Ch 16 in which the thickening plot reaches a boiling point...
– 16 –
The Actor
The curtain rises on the scene
With someone chanting to be free
The play unfolds before my eyes
There stands the actor who is me
- The Moody Blues
o o
o
"By now you have heard the Ministry's new policy on underage wand use," Snape said, scowling down on the sixth year N.E.W.T. students. "Since this only applies to those who have miraculously achieved O.W.L. status in a wanded subject, you are the primary beneficiaries of this exception. The Minister of Magic intends for you to be able to defend yourself in dire circumstances, and I do not wish to hear of any of my students taking frivolous advantage and causing the rest of you to lose this opportunity. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," chorused the class, a mix of all four houses. Hermione caught Harry's eye and mouthed a silent thank you for she was one of only a few who knew how the new ruling came to be.
"On your feet and wands out," continued the surly professor of defense. "Let us see if your laziness over the holiday break has caused you to forget your lessons of last term."
o o o
That evening, the sixth year Gryffindors were gathered around the notice board.
"Apparation lessons!" cried Ron. "About time! I'll be of age in a couple months and I'd like to annoy the twins just like they did us."
He and Hermione drifted back to the couch in front of the fire where Harry was revising his transfiguration notes from Fall.
"What about you, Harry? You're not doing the lessons with us?"
"No, Mad-Eye is taking me to the Ministry on Saturday to get my license; he reckons I've got it down now."
Hermione plopped down, fidgeting with her bushy locks. "Was it terribly difficult?"
"Once you get past the 'Oh Merlin I'm squeezing myself into nothingness and popping out somewhere entirely different' mindset, it's not so bad. I think it helped that Dumbledore took me along the first time; I knew what the feeling was like. I reckon he expected me to spew all over his travelling cloak."
"I wouldn't fancy going to the Ministry right now, myself…"
Harry ran his hand through his already messy hair. "Yeah, well, Mad-Eye said I owe the Minister a favor."
o o o
Two wizards appeared with a loud crack in a cold rubbish-strewn alley.
"Arrival in London," said Mad-Eye Moody, "and my peg leg is attached this time. Full marks, Potter."
"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"
"Probably not," Mad-Eye said with a grin, even as his magical eye roved the area for possible threats.
"It was my first side-along!" Harry protested. "At least I didn't splinch any limbs or anything. And you were fully dressed otherwise."
"Miracles never cease. Look sharp, now, head for that call box across the street, but you probably remember that."
Harry recalled the last time he had come to the Ministry, and he suddenly wished he hadn't thought about how he's led his friends into a trap and gotten his godfather killed.
Although the neighboring dumpster wasn't overflowing this time, the surroundings were still rundown and the vandalized call box shouted "not worth your time, move along" as if a natural Muggle repelling charm was on it.
They both squeezed inside and performed the usual ritual - pressing the numbers that spelled M-A-G-I-C, responding to the cool ladies' voice, and soon Harry was sporting a square silver badge that announced he was receiving his apparation license.
The telephone box became a rickety lift which lowered them into the grand hall that was the Ministry Atrium. Fortunately it wasn't crowded on Saturday, yet Harry tried to remain inconspicuous. He pushed down memories as they passed the restored Fountain of Magical Brethren. At the security check-in point, he was careful to present his holly phoenix wand for inspection. Harry could only imagine the reaction if it was discovered he was also carrying the infamous Elder Wand of legend.
"You ready for this, lad?" Mad-Eye asked as they stepped through one of the golden grilles into a Ministry lift.
Harry shrugged. "Not really, but I'll get through it."
He barely listened as the voice announced Level Seven, then Level Six - Department of Magical Transportation, which housed the Apparation Test Center. Once there, Harry filled out the required questionnaire, supplemented by positive testimony from Mad-Eye, and he subsequently proved that he was capable of instantaneous transportation from one point to the next.
In no time at all, he had an elegantly scripted card that signified he was legally able to apparate within the British Isles.
"When you reach your age of majority, you may apparate across national boundaries, but most countries require you to arrive at officially designated ports of entry."
"Of course," said Harry. "Thanks."
Mad-Eye opened the door to leave, looking back at Harry. "Show time."
Harry rolled his eyes and walked out. There in the corridor was Minister Rufus Scrimgeour and a small group of reporters. Harry was glad to see that Rita Skeeter was not among them.
"My, my, what a surprise," said the Minister, although the assembly looked more eager than surprised. "The Boy-Who-Lived joining us here. Mr. Potter, we were just discussing security improvements to the floo network, ironically at the same time you are the first to take advantage of our accelerated Apparation Licensure program."
Harry knew this was his cue. "Yes, sir. Thank you for allowing the O.W.L. students this opportunity. It could easily save someone's life in a desperate situation."
"Well said, well said."
"Mr. Potter!" called a reporter. "Jonathan Twist, Daily Prophet. Could you describe what action you might take should you meet You-Know-Who in person?"
Harry frowned. This was the guy who disparaged his actions with Katie Bell in Hogsmeade. "Probably the same as I've always done, do my best to defend myself and pray for a miracle."
"You make it sound like this is a regular occurrence!"
"Well, he did try to kill me three times in my first year alone."
"Could you elaborate on that?" Swift replied, incredulous.
"He had possessed one of our professors. No one was aware of it until it was over."
The Minister tried to move to safer topics. "I'm sure Mr. Potter could regale us all day with his heroics, but does anyone have a question that does not involve He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
A pert woman spoke, "Wendy Wiles, Witch Weekly, Mr. Potter. There is much speculation in our readership as to any significant others in your life. Are you still in a close relationship with Hermione Granger?"
Harry snorted. "Hermione is one of my closest friends and I love her like a sister. Some of you want to make that into something it's not. Let me just say that if I was in a romantic relationship, I wouldn't want it splashed all over the media. Right now, I'm too busy with N.E.W.T. classes and Quidditch."
"What about rumors that you've been seeing the daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood?"
Trying to avoid rolling his eyes, Harry replied, "Again, we're good friends. She provides a refreshing perspective on things, but we are not going out, if that's what you're asking."
The Minister smiled as the reporters continued to pester Harry with all manner of personal questions that really were no one's business. Eventually he reigned them in.
"I believe Mr. Potter has places to be, as do we, ladies and gentlemen. If we could proceed this way…"
As the group shuffled away, Harry leaned toward Mad-Eye. "I suppose that could have been worse."
"And it's about to be," he muttered in reply.
"Hem, hem."
Harry nearly jumped as a squat, toad-faced woman stood simpering behind him.
"I hope you enjoyed your little show, Potter," Delores Umbridge said with an odd mixture of faked sweetness and venom. "Because of your lies, I've been demoted to clerk in this department. Once it is shown what is what, you will regret your nasty accusations."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "How come you're not in Azkaban?"
"I'll make it easy for your simple mind to understand, Potter. I am not an inferior half-blood like yourself. My father was on the Wizengamot and I'm related to the Selwyns and many other families of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."
With his arm pointed toward Umbridge, Harry heard the Elder Wand's angry squeal, meaning she was lying somehow. "So your parents were upstanding citizens of wizarding society?"
"Of course they were!"
Harry glared at her. "Shame they didn't pass that on to you."
He turned and left her fuming, Mad-Eye smirking along behind.
o o o
They appeared before the gates of Hogwarts School with another loud crack of apparation.
"Well done, Potter," Mad-Eye complimented. "A cautionary word - that Umbridge woman can be dangerous; be careful around her."
"Oh, I know, she's already tried to snuff me and curse me enough. Hey, do you suppose she really is a pureblood? Something tells me she was pulling one on us."
"Is that so? Might be worth looking into."
"I reckon it would be. Thanks for all your help, Mad-Eye, it means a lot. See you next week?"
"Bet on it. And no worries, I've enjoyed it myself. Take care, lad."
With that, the old Auror spun and disapparated. Harry opened the gate and strolled toward the castle.
o o o
True to his word, Harry stayed very busy over the next few weeks with classes and preparing his team for the Quidditch match up with Hufflepuff in March. Whenever Malfoy was nowhere near the seventh floor, Harry would try to guess how he was using the Room of Requirement.
"I've tried everything I can think of," he complained to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "I've asked for every combination of Draco's Room and his secret hiding place or workroom or whatever, and no door ever appears. I've even tried to sneak in after him with the cloak, but I'm always too slow. The Room won't let me curse him once his door is in place."
"It must be something in the way he asks for the Room," speculated Hermione. "You'll just have to keep trying."
Harry agreed, but the frustration wore on him.
Before he knew it, Valentine's Day was upon them, and he hadn't ordered anything for Ginny. She had been busy as well and forgot to remind him. It was a Friday, and Harry knew they both had a long midday break between classes. Fortunately, he could be very creative under pressure.
He and Ginny were lagging behind Ron and Hermione on their way to breakfast. "Room of Requirement, right after I leave transfiguration."
Ginny smiled and nodded with anticipation.
Harry received several cards and packages of dubious origin with the morning post. He levitated them into a pile on his empty plate and unceremoniously torched them all.
While Ginny hid her laughter, Ron and Hermione were aghast.
"You might have appreciated some of those, Harry!"
"You're kidding, right? Have you forgotten that Vane girl already?"
o o o
Harry was watching the Marauder's Map so that no one would see him open the door as Ginny approached. She waited until they were safely inside before she spoke.
"Okay, I like surprises, Harry, but why are we standing in a hut? And is this bamboo?"
"All will be revealed when you open the other door, milady."
"So I'm Queen Guinevere again? How sweet… are we… oh… oh, Harry…"
She stood in the doorway, awestruck at the view.
"Welcome to our Valentine's Day paradise."
Outside Hogwarts school, it was a cold and blustery day. This was exactly the opposite.
Warm sunlight filtered through a canopy of palm trees, framing a sandy beach surrounding a small lagoon beyond. To one side, a picturesque waterfall tumbled off a sheer rock face covered with lush green vines. Dense tropical forest enclosed the entire scene.
"Harry!" Ginny hooked her arms around his neck and gave him a fierce kiss, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "This is amazing! How did you think of a place this beautiful?"
Harry was relieved that she was pleased. "Saw it in a travel magazine once. Looked like a wonderful getaway."
Ginny refused to dampen the mood by thinking just why Harry longed for a getaway. She grabbed his hand and tugged him out onto the beach, kicking off her shoes. She dipped her toes in the shallows.
"Ooh, the water's perfect, Harry. Please tell me we have swimming costumes."
"This is the Room of Requirement, Gin," Harry smirked. "Just go back in the hut and think of what you want. I've already got mine on." He slipped out of his robes and struck a pose, displaying his well-toned body in nothing but a black pair of trunks.
Ginny stared at him hungrily for a moment, then gave him a mischievous grin. "I'll be right back."
She ducked back into the hut and reappeared a couple of minutes later in a leopard print one piece that gave the impression of two intertwining strips of fabric clinging to the curves of her body. Although her bits were covered, it was downright scandalous how much bare skin was on display.
It was Harry's turn to gawk. "Gin… That's just… wow!"
She did a slow pirouette. "I was feeling the jungle cat working here, so, you like?"
Harry nodded. "Very much. How about a swim?"
"I'm game."
"If you're Game, then I'm Hunter."
Ginny laughed, glad Harry was able to get silly. "You have to catch me first!"
She sprinted past his reaching arms and dove into the deeper water. A few strokes and she was nearly at the waterfall. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her ankle and pulled her under.
She sprung back to the surface, trapped in Harry's embrace. "How'd you manage to catch me?"
"I apparated - the Room allows it, but only in here."
"That's cheating, Potter!"
"Mad-Eye says if you're not cheating, you're not really trying."
"Smart man," Ginny replied, snaking her hands up into his wet locks and pulling him down for a long, luxurious snog. After a few minutes of desperate reacquainting with each other's lips, Ginny was driven apart from him, showered by a furious deluge of water.
"Harry!" she spluttered, gasping for breath.
The shower suddenly ceased, and still in Harry's arms, Ginny saw a rock wall behind him. A curtain of plunging water separated them from the lagoon.
"Harry, only you would bring me to a sunny paradise and then hide us in a dark grotto behind a waterfall."
"More intimate this way," he said, nuzzling her neck.
"Ooh, that tickles," she giggled. "That's fine for now, but I want to swim some too before lunch. And remember, our costumes stay on."
"As you wish, milady."
o o o
They were both ravenous by the time Harry ordered a delightful picnic via Dobby, who got into the spirit by wearing oversized flip-flops, an outlandish island shirt, and a stack of brightly colored hats.
"Thank you for all this, Harry," Ginny said as they held hands afterward, sunning on the beach. "I never dreamed we could have a tropical vacation between classes."
"We've both been working really hard, so I thought it would be a nice break." Harry rolled over and wrapped his arm over her.
"Ginny, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's like I'm living someone else's life, and I don't ever want to lose this."
She turned into his embrace. "Whether we're on a tropical beach or stuck in a Scottish blizzard, you will always have me, Harry. If I'm not in your arms, then you'll be right here," she added, placing his hand on her heart.
"And you will be in mine," he said, kissing her tenderly. "I'm sorry I didn't get you flowers or a cute rhyming card…"
She wrinkled her nose. "I was eleven, Harry, please don't remind me of that."
"But it was sweet - the first one I'd ever had."
"What do they say - it's the thought that counts?"
"Exactly. So we have a special Valentine's Day memory instead."
"Which I will always treasure. I hate to leave you, but I've got Snape's class coming up. What will you do after I've gone?"
"Well, this is really nice here, but it won't be the same without you to share it. Maybe I'll check on the items we stored last term; make sure they haven't turned into Mini-Morts when we weren't looking."
Ginny guffawed, "Mini-Morts!?"
"Dehumanizing the monster, Mad-Eye calls it. Makes it easier to think about the task at hand, without… you know…"
Ginny was proud of how Harry was dealing with knowledge of the prophecy. "I'm really glad he's helping you, Harry. You've grown so much. Ron and Hermione have noticed as well. Merlin help any Mort-minions that get in your way."
"Oh, good one, Gin," Harry laughed, "Mad-Eye will love that. Mort-minions."
He was still chuckling to himself after they dressed and he sent Ginny off to Defense class. He thought about the Room of Hidden Things and once more gazed in wonder at the cathedral teeming with teetering piles of ancient cast-offs. They really should try to sort some of this after the war.
He set off down the aisles as he remembered them, looking for their footprints in the dust. But more footprints were here than should have been. The Room had not been unused since they had placed the Horcruxes.
Suddenly anxious, he quickened his pace. Thankfully nothing looked any different around the cupboard hiding the locket of Slytherin and the tiara believed to be Ravenclaw's Diadem. He placed both of them into a silk bag and secured them inside his robes.
He retraced his steps and noticed the floor was essentially clean of dust surrounding the old vanishing cabinet. With furrowed brow, he spelled the cabinet to open and spied a small feathery shape on the floor - a dead bird. Someone had been experimenting here.
"Malfoy," he growled.
o o o
"Everlasting Gobstoppers!" Harry called out the password as he jogged toward the stone gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. It jumped to the side as Harry took the steps two at a time, not waiting for the escalator. He barely slowed to open the door even as Dumbledore called for him to enter.
"Headmaster! I've discovered what Draco Malfoy is doing in the Room of Requirement!"
Dumbledore listened as Harry described what he had just seen.
"Ingenious," the Headmaster mused, stroking his beard. "An entrance within the castle, unknown and unguarded."
"He's obviously planning an attack, sir. We need to get Mad-Eye here."
"While I admit that is a likely scenario, we cannot assume that is the only possibility. And before we call the Aurors, we should deal with those items you just retrieved."
"Yes, sir." Harry saw the logic in keeping the Horcruxes secret, so he removed the silk bag and emptied its contents onto Dumbledore's desk. The headmaster stared at them intently and began to wave his wand over them.
He slowly shook his head. "Priceless treasures, corrupted by Tom into abominations that must be rendered useless to free them."
"There's no way to remove the Horcrux and leave them intact?"
"In all my extensive research - and there is very little actual information about these - I have not found a way. Sadly, the only way forward sometimes seems backward."
Dumbledore stood and pressed his wand to the glass door that framed the Sword of Gryffindor. It opened and he removed the weapon carefully, laying it beside the objects fated for destruction.
"If you would do the honors? The diadem seems straightforward enough."
"Will Voldemort know we're doing this?" worried Harry.
"He has been separated from them for so long, I do not believe he has maintained any physical link to them."
Harry stared at the gleaming silver blade, Gryffindor's name just visible in the reflection, knowing that one scratch could be as fatal as the basilisk bite he had suffered. He briefly wondered if Fawkes' tears would still protect him after all this time. Best not to tempt fate any more than he already had.
With a deep intake of breath, he wrapped his fingers around the ruby-encrusted hilt and lifted the sword. It seemed larger when he was twelve. He aligned it above the beautiful relic and hoped that Rowena Ravenclaw would not haunt his dreams after performing this sacrilege. But then, he was really undoing someone else's sacrilege.
He hoisted the blade and brought it down in a sharp chop on the center of the diadem.
The silver band split completely in two, the oval sapphire cracked, and an unearthly wail emanated from a stream of black smoke that poured from the break.
"That's the same that happened to the snake in Godric's Hollow," Harry murmured.
"That would indicate our success. Now, the locket must be opened first, and it will respond only to your command."
Harry looked up. "You mean -"
"The locket belonged to Slytherin, Harry."
Of course, he would have to speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes. Harry stared at the locket, which began to vibrate, as if it knew its demise was imminent. He focused on the stylized S on the cover, inlaid with emeralds, and imagined it as a live reptile.
"Open," he hissed.
The locket halves clicked and hinged apart, and Harry was startled to see a pair of handsome eyes blinking back at him. White mist rose from the eyes and figures appeared.
Ginny stood before them, smiling radiantly in a form-fitting white wedding gown.
But she was not alone. Dressed in elegant dress robes, Cormac McClaggen stood holding her in his long arms.
"I'm sorry," Ginny was saying through the fog that suddenly clouded Harry's brain, "I was going to wait for you, but Cormac is so tall and handsome, it was easy to say yes when he asked first."
While Ginny spoke, Cormac began nuzzling her neck and his hands were undoing her dress in the back. Ginny responded rapturously, molding her body to his and returning the kiss, then she began removing his robes as well.
"NO!" Harry cried and brought the sword crashing down upon the source of the vile apparition, and the locket's death was no less dramatic than the diadem's.
Harry collapsed into the chair, his chest heaving, the sword falling to the floor with a clang.
After a moment, Dumbledore broke the silence. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I seem to have lost my senses for a minute or so. Were you able to finish off the locket?"
Harry stared open-mouthed at the headmaster, then nodded appreciatively. "Yeah. I did. I reckon we can call the Aurors now?"
"Yes, it is time." Dumbledore magically levitated the ruined Horcruxes to a hidden door below the one that held the sword. "Harry, should something happen to me, you will have access to my office and this cupboard in particular. You must retrieve its contents and protect them lest they fall into the wrong hands. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
o o o
"Looks like the twin to the one in Borgin's shop," Mad-Eye said as he inspected the vanishing cabinet. "If the boy got it working, he could allow all sorts of chaos into the school."
"I find no conclusive evidence that Mr. Malfoy was the responsible party here," said Dumbledore. "He has been well coached it seems."
"Does that mean he'll get off, just like when he nearly killed Katie Bell?"
"Again, we have nothing but suspicions, Harry."
"But I've seen him come in here, and we know he was talking to Mr. Borgin!"
"Which unfortunately is all circumstantial. And from the descriptions of this space from you and Alastor, it can become almost anything, not necessarily this particular room."
Mad-Eye grunted. "But nothing's preventing me from confiscating this contraption and removing the danger to the school, regardless of who the perpetrator is."
"I agree that will be an appropriate course of action," said Dumbledore, "but we should be prepared for consequences."
"Constant vigilance, laddie!"
"Yes, sir."
"Now, since I'm already here, we could run through some scenarios I was planning for tomorrow evening. Albus might want to see how well you've done on that shield breaker spell."
"Oh, yes," Dumbledore beamed. "Carry on, gentlemen."
o o o
"So I won't have 'detention' tomorrow night," Harry explained to his friends that evening. "But we need to be careful of Malfoy - the ferret will go on a rampage when he finds out we've messed up his plans."
"Or he might be more subtle with his vengeance," said Hermione, thinking hard. "You cannot go anywhere alone, Harry."
Harry hadn't considered that possibility. "You guys think they may be after me?"
"Surely he wouldn't try anything by himself," said Ginny.
"Yeah," said Ron, "he is a Slytherin, after all, even if he's not a very good one."
"But if he was successful in creating an entry point for a large group of Death Eaters," reasoned Hermione, "you could easily have been a target, Harry."
"Yeah, I reckon I heard Mad-Eye yell 'Constant Vigilance' a dozen times tonight."
o o o
Harry kept an eye on the Marauder's Map all weekend. Sunday afternoon he saw Malfoy's dot moving on the seventh floor, then disappear.
"He's in the room; he knows," he murmured to Ron, trying to ignore his chess pieces berating him for lack of concentration. They nodded to Hermione and Ginny that Draco Malfoy was to be avoided as much as possible.
Malfoy did not appear for dinner in the Great Hall, and his friends seemed out of sorts. Crabbe and Goyle, perennial henchmen, kept their heads down, while Pansy Parkinson, Milicent Bulstrode, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott - the remainder of Malfoy's core group - kept glancing at Harry and his friends with poorly disguised malice.
"If looks could kill…" chuckled Ron.
"We'd all be dead multiple times over," finished Hermione. "Which only reinforces that we need to be careful."
"We should spread the word through Gryffindor and to the old D.A.," Ron said.
Hermione smiled. "Good thinking. I'll start on that as we finish dinner."
Harry wasn't too worried. The other Slytherins wouldn't start anything without Malfoy, and according to the map, he was still in the Slytherin dorms.
o o o
Malfoy finally made an appearance in Defense Against the Dark Arts. His face wore a permanent scowl, targeting Harry and his friends whenever he had a chance.
Knowing a confrontation was a real possibility, Snape kept them occupied on opposite sides of the room. Harry gave him a nod in appreciation when Snape caught his eye. Snape's only response was to lift one eyebrow and continue the class.
The very next afternoon Harry was in the library studying the Marauders Map and noticed Malfoy lurking near the sixth floor landing, all alone. He sauntered over to the table where Ginny was revising with Luna.
"Alright there, ladies?"
"Hello, Harry," Luna said dreamily, "the wrackspurts are leaving you alone lately."
Harry tried to ignore Ginny's smirk. "Yeah, thanks for checking, Luna. May I sit for a minute?"
They briefly made small talk about classes, then Harry looked pointedly at Ginny. "Sixth floor landing. He's waiting. I need you to fetch Dumbledore. I'll watch to make sure no one follows you before I engage."
"You're sure about this?" Ginny said with concern.
"I need to end it before he goes after someone else. I'll stay with Luna for a minute if you want to go ahead."
Ginny nodded and packed her parchment and quills. "We'll meet up later, yeah?"
"You bet," Harry said, continuing the pretense of casual conversation, just in case the Slytherins were watching.
As Ginny walked away, Luna gave him a far away look. "An ending and a beginning await you, Harry Potter, and a dark road. The light will find you along the way."
Harry mulled on her words for a moment. "I don't suppose you could explain that?"
"Not really, I feel things rather than see them. However, I am honored to join in another of your nefarious plots."
"You're welcome, Luna, just don't say anything to anyone. Our plots are meant to scuttle other nefarious plots."
"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that."
o o o
Outside the library, Harry ducked under his invisibility cloak and made his way toward the other end of the sixth floor, watching Ginny's progress. After ensuring she made it to the headmaster's office, he tucked the map and cloak away and walked deliberately toward the spot where Malfoy remained in hiding. He held the Elder Wand behind his book bag, casually sweeping the corridor.
As he approached the main staircase, the Elder Wand sounded a mental alert - danger lay in wait behind a suit of armor, a handy location to ambush someone coming from either direction or on the stairs.
Internally on high alert, Harry maintained his focused stride as he passed.
Any time now…
The Elder Wand emitted a loud wail in Harry's head, and he swung around forming a shield just in time to block a bone-breaker aimed at his spine. Had it hit, he would likely have been crippled for life.
He responded with a blasting curse at the suit of armor, eliminating Malfoy's cover.
"Nice strategy for a coward, Malfoy," yelled Harry. "Debilitating spell in the back, one and done, assuming you didn't get caught."
The Slytherin stepped out of his alcove, covered in bloody shrapnel scratches from exploded armor.
"Anyone can tell I'm the victim here, Potter. Look at what you've done to me!"
"Very Slytherin of you, but it will be easy to prove you attacked first. You won't be getting away with this, and we'll confirm you got that necklace to Katie Bell and set up an illegal access to Hogwarts."
"You've got nothing on me!"
"What were they coming for, Malfoy? Did they want to take me to your new boss?"
Malfoy took a step forward, a crazed look in his eyes. "You? You think you're so important - Perfect Potter -"
"So it wasn't me? Was it the headmaster? Other hostages?"
"You don't know anything -"
"You're right. I don't know why a proud Malfoy would bow down to a mere half-blood who preaches blood purity but really only cares about power, and lackeys to help him achieve it."
Malfoy leveled his wand. "You dare insult the Dark Lord!"
"Not really, just repeating what he's told me when we've met before, right before I handed him his arse!"
"You lie!" Malfoy began firing hexes - cutting, blasting, others not usually lethal but potentially very damaging.
Harry shielded and dodged. "You forget that I saw him reborn - he was really disgusting before that, not even human - and your father worships that thing!"
"Don't speak about my father that way!" More curses came Harry's way.
"Why not?" Harry replied, parrying everything Malfoy sent.
"You have no idea what it's like - to be surrounded by power of his kind - you would be a fool to disobey him!" Malfoy redoubled his efforts, throwing many borderline dark curses.
"Is that what he promised you - power? You really think he will share?" Harry began firing more offensive hexes - stunners and cutters - when he could dodge instead of shield.
"I'm not doing this for me!" Malfoy was relentless, if uninspired with his spells. He was a decent fighter, but Harry was faster.
"Let me guess - he's threatening your parents -"
"You wouldn't understand - at least I have parents!"
"At least mine weren't scumbags -"
With an angry shout, Malfoy slashed his wand and a volley of silver darts hurled towards Harry, who quickly transfigured them to a swarm of angry bees intent on harassing Malfoy. The Slytherin couldn't vanish them all quickly enough, so he tried burning them in flight.
When a dark blue fire curse singed his robes, Harry had enough. No new information would come from Malfoy at this point. Harry was trained by a Master Auror, he held the most powerful wand ever made, and he'd survived toe to toe with Lord Voldemort - there was no way he would let this snivelling ferret land anything on him!
Harry began blasting him with bombarding spells, alternating with shield breakers and disarming spells. Malfoy couldn't replace his shield fast enough, so he began moving wildly around the corridor and landing. Harry spaced them out, but the Slytherin ran and dodged like a man possessed.
Seeing this, Harry sent his spells in a pattern taught by Mad-Eye Moody, fast enough and random enough that there was no possible way he could avoid them all -
Then beyond Malfoy, on the stair landing, Harry spotted an oddity through his spellfire - a flurry of purple and… feet? - no, surely his eyes were playing tricks…
Malfoy was finally caught by a strong Expelliarmus - one of many - and his wand flew away over the railing while his body crashed painfully into the wall.
Ignoring Malfoy for the moment, Harry rushed to the stair landing and peered down, tried to blink away the dreadful scene, and it wasn't working.
A vision from his worst nightmare, twisted and broken on the flagstones six floors below, blood soaking his purple robes and pooling around him, lay Albus Dumbledore - open eyes vacant but accusing - looking up at Harry the murderer, for it was his spell that sent the headmaster tumbling to his death.
Draco Malfoy managed to pick himself up and limp over beside Harry, surveying the tableau with a chuckle.
"Perfect Potter, hah! - the Dark Lord may want to recruit you after all, doing his dirty work for him."
Harry was too much in shock to fully register the words.
"Have fun in Azkaban, scarhead," Malfoy said with a contemptuous sneer. He shuffled to the staircase and departed to the safe haven of the dungeons, hoping to find his wand along the way.
Azkaban! Harry shuddered; there was no way he could save himself from this travesty - if they could bring a full trial against him for underage magic, he would soon be residing in his godfather's old cell if certain people had their way.
Life was ironic that way.
Harry was cognizant enough to notice Snape rushing to Dumbledore's side, verifying the obvious. The professor quickly searched the upper reaches of the hall and his eyes found Harry.
Harry knew this would be the moment his freedom came to an end; Snape would certainly bind him and haul him to the Ministry himself if he had to.
Snape gave him a sour look and shot a spell in his direction, but it was silvery and didn't behave like a typical curse - almost like an animal was climbing towards him. It was a Patronus, realized Harry, curiously in the shape of a doe.
But Harry had no time to ponder this strange conundrum, for the doe apparition stopped directly before him and furtively uttered a single clipped word in Snape's distinctive voice:
"Run."
o