Fighting Philosophies

by Yalmer

Obstacle after obstacle is thrown in Harry’s way, with only his master, Rowena Ravenclaw, to help him. Some of the obstacles, he jumps over neatly, some of them make him stumble, and even fall. How many obstacles can he overcome before he doesn’t get up again? Follow Harry as he is forced to make impossible choices; choices that will punish him, no matter what he does or wants.

36. The Last Dance

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

A/N: Howdy! I could write ten paragraphs about this chapter, but I won't. I'd like for the chapter to speak for itself first. Writing this chapter was the most I've ever had as a writer, I hope you'll enjoy this too!

Cheers!

Chapter 36: The Last Dance

-Hermione-

Hogwarts stood tall in the evening sun. It had done so for centuries and would do so for centuries to come. The towers flew superior against the sky and the grounds shone with a light seldom seen.

The corridors were decorated with torches upon torches spreading heat and home.

The thing was, the mood was everything but home. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I sent the message through my galleon. Michael picked his coin up by the Ravenclaw table. Susan did the same by the table belonging to the Hufflepuffs. Everyone did, and everyone who did it put it back in their pocket with sobriety and solemnity.

I walked out of the Great Hall like a robot. Ron didn't say a word to me. Nor did Neville. Parvati and Lavender had no space for their usual chatty demeanour.

They didn't know what the meeting was about yet. Although everyone knew what it was about.

The water had dripped into the bucket for a full year. It was full and at the brink of spilling over. The wave would rock the castle. I wouldn't let them take away Hogwarts.

The silence was oppressive within the room of requirement. People piled in precariously and peered at their peers. Some fidgeted, some did not.

The sentiment echoed throughout the room; this was what it had come to. That meeting which felt so long ago in the humble clearing. Me and Ron waiting nervously for everyone to arrive. It felt right that it would come back to the same place.

Emotionally, that is.

The door finally closed and I looked at the assembly before me. I wanted to fall through the floor and run away. But I couldn't. Not now.

I held up the green envelope and it shone like a lighthouse in the room.

People's gazes were glued to the thing.

I cleared my throat. The words inscribed upon it felt unreal. They didn't belong on my tongue, yet I spoke them and delivered the damn message.

"Now you know," I finished lamely. For how could that message ever be done justice by one meaning?

"They will take McGonagall," Michael said.

I could only nod.

"They can't take her!" Neville said and took the letter out of my hand. "They can't!"

"It seems they can," I responded automatically.

"You're sure this is real?" Nevilla said and waved it frantically.

I nodded mutely.

"McGonagall is Hogwarts," Luna said firmly.

No one said anything for a moment. The words left us under a shroud of uncertainty.

"We all know what this means, right?" Ron said with an indecipherable expression.

"They have taken so much," Angelina said. "We can't allow them to take anything else."

Mutterings broke out. The members were stars and their light was anger, it was determination.

"Then we know what to do," I said and stared into thin air.

"We have to stop them," Michael said and stood up. "For Hogwarts."

"Are we sure this isn't a trap?" Neville said, bringing the attention to himself again.

"It could be," I admitted. "They have tried to trick us before."

"But we know something they don't," Angelina said. "We have the map. We know where they are."

An idea came to me like a meteorite from the stars.

"If they try to take McGonagall down, we will see them do it."

"Yes!" Neville exclaimed and stood up. "If it turns out to be a trick and they don't make a move for her, we will see that they don't."

"Exactly!" I said with excitement. "We move based on how they act."

"If they don't try to take McGonagall, we won't move," said Angelina. "If they take her down…" she trailed off.

What would we do, exactly?

We were forty students between fourteen and seventeen years of age. We couldn't take down Umbridge. We couldn't take down the ministry.

I felt goosebumps along my spine. We didn't need to. This had to end, Umbridge had to end. It might have to end in an explosion that would rock Hogwarts and the wizarding world to its very core, yet that explosion needed to happen.

I stared out at the people around me. We had fought in the shadows for too long. It was time to step out into the sunlight and pray people realised what was going on at Hogwarts.

"Let's send a message," I said evenly. "We need to light a beacon which will shine across the entirety of these isles about what is going on here."

People nodded and I saw jaws squared in determination.

"One way or the other, this ends today. Umbridge ends today, Dumbledore's Army ends today."

I smiled broadly. "We may have done things which weren't right, we may have strayed from the path, but this is our chance. This is our chance to do something right."

People stared into the ceiling and into the ground. Looking for the stars and for the core.

"This is what matters. Not the petty transfigurations and small skirmishes," I let out a deep tired breath. "We have an opportunity to make a difference, to change Hogwarts for the better, to save it from the clutches of the pink pest." I stared into the fireplace and looked at the bookshelves around the room.

"We won't let them take Hogwarts. They may take our clubs. They may take our fun. But they will never take Hogwarts while I am here."

"I am with you," Michael said resolutely and stood up. "McGonagall is Hogwarts. What will be left if everything within this castle worth having is gone?"

I smiled tiredly.

Ron stood up and gave me a nod.

The chairs scraped harmoniously along the floor. The perfect harmony.

"This is our cause. This is our reason. For Hogwarts," I finished solemnly.

"For Hogwarts!" was echoed by everyone in the room.

The torches along the walls flared up violently into a deep shade of purple.

I felt a shiver run up my spine. I saw the hairs on my hand stand on end.

The castle was behind us.

I exhaled slowly.

We weren't Dumbledore's Army.

We were Hogwarts' Army.

-()-

-Harry-

I stretched and yawned loudly when I got out of bed. The sun shone with a bright intensity already. It was the middle of June and the leaves of the tree were a fitting purple.

Purple leaves for a purple day, I mused.

I looked outside the window and took a deep breath of fresh air. In mere hours, I would be at the top to end it. The tournament. My peace.

I longed for it. To feel the adrenaline of stepping out into the ring. Everything fading except my opponent. Dancing and duelling in ways never seen before.

This was the culmination. My classmates would have their OWLs and lounge under a tree. I would fight with ferocity. I would earn my accomplishments. There was no way around it.

Never going near the bush meant that you would never get stuck by its stinging thorns. It also meant that you would never taste its sweet fruit. I would jump in head first and devour it. It was my last opportunity to do so.

I heard a faint knock on my door and I turned around with a frown. Wand in hand. I opened the door and there was no one there. It was something there instead.

A package with a purple ribbon on it. I narrowed my eyes at it and took it in quickly. A couple of examination charms and I declared it safe as a symphony.

I opened the wrapping slowly and opened the box inside. There was no card yet I had an inkling who it was from.

There was a set of clothing inside. I smiled fondly. It was the darkest of black, it almost shimmered in the light. Adorned with the colours of every house. Blue, green, red and yellow details lined the entire thing. I wrung it inside out to inspect it further. All the seams were sewn with purple.

I smiled even broader. She couldn't resist.

I hugged the robe close to me for a second and breathed in its scent. They smelled of home.

I went inside my room and put them on. They fit as well as the earth and the sun did together.

I looked in the mirror and smiled broadly. A proper representative of Hogwarts. A proper representative for myself.

Hogwarts was home and home was Hogwarts. There was no better way to make her proud. Win for myself, yes. But also win for home.

I was ready. I knew I was. The duel wouldn't be easy, nothing I ever did was. That was what made it worth it.

Walking downhill all your life was comfortable and contagious. Walking uphill was what made your legs ache and your breath laboured. It was what made you grow, what made you reach the peak of the highest mountain.

For Hogwarts, I said with a nod at the man in the mirror.

-()-

-Hermione-

The following couple of hours were spent with seams of hesitance and determination. I second guessed every single thing we had decided.

It could be a trap, it could not be.

It could be nothing, it could not be.

Neville was keeping an eye on the map for the moment. We already suspected something was going down today. Our idea to run and warn McGonagall wouldn't have worked. There was a group of the squad just outside her office. McGonagall was under their surveillance. We couldn't get to her. So it left us to only look at the map and pray that our assumptions had been incorrect.

Or I prayed so.

Michael looked ecstatic and was tearing training dummies to shreds with a crazed look on his face.

Angelina and Alicia were duelling dangerously, neither giving an inch.

The room held the same light as always but the clock on the wall spoke about the late hour. It was ten o'clock now.

True to the letter, Greengrass and many others were gathered by the Great Hall. The large group with too many names to count left and made their way towards McGonagall's office.

They were going to keep McGonagall, if they caught her, in Umbridge's office. That was where we were going to try to get her. If they brought her there, it was our sign that they had done as said in the letter.

That they had arrested McGonagall, thus irreversibly shattering the school.

The group split into two parts and Umbridge with a speck of unknown names were outside McGonagall's door.

I took a deep breath. The names went in, every name was still for a moment. Then they left together.

My hairs stood on end and everything quietened around me. People gathered around and looked at the gathering of names moving through the castle. They arrived at Umbridge's office on the fifth floor and McGonagall was left there.

The rest of the names disappeared, except six names from the inquisitorial squad who seemingly stood guard outside.

My eyes scanned the map furiously and I felt others do the same. The rest of the squad was back in the Slytherin common room now and Umbridge and the aurors were outside the headmaster's office. I met the eyes of the people around me.

They thought they had succeeded. We would knock them off their fucking perch.

I didn't even have to say anything. People gathered and our group walked out. Not everyone was going on this mission, more people meant a larger chance of getting caught. There were fifteen of us. The fifteen best ones.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around. Neville was looking at me with a frown. "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded. "Of course I am, we've got this."

"I know, it's just…" He frowned. "This isn't some small prank, breaking someone out of auror custody is…illegal," he whispered. "We can get persecuted for this."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "If everything goes to plan, they will be the ones getting persecuted."

"What about Harry?"

I looked into his eyes. "What about him?"

"He could help us."

I chuckled. "He's got his duel today, and even if he didn't, he can't travel across the entire world to help us." I smiled at him. "And we don't even need his help, this is our achievement, not his. Our."

Neville shook his head and refused to meet my eyes. "This can go very wrong, Hermione, very wrong."

"I know, Neville." I let out a deep breath and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "This is our chance to make something of ourselves, okay? We deserve some recognition too."

Neville nodded and forced a smile upon his visage. "Let's go and beat these bastards."

I didn't condone his language but I did condone his sentiment.

-()-

-Harry-

It was an hour until the duel would begin; I was in the clouds. There was a large tent, just below the venue for the final battle, where I had been given leave to stay. Better still, only people who I allowed in could get in.

Naturally, Alice was with me when I entered the grand space. It screamed and shouted of elegance and splendour. The furniture looked like they were worth a whole country and the view was akin to a painting.

You could see past the island and watch the mainland of Asia from where we stood. I was on top of the world, only one man stood in my way. One short man from the school of Görans. The infamous school of greats in duelling. The one who was supposed to win.

As of now, it was very tight in the betting pool. People from all classes and countries had put money on both me and my opponent.

I tried to shut out the part about all of the money I could earn faceless people and focused on bringing glory to myself and my home.

"I have to tell you something!" she exclaimed with a broad smile.

I grinned widely, it was contagious. "What?"

She fumbled with a necklace around her neck. "I got it! I got the apprenticeship!"

The necklace was a chain of silver with a beautiful phoenix of silver at the end.

"A phoenix?" I remarked. "I thought you hated fire…"

She glared at me. "It's his signum, all of his apprentices get one."

I smiled and inspected it closer. "There can't be too many of these in existence," I said and motioned to the piece of jewellery.

"There's seven," she said with a smile so wide it stretched across the entire horizon. "I will never let this go." Alice let out a deep breath of content. "This is my future, my future is secured."

We ascended into comfortable silence. I didn't mind at all. Sometimes, it was great to just be. Not do nor move. Just be.

A faint knock was heard on the door and I bid they come in. If they had gotten this far, it must be someone who I had allowed in.

It wasn't. It was someone greater.

An old man with half-moon spectacles stood in the door frame with a warm smile. "Good morning, Harry," Dumbledore said warmly. "I trust you have been preparing well?"

I smiled and sat down. "Yes, sir." Dumbledore sat down in front of me and smiled at someone behind me, presumably Alice.

I turned around. Alice was staring at the former headmaster with her mouth slightly open.

"I fear I do not know your name," Dumbledore said with a small smile.

"Alice Marston," the girl squealed out and stretched out her hand.

Dumbledore shook it. "I'm Albus Dumbledore," he replied and shook her hand. I stifled a fit of laughter.

"Oh, are you?" Alice said, feigning surprise. "I had no idea that I was in the room with the most powerful man alive."

"I'm not sure about 'the most powerful', perhaps in my enthusiasm for lemon drops," Dumbledore responded with a warm smile. "I need to talk to Mr. Potter here for a moment, if you don't mind, Ms. Marston?"

"No, not at all," Alice replied and walked towards the exit.

"You can stay," I said firmly.

Dumbledore's eyes snapped to meet mine.

"Yes," I said to the unspoken question. "I trust her."

Dumbledore didn't look too enthused. "Alright then," he conceded. "Sit down."

He paused for a moment. "I am very proud of the things you have accomplished in the name of our school, Harry," he began.

I raised my eyebrows. "Our school? I thought you left," I uttered with a little venom to it.

Dumbledore sighed. "I will return after this duel," he said solemnly. "I'm afraid my trail ran cold."

"You couldn't find him?" I asked with a frown.

He shook his head. "No, there was no trace. Whoever broke in has an impressive ability to stay hidden. None of my tricks could pick up a trail."

"I'm sorry, sir," I said with some real regret in my voice.

"So am I," Dumbledore said. "They will bury Grindelwald next week."

I nodded. "I guess he didn't give us any more clues?"

"No," the headmaster said.

"Wait," Alice interjected. "Is Grindelwald dead?"

"Indeed, he was killed some time ago."

Alice was staring at the headmaster as if he was mad.

"Why isn't it all over the news? That should make headlines all over the world!" Alice continued in surprise.

I smiled tiredly. "He was murdered, Alice. The ICW doesn't want their failure to be known before they know the cause of it."

"Aha," she said with a sheepish smile. "Makes sense."

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "Alas, I will have to return to my role as headmaster and focus on Britain." He gave me a pointed look. "They need it, and they need you too."

"I know," I replied. "I just want to win this, then my full focus will be on Voldemort."

Dumbledore nodded. "Good, I have discovered something I will need to talk to you about."

I frowned. "Okay."

Dumbledore stood up to leave. "Just one more thing," his blue eyes met mine. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"

I fought his gaze with intensity. "My answer remains the same: some books in the chamber."

The headmaster of Hogwarts sighed. "I will look forward to seeing you duel, Harry. Good luck."

"Thank you, I'll be happy to have you cheer me on, sir," I replied.

The picture of Dumbledore cheering and shouting didn't fit with the man in front of me.

A bright flash appeared in the room and I had my wand in my hand in a second. The majestic phoenix, Fawkes, had appeared in the room and was clutching a scroll.

Dumbledore frowned and unfurled the scroll. I thought I saw Dumbledore sway for a moment, I wondered if he would fall.

He pocketed the scroll. "I'm afraid something has happened to an old friend of mine, I won't be able to watch you duel."

I opened my mouth to ask what was going on but I was rudely interrupted by another bright explosion. Neither Dumbeldore nor Fawkes remained in the room.

I stood in its wake and stared at the spot. Alice patted my shoulder.

"Focus," she urged. "You can't allow yourself to lose focus, not now. Whatever it is, it is not important. You can't do anything about it."

She was right. Alice was usually right, I realised.

I dropped down into my seat again.

"So what was he talking about?" Alice asked and sat down in an armchair of her own.

"His friend?"

"No!" she said and smacked my arm. "The thing you didn't want to tell him. The part where you obviously lied about books and a chamber."

I chuckled. "He thinks that I have lied about how I've learned everything," I said with a shrug.

She arched her brow at me. "Is he right?"

My green eyes fixed her amber ones for an eternity.

"I will tell you, soon, but not now."

-()-

-Hermione-

It felt like every corner held a shadow creeping up at us. Only my constant checking of the marauder's map convinced me that we were safe. Or relatively so. Umbridge and her entourage were outside the headmaster's office. The inquisitorial squad was in the Slytherin common room. We were safe.

Yet it didn't feel that way.

We went down to the fifth floor and walked along the corridor to Umbridge's office. Six members of the inquisitorial squad were outside. But all of them must have been third and fourth years and were easily dispatched. Their yelps of surprise and desperate screams put me a little uneasy. I reminded myself, they put this on themselves by pinning on that badge. We made sure to stun each and every one of them to make sure they had no way to alert anyone.

A glance at the map told me that neither of the groups I was worried about had moved from their positions. We may actually manage this without a hitch.

I jerked the door open and was met with the pink decorations. The amount of time I had stared at this room on the map and yet I had never been inside it. I'd had it described to me, none of those descriptions did it any justice. It was just something about it which didn't sit right. Like a cake with one deciliter of sugar short.

All of us hurried inside and true to the map McGonagall sat in a chair at the other end of the large office. She peered over at us with a large frown. "What on earth are all of you doing here?" she exclaimed and stood up.

She stood up.

"Aren't you captured?" Michael asked from my left.

She observed our group of fifteen carefully. "I'm here for my weekly report to the headinquisitor. I can assure all of you that I am not captured. Why are you here?" the transfiguration professor pressed with a hint of panic.

It felt like time went slower than usual when I put the map in front of my eyes to look at it again.

The space outside the headmaster's office was empty of letters. So was the Slytherin common room.

"We need to leave," I shouted and made for the door.

Another glance told me it was too late. The inquisitorial squad had moved into position faster than I thought possible and had covered all of our exits.

Ron appeared over my shoulder and realised the same thing.

"They have us trapped," he whispered. Yet everybody heard him.

"Then we fight!" Michael vociferated and glared at the door. "We hold the room."

"No!" McGonagall shouted and strided to stand in front of the door. "I will not allow anyone to fight."

"There is no other choice, professor," I said pleadingly. "They will catch us and know we are the rebels."

"There is no proof," the teacher said, but I detected the doubt in her voice.

Had there been two or three or even six of us, it could be explained away. There were fifteen of us, from all the good houses. There was no way that could be explained away easily. In Umbridge's office no less. One hour after midnight.

Neville grabbed a hold of my shoulder. "We could try him, but it is a long shot."

"No!" I almost shouted in his face. "This is our moment, we can do it. We don't need anyone to sweep in and save the day."

I looked about over the crowd. "We've got this, we fight. We need to show the teachers and the governors and the ministers that Hogwarts is a hell. Not a home."

Neville disappeared in the shouts of glory and strength.

"For Hogwarts' army!" the cheer reverberated nightly. My head of house was staring at us, lost.

We barricaded the door best we could, completely ignoring McGonagall's words to not do it. She seemed ready to hex us into oblivion, the only thing stopping her was that Umbridge would do something far worse if she caught us.

"I will give you one minute to come out peacefully," a squeaky voice shouted from the other side of the door. "Anyone who comes out before that time faces no severe punishment."

But a punishment all the same, I added inside my head. Michael sneered in disgust and Ron levelled a glare at the door. Angelina and Alicia were chatting quietly with Katie. Parvati and Lavender looked lost, out of place. We shouldn't have brought them along. They were too young. Too innocent.

It was there I realised what Harry had been talking about all along. Why he didn't want to help us. Everyone who got hurt today would get hurt because of me.

Harry didn't want that guilt and now, I realised that I didn't want it either.

A large bang was heard against the door, the table blocking the way shuddered.

Another rocked the door, the hinges squeaked like a dying deer.

The door flew off the wall like a newspaper in the wind. Spells descended on us and spells descended on them. It was a chaos of colour of light. I heard someone drop to the ground. Then another and another again.

Someone had sent a patronus against the incoming inquisitorial squad. It went through them harmlessly and disappeared out through the door.

Then I felt something strike me in the chest. I landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

Something blonde appeared above me.

Greengrass was smiling at me victoriously.

Someone else grabbed a hold of my arm and dragged me to my feet. My legs felt like jelly; they couldn't support my weight.

I looked around the room, dazed. Someone came in holding a large tray with a bunch of bottles. Michael and Ron were squirming, bound by ropes at their ankles and hands.

No one from the Hogwarts' Army was left standing. Everyone was either tied up or unconscious.

We had failed.

I had failed.

-()-

-Harry-

Ready.

A simple word yet it held so much meaning. It could even hold multiple meanings. It did for me. In some ways, I knew I was ready. In other arenas, I knew I was not.

"Are you ready?" Alice asked in a whisper. I had spent the past quarter of an hour staring into nothingness. Walking the line between the physical world and the one in my mind.

"Yes," I said and snapped out of my state of tranquillity. "I am ready for this."

Alice smiled. "Good to hear…" she trailed off. "I have a question?"

I smiled lopsidedly. "Go for it."

Something burst through the door, interrupting our moment. I glared at the thing before I recognised what it was. The room was being lit up by a brilliant blue light. Warmth was permeating from the animal.

A patronus, but what was it doing here? There couldn't be any dementors, right?

The answer to the question would reveal itself through a voice I hadn't heard in months.

"Harry." Neville's voice paused for a moment, a deep sigh came from the patroni. "Umbridge and her followers trapped us. We're cornered, they will be on to us in any minute." Indistinct voices were heard in the backgrounds, but what they said was indistinguishable. "Harry, I know this is a lot to ask, but you're our only hope, we don't have anyone else to turn to. Please we need-"

Neither me nor Alice said a word as we watched the animal dissipate into blue mist and then, nothing.

"That could be a trick," Alice observed. "To get you to leave."

I shook my head. "No, that was Neville's voice, he wouldn't do that."

Alice shrugged. "Well, then." She looked at me intently. "You're planning to go, aren't you?"

"I can't go," I reflected. "The duel is in half an hour, I don't have the time."

"I won't try to go and convince you otherwise."

"I should go," I remarked dispassionately. It felt like my conciousness was floating above me, as if my mind wasn't at the same place as my body.

Alice's gaze snapped to mine. "You're kidding?"

"Umbridge is dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. "But how dangerous? I doubt a teacher will do anything severe to her students," Alice declared. "And even if she did, there is now way she will be able to cover it up, there will be consequences."

"But then my friends will already have been hurt," I replied with a frown.

"Assuming that this Umbridge is intent on hurting them in some way."

"Umbridge is evil," I said firmly. "I wasn't in her company for long but even I could see beneath her facade. She is cruel, merciless. She hates children."

"Okay," Alice conceded. "Let's say that Umbridge will kill and torture: then what?"

"I'll have to save them."

"We're in Nanshu, they're in Britain…"

"...which is connected to the international floo network," I finished. "It will take a little longer than one jump, but I'll get there."

Alice shook her head, then she stopped in her tracks. "Couldn't it have been this your headmaster left to deal with?"

I relaxed, that was probably why. Then it struck me, Dumbledore had said that 'an old friend' was in trouble. Unless he outright lied, he was up to something else.

"No," I said quietly. "I don't think so, and even if it was, could that be a risk we're willing to take?"

Alice sighed and plumped down in a seat. "What about the duel?"

I shrugged. "It's not important. Helping people is."

"Of course it is," Alice whispered and put her face in her hands. "What about yourself? You've told me how much you've been looking forward to finally being able to test your strength against the very best."

I swallowed and felt my heart thud in my chest. "I would obviously prefer to play in the final," I vociferated. "But I can't save my friends and win the tournament. I have to choose one."

"And you obviously chose the selfless option," she remarked.

"Do you want me to be selfish?" I asked with a small glare.

"Yes! Kind of… I just want you to put yourself first for once. This was your opportunity to bring some happiness and success to your life." She let out a deep, shuddering breath. "But here you are and intend to throw it away in favour of something which might not be that serious."

"If there is even a chance…"

"...then it is not your responsibility!" Alice shouted. "I don't care about what your headmaster is saying about how Britain needs you or why it is your destiny to fight Lord fucking Voldemort. None of those things is your responsibility!"

"They are," I argued. "Because I can do it. I can make a difference, I can stop people from getting hurt." I stood up abruptly. "I need to leave, now."

Alice sighed and lapsed into defeat. "You will make a lot of people unhappy."

I ran a hand through my hair in stress. "'Unhappy' is an understatement. I shrugged. "I'm used to being disliked, it doesn't matter if a couple of more people are added to the list." I grimaced. "I doubt any of them will be worse than Voldemort."

"Just be careful, okay?"

I turned around to leave but Alice grabbed hold of my hand. "Just one last thing?"

I glanced at the clock. "What?" I snapped, harsher than intended.

Alice smiled sadly. "Just promise me one thing before you leave." She let out a deep breath and her eyes sparkled like ambers. Looking into those irises I, I really only got one feeling, that I mattered. "Promise me that you will try to get to know that wife of yours."

"That's…"

"You can't live all your life being at odds with your wife," she interrupted. "Just try to make it work, it is the only chance you've got to be happy."

"It's not…"

"Don't tell me it's not important. It is. It is the most important thing of them all." She patted me on the shoulder. "Next year, get to know her, the real her, not the person she is pretending to be in front of you. Don't put anything else silly in front of being happy. Not your studies, not your quidditch, not your war. Get to know that girl and have fun."

I opened my mouth but I felt no words come out.

"Harry," she began with a shy smile. "You deserve happiness, okay? I know that you have other responsibilities, but let yourself be happy? Try. Really try to make things right between you. Promise me you'll do that."

I swallowed. "I promise."

She smiled broadly. "You came to the final of the 'Dueling Days' at the age of fifteen, one girl shouldn't be any match for you."

I chuckled but felt a knot in my stomach. "There is nothing easy about girls, I tell you."

I walked over to the fireplace but was struck with a thought. "By the way," I said. "What did you want to ask?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you later, just go and be a selfless brat."

"Thank you Alice," I said sarcastically. "Your advice is the best."

-()-

-Draco-

The office was humid and stank of sweat and fear. It was pervasive yet at the same time relieving. That sweet touch of knowing victory was secured; or that you had failed, as it was for some.

The aurors looked like pillars of stone within the office. Neither motion nor expression revealed a hint of humanity. Umbridge had really chosen the worst of the bunch.

I spared a glance at the pretty blonde next to me. Daphne was smiling at Granger and Weasley; like a predator about to devour its prey.

I grinned at them and waved at them enthusiastically. This felt good, they had been outsmarted, outmanoeuvred and outmatched. All due to one person.

Daphne had done her part admirably. She had done what Umbride hadn't managed to do by herself in months.

The Slytherin princess had reeled in the rebellion. Lured them in like hungry fish and then caught them in her net.

Daphne glowed in the dim light of the room, brighter than the sun, more beautiful than a field of green grass.

My eyes observed the entire office like I had to remember every detail, I wanted to savour this. Drink every drop of this sweet drink.

The bottles we had used to find them stood on the desk with all the colours on full display. It made for a stark contrast to the dreary and colourless confines of the room.

I inspected the people who we had caught. It was people I saw in classes, in the corridors and during dinner every day. How many of them had mutilated my friends? How many had mutilated me?

I made my own eyes a pair of mirrors to reflect Corner's glare, nothing could phase me now. Every insult, every glare bounced off like I was made of titanium.

Umbridge finished speaking with Professor McGonagall who had been captured and bound by the aurors after she had aided the rebels. Well, she had tried to stop the fighting, but it mattered little to Umbridge. I held no illusions that she would have a rough couple of weeks trying to explain that.

It was a small price for salvation.

Something felt wrong about it, McGonagall was as big of a part of Hogwarts as the sorting ceremony or the roof of the Great Hall.

Umbridge cleared her throat, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. "Well done everyone," she said with the sweetest smile I had never seen. All the honey in the world couldn't match her at that moment. She motioned to the mastermind behind everything.

I could see Daphne's body tense ever so slightly under the attention. The girl looked so frail under the lamplight, like the added heat would melt her like a candle. "Yes," Daphne said primly. "Well done everyone." There was an awkward pause.

"We've finally caught the bullying bastards!" I cheered. The inquisitorial came together like the tight group we had become. It was a moment of release and relief. After months of uncertainty and constant threat. We could finally stroll around Hogwarts like we owned the place again. The cheer was deafening.

The sound reverberated like a mighty concert yet I couldn't help but notice that the one girl I wanted to cheer like a teenage girl at a concert didn't do it.

"Justice!" one shouted.

"Well done, Malfoy!"

"Slytherin is the best!"

"For Hogwarts!"

"You're a genius!"

People cheered at me and I bowed extravagantly. "Now," I said pompously. "We get justice!"

One half of the room cheered, the other half looked grey and gasped for a breath of hope that would never come. The aurors escorted McGonagall outside and left Umbridge with the students. There was muted silence for a moment.

Umbridge approached Weasley and Granger. "It would be best for everyone if you just confessed."

Granger glared at the head of the inquisitorial squad like Umbridge had destroyed her favourite book. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Nor have I," Weasley added in what should go down as the most obvious lie of all time. He should get an award for it

Umbridge shrugged. "Oh well, Ms. Greengrass, you're up."

Daphne approached them with a neutral expression. Yet something about it looked wrong. It was too much. She looked too neutral. Exaggerated. It looked like she fought a battle against herself. What emotion she wanted to conceal, I could only guess.

"Are you sure about this?" Daphne said coolly.

Everyone was waiting with bated breaths. Some with anticipation, others with fear. I had no idea that this had been part of Umbridge's and Daphne's agreement. What would she do, exactly?

Daphne took her wand out when she got no response and pointed it at Weasley. "Fine."

A jet of yellow burst forth and struck Weasley in the forehead. Nothing happened for a second and then everything happened.

Weasley's nose burst outward and his complexion turned a dull and dreary grey. I stared at the creation in wonder. His face looked like a ridiculous rat. I cackled like a proper super villain. I pictured the scene of waking up in the hospital wing with an ache.

They deserved this.

Daphne smiled as Weasley writhed and squirmed to get free. Granger's eyes were blank and a single tear leaked out.

Tears; creating streams which would eventually lead to defeat.

Daphne turned her attention to the bushy haired girl. "Are you sure?"

The lights danced across Granger's face. The Gryffindor, true to her house, raised her chin challengingly. "Fuck you Greengrass."

The blonde beauty shrugged. A red light struck Granger and she too, was transformed.

It was vulgar and it was vivacious. I didn't look at Granger first; I had my eye for the other girl. My tools of vision scrambled to build a picture where that girl felt joy, happiness and elation.

Granger's face became that of a snake. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen. It shouldn't fit, yet it did. It was fascinating and at the same time disturbing.

Laughter and snorts were heard throughout. I joined them without a second thought. Corner squirmed like someone being choked by an anaconda, but the ropes only grew stronger and stronger around him.

"I can do worse," Daphne stated coolly. "Are you sure you want me to?"

Yet again: no answer.

To be fair, they had been robbed of their ability to.

No, robbed was not the right word.

Daphne raised her wand but Umbridge stood up and interrupted her. "This is taking too long," the pink woman said.

The Slytherin girl nodded once. "We can try to use the others, they can handle their own suffering but if we use someone else…"

Umbridge smiled. "No, it's fine my dear. I have another solution, one more direct."

Daphne frowned but gave her acquiescence.

Umbridge undid all of the transfigurations performed on the pair. She grabbed a hold at the collars of both Weasley and Granger and went inside a room within the office. Umbridge's personal room.

She gestured for Daphne to follow. "Come here, my dear."

I made to follow too but Umbridge shook her head. "No, only Ms. Greengrass has worked for this, none of the rest of you have shown the same devotion."

I sat down in a chair and observed the crowd of students fastened by the ropes. This was finally it. The moment I could state with absolute certainty that we had won.

Daphne had won. She could finally be happy.

The girl who I had gotten to know deserved it so much.

I met the gaze of Blaise. He smiled thinly and sent a concerned glance at the door to Umbridge's personal room.

I shrugged in reply.

There was an explosion.

The door had opened and Daphne stepped out. All eyes were upon her, she shrunk like a punctured balloon. Her acne-ridden face was ashen white and her eyes wide in horror. Her hair was a chaos and her shining eyes shone like beacons. Beacons covered in morning dew.

"What happened…?" I asked and took her hands in mine.

Daphne stared at me but didn't see me. "She…she…" The girl trembled in front of me. I hugged her; she pushed me away like I was a disease. Her eyes observed me like I was a stranger. "No," she said simply. "No." I felt the hot gazes of everyone in the room.

I stared at her with incomprehension before the door opened again. Umbridge stepped out. The pink pest went past me and Daphne like we didn't exist and stopped in front of Michael Corner.

"So you are the one who has been breaking everyone's hands?" she said with her face the same shade as the cardigan she wore.

He spat at her. Time stood still. I stared at the semi-liquid substance like it came from another planet.

The Umbridge wiped the disgusting liquid away and she raised her hand.

"Professor!"

Everyone's heads snapped towards the person who had interrupted the confrontation. It was Pansy. She was pointing to the tray with all the potions on it. "Look, the first potion is glowing."

She was right. The first potion was glowing.

"What?" Umbridge said, crazed. "Impossible."

I felt a weight of unease in my stomach. The potions did only one thing: warn when someone was somewhere they shouldn't be. The first one meant someone had crossed through the gates of Hogwarts.

"Only students can enter the castle," Umbridge said decisively. "Everyone is already accounted for." She shrugged and turned back to Corner. "The aurors protecting the gate will deal with it."

The next potion lit up. Someone had entered the entrance hall. I felt a cold raindrop run down my back.

"Smack!"

I had almost forgotten: Umbridge and Corner. The latter now held a large red mark on his left cheek.

He deserved so much worse.

Then something happened. It felt like the lights dimmed and the sound was muted. It was as if someone sucked the life out of the room. I could see the world clear as always, yet it felt distorted and distant.

Another bottle went alight, a blaze of promise. Of what? Someone had entered the fifth floor.

My vision was dragged away from me softly. My hand wasn't distinguishable a decimeter from my visage. Shivering breaths came in a harsh cacophony from beside me: Daphne. She was so close I could feel the heat radiating off her body. The girl felt further away than ever. We were both adrift with no lighthouse to guide us. A black smoke had filled the room, the air was thick and itching.

"Everyone, remain calm," Umbridge urged with a hint of panic in her voice. "The aurors will deal with it."

Everyone turned towards the door. Or where the door was thought to be. I couldn't see anyone through the dark smoke. The girl so close yet so far away, showed no sign of being next to me. I was betrayed by my own eyes.

A couple of loud footsteps were heard outside.

It crept upon us like a vulturous vampire. Muffled conversation snuck through the door over to us, indistinguishable yet present.

Then silence reigned, until a blood-curling scream echoed through the door, shrill and pained, someone suffered like they had their entrails torn out. I heard a sharp intake of breath beside me.

Someone further away, inside the office, sobbed desperately.

Inside, no one said a word. Sounds of fighting broke out just on the other side. It sounded as if planets were born and torn apart. A chaotic cacophony and dissonance. Like the sun had collided with the moon. Like people were crushed alive. Second after second, the intensity of the sounds disappeared. Until nothing was left but trembling tension and shivering silence.

"Please!" the voice whined in with a shaking fear. "I have a family. Ple…"

The speaker was cut off abruptly and something heavy collided with the door. The entire frame shook. I heard one wheezing breath which was quickly silenced. My hands were clenched but they were sweating like it was the middle of summer; even though I felt like I was standing outside in the middle of winter.

Then it was silent. The silence stretched on. I thought it would last forever and that I would be frozen inside this winter for the rest of my life.

A tired whine reverberated through the room.

Then silence again.

The last bottle shone with a green light next to me. I stared at it in incomprehension for what could have been hours.

It was in the room, I thought glumly.

It was in the room.

I heard shuffling, it sounded as if someone was choking mere metres away from me. I tried to follow the sound, but failed.

Something, or someone, fell onto the ground beside me with a loud thud.

My eyes were wide open. Every sound, every breath, every single movement made me want to hide. I tried to say something, to scream. But I had been robbed of my voice.

Was I going to die?

Was this where it all ended?

I felt my legs grow weak. I wobbled on the spot.

Had I been good? Had I been what I should have been? Had I been something I could look back upon with pride?

Something purple flared to my left.

Then, nothing.

-()-

-Harry-

I stared at Hermione's and Ron's bodies. They were sitting unconscious in Umbridge's personal quarters. Lifeless like dolls.

"Renervate," I whispered twice, barely believing what I was seeing.

Their eyes snapped open like someone had fired a gunshot. Hermione tried to stand up but she trembled and had to sit down again. Ron was panting like he had been doing the plank for five hours.

"What happened?" I asked.

"She…" Hermione's lips quivered. "She… it's my fault Harry, it's all my fault. I told her. I told her."

Tears were streaming down Hermione's face. Rivers of realisation; leading to regret.

I hugged her softly. "It's okay, Hermione, everything is alright now."

The girl sobbed openly, letting it all out. "Did you save the day again?"

I grimaced bitterly and had to wipe my eyes at the sight of my two friends. Because they were just that, despite everything. "I have, Hermione. I can't help it."

Hermione started crying uncontrollably and tears were pouring out. Ron had fallen unconscious again. I extracted myself and left her to compose herself.

Time was the one cure to that awful spell.

There wasn't any cure to guilt, that I knew too well. She would have to live with that, as I did.

I opened the door and went inside the room filled with the black smoke. A wave of my wand and it disappeared like it had never been there in the first place.

Everyone blinked to adjust to the light. Then their gazes landed on me, one after one. Person after person.

I observed them all. The people previously bound were freed and the people previously freed were bound. How the turntables.

I met the eyes of Neville and gave him a nod. The brave boy was pale as a sheet and his eyes were sunken and gaunt.

Michael Corner approached me with a huge red mark on his left cheek. "Well done, Potter, we've won."

I pinned him with a stern look. "I don't think anyone has won today. This was a loss, for everyone involved."

He shrugged. "Then we at least lost less than they did."

"Perhaps."

My gaze flew over the room. It landed on a pair of blondes. Both of them were bound. Good way to start off my promise to Alice, I mused. Tying my betrothed up with magic.

Not that it seemed to matter. Greengrass' blue eyes were fixed on something beyond the world we lived in. She wasn't in the room.

Great, my wife was mad. I wasn't sure if that was better or worse compared to the previous.

The ferret had bared its teeth and were brandishing them on grand display. The ferret was harmless though, he couldn't hurt me.

I turned around to face the real problem. The woman clad in pink was lying on the floor with her hands bound. Silenced by the same spell as everyone else.

I levitated her to hover in the air in front of me. Her eyes fixed on me. She mouthed words yet no sound was heard. I glared at her back.

"You're lucky that we are not alone in here," I whispered slowly, so only the two of us could hear. I savoured every syllable; this was what power was. This was the good I could do. "I know what you did to Ron and Hermione." I had to restrain myself from doing things which I would later regret. "I will make sure you pay for that."

I heard two Hufflepuffs in my year snort next to me. My eyes snapped to them, concerned that they had heard what I had said. Their eyes were fixed on something behind me. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were brandishing grins too.

I turned around mechanically.

It felt like someone had put a boiler inside of me and lit it to the highest temperature. Corner was smiling broadly, levitating Daphne in the air like she was a feather in charms class.

However, that was not the only source of amusement, her face was that of a pig too.

I felt like a twig and like someone stepped on the twig and broke it in half.

"Concadcryst," I whispered and poured gasoline on the fire.

The bolt struck Corner in the chest with a satisfying impact.

Daphne dropped to the ground in an instant. Corner was now made of purple crystal. I stared at the creation. It was beautiful but also so ugly.

"What did you do, Harry?" Hermione had appeared in the doorframe, leaning on Ron.

"Noconcryst," I whispered and I witnessed Corner turn from brilliant purple crystal into his normal form.

Just like that, from dead to alive.

How easy it was for me to rule over death itself.

I cancelled Daphne's transfiguration without another glance at the girl.

A bolt emerged from my wand and stuck Corner, he absorbed it like a swamp. He started levitating and I pinned him to the wall with such force he would come down thinner than he was before.

"What do you think you were doing?" I said in barely repressed anger. I could feel the heat pouring out of me like it did the sun.

The Ravenclaw was sending daggers back at me through his brown eyes. "Justice," he said. "For Hogwarts. For Hogwarts' Army,"

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Hogwarts' what?" I asked, dangerously low.

"It is the group we formed," Hermione said hoarsely and gestured around the room. "To pass our OWLs."

"It seems like you did quite a few more things than pass your OWLs," I snapped. "I knew you were doing something but not…" I trailed off.

Hermione's eyes looked at the ground by my feet. I shook my head.

I shook my head in disappointment and glanced at my betrothed. She was lying against a chair, I saw a single tear streak down her now normal face. Malfoy was squirming like a madman on the floor, trying to get free.

I offered a hand to Greengrass. She stopped sniffing and stared at it. I could see her eyes surveying my own, blue as the sky. They saw the hand, and so much more. Greengrass ignored the hand and dragged herself to a standing position.

My attention returned to Corner. "For Hogwarts' you said?" I sneered at him. "You're a disgrace, attacking people who have been defeated for you, who were defenceless." I increased the intensity of my spell and Corner was pushed against the wall with more force.

"What about them?!" he asked with his eyes darting around in panic. "It wasn't only me! They did it too! They told me to do it!"

"No one has said a word since I cast the silence spell," I remarked. "How did they tell you? Telepathy?"

"Not now, but the other times!"

I let out a sharp breath. "You've been transfiguring and…bullying before?" I ground out with a glare which would have made Dumbledore take a step back.

"It wasn't only me!" he said hoarsely. "Everyone did it."

I looked around the room. On Neville. On Angelina. On Alicia. On Katie. On Ron. On Hermione.

Every single one of them refused to meet my eyes. I stared around desperately. This wasn't true. It couldn't be.

I met Hermione's eyes. "How…? Why?" I asked, almost staggering backwards.

"I'm sorry Harry…things…got out of hand," Hermione, or whoever she was, said desperately

I snorted without amusement and looked around at my friends with a sneer. "That's one way to put it."

"You're one to speak though!" Corner challenged. "You did exactly the same thing to her. Back then, you expected everyone to laugh and adore you. But when we do it it's…"

I stabbed my wand at him to silence him again. My lungs filled themselves with a deep breath, I released it slowly.

"I did," I admitted. "And it is one of the greatest mistakes I have ever made. If I could undo it, I would." I paused and looked around the room, but not at the person I should have looked at. "The thing is, I can't undo it, so I will have to live with making sure that it doesn't happen again."

I lowered Corner back down.. Every occupant stared at me, some were bound, some were free.

I thought.

How could this cycle ever be broken? Hate and discord was running rampant. I had to stop it.

The thing was, this wouldn't work. They wouldn't listen to me. One or two might, but most would never.

I would have to extend a hand; and just hope this one wasn't ignored too.

I did one flicking movement with my wand and every rope ceased to exist. The members of the inquisitorial squad came to their feet. People picked up their wands and pointed them at each other.

"If anyone fires a spell, I will personally make sure that the person doesn't leave the hospital wing once next year," I said calmly. Yet everyone heard me.

I gestured around the room. "What all of you have done this year is horrible."

People were beginning to protest and shout but I silenced them with an oppressive spell. "All of you, no one is excluded."

"What you have done is an embarrassment to this school, to the teachers and to the great founders."

I took a deep pause.

"That's why I won't deliver any justice. That's why I won't make you pay what you owe this castle," I spoke clearly. "This fight ends now. Whatever grudges you hold against each other, leave them here and now. Let them crumple and die."

People were clinging to my every word like they were their only safe way to survival. Still, I realised that simply telling them to become friends wouldn't work.

Just like Daphne and I could never become lovers tomorrow, the school couldn't be reconciled today.

I relaxed and felt the exhaustion hit me like a freight train. Malfoy had his wand clutched in his hand and was staring at me with an open mouth. I arched an eyebrow and he shut it firmly. Yet there was a glint in his eyes I couldn't decipher.

Perhaps even he had learned something?

Okay, that was a step too far.

Then a thought struck me. "Did you call yourselves 'Hogwarts' Army'?"

Hermione nodded. "It was Dumbledore's Army at first, but we changed it."

"Are you Hogwarts' Army though? To me it seems like only three fourths of the school has representation in your little club."

Hermione huffed tiredly. "Okay then, we only included members from the good houses, so we're really Hufflepuff's, Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's Army."

"No," I hissed. "You represent no one but yourselves. The founders would have been ashamed to have you in their houses." I glared at Corner. He wore her badge on his chest. I wanted to tear it off and stuff it down his throat and watch him choke for defiling her legacy.

"The castle wanted us to fight, I know it," Hermione said. "This was our responsibility, our path. We may have strayed from it, but we reached the same destination in the end. We had to win."

I shook my head. "No, you don't have any responsibilities to fight at all."

I started inside the fireplace of Umbridge's office and imagined doing the same in the room on the fourth floor.

"Sometimes," I began and surveyed the room like an eagle. "The best way to win a fight is to never start it."

There was an eternity of nothing, no one breathed, no one moved, no one spoke.

"You're wrong," Hermione said quietly.

My eyes pierced her and I could see her cower under my glare.

"You're wrong," she said again, this time with more conviction. "Do you want us to do nothing?" Hermione shook her head. "That is exactly what Umbridge, and Voldemort, would have wanted. For all of us to just give up and lay down our wands."

"If you pick a fight with them, you have already lost," I snapped. "The only reason you still aren't inside that room is because I came and saved all of you. I won't always be here, hell, I wasn't even here today, you are all just lucky beyond belief that I sacrificed my chance at success just to save your own enormous blunder." I shook my head in disgust. "The thing is, you didn't even fight, you bullied and preyed on people with their backs turned on you."

Hermione opened her mouth to retaliate but I silenced her with a staggering glare.

"Had none of you ever picked this fight to begin with, it never would have escalated the way it did. All of this could have been avoided."

"He's right," a female voice said next to me.

Greengrass was looking at Hermione with an unreadable expression.

"It is not only Umbridge's fault for everything that has happened this year."

Hermione narrowed her eyes on Greengrass. "Yet there was one side who started it…"

Greengrass smiled mockingly. "Indeed, I think we both know who left the first declaration of war in the corridors…"

I stepped between them. "This is what I am talking about." My eyes travelled the room and landed on each and every one inside. "This is a fight which you don't need to fight."

"Then we don't," Malfoy said and stood up from his chair. "At least not today."

I raised my eyebrows. How uncharacteristically mature. It seemed Malfoy was the leader of the inquisitorial squad because everyone started to lower their wands.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Everyone," I called to garner attention again. "Please, in the future, think about whether or not the fight needs to be fought. But also, please think about whether or not the fight is right to be fought."

-()-

-Draco-

Everywhere he went, he was seen. Potter moved like he ruled the world. And he did, for those minutes spent inside Umbridge's office.

I didn't want to say it, but I was impressed.

Impressed by Potter. I wouldn't admit that under the harshest of torture. No, never.

Yet the thought couldn't leave my mind. Everyone had kept their eyes locked on Potter like he was the centre of the world. No one dared look away. Not his friends. Not Daphne. Not me.

He shone like the sun.

That was how I wanted to be.

Potter spoke to Professor McGonagall and pointed to the aurors he had subdued.

Professor Sprout and the rest of the teachers had awakened and been on the scene minutes after Potter opened the door. A couple of minutes later, even more people arrived in red robes.

What would happen next, I would most likely never forget. It felt unreal, something out of a fairytale.

It was then I realised that Potter wasn't just some slightly talented wizard with some luck to him. No, he knew what he was doing.

A lump formed in my stomach. Was there a chance for him to win? No.

Yet seeing Potter arguing with the head of the department for magical law enforcement and leaving with a smug smile did something. It left doubt.

I compared him to the Dark Lord. Or what I knew of him.

Could the Dark Lord do what Potter had done a mere minute ago?

Could he make the most bitter of enemies become civil?

Potter had done that. Not through violence or through threats.

Or well, he had used some, but surprisingly few.

Potter had somehow managed to make me look at Corner and not glare at him too hard.

Corner still was a bastard though, I would never forgive him for all the times he had broken my friend's hands. Or what he had done to Daphne, time and time again.

Speaking of that girl, Daphne had been…odd.

No, that was not it. Daphne was normal. Too normal. I thought back to me hugging her and then pushing me away. That hurt more than any spell ever could.

The aurors questioned everyone in close detail. Umbridge was carried off in chains, so were the aurors who had been stationed here. I would ask my father to make sure none of them got off easily.

I could picture their mocking smiles as they tossed a first year's wand between them.

Perhaps Granger's group had tried to do some good things, I mused.

Tried being the key word here. I snorted, calling themselves Hogwarts' Army when one fourth was left out…

Still, they had tried to make Hogwarts whole. The inquisitorial squad couldn't claim that their goal had been the same thing.

Then and there, I made a decision:

I will make Hogwarts whole. Make it great.

Then, no one would ever go through what everyone went through this year again. If I never had to look at another student glance over their shoulder with fear shimmering in their eyes, I would be content.

-()-

-Harry-

I was on the verge of falling down and collapsing when Amelia Bones finally left me alone. The darkness of Britain had disappeared and dawn had taken its place. The first hints of light emerging from under the horizon.

A dawn for a new start at Hogwarts. So I hoped, at least. There was no telling now.

I could tell I had made an impression. No one made any move to fight after I let them out.

Hermione had looked shellshocked. I thought, and hoped, that she too realised that she had become the very thing she swore to destroy.

It was easy, wasn't it? To stoop down to the same level as your enemy when trying to defeat them.

I looked towards the fourth floor longingly but went to the headmaster's office instead. The gargoyle swung aside to allow me entry. Dumbledore hadn't been seen since he went off to his 'old friend'. Neither McGonagall nor Snape seemed to have any idea about it. Not that I believed that Snape would tell me, even if he knew.

Seeing Snape felt strange. I hadn't talked to him for a year. His jibes and comments never even touched me now, every comment was obliterated like the sun obliterated everything which came close.

I looked around the office. It was empty. Except for one item on his desk. It was a letter. The writing looked oddly familiar yet I couldn't place it.

Stop these attempts, boy. You won't succeed.

I stared at it for a couple of moments. Who would ever address Dumbledore as 'boy'?" Perhaps it was an old letter. I put it back on the desk.

I stepped into the fireplace in his office.

"Paris!" I enunciated clearly. One down. Just a couple more to go. It was time to face the music. It was time to complete this dance, too.

-()-

I stepped outside to be greeted by a tired orange sun. The glow was calm and comfortable. Not a single soul was in sight. This was peace. The sun observed me warmly; I smiled warmly back.

I had made the right decision, I had made a difference.

I had also thought rationally, even my master would be satisfied.

This was me, I mused in an idyllic world. Liquid laughter coursed through my veins, I believed I could fly. I knew success. I had achieved my goal. I stopped in my tracks and let out a deep breath. This was what one had to stop and enjoy, these were the moments one had to savour.

It had came upon me like a small kitten. I could neither hear it nor feel it before it was upon me. Yet it was something I would never wish to lose, something soft and sweet and needed to be saved.

It was the little moments like this, when one could only bask in the sunlight of success, that one lived life.

I resumed my walk.

I touched the clouds and reached for the stars. Surpassing them.

No one met me on my way and I remained behind my rideau of riches.

That was why it was so hard for me to understand why the tent I had left hours earlier wasn't there anymore.

That was why it was so hard for me to understand why there was only a pile of ash in its place.

That was why it was so hard for me to understand why Chaviet was standing a couple of metres away with an old man, crying.

I stared at the ashes. I saw a steely glint. Bending down and picking it up, I saw what it was.

A silver phoenix, charred around the edges.