Year 6, Chapter 12 - The Rest of the Story

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 9 (continued)

OH NO! What a catastrophe! Dumbledore dead! And Snape killed him! But – what Snape said – it sounded like he’s still on our side. And that he and Dumbledore planned that something like this would happen. Why? If Dumbledore was dying anyway, was it so that Snape would get in Voldemort’s good graces? But Snape said Harry wasn’t to tell anyone.

Oh, I do hope Harry is going to be all right. He’s still petrified, so I can’t talk to him. Surely someone will come up here and find him soon. But he’s still under his invisibility cloak, I think, so they might not see him. I’m going to have to listen and then shout as loudly as I can. Oh, this is so hard!

Wait, I think I hear someone coming now.

 

Three hours earlier

“OK, that’s everyone,” Susan announced as Luna and Cho arrived in the classroom where the DA held their training sessions. “What’s going on?”

Neville and Ginny both looked to Ron to be the spokesman, and the lanky redhead cleared his throat nervously and walked to the front of the room as the others formed a semicircle around him.

“You all know that we’ve suspected that Malfoy’s been up to something all year,” he began. Most of the students nodded; a few shrugged – even for the ones who hadn’t been in on the surveillance, this wasn’t news. “Well, earlier today Harry discovered that he’s finished whatever it is, and he thinks he’s going to spring it tonight. He wants us to keep an eye on him.”

“Where’s Harry? Why tonight?” were some of the questions the emerged from the general murmuring that immediately ensued.

“Harry and Dumbledore are off on … on a secret mission that has to do with You Know Who,” Neville spoke up. “That’s why Harry thinks Malfoy will move tonight, while Dumbledore’s out of the castle.

“Anyone who’s willing to help, stay here,” Ron added. “The rest of you can leave now.” Not one of the members of the DA moved from where they were standing, but instead quieted down, as the seriousness of the situation became more apparent.

If Harry was asking them to do this, it must be important – and probably dangerous, given the things he had been involved with in the past. In the beginning it had been just Ron and Hermione who’d been with him in these situations. Last year three more of their members had joined the trio. Now it was their opportunity to put their lives on the line for the light side. Harry had made it clear from the beginning of this year that they were training to fight back, and now the time was here.

“OK, here’s what we’ve planned,” Ron began again. “Malfoy’s been using the Room of Requirement, as you know, so that’s where most of us will be stationed. But we should also have someone watching the Slytherin common room, in case more of them are involved. And someone should also keep an eye on Snape’s office.” Despite the fact that Hermione had Harry mostly convinced that Snape was on their side, Ron still didn’t trust him. “And Katie, I was thinking one of us should patrol the outside of the castle, on a broom. Can you handle that?” Katie Bell, easily the best flyer in the group besides Ginny, nodded her agreement.

“We should probably also have one of us in each of the other three common rooms, in order to keep the other students out of the way if something does happen,” Susan suggested. “It sure would be useful if we could communicate between all of these groups.”

“I think I have something that can help with that.” To the surprise of the leaders of the group – Ron, Neville, Susan, and Ginny – Cho Chang stepped forward. Although she had been largely ostracized by the rest of the members all term, she had still kept coming to the meetings and practicing with them, as hard or harder than she ever had.

“I wanted to do something to make up for what I …” she began hesitatingly, avoiding Susan’s glare. “I mean, I needed to prove myself, I wanted to be useful. So I, that is, Luna and I, have been working on our coins.” She held out one of the charmed Galleons that Hermione had created. “We figured out a way for the master Galleon to send messages to the rest, other than just the date and time. And for the rest of us to respond. You’ll just have to think of a short message and touch your wand to the coin.”

Susan was reluctant to accept any help from the backstabbing girl, and Neville was reluctant to disagree with his girlfriend. Ron wasn’t sure what to make of the offer. Ginny, however, noticed the look on Luna’s face, and realized that the two Ravenclaws had for the most part stayed together at their meetings. Luna would certainly know what it was like to be an outsider, and had evidently befriended her seventh year housemate. Now, both girls were biting their lips, hoping that their intellectual contribution would be accepted.

“I think it sounds brilliant, don’t you Ron?” Ginny announced decisively. “What do you need to do to activate it?”

“We just need to cast the charm on the master Galleon, and another one on all of the other ones,” Cho said eagerly, while Luna nodded, her eyes as wide as ever.

Ginny made a show of taking out her Galleon and Ron shrugged and followed suit, pulling out both his own and Harry’s. Soon all the rest of them were digging through their pockets and bags, and in a few minutes sixteen coins were on the desk at the front of the room.

“Probably the master coin should be with someone who’s not doing anything else, so they aren’t distracted,” Ron reasoned aloud.

“I’ll do it,” Lavender spoke up. “I’m probably the best one to stay in the Gryffindor common room, since I’m a prefect and I’m also not that good of a fighter.” Everyone agreed with that, and Hannah was the obvious choice for Hufflepuff, for similar reasons. Cho shared a look with Luna.

“I should be the liaison with Ravenclaw, I think,” she suggested somewhat apologetically. “Luna doesn’t exactly have a lot of credibility.” The potentially awkward moment was broken when Luna shrugged and smiled in a ‘what can I say? that’s the way I am’ manner, and several of the members chuckled in response.

“I have one more thing for you,” Ron added. “Harry left us with a little extra protection. Here are twelve doses of Felix Felicis , each good for two hours.” The other DA members gaped in surprise as Susan and Ginny levitated two trays forward, each holding half a dozen stoppered vials of pumpkin juice to which a portion of the lucky potion had been added. “I know there are fifteen of us here …”

“But the three of us staying back in the common rooms don’t need it,” Hannah finished for him.

They decided not to actually drink the potion until the alarm had been sounded, so as not to waste any of the effects. Justin and Ernie were given the Slytherin stakeout, as the Hufflepuff common room was closer to the dungeons, and having non-Gryffindors on this assignment would avoid as much friction as possible. Luna was tasked with the surveillance of Snape. The rest (Ron, Neville, Susan, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Colin, and Parvati) would patrol the corridors, with at least two of them in sight of the Room of Requirement at all times. Once everyone had their assignments, they broke up and headed off to their positions.

An hour later messages began to flash on the charmed Galleons.

Malfoy on the move.  Ernie sent this to Lavender, who immediately relayed it to the others.

Anyone else?  Ron queried

No.

Stay in position.  Malfoy was apparently operating alone this time, but they still needed to watch in case any other Slytherins joined in later.

Take the potions.  This was it. They were now committed. Ron, Susan, and Neville had consulted and determined that something would happen within the next two hours.

Go Katie.  Katie nodded to Lavender and exited the common room with her broom to begin patrolling outside.

Malfoy at the ROR.

Malfoy was allowed to enter the Room of Requirement unheeded. After some discussion, it had been decided that if they stopped him, he would just do it again some other night, when they weren’t mobilized and ready for him. Whatever was going to happen, it would be best for it to be now when he wasn’t aware that they were on to him.

Ron moved most of the members watching the corridors, the best fighters in the group, to the seventh floor hallway and waited. Only Colin and Parvati remained on general patrol. But he had the Marauder’s Map as well, and kept an eye on it constantly. Besides the members of the DA, there were quite a few Order members patrolling, including Bill, Fleur, Remus and Tonks. But most of them were in the area around Dumbledore’s office and the classrooms. This puzzled Ron, as he had been certain that Dumbledore knew that Malfoy was working in the Room of Requirement.

The waiting seemed interminable. After an hour Ron began to regret what appeared to be the premature taking of the Felix Felicis . But then it happened. The door to the Room opened, and the DA members assembled outside barely had time to bring themselves to full alertness when the entire corridor went pitch black!

“Stupefy ! Stupefy!” These spells were aimed blindly in the direction of the door on the chance that someone was there.

“Avada Kedavra!” The return fire was decidedly more lethal, and even in the dark, the students ducked to the floor, remembering their training.

“Reducto! Stupefy! Protego! Avada Kedavra!” The frustrated students dodged and shielded spells they could hear but not see, all the while being aware of bodies scurrying by them in the hallway, pausing occasionally to launch curses back at them. Much later, during the post mortem analysis, it would be concluded that Malfoy had used Instant Darkness powder but had some magical artifact that allowed him to see through the darkness. Hermione would liken it to night vision goggles, but only Harry, Justin, Dean, and Colin would know what she was talking about.

“Let’s get out of here!” Ron called out, not even knowing how many of his force were still standing. A few minutes later, he found himself leaning against a wall outside the field of darkness, which still completely cut off any evidence of what lay beyond.

“Is everyone all right?” A quick head count turned up Neville, Susan, and Ginny, with Dean and Seamus still missing. Ron glanced again at the Map, noting their unmoving figures still in the area near the Room of Requirement. He also spotted a dozen figures moving away from them at the other end of the corridor, along with three more unmoving ones near Seamus and Dean.

“Accio Dean!” he called out, attempting to get his dormmateclear of the carnage.

“Ron, you know that spell doesn’t work on people,” Ginny chided. “Locomotor Dean Thomas!”

“Locomotor Seamus Finnegan!” Susan added from beside her. In a few moments the unconscious forms of the two Gryffindors emerged from the darkness. The anxiety of the foursome dissipated when the pair was successfully revived.

“Wow, that was lucky!” Seamus exclaimed when the situation was explained to him. All those spells and no one was hurt!”

“I think we’re going to be saying that a lot during the next hour,” Neville noted wryly.

“Never mind that, let’s see if we can head them off,” Ron declared, studying the map.

“We need to call this in to Lavender too,” Susan added, taking her charmed Galleon and tapping it with her wand.

Death Eaters in the castle!

Where?

ROR, moving west.

Circling high above the grounds near the ForbiddenForest, Katie moved closer to the castle when she received this message, keeping an eye on the entrance, but also on the main gates. Now that Death Eaters were inside the castle, they might be planning to meet up with others on the outside to let them in.

For his part, Ron noted that two Death Eaters remained near the Room of Requirement, no doubt to ambush anyone who came out of the darkness on their side. Accordingly, he split up his force, leaving Dean and Seamus to guard this end of the hallway and instructing Colin and Parvati to sneak up on this pair from the rear. He then took the other three to intercept the rest of the enemy force. Meanwhile, Susan kept relaying messages to Lavender and the other watchers.

“Stupefy! Stupefy!” The pair of Death Eaters guarding the approach to the Room of Requirement never knew what hit them, as Colin and Parvati crept up silently from behind and launched their nonverbal spells. While Parvati bound them and took their wands, Colin called out to Dean and Seamus to join them. The two Gryffindors stopped along the way through the darkness to locate the bodies of the three Death Eaters who had been downed in the initial flurry of curses. One of them was dead, likely by a stray killing curse from his own side. The other two were bound and their wands collected as well. Then the four of them awaited further instructions from Ron.

Unfortunately, the battle wasn’t going that smoothly in other parts of the castle. Before Ron and his group could catch up and ambush them, three Death Eaters encountered a group of Order members. Ron could only watch the Map in frustration.

“Stupefy! Stupefy! Avada Kedavra!” Once more, the forces of the light side were seriously outgunned, and Sturgis Podmore fell lifeless to the floor, while Tonks and Remus barely managed to evade and escape around a corner.

“Here they come,” Ron whispered to his three companions as they huddled in the shadows. “Remember the stone spell.”

“Reducto! Stupefy! Stupefy! Protego!” The DA led off with four nonverbal spells and the battle was joined. “Avada Kedavra! Duro! Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Protego!” These and similar spells flew fast and furious for several seconds. When the dust had settled, Ron’s plan had succeeded brilliantly. His initial blasting spell had thrown the Death Eaters off balance, and two had been stunned immediately by Neville and Susan. The third had been more difficult to subdue, but had eventually been vanquished, although not before turning a tapestry to rubble. Ginny had alertly ducked behind the wall hanging and turned it to stone, blocking the killing curse that had been targeted on her. So far, their luck was still holding out.

Meanwhile Susan sent another two messages to Lavender.

8 Death Eaters down.

More near Astronomy Tower.

Ron had deduced that the target appeared not to be Dumbledore’s office, but the Astronomy Tower, and accordingly redeployed his forces. It occurred to him that with the Marauders’ Map this was like playing chess against a blindfolded opponent. He could see where they were but they had no idea where his pieces were. He smiled grimly at the thought, but didn’t dwell on it very long. For on the Map, he could see that Bill and Fleur were in the Death Eaters’ path, and he had no way to warn them.

Katie changed her search pattern when she received the message about the Astronomy Tower, and flew cautiously over to check it out. Just as she was within sight, a bright green spell soared into the air and exploded into the Dark Mark. Furious that such a loathsome symbol would be loosed at Hogwarts, she accelerated to top speed and dove down on the figure in dark robes who had turned back toward the doorway.

“Stupefy!” Once again, the hours of target practice with her nonverbal specialty paid off as she nailed him before he made it through the door. Quickly she dismounted and dragged him up against an inner wall of the tower and took his wand. “Incarcerous !” Leaving him there, she carefully peeked through the doorway and down the winding stairway, then slowly crept down the steps. To her surprise, she was stopped at the bottom by an invisible barrier, but she could hear shouts coming from the other side. Hurrying back up to the top, she mounted her broom once more and contacted Lavender.

Dark Mark over AstronomyTower.

Stairway blocked.

It was a very long minute before she had her reply.

Return to castle.

With one last glance at the Death Eater she had captured, she soared off toward GryffindorTower. Soaring through one of the windows, and frightening two second years half to death, she braked right next to Lavender, who had commandeered a table near the entrance portal.

“They have the rest of them trapped, and Ron wants you to join them for the final attack,” the normally frivolous but for now deadly serious blonde instructed. “Good luck.”

Katie checked her watch. “Yeah, for another twenty minutes anyway.”

Down in the dungeons Ernie and Justin had been growing increasingly restless with their lack of activity while following the messages from their comrades who were engaged in the battle. For although they had been responsible for sounding the alarm, absolutely nothing had happened outside the Slytherin common room since.

After indulging for the better part of an hour in some creative ideas of ways to utilize their temporary abundance of good luck (they were currently speculating on which girls they might ‘get lucky’ with), they were finally prompted to action when the stone door to the Slytherin common room opened. From their hidden positions on either side of the corridor, the pair of Hufflepuffs watched quietly while Nott, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode slipped out of the doorway and started down the passageway, presumably to join in Malfoy’s triumph several floors above.

It was over almost before it started. Ernie and Justin’s first two nonverbal stunning spells had Nott and Parkinson down before they even realized they were under attack. Bulstrode managed to get off a hex which missed Ernie by several feet, and Justin stunned her from the side before she could get off a second shot. Goyle somehow managed to drop his wand and Crabbe looked frantically back and forth across the hallway unable to decide which of his opponents to attack first. Two more stunners eliminated for him the necessity of making that decision.

Justin shot Ernie a thumbs-up and triggered his Galleon while his friend kept an eye on the doorway to ensure that no other Slytherins emerged to investigate. Fortunately, no one inside the common room had heard them.

5 more Slytherins just came out.

All stunned and out of action.

Lavender sent a clarification before passing on the message.

2 on 5 and you got them all?

Justin permitted himself a bit of smugness.

Just lucky I guess.

Back upstairs everyone else was converging on the entrance to the Astronomy Tower. Ron had maneuvered so that four DA members were coming from one direction and three more plus Remus and Tonks from the other, and they now had the remaining Death Eaters trapped and outnumbered. This time the battle was more drawn out, since the enemy was now aware that their opponents were more numerous than they had anticipated, and they had taken cover in a defensive position. Bill was already down and bleeding, but Fleur had pulled him behind a suit of armor. She was now defending their hiding spot, fighting with a fury that Ron would never have believed possible from such a beautiful woman.

One final surprise remained. Mere minutes after Draco Malfoy had abandoned his companions to race up the stairway to the top of the tower,Snape appeared in the hallway and followed him. It all happened so quickly that he made it through the crisscrossing spells unscathed, in large part due to the fact that both sets of combatants thought he was on their side.

Berating themselves for not realizing that the stairway was only blocked in one direction, Neville and Ron redirected their fire, casting a series of blasting hexes at the opening to make sure that none of their other enemies could escape in that direction.

Seconds later Luna joined the other DA members, shocking the rest of them by cursing angrily and scowling. No one had ever before seen her like this, no matter what misfortune had been visited upon her by her fellow students.

“I tried to stop him, but he got by me,” she lamented to Ginny and Susan, who were closest to her. “Professor Flitwick came down to see him and must have told him about the attack. Then he flew out of his office with a horrible look on his face. Like he had the most loathsome task imaginable to complete, and he was forcing himself to do it. I don’t think he even noticed that I was there, and he was gone before I thought to stun him.” She took a deep breath and calmed herself, and the slightly detached look returned. “This is where I’d normally make a comment about how he was being inhabited by some bizarre creature, but I’m too shook up right now, so just pretend I did.” Susan and Ginny exchanged a look of disbelief, then just smiled and shook their heads before returning their attention to the battle.

Just as the last of the Felix Felicis potion was about to wear off, the final Death Eater was hit by eight simultaneous stunning hexes, four of which seemed certain to miss but inexplicably connected anyway. Slowly, cautiously, the remaining defenders rose from their positions and approached the entrance to the tower, wands still held aloft and ready. There was one last brief moment of excitement, as Malfoy appeared on the other side of the pile of rubble that Ron and Neville had created, but a flurry of spells quickly chased him back up the stairs.

Ron consulted the Map once more and quickly pinpointed the top of the tower, as the other DA members looked over his shoulder.

“There’s Harry and Dumbledore! They must be back!” Ginny exclaimed.

“But Malfoy and Snape are getting away!” Ron added in disgust. “Come on, Katie, we need to see what’s going on up there.” Katie still had her broom with her, since she had literally flown down the corridors from GryffindorTower in order to get to the site of the battle as quickly as possible, and Ron now climbed on behind her.

For their part, the other DA members pitched in where they could. Seamus, Dean, and Neville began to clear away the rubble, while Susan and Luna helped McGonagall, Fleur, and Remus carry Bill and the other injured Order members to the Hospital Wing. Tonks joined Parvati and Colin back at the Room of Requirement to ward the doorway against any further incursions into the castle, and then to round up the other Death Eaters who had been captured. Ginny raced back to GryffindorTower to get her and Ron’s brooms so that she could follow along up to the AstronomyTower.

 

Back at Beauxbatons, Hermione waited as patiently as she could, knowing that someone would eventually come up to check out the scene at the top of the AstronomyTower. Fortunately for her sanity, it wasn’t long.

“Look, here’s Dumbledore!” Ron shouted as he and Katie landed. “But where’s Harry?”

“Oh Merlin! He’s dead!” Katie shrieked. “Dumbledore’s dead! Ron, what are we going to do?” She collapsed by the fallen wizard crying hysterically. But Ron, though staggered by the sight, was still anxious to know what had happened to Harry. He had been on the Map just minutes before. Then he heard a faint voice.

“Over here!” Hermione shouted into the mirror as loudly as she could.

“Hermione?”

Eventually, everything got sorted out. Ron followed the sound of my voice and found Harry under the Cloak. He managed to undo Dumbledore’s petrification jinx and by then Ginny had arrived with two more brooms. She had a bit of a breakdown as well once she saw Dumbledore, and Ron and Harry were pretty shook up too, but eventually they got everyone off the Astronomy Tower. Flitwick was called up to undo the charm at the bottom of the tower, that somehow only let people with a Dark Mark pass through, and then he and some house elves secured the Room of Requirement. Once Harry told everyone about the Vanishing cabinet, Dobby was able to get in and bring it out, and it was quickly disabled.

Harry was taken to the Hospital Wing as well, since he needed to be treated for the potion he’d ingested, but Madame Pomfrey said he’d recover. As one can imagine, everyone is quite shook up about Dumbledore’s death, and the fact that Snape killed him. But there are other things to deal with as well – an Order member was killed in the battle, and most of the rest were injured, especially Bill who was severely mauled by the werewolf, FenrirGreyback. That evil creature won’t ever injure or turn anyone else, though, because Fleur killed him. From what Ron said, she can be vicious when defending someone she loves. I can understand that, actually, because I think I’d do the same thing if it were Harry.

The good news is that all the Death Eaters were killed or captured except for Malfoy (and Snape), and none of the DA was hurt. I think it’s a credit to Harry’s training of them that they performed so well. Luck can only do so much for you, after all.

They gave Harry a sleeping potion and Ron told me to get some rest too, so I deactivated the mirror. He’s right, it’s past midnight here and I’m exhausted. I don’t know if I can sleep though. What are we going to do now!

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 10

Things continue to be in a state of uproar at Hogwarts, and it has now spread throughout Britain, and to a lesser extent to the rest of the wizarding world. I’ll cut out and save a few newspaper articles to illustrate that, and focus my notes here on what’s going on with Harry and Hogwarts.

I got a chance to talk to him on the mirror this morning before everyone else came to see him in the Hospital Wing, and we decided to keep what Snape told him secret for now. We’ll wait and see what happens before we let anyone else know. He made sure to tell McGonagall and Tonks that it was Snape who actually killed Dumbledore, whereas Malfoy had set it all up. I’m sure he’ll have to repeat the story several more times, but even if they give him Veritaserum, it is the truth, as far as it goes. Plus they have plenty of witnesses who saw Snape and Malfoy go up to the tower, and Katie and Ron who found the body while Harry was still petrified.

The rest of the staff is in a state of shock, both that Dumbledore is dead and that one of their colleagues killed him. Most of the students don’t have nearly as much trouble believing the latter – Snape was so hated by everyone except the Slytherins. Susan told us when she came to visit Harry that there are some mixed feelings about Malfoy – everyone is disgusted by what he did, but to some extent they’re impressed that he pulled it off.

There’s more bad news. After all he and Dumbledore went through to get the Horcrux, it was a fake! Someone else had got there first, and left another locket with a note inside. It wasn’t until this morning that Harry found time to take a good look at the locket he took from the basin, and it was only then that he discovered the subterfuge. The note basically taunted Voldemort and said that RAB (whoever that is) had stolen the real Horcrux and destroyed it. Well, if it’s true that part is good news, but how will we ever know?

Bill is really messed up. Greyback scratched him up badly, and may even have bit him, but Remus says that as long as he wasn’t transformed at the time, Bill won’t become a werewolf. The wounds are cursed, however, and will take a long time to heal, and he’ll always have scars.

If there’s anything good that came out of last night, it’s that Mrs. Weasley has completely changed her mind about Fleur. When she heard how fiercely Fleur had defended Bill, and even killed his attacker, she was very impressed. I think it’s probably because she’s always so protective of her family herself, and now sees that trait in Fleur as well. Now, finally, everyone will realize what Harry and I have known for a while now (and Bill too, of course). Fleur is much more than just a pretty face – she’s a very capable witch.

As the battle is discussed more and more, it’s becoming obvious that the DA outperformed the Order hands down. Every Order member except Remus and Tonks and, interestingly, Fleur, was injured to some extent, even McGonagall, but not a single student was. And not only that, but nearly every Death Eater was taken out by a student. Among the Order only Fleur, who got Greyback, and Tonks, who would be expected to be more capable since she’s an Auror, actually defeated a Death Eater. Tonks got two in the final showdown. There’s some inclination among the adults to pass it off as the effects of the Felix Felicitis. But how do they explain the DA’s skill with nonverbal spells, or how much better organized the students were?

I personally think Harry should get some credit for how well trained they were, and Ron for maneuvering everyone about the castle! Not to mention the others who kept the rest of the students out of harm’s way. I still can’t believe how good a job Lavender did at relaying all those messages. And to think that Cho, of all people, modified MY charm on the Galleons!

Later –

I just talked to Harry again this afternoon. Now that the shock of his death is finally wearing off, I find myself angry with Dumbledore. I asked Harry, and he’s starting to feel the same way. If Snape is to be believed, he knew he was dying for the past year. So why didn’t he do more to train Harry? Why did he waste all that time? How on earth is Harry going to be able to find and destroy the rest of the Horcruxes, much less defeat Voldemort, without Dumbledore’s help? The more I think about it, I’m not just angry, I’m furious! What sort of game was he playing at?!!

Harry and I really have our work cut out for us now. And I’m sure Ron will be joining us. It will be good to have the three of us together again. Somehow, we’ll have to go through Dumbledore’s records to learn all we can. It might be tricky to get someone to let us into his office. I suppose McGonagall is the Acting Headmistress now. I think she’s quite fond of Harry and me, so we ought to be able to persuade her.

Still Later (evening) –

Madame Maxime came to see me and asked if I wanted to accompany the Beauxbatons delegation to Dumbledore’s funeral. I thanked her and said of course I would. I need to be with Harry for this, and he needs me as well. There’s no way I’m going to be able to keep my mind on my studies for the next few days anyway.

Madame Maxime doesn’t know it, but there was quite a debate about the funeral arrangements, and Harry was a part of it. Dumbledore is going to be buried at Hogwarts, which is a departure from precedent, but it makes sense, since he devoted so many years of his life to the school. They were going to end the term early and send the students home, but Harry argued that the students ought to be allowed to stay for the funeral. So I’ll get to see Ron and everyone else when I get there tomorrow. It’s hard to believe how long it’s been.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 13 (Friday the 13th)

I arrived back here at Hogwarts right after dinner yesterday evening with the others from Beauxbatons. It was an interesting experience riding in the coach with the flying horses, but I had quite a few other things on my mind. Harry was waiting for me, of course, and I was in his arms almost as soon as I left the carriage.

We headed up to the Room of Requirement with Ron, Ginny, Susan, and Neville and spent hours talking about everything that had happened. Susan gave me detailed notes on what the DA had done during the battle, which I’ll copy into my journal in the space I saved for it. We didn’t really get into the more secret stuff, since most of them haven’t been told everything. As far as I know, only Ron knows about the Horcruxes. Mostly I just wanted Harry to hold me, and I sat curled up next to him wrapped up nice and snug. Hannah and Luna joined us later, which cheered Ron up a bit.

Finally the others left to give Harry and me a little private time together. I really considered asking the room to give us a bed, but I knew I was expected back at the carriage for the night. Things got pretty hot and heavy for a while, but then we settled down and just lay on the sofa holding each other. We ended up lying on our sides with him spooning up behind me with his arms wrapped around me (which allowed him to touch me in a way that both of us enjoyed very much). We talked some more about what we’re going to do next.

McGonagall already asked Harry what he and Dumbledore were doing that night, and it was awkward for him to not be able to tell her. I think we should tell her, especially since we want to go through his records. Harry pointed out that Dumbledore was quite specific when he said he should only tell Ron and me, (although he also told Neville and Susan the Prophecy).

On reflection, that seems strange to me. This was at the same time that Dumbledore decided I was too involved in Harry’s life, and was holding him back. And as good a friend as Ron is, he sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. Why would the two of us be the only ones that could be trusted with the knowledge of the prophecy and the Horcruxes?

On the other hand, we have mounting evidence that Dumbledore has been trying to hold Harry back. What if the real reason for not allowing Harry to talk to anyone else was to hinder his progress? Or make him completely reliant on Dumbledore? If either of these is true they’re infuriating. But regardless, if it’s the former, we can’t afford to be hindered any longer now that the Headmaster’s gone. If it’s the latter, the same argument applies.

It will soon be time to get ready for the funeral, so I’ll have to talk to Harry about this later.

Although it was the first wizarding funeral either Harry or Hermione had ever been to, it was difficult to imagine a more impressive one. Everyone who was of any importance in the wizarding world, whether in fact or merely in their own minds, was in attendance. Hundreds of chairs were set out in front of the castle facing the lake and a temporary stage, which included a simple marble table on which the Headmaster’s remains were laid out. His body was attired in one of his favorite purple robes adorned with stars, and his hands were crossed over his wand, resting on his chest.

The group from the British Ministry of Magic had the most prominent seats, and included some of the couple’s least favorite people – Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, and Rufus Scrimgeour. Delegations from other countries were seated immediately behind them. Hogwarts students and faculty were seated on the right side, while ‘ordinary’ witches and wizards were on the left. The members of the Order of the Phoenix took unassuming positions with this group. Hermione fumed as she noted the representatives of other magical beings were shunted as far to the outskirts of the ceremonial area as possible.

The trio sat together for the funeral, with Hermione and Ron flanking Harry. Neville and Susan were on Ron’s other side, while Ginny sat next to Hermione, and the rest of the DA gathered around them. They suffered through interminable speeches by politicians who only thought they knew Dumbledore.

But when those finally ended, they were pleased by the tributes of some of the other magical species, who though disregarded by the wizarding world, were cherished by the Headmaster. The mermaids sang their strange sounding songs, the centaurs loosed a volley of arrows, and the house elves of Hogwarts popped into view and then quickly out again, leaving the marble table holding Dumbledore’s body overflowing with brightly colored flowers.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash, and when everyone’s vision cleared a marble tomb had appeared, Dumbledore’s final resting place on the shore of the lake. It was positioned perfectly to be visible from the castle entrance, from the road leading from the school gates, from the quidditch stadium, and from the lake traversed by first year students on their initial introduction to Hogwarts.

 

“Harry, can I talk to you for a bit?” Ginny asked as people began to get to their feet at the conclusion of the ceremony. Harry glanced at Hermione, who gave his hand a squeeze before releasing it. She moved next to Ron as Ginny and Harry walked away, and gave him a hug.

“Hey,” he greeted her as they pulled apart. “First time I’ve had a chance to talk to you alone since you got here.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry for ignoring you, but …”

“Don’t worry about it, I understand. You and Harry needed the time together. So, how have you been?”

Hermione looked around. The crowd was breaking up and students were beginning to drift back toward the castle. Susan and Neville were talking to Hannah. She took out her wand and cast a discreet privacy charm.

“I’m just barely holding it together. I’m trying to be strong for Harry, but I don’t know how much more I can take,” she admitted shakily. “Oh Ron, I’m so scared! Dumbledore left Harry with this impossible task, and I don’t know how we’re going to do it!”

“We’ll make it through, Hermione, we always do,” Ron said hopefully. “Harry can do this, and you and I will be right there with him.” He wrapped one arm awkwardly around her, and she leaned into his side as the two friends continued to comfort and encourage each other.

Meanwhile, Ginny stopped when she and Harry were far enough away from everyone to avoid being overheard.

“You’re going after him, aren’t you?” she began. “You and Hermione and Ron. And you won’t be coming back to Hogwarts next year.” Harry paused, then nodded. Ginny was a clever girl, and trustworthy as well. “I want to come with you,” she declared. Harry took a step back in surprise, but Ginny pressed on determinedly. “I’m a good fighter; you know that from the DA. I can help you, and I want to be a part of defeating him.”

Harry began to say that it was too dangerous, that he needed her and her family to be safe, but he knew she could counter that argument easily. She had nearly died her first year, and been possessed temporarily by Tom Riddle, and then nearly died again this year. With Dumbledore gone who knew how safe Hogwarts would be now, or any place for that matter? Instead he just shook his head sadly.

“You know you can’t, Ginny,” he said simply. “You aren’t of age for another year, and your mum would never let you go.” The look on the youngest Weasley’s face showed that she had expected this outcome, but she had determined to try anyway. “Besides, you can still be a part of the fight here,” Harry continued, trying to soften the blow. “You and Neville and Susan have to take over the DA next year. Everyone will still need to be able to defend themselves, no matter where they are. And there may be some things that need to be done here as well.”

“What sort of things?” Ginny asked, not sure if he was being serious or just letting her down easy. But Harry shook his head, not willing to reveal anything about the Horcruxes yet, much less his and Hermione’s speculations on their location.

“Besides that,” he teased. “You need to be here to drive all the boys crazy. You’re going to have to get yourself a new boyfriend for next year.”

Ginny’s eyes flashed, as she had intended to steer the conversation in this direction and she eagerly took up his challenge. “I don’t know about that. All the good guys are already taken. You, Neville …”

“What about Seamus?” Harry mentally went down the list of Gryffindors, realizing that his Irish dormmate was the only eligible male in his year left for her to choose from.

“Oh please,” Ginny groaned while rolling her eyes. “He’s even worse than Dean. Not even Parvati or Lavender would go as far as he wanted them to when he dated them. And for Lavender, that’s really saying something, you know.”

As she had intended, Ginny put him off balance with that remark. “Uh, no actually, I didn’t know,” he stammered. “I … er… never really talked to Ron or the other guys about her, or any of you girls for that matter.”

Ginny giggled at his discomfort, and wrapped her arm in his while patting it in mock consolation. “I know, you’re so noble.” Then she pulled back and grinned at him. “Maybe we should hook him up with Romilda Vane?”

Harry grimaced, but continued the banter. “What do you think about Colin?”

Ginny shrugged. “I don’t know, do you think he’ll ever grow up?” Harry thought a moment about that idea. He couldn’t really picture a grown up Colin Creevey.

Ginny stopped and turned to face him, now becoming serious. “What about us Harry? Do you think you and I could have made a go of it if, you know, if you hadn’t …?”

“If Hermione and I had decided we just wanted to be good friends?” Ginny nodded, and held her breath, her brown eyes boring into his with a hard, blazing look. “Well, it’s possible, I guess,” he began carefully, now getting an idea of where this conversation was heading. “I like you. You’re a good friend, and fun to be with. But I also could have hooked up with Katie, or Cho,” he suggested, picking two girls who had expressed their interest in him.

Ginny was not to be deterred. She needed to know, and wasn’t going to let it go until she got an answer. “You and Cho would never have worked. And I’d be much better for you than Katie – I know you much better than she does, and we’ve spent so much more time together. You and I have more in common, and certain shared experiences,” she pointed out, reminding him that Hermione wasn’t the only girl whose life he’d saved.

“Ginny, you’re a great girl, and …” Harry deliberately looked her up and down letting his eyes show his appreciation of her physical assets. She wasn’t as curvy as Hermione, but she had a very nice, petite figure. Under this scrutiny, Ginny blushed bright red. She had thought she was long past the stage of blushing whenever he looked at her, but not this time! The thought flashed through Harry’s mind that it was a good thing Ron didn’t see him checking out his sister like this, before he continued his response, taking her hands in his.

“You’re obviously very attractive, Ginny and like I said, you’re a great girl, and any guy would be lucky to be with you. So who knows, if things were different, maybe we could have ended up together. But …”

“But I’m not Hermione,” Ginny acknowledged with a sigh. “I’m not the girl who’s stood by you for six years, and never let you down. Who knows you better than you know yourself. Who’s closer to you than anyone could ever be, even when she’s a thousand miles away.”

Harry shook his head with a small smile, glad that she understood. “I can’t imagine my life without her in it. She doesn’t just have my heart,” he said almost reverently. “She has my soul.”

Ginny nodded and together they turned and started walking back to the others, as she linked her arm with his again, in a friendly fashion, nothing more. It had been difficult to give up her lifelong dream, but she had needed this closure. “I don’t suppose I could have one more kiss, something to remember you by?” she asked hopefully. Harry looked at her and rolled his eyes before shaking his head with a chuckle. “Oh well, it was worth a try.” she joked as she gave his arm a squeeze.

As they approached the now empty seats, Ginny turned to him again. “You’re going to beat him, I just know you will. You won’t give up until he’s gone. That’s probably the most impressive thing about you, you know, your determination. Your desire to do the right thing even if it kills you.”

“That sounds like something Oliver Wood would say,” Harry quipped, attempting to cover the awkwardness he always felt when he was complimented like that. “Get the snitch or die trying.” But at the same time he gave her hand a little squeeze to show his appreciation for her confidence in him. Then he grew silent as he mused on her words. It reminded him of the time Hermione had gone off on Dumbledore, saying he’d deliberately fostered Harry’s self-sacrificing trait. Did Dumbledore expect him to die?

Looking up, he spotted Ron holding Hermione while she buried her head into his shoulder, both of them with tears in their eyes. It occurred to him that this was the first time he’d ever seen Ron hug Hermione. He knew this had been a stressful time for her – having to helplessly witness the terrible events of the past few days – and was glad that she’d found this source of comfort from their mutual friend. Harry caught her eye, and their nods indicated that they’d explain later what they’d been up to with the two Weasley siblings.

Ginny broke away and headed towards the castle, realizing that the trio would want to be by themselves. But before Harry reached the other two, he was intercepted by someone he really didn’t want to talk to just then.

“Mr. Potter, I’d like to have a word with you,” the Minister of Magic announced. The two grim-faced Aurors flanking him indicated that this request was not optional. Reluctantly, Harry turned and headed back in the direction he’d just come from, this time with considerably less pleasant company.

“I want to know what happened that night,” Scrimgeour demanded.

“I gave my statement to Auror Shacklebolt during the official investigation,” Harry snapped. I watched Snape kill the headmaster, then he and Malfoy escaped on brooms. Nothing’s changed since then.”

“But what were the four of you were doing on top of that tower?” the Minister persisted.

“Malfoy figured out a way to bring Death Eaters into the school, and one of them set off a Dark Mark to lure Dumbledore to the top of the tower, where he and Snape ambushed him,” Harry replied in a tired voice, as though his inquisitor was an annoying younger child. “The headmaster and I were in Hogsmeade when we saw the mark, and borrowed some brooms from the Hog’s Head to fly back to investigate.”

“And what were you and Dumbledore doing in Hogsmeade?”

“He was giving me special lessons.”

“In what?”

“How to kill Voldemort.” Harry did not completely mask his sneer at the predictable shudder from the other three wizards. “I’m the Chosen One, haven’t you heard?” he added sarcastically.

“I think I’ve heard about enough of your cheek,” Scrimgeour growled. “Perhaps some time in a Ministry holding cell will loosen your tongue.”

“I don’t think so,” Ron’s voice announced. The three Ministry men spun around to see themselves surrounded by a group of students with wands drawn. Hermione briefly flashed her charmed Galleon in her palm to indicate to Harry how the DA had responded so quickly.

“And just who do you children think you are?” the irate Minister snarled.

“We’re the lot that killed or captured fourteen Death Eaters a few nights ago,” Neville answered with pride, and not a small bit of mockery. “You might have read about us.”

“Well, you can just step aside or be arrested,” Scrimgeour shot back.

“You’d really arrest the hero of the wizarding world and the school children who defeated more Death Eaters than your entire Auror Corps has all year?” Susan countered scornfully. “If so, it would be the last action you’d ever take as Minister of Magic.”

Knowing that his bluff had been called, Scrimgeour turned back to Harry and snarled. “Step one inch out of line this summer, Potter, and you’re mine.” With that he stormed off, escorted by his two Auror bodyguards, under the close watch of a dozen of the best trained fighters at Hogwarts.

“Thanks guys,” Harry called out after his friends. Neville and Susan gave a wave as Ron and Hermione moved to join him.

“Guess this is it, then,” Ron commented as the three of them gazed out over the lake. “Think we’ll ever be back here?”

“Someday,” Harry reassured him. “It’s hard to say what happens now. We’ve got a lot of planning to do.”

“We’re with you whatever happens,” Ron stated confidently as Hermione ducked under Harry’s arm and pulled it around herself, leaning her head into his shoulder.

“I know,” Harry replied as he hugged Hermione and clasped Ron around the shoulder with his other arm. “Just like always.”

-oooOOOooo-

“Amazing,” Rose breathed as Hermione closed the notebook. “She only changed a little bit from that last part but made it sound so different than it really was, like you were with Ron and Daddy was with Ginny, instead of the other way around.” Hermione smiled and nodded.

“But the part about Snape was really shocking,” Rose continued. “He really told Daddy right there that night what really was going on?”

“That’s right,” Hermione confirmed. “But the author didn’t want anyone to know what side he was actually on until the end of the story, so it’s perfectly understandable why she changed that part.”

“What did you do next?” her daughter asked. “The books skip a whole month.”

“Well, I went back to Beauxbatons and took my NEWTs, which is the last thing I wrote about in this year’s journal,” Hermione answered. “I decided to start a new journal for the rest of it, since that was the end of the school year for Harry and Ron, and the beginning of everything else that followed. We’ll start reading it next time.”

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-