Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The Folly of Dumbledore
"Where is that Pensieve?" Shiva muttered pacing back and forth beside the winner's platform. Fleur was still sobbing into Hermione's shoulder on the corner, all of her avian features in stark relief. Her hand was clutching the vial containing her brief, dim memory of where she'd been brought to before Harry had knocked her back into the cup. Amelia and Proudfoot had gone to the Ministry to retrieve a Pensieve so that they could try and see if anything from the memory could be used to apparate to Harry and save him.
If there was even still a living Harry to save. Shiva kept pacing steadfastly refusing to continue that line of thought.
Tonks was to the side with Shacklebolt and Scrimgeour heatedly interrogating Barty Crouch Jr. – the polyjuice had worn off shortly after Fleur had reappeared and the real Moody had been bundled off to St. Mungo's. The Aurors had agreed to question Crouch here in the hopes that he'd be able to shed some light on where Harry had been taken and time was of the essence. The man's answers could just barely be heard over the continual noise of the murmuring crowd a short ways away.
"I don't know why my name shows differently on that map. It was nothing I did," Crouch's voice was fully monotone, all of his resistance burned away from the veritaserum flowing through his system.
"It's been perfected for months now and takes its input directly from the castle wards! You had to do something at the Yule Ball to affect it!" Tonks snarled. Shiva noticed the Flamels in the crowd behind the small group frown and melt back into the mass. Probably avoiding Dumbledore seeing them.
"All I did at the Yule Ball was swap the Polyjuice flask for a whiskey flask and move Moody to the Shrieking Shack after you questioned me."
Scrimgeour eyed Tonks appreciatively before turning back to Crouch. "That was the only illegal thing you did during the Yule Ball?"
A bit of emotion crept into Crouch's voice. "Used Moody's eye to look through the dresses quite a bit. Lots of fancy lingerie that night. Much better than during the rest of the year with those school robes. Girls went all out at Yule. I didn't even look through the lingerie of a few they were so beautiful."
Tonks looked like she was ready to cut the imposter's bollocks off and Shiva would've helped if she wasn't so worried about Harry. As it was, Scrimgeour's hands clenched into fists and he said in a clipped tone, "Did you contact your master that night?"
"No. I couldn't kill Potter's sex toy so without looking even more suspicious and I didn't want the Master to think me weak or foolish."
"Who is the Master?"
"The Dark Lord. The rightful ruler of us all. The savior of witches and wizards. The conqueror of death," Crouch's tone was practically dripping worship even through the veritaserum.
Tonks' hair flashed to a deep red and stayed that way as she growled. "And where is his current base?"
"He has no current base."
Scrimgeour slammed a palm against his face. "We are running out of ways to rephrase this stupid question! How can you keep avoiding answering it?!"
"I spent months trying to get Moody to answer my questions about his past and his precautions before running out of veritaserum. I learned from him how to give a truthful response while answering your direct question instead of what you want to know."
Shiva tuned them out again. That was going nowhere fast. She wasn't certain what was worse about this whole screwed up thing: that the man had managed to impersonate Alastor Moody for nearly 10 months supposedly without anyone other than Tonks the wiser, or that the Death Eater had actually been a better teacher than anyone in the last decade barring Remus Lupin.
If Harry had left a tracekey prototype behind she would've used it already to track him down herself and damn the consequences. As it was she knew he'd made a few extra modifications to the base diagram and she couldn't risk making a new one. The working prototype was dangerous enough goddess only knew what the unmodified version would do to her. A dead rescuer wouldn't be of much help.
She scowled as she took stock of the grounds again. Karkaroff seemed to have disappeared at some point. It made him suspicious but he'd been enough of a coward previously that Shiva was left with worrying conclusions about why he had left, what he was running from and just who likely had abducted Harry. None of that had been allayed from Crouch saying his master was 'the Dark Lord'. Krum was sitting a ways away with Millicent Bullstrode and just holding her hand. Fred was wrapped up with the Weasleys and several members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Daphne, Tracey, Luna and Neville along with the rest of Harry's close friends were holding a vigil in the first row of the stands nearest to the winner's platform. Much of the main audience had stayed seated continuing their whispered conversations and waiting to hear what happened to their star Champion.
And Dumbledore was standing off to the side. The old man had a decent sad look on his face, Shiva'd grant him that. She even fully believed that he had no idea that the trophy's portkey had been modified with a waystation. But his eyes were practically dancing with triumph and glee.
If Harry didn't come back soon…she'd have to make sure that someone was with her for the next several days so that she didn't find Dumbledore in the dead of night to…interrogate him. Someone besides Hermione, Tonks, Fleur and Daphne. They'd all likely have to stick with their own minders as well. Harry disappearing would be bad enough, all of them getting tossed in Azkaban for murder would be worse.
"I fail to see why I you are preventing me from administering judgment immediately!" an annoyed shout cut through to Shiva's consciousness. She stopped pacing and turned to see Fudge striding forward on Amelia's heels with his bowler hat in his hands and a scowl on his face.
Sirius growled as he stared back at the Minister. "You can't have your pet demon Kiss the prisoner, Fudge, because he hasn't finished his official interrogation yet. I've been an Auror a month and even I know that!"
"He is an escapee murderer from Azkaban! That is a Kiss On Sight offense!"
Sirius' hands twitched towards his wand. "No? Really? I didn't know that. So we shouldn't bother to ensure that he was working alone then? Or that he's actually the one who did this?"
Shiva tried to find the humor there but couldn't muster up enough effort. Instead she went to Amelia's side as the woman brought up the court Pensieve and they both turned to Fleur. "Fleur, we're ready."
Amelia sighed as Hermione helped Fleur to her feet. "Remember, don't expect much from this. You weren't able to get a good enough view of anything for this memory to be clear enough to do much with."
"It will be enough. It must be," Fleur said wiping her eyes and moving forward. They had just poured the memory into the bowl when the air was split by a thunderous crack and a flare of lightning along with a caterwauling from the Hogwarts wards.
Hands clamped over her ears and blinking away the spots in her vision, Shiva gaped at the platform ahead of her. Harry Potter was lying on the ground covered in blood and dirt and clutching a wand in one hand and a glowing rune stone in the other. She gasped and vaulted onto the stand moving towards him. Harry sat up and held up his wand shouting, "Accio blood replenishing potions!" The glow from the rune stone in his hand started to creep up his arm as four potion vials flew through the air. She reached Harry as he snatched the vials out of the air. Shiva was only a second faster than Hermione, Fleur and Tonks.
All four opened their mouths to say something, but Harry shoved the vials into Shiva's hand before any words could get out. "When the bleeding starts to slow down to a trickle make me drink this! It'll mean I'm out of blood. Hopefully that's enough vials!"
"What?" Shiva asked rearing back in shock. The glow from the rune stone reached his shoulder and started moving towards his chest. She stared at it praying it wasn't what she believed.
Harry's next words took the wind out of that prayer fast. "Tracekey grounding backlash!" Harry said doubling over in pain and breathing fast. "Make me drink the potions until the magic is fully dissipated. Shite! I need a Breathkeeper also!" He dropped his wand and grabbed a stone from his harness just as the glow reached his chest and seemed to absorb into him.
"Harry, what – " Hermione started but then stopped and flinched back, staring at her boyfriend in horror.
Harry had screwed his eyes shut as tears of blood leaked out from their corners. His ears trailed blood down the sides of his face and his nose started spurting blood as well. The cut in his left arm seeped out blood in a minor torrent. Worst of all perhaps was that every shuddering breath he took caused a shower of blood to rain out of the sky above the group.
"Harry?!" Tonks uttered her mouth hanging open and her hair a pure white.
"Shite! Goddess dammit, kid, I told you not to touch that thing until we fixed the grounding problem! POMFREY! More blood replenishers! NOW!"
Fleur turned to Shiva with a scowl. "Explain," she demanded in a dangerous voice. Focusing her frustration on Shiva probably wasn't the best thing to do at the moment but the professor certainly couldn't blame the girl. Her boyfriend was hemorrhaging in front her and she was still beating herself up over having unintentionally left him alone in that graveyard.
"The Tracekey punches through wards at both the start and the destination. It's the only way to safely track criminals to an unknown location with potentially hostile defenses," Shiva said, carefully watching the blood flow trailing out of Harry. Pomfrey finally managed to get onto the platform but she pulled up short as she saw the condition the young man was in. The blood slowed down and Shiva lunged forward and poured a vial down his throat.
Coughing Harry swallowed and a few moments later, the volume of outflow picked up again. Shiva picked up her explanation as Pomfrey shifted to Harry's arm and tried to close the gash. "The tunneler creates an amount of magical feedback directly proportional to the strength of the wards it's bypassing. Stronger wards, stronger backlash. Originally the energy grounded out by exploding. We fixed it so that it grounds through the activator instead."
Harry's bleeding slowed again and Shiva jammed another vial of potion down his throat praying that the energy was almost fully dissipated. They were running out of vials.
"How is this safer?!" Hermione screamed.
"It's not!" Shiva growled. "The grounding energy currently centers into the heart and bleeds off through the bloodstream, following the flow to dissipate harmlessly into the air at mucus boundaries. The issue is that the rate of dissipation is too fast and it instead bursts the blood vessels while grounding out leading to extreme bleeding until the excess energy is fully gone. Thankfully all internal bleeding should be restricted to the lungs." She started breathing quicker as Harry's bleeding slowed down again and she forced the third vial down his throat.
Tonks looked between Shiva's pasty complexion and Harry's shuddering form beneath her. "What happens if you run out of potion before he's done grounding out?" she asked quietly.
All sound nearby seemed to stop as Shiva steadfastly refused to look up from Harry. "He bleeds out and dies." She blinked away tears refusing to allow herself to cry yet. Instead she muttered low, "Dammit, Harry, what the hell were you mixed up in that you'd risk using this thing into one of the most heavily warded sections the country?"
His bleeding started to slow once more and she started to move forward with her final vial before feeling a hand on her arm. Snarling and shaking it off Shiva found her arm again restrained. "No, Bathsheda. Not this time. Much less time has passed. It's done." The nurse waved her wand and Harry's body glowed a dim crimson before Pomfrey nodded and smiled. "He's cumulatively lost enough blood to warrant some of that potion, but not the full thing. Give it to me and let me stabilize him."
Shiva breathed a sigh of relief and handed the vial over to the healer then stepped back. The girls also quickly surrounded her. "You knew he was working on that," Hermione accused.
Shiva scowled. "Of course I did! He's been consulting me on it since the bloody Cup over the summer! He had a working copy in the prototype belt along with other half finished things. It was for emergency usage only and was never expected to actually be needed before we fixed the problems. Harry knew the risks inherent in it and he wouldn't have used it unless there was no other choice!"
"There wasn't," Harry croaked from behind them sitting up and grimacing. "Madame Pomfrey, can you look at my right hand? They cut my tattoo and I didn't realize it until after I tried to channel magic through it. It still hurts a lot and it's different from when I tried to use the Knockback while transformed."
The nurse nodded and shifted her target as the latest spell finished. Harry winced and looked up at the people surrounding him. The crowd had grown in the few minutes he had been knocked out by the Tracekey's backlash. A quick glance around showed his girlfriends glaring at Shiva who seemed just as angry, though her ire appeared to be focused on herself judging by the set of her shoulders. Daphne was in the stands with her knees drawn up and her head between her legs. Tracey and Luna each had their arms wrapped around a shoulder while the Slytherin girl shook between them. Neville was between Susan and Hannah who were both crushed against his chest. Harry caught a small reassuring smile flash from his best male friend when he caught sight of Harry sitting up.
Sirius, Remus and Amelia were arguing with Fudge and Scrimgeour over the limp body of someone he didn't recognize tied to a chair. Dumbledore was close enough to hear both conversations, but not close enough to contribute to either. Something for which Harry was very grateful. One Dark Lord was bad enough for one day.
He scowled as he saw Snape walk up to Dumbledore, argue about something with his hand gesturing toward his left shoulder and then storm off towards the castle gates. Brilliant, Voldemort was getting another Death Eater follower. Granted it was possible the horrible man was being ordered to go, but Harry still wanted to fantasize that Voldemort would just off the bastard.
"Harry, what happened after you touched the trophy?" Shiva asked gently. The concern suffusing her voice was comforting, but even that wasn't enough to prevent the shudder that ran through his body.
Harry shook his head. "Kidnapped obviously. Voldemort," he scowled as he felt Pomfrey flinch at the name. "Voldemort had gotten a homunculus body. Barely bigger than a misshapen baby. Pettigrew was helping him."
"Impossible!" Fudge yelled staring at Harry goggle eyed. A vein was popping out on his forehead which made Harry think back to the man's resemblance to Uncle Vernon. The twisting lime green bowler hat was the only thing that prevented the image from being perfect. Well and the fact that Vernon was a walrus in human disguise.
Amelia snorted. "Minister Fudge, perhaps you'd like to hear the explanation before you bother hiding your head in the sand?"
Harry gave her a small salute with his left hand while Pomfrey kept casting spells on his right. "Anyway, Voldemort just wanted me. He had Pettigrew try to kill Fleur, but I managed to knock her out of the way before the Killing Curse hit her. She must have landed on the portkey because the next thing I knew she was gone."
"Oui. I did. And it wouldn't take me back no matter what I did…" Fleur mumbled. Her voice hitched partway through and Hermione and Tonks both wrapped an arm around the French girl.
"I was knocked out almost immediately. Woke up tied to a tombstone. Pettigrew performed some sort of ritual that used the bone of his father, Pettigrew's own hand and my blood to give Voldemort a full size body. He's an ugly bastard. Looks more like the lovechild of a snake and human than a straight up person," Harry shuddered thinking back to those red eyes and that slitted 'nose'.
Shiva nodded. "What happened after he got a regular form back, kid?"
Harry flinched. "We taunted each other a bit and he called his Death Eaters. Malfoy, Nott, Avery, Crabbe, Yaxley and Mcnair all showed up pretty quick. He said Karkaroff ran and that Sn – "
"Karkaroff disappeared shortly after you were kidnapped, Harry," Dumbledore cut in moving forward with a grandfatherly smile.
Harry wasn't fooled. "Protect him all you want, Headmaster, but Voldemort specifically called Sn – "
Dumbledore nodded. "Be that as it may I would prefer to discuss that aspect in private. Lives may well depend on it."
Everyone looked between Harry and Dumbledore sensing the undercurrent of the battle between the two. Harry scowled but backed down after a few moments. "Full explanation or I tell the press exactly what he said, old man." As much as he hated to admit it, there was a dim chance that Snape was just an bigoted arsehole acting as a spy. That he had waited long enough to speak with Dumbledore before running off to the master was enough to stay Harry's hand for a few minutes at least.
Fudge stepped up still twirling his bowler hat. "You are disparaging several extremely prominent, extremely well respected individuals in our society, boy! You would do well to remember that before pointing fingers at people!"
"So I should ignore the men who laughed while Voldemort tortured me?" Harry asked cocking an eyebrow at the Minister. "How did you get elected? All you do is protect the people bribing you. Do they own half the country and pay off everyone? Money runs out you know." Fudge just spluttered and his face turned red. Harry twisted back to his friends. "So after we taunted each other, Voldemort tried to mind rape me." A few gasps were heard and he saw Pomfrey scowl. "I fought him off. Barely. He got a lot deeper than he should have been able to – which we need to talk about later, Shiva. After that he wanted to duel me in front of his minions."
Another shudder ran through Harry's body but his face set in a firm expression. "I actually managed to burn him a bit before our wands linked. Something really weird happened then. Sort of like a jumbo version of the prior incantanto thing. A cage of light surrounded us and our wands linked together with beads of light appearing in the center and phoenix song playing us."
"That's Priori Incantatem," Daphne murmured threading into the group with her head down and her eyes red. "It's really rare. It's supposed to only happen with brother wands – when one overpowers it's twin."
Harry nodded. "Makes sense then. Anyway, I beat him in the wills contest. Thank god it wasn't power...he tossed out spells faster than I thought possible and he hits like a lorry," Harry scowled shaking his head. "So, then some specters of the people he'd last killed came out of his wand. Not quite ghosts…more like…echoes? An old man who I think was Muggle was first then some woman with a beehive hair style and…my dad. They distracted Voldemort as I broke the connection and activated the tracekey." Harry paused and looked at the ground guiltily. "I didn't really have any other choice. The Knight Bus only works on roads, I can't apparate yet – and I'm willing to bet there was a ward against it even if I could – there weren't any brooms, I was surrounded and the area was lit up enough that I couldn't use Midnight to escape into shadows."
Harry frowned and stopped, staring at his hand. "I…don't think I would've been able to concentrate enough to jump through a shadow anyway actually. At least not more than once…"
Shiva sighed and shook her head before reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. "I think that counts as an emergency usage, Harry. We need to make fixing it though a priority now. I don't plan on watching you bleed to death in front of me again, kid."
Harry nodded. "There's two other big things that need to be a priority also…I'll tell you later," he said quietly so that only Shiva the girls closest to him could hear.
"Well if the explanations are done I need to move this to the infirmary. Mr. Potter needs rest and several addition potions. Especially for this hand," Pomfrey frowned. "There's quite a bit of internal damage. I'm amazed you managed to hold your wand so long."
Harry ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "Err, I might have cast a quick sticking charm to my hand…" That elicited mild chuckles from the surrounding personnel.
"This is all preposterous! It's raving ramblings of an attention-seeking, delusional, fame-hungry liar!" Fudge snarled. "Even if you actually believe that nonsense you just spouted you said yourself that the criminal Peter Pettigrew was one of the first faces you saw. He probably confounded you and you're too addled to have realized it!"
Harry had to fight down the urge to laugh at Fudge. From the looks on the faces of the women surrounding him, he was probably the only one who wasn't about to curse the portly man. "You know what, Minister? I'm not even going to try and reply to your insanity. Go ahead and say whatever you want. When Voldemort waltzes through your front door and props his feet up on your desk don't come crying to me."
Dumbledore followed the group of schoolchildren and adults into the infirmary outwardly calm and collected but raging inside. Tom had returned. Harry was still alive and now he was too late. He would have to let the boy play this out and be ready to step in as Voldemort was cut down.
Or…or perhaps he could still salvage this nightmare. He could reveal small pieces. Just enough to sway these people. Just enough that they would understand why he had done what he had done. Not enough to incriminate but enough to imply and direct. Just enough to push them down the path that would lead Harry to die prior to his complete fall. Yes…yes that could work.
Dumbledore was jostled to the side and looked up in surprise. When had this many people entered the hospital wing? The boy's partners and guardians were to be expected. Nymphadora, Granger and Delacour hovered by his bedside along with Amelia, Bathsheda, Sirius and Remus. Nearby others of his close companions gathered, Greengrass, Davis, Lovegood, Neville, Abbott and Bones. What surprised him were the additional personnel against the walls: the three remaining Delacours, the Weasley twins, Ginevra, Bullstrode, Krum, the Gryffindor Chasers, Brown, Li, the Patil twins…even Filius and Minerva.
Harry Potter had an Inner Circle and a cabal of followers. This was even worse than Dumbledore had anticipated.
"Harry Potter Sir must stop being so injured!" a diminutive little house elf berated the boy from beside the bed. Harry just smiled down at the being and reassured him he'd do his best. Dumbledore's frown deepened. If Harry started recruiting from other races as well…
"This should help finish repairs to your hand, Mr. Potter," Poppy said shuffling forward and pouring a potion down his throat. "You should avoid casting spells with that hand for two or three days just to be safe, but the major damage should be healed by morning. Expect residual pain for about a week."
Bathsheda thanked the nurse then turned to Dumbledore and glared. Before she could say anything to him though Maxime appeared in the doors to the infirmary and cleared her throat. "Mademoiselle Babbling, your guests need to speak with you. Immediately."
Bathsheda looked between the Headmistress, himself and Harry. Finally she leaned over the boy, whispered something and followed the woman out the door into the hallway. Dumbledore peered down at Harry and slowly shook his head in sorrow. "You are certain that Voldemort has returned, Harry?" he asked. There were remarkably few reactions from the assembled personnel. Normally such a thing would have greatly reassured him but now…they were too entrenched with Harry to fear anything else it seemed.
Harry snorted and looked at Dumbledore incredulously. "Considering he tried multiple times to kill me in the past hour…I'm going to have to say, yes. He's not the only one who tried to kill me tonight though is he?" Many of the eyes in the room turned to Dumbledore in accusation. He gave his best grandfatherly sigh and opened his mouth to begin weaving the web when he was interrupted by a shout from just beyond the doorway.
"WHAT?! In his office?!" A dull murmuring could be heard as all eyes in the room turned to stare at the portal where Bathsheda's voice was yelling. "He knew. Newton, you'll have your prisoner tonight."
The runes professor stalked back into the room and fixed her stare on Dumbledore. He raised his eyebrows at the woman. He couldn't help pulling back slightly in shock as she raised her wand and pointed it at him with the tip glowing. "You son of a bitch! You goddess damned arrogant bastard! Not content with just assassination attempts on your own, huh? You had to let Tom fucking Riddle – Voldemort himself – do your work for you?"
Dumbledore frowned. He kept his hands in plain view and well away from his wand. This situation was best diffused without violence for the moment. She had no proof after all and was making a fool of herself in front of – Dumbledore glanced around the room and his thoughts froze. Nearly everyone present had their wands trained on him as well. He was strong and skilled, but…this many…even he would be hard pressed to fight against this many, let alone memory charm them all. "I am afraid that I don't know what you mean."
"You know damn well what I mean, old man," Bathsheda snarled as sparks shot off her wand. "The Hogwarts Ward Anchor is in your office! The Aide takes its names directly from the wards. The only way it could have swapped Crouch and Moody was if someone toyed with the wards. Someone who knew exactly where the Anchor was. Someone who was familiar with the construction of them. Harry, you and I are probably the only people familiar enough with runes and wards in the castle to be able to manipulate them in any sort of decent timeframe."
Nymphadora's hair had turned crimson as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You were near me and Moody during the Yule Ball. You disappeared halfway through my conversation with him…you are why the name changed as we checked him out!"
Inwardly, Dumbledore began to sweat. This was unexpected. He could play off many of tonight's events as unfortunate circumstance or intriguing coincidence, but this was not something he had planned on being forced to explain. No one was ever supposed to know about that little tidbit…the only ones who even knew of the Anchor's location were long dead or retired to foreign countries. He'd have to divulge quite a bit more than he had intended in order to satisfy them. "The situation is far more complicated than you are aware, Bathsheda."
"Complicated my arse!" she snarled. "You've pulled Umbridge's strings this entire year! She was too much of an idiot to realize just how much you manipulated her, but she ranted long enough to be pretty clear about who gave her the ideas for her rampant sabotage each Task. You've been trying to get Harry killed this entire time and you knowingly let a Death Eater roam the castle!"
"Two Death Eaters actually," Harry's quiet voice rang out throughout the room. "Three if you count Karkaroff though we all knew about him already. I wonder just how many people knew that Snape was one too though?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Severus defected during the last war for reasons that are not mine to disclose."
"I've already said that I fully intend to tell the press about Snape if you don't disclose them, Headmaster," Harry said with a flippancy that did nothing to hide the threat. "But we can come back to that. I'm far more interested in why you let Crouch wander around."
"As am I," Amelia said her tone so monotone and quiet that it demanded all attention. Even Minerva stayed quiet as Amelia stepped forward and the old Scott looked fit to lock him up in irons and throw away the key.
Dumbledore's lips curled and his eyes narrowed. Who were these people to claim to understand? He had been dealing with this situation for longer than many of them had even been born! "Better the devil you know than the unknown opponent. With Crouch nearby I knew exactly what he was doing and where the enemy was."
"And yet you were criminally negligent by allowing a known murderer to interact with children and not informing anyone," Amelia's voice dripped disgust and sparks started to issue from her wand as well. This was not going correctly at all.
"Again there are deeper concerns present."
Sirius laughed. There was no humor present in the sound. "Perhaps you should start explaining those then if you want to end up anywhere but at the mouth of a Dementor?"
Dumbledore scowled his grandfatherly façade dropping. "There is a prophecy concerning Harry Potter and it must take precedence. Everything I have done is for the Greater Good of our world."
A pin could've dropped in the room and sounded like a canon. Su Li was the first to break the silence. "For the Greater Good was Grindelwald's motto."
"Oh course it was his motto!" Dumbledore said brushing off the girl. "He took our philosophy and perverted it. I have stayed pure."
"What is the prophecy?" Granger asked softly. Several eyes turned to her questioningly but she continued to stare resolutely at Dumbledore.
He shook his head. "Unfortunately I do not believe it wise to reveal that particular piece of information at this time to this many individuals. It could cause disaster should it fall into Voldemort's hands."
Laughter rang out throughout the small room and everyone stared between Tonks and Sirius who were both chortling. Sirius was the first to recover and he wiped his eyes while raising his eyebrows at Dumbledore. "Seriously? That's your excuse? 'Oh there's a prophecy! Oh I understand the prophecy! There is only one way to know what it means!' Please. Everyone knows that prophecies only make sense in hindsight. Come on then, let's hear it."
"Fool. I have lived for over a hundred years! I would think I can interpret the significance quite a lot more efficiently than you."
Amelia smiled dangerously. "Allow me to make something clear, Dumbledore. Tell us your reasoning fully, including the prophecy or I will see you in Azkaban before dawn."
"I am afraid I cannot," Dumbledore said leaning back and folding his hands calling her bluff.
Amelia laughed. "Very well. Have it your way, Albus. Harry, tomorrow morning I'll escort you into the Hall of Mysteries and we'll take a look at their record ourselves. If the middleman is going to stonewall we can easily cut him out."
Dumbledore paled. That would not do at all. He had to salvage this situation. Perhaps he could gain some goodwill by telling them the initial part. Sighing heavily he said, "You would go so far despite my concerns, Amelia?" She simply raised her eyebrows at him. "Very well. You force my hand. The prophecy is as follows:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…"
"And the rest?" Tonks asked. Dumbledore frowned at her as did many of the others. "What? You all think that's it? That he was worried about that little two line thing? That he would give up something he's been obsessed about enough to try and kill Harry over with a simple threat? He's keeping something back. I want to know what it is."
Neville nodded in agreement. "She's right. There's no way that's all there is because that thing could easily apply to me. I'm also born at the end of July and my parents turned down Voldemort three times before I was born too."
Dumbledore scowled at the boy. When had he gotten so intelligent? When had he started to grow independent enough to think logically? When had any of them? "I related what Voldemort already knows."
"So that's why he went after my family," Harry murmured. "That's why he was coming for me and said he'd let my mother go if she had stood aside. But how did he find out…"
"Someone must have overheard that part and told him. They probably got a huge reward for it too," Bathsheda growled.
"Reward…he said my mother was a reward…" Harry paled before his visage morphed into pure fury and hatred. "Voldemort claimed my mother was a reward for a follower with 'bad hair, a surly attitude and brilliance with potions'! Snape told him that part of the prophecy and Snape asked for my mother in return! YOU PROTECT HIM?!"
Dumbledore could feel the boy's rage swirling around the room as a heavy wind whipped aside several curtains. Madame Pomfrey moved forward with a calming drought in one hand but Harry just batted it aside. Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "You presume far too much, Harry. Yes, I will admit that Severus informed the Dark Lord about that aspect. But he did not ask for your mother as a reward for his service. He asked for Voldemort to spare her when he realized her family was being targeted and came to me afterwards to plead for my assistance as well."
"Her! Only her! He didn't give a toss about my father or me! She never came out of Voldemort's wand with the Prior Incantatem! For all I know she's locked in a dungeon somewhere under him!" Harry shouted. Several of those present had frowned in confusion when Harry said Lily Potter's echo wasn't present. Dumbledore was not one of them. He knew that the exact workings of brother wand will battles were not so easily understood and it was folly to assume that was the case.
Dumbledore shook his head and sighed heavily. "Again you assume far too much, Harry. I personally witnessed your mother's dead body in the ruins of that house. I was not even the first there. Hagrid and Sirius both arrived prior to me and found her first. You can ask either of them. Your mother is quite deceased and not 'locked in a dungeon' as you put it. Severus loved your mother. She was quite possibly the only person he ever had loved. He would not do something as debased as what you imply."
"You're just protecting him because gave you a sad sob story," Sirius growled. "Screw you, Albus. We'll find out the truth of that particular situation soon enough."
Remus nodded emphatically. "That we will.
Lavender Brown held up a hand while her wand stayed centered on Dumbledore. "Excuse me everyone, but, he's avoided answering the initial issue. What's the remainder of the prophecy?"
Dumbledore gaped at the girl. He'd been rather successful with his diversion…how in the blazes did Brown of all people see through his sacrifice of Severus?! "Again. I caution against revealing anything further. The consequences – "
"NOW!" several different voices at once shouted out.
Scowling again Dumbledore's control slipped. "Fine! You all wish to know the truth? Fine!
"And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…
"Do you see now? Do you understand?!" Dumbledore yelled. "Harry Potter has no chance of defeating the Dark Lord. He is a mere fourteen year old boy while Riddle has decades of experience, followers and power building rituals behind him! But if Harry Potter dies than Voldemort can be killed by another as the prophecy will no longer be in play!"
"What?" Harry asked blinking at him. Everyone else was perfectly silent.
"The prophecy is quite clear!" Dumble snarled. "Either must die at the hand of the other. Voldemort will be the one to kill you. I had hoped that perhaps Crouch entering you into this Tournament at his orders would be close enough to sway things, but clearly I was wrong. Fate has conspired time and again to save you from impossible situations at unbelievable odds! That more than anything proves what I say. You will die at Voldemort's hand and then someone else can destroy his evil taint forever."
The silence again reigned supreme. After several long moments it was broken by a small chuckle from Harry. A chuckle which quickly turned into a laugh. A laugh which spread among nearly half of the watchers in the room. The rest – including Dumbledore – looked on at those laughing as if they'd gone mad. Wiping his eyes, Harry finally quieted and shook his head. "You…are such an idiot. I don't understand how people could've ever looked up to you if you always thought this way. Even assuming that thing is completely accurate and perfectly literal there's dozens of ways around it. Hermione, you want to take this?"
Granger glared at Dumbledore and held up her hand flicking up her fingers up as she began to speak. "A powerful memory charm on Voldemort. Then, literally everything could be 'the power he knows not'. Concealment and a piercing spell through the brain from the back. Draught of Living Death administered in his sleep. Actually, anything performed while he's sleeping would satisfy that condition. Aurors, Hit Wizards, or really anyone subduing him and calling for Harry to perform the final execution. Harry telling a pack of mercenaries or Hit Wizards 'go act as my Hand and kill Voldemort for me'. Some trap involved the insane runic inventions Harry keeps coming up with. The prophecy doesn't even specify Voldemort! Any two-bit wizard could go around calling himself a Dark Lord, scratch Harry and be the one it's referring to. You've apparently tried to kill him all year – it could just as easily be talking about you! That you assume your interpretation is the only interpretation is utterly moronic and frankly embarrassing!"
By the time Granger was done speaking even the people who hadn't been laughing were nodding their heads in agreement.
"You fools!" Dumbledore snarled. This little witch thought she was better than him? That she was smarter than him? He'd lived for a century! He'd experienced more loss and combat and subterfuge than anyone in this room! He'd heard countless prophecies and he certainly knew what he was doing in regards to this one! They didn't have all the information and they dared to look down on him?! "You don't have half the facts and you assume you know everything. You follow a nascent Dark Lord and you smile about it!"
Eyebrows rose, wands sparked and wings grew from Delacour's back. The first to speak though was Bathsheda. "Nascent Dark Lord? You're speaking about Harry?" she asked in a quiet, even tone all the more dangerous for its lack of inflection or emotion. "The boy who has only ever displayed a worrying lack of self-preservation and a nobility streak larger than Big Ben? The boy with an incurable case of chronic hero syndrome? The boy who tried to negotiate a peaceful resolution with a basilisk? The boy who has ignored long standing House divides and made friends in every single House? The boy with the love of three young women? That boy? That's your 'nascent Dark Lord'?"
"He is corrupted!" Dumbledore yelled surging to his feet and pointing at Harry. "You blind yourself to what you don't wish to see! His every action broadcasts his disdain and contempt. He waltzes through tradition and culture with nary a glance. He gains followers and confidants and allies just like Riddle's early years. I've already watched two Dark Lords rise through my own inaction. Not again! I can see the signs even if you cannot! He will turn and he will destroy any who stand in his way. He has already been seduced by the Dark! The Horcrux has corrupted him and – " Dumbledore slammed his mouth shut with an audible clack. Too far. He'd let them push him too far.
"Horcrux? With Harry?" Sirius asked, his eyes slits. "Explain."
Harry frowned. "What's a Horcrux?"
Greengrass shook her head and hugged her arms around herself shuddering. "Evil. Pure evil. It's like those Soul Jars you showed us over the summer in that…Dungeons and Dragons game thing."
Granger frowned. "Like a phylactery? It safeguards one's soul preventing death? I suppose that could explain why Voldemort survived as a wraith…but what does that have to do with Harry?"
Of course Greengrass would know of Horcruxes. Black was no surprise either. But Granger…had Harry been so corrupted that he brought an innocent Muggleborn into his long term schemes? Dumbledore stayed resolutely silent. Amelia shook her head and sighed. "Tonks, go to Ministry and get the veritaserum."
"On it," Nymphadora moved to brush past him when Dumbledore scowled and shook his head.
"Stop." The ex-Auror turned to raise her eyebrows at him and Dumbledore's visage darkened further. Veritaserum. He was skilled at avoiding the questions, but he knew he did not approach Moody's level and they would break through eventually. If he was going to be interrogated then he was going to control the interrogation. "I will explain."
"We're waiting," Harry said laying his hands carefully down on either side of the bed.
Dumbledore glared at the boy. "Of course you are. But just who is waiting? Harry…or Voldemort?" No one spoke as Dumbledore continued to stare at their leader. Finally he grunted and shook his head. "You fools refuse to see it. Voldemort created his Horcruxes to defeat death. The diary was one. You already destroyed that," he said gesturing to Davis who flinched back into Lovegood who wrapped the girl in a hug while Greengrass squeezed her hand. The house elf also cringed and wrung his hands. "Did you think that a mere magical artifact would be able to possess and drain the life of another to take on its own? Preposterous. Perhaps something the Ancient Atlanteans had created might be able to do such a thing but certainly nothing from the present time period. That Voldemort continued to be a presence afterward proves he had more. If he created more than one certainly he would have gone for a magically significant number.
"Harry is his last," Dumbledore continued scowling at the group. "Likely an unintentional one. Voldemort would have expected to have little resistance that night and would have already prepared the initial ritual only requiring the significant death and associated object to be imbued with the Horcrux. When he was instead vanquished himself, the prepared soul shard was thrown loose and attached to the boy as the only other living being present in the vicinity. I saw the taint immediately upon my arrival at Godric's Hollow and ensured that appropriate steps were taken to ensure that the effects of the corruption were minimized."
"The Dursleys…" Harry whispered.
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. With your will beaten down, either your magic would surge to protect you – reinforcing the barriers holding back the Horcrux's influence – or you would be consumed by it. Once the Horcrux consumed you the prophecy would likely have been considered filled as Harry Potter as a distinct entity would cease to exist. I would be forced to complete what Voldemort started in order to safeguard the rest of the population. It has already begun. Your actions prove that you have been influenced and corrupted. Voldemort's soul has turned you down a Dark path and you follow in his footsteps. I will not allow a third Dark Lord to arise on my watch. I am sorry. But I cannot allow it to happen. Even if you have avoided full corruption, you still must die to destroy the Horcrux anchoring Voldemort to life."
Dumbledore's mouth set in a stern line and he flicked the Elder Wand into his hand. He cast a silent immobilization spell on the room. It would only hold for two or three seconds against this many people, but it would be long enough. Raising his wand for what might very well be his last act, Dumbledore cast the strongest reducto spell he could at the bed containing Harry Potter.
Harry watched frozen as Dumbledore adjusted his aim and let loose his spell. If he could move he would probably be in hysterics at that moment. Surviving a duel with Voldemort just to get slaughtered by Dumbledore? The universe certainly had a sense of humor.
"Prewk!" A loud squawk sounded throughout the room as Fawkes flamed into the Infirmary between Harry and Dumbledore directly in the path of the old man's spell. The curse collided with Fawkes and a pile of feathers tumbled to the bed below where the phoenix had materialized.
"Fawkes? Why? Why would you…why?" Dumbledore uttered with his mouth gaping open and his wand held limply.
The room unfroze. Harry summoned the old man's wand with his Accio tattoo. At the same instant, nearly thirty spells converged on Dumbledore from the people in the room.
A cacophonous bang rang out almost equal in intensity to Harry's Boomstones. Shaking his head to clear it, Harry peered down the length of his bed to see Dumbledore crumpled onto the floor nearby. He had obviously been hit by several different spells in addition to the standard stunning and disarming hexes. The Headmaster had sprouted boils, tentacles, bat bogeys, burns, some bleeding and it looked like part of his beard had been wrapped around his neck.
Harry let out a low whistle and looked around the room. "Remind me never to piss you all off, yeah? Thanks guys. And thank you, Fawkes. You saved my life." The baby phoenix crawled out of the pile of feathers, let out a soft trill of appreciation and sorrow before hopping up and nuzzling Harry's neck settling in on his shoulder.
Several people were breathing hard, some of from anger, others from worry. Most of the latter group were from the members not in Harry's core team and they seemed to be taking both Dumbledore's attack and their own counter-attack much harsher. Pomfrey took charge and shuffled forward to start casting diagnostic spells at Dumbledore. "Well, he'll live. Though at this point I'm not certain whether that's a good thing or not…"
"It is," a resigned voice said from the doorway. Harry turned and nodded to Newton and Paracela as they came into the hospital ward. "We'll take over from here."
"And just who the bloody hell are you?" Amelia said glaring at the two alchemists and stepping between them and Dumbledore. "This man has to stand trial and be imprisoned or executed for crimes. I don't care who his friends are, he attacked a student – a House Lord – with intent to kill in front of thirty witnesses. He can't get away from this one!"
"And he won't," Paracela said calmly pushing Amelia's wand to the side and glaring down at Dumbledore. "I told you he'd gone round the bend, Nic. Sorry…Newt."
"That's a horrible pet name," Newton muttered. "Should've thought better before choosing Newton…"
Paracela shook her head ignoring the incredulous looks of most of the occupants of the ward. "Too late now, dear. He's senile. Utterly and completely bonkers. How he managed to hide his condition for so long is amazing. He should still have had several decades before getting that bad. Poor old fool. Should've asked for help before trying to murder innocent kids!"
"I'll ask again, who are you?" Amelia hissed through gritted teeth with her fingers whitening as they clutched the wand handle.
"Newton and Paracela Fulcanelli. Or if you prefer, Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel," Paracela said with a sigh. Loud gasps sounded and Harry thought he caught Padma fainting momentarily. Gabrielle's mouth dropped open before widening into a huge grin. "We'd very much appreciate it if you all keep that under wraps. We much prefer to fly under the radar so to speak."
Newton grimaced as he looked at the blank faces. "To use a more wizarding appropriate phrase, we go shopping with a Notice-Me-Not up." Harry snorted as he said heads suddenly bobbing in understanding. Muggle Studies was so woefully out of date.
Paracela turned to Amelia, McGonagall and Flitwick who had also stepped forward to block her progress. "The old man may be mildly insane – "
"Mildy?" Tonks muttered drawing an assortment of dark chuckles.
"Yes, unfortunately, mildly. As I was saying, he's not fully wrong." A cacophony of shouts rang out before Paracela glared around the room at everyone waiting for them to quiet down. "If you would all let me finish…thank you. He's not wrong in that, Voldemort did obviously create Horcruxes. Annoying blasted things. Every few decades someone decides it's a good idea again. The knowledge of how to create them or who had decided to use them should not be spread. All it would take is one delusional megalomaniac with an ounce of sense and it'd be easier to move to Mars than kill him."
Newton sighed and nodded. "She's not really overstating that either. I highly suggest you all take a vow to only speak of this to each other in order to safeguard it from prying minds."
McGonagall slowly lowered her wand as did Flitwick. Both looked between each other and sighed. "I have to agree. This sounds like the darkest and most dangerous of magic. Filius and I will craft a sufficient magical vow. Everyone please remain present until we are complete."
Amelia didn't look happy but she nodded as well and lowered her wand. Shiva stepped forward and fixed the two alchemists with a hard stare. "And what he said about Harry?" Harry shifted uncomfortably on the bed. In less than a second he felt three different hands on him and felt a bit of tension leaving him with the reassurances of the women he loved. He noticed from the corner of his eye, Daphne shift slightly in his direction before planting herself back in place.
Newton shrugged. "I'm an alchemist not a soul worker. Don't ask me. Once we're done interrogating Albus I'll let you know if he has any specific spells to detect a Horcrux or if he's just going with a gut feeling. Say two or three weeks. Maybe a month or two depending on how good he is at evasion under potions."
"We can do that perfectly fine," Amelia said.
Sirius sighed and took her arm slowly drawing the DMLE Head back. "Let it go, Amy. He's right. We have very few Aurors, even less who wouldn't be intimidated by Dumbledore and none with the right skill set to ask the correct questions. I doubt, I have the right skill set and I've made it my mission in life to avoid answering direct questions if possible just because it's funnier when people get frustrated by it." He turned to the Fulcanellis. "What will happen to him after you're done? I don't want him ever coming back to threaten my godson." Shiva made a noise in her throat that could loosely be termed as agreement. Harry thought it sounded far more like something that Midnight would let out when angry.
Paracela sighed. "We already told Fleur, Harry and Bathsheda the initial plan. No matter what we'll bind his magic. After that it'll depend on what shape he's in. Honestly with the amount of spells you people hit him with, I'd be amazed if he wakes up in a month. Dumbles is not a young man after all."
Newton nodded. "Agreed. If his mind is mostly intact we'll see about turning him back over to you for judgment. If he's truly as far gone as that rant made him appear and if your spells have pushed it even further…well to be honest your government is horrible with punishments. He'd likely escape anything beyond being left at St. Mungo's until the end. I…would prefer the first option if that is the case. Albus would be…comfortable at St. Mungo's. I don't really think that's an ideal solution anymore. However, Harry, you have final say. You were his target after all."
"Harry Potter Sir should have Whiskers stabbed with his Demon Sword," Dobby muttered from the bedside.
Harry turned and smiled down at Dobby. "As poetic as that might be Dobby, there is a difference between killing someone in battle and killing them in cold blood. I agree though that if he's senile he'd probably be sent to St. Mungo's and it's too cushy there for him. Go with the first thing you told us earlier."
"Very well," Paracela said nodding. "We'll just take Dumbles then and be on our way. Let us know how this turns out, yes? I don't think we'll be staying around the area what with the megalomaniac on the loose again. Besides, Comic Con starts up soon. Things to do. People to see. Collections to improve. Ta!"
Much later that night, Harry was sitting up and speaking with his girlfriends, Daphne, Shiva and Sirius. The girls had glanced at Daphne initially, but Hermione had taken her aside, whispered a few words of which Harry only caught "later" and most of the tension seemed to diminish. Remus had intended to stay as well, but Amelia had recruited him to help her clean up the fallout and deal with the Wizengamot along with the Delacours.
"Are you alright, kid? Not the bullshite you fed before to the others. Seriously, are you alright?" Shiva asked frowning down at him.
Harry sighed loudly and flopped back into the pillows piled behind him. "Pomfrey said I was in shock. With that and the calming potions she gave me after it wore off I don't think I could really feel much strong emotion at all at the moment. I could be a lot worse. I can tell you that. My hand is killing me though. Daphne, we're going to have to retouch up that tattoo when I get out."
"Sure, Harry," Daphne said nodding. "That's really not that important at the moment though."
Harry groaned and wiped a hand through his hair. "Tell me about it. We have like three or four issues that just jumped to the top of the priorities list…"
Sirius leaned against the wall and chuckled. "Just three or four eh, pup? I'd say closer to 20, but hey good to know you have priorities, Harry! Hey by the way, did you try and use the Sword of Gryffindor on Riddle? It seems like a good primary plan if we know it'll work. Even if his soul is split like…Dumbledore thought, well a Sword that eats souls would probably be useful."
Harry shrugged. "Never got close enough to try. Well, I was close enough maybe once, but I was a bit too distracted to try and summon it. Also, same problem as with Midnight. Between the duel itself and my hand, I doubt I'd have been able to concentrate well enough."
"Hey I'm not criticizing," Sirius said holding up his hands. "I was just asking."
Tonks sat down on the edge of the bed, her hair shifting to a dark blue color that hung halfway down her back. "So what's on the top of your priorities, Wonder Boy?"
Harry frowned. "In order? The soul shard that is in my head. Finding out if my mother was laid to rest correctly. Fixing the tracekey. Then I can worry about the possibility of Voldemort having more Horcruxes that we have to hunt down and destroy."
"So you are not worried about ze prophecy?" Fleur asked. She slipped under the covers next to Harry and snuggled as close to him as she could eliciting a few raised eyebrows. The relieved sigh she let out and the way that the remaining down covering her arms faded away however only resulted in knowing smiles from those surrounding Harry's bed.
Harry draped an arm over Fleur and pulled her closer while shrugging. "Not really. Like Hermione said, there's a gazillion ways to interpret that phrasing without having to definitely focus on a one-on-one duel to the death. Knowing my luck, it's probably going to come down to it, but I'm not going to needlessly stress over it at the moment. And Nym and Sirius are right, prophecies only truly make sense in hindsight."
"Good. I left to you to battle zat monster alone once. I have no intention of leaving you alone against him a second time," she murmured into his chest.
"Fleur," Harry said slightly exasperated. "You didn't leave me alone. I pushed you and you hit the portkey. If you want to blame someone for me being alone blame me. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Harry's face darkened and he knew Fleur could feel his heartbeat pick up since she squeezed him tighter. "You didn't see how close Pettigrew's Killing Curse came to hitting you. It passed through your hair, Fleur…"
Hermione moved to Harry's other side and lightly kissed his cheek. "But it didn't hit her. And you are both alive which is the important thing."
"Just for the record," Tonks said. "We also don't know for sure that you do have a bit of Riddle in you. That sounds like a load of shite to me. I mean, anyone who spends five minutes with you when you aren't pissed should realize that, Wonder Boy. Besides the snake tongue thing I can't see it." She paused and continued in a much quieter voice that was barely audible, "And I really like the snake tongue thing."
Harry's lips twitched upwards for a moment before he lost his good humor and shook his head sadly. "It's not shite. I wish it was. When Voldemort was mind raping me, he…found something. It let him jump straight to my deepest layer of defenses. And when I followed him, I saw something. Something that shouldn't be there. A door with…something behind it. The door disappeared almost immediately, but…I know what Dumbledore meant when he said I'd be corrupted. I…" Harry grimaced and clung to Fleur. Hermione frowned and sat down leaning into his other side.
Taking a deep breath Harry nodded and kept going. "Voldemort switched gears. All of a sudden he was willing to do a lot to turn me and keep me alive. That was when he said that my mother was a prize for Snape and he offered me an – incentive I guess. He said you guys would all be spared if I stopped fighting and joined up. I stared at the wall where the door disappeared and…I wanted to take the deal. I wanted it bad." Harry shuddered. "It was like I could see a glimpse of Evil Overlord Harry, but worse. And not worse because I was being as amoral and callous as him, but worse because I wasn't. I was perfectly in control, just ruthless and selfish."
"Oh. Well…shite," Shiva said succinctly summarizing pretty much the entire group's feelings.
Harry snorted. "Yeah. Agreed. I don't think I'm quite up for it yet, but once we get home, Shiva I'd really appreciate it if you help me find that door in my mindscape. I think it's there, I just can't see it. I'm pretty sure I can put up more barriers around it and wall it off if someone can show me where it is exactly."
"Sure, kid. As soon as we get home, I'm all yours. I might not be the best person to do that though. Mind magic isn't exactly my thing. Are you sure you want me in your head?"
Harry nodded. "I trust you, Shiva." He winced and looked at Sirius guiltily. "I mean, I trust you too Sirius it's just – "
Sirius smiled and waved off Harry's concerns. "Don't worry about it, pup. I understand. I was never as good as Andi anyway so I'd probably suggest her. Then again, I certainly wouldn't want my girlfriend's mother in my mind." His grin widened and he waggled his eyebrows at Tonks. "Especially considering what my cousin has apparently been teaching you."
Fleur, Harry and Hermione's faces lit up like Christmas lights while Tonks' stayed perfectly normal. Though it was pretty obvious that she was concealing her own blush with her powers since her hair flashed through several colors before settling on bright red.
"Yes, haha, laughs all around. Thank you for that, Lord Black," Daphne said crossing her arms and glaring at the man-child. "I think we really ought to hit on the elephant in the room though. What the bloody hell are we going to do about this hitchhiker?!"
The silence could be cut by a knife after that. For a full minute no one spoke. Finally Hermione asked in a soft voice, "Could we just…cut it away from him?"
"Mione, I love you, but I don't zink it will be remotely zat easy," Fleur said raising her eyebrows at the brunette.
Harry on the other hand had a thoughtful expression. "Actually, it might be…maybe. I'd have to craft a rune that could visualize souls as auras or something so we could see if it was centered on a specific body part – like my scar. If it is centered instead of diffused throughout me, then I might just be able to cut off with the Sword…"
"The Sword that eats souls…" Shiva said frowning. "I'm not liking this plan. Not at all."
"Well it doesn't eat our souls. That is what the Dementor Anchor is for after all, Shiva," Harry said his grin growing to manic proportions.
"Yeah in theory. It's not like we can test that aspect of the darn thing! Look can we at least agree that this will be a backup plan? Like a Plan Z or something? There's got to be a better way than lopping off pieces of your skull with a Sword. And that's not even counting that it has basilisk venom infused into it, kid."
Harry turned his head to stare at Fawkes. "That's where Fawkes comes in! I know we're not bonding little guy, and we probably can't. Hedwig likes you, don't me wrong, but she'd kill me if I let myself bond with another familiar." He leaned his head down to whisper conspiratorially to the phoenix. "She's not as understanding as Mione, Nym or Fleur."
A loud bark sounded from the direction of the windows and all eyes turned to it. A snowy owl was sitting perched on the bed frame nearest the window and glaring at Harry. Harry paled and clutched Hermione and Fleur closer shifting slightly so that Tonks was between him and Hedwig. "Hey, girl! I meant that in the nicest way possible! You know you're the only bird for me!"
Hedwig bobbled her head to each side several times continuing to glare at Harry the entire time. Fawkes let out an amused trill and Hedwig finally barked and flew over to perch above Harry's bed. He let out a relieved sigh and turned back to the phoenix. "Yeah, real good friend you are," he said grumbling. "Anyway, considering you've tried to save my life twice now, would you be interested in perhaps crying some tears into my wound if I end up being stupid enough to cut into my body with, as Dobby called it, the Demon Sword." Fawkes gave another amused trill and bobbed his head up and down. "Thanks buddy. I appreciate it! See, Shiva, problem solved!"
She glared at him and muttered several choice curses while Sirius dissolved into laughter.
Daphne groaned and wiped a hand down her face. "Pomfrey needs to cut down of the cheering potion dilution in the calming droughts. What were you saying about your mother, Harry? Laying her to rest properly?"
Harry's laughter stopped and he leaned back into the bed. "Honestly," he said sounding suddenly very, very tired, "I don't know anymore. Brother wand effects can't be well documented or consistent, and that certainly wasn't ideal circumstances in that graveyard so I suppose it's possible Voldemort did kill her even without a ghost-echo. He certainly thinks he did. Dumbledore thinks he did. Sirius thinks he did. Hagrid obviously thinks he did. I know I said Snape might have her in a dungeon or something, but now that I'm calmer I can't see that being the case. He'd probably be a lot less of an arse if he had her locked away somewhere."
Harry shrugged. "I don't know what to think. I'm half convinced now that Pettigrew was there that night, that she survived Voldemort's attempt to kill her, but that Pettigrew finished her off. All I know for sure is I need to see her body now. I may not be able to get answers, but I should hopefully at least get closure. I shouldn't have let the Tournament distract me from it when the goblins offered back at the start of the year."
Shiva looked distinctly uncomfortable as she nodded and reached over to squeeze his shoulder. "I'll talk to Snapfist, Harry. We can go either the day we get back or the day after okay?" He nodded. "Alright. Get some sleep, kid. You need it after tonight. We can work on the tracekey over the summer. Term ends in a few days. Get your rest." She stood and started walking to the door. "Sirius, Daphne, come on."
Sirius waved goodbye to the rest and started to follow Shiva out. Before either got far, Harry called out to her. "Shiva! What happened to Umbridge? I forgot to ask with everything that happened."
"Don't worry about it, kid," she said shaking her head and not looking at him. "She's not a problem anymore. She ran into some acromantulas. Didn't make it."
Harry frowned. "That's not everything…"
Shiva turned and gave him a sad smile. "You know me too well now, kid. Don't ask, Harry, and I won't tell."
His frown deepened. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Harry."
Slowly he nodded though the frown remained. "We're going to talk about that when we get home then, yeah?" It wasn't a question.
Her smile shifted a bit into something less sorrowful and nodded her assent. "Night, kid. Daphne, you coming?"
Daphne looked at the group on Harry's bed for a long moment before nodding and turning away to follow Shiva and Sirius out.
The hospital wing's door closed and Tonks frowned at it. "Girls, we need to talk to her. If not before term ends then on the train back."
Fleur nodded into Harry's side. "Oui."
Hermione lifted her head and stared confused between the two other females. "Wait, how are you both riding the train back with us?"
Tonks cocked her head at Hermione and chuckled. "After the craziness that just happened a few hours ago you seriously think I'm letting Wonder Boy ride back without some adult supervision/protection?"
"Zat goes double for me," Fleur said. "I have already spoken with Madame Maxime. I do not need to be on ze carriage back or at ze closing ceremonies for ze graduation. I do not have many friends at ze school anyway. Gabi was ze only one who would miss me zere but she is returning with Maman and Papa so ze point is…moot?"
"Yes, Fleur, that's the correct expression," Hermione said shaking her head with an amused grin. "You two could've said something earlier. I thought I was going to have to watch, Harry's back all on my own."
"Not going to happen, Mione." Tonks smiled as she looked at Harry with his eyes closed and breathing lightly. "He is so adorable when he sleeps like that." Two sounds of agreement from Hermione and Fleur met her statement along with a quiet bark from Hedwig and a soft trill from Fawkes. Tonks shifted and laid down so that her head was resting on Harry's chest while Hermione and Fleur both snuggled closer. "Goodnight, girls. Sleep well and let's keep everyone's nightmares at bay for tonight."
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