Chapter 16

Percy Weasley was striding across the snowy yard, his horn-rimmed glasses glinting in the sunlight. Next to him was a man limping slightly, his mane of graying hair and his black cloak flecked with snow.

"Arthur, he's—he's with the Minister!"

Before any of them could say anything, before Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could do more than exchange stunned looks, the back door opened and there stood Percy.

There was a moment's painful silence. Then Percy said rather stiffly, "Merry Christmas, Mother."

"Oh, Percy!" Mrs. Weasley said, and she threw herself into his arms.

Rufus Scrimgeour paused in the doorway, leaning on his walking stick and smiling as he observed this affecting scene.

"You must forgive this intrusion," he said, when Mrs. Weasley looked around at him, beaming and wiping her eyes. "Percy and I were in the vicinity—working, you know—and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing you all."

But Percy showed no sign of wanting to greet any of the rest of the family. He stood, poker-straight and awkward-looking, and stared over everybody else's heads. Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George were all observing him, stony-faced.

"Bull," Jamie whispered to Harry, who nodded.

"Please, come in, sit down, Minister!" Mrs. Weasley fluttered, straightening her hat "Have a little purkey or some tooding. …I mean—"

"No, no, my dear Molly," Scrimgeour said. Harry guessed that he had checked her name with Percy before they entered the house. "I don't want to intrude, wouldn't be here at all if Percy hadn't wanted to see you all so badly…"

"Or he wants to see us," Harry whispered in Jamie's ear. His twin nodded.

"… We've only looked in for five minutes, so I'll have a stroll around the yard while you catch up with Percy. No, no I assure you, I don't want to butt in! Well, if anybody cared to show me your charming garden …Ah, those young men's finished, why don't they have a stroll with me?"

The atmosphere around the table changed perceptibly. Everybody looked from Scrimgeour to the Potter twins. Nobody seemed to find Scrimgeour's pretense that he did not know the twins' names convincing, or find it natural that they should be chosen to accompany the Minister around the garden when Ginny, Fleur, and George also had clean plates.

"Of course," Harry said standing, his twin following. They escorted the Minister out of the room and across the yard toward the Weasley's overgrown, snow-covered garden.

"I wanted to meet the two of you for some time," Scrimgeour said after a few moments' silence. "Did you know that?"

"No, but it should have been inevitable," Harry said. "Though if you wanted to meet us so badly, surely you would have tried sooner. After all, you are the Minister of Magic."

"Yes, but Dumbledore has been very protective of you two," Scrimgeour said. "Natural, of course, natural, after what you've been through—the both of you. …Especially what happened at the Ministry …"

"He must have heard the rumors," Jamie said to no one in particular. "Of what happened back then. It's only natural for him to know if everything was true or not, but since Dumbledore stood in his way, he could not get to the source."

"And the rumors must have been driving him insane," Harry hummed. "Imagine, every story about the Potter twins each more grand than the last, and Lord Voldemort… and of course the prophecy…"

"A prophecy," Jamie said. "That declares the Potter Twins 'the Chosen Ones' that we are the only ones who can vanquish the Dark Lord. What a pretty story."

"A pretty story that people support, Jamie," Harry said before Scrimgeour could interrupt. They stopped walking, the twins looking at each other and ignoring the Minister completely. "Last year everyone seemed to hate up, but now… we're the talk of the crowd, everyone is looking to us for something or other. A powerful pair of twins standing for justice, or so the rumors say."

"So they're true—"

"Imagine, Harry!" Jamie said. "All those people who think we're heroes. What would it look like if we were to back a certain person—"

"—a certain Minister perchance—"

"—Exactly, why the whole public would be behind him too," Jamie nodded.

"Yeah… everything he seemed to do would appear to be by our approval. Although I wonder what the prices would be…"

"Oh, well, nothing at all onerous," Scrimgeour said, finally getting a word in. He talked loud and fast so they couldn't interrupt him. "If you two were to be seen popping in and out of the Ministry from time to time, for instance, that would give the right impressions. And of course, while you were there, you would have ample opportunity to speak to Gawain Robards, my successor as Head of the Auror office. Dolores Umbridge has told me that you both cherish an ambition to become an Auror. Well, that could be arranged very easily. …"

The twins felt anger bubbling in the pits of their stomachs: So Dolores Umbridge was still at the Ministry, was she?

They spoke with venom. "Mascots, Harry. Mascots. That is what he wants us to be," Jamie said.

"Mascots of an ineffective Ministry that hire children abusers and criminalize wrong men," Harry said. "We would be seen as aiding the failing Ministry that people must be turning against, or at least doubting, because of the lack of results. I mean, why else was Stan Shunpike arrested? They wanted to appear useful. Of course, if we allied with the Ministry, Scrimgeour and any other Ministry official could easily ask us what Dumbledore is doing, what's he planning, why he keeps leaving the castle."

"All at the expense of being used by the Ministry—"

"Some would say it's your duty to be used by the Ministry!" Scrimgeour yelled. The twins glared at them, and continued their venom-filled banter, their minds somehow working as one.

"What does this man know of Duty!" Harry said. "They never get it, Jamie, do they? They're either like Fudge who pretends everything's fine while people get murdered, or they're Barty Crouch who just chucks people into Azkaban all willy-nilly! I wouldn't be surprised if this Minister is secretly related to a Death Eater like Barty. Of course in the end, they don't care about us, do they Jamie?"

"No Harry, they don't," Jamie said, allowing his brother to take full control.

"They just care that we're on their side, that we say what they're doing is right. In the end, it doesn't matter if we die Jamie, hell it would probably be a better story if we do: 'The Potter Twins Die Defending the Ministry!' What a lovely title that sounds like. In this experiment, we're turned into faceless dummies without any history, personality, or humanity. Dummies to be propped up at their choosing, and stored when they don't need us. I wouldn't put it past them to preserve our corpses for that very use! Well, Minister, I'm afraid my brother and I have five words for you."

Harry and Jamie both raised their right fists. There, shining white on the back of their hands, where the scars which Dolores Umbridge had forced them to carve into their own flesh: I must not tell lies.

"We don't remember you rushing to our defense when we were trying to tell everyone Voldemort was back. The Ministry wasn't so keen to be pals last year. And we don't want to be pals with you now. Hell… with how ineffective you are, and the way you even thought to have the balls to approach us, I would even hint to say that we might be enemies. But we're not, are we? No… We, Jamie and I, are two sixteen year old wizards who are trying to end this stupid bloody war, while you, a man who is much older than us, is running around being an ineffective dunderhead.

"Here is what I will say to you, Minister, the war is going to end soon, and it will end without your or the Ministry's meddling. You've shown yourself countless times how ineffective you are, so stay out of our way. I don't care if you or the Ministry become collateral damage," Harry warned.

The Minister looked outraged, he frothed in anger, but Harry didn't care. He grabbed Jamie's hand the two turned and walked back into Burrow. They past everyone and stopped on the stairs, out of sight from everyone. Harry turned and grabbed Jamie's face, leaning up to roughly kiss him.

"God you were hot talking like that," Jamie breathed.

"So were you," Harry said. They kissed again, Jamie's hand moving dangerously close to inside Harry's pants. "Our Slytherins are lucky," Harry said.

"They are, now shut up and kiss me," Jamie said.

Harry got a response from the Dark Lord a couple of days after New Year. He rushed to his room and closed the door. With nervous hands, he opened the envelope and pulled it out. It read:

Potter,

I must admit that I am impressed. You are correct, I have created several Horcruxes. And from the sound of your letter, it seems to me that you are following a path similar to mine. I approve. I believe that you are far from Dumbledore's grasp and walking down a long road that will lead to power beyond your imagination. I am impressed both with your ingenuity and resourcefulness in completing my task, as well as what must have been apparent ease to convince the old fool to do our bidding.

Together we shall orchestrate Dumbledore's demise, Harry Potter. Under my guide, your knowledge of the Dark Arts will expand and, in time, you will be a Dark Lord yourself, worthy to join the ranks of myself, Morgan le Fey, and Gellert Grindelwald. You will be a Dark Lord to outshine us all, Harry, and soon we shall have the world, both muggles and wizards, begging at our feet. Your brother will be safe, this I promise you. Our plan does not involve your brother, and I have already instructed that no harm must come to either of you. Since you write to me with such enthusiasm and need, I believe that we should work quickly to kill Dumbledore.

Return to Hogwarts, take control of a fireplace. My followers in the Ministry will make a personal connection to Malfoy Manor. I will know when you have gained a fireplace. Send anything to make sure the connection has been made, and I myself along with a small number of my most trusted Death Eaters will come. Do this, and all the knowledge I have will be yours, Harry, and I will groom you into the next powerful Dark Lord.

"He… he fell for it…" Harry said, reading the letter again. "The bastard fell for it!" He smiled and had to keep himself from laughing. It's going to work! It's really going to work! He quickly hid the letter and turned to open the door only to see Jamie standing there, crossing his arms. Harry kissed Jamie but the stern expression did not fade away.

"Who fell for it?" he said simply.

"I…"

"Harry Fleamont Potter," Jamie said walking into the room and closing the door behind him. "You have seconds to tell me what is going on before I force it out of you."

"I'm doing this to protect you!" Harry said quickly, "I don't want to see you get hurt—"

"What are you doing?" Jamie demanded. "I will look through your journals if you refuse to tell me."

He stood like a towering stone statue. Intimidating. His muscles bulged, his nose flared, Harry just stared at his brother as he stood there, waiting, expecting. A small amount of fear rose in Harry. What will Jamie say when he finds out? Will he hate him? Will he feel betrayed? They both hate both Voldemort and Dumbledore… but Harry knew that Jamie would never sink as low as Harry has done. "One…two…three—"

Jamie grabbed Harry and threw him onto the bed. With one hand he held Harry's hands over his head while his other searched Harry's pockets. He pulled out Voldemort's letter and read it. "HARRY!" He screamed, a look of pure anger on his face. "What the fuck have you done!?"

"I'm doing it to save you!" Harry screamed.

"Joining the fucking—"

"I'm not joining him! I'm fooling him!" Harry yelled. "Look at my journals, you know how much I hate Voldemort. If it weren't for him we would be a normal family, Mum and Dad wouldn't be dead! I hate him, I always hated him and I always will hate him. But that is not going to keep you safe, simply hating the man will not keep you safe. Draco and I—"

"So bloody Malfoy knew about this, huh? He knew before your own twin!"

"Yes! He was the one who thought of it," Harry yelled. He struggled against Jamie's grip but the stronger teen wouldn't budge. "We thought that if we could convince Voldemort that we were on his side, that he thought that I wanted to be like him, then he would trust us. He would trust us and we could entice him and Dumbledore to fight—to kill each other off."

"And if one of them survives?" Jamie asked.

"Then I would kill him," Harry said.

"Jesus Christ… Harry! You're not a murderer," Jamie screamed. "I will not have a murderer as a twin."

"Please! It's either they both die or we die Jamie, and I don't want to lose you!" Harry cried out. Tears started to flow from his eyes and rand down his face. "I don't want to lose you. I lost Viktor! I lost Sirius! Every man I loved, I lost and I don't ever want to lose you Jamie, I don't want to stand over your grave! Please, this is the only way I can see that ends with us both living, that ends with you living. I love you Jamie, I love you, I love you, I love you and I will not let you go!" Harry broke down, his body shuddering in tears. Jamie moved quickly, unhooked Harry's hands from his and grabbed the smaller teen, holding him closely to his body as Harry curled around and cried into his chest, repeating over and over again "I don't want to lose you; I don't want to lose you."

Jamie began crying too and the two rocked back and forth gently, Jamie smoothing Harry's hair, combing his fingers through the raven locks with one hand as he rubbed Harry's small back with the other. He was like a small child in that moment, a small, frail child that needed his parents' affection, that needed his mother to hold him and his father to sooth him. But they didn't have their parents, all they had was each other. Jamie whispered sweet nothingness into Harry's ear, trying to sooth his brother as his tears fell onto Harry's hair. They didn't know how long they stayed there, crying. It was like a pressure was building up ever since Sirius's death, a pressure that build and build, making it harder and harder for the boys to function, to express, to do anything. A heavy, enormous pressure that was now being released into the air with every sad wail from Harry and tear that dropped from their eyes.

They started to feel exhausted, physically and mentally drained. The sun seemed to have moved across the sky, beginning to set. Jamie continued to comb Harry's hair, his fingers feather-like and gentle. "It's okay Harry… it's okay," he whispered. "You're never going to lose me, and I'm never going to lose you. Understand? What's done is done and now we have to live with the consequences, okay? So tell me, please, what did you and Draco do?"

Harry sniffled and looked up at his twin brother. His eyes were red with tears, his nose enflamed and lips dry. He licked them and said in a broken, hoarse voice, "We first contacted Voldemort… told him that I didn't want to fight… that we didn't want to fight. …I lied about many things; my interest in the Dark Arts, my want to be like him, and my unquestionable worship of what's he done. … … He believed me, and sent me a task… to prove my commitment. He asked… he asked me to tell him how he is immortal. Because he is, Jamie, he's immortal. … I've kept looking for weeks but couldn't find the answer. Months began to pass. I turned… irritable, angry… you know. Every book that I found always referred to another book that wasn't in the library.

"One night I figured that Dumbledore had it, and I was right. I found the book but Dumbledore caught me. I had to think quick, I lied to him too and somehow we ended up looking at the book on his desk, reviewing it. … I looked at every page, every single page, of the book and memorized them. Then as quickly as I could, I ran back to place the memory into my journals—and there it was! The entire text! Right in my journal that I can read at any time. That was the day before Slughorn's party, and I've been reading it ever since. Whenever you saw me here at the Burrow with a book, that was my journal and I was reading that book.

"Christmas Eve I've found the answer. He has Horcruxes, these things that you can store pieces of your soul in. He has them, multiples of them. That's why he won't die. …I mailed him that I knew about the Horcruxes, and what I did to get the information. That letter… is his response."

"Harry Potter…" Jamie sighed. "You stupid idiot."

"We can strengthen the castle's defenses! Tell Dumbledore about the attack—the Order will be here to defend the students while Voldemort and Dumbledore fight!" Harry said slightly hysteric. "Please Jamie, I'm too far down this, there's no going back!" He began to cry again but Jamie stopped him.

The muscled Potter lifted the younger one like a baby. Harry curled in his arms and Jamie walked them to a seat. Harry stayed on his lap as Jamie wrapped his arms around Harry. "Okay," he said after a minute. "We'll tell Dumbledore, tell him that we had a dream, that Voldemort somehow forgot to keep his defense up and let us see him planning. Do you have a date?"

"Yeah… the day we come back," Harry said.

Jamie nodded. "We'll tell him once we're sure everyone is in their common rooms. They'll be safe there. Tell… tell Voldemort to strike at night. Hopefully, the castle will sleep through the battle."

"Okay," Harry nodded. "Jamie…" his voice was soft and so baby-like. He moved to kiss Jamie gently. "Thank you."

"Any time Harry, any time."

Late in the afternoon, a couple of days after Harry and Jamie had their episode, Harry, Jamie, Ron, and Ginny lined up beside the kitchen fire to return to Hogwarts. The Ministry had arranged this one-off connection to the Floo Network to return students quickly and safely to the school. Only Mrs. Weasley was there to say good-bye, as Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Bill, and Fleur were all at work. Mrs. Weasley dissolved into tears at the moment of parting. Admittedly, it took very little to set her off lately; she had been crying on and off ever since Percy had stormed from the house on Christmas Day with his glasses splattered with mashed parsnips (for which Fred, George, and Ginny all claimed credit).

"Don't cry Mum," Ginny said as Mrs. Weasley sobbed into her shoulder. "It's okay…"

"Yeah, don't worry about us," Ron said, permitting his mother to plant a very wet kiss on his cheek, "or about Percy. He's such a prat, it's not really a loss, is it?"

Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever as she enfolded Harry and Jamie in her arms. "Promise me you'll look after yourselves. …Stay out of trouble, the both of you…"

"You know us Mrs. Weasley," Jamie said. "We like a quiet life."

They stepped into the emerald fire and shouted "Hogwarts!" Harry had one last fleeting view of the Weasley's kitchen and Mrs. Weasley's tearful face before the flames engulfed them; spinning very fast, he caught blurred glimpses of other Wizarding rooms, which were whipped out of sight before he could get a proper look; then they were slowing down, finally stopping squarely in the fireplace in Professor McGonagall's office. She barely glanced up from her work as they clambered out over the grate.

"Evening, Potters. Try not to get too much ash on the carpet."

"No, Professor."

"Professor, is Dumbledore in today?" Harry asked.

"He is, but he is thoroughly busy at the moment," Professor McGonagall said.

"Thank you, Professor."

Harry straightened his glasses and Jamie flattened his hair as Ron came spinning into view. When Ginny arrived, all four of them trooped out of McGonagall's office and toward Gryffindor Tower. Harry glanced out of the corridor windows as they passed; the sun was already sinking over grounds carpeted in deeper snow than had lain over the Burrow garden. In the distance, he could see Hagrid feeding Buckbeak in front of his cabin. A bubble of nervousness started to grow in his stomach. They got into the Gryffindor Tower (The Fat Lady changed the password and they had to wait for Hermione to let them in and give Harry and Jamie a scroll from Dumbledore) and Harry and Jamie ran directly into their dormitory.

Harry opened his trunk and pulled out a pair of rolled up socks. From the socks he produced the small bottle of Felix Felicis that he won on the first day of Potions. "Good for twelve hours of luck," Harry said. "You, me, Draco, and Blaise… that's three hours each. We'll drink directly before I open a fireplace for them. I'll be using the Room of Requirement, obviously."

"Three hours… do you think that's enough?" Jamie asked.

"No, I honestly don't, but I want you all to drink it as well," Harry said.

"Okay," Jamie nodded. "This is really happening, isn't it?"

"It is," Harry said. "Come on, we should go tell Dumbledore and find Draco and Blaise."

Jamie nodded and the two stood. They walked down into the common room to see Ron busy with an excitable Colin on his lap, and Hermione and Ginny sitting very close together. "I'll tell Ron," Harry said. He walked towards his muscled friend and said, "Ron… Jamie and I are going to Dumbledore. Something… awful is going to happen. I… I need you to promise me, okay? Promise me that you stay in here. Colin, make sure that Ron never leaves this room. Please."

"Harry mate, what's wrong?" Ron asked.

"I… Jamie and I had a dream, the same dream," Harry said. "We heard things in this dream… about You-Know-Who."

Ron's eyes bulged in recognition and frowned. "Okay, we'll stay here," Ron said. "But Harry, you two better be come back. Or stay near Dumbledore at least."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Harry said flashing Ron the luck potion. He pocketed it just as a pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Harry! Come back exactly when you're done, you hear me?" Hermione said. "You and Jamie better not be brave idiots."

"Don't worry Hermione," Harry said. "As soon as we tell Dumbledore, we're coming back."

"You better, or else," Hermione threatened.

"We'll be fine Hermione, we promise you," Jamie said.

Hermione turned to Jamie and said, "When it comes to your safety, you guys are never fine. But… be careful. And come back here!"

"We will," Harry nodded. "Come on Jamie."

The two twins walked out of the Gryffindor Tower and made their way down the marble staircases. They first made their way to the dungeons and searched for their boyfriends. "Draco!" Harry yelled.

"Blaise!"

They continued to walk around, yelling for their boyfriends' names. They walked down what looked to be a dead end, only for an archway to appear to their right and, luckily, Draco and Blaise walked out. "What are you two doing here?" Draco hissed.

Harry explained the situation as he pulled out the luck potion. The two Slytherins frowned. "So soon," Draco said.

Harry nodded. "We're going to begin once everyone is asleep. That is what we're going to tell Dumbledore. When I… when I open the fireplace, we need to drink the luck potions. That's the only way that I know we will survive this."

"What about everyone else?" Draco asked.

"They'll be safe in the common rooms," Jamie said. The only people who will be in the hallways are Death Eaters and members of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Harry, before you do this… I want you to know that I love you," Draco said.

"I love you too Draco," Harry said. He hugged the taller teen and rested his head on Draco's chiseled pecs. "When this is all over," Harry whispered, "I want us… I need us to… consummate or love."

"Of course," Draco kissed him. "Be careful, my love."

"You too, my lion," Blaise said kissing Jamie.

Harry pulled out the flask of Felix Felicis and tapped it with his wand. It multiplied into four equal flasks, each with a fourth of the original potion. "Drink this at midnight when the clock stops chiming," he instructed giving Draco and Blaise their own vials. The Slytherins nodded.

"Good luck," Draco said.

"We're so proud of what you achieved Harry," Blaise said. He kissed both the twins' cheeks. The four of them shared a nervous, anxious smile and the two Potters went off again, this time towards Dumbledore's office, practicing their lie on the way there.

The lamps in Dumbledore's office were lit, the portraits of previous headmasters were snoring gently in their frames. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, his black withered hand laying useless to the side while his other hand was set on writing something. He looked up in surprise as Harry and Jamie ran in. The sun was almost done setting.

"Boys, I'm surprised to see you here, our lesson wasn't schedule until tomorrow," Dumbledore said.

"We know, but there's something important that we need to tell you," Harry said. "It happened last night. Our scars were burning and… we saw a dream."

"A vision, of Voldemort," Jamie said. "We don't know if it was real or just a vision that sent to us. Either way, it scared us."

A serious expression fell on Dumbledore. "Tell me, quickly," he said.

"Voldemort has found a way into Hogwarts. He was gloating about it to his followers," Harry said. "They plan to attack tonight, after everyone has fallen asleep."

"This is troubling news," Dumbledore frowned. "I will inform the staff immediately, as well as the Order. Do you have anything else from this dream that will help us?"

"He's planning on bringing a small team," Jamie said. "Most likely either his most dangerous or most loyal followers. We… we couldn't count how many."

"Troubling… to attack so quickly when we are far from the answers we seek," Dumbledore said.

Harry and Jamie shared a worried look. Dumbledore stood up and walked to the fireplace. He threw floo powder into the flames and stuck his head into it. "Professor McGonagall's office," he said. "Minerva, troubling news. The Potters just informed me that they have seen a vision. Voldemort plans to fight tonight. Inform the other staff, have the Head of Houses seal the common rooms. I want it to be impossible for anyone to enter the common rooms until morning. There is no time to evacuate the students. Fawkes will inform the Order."

He pulled his head from the fireplace and turned to Harry and Jamie, a worried expression on his face. "Boys, I ask you both to return to your common room immediately. Do not tell anyone else what you told me, not even Mr. Weasley or Miss Granger. I do not want to risk causing a panic. Go directly to your common room and stay there. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," they said.

"Good. Now go! Quick," Dumbledore said and the two ran from his office. They ran down the corridor and to the staircases. "We need the cloak," Jamie said, Harry nodding. They ran back to the Gryffindor common room, speeding past everyone, and grabbed the Invisibility Cloak.

"Harry! Where are you going!"

"Dumbledore need us, we'll be back!" Harry yelled at Hermione as they ran out the common room again.

They made their way to the Room of Requirement. The Room was small, holding only a single fireplace on the far wall and a large quantity of floo powder next to it.. Their hearts pulsing, they slid down against the wall next to the fireplace. "It's nine," Harry breathed.

And they waited.

They didn't say a word. Outside the staff and Order members scrambled to protect the students as best they could. They could hear Professor McGonagall sealing the entrance to Gryffindor Tower and various secret passages. They heard familiar voices yelling as their feet ran down the corridors, checking every door. They never once looked at the Room of Requirement. Time moved painfully slow, each minute passing with an agonizing, hurtful tension that coiled in both their bodies. Every now and then they checked their wristwatches, only to give a low sigh. The twins were stone-faced, scared out of their mind. The three hours seemed to have aged the twins by years, worry marks appearing on their foreheads, their faces hung slightly as stress, tension, and anxiety did their damage. Then, finally, the school clock began to toll midnight has arrived.

They took out the bottles of luck potion as it struck once, uncorked it as it struck two. Three hours, they have till three hours to kill both Voldemort and Dumbledore. "Harry…" Jamie whispered. Harry turned towards his brother. Jamie lifted his luck potion slightly, "for a better future," he said.

"For a better future," Harry said. They tapped their vials together as the clock struck six, downed it at seven.

At eight they felt the effect. An exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through them; they felt as though they could have done anything, anything at all… and suddenly having Voldemort and Dumbledore killing themselves seemed much more possible. Yet they still had that horrible coil tensed in their stomach.

The clock toiled ten and Jamie placed the Invisibility Cloak on him. Harry threw the floo powder into the fire and it burned a brilliant emerald. "Malfoy Manor!" Harry yelled as he threw the crystal flask that held his luck potion. The fire flared for a moment before calming itself.

The clock struck eleven, and nothing happened, a tense silence filling the room. Harry stood and stared at the fire, begging, praying that it worked. His muscles stiffened, his teeth pressed against each other. The exhilarating sense of the luck potion fought the constant, horrible, tight coil that knotted in his stomach. Why was nothing happening?

Then, as the clock struck twelve, the green flames flared again and a figure walked through, followed by another, and another, and two more. Then, finally, as the ringing of the bell died into silence, the fireplace flared for one final time, and Lord Voldemort walked into Hogwarts.