Chapter 36. The Night of Cold Winter
"Professor Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said, "Potter had... had a nightmare. He says..."
"It wasn't a nightmare," Harry interrupted.
Professor McGonagall turned to him and frowned slightly.
"Alright, Potter, tell the Headmaster yourself," she said.
"I... I was actually asleep," Harry said.
He was horrified and desperately wanted to explain everything to Dumbledore. The Headmaster was looking at him with an overly calm demeanor, and his calmness inspired Harry.
"But it wasn't a normal dream... it was actually... I saw it happen..." He took a deep breath. "Ron's dad, Mr. Weasley, was attacked... someone... I couldn't see who it was, just a silhouette... and I heard a voice. It was like a girl's voice?"
The words echoed in the room and sounded somewhat absurd, even funny. There was a pause; Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, but didn't take his eyes off Harry. Ron, pale and shaken, switched his gaze between Harry and Dumbledore.
"How did you see this?" Dumbledore calmly asked.
"I don't know..." Harry angrily replied (does it even matter?). "Well, in my mind, I guess..."
"You misunderstood me," Dumbledore said just as calmly. "I'm asking if you remember where you witnessed this attack. Were you standing next to the victim or did you see it from above?"
The question startled Harry; he stared at the Headmaster in astonishment, as if he already knew everything...
"I was like a snake, in a way. I saw it through its eyes."
A hush fell over the room. Then Dumbledore, now looking at Ron, asked sharply:
"Is Arthur seriously injured? What did the attacker do to him?"
"Yes. He was stabbed... in the chest... with knives," Harry answered, not believing his own words, and noticed Ron take a deep gulp and then cover his face with his hands.
Dumbledore got up with such suddenness that Harry flinched. The Headmaster turned to one of the portraits hanging on the wall near the ceiling.
"Edward!" he commanded authoritatively. "And you, Dalis!"
The wizard with a pale face and short black bangs, and his neighbor, an elderly witch with long silver curls that looked like they had been tightly asleep, instantly opened their eyes.
"Have you been listening?" Dumbledore asked.
The wizard nodded, the witch said, "Of course."
"He's ginger, wearing glasses," Dumbledore said. "Edward, you need to sound the alarm and make sure our people find him... Wake up Scrimgeour, it's his part."
Both nodded and walked sideways out of their frames, but didn't appear on the adjacent portraits (as was usual at Hogwarts), they simply disappeared. One picture was left with only the backside - a black curtain, and on another one, a beautiful leather armchair. Harry noticed that other directors and headmistresses, who had been peacefully dozing and snoring just moments ago, were now sneakily glancing at him from under half-closed eyelids. It was now clear who the unseen voices belonged to.
"Edward and Dalis were the most celebrated Heads of Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, swiftly passing by the guests towards the magnificent bird asleep near the door. "They were so well-known that their portraits hang in many important wizarding establishments. They can freely move between their own portraits and can therefore inform us about what's happening in other places."
"But Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" Harry said.
"Please have a seat, all three of you," said Dumbledore, as if he hadn't heard him. "Edward and Dailyus may be a few minutes late. Professor McGonagall, please summon the chairs."
Professor McGonagall took out her wand from her robe pocket and waved it. Three wooden chairs materialized out of thin air, with straight backs, unlike the comfortable armchairs Dumbledore conjured at the Ministry when Harry's case was being heard. Harry sat down and watched Dumbledore over his shoulder. Dumbledore ran his finger on Fawkes's golden crested head. The phoenix immediately woke up, lifted his beautiful head, and stared at Dumbledore with shiny dark eyes.
"We will need a warning," Dumbledore said calmly to the bird. In a flash of flame, the phoenix disappeared.
Dumbledore swiftly walked up to one of the slender silver devices (whose purpose Harry still did not know), moved it onto the table, and sat down. He lightly tapped the device with the end of his wand.
With a rhythmic ringing sound, the device came to life, and little pale green smoke rings emerged from the top silver tube. The headmaster stared intently at the smoke, with a deep frown between his brows. After a few seconds, the smoke started coming out in a steady stream, thickening and swirling in the air... and soon a snake's head with an open mouth emerged from it. "Could this be confirmation of my story?", Harry thought and looked at Dumbledore, hoping to see in his face that it was. But Dumbledore did not raise his head.
"Certainly, certainly," he murmured, still watching the smoke without the slightest surprise. "But are the essences separated?"
The question puzzled Harry. Meanwhile, the smoky snake instantly turned into two snakes, both coiling and twisting in semi-darkness. With a look of dark satisfaction, Dumbledore lightly tapped the device with his wand; the ringing sound slowed down and stopped, the smoky snakes paled, dissipated in the air, and disappeared.
"Professor McGonagall, please bring Mr. Fujimaru here," Dumbledore said kindly.
Dumbledore moved the device back onto the narrow table. Harry noticed that many of the former headmasters in the portraits had been watching him, but as soon as they realized Harry was looking at them, they immediately pretended to be asleep. Harry wanted to ask what the strange silver device was for, but at that moment, a cry came from the right under the ceiling: a wizard named Edward, slightly out of breath, appeared back in his frame.
"Dumbledore!
"What's the news?" Dumbledore responded immediately.
"I shouted until someone came," the wizard said, wiping his sweaty forehead on the curtain hanging behind him. "I said I heard some movement downstairs... They didn't believe me at first, but they went down to check... You know, there's no one down there to watch - there are no portraits. In short, a few minutes later Rufus Scrimgeour arrived with the Aurors. They turned everything upside down."
McGonagall appeared in the doorway with Fujimaru, who looked as if he had just woken up from a coma. Dumbledore greeted Fujimaru with a grim look and quickly spoke up:
- There was an attack today!
Fujimaru's heart pounded, and he eagerly asked:
- Who was attacked?
Harry recounted his dream, and the news hit Fujimaru like a tsunami hitting a catamaran. He realized that things were much worse than he had feared, and that the stakes were higher than ever.
Dumbledore turned to Fujimaru and asked:
- What do you think it could be?
Fujimaru hesitated, debating whether to reveal the truth, but knew that action needed to be taken quickly. Did he even have room to maneuver?
- If I'm right... - he grimly replied. - It's really bad. Did you summon anyone there?
Dumbledore nodded silently.
- Rufus Scrimgeour and his subordinates arrived, but...
Fujimaru gasped, despair gripping his heart.
Dumbledore spoke in a calm and reassuring tone:
- So what do you think?
Fujimaru could barely hold back tears as he spoke:
- I have to be there. - his voice trembled. - If I'm right, the Holy Grail's Servant attacked him, and no one else will be able to stop him.
Dumbledore asked, widening his eyes:
- And how do you plan to stop him? The Servant is an extremely powerful and dangerous opponent. No one can stand against a Servant on equal ground.
- I am the last Master of humanity. - Fujimaru responded with a sense of duty. - And I belong to an organization called Chaldea, which protects the world.
He paused, considering the serious consequences of his next words.
- But... I will have to expose a student of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore replied with an encouraging smile:
- We are well aware of Miss d'Arc's secret.
Fujimaru took a deep breath before speaking:
- There is another Holy Grail Servant at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore smiled kindly.
- May I ask who?
- Her name is Mash Kyrielight.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly, understanding the magnitude of the situation they were dealing with. Time was running out, and Mr. Weasley's fate hung in the balance.
- So you mean to say that we are on the brink of the Holy Grail War? - Dumbledore clarified.
Fujimaru silently nodded and continued.
- Worse. It has already begun. Recent news reports say that blood has already been shed, and the Servants are responsible.
- Allow me to clarify?
- Assassin-class Servant, Jack the Ripper, is responsible for mass killings of wizards. Caster-class Servant, Hans Christian Andersen, is responsible for mass disappearances of people.
Dumbledore looked closely at Fujimaru over his half-moon glasses.
- Professor McGonagall, bring students d'Arc and Kyrielight here. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, you will come with me and Mr. Fujimaru.
A minute later, McGonagall entered the office with Mash and Jeanne. Both girls understood the seriousness of the situation, but Mash frowned seconds later, while Jeanne wore her usual expression of smugness.
- What task, Master? - Mash asked Fujimaru, not wasting time contemplating the meaning of such a mass summons to the headmaster's office in the middle of the night. She immediately donned her indigo-black armor and carried a large shield in the shape of a cross on her back. Jeanne stood next to her indifferently, her face expressing more boredom than interest.
- Jeanne Alter! - Fujimaru called out to her, but she didn't even raise an eyebrow in response.
- What? - she asked impatiently.
- Mission. Urgent.
In response, Jeanne made a rude gesture.
- Command spell...
- Fine, fine, I'll obey. - Jeanne reluctantly replied.
She rose to her full height, her pajamas subtly transforming into a full set of charcoal-black armor, and her wand transforming into a sword.
- Who are we going to beat up this time, Master? - she asked with a wicked smirk.
Dumbledore wasted no time.
- We need to get to the Ministry of Magic. - he announced. - and quickly. The Department of Mysteries is where we need to go.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, both feeling overwhelmed by the seriousness of the situation. Fujimaru moved with a sense of urgency, as if he had been preparing for this moment his whole life. Jeanne d'Arc Alter and Mash Kyrielight followed behind, their faces filled with determination.
Dumbledore took out a bag of Floo Powder from the fireplace and handed each person a handful.
- Remember: The Department of Mysteries is not a place for guests. - he warned the group. - When stepping into the fireplace, say "Ministry of Magic, Atrium" as your destination and wait for us and Fujimaru.