Dumbledore stood up and stared down at Barty Crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around Barty Crouch binding him tightly. Dumbledore then turned to Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Alice and Harry upstairs?"
"Of course," Professor McGonagall nodded looking slightly nauseous. Once she agreed to watch over Barty Crouch, Professor McGonagall turned to Severus.
"Severus please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me." He's not very happy. I thought catching sight of the look on Severus' face as he swept out of the office. And Dumbledore knows so he's trying to keep him too busy to think of it. Harry seemed to still be a state of shock as he lifted himself from the chair. Following his lead I got up from the chair shaking as I put weight on my injured leg. Harry pulled one of my arms over his shoulder and helped me hobble after Dumbledore.
"I understand you have sustained some injuries, but I would still like you to come to my office first please children." Professor Dumbledore informed us and we headed up the hall. "Sirius is waiting there and I assume Remus as well." A sense of out-of-body numbness wavered through my body as we continued to follow Professor Dumbledore to his office. I saw Harry, I saw professor Dumbledore and I could make out the paintings on the wall and everything else around us as we walked, but I didn't feel anything. Like all thought and emotion had temporarily left me. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps it was all a dream. I would wake up and it would be the morning before the task, everything would be ok. Then Harry asked Dumbledore a question.
"Professor, where are Mr. and Mrs. Diggory."
"They are with Professor Sprout." Dumbledore answered solemnly his voice wavering slightly. "She was Head of Cedric's house, and knew him best." We reached the giant eagle and Dumbledore gave the password and we followed him up the spiral staircase. Just as Dumbledore has said Sirius and Remus were in the office waiting for us. Remus' face was stark and emotionless but his eyes showed something wispy that I couldn't quite identify. Sirius' face was white and gaunt he crossed the room to Harry immediately.
"Harry, are you all right? I knew it - I knew something like this - what happened?" He asked forcing Harry into a chair. When Harry didn't answer Sirius asked him again more urgently, "What happened?" Dumbledore began to recount everything that Barty Crouch had said. Sirius listened intently while Remus seemed to only be half listening taking in the sight of me. We stood there for a short moment each only partially listening to Dumbledore before I stumbled my way over to the empty seat next to Harry. The numbness was beginning to wear off and every bone in my body was aching. There was a soft rush of wings as Fawkes the phoenix left his perch to land on Harry's knee.
"'Lo, Fawkes," Was all Harry could manage out before he began to stroke Professor Dumbledore's scarlet and gold bird. Dumbledore finished his story far too soon before turning to me.
"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze. Allison."
"Albus perhaps we could wait until the morning for that?" Remus asked placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. Dumbledore leaned forward in his seat and looked very intently at Harry and I.
"If I thought I could help you by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has 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. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of either of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened." I looked at Harry wearily turning his attention away from Fawkes for the moment he gave me a similarly weary look before holding out and open palm. Taking Harry's hand and not daring to let go, I took a deep breath and relayed the tale of how Voldemort had come to rise again. Once or twice Harry would add in his own experiences like how he had gotten a portkey from Bart Crouch Jr. The more we talked the easier it became to continue going on. The only time the adults in the room showed any reaction to our story was when Harry described how Wormtail had drawn blood from us. Sirius cursed out loud before bending down to examine Harry's face, Remus grip tightened on my shoulder and Dumbledore insisted we show him our wounds cut by the dagger.
"He said our blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," I told Dumbledore as he tilted my chin in his hand. "He said the protection our mother left in us- he said that he'd have it too. And he was right, he could touch us without hurting himself."
"Very well," Dumbledore commented. "Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier. Harry, continue, please." Harry continued our story explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron and he repeated Voldemort's speech to the Death Eaters. He even told them about how we had been untied and forced to duel but when it came time for Harry to explain about the golden beams of light, his breath hitched. I took over tell Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus about the bazar golden cage that encircled us. There was silence for a moment which was quickly broken by Sirius.
"The wands connected? Why?" We could only turn to Dumbledore for an answer.
"Priori Incantatem," the old man muttered.
"The Reverse Spell effect?" Remus asked sharply.
"Exactly, Harry, Allison and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This phoenix, in fact," he added, and he pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on Harry's knee.
"Our wand's feather came from Fawkes?" Harry asked amazed.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second and third wands, the moment you left his shop four years ago."
"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?" Sirius asked.
"They will not work properly against each other," Dumbledore explained. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed - in reverse. The most recent first and then those which preceded it, which means that some form of Cedric must have reappeared." Harry and I could each only manage a nod.
"Diggory came back to life?" Sirius questioned.
"No spell can reawaken the dead." Remus told him sounding certain. Dumbledore didn't disagree, he simply added to Remus' statement.
"All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged from the wand am I correct?"
"He spoke to us," I began to shake. "The echo of Cedric he spoke to us." Professor Dumbledore nodded with understanding.
"An echo which retained Cedric's appearance and character. I'm guessing other such forms appeared, less recent victims of Voldemort's wand?"
"An old man," Harry seemed to cough out as if his throat was constricting. "Bertha Jorkins, and…and…"
"Your parents?" Dumbledore said quietly.
"Yeah." Harry answered staring intently at Fawkes' feathers. Remus gave my shoulder another comforting squeeze and for the first time I wished he wasn't there. He shouldn't have to hear any of this, neither should Sirius. Then again Harry and I shouldn't have had to see any of it but there we were in Dumbledore's office talking and listening as if it were something to be discussed like a grocery list.
"The last murders the wand performed," Dumbledore clarified. "In reverse order. More would have appeared, of course, had you maintained the connection. Very well, these echoes, these shadows, what did they do?" There wasn't really much left to tell. I describe how the figures had emerged from the wand and how they sneered at Voldemort while encouraging Harry and me. I told them how our dad had told us what to do, but my voice broke when it was time to repeat Cedric's last wish.
"And then he said…" Warm tears were rolling down my cheeks, "T-t-take my b-b-body back, w-w-will you? Take my b-b-body back to my p-p-parents." The numbness I had felt before had left me and there was nothing but loss and pain. With one hand still gripped tightly inside of Harry's I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes with the other.
"I will say it again," Dumbledore began as the phoenix rose into the air and resettled itself upon the perch beside the door. "You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of either of you tonight. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it. You will both come with me to the hospital wing. I do not want you returning to the dormitories tonight. A Sleeping Potion, and some peace."
"If it's alright with you Dumbledore I'd like to stay with Harry tonight." Sirius practically insisted. Dumbledore nodded with approval.
"Both you and Remus are welcome to stay the night of course." Sirius transformed back into the great black dog and walked with Remus, Harry, me, and to the Hospital Wing.