Chapter 22
AN: Sorry it's been a few days, I've been dealing with personal stuff. Hope you like this chapter. Please let me know what you think.
Four days have passed since those who know the truth, with the exception of Aberforth as it was decided it would be best if he wasn't involved, discussed the plan for destroying the ring. it's Saturday morning and while a lot of people have left the castle via the train to go home for the easter holidays Moody, Minerva, James, Lily, Sirius, Frank, Severus, Amelia, and Regulus are leaving the grounds via foot as they are going to be aparating to Little Hangleton.
While the others are on their way to destroy the ring Remus and Alice are doing what they can to distract their friends, as everyone but Peter are staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, from asking where the others are. As Remus and Alice are running interference Mie is in the Dumbledore quarters with her father and as Albus is sitting on the couch drinking tea Mie is pacing back and forth, something which she has been doing for a while.
"This is a mistake, it's too dangerous, we should have sent more time planning," Mie explains, feeling that everything is wrong now that they have moved from planning to action. "So much could go wrong," Mie says, feeling that she just put all her friends in incredible danger. "What have I done? What have I done?" Mie mutters, and Albus recognizes the signs of her becoming more and more panicked, signs that she is going to spiral into a panic attack if she doesn't calm down.
"Annemie," Albus says to his daughter in a kind voice, as while he is worried to, he knows that Mie blaming herself isn't helpful, it's just going to get her into a state.
"Dad what if I'm wrong, what if someone gets hurt? This was my idea, I sent them into this, I put the people I care about in danger," Mie rants, feeling terrified, and as he hears her rant Albus realises that Mie is in no state to be convinced that something going wrong won't be her fault, so instead he goes with another strategy.
"Gellert wants to talk to me," Albus tells his daughter and the second he says the words Mie stops ranting and pacing as she looks at her father, his words having the exact intended effect.
"Excuse me?" Mie asks, sounding shocked.
"I received a letter earlier this week, Gellert wants to talk to me," Albus explains to his daughter, as Mie pulls out the dining chair and sits down, clearly feeling beyond shocked.
"Did you receive the letter before or after our double lesson?" Mie asks her father.
"Before," Albus answers, and Mie realises that that would have made the lesson even harder than she realised. "The Warden at Nurmengard wrote me a letter, she said that Gellert told her that he needed to talk to me," Albus explains. "Gellert actually told her to tell me that he was desperate and that only I could make sense of what he was experiencing," Albus explains, and it feel surprisingly good to talk about it with his daughter.
"Cryptic," Mie comments, and Albus knows that is the perfect way to describe Gellert. "I'm actually kind of shocked that you haven't already gone to Nurmengard," Mie admits, as she is pretty sure that if her father went to talk to Gellert then he would be gone for long enough for everyone to realise that he was gone, which is how she is certain that he hasn't.
"The castle is too vulnerable in the holidays, I cannot risk everyone's safety," Albus explains to his daughter.
"You can't risk everyone's safety or you're too scared of what Gellert has to say?" Mie asks her father in a gentle, kind, but firm voice.
"I don't know," Albus admits, looking at the ground rather than his daughter, so Mie gets up and walks over to him, putting her arm around him, which Albus leans into.
Not long after they left Hogwarts without being noticed Moody, Minerva, James, Lily, Sirius, Severus, Frank, Amelia, and Regulus, all of whom have cast charms to make it, so they aren't unnoticed, are arriving at the Gaunt Shack.
Even though they knew what to expect thanks to the description in the book everyone cannot help but exchange surprised looks as the approach the dilapidated building.
"Lily," Minerva says, as they have worked out the plan for how they are going to get into the building, and break the case where the ring is hidden based on what they know from Future Albus.
"Yes Professor," Lily says, and she raises her wand above her head moves it around in circles and wordlessly gets rid of the first layer of protection. As soon as Lily breaks the protection everyone feels it, and they know they are one step closer.
Feeling apprehensive the group exchange looks and walk closer to the door. As they get closer to the door Regulus, who they have made sure the trace wouldn't be able to detect, removes the wands protecting the front door, so that they can get into the house.
Over the next half an hour the group work together to remove the wands and protections that exist around the shack. Once they have dealt with all the protections around the shack Sirius and Severus work together to break the floor where they know the ring is hidden. After the floor is open Moody uses magic to pull out the box and performs several complicated charms to open it, revealing the ring, just like they were expecting.
"So, we can destroy it now?" Frank asks.
"Not quite," Minerva says as Moody casts several complicated charms to make sure that other than the protections on the ring there are no other curses or wands.
"The curse is in place, nothing else," Moody tells everyone.
"So, we can't put it on, but we've got to destroy it," Amelia comments.
"I will," Minerva says, as she doesn't want one of her students doing the most dangerous part, and she pulls out one of the Basilisk fangs and approaches the box.
"Be careful Minerva," Moody tells his friend in a concerned voice as he knows that this magic is unpredictable and things could go wrong at any moment.
Keeping Moody's words in mind Minerva walks closer to the box, and once she is right in front of it she squats down in front of it, and using a spell she holds the ring steady, and attempts to extract the soul fragment, but after it becomes clear that she will not be able to fully extract the fragment Minerva knows exactly what she has to do and she brings the Basilisk fang down onto the ring.
Having gotten a message on their coins about when the others will be back Mie, Alice, and Remus are all waiting in the room of Requirements for the others. While Albus very much wanted to be with them he is dealing with a surprise visit from the Minster, though Mie promised she would tell her father everything that occurred. Just like she was doing a couple of hours earlier in the quarters she shares with her father Mie is pacing back and forth, this time with her friends watching on.
"Mie, I'm sure everything is okay," Remus tells Mie, though he is extremely worried about his boyfriend and friends.
"Remus is right no one who is there are going to be tempted by the ring, it will be okay," Alice tells Mie, sounding more confident than she feels as she knows Mie will never forgive herself if things go wrong.
"What if it's not?" Mie asks, and thankfully before either Remus or Alice have to answer the door opens and Minerva, Moody, Sirius, Regulus, Lily, Severus, James, Frank and Amelia walk into the room of Requirements.
Seeing the others walking in Mie hurries over to them, and looks for sings of injuries, knowing exactly what to look for.
"Are you okay? Are you all okay?" Mie asks worried, looking between the people who mean so much to her.
"We're fine," Sirius assures her, giving her a comforting smile.
"The Horcrux?" Remus asks, giving his boyfriend an incredibly glad look.
"Destroyed," Minerva says, pulling the ring out of her pocket, and it is clear that it has been damaged. "The curse broke with the Horcrux, but I'm not surprised that it didn't reverse the curse's effects in the future," Minerva explains.
"So that's two down," Severus comments, feeling thrilled, and that they have made a huge step towards defeating Voldemort.
"The two that are going to be the easiest to obtain and destroy," James comments, as Mie stares at the ring in Minerva's hand.
"Way to be a downer, Potter," Amelia tells her friend. "But unfortunately, you're right," Amelia says with a sigh, knowing they have a long battel ahead of them.
"Is the resurrection stone destroyed?" Alice asks curious, and Minerva moves the ring over in her hand.
"I can feel ancient magic," Minerva admits. "But it's weak, I don't know if the stone will work, and even if it does, I don't believe that it would work more than once," Minerva explains, looking between the students as she speaks, but it is clear that Mie is who she is truly speaking to.
"We talked about it," Lily says. "And it's not up to any one of us to decide what happens to the stone," Lily says, looking at Mie. "It's up to you," Lily tells Mie as Minerva offers her the ring.
"Are you sure?" Mie asks staring at the ring, feeling hesitant and not wanting to take it until she is sure that it's not going to be taken away from her.
"We're sure," Minerva promises her, and she hands over the ring.
As Mie takes the ring, she doesn't feel warmth, relief, or the feeling that everything is right, instead she feels the opposite, she knows the stone isn't hers to use, it's not supposed to be hers. As she feels the strange coldness Mie comes to a realisation, she knows exactly what she should do, it's like everything makes sense to her.
"Mie? You okay?" Amelia asks concerned, noticing Mie's reaction.
"Yeah," Mie confirms, looking between her friends. "I know what I have to do," Mie says, before heading out of the room of requirements, leaving the others to exchange confused, and concerned, looks as she goes.
After leaving the room of requirement Mie walks through the halls of Hogwarts. While the ring is in her pocket her hand is as well as while she knows that she cannot risk anyone seeing it she also knows that she doesn't want to let go of it.
After a few minutes of walking Mie ends up exactly where she was intending to go, her father's office. Walking into the office Mie is glad to find that the minister is no longer present and her father is alone.
"No Minster?" Mie asks her father, trying to keep her voice even.
"Thankfully he wasn't here long," Albus explains, his annoyance with the minster being more than clear.
"Can we talk upstairs?" Mie asks curious, as she knows enough to know that what she wants to do she doesn't want to do in front of the portraits.
"Of course," Albus responds, feeling curious, he stands up, and the two of them head upstairs.
As they walk into their shared living room Mie pulls the ring out of her pocket and as soon as Albus turns to look at her Albus sees exactly what she is holding, and he recognizes it right away.
"The resurrection stone," Albus says, staring at the object that he has been dreaming of for so many years, even though he knew it was coming a part of Albus can't believe what he is seeing.
"They destroyed the Horcrux," Mie reveals. "Minerva said that the magic feels weak, and that she suspects that if it were to work it would only work once," Mie explains, looking down at the ring. "I think she's right," Mie says, looking at her father, not sure how she can tell that, but she can. "I can feel it, it's weak, barely holding on," Mie admits, not completely understanding though she would love to and plans to do research, but knowing that that is what it means. "That's why the others gave it to me," Mie informs her father.
"You should use it, before the magic fades," Albus tells his daughter, forcing himself to look away from the ring and to his daughters' face, and as he notices that Mie gets a slight smile on her face.
"That's the thing Dad, I don't think I'm supposed to use it," Mie admits, not being able to completely explain the feeling, which scares her, but she knows it's the right thing, taking a step towards her father. "I think I'm just meant to get it to the person who should without injury," Mie says, offering the ring to her father.
"Are you sure?" Albus asks, sounding shocked, as he knows how much Mie wants to talk to the people she's lost, and yet she is giving up the opportunity for him.
"I'm sure, I'm not supposed to use it," Mie tells her father. "I think you are," Mie tells him and almost like he cannot believe what is happening Albus takes the ring from his daughter, looking at a lost for words. "I'll give you some privacy," Mie says starting to walk to her room, but she only gets a few steps away when she hears;
"Stay," In a quiet voice and Mie turns back to look at him. "I want you to meet your family," Albus informs his daughter.
"Okay," Mie says, feeling amazed, walking back over to her father and once he is close enough Albus takes Mie's hand.
Feeling Mie's hand in his left hand and the ring and stone in his right Albus hesitates for a few moments, not sure if he is ready for what is about to happen, but then finally turns the stone and ring three times in his hand, focusing on the people who he desperately wants to see.
For a few seconds Albus and Mie wait, and at first Albus is sure that it hasn't worked, that after so many years it is confirmed what he always knew, that he wasn't worthy, but then the three figures that Albus sees in both his dreams and nightmares appear.
"Ariana," Albus says, looking at his sister who looks just as old as the last time he saw her, except she doesn't have the haunted look that burdened her, she looks completely healthy, like a weight has been lifted of her shoulders. "Mother, father," Albus says, looking between his parents, both looking happy and proud, though while Albus cannot see the ladder due to his own guilt Mie can. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Albus says, speaking to all three of the people he loves, but his tear-filled blue eyes only on his sister.
"It's okay, I'm okay," Ariana tells her brother. "You did your best," Ariana tells her brother.
"I should have done better, I should have done so much more," Albus says, his voice breaking and because Mie knows that he needs to have this conversation she just squeezes his hand, hoping the stone lasts long enough for Albus to get some closure.
"There was nothing more you could have done, I was dying from the moment I started to repress my magic," Ariana tells her brother.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Albus once more repeats, all the pain and guilt he is feeling being perfectly clear in his voice.
Hearing her brothers' words, the pain, and knowing all the guilt he is carrying Ariana, in her state of not being solid, but not being a ghost, walks closer to her brother and even though she cannot touch him she reaches out and puts her hand near his cheek, as close as she can get to touching him.
"You need to forgive yourself Albie," Ariana tells her big brother. "You need to stop punishing yourself, you need to let yourself be truly happy, and you need to try harder with Ab," Ariana tells her brother, who no longer trusts his voice just nods.
"I am so proud of you," Kendra tells her son, as Percival just nods.
"I'm at peace," Ariana tells her brother. "More peace than I ever had in life. I'm okay, Albie," Ariana assures her brother, then she turns to Mie. "But I do wish I could get to know you," Ariana tells Mie.
"I would have like that," Mie tells Ariana, who she can see because she is holding Albus's hand, and Albus is holding the stone.
"You'll look after him?" Ariana asks her niece, looking like there is so much more she would like to say, but even she can tell her time is limited and so she says the one thing she needs to be sure about.
"Always," Mie promises, and with that, Albus feels the stone shake and then break in his hand, as soon as it does Ariana, Kendra, and Percival disappear.
After Ariana, Kendra, and Percival disappear Mie turns and hugs her father, causing him to drop the now broken ring and stone, holding him tight as he cries. For a few minutes Mie and Albus stand like that, holding each other as they stand in the middle of their living room. Finally, after a while of standing together Mie and Albus break apart.
"She doesn't blame you, Dad, you need to stop blaming yourself," Mie tells her father, feeling that he needs to hear the words said.
"I don't know if I know how to do that," Albus says as he bends down and picks up the pieces of the ring, just as he picks them up Fawkes appears in a column of fire, and Albus knows exactly what he needs to do so he walks over to his old friend, his precious companion. "It needs to never be found again," Albus says, putting the pieces of the ring flat on his hand, and Fawkes, clearly understanding the mission takes the pieces and then disappears. After Fawkes disappears Albus turns to his daughter, knowing what to do even though it may be painful for him. "If you've got some time, I would like to tell you some stories about Aunt Ariana," Albus tells his daughter.
"I'd like that," Mie responds and the two of them walk over to the couch, and together they spend the rest of the day sharing tea as Albus tells his daughter stories that he has never shared before.
The next morning, Mie having stayed in the Dumbledore Quarters rather than going back to the Gryffindor common room, Mie and Albus are having breakfast, and as they eat Mie is running though the conversation she rehearsed instead of sleeping.
"Dad," Mie says, and then she loses her nerve.
"Annemie?" Albus asks his daughter, being able to tell that there is something she wants to say.
"I think you need to go see Grindelwald today," Mie tells her father, speaking rather quickly wanting to get the words out as quickly as possible, but every word is perfectly clear.