips. Once again, he glanced at me and Harry before continuing.
"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, based on the story of a lunatic murderer, and two children who... well..."
Fudge shot up another look.
"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, haven't you, Mr Fudge?" Harry said quietly, and I understood what Fudge was implying. He thought me and Harry were insane as well.
The flock, Ron, Hermione, Mrs Weasley and Bill all jumped, not realising that me and Harry were awake.
Fudge reddened, but a defiant look came over his face.
"And if I have?" he said, looking at Dumbledore. "Fair enough, I knew that the children with the wings before they started here, but I discover that you've been keeping facts about Harry and Max a secret? A Parselmouth, eh? And what about Sirius Black being the girls father? Never thought that was important, that her father is a cold-blooder killer?" Sirius growled even louder and moved closer to my bed. "And having funny turns all over the place-"
"I assume you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar? And the odd little panic attack Max got once?"
"You admit that he has been having these pains then?" Fudge said quickly. "Headaches, nightmares? Possibly hallucinations? And her-" he said, pointing at me, "Having panic attacks, freaking out in the middle of a class?"
"Listen to me," Dumbledore said, taking a step towards Fudge, and once again I got the sense that he was radiating power, just like when we were walking up to the castle. "Harry and Max are both as sane as you and I. That scar on Harry's back and those wings on Max's back, and all those experiments she went through as a child, have not addles their brains. I believe Harry's scar hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close, or when he is feeling particularly murderous. As for Max, I believe she just suffered the one panic attack while sitting in a very hot, stuffy room."
"Fair enough for the girl, but you'll have to forgive me Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a scar acting an alarm bell before-"
"Look, we both saw Voldemort come back!" I snapped. I tried to climb out of bed, but Bill forced me back. "We saw the Death Eaters! We can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy-"
Snape made a sudden movement, but when I looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge.
"Malfoy was cleared!" Fudge said. "A very old family- donations to excellent causes-"
"So just because they've donated to good causes, you're going to overlook the fact that he tortured me?" I shouted, moving to jump out of the bed again, but Bill pushed me down again, and this time kept his hand on my shoulder.
Fudge didn't know what to say to that, so I took his silence as an opportunity, while ignoring the shocked looks of everyone else in the room.
"Macnair!" I continued.
"Also cleared by the Ministry! Now he's working for us!"
"Avery- Nott- Crabbe- Goyle-" Harry continued, listing off all the names we could remember.
"You are both merely repeating the names of those who were accused of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" Fudge said loudly. "You could of found any of those names in the old reports of the trials! For heavens sake, Dumbledore- those two and their friends were full of some other crackpot story at the end of last year too- their tales are getting larger and larger, and you're still swallowing them- the boy can talk to snakes, and the girl has wings, you still think they're trustworthy?"
"You fool!" McGonagall cried. "What about Cedric Diggory! Barty Crouch Senior! These deaths were not the mere work of a lunatic!"
"I see no evidence of the contrary!" shouted Fudge, making me wince again as my head throbbed, but he didn't seem to care. "It's seems to me that you are all just trying to start an unnecessary panic that will destroy everything we've spent the last thirteen years trying to rebuild!"
I couldn't freaking believe this. "You think we're making this up? You think it's just a story me and Harry made up for attention? Then how the hell did I break my wrist and ribs? What happened to Harry's leg? And who killed Cedric? It couldn't have been Crouch, because he was patrolling the edge of the maze, looking like Moody, where everyone could see him."
I turned to the other people in the room. "Did he disappear long enough to murder and torture people? Or was he patrolling the maze the whole time?"
"He was at the maze the whole time," Mrs Weasley and McGonagall said.
Fudge blustered, "I don't have time for this!" He was about to turn and leave but Dumbledore spoke up and stopped him.
"Voldemort is back," Dumbledore said, "if you accept that straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measure and precautions, we will be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove the dementors from Azkaban-"
"Preposterous!" Fudge said. He really seemed to like that word. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting that! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are guarding Azkaban!"
"And the other half will sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that Voldemort's most dangerous supporters are in the hands of creatures who will join his side the second he asks them to! They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasure than you can! With the dementors on his side, and his old, biggest supporters behind him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the power he had thirteen years ago!"
Fudge was opening and closing his mouth, looking like a fish, as though no words could express him outrage.
"The second step you must take- and immediately," Dumbledore went on, "is to send envoys to the giants."
"Envoy to the giants?" Fudge shrieked. "What madness is this?"
"Give them the hand of friendship, Cornelius, before it's too late," Dumbledore said, "or Voldemort will recruit them like he did before."
"You- you must be joking," Fudge gasped, shaking his head and walking further away from Dumbledore. "If the magical community knew that I had approached the giants- people hate and fear them, Dumbledore- it'll be the end of my career."
"So you're job means more to you than the lives of hundreds of innocent people?" Fang said, speaking up for the first time. "What kind of Minister are you?"
"You are blinded, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, his voice rising, his eyes blazing again, "by the love you have for the office you hold! You place too much importance, as you have always done, on the so-called purity of magical blood! You fail to recognise that it is not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your precious dementor has just destroyed the last remaining family member of a pure-blooded family as old as any- and see what that man did with his life! I tell you now, take the steps I have recommended, and you will be remembered in the Ministry, and in the magical world, as one of the bravest Minsters of Magic we have ever had. Fail to act- and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and let Voldemort the second chance to destroy the world we have rebuild!"
"Insane," Fudge whispered, all colour drained from his face, "completely mad..."
Then there was silence. Madam Pomfrey was standing in the middle of mine and Harry's bed, her hand covering her mouth. Bill was still standing over, his hand still on my shoulder. I saw that Mrs Weasley had done the same to Harry. Everyone else was staring at Fudge.
"If your determination to shut your eyes and not see the truth will carry you as far as this," Dumbledore said, "then we have reached a parting of ways. You must act as you see fit, and I shall act as I see fit."
Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat. It was merely a statement, but Fudge reacted as if Dumbledore threatened to throw his out the window...That's actually not a bad idea... Throwing Cornelius Fudge out the window...
"Now see here Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger, "I've always given you free rein, over anything. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your methods or decisions, but I've held my tongue. There aren't many people that would let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid around, or decide what you teach your students without reference to the Ministry, or even agree to let six winged children from America attend the school. But if you're going to work against me-"
"The only one I intend to work against," Dumbledore said, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain on the same side, Cornelius."
It seemed as if Fudge didn't know what to say next. Thank God. This guy was starting to annoy me more than Lockhart did, and that's saying something.
Fudge just rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his stupid bowler hat between his fingers. Finally, he said, with a hint of pleading in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore... he can't..."
Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, and he pulled up the left sleeve of his robe. He stuck out his forearm to Fudge, who cringed and recoiled.
"There," Snape said harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It's not as clear as it was an hour ago, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater has this sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing each other, and his means of summoning them to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, they were to Apparate instantly, to his side. This Mark has been growing clearer and clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why else would Karkaroff flee tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We knew that he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord and his vengeance. He betrayed too many other Death Eaters."
Fudge stepped away from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He didn't seem to have taken in a word Snape said. He stared disgustingly at the Mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you are your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I've certainly heard enough. I have nothing else to say. I will be in contact with you tomorrow to discuss the running of this school. Now, I must return to the Ministry."
He had almost reached the door when he stopped, and strode back again, stopping at Harry's bed.
"Your winnings," he said, taking a large bag of gold from his pocket and dropping it on Harry's bedside table. "One thousand Galleons. There would of been a presentation ceremony, but given the circumstances..."
He put his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he was gone, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around the two beds.
"There is a lot of work to be done," he said, "Molly, am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"
Mrs Weasley nodded. "Of course you can," she said. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness of Muggles that's kept him back in Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizard pride."
"Then I need you to send a message to Arthur," Dumbledore said. "All those that can be persuaded to believe the truth must be told straight away, and he is well placed to contact those in the Ministry who aren't a narrow minded as Fudge."
"I'll go to Dad," Bill said, letting go of my shoulder and standing up straight. "I'll go now."
"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "Tell him what happened, and that I'll be in contact with him myself later. He will need to be discreet though, if Fudge starts to believe that I am interfering at the Ministry..."
"Leave it to me," Bill said. He kissed his mother on the cheek, then strode quickly from the room.
"Minerva," Dumbledore said, turning to McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. And Madam Maxime if you can persuade her to come."
McGonagall nodded and left the ward.
"Poppy," Dumbledore said to Madam Pomfrey, "would you be so kind to go down to Professor's Moody's office, where you should find a very distressed house- elf called Winky. Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens. I think Dobby should look after her then for us."
"Very- very well," Madam Pomfrey said, and after giving me and Harry a last check over, she left.
Dumbledore make sure that the door was closed, and that Madam Pomfrey's footsteps had died away, before speaking again.
"And now," he said, "it's time for two of our number to meet each other. Sirius, if you could resume your original form."
The big black dog looked up at Dumbledore, then turned back into a man.
"Aaahhh!" Mrs Weasley screamed, leaping back from the bed. "Sirius Black!"
"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!"
Snape hadn't yelled or jumped backwards, but the look on his face was of mingled fury and horror.
"Him!" he snarled, staring at Sirius, whose face showed equal dislike, "What's he doing here?"
"Well seeing as my daughter and godson are injured," Sirius said, "I think I have to be here."
"Sirius is here on invitation," Dumbledore said before a fight could break out between the two, "as are you, Severus. I trust the two of you. I think it is time to lay aside your old differences and trust each other too."
I thought Dumbledore was asking for a miracle. Sirius and Snape were still eyeing each other with nothing but hate in their eyes.
"I will settle, for now," Dumbledore said, a hint of impatience in his voice, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who do know the truth do not stand united, there is not hope for any of us."
Extremely slowly- but still glaring at each other- Sirius and Snape moved towards each other and shook hands. They let go extremely quickly.
"That's a start," Dumbledore muttered, stepping between them. "Now, I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude changes everything. Sirius, I need you to leave at once. You are to alert Remus, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."
"No-"
"But-"
Both me and Harry started protesting weakly. I didn't want to have to say goodbye again so soon.
"You'll see me very soon," Sirius said, smiling at the two of us. "I promise. But I have to do what I can, understand?" he said, looking between me and Harry.
"Yeah," I said.
"Of course," Harry said.
Sirius gave Harry a brief hug, and then kissed my forehead. He nodded to Dumbledore, then transformed again into the black dog, and ran from the room. Then he was gone.
"Severus," Dumbledore said, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do... If you are ready, if you are prepared..."
"I am," Snape said.
He looked slightly paler than usual, and I noticed that his hands were shaking slightly, and his black eyes were glittering strangely.
"Then good luck," Dumbledore said, and he watched as Snape left the hospital wing, following Sirius.
It was several minutes before Dumbledore spoke again.
"I must go downstairs," he said, "I must see the Diggorys. Harry, Max- take the rest of your potion. I will see all of you later."
I slumped back against my pillows once Dumbledore was gone. Mrs Weasley, Ron, Hermione and the flock were all looking between me and Harry. No one spoke for a long time.
"You two should take the rest of the potion," Iggy said. I stared at him, surprised. Then I remembered that Iggy wanted to be a Healer.
"You two have a nice, long sleep. Try and think about something else for a while. Think about what you're going to buy with your winnings, Harry!"
"I don't want that gold," Harry muttered in an expressionless voice. "You have it. Anyone can have it. I don't it. I shouldn't have won it. Cedric should have won it."
I looked over at Harry and saw that his brilliant green eyes were filling with tears. I'd never seen Harry cry before.
"It wasn't your fault, Harry," Mrs Weasley said kindly, "not what happened with Cedric, or Max."
He blamed himself for what happened to me? Noble idiot.
"I told him to take the cup with me," Harry said.
I felt a lump rising in my throat, and my eyes prickling. I was close to crying now too. I could see it happening all over again- Cedric's lifeless eyes, Voldemort's red eyes staring at me from the shadows, his evil smile as he listening to me scream, to Harry scream...
Then I felt arms all around me. I tensed and opened my eyes, but saw that it was only the flock. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel had all climbed onto my bed and were all doing some huge group hug thing. I put my arms around Fang, as he was the closest to me, and buried my head into his shoulder, letting a few tears fall from my eyes and down my cheeks. After a few minutes, I wiped my eyes and my tears, not wanting to break down here, not now. But I still kept my arms around Fang, and the flock never let go of me. But how the six of us managed to fit on that little bed, I will never know.
There was a loud slamming noise, and I let go of Fang, and the others let go of me. I looked up to see Hermione standing beside one of the windows, holding something tight in her hand.
"Sorry," she whispered.
I looked around and saw that Harry and Mrs Weasley must of been hugging like me and the flock.
Mrs Weasley stood up, wiping her eyes. She picked up our potions and handed them to us. "Drink all of it," she said, smiling at us kindly.
I drank it in one gulp. The effect was immediate. Heavy, irresistible waves of sleep washed over me. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was feeling the flock still huddled around me.
And there it is folks. There shall be Marry/ Hax in the next chapter.
Speaking of which, which one sounds better? Hax or Marry?
Hope you all enjoyed this looooong chapter that took me all day to write. Just be glad that I don't have a life... :)
There is one more chapter left, which I will probably start writing when I get back from London.
CAN WE MAKE IT TO 500 REVIEWS BEFORE THEN?! I THINK WE CAN! :D
Question: anyone here watch Teen Wolf? if you do, who do you think is doing the sacrifices? I think there's something weird with their new teacher...
Anyway, as you know, if you want cookies and butterbeer, then you need to...
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Love you guys!
-Rach ;)