71. Up in Flames
The Triwizard Cup didn't look like it was worth all the trouble it took to get it, Albus thought. He hoped the champion who would win it tonight would feel differently. Ludo Bagman certainly did.
"Marvellous, isn't it?" He grinned at everyone else in the room. "If all goes well, the Cup will stay right here in Hogwarts. Couldn't have planned it any better!"
"Jinx it a little louder, won't you?" Minerva muttered anxiously.
"Potter and Diggory will get a head start, but Krum and Miss Delacour are still in the running!" Filius cautioned them as well.
Bagman shrugged his shoulders. "Technically, yes, but come on! We're all rooting for Harry, uh, I mean, Hogwarts, are we not?"
"'Course we are!" Hagrid's voice boomed. "Harry's gonna win it! I can feel it in me bones."
"That's the spirit, laddie," growled Alastor and patted the gamekeeper on the back.
"Exactly!" Bagman cheered. "You all know what to do later? Patrol the maze and assist the champions when they call for help – or even when they don't ask for it, should you notice that they need it anyway." Everyone nodded. "Great, thank you all for volunteering. Now all that's left is to bring this Cup into the maze and not get lost on the way out."
"I'll do it," Alastor offered. "Never got lost in all my life." His magical eye spun around in a full circle to prove his point.
Bagman handed him the Cup. "There you go then. Hide it well but not too well. We want Potter to find it, eh?" He laughed, but it sounded strained.
"Don't you worry about that," Alastor replied with a dark chuckle and carried the Cup out of Albus' office.
Hagrid, Filius and Bagman followed him out. Minerva stayed behind for a moment. "Only a few more hours and then we'll have finally made it through this Tournament," she said, blowing out a slow breath. "Why does that still feel like it's a lifetime away?"
"You did everything you could to support Harry," Albus replied softly. "It was very kind of you to arrange for Molly and Bill Weasley to come and visit him today – and to allow him to practise in your classroom. The rest is up to Harry."
Minerva nodded thoughtfully and left to get ready for the third and final task.
Albus envied her a little. Patrolling the maze gave her something to do. Something useful. All he was allowed to do was to sit at the judges' table and wait. The third task was similar to the second task in that way. Once all four champions were inside the maze, there wasn't much for the audience to see or hear.
Until Fleur let out a piercing scream that was loud enough to carry all the way over to the stands. Next to Albus, Madame Maxime jumped to her feet and sent the whole table flying. Fudge, who had taken over for Barty Crouch, yelped in surprise and even fear. Bagman and Karkaroff also took a couple of wary steps away from her. Albus reached out to put a soothing hand on her arm.
"She'll be fine. Somebody will take care of her," he assured her.
Olympe inclined her head. "Zank you, Dumbly-dorr. I'm sorry about all zis." She waved her hand towards the overturned table and then walked up to the entrance of the maze to wait anxiously.
"A little unstable, isn't she?" Fudge whispered to Albus, watching her suspiciously. "It was always a mystery to me how someone with her, er, heritage could have become headmistress of one of the biggest wizarding schools in Europe."
"Probably the same way every other headmistress and headmaster got the job," Albus replied coolly while he righted the table with a flick of his wand. "By dedicating herself to her school and her students and working tirelessly to make sure they get the best magical education possible – regardless of what's in their blood." He turned his back on the Minister for Magic and joined Olympe.
Filius was just accompanying an unconscious Fleur, who was lying on a stretcher, out of the maze.
"What 'appened to 'er?" Maxime asked worriedly.
"I don't know. I found her like this," Filius replied and hesitated before he went on, "There were no obstacles in that part of the maze. One of the other champions must have done this to her."
The headmistress whirled on Albus. "Mon Dieu, is zat 'ow 'ogwarts plans to win zis Tournament?"
"I can't tell you what happened exactly, but I'd be willing to give you my word that neither Harry nor Cedric did this," he answered her calmly.
Maxime turned her head to glare at the judges' table. Karkaroff had sat back down and he didn't even try to hide his glee, now that only three champions were left. "I believe you, Dumbly-dorr."
Madam Pomfrey hurried over to them and she took Miss Delacour with her to take care of her in the medical tent, away from all these prying eyes.
Albus returned to his seat, but it wasn't long until red sparks appeared in the air above the maze. Everyone in the audience waited with bated breath until Minerva exited the maze with Viktor Krum on another stretcher.
"No!" This time it was Karkaroff who ran over. Albus followed more slowly.
"He's only stunned," Minerva informed the Durmstrang headmaster.
"Stunned?" Karkaroff repeated and then an ugly grimace distorted his face. "By one of the two Hogwarts champions that are left. In a maze that is surrounded by Hogwarts teachers. Are we supposed to believe that's a coincidence? This entire Tournament has been a farce from the very beginning!"
Minerva met his gaze with steel in her eyes. "Careful what sort of accusations you throw around. I heard Diggory scream shortly before the red sparks appeared in the exact same spot. So if you ask me, this was self-defence and whatever Krum attacked Diggory with wasn't nearly as harmless as a Stunning Spell!"
Karkaroff gritted his teeth. But he decided not to argue and followed Madam Pomfrey, who insisted on bringing Krum over to Miss Delacour.
As soon as he was gone, Minerva said quietly, "Something isn't right here, Albus. Why are they attacking each other? I know this is about winning it all, but I've never seen them act that way before."
Albus shook his head. "I don't know. But it's between Harry and Cedric now."
"I don't care who wins anymore. I just want this to be over," Minerva sighed and turned around to continue patrolling.
Meanwhile Bagman grabbed his microphone. "Hold on to your seats, everyone! Now that both Miss Delacour and Mr Krum had to be rescued from the maze, we can already say for certain that we will have a Hogwarts champion tonight!"
The stands erupted in applause and cheering. For a couple of minutes the students chanted the name of their preferred winner. When nothing else happened for quite some time, the excitement died down again.
The next disturbance didn't come from inside the maze but from the judges' table. Karkaroff cried out in agony and fell out of his chair.
"What in Merlin's name…?" yelled Fudge. Once again, he backed away rather than try to help.
Albus stood and saw that Karkaroff was clutching his left forearm as though it was on fire, muttering "No, no, no, it can't be" under his breath. Quickly, Albus scanned the crowd until he found Severus. He had doubled over in his seat, his chest heaving, and he looked like he might be violently sick. But he fought against it, fought to right himself again and when he did, his pitch-black eyes collided with Albus' blue ones.
Severus gave the tiniest of nods. It was probably the only movement he was capable of. The moment had come. Lord Voldemort was calling his supporters back to his side. He wouldn't do that unless he had the strength to command them. To rule again. Over them and everyone and everything else he could grasp. Refusal to obey would be punished without mercy.
As the two former Death Eaters burned in a hell of their own making, Albus felt a bitter cold seep into his bones, into his very soul, cutting his heart off from anything that was warm and joyous and good.
"We have to stop the Tournament and get Harry and Cedric out of the maze," he said.
"What?" Bagman tore his eyes away from Karkaroff. The Durmstrang headmaster had slowly pulled himself back up from the ground, still looking deathly pale. "You can't be serious! Harry is about to win!"
"Is he now?" Albus said flatly and strode towards the entrance of the maze.
Bagman sprinted after him. "No! You can't go in there! If you do, everything will be null and void. Just give it a few more minutes. I'm sure Harry's fine."
"Only Harry, not Cedric? Why is it so important to you that Harry should win?" Albus asked, rounding on Bagman. The Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports was definitely involved in some nefarious activities. So far Albus had assumed that whatever he was doing wasn't dangerous. At least not to Harry.
But now everything had changed. Now he was no longer sure of anything or anyone.
Bagman saw the warning in Albus' eyes. He cowered, but he didn't give up. "I care about the success of this Tournament and so should you! We all gave our blood, sweat and tears to make this happen. And if that's not enough, then think about Harry… or Cedric… don't take this triumph away from them!" He saw that his words didn't sway Albus into agreeing with him and turned towards Fudge. "Back me up on this, will you?"
The Minister for Magic looked from one to the other without saying anything. He seemed to think that everyone around him had gone completely crazy tonight.
Albus took another step, but so did Bagman. Whatever was going on with him, he seemed to fear its repercussions more than he feared Albus right now. Albus could have changed Ludo's mind about that in an instant, but he neither wanted to do that nor did he have the time.
Bagman held out his arms, blocking the entrance. "Think about it, Dumbledore. Your teachers have been patrolling outside the maze this entire time. They would know if something was wrong."
No, they wouldn't. Because they couldn't see inside of it. Not even Alastor could see past the outer hedges all the way through. And if there hadn't been a sound to alert them…
Albus lifted his wand. Bagman's eyes widened in sudden panic, but Albus didn't point it at him. He aimed past him into the maze, thinking "Homenum Revelio!" The Human-presence-revealing Spell burst forth without leaving a trace and took an agonisingly long time to search the entire maze with all its twists, turns and dead ends. Eventually it returned and faded, having found no one.
The maze was empty.
Harry and Cedric were gone.
Harry was gone.
And Voldemort had returned.
Terror slammed into Albus, so terrible and absolute that it turned the blood in his veins to ice. Even Bagman sensed the change in him. He scrambled away from him, no longer daring to deny him entrance.
But there was no point in going into the maze now. Albus didn't know how or why. But he did know one thing. He had been betrayed. Fooled. So completely, so devastatingly that he was still blind to it. Still couldn't see. Still couldn't fathom who…
Severus appeared next to him. The Potions master's gaze was questioning and then wary when he saw the brief moment of distrust and accusation in Albus' expression. Then Albus collected himself. It wasn't Severus, who was standing here by his side, ignoring the searing pain in his arm, just as he had lived with a different, far worse kind of pain for thirteen years now.
"Get everyone back here. There's no more need to patrol the maze," Albus ordered him. "Harry's gone."
Severus looked truly shocked, but he did as he was told.
Paying no mind to the murmuring of the crowd and the unease that was beginning to spread as the audience wondered what was wrong, Albus strode off towards the medical tent. Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum were conscious and sitting up now.
"Who attacked you?" Albus demanded, focusing on the Beauxbatons student.
She still sounded shaken when she said, "I don't know. I didn't see zem."
"What about you?" Albus moved on to the boy from Durmstrang. "Do you know who stunned you?"
"It was Potter," he replied sullenly.
"Why would he do that?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, I think you do," Albus said sharply. "Was he perhaps trying to defend himself or Mr Diggory?"
Krum squared his shoulders. "We were never told that it was forbidden to attack another champion. I wanted Diggory out of the way because I wanted to win," he said. He spoke clearly, but his voice was flat, unemotional. It wasn't the voice of someone who had just committed a crime of passion. It was the voice of someone who was just saying what he was supposed to say.
Albus walked back out of the tent without another word, his eyes going to the judges' table, to Karkaroff. Or rather, to where Karkaroff had been. He had disappeared, run off. Just like he had told Severus he would. It didn't matter. That man was clearly scared for his own life and not concerned with anyone else's. He didn't care about anyone but himself, not enough to be a threat.
There were hurried footsteps and Albus turned to watch his teachers as they returned from patrolling the maze. Hagrid was in front because he had the longest legs and because he would do anything Albus asked of him, anything to save Harry. Filius Flitwick looked tiny behind him, but the Charms master's character and courage weren't tiny at all. He was closely followed by Minerva. The mere sight of her was enough to thaw the ice in Albus' heart just a little. Bringing up the rear was…
A quick flash of light caught Albus' attention and he almost fell to his knees in relief right then and there.
Harry had reappeared in the grass right outside the maze, bruised and bloodied and broken, but moving and still breathing. He was holding on to two things – the Triwizard Cup and the cold, pale, dead hand of Cedric Diggory.
Albus rushed over to them and crouched over Harry. He showed all the signs of shock, muttering something about Voldemort being back and having to bring Cedric home. Albus' heart broke for both of them.
For the boy who lived yet again and the boy who had died.
He wanted to take care of Harry, but people were screaming now and coming closer to see what had happened. Fudge chose this moment to butt back in. He tugged at Albus' arm, warning him that Cedric's parents were coming. That they were about to see their dead son lying in the grass, nearly getting trampled by all these people.
Feeling horribly torn inside, Albus told Harry to stay and then turned to intercept Mr and Mrs Diggory while he also beckoned Pomona to come to him quickly.
"What's happened?" asked Amos Diggory. "What's going on? What's this everyone's saying about Cedric?"
"Amos, you should go with Pomona. Talk in her office…" Albus tried to steer them away but to no avail.
"Why? Talk about what? Tell me what's happening, Dumbledore. Is that… IS THAT MY SON?" Diggory wanted to push past Albus, but he held him back with Pomona's help.
"There are no words to express how much it pains me to tell you this, Amos, but your son… Cedric is dead."
"No! No, he's not! He's right there! He's…"
"Amos…"
"If you don't let go of me right now and let me go to my son, I will reach for my wand and challenge you to a duel, Dumbledore, even if it kills me!" Amos roared.
Albus held up his hands and stepped aside.
Amos and his wife flung themselves forwards onto their dead son and howled. It was a sound that came from a place of pain no one should ever have to experience. And yet Albus knew that there was more to come. The world they had known for the past thirteen years had been forever altered tonight.
His eyes searched for Harry among the students and teachers who stood around the Diggorys, watching in shock and sympathy.
He wasn't there.
Yet again he had disappeared. Albus had told him to stay. Harry wouldn't have disobeyed him, wouldn't have left, unless someone had taken him. Someone who had suggested taking him back up to the castle before Albus had asked him not to. Someone who was now missing as well.
Alastor Moody. Or someone pretending to be Alastor Moody. The real Moody wouldn't have done this.
Albus stood perfectly still for a moment as he realised what he had done. In trying to protect Harry and all of Hogwarts Albus had let the devil in the house and he had trusted him implicitly.
But no more. He would no longer tolerate anyone by his side other than the two people who came to him now on their own without him having to ask or explain. Neither Minerva nor Severus said anything, but Minerva's eyes widened imperceptibly when she looked at him.
Albus knew what she must have been seeing on his face. Cold fury, harshness, bordering on cruelty, and magic, terrible, destructive and oh so very powerful. Everything he wasn't proud of, but he used it now. He used it to make his way up to the castle, to lay Moody's office door to waste and to overpower the man wearing his friend's face. For a couple of heartbeats Albus was angry that it had been so easy, that the impostor hadn't put up more of a fight, hadn't given Albus an excuse to use more of his power, to burn it all away, all the pain and suffering this man had caused. Then Albus slowly reined himself back in.
His voice was still razor-sharp as he told Minerva to stop when she wanted to bring Harry to the hospital wing. He wouldn't let anyone take him out of his sight again. Not even her. And most importantly, not before Harry understood, before they all understood what had happened.
It was rather too late now, of course, but they would finally get some answers.
Minerva hurried down the front steps towards Hagrid's cabin, just like Albus had asked her to. She wanted to do this quickly because she hated to be away from him for too long. Not that there was really anything she could do for him or anyone else right now. But she shoved those thoughts down as far as they would go. Everything she wanted to feel about Cedric Diggory dying, about him being murdered by You-Know-Who. About how they had stumbled out of the Triwizard Tournament and into another war in the blink of an eye. And how that forced Albus to use all of his wonderful magic to fight and to strike fear into their enemies because he was the only one who could.
Had she allowed herself to feel any of that, Minerva would have broken down in tears in the middle of Hagrid's pumpkin patch. But she couldn't. That was not what Albus needed from her.
She spotted the big, black dog right away. He looked at her with so much intelligence and human emotion in his eyes that it was a mystery to her how anyone could think he was nothing but a stray. Then again, as an Animagus herself, Minerva was used to looking out for the signs. Though in this particular case she too had been blind for a long time.
"Come with me," she told Sirius Black without preamble. "Dumbledore wants you in his office."
He didn't hesitate to follow her, not worried about being seen. Most of the school was still down by the maze. It certainly would have looked strange to them that Minerva was walking through the corridors with a large dog that wasn't even on a lead. But his true identity remained a well-kept secret. Minerva wasn't even sure if Black knew that Albus had told her who he was.
Either he didn't care or he trusted her enough to risk it because as soon as they had stepped inside the headmaster's office, Black transformed and assailed her with questions. "Where is everyone? What happened? How's Harry? I only heard bits and pieces. Is he okay?"
"He's alive. That's all I really know for now. Dumbledore said he would be with you shortly and talk to you then," Minerva replied curtly and turned to leave again.
"What? How much longer does he expect me to wait and do nothing? What the bloody hell happened tonight?" Black protested, taking a step towards the door as well. "I want to see my godson!"
Minerva moved to intercept him and held up a hand. "I just told you that I don't know any more than you do. But what I do know is that the Minister for Magic is here and if you set one foot out of this office, you'll get arrested. That's the last thing Potter needs tonight. I know being patient was never your strong suit, but try to take a breath and just… sit! And I'm sorry that sounded like a dog command."
She felt bad about leaving Black like this, but arguing with him wouldn't do them any good either. She made it back to Moody's office at the same time Severus did. He had brought the Veritaserum and the house-elf Winky and he suddenly stopped dead on the doorstep right in front of her. Minerva was about to snap at him, but then she understood his shock.
Alastor Moody was no longer Alastor Moody. Barty Crouch Jr. was sitting in that chair instead and once he had swallowed the Veritaserum, he told them everything. How he was still alive, how his father was not and how Bertha Jorkins had started all of this when she had accidentally run into Peter Pettigrew during her holiday in Albania…
Once they had heard the full story, Albus asked Minerva to stand guard over Crouch while Severus went to get Fudge. Albus then left the office and took Potter with him. Hopefully, he would bring him to the hospital wing at some point tonight. But Minerva knew better than to suggest that again.
She took out her wand and pointed it at Crouch. She didn't dare lower it once. He was quite defenceless at the moment, but after everything that had happened, she wouldn't take any chances. Poppy came by to take care of the real Alastor Moody and to get him out of his trunk. Still no sign of Cornelius Fudge.
Minerva's arm had really begun to hurt by the time Severus finally returned. "There you are! Where's the minister?"
"He's coming. But there's a slight problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"He's bringing a Dementor," Severus told her, not bothering to hide the scowl on his face.
"What?" Minerva finally lowered her wand. "You watch him," she said and stormed out of the room.
She almost ran right into Fudge and the Dementor he had brought. Its presence barely affected her. Right now, not even a Dementor could make her feel any worse than she already did. "Are you out of your mind?" she hissed at Fudge. "You can't bring a Dementor into the castle!"
"Snape informed me that you've caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events and I can do whatever I want to ensure my personal safety," Fudge replied indignantly.
"Not inside this school you can't! Dumbledore would never allow it!" Minerva protested. "And neither do I!"
"The two of you might run this school for the time being, but I am Minister for Magic and this is Ministry business. I don't need permission from you or anyone else. Now, if you'll excuse me." Fudge walked past her into Moody's office.
The Dementor followed him silently and before anyone could do or say anything else, it glided past Severus, lowered its hood to reveal a horrendously disfigured mouth and not much else and sucked the soul out of Barty Crouch. It was the most abhorrent act Minerva had ever witnessed. It paralysed her so much that she couldn't even scream.
When it was over, something snapped inside of her and she just lost it. She didn't care one bit that he was the Minister for Magic, she started yelling at Fudge like she had never yelled at anyone before and she kept yelling at him all the way to the hospital wing, where Potter was finally sleeping in one of the beds.
All the yelling woke him up, of course, but it was better this way. He had a right to tell Fudge what he had seen with his own eyes tonight – that You-Know-Who was back. Fudge wasn't listening. Not to Minerva, not to Potter and not to Albus. Minerva had never liked Fudge, nor had she thought him to be even remotely capable, but his behaviour tonight shocked her. He acted like a child, pretending that You-Know-Who's return couldn't be true as long as he didn't believe in it.
At the same time Minerva had never been prouder of Albus – and more afraid for him. He told Fudge in no uncertain terms what he needed to do now. He had it all mapped out in his mind, had obviously seen all of this coming. And he was still radiating that power that was both awe-inspiring and frightening. It should have been more than enough to convince a lesser man like Fudge to give in and listen. But he knew that it would mean the end of his career. No one would trust him to lead the country in a war against You-Know-Who.
And so while Albus was the very epitome of leadership and selflessness, Fudge chose to be the opposite.
Minerva wasn't sorry in the least as she watched him leave, except she knew that it would make everything so much harder if they had to work against him and the Ministry. Harder on Albus especially.
There was nothing that could be done about that now and Albus didn't even take a breath before he continued to prepare. Molly and Bill Weasley pledged their support right away and they would go and tell Arthur, so he in turn could reach the people at the Ministry who weren't as blinded as Fudge. Then Albus asked Minerva to bring Hagrid and Madame Maxime to his office. Part of her was getting tired of being his messenger all night, but she squashed that petty thought immediately.
They were only at the beginning of what would be an extremely long road. So long that they couldn't even see the end, might never get to see it. She hadn't fully wrapped her mind around that new reality yet. For tonight, setting one foot in front of the other on the trail that Albus was blazing for them was enough.
He was physically and emotionally exhausted.
It dawned on Albus that he was truly too old now for another war. Sadly, it wasn't up to him. He could no longer stop his getting older than he could stop Voldemort from trying to seize power again. At least he stood a chance when it came to the latter. And he would have to take that chance, do what he must, what he could, even if it was the last thing he ever did – which seemed more than likely.
He had never really expected to retire in comfort one day. Hadn't really wanted to either. Unless of course, Minerva would have been there to keep him company. But they had already agreed on the matter. It was a dream for another life and that was enough.
Thankfully, there was still hope in this life.
Voldemort had struck the very heart of Hogwarts today. He had ripped out a vital part of it when he had killed a boy who had been good and kind and a true champion of everything this school stood for. But while he had brought death to this castle, he had also, without meaning to, given Harry a new chance at life.
In his hubris, his ignorance and his pitiful inability to understand love, Voldemort had used Harry's blood to rebuild his body. Thinking it would make him stronger, thinking it would destroy Lily's protection for her son. Instead, he had made that protection everlasting. He had tethered it to his own body, his own life. So now – if Albus wasn't completely mistaken – the Horcrux inside of Harry still had to die, but Harry… Harry would live. As long as his blood, Lily's blood, Lily's love, coursed through Voldemort's own veins, Voldemort could – once again – not kill the boy.
Harry would live.
It was this knowledge that kept Albus going despite his failure tonight and all year. He had failed many times in his life, had done so many things he was ashamed of now, but this might have been the worst one yet. Not recognising the Alastor Moody who had come to Hogwarts as an impostor, not acting more decisively when he had suspected all along that Bertha Jorkins and Barty Crouch Sr. had fallen into Voldemort's hands…
Cedric Diggory's death rested squarely and solely on Albus' shoulders. And so there was one more thing he had to do tonight. Well, there were a lot of things, really. He had already started working on some of them. Sirius would alert Remus and the old members of the Order. Hopefully, the Weasleys would help them to recruit a couple of new ones. Hagrid and Olympe had agreed or at least agreed to consider reaching out to the giants. And then there was Severus. He had left without so much as a word when Albus had asked him to, knowing full well that he might never come back alive, that Voldemort might kill him on sight. But if he succeeded, if he did come back, then they would be the ones with the spy on the inside this time.
It all added up to a chance. The chance to buy themselves enough time. They definitely needed more time now that Harry had heard from Voldemort's own lips that there were several more Horcruxes out there. Harry didn't know yet what he had heard. But he would know. In time. He kept proving himself to Albus, kept demonstrating his resilience and bravery, surpassing all of his wildest expectations, and yet Albus hesitated. He was still only a boy, not a man. And boys could get hurt so easily. They could be lost in the blink of an eye.
Like Cedric Diggory.
That reminded Albus of the most pressing thing he had to do, which also happened to be the most difficult. He needed to speak with the Diggorys again, properly this time. They deserved to hear why their son had died, even though there could never be an explanation that would make his death acceptable. Nevertheless, they should know that he had been brave until the very end.
Feeling older than he had ever done in all his life, Albus rose to his feet and headed towards Pomona's office. He wasn't quite there yet when he met her in the corridor. "Have the Diggorys left?" he asked, worried that he had put off this conversation for too long.
"No, they're still in my office. Filius and Minerva are with them now. I… needed a moment," Pomona explained, her eyes red-rimmed and dark-ringed.
"Of course, take all the time you need," Albus told her, lightly touching her arm.
She nodded grimly and set off in the direction of the greenhouses.
Albus quickly walked the rest of the way to Pomona's office. No one inside had noticed his approach. Minerva was holding Mrs Diggory's hand while Filius' hand was resting on Amos' back, which he could reach because Cedric's father sat hunched in a chair. The windows were closed and the fireplace unlit, but there was a warm summer breeze in the room, like a gentle, soothing caress. Also something the Charms master must have done.
Albus paused on the threshold, feeling like his presence wasn't even needed. He was going to talk to the Diggorys anyway. But it was a relief to know that Hogwarts was in excellent hands without him. Thanks to the three Heads of House who were here supporting each other and the one who had left the school to give his life for it if necessary.
In moments like this Albus questioned why they sorted students into houses at all. It divided them when they needed unity more than ever. And it said nothing whatsoever about the true character of a person. Tonight the betrayal of a Gryffindor had been an integral part in forcing them into another war nobody was ready to face while a Slytherin had answered the call and was just now proving himself to be the bravest of them all.
The only way they would make it through the difficult times ahead was to understand that it didn't come down to blood, abilities or houses. It only came down to a choice. The choice to do the right thing.
Minerva finally noticed his presence and lifted her eyes to his. With that one look there passed more between them than Albus could have put into words. Fear and guilt and pain, enough to swallow them whole, but also acceptance, forgiveness and strength. Their love had been tested before and it would be tested again. He didn't know in what way or for how long, but he knew he would find himself wishing that he could have given her more before the end. He also knew that it would not make her reconsider. Whether he deserved her support or not, it was a great source of comfort to him, if not his only one.
Even now as the world around them was burning, they would continue to burn in it together.
A/N: Book four finished! I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did because it gave me more opportunities for romance than I realised before I started writing. Sadly, the fun times are over now. I'll probably take my time with book five because we all know that the end of book five brings us to a lot of death... Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all of you.