Chapter 14

A Pattern for Life

After completing his Occlumency lessons, Harry started having trouble with a repetitive dream. It was like Voldemort was attacking his mind, but Harry mostly succeeded in blocking him. In the dream, Voldemort was attacking Sirius to get the prophecy. It was making it hard for him to study.

In late May, we played Ravenclaw to determine the winner of the Quidditch Cup complete with taunts by the Slytherin crowd who were singing a new song written by Draco that went:

Weasley cannot save a thing, He cannot block a single ring, That's why Slytherins all sing: Weasley is our King.

Weasley was born in a bin He always lets the Quaffle in Weasley will make sure we win Weasley is our King.

Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, He always lets the Quaffle in Weasley is our King.

As the match was about to start, Hagrid pulled Harry and me aside. He led us out of the stands. We could hear the Slytherins singing as we followed him into the Forbidden Forest. A short while later, he introduced us to his half-brother, Grawp. Grawp was small as giants go, according to Hagrid. The other giants picked on him, so it was best he was away from them.

Hagrid's main concern was the notion that Umbridge was going to sack him any day. He convinced us to visit Grawp on occasion so he would not be lonely. Hagrid has the softest, most caring heart of anyone I have ever met. I love him so much.

Hagrid stayed behind with Grawp as we left to return to the match. I asked Harry, "Just what are we supposed to do?"

"I have no idea," he replied.

"I think Hagrid expects us to give him English lessons," I said. "This is all quite intimidating."

We got back to the match just in time to see Ginny make a spectacular catch of the snitch. During the match, Ron redeemed himself with many spectacular blocks and saves much to the chagrin of Draco and crew. The win meant Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup. Draco was furious as everyone was leaving.

Once everyone made it back to the common room, we were all singing a new version of Draco's song. It went:

Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, He didn't let the Quaffle in, Weasley is our King …"

Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That's why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King.

With the Quidditch Cup secured, it was time to start studying for our O. . We barely had any spare time. They were scheduled to begin on 10 June. I was stressed out.

The first week of O. was less intense than the second. We all felt good about our performances in Charms on Monday and Transfiguration on Tuesday. Herbology went well on Wednesday. On Thursday, Defense Against the Dark Arts was more of a challenge to not confront Umbridge than do the exam. Harry and Ron had Friday off while I did Ancient Runes.

The second week started in the deep end with Snape and Potions. We all found ourselves at The Three Broomsticks trying to decompress as soon as we could get there. Thankfully, Tuesday was Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid was a much better professor than he will ever get credit as. We learned a lot and did well on his exam. Wednesday was Astronomy in the morning, Divination in the afternoon, and Astronomy practical that night. I struggled with Divination because of my lack of interest and belief in much of it. I did not know it, but that was destined to change in the future.

I woke up to a commotion Thursday morning. Sometime while we were all taking our Astronomy practical exam, Umbridge used our absence to attack Hagrid and try to sack him. He fought her off and ran out of the castle carrying Fang. Professor McGonagall tried to come to his aid. She was injured and taken to St. Mungo's.

This caused our final O.W.L. to become difficult. It was History of Magic—a dry subject on a good day delivered by an even drier professor. It was hard to concentrate with the events of last night fresh in my mind.

Harry had a vision of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort during the exam. He got free as soon as he could and tried to contact Grimmauld Place. However, he was captured by Umbridge. As I watched with a few others, she prepared to torture Harry to find out all he knew about the prophecy, the Order, and other things.

I panicked before she could start. I told her Dumbledore's secret weapon was hidden in the Forbidden Forest. She demanded Harry and I take her to it.

As we entered the forest, I was trying to figure out what to do. We were leading her to the location of Grawp. What we would do once we got to him was not clear—improvising has never been one of my finer skills.

Grawp was not there when we got to his place. He may have been looking for food. Umbridge was furious at being led into the forest for nothing. She started threatening us with all sorts of detentions. I started having unspeakable visions of punishments we were going to receive.

Suddenly, a group of centaurs arrived on the hill overlooking us. She started arguing with them, trying to get them to leave. They were not going anywhere. She insulted and attacked the leader just as Grawp reappeared. The resulting frenzy ended with the centaurs taking Umbridge hostage. She pleaded with us to help her. However, we watched as a screaming Umbridge was dragged away and disappeared into the forest.

We hurried back and prepared to leave for the Ministry. Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville demanded to go along. Luna suggested we travel by thestral. This was unsettling to those of us who had never seen death. However, we were soon in the air and on our way to London.

Once we arrived, we entered the Ministry through the lavatory entrances. The place was mostly abandoned. We made our way into an elevator and up to the 9th floor.

"This place looks familiar," said Harry. "It is just like in my visions."

"We need to be careful," I said. "We do not want to fall into a trap."

We found the Hall of Prophecy and entered it. There were countless rows of prophecy balls, papers, and other items stacked on shelves clear to a high sealing. I saw a container full of time turners on one shelf. I resisted the opportunity to take one.

We finally found Harry's prophecy in Row 97. It was marked ' S.P.T. (Sybill Patrica Trelawney) to A.P.W.B.D. (Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore) and ? ' Harry was an unknown person at the time, hence the question mark. Harry picked up the prophecy and was starting to listen to it when there were several whooshes. Then Harry saw a second prophecy with Voldemort's name on it. I told him not to touch it but he did. In a flash, a group of about a dozen Death Eaters led by Lucius Malfoy appeared and demanded Harry give them the prophecy.

Lucius explained that the prophecy could only be retrieved by the person it was made about. Harry and him argued for a moment, then all hell broke loose. We stupefied several of the Death Eaters. Then, all of us began running, dodging spells, and trying to escape. I disabled several more Death Eaters before I got hit by a purple spell that incapacitated me. Thankfully, Neville carried me as he fled. Ginny sprained her ankle but kept fighting. Ron got hit by a spell that left him very inebriated.

Ginny eventually cast a Reductor Curse that caused the rows to start toppling like dominoes. I learned in later life that the contents of the room were virtually a one-hundred percent loss. Prophecies were shattered, Papers were spoiled, and the time turners fell and disappeared into a perpetual time loop. Everyone ran—Neville was still carrying me—until they found an exit. As they passed through it, they found themselves in a freefall that thankfully ended with a cushioning charm. But where were we?

I was once again conscious but a little groggy. Ginny was limping and Ron was only partially sobered up as we looked around. The chamber was a strange place. In the center was an arch. Harry and Luna claimed they could hear voices coming from it. No one else was hearing them.

Suddenly, the Death Eaters were back on us with a vengeance. We started falling like flies. I was still useless. Ron summoned a brain from a tank that tried to strangle him with its tentacles. Neville was hit with a charm that disabled him. Luna was knocked out for the count by an Impediment Jinx. Ginny was taken out by a stunning spell.

Harry fled, trying to draw them away from us. He was eventually cornered near the arch by several Death Eaters. Neville burst in, trying to help but was put under the Cruciatus Curse by Bellatrix. She demanded the prophecy or she would torture Neville to death. Harry felt defeated. He prepared to hand it over.

Then, from above them, several members of the Order appeared, wands out and spells flying. Snape had contacted them. I am so confused by him. Is he a good guy, a bad guy, or something in between? He was impossible to figure out.

A huge fight ensued. Harry passed the prophecy to Neville and hit Lucius with an impediment jinx that knocked him away. Lupin tried to get us to leave as Sirius ran off to fight his cousin, Bellatrix. Neville dropped the prophecy. He then accidentally kicked it and stepped on it. It was gone.

Suddenly, Dumbledore appeared. This caused all of the Death Eaters except Bellatrix to flee. She was locked in a battle with Sirius. Before Dumbledore could stop them, Bellatrix hit Sirius with a spell that toppled him backward into the archway's veil.

All I could do was watch as Sirius disappeared. Lupin grabbed Harry to prevent him from following his godfather. Bellatrix fled the chamber. Harry broke free from Lupin and pursued her. Dumbledore hesitated as we started to gather ourselves. He then disappeared to help Harry.

We finally found them several minutes later in the main atrium of the Ministry. It was clear that a major battle had occurred. Voldemort was standing as Dumbledore guarded Harry, who was lying on the floor. Then, the Minister, several other officials, and aurors appeared. Voldemort disapparated, but not before being seen by all.

We all looked at each other. All doubt was erased. We knew it was all over for the Minister. After all of the effort and work he had expressed in denying Voldemort's return, there was no way he would survive the scandal and its fallout.

Dumbledore disapparated with Harry. None of us knew where he was taking him. With Voldemort's return out there for everyone to see, it was almost a certainty that he would be returning as headmaster—especially when you couple that with the disappearance of Professor Umbridge.

Our hopes were fulfilled the next day. Harry was waiting for us when we arrived for breakfast. Dumbledore was at the head table. We tried to get information about what was going on from Harry. However, he said he was sworn to secrecy about things.

At the same time, the whole UK Magical World was turned upside down when people started picking up their copy of The Daily Prophet. It had a huge headline saying "HE'S BACK ". The sub-headline read " Dumbledore and Potter Exonerated". The article went on to confirm Voldemort's return. In the next few days the news detailed plans for Fudge's resignation.

I was seated on my bed in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting on the end of Ron's bed as I read the paper. Ginny was asleep on the foot of my bed.

Madame Pomfrey had mended Ginny's ankle. She had likewise returned Neville's nose to its normal size and shape. Meanwhile, Luna was reading The Quibbler. All of her injuries had been superficial.

During this time, Dolores Umbridge staggered into the school and was brought here for an examination. She did not look abused. However, she seemed to be having considerable difficulty walking and her expression spoke of trauma that was being held inside. It was speculated that she had experienced more than simply being held prisoner. Some of us thought the centaurs might have had their way with her.

She did not stay long. She was arrested and shuttled off back to the Ministry to stand accountable for her actions at the school. It was unlikely she would be sent to Azkaban. However, disgrace and sacking from the Ministry seemed likely. I felt no remorse for her after the way she acted while here.

School ended the next day. We talked all the way back to London.

"She killed Sirius," ranted Harry. "How could she do that? He was the last person carrying the Black family name."

"I am not certain she killed him," replied Hermione.

"What do you mean?" said Harry, sounding perturbed at my comment.

"The light from Bellatrix's spell was red, not green. The Killing Curse is green. I think she tried to disable him but he fell into that veil. Lupin told us about it last night—remember? It was used to execute dark witches and wizards in the days before Azkaban. Now, it is seldom used. He thought the last time was over fifty years ago to execute the killer Sicarius Vide."

As the train rolled on, we knew we were in a different world—a world with Voldemort trying to pick up from where he left off on the fateful night in Godric's Hollow. If we and the Magical Word were going to survive, we needed to work harder than ever.