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The Silver Doe
t was snowing by the time Hermione took over the watch
at midnight. Harry's dreams were confused and disturbing:
Nagini wove in and out of them, rst through a gigantic,
Icracked ring, then through a wreath of Christmas roses. He
woke repeatedly, panicky, convinced that somebody had called out
to him in the distance, imagining that the wind whipping around
the tent was footsteps or voices.
Finally he got up in the darkness and joined Hermione, who was
huddled in the entrance to the tent reading A History of Magic by
the light of the wand. The snow was still falling thickly, and she
greeted with relief his suggestion of packing up early and moving
on.
\We'll go somewhere more sheltered," she agreed, shivering as
she pulled on a sweatshirt over her pajamas. \I kept thinking I
could hear people moving outside, I even thought I saw somebody
once or twice."
Harry paused in the act of pulling on a jumper and glanced at
the silent, motionless Sneakoscope on the table.
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\I'm sure I imagined it," said Hermione, looking nervous. \The
snow in the dark, it plays tricks on your eyes. . . . But perhaps we
ought to Disapparate under the Invisibility Cloak, just in case?"
Half an hour later, with the tent packed, Harry was wearing
the Horcrux, and Hermione clutching the beaded bag, they Disap-
parated. The usual tightness engulfed them; Harry's feet parted
company with the snowy ground, then slammed hard onto what
felt like frozen earth covered with leaves.
\Where are we?" he asked, peering around at a fresh mass of
trees as Hermione opened the beaded bag and began tugging at
tent poles.
\The Forest of Dean," she said. \`I came camping here once
with my mum and dad."
Here too snow lay on the trees all around and it was bitterly
cold, but they were at least protected from the wind. They spent
most of the day inside the tent, huddled for warmth around the
useful bright blue
ames that Hermione was so adept at producing,
and which could be scooped up and carried around in a jar. Harry
felt as though he was recuperating from some brief but severe ill-
ness; an impression reinforced by Hermione's solicitousless. That
afternoon fresh
akes drifted down upon them, so that even their
sheltered clearing had a fresh dusting of powdery snow.
After two nights of little sleep, Harry's senses seemed more alert
than usual. Their escape from Godric's Hollow had been so narrow
that Voldemort seemed somehow closer than before, more threat-
ening. As darkness drew in again Harry refused Hermione's o er
to keep watch and told her to go to bed.
Harry moved an old cushion into the tent mouth and sat down,
wearing all the sweaters he owned but even so, still shivery. The
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darkness deepened with the passing hours until it was virtually
impenetrable. He was on the point of taking out the Marauder's
Map, so as to watch Ginny's dot for a while, before he remembered
that it was the Christmas holidays and that she would be back at
the Burrow.
Every tiny movement seemed magni ed in the vastness of the
forest. Harry knew that it must be full of living creatures, but
he wished they would all remain still and silent so that he could
separate their innocent scurryings and prowlings from noises that
might proclaim other, sinister movements. He remembered the
sound of a cloak slithering over dead leaves many years ago, and
at once thought he heard it again before mentally shaking himself.
Their protective enchantments had worked for weeks; why should
they break now? And yet he could not throw o the feeling that
something was di erent tonight.
Several time he jerked upright, he neck aching because he had
fallen asleep, slumped at an awkward angle against the side of the
tent. The night reached such a depth of velvety blackness that he
might have been suspended in limbo between Disapparition and
Apparition. He had just held up a hand in front of his face to see
whether he could make out his ngers when it happened.
A bright silver light appeared right ahead of him, moving
through the trees. Whatever the source, it was moving soundlessly.
The light seemed simply to drift toward him.
He jumped to his feet, his voice frozen in his throat, and raised
Hermione's wand. He screwed up his eyes as the light became
blinding, the trees in front of it pitch-black in silhouette, and still
the thing came closer. . . .
And then the source of the light stepped out from behind an
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oak. It was a silver-white doe, moon-bright and dazzling, picking
her way over the ground, still silent, and leaving no hoofprints in
the ne powdering of snow. She stepped toward him, her beautiful
head with its wide, long-lashed eyes held high.
Harry stared at the creature, lled with wonder, not at her
strangeness, but at her inexplicable familiarity. He felt that he
had been waiting for her to come, but that he had forgotten, until
that moment, that they had arranged to meet. His impulse to
shout for Hermione, which had been so strong a moment ago, had
gone. He knew, he would have staked his life on it, that she had
come for him, and him alone.
They gazed at each other for several long moments and then
she turned an walked away.
\No," he said, and his voice was cracked with lack of use. \Come
back!"
She continued to step deliberately through the trees, and soon
her brightness was striped by their think black trunks. For one
trembling second he hesitated. Caution murmured it could be a
trick, a lure, a trap. But instinct, overwhelming instinct, told him
that this was not Dark Magic. He set o in pursuit.
Snow crunched beneath his feet, but the doe made no noise as
she passed through the trees, for she was nothing but light. Deeper
and deeper into the forest she led him, and Harry walked quickly,
sure that when she stopped, she would allow him to approach her
properly. And then she would speak and the voice would tell him
what he needed to know.
At last, she came to a halt. She turned her beautiful head
toward him once more, and he broke into a run, a question burning
in him, but as he opened his lips to ask it, she vanished.
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The Silver Doe
Though the darkness had swallowed her whole, her burnished
image was still imprinted on his retinas; it obscured his vision,
brightening when he lowered his eyelids, disorienting him. Now
fear came: Her presence had meant safety.
\Lumos!" he whispered, and the wand-tip ignited.
The imprint of the doe faded away with every blink of his eyes
as he stood there, listening to the sounds of the forest, to distant
crackles of twigs, soft swishes of snow. Was he about to be at-
tacked? Had she enticed him into an ambush? Was he imagining
that somebody stood beyond the reach of the wandlight, watching
him?
He held the wand higher. Nobody ran out him, no
ash of green
light burst from behind a tree. Why, then, had she led him to this
spot?
Something gleamed in the light of the wand, and Harry spun
about, but all that was there was a small, frozen pool, its cracked
black surface glittering as he raised the wand higher to examine it.
He moved forward rather cautiously and looked down. The
ice re
ected his distorted shadow and the beam of wandlight, but
deep below the thick, misty gray carapace, something else glinted.
A great silver cross . . .
His heart skipped into his mouth: He dropped to his knees at
the pool's edge and angled the wand so as to
ood the bottom of the
pool with as much light as possible. A glint of deep red . . . It was a
sword with glittering rubies in its hilt. . . . The sword of Gry ndor
was lying at the bottom of the forest pool.
Barely breathing, he stared down at it. How was this possible?
How could it have come to be lying in a forest pool, this close to
the place where they were camping? Had some unknown magic
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drawn Hermione to this spot, or was the doe, which he had taken
to be a Patronus, some kind of guardian of the pool? Or had
the sword been put into the pool after they had arrived, precisely
because they were here? In which case, where was the person who
had wanted to pass it to Harry? Again he directed the wand at
the surrounding trees and bushes, searching for a human outline,
for the glint of an eye, but he could not see anyone there. All the
same, a little more fear leavened his exhilaration as he returned
his attention to the sword reposing upon the bottom of the frozen
pool.
He pointed the want at the silvery shape and murmured, \Accio
Sword."
It did not stir. He had not expected it to. If it had been that
easy, the sword would have lain on the ground for him to pick up,
not in the depths of a frozen pool. He set o around the circle
of ice, thinking hard about the last time the sword had delivered
itself to him. He had been in terrible danger then, and had asked
for help.
\Help," he murmured, but the sword remained upon the pool
bottom, indi erent, motionless.
What was it, Harry asked himself (walking again), that Dumble-
dore had told him the last time he had retrieved the sword? Only
a true Gry ndor could have pulled that out of the hat. And what
were the qualities that de ned a Gry ndor? A small voice inside
Harry's head answered him: Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set
Gry ndors apart.
Harry stopped walking and let out a long sigh, his smoky breath
dispersing rapidly upon the frozen air. He knew what he had to
do. If he was honest with himself, he had thought it might come to
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The Silver Doe
this from the moment he had spotted the sword through the ice.
He glanced at the surrounding trees again, but was convinced
that nobody was going to attack him. They had had their chance as
he walked alone through the forest, had had plenty of opportunity
as he examined the pool. The only reason to delay at this point
was because the immediate prospect was so deeply uninviting.
With fumbling ngers Harry started to remove his many layers
of clothing. Where \chivalry" entered this, he thought ruefully, he
was not entirely sure, unless it counted as chivalrous that he was
not calling for Hermione to do it in his stead.
An owl hooted somewhere as he stripped o , and he thought
with a pang of Hedwig. He was shivering now, his teeth chat-
tering horribly, and yet he continued to strip of until at last he
stood there in is underwear, barefooted in the snow. He placed
the pouch containing his wand, his mother's letter, the shard of
Sirius's mirror, and the old Snitch on top of his clothes, then he
pointed Hermione's wand at the ice.
\Di ndo."
It cracked with a sound like a bullet in the silence. The surface
of the pool broke and chunks of dark ice rocked on the ru ed water.
As far as Harry could judge, it was not deep, but to retrieve the
sword he would have to submerge himself completely.
Contemplating the task ahead would not make it easier or the
water warmer. He stepped to the pool's edge and placed Her-
mione's wand on the ground, still lit. Then, trying not to imagine
how much colder he was about to become or how violently he would
soon be shivering, he jumped.
Every pore of his body screamed in protest; The very air in his
lungs seems to freeze solid as he was submerged to his shoulders in
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the frozen water. He could hardly breathe; trembling so violently,
the water lapped over the edges of the pool, he felt for the blade
with his numb feet. He only wanted to dive once.
Harry put o the moment of total submersion from second to
second, gasping and shaking, until he told himself that it must be
done, gathered all his courage, and dived.
The cold was agony: It attacked him like re. His brain itself
seemed to have frozen as he pushed through the dark water to the
bottom and reached out, groping for the sword. His ngers closed
around the hilt; he pulled it upward.
Then something closed tight around his neck. He though of wa-
ter weeds, though nothing had brushed him as he dived, and raised
his empty hand to free himself. It was not weed: The chain of the
Horcrux had tightened and was slowly constricting his windpipe.
Harry kicked out wildly, trying to push himself back to the
surface, but merely propelled himself into the rocky side of the
pool. Thrashing, su ocating, he scrabbled at the strangling chain,
his frozen ngers unable to loosen it, and now little lights were
popping inside his head, and he was going to drown, there was
nothing left, nothing he could do, and the arms that closed around
his chest were surely Death's. . . .
Choking and retching, soaking and colder than he had ever
been in his life, he came to facedown in the snow. Somewhere
close by, another person was panting and coughing and staggering
around. Hermione had come again, as she had come when the
snake attacked. . . . Yet it did not sound like her, not with those
deep coughs, not judging by the weight of the footsteps. . . .
Harry had no strength to lift his head and see his savior's iden-
tity. All he could do was raise a shaking hand to his throat and
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The Silver Doe
feel the place where the locket had cut tightly into his
esh. It was
gone. Someone had cut him free. Then a panting voice spoke from
over his head,
\Are|you|mental?"
Nothing but the shock of hearing that voice could have given
Harry the strength to get up. Shivering violently, he staggered to
his feet. There before him stood Ron, fully dressed but drenched
to the skin, his hair plastered to his face, the sword of Gry ndor
in one hand and the Horcrux dangling from its broken chain in the
other.
\What the hell," panted Ron, holding up the Horcrux, which
swung backward and forward on its shortened chain in some parody
of hypnosis, \didn't you take this thing o before you dived?"
Harry could not answer. The silver doe was nothing, nothing
compared with Ron's reappearance: he could not believe it. Shud-
dering with cold, he caught up the pile of clothes still lying at the
water's edge and began to pull them on. As he dragged sweater
after sweater over his head, Harry stared at Ron, half expecting
him to have disappeared every time he lost sight of him, and yet
he had to be real: He had just dived into the pool; he had saved
Harry's life.
\It was y|you?" Harry said at last, his teeth chattering, his
voice weaker than usual due to his near-strangulation.
\Well, yeah," said Ron, looking slightly confused.
\Y|you cast that doe?"
\What? No, of course not! I thought it was you doing it!"
\My Patronus is a stag."
\Oh yeah. I thought it looked di erent. No antlers."
Harry put Hagrid's pouch back around his neck, pulled on a
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Chapter 19
nal sweater, stooped to pick up Hermione's wand, and faced Ron
again.
\How come you're here?"
Apparently Ron had hoped that this point would come up later,
if at all.
\Well, I've|you know|I've come back. If|" He cleared his
throat. \You know. You still want me."
There was a pause, in which the subject of Ron's departure
seemed to rise like a wall between them. Yet he was here. He had
returned. He had just saved Harry's life.
Ron looked down at his hands. He seemed momentarily sur-
prised to see the things he was holding.
\Oh yeah, I got it out," he said, rather unnecessarily, holding
up the sword for Harry's inspection. \That's why you jumped in,
right?"
\Yeah," said Harry. \But I don't understand. How did you get
here? How did you nd us?"
\Long story," said Ron. \I've been looking for you for hours,
it's a big forest, isn't it? And I was just thinking I'd have to kip
under a tree and wait for morning when I saw that deer coming
and you following."
\You didn't see anyone else?"
\No," said Ron, \I|"
But he hesitated, glancing at two trees growing close together
some yards away.
\I did think I saw something move over there, but I was running
to the pool at the time, because you'd gone in and you hadn't come
up, so I wasn't going to make a detour to|hey!"
Harry was already hurrying to the place Ron had indicated.
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The Silver Doe
The two oaks grew together: there was a gap of only a few inches
between the trunks at eye level, and ideal place to see but not be
seen. The ground around the roots, however, was free of snow, and
Harry could see no sign of footprints. He walked back to where Ron
stood waiting, still holding the sword and the Horcrux.
\Anything there?" Ron asked.
\No," said Harry.
\So how did the sword ever get into that pool?"
\Whoever cast the Patronus must have put it there."
They both looked at the ornate silver sword, its rubied hilt
glinting a little in the light from Hermione's wand.
\You reckon this is the real one?" asked Ron.
\One way to nd out, isn't there?" said Harry.
The Horcrux was still swinging from Ron's hand. The locket
was twitching slightly. Harry knew that the ting inside it was
agitated again. It had sensed the presence of the sword and had
tried to kill Harry rather than let him possess it. Now was not
the time for long discussions; now was the moment to destroy the
locket once and for all. Harry looked around, holding Hermione's
wand high, and saw the place: a
attish rock lying in the shadow
of a sycamore tree.
\Come here," he said, and he led the way, brushed snow from
the rock's surface, and held out his hand for the Horcrux. When
Ron o ered the sword, however, Harry shook his head.
\No, you should do it."
\Me?" said Ron, looking shocked. \Why?"
\Because you got the sword out of the pool. I think it's sup-
posed to be you."
He was not being kind or generous. As certainly as he had
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Chapter 19
known that the doe was benign, he knew that Ron had to be the
one to wield the sword. Dumbledore had at least taught Harry
something about certain kinds of magic, of the incalculable power
of certain acts.
\I'm going to open it," said Harry, \and you stab it. Straight-
away, okay? Because whatever's in there will put up a ght. The
bit of Riddle in the diary tried to kill me."
\Hou are you going to open it?" asked Ron. He looked terri ed.
\I'm going to ask it to open, using Parseltongue," said Harry.
The answer came so readily to his lips that he thought he had
always known it deep down: Perhaps it had taken his recent en-
counter with Nagini to make him realize it. He looked at the
serpentine S inlaid with glittering green stones: It was easy to
visualize it as a minuscule snake, curled upon the cold rock.
\No!" said Ron. \No, don't open it! I'm serious!"
\Why not?" asked Harry. \Let's get rid of the damn thing, it's
been months|"
\Because that thing's bad for me!" said Ron, backing away
from the locket on the rock. \I can't handle it! I'm not making
excuses, Harry, for what I was like, but it a ects me worse than
it a ected you and Hermione, it made me think stu |stu I was
thinking anyway, but it made everything worse. I can't explain
it, and then I'd take it o and I'd get my head on straight again,
and then I'd have to put the e ng thing back on|I can't do it,
Harry!"
He had backed away, the sword dragging at his side, shaking
his head.
\You can do it," said Harry. \You can! You've just got the
sword, I know it's supposed to be you who uses it. Please, just get
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The Silver Doe
rid of it, Ron."
The sound of his name seemed to act like a stimulant. Ron
swallowed, then, still breathing hard through his long nose, moved
back toward the rock.
\Tell me when," he croaked.
\On three," said Harry, looking back down at the locket and
narrowing his eyes, concentrating on the letter S, imagining a ser-
pent, while the contents of the locket rattled like a trapped cock-
roach. It would have been easy to pity it, except that the cut
around Harry's neck still burned.
\One . . . two . . . three . . . open."
The last word came as a hiss and a snarl and the golden doors
of the locket swung wide with a little click.
Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye,
dark and handsome as Tom Riddle's eyes had been before he turned
them scarlet and slit-pupiled.
\Stab," said Harry, holding the locket steady on the rock.
Ron raised the sword in his shaking hands: The point dangled
over the frantically swiveling eyes, and Harry gripped the locket
tightly, bracing himself, already imagining blood pouring from the
empty windows.
Then a voice hissed out from the Horcrux.
\I have seen your heart, and it is mine."
\Don't listen to it!" Harry said harshly. \Stab it!"
\I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen
your fears. All you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also
possible. . . . "
\Stab!" shouted Harry; his voice echoed o the surrounding
trees, the sword point trembled, and Ron gazed down into Riddle's
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eyes.
\Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a
daughter . . . Least loved, now, by the girl who prefers your
friend . . . Second best, always, eternally overshadowed . . . "
\Ron, stab it now!" Harry bellowed; He could feel the locket
quivering in his grip and was scared of what was coming. Ron
raised the sword still higher, and as he did so, Riddle's eyes gleamed
scarlet.
Out of the locket's two windows, out of the eyes, there bloomed,
like two grotesque bubbles, the heads of Harry and Hermione,
weirdly distorted.
Ron yelled in shock and backed away as the gures blossomed
out of the locket, rst chests, then waists, then legs, until they
stood in the locket, side by side like trees with a common root,
swaying over Ron and the real Harry, who had snatched his ngers
away from the locket as it burned, suddenly, white-hot.
\Ron!" he shouted, but the Riddle-Harry was now speaking
with Voldemort's voice and Ron was gazing, mesmerized, into his
face.
\Why return? We were better without you, happier without
you, glad of your absence. . . . We laughed at your stupidity, your
cowardice, your presumption|"
\Presumption!" echoed the Riddle-Hermione, who was more
beautiful and yet more terrible than the real Hermione. She
swayed, cackling, before Ron, who looked horri ed yet trans xed,
the sword hanging pointlessly at his side. \Who could look at you,
who would ever look at you, beside Harry Potter? What have you
ever done, compared with the Chosen One? What are you, com-
pared with the Boy Who Lived?"
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The Silver Doe
\Ron, stab it, STAB IT!" Harry yelled, but Ron did not move.
His eyes were wide, and the Riddle-Harry and the Riddle-Hermione
were re
ected in them, their hair swirling like
ames, their eyes
shining red, their voices lifted in an evil duet.
\You mother confessed," sneered Riddle-Harry, while Riddle-
Hermione jeered, \that she would have preferred me as a son, would
be glad to exchange . . . "
\Who wouldn't prefer him, what woman would take you, you
are nothing, nothing, nothing to him," crooned Riddle-Hermione,
and she stretched like a snake and engulfed herself around Riddle-
Harry, wrapping him in a close embrace: Their lips met.
On the ground in front of them, Ron's face lled with anguish.
He raised the sword high, his arms shaking.
\Do it, Ron!" Harry yelled.
Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of
scarlet in his eyes.
\Ron|?"
The sword
ashed, plunged; Harry threw himself out of the way,
there was a clang of metal and a long, drawn-out scream. Harry
whirled around, slipping in the snow, wand held ready to defend
himself: but there was nothing to ght.
The monstrous version of himself and Hermione were gone;
There was only Ron, standing there with the sword held slackly in
his hand, looking down at the shattered remains of the locket on
the
at rock.
Slowly, Harry walked back to him, hardly knowing what to say
or do. Ron was breathing heavily: His eyes were no longer red at
all, but their normal blue; they were also wet.
Harry stopped, pretending he had not seen, and picked up the
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broken Horcrux. Ron had pierced the glass in both windows: Rid-
dle's eyes were gone, and the stained silk lining of the locket was
smoking slightly. The thing that had lived in the Horcrux had
vanished; torturing Ron had been its nal act.
The sword clanged as Ron dropped it. He had sunk to his knees,
his head in his arms. He was shaking, but not, Harry realized, from
cold. Harry crammed the broken locket into his pocket, knelt down
beside Ron, and placed a hand cautiously on his shoulder. He took
it as a good sign that Ron did not throw it o .
\After you left," he said in a low voice, grateful for the fact that
Ron's face was hidden, \she cried for a week. Probably longer,
only she didn't want me to see. There were loads of nights when
we never even spoke to each other. With you gone . . . "
He could not nish; it was only now that Ron was here again
that Harry fully realized how much his absence had cost them.
\She's like my sister," he went on. \I love her like a sister and
I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like
that, I thought you knew."
Ron did not respond, but turned his face away from Harry and
wiped his nose on his sleeve. Harry got to his feet again and walked
to where Ron's enormous rucksack lay yards away, discarded as
Ron had run toward the pool to save Harry from drowning. He
hoisted it onto his own back and walked back to Ron, who clam-
bered to his feet as Harry approached, eyes bloodshot but otherwise
composed.
\I'm sorry," he said in a thick voice. \I'm sorry I left. I know I
was a|a|"
He looked around at the darkness, as if hoping a bad enough
world would swoop down upon him and claim him.
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The Silver Doe
\You've sort of made up for it tonight," said Harry. \Getting
the sword. Finishing o the Horcrux. Saving my life."
\That makes me sound a lot cooler than I was," Ron mumbled.
\Stu like that always sounds cooler than it really was," said
Harry. \I've been trying to tell you that for years."
Simultaneously they walked forward and hugged, Harry grip-
ping the still-sopping back of Ron's jacket.
\And now," said Harry as they broke apart, \all we've got to
do is nd the tent again."
But it was not di cult. Though the walk through the dark
forest with the doe had seemed lengthy, with Ron my his side
the journey back seemed to take a surprisingly short time. Harry
could not wait to wake Hermione, and it was with a quickening
excitement that he entered the tent. Ron lagging a little behind
him.
It was gloriously warm after the pool and the forest, the only
illumination through the bluebell
ames still shimmering in a bowl
on the
oor. Hermione was fast asleep, curled up under her blan-
kets, and did not move until Harry had said her name several times.
\Hermione!"
She stirred, then sat up quickly, pushing her hair out of her
face.
\What's wrong? Harry? Are you all right?"
\It's okay, everything's ne. More than ne. I'm great. There's
someone here."
\What do you mean? Who|?"
She saw Ron, who stood there holding the sword and dripping
onto the threadbare carpet. Harry backed into a shadowy corner,
slipped o Ron's rucksack, and attempted to blend in with the
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canvas.
Hermione slipped out of her bunk and moved like a sleepwalker
toward Ron, her eyes upon his pale face. She stopped right in front
of him, her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide. Ron gave a weak,
hopeful smile and half raised his arms.
Hermione launched herself forward and started punching every
inch of him that she could reach.
\Ouch|ow|gerro ! What the|? Hermione|OW!"
\You|complete|arse |Ronald|Weasley!"
She punctuated every word with a blow: Ron backed away,
shielding his head as Hermione advanced.
\You|crawl|back|here|after|weeks|and|weeks|
oh, where's my wand?"
She looked as though ready to wrestle it out of Harry's hands
and he reacted instinctively.
\Protego!!"
The invisible shield erupted between Ron and Hermione. The
force of it knocked her backward onto the
oor. Spitting hair out
of her mouth, she leapt up again.
\Hermione!" said Harry. \Calm|"
\I will not calm down!" she screamed. Never before had he
seen her lose control like this; she looked quite demented. \Give
me back my wand! Give it back to me!"
\Hermione, will you please|"
\Don't you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!" she screeched.
\Don't you dare! Give it back now! And YOU!"
She was pointing at Ron in dire accusation: It was like a male-
diction, and Harry could not blame Ron for retreating several steps.
\I came running after you! I called you! I begged you to come
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The Silver Doe
back!"
\I know," Ron said. \Hermione, I'm sorry, I'm really|"
\Oh you're sorry!"
She laughed, a high-pitched, out-of-control sound; Ron looked
at Harry for help, but Harry merely grimaced his helplessness.
\You come back after weeks|weeks |and you think it's all
going to be all right if you just say sorry?"
\Well, what else can I say?" Ron shouted, and Harry was glad
that Ron was ghting back.
\Oh, I don't know!" yelled Hermione with awful sarcasm.
\Rack your brains, Ron, that should only take a couple of
seconds|"
\Hermione," interjected Harry who considered this a low blow,
\he just saved my|"
\I don't care!" she screamed. \I don't care what he's done!
Weeks and weeks, we could have been dead for all he knew|"
\I knew you weren't dead!" bellowed Ron, drowning her voice
for the rst time, and approaching as close as he could with the
Shield Charm between them. \Harry's all over the Prophet, all over
the radio, they're looking for you everywhere, all these rumors and
mental stories, I knew I'd hear straight o if you were dead, you
don't know what it's been like|"
\What it's been like for you?"
Her voice was now so shrill only bats would be able to hear it
soon, but she had reached a new level of indignation that rendered
her temporarily speechless, and Ron seized his opportunity.
\I wanted to come back the minute I'd Disapparated, but I
walked straight into a gang of Snatchers, Hermione, and I couldn't
go anywhere!"
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Chapter 19
\A gang of what?" asked Harry, as Hermione thew herself down
into a chair with her arms and legs crossed so rightly it seemed
unlikely that she would unravel them for several years.
\Snatchers," said Ron. \They're everywhere|gangs trying to
earn gold by rounding up Muggle-borns and blood traitors, there's
a reward from the Ministry for everyone captured. I was on my
own and I look like I might be school age; they got really excited,
thought I was a Muggle-born in hiding. I had to talk fast to get
out of being dragged to the Ministry."
\What did you say to them?"
\Told them I was Stan Shunpike. First person I could think
of."
\And they believed that?"
\They weren't the brightest. One of them was de nitely part-
troll, the smell o him. . . ."
Ron glanced at Hermione, clearly hopeful she might soften at
this small instance of humor, but her expression remained stony
above her tightly knotted limbs.
\Anyway, they had a row about whether I was Stan or not. It
was a bit pathetic to be honest, but there were still ve of them
and only one of me and they'd taken my wand. Then two of them
got into a ght and while the others were distracted I managed to
hit the one holding me in the stomach, grabbed his wand, disarmed
the bloke holding mine, and Disapparated. I didn't do it so well.
Splinched myself again"|Ron held up his right hand to show two
missing ngernails; Hermione raised her eyebrows coldly|\and I
came out miles from where you were. By the time I got back to
that bit of riverbank where we'd been . . . you'd gone."
\Gosh, what a gripping story," Hermione said in the lofty voice
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The Silver Doe
she adopted when wishing to wound. \You must have been simply
terri ed. Meanwhile we went to Godric's Hollow and, let's think
what happened there, Harry? Oh yes, You-Know-Who's snake
turned up, it nearly killed both of us, and then You-Know-Who
himself arrived and missed us by about a second."
\What?" Ron said, gaping from her to Harry, but Hermione
ignored him.
\Imagine losing ngernails, Harry! That really puts our su er-
ings into perspective doesn't it?"
\Hermione," said Harry quietly. \Ron just saved my life."
She appeared not to have heard him.
\One thing I would like to know, though," she said, xing her
eyes on a spot a foot over Ron's head. \How exactly did you nd
us tonight? That's important. Once we know, we'll be able to
make sure we're not visited by anyone else we don't want to see."
Ron glared at her, then pulled a small silver object from his
jeans pocket.
\This."
She had to look at Ron to see what he was showing them.
\The Deluminator?" she asked, so surprised she forgot to look
cold and erce.
\It doesn't just turn the lights on and o ," said Ron. \I don't
know how it works or why it happened then and not any other
time, because I've been wanting to come back ever since I left.
But I was listening to the radio really early on Christmas morning
and I heard . . . I heard you."
He was looking at Hermione.
\You heard me on the radio?" she asked incredulously.
\No. I heard you coming out of my pocket. Your voice," he
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Chapter 19
held up the Deluminator again, \came out of this."
\And what exactly did I say?" asked Hermione, her tone some-
where between skepticism and curiosity.
\My name. `Ron.' And you said . . . something about a
wand. . . ."
Hermione turned a ery shade of scarlet. Harry remembered. It
had been the rst time Ron's name had been said aloud by either
of them since the day he had left; Hermione had mentions it when
talking about repairing Harry's wand.
\So I took it out," Ron went on, looking at the Deluminator,
\and it didn't seem di erent or anything, but I was sure I'd heard
you. So I clicked it. And the light went out in my room, but
another light appeared right outside my window."
Ron raised his empty hand and pointed in front of him, his eyes
focused on something neither Harry nor Hermione could see.
\It was a ball of light, kind of pulsing, and bluish, like that like
you get around a Portkey, you know?"
\Yeah," said Harry and Hermione together automatically.
\I knew this was it," said Ron. \I grabbed my stu and packed
it then I put on my rucksack and went out into the garden.
\The little ball of light was hovering there, waiting for me, and
when I came out it bobbed along a bit and I followed it behind the
shed and then it . . . well, it went inside me."
\Sorry?" said Harry, sure he had not heard correctly.
\It sort of
oated toward me," said Ron, illustrating the move-
ment with his free index nger, \right into my chest, and then|it
just went straight through. It was here," he touched a point close
to his heart. \I could feel it, it was hot. And once it was inside
me I knew where I was supposed to do, I knew it would take me
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The Silver Doe
where I needed to go. So I Disapparated and came out on the side
of a hill. There was snow everywhere. . . ."
\We were there," said Harry. \We spend two nights there,
and the second night I kept thinking I could hear someone moving
around in the dark and calling out!"
\Yeah, well, that would've been me," said Ron. \Your protec-
tive spells work, anyway, because I couldn't see you and I couldn't
hear you. I was sure you were around, though, so in the end I got
in my sleeping bag and waited for one of you to appear. I thought
you'd have to show yourselves when you packed up the tent."
\No, actually," said Hermione. \We've been Disapparating un-
der the Invisibility Cloak as an extra precaution. And we left re-
ally early, because as Harry says, we'd heard somebody blundering
around."
\Well, I stayed on that hill all day," said Ron. \I kept hoping
you'd appear. But when it started to get dark I knew I must have
missed you, so I clicked the Deluminator again, the blue light came
out and went inside me, and I Disapparated and arrived here in
these woods. I still couldn't see you, so I just had to hope one of
you would show yourselves in the end|and Harry did. Well, I saw
the doe rst, obviously."
\You saw the what?" said Hermione sharply.
They explained what had happened, and as the story of the
silver doe nad the sword in the pool unfolded, Hermione frowned
from one to the other of them, concentrating so hard she forgot to
keep her limbs locked together.
\But it must have been a Patronus!" she said. \Couldn't you
see who was casting it? Didn't you see anyone? And it led you to
the sword! I can't believe this! Then what happened?"
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Chapter 19
Ron explained how he had watched Harry jump into the pool
and had waited for him to resurface; how he had realized that
something was wrong, dived in, and saved Harry, then returned
for the sword. He got as far as the opening of the locket, then
hesitated, and Harry cut in.
\|and Ron stabbed it with the sword."
\And . . . it went? Just like that?" she whispered.
\Well, it|screamed," said Harry with half a glance at Ron.
\Here."
He threw the locket into her lap; gingerly she picked it up and
examined its punctured windows.
Deciding that it was at last safe to do so, Harry removed the
Shield Charm with a wave of Hermione's wand and turned to Ron.
\Did you just say you got away from the Snatchers with a spare
wand?"
\What?" said Ron, who had been watching Hermione examin-
ing the locket. \Oh|oh yeah."
He tugged open a buckle on his rucksack and pulled a short,
dark wand out of its pocket. \Here. I gured it's always handy to
have a backup."
\You were right," said Harry, holding out his hand. \Mine's
broken."
\You're kidding?" Ron said, but at that moment Hermione got
to her feet, and he looked apprehensive again.
Hermione put the vanquished Horcrux into the beaded bag,
then climbed back into her bed and settled down without another
word.
Ron passed Harry the new wand.
\About the best you could hope for, I think," murmured Harry.
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The Silver Doe
\Yeah," said Ron. \Could've been worse. Remember those
birds she set on me?"
\I still haven't ruled it out," came Hermione's mu ed voice
from beneath her blankets, but Harry saw Ron smiling slightly as
he pulled his maroon pajamas out of his rucksack.
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Chapter 20
Xenophilius Lovegood
arry had not expected Hermione's anger to abate
overnight, and was therefore unsurprised that she com-
municated mainly by dirty looks and pointed silences
Hthe next morning. Ron responded by maintaining an
unnaturally somber demeanor in her presence as an outward sign of
continuing remorse. In fact, when all three of them were together
Harry felt like the only non-mourner at a poorly attended funeral.
During those few moments he spent alone with Harry, however
(collecting water and searching the undergrowth for mushrooms),
Ron became shamelessly cheery.
\Someone helped us." he kept saying. \Someone sent that doe.
Someone's on our side. One Horcrux down, mate!"
Bolstered by the destruction of the locket, they set to debating
the possible locations of the other Horcruxes, and even though they
had discussed the matter so often before, Harry felt optimistic, cer-
tain that more breakthroughs would succeed the rst. Hermione's
sulkiness could not mar his buoyant spirits; The sudden upswing in
their fortunes, they appearance of the mysterious doe, the recovery
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Xenophilius Lovegood
of Gry ndor's sword, and above all, Ron's return, made Harry so
happy that it was quite di cult to maintain a straight face.
Late in the afternoon he and Ron escaped Hermione's baleful
presence again, and under the pretense of scouting the bare hedges
for nonexistent blackberries, they continued their ongoing exchange
of news. Harry had nally managed to tell Ron the whole story of
his and Hermione's various wanderings, right up to the full story of
what had happened at Godric's Hollow; Ron was now lling Harry
in on everything he had discovered about the wider Wizarding
world during his weeks away.
\ . . . and how did you nd out about the Taboo?" he asked
Harry after explaining the many desperate attempts of Muggle-
borns to evade the Ministry.
\The what?"
\You and Hermione have stopped saying You-Know-Who's
name!"
\Oh, yeah. Well, it's just a bad habit we've slipped into," said
Harry. \But I haven't got a problem calling him V|"
\NO!" roared Ron, causing Harry to jump into the hedge and
Hermione (nose buried in a boot at the tent entrance) to scowl
over at them. \Sorry." said Ron, wrenching Harry back out of the
brambles, \but the name's been jinxed. Harry, that's how they
track people! Using his name breaks protective enchantments, it
causes some kind of magical disturbance|it's how they found us
in Totenham Court Road!"
\Because we used his name?"
\Exactly! You've got to give them credit, it makes sense. It
was only people who were serious about standing up to him like
Dumbledore, who ever dared use it. Now they've put a Taboo on
it, anyone who says it is trackable|quick-and-easy way to nd
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Chapter 20
they Order members! They nearly got Kingsley|"
\You're kidding?"
\Yeah, a bunch of Death Eaters cornered him, Bill said, but
he fought his way out. He's on the run now, just like us." Ron
scratched his chin thoughtfully with the end of his wand. \You
don't reckon Kingsley could have sent that doe?"
\His Patronus is a lynx, we saw it at the wedding, remember?"
\Oh yeah . . . "
They moved farther along the hedge, away from the tent and
Hermione.
\Harry . . . you don't reckon it could've been Dumbledore?"
\Dumbledore what?"
Ron looked a little embarrassed, but said in a low voice, \Dum-
bledore . . . the doe? I mean," Ron was watching Harry out of the
corners of his eyes, \he had the real sword last, didn't he?"
Harry did not laugh at Ron, because he understood too well
the longing behind the question. The idea that Dumbledore had
managed to come back to them, that he was watching over them,
would have been inexpressibly comforting. He shook his head.
\Dumbledore's dead," he said. \I saw it happen, I saw the
body. He's de nitely gone. Anyway, his Patronus was a phoenix,
not a doe."
\Patronuses can change, though, can't they?" said Ron.
\Tonks's changed, didn't it?"
\Yeah, but if Dumbledore was alive, why wouldn't he show
himself? Why wouldn't he just hand us the sword?"
\Search me," said Ron. \Same reason he didn't give it to you
while he was alive? Same reason he left you an old Snitch and
Hermione a book of kids' stories?"
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Xenophilius Lovegood
\Which is what?" asked Harry, turning to look Ron full in the
face, desperate for the answer.
\I dunno," said Ron. \Sometimes I've thought, when I've been
a bit hacked o , he was having a laugh or|or he just wanted to
make it more di cult. But I don't think so, not anymore. He knew
what he was doing when he gave me the Deluminator, didn't he?
He|well," Ron's ears turned bright red and he became engrossed
in a tuft of grass at his feet, which he prodded with his toe, \he
must've known I'd run out on you."
\No," Harry corrected him. \He must've know you'd always
want to come back."
Ron looked grateful, but still awkward. Partly to change the
subject, Harry said, \Speaking of Dumbledore, have you heard
what Skeeter wrote about him?"
\Oh yeah," said Ron at once. \people are talking about it quite
a lot. 'Course, if things were di erent, it'd be huge news. Dumble-
dore being pals with Grindelwald, but now it's just something to
laugh about for people who didn't like Dumbledore, and a bit of a
slap in the face for everyone who though he was such a good bloke.
I don't know that it's such a big deal, though. He was really young
when they|"
\Our age," said Harry, just as he had retorted to Hermione,
and something in his face seemed to decide Ron against pursuing
the subject.
A large spider sat in the middle of a frosted web in the brambles.
Harry took aim at it with the wand Ron had given him the previous
night, which Hermione had since condescended to examine, and
had decided was made of blackthorn.
\Engorgio."
The spider game a little shiver, bouncing slightly in the web.
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Chapter 20
Harry tried again. This time the spider grew slightly larger.
\Stop that," said Ron sharply. \I'm sorry I said Dumbledore
was young, okay?"
Harry had forgotten Ron's hatred of spiders.
\Sorry|Reducio."
The spider did not shrink. Harry looked down at the black-
thorn wand. Every minor spell he had cast with it so far that
day had seemed less powerful than those he had produced with his
phoenix wand. The new one felt intrusively unfamiliar, like having
somebody else's hand sown to the end of his arm.
\You just need to practice," said Hermione, who had ap-
proached them noiselessly from behind and had stood watching
anxiously as Harry tried to enlarge and reduce the spider. \It's all
a matter of con dence, Harry."
He knew why she wanted to be right: She still felt guilty about
breaking his wand. He bit back the retort that sprang to his lips,
that she could take the blackthorn wand if she thought it made no
di erence, and he would have hers instead. Keen for them all to be
friends again, however, he agreed; but when Ron gave Hermione a
tentative smile, she stalked o and vanished behind her book once
more.
All three of them returned to the tent when darkness fell, and
Harry took rst watch. Sitting in the entrance, he tried to make
the blackthorn wand levitate small stones at his feet; but his magic
still seemed clumsier and less powerful than it had done before.
Hermione was lying on her bunk reading, while Ron, after many
nervous glances up at her, had taken a small wooden wireless out
of his rucksack and started to try and tune it.
\There's this one program," he told Harry in a low voice, \that
tells the news like it really is. All the others are on You-Know-
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Xenophilius Lovegood
Who's side and are following the Ministry line, but this one . . . you
wait till you hear it, it's great. Only they can't do it every night,
they have to keep changing locations in case they're raided, and
you need a password to tune in. . . . Trouble is, I missed the last
one. . . ."
He drummed lightly on top of the radio with his wand, mut-
tering random words under his breath. He threw Hermione many
covert glances, plainly fearing an angry outburst, but for all the
notice she took of him he might not have been there. For ten min-
utes or so Ron tapped and muttered. Hermione turned the pages
of her book, and Harry continued to practice with the blackthorn
wand.
Finally Hermione climbed down from her bunk. Ron ceased his
tapping at once.
\If it's annoying you, I'll stop!" he told Hermione nervously.
Hermione did not deign to respond, but approached Harry.
\We need to talk," she said.
He looked at the book still clutched in her hand. It was The
Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.
\What?" he said apprehensively. It
ew through his mind that
there was a chapter on him in there; he was not sure he felt up to
hearing Rita's version of his relationship with Dumbledore. Her-
mione's answer, however, was completely unexpected.
\I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood."
He stared at her.
\Sorry?"
\Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father. I want to go and talk to
him!"
\Er|why?"
She took a deep breath, as though bracing herself, and said,
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Chapter 20
\It's that mark, the mark in Beedle the Bard. Look at this!"
She thrust The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore under
Harry's unwilling eyes as he saw a photograph of the original letter
than Dumbledore had written Grindelwald, with Dumbledore's fa-
miliar thin, slanting handwriting. He hated seeing absolute proof
that Dumbledore really had written those words, that they had
not been Rita's invention.
\The signature," said Hermione. \Look at the signature,
Harry!"
He obeyed. For a moment he had no idea what she was talking
about, but, looking more closely with the aid of his lit wand, he saw
that Dumbledore had replaced the A of Albus with a tiny version
of the same triangular mark inscribed upon The Tales of Beedle
the Bard.
\Er|what are you|?" said Ron tentatively, but Hermione
quelled him with a look and turned back to Harry.
\It keeps cropping up, doesn't it?" she said. \I know Viktor
said it was Grindelwald's mark, but it was de nitely on that old
grave in Godric's Hollow, and the dates on the headstone were long
before Grindelwald came along! And now this! Well, we can't ask
Dumbledore or Grindelwald what it means|I don't even know if
Grindelwald's still alive|but we can ask Mr. Lovegood. He was
wearing the symbol at the wedding. I'm sure this is important,
Harry!"
Harry did not answer immediately. He looked into her intense,
eager face and then out into the surrounding darkness, thinking.
After a long pause he said, \Hermione, we don't need another
Godric's Hollow. We talked ourselves into going there, and|"
\But it keeps appearing, Harry! Dumbledore's left me The
Tales of Beedle the Bard, how do you know we're not supposed to
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Xenophilius Lovegood
nd out about the sign?"
\Here we go again!" Harry felt slightly exasperated. \We keep
trying to convince ourselves Dumbledore left us secret signs and
clues|"
\The Deluminator turned out to be pretty useful," piped up
Ron. \I think Hermione's right, I think we ought to go and see
Lovegood."
Harry threw him a dark look. He was quite sure that Ron's
support of Hermione had little to do with a desire to know the
meaning of the triangular rune.
\It won't be like Godric's Hollow," Ron added, \Lovegood's on
your side, Harry, The Quibbler's been for you all along, it keeps
telling everyone they've got to help you!"
\I'm sure this is important!" said Hermione earnestly.
\But don't you think if it was, Dumbledore would have told me
about it before he died?"
\Maybe . . . maybe it's something you need to nd out for your-
self," said Hermione with a faint air of clutching at straws.
\Yea," said Ron sycophantically, \that makes sense."
\No, it doesn't," snapped Hermione, \but I still think we ought
to talk to Mr. Lovegood. A symbol that links Dumbledore, Grin-
delwald, and Godric's Hollow? Harry, I'm sure we ought to know
about this!"
\I think we should vote on it," said Ron. \Those in favor of
going to see Lovegood|"
His hand
ew into the air before Hermione's. Her lips quivered
suspiciously as she raised her own.
\Outvoted, Harry, sorry," said Ron, clapping him on the back.
\Fine," said Harry, half amused, half irritated. \Only, once
we've seen Lovegood, let's try and look for some more Horcruxes,
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Chapter 20
shall we? Where do the Lovegoods live, anyway? Do either of you
know?"
\Yeah, they're not far from my place," said Ron.. \I dunno
exactly where, but Mum and Dad always point toward the hills
whenever they mention them. Shouldn't be hard to nd."
When Hermione had returned to her bunk, Harry lowered his
voice.
\You only agreed to try and get back in her good books."
\All's fair in love and war," said Ron brightly, \and this is a bit
of both. Cheer up, it's the Christmas holidays, Luna'll be home!"
They had an excellent view of the village of Ottery St. Cachpole
from the breezy hillside to which they Disapparated next morning.
From their high vantage point the village looked like a collection
of toy houses in the great slanting shafts of sunlight stretching to
earth in the breaks between clouds. They stood for a minute or
two looking toward the Burrow their hands shadowing their eyes,
but all they could make out were the high hedges and tree of the
orchard, which a orded the crooked little house protection from
Muggle eyes.
\It's weird, being this near, but not going to visit," said Ron.
\Well, it's not like you haven't just seen them. You were there
for Christmas," said Hermione coldly.
\I wasn't at the Burrow!" said Ron with and incredulous laugh.
\Do you think I was going to go back there and tell them all I'd
walked out on you? Yeah, and Fred and George would've been
great about it. And Ginny, she'd have been really understanding."
\But where have you been, then?" asked Hermione, surprised.
\Bill and Fleur's new place. Shell Cottage. Bill's always been
decent to me. He|he wasn't impressed when he heard what I'd
done, but he didn't go on about it. He knew I was really sorry.
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Xenophilius Lovegood
None of the rest of the family knew I was there. Bill told Mum he
and Fleur weren't going home for Christmas because they wanted
to spend it alone. You know, rst holiday after they were married. I
don't think Fleur minded. You know how much she hates Celestina
Warbeck."
Ron turned his back on the Burrow.
\Let's try up here," he said, leading the way over the top of the
hill.
They walked for a few hours, Harry, at Hermione's insistence,
hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak. The cluster of low hills
appeared to be uninhabited apart from one small cottage, which
seemed deserted.
\Do you think it's theirs, and they've gone away for Christ-
mas?" said Hermione, peering through the window at a neat little
kitchen with geraniums on the windowsill. Ron snorted.
\Listen, I've got a feeling you'd be able to tell who lived there
if you looked through the Lovegood's window. Let's try the next
lot of hills.
So they Disapparated a few miles farther north.
\Aha!" shouted Ron, as the wind whipped their hair and
clothes. Ron was pointing upward, toward the top of the hill on
which they had appeared, where a most strange-looking house rose
vertically against the sky, a great black cylinder with a ghostly
moon hanging behind it in the afternoon sky. \That's got to be
Luna's house, who else would live in a place like that? It looks like
a giant rook!"
\It's nothing like a bird," said Hermione, frowning at the tower.
\I was talking about a chess rook," said Ron. \A castle to you."
Ron's legs were the longest and he reached the top of the hill
rst. When Harry and Hermione caught up with him, panting and
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Chapter 20
clutching stitches in their sides, they found him grinning broadly.
\It's theirs," said Ron. \Look."
Three hand-painted signs had been tacked to a broken-down
gate. The rst read,
THE QUIBBLER, EDITOR: X. LOVEGOOD
the second,
PICK YOUR OWN MISTLETOE
the third,
KEEP OFF THE DIRIGIBLE PLUMS
The gate creaked as they opened it. The zigzagging path lead-
ing to the front door was overgrown with a variety of odd plants,
including a bush covered in the orange radishlike fruit Luna some-
times wore as earrings. Harry thought he recognized a Snargalu
and gave the wizened stump a wide berth. Two aged crab apple
trees, beat with the wind, stripped of leaves but still heavy with
berry-sized red fruits and bushy crowns of white-beaded mistletoe,
stood sentinel on either side of the front door. A little owl with a
slightly
attened, hawklike head peered down at them from one of
the branches.
\You'd better take o the Invisibility Cloak, Harry," said Her-
mione. \It's you Mr. Lovegood wants to help, not us."
He did as she suggested, handing her the Cloak to stow in the
beaded bag. She then rapped three times on the thick black door,
which was studded with iron nails and bore a knocker shaped like
an eagle.
Barely ten seconds passed, then the door was
ung open and
there stood Xenophilius Lovegood, barefoot and wearing what ap-
peared to be a stained nightshirt. His long white candy
oss hair
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Xenophilius Lovegood
was dirty and unkempt. Xenophilius had been positively dapper
at Bill and Fleur's wedding by comparison.
\What? What is it? Who are you? What do you want?" he
cried in a high-pitched, querulous voice, looking rst at Hermione,
then at Ron, and nally at Harry, upon which his mouth fell open
in a perfect comical O.
\Hello, Mr. Lovegood," said Harry, holding out his hand. \I'm
Harry, Harry Potter."
Xenophilius did not take Harry's hand, although the eye that
was not pointing inward at his nose slid straight to the scar on
Harry's forehead.
\Would it be okay if we came in?" asked Harry. \There's
something we'd like to ask you."
\I . . . I'm not sure that's advisable," whispered Xenophilius.
He swallowed and cast a quick look around the garden. \Rather a
shock . . . My word . . . I . . . I'm afraid I don't really think I ought
to|"
\It won't take long," said Harry, slightly disappointed by this
less than warming welcome.
\I|oh, all right then. Come in, quickly. Quickly!"
They were barely over the threshold when Xenophilius slammed
the door shut behind then. They were standing in the most peculiar
kitchen Harry had ever seen. The room was perfectly circular, so
that it felt like being inside a giant pepper pot. Everything was
curved to t the walls|the stove, the sink, and the cupboards|
and all of it had been painted with
owers, insects, and birds in
bright primary colors. Harry though he recognized Luna's style:
The e ect in such an enclosed space, was slightly overwhelming.
In the middle of the
oor, a wrought-iron spiral staircase led to
the upper levels. There was a great deal of clattering and banging
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coming from overhead: Harry wondered what Luna could be doing.
\You'd better come up," said Xenophilius, still looking ex-
tremely uncomfortable, and he led the way.
The room above seemed to be a combination of living room and
workplace, and as such, was even more cluttered than the kitchen.
Though much smaller and entirely round, the room somewhat re-
sembled the Room of Requirement on the unforgettable occasion
that it had transformed itself into a gigantic labyrinth comprised
of centuries of hidden objects. There were piles upon piles of books
and papers on every surface. Delicately made models of creatures
Harry did not recognize, all
apping wings or snapping jaws, hung
from the ceiling.
Luna was not there; The thing that was making such a racket
was a wooden object covered in magically turning cogs and wheels.
It looked like the bizarre o spring of a workbench and a set of old
shelves, but after a moment Harry decided it was an old fashioned
printing press, due to the fact that it was churning out Quibblers.
\Excuse me," said Xenophilius, and he strode over to the ma-
chine, seized a grubby tablecloth from beneath an immense number
of books and papers, which all tumbled onto the
oor, and threw
it over the press, somewhat mu ing the loud bangs and clatters.
He then faced Harry.
\Why have you come here?"
Before Harry could speak, however, Hermione lot out a small
cry of shock.
\Mr. Lovegood|what's that?"
She was pointing at an enormous, gray spiral horn, not unlike
that of a unicorn, which had been mounted on the wall, protruding
several feet into the room.
\It is the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," said Xenophi-
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Xenophilius Lovegood
lius.
\No it isn't!" said Hermione.
\Hermione," muttered Harry, embarrassed, \now's not the
moment|"
\But Harry, it's an Erumpent horn! It's a Class B Tradeable
Material and it's an extraordinarily dangerous thing to have in a
house!"
\How d'you know it's an Erumpent horn?" asked Ron, edging
away from the horn as fast as he could, given the extreme clutter
of the room.
\There's a description in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them! Mr. Lovegood, you need to get rid of it straightaway, don't
you know it can explode at the slightest touch?"
\The Crumple-Horned Snorkack," said Xenophilius very clearly,
a mullish look upon his face, \is a shy and highly magical creature,
and its horn|"
\Mr. Lovegood, I recognize the grooved markings around the
base, that's an Erumpent horn and it's incredibly dangerous|I
don't know where you got it|"
\I bought it," said Xenophilius dogmatically, \two weeks ago,
from a delightful young wizard who knew of my interest in the
exquisite Snorkack. A Christmas surprise for my Luna. Now,"
he said, turning to Harry, \why exactly have you come here, Mr.
Potter?"
\We need some help," said Harry, before Hermione could start
again.
\Ah," said Xenophilius. \Help. Hmm."
His good eye moved again to Harry's scar. He seems simulta-
neously terri ed and mesmerized.
\Yes. The thing is . . . helping Harry Potter . . . rather danger-
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Chapter 20
ous . . . "
\Aren't you the one who keeps telling everyone it's their rst
duty to help Harry?" said Ron. \In that magazine of yours?"
Xenophilius glanced behind him at the concealed printing press,
still banging and clattering beneath the tablecloth.
\Er|yes, I have expressed that view. However|"
\That's for everyone else to do, not you personally?" said Ron.
Xenophilius did not answer. He kept swallowing, his eyes dart-
ing between the three of them. Harry had the impression that he
was undergoing some painful internal struggle.
\Where's Luna?" asked Hermione, \Let's see what she thinks."
Xenophilius gulped. He seemed to be steeling himself. Finally
he said in a shaky voice di cult to hear over the noise of the
printing press, \Luna is down at the stream, shing for Freshwater
Plimpies. She . . . she will like to see you. I'll go and call her and
then|very well. I shall try to help you."
He disappeared down the spiral staircase and they heard the
front door open and close. They looked at each other.
\Cowardly old wart," said Ron. \Luna's got ten times his guts."
\He's probably worried about what'll happen to them if the
Death Eaters nd out I was here," said Harry.
\Well, I agree with Ron," said Hermione. \Awful old hypocrite,
telling everyone else to help you and trying to worm out of it him-
self. And for heaven's sake keep away from that horn."
Harry crossed to the window of the far side of the room. He
could see a stream, a thin, glittering ribbon lying far below them at
the base of the hill. They were very high up; a bird
uttered past
the window as he stared in the direction of the Burrow, now invis-
ible beyond another line of hills. Ginny was over there somewhere.
They were closer to each other than they had been since Bill and
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Xenophilius Lovegood
Fleur's wedding, but she could have no idea he was gazing toward
her now, thinking of her. He supposed he ought to be glad of it;
anyone he came into contact with was in danger. Xenophilius's
attitude proved that.
He turned away from the windows and his gaze fell upon another
peculiar object standing upon the cluttered, curved sideboard: a
stone bust of a beautiful but austere-looking witch wearing a most
bizarre-looking headdress. Two object that resembled golden ear
trumpets curved out form the sides. A tiny pair of glittering blue
wings was stuck to a leather strap that ran over the top of her
head, while one of the orange radishes had been stuck to a second
strap around her forehead.
\Look at this," said Harry.
\Fetching," said Ron. \Surprised he didn't wear that to the
wedding."
They heard the front door close, and a moment later Xenophi-
lius had climbed back up the spiral staircase into the room, his thin
legs now encased in Wellington boots, bearing a tray of ill-assorted
teacups and a steaming teapot.
\Ah, you have spotted my pet invention," he said, shoving the
tray into Hermione's arms and joining Harry at the statue's side.
\Modeled, ttingly enough, upon the head of the beautiful Rowena
Ravenclaw. 'Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure!'"
He indicated the objects like ear trumpets.
\These are the Wrackspurt siphons|to remove all sources of
distraction from the thinker's immediate area. Here," he pointed
out the tiny wings, \a billywig propeller, to induce an elevated
frame of mind. Finally," he pointed to the orange radish. \the
Dirgible Plum, so as th enhance the ability to accept the extraor-
dinary."
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Chapter 20
Xenophilius strode back to the tea tray, which Hermione had
managed to balance precariously on one of the cluttered side tables.
\May I o er you all an infusion of Gurdyroots?" said Xenophi-
lius. \We make it ourselves." As he started to pour out the drink,
which was a deep purple as beetroot juice, he added, \Luna is down
beyond Bottom Bridge, she is most excited that you are here. She
ought not be too long, she has caught nearly enough Plumpies to
make soup for all of us. Do sit down and help yourselves to sugar.
\Now," he removed a tottering pile of papers from an armchair
and sat down, his Wellingtoned legs crossed, \how may I help you,
Mr. Potter?"
\Well," said Harry, glancing at Hermione, who nodded encour-
agingly. \it's about that symbol you were wearing around your
neck at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Mr. Lovegood. We wondered
what it meant."
Xenophilius raised his eyebrows.
\Are you referring to the sign of the Deathly Hallows?"
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Chapter 21
The Tale of the Three
Brothers
arry turned to look at Ron and Hermione. Neither
of them seemed to have understood what Xenophilius
had said either.
H\The Deathly Hallows?"
\That's right," said Xenophilius. \You haven't heard of them?
I'm not surprised. Very, very few wizards believe. Witness that
knuckle-headed young man at your brother's wedding," he nodded
at Ron, \who attacked me for sporting the symbol of a well-known
Dark wizard! Such ignorance. There is nothing Dark about the
Hallows|at least, not in that crude sense. One simply uses the
symbol to reveal oneself to other believers, in the hope that they
might help one with the Quest."
He stirred several lumps of sugar into his Gurdyroot infusion
and drank some.
\I'm sorry," said Harry. \I still don't really understand."
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Chapter 21
\To be polite, he took a sip from his cup too, and almost gagged:
The stu was quite disgusting, as though someone had liquidized
bogey-
avored Every Flavor Beans.
\Well, you see, believers seek the Deathly Hallows," said Xeno-
philius, smacking his lips in apparent appreciation of the Gurdyroot
infusion.
\But what are the Deathly Hallows?" asked Hermione.
Xenophilius set aside his empty teacup.
\I assume that you are all familiar with the \Tale of the Three
Brothers'?"
Harry said, \No," but Ron and Hermione said, \Yes." Xeno-
philius nodded gravely.
\Well, well, Mr. Potter, the whole thing starts with `The Tale
of the Three Brothers' . . . I have a copy somewhere. . . ."
He glanced vaguely around the room, at the piles of parchment
and books, but Hermione said, \I've got a copy, Mr. Lovegood,
I've got it right here."
And she pulled out The Tales of Beedle the Bard from the small,
beaded bag.
\The original?" inquired Xenophilius sharply, and when she
nodded, he said, \Well then, why don't you read it out loud? Much
the best way to make sure we all understand."
\Er . . . all right," said Hermione nervously. She opened the
book, and Harry saw that the symbol they were investigating
headed the top of the page as she gave a little cough, and began
to read.
\`There were once three brothers who were traveling along a
lonely, winding road at twilight|'"
\Midnight, our mum always told us," said Ron, who had
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
stretched out, arms behind his head, to listen. Hermione shot
him a look of annoyance.
\Sorry, I just think it's a bit spookier if it's midnight!" said
Ron.
\Yeah, because we really need a bit more fear in our lives," said
Harry before he could stop himself. Xenophilius did not seem to
be paying much attention, but was staring out of the window at
the sky. \Go on, Hermione."
\`In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through
and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were
learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands
and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were
halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded
gure.
\`And Death spoke to them|'"
\Sorry," interjected Harry, \but Death spoke to them?"
\It's a fairy tale, Harry!"
\Right, sorry. Go on."
\`And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been
cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in
the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate
the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned
a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.
\`So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for
a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must
always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had
conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks
of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and
gave it to the older brother.
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Chapter 21
\`Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided
that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the
power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from
the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that
the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.
\`And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he
would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the
wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for
something that would enable him to go forth from that place without
being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over
his own Cloak of Invisibility.'"
\Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" Harry interrupted again.
\So he can sneak up on people," said Ron. \Sometimes he gets
bored of running at them,
apping his arms and shrieking . . . sorry
Hermione."
\`Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to con-
tinue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the
adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts.
\`In due course the brothers separated, each for his own desti-
nation.
\`The rst brother traveled on for a week or more, and reaching
a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a
quarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could
not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon
the
oor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted
loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself,
and of how it made him invincible.
\`That very night, another wizard crept upon the older brother
as he lay wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and,
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat.
\`And so Death took the rst brother for his own.
\`Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home,
where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power
to recall the dead, and he turned it thrice in his hand. To his
amazement and his delight, the gure of the girl he had once hoped
to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.
\`Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil.
Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly
belong there and su ered. Finally the second brother, driven mad
with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her.
\`And so Death took the second brother for his own.
\`But though Death searched for the third brother for many
years, he was never able to nd him. It was only when he attained
a great age that the youngest brother nally took o the Cloak of
Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as
an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed
this life.'"
Hermione closed the book. It was a moment or two before
Xenophilius seemed to realize that she had stopped reading, then
he withdrew his gaze from the window and said, \Well, there you
are."
\Sorry?" said Hermione, sounding confused.
\Those are the Deathly Hallows," said Xenophilius.
He picked up a quill from a packed table at his elbow, and pulled
a torn piece of parchment from between more books.
\The Elder Wand," he said, and he drew a straight vertical line
upon the parchment. \The Resurrection Stone," he said, and he
added a circle on top of the line. \The Cloak of Invisibility," he
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Chapter 21
nished, enclosing both the line and circle in a triangle, to make
the symbol that so intrigued Hermione. \Together," he said, \the
Deathly Hallows."
\But there's no mention of the words `Deathly Hallows` in the
story," said Hermione.
\Well, of course not," said Xenophilius, maddeningly smug.
\That is a children's tale, told to amuse rather than to instruct.
Those of us who understand these matters, however, recognize
that the ancient story refers to three objects, or Hallows, which, if
united, will make the possessor master of Death."
There was a short silence in which Xenophilius glanced out of
the window. Already the sun was low in the sky.
\Luna ought to have enough Plimpies soon," he said quietly.
\When you say `master of Death'|" said Ron.
\Master," said Xenophilius, waving an airy hand. \Conqueror.
Vanquisher. Whichever term you prefer."
\But then . . . do you mean . . . " said Hermione slowly, and
Harry could tell that she was trying to keep any trace of skep-
ticism out of her voice, \that you believe these objects|these
Hallows|actually exist?"
Xenophilius raised his eyebrows again.
\Well, of course."
\But," said Hermione, and Harry could hear her restraint start-
ing to crack, \Mr. Lovegood, how can you possibly believe|?"
\Luna has told me all about you, young lady," said Xenophilius.
\You are, I gather, no unintelligent, but painfully limited. Narrow.
Close-minded."
\Perhaps you ought to try on the hat, Hermione," said Ron,
nodding toward the ludicrous headdress. His voice shock with the
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
strain of not laughing.
\Mr. Lovegood," Hermione began again, \We all know that
there are such things as Invisibility Cloaks. They are rare, but
they exist. But|"
\Ah, but the Third Hallows is true Cloak of Invisibility, Miss
Granger! I mean to say, it is not a traveling cloak imbued with
a Disillusionment Charm, or carrying a Bedazzling Hex or else
woven from Demiguise hair, which will hide one initially but fade
with the years until it turns opaque. We are talking about a cloak
that really and truly renders the wearer completely invisible, and
endures eternally, giving constant and impenetrable concealment,
no matter what spells are cast at it. How many cloaks have you
ever seen like that, Miss Granger?"
Hermione opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again,
looking more confused than ever. She, Harry, and Ron glanced at
one another, and Harry knew that they were all thinking the same
thing. It so happened that a cloak exactly like the one Xenophi-
lius had just described was in the room with them at that very
moment.
\Exactly," said Xenophilius, as if he had defeated them all in
reasoned argument. \None of you have ever seen such a thing. The
possessor would be immeasurably rich, would he not?"
He glanced out of the window again. The sky was now tinged
with the faintest trace of pink.
\All right," said Hermione, disconcerted. \Say the cloak
existed . . . what about the stone, Mr. Lovegood? The thing you
call the Resurrection Stone?"
\What of it?"
\Well, how can that be real?"
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Chapter 21
\Prove that it is not," said Xenophilius.
Hermione looked outraged.
\But that's|I'm sorry, but that's completely ridiculous! How
can I possibly prove it doesn't exist? Do you expect me to get hold
of|of all the pebbles in the world and test them? I mean, you
could claim that anything's real if the only basis for believing in it
is that nobody's proved it doesn't exist!"
\Yes, you could," said Xenophilius. \I am glad to see that you
are opening your mind a little."
\So the Elder Wand," said Harry quickly, before Hermione
could retort, \you think that exists too?"
\Oh, well, in that case there is endless evidence," said Xeno-
philius. \The Elder Wand is the Hallow that is most easily traced,
because of the way in which it passes from hand to hand."
\Which is what?" asked Harry.
\Which is that the possessor of the wand must capture it from
its previous owner, if he is to be truly a master of it," said Xenophi-
lius. \Surely you have heard of the way the wand came to Egbert
the Egregious, after his slaughter of Emeric the Evil? Of how
Godelot died in his own cellar after his son, Hereward, took the
wand from him? Of the dreadful Loxias, who took the wand from
Barnabas Deverill, whom he had killed? The bloody trail of the
Elder Wand is splattered across the pages of Wizarding history."
Harry glanced at Hermione. She was frowning at Xenophilius,
but she did not contradict him.
\So where do you think the Elder Wand is now?" asked Ron.
\Alas, who knows?" said Xenophilius, as he gazed out of the
window. \Who knows where the Elder Wand lies hidden? The
trail goes cold with Arcus and Livius. Who can say which of them
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
really defeated Loxias, and which took the wand? And who can
say who may have defeated them? History, alas, does not tell us."
There was a pause. Finally, Hermione asked sti y, \Mr. Loveg-
ood, does the Peverell family have anything to do with the Deathly
Hallows?"
Xenophilius looked taken aback as something shifted in Harry's
memory, but he could not locate it. Peverell . . . he had heard that
name before. . . .
\But have you been misleading me, young woman!" said Xeno-
philius, now sitting up much straighter in his chair and goggling
at Hermione. \I thought you were new to the Hallows Quest!
Many of us Questers believe that the Peverells have everything|
everything! |to do with the Hallows!"
\Who are the Peverells?" asked Ron.
\That was the name on the grave with the mark on it, in Go-
dric's Hollow," said Hermione, still watching Xenophilius. \Ignorus
Peverell."
\Exactly!" said Xenophilius, his fore nger raised pedantically.
\The sign of the Deathly Hallows on Ignotus's grave is conclusive
proof!"
\Of what?" asked Ron.
\Why, that the three brothers in the story were actually the
three Peverell brothers, Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus! That they
were the original owners of the Hallows!"
With another glance at the window he got to his feet, picked
up the tray, and headed for the spiral staircase.
\You will stay for dinner?" he called, as he vanished down-
stairs again. \Everybody always requests our recipe for Freshwater
Plimpy soup."
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Chapter 21
\Probably to show the Poisoning Department at St. Mungo's,"
said Ron under his breath.
Harry waited until they could hear Xenophilius moving about
in the kitchen downstairs before speaking.
\What do you think?" he asked Hermione.
\Oh, Harry," she said wearily, \it's a pile of utter rubbish. This
can't be the what the sign really means. This must be his weird
take on it. What a waste of time."
\I s'pose this is the man who brought us Crumple-Horned
Snorkacks," said Ron.
\You don't believe it either?" Harry asked him.
\Nah, that story's just one of those things you tell kids to teach
them lessons, isn't it? `Don't go looking for trouble, don't pick up
ghts, don't go messing around with stu that's best left alone!
Just keep your head down, mind your own business, and you'll be
okay.' Come to think of it," Ron added, \maybe that story's why
elder wands are supposed to be unlucky."
\What are you talking about?"
\One of those superstitions, isn't it? `May-born witches will
marry Muggles.' `Jinx by twilight, undone by midnight.' `Wand of
elder, never prosper.' You must've heard them. My mum's full of
them."
\Harry and I were raised by Muggles," Hermione reminded him.
\We were taught di erent superstitions." She sighed deeply as a
rather pungent smell drifted up from the kitchen. The one good
thing about her exasperation with Xenophilius was that it seemed
to make her forget that she was annoyed with Ron. \I think you're
right," she told him. \It's just a morality tale, it's obvious which
gift is best, which one you'd choose|"
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
The three of them spoke at the same time; Hermione said, \the
Cloak," Ron said, \the wand," and Harry said, \the stone."
They looked at each other, half surprised, half amused.
\You're supposed to say the Cloak," Ron told Hermione, \but
you wouldn't need to be invisible if you had the wand. An unbeat-
able wand, Hermione, come on!"
\We've already got an Invisibility Cloak," said Harry.
\And it's helped us rather a lot, in case you hadn't noticed!"
said Hermione. \Whereas the wand would be bound to attract
trouble|"
\Only if you shouted about it," argued Ron. \Only if you were
prat enough to go dancing around, waving it over your head, and
singing, `I've got an unbeatable wand, come and have a go if you
think you're good enough.' As you as you kept your trap shut|"
\Yes, but could you keep your trap shut?" said Hermione, look-
ing skeptical. \You know, the only true thing he said to us was that
there have been stories about extra-powerful wands for hundreds
of years."
\There have?" asked Harry.
Hermione looked exasperated: The expression was so endear-
ingly familiar that Harry and Ron grinned at each other.
\The Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, they crop up under dif-
ferent names through the centuries, usually in the possession of
some Dark wizard who's boasting about them. Professor Binns
mentioned some of them, but|oh, it's all nonsense. Wands are
only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just
like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's."
\But how do you know," said Harry, \that those wands|the
Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny|aren't the same wand, sur-
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Chapter 21
facing over the centuries under di erent names?"
\What, and they're all really the Elder Wand, made by Death?"
said Ron.
Harry laughed: The strange idea that had occurred to him was,
after all, ridiculous. His wand, he reminded himself, had been of
holly, not elder, and it had been made by Ollivander, whatever it
had done that night Voldemort had pursued him across the skies.
And if it had been unbeatable, how could it have been broken?
\So why would you take the stone?" Ron asked him.
\Well, if you could bring people back, we could have
Sirius . . . Mad-Eye . . . Dumbledore . . . my parents. . . ."
\But according to Beedle the Bard, they wouldn't want to come
back, would they?" said Harry, thinking about the tale they had
just heard. \I don't suppose there have been loads of other stories
about a stone that can raise the dead, have there?" he asked Her-
mione.
\No," she replied sadly. \I don't think anyone except Mr. Love-
good could kid themselves that's possible. Beedle probably took
the idea from the Sorcerer's Stone; you know, instead of a stone to
make you immortal, a stone to reverse death."
The smell from the kitchen was getting stronger: It was some-
thing like burning underpants. Harry wondered whether it would
be possible to eat enough of whatever Xenophilius was cooking to
spare his feelings.
\What about the Cloak, though?" said Ron slowly. \Don't you
realize he's right? I've got so used to Harry's Cloak and how good
it is, I never stopped to think. I've never heard of one like Harry's.
It's infallible. We've never been spotted under it|"
\Of course not|we're invisible when we're under it, Ron!"
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
\But all the stu he said about the other cloaks, and they're not
exactly ten a Knut, you know, is true! It's never occurred to me
before, but I've heard stu about charms wearing o cloaks when
they get old, or them being ripped apart by spells so they've got
holes in them. Harry's was owned by his dad, so it's not exactly
new, is it, but it's just . . . perfect!"
\Yes, all right, but Ron, the stone . . . "
As they argued in whispered, Harry moved around the room,
only half listening. Reaching the spiral stair, he raised his eyes
absently to the next level and was distracted at once. His own face
was looking back at him from the ceiling of the room above.
After a moment's bewilderment, he realized that it was not a
mirror, but a painting. Curious, he began to climb the stairs.
\Harry, what are you doing? I don't think you should look
around when he's not here!"
But Harry had already reached the next level.
Luna had decorated her bedroom ceiling with ve beautifully
painted faces: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. They
were not moving as the portraits at Hogwarts moved, but there
was a certain magic about them all the same: Harry thought
they breathed. What appeared to be ne golden chains wove
around the pictures, linking them together, but after examin-
ing them for a minute or so, Harry realized that the chains
were actually one word, repeated a thousand times in golden ink:
friends . . . friends . . . friends . . .
Harry felt a great rush of a ection for Luna. He looked around
the room. There was a large photograph beside the bed, of a young
Luna and a woman who looked very like her. They were hugging.
Luna looked rather better-groomed in this picture than Harry had
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Chapter 21
ever seen her in life. The picture was dusty. This struck Harry as
slightly odd. He stared around.
Something was wrong. The pale blue carpet was also thick with
dust. There were no clothes in the wardrobe, whose doors stood
ajar. The bed had a cold, unfriendly look, as though it had not
been slept in for weeks. A single cobweb stretched over the nearest
window, across a bloodred sky.
\What's wrong?" Hermione asked as Harry descended the stair-
case, but before he could respond, Xenophilius reached the top of
the stairs from the kitchen, now holding a tray laden with bowls.
\Mr. Lovegood," said Harry. \Where's Luna?"
\Excuse me?"
\Where's Luna?"
Xenophilius halted on the top step.
\I|I've already told you. She is down at Bortons Bridge, sh-
ing for Plimpies."
\So why have you only laid that tray for four?"
Xenophilius tried to speak, but no sound came out. The only
noise was the continued chugging of the printing press, and a slight
rattle from the tray as Xenophilius's hands shook.
\I don't think Luna's been here for weeks," said Harry. \Her
clothes are gone, her bed hasn't been slept in. Where is she? And
why do you keep looking out of the window?"
Xenophilius dropped the tray: The bowls bounced and
smashed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione drew their wands. Xeno-
philius frowned, his hand about to enter his pocket. At that mo-
ment the printing press gave a huge bang and numerous Quibblers
came streaming across the
oor from underneath the tablecloth,
the press fell silent at last.
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
Hermione stooped down and picked up one of the magazines,
her wand still pointing at Mr. Lovegood.
\Harry, look at this."
He strode to her as quickly as he could through all the clutter.
The front of The Quibbler carried his own picture, emblazoned
with the words Undesirable Number One and captioned with
the reward money.
\The Quibbler's going for a new angle, then?" Harry asked
coldly, his mind working very fast. \Is that what you were doing
when you went into the garden, Mr. Lovegood? Sending an owl to
the Ministry?"
Xenophilius licked his lips.
\They took my Luna," he whispered. \Because of what I've
been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is,
what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if
I|if I|"
\Hand over Harry?" Hermione nished for him.
\No deal," said Ron
atly. \Get out of the way, we're leaving."
Xenophilius looked ghastly, a century old, his laps drawn back
into a dreadful leer.
\They will be here at any moment. I must save Luna. I cannot
lose Luna. You must not leave."
He spread his arms in front of the staircase, and Harry had a
sudden vision of his mother doing the same thing in front of his
crib.
\Don't make us hurt you," Harry said. \Get out of the way,
Mr. Lovegood."
\HARRY!" Hermione screamed.
Figures on broomsticks were
ying past the windows. As the
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Chapter 21
three of them looked away from him, Xenophilius drew his wand.
Harry realized their mistake just in time: He launched himself side-
ways, shoving Ron and Hermione out of harm's way as Xenophi-
lius's Stunning Spell soared across the room and hit the Erumpent
horn.
There was a colossal explosion. The sound of it seemed to blow
the room apart: Fragments of wood and paper and rubble
ew to
all directions, along with an impenetrable cloud of thick white dust.
Harry
ew through the door, then crashed to the
oor, unable to
see as debris rained upon him, his arms above his head. He heard
Hermione's scream, Ron's yell, and a series of sickening metallic
thuds, which told him that Xenophilius had been blasted o his
feet and fallen backward down the spiral stairs.
Half buried in rubble, Harry tried to raise himself: He could
barely breathe or see for dust. Half of the ceiling had fallen in, and
the end of Luna's bed was hanging through the hole. The bust
of Rowena Ravenclaw lay beside him with half its face missing,
fragments of torn parchment were
oating through the air, and
most of the printing press lay on its side, blocking the top of the
staircase to the kitchen. Then another whit shape moved close
by, and Hermione, coated in dust like a second statue, pressed her
nger to her lips.
The door downstairs crashed open.
\Didn't I tell you there was no need to hurry, Travers?" said
a rough voice. \Didn't I tell you this nutter was just raving as
usual?"
There was a bang and a scream of pain from Xenophilius.
\No . . . no . . . upstairs . . . Potter!"
\I told you last week, Lovegood, we weren't coming back
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
for anything less than some solid information! Remember last
week? When you wanted to swap your daughter for that stupid
bleeding headdress? And the week before"|another bang, an-
other squeal|\when you thought we'd give her back if you of-
fered us proof there are Crumple"|bang |\Headed"|bang |
\Snorkacks?"
\No|no|I beg you!" sobbed Xenophilius. \It really is Potter!
Really!"
\And now it turns out you only called us here to try and blow
us up!" roared the Death Eater, and there are a volley of bangs
interspersed with squeals of agony from Xenophilius.
\This place looks like it's about to fall in, Selwyn," said a cool
second voice, echoing up the mangled staircase. \The stairs are
completely blocked. Could trying clearing it? Might bring the
place down."
\You lying piece of lth," shouted the wizard named Selwyn.
\you've never seen Potter in your life, have you? Thought you'd
lure us here to kill us, did you? And you think you'll get your girl
back like this?"
\I swear . . . I swear . . . Potter's upstairs!"
\Homenum revelio," said the voice at the foot of the stairs.
Harry heard Hermione gasp, and he had the odd sensation that
something was swooping low over him, immersing his body in its
shadow.
\It's Potter, I tell you, it's Potter!" sobbed Xenophilius.
\Please . . . please . . . give me Luna, just let me have Luna. . . ."
\You can have your little girl, Lovegood," said Selwyn, \if you
get up those stairs and bring me down Harry Potter. But if this is
a plot, if it's a trick, if you've got an accomplice waiting up there
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Chapter 21
to ambush us, we'll see if we can spare a bit of your daughter for
you to bury."
Xenophilius gave a wail of fear and despair. There were scur-
ryings and scrapings: Xenophilius was trying to get though the
debris on the stairs.
\Come on," Harry whispered, \we've got to get out of here."
He stated to dig himself out under cover of all the noise Xenophi-
lius was making on the staircase. Ron was buried deepest: Harry
and Hermione climbed, as quietly as they could, over all the wreck-
age to where he lay, trying to prise a heavy chest of drawers o his
legs. While Xenophilius's banging and scraping drew nearer and
nearer, Hermione managed to free Ron with the use of a Hover
Charm.
\All right," breathed Hermione, as the broken printing press
blocking the top of the stairs began to tremble; Xenophilius was
feet away from them. She was still white with dust. \Do you trust
me, Harry?"
Harry nodded.
\Okay then," Hermione whispered, \give me the Invisibility
Cloak. Ron, you're going to put it on."
\Me? But Harry|"
\Please, Ron! Harry, hold on tight to my hand, Ron, grab my
shoulder."
Harry held out his left hand. Ron vanished beneath the Cloak.
The printing press blocking the stairs was vibrating: Xenophilius
was trying to shift it using a Hover Charm. Harry did not know
what Hermione was waiting for.
\Hold tight," she whispered. \Hold tight . . . any second . . . "
Xenophilius's paper-white face appeared over the top of the
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The Tale of the Three Brothers
sideboard.
\Obliviate!" cried Hermione, pointing her wand rst into his
face, and then at the
oor beneath them. \Deprimo!"
She had blasted a hole in the sitting room
oor. They fell like
boulders, Harry still holding onto her hand for dear life; there was
a scream from below, and he glimpsed two men trying to get out
of the way as vast quantities of rubble and broken furniture rained
all around them from the shattered ceiling. Hermione twisted in
midair and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harry's
ears as she dragged him once more into darkness.
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Chapter 22
The Deathly Hallows
arry fell, panting, onto grass and scrambled up at once.
They seemed to have landed in the corner of a eld at
dusk; Hermione was already running in a circle around
Hthem, waving her wand.
\Protego Totalum . . . Salvio Hexia . . . "
\That treacherous old bleeder." Ron panted, emerging from
beneath the Invisibility Cloak and throwing it to Harry. \Her-
mione you're a genius, a total genius. I can't believe we got out of
that."
\Cave Inimicum . . . Didn't I say it was an Erumpent horn,
didn't I tell him? And now his house has been blown apart!"
\Serves him right," said Ron, examining his torn jeans and the
cuts to his legs, \What'd you reckon they'll do to him?"
\Oh I hope they don't kill him!" groaned Hermione, \That's
why I wanted the Death Eaters to get a glimpse of Harry before
we left, so they knew Xenophilius hadn't been lying!"
\Why hide me though?" asked Ron.
\You're supposed to be in bed with spattergroit, Ron! They've
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The Deathly Hallows
kidnapped Luna because her father supported Harry! What would
happen to your family if they knew you're with him?"
\But what about your mum and dad?"
\They're in Australia," said Hermione, \They should be all
right. They don't know anything."
\You're a genius," Ron repeated, looking awed.
Yeah, you are, Hermione," agreed Harry fervently. \I don't
know what we'd do without you."
She beamed, but became solemn at once.
\What about Luna?"
\Well, if they're telling the truth and she's still Alive|" began
Ron.
\Don't say that, don't say it!" squealed Hermione. \She must
be alive, she must!"
\Then she'll be in Azkaban, I expect," said Ron. \Whether she
survives the place, though . . . Loads don't . . . "
\She will," said Harry. He could not bear to contemplate the
alternative. \She's tough, Luna, much tougher than you'd think.
She's probably teaching all the inmates about Wrackspurts and
Nargles."
\I hope you're right," said Hermione. She passed a hand over
her eyes. \I'd feel so sorry for Xenophilius if|\
\|if he hadn't just tried to sell us to the Death Eaters, yeah,"
said Ron.
They put up the tent and retreated inside it, where Ron made
them tea. After their narrow escape, the chilly, musty old place
felt like home: safe, familiar, and friendly.
\Oh, why did we go there?" groaned Hermione after a few min-
utes' silence. \Harry, you were right, it was Godric's Hollow all over
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Chapter 22
again, a complete waste of time! The Deathly Hallows . . . such
rubbish . . . although actually," a sudden thought seemed to have
struck her, \he might have made it all up, mightn't he? He prob-
ably doesn't believe in the Deathly Hallows at all, he just wanted
to keep us talking until the Death Eaters arrived!"
\I don't think so," said Ron. \It's a damn sight harder making
stu up when you're under stress than you'd think. I found that
out when the Snatchers caught me. It was much easier pretending
to be Stan, because I knew a bit about him, than inventing a whole
new person. Old Lovegood was under loads of pressure, trying to
make sure we stayed put. I reckon he told us the truth, or what
he thinks is the truth, just to keep us talking."
\Well, I don't suppose it matters," sighed Hermione. \Even if
he was being honest, I never heard such a lot of nonsense in all my
life."
\Hang on, though," said Ron. \The Chamber of Secrets was
supposed to be a myth, wasn't it?"
\But the Deathly Hallows can't exist, Ron!"
\You keep saying that, but one of them can," said Ron.
\Harry's Invisibility Cloak|\
\The Tale of the Three Brothers' is a story," said Hermione
rmly. \A story about how humans are frightened of death. If
surviving was as simple as hiding under the Invisibility Cloak, we'd
have everything we need already!"
\I don't know. We could do with an unbeatable wand," said
Harry, turning the blackthorn wand he so disliked over in his n-
gers.
\There's no such thing, Harry!"
\You said there have been loads of wands|the Deathstick and
426
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The Deathly Hallows
whatever they were called|\
\All right, even if you want to kid yourself the Elder Wand's
real, what about the Resurrection Stone?" Her ngers sketched
quotation marks around the name, and her tone dripped sarcasm.
\No magic can raise the dead, and that's that!"
\When my wand connected with You-Know-Who's, it made my
mum and dad appear . . . and Cedric . . . "
\But they weren't really back from the dead, were they?" said
Hermione. \Those kind of|of pale imitations aren't the same as
truly bringing someone back to life."
\But she, the girl in the tale, didn't really come back, did she?
The story says that once people are dead, they belong with the
dead. But the second brother still got to see her and talk to her,
didn't he? He even lived with her for a while . . . "
He saw concern and something less easily de nable in Her-
mione's expression. Then, as she glanced at Ron, Harry realized
that it was fear: He had scared her with his talk of living with
dead people.
\So that Peverell bloke who's buried in Godric's Hollow," he
said hastily, trying to sound robustly sane, \you don't know any-
thing about him, then?"
\No," she replied, looking relieved at the change of subject. \I
looked him up after I saw the mark on his grave; if he'd been any-
one famous or done anything important, I'm sure he'd be in one of
our books. The only place I've managed to nd the name `Peverell'
is Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. I borrowed it from
Kreacher," she explained as Ron raised his eyebrows. \It lists the
pure-blood families that are now extinct in the male line. Appar-
ently the Peverells were one of the earliest families to vanish."
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Chapter 22
\Extinct in the male line?" repeated Ron.
\It means the name died out," said Hermione, \centuries ago,
in the case of the Peverells. They could still have descendants,
though, they'd just be called something di erent."
And then it came to Harry in one shining piece, the memory
that had stirred at the sound of the name \Peverell": a lthy old
man brandishing an ugly ring in the face of a Ministry o cial, and
he cried aloud, \Marvolo Gaunt!"
\Sorry," said Ron and Hermione together.
\Marvolo Gaunt! You-Know-Who's grandfather! In the Pen-
sieve! With Dumbledore! Marvolo Gaunt said he was descended
from the Peverells!"
Ron and Hermione looked bewildered.
\The ring, the ring that became the Horcrux, Marvolo Gaunt
said it had the Peverell coat of arms on it! I saw him waving it
in the bloke from the Ministry's face, he nearly shoved it up his
nose!"
\The Peverell coat of arms?" said Hermione sharply. \Could
you see what it looked like?"
\Not really," said Harry, trying to remember. \There was noth-
ing fancy on there, as far as I could see; maybe a few scratches. I
only ever saw it really close up after it had been cracked open."
Harry saw Hermione's comprehension in the sudden widening
of her eyes. Ron was looking from one to the other, astonished.
\Blimey . . . You reckon it was this sign again? The sign of the
Hallows?
\Why not said Harry excitedly, \Marvolo Gaunt was an igno-
rant old git who lived like a pig, all he cared about was his ancestry.
If that ring had been passed down through the centuries, he might
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The Deathly Hallows
not have known what it really was. There were no books in that
house, and trust me, he wasn't the type to read fairy tales to his
kids. He'd have loved to think the scratches on the stone were
a coat of arms, because as far as he was concerned, having pure
blood made you practically royal."
\Yes . . . and that's all very interesting," said Hermione cau-
tiously, \but Harry, if you're thinking what I think you're think|\
\Well, why not? Why not? said Harry, abandoning caution.
\It was a stone, wasn't it?" He looked at Ron for support. \What
if it was the Resurrection Stone?"
Ron's mouth fell open.
\Blimey|but would it still work if Dumbledore broke|?"
\Work? Work? Ron, it never worked! There's no such thing as
a Resurrection Stone!"
Hermione leapt to her feet, looking exasperated and angry.
Harry you're trying to t everything into the Hallows story|\
\Fit everything in?" he repeated. \Hermione, it ts of its own
accord! I know the sign of the Deathly Hallows was on that stone!
Gaunt said he was descended from the Peverells!"
\A minute ago you told us you never saw the mark on the stone
properly!"
\Where'd you reckon the ring is now?" Ron asked Harry.
\What did Dumbledore do with it after he broke it open?"
\But Harry's imagination was racing ahead, far beyond Ron
and Hermione's . . .
Three objects, or Hallows, which, if united, will make the posses-
sor master of Death . . . Master . . . Conqueror . . . Vanquisher . . .
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. . . .
And he saw himself, possessor of the Hallows, facing Voldemort,
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Chapter 22
whose Horcruxes were no match . . . Neither can live while the other
survives . . . Was this the answer? Hallows versus Horcruxes? Was
there a way after all, to ensure that he was the one who triumphed?
If he were the master of the Deathly Hallows, would he be safe?
\Harry?"
But he scarcely heard Hermione: He had pulled out his Invisi-
bility Cloak and was running it through his ngers, the cloth supple
as water, light as air. He had never seen anything to equal it in his
nearly seven years in the Wizarding world. The Cloak was exactly
what Xenophilius had described: A cloak that really and truly ren-
ders the wearer completely invisible, and endures eternally, giving
constant and impenetrable concealment, no matter what spells are
cast at it . . .
And then, with a gasp, he remembered|
\Dumbledore had my Cloak the night my parents died!"
His voice shook and he could feel the color in his face, but he
did not care.
\My mum told Sirius that Dumbledore borrowed the Cloak!
This is why! He wanted to examine it, because he thought it was
the third Hallow! Ignotus Peverell is buried in Godric's Hollow . . . "
Harry was walking blindly around the tent, feeling as though great
new vistas of truth were opening all around him. \He's my ances-
tor. I'm descended from the third brother! It all makes sense!"
\He felt armed in certainty, in his belief in the Hallows, as if
the mere idea of possessing them was giving him protection, and
he felt joyous as he turned back to the other two.
\Harry," said Hermione again, but he was busy undoing the
pouch around his neck, his ngers shaking hard.
\Read it," he told her, pushing his mother's letter into her hand.
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The Deathly Hallows
\Read it! Dumbledore had the Cloak, Hermione! Why else would
he want it? He didn't need a Cloak, he could perform a Disillusion-
ment Charm so powerful that he made himself completely invisible
without one!"
Something fell to the
oor and rolled, glittering, under a chair:
He had dislodged the Snitch when he pulled out the letter. He
stooped to pick it up, and then the newly tapped spring of fabulous
discoveries threw him another gift, and shock and wonder erupted
inside him so that he shouted out.
\IT'S IN HERE! He left me the ring|it's in the Snitch!"
\You|you reckon?"
He could not understand why Ron looked taken aback. It was
so obvious, so clear to Harry. Everything t, everything . . . His
Cloak was the third Hallow, and when he discovered how to open
the Snitch he would have the second, and then all he needed to do
was nd the rst Hallow, the Elder Wand, and then|
But it was as though a curtain fell on a lit stage: All his excite-
ment, all his hope and happiness were extinguished at a stroke, and
he stood alone in the darkness, and the glorious spell was broken.
\That's what he's after."
The change in his voice made Ron and Hermione look even more
scared.
\You-Know-Who's after the Elder Wand."
He turned his back on their strained, incredulous faces. He knew
it was the truth. It all made sense, Voldemort was not seeking a
new wand; he was seeking an old wand, a very old wand indeed.
Harry walked to the entrance of the tent, forgetting about Ron and
Hermione as he looked out into the night, thinking . . .
Voldemort had been raised in a Muggle orphanage. Nobody
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Chapter 22
could have told him The Tales of Beedle the Bard when he was a
child, any more than Harry had heard them. Hardly any wizards
believed in the Deathly Hallows. Was it likely that Voldemort
knew about them?
Harry gazed into the darkness. . . . If Voldemort had known
about the Deathly Hallows, surely he would have sought them,
done anything to possess them: three objects that made the posses-
sor master of Death? If he had known about the Deathly Hallows,
he might not have needed Horcruxes in the rst place. Didn't the
simple fact that he had taken a Hallow, and turned it into a Hor-
crux, demonstrate that he did not know this last great Wizarding
secret?
Which meant that Voldemort sought the Elder Wand without
realizing its full power, without understanding that it was one of
three. . . . for the wand was the Hallow that could not be hidden,
whose existence was best known. . . . The bloody trail of the Elder
Wand is splattered across the pages of Wizarding history . . .
Harry watched the cloudy sky, curves of smoke-gray and silver
sliding over the face of the white moon. He felt lightheaded with
amazement at his discoveries.
He turned back into the tent. It was a shock to see Ron and Her-
mione standing exactly where he had left them, Hermione still hold-
ing Lily's letter, Ron at her side looking slightly anxious. Didn't
they realize how far they had traveled in the last few minutes?
\This is it?" Harry said, trying to bring them inside the glow
of his own astonished certainty, \This explains everything. The
Deathly Hallows are real and I've got one|maybe two|\
He held up the Snitch.
\|and You-Know-Who's chasing the third, but he doesn't
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The Deathly Hallows
realize . . . he just thinks it's a powerful wand|\
\Harry," said Hermione, moving across to him and handing him
back Lily's letter, \I'm sorry, but I think you've got this wrong, all
wrong."
\But don't you see? It all ts|\
\Not, it doesn't," she said. \It doesn't. Harry, you're just
getting carried away. Please," she said as she started to speak,
\please just answer me this: If the Deathly Hallows really existed,
and Dumbledore knew about them, knew that the person who pos-
sessed all of them would be master of Death|Harry, why wouldn't
he have told you? Why?"
He had his answer ready.
\But you said it, Hermione! You've got to nd out about them
for yourself! It's a Quest!"
\But I only said that to try and persuade you to come to the
Lovegoods'!" cried Hermione in exasperation. \I didn't really
believe it!"
Harry took no notice.
\Dumbledore usually let me nd out stu for myself. He let me
try my strength, take risks. This feels like the kind of thing he'd
do."
\Harry, this isn't a game, this isn't practice! This is the real
thing, and Dumbledore left you very clear instructions: Find and
destroy the Horcruxes! That symbol doesn't mean anything, forget
the Deathly Hallows, we can't a ord to get sidetracked|\
Harry was barely listening to her. He was turning the Snitch
over and over in his hands, half expecting it to break open, to
reveal the Resurrection Stone, to prove to Hermione that he was
right, that the Deathly Hallows were real.
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Chapter 22
She appealed to Ron.
\You don't believe in this, do you?"
Harry looked up, Ron hesitated.
\I dunno . . . I mean . . . bits of it sort of t together," said Ron
awkwardly, \But when you look at the whole thing . . . " He took
a deep breath. \I think we're supposed to get rid of Horcruxes,
Harry. That's what Dumbledore told us to do. Maybe . . . maybe
we should forget about this Hallows business."
\Thank you, Ron," said Hermione. \I'll take rst watch."
And she strode past Harry and sat down in the tent entrance
bringing the action to a erce full stop.
But Harry hardly slept that night. The idea of the Deathly
Hallows had taken possession of him, and he could not rest while
agitating thoughts whirled through his mind: the wand, the stone,
and the Cloak, if he could just possess them all. . . .
I open at the close. . . . But what was the close? Why couldn't
he have the stone now? If only he had the stone, he could ask Dum-
bledore these questions in person . . . and Harry murmured words
to the Snitch in the darkness, trying everything, even Parseltongue,
but the golden ball would not open. . . .
And the wand, the Elder Wand, where was that hidden? Where
was Voldemort searching now? Harry wished his scar would burn
and show him Voldemort's thoughts, because for the rst time
ever, he and Voldemort were united in wanting the very same
thing . . . Hermione would not like that idea, of course. . . . But
then, she did not believe. . . . Xenophilius had been right, in a
way . . . Limited, Narrow, Close-minded. The truth was that she
was scared of the idea of the Deathly Hallows, especially of the
Resurrection Stone . . . and Harry pressed his mouth again to the
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The Deathly Hallows
Snitch, kissing it, nearly swallowing it, but the cold medal did not
yield. . . .
It was nearly dawn when he remembered Luna, alone in a cell in
Azkaban, surrounded by dementors, and he suddenly felt ashamed
of himself. He had forgotten all about her in his feverish contem-
plation of the Hallows. If only they could rescue her, but dementors
in those numbers would be virtually unassailable. Now he came
to think about it, he had not tried casting a Patronus with the
blackthorn wand. . . . He must try that in the morning . . .
If only there was a way of getting a better wand . . .
And desire for the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, unbeatable,
invincible, swallowed him once more. . . .
They packed up the tent next morning and moved on through
a dreary shower of rain. The downpour pursued them to the coast,
where they pitched the tent that night, and persisted through the
whole week, through sodden landscapes that Harry found bleak
and depressing. He could think only of the Deathly Hallows. It
was as though a
ame had been lit inside him that nothing, not
Hermione's
at disbelief nor Ron's persistent doubts, could extin-
guish. And yet the ercer the longing for the Hallows burned inside
him, the less joyful it made him. He blamed Ron and Hermione:
Their determined indi erence was as bad as the relentless rain for
dampening his spirits, but neither could erode his certainty, which
remained absolute. Harry's belief in and longing for the Hallows
consumed him so much that he felt isolated from the other two and
their obsession with the Horcruxes.
\Obsession?" said Hermione in a low erce voice, when Harry
was careless enough to use the word one evening, after Hermione
had told him o for his lack of interest in locating more Horcruxes.
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Chapter 22
\We're not the one with an obsession, Harry! We're the ones trying
to do what Dumbledore wanted us to do!"
But he was impervious to the veiled criticism. Dumbledore
had left the sign of the Hallows for Hermione to decipher, and
he had also, Harry remained convinced of it, left the Resurrection
Stone hidden in the golden Snitch. Neither can live while the other
survives . . . master of Death . . . Why didn't Ron and Hermione
understand?
\`The last enemy shall be destroyed is death,'" Harry quoted
calmly.
\I thought it was You-Know-Who we were supposed to be ght-
ing?" Hermione retorted, and Harry gave up on her.
Even the mystery of the silver doe, which the other two insisted
on discussing, seemed less important to Harry now, a vaguely in-
teresting sideshow. The only other thing that mattered to him
was that his scar had begun to prickle again, although he did all
he could to hide this fact from the other two. He sought solitude
whenever it happened, but was disappointed by what he saw. The
visions he and Voldemort were sharing had changed in quality;
they had become blurred, shifting as though they were moving in
and out of focus. Harry was just able to make out the indistinct
features of an object that looked like a skull, and something like a
mountain that was more shadow than substance. Used to images
sharp as reality, Harry was disconcerted by the change. He was
worried that the connection between himself and Voldemort had
been damaged, a connection that he both feared and, whatever he
had told Hermione, prized. Somehow Harry connected these un-
satisfying, vague images with the destruction of his wand, as if it
was the blackthorn wand's fault that he could no longer see into
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The Deathly Hallows
Voldemort's mind as well as before.
As the weeks crept on, Harry could not help but notice, even
through his new self-absorption, that Ron seemed to be taking
charge. Perhaps because he was determined to make up for having
walked out on them, perhaps because Harry's descent into listless-
ness galvanized his dormant leadership qualities, Ron was the one
now encouraging and exhorting the other two into action.
\Three Horcruxes left," he kept saying. \We need a plan of
action, come on! Where haven't we looked? Let's go through it
again. The orphanage . . . "
Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, the Riddle House, Borgin and Burkes,
Albania, every place that they knew Tom Riddle had ever lived or
worked, visited or murdered, Ron and Hermione raked over them
again, Harry joining in only to stop Hermione pestering him. He
would have been happy to sit alone in silence, trying to read Volde-
mort's thoughts, to nd out more about the Elder Wand, but Ron
insisted on journeying to ever more unlikely places simply, Harry
was aware, to keep them moving.
\You never know," was Ron's constant refrain. \Upper Flagley
is a Wizarding village, he might've wanted to live there. Let's go
and have a poke around."
These frequent forays into Wizarding territory brought them
within occasional sight of Snatchers.
\Some of them are supposed to be as bad as Death Eaters,"
said Ron. \The lot that got me were a bit pathetic, but Bill recons
some of them are really dangerous. They said on Potterwatch |\
\On what?" said Harry.
\Potterwatch, didn't I tell you that's what it was called? The
program I keep trying to get on the radio, the only one that tells
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Chapter 22
the truth about what's going on! Nearly all of the programs are
following You-Know-Who's line, all except Potterwatch, I really
want you to hear it, but it's tricky tuning in . . . "
Ron spent evening after evening using his wand to beat out
various rhythms on top of the wireless while the dials whirled.
Occasionally they would catch snatches of advice on how to treat
dragonpox, and once a few bars of \A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong
Love." While he taped, Ron continued to try to hit on the correct
password, muttering strings of random words under his breath.
\They're normally something to do with the Order," he told
them. \Bill had a real knack for guessing them. I'm bound to get
one in the end . . . "
\But not until March did luck favor Ron at last. Harry was
sitting in the tent entrance, on guard duty, staring idly at a clump
of grape hyacinths that had forced their way through the chilly
ground, when Ron shouted excitedly from inside the tent.
\I've got it, I've got it! Password was `Albus'! Get in here,
Harry."
Roused for the rst time in days from his contemplation of the
Deathly Hallows, Harry hurried back inside the tent to nd Ron
and Hermione kneeling on the
oor beside the little radio. Her-
mione, who had been polishing the sword of Gry ndor just for
something to do, was sitting open-mouthed, staring at the tiny
speaker, from which a most familiar voice was issuing.
\ . . . apologize for our temporary absence from the airwaves,
which was due to a number of house calls in our area by those
charming Death Eaters."
\But that's Lee Jordan!" said Hermione.
\I know!" beamed Ron. \Cool, eh?"
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The Deathly Hallows
\ . . . now found ourselves another secure location," Lee was say-
ing, and I'm pleased to tell you that two of our regular contributors
have joined me here this evening. Evening, boys!"
\Hi."
\Evening, River."
\`River'" that's Lee," Ron explained. \They've all got code
names, but you can usually tell|\
\Shh!" said Hermione.
\But before we hear from Royal and Romulus," Lee went on,
\let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding
Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don't think important
enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our
listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell."
Harry felt a sick, swooping in his belly. He, Ron, and Hermione
gazed at one another in horror.
\A goblin by the name of Gornuk was also killed. It is believed
that Muggle-born Dean Thomas and a second goblin, both believed
to have been traveling with Tonks, Cresswell, and Gornuk, may
have escaped. If Dean is listening, or if anyone has any knowledge
of his whereabouts, his parents and sisters are desperate for news.
\Meanwhile, in Gaddley, a Muggle family of ve has been found
dead in their home. Muggle authorities are attributing their deaths
to a gas leak, but members of the Order of the Phoenix inform me
that it was the Killing Curse|more evidence, as if it were needed,
of the fact that Muggle slaughter is becoming little more than a
recreational sport under the new regime.
\Finally, we regret to inform our listeners that the remains of
Bathilda Bagshot have been discovered in Godric's Hollow. The
evidence is that she died several months ago. The Order of the
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Chapter 22
Phoenix informs us that her body showed unmistakable signs of
injuries in
icted by Dark Magic.
\Listeners, I'd like to invite you now to join us in a minute's si-
lence in memory of Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Bathilda Bagshot,
Gornuk, and the unnamed, but no less regretted, Muggles mur-
dered by the Death Eaters."
Silence fell, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione did not speak. Half
of Harry yearned to hear more, half of him was afraid of what
might come next. It was the rst time he had felt fully connected
to the outside world for a long time.
\Thank you," said Lee's voice. \And now we can return to
regular contributor Royal, for an update on how the new Wizarding
order is a ecting the Muggle world."
\Thanks, River," said an unmistakable voice, deep, measured,
reassuring.
\Kingsley!" burst out Ron.
\We know!" said Hermione, hushing him.
\Muggles remain ignorant of the source of their su ering as they
continue to sustain heavy casualties," said Kingsley. \However, we
continue to hear truly inspirational stories of wizards and witches
risking their own safety to protect Muggle friends and neighbors,
often without the Muggles' knowledge. I'd like to appeal to all our
listeners to emulate their example, perhaps by casting a protective
charm over any Muggle dwellings in your street. Many lives could
be saved if such simple measures are taken."
\And what would you say, Royal, to those listeners who reply
that in these dangerous times, it should be `Wizards rst'?" asked
Lee.
\I'd say that it's one short step from `Wizards rst' to `Pure-
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The Deathly Hallows
bloods rst,' and then to `Death Eaters,'" replied Kingsley. \We're
all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and
worth saving."
\Excellently put, Royal, and you've got my vote for Minister of
Magic if we ever get out of this mess," said Lee. \And now, over
to Romulus for our popular feature `Pals of Potter.'"
\Thanks, River," said another very familiar voice. Ron started
to speak, but Hermione forestalled him in a whisper.
\We know it's Lupin!"
\Romulus, do you maintain, as you have every time you've ap-
peared on our program, that Harry Potter is still alive?"
\I do," said Lupin rmly. \There is no doubt at all in my
mind that his death would be proclaimed as widely as possible by
the Death Eaters if it had happened, because it would strike a
deadly blow at the morale of those resisting the new regime. `The
Boy Who Lived' remains a symbol of everything for which we are
ghting: the triumph of good, the power of innocence, the need to
keep resisting."
A mixture of gratitude and shame welled up in Harry. Had
Lupin forgiven him, then, for the terrible things he had said when
they had last met?
\And what would you say to Harry if you knew he was listening,
Romulus?"
\I'd tell him we're all with him in spirit," said Lupin, then
hesitated slightly, \And I'd tell him to follow his instincts, which
are good and nearly always right."
Harry looked at Hermione, whose eyes were full of tears.
\Nearly always right," she repeated.
\Oh, didn't I tell you?" said Ron in surprise. \Bill told me
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Chapter 22
Lupin's living with Tonks again! And apparently she's getting
pretty big too . . . "
\ . . . and our usual update on those friends of Harry Potter's
who are su ering for their allegiance?" Lee was saying.
\Well, as regular listeners will know, several of the more out-
spoken supporters of Harry Potter have now been imprisoned, in-
cluding Xenophilius Lovegood, erstwhile editor of The Quibbler,"
said Lupin.
\At least he's still alive!" muttered Ron.
\We have also heard within the last few hours that Rubeus
Hagrid"|all three of them gasped, and so nearly missed the rest
of the sentence|\well-known gamekeeper at Hogwarts School, has
narrowly escaped arrest within the grounds of Hogwarts, where he
is rumored to have hosted a `Support Harry Potter' party in his
house. However, Hagrid was not taken into custody, and is, we
believe, on the run."
\I suppose it helps, when escaping from Death Eaters, if you've
got a sixteen-foot-high half brother?" asked Lee.
\It would tend to give you an edge," agreed Lupin gravely.
\May I just add that while we here at Potterwatch applaud Ha-
grid's spirit, we would urge even the most devoted of Harry's sup-
porters against following Hagrid's lead. `Support Harry Potter'
parties are unwise in the present climate."
\Indeed they are, Romulus," said Lee, \so we suggest that you
continue to show your devotion to the man with the lightning scar
by listening to Potterwatch! And now let's move to news concern-
ing the wizard who is proving just as elusive as Harry Potter. We
like to refer to him as the Chief Death Eater, and here to give his
views on some of the more insane rumors circulating about him,
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The Deathly Hallows
I'd like to introduce a new correspondent. Rodent?"
\`Rodent'?" said yet another familiar voice, and Harry, Ron,
and Hermione cried out together:
\Fred!"
\No|is it George?"
\It's Fred, I think," said Ron, leaning in closer, as whichever
twin it was said,
\I'm not being `Rodent,' no way, I told you I wanted to be
`Rapier'!"
\Oh, all right then, `Rapier,' could you please give us your take
on the various stories we've been hearing about the Chief Death
Eater?"
\Yes, River, I can," said Fred. \As our listeners will know,
unless they've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond or
somewhere similar, You-Know-Who's strategy of remaining in the
shadows is creating a nice little climate of panic. Mind you, if
all the alleged sightings of him are genuine, we must have a good
nineteen You-Know-Whos running around the place."
\Which suits him, of course," said Kingsley. \The air of mystery
is creating more terror than actually showing himself."
\Agreed," said Fred. \So, people, let's try and calm down a
bit. Things are bad enough without inventing stu as well. For
instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill people with
a single glance from his eyes. That's a basilisk, listeners. One
simple test: Check whether the thing that's glaring at you has got
legs. If it has, it's safe to look into its eyes, although if it really
is You-Know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever
do."
For the rst time in weeks and weeks, Harry was laughing: He
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Chapter 22
could feel the weight of tension leaving him.
\And the rumors that he keeps being sighted abroad?" asked
Lee.
\Well, who wouldn't want a nice little holiday after all the hard
work he's been putting in?" asked Fred. \Point is, people, don't
get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he's out of the
country. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but the fact remains he can
move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he
wants to, so don't count on him being a long way away if you're
planning to take any risks. I never thought I'd hear myself say it,
but safety rst!"
\Thank you very much for those wise words, Rapier," said Lee.
\Listeners, that brings us to the end of another Potterwatch. We
don't know when it will be possible to broadcast again, but you
can be sure we shall be back. Keep twiddling those dials: The
next password will be `Mad-Eye.' Keep each other safe: Keep
faith. Good night."
The radio's dial twirled and the lights behind the tuning panel
went out. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still beaming. Hearing
familiar, friendly voices was an extraordinary tonic; Harry had
become so used to their isolation he had nearly forgotten that other
people were resisting Voldemort. It was like waking from a long
sleep.
\Good, eh?" said Ron happily.
\Brilliant," said Harry.
\It's so brave of them," sighed Hermione admiringly. \If they
were found . . . "
\Well, they keep on the move, don't they?" said Ron. \Like
us."
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The Deathly Hallows
\But did you hear what Fred said?" asked Harry excitedly;
now the broadcast was over, his thoughts turned around toward
his all consuming obsession. \He's abroad! He's still looking for
the Wand, I knew it!"
\Harry|\
\Come on, Hermione, why are you so determined not to admit
it? Vol|\
\HARRY, NO!"
\|demort's after the Elder Wand!"
\The name's Taboo!" Ron bellowed, leaping to his feet as a
loud crack sounded outside the tent. \I told you, Harry, I told
you, we can't say it anymore|we've got to put the protection
back around us|quickly|it's how they nd|\
But Ron stopped talking, and Harry knew why. The Sneako-
scope on the table had lit up and begun to spin; they could hear
voices coming nearer and nearer: rough, excited voices. Ron pulled
the Deluminator out of his pocket and clicked it: Their lamps went
out.
\Come out of there with your hands up!" came a rasping voice
through the darkness. \We know you're in there! You've got half
a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"
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Malfoy Manor
arry looked around at the other two, now mere outlines
in the darkness. He saw Hermione point her wand, set
toward the outside, but into his face; there was a bang,
Ha burst of white light, and he buckled in agony, unable
to see. He could feel his face swelling rapidly under his hands as
heavy footfalls surrounded him.
\Get up, vermin."
Unknown hands dragged Harry roughly o the ground, before
he could stop them, someone had rummaged through his pockets
and removed the blackthorn wand. Harry clutched at his excruci-
atingly painful face, which felt unrecognizable beneath his ngers,
tight, swollen, and pu y as though he had su ered some violent
allergic reaction. His eyes had been reduced to slits through which
he could barely see; his glasses fell o as he was bundled out of the
tent: all he could make out were the blurred shapes of four or ve
people wrestling Ron and Hermione outside too.
\Get|o |her!" Ron shouted. There was the unmistakable
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sound of knuckles hitting
esh: Ron grunted in pain and Hermione
screamed, \No! Leave him alone, leave him alone!"
\Your boyfriend's going to have worse than that done to him if
he's on my list," said the horribly familiar, rasping voice. \Deli-
cious girl . . . what a treat . . . I do enjoy the softness of the skin. . . ."
Harry's stomach turned over. He knew who this was, Fenrir
Greyback, the werewolf who was permitted to wear Death Eater
robes in return for his hired savagery.
\Search the tent!" said another voice.
Harry was thrown face down onto the ground. A thud told
him that Ron had been cast down beside him. They could hear
footsteps and crashes; the men were pushing over chairs inside the
tent as they searched.
\Now, let's see who we've got," said Greyback's gloating voice
from overhead, and Harry was rolled over onto his back. A beam
of wand light fell onto his face and Greyback laughed.
\I'll be needing butterbeer to wash this one down. What hap-
pened to you, ugly?"
Harry did not answer immediately.
\I said," repeated Greyback, and Harry received a blow to the
diaphragm that made him double over in pain. \what happened
to you?"
\Stung." Harry muttered. \Been Stung."
\Yeah, looks like it." said a second voice.
\What's your name?" snarled Greyback.
\Dudley." said Harry.
\And your rst name?"
\I|Vernon. Vernon Dudley."
\Check the list, Scabior." said Greyback, and Harry head him
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Chapter 23
move sideways to look down at Ron, instead. \And what about
you, ginger?"
\Stan Shunpike." said Ron.
\Like 'ell you are." said the man called Scabior. \We know
Stan Shunpike, 'e's put a bit of work our way."
There was another thud.
\I'b Bardy," said Ron, and Harry could tell that his mouth was
full of blood. \Bardy Weasley."
\A Weasley?" rasped Greyback. \So you're related to blood
traitors even if you're not a Mudblood. And lastly, your pretty
little friend . . . " The relish in his voice made Harry's
esh crawl.
\Easy, Greyback." said Scabior over the jeering of the others.
\Oh, I'm not going to bite just yet. We'll see if she's a bit
quicker at remembering her name than Barny. Who are you,
girly?"
\Penelope Clearwater." said Hermione. She sounded terri ed,
but convincing.
\What's your blood status?"
\Half-Blood." said Hermione.
\Easy enough to check," said Scabior. \But the 'ole lot of 'em
look like they could still be 'ogwarts age|"
\We'b lebt," said Ron.
\Left, 'ave you, ginger?" said Scabior. \And you decided to go
camping? And you thought, just for a laugh, you'd use the Dark
Lords name?"
\Nod a laugh," said Ron. \Aggiden."
\Accident?" There was more jeering laughter.
\You know who used to like using the Dark Lord's name,
Weasley?" growled Greyback, \The Order of the Phoenix. Mean
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Malfoy Manor
anything to you?"
\Doh."
\Well, they don't show the Dark Lord proper respect, so the
name's been Tabooed. A few Order members have been tracked
that way. We'll see. Bind them up with the other two prisoners!"
Someone yanked Harry up by the hair, dragged him a short
way, pushed him down into a sitting position, then started binding
him back-to-back with other people. Harry was still half blind,
barely able to see anything through his pu ed-up eyes. When at
last the man tying then had walked away, Harry whispered to the
other prisoners.
\Anyone still got a wand?"
\No." Said Ron and Hermione from either side of him.
\This is all my fault. I said the name. I'm sorry|"
\Harry?"
It was a new, but familiar voice. And it came from directly
behind Harry, from the person tied to Hermione's left.
\Dean?"
\It is you! If they nd out who they've got|! They're Snatch-
ers, they're only looking for truants to sell for gold|"
\Not a bad little haul for one night." Greyback was saying, as
a pair of hobnailed boots marched close by Harry and they heard
more crashes from inside the tent. \A Mudblood, a runaway gob-
lin, and these truants. You checked their names on the list yet,
Scabior?" he roared.
\Yeah. There's no Vernon Dudley un 'ere, Greyback."
\Interesting," said Greyback. \That's interesting."
He crouched down beside Harry, who saw, through the in nites-
imal gap left between his swollen eyelids, a face covered in matted
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Chapter 23
gray hair and whiskers, with pointed brown teeth and sores in the
corners of his mouth. Greyback smelled as he had done at the
top of the tower where Dumbledore had died: of dirt, sweat, and
blood.
\So you aren't wanted, then, Vernon? Or are you on that list
under a di erent name? What house were you in at Hogwarts?"
\Slytherin," said Harry automatically.
\Funny 'ow they all thinks we wants to 'ear that." leered
Scabior out of the shadows. \But none of 'em can tell us where
the common room is."
\It's in the dungeons." said Harry clearly. \You enter through
the wall. It's full of skulls and stu and its under the lake, so the
light's all green,"
There was a short pause.
\Well, well, looks like we really 'ave caught a little Slytherin."
said Scabior. \Good for you, Vernon, 'cause there ain't a lot of
Mudblood Slytherins. Who's your father?"
\He works at the Ministry," Harry lied. He knew that his whole
story would collapse with the smallest investigation, but on the
other hand, he only had until his face regained its usual appearance
before the game was up in any case. \Department of Magical
Accidents and Catastrophes."
\You know what, Greyback," said Scabior. \I think there is a
Dudley in there."
Harry could barely breathe: Could luck, sheer luck, get them
safely out of this?
\Well, well." said Greyback, and Harry could hear the tiniest
note of trepidation in that callous voice, and knew that Greyback
was wondering whether he had just indeed just attacked and bound
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Malfoy Manor
the son of a Ministry O cial. Harry's heart was pounding against
the ropes around his ribs; he would not have been surprised to
know that Greyback could see it. \If you're telling the truth, ugly,
you've got nothing to fear from a trip to the Ministry. I expect
your father'll reward us just for picking you up."
\But," said Harry, his mouth bone dry, \if you just let us|"
\Hey!" came a shout from inside the tent. \Look at this. Grey-
back!"
A dark gure came bustling toward them, and Harry saw a glint
of silver to the light of their wands. They had found Gry ndor's
sword.
\Ve{e{ery nice," said Greyback appreciatively, taking it from
his companion. \Oh, very nice indeed. Looks goblin-made, that.
Where did you get something like this?"
\It's my father's," Harry lied, hoping against hope that it was
too dark for Greyback to see the name etched just below the hilt.
\We borrowed it to cut rewood|"
\'Ang on a minute, Greyback! Look at this, in the Prophet!"
As Scabior said it, Harry's scar, which was stretched tight across
his distended forehead, burned savagely. More clearly than he
could make out anything around him, he saw a towering building, a
grim fortress, jet-black and forbidding: Voldemort's thoughts had
suddenly become Razor-Sharp again; he was gliding toward the
gigantic building with a sense of calmly euphoric purpose. . . .
So close . . . So close . . .
With a huge e ort of will Harry closed his mind to Voldemort's
thoughts, pulling himself back to where he sat, tied to Ron, Her-
mione, Dean, and Griphook in the darkness, listening to Greyback
and Scabior. \`'ermione Granger,'" Scabior was saying, \`the Mud-
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Chapter 23
blood who is known to be traveling with 'arry Potter.'"
Harry's scar burned in the silence, but he made a supreme e ort
to keep himself present, not to slip into Voldemort's mind. He
heard the creak of Greyback's boots as he crouched down, in front
of Hermione.
\You know what, little girly? This picture looks a hell of a lot
like you."
\It isn't! It isn't me!"
Hermione's terri ed squeak was as good as a confession.
\ . . . known to be traveling with Harry Potter," repeated Grey-
back quietly.
A stillness had settled over the scene.Harry's scar was
Exquisitely painful, but he struggled with all his strength against
the pull of Voldemort's thoughts. It had never been so important
to remain in his own right mind.
\Well, this changed things, doesn't it?" whispered Greyback.
Nobody spoke: Harry sensed the gang of Snatchers watching,
frozen, and felt Hermione's arm trembling against his. Greyback
got up and took a couple of steps to where Harry sat, crouching
down again to stare closely at his misshapen features.
\What's that on your forehead, Vernon?" he asked softly, his
breath foul in Harry's nostrils as he pressed a lthy nger to the
taught scar.
\Don't touch it!" Harry yelled; he could not stop himself, he
thought he might be sick from the pain of it.
\I thought you wore glasses, Potter?" breathed Greyback.
\I found glasses!" yelped one of the Snatchers skulking in the
background. \There was glasses in the tent, Greyback, wait|"
And seconds later Harry's glasses had been rammed back onto
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his face. The Snatchers were closing in now, peering at him.
\It is!" rasped Greyback. \We've caught Potter!"
They all took several steps backward, stunned by what they
had done. Harry, still ghting to remain present in his own split-
ting head, could think of nothing to say. Fragmented visions were
breaking across the surface of his mind|
|He was gliding around the high walls of the black fortress |
No, he was Harry, tied up and wandless, in grave danger|
|looking up, up to the topmost window, the highest tower |
He was Harry, and they were discussing his fate in low voices|
|Time to
y . . .
\ . . . To the Ministry?"
\To hell with the Ministry." growled Greyback. \They'll take
the credit, and we won't get a look in. I say we take him straight
to You-Know-Who."
\Will you summon 'im? 'ere?" said Scabior, sounding awed,
terri ed.
\No," snarled Greyback, \I haven't got|they say he's using
the Malfoy's place as a base. We'll take the boy there."
Harry thought he knew why Greyback was not calling Volde-
mort. The werewolf might be allowed to wear Death Eater robes
when they wanted to use him, but only Voldemort's inner circle
were branded with the Dark Mark: Greyback had not been granted
this highest honor.
Harry's scar seared again|
|and he rose into the night,
ying straight up to the windows
at the very top of the tower|
\ . . . completely sure it's him? 'Cause if it ain't, Greyback,
we're dead."
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Chapter 23
\Who's in charge here?" roared Greyback, covering his moment
of inadequacy. \I say that's Potter, and him plus his wand, that's
two hundred thousand Galleons right there! But if you're too gut-
less to come along, any of you, it's all for me, and with any luck,
I'll get the girl thrown in!"
|The window was the merest slit in the black rock, not big
enough for a man to enter. . . . A skeletal gure was just visible
through it, curled beneath a blanket. . . . Dead, or sleeping . . . ?
\All right!" said Scabior. \All right, we're in! And what about
the rest of 'em, Greyback, what'll we do with 'em?"
\Might as well take the lot. We've got two Mudbloods, that's
another ten Galleons. Give me the sword as well. If they're rubies,
that's another small fortune right there."
The prisoners were dragged to their feet. Harry could hear
Hermione's breathing, fast and terri ed.
\Grab hold and make it tight. I'll do Potter!" said Greyback,
seizing a stful of Harry's hair; Harry could feel his long yellow
nails scratching his scalp. \On three! One|two|three|\
They Disapparated, pulling the prisoners with them. Harry
struggled, trying to throw o Greyback's hand, but it was hopeless:
Ron and Hermione were squeezed tightly against him on either
side; he could not separate from the group, and as the breath was
squeezed out of him his scar seared more painfully still|
|as he forced himself through the slit of a window like a snake
and landed, lightly as vapor inside the cell-like room |
The prisoners lurched into one another as they landed in a coun-
try lane. Harry's eyes, still pu y, took a moment to acclimatize,
then he saw a pair of wrought-iron gates at the foot of what looked
like a long drive. He experienced the tiniest trickle of relief. The
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worst had not happened yet: Voldemort was not here. He was,
Harry knew, for he was ghting to resist the vision, in some strange,
fortresslike place, at the top of a tower. How long it would take
Voldemort to get to this place, once he knew that Harry was here,
was another matter. . . .
One of the Snatchers strode to the gates and shook them.
\How do we get in? They're locked, Greyback, I can't|
blimey!"
He whipped his hands away in fright. The iron was contorting,
twisting itself out of the abstract furls and coils into a frighten-
ing face, which spoke in a clanging, echoing voice. \State your
purpose!"
\We've got Potter!" Greyback roared triumphantly. \We've
captured Harry Potter!"
The gates swung open.
\Come on!" said Greyback to his men, and the prisoners were
shunted through the gates and up the drive, between high hedges
that mu ed their footsteps. Harry saw a ghostly white shape above
him, and realized it was an albino peacock. He stumbled and was
dragged onto his feet by Greyback; now he was staggering along
sideways, tied back-to-back to the four other prisoner. Closing his
pu y eyes, he allowed the pain in his scar to overcome him for a
moment, wanting to know what Voldemort was doing, whether he
knew yet that Harry was caught. . . .
The emaciated gure stirred beneath its thin blanket and rolled
over toward him, eyes opening in a skull of a face. . . . The frail
man sat up, great sunken eyes xed upon him, upon Voldemort,
and then he smiled. Most of his teeth were gone. . . .
\So, you have come. I thought you would . . . one day. But your
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journey was pointless. I never had it."
\You lie!"
As Voldemort's anger throbbed inside him, Harry's scar threat-
ened to burst with pain, and he wrenched his mind back to his own
body, ghting to remain present as the prisoners were pushed over
gravel.
Light spilled out over all of them.
\What is this?" said a woman's cold voice.
\We're here to see He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" rasped
Greyback.
\Who are you?"
\You know me!" There was resentment in the werewolf's voice.
\Fenrir Greyback! We've caught Harry Potter!"
Greyback seized Harry and dragged him around to face the
light, forcing the other prisoners to shu e around too.
\I know 'es swollen, ma'am, but it's 'im!" piped up Scabior.
\If you look a bit closer, you'll see 'is scar. And this 'ere, see
the girl? The Mudblood who's been traveling around with 'im,
ma'am. There's no doubt it's 'im, and we've got 'is wand as well!
'Ere, ma'am|\
Through his pu y eyelids Harry saw Narcissa Malfoy scrutiniz-
ing his swollen face. Scabior thrust the blackthorn wand at her.
She raised her eyebrows.
\Bring them in," she said.
Harry and the others were shoved and kicked up broad stone
steps into a hallway lined with portraits.
\Follow me," said Narcissa, leading the way across the hall.
\My son, Draco, is home for his Easter holidays. If that is Harry
Potter, he will know."
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The drawing room dazzled after the darkness outside; even with
his eyes almost closed Harry could make out the wide proportions
of the room. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, more
portraits against the dark purple walls. Two gures rose from
chairs in front of an ornate marble replace as the prisoners were
forced into the room by the Snatchers.
\What is this?"
The dreadfully familiar, drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy fell on
Harry's ears. He was panicking now. He could see no way out,
and it was easier, as his fear mounted, to block out Voldemort's
thoughts, though his scar was still burning.
\They say they've got Potter," said Narcissa's cold voice.
\Draco, come here."
Harry did not dare look directly at Draco, but saw him
obliquely; a gure slightly taller than he was, rising from an arm-
chair, his face a pale and pointed blur beneath white-blond hair.
Greyback forced the prisoners to turn again so as to place Harry
directly beneath the chandelier.
\Well, boy?" rasped the werewolf.
Harry was facing a mirror over the replace, a great gilded thing
in an intricately scrolled frame. Through the slits of his eyes he
saw his own re
ection for the rst time since leaving Grimmauld
Place.
His face was huge, shiny, and pink, every feature distorted by
Hermione's jinx. His black hair reached his shoulders and there
was a dark shadow around his jaw. Had he not known that it was
he who stood there, he would have wondered who was wearing his
glasses. He resolved not to speak, for his voice was sure to give
him away; yet he still avoided eye contact with Draco as the latter
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Chapter 23
approached.
\Well, Draco?" said Lucius Malfoy. He sounded avid. \Is it?
Is it Harry Potter?"
\I can't|I can't be sure," said Draco. He was keeping his
distance from Greyback, and seemed as scared of looking at Harry
as Harry was of looking at him.
\But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!"
Harry had never heard Lucius Malfoy so excited.
\Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark
Lord, everything will be forgiv|\
\Now, we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope
Mr. Malfoy?" said Greyback menacingly.
\Of course not, of course not!" said Lucius impatiently. He
approached Harry himself, came so close that Harry could see the
usually languid, pale face in sharp detail even through his swollen
eyes. With his face a pu y mask, Harry felt as though he was
peering out from between the bars of a cage.
\What did you do to him?" Lucius asked Greyback. \How did
he get into this state?"
\That wasn't us."
\Looks more like a Stinging Jinx to me," said Lucius.
His gray eyes raked Harry's forehead.
\There's something there," he whispered. \it could be the scar,
stretched tight. . . ." Draco, come here, look properly! What do
you think?"
Harry saw Draco's face up close now, right beside his father's.
They were extraordinarily alike, except that while his father looked
beside himself with excitement, Draco's expression was full of re-
luctance, even fear.
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\I don't know," he said, and he walked away toward the re-
place where his mother stood watching.
\We had better be certain, Lucius," Narcissa called to her hus-
band in her cold, clear voice. \Completely sure that it is Potter,
before we summon the Dark Lord . . . They say this is his"|she
was looking closely at the blackthorn wand|\but it does not re-
semble Ollivander's description. . . . If we are mistaken, if we call the
Dark Lord here for nothing . . . Remember what he did to Rowle
and Dolohov?"
\What about the Mudblood, then?" growled Greyback. Harry
was nearly thrown o his feet as the Snatchers forced the prisoners
to swivel around again, so that the light fell on Hermione instead.
\Wait," said Narcissa sharply. \Yes|yes, she was in Madam
Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look,
Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?"
\I . . . maybe . . . yeah."
\But then, that's the Weasley boy!" shouted Lucius, strid-
ing around the bound prisoners to face Ron. \It's them, Potter's
friends|Draco, look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's
his name|?"
\Yeah," said Draco again, his back to the prisoners. \It could
be."
The drawing room door opened behind Harry. A woman spoke,
and the sound of the voice wound Harry's fear to an even higher
pitch.
\What is this? What's happened, Cissy?"
Bellatrix Lestrange walked slowly around the prisoners, and
stopped on Harry's right, staring at Hermione through her heavily
lidded eyes,
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Chapter 23
\But surely," she said quietly, \this is the Mudblood girl? This
is Granger?"
\Yes, yes, it's Granger!" cried Lucius, \And beside her, we
think, Potter! Potter and his friends, caught at last!"
\Potter?" shrieked Bellatrix, and she backed away, the better
to take in Harry. \Are you sure? Well then, the Dark Lord must
be informed at once!"
She dragged back her left sleeve: Harry saw the Dark Mark
burned into the
esh of her arm, and knew that she was about to
touch it, to summon her beloved master|
\I was about to call him!" said Lucius, and his hand actually
closed upon Bellatrix's wrist, preventing her from touching the
Mark. \I shall summon him, Bella. Potter has been brought to
my house, and it is therefore upon my authority|\
\Your authority!" she sneered, attempting to wrench her hand
from his grasp. \You lost your authority when you lost your wand,
Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands o me!"
\This is nothing to do with you, you did not capture the boy|\
\Begging your pardon, Mr. Malfoy," interjected Greyback, \but
it's us that caught Potter, and it's us that'll be claiming the gold|
\
\Gold!" laughed Bellatrix, still attempting to throw o her
brother-in-law, her free hand groping in her pocket for her wand.
\Take your gold, lthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek
only the honor of his|of|\
She stopped struggling, her dark eyes xed upon something
Harry could not see. Jubilant at her capitulation, Lucius threw
her hand from him and ripped up his own sleeve|
\STOP!" shrieked Bellatrix, \Do not touch it, we shall all perish
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if the Dark Lord comes now!"
Lucius froze, his index nger hovering over his own Mark. Bel-
latrix strode out of Harry's limited line of vision.
\What is that?" he heard her say.
\Sword," grunted an out-of-sight Snatcher.
\Give it to me."
\It's not yours, missus, it's mine, I reckon I found it."
There was a bang and a
ash of red light; Harry knew that the
Snatcher had been Stunned. There was a roar of anger from his
fellows: Scabior drew his wand.
\What d'you think you're playing at, woman?"
\Stupefy!" she screamed, \Stupefy!"
They were no match for her, even thought there were four of
them against one of her: She was a witch, as Harry knew, with
prodigious skill and no conscience. They fell where they stood, all
except Greyback, who had been forced into a kneeling position,
his arms outstretched. Out of the corners of his eyes Harry saw
Bellatrix bearing down upon the werewolf, the sword of Gry ndor
gripped tightly in her hand, her face waxen.
\Where did you get this sword?" she whispered to Greyback
as she pulled his wand out of his unresisting grip.
\How dare you?" he snarled, his mouth the only thing that
could move as he was forced to gaze up at her. He bared his
pointed teeth. \Release me, woman!"
\Where did you nd this sword?" she repeated, brandishing it
in his face, \Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"
\It was in their tent," rasped Greyback. \Release me, I say!"
She waved her wand, and the werewolf sprang to his feet, but
appeared too wary to approach her. He prowled behind an arm-
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Chapter 23
chair, his lthy curved nails clutching its back.
\Draco, move this scum outside," said Bellatrix, indicating the
unconscious men. \If you haven't got the guts to nish them, then
leave them in the courtyard for me."
\Don't you dare speak to Draco like|" said Narcissa furiously,
but Bellatrix screamed.
\Be quiet! The situation is graver than you can possibly imag-
ine, Cissy! We have a very serious problem!"
She stood, panting slightly, looking down at the sword, exam-
ining its hilt. Then she turned to look at the silent prisoners.
\If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed," she muttered,
more to herself than to the others. \The Dark Lord wishes to
dispose of Potter himself. . . . But if he nds out . . . I must . . . I
must know. . . ."
She turned back to her sister again.
\The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think what
to do!"
\This is my house, Bella, you don't give orders in my|\
\Do it! You have no idea of the danger we're in!" shrieked
Bellatrix. She looked frightening, mad; a thin stream of re issued
from her wand and burned a hole in the carpet.
Narcissa hesitated for a moment, then addressed the werewolf.
\Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback."
\Wait," said Bellatrix sharply. \All except. . . . except for the
Mudblood."
Greyback gave a grunt of pleasure.
\No!" shouted Ron. \You can have me, keep me!"
Bellatrix hit him across the face: the blow echoed around the
room.
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\If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," she said.
\Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them down-
stairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing
more to them|yet."
She threw Greyback's wand back to him, then took a short
silver knife from under her robes. She cut Hermione free from the
other prisoners, then dragged her by the hair into the middle of the
room, while Greyback forced the rest of them to shu e across to
another door, into a dark passageway, his wand held out in front
of him, projecting an invisible and irresistible force.
\Reckon she'll let me have a bit of the girl when she's nished
with her?" Greyback crooned as he forced them along the corridor.
\I'd say I'll get a bite or two, wouldn't you, ginger?"
Harry could feel Ron shaking. They were forced down a steep
ight of stairs, still tied back-to-back and in danger of slipping and
breaking their necks at any moment. At the bottom was a heavy
door. Greyback unlocked it with a tap of his wand, then forced
them into a dank and musty room and left them in total darkness.
The echoing bang of the slammed cellar door had not died away
before there was a terrible, drawn out scream from directly above
them.
\HERMIONE!" Ron bellowed, and he started to writhe and
struggle against the ropes tying them together, so that Harry stag-
gered. \HERMIONE!"
\Be quiet!" Harry said. \Shut up. Ron, we need to work out a
way|\
\HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"
\We need a plan, stop yelling|we need to get these ropes o |
\
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Chapter 23
\Harry?" came a whisper through the darkness. \Ron? Is that
you?"
Ron stopped shouting. There was a sound of movement close
by them, then Harry saw a shadow moving closer.
\Harry? Ron?"
\Luna?"
\Yes, it's me! Oh no, I didn't want you to be caught!"
\Luna, can you help us get these ropes o ?" said Harry.
\Oh yes, I expect so. . . . There's an old nail we use if we need
to break anything. . . . Just a moment . . . "
Hermione screamed again from overhead, and they could hear
Bellatrix screaming too, but her words were inaudible, for Ron
shouted again, \HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"
\Mr. Ollivander?" Harry could hear Luna saying. \Mr. Olli-
vander, have you got the nail? If you just move over a little bit . . . I
think it was beside the water jug."
She was back within seconds.
\You'll need to stay still," she said.
Harry could feel her digging at the rope's tough bers to work
the knots free. From upstairs they heard Bellatrix's voice.
\I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword?
Where?"
\We found it|we found it|PLEASE!" Hermione screamed
again; Ron struggled harder than ever, and the rusty nail slipped
onto Harry's wrist.
\Ron, please stay still!" Luna whispered. \I can't see what I'm
doing|\
\My pocket!" said Ron, \In my pocket, there's a Deluminator,
and it's full of light!"
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A few seconds later, there was a click, and the luminescent
spheres the Deluminator had sucked from the lamps in the tent
ew
into the cellar: Unable to rejoin their sources, they simply hung
there, like tiny suns,
ooding the underground room with light.
Harry saw Luna, all eyes in her white face, and the motionless
gure of Ollivander the wandmaker, curled up on the
oor in the
corner. Craning around, he caught sight of their fellow prisoners:
Dean and Griphook the goblin, who seemed barely conscious, kept
standing by the ropes that bound him to the humans.
\Oh, that's much easier, thanks, Ron," said Luna, and she be-
gan hacking at their bindings again. \Hello, Dean!"
From above came Bellatrix's voice.
\You're lying, lthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been
inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!"
Another terrible scream|
\HERMIONE!"
\What else did you take? What else have you got? Tel me the
truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"
\There!"
Harry felt the ropes fall away and turned, rubbing his wrists, to
see Ron running around the cellar, looking up at the low ceiling,
searching for a trapdoor. Dean, his face bruised and bloody, said
\Thanks" to Luna and stood there, shivering, but Griphook sank
onto the cellar
oor, looking groggy and disoriented, many welts
across his swarthy face.
Ron was now trying to Disapparate without a wand.
\There's no way out, Ron," said Luna, watching his fruitless
e orts. \The cellar is completely escape-proof. I tried, at rst. Mr.
Ollivander has been here for a long time, he's tried everything."
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Chapter 23
Hermione was screaming again: The sound went through Harry
like physical pain. Barely conscious of the erce prickling of his
scar, he too started to run around the cellar, feeling the walls for
he hardly knew what, knowing in his heart that it was useless.
\What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"
Hermione's screams echoed o the walls upstairs, Ron was half
sobbing as he pounded the walls with his sts, and Harry in ut-
ter desperation seized Hagrid's pouch from around his neck and
groped inside it: He pulled out Dumbledore's Snitch and shook it,
hoping for he did not know what|nothing happened|he waved
the broken halves of the phoenix wand, but they were lifeless|the
mirror fragment fell sparkling to the
oor, and he saw a gleam of
brightest blue|
Dumbledore's eye was gazing at him out of the mirror.
\Help us!" he yelled at it in mad desperation. \We're in the
cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!"
The eye blinked and was gone.
Harry was not even sure that it had really been there. He tilted
the shard of mirror this way and that, and saw nothing re
ected
there but the walls and ceiling of their prison, and upstairs Her-
mione was screaming worse than ever, and next to him Ron was
bellowing, \HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"
\How did you get into my vault?" they heard Bellatrix scream.
\Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"
\We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed. \We've never
been inside your vault. . . . It isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just
a copy!"
\A copy?" screeched Bellatrix. \Oh, a likely story!"
\But we can nd out easily!" came Lucius's voice. \Draco,
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fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!"
Harry dashed across the cellar to where Griphook was huddled
on the
oor.
\Griphook," he whispered into the goblin's pointed ear, \you
must tell them that sword's a fake, they mustn't know it's the real
one, Griphook, please|\
He could hear someone scuttling own the cellar steps; next mo-
ment, Draco's shaking voice spoke from behind the door.
\Stand back. Line up against the back wall. Don't try anything,
or I'll kill you!"
They did as they were bidden; as the lock turned, Ron clicked
the Deluminator and the lights whisked back into his pocket,
restoring the cellar's darkness. The door
ew open; Malfoy
marched inside, wand held out in front of him, pale and deter-
mined. He seized the little goblin by the arm and backed out
again, dragging Griphook with him. The door slammed shut and
at the same moment a loud crack echoed inside the cellar.
Ron clicked the Deluminator. Three balls of light
ew back
into the air from his pocket, revealing Dobby the house-elf, who
had just Apparated into their midst.
\DOB|!"
Harry hit Ron on the arm to stop him shouting, and Ron looked
terri ed at his mistake. Footsteps crossed the ceiling overhead:
Draco marching Griphook to Bellatrix.
Dobby's enormous, tennis|ball shaped eyes were wide; he was
trembling from his feet to the tips of his ears. He was back in the
home of his old masters, and it was clear that he was petri ed.
\Harry Potter," he squeaked in the tiniest quiver of a voice,
\Dobby has come to rescue you."
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Chapter 23
\But how did you|?"
An awful scream drowned Harry's words: Hermione was being
tortured again. He cut to the essentials.
\You can Disapparate out of this cellar?" he asked Dobby, who
nodded, his ears
apping.
\And you can take humans with you?"
Dobby nodded again.
\Right. Dobby, I want you to grab Luna, Dean, and Mr. Olli-
vander, and take them|take them to|\
\Bill and Fleur's," said Ron. \Shell Cottage on the outskirts of
Tinworth!"
The elf nodded for a third time.
\And then come back," said Harry. \Can you do that, Dobby?"
\Of course, Harry Potter," whispered the little elf. He hurried
over to Mr. Ollivander, who appeared to be barely conscious. He
took one of the wandmaker's hands in his own, then held out the
other to Luna and Dean, neither of whom moved.
\Harry, we want to help you!" Luna whispered.
\We can't leave you here," said Dean.
\Go, both of you! We'll see you at Bill and Fleur's."
As Harry spoke, his scar burned worse than ever, and for a few
seconds he looked down, not upon the wandmaker, but on another
man who was just as old, just as thin, but laughing scornfully.
\Kill me, then. Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death
will not bring you what you seek. . . . There is so much you do not
understand. . . ."
He felt Voldemort's fury, but as Hermione screamed again he
shut it out, returning to the cellar and the horror of his own present.
\Go!" Harry beseeched to Luna and Dean. \Go! We'll follow,
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just go!"
They caught hold of the elf's outstretched ngers. There was
another loud crack, and Dobby, Luna, Dean, and Ollivander van-
ished.
\What was that?" shouted Lucius Malfoy from over their heads.
\Did you hear that? What was that noise in the cellar?"
Harry and Ron stared at each other.
\Draco|no, call Wormtail! Make him go and check!"
Footsteps crossed the room overhead, then there was silence.
Harry knew that the people in the drawing room were listening for
more noises from the cellar.
\We're going to have to try and tackle him," he whispered to
Ron. They had no choice: The moment anyone entered the room
and saw the absence of three prisoners, they were lost. \Leave the
lights on," Harry added, and as they heard someone descending
the steps outside the door, they backed against the wall on either
side of it.
\Stand back," came Wormtail's voice. \Stand away from the
door. I'm coming in." The door
ew open. For a split second
Wormtail gazed into the apparently empty cellar, ablaze with light
from the three miniature suns
oating in midair. Then Harry and
Ron launched themselves upon him. Ron seized Wormtail's wand
arm and forced it upwards. Harry slapped a hand to his mouth,
mu ing his voice. Silently they struggled: Wormtail's wand emit-
ted sparks; his silver hand closed around Harry's throat.
\What is it, Wormtail?" called Lucius Malfoy from above.
\Nothing!" Ron called back, in a passable imitation of Worm-
tail's wheezy voice. \All ne!"
Harry could barely breathe.
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Chapter 23
\You're going to kill me?" Harry choked, attempting to prise o
the metal ngers. \After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"
The silver ngers slackened. Harry had not expected it: He
wrenched himself free, astonished, keeping his hand over Worm-
tail's mouth. He saw the ratlike man's small watery eyes widen
with fear and surprise: He seemed just as shocked as Harry at
what his hand had done, at the tiny, merciful impulse it had be-
trayed, and he continued to struggle more powerfully, as though to
undo that moment of weakness.
\And we'll have that," whispered Ron, tugging Wormtail's
wand from his other hand.
Wandless, helpless, Pettigrew's pupils dilated in terror. His eyes
had slid from Harry's face to something else. His own silver ngers
were moving inexorably toward his own throat.
\No|\
Without pausing to think, Harry tried to drag back the hand,
but there was no stopping it. The silver tool that Voldemort had
given his most cowardly servant had turned upon its disarmed and
useless owner; Pettigrew was reaping his reward for his hesitation,
his moment of pity; he was being strangled before their eyes.
\No!"
Ron had released Wormtail too, and together he and Harry tried
to pull the crushing metal ngers from around Wormtail's throat,
but it was no use. Pettigrew was turning blue.
\Relashio!" said Ron, pointing the wand at the silver hand,
but nothing happened; Pettigrew dropped to his knees, and at the
same moment, Hermione gave a dreadful scream from overhead.
Wormtail's eyes rolled upward in his purple face; he gave a last
twitch, and was still.
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Harry and Ron looked at each other, then leaving Wormtail's
body on the
oor behind them, ran up the stairs and back into
the shadowy passageway leading to the drawing room. Cautiously
they crept along it until they reached the drawing room door, which
was ajar. Now they had a clear view of Bellatrix looking down at
Griphook, who was holding Gry ndor's sword in his long- ngered
hands. Hermione was lying at Bellatrix's feet. She was barely
stirring.
\Well?" Bellatrix said to Griphook. \Is it the true sword?"
Harry waited, holding his breath, ghting against the prickling
of his scar.
\No," said Griphook. \It is a fake."
\Are you sure?" panted Bellatrix. \Quite sure?"
\Yes," said the goblin.
Relief broke across her face, all tension drained from it.
\Good," she said, and with a casual
ick of her wand she slashed
another deep cut into the goblin's face, and he dropped with a yell
at her feet. She kicked him aside. \And now," she said in a voice
that burst with triumph, \we call the Dark Lord!"
And she pushed back her sleeve and touched her fore nger to
the Dark Mark.
At once, Harry's scar felt as though it had split open again.
His true surroundings vanished: He was Voldemort, and the skele-
tal wizard before him was laughing toothlessly at him; he was en-
raged at the summons he felt|he had warned them, he had told
them to summon him for nothing less than Potter. If they were
mistaken . . .
\Kill me, then!" demanded the old man. \You will not win,
you cannot win! That wand will never, ever be yours|\
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And Voldemort's fury broke: A burst of green light lled the
prison room and the frail old body was lifted from its hard bed
and then fell back, lifeless, and Voldemort returned to the window,
his wrath barely controllable. . . . They would su er his retribution
if they had no good reason for calling him back. . . .
\And I think," said Bellatrix's voice, \we can dispose of the
Mudblood. Greyback, take her if you want her."
\NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Ron had burst into the drawing room; Bellatrix looked around,
shocked; she turned her wand to face Ron instead|
\Expelliarmus!" he roared, pointing Wormtail's wand at Bella-
trix, and hers
ew into the air and was caught by Harry, who had
sprinted after Ron. Lucius, Narcissa, Draco and Greyback wheeled
about; Harry yelled, \Stupefy!" and Lucius Malfoy collapsed onto
the hearth. Jets of light
ew from Draco's, Narcissa's, and Grey-
back's wands; Harry threw himself to the
oor, rolling behind a
sofa to avoid them.
\STOP OR SHE DIES!
Panting, Harry peered around the edge of the sofa. Bellatrix
was supporting Hermione, who seemed to be unconscious, and was
holding her short silver knife to Hermione's throat.
\Drop your wands," she whispered. \Drop them, or we'll see
exactly how lthy her blood is!"
Ron stood rigid, clutching Wormtail's wand. Harry straight-
ened up, still holding Bellatrix's.
\I said, drop them!" she screeched, pressing the blade into
Hermione's throat: Harry saw beads of blood appear there.
\All right!" he shouted, and he dropped Bellatrix's wand onto
the
oor at his feet, Ron did the same with Wormtail's. Both
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Malfoy Manor
raised their hands to shoulder height.
\Good!" she leered. \Draco, pick them up! The Dark Lord is
coming, Harry Potter! Your death approaches!"
Harry knew it; his scar was bursting with the pain of it, and
he could feel Voldemort
ying through the sky from far away, over
a dark and stormy sea, and soon he would be close enough to
Apparate to them, and Harry could see no way out.
\Now," said Bellatrix softly, as Draco hurried back to her with
the wands. \Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up
again, while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the
Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback, after what
you have done tonight."
At the last word there was a peculiar grinding noise from above.
All of them looked upward in time to see the crystal chandelier
tremble; then, with a creak and an ominous jingling, it began to
fall. Bellatrix was directly beneath it; dropping Hermione, she
threw herself aside with a scream. The chandelier crashed to the
oor in an explosion of crystal and chains, falling on top of Her-
mione and the goblin, who still clutched the sword of Gry ndor.
Glittering shards of crystal
ew in all directions; Draco doubled
over, his hands covering his bloody face.
As Ron ran to pull Hermione out of the wreckage, Harry took
the chance: He leapt over an armchair and wrested the three wands
from Draco's grip, pointed all of them at Greyback, and yelled,
\Stupefy!" The werewolf was lifted o his feet by the triple spell,
ew up to the ceiling and then smashed to the ground.
As Narcissa dragged Draco out of the way of further harm,
Bellatrix sprang to her feet, her hair
ying as she brandished the
silver knife; but Narcissa had directed her wand at the doorway.
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Chapter 23
\Dobby!" she screamed and even Bellatrix froze. \You! You
dropped the chandelier|?"
The tiny elf trotted into the room, his shaking nger pointing
at his old mistress.
\You must not hurt Harry Potter," he squeaked.
\Kill him, Cissy!" shrieked Bellatrix, but there was another
loud crack, and Narcissa's wand too
ew into the air and landed
on the other side of the room.
\You dirty little monkey!" bawled Bellatrix. \How dare you
take a witch's wand, how dare you defy your masters?"
\Dobby has no master!" squealed the elf. \Dobby is a free elf,
and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!"
Harry's scar was blinding him with pain. Dimly he knew that
they had moments, seconds before Voldemort was with them.
\Ron, catch|and GO!" he yelled, throwing one of the wands
to him; then he bent down to tug Griphook out from under the
chandelier. Hoisting the groaning goblin, who still clung to the
sword, over one shoulder, Harry seized Dobby's hand and spun on
the spot to Disapparate.
As he turned into darkness he caught one last view of the draw-
ing room of the pale, frozen gures of Narcissa and Draco, of the
streak of red that was Ron's hair, and a blue of
ying silver, as
Bellatrix's knife
ew across the room at the place where he was
vanishing|
Bill and Fleur's . . . Shell Cottage . . . Bill and Fleur's . . .
He had disappeared into the unknown; all he could do was re-
peat the name of the destination and hope that it would su ce
to take him there. The pain in his forehead pierced him, and the
weight of the goblin bore down upon him; he could feel the blade of
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Malfoy Manor
Gry ndor's sword bumping against his back: Dobby's hand jerked
in his; he wondered whether the elf was trying to take charge, to
pull them in the right direction, and tried, by squeezing the ngers,
to indicate that that was ne with them. . . .
And then they hit solid earth and smelled salty air. Harry fell
to his knees, relinquished Dobby's hand, and attempted to lower
Griphook gently to the ground.
\Are you all right?" he said as the goblin stirred, but Griphook
merely whimpered.
Harry squinted around through the darkness. There seemed to
be a cottage a short way away under the wide starry sky, and he
thought he saw movement outside it.
\Dobby, is this Shell Cottage?" he whispered, clutching the
two wands he had brought from the Malfoys', ready to ght if he
needed to. \Have we come to the right place? Dobby?"
He looked around. The little elf stood feet from him.
\DOBBY!"
The elf swayed slightly, stars re
ected in his wide, shining eyes.
Together, he and Harry looked down at the silver hilt of the knife
protruding from the elf's heaving chest.
\Dobby|no|HELP!" Harry bellowed toward the cottage, to-
ward the people moving there. \HELP!"
He did not know or care whether they were wizards or Mug-
gles, friends or foes; all he cared about was that a dark stain was
spreading across Dobby's front, and that he had stretched out his
own arms to Harry with a look of supplication. Harry caught him
and laid him sideways on the cool grass.
\Dobby, no, don't die, don't die|"
The elf's eyes found him, and his lips trembled with the e ort
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Chapter 23
to form words.
\Harry . . . Potter . . . "
And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and
his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with
light from the stars they could not see.
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Chapter 24
The Wandmaker
t was like sinking into an old nightmare; for an instant Harry
knelt again beside Dumbledore's body at the foot of the
tallest tower at Hogwarts, but in reality he was staring at
Ia tiny body curled upon the grass, pierced by Bellatrix's sil-
ver knife. Harry's voice was still saying, \Dobby . . . Dobby . . . "
even though he knew that the elf had gone where he could not call
him back.
After a minute or so he realized that they had, after all, come
to the right place, for here were Bill and Fleur, Dean and Luna,
gathering around him as he knelt over the elf. \Hermione," he
said suddenly. \Where is she?" \Ron's taken her inside," said
Bill. \She'll be all right." Harry looked back down at Dobby. He
stretched out a hand and pulled the sharp blade from the elf's
body, then dragged o his own jacket and covered Dobby in it like
a blanket.
The sea was rushing against the rock somewhere nearby; Harry
listened to it while the others talked, discussing matters in which he
could take no interest, making decisions, Dean carried the injured
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Chapter 24
Griphook into the house, Fleur hurrying with them; now Bill was
really knowing what he was saying. As he did so, he gazed down
at the tiny body, and his scar prickled and burned, and in one part
of his mind, viewed as if from the wrong end of a long telescope,
he saw Voldemort punishing those they had left behind at the
Malfoy Manor. His rage was dreadful and yet Harry's grief for
Dobby seemed to diminish it, so that it became a distant storm
that reached Harry from across a vast, silent ocean.
\I want to do it properly," were the rst words of which Harry
was fully conscious of speaking. \Not by magic. Have you got a
spade?" And shortly afterward he had set to work, alone, digging
the grave in the place that Bill had shown him at the end of the
garden, between bushes. He dug with a kind of fury, relishing the
manual work, glorying in the non-magic of it, for every drop of his
sweat and every blister felt like a gift to the elf who had saved their
lives.
His scar burned, but he was master of the pain, he felt it, yet
was apart from it. He had learned control at last, learned to shut
his mind to Voldemort, the very thing Dumbledore had wanted
him to learn from Snape. Just as Voldemort had not been able to
possess Harry while Harry was consumed with grief for Sirius, so his
thoughts could not penetrate Harry now while he mourned Dobby.
Grief, it seemed, drove Voldemort out . . . though Dumbledore, of
course, would have said that it was love.
On Harry dug, deeper and deeper into the hard, cold earth,
subsuming his grief in sweat, denying the pain in his scar. In the
darkness, with nothing but the sound of his own breath and the
rushing sea to keep him company, the things that had happened at
the Malfoys' returned to him, the things he had heard came back
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The Wandmaker
to him, and understanding blossomed in the darkness . . .
The steady rhythm of his arms beat time with his thoughts.
Hallows . . . Horcruxes . . . Hallows . . . Horcruxes . . . yet no longer
burned with that weird, obsessive longing. Loss and fear had
snu ed it out. He felt as though he had been slapped awake again.
Deeper and deeper Harry sank into the grave, and he knew
where Voldemort had been tonight, and whom he had killed in the
topmost cell of Nurmengard, and why . . .
And he thought of Wormtail, dead because of one small uncon-
scious impulse of mercy . . . Dumbledore had foreseen that . . . How
much more had he known?
Harry lost track of time. He knew only that the darkness had
lightened a few degrees when he was rejoined by Ron and Dean.
\How's Hermione?" \Better," said Ron. \Fleur's looking after
her." Harry had his retort ready for when they asked him why he
had not simply created a perfect grave with his wand, but he did
not need it. They jumped down into the hole he had made with
spades of their own and together they worked in silence until the
hole seemed deep enough.
Harry wrapped the elf more snugly in his jacket. Ron sat on
the edge of the grave and stripped o his shoes and socks, which he
placed on the elf's bare feet. Dean produced a woolen hat, which
Harry placed carefully upon Dobby's head, mu ing his batlike
ears. \We should close his eyes."
Harry had not heard the others coming through the darkness.
Bill was wearing a traveling cloak, Fleur a large white apron, from
the pocket of which protruded a bottle of what Harry recognized
to be Skele-Gro. Hermione was wrapped in a borrowed dressing
gown, pale and unsteady on her feet; Ron put an arm around her
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Chapter 24
when she reached him. Luna, who was huddled in one of Fleur's
coats, crouched down and placed her ngers tenderly upon each of
the elf's eyelids, sliding them over his glassy stare. \There," she
said softly. \Now he could be sleeping."
Harry placed the elf into the grave, arranged his tiny limbs so
that he might have been resting, then climbed out and gazed for
the last time upon the little body. He forced himself not to break
down as he remembered Dumbledore's funeral, and the rows and
rows of golden chairs, and the Minister of Magic in the front row,
the recitation of Dumbledore's achievements, the stateliness of the
white marble tomb. He felt that Dobby deserved just as grand a
funeral, and yet here the elf lay between bushes in a roughly dug
hole. \I think we ought to say something," piped up Luna. \I'll
go rst, shall I?"
And as everybody looked at her, she addressed the dead elf at
the bottom of the grave. \Thank you so much Dobby for rescuing
me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die when you
were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us.
I hope you're happy now."
She turned and looked expectingly at Ron, who cleared
his throat and said in a thick voice, \yeah . . . thanks Dobby."
\Thanks," muttered Dean. Harry swallowed. \Good bye Dobby,"
he said It was all he could manage, but Luna had said it all for
him. Bill raised his wand, and the pile of earth beside the grave
rose up into the air and fell neatly upon it, a small, reddish mound.
\D'ya mind if I stay here a moment?" He asked the others.
They murmured words he did not catch; he felt gentle pats
upon his back, and then they all traipsed back toward the cottage,
leaving Harry alone beside the elf.
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The Wandmaker
He looked around: There were a number of large white stones,
smoothed by the sea, marking the edge of the
ower beds. He
picked up one of the largest and laid it, pillowlike, over the place
where Dobby's head now rested. He then felt in his pocket for a
wand. There were two in there. He had forgotten, lost track; he
could not now remember whose wands these were; he seemed to
remember wrenching them out of someone's hand. He selected the
shorter of the two, which felt friendlier in his hand, and pointed it
at the rock.
Slowly, under his murmured instruction, deep cuts appeared
upon the rock's surface. He knew that Hermione could have done
it more neatly, and probably more quickly, but he wanted to mark
the spot as he had wanted to dig the grave. When Harry stood up
again, the stone read:
HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF.
He looked at his handiwork for a few more seconds, then walked
away, his scar still prickling a little, and his mind full of those things
that had come to him in the grave, ideas that had taken shape in
the darkness, ideas both fascinating and terrible.
They were all sitting in the living room when he entered the
little hall, their attention focused upon Bill, who was talking. The
room was light-colored, pretty, with a small re of driftwood burn-
ing brightly in the replace. Harry did not want to drop mud upon
the carpet, so he stood in the doorway, listening.
\ . . . lucky that Ginny's on holiday. If she'd been at Hogwarts
they could have taken her before we reached her. Now we know
she's safe too." He looked around and saw Harry standing there.
\I've been getting them all out of the Burrow," he explained.
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Chapter 24
\Moved them to Muriel's. The Death Eaters know Ron's with
you now, they're bound to target the family|don't apologize," he
added at the sight of Harry's expression. \It was always a matter
of time, Dad's been saying so for months. We're the biggest blood
traitor family there is."
\How are they protected?" asked Harry. \Fidelius Charm.
Dad's Secret-Keeper. And we've done it on this cottage too; I'm
Secret-Keeper here. None of us can go to work, but that's hardly
the most important thing now. Once Ollivander and Griphook are
well enough, we'll move them to Muriel's too. There isn't much
room here, but she's got plenty. Griphook's legs are on the mend.
Fleur's given him Skele-Gro|we could probably move them in an
hour or|\
\No," Harry said and Bill looked startled. \I need both of
them here. I need to talk to them. It's important." He heard
the authority of his own voice, the conviction, the voice of purpose
that had come to him as he dug Dobby's grave. All of their faces
were turned toward him looking puzzled.
\I'm going to wash," Harry told Bill looking down at his hands
still covered with mud and Dobby's blood. \Then I'll need to see
them, straight away." He walked into the little kitchen, to the
basin beneath a window overlooking the sea. Dawn was breaking
over the horizon, shell pink and faintly gold, as he washed, again
following the train of thought that had come to him in the dark
garden . . .
Dobby would never be able to tell them who had sent him to
the cellar, but Harry knew what he had seen. A piercing blue eye
had looked out of the mirror fragment, and then help had come.
Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.
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The Wandmaker
Harry dried his hands, impervious to the beauty of the scene
outside the window and to the murmuring of the others in the
sitting room. He looked out over the ocean and felt closer, this
dawn, than ever before, closer to the heart of it all.
And still his scar prickled, and he knew that Voldemort was
getting there too. Harry understood and yet did not understand.
His instinct was telling him one thing, his brain quite another. The
Dumbledore in Harry's head smiled, surveying Harry over the tips
of his ngers, pressed together as if in prayer.
You gave Ron the Deluminator . . . You understood him. . . . You
gave him a way back . . .
And you understood Wormtail too. . . . You knew there was a bit
of regret there, somewhere. . . .
And if you knew them . . . What did you know about me, Dum-
bledore?
Am I meant to know but not to seek? Did you know how hard
I'd feel that? Is that why you made it this di cult? So I'd have
time to work that out?
Harry stood quite still, eyes glazed, watching the place where a
bright gold ray of dazzling sun was rising over the horizon. Then he
looked down at his clean hands and was momentarily surprised to
see the cloth he was holding in them. He set it down and returned
to the hall, and as he did so, he felt his scar pulse angrily, and then
ashed across his mind, swift as the re
ection of a dragon
y over
water, the outline of a building he knew extremely well.
Bill and Fleur were standing at the foot of the stairs.
\I need to speak to Griphook and Ollivander," Harry said.
\No," said Fleur. \You will 'ave to wait, 'Arry. Zey are both
too tired|"
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Chapter 24
\I'm sorry," he said without heat, \but it can't wait. I need to
talk to them now. Privately|and separately. It's urgent."
\Harry, what the hell's going on?" asked Bill. \You turn up
here with a dead house-elf and a half-conscious goblin, Hermione
looks as though she's been tortured, and Ron's just refused to tell
me anything|"
\We can't tell you what we're doing," said Harry
atly. \You're
in the Order, Bill, you know Dumbledore left us a mission. We're
not supposed to talk about it to anyone else."
Fleur made an impatient noise, but Bill did not look at her; he
was staring at Harry. His deeply scarred face was hard to read.
Finally, Bill said, \All right. Who do you want to talk to rst?"
Harry hesitated. He knew what hung on his decision. There was
hardly any time left; now was the moment to decide: Horcruxes or
Hallows?
\Griphook," Harry said. \I'll speak to Griphook rst."
His heart was racing as if he had been sprinting and had just
cleared an enormous obstacle.
\Up here, then," said Bill, leading the way.
Harry had walked up several steps before stopping and looking
back.
\I need you two as well!" he called to Ron and Hermione, who
had been skulking, half concealed, in the doorway of the sitting
room.
They both moved into the light, looking oddly relieved.
\How are you?" Harry asked Hermione. \You were amazing|
coming up with that story when she was hurting you like that|"
Hermione gave a weak smile as Ron gave her a one-armed
squeeze.
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The Wandmaker
\What are we doing now, Harry?" he asked.
\You'll see. Come on."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Bill up the steep stairs onto
a small landing. Three doors led o it.
\In here," said Bill, opening the door into his and Fleur's room,
it too had a view of the sea, now
ecked with gold in the sunrise.
Harry moved to the window, turned his back on the spectacular
view, and waited, his arms folded, his scar prickling. Hermione
took the chair beside the dressing table; Ron sat on the arm.
Bill reappeared, carrying the little goblin, whom he set down
carefully upon the bed. Griphook grunted thanks, and Bill left,
closing the door upon them all.
\I'm sorry to take you out of bed," said Harry. \How are your
legs?"
\Painful," replied the goblin. \But mending."
He was still clutching the sword of Gry ndor, and wore a
strange look: half truculent, half intrigued. Harry noted the gob-
lin's sallow skin, his long thin ngers, his black eyes. Fleur had
removed his shoes: His long feet were dirty. He was larger than a
house-elf, but not by much. His domed head was much bigger than
a human's.
\You probably don't remember|" Harry began.
\|that I was the goblin who showed you to your vault, the rst
time you ever visited Gringotts?" said Griphook. \I remember,
Harry Potter. Even amongst goblins, you are very famous."
Harry and the goblin looked at each other, sizing each other
up. Harry's scar was still prickling. He wanted to get through this
interview with Griphook quickly, and at the same time was afraid
of making a false move. While he tried to decide on the best way
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Chapter 24
to approach his request, the goblin broke the silence.
\You buried the elf," he said, sounding unexpectedly rancorous.
\I watched you from the window of the bedroom next door."
\Yes," said Harry.
Griphook looked at him out of the corners of his slanting black
eyes.
\You are an unusual wizard, Harry Potter."
\In what way?" asked Harry, rubbing his scar absently.
\You dug the grave."
\So?"
Griphook did not answer. Harry rather thought he was being
sneered at for acting like a Muggle, but it did not matter to him
whether Griphook approved of Dobby's grave or not. He gathered
himself for the attack.
\Griphook, I need to ask|"
\You also rescued a goblin."
\What?"
\You brought me here. Saved me."
\Well, I take it you're not sorry?" said Harry a little impa-
tiently.
\No, Harry Potter," said Griphook, and with one nger he
twisted the thin black beard upon his chin, \but you are a very
odd wizard."
\Right," said Harry. \Well, I need some help, Griphook, and
you can give it to me."
The goblin made no sign of encouragement, but continued to
frown at Harry as though he had never seen anything like him.
\I need to break into a Gringotts vault."
Harry had not meant to say it so badly: the words were forced
486
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The Wandmaker
from him as pain shot through his lightning scar and he saw, again,
the outline of Hogwarts. He closed his mind rmly. He needed to
deal with Griphook rst. Ron and Hermione were staring at Harry
as though he had gone mad.
\Harry|" said Hermione, but she was cut o by Griphook.
\Break into a Gringotts vault?" repeated the goblin, wincing a
little as he shifted his position upon the bed. \It is impossible."
\No, it isn't," Ron contradicted him. \It's been done."
\Yeah," said Harry. \The same day I rst met you, Griphook.
My birthday, seven years ago."
\The vault in question was empty at the time," snapped the
goblin, and Harry understood that even though Griphook had
let Gringotts, he was o ended at the idea of its defenses being
breached. \Its protection was minimal."
\Well, the vault we need to get into isn't empty, and I'm guess-
ing its protection will be pretty powerful," said Harry. \It belongs
to the Lestranges."
He saw Hermione and Ron look at each other, astonished, but
there would be time enough to explain after Griphook had given
his answer.
\You have no chance," said Griphook
atly. \No chance at all.
If you seek beneath our
oors, a treasure that was never yours |"
\Thief, you have been warned, beware |yeah, I know, I remem-
ber," said Harry. \But I'm not trying to get myself any treasure,
I'm not trying to take anything for personal gain. Can you believe
that?"
The goblin looked slantwise at Harry, and the lightning scar on
Harry's forehead prickled, but he ignored it, refusing to acknowl-
edge its pain or its invitation.
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Chapter 24
\If there was a wizard of whom I would believe that they did not
seek personal gain," said Griphook nally, \it would be you, Harry
Potter. Goblins and elves are not used to the protection or the
respect that you have shown this night. Not from wand-carriers."
\Wand-carriers," repeated Harry: The phrase fell oddly upon
his ears as his scar prickled, as Voldemort turned his thoughts
northward, and as Harry burned to question Ollivander next door.
\The right to carry a wand," said the goblin quietly, \has long
been contested between wizards and goblins."
\Well, goblins can do magic without wands," said Ron.
\That is immaterial! Wizards refuse to share the secrets of
wandlore with other magical beings, they deny us the possibility
of extending our powers!"
\Well, goblins won't share any of their magic either," said Ron.
\You won't tell us how to make swords and armor the way you do.
Goblins know how to work metal in a way wizards have never|"
\It doesn't matter," said Harry, noting Griphook's rising color.
\This isn't about wizards versus goblins or any other sort of mag-
ical creature|"
Griphook gave a nasty laugh.
\But it is, it is precisely that! As the Dark Lord becomes
ever more powerful, your race is set still more rmly above mine!
Gringotts falls under Wizarding rule, house-elves are slaughtered,
and who amongst the wand-carriers protests?"
\We do!" said Hermione. She had sat up straight, her eyes
bright. \We protest! And I'm hunted quite as much as any goblin
or elf, Griphook! I'm a Mudblood!"
\Don't call yourself|" Ron muttered.
\Why shouldn't I?" said Hermione. \Mudblood, and proud of
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The Wandmaker
it! I've got no higher position under this new order than you have,
Griphook! It was me they chose to torture, back at the Malfoys!"
As she spoke, she pulled aside the neck of the dressing gown to
reveal the thin cut Bellatrix had made, scarlet against her throat.
\Did you know that it was Harry who set Dobby free?" she
asked. \Did you know that we've wanted elves to be freed for
years?" (Ron dgeted uncomfortably on the arm of Hermione's
chair.) \You can't want You-Know-Who defeated more than we
do, Griphook!"
The goblin gazed at Hermione with the same curiosity he had
shown Harry.
\What do you seek within the Lestranges' vault?" he asked
abruptly. \The sword that lies inside it is a fake. This is the real
one." He looked from one to the other of them. \I think that you
already know this. You asked me to lie for you back there."
\But the fake sword isn't the only thing in that vault, is it?"
asked Harry. \Perhaps you've seen other things in there?"
His heart was pounding harder than ever. He redoubled his
e orts to ignore the pulsing of his scar.
The goblin twisted his beard around his nger again.
\It is against our code to speak of the secrets of Gringotts. We
are the guardians of fabulous treasures. We have a duty to the
objects placed in our care, which were, so often, wrought by our
ngers."
The goblin stroked the sword, and his black eyes roved from
Harry to Hermione to Ron and then back again.
\So young," he said nally, \to be ghting so many."
\Will you help us?" said Harry. \We haven't got a hope of
breaking in without a goblin's help. You're our one chance."
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Chapter 24
\I shall . . . think about it," said Griphook maddeningly.
\But|" Ron started angrily; Hermione nudged him in the ribs.
\Thank you," said Harry.
The goblin bowed his great domed head in acknowledgement,
then
exed his short legs.
\I think," he said, settling himself ostentatiously upon Bill and
Fleur's bed, \that the Skele-Gro has nished its work. I may be
able to sleep at last. Forgive me. . . ."
\Yeah, of course," said Harry, but before leaving the room he
leaned forward and took the sword of Gry ndor from beside the
goblin. Griphook did not protest, but Harry thought he saw re-
sentment in the goblin's eyes as he closed the door upon him.
\Little git," whispered Ron. \He's enjoying keeping us hang-
ing."
\Harry," whispered Hermione, pulling them both away from
the door, into the middle of the still-dark landing, \are you saying
what I think you're saying? Are you saying there's a Horcrux in
the Lestranges vault?"
\Yes," said Harry. \Bellatrix was terri ed when she thought
we'd been in there, she was beside herself. Why? What did
she think we'd seen, what else did she think we might have
taken? Something she was petri ed You-Know-Who would nd
out about."
\But I thought we were looking for places You-Know-Who's
been, places he's done something important?" said Ron, looking
ba ed. \Was he ever inside the Lestranges' vault?"
\I don't know whether he was ever inside Gringotts," said
Harry. \He never had gold there when he was younger, because
nobody left him anything. He would have seen the bank from the
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The Wandmaker
outside, though, the rst time he ever went to Diagon Alley."
Harry's scar throbbed, but he ignored it; he wanted Ron and
Hermione to understand about Gringotts before they spoke to Ol-
livander.
\I think he would have envied anyone who had a key to a
Gringotts vault. I think he'd have seen it as a real symbol of
belonging to the Wizarding world. And don't forget, he trusted
Bellatrix and her husband. They were his most devoted servants
before he fell, and they went looking for him after he vanished. He
said it night he came back, I heard him."
Harry rubbed his scar.
\I don't think he'd have told Bellatrix it was a Horcrux, though.
He never told Lucius Malfoy the truth about the diary. He probably
told her it was a treasured possession and asked her to place it in
her vault. The safest place in the world for anything you want to
hide, Hagrid told me . . . except for Hogwarts."
When Harry had nished speaking, Ron shook his head.
\You really understand him."
\Bits of him," said Harry. \Bits . . . I just wish I'd understood
Dumbledore as much. But we'll see. Come on|Ollivander now."
Ron and Hermione looked bewildered but very impressed as
they followed him across the little landing and knocked upon the
door opposite Bill and Fleur's. A weak \Come in!" answered them.
The wandmaker was lying on the twin bed farthest from the
window. He had been held in the cellar for more than a year, and
tortured, Harry knew, on at least one occasion. He was emaciated,
the bones of his face sticking out sharply against the yellowish skin.
His great silver eyes seemed vast in their sunken sockets. The hands
that lay upon the blanket could have belonged to a skeleton. Harry
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Chapter 24
sat down on the empty bed, beside Ron and Hermione. The rising
sun was not visible here. The room faced the cli -top garden and
the freshly dug grave.
\Mr. Ollivander, I'm sorry to disturb you," Harry said.
\My dear boy," Ollivander's voice was feeble. \You rescued us, I
thought we would die in that place, I can never thank you . . . never
thank you . . . enough."
\We were glad to do it."
Harry's scar throbbed. He knew, he was certain, that there was
hardly any time left in which to beat Voldemort to his goal, or
else to attempt to thwart him. He felt a
utter of panic . . . yet he
had made his decision when he chose to speak to Griphook rst.
Feigning a calm he did not feel, he groped in the pouch around his
neck and took out the two halves of his broken wand.
\Mr. Ollivander, I need some help."
\Anything. Anything." Said the wandmaker weakly.
\Can you mend this? Is it possible?"
Ollivander held out a trembling hand, and Harry placed the two
barely connected halves in his palm.
\Holly and phoenix feather," said Ollivander in a tremulous
voice. \Eleven inches. Nice and supple."
\Yes," said Harry. \Can you|?"
\No," whispered Ollivander. \I am sorry, very sorry, but a wand
that has su ered this degree of damage cannot be repaired by any
means that I know of."
Harry had been braced to hear it, but it was a blow nevertheless.
He took the wand halves back and replaced them in the pouch
around his neck. Ollivander stared at the place where the shattered
wand had vanished, and did not look away until Harry had taken
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The Wandmaker
from his pocket the two wands he had brought from the Malfoys'.
\Can you identify these?" Harry asked.
The wandmaker took the rst of the wands and held it close
to his faded eyes, rolling it between his knobble-knuckled ngers,
exing it slightly.
\Walnut and dragon heartstring," he said. \Twelve-and-three-
quarter inches. Unyielding. This wand belonged to Bellatrix
Lestrange."
\And this one?"
Ollivander performed the same examination.
\Hawthorn and unicorn hair. Ten inches precisely. Reasonably
springy. This was the wand of Draco Malfoy."
\Was?" repeated Harry. \Isn't it still his?"
\Perhaps not. If you took it|"
\|I did|"
\|then it may be yours. Of course, the manner of taking
matters. Much also depends upon the wand itself. In general,
however, where a wand has been won, its allegiance will change."
There was a silence in the room, except for the distant rushing
of the sea.
\You talk about wands like they've got feelings," said Harry,
\like they can think for themselves."
\The wand chooses the wizard," said Ollivander. \That much
has always been clear to those of us who have studied wandlore."
\A person can still use a wand that hasn't chosen them,
though?" asked Harry.
\Oh yes, if you are any wizard at all you will be able to chan-
nel your magic through almost any instrument. The best results,
however, must always come where there is the strongest a nity
493
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Chapter 24
between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An ini-
tial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand
learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand."
The sea gushed forward and backward; it was a mournful sound.
\I took this wand from Draco Malfoy by force," said Harry.
\Can I use it safely?"
\I think so. Subtle laws govern wand ownership, but the con-
quered wand will usually bend its will to its new master."
\So I should use this one?" said Ron, pulling Wormtail's wand
out of his pocket and handing it to Ollivander.
\Chestnut and dragon heartstring. Nine-and-a-quarter inches.
Brittle. I was forced to make this shortly after my kidnapping, for
Peter Pettigrew. Yes, if you won it, it is more likely to do your
bidding, and do it well, than another wand."
\And this holds true for all wands, does it?" asked Harry.
\I think so," replied Ollivander, his protuberant eyes upon
Harry's face. \You ask deep questions, Mr. Potter. Wandlore
is a complex and mysterious branch of magic."
\So, it isn't necessary to kill the previous owner to take the
possession of a wand?" asked Harry.
Ollivander swallowed.
\Necessary? No, I should not say that it is necessary to kill."
\There are legends, though," said Harry, and as his heart rate
quickened, the pain in his scar became more intense; he was sure
that Voldemort has decided to put his idea into action. \Legends
about a wand|or wands|that have been passed from hand to
hand by murder."
Ollivander turned pale. Against the snowy pillow he was light
gray, and his eyes were enormous, bloodshot, and bulging with
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The Wandmaker
what looked like fear.
\Only one wand, I think," he whispered.
\And You-Know-Who is interested in it, isn't he?" asked Harry.
\I|how?" croaked Ollivander, and he looked appealingly at
Ron and Hermione for help. \How do you know this?"
\He wanted you to tell him how to overcome the connection
between our wands," said Harry.
Ollivander looked terri ed.
\He tortured me, you must understand that! The Cruciatus
Curse, I{I had no choice but to tell him what I knew, what I
guessed!"
\I understand," said Harry. \You told him about the twin
cores? You said he just had to borrow another wizard's wand?"
Ollivander looked horri ed, trans xed, by the amount that
Harry knew. He nodded slowly.
\But it didn't work," Harry went on. \Mine still beat the bor-
rowed wand. Do you know why that is?"
Ollivander shook his head slowly as he had just nodded.
\I had . . . never heard of such a thing. Your wand performed
something unique that night. The connection of the twin cores
is incredibly rare, yet why your wand would have snapped the
borrowed wand, I do not know. . . .
\We were talking about the other wand, the wand that changes
hands by murder. When You-Know-Who realized my wand had
done something strange, he came back and asked about that other
wand, didn't he?"
\How do you know this?"
Harry did not answer.
\Yes, he asked," whispered Ollivander. \He wanted to know
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Chapter 24
everything I could tell him about the wand variously known as the
Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, or the Elder Wand."
Harry glanced sideways at Hermione. She looked
abbergasted.
\The Dark Lord," said Ollivander in hushed and frightened
tones, \had always been happy with the wand I made him|yew
and phoenix feather, thirteen-and-a-half inches|until he discov-
ered the connection of the twin cores. Now he seeks another, more
powerful wand, as the only way to conquer yours."
\But he'll know soon, if he doesn't already, that mine's broken
beyond repair," said Harry quietly.
\No!" said Hermione, sounding frightened. \He can't know
that, Harry, how could he|?"
\Priori Incantatem," said Harry. \We left your wand and the
blackthorn wand at the Malfoys', Hermione. If they examine them
properly, make them re-create the spells they've cast lately, they'd
see that yours broke mine, they'll see that you tried and failed to
mend it, and they'll realize that I've been using the blackthorn one
ever since."
The little color she had regained since their arrival had drained
from her face. Ron gave Harry a reproachful look, and said, \Let's
not worry about that now|"
But Mr. Ollivander intervened.
\The Dark Lord no longer seeks the Elder Wand only for your
destruction, Mr. Potter. He is determined to possess it because he
believes it will make him truly invulnerable."
\And will it?"
\The owner of the Elder Wand must always fear attack," said
Ollivander, \but the idea of the Dark Lord in possession of the
Deathstick is, I must admit . . . formidable."
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The Wandmaker
Harry was suddenly reminded of how unsure, when they rst
met, of how much he like Ollivander. Even now, having been tor-
tured and imprisoned by Voldemort, the idea of the Dark Wizard
in possession of this wand seemed to enthrall him as much as it
repulsed him.
\You|you really think this wand exists, then, Mr. Ollivan-
der?" asked Hermione.
\Oh yes," said Ollivander. \Yes, it is perfectly possible to trace
the wand's course through history. There are gaps, of, course, and
long ones, where it vanishes from view, temporarily lost or hidden;
but always it resurfaces. It has certain identifying characteristics
that those who are learned in wandlore recognize. There are writ-
ten accounts, some of them obscure, that I and other wandmakers
have made it our business to study. They have the ring of authen-
ticity."
\So you|you don't think it can be a fairy tale or a myth?"
Hermione asked hopefully.
\No," said Ollivander. \Whether it needs to pass by murder,
I do not know. Its history is bloody, but that may be simply due
to the fact that it is such a desirable object, and arouses such
passions in wizards. Immensely powerful, dangerous in the wrong
hands, and an object of incredible fascination to all of us who study
the power of wands."
\Mr. Ollivander," said Harry, \you told You-Know-Who that
Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand, didn't you?"
Ollivander turned, if possible, even paler. He looked ghostly as
he gulped.
\But how|how do you|?"
\Never mind how I know it," said Harry, closing his eyes mo-
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Chapter 24
mentarily as his scar burned and he saw, for mere seconds, a vision
of the main street in Hogsmeade, still dark, because it was so much
farther north. \You told You-Know-Who that Gregorovitch had
the wand?"
\It was a rumor," whispered Ollivander. \A rumor, years and
years ago, long before you were born I believe Gregorovitch himself
started it. You can see how good it would be for business; that he
was studying and duplicating the qualities of the Elder Wand!"
\Yes, I can see that," said Harry. He stood up. \Mr. Ollivander,
one last thing, and then we'll let you get some rest. What do you
know about the Deathly Hallows?"
\The|the what?" asked the wandmaker, looking utterly be-
wildered.
\The Deathly Hallows."
\I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Is this still
something to do with wands?"
Harry looked into the sunken face and believed that Ollivander
was not acting. He did not know about the Hallows.
\Thank you," said Harry. \Thank you very much. We'll leave
you to get some rest now."
Ollivander looked stricken.
\He was torturing me!"he gasped.\The Cruciatus
Curse . . . you have no idea. . . ."
\I do," said Harry, \I really do. Please get some rest. Thank
you for telling me all of this."
He led Ron and Hermione down the staircase. Harry caught
glimpses of Bill, Fleur, Luna, and Dean sitting at the table in the
kitchen, cups of tea in front of them. They all looked up at Harry
as he appeared in the doorway, but he merely nodded to them and
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The Wandmaker
continued into the garden, Ron and Hermione behind him. The
reddish mound of earth that covered Dobby lay ahead, and Harry
walked back to it, as the pain in his head built more and more
powerfully. It was a huge e ort now to close down the visions that
were forcing themselves upon him, but he knew that he would have
to resist only a little longer. He would yield very soon, because he
needed to know that his theory was right. He must make only one
more short e ort, so that he could explain to Ron and Hermione.
\Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand a long time ago," he said,
\I saw You-Know-Who trying to nd him. When he tracked him
down, he found that Gregorovitch didn't have it anymore: It was
stolen from him by Grindelwald. How Grindelwald found out that
Gregorovitch had it, I don't know|but if Gregorovitch was stupid
enough to spread the rumor, it can't have been that di cult."
Voldemort was at the gates of Hogwarts; Harry could see him
standing there, and see too the lamp bobbing in the pre-dawn,
coming closer and closer.
\And Grindelwald used the Elder Wand to become powerful.
And at the height of his power, when Dumbledore knew he was
the only one who could stop him, he dueled Grindelwald and beat
him, and he took the Elder Wand."
\Dumbledore had the Elder Wand?" said Ron. \But then|
where is it now?"
\At Hogwarts," said Harry, ghting to remain with them in the
cli -top garden.
\But then, let's go!" said Ron urgently. \Harry, let's go and
get it before he does!"
\It's too late for that," said Harry. He could not help himself,
but clutched his head, trying to help it resist. \He knows where it
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Chapter 24
is. He's there now."
\Harry!" Ron said furiously. \How long have you known this|
why have we been wasting time? Why did you talk to Griphook
rst? We could have gone|we could still go|"
\No," said Harry, and he sank to his knees in the grass. \Her-
mione's right. Dumbledore didn't want me to have it. He didn't
want me to take it. He wanted me to get the Horcruxes."
\The unbeatable wand, Harry!" moaned Ron.
\I'm not supposed to . . . I'm supposed to get the Hor-
cruxes. . . ."
And now everything was cool and dark: The sun was barely
visible over the horizon as he glided alongside Snape, up through
the grounds toward the lake.
\I shall join you in the castle shortly," he said in his high, cold
voice. \Leave me now."
Snape bowed and set o back up the path, his black cloak bil-
lowing behind him. Harry walked slowly, waiting for Snape's gure
to disappear. It would not do for Snape, or indeed anyone else, to
see where he was going. But there were no lights in the castle win-
dows, and he could conceal himself . . . and in a second he had cast
upon himself a Disillusionment Charm that hid him even from his
own eyes.
And he walked on, around the edge of the lake, taking in the
outlines of the beloved castle, his rst kingdom, his birthright. . . .
And here it was, beside the lake, re
ected in the dark waters.
The white marble tomb, an unnecessary blot on the familiar land-
scape. He felt again that rush of controlled euphoria, that heady
sense of purpose in destruction. He raised the old yew wand: How
tting that this would be its last great act.
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The Wandmaker
The tomb split open from head to foot. The shrouded gure
was as long as thin as it had been in life. He raised the wand again.
The wrappings fell open. The face was translucent, pale,
sunken, yet almost perfectly preserved. They had left his spec-
tacles on the crooked nose: He felt amused derision. Dumbledore's
hands were folded upon his chest, and there it lay, clutched beneath
them, buried with him.
Had the old fool imagined that marble or death would protect
the wand? Had he thought that the Dark Lord would be scared
to violate his tomb? The spiderlike hand swooped and pulled the
wand from Dumbledore's grasp, and as he took it, a shower of
sparks
ew from its tip, sparkling over the corpse of its last owner,
ready to serve a new master at last.
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Chapter 25
Shell Cottage
ill and Fleur's cottage stood alone on a cli overlook-
ing the sea, its walls embedded with shells and white-
washed. It was a lonely and beautiful place. Wherever
BHarry went inside the tiny cottage or its garden, he
could hear the constant ebb and
ow of the sea, like the breathing
of some great, slumbering creature. He spent much of the next
few days making excuses to escape the crowded cottage, craving
the cli -top view of open sky and wide, empty sea, and the feel of
cold, salty wind on his face.
The enormity of his decision not to race Voldemort to the wand
still scared Harry. He could not remember, ever before, choosing
not to act. He was full of doubts, doubts that Ron could not help
voicing whenever they were together.
\What if Dumbledore wanted us to work out the symbol in
time to get the wand?" \What if working out what the symbol
meant made you `worthy' to get the Hallows?" \Harry, if that
really is the Elder Wand, how the hell are we supposed to nish
o You-Know-Who?"
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Shell Cottage
Harry had no answers: There were moments when he won-
dered whether it had been outright madness not to try to prevent
Voldemort breaking open the tomb. He could not even explain
satisfactorily why he had decided against it: Every time he tried
to reconstruct the internal arguments that had led to his decision,
they sounded feebler to him.
The odd thing was that Hermione's support made him feel just
as confused as Ron's doubts. Now forced to accept that the Elder
Wand was real, she maintained that it was an evil object, and that
the way Voldemort had taken possession of it was repellent, not to
be considered.
\You could never have done that, Harry," she said again and
again. \You couldn't have broken into Dumbledore's grave."
But the idea of Dumbledore's corpse frightened Harry much less
than the possibility that he might have misunderstood the living
Dumbledore's intentions. He felt that he was still groping in the
dark; he had chosen his path but kept looking back, wondering
whether he had misread the signs, whether he should not have
taken the other way. From time to time, anger at Dumbledore
crashed over him again, powerful as the waves slamming themselves
against the cli beneath the cottage, anger that Dumbledore had
not explained before he died.
\But is he dead?" said Ron, three days after they had arrived
at the cottage. Harry had been staring out over the wall that
separated the cottage garden from the cli when Ron and Her-
mione had found him; he wished they had not, having no wish to
join in with their argument.
\Yes, he is. Ron, please don't start that again!"
\Look at the facts, Hermione," said Ron, speaking across Harry,
503
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Chapter 25
who continued to gaze at the horizon. \The silver doe. The sword.
The eye Harry saw in the mirror|"
\Harry admits he could have imagined the eye! Don't you,
Harry?"
\I could have," said Harry without looking at her.
\But you don't think you did, do you?" asked Ron.
\No, I don't," said Harry.
\There you go!" said Ron quickly, before Hermione could carry
on. \If it wasn't Dumbledore, explain how Dobby knew we were
in the cellar, Hermione?"
\I can't|but can you explain how Dumbledore sent him to us
if he's lying in a tomb at Hogwarts?" \I dunno, it could've been
his ghost!"
\Dumbledore wouldn't come back as a ghost," said Harry.
There was little about Dumbledore he was sure of now, but he
knew that much. \He would have gone on."
\What d'you mean, `gone on'?" asked Ron, but before Harry
could say any more, a voice behind them said, \'Arry?"
Fleur had come out of the cottage, her long silver hair
ying in
the breeze.
\'Arry, Grip'ook would like to speak to you. 'E eez in ze small-
est bedroom, 'e says 'e does not want to be over'eard."
Her dislike of the goblin sending her to deliver messages was
clear; she looked irritable as she walked back around the house.
Griphook was waiting for them, as Fleur had said, in the tiniest
of the cottage's three bedrooms, in which Hermione and Luna slept
by night. He had drawn the red cotton curtains against the bright,
cloudy sky, which gave the room a ery glow at odds with the rest
of the airy, light cottage.
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Shell Cottage
\I have reached my decision, Harry Potter," said the goblin,
who was sitting cross-legged in a low chair, drumming its arms
with his spindly ngers. \Though the goblins of Gringotts will
consider it base treachery, I have decided to help you|"
\That's great!" said Harry, relief surging through him. \Grip-
hook, thank you, we're really|"
\|in return," said the goblin rmly, \for payment."
Slightly taken aback, Harry hesitated.
\How much do you want? I've got gold."
\Not gold," said Griphook. \I have gold."
His black eyes glittered; there were no whites to his eyes.
\I want the sword. The sword of Godric Gry ndor."
Harry's spirits plummeted.
\You can't have that," he said. \I'm sorry."
\Then," said the goblin softly, \we have a problem."
\We can give you something else," said Ron eagerly. \I'll bet
the Lestranges have got loads of stu , you can take your pick once
we get into the vault."
He had said the wrong thing. Griphook
ushed angrily.
\I am not a thief, boy! I am not trying to procure treasures to
which I have no right!"
\The sword's ours|"
\It is not," said the goblin. \We're Gry indors, and it was
Godric Gry indor's|"
\And before it was Gry ndor's, whose was it?" demanded the
goblin, sitting up straight.
\No one's," said Ron. \It was made for him, wasn't it?"
\No!" cried the goblin, bristling with anger as he pointed a
long nger at Ron. \Wizarding arrogance again! That sword was
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Chapter 25
Ragnuk the First's, taken from him by Godric Gry ndor! It is
a lost treasure, a masterpiece of goblinwork! It belongs with the
goblins. The sword is the price of my hire, take it or leave it!"
Griphook glared at them. Harry glanced at the other two, then
said, \We need to discuss this, Griphook, if that's all right. Could
you give us a few minutes?"
The goblin nodded, looking sour.
Downstairs in the empty sitting room, Harry walked to the
replace, brow furrowed, trying to think what to do. Behind him,
Ron said, \He's having a laugh. We can't let him have that sword."
\It is true?" Harry asked Hermione. \Was the sword stolen by
Gry ndor?"
\I don't know," she said hopelessly. \Wizarding history often
skates over what the wizards have done to other magical races, but
there's no account that I know of that says Gry ndor stole the
sword."
\It'll be one of those goblin stories," said Ron, \about how the
wizards are always trying to get one over on them. I suppose we
should think ourselves lucky he hasn't asked for one of our wands."
\Goblins have got good reason to dislike wizards, Ron." said
Hermione. \They've been treated brutally in the past."
\Goblins aren't exactly
u y little bunnies, though, are they?"
said Ron. \They've killed plenty of us. They've fought dirty too."
\But arguing with Griphook about whose race is most under-
handed and violent isn't going to make him more likely to help us,
is it?"
There was a pause while they tried to think of a way around the
problem. Harry looked out of the window at Dobby's grave. Luna
was arranging sea lavender in a jam jar beside the headstone.
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Shell Cottage
\Okay," said Ron, and Harry turned back to face him, \how's
this? We tell Griphook we need the sword until we get inside the
vault and then he can have it. There's a fake in these, isn't there?
We switch them, and give him the fake."
\Ron, he'd know the di erence better than we would!" said
Hermione. \He's the only one who realized there had been a swap!"
\Yeah, but we could scarper before he realizes|"
He quailed beneath the look Hermione was giving him.
\That," she said quietly, \is despicable. Ask for his help, then
double-cross him? And you wonder why goblins don't like wizards,
Ron?"
Ron's ears had turned red.
\All right, all right! It was the only thing I could think of!
What's your solution, then?"
\We need to o er him something else, something just as valu-
able."
\Brilliant, I'll go and get one of our ancient goblin-made swords
and you can gift wrap it."
Silence fell between them again. Harry was sure that the goblin
would accept nothing but the sword, even if they had something as
valuable to o er him. Yet the sword was their one, indispensable
weapon against the Horcruxes.
He closed his eyes for a moment or two and listened to the
rush of the sea. The idea that Gry ndor might have stolen
the sword was unpleasant to him: He had always been proud to
be a Gry ndor; Gry ndor had been the champion of Muggle-
borns, the wizard who had clashed with the pureblood-loving
Slytherin. . . .
\Maybe he's lying," Harry said, opening his eyes again. \Grip-
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Chapter 25
hook. Maybe Gry ndor didn't take the sword. How do we know
the goblin version of history's right?"
\Does it make a di erence?" asked Hermione. \Changes how I
feel about it," said Harry.
He took a deep breath.
\We'll tell him he can have the sword after he's helped us get
into that vault|but we'll be careful to avoid telling him exactly
when he can have it."
A grin spread slowly across Ron's face. Hermione, however,
looked alarmed.
\Harry, we can't|"
\He can have it," Harry went on, \after we've used it on all of
the Horcruxes. I'll make sure he gets it then. I'll keep my word."
\But that could be years!" said Hermione. \I know that, but
he needn't. I won't be lying . . . really."
Harry met her eyes with a mixture of de ance and shame. He
remembered the words that had been engraved over the gateway
to Nurmengard: For the Greater Good. He pushed the idea
away. What choice did they have?
\I don't like it," said Hermione.
\Nor do I, much," Harry admitted.
\Well, I think it's genius," said Ron, standing up again. \Let's
go and tell him."
Back in the smallest bedroom, Harry made the o er, careful to
phrase it so as not to give any de nite time for the handover of
the sword. Hermione frowned at the
oor while he was speaking;
he felt irritated at her, afraid that she might give the game away.
However, Griphook had eyes for nobody but Harry.
\I have your word, Harry Potter, that you will give me the
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Shell Cottage
sword of Gry ndor if I help you?"
\Yes," said Harry.
\Then shake," said the goblin, holding out his hand.
Harry took it and shook. He wondered whether those black eyes
saw any misgivings in his own. Then Griphook relinquished him,
clapped his hands together, and said, \So. We begin!"
It was like planning to break into the Ministry all over again.
They settled to work in the smallest bedroom, which was kept,
according to Griphook's preference, in semidarkness.
\I have visited the Lestranges' vault only once," Griphook told
them, \on the occasion I was told to place inside it the false sword.
It is one of the most ancient chambers. The oldest Wizarding
families store their treasures at the deepest level, where the vaults
are largest and best protected. . . ."
They remained shut in the cupboardlike room for hours at a
time. Slowly the days stretched into weeks. There was problem
after problem to overcome, not least of which was that their store
of Polyjuice Potion was greatly depleted.
\There's really only enough left for one of us," said Hermione,
tilting the thick mudlike potion against the lamplight.
\That'll be enough," said Harry, who was examining Griphook's
hand-drawn map of the deepest passageways.
The other inhabitants of Shell Cottage could hardly fail to no-
tice that something was going on now that Harry, Ron and Her-
mione only emerged for mealtimes. Nobody asked questions, al-
though Harry often felt Bill's eyes on the three of them at the table,
thoughtful, concerned.
The longer they spent together, the more Harry realized that he
did not much like the goblin. Griphook was unexpectedly blood-
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Chapter 25
thirsty, laughed at the idea of pain in lesser creatures and seemed
to relish the possibility that they might have to hurt other wizards
to reach the Lestranges' vault. Harry could tell that his distaste
was shared by the other two, but they did not discuss it. They
needed Griphook.
The goblin ate only grudgingly with the rest of them. Even
after his legs had mended, he continued to request trays of food
in his room, like the still-frail Ollivander, until Bill (following an
angry outburst from Fleur) went upstairs to tell him that the ar-
rangement could not continue. Thereafter Griphook joined them
at the overcrowded table, although he refused to eat the same food,
insisting, instead, on lumps of raw meat, roots, and various fungi.
Harry felt responsible: It was, after all, he who had insisted
that the goblin remain at Shell Cottage so that he could question
him; his fault that the whole Weasley family had been driven into
hiding, that Bill, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley could no longer
work.
\I'm sorry," he told Fleur, one blustery April evening as he
helped her prepare dinner. \I never meant you to have to deal
with all of this."
She had just set some knives to work, chipping up steaks for
Griphook and Bill, who had preferred his meat bloody ever since
he had been attacked by Greyback. While the knives sliced behind
her, her somewhat irritable expression softened.
\'Arry, you saved my sister's life, I do not forget."
This was not, strictly speaking, true, but Harry decided against
reminding her that Gabrielle had never been in real danger.
\Anyway," Fleur went on, pointing her want at a pot of sauce on
the stove, which began to bubble at once, \Mr. Ollivander leaves
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Shell Cottage
for Muriel's zis evening. Zat will make zings easier. Ze goblin,"
she scowled a little at the mention of him, \can move downstairs,
and you, Ron, and Dean can take zat room."
\We don't mind sleeping in the living room," said Harry, who
knew that Griphook would think poorly of having to sleep on the
sofa; keeping Griphook happy was essential to their plans. \Don't
worry about us." And when she tried to protest he went on, \We'll
be o your hands soon too, Ron, Hermione, and I. We won't need
to be here much longer."
\But, what do you mean?" she said, frowning at him, her wand
pointing at the casserole dish now suspended in midair. \Of course
you must not leave, you are safe 'ere!"
She looked rather like Mrs. Weasley as she said it, and he was
glad that the back door opened at that moment. Luna and Dean
entered, their hair damp from the rain outside and their arms full
of driftwood.
\ . . . and tiny little ears," Luna was saying, \a bit like hippo's,
Daddy says, only purple and hairy. And if you want to call them,
you have to hum; they prefer a waltz, nothing too fast. . . ."
Looking uncomfortable, Dean shrugged at Harry as he passed,
following Luna into the combined dining and sitting room where
Ron and Hermione were laying the dinner table. Seizing the chance
to escape Fleur's questions, Harry grabbed two jugs of pumpkin
juice and followed them.
\ . . . and if you ever come to our house I'll be able to show
you the horn, Daddy wrote to me about it but I haven't seen it
yet, because the Death Eaters took me from the Hogwarts Express
and I never got home for Christmas," Luna was saying, as she and
Dean relit the re.
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Chapter 25
\Luna, we told you," Hermione called over to her. \That horn
exploded. It came from an Erumpent, not a Crumple-Horned
Snorkack|"
\No, it was de nitely a Snorkack horn," said Luna serenely,
\Daddy told me. It will probably have re{formed by now, they
mend themselves, you know."
Hermione shook her head and continued laying down forks as
Bill appeared, leading Mr. Ollivander down the stairs. The wand-
maker still looked exceptionally frail, and he clung to Bill's arm as
the latter supported him, carrying a large suitcase.
\I'm going to miss you, Mr. Ollivander," said Luna, approach-
ing the old man.
\And I you, my dear," said Ollivander, patting her on the shoul-
der. \You were an inexpressible comfort to me in that terrible
place."
\So, au revoir, Mr. Ollivander," said Fleur, kissing him on both
cheeks. \And I wonder whezzer you could oblige me by delivering
a package to Bill's Auntie Muriel!? I never returned 'er tiara."
\It will be an honor," said Ollivander with a little bow, \the
very least I can do in return for your generous hospitality."
Fleur drew out a worn velvet case, which she opened to show
the wandmaker. The tiara sat glittering and twinkling in the light
from the low-hanging lamp.
\Moonstones and diamonds," said Griphook, who had sidled
into the room without Harry noticing. \Made by goblins, I think?"
\And paid for by wizards," said Bill quietly, and the goblin shot
him a look that was both furtive and challenging.
A strong wind gusted against the cottage windows as Bill and
Ollivander set o into the night. The rest of them squeezed in
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Shell Cottage
around the table; elbow to elbow and with barely enough room to
move, they started to eat. The re crackled and popped in the
grate beside them. Fleur, Harry noticed, was merely playing with
her food; she glanced at the window every few minutes; however,
Bill returned before they had nished their rst course, his long
hair tangled by the wind.
\Everything's ne," he told Fleur. \Ollivander settled in, Mum
and Dad say hello. Ginny sends you all her love, Fred and George
are driving Muriel up the wall, they're still operating an Owl-Order
business out of her back room. It cheered her up to have her tiara
back, though. She said she thought we'd stolen it."
\Ah, she eez charmante, your aunt," said Fleur crossly, waving
her wand and causing the dirty plates to rise and form a stack in
midair. She caught them and marched out of the room.
\Daddy's made a tiara," piped up Luna, \Well, more of a crown,
really."
Ron caught Harry's eye and grinned; Harry knew that he was
remembering the ludicrous headdress they had seen on their visit
to Xenophilius.
\Yes, he's trying to re-create the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. He
thinks he's identi ed most of the main elements now. Adding the
billywig wings really made a di erence|"
There was a bang on the front door. Everyone's head turned to-
ward it. Fleur came running out of the kitchen, looking frightened;
Bill jumped to his feed, his wand pointing at the door; Harry, Ron,
and Hermione did the same. Silently Griphook slipped beneath
the table, out of sight.
\Who is it?" Bill called.
\It is I, Remus John Lupin!" called a voice over the howling
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Chapter 25
wind. Harry experienced a thrill of fear; what had happened?
\I am a werewolf, married to Nymphadora Tonks, and you, the
Secret-Keeper of Shell Cottage, told me the address and bade me
come in an emergency!"
\Lupin," muttered Bill, and he ran to the door and wrenched
it open.
Lupin fell over the threshold. He was white-faced, wrapped in
a traveling cloak, his graying hair windswept. He straightened up,
looked around the room, making sure of who was there, then cried
aloud, \It's a boy! We've named him Ted, after Dora's father!"
Hermione shrieked.
\Wha|? Tonks|Tonks has had the baby?"
\Yes, yes, she's had the baby!" shouted Lupin. All around the
table came cries of delight, sighs of relief: Hermione and Fleur both
squealed, \Congratulations!" and Ron said, \Blimey, a baby!" as
if he had never heard of such a thing before.
\Yes|yes|a boy," said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by
his own happiness. He strode around the table and hugged Harry;
the scene in the basement of Grimmauld Place might never have
happened.
\You'll be godfather?" he said as he released Harry. \M{me?"
stammered Harry.
\You, yes, of course|Dora quite agrees, no one better|"
\I|yeah|blimey|"
Harry felt overwhelmed, astonished, delighted; now Bill was
hurrying to fetch wine, and Fleur was persuading Lupin to join
them for a drink.
\I can't stay long, I must get back," said Lupin, beaming around
at them all: He looked years younger than Harry had ever seen him.
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Shell Cottage
\Thank you, thank you, Bill"
Bill had soon lled all of their goblets, they stood and raised
them high in a toast.
\To Teddy Remus Lupin," said Lupin, \a great wizard in the
making!"
\'Oo does 'e look like?" Fleur inquired.
\I think he looks like Dora, but she thinks he is like me. Not
much hair. It looked black when he was born, but I swear it's
turned ginger in the hour since. Probably blond by the time I get
back. Andromeda says Tonks's hair started changing color the day
that she was born." He drained his goblet. \Oh, go on then, just
one more," he added, beaming, as Bill made to ll it again.
The wind bu eted the little cottage and the re leapt and crack-
led, and Bill was soon opening another bottle of wine. Lupin's news
seemed to have taken them out of themselves, removed them for
a while from their state of siege: Tidings of new life were exhila-
rating. Only the goblin seemed untouched by the suddenly festive
atmosphere, and after a while he slunk back to the bedroom he
now occupied alone. Harry thought he was the only one who had
noticed this, until he saw Bill's eyes following the goblin up the
stairs.
\No . . . no . . . I really must get back," said Lupin at last, de-
clining yet another goblet of wine. He got to his feet and pulled
his traveling cloak back around himself.
\Good-bye, good-bye|I'll try and bring some pictures in a few
day's time|they'll all be so glad to know that I've seen you|"
He fastened his cloak and made his farewells, hugging the women
and grasping hands with the men, then, still beaming, returned
into the wild night.
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Chapter 25
\Godfather, Harry!" said Bill as they walked into the kitchen
together, helping clear the table. \A real honor! Congratulations!"
As Harry set down the empty goblets he was carrying, Bill
pulled the door behind him closed, shutting out the still-voluble
voices of the others, who were continuing to celebrate even in
Lupin's absence.
\I wanted a private word, actually, Harry. It hasn't been easy
to get an opportunity with the cottage this full of people."
Bill hesitated.
\Harry, you're planning something with Griphook."
It was a statement, not a question, and Harry did not bother
to deny it. He merely looked at Bill, waiting.
\I know goblins," said Bill. \I've worked for Gringotts ever
since I left Hogwarts. As far as there can be friendship between
wizards and goblins, I have goblin friends|or, at least, goblins I
know well, and like." Again, Bill hesitated.
\Harry, what do you want from Griphook, and what have you
promised him in return?"
\I can't tell you that," said Harry. \Sorry, Bill."
The kitchen door opened behind them; Fleur was trying to bring
through more empty goblets.
\Wait," Bill told her, \Just a moment."
She backed out and he closed the door again.
\Then I have to say this," Bill went on. \If you have struck any
kind of bargain with Griphook, and most particularly if that bar-
gain involves treasure, you must be exceptionally careful. Goblin
notions of ownership, payment, and repayment are not the same
as human ones."
Harry felt a slight squirm of discomfort, as though a small snake
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Shell Cottage
had stirred inside him.
\What do you mean?" he asked.
\We are talking about a di erent breed of being," said Bill.
\Dealings between wizards and goblins have been fraught for
centuries|but you'll know all that from History of Magic. There
has been fault on both sides, I would never claim that wizards have
been innocent. However, there is a belief among some goblins, and
those at Gringotts are perhaps most prone to it, that wizards can-
not be trusted in matters of gold and treasure, that they have no
respect for goblin ownership."
\I respect|" Harry began, but Bill shook his head.
\You don't understand, Harry, nobody could understand unless
they have lived with goblins. To a goblin, the rightful and true
master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin
made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs."
\But it was bought|"
\|then they would consider it rented by the one who had paid
the money. They have, however, great di culty with the idea of
goblin-made objects passing from wizard to wizard. You saw Grip-
hook's face when the tiara passed under his eyes. He disapproves.
I believe he thinks, as do the ercest of his kind, that it ought to
have been returned to the goblins once the original purchaser died.
They consider our habit of keeping goblin-made objects, passing
them from wizard to wizard without further payment, little more
than theft."
Harry had an ominous feeling now; he wondered whether Bill
guessed more than he was letting on.
\All I am saying," said Bill, setting his hand on the door back
into the sitting room, \is to be very careful what you promise gob-
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Chapter 25
lins, Harry. It would be less dangerous to break into Gringotts
than to renege on a promise to a goblin."
\Right," said Harry as Bill opened the door, \yeah. Thanks.
I'll bear that in mind." As he followed Bill back to the others a
wry thought came to him, born no doubt of the wine he had drunk.
He seemed set on course to become just as reckless a godfather to
Teddy Lupin as Sirius Black had been to him.
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Chapter 26
Gringotts
heir plans were made, their preparations complete; in
the smallest bedroom a single long, coarse black hair
(plucked from the sweater Hermione had been wearing
Tat Malfoy Manor) lay curled in a small glass phial on
the mantelpiece.
\And you'll be using her actual wand," said Harry, nodding
toward the walnut wand, \so I reckon you'll be pretty convincing."
Hermione looked frightened that the wand might sting or bit
her as she picked it up.
\I hate that thing," she said in a low voice. \I really hate it. It
feels all wrong, it doesn't work properly for me . . . It's like a bit of
her."
Harry could not help but remember how Hermione has dis-
missed his loathing of the blackthorn wand, insisting that he was
imagining things when it did not work as well as his own, telling
him to simply practice. He chose not to repeat her own advice back
to her, however, the eve of their attempted assault on Gringotts
felt like the wrong moment to antagonize her.
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Chapter 26
\It'll probably help you get in character, though," said Ron.
\think what that wand's done!"
\But that's my point!" said Hermione. \This is the wand that
tortured Neville's mum and dad, and who knows how many other
people? This is the wand that killed Sirius!"
Harry had not thought of that: He looked down at the wand
and was visited by a brutal urge to snap it, to slice it in half with
Gry ndor's sword, which was propped against the wall beside him.
\I miss my wand," Hermione said miserably. \I wish Mr. Olli-
vander could have made me another one too."
Mr. Ollivander had sent Luna a new wand that morning. She
was out on the back lawn at that moment, testing its capabilities
in the late afternoon sun. Dean, who had lost his wand to the
Snatchers, was watching rather gloomily.
Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once be-
longed to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased to
discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione's had
done. Remembering what Ollivander had told them of the secret
workings of wands, Harry thought he knew what Hermione's prob-
lem was: She had not won the walnut wand's allegiance by taking
it personally from Bellatrix.
The door of the bedroom opened and Griphook entered. Harry
reached instinctively for the hilt of the sword and drew it close to
him, but regretted his action at once. He could tell that the gob-
lin had noticed. Seeking to gloss over the sticky moment, he said,
\We've just been checking the last-minute stu , Griphook. We've
told Bill and Fleur we're leaving tomorrow, and we've told them
not to get up to see us o ."
They had been rm on this point, because Hermione would
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Gringotts
need to transform in Bellatrix before they left, and the less that
Bill and Fleur knew or suspected about what they were about to
do, the better. They had also explained that they would not be
returning. As they had lost Perkin's old tent on the night that the
Snatcher's caught them, Bill had lent them another one. It was
now packed inside the beaded bag, which, Harry was impressed to
learn, Hermione had protected from the Snatchers by the simple
expedient of stu ng it down her sock.
Though he would miss Bill, Fleur, Luna, and Dean, not to
mention the home comforts they had enjoyed over the last few
weeks, Harry was looking forward to escaping the con nement of
Shell Cottage. He was tired of trying to make sure that they were
not overheard, tired of being shut in the tiny, dark bedroom. Most
of all, he longed to be rid of Griphook. However, precisely how
and when they were to part from the goblin without handing over
Gry ndor's sword remained a question to which Harry had no
answer. It had been impossible to decide how they were going
to do it, because the goblin rarely left Harry, Ron, and Hermione
alone together for more than ve minutes at a time: \He could
give my mother lessons," growled Ron, as the goblin's long ngers
kept appearing around the edges of doors. With Bill's warning in
mind, Harry could not help suspecting that Griphook was on the
watch for possible skulduggery. Hermione disapproved so heartily
of the planned double-cross that Harry had given up attempting
to pick her brains on how best to do it: Ron, on the rare occasions
that they had been able to snatch a few Griphook-free moments,
had come up with nothing better than \We'll just have to wing it,
mate."
Harry slept badly that night. Lying away in the early hours,
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Chapter 26
he thought back to the way he had felt the night before they had
in ltrated the Ministry of Magic and remembered a determination,
almost an excitement. Now he was experiencing jolts of anxiety
nagging doubts: He could not shake o the fear that it was all
going to go wrong. He kept telling himself that their plan was
good, that Griphook knew what they were facing, that they were
well-prepared for all the di culties they were likely to encounter,
yet still he felt uneasy. Once or twice he heard Ron stir and was
sure that he too was awake, but they were sharing the sitting room
with Dean, so Harry did not speak.
It was a relief when six o'clock arrived and they could slip out
of their sleeping bags, dress in the semidarkness, then creep out
into the garden, where they were to meet Hermione and Griphook.
The dawn was chilly, but there was little wind now that it was
May. Harry looked up at the stars still glimmering palely in the
dark sky and listened to the sea washing backward and forward
against the cli : He was going to miss the sound.
Small green shoots were forcing their way up through the red
earth of Dobby's grave now, in a year's time the mound would
be covered in
owers. The white stone that bore the elf's name
had already acquired a weathered look. He realized now that they
could hardly have laid Dobby to rest in a more beautiful place, but
Harry ached with sadness to think of leaving him behind. Looking
down on the grave, he wondered yet again how the elf had known
where to come to rescue them. His ngers moved absentmindedly
to the little pouch still strung around his neck, thorough which he
could feel the jagged mirror fragment in which he had been sure
he had seen Dumbledore's eye. Then the sound of a door opening
made him look around.
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Gringotts
Bellatrix Lestrange was striding across the lawn toward them,
accompanied by Griphook. As she walked, she was tucking the
small, beaded bag into the inside pocket of another set of the old
robes they had taken from Grimmauld Place. Though Harry knew
perfectly well that it was really Hermione, he could not suppress
a shiver of loathing. She was taller than he was, her long black
hair rippling down her back, her heavily lidded eyes disdainful as
they rested upon him; but then she spoke, and he heard Hermione
through Bellatrix's low voice.
\She tasted disgusting, worse than Gurdyroots! Okay, Ron,
come here so I can do you. . . ."
\Right, but remember, I don't like the beard too long"
\Oh, for heaven's sake, this isn't about looking handsome"
\It's not that, it gets in the way! But I liked my nose a bit
shorter, try and do it the way you did last time."
Hermione sighed and set to work, muttering under her breath
as she transformed various aspects of Ron's appearance. He was
to be given a completely fake identity, and they were trusting to
the malevolent aura cast by Bellatrix to protect him. Meanwhile
Harry and Griphook were to be concealed under the Invisibility
Cloak.
\There," said Hermione, \how does he look, Harry?"
It was just possible to discern Ron under his disguise, but only,
Harry thought, because he knew him so well. Ron's hair was now
long and wavy; he had a thick brown beard and mustache, no
freckles, a short, broad nose, and heavy eyebrows.
\Well, he's not my type, but he'll do," said Harry. \Shall we
go, then?"
All three of them glanced back at Shell Cottage, lying dark and
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Chapter 26
silent under the fading stars, then turned and began to walk toward
the point, just beyond the boundary wall, where the Fidelius Chard
stopped working and they would be able to Disapparate. Once past
the gate, Griphook spoke.
\I should climb up now, Harry Potter, I think?"
Harry bent down and the goblin clambered onto his back, his
hands linked on front of Harry's throat. He was not heavy, but
Harry disliked the feeling of the goblin and the surprising strength
with which he clung on. Hermione pulled the Invisibility Cloak out
of the beaded bag and threw it over them both.
\Perfect," she said, bending down to check Harry's feet. \I
can't see a thing. Let's go."
Harry turned on the spot, with Griphook on his shoulders, con-
centrating with all his might on the Leaky Cauldron, the inn that
was the entrance to Diagon Alley. The goblin clung even tighter
as they moved into the compressing darkness, and seconds later
Harry's feet found pavement and he opened his eyes on Charing
Cross Road. Muggles bustled past wearing the hangdog expressions
of early morning, quite unconscious of the little inn's existence.
The bar of the Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. Ton, the
stooped and toothless landlord, was polishing glasses behind the
bar counter; a couple of warlocks having a muttered conversation in
the far corner glanced at Hermione and drew back into the shadows.
\Madam Lestrange," murmured Tom, and as Hermione paused
he inclined his head subserviently.
\Good morning," said Hermione, and as Harry crept past, still
carrying Griphook piggyback under the Cloak, he saw Tom look
surprised.
\Too polite," Harry whispered in Hermione's ear as they passed
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Gringotts
out of the Inn into the tiny backyard. \You need to treat people
like they're scum!"
\Okay, okay!"
Hermione drew out Bellatrix's wand and rapped a brick in the
nondescript wall in front of them. At once the bricks began to
whirl and spin: A hole appeared in the middle of them, which
grew wider and wider, nally forming an archway onto the narrow
cobbled street that was Diagon Alley.
It was quiet, barely time for the shops to open, and there were
hardly any shoppers abroad. The crooked, cobbled street was much
altered now from the bustling place Harry had visited before his
rst team at Hogwarts so many years before. More shops than ever
were boarded up, though several new establishments dedicated to
the Dark Arts had been created since his last visit. Harry's own
face glared down at him from posters plastered over many windows,
always captioned with the words undesirable number one.
A number of ragged people sat huddled in doorways. He heard
them moaning to the few passersby, pleading for gold, insisting
that they were really wizards. One man had a bloody bandage
over his eye.
As they set o along the street, the beggars glimpsed Hermione.
They seemed to melt away before her, drawing hoods over their
faces and
eeing as fast as they could. Hermione looked after them
curiously, until the man with the bloodied bandage came staggering
right across her path.
\My children," he bellowed, pointing at her. His voice was
cracked, high-pitched, he sounded distraught. \Where are my chil-
dren? What has he done with them? You know, you know!"
\I{I really|" stammered Hermione.
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Chapter 26
The man lunged at her, reaching for her throat. Then, with a
bang and a burst of red light he was thrown backward onto the
ground, unconscious. Ron stood there, his wand still outstretched
and a look of shock visible behind his beard. Faces appeared at
the windows on either side of the street, while a little knot of
prosperous-looking passerby gathered their robes about them and
broke into gentle trots, keen to vacate the scene.
Their entrance into Diagon Alley could hardly have been more
conspicuous; for a moment Harry wondered whether it might not
be better to leave now and try to think of a di erent plan. Before
they could move or consult one another, however, they heard a cry
from behind them.
\Why, Madam Lestrange!"
Harry whirled around and Griphook tightened his hold around
Harry's neck: A tall, think wizard with a crown of bushy gray hair
and a long, sharp nose was striding toward them.
\It's Travers," hissed the goblin into Harry's ear, but at that
moment Harry could not think who Travers was. Hermione had
drawn herself up to full height and said with as much contempt as
she could muster:
\And what do you want?"
Travers stopped in his tracks, clearly a ronted.
\He's another Death Eater!" breathed Griphook, and Harry
sidled sideways to repeat the information into Hermione's ear.
\I merely sought to greet you," said Travers coolly, \but if my
presence is not welcome . . . "
Harry recognized his voice now: Travers was one of the Death
Eaters who had been summoned to Xenophilius's house.
\No, no, not at all, Travers," said Hermione quickly, trying to
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Gringotts
cover up her mistake. \How are you?"
\Well, I confess I am surprised to see you out and about, Bel-
latrix."
\Really? Why?" asked Hermione.
\Well," Travers coughed, \I heard that the Inhabitants of Mal-
foy Manor were con ned to the house, after the . . . ah . . . escape."
Harry willed Hermione to keep her head. If this was true, and
Bellatrix was not supposed to be out in public|
\The Dark Lord forgives those who have served him most faith-
fully in the past," said Hermione in a magni cent imitation of Bel-
latrix's most contemptuous manner. \Perhaps your credit is not
as good with him as mine is, Travers."
Though the Death Eater looked o ended, he also seemed less
suspicious. He glanced down at the man Ron had just Stunned.
\How did it o end you?"
\It does not matter, it will not do so again," said Hermione
coolly.
\Some of these wandless can be troublesome," said Travers.
\While they do nothing but beg I have no objection, but one of
them actually asked me to plead her case in the Ministry last week.
`I'm a witch, sir, I'm a witch, let me prove it to you!'" he said
in a squeaky impersonation. \As if I was going to give her my
wand|but whose wand," said Travers curiously, \are you using
at the moment, Bellatrix? I heard that your own was|"
\I have my wand here," said Hermione coldly, holding up Bel-
latrix's wand. \I don't know what rumors you have been listening
to, Travers, but you seem sadly misinformed."
Travers seemed a little taken aback at that, and he turned in-
stead to Ron.
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Chapter 26
\Who is your friend? I do not recognize him."
\This is Dragomir Despard," said Hermione; they had decided
that a ctional foreigner was the safest cover for Ron to assume.
\He speaks very little English, but he is in sympathy with the Dark
Lord's aims. He has traveled here from Transylvania to see our new
regime."
\Indeed? How do you do, Dragomir?"
\'Ow you?" said Ron, holding out his hand.
Travers extended two ngers and shook Ron's hand as though
frightened of dirtying himself.
\So what brings you and your|ah|sympathetic friend to Di-
agon Alley this early?" asked Travers.
\I need to visit Gringotts," said Hermione.
\Alas, I also," said Travers. \Gold, lthy gold! We cannot live
without it, yet I confess I deplore the necessity of consorting with
our long- ngered friends."
Harry felt Griphook's clasped hands tighten momentarily
around his neck.
\Shall we?" said Travers, gesturing Hermione forward.
Hermione had no choice but to fall into step beside him and
head along the crooked, cobbled street toward the place where the
snowy-white Gringotts stood towering over the other little shops.
Ron sloped along beside them, and Harry and Griphook followed.
A watchful Death Eater was the very last thing they needed,
and the worst of it was, with Travers matching at what he believed
to be Bellatrix's side, there was no means for Harry to communicate
with Hermione or Ron. All too soon they arrived at the foot of the
marble steps leading up to the great bronze doors. As Griphook
had already warned them, the liveried goblins who usually
anked
528
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Gringotts
the entrance had been replaced by two wizards, both of whom were
clutching long thin golden rods.
\Ah, Probity Probes," signed Travers theatrically, \so crude|
but so e ective!"
And he set o up the steps, nodding left and right to the wiz-
ards, who raised the golden rods and passed them up and down
his body. The Probes, Harry knew, detected spells of concealment
and hidden magical objects. Knowing that he had only seconds,
Harry pointed Draco's wand at each of the guards in turn and mur-
mured, \Confundo" twice. Unnoticed by Travers, who was looking
through the bronze doors at the inner hall, each of the guards gave
a little start as the spells hit them.
Hermione's long black hair rippled behind her as she climbed
the steps.
\One moment, madam," said the guard, raising his Probe.
\But you've just done that!" said Hermione in Bellatrix's com-
manding, arrogant voice. Travers looked around, eyebrows raised.
The guard was confused. He stared down at the thin golden Probe
and then at his companion, who said in a slightly dazed voice,
\Yeah, you've just checked them, Marius."
Hermione swept forward. Ron by her side, Harry and Griphook
trotting invisibly behind them. Harry glanced back as they crossed
the threshold. The wizards were both scratching their heads.
Two goblins stood before the inner doors, which were made of
silver and which carried the poem warning of dire retribution to
potential thieves. Harry looked up at it, and all of a sudden a
knife-sharp memory came to him: standing on this very spot on
the day that he had turned eleven, the most wonderful birthday
of his life, and Hagrid standing beside him saying, \Like I said,
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Chapter 26
yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it." Gringotts had seemed a place of
wonder that day, the enchanted repository of a trove of gold he
had never known he possessed, and never for an instant could he
have dreamed that he would return to steal. . . . But within seconds
they were standing in the vast marble hall of the bank.
The long counter was manned by goblins sitting on high stools
serving the rst customers of the day. Hermione, Ron, and Travers
headed toward an old goblin who was examining a thick gold coin
through an eyeglass. Hermione allowed Travers to step ahead of
her on the pretext of explaining features of the hall to Ron.
The goblin tossed the coin he was holding aside, said to nobody
in particular, \Leprechaun," and then greeted Travers, who passed
over a tiny golden key, which was examined and given back to him.
Hermione stepped forward.
\Madam Lestrange!" said the goblin, evidently startled. \Dear
me! How|how may I help you today?"
\I wish to enter my vault," said Hermione.
The old goblin seemed to recoil a little. Harry glanced around.
Not only was Travers hanging back, watching, but several other
goblins had looked up from their work to stare at Hermione.
\You have . . . identi cation?" asked the goblin.
\Identi cation? I{I have never been asked for identi cation
before!" said Hermione.
\They know!" whispered Griphook in Harry's ear, \They must
have been warned there might be an imposter!"
\Your wand will do, madam," said the goblin. He held out a
slightly trembling hand, and in a dreadful blast of realization Harry
knew that the goblins of Gringotts were aware that Bellatrix's wand
had been stolen.
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Gringotts
\Act now, act now," whispered Griphook in Harry's ear, \the
Imperious Curse!"
Harry raised the hawthorn wand beneath the cloak, pointed
it at the old goblin, and whispered, for the rst time in his life,
\Imperio!"
A curious sensation shot down Harry's arm, a feeling of tingling,
warmth that seemed to
ow from his mind, down the sinews and
veins connecting him to the wand and the curse it had just cast.
The goblin took Bellatrix's wand, examined it closely, and then
said, \Ah, you have had a new wand made, Madam Lestrange!"
\What?" said Hermione, \No, no, that's mine|"
\A new wand?" said Travers, approaching the counter again;
still the goblins all around were watching. \But how could you
have done, which wandmaker did you use?"
Harry acted without thinking. Pointing his wand at Travers,
he muttered, \Imperio!" once more.
\Oh yes, I see," said Travers, looking down at Bellatrix's wand,
\yes, very handsome. and is it working well? I always think wands
require a little breaking in, don't you?"
Hermione looked utterly bewildered, but to Harry's enormous
relief she accepted the bizarre turn of events without comment.
The old goblin behind the counter clapped his hands and a
younger goblin approached.
\I shall need the Clankers," he told the goblin, who dashed
away and returned a moment later with a leather bag that seemed
to be full of jangling metal, which he handed to his senior. \Good,
good! So, if you will follow me, Madam Lestrange," said the old
goblin, hopping down o his stool and vanishing from sight. \I
shall take you to your vault."
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Chapter 26
He appeared around the end of the counter, jogging happily
toward them, the contents of the leather bag still jingling. Travers
was now standing quite still with his mouth hanging wide open.
Ron was drawing attention to this odd phenomenon by regarding
Travers with confusion.
\Wait|Bogrod!"
Another goblin came scurrying around the counter.
\We have instructions," he said with a bow to Hermione. \For-
give me, Madam, but there have been special orders regarding the
vault of Lestrange."
He whispered urgently in Bogrod's ear, but the Imperiused gob-
lin shook him o .
\I am aware of the instructions, Madam Lestrange wishes
to visit her vault. . . . Very old family . . . old clients . . . This way,
please . . . \
And, still clanking, he hurried toward one of the many doors
leading o the hall. Harry looked back at Travers, who was still
rooted to the spot looking abnormally vacant, and made his deci-
sion. With a
ick of his wand he made Travers come with them,
walking meekly in their wake as they reached the door and passed
into the rough stone passageway beyond, which was lit with
aming
torches.
\We're in trouble; they suspect," said Harry as the door
slammed behind them and he pulled o the Invisibility Cloak.
Griphook jumped down from his shoulders: neither Travers nor
Bogrod showed the slightest surprise at the sudden appearance of
Harry Potter in their midst. \They're Imperiused," he added, in
response to Hermione and Ron's confused queries about Travers
and Bogrod, who were both now standing there looking blank. \I
532
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Gringotts
don't think I did it strongly enough, I don't know . . . "
And another memory darted through his mind, of the real Bel-
latrix Lestrange shrieking at him when he had rst tried to use an
Unforgivable Curse: \You need to mean them, Potter!"
\What do we do?" asked Ron. \Shall we get out now, while we
can?"
\If we can," said Hermione, looking back toward the door into
the main hall, beyond which who knew what was happening.
\We've got this far, I say we go on," said Harry.
\Good!" said Griphook. \So, we need Bogrod to control the
cart; I no long have the authority. But there will not be room for
the wizard."
Harry pointed his wand at Travers.
\Imperio!"
The wizard turned and set o along the dark track at a smart
pace.
\What are you making him do?"
\Hide," said Harry as he pointed his wand at Bogrod, who
whistled to summon a little cart that came trundling along the
tracks toward them out of the darkness. Harry was sure he could
hear shouting behind them in the main hall as they all clambered
into it, Bogrod in front of Griphook, Harry, Ron, and Hermione
crammed together in the back.
With a jerk the cart moved o , gathering speed: They hurried
past Travers, who was wriggling into a crack in the wall, then the
cart began twisting and turning through the labyrinthine passages,
sloping downward all the time. Harry could not hear anything over
the rattling of the cart on the tracks: His hair
ew behind him as
they swerved between stalactites,
ying ever deeper into the earth,
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Chapter 26
but he kept glancing back. They might as well have left enormous
footprints behind them; the more he thought about it, the more
foolish it seemed to have disguised Hermione as Bellatrix, to have
brought along Bellatrix's wand, when the Death Eaters knew who
had stolen it|
There were deeper than Harry had ever penetrated within
Gringotts; they took a hairpin bend at speed and saw ahead of
them, with seconds to spare, a waterfall pounding over the track.
Harry heard Griphook shout, \No!" but there was no braking.
They zoomed through it. Water lled Harry's eyes and mouth:
He could not see or breathe: Then, with an awful lurch, the cart
ipped over and they were all thrown out of it. Harry heard the
cart smash into pieces against the passage wall, heard Hermione
shriek something, and felt himself glide back toward the ground as
though weightless, landing painlessly on the rocky passage
oor.
\C{Cushioning Charm," Hermione spluttered, as Ron pulled
her to her feet, but to Harry's horror he saw that she was no longer
Bellatrix; instead she stood there in overlarge robes, sopping wet
and completely herself; Ron was red-haired and beardless again.
They were realizing it as they looked at each other, feeling their
own faces.
\The Thief's Downfall!" said Griphook, clambering to his feet
and looking back the deluge onto the tracks, which, Harry knew
now, had been more than water. \It washes away all enchant-
ment, all magical concealment! They know there are imposers in
Gringotts, they have set o defenses against us!"
Harry saw Hermione checking that she still had the beaded bag,
and hurriedly thrust his own hand under his jacket to make sure he
had not lost the Invisibility Cloak. Then he turned to see Bogrod
534
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Gringotts
shaking his head in bewilderment: The Thief's Downfall seemed
to have lifted his Imperius Curse.
\We need him," said Griphook, \we cannot enter the vault with-
out a Gringott's goblin. And we need the clankers!"
\Imperio!" Harry said again; his voice echoed through the stone
passage as he felt again the sense of heady control that
owed
from brain to wand. Bogrod submitted once more to his will, his
befuddled expression changing to one of polite indi erence, as Ron
hurried to pick up the leather bag of metal tools.
\Harry, I think I can hear people coming!" said Hermione, and
she pointed Bellatrix's wand at the waterfall and cried, \Protego!"
They saw the Shield Charm break the
ow of enchanted water as
it
ew up the passageway.
\Good thinking," said Harry. \Lead the way, Griphook!"
\How are we going to get out again?" Ron asked as they hurried
on foot into the darkness after the goblin, Bogrod panting in their
wake like an old dog.
\Let's worry about that when we have to," said Harry. He was
trying to listen: He thought he could hear something clanking and
moving around nearby. \Griphook, how much farther?"
\Not far, Harry Potter, not far . . . \
And they turned a corner and saw the thing for which Harry
had been prepared, but which still brought all of them to a halt.
A gigantic dragon was tethered to the ground in front of them,
barring access to four or ve of the deepest vaults in the place. The
beast's scales had turned pale and
aky during its long incarcer-
ation under the ground, its eyes were milkily pink; both rear legs
bore heavy cu s from which chains led to enormous pegs driven
deep into the rocky
oor. Its great spiked wings, folded close to its
535
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Chapter 26
body, would have lled the chamber if it spread them, and when
it turned its ugly head toward them, it roared with a noise that
made the rock tremble, opened its mouth, and spat a jet of re
that sent them running back up the passageway.
\It is partially blind," panted Griphook, \but even more savage
for that. However, we have the means to control it. It has learned
what to expect when the Clankers come. Give them to me."
Ron passed the bag to Griphook, and the goblin pulled out a
number of small metal instruments that when shaken made a long
ringing noise like miniature hammers on anvils. Griphook handed
them out: Bogrod accepted his meekly.
\You know what to do," Griphook told Harry, Ron, and Her-
mione. \It will expect pain when it hears the noise. It will retreat,
and Bogrod must place his palm upon the door of the vault."
They advanced around the corner again, shaking the Clankers,
and the noise echoed o the rocky walls, grossly magni ed, so that
the inside of Harry's skull seemed to vibrate with the den. The
dragon let out another hoarse roar, then retreated. Harry could
see it trembling, and as they drew nearer he saw the scars made by
vicious slashes across its face, and guess that it had been taught
to fear hot swords when it heard the sound of the Clankers.
\Make him press his hand to the door!" Griphook urged Harry,
who turned his wand again upon Bogrod. The old goblin obeyed,
pressing his palm to the wood, and the door of the vault melted
away to reveal a cavelike opening crammed from
oor to ceiling
with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange
creatures|some with long spines, other with drooping wings-
potions in jeweled
asks, and a skull still wearing a crown. \Search,
fast!" said Harry as they all hurried inside the vault. He had de-
536
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Gringotts
scribed Hu epu 's cap to Ron and Hermione, but if it was the
other, unknown Horcrux that resided in this vault, he did not know
what it looked like. He barely had time to glance around, however,
before there was a mu ed clunk from behind them: The door had
reappeared, sealing them inside the vault, and they were plunged
into total darkness.
\No matter, Bogrod will be able to release us!" said Griphook
as Ron gave a shout of surprise. \Light your wands, can't you?
And hurry, we have little time!"
\Lumos!"
Harry shone his lit wand around the vault: Its beam fell upon
glittering jewels; he saw the fake sword of Gry ndor lying on a
high shelf amongst a jumble of chains. Ron and Hermione had
lit their wands too, and were now examining the piles of objects
surrounding them.
\Harry, could this be|? Aargh!"
Hermione screamed in pain, and Harry turned his wand on her
in time to see a jeweled goblet tumbling from her grip. But as it
fell, it split, became a shower of goblets, so that a second later,
with a great clatter, the
oor was covered in identical cups rolling
in every direction, the original impossible to discern amongst them.
\It burned me!" moaned Hermione, sucking her blistered n-
gers.
\They have added Germino and Flagrante Curses!" said Grip-
hook.
\Everything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies
are worthless|and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will
eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold!"
\Okay, don't touch anything!" said Harry desperately, but even
537
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Chapter 26
as he said it, Ron accidentally nudged one of the fallen goblets with
his foot, and twenty more exploded into being while Ron hopped
on the spot, part of his shoe burned away by contact with the hot
metal.
\Stand still, don't move!" said Hermione, clutching at Ron.
\Just look around!" said Harry. \Remember, the cup's small
and gold, it's got a badger engraved on it, two handles|otherwise
see if you can spot Ravenclaw's symbol anywhere, the eagle|"
They directed their wands into every nook and crevice, turning
cautiously on the spot. It was impossible not to brush up against
anything; Harry sent a great cascade of fake Galleons onto the
ground where they joined the goblets, and now there was scarcely
room to place their feet, and the glowing gold blazed with heat, so
that the vault felt like a furnace. Harry's wandlight passed over
shields and goblin-made helmets set on shelves rising to the ceiling;
higher and higher he raised the beam, until suddenly it found an
object that made his heart skip and his hand tremble.
\It's there, it's up there!"
Ron and Hermione pointed there wands at it too, so that the
little golden cup sparkled in a three-way spotlight: the cup that had
belonged to Helga Hu epu , which had passed into the possession
of Hepzibah Smith, from whom it had been stolen by Tom Riddle.
\And how the hell are we going to get up there without touching
anything?" asked Ron.
\Accio Cup!" cried Hermione, who had evidently forgotten in
her desperation what Griphook had told them during their plan-
ning sessions.
\No use, no use!" snarled the goblin.
\Then what do we do?" said Harry, glaring at the goblin. \If
538
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Gringotts
you want the sword, Griphook, then you'll have to help us more
than|wait! Can I touch stu with the sword? Hermione, give it
here!"
Hermione fumbled insider her robes, drew out a beaded bag,
rummaged for a few seconds, then removed the shining sword.
Harry seized it by its rubied hilt and touched the tip of the blade
to a silver
agon nearby, which did not multiply.
\If I can just poke the sword through a handle|but how am I
going to get up there?"
The shelf on which the cup reposed was out of reach for any
of them, even Ron, who was tallest. The heat from the enchanted
treasure rose in waves, and sweat ran down Harry's face and back
as he struggled to think of a way up to the cup; and then he heard
the dragon roar on the other side of the vault door, and the sound
of clanking growing louder and louder.
They were truly trapped now: There was no way out except
through the door, and a horde of goblins seemed to be approaching
on the other side. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and saw
terror in their faces.
\Hermione," said Harry, as the clanking grew louder, \I've got
to get up there, we've got to get rid of it|"
She raised her wand, pointed it at Harry, and whispered, \Lev-
icorpus."
Hoisted into the air by his ankle, Harry hit a suit of armor and
replicas burst out of it like white-hot bodies, lling the cramped
space. With screams of pain, Ron, Hermione, and the two gob-
lins were knocked aside into other objects, which also began to
replicate. Half buried in a rising tide of red-hot treasure, they
struggled and yelled has Harry thrust the sword through the handle
539
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Chapter 26
of Hu epu 's cup, hooking it onto the blade.
\Impervius!" screeched Hermione in an attempt to protect her-
self, Ron, and the goblins from the burning metal.
Then the worst scream yet made Harry look down: Ron and
Hermione were waist deep in treasure, struggling to keep Bogrod
from slipping beneath the rising tide, but Griphook had sunk out
of sight; and nothing but the tips of a few long ngers were left in
view.
Harry seized Griphook's ngers and pulled. The blistered gob-
lin emerged by degrees, howling.
\Liberatocorpus!" yelled Harry, and with a crash he and Grip-
hook landed on the surface of the swelling treasure, and the sword
ew out of Harry's hand.
\Get it!" Harry yelled, ghting the pain of the hot metal on his
skin, as Griphook clambered onto his shoulders again, determined
to avoid the swelling mass of red-hot objects. \Where's the sword?
It had the cup on it!"
The clanking on the other side of the door was growing
deafening|it was too late|
\There!"
It was Griphook who had seen it and Griphook who lunged,
and in that instant Harry knew that the goblin had never expected
them to keep their word. One hand holding tightly to a stful of
Harry's hair, to make sure he did not fall into the heaving sea of
burning gold, Griphook seized the hilt of the sword and swung it
high out of Harry's reach. The tiny golden cup, skewered by the
handle on the sword's blade was
ung into the air. The goblin
astride him, Harry dived and caught it, and although he could feel
it scalding his
esh he did not relinquish it, even while countless
540
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Gringotts
Hu epu cups burst from his st, raining down upon him as the
entrance of the vault opened up again and he found himself sliding
uncontrollably on an expanding avalanche of ery gold and silver
that bore him, Ron, Hermione into the outer chamber.
Hardly aware of the pain from the burns covering his body, and
still borne along the swell of replicating treasure, Harry shoved
the cup into his pocket and reached up to retrieve the sword, but
Griphook was gone. Sliding from Harry's shoulders the moment
he could, he had sprinted for cover amongst the surrounding gob-
lins, brandishing the sword and crying, \Thieves! Thieves! Help!
Thieves!" He vanished into the midst of the advancing crowd,
all of whom were holding daggers and who accepted him without
question.
Slipping on the hot metal, Harry struggled to his feet and knew
that the only way out was through.
\Stupefy!" he bellowed, and Ron and Hermione joined in: Jets
of red light
ew into the crowd of goblins, and some toppled over,
but others advanced, and Harry saw several wizard guards running
around the corner.
The tethered dragon let out a roar, and a gush of
ame
ew
over the goblins; The wizards
ed, doubled-up, back the way they
had come, and inspiration, or madness, came to Harry. Pointing
his wand at the thick cu s chaining the beast to the
oor, he yelled,
\Relashio!"
The cu s broken open with loud bangs.
\This way!" Harry yelled, and still shooting Stunning Spells at
the advancing goblins, he sprinted toward the blind dragon.
\Harry|Harry|what are you doing?" cried Hermione.
\Get up, climb up, come on|"
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Chapter 26
The dragon had not realized that it was free: Harry's foot found
the crook of its hind leg and he pulled himself up onto its back.
The scales were hard as steel; it did not even seem to feel him. He
stretched out an arm; Hermione hoisted herself up; Ron climbed
on behind them, and a second later the dragon became aware that
it was untethered.
With a roar it reared: Harry dug in his knees, clutching as
tightly as he could to the jagged scales as the wings opened, knock-
ing the shrieking goblins aside like skittles, and it soared into the
air. Harry, Ron, and Hermione,
at on its back, scraped against the
ceiling as it dived toward the passage opening, while the pursuing
goblins hurled daggers that glanced o its
anks.
\We'll never get out, it's too big!" Hermione screamed, but
the dragon opened its mouth and belched
ame again, blasting the
tunnel, whose
oors and ceiling cracked and crumbled. By sheer
force, the dragon clawed and fought its way through. Harry's eyes
were shut tight against the heat and dust: Deafened by the crash
of rock and the dragon's roars, he could only cling to its back,
expecting to be shaken o at any moment; then he heard Her-
mione yelling, \Defodio!"
She was helping the dragon enlarge the passageway, carving
out the ceiling as it struggled upward toward the fresher air, away
from the shrieking and clanking goblins: Harry and Ron copied
her, blasting the ceiling apart with more gouging spells. They
passed the underground lake, and the great crawling, snarling beast
seemed to sense freedom and space ahead of it, and behind them
the passage was full of the dragon's thrashing, spiked tail, of great
lumps of rock, gigantic fractured stalactites, and the clanking of
the goblins seemed to be growing more mu ed, while ahead, the
542
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Gringotts
dragon's re kept their progress clear|
And then at last, by the combined force of their spells and
the dragon's brute strength, they had blasted their way out of the
passage into the marble hallway. Goblins and wizards shrieked and
ran for cover, and nally the dragon had room to stretch its wings:
Turning its horned head toward the cool outside air it could smell
beyond the entrance, it took o , and with Harry, Ron, and Her-
mione still clinging to its back, it forced its way through the metal
doors, leaving them buckled and hanging from their hinges, as it
staggered into Diagon Alley and launched itself into the sky.
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Chapter 27
The Final Hiding Place
here was no means of steering; the dragon could not see
where it was going, and Harry knew that if it turned
sharply or rolled in midair they would nd it impossible
Tto cling onto its broad back. Nevertheless, as they
climbed higher and higher, London unfurling below them like a
gray-and-green map, Harry's overwhelming feeling was of gratitude
for an escape that had seemed impossible. Crouching low over the
beast's neck, he clung tight to the metallic scales, and the cool
breeze was soothing on his burned and blistered skin, the dragon's
wings beating the air like the sails of a windmill. Behind him,
whether from delight or fear he could not tell. Ron kept swearing
at the top of his voice, and Hermione seemed to be sobbing.
After ve minutes or so, Harry lost some of his immediate dread
that the dragon was going to throw them o , for it seemed intent on
nothing but getting as far away from its underground prison as pos-
sible; but the question of how and when they were to dismount re-
mained rather frightening. He had no idea how long dragons could
y without landing, nor how this particular dragon, which could
544
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The Final Hiding Place
barely see, would locate a good place to put down. He glanced
around constantly, imagining that he could feel his seat prickling.
How long would it be before Voldemort knew that they had
broken into the Lestranges' vault? How soon would the goblins of
Gringotts notify Bellatrix? How quickly would they realize what
had been taken? And then, when they discovered that the golden
cup was missing? Voldemort would know, at last, that they were
hunting Horcruxes.
The dragon seemed to crave cooler and fresher air. It climbed
steadily until they were
ying through wisps of chilly cloud, and
Harry could no longer make out the little colored dots which were
cars pouring in and out of the capital. On and on they
ew, over
countryside parceled out in patches of green and brown, over roads
and rivers winding through the landscape like strips of matte and
glossy ribbon.
\What do you reckon it's looking for?" Ron yelled as they
ew
farther and farther north.
\No idea," Harry bellow back. His hands were numb with cold
but he did not date attempt to shift his grip. He had been won-
dering for some time what they would do if they saw the coast sail
beneath them, if the dragon headed for open seal he was cold and
numb, not to mention desperately hungry and thirsty. When, he
wondered, had the beast itself last eaten? Surely it would need
sustenance before long? And what if, at that point, it realized it
had three highly edible humans sitting on its back?
The sun slipped lower in the sky, which was turning indigo; and
still the dragon
ew, cities and towns gliding out of sight beneath
them, its enormous shadow sliding over the earth like a giant dark
cloud. Every part of Harry ached with the e ort of holding on to
545
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Chapter 27
the dragon's back.
\Is it my imagination," shouted Ron after a considerable stretch
of silence, \or are we losing height?"
Harry looked down and saw deep green mountains and lakes,
coppery in the sunset. The landscape seemed to grow larger and
more detailed as he squinted over the side of the dragon, and he
wondered whether it had divined the presence of fresh water by
the
ashes of re
ected sunlight.
Lower and lower the dragon
ew, in great spiraling circles, hon-
ing in, it seemed, upon one of the smaller lakes.
\I say we jump when it gets low enough!" Harry called back to
the others. \Straight into the water before it realizes we're here!"
They agreed, Hermione a little faintly, and now Harry could see
the dragon's wide yellow underbelly rippling in the surface of the
water.
\NOW!"
He slithered over the side of the dragon and plummeted feet rst
toward the surface of the lake; the drop was greater than he had
estimated and he hit the water hard, plunging like a stone into
a freezing, green, reed- lled world. He kicked toward the surface
and emerged, panting, to see enormous ripples emanating in circles
from the places where Ron and Hermione had fallen. The dragon
did not seem to have noticed anything; it was already fty feet
away, swooping low over the lake to scoop up water in its scarred
snout. As Ron and Hermione emerged, spluttering and gasping,
from the depths of the lake, the dragon
ew on, its wings beating
hard, and landed at last on a distant bank.
Harry, Ron and Hermione struck out for the opposite shore.
The lake did not seem to be deep. Soon it was more a question of
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The Final Hiding Place
ghting their way through reeds and mud than swimming, and at
last they
opped, sodden, panting, and exhausted, onto slippery
grass.
Hermione collapsed, coughing and shuddering. Though Harry
could have happily lain down and slept, he staggered to his feet,
drew out his wand, and started casting the usual protective spells
around them.
When he had nished, he joined the others. It was the rst
time that he had seen them properly since escaping from the vault.
Both had angry red burns all over their faces and arms, and their
clothing was singed away in places. They were wincing as they
dabbed essence of dittany onto their many injuries. Hermione
handed Harry the bottle, then pulled out three bottles of pumpkin
juice she had brought from Shell Cottage and clean, dry robes for
all of them. They changes and then gulped down the juice.
\Well, on the upside," said Ron nally, who was sitting watch-
ing the skin on his hands regrow, \we got the Horcrux. On the
downside|"
\|no sword," said Harry through gritted teeth, as he dripped
dittany through the singed hole in his jeans onto the angry burn
beneath.
\No sword," repeated Ron.\That double-crossing little
scab . . . "
Harry pulled the Horcrux from the pocket of the wet jacket he
had just taken o and set it down on the grass in front of them.
Glinting in the sun, it drew their eyes as they swigged their bottles
of juice.
\At least we can't wear it this time, that'd look a bit weird
hanging around our necks," said Ron, wiping his mouth on the
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Chapter 27
back of his hand.
Hermione looked across the lake to the far bank where the
dragon was still drinking.
\What'll happen to it, do you think?" she asked, \Will it be
alright?"
\You sound like Hagrid," said Ron, \It's a dragon, Hermione,
it can look after itself. It's us we need to worry about."
\What do you mean?"
\Well I don't know how to break this to you," said Ron, \but I
think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts."
All three of them started to laugh, and once started, it was dif-
cult to stop. Harry's ribs ached, he felt lightheaded with hunger,
but he lay back on the grass beneath the reddening sky and laughed
until his throat was raw.
\What are we going to do, though?" said Hermione nally,
hiccuping herself back to seriousness. \He'll know, won't he? You-
Know-Who will know we know about his Horcruxes!"
\Maybe they'll be too scared to tell him!" said Ron hopefully,
\Maybe they'll cover up|"
The sky, the smell of the lake water, the sound of Ron's voice
were extinguished. Pain cleaved Harry's head like a sword stroke.
He was standing in a dimly lit room, and a semicircle of wizards
faced him, and on the
oor at his feet knelt a small, quaking gure.
\What did you say to me?" His voice was high and cold,
but fury and fear burned inside him. The one thing that he had
dreaded|but it could not be true, he could not see how . . .
The goblin was trembling, unable to meet the red eyes high
above his.
\Say it again!" murmured Voldemort. \Say it again!"
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The Final Hiding Place
\M-my Lord," stammered the goblin, its black eyes
wide with terror, \m-my Lord . . . we t{tried to st{stop
them . . . Im{impostors, my Lord . . . broke|broke into the|into
the Lestranges' vault . . . "
\Impostors? What impostors? I thought Gringotts had ways
of revealing impostors? Who were they?"
\It was . . . it was . . . the P{Potter b{boy and the t{two
accomplices . . . "
\And they took?" he said, his voice rising, a terrible fear grip-
ping him, \Tell me! What did they take?"
\A . . . a s{small golden c{cup m{my Lord . . . "
The scream of rage, of denial left him as if it were a stranger's.
He was crazed, frenzied, it could not be true, it was impossible,
nobody had known. How was it possible that the boy could have
discovered his secret?
The Elder Wand slashed through the air and green light erupted
through the room; the kneeling goblin rolled over dead; the watch-
ing wizards scattered before him, terri ed. Bellatrix and Lucius
Malfoy threw others behind them in their race for the door, and
again and again his wand fell, and those who were left were slain, all
of them, for bringing him this news, for hearing about the golden
cup|
Alone amongst the dead he stomped up and down, and they
passed before him in vision: his treasures, his safeguards, his an-
chors to immortality|the diary was destroyed and the cup was
stolen. What if, what if, the boy knew about the others? Could
he know, had he already acted, had he traced more of them? Was
Dumbledore at the root of this? Dumbledore, who had always sus-
pected him; Dumbledore, dead on his orders; Dumbledore, whose
549
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Chapter 27
wand was his now, yet who reached out from the ignominy of death
through the boy, the boy |
But surely if the boy had destroyed any of his Horcruxes, he,
Lord Voldemort, would have known, would have felt it? He, the
greatest wizard of them all; he, the most powerful; he, the killer
of Dumbledore and of how many other worthless, nameless men.
How could Lord Voldemort not have known, if he, himself, most
important and precious, had been attacked, mutilated?
True, he had not felt it when the diary had been destroyed,
but he had thought that was because he had no body to fell, being
less than ghost. . . . No, surely, the rest were safe . . . The other Hor-
cruxes must be intact. . . .
But he must know, he must be sure . . . He paced the room,
kicking aside the goblin's corpse as he passed, and the pictures
blurred and burned in his boiling brain: the lake, the shack, and
Hogwarts|
A modicum of calm cooled his rage now. How could the boy
know that he had hidden the ring in the Gaunt shack? No one had
ever known him to be related to the Gaunts, he had hidden the
connection, the killings had never been traced to him. The ring,
surely, was safe.
And how could the boy, or anybody else, know about the cave
or penetrate its protection? The idea of the locket being stolen
was absurd. . . .
As for the school: He alone knew where in Hogwarts he had
stowed the Horcrux, because he alone had plumed the deepest
secrets of that place . . .
And there was still Nagini, who must remain close now, no
longer sent to do his bidding, under his protection. . . .
550
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The Final Hiding Place
But to be sure, to be utterly sure, he must return to each of
his hiding places, he must redouble protection around each of his
Horcruxes. . . . A job, like the quest for the Elder Wand, that he
must undertake alone . . .
Which should he visit rst, which was in most danger? An old
unease
ickered inside him. Dumbledore had known his middle
name. . . . Dumbledore might have made the connection with the
Gaunts. . . . Their abandoned home was, perhaps, the least secure
of his hiding places, it was there that he would go rst. . . .
The lake, surely impossible . . . though was there a slight pos-
sibility that Dumbledore might have known some of his past mis-
deeds, through the orphanage.
And Hogwarts . . . but he knew the his Horcrux there was safe;
it would be impossible for Potter to enter Hogsmeade without de-
tection, let alone the school. Nevertheless, it would be prudent
to alert Snape to the fact that the boy might try to reenter the
castle. . . . To tell Snape why the boy might return would be fool-
ish, of course; it had been a grave mistake to trust Bellatrix and
Malfoy. Didn't their stupidity and carelessness prove how unwise
it was ever to trust?
He would visit the Gaunt shack rst, then, and take Nagini with
him. He would not be parted from the snake anymore . . . and he
strode from the room, through the hall, and out into the dark gar-
den where the fountain played; he called the snake in Parseltongue
and it slithered out to join him like a long shadow. . . .
Harry's eyes
ew open as he wrenched himself back to the
present. He was lying on the bank of the lake in the setting sun,
and Ron and Hermione were looking down at him. Judging by
their worried looks, and by the continued pounding of his scar, his
551
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Chapter 27
sudden excursion into Voldemort's mind had not passed unnoticed.
He struggled up, shivering, vaguely surprised that he was still wet
to his skin, and saw the cup lying innocently in the grass before
him, and the lake, deep blue shot with gold in the falling sun.
\He knows." His own voice sounded strange and low after
Voldemort's high screams. \He knows and he's going to check
where the others are, and the last one," he was already on his feet,
\is at Hogwarts. I knew it. I knew it."
\What?"
Ron was gaping at him; Hermione sat up, looking worried.
\But what did you see? How do you know?"
\I saw him nd out about the cup, I{I was in his head, he's"|
Harry remembered the killings|\he's seriously angry, and scared
too, he can't understand how we knew, and now he's going to check
the others are safe, the ring rst. He thinks the Hogwarts one is
safest, because Snape's there, because it'll be so hard not to be
seen getting in. I think he'll check that one last, but he could still
be there within hours|"
\Did you see where in Hogwarts it is?" asked Ron, now scram-
bling to his feet too.
\No, he was concentrating on warning Snape, he didn't think
about exactly where it is|"
\Wait, wait!" cried Hermione as Ron caught up to the Horcrux
and Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak again. \We can't just
go, we haven't got a plan, we need to|"
\We need to get going," said Harry rmly. He had been hoping
to sleep, looking forward to getting into the new tent, but that was
impossible now, \Can you imagine what he's going to do once he
realizes the ring and the locket are gone? What if he moves the
552
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The Final Hiding Place
Hogwarts Horcrux, decides it isn't safe enough?"
\But how are we going to get in?"
\We'll go to Hogsmeade," said Harry, \and try to work some-
thing out once we see what the protection around the school's like.
Get under the Cloak, Hermione, I want to stick together this time."
\But we don't really t|"
\It'll be dark, no one's going to notice our feet."
The
apping of enormous wings echoed across the black water.
The dragon had drunk its ll and risen into the air. They paused
in their preparations to watch it climb higher and higher, now
black against the rapidly darkening sky, until it vanished over a
nearby mountain. Then Hermione walked forward and took her
place between the other two, Harry pulled the Cloak down as far
as it would go, and together they turned on the spot into the
crushing darkness.
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Chapter 28
The Missing Mirror
arry's feet touched the road. He saw the achingly fa-
miliar Hogsmeade High Street: dark shop fronts, and
the mist line of black mountains beyond the village
Hand the curve in the road ahead that led o toward
Hogwarts, and light spilling from the windows of the Three Broom-
sticks, and with a lurch of the heart, he remembered with piercing
accuracy, how he had landed here nearly a year before, support-
ing a desperately weak Dumbledore, all this in a second, upon
landing|and then, even as he relaxed his grip upon Ron's and
Hermione's arms, it happened.
The air was rent by a scream that sounded like Voldemort's
when he had realized the cup had been stolen: It tore at every
nerve in Harry's body, and he knew that their appearance had
caused it. Even as he looked at the other two beneath the Cloak,
the door of the Three Broomsticks burst open and a dozen cloaked
and hooded Death Eaters dashed into the streets, their wands aloft.
Harry seized Ron's wrist as he raised his wand; there were too
many of them to run. Even attempting it would have give away
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The Missing Mirror
their position. One of the Death Eaters raised his wand, and the
scream stopped, still echoing around the distant mountains.
\Accio Cloak!" roared one of the Death Eaters
Harry seized his folds, but it made no attempt to escape. The
Summoning Charm had not worked on it.
\Not under your wrapper, then, Potter?" yelled the Death
Eater who had tried the charm and then to his fellows. \Spread
now. He's here."
Six of the Death Eaters ran toward them: Harry, Ron and Her-
mione backed as quickly as possible down the nearest side street,
and the Death Eaters missed them by inches. They waited in the
darkness, listening to the footsteps running up and down, beams
of light
ying along the street from the Death Eaters' searching
wands.
\Let's just leave!" Hermione whispered. \Disapparate now!"
\Great idea," said Ron, but before Harry could reply, a Death
Eater shouted,
\We know you are here, Potter, and there's no getting away!
We'll nd you!"
\They were ready for us," whispered Harry. \They set up that
spell to tell them we'd come. I reckon they've done something to
keep us here, trap us|"
\What about dementors?"called another Death Eater.
\Let'em have free rein, they'd nd him quick enough!"
\The Dark Lord wants Potter dead by no hands but his|"
\'An dementors won't kill him! The Dark Lord wants Potter's
life, not his soul. He'll be easier to kill if he's been Kissed rst!"
There were noises of agreement. Dread lled Harry: To repel
dementors they would have to produce Patronuses which would
555
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Chapter 28
give them away immediately.
\We're going to have to try to Disapparate, Harry!" Hermione
whispered.
Even as she said it, he felt the unnatural cold being spread over
the street. Light was sucked from the environment right up to the
stars, which vanished. In the pitch blackness, he felt Hermione
take hold of his arm and together, they turned on the spot.
The air through which they needed to move, seemed to have
become solid: They could not Disapparate; the Death Eaters had
cast their charms well. The cold was biting deeper and deeper
into Harry's
esh. He, Ron and Hermione retreated down the side
street, groping their way along the wall trying not to make a sound.
Then, around the corner, gliding noiselessly, came dementors, ten
or more of them, visible because they were of a denser darkness
than their surroundings, with their black cloaks and their scabbed
and rotting hands. Could they sense fear in the vicinity? Harry
was sure of it: They seemed to be coming more quickly now, taking
those dragging, rattling breaths he detested, tasting despair in the
air, closing in|
He raised his wand: He could not, would not su er the De-
mentor's Kiss, whatever happened afterward. It was of Ron and
Hermione that he thought as he whispered \Expecto Patronum!"
The silver stag burst from his wand and charged: The Demen-
tors scattered and there was a triumphant yell from somewhere out
of sight
\It's him, down there, down there, I saw his Patronus, it was a
stag!"
The Dementors have retreated, the stars were popping out again
and the footsteps of the Death Eaters were becoming louder; but
556
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The Missing Mirror
before Harry in his panic could decide what to do, there was a
grinding of bolts nearby, a door opened on the left-side of the
narrow street, and a rough voice said: \Potter, in here, quick!"
He obeyed without hesitation, the three of them hurried through
the open doorway.
\Upstairs, keep the Cloak on, keep quiet!" muttered a tall
gure, passing them on his way into the street and slammed the
door behind him.
Harry had had no idea where they were, but now he saw, by
the stuttering light of a single candle, the grubby, sawdust bar of
the Hog's Head Inn. They ran behind the counter and through a
second doorway, which led to a trickery wooden staircase, that they
climbed as fast as they could. The stairs opened into a sitting room
with a durable carpet and a small replace, above which hung a
single large oil painting of a blonde girl who gazed out at the room
with a kind of a vacant sweetness.
Shouts reached from the streets below. Still wearing the Invisi-
bility Cloak on, they hurried toward the grimy window and looked
down. Their savior, whom Harry now recognized as the Hog's
Head's barman, was the only person not wearing a hood.
\So what?" he was bellowing into one of the hooded faces. \So
what? You send dementors down my street, I'll send a Patronus
back at'em! I'm not having'em near me, I've told you that. I'm
not having it!"
\That wasn't your Patronus," said a Death Eater. \That was
a stag. It was Potter's!"
\Stag!" roared the barman, and he pulled out a wand. \Stag!
You idiot|Expecto Patronum!"
Something huge and horned erupted from the wand. Head
557
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Chapter 28
down, it charged toward the High Street, and out of sight.
\That's not what I saw" said the Death Eater, though was less
certainly
\Curfew's been broken, you heard the noise," one of his com-
panions told the barman. \Someone was out on the streets against
regulations|"
\If I want to put my cat out, I will, and be damned to your
curfew!"
\You set o the Caterwauling Charm?"
\What if I did? Going to cart me o to Azkaban? Kill me for
sticking my nose out my own front door? Do it, then, if you want
to! But I hope for your sakes you haven't pressed your little Dark
Marks, and summoned him. He's not going to like being called
here, for me and my old cat, is he, now?"
\Don't worry about us." said one of the Death Eaters, \Worry
about yourself, breaking curfew!"
\And where will you lot tra c potions and poisons when my
pub's closed down? What will happen to your little sidelines then?"
\Are you threatening|?"
\I keep my mouth shut, it's why you come here, isn't it?"
\I still say I saw a stag Patronus!" shouted the rst Death
Eater.
\Stag?" roared the barman. \It's a goat, idiot!"
\All right, we made a mistake," said the second Death Eater.
\Break curfew again and we won't be so lenient!"
The Death Eaters strode back towards the High Street. Her-
mione moaned with relief, wove out from under the Cloak, and
sat down on a wobble-legged chair. Harry drew the curtains then
pulled the Cloak o himself and Ron. They could hear the barman
558
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The Missing Mirror
down below, rebolting the door of the bar, then climbing the stairs.
Harry's attention was caught by something on the mantelpiece:
a small, rectangular mirror, propped on top of it, right beneath
the portrait of the girl.
The barman entered the room.
\You bloody fools," he said gru y, looking from one to the
other of them. \What were you thinking, coming here?"
\Thank you," said Harry. \You can't thank you enough. You
saved our lives!"
The barman grunted. Harry approached him looking up into
the face: trying to see past the long, stringy, wire-gray hair beard.
He wore spectacles. Behind the dirty lenses, the eyes were a pierc-
ing, brilliant blue.
\It's your eye I've been seeing in the mirror."
There was a silence in the room. Harry and the barman looked
at each other.
\You sent Dobby."
The barman nodded and looked around for the elf.
\Thought he'd be with you. Where've you left him?"
\He's dead," said Harry, \Bellatrix Lestrange killed him."
The barman face was impassive. After a few moments he said,
\I'm sorry to hear it, I liked that elf."
He turned away, lightning lamps with prods of his wand, not
looking at any of them.
\You're Aberforth," said Harry to the man's back.
He neither con rmed or denied it, but bent to light the re.
\How did you get this?" Harry asked, walking across to Sirius's
mirror, the twin of the one he had broken nearly two years before.
\Bought it from Dung 'bout a year ago," said Aberforth. \Al-
559
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Chapter 28
bus told me what it was. Been trying to keep an eye out for you."
Ron gasped.
\The silver doe," he said excitedly, \Was that you too?"
\What are you talking about?" asked Aberforth.
\Someone sent a doe Patronus to us!"
\Brains like that, you could be a Death Eater, son. Haven't I
just proved my Patronus is a goat?"
\Oh," said Ron, \Yeah . . . well, I'm hungry!" he added defen-
sively as his stomach gave an enormous rumble.
\I got food," said Aberforth, and he sloped out of the room,
reappearing moments later with a large loaf of bread, some cheese,
and a pewter jug of mead, which he set upon a small table in front
of the re. Ravenous, they ate and drank, and for a while there
was sound of chewing.
\Right then," said Aberforth when the had eaten their ll and
Harry and Ron sat slumped dozily in their chairs. \We need to
think of the best way to get you out of here. Can't be done by
night, you heard what happens if anyone moves outdoors during
darkness: Caterwauling Charm's set o , they'll be onto you like
bowtruckles on doxy eggs. I don't reckon I'll be able to pass of
a stag as a goat a second time. Wait for daybreak when curfew
lifts, then you can put your Cloak back on and set out on foot.
Get right out of Hogsmeade, up into the mountains, and you'll be
able to Disapparate there. Might see Hagrid. He's been hiding in
a cave up there with Grawp ever since they tried to arrest him."
\We're not leaving," said Harry. \We need to get into Hog-
warts."
\Don't be stupid, boy," said Aberforth.
\We've got to," said Harry.
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The Missing Mirror
\What you've got to do," said Aberforth, leaning forward, \is
to get as far from here as from here as you can."
\You don't understand. There isn't much time. We've got to
get into the castle. Dumbledore|I mean, your brother|wanted
us|"
The relight made the grimy lenses of Aberforth's glasses mo-
mentarily opaque, a bright
at white, and Harry remembered the
blind eyes of the giant spider, Aragog.
\My brother Albus wanted a lot of things," said Aberforth,
\and people had a habit of getting hurt while he was carrying out
his grand plans. You get away from this school, Potter, and out of
the country if you can. Forget my brother and his clever schemes.
He's gone where none of this can hurt him, and you don't owe him
anything."
\You don't understand." said Harry again.
\Oh, don't I?" said Aberforth quietly. \You don't think I un-
derstood my own brother? Think you know Albus better than I
did?"
\I didn't mean that," said Harry, whose brain felt sluggish with
exhaustion and from the surfeit of food and wine. \It's . . . he left
me a job."
\Did he now?" said Aberforth. \Nice job, I hope? Pleasant?
Easy? Sort of thing you'd expect an unquali ed wizard kid to be
able to do without overstretching themselves?"
Ron gave a rather grim laugh. Hermione was looking strained.
\I|it's not easy, no," said Harry. \But I've got to|"
\`Got to'? Why `got to'? He's dead, isn't he?" said Aberforth
roughly. \Let it go, boy, before you follow him! Save yourself!"
\I can't."
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Chapter 28
\Why not?"
\I|" Harry felt overwhelmed; he could not explain, so he took
the o ensive instead. \But you're ghting too, you're in the Order
of the Phoenix|"
\I was," said Aberforth. \The Order of the Phoenix is nished.
You-Know-Who's won, it's over, and anyone who's pretending dif-
ferent's kidding themselves. It'll never be safe for you here, Potter,
he wants you too badly. So go abroad, go into hiding, save your-
self. Best take these two with you." He jerked a thumb at Ron and
Hermione. \They'll be in danger long as they live now everyone
knows they've been working with you."
\I can't leave," said Harry. \I've got a job|"
\Give it to someone else!"
\I can't. It's got to be me, Dumbledore explained it all|"
\Oh, did he now? And did he tell you everything, was he honest
with you?"
Harry wanted him with all his heart to say \Yes," but somehow
the simple word would not rise to his lips, Aberforth seemed to
know what he was thinking.
\I knew my brother, Potter. He learned secrecy at our mother's
knee. Secrets and lies, that's how we grew up, and Albus . . . he
was a natural."
The old man's eyes traveled to the painting of the girl over the
mantelpiece. It was, now Harry looked around properly, the only
picture in the room. There was no photograph of Albus Dumble-
dore, nor of anyone else.
\Mr. Dumbledore" said Hermione rather timidly. \Is that your
sister? Ariana?"
\Yes." said Aberforth tersely. \Been reading Rita Skeeter, have
562
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The Missing Mirror
you, missy?"
Even by the rosy light of the re it was clear that Hermione
had turned red.
\Elphias Doge mentioned her to us," said Harry, trying to spare
Hermione.
\That old berk," muttered Aberforth, taking another swig of
mead. \Thought the sun shone out of my brother's every o ce, he
did. Well, so did plenty of people, you three included, by the looks
of it."
Harry kept quiet. He did not want to express the doubts and
uncertainties about Dumbledore that had riddled him for months
now. He had made his choice while he dug Dobby's grave, he had
decided to continue along the winding, dangerous path indicated
for him by Albus Dumbledore, to accept that he had not been told
everything that he wanted to know, but simply to trust. He had no
desire to doubt again; he did not want to hear anything that would
de
ect him from his purpose. He met Aberforth's gaze, which was
so strikingly like his brother's: The bright blue eyes gave the same
impression that they were X-raying the object of their scrutiny,
and Harry thought that Aberforth knew what he was thinking and
despised him for it.
\Professor Dumbledore cared about Harry, very much," said
Hermione in a low voice.
\Did he now?" said Aberforth. \Funny thing how many of the
people my brother cared about very much ended up in a worse
state than if he'd left 'em well alone."
\What do you mean?" asked Hermione breathlessly.
\Never you mind," said Aberforth.
\But that's a really serious thing to say!" said Hermione. \Are
563
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Chapter 28
you|are you talking about your sister?"
Aberforth glared at her: His lips moved as if he were chewing
the words he was holding back. Then he burst into speech.
\When my sister was six years old, she was attacked, by three
Muggle boys. They'd seen her doing magic, spying through the
back garden hedge: She was a kid, she couldn't control it, no witch
or wizard can at that age. What they saw, scared them, I expect.
They forced their way through the hedge, and when she couldn't
show them the trick, they got a bit carried away trying to stop the
little freak doing it."
Hermione's eyes were huge in the relight; Ron looked slightly
sick. Aberforth stood up, tall as Albus, and suddenly terrible in
his anger and the intensity of his pain.
\It destroyed her, what they did: She was never right again.
She wouldn't use magic, but she couldn't get rid of it; it turned
inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn't
control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly
she was sweet and scared and harmless.
\And my father went after the bastards that did it," said Aber-
forth, \and attacked them. And they locked him up in Azkaban
for it. He never said why he'd done it, because the Ministry had
known what Ariana had become, she'd have been locked up in St.
Mungo's for good. They'd have seen her as a serious threat to
the International Statute of Secrecy, unbalanced like she was, with
magic exploding out of her at moments when she couldn't keep it
in any longer.
\We had to keep her safe and quiet. We moved house, put it
about she was ill, and my mother looked after her, and tried to
keep her calm and happy.
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The Missing Mirror
\I was her favourite," he said, and as he said it, a grubby
schoolboy seemed to look out through Aberforth's wrinkles and
wrangled beard. \Not Albus, he was always up in his bedroom
when he was home, reading his books and counting his prizes,
keeping up with his correspondence with `the most notable magical
names of the day,'" Aberforth succored. \He didn't want to be
bothered with her. She liked me best. I could get her to eat when
she wouldn't do it for my mother, I could calm her down, when
she was in one of her rages, and when she was quiet, she used to
help me feed the goats.
\Then, when she was fourteen . . . See, I wasn't there." said
Aberforth. \If I'd been there, I could have calmed her down. She
had one of her rages, and my mother wasn't as young as she was,
and . . . it was an accident. Ariana couldn't control it. But my
mother was killed."
Harry felt a horrible mixture of pity and repulsion; he did not
want to hear any more, but Aberforth kept talking, and Harry
wondered how long it had been since he had spoken about this;
whether, in fact, he had ever spoken about it.
\So that put paid to Albus's trip round the world with little
Doge. The pair of 'em came home for my mother's funeral and
then Doge went o on his own, and Albus settled down as head of
the family. Ha!"
Aberforth spat into the re.
\I'd have looked after her, I told him so, I didn't care about
school, I'd have stayed home and done it. He told me I had to
nish my education and he'd take over from my mother. Bit of a
comedown for Mr. Brilliant, there's no prizes for looking after your
half-mad sister, stopping her blowing up the house every other day.
565
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Chapter 28
But he did all right for a few weeks . . . till he came."
And now a positively dangerous look crept over Aberforth's
face.
\Grindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to,
someone just as bright and talented he was. And looking after Ar-
iana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans
for a new Wizarding order and looking for Hallows, and whatever
else it was they were so interested in. Grand plans for the bene t
of all Wizardkind, and if one young girl neglected, what did that
matter, when Albus was working for the greater good?
\But after a few weeks of it, I'd had enough, I had. It was
nearly time for me to go hack to Hogwarts, so I told 'em, both
of 'em, face-to-face, like I am to you, now," and Aberforth looked
downward Harry, and it took a little imagination to see him as
a teenager, wiry and angry, confronting his elder brother. \I told
him, you'd better give it up now. You can't move her, she's in no t
state, you can't take her with you, wherever it is you're planning
to go, when you're making your clever speeches, trying to whip
yourselves up a following. He didn't like that." said Aberforth,
and his eyes were brie
y occluded by the re
ight on the lenses
of his glasses: They turned white and blind again. \Grindelwald
didn't like that at all. He got angry. He told me what a stupid
little boy I was, trying to stand in the way of him and my brilliant
brother . . . Didn't I understand, my poor sister wouldn't have to
be hidden once they'd changed the world, and led the wizards out
of hiding, and taught the Muggles their place?
\And there was an argument . . . and I pulled my wand, and he
pulled out his, and I had the Cruciatus Curse used on me by my
brother's best friend|and Albus was trying to stop him, and then
566
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The Missing Mirror
all three of us were dueling, and the
ashing lights and the bangs
set her o , she couldn't stand it|"
The color was draining from Aberforth's face as though he had
su ered a mortal wound.
\|and I think she wanted to help, but she didn't really know
what she was doing, and I don't know which of us did it, it could
have been any of us|and she was dead."
His voice broke on the last word and he dropped down into the
nearest chair. Hermione's face was wet with tears, and Ron was
almost as pale as Aberforth. Harry felt nothing but revulsion: He
wished he had not heard it, wished he could wash is mind clean of
it.
\I'm so . . . I'm so sorry," Hermione whispered.
\Gone," croaked Aberforth. \Gone forever."
He wiped his nose on hiss cu and cleared his throat.
\'Course, Grindelwald scarpered. He had a bit of a track record
already, back in his own country, and he didn't want Ariana set
to his account too. And Albus was free, wasn't he? Free of the
burden of his sister, free to become the greatest wizard of the|"
\He was never free," said Harry.
\I beg your pardon?" said Aberforth.
\Never," said Harry. \The night that your brother died, he
drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. He started scream-
ing, pleading with someone who wasn't there. `Don't hurt them,
please . . . hurt me instead.'"
Ron and Hermione were staring at Harry. He had never gone
into details about what had happened on the island on the lake:
The events that had taken place after he and Dumbledore had
returned to Hogwarts had eclipsed it so thoroughly.
567
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Chapter 28
\He thought he was back there with you and Grindelwald, I
know he did," said Harry, remembering Dumbledore whispering,
pleading. \He thought he was watching Grindelwald hurting you
and Ariana . . . It was torture to him, if you'd seen him then, you
wouldn't say he was free."
Aberforth seemed lost in contemplation of his own knotted and
veined hands. After a long pause he said. \How can you be sure,
Potter, that my brother wasn't more interested in the greater good
than in you? How can you be sure you aren't dispensable, just like
my little sister?"
A shard of ice seemed to pierce Harry's heart.
\I don't believe it. Dumbledore loved Harry," said Hermione.
\Why didn't he tell him to hide, then?" shot back Aberforth.
\Why didn't he say to him, `Take care of yourself, here's how to
survive'?"
\Because," said Harry before Hermione could answer, \some-
times you've got to think about more than your own safety! Some-
times you've got to think about the greater good! This is war!"
\You're seventeen, boy!"
\I'm of age, and I'm going to keep ghting even if you've given
up!"
\Who says I've given up?"
\The Order of the Phoenix is nished," Harry repeated, \You-
Know-Who's won, it's over, and anyone who's pretending di er-
ent's kidding themselves."
\I don't say I like it, but it's the truth!"
\No, it isn't." said Harry. \Your brother knew how to nish
You-Know-Who and he passed the knowledge on to me. I'm going
to keep going until I succeed|or I die. Don't think I don't know
568
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The Missing Mirror
how this might end. I've known it for years."
He waited for Aberforth to jeer or to argue, but he did not. He
merely moved.
\We need to get into Hogwarts," said Harry again. \If you can't
help us, we'll wait till daybreak, leave you in peace, and try to nd
a way in ourselves. If you can help us|well, now would be a great
time to mention it."
Aberforth remained xed in his chair, gazing at Harry with
the eye, that were so extraordinarily like his brother's. At last he
cleared his throat, got to his feet, walked around the little table,
and approached the portrait of Ariana.
\You know what to do," he said.
She smiled, turned, and walked away, not as people in portraits
usually did, one of the sides of their frames, but along what seemed
to be a long tunnel painted behind her. They watched her slight
gure retreating until nally she was swallowed by the darkness.
\Er|what|?" began Ron.
\There's only one way in now," said Aberforth. \You must
know they've got all the old secret passageways covered at both
ends, dementors all around the boundary walls, regular patrols
inside the school from what my sources tell me. The place has
never been so heavily guarded. How you expect to do anything
once you get inside it, with Snape in charge and the Carrows as
his deputies . . . well, that's your lookout, isn't it? You say you're
prepared to die."
\But what . . . ?" said Hermione, frowning at Ariana's picture.
A tiny white dot reappeared at the end of the painted tunnel,
and now Ariana was walking back toward them, growing bigger
and bigger as she came. But there was somebody else with her
569
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Chapter 28
now, someone taller than she was, who was limping along, looking
excited. His hair was longer than Harry had ever seen. He appeared
and torn. Larger and larger the two gures grew, until only their
heads and shoulders lled the portrait. Then the whole thing swang
forward on the wall like a little door, and the entrance to a real
tunnel was revealed. And our of it, his hair overgrown, his face
cut, his robes ripped, clambered the real Neville Longbottom, who
gave a roar of delight, leapt down from the mantelpiece and yelled.
\I knew you'd come! I knew it, Harry!"
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Chapter 29
The Lost Diadem
eville|what the|how|?"
But Neville had spotted Ron and Hermione, and with
yells of delight was hugging them too. The longer
NHarry looked at Neville, the worse he appeared: One
of his eyes was swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks
on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he
had been living rough. Nevertheless, his battered visage shone with
happiness as he let go of Hermione and said again, \I knew you'd
come! Kept telling Seamus it was a matter of time!"
\Neville, what's happened to you?"
\What? This?" Neville dismissed his injuries with a shake of
the head. \This is nothing, Seamus is worse. You'll see. Shall we
get going then? Oh," he turned to Aberforth, \Ab, there might be
a couple more people on the way."
\Couple more?" repeated Aberforth ominously. \What d'you
mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's a curfew and a Caur-
wauling Charm on the whole village!"
571
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Chapter 29
\I know, that's why they'll be Apparating directly into the bar,"
said Neville. \Just send them down the passage when they get here,
will you? Thanks a lot."
Neville held out his hand to Hermione and helped her climb
up onto the mantelpiece and into the tunnel, Ron followed, then
Neville. Harry addressed Aberforth.
\I don't know how to thank you. You've saved our lives twice."
\Look after 'em, then," said Aberforth gru y. \I might not be
able to save 'em a third time."
Harry clambered up onto the mantelpiece and through the hold
behind Ariana's portrait. There were smooth stone steps on the
outside: It looked as though the passageway had been there for
years. Brass lamps hung from the walls and the earthy
oor was
worn and smooth; as they walked, their shadows rippled, fanlike,
across the wall.
\How long's this been here?" Ron asked as they set o . \It
isn't on the Marauder's Map, is it, Harry? I thought there were
only seven passages in and out of the school?"
\They sealed o all of those before the start of the year," said
Neville. \There's no chance of getting through any of them now,
not with the curses over the entrances and Death Eaters and de-
mentors waiting at the exits." He started walking backward, beam-
ing, drinking them in. \Never mind that stu . . . . Is it true? Did
you break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a dragon? It's ev-
erywhere, everyone's talking about it, Teddy Boot got beaten up
by Carrow for yelling about it in the Great Hall at dinner!"
\Yeah, it's true," said Harry.
Neville laughed gleefully,
572
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The Lost Diadem
\What did you do with the dragon?"
\Released it into the wild," said Ron. \Hermione was all for
keeping it as a pet|"
\Don't exaggerate, Ron|"
\But what have you been doing? People have been saying
you've just been on the run, Harry, but I don't think so. I think
you've been up to something."
\You're right," said Harry. \but tell us about Hogwarts,
Neville, we haven't heard anything."
\It's been . . . well, it's not really like Hogwarts anymore," said
Neville, the smile fading from his face as he spoke. \Do you know
about the Carrows?"
\Those two Death Eaters who teach here?"
\They do more than teach," said Neville. \They're in charge of
all discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows."
\Like Umbridge?"
\Nah, they make her look tame. The other teachers are all
supposed to refer us the the Carrows if we do anything wrong.
They don't, though, if they can avoid it. You can tell they all hate
them as much as we do."
\Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defense Against
the Dark Arts, except now it's just Dark Arts. We're supposed to
practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions|"
\What?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione's united voices echoed up and down
the passage.
\Yeah," said Neville. \That's how I got this one," he pointed
at a particularly deep gash in his cheek, \I refused to do it. Some
573
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Chapter 29
people are into it, though; Crabbe and Goyle love it. First time
they've ever been top in anything, I expect.
\Alecto, Amycus' sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is com-
pulsory for everyone. We've all got to listen to her explain how
Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drove
wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the
natural order is being reestablished. I got this one," he indicated
another slash to his face, \for asking how much Muggle blood she
and her brother have got."
\Blimey, Neville," said Ron, \there's a time and a place for
getting a smart mouth."
\You didn't hear her," said Neville. \You wouldn't have stood
it either. The thing is, it helps when people stand up to them, it
gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Harry."
\But they've used you as a knife sharpener," said Ron, wincing
slightly as they passed a lamp and Neville's injuries were thrown
into even greater relief.
\Doesn't matter. They don't want to spill too much pure blood,
so they'll torture us a bit if we're mouthy but they won't actually
kill us."
Harry did not know what was worse, the things that Neville
was saying or the matter-of-fact tone in which he said them.
\The only people in real danger are the ones whose friends
and relatives on the outside are giving trouble. They get taken
hostage. Old Xeno Lovegood was getting a bit too outspoken in
The Quibbler, so they dragged Luna o the train on the way back
for Christmas."
\Neville, she's all right, we've seen her|"
574
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The Lost Diadem
\Yeah, I know, she managed to met a message to me."
From his pocket he pulled a golden coin, and Harry recognized
it as one of the fake Galleons that Dumbledore's Army had used
to send one another messages.
\These have been great," said Neville, beaming at Hermione.
\The Carrows never rumbled how we were communicating, it drove
them mad. We used to sneak out at night and put gra ti on the
walls: Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting, stu like that. Snape
hated it."
\You used to?" said Harry, who had noticed the past tense.
\Well, it got more di cult as time went on," said Neville. \We
lost Luna at Christmas, and Ginny never came back after Easter,
and the three of us were sort of leaders. The Carrows seemed to
know that I was behind a lot of it, so they started coming down on
me hard, and then Michael Corner went and got caught releasing
a rst-year they'd chained up, and they tortured him pretty badly.
That scared people o ."
\No kidding," muttered Ron, as the passage began to slope
upward.
\Yeah, well, I couldn't ask people to go through what Michael
did, so we dropped those kinds of stunts. But we were still ght-
ing, doing underground stu , right up until a couple of weeks ago.
That's when they decided there was only one way to stop me, I
suppose, and they went for Gran."
\They what?" said Harry, Ron, and Hermione together.
\Yeah," said Neville, panting a little now, because the passage
was climbing so steeply, \well, you can see their thinking. It had
worked really well, kidnapping kids to force their relatives to be-
575
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Chapter 29
have, I s'pose it was only a matter of time before they did it the
other way around. Thing was," he faced them, and Harry was
astonished to see that he was grinning, \they bit o a bit more
than they could chew with Gran. Little old witch living along,
he the probably thought they didn't need to send anyone particu-
larly powerful. Anyway," Neville laughed, \Dawlish is still in St.
Mungo's and Gran's on the run. She sent me a letter" he clapped
a hand to the breast pocket of his robes, \telling me she was proud
of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."
\Cool," said Ron.
\Yeah," said Neville happily. \Only thing was, once they re-
alized they had no hold over me, they decided Hogwarts could do
without me after all. I don't know whether they were planning to
kill me or send me to Azkaban, either way, I knew it was time to
disappear."
\But," said Ron, looking thoroughly confused, \aren't|aren't
we heading straight back into Hogwarts?"
\'Course," said Neville. \You'll see. We're here."
They turned a corner and there ahead of them was the end of
the passage. Another short
ight of steps led to a door just like
the one hidden behind Ariana's portrait. Neville pushed it open
and climbed through. As Harry followed, he heard Neville call out
to unseen people:
\Look who it is! Didn't I tell you?"
As Harry emerged into the room beyond the passage, there were
several screams and yells: \HARRY!" \It's Potter, it's POTTER!"
\Ron!" \Hermione!"
He had a confused impression of colored hangings, of lamps
576
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The Lost Diadem
and many faces. The next moment, he, Ron, and Hermione were
engulfed, hugged, pounded on the back, their hair ru ed, their
hands shaken, by what seemed to be more than twenty people:
They might just have won a Quidditch nal.
\Okay, okay, calm down!" Neville called, and as the crowd
backed away, Harry was able to take in their surroundings.
He did not recognize the room at all. It was enormous, and
rather looked like the interior of a particularly sumptuous tree
house, or perhaps a gigantic ship's cabin. Multicolored hammocks
were strung from the ceiling and from a balcony that ran around
the dark wood-paneled and windowless walls, which were covered
in bright tapestry hangings: Harry saw the gold Gry ndor lion,
emblazoned on scarlet; the black badger of Hu epu , set against
yellow; and the bronze eagle of Ravenclaw, on blue. The silver and
green of Slytherin alone were absent. There were bulging book-
cases, a few broomsticks propped against the walls, and in the
corner, a large wooden-cased wireless.
\Where are we?"
\Room of Requirement, of course!" said Neville. \Surpassed
itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had
just one chance for a hideout: I managed to get through the door
and this is what I found! Well, it wasn't exactly like this when I
arrived, it was a load smaller, there was only one hammock and
just Gry ndor hangings, but it's expanded as more and more of
the D.A. have arrived."
\And the Carrows can't get in?" asked Harry, looking around
for the door.
\No," said Seamus Finnigan, whom Harry had not recognized
577
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Chapter 29
until he spoke: Seamus' face was bruised and pu y. \It's a proper
hideout, as long as one of us stays in here, they can't get at us, the
door won't open. It's all down to Neville. He really gets this room.
You've got to ask it for exactly what you need|like, \I don't want
any Carrow supporters to be able to get in|and it'll do it for you!
You've just got to make sure you close the loopholes! Neville's the
man!"
\It's quite straightforward, really," said Neville modestly. \I'd
been in here about a day and a half, and getting really hungry, and
wishing I could get something to eat, and that's when the passage
to Hog's Head opened up. I went through it and met Aberforth.
He's been providing us with food, because for some reason, that's
the one thing the room doesn't really do."
\Yea, well, food's one of the ve exceptions to Gamp's Law of
Elemental Trans guration," said Ron to general astonishment.
\So we've been hiding out here for nearly two weeks," said
Seamus, \and it even sprouted a pretty good bathroom once girls
started turning up|"
\|and thought they'd quite like to wash, yes," supplied Laven-
der Brown, whom Harry had not noticed until that point. Now
that he looked around properly, he recognized many familiar faces.
Both Patil twins were there, as were Terry Boot, Ernie Macmillan,
Anthony Goldstein, and Michael Corner.
\Tell us what you've been up to, though," said Ernie. \There've
been so many rumors, we've been trying to keep up with you on
Potterwatch," He pointed at the wireless. \You didn't break into
Gringotts?"
\They did!" said Neville. \And the dragon's true too!"
578
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The Lost Diadem
There was a smattering of applause and a few whoops; Ron
took a bow.
\What were you after?" asked Seamus eagerly.
Before any of them could parry the question with one of their
own, Harry felt a terrible, scorching pain in the lightning scar. As
he turned his back hastily on the curious and delighted faces, the
Room of Requirement vanished, and he was standing inside some
shack, an the rotting
oorboards were ripped apart at his feet, a
disinterred golden box lay open and empty beside the hole, and
Voldemort's scream of fury vibrated inside his head.
With an enormous e ort he pulled out of Voldemort's mind
again, back to where he stood, swaying, in the Room of Require-
ment, sweat pouring from his face and Ron holding him up.
\Are you all right, Harry?" Neville was saying. \Want to sit
down? I expect you're tired, aren't|?"
\No," said Harry. He looked at Ron and Hermione, trying to
tell them without words that Voldemort has just discovered the
loss of one of the other Horcruxes. Time was running out fast:
If Voldemort chose to visit Hogwarts next, they would miss their
chance.
\We need to get going," he said, and their expression told him
that they understood.
\What are we going to do, then, Harry?" asked Seamus.
\What's the plan?"
\Plan?" repeated Harry. He was exercising all his willpower
to prevent himself succumbing again to Voldemort's rage: His scar
was still burning. \Well, there's something we|Ron, Hermione,
and I|need to do, and then we'll get out of here."
579
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Chapter 29
Nobody was laughing or whooping anymore. Neville looked
confused.
\What d'you mean, `get out of here'?"
\We haven't come back to stay," said Harry, rubbing his scar,
trying to soothe the pain. \There's something important we need
to do|"
\What is it?"
\I|I can't tell you."
There was a ripple of muttering at this: Neville's brows con-
tracted.
\Why can't you tell us? It's something to do with ghting
You-Know-Who, right?"
\Well, yeah|"
\Then we'll help you."
The other members of Dumbledore's Army were nodding, some
enthusiastically, other solemnly. A couple of them rose from their
chairs to demonstrate their willingness for immediate action.
\You don't understand," Harry seemed to have said that a lot
in the last few hours. \We|we can't tell you. We've got to do
it|alone."
\Why?" asked Neville.
\Because . . . " In his desperation to start looking for the missing
Horcrux, or at least to have a private discussion with Ron and
Hermione about where they might commence their search, Harry
found it di cult to gather his thoughts; His scar was still searing.
\Dumbledore left the three of us a job," he said carefully, \and we
weren't supposed to tell|I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the
three of us."
580
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The Lost Diadem
\We're his army," said Neville. \Dumbledore's Army. We were
all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you three have
been o on your own|"
\It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," said Ron.
\I never said it had, but I don't see why you can't trust us.
Everyone in this room's been ghting and they've been driven in
here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in
here's proven they're loyal to Dumbledore|loyal to you."
\Look," Harry began, without knowing what he was going to
say, but it did not matter: the tunnel door had just opened behind
him.
\We got your message, Neville! Hello, you three, I thought you
must be here!"
It was Luna and Dean. Seamus gave a great roar of delight and
ran to hug his best friend.
\Hi, everyone!" said Luna happily. \Oh, it's great to be back!"
\Luna," said Harry distractingly, \what are you doing here?
How did you|?"
\I sent for her," said Neville, holding up the fake Galleon. \I
promised her and Ginny that if you turned up I'd let them know.
We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution.
That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."
\Of course that's what it means," said Luna brightly, \Isn't it,
Harry? We're going to ght them out of Hogwarts?"
\Listen," said Harry with a rising sense of panic, \I'm sorry,
but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've
got to do, and then|"
\You're going to leave us in this mess?" demanded Michael
581
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Chapter 29
Corner.
\No!" said Ron. \What we're doing will bene t everyone in
the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-Know-Who|"
\Then let us help!" said Neville angrily. \We want to be a part
of it!"
There was another noise behind them, and Harry turned. His
head seemed to fall: Ginny was now climbing through the hole in
the wall, closely followed by Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. Ginny
gave Harry a radiant smile: He had forgotten, he had never fully
appreciated, how beautiful she was, but he had never been less
please to see her.
\Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed," said Fred, raising his hand
in answer to several cries of greeting. \He wants a kip, and his
bar's turned into a railway station."
Harry's mouth fell open. Right behind Lee Jordan came Harry's
old girlfriend, Cho Chang. She smiled at him.
\I got the message," she said, holding up her own fake Galleon,
and she walked over to sit beside Michael Corner.
\So what's the plan, Harry?" said George.
\There isn't one," said Harry, still disoriented by the sudden
appearance of all these people, unable to take everything in while
his scar was still burning so ercely.
\Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favorite
kind," said Fred.
\You've got to stop this!" Harry told Neville. \What did you
call them all back for? This is insane|"
\We're ghting aren't we?" said Dean, taking out his fake
Galleon. \The message said Harry was back, and we were going to
582
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The Lost Diadem
ght! I'll have to get a wand, though|"
\You haven't got a wand |?" began Seamus.
Ron turned suddenly to Harry.
\Why can't they help?"
\What?"
\They can help." He dropped his voice and said, so that none
of them could hear but Hermione, who stood between then, \We
don't know where it is, We've got to nd it fast. We don't have to
tell them it's a Horcrux."
Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, who murmured, \I think
Ron's right. We don't even know what we're looking for, we need
them." And when Harry looked unconvinced, \You don't have to
do everything alone, Harry."
Harry thought fast, his scar still prickling, his head threatening
to split again. Dumbledore had warned against telling anyone but
Ron and Hermione about the Horcruxes. Secrets and lies, that's
how we grew up, and Albus . . . he was a natural . . . Was he turning
into Dumbledore, keeping his secrets clutched to his chest, afraid
to trust? But Dumbledore had trusted Snape, and where had that
led? To murder at the top of the highest tower . . .
\All right," he said quietly to the other two. \Okay," he called
to the room at large, and all noise ceased: Fred and George, who
had been cracking jokes for the bene t of those nearest, fell silent,
and all of them looked alert, excited.
\There's something we need to nd," Harry said. \Something|
something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at
Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to
Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone
583
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Chapter 29
ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"
He looked hopefully toward the little group of Ravenclaws, to
Padma, Michael, Terry, and Cho, but it was Luna who answered,
perched on the arm of Ginny's chair.
\Well, that's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember,
Harry? The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to dupli-
cate it."
\Yeah, but the lost diadem," said Michael Corner, rolling his
eyes, \is lost, Luna. That's sort of the point."
\When was it lost?" asked Harry.
\Centuries ago, they say," said Cho, and Harry's heart sank.
\Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw her-
self. People have looked, but," she appealed to her fellow Raven-
claws, \nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?"
They all shook their heads.
\Sorry, but what is a diadem?" asked Ron.
\It's a kind of crown," said Terry Boot. \Ravenclaw's was
supposed to have magical properties, enhance the wisdom of the
wearer."
\Yes, Daddy's Wrackspurt siphons|"
But Harry cut across Luna.
\And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it?"
They all shook their heads again. Harry looked at Ron and Her-
mione and his own disappointment was mirrored back at him. An
object that had been lost this long, and apparently without trace,
did not seem like a good candidate for the Horcrux hidden in the
castle. . . . Before he could formulate a new question, however, Cho
spoke again.
584
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The Lost Diadem
\If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like,
I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry.
Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue."
Harry's scar scorched again: For a moment the Room of Re-
quirement swam before him, and he saw instead the dark earth
soaring beneath him and felt the great snake wrapped around
his shoulders. Voldemort was
ying again, whether to the un-
derground lake or here, to the castle, he did not know; Either way,
there was hardly any time left.
\He's on the move," he said quietly to Ron ad Hermione. He
glanced at Cho and then back at them. \Listen, I know it's not
much of a lead, but I'm going to go and look at this statue, at least
nd out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep,
you know|the other one|safe,"
Cho had got to her feet, but Ginny said rather ercely, \No,
Luna will take Harry, won't you, Luna?"
\Oooh, yes, I'd like to," said Luna happily, and Cho sat down
again, looking disappointed.
\How do we get out?" Harry asked Neville.
\Over here."
He lead Harry and Luna into a corner, where a small cupboard
opened onto a staircase.
\It comes out somewhere di erent every day, so they've never
been able to nd it," he said. \Only trouble is, we never know
exactly where we're going to end up when we go out. Be careful,
Harry, they're always patrolling the corridors at night."
\No problem." said Harry. \See you in a bit."
He and Luna hurried up the staircase, which was long, lit by
585
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Chapter 29
torches, and turned corners in unexpected places. At last they
reached what appeared to be solid wall.
\Get under here," Harry told Luna, pulling out the Invisibility
Cloak and throwing it over both of them. He gave the wall a little
push.
It melted away at his touch and they slipped outside: Harry
glanced back and saw that it had resealed itself at once. They
were standing in a dark corridor: Harry pulled Luna back into
the shadows, fumbled in the pouch around his neck, and took out
the Marauder's Map. Holding it close to his nose he search, and
located his and Luna's dots at last.
\We're up on the fth
oor," he whispered, watching Filch mov-
ing away from them, a corridor ahead. \Come on, this way."
They crept o .
Harry had prowled the castle at night many times before, but
never has his heart hammered this fast, never had so much de-
pended oh his safe passage through the place. Through squares
of moonlight upon the
oor, past suits of armor whose helmets
creaked at the sound of their soft footsteps, around corners beyond
which who knew what lurked, Harry and Luna walked, checking
the Marauder's Map whenever light permitted, twice pausing to
allow a ghost to pass without drawing attention to themselves. He
expected to encounter an obstacle at any moment; his worst fear
was Peeves, and he strained his ears with every step to hear the
rst, telltale signs of the poltergeist's approach.
\This way, Harry," breathed Luna, plucking his sleeve and
pulling him toward a spiral staircase.
They climbed in tight, dizzying circles; Harry had never been
586
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The Lost Diadem
up here before. At last they reached a door. There was no handle
and no keyhole: nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood, and a
bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
Luna reached out a pale hand, which looked eerie
oating in
midair, unconnected to arm or body. She knocked once, and in
the silence, it sounded to Harry like a cannon blast. At once the
beak of the eagle opened, but instead of a bird's call, a soft musical
voice said, \Which came rst, the phoenix or the
ame?"
\Hmm . . . What do you think, Harry?" said Luna, looking
thoughtful.
\What? Isn't there just a password?"
\Oh no, you've got to answer a question," said Luna.
\What if you get it wrong?"
\Well, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right," said
Luna. \That way you learn, you see?"
\Yeah . . . Trouble is, we can't really a ord to wait for anyone
else, Luna."
\No, I see what you mean," said Luna seriously. \Well then, I
think the answer is that a circle has no beginning."
\Well reasoned," said the voice, and the door swung open.
The deserted Ravenclaw common room was a wide, circular
room, airier than any Harry had ever seen at Hogwarts. Graceful
etched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue-
and-bronze silks; By day, the Ravenclaws would have a spectacular
view of the surrounding mountains. The ceiling was domed and
painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet.
There were tables, chairs, and bookcases, and in a niche opposite
the door stood a tall statue of white marble.
587
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Chapter 29
Harry recognized Rowena Ravenclaw from the bust he had seen
at Luna's house. The statue stood beside a door that led, he
guessed, to dormitories above. He strode right up to the marble
woman, and she seemed to look back at him with a quizzical half
smile on her face, beautiful yet slightly intimidating. A delicate-
looking circlet had been reproduced in marble on top of her head.
It was not unlike the tiara Fleur had worn at her wedding. There
were tiny words etched into it. Harry stepped out from under the
Cloak and climbed up onto Ravenclaw's plinth to read them.
\`Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'"
\Which makes you pretty skint, witless," said a cackling voice.
Harry whirled around, slipped o the plinth, and landed on the
oor. The sloping-shouldered gure of Alecto Carrow was standing
before him, and even as Harry raised his wand, she pressed a stubby
fore nger to the skull and snake branded on her forearm.
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Chapter 30
The Sacking of Severus
Snape
he moment her nger touched the Mark, Harry's scar
burned savagely, the starry room vanished from sight,
and he was standing upon an overcrop of rock beneath
Ta cli , and the sea was washing around him and there
was triumph in his heart|They have the boy.
A loud bang brought Harry back to where he stood: Disoriented,
he raised his wand, but the witch before him was already falling
forward; she hit the ground so hard that the glass in the bookcases
tinkled.
\I've never Stunned anyone except in our D.A. lessons," said
Luna, sounding mildly interested. \That was noisier than I thought
it would be."
And sure enough, the ceiling had begun to tremble. Scurrying,
echoing footsteps were growing louder from behind the door leading
to the dormitories: Luna's spell had woken Ravenclaws sleeping
above.
589
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Chapter 30
\Luna, where are you? I need to get under the Cloak!"
Luna's feet appeared out of nowhere; he hurried to her side and
she let the Cloak fall back over them as the door opened and a
stream of Ravenclaws, all in their nightclothes,
ooded into the
common room. There were gasps and cries o surprise as they say
Alecto lying there unconscious. Slowly they shu ed in around her,
a savage beast that might wake at any moment and attack them.
Then one brave little rst-year darted up to her and prodded her
backside with his big toe.
\I think she might be dead!" he shouted with delight.
\Oh, look," whispered Luna happily, as the Ravenclaws
crowded in around Alecto. \They're pleased!"
\Yeah . . . great . . . "
Harry closed his eyes, and as his scar throbbed he chose to sink
again into Voldemort's mind. . . . He was moving along the tunnel
into the rst cave. . . . He had chosen to make sure of the locket
before coming . . . but that would not take him long. . . .
There was a rap on the common room door and every Ravenclaw
froze. From the other side, Harry heard the soft, musical voice that
issued from the eagle door knocker: \Where do Vanished objects
go?"
\I dunno, do I? Shut it!" snarled an uncouth voice that Harry
knew was that of the Carrow brother, Amycus. \Alecto? Alecto?
Are you there? Have you got him? Open the door!"
The Ravenclaws were whispering amongst themselves, terri-
ed. Then, without warning, there came a series of loud bangs,
as though somebody was ring a gun into the door.
\ALECTO! If he comes, and we haven't got Potter|d'you
want to go the same way as the Malfoys? ANSWER ME!" Amycus
bellowed, shaking the door for all he was worth, but still it did not
590
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
open. The Ravenclaws were all backing away, and some of the most
frightened began scampering back up the staircase to their beds.
Then, just as Harry was wondering whether he ought not to blast
the door open and Stun Amycus before the Death Eater could do
anything else, a second, most familiar voice rang out beyond the
door.
\May I ask what you are doing, Professor Carrow?"
\Trying|to get|through this damned|door!"shouted
Amycus. \Go and get Flitwick! Get him to open it, now!"
\But isn't your sister in there?" asked Professor McGonagall.
\Didn't Professor Flitwick let her in earlier this evening, at you
urgent request? Perhaps she could open the door for you? Then
you needn't wake up half the castle."
\She ain't answering, you old besom! You open it! Garn! Do
it, now!"
\Certainly, if you wish it," said Professor McGonagall, with
awful coldness. There was a gentle tap of the knocker and the
musical voice asked again.
\Where do Vanished objects go?"
\Into nonbeing, which is to say, everything." replied Professor
McGonagall.
\Nicely phrased," replied the eagle door knocker, and the door
swung open.
The few Ravenclaws who had remained behind sprinted for the
stairs as Amycus burst over the threshold, brandishing his wand.
Hunched like his sister, he had a pallid, doughy face and tiny eyes,
which fell at once on Alecto, sprawled motionless on the
oor. He
let out a yell of fury and fear.
\What've they done, the little whelps?" he screamed. \I'll
Cruciate the lot of 'em till they tell me who did it|and what's
591
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Chapter 30
the Dark Lord going to say?" he shrieked, standing over his sister
and smacking himself on the forehead with his st, \We haven't
got him, and they've gone and killed her!"
\She's only Stunned," said Professor McGonagall impatiently,
who had stooped down to examine Alecto. \She'll be perfectly all
right."
\No she bludgering well won't!" bellowed Amycus. \Not after
the Dark Lord gets hold of her! She's gone and sent for him, I felt
me Mark burn, and he thinks we've got Potter!"
\Got Potter?" said Professor McGonagall sharply. \What do
you mean, `got Potter'?"
\He told us Potter might try and get inside Ravenclaw Tower,
and to send for him if we caught him!"
\Why would Harry Potter try to get inside Ravenclaw Tower?
Potter belongs in my House!"
Beneath the disbelief and anger, Harry heard a little strain of
pride in her voice, and a ection for Minerva McGonagall gushed
up inside him.
\We was told he might come in here!" said Carrow. \I dunno
why, do I?"
Professor McGonagall stood up and her beady eyes swept the
room. Twice they passed right over the place where Harry and
Luna stood.
\We can push it o on the kids," said Amycus, his piglike face
suddenly crafty. \Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll say Alecto was
ambushed by the kids, them kids up there"|he looked up at the
starry ceiling toward the dormitories|\and we'll say they forced
her to press the Mark, and that's why he got a false alarm. . . . He
can punish them. Couple of kids more or less, what's the di er-
ence?"
592
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
\Only the di erence between truth and lies, courage and cow-
ardice," said Professor McGonagall, who had turned pale, \a di er-
ence, in short, which you and your sister seem unable to appreciate.
But let me make one thing very clear. You are not going to pass
o your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not
permit it."
\Excuse me?"
Amycus moved forward until he was o ensively close to Profes-
sor McGonagall, his face within inches of hers. She refused to back
away, but looked down at him as if he were something disgusting
she had found stuck to a lavatory seat.
\It's not a case of what you'll permit, Minerva McGonagall.
You time's over. It's us what's in charge here now, and you'll back
me up or you'll pay the price."
And he spat in her face.
Harry pulled the Cloak o himself, raised his wand, and said,
\You shouldn't have done that."
As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, \Crucio!"
The Death Eater was lifted o his feet. He writhed through the
air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain, and then,
with a crunch and a shattering of glass, he smashed into the front
of a bookcase and crumpled, insensible, to the
oor.
\I see what Bellatrix meant," said Harry, the blood thundering
through his brain, \you need to really mean it."
\Potter!" whispered Professor McGonagall, clutching her heart.
\Potter|you're here! What|? How|?" She struggled to pull
herself together. \Potter, that was foolish!"
\He spat at you," said Harry.
\Potter, I|that was very|very gallant of you|but don't you
realize|?"
593
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Chapter 30
\Yeah, I do," Harry assured her. Somehow her panic steadied
him. \Professor McGonagall, Voldemort's on the way."
\Oh, are we allowed to say the name now?" asked Luna with an
air of interest, pulling o the Invisibility Cloak. This appearance
of a second outlaw seemed to overwhelm Professor McGonagall,
who staggered backward and fell into a nearby chair, clutching at
the neck of her old tartan dressing gown.
\I don't think it makes any di erence what we call him," Harry
told Luna. \He already knows where I am."
In a distant part of Harry's brain, that part connected to the
angry, burning scar, he could see Voldemort sailing fast over the
dark lake in the ghostly green boat. . . . He had nearly reached the
island where the stone basin stood. . . .
\You must
ee," whispered Professor McGonagall. \Now, Pot-
ter, as quickly as you can!"
\I can't," said Harry. \There's something I need to do. Profes-
sor, do you know where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?"
\The d{diadem of Ravenclaw? Of course not|hasn't it been
lost for centuries?" She sat up a little straighter. \Potter, it was
madness, utter madness, for you to enter this castle|"
\I had to," said Harry. \Professor, there's something hidden
here that I'm supposed to nd, and it could be the diadem|if I
could just speak to Professor Flitwick|"
There was a sound of movement, of clinking glass: Amycus was
coming around. Before Harry or Luna could act, Professor McGon-
agall rose to her feet, pointing her want at the groggy Death Eater,
and said, \Imperio."
Amycus got up, walked over to his sister, picked up her wand,
then shu ed obediently to Professor McGonagall and handed it
over along with his own. Then he lay down on the
oor beside
594
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
Alecto. Professor McGonagall waved her wand again, and a length
of shimmering silver rope appeared out of thin air and snaked
around the Carrows, binding them tightly together.
\Potter," said Professor McGonagall, turning to face him again
with superb indi erence to the Carrows' predicament. \if He-Who-
Must-Not-Be-Named does indeed know that you are here|"
As she said it, a wrath that was like physical pain blazed
through Harry, setting his scar on re, and for a second he looked
down upon a basin whose potion had turned clear, and saw that
no golden locket lay safe beneath the surface|
\Potter, are you all right?" said a voice, and Harry came back.
He was clutching Luna's shoulder to steady himself.
\Time's running out, Voldemort's getting nearer. Professor, I'm
acting on Dumbledore's orders, I must nd what he wanted me to
nd! But we've got to get the students out while I'm searching the
castle|It's me Voldemort wants, but he won't care about killing
a few more or less, not now|'" not now he knows I'm attacking
Horcruxes. Harry nished the sentence in his head.
\You're acting on Dumbledore's orders?" she repeated with a
look of dawning wonder. Then she drew herself up to her fullest
height.
\We shall secure the school against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-
Named while you search for this|this object."
\Is that possible?"
\I think so," said Professor McGonagall dryly, \we teachers are
rather good at magic, you know. I am sure we will be able to hold
him o for a while if we all put out best e orts into it. Of course,
something will have to be done about Professor Snape|"
\Let me|"
\|and if Hogwarts is about to enter a stage of siege, with the
595
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Chapter 30
Dark Lord at the gates, it would indeed be advisable to take as
many innocent people out of the way as possible. With the Floo
network under observation, and Apparition impossible within the
grounds|"
\There's a way," said Harry quickly, and he explained about
the passageway leading into the Hog's Head.
\Potter, we're talking about hundreds of students|"
\I know, Professor, but if Voldemort and the Death Eaters are
concentrating on the school boundaries they won't be interested in
anyone who's Disapparating out of Hog's Head."
\There's something in that," she agreed. She pointed her wand
at the Carrows, and a silver net fell upon their bound bodies,
tied itself around them, and hoisted them into the air, where they
dangled beneath the blue-and-gold ceiling like two large, ugly sea
creatures. \Come. We must alert the other Heads of House. You'd
better put that Cloak back on."
She marched toward the door, and as she did so she raised her
wand. From the tip burst three silver cats with spectacle markings
around their eyes. The Patronuses ran sleekly ahead, lling the
spiral staircase with silvery light, as Professor McGonagall, Harry,
and Luna hurried back down.
Along the corridors they raced, and one by one the Patronuses
left them; Professor McGonagall's tartan dressing gown rustled
over the
oor, and Harry and Luna jogged behind her under the
Cloak.
They had descended two more
oors when another set of quiet
footsteps joined theirs, Harry, whose scar was still prickling, heard
them rst. He felt in the pouch around his neck for the Marauder's
Map, but before he could take it out, McGonagall too seemed to
become aware of their company, She halted, raised her wand ready
596
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
to duel, and said, \Who's there?"
\It is I," said a low voice.
From behind a suit of armor stepped Severus Snape.
Hatred boiled up in Harry at the sight of him: He had forgotten
the details of Snape's appearance in the magnitude of his crimes,
forgotten how his greasy black hair hung in curtains around his
thin face, how his black eyes had a dead, cold look. He was not
wearing nightclothes, but was dressed in his usual black cloak, and
he too was holding his wand ready for a ght.
\Where are the Carrows?" he asked quietly.
\Wherever you told them to be, I expect, Severus," said Pro-
fessor McGonagall.
Snape stopped nearer, and his eyes
itted over Professor
McGonagall into the air around her, as if he knew that Harry
was there. Harry held up his wand tip too, ready to attack.
\I was under the impression," said Snape, \that Alecto had
apprehended an intruder."
\Really?" said Professor McGonagall. \And what gave you
that impression?"
Snape made a slight
exing movement of his left arm, where
the Dark Mark was branded into his skin.
\Oh, but naturally," said Professor McGonagall. \You Death
Eaters have you own private means of communication, I forgot."
Snape pretended not to have heard her. His eyes were still
probing the air all about her, and he was moving gradually closer,
with an air of hardly noticing what he was doing.
\I did not know that it was your night to patrol the corridors,
Minerva."
\You have some objection?"
597
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Chapter 30
\I wonder what could have brought you out of you bed at this
hour?"
\I thought I heard a disturbance," said Professor McGonagall.
\Really? But all seems calm."
Snape looked into her eyes.
\Have you seen Harry Potter, Minerva? Because if you have, I
must insist|"
Professor McGonagall moved faster than Harry could have be-
lieved: Her wand slashed through the air and for a split sec-
ond Harry thought that Snape must crumple, unconscious, but
the swiftness of his Shield Charm was such that McGonagall was
thrown o balance. She brandished her wand at a torch on the
wall and it
ew out of its bracket. Harry, about to curse Snape,
was forced to pull Luna out of the way of the descending
ames,
which became a ring of re that lled the corridor and
ew like a
lasso at Snape|
Then it was no longer re, but a great black serpent that
McGonagall blasted to smoke, which re-formed and solidi ed in
seconds to become a swarm of pursuing daggers. Snape avoided
them only be forcing the suit of armor in front of him, and with
echoing clang, the dagger sank, one after another, into the breast|
\Minerva!" said a squeaky voice, and looking behind him, still
shielding Luna from
ying spells, Harry saw Professor Flitwick and
Sprout sprinting up the corridor toward them in the nightclothes,
with the enormous Professor Slughorn panting along at the rear.
\No!" squeaking Flitwick, raising his wand. \You'll do more
murder at Hogwarts!"
Flitwick's spell hit the suit of armor behind which Snap had
taken shelter: With a clatter it came to life. Snape struggled free
of the crushing arms and sent it
ying back toward his attackers;
598
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
Harry and Luna had to dive sideways to avoid it as it smashed into
the wall and shattered. When Harry looked up again, Snape was in
full
ight, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout all thundering after
him. He hurtled through a classroom door and, moments later, he
heard McGonagall cry, \Coward! COWARD!"
\What's happened, what's happened?" asked Luna.
Harry dragged her to her feet and they raced along the corri-
dor, trailing the invisibility Cloak behind them, into the deserted
classroom where Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout were
standing at a smashed window.
\He jumped," said Professor McGonagall as Harry and Luna
ran into the room.
\You means he's dead?" Harry sprinted to the window, ignoring
Flitwick's and Sprout's yells of shock at his sudden appearance.
\No, he's not dead," said McGonagall bitterly. \Unlike Dum-
bledore, he was still carrying a wand . . . and he seems to have
learned a few tricks from his master."
With a tingle of horror, Harry saw in the distance a huge, batlike
shape
ying through the darkness toward the perimeter wall.
There were heavy footfalls behind them, and a great deal of
pu ng: Slughorn had just caught up.
\Harry!" he panted, massaging his immense chest beneath
his emerald-green silk pajamas.\My dear boy . . . what a
surprise . . . Minerva, do please explain. . . . Severus . . . what . . . ?"
\Our headmaster is taking a short break," said Professor
McGonagall, pointing at the Snape-shaped hole in the windows.
\Professor!" Harry shouted, his hands at his forehead. He could
see the Inferi- lled lake sliding beneath him, and he felt the ghostly
green boat bump into the underground shore, and Voldemort leapt
from it with murder in his heart|
599
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Chapter 30
\Professor, we've got to barricade the school, he's coming now!"
\Very well. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is coming," she told
the other teachers. Sprout and Flitwick gasped; Slughorn let out a
low groan. \Potter has work to do in the castle on Dumbledore's
orders. We need to put in place every protection of which we are
capable while Potter does what he needs to do."
\You realize, of course, that nothing we do will be able to keep
out You-Know-Who inde nitely?" said Professor Sprout.
\Thank you, Pomona," said Professor McGonagall, and be-
tween the two witches there passed a look of grim understanding.
\I suggest we establish basic protection around the place, then
gather our students and meet in the Great Hall. Most must be
evacuated, though if any of those who are over age wish to stay
and ght, I think they ought to be given the chance."
\Agreed," said Professor Sprout, already hurrying toward the
door. \I shall meet you in the Great Hall in twenty minutes with
my House."
And as she jogged out of sight, they could hear her muttering,
\Tentacula, Devil's Snare. And Snargalu pod . . . yes, I'd like to
see the Death Eaters ghting those."
\I can act from here," said Flitwick, and although he could bare
see out of it, he pointed his wand through the smashed window and
started muttering incantations of great complexity. Harry heard a
weird rushing noise, as though Flitwick had unleashed the power
of the wind into the grounds.
\Professor," Harry said, approaching the little Charms master,
\Professor, I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Have you
got any idea where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?"
\|Protego Horribilis |the diadem of Ravenclaw?" squeaked
Flitwick. \A little extra wisdom never goes amiss, Potter, but I
600
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
hardly think it would be much use in this situation!"
\I only meant|do you know where it is? Have you seen it?"
\Seen it? Nobody has seen it in living memory! Long since lost,
my boy!"
Harry felt a mixture of desperate disappointment and panic.
What, then, was the Horcrux?
\We shall meet you and your Ravenclaws in the Great Hall,
Filius!" said Professor McGonagall, beckoning to Harry and Luna
to follow her.
They had just reached the door when Slughorn rumbled into
speech.
\My word," he pu ed, pale and sweaty, his walrus mustache
aquiver. \What a to-do! I'm not at all sure whether this is wise,
Minerva. He is bound to nd a way in, you know, and anyone who
has tried to delay him will be in most grievous peril|"
\I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great hall in twenty
minutes, also," said Professor McGonagall. \If you wish to leave
with your students, we shall not stop you. But if any of you attempt
to sabotage our resistance or take up arms against us within this
castle, then, Horace, we duel to kill."
\Minerva!" he said, aghast.
\The time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its
loyalties," interrupted Professor McGonagall. \Go and wake your
students, Horace."
Harry did not stay to watch Slughorn splutter: He and Luna
ran after Professor McGonagall, who had taken up a position in
the middle of the corridor and raised her wand.
\Piertotum |oh, for heaven's sake, Filch, not now |"
The aged caretaker had just come hobbling into view, shouting,
\Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!"
601
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Chapter 30
\They're supposed to be here, you blithering idiot!" shouted
McGonagall. \Now go and do something constructive! Find
Peeves!"
\P{Peeves?" stammered Filch as though he had never heard
the name before.
\Yes, Peeves, you fool, Peeves! Haven't you been complaining
about him for a quarter of a century? Go and fetch him, at once!"
Filch evidently thought Professor McGonagall had taken leave
of her senses, but hobbled away, hunch-shouldered, muttering un-
der his breath.
\And now|Piertotum Locomotor!" cried Professor McGon-
agall.
And all along the corridor the statues and suits of armor jumped
down from their plinths, and from the echoing crashes from the
oors above and below, Harry knew that their fellows throughout
the castle had done the same.
\Hogwarts is threatened!" shouted Professor McGonagall.
\Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"
Clattering and yelling, the horde of moving statues stampeded
past Harry, some of them smaller, others larger, than life. There
were animals too, and the clanking suits of armor brandished
swords and spiked balls on chains.
\Now, Potter," said McGonagall, \you and Miss Lovegood had
better return to your friends and bring them to the Great Hall|I
shall rouse the other Gry ndors."
They parted at the top of the next staircase, Harry and Luna
turning back toward the concealed entrance to the Room of Re-
quirement. As they ran, they met crowds of students, most wearing
traveling cloaks over their pajamas, being shepherded down to the
Great Hall by teachers and prefects.
602
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
\That was Potter!"
\Harry Potter!"
\It was him, I swear, I just saw him!"
But Harry did not look back, and at last they reached the en-
trance to the Room of Requirement. Harry leaned against the
enchanted wall, which opened to admit them, and he and Luna
sped back down the steep staircase.
\Wh|?"
As the room came into view, Harry slipped down a few stairs
in shock. It was packed, far more crowded than when he had last
been in there. Kingsley and Lupin were looking up at him, as were
Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet,
Bill and Fleur, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
\Harry, what's happening?" said Lupin, meeting him at the
foot of the stairs.
\Voldemort's on his way, they're barricading the school|
Snape's run for it|What are you doing here? How did you know?"
\We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army," Fred
explained. \You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry,
and the D.A. let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of
snowballed."
\What rst, Harry?" called George. \What's going on?"
\They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting
in the Great Hall to get organized," Harry said. \We're ghting."
There was a great roar and a surge toward the foot of the stairs,
he was pressed back against the wall as they ran past him, the min-
gled members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army,
and Harry's old Quidditch team, all with their wands drawn, head-
ing up into the main castle.
\Come on, Luna," Dean called as he passed, holding out his
603
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Chapter 30
free hand; she took it and followed him back up the stairs.
The crowd was thinning: Only a little knot of people remained
below in the Room of Requirement, and Harry joined them. Mrs.
Weasley was struggling with Ginny. Around them stood Lupin,
Fred, George, Bill, and Fleur.
\You're underage!" Mrs. Weasley shouted at her daughter as
Harry approached. \I won't permit it! They boys, yes, but you,
you've got to get home!"
\I won't!"
Ginny's hair
ew as she pulled her arm out of her mother's grip.
\I'm in Dumbledore's Army|"
\A teenagers' gang!"
\A teenagers' gang that's about to take him on, which no one
else has dared to do!" said Fred.
\She's sixteen!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. \She's not old enough!
What you two were thinking, bringing her with you|"
Fred and George looked slightly ashamed of themselves.
\Mum's right, Ginny," said Bill gently. \You can't do this.
Everyone underage will have to leave, it's only right."
\I can't go home!" Ginny shouted, angry tears sparkling in her
eyes. \My whole family's here, I can't stand waiting there alone
and not knowing and|"
Her eyes met Harry's for the rst time. She looked at him
beseechingly, but he shook his head and she turned away bitterly,
\Fine," she said, staring at the entrance to the tunnel back to
the Hog's Head. \I'll say good-bye now, then, and|"
There was a scu ing and a great thump: Someone else had
clambered out of the tunnel, overbalanced slightly, and fallen. He
pulled himself up on the nearest chair, looked around through
lopsided horn-rimmed glasses, and said, \Am I too late? Has it
604
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
started? I only just found out, so I{I|"
Percy spluttered into silence. Evidently he had not expected
to run into most of his family. There was a long moment of as-
tonishment, broken by Fleur turning to Lupin and saying, in a
wildly transparent attempt to break the tension, \So|'ow eez lee-
tle Teddy?"
Lupin blinked at her, startled.The silence between the
Weasleys seemed to by solidifying, like ice.
\I|oh yes|he's ne!" Lupin said loudly. \Yes, Tonks is with
him|at her mother's|"
Percy and the other Weasleys were still staring at one another,
frozen.
\Here, I've got a picture!" Lupin shouted, pulling a photograph
from inside his jacket and showing it to Fleur and Harry, who saw
a tiny baby with a tuft of bright turquoise hair, waving fat sts at
the camera.
\I was a fool!" Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly
dropped his photograph. \I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I
was a|a|"
\Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron."
said Fred.
Percy swallowed.
\Yes, I was!"
\Well, you can't say fairer that that," said Fred, holding out
his hand to Percy.
Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred
aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her
on the back, his eyes on his father.
\I'm sorry, Dad." Percy said.
Mr. Weasley blinked rather rapidly, then he too hurried to hug
605
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Chapter 30
his son.
\What made you see sense, Perce?" inquired George.
\It's been coming on for a while," said Percy, mopping his eyes
under his glasses with a corner of his traveling cloak. \But I had
to nd a way out and it's not so easy at the Ministry, they're
imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with
Aberforth and he tipped me o ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was
going to make a ght for it, so here I am."
\Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as
these," said George in a good imitation of Percy's most pompous
manner. \Now let's get upstairs and ght, or all the good Death
Eaters'll be taken."
\So, you're my sister-in-law now?" said Percy, shaking hands
with Fleur as they hurried o toward the staircase with Bill, Fred,
and George.
\Ginny!" barked Mrs. Weasley.
Ginny has been attempting, under cover of the reconciliation,
to sneak upstairs too.
\Molly, how about this," said Lupin. \Why doesn't Ginny stay
here, then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going
on, but she won't be in the middle of the ghting?"
\I|"
\That's a good idea," said Mr. Weasley rmly. \Ginny, you
stay in this room, you hear me?"
Ginny did not seem to like the idea much, but under her father's
unusually stern gaze, she nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and
Lupin headed o for the stairs as well.
\Where's Ron?" asked Harry. \Where's Hermione?"
\They must have gone up to the Great Hall already," Mr.
Weasley called over his shoulder.
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The Sacking of Severus Snape
\I didn't see them pass me," said Harry.
\They said something about a bathroom," said Ginny, \not
long after you left."
\A bathroom?"
Harry strode across the room to an open door leading o the
Room of Requirement and checked the bathroom beyond. It was
empty.
\You're sure that they said bath|?"
But then his scar seared and the Room of Requirement van-
ished: He was looking through the high wrought-iron gates with
winded boars on pillars at either side, looking through the dark
grounds toward the castle, which was ablaze with lights. Nagini
lay draped over his shoulders. He was possessed of that cold, cruel
sense of purpose that preceded murder.
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Chapter 31
The Battle of Hogwarts
he enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall was dark and
scattered with stars, and below it the four long House
tables were lined with disheveled students, some in
Ttraveling cloaks, others in dressing gowns. Here and
there shone the pearly white gures of the school ghosts. Ev-
ery eye, living and dead, was xed upon Professor McGonagall,
who was speaking from the raised platform at the top of the Hall.
Behind her stood the remaining teachers, including the palomino
centaur, Firenze, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix
who had arrived to ght.
\|evacuation will be overseen by Mr. Filch and Madam Pom-
frey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organize your House
and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation
point."
Many of the students looked petri ed. However, as Harry
skirted the walls, scanning the Gry ndor table for Ron and Her-
mione, Ernie Macmillan stood up at the Hu epu table and
shouted. \And what if we want to stay and ght?"
608
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The Battle of Hogwarts
There was a smattering of applause.
\If you are of age, you may stay," said Professor McGonagall.
\What about our things?" called a girl at the Ravenclaw table.
\Our trunks, our owls?"
\We have no time to collect possessions," said Professor McGon-
agall. \The important thing is to get you out of here safely."
\Where's Professor Snape?" shouted a girl from the Slytherin
table.
\He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk," replied Pro-
fessor McGonagall, and a great cheer erupted from the Gry ndors,
Hu epu s, and Ravenclaws.
Harry moved up the Hall alongside the Gry ndor table, still
looking for Ron and Hermione. As he paused, faces turned in his
direction, and a great deal of whispering broke out in his wake.
\We have already placed protection around the castle," Profes-
sor McGonagall was saying, \but it is unlikely to hold for very long
unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly
and calmly, and do as your prefects|"
But her nal words were drowned as a di erent voice echoed
throughout the Hall. It was high, cold, and clean. There was
no telling from where it came; it seemed to issue from the walls
themselves. Like the monster it had once commanded, it might
have lain dormant there for centuries.
\I know you are preparing to ght." There were screams
amongst the students, some of whom clutched each other, look-
ing around in terror for the source of the sound. \Your e orts are
futile. You cannot ght me. I do not want to kill you. I have great
respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical
blood."
609
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Chapter 31
There was silence in the Hall now, the kind of silence that
presses against the eardrums, that seems too huge to be contained
by walls.
\Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, \and none
shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school
untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you should be rewarded.
\You have until midnight."
The silence swallowed them all again. Every head turned, every
eye in the place seemed to have found Harry, to hold him frozen
in the glare of thousands of invisible beams. Then a gure rose
from the Slytherin table and he recognized Pansy Parkinson as
she raised a shaking arm and screamed, \But he's there! Potter's
there! Someone grab him!"
Before Harry could speak, there was a massive movement. The
Gry ndors in front of him had risen and stood facing, not Harry,
but the Slytherins. Then the Hu epu s stood, and almost at the
same moment, the Ravenclaws, all of them, with their backs to
Harry, all of them looking toward Pansy instead, and Harry, awe-
struck and overwhelmed, saw wands emerging everywhere, pulled
from beneath cloaks and under sleeves.
\Thank you, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall in a
clipped voice. \You will leave the Hall rst with Mr. Filch. If the
rest of your House could follow."
Harry heard the grinding of benches and then the sound of the
Slytherins trooping out on the other side of the Hall.
\Ravenclaws, follow on!" cried Professor McGonagall.
Slowly the four tables emptied. The Slytherin table was com-
pletely deserted, but a number of older Ravenclaws remained
seated while their fellows led out; even more Hu epu s stayed
610
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The Battle of Hogwarts
behind, and half of remained in their seats, necessitating Professor
McGonagall's descent from the teachers' platform to chivvy the
underage on their way.
\Absolutely not, Creevey, go! And you, Peakes!"
Harry hurried over to the Weasleys, all sitting together at the
Gry ndor table.
\Where are Ron and Hermione?"
\Haven't you found|?" began Mr. Weasley, looking worried.
But he broke o as Kingsley had stepped forward on the raised
platform to address those who had remained behind.
\We've only got half an hour until midnight, so we need to
act fast! A battle plan has been agreed between the teachers
of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix. Professors Flitwick,
Sprout, and McGonagall are going to take groups of ghters
up to the three highest towers|Ravenclaw, Astronomy, and
Gry ndor|where they'll have a good overview, excellent posi-
tions from which to work spells. Meanwhile Remus"|he indi-
cated Lupin|\Arthur"|he pointed toward Mr. Weasley, sitting
at the Gry ndor table|\and I will take groups into the grounds.
We'll need somebody to organize defense of the entrances of the
passageways into the school|"
\Sounds like a job for us," called Fred, indicating himself and
George, and Kingsley nodded his approval.
\All right, leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!"
\Potter," said Professor McGonagall, hurrying up to him, as
students
ooded the platform, jostling for position, receiving in-
structions, \Aren't you supposed to be looking for something?"
\What? Oh," said Harry, \oh yeah!"
He had almost forgotten about the Horcrux, almost forgotten
611
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Chapter 31
that the battle was being fought so that he could search for it: The
inexplicable absence of Ron and Hermione had momentarily driven
every other thought from his mind.
\Then go, Potter, go!"
\Right|yeah|"
He sensed eyes following him as he ran out of the Great Hall
again, into the entrance hall still crowded with evacuating stu-
dents. He allowed himself to be swept up the marble staircase with
them, but at the top he hurried o along a deserted corridor. Fear
and panic were clouding his thought processes. He tried to calm
himself, to concentrate on nding the Horcrux, but his thoughts
buzzed as frantically and fruitlessly as wasps trapped beneath a
glass. Without Ron and Hermione to help him he could not seem
to marshal his ideas. He slowed down, coming to a halt halfway
along an empty passage, where he sat down upon the plinth of a
departed statue and pulled the Marauder's Map out of the pouch
around his neck. He could not see Ron's or Hermione's names any-
where on it, though the density of the crowd of dots now making its
way to the Room of Requirement might, he thought, be concealing
them. He put the map away, pressed his hands over his face, and
closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. . . .
Voldemort thought I'd go to Ravenclaw Tower.
There it was: a solid fact, the place to start. Voldemort had sta-
tioned Alecto Carrow in the Ravenclaw common room, and there
could only be one explanation: Voldemort feared that Harry al-
ready knew his Horcrux was connected to that house.
But the only object anyone seemed to associate with Ravenclaw
was the lost diadem . . . and how could the Horcrux be the diadem?
How was it possible that Voldemort, the Slytherin, had found the
612
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The Battle of Hogwarts
diadem that had eluded generations of Ravenclaws? Who could
have told him where to look, when nobody had seen the diadem in
living memory?
In living memory. . . .
Beneath his ngers, Harry's eyes
ew open again. He leapt up
from the plinth and tore back the way he had come, now in pursuit
of his one last hope. The sound of hundreds of people marching
towards the Room of Requirement grew louder and louder as he
returned to the marble stairs. Prefects were shouting instructions,
trying to keep track of the students in their own Houses; there was
much pushing and shoving; Harry saw Zacharias Smith bowling
over rst years to get to the front of the queue; here and there
younger students were in tears, while older ones called desperately
for friends or siblings. . . .
Harry caught sight of a pearly white gure drifting across the
entrance hall below and yelled as loudly as he could over the clamor.
\Nick! NICK! I need to talk to you!"
He forced his way back through the tide of students, nally
reaching the bottom of the stairs, where Nearly Headless Nick,
ghost of Gry ndor Tower, stood waiting for him.
\Harry! My dear boy!"
Nick made to grasp Harry's hands with both of his own: Harry's
felt as though they had been thrust into icy water.
\Nick, you've got to help me. Who's the ghost of Ravenclaw
Tower?"
Nearly Headless Nick looked surprised and a little o ended.
\The Gray Lady, of course; but if it is ghostly services you
require|?"
\It's got to be her|d'you know where she is?"
613
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Chapter 31
\Let's see. . . ."
Nick's head wobbled a little on his ru as he turned hither and
thither, peering over the heads of the swarming students.
\That's her over there, Harry, the young woman with the long
hair."
Harry looked in the direction of Nick's transparent, pointing
nger and saw a tall ghost who caught sight of Harry looking at
her, raised her eyebrows, and drifted away through a solid wall.
Harry ran after her. Once through the door of the corridor
into which she had disappeared, he saw her at the very end of the
passage, still gliding smoothly away from him.
\Hey|wait|come back!"
She consented to pause,
oating a few inches from the ground.
Harry supposed that she was beautiful, with her waist-length hair
and
oor-length cloak, but she also looked haughty and proud.
Close to, he recognized her as a ghost he had passed several times
in the corridor, but to whom he had never spoken.
\You're the Gray Lady?"
She nodded but did not speak.
\The ghost of Ravenclaw Tower?"
\That is correct."
Her tone was not encouraging.
\Please: I need some help. I need to know anything you can
tell me about the lost diadem."
A cold smile curved her lips.
\I am afraid," she said, turning to leave, \that I cannot help
you."
\WAIT!"
He had not meant to shout, but anger and panic were threat-
614
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The Battle of Hogwarts
ening to overwhelm him. He glanced at his watch as she hovered
in front of him. It was a quarter to midnight.
\This is urgent," he said ercely. \If that diadem's at Hogwarts,
I've got to nd it, fast."
\You are hardly the rst student to covet the diadem," she said
disdainfully. \Generations of students have badgered me|"
\This isn't about trying to get better marks!" Harry shouted
at her. \It's about Voldemort|defeating Voldemort|or aren't
you interested in that?"
She could not blush, but her transparent cheeks became more
opaque, and her voice was heated as she replied, \Of course I|how
dare you suggest|?"
\Well, help me, then!"
Her composure was slipping.
\It|it is not a question of|" she stammered. \My mother's
diadem|"
\Your mother's?"
She looked angry with herself.
\When I lived," she said sti y, \I was Helena Ravenclaw."
\You're her daughter? But then, you must know what hap-
pened to it!"
\While the diadem bestows wisdom," she said with an obvi-
ous e ort to pull herself together, \I doubt that it would greatly
increase your chances of defeating the wizard who calls himself
Lord|"
\Haven't I just told you, I'm not interested in wearing it!"
Harry said ercely. \There's no time to explain|but if you care
about Hogwarts, if you want to see Voldemort nished, you've got
to tell me anything you know about the diadem!"
615
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Chapter 31
She remained quite still,
oating in midair, staring down at
him, and a sense of hopelessness engulfed Harry. Of course, if she
had known anything, she would have told Flitwick or Dumbledore,
who had surely asked her the same question. He had shaken his
head and made to turn away when she spoke in a low voice.
\I stole the diadem from my mother."
\You|you did what?"
\I stole the diadem," repeated Helena Ravenclaw in a in a whis-
per. \I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my
mother. I ran away with it."
He did not know how he had managed to gain her con dence
and did not ask; he simply listened, hard, as she went on.
\My mother, they say, never admitted that the diadem was
gone, but pretended that she had it still. She concealed her loss,
my dreadful betrayal, even from the other founders of Hogwarts.
\Then my mother fell ill-fatally ill. In spite of my per dy, she
was desperate to see me one more time. She sent a man who had
long loved me, though I spurned his advances, to nd me. She
knew that he would not rest until he had done so."
Harry waited. She drew a deep breath and threw back her head.
\He tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused
to return with him, he became violent. The Baron was always a
hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom,
he stabbed me."
\The Baron? You mean|?"
\The Bloody Baron, yes," said the Gray Lady, and she lifted
aside the cloak she wore to reveal a single dark wound in her white
chest. \When he saw what he had done, he was overcome with
remorse. He took the weapon that had claimed my life, and used
616
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The Battle of Hogwarts
it to kill himself. All these centuries later, he wears his chains as
an act of penitence . . . as he should," she added bitterly.
\And . . . and the diadem?"
\It remained where I had hidden it when I heard the Baron
blundering through the forest toward me. Concealed inside a hol-
low tree."
\A hollow tree?" repeated Harry. \What tree? Where was
this?"
\A forest in Albania. A lonely place I thought was far beyond
my mother's reach."
\Albania," repeated Harry. Sense was emerging miraculously
from confusion, and now he understood why she was telling him
what she had denied Dumbledore and Flitwick. \You've already
told someone this story, haven't you? Another student?"
She closed her eyes and nodded.
\I had . . . no idea. . . . He was . . .
attering. He seemed to . . . to
understand . . . to sympathize. . . ."
Yes, Harry thought, Tom Riddle would certainly have under-
stood Helena Ravenclaw's desire to possess fabulous objects to
which she had little right.
\Well, you weren't the rst person Riddle wormed things out
of," Harry muttered. \He could be charming when he wanted. . . ."
So Voldemort had managed to wheedle the location of the lost
diadem out of the Gray Lady. He had traveled to that far-
ung
forest and retrieved the diadem from its hiding place, perhaps as
soon as he left Hogwarts, before he even started work at Borgin
and Burkes.
And wouldn't those secluded Albanian woods have seemed an
excellent refuge when, so much later, Voldemort had needed a place
617
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Chapter 31
to lie low, undisturbed, for ten long years?
But the diadem, once it became his precious Horcrux, had not
been left in that lowly tree. . . . No, the diadem had been returned
secretly to its true home, and Voldemort must have put it there|
\|the night he asked for a job!" said Harry, nishing his
thought.
\I beg your pardon?"
\He hid the diadem in the castle, the night he asked Dumble-
dore to let him teach!" said Harry. Saying it out loud enabled
him to make sense of it all. \He must've hidden the diadem on
his way up to, or down from, Dumbledore's o ce! But it was still
worth trying to get the job|then he might've got the chance to
nick Gry ndor's sword as well . . . thank you, thanks!"
Harry left her
oating there, looking utterly bewildered. As
he rounded the corner back into the entrance hall, he checked his
watch. It was ve minutes until midnight, and though he now knew
what the last Horcrux was, he was no closer to discovering where
it was.
Lost in desperate speculation, Harry turned a corner, but he
had taken only a few steps down the new corridor when the win-
dow to his left broke open with a deafening, shattering crash. As
he leapt aside, a gigantic body
ew in through the window and
hit the opposite wall. Something large and furry detached itself,
whimpering, from the new arrival and
ung itself at Harry.
\Hagrid!" Harry bellowed, ghting o Fang the boarhound's
attentions as the enormous bearded gure clambered to his feet.
\What the|?"
\Harry, yer here! Yer here!"
Hagrid stooped down, bestowed upon Harry a cursory and rib-
618
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The Battle of Hogwarts
cracking hug, then ran back to the shattered window.
\Good boy, Grawpy!" he bellowed through the hole in the
window. \I'll see yer in a moment, there's a good lad!"
Beyond Hagrid, out in the dark night, Harry saw bursts of light
in the distance and heard a weird, keening scream. He looked down
at his watch. It was midnight. The battle had begun.
\Blimey, Harry," panted Hagrid, \this is it, eh? Time ter ght?"
\Hagrid, where have you come from?"
\Heard You-Know-Who from up in our cave," said Hagrid
grimly. \Voice carried, didn' it? `Yeh got till midnight ter gimme
Potter.' Knew yeh mus' be here, knew what mus' be happenin'.
Get down, Fang. So we come ter join in, me an' Grawpy an' Fang.
Smashed our way through the boundary by the forest, Grawpy was
carryin' us, Fang an' me. Told him ter let me down at the castle,
so he shoved me through the window, bless him. Not exac'ly what
I meant, bu'|where's Ron an' Hermione?"
\That," said Harry, \is a really good question. Come on."
They hurried together along the corridor, Fang lolloping be-
side them. Harry could hear movement through the corridors all
around: running footsteps, shouts; through the windows, he could
see more
ashes of light in the dark grounds.
\Where're we goin'?" pu ed Hagrid, pounding along at Harry's
heels, making the
oorboards quake.
\I dunno exactly," said Harry, making another random turn,
\but Ron and Hermione must be around here somewhere. . . ."
The rst casualties of the battle were already strewn across the
passage ahead: The two stone gargoyles that usually guarded the
entrance to the sta room had been smashed apart by a jinx that
had sailed through another broken window. Their remains stirred
619
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Chapter 31
feebly on the
oor, and as Harry leapt over one of their disembodied
heads, it moaned faintly. \Oh, don't mind me . . . I'll just lie here
and crumble. . . ."
Its ugly stone face made Harry think suddenly of the marble
bust of Rowena Ravenclaw at Xenophilius's house, wearing that
mad headdress|and then of the statue in Ravenclaw Tower, with
the stone diadem upon her white curls. . . .
And as he reached the end of the passage, the memory of a
third stone e gy came back to him: that of an ugly old warlock,
onto whose head Harry himself had placed a wig and a battered old
tiara. The shock shot through Harry with the heat of rewhisky,
and he nearly stumbled.
He knew, at last, where the Horcrux sat waiting for him. . . .
Tom Riddle, who con ded in no one and operated alone, might
have been arrogant enough to assume that he, and only he, had
penetrated the deepest mysteries of Hogwarts Castle. Of course,
Dumbledore and Flitwick, those model pupils, had never set foot
in that particular place, but he, Harry, had strayed o the beaten
track in his time at school|here at last was a secret he and Volde-
mort knew, that Dumbledore had never discovered|
He was roused by Professor Sprout, who was thundering past
followed by Neville and half a dozen others, all of them wearing
earmu s and carrying what appeared to be large potted plants.
\Mandrakes!" Neville bellowed at Harry over his shoulder as
he ran. \Going to lob them over the walls|they won't like this!"
Harry knew now where to go. He sped o , with Hagrid and Fang
galloping behind him. They passed portrait after portrait, and the
painted gures raced alongside them, wizards and witches in ru s
and breeches, in armor and cloaks, cramming themselves into each
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The Battle of Hogwarts
others' canvases, screaming news from other parts of the castle. As
they reached the end of this corridor, the whole castle shook, and
Harry knew, as a gigantic vase blew o its plinth with explosive
force, that it was in the grip of enchantments more sinister than
those of the teachers and the Order.
\It's all righ', Fang|it's all righ'!" yelled Hagrid, but the great
boarhound had taken
ight as slivers of china
ew like shrapnel
through the air, and Hagrid pounded o after the terri ed dog,
leaving Harry alone.
He forged on through the trembling passages, his wand at the
ready, and for the length of one corridor the little painted knight,
Sir Cadogan, rushed from painting to painting beside him, clanking
along in his armor, screaming encouragement, his fat little pony
cantering behind him.
\Braggarts and rogues, dogs and scoundrels, drive them out,
Harry Potter, see them o !"
Harry hurtled around a corner and found Fred and a small knot
of students, including Lee Jordan and Hannah Abbott, standing
beside another empty plinth, whose statue had concealed a secret
passageway. Their wands were drawn and they were listening at
the concealed hole.
\Nice night for it!" Fred shouted as the castle quaked again, and
Harry sprinted by, elated and terri ed in equal measure. Along yet
another corridor he dashed, and then there were owls everywhere,
and Mrs. Norris was hissing and trying to bat them with her paws,
no doubt to return them to their proper place. . . .
\Potter!"
Aberforth Dumbledore stood blocking the corridor ahead, his
wand held ready.
621
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Chapter 31
\I've had hundreds of kids thundering through my pub, Potter."
\I know, we're evacuating," Harry said, \Voldemort's|"
\|attacking because they haven't handed you over, yeah," said
Aberforth. \I'm not deaf, the whole of Hogsmeade heard him. And
it never occurred to any of you to keep a few Slytherins hostage?
There are kids of Death Eaters you've just sent to safety. Wouldn't
it have been a bit smarter to keep 'em here?"
\It wouldn't stop Voldemort," said Harry, \and your brother
would never have done it."
Aberforth grunted and tore away in the opposite direction.
Your brother would never have done it. . . . Well, it was the
truth, Harry thought as he ran on again: Dumbledore, who had
defended Snape for so long, would never have held students ran-
som. . . .
And then he skidded around a nal corner and with a yell of
mingled relief and fury he saw them: Ron and Hermione, both with
their arms full of large, curved, dirty yellow objects, Ron with a
broomstick under his arm.
\Where the hell have you been?" Harry shouted.
\Chamber of Secrets," said Ron.
\Chamber|what?" said Harry, coming to an unsteady halt
before them.
\It was Ron, all Ron's idea!" said Hermione breathlessly.
\Wasn't it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after you left, and
I said to Ron, even if we had the other one, how are we going to
get rid of it? We still hadn't gotten rid of the cup! And then he
thought of it! The basilisk!"
\What the|?"
\Something to get rid of Horcruxes," said Ron simply.
622
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The Battle of Hogwarts
Harry's eyes dropped to the objects clutched in Ron and Her-
mione's arms: great curved fangs, torn, he now realized, from the
skull of a dead basilisk.
\But how did you get in there?" he asked, staring from the
fangs to Ron. \You need to speak Parseltongue!"
Ron made a horrible strangled hissing noise.
\It's what you did to open the locket," he told Harry apologet-
ically. \I had to have a few goes to get it right, but," he shrugged
modestly, \we got there in the end."
\He was amazing!" said Hermione, \Amazing!"
\So . . . " Harry was struggling to keep up. \So . . . "
\So we're another Horcrux down," said Ron, and from under
his jacket he pulled the mangled remains of Hu epu 's cup. \Her-
mione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn't had the pleasure
yet."
\Genius!" yelled Harry.
\It was nothing," said Ron, though he looked delighted with
himself. \So what's new with you?"
As he said it, there was an explosion from overhead: All three
of them looked up as dust fell from the ceiling and they heard a
distant scream.
\I know what the diadem looks like, and I know where it is,"
said Harry, talking fast. \He hid it exactly where I hid my old
Potions book, where everyone's been hiding stu for centuries. He
thought he was the only one to nd it. Come one."
\As the walls trembled again, he led the other two back through
the concealed entrance and down the staircase into the Room of
Requirement. It was empty except for three women: Ginny, Tonks,
and an elderly witch wearing a moth-eaten hat, whom Harry rec-
623
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Chapter 31
ognized immediately as Neville's grandmother.
\Ah, Potter," she said crisply as if she had been waiting for
him. \You can tell us what's going on."
\Is everyone okay?" said Ginny and Tonks together.
\'S far as we know," said Harry. \Are there still people in the
passage to the Hog's Head?"
He knew that the room would not be able to transform while
there were still users inside it.
\I was the last to come through," said Mrs. Longbottom. \I
sealed it, I think it unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left
his pub. Have you seen my grandson?"
\He's ghting," said Harry.
\Naturally," said the old lady proudly. \Excuse me, I must go
and assist him."
With surprising speed she trotted o toward the stone steps.
Harry looked at Tonks.
\I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your
mother's?"
\I couldn't stand not knowing|" Tonks looked anguished.
\She'll look after him|have you seen Remus?"
\He was planning to lead a group of ghters into the grounds|"
Without another word, Tonks sped o .
\Ginny," said Harry, \I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too.
Just for a bit. Then you can come back in."
Ginny looked simply delighted to leave her sanctuary.
\And then you can come back in!" he shouted after her as she
ran up the steps after Tonks. \You've got to come back in!"
\Hang on a moment!" said Ron sharply. \We've forgotten
someone!"
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The Battle of Hogwarts
\Who?" asked Hermione.
\The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't
they?"
\You mean we ought to get them ghting?" asked Harry.
\No," said Ron seriously, \I mean we should tell them to get
out. We don't want anymore Dobbies, do we? We can't order them
to die for us|\
There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Her-
mione's arms. Running at Ron, she
ung them around his neck
and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and
broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm
that he lifted Hermione o her feet.
\Is this the moment?" Harry asked weakly, and when nothing
happened except that Ron and Hermione gripped each other still
more rmly and swayed on the spot, he raised his voice. \Oi!
There's a war going on here!"
Ron and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each
other.
\I know, mate," said Ron, who looked as though he had recently
been hit on the back of the head with a Bludger, \so it's now or
never, isn't it?"
\Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?" Harry shouted.
\D'you think you could just|just hold it in until we've got the
diadem?"
\Yeah|right|sorry|" said Ron, and he and Hermione set
about gathering up fangs, both pink in the face.
It was clear, as the three of them stepped back into the corridor
upstairs, that in the minutes that they had spent in the Room
of Requirement the situation within the castle had deteriorated
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Chapter 31
severely: The walls and ceiling were shaking worse than ever; dust
lled the air, and through the nearest window, Harry saw bursts of
green and red light so close to the foot of the castle that he knew
the Death Eaters must be very near to entering the place. Looking
down, Harry saw Grawp the giant meandering past, swinging what
looked like a stone gargoyle torn from the roof and roaring his
displeasure.
\Let's hope he steps on some of them!" said Ron as more
screams echoed from close by.
\As long as it's not any of our lot!" said a voice: Harry turned
and saw Ginny and Tonks, both with their wands drawn at the next
window, which was missing several panes. Even as he watched,
Ginny sent a well-aimed jinx into a crowd of ghters below.
\Good girl!" roared a gure running through the dust toward
them, and Harry saw Aberforth again, his gray hair
ying as he
led a small group of students past. \They look like they might be
breaching the north battlements, they've brought giants of their
own."
\Have you seen Remus?" Tonks called after him.
\He was dueling Dolohov," shouted Aberforth, \haven't seen
him since!"
\Tonks," said Ginny, \Tonks, I'm sure he's okay|\
But Tonks had run o into the dust after Aberforth.
Ginny turned, helpless, to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
\They'll be all right," said Harry, though he knew they were
empty words. \Ginny, we'll be back in a moment, just keep out
of the way, keep safe|come on!" he said to Ron and Hermione,
and they ran back to the stretch of wall beyond which the Room
of Requirement was waiting to do the bidding of the next entrant.
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The Battle of Hogwarts
I need the place where everything is hidden. Harry begged of it
inside his head, and the door materialized on their third run past.
The furor of the battle died the moment they crossed the thresh-
old and closed the door behind them: All was silent. They were
in a place the size of a cathedral with the appearance of a city, its
towering walls built of objects hidden by thousands of long-gone
students.
\And he never realized anyone could get in?" said Ron, his
voice echoing in the silence.
\He thought he was the only one," said Harry. \Too bad for
him I've had to hide stu in my time . . . this way," he added. \I
think it's down here. . . ."
He passed the stu ed troll and the Vanish Cabinet Draco Mal-
foy had mended last year with such disastrous consequenecs, then
hesitated, looking up and down aisles of junk; he could not remem-
ber we to go next. . . .
\Accio Diadem!" cried Hermioen in desperation, but nothing
ew through the air toward them. It seemed that, like the vault at
Gringotts, the room would not yield its hidden objects that easily.
\Let's split up." Harry told the other two. \Look for a stone
bust of an old man wearing a wig an a tiara! It's standing on a
cupboard and it's de nitely somewhere around here. . . ."
They sped o up adjacent aisles; Harry could hear the others'
footsteps echoing through the towering piles of junk, of bottles,
hats, crates, chairs, books, weapons, broomsticks, bats. . . .
\Somewhere near here," Harry muttered to himself.
\Somewhere . . . somewhere . . . "
Deeper and deeper into the labyrinth he went, looking for ob-
jects he recognized from his one previous trip into the room. His
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Chapter 31
breath was loud in his ears, and then his very soul seemed to shiver.
There it was, right ahead, the blistered old cupboard in which he
had hidden his old Potions book, and on top of it, the pockmarked
stone warlock wearing a dusty old wig and what looked like an
ancient discolored tiara.
He had already stretched out his hand, though he remained few
feet away, when a voice behind him said, \Hold it, Potter."
He skidded to a halt and turned around. Crabbe and Goyle were
standing behind him, shoulder to shoulder, wands pointing right
at Harry. Through the small space between their jeering faces he
saw Draco Malfoy.
\That's my wand you're holding, Potter," said Malfoy, pointing
his own through the gap between Crabbe and Goyle.
\Not anymore," panted Harry, tightening his grip on the
hawthorn wand. \Winners, keepers, Malfoy. Who's lent you
theirs?"
\My mother," said Draco.
Harry laughed, though there was nothing very humorous about
the situation. He could not hear Ron or Hermione anymore. They
seemed to have run out of earshot, searching for the diadem.
\So how come you three aren't with Voldemort?" asked Harry.
\We're gonna be rewarded," said Crabbe. His voice was sur-
prisingly soft for such an enormous person: Harry had hardly ever
heard him speak before. Crabbe was speaking like a small child
promised a large bag of sweets. \We 'ung back, Potter. We decided
not to go. Decided to bring you to 'im."
\Good plan," said Harry in mock admiration. He could not
believe that he was this close, and was going to be thwarted by
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. He began edging slowly backward
628
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The Battle of Hogwarts
toward the place where the Horcrux sat lopsided upon the bust. If
he could just get his hands on it before the ght broke out . . .
\So how did you get in here?" he asked, trying to distract them.
\I virtually lived in the Room of Hidden Things all last year,"
said Malfoy, his voice brittle. \I know how to get in."
\We was hiding in the corridor outside," grunted Goyle. \We
can do Diss-lusion Charms now! And then," his face split into a
gormless grin, \you turned up right in front of us and said you was
looking for a die-dum! What's a die-dum?"
\Harry?" Ron's voice echoed suddenly from the other side of
the wall to Harry's right. \Are you talking to someone?"
With a whiplike movement, Crabbe pointed his wand at the
fty foot mountain of old furniture, of broken trunks, of old books
and robes and unidenti able junk, and shouted, \Descendo!"
The wall began to totter, then the top third crumbled into the
aisle next door where Ron stood.
\Ron!" Harry bellowed, as somewhere out of sight Hermione
screamed, and Harry heard innumerable objects crashing to the
oor on the other side of the destabilized wall: He pointed his
wand at the rampart, cried, \Finite!" and it steadied.
\No!" shouted Malfoy, staying Crabbe's arm as the latter made
to repeat his spell. \If you wreck the room you might bury this
diadem thing!"
\What's that matter?" said Crabbe, tugging himself free. \It's
Potter the Dark Lord wants, who cares about a die-dum?"
\Potter came in here to get it," said Malfoy with ill-disguised
impatience at the slow-wittedness of his colleagues. \so that must
mean|\
\`Must mean'?" Crabbe turned on Malfoy with undisguised
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Chapter 31
ferocity. \Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no
more, Draco. You an' your dad are nished."
\Harry?" shouted Ron again, from the other side of the junk
wad. \What's going on?"
\Harry?" mimicked Crabbe. \What's going on|no, Potter!
Crucio!"
Harry had lunged for the tiara; Crabbe's curse missed him but
hit the stone bust, which
ew into the air; the diadem soared up-
ward and then dropped out of sight in the mass of objects on which
the bust had rested.
\STOP!" Malfoy shouted at Crabbe, his voice echoing through
the enormous room. \The Dark Lord wants him alive|\
\So? I'm not killing him, am I?" yelled Crabbe, throwing o
Malfoy's restraining arm. \But if I can, I will, the Dark Lord wants
him dead anyway, what's the di |?"
A jet of scarlet light shot past Harry by inches: Hermione
had run around the corner behind him and sent a Stunning Spell
straight at Crabbe's head. It only missed because Malfoy pulled
him out of the way.
\It's that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!"
Harry saw Hermione dive aside, and his fury that Crabbe had
aimed to kill wiped all else from his mind. He shot a Stunning
Spell at Crabbe, who lurched out of the way, knocking Malfoy's
wand out of his hand; it rolled out of sight beneath a mountain of
broken furniture and bones.
\Don't kill him! DON'T KILL HIM!" Malfoy yelled at Crabbe
and Goyle, who were both aiming at Harry: Their split second's
hesitation was all Harry needed.
\Expelliarmus!"
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The Battle of Hogwarts
Goyle's wand
ew out of his hand and disappeared into the
bulwark of objects beside him; Goyle leapt foolishly on the spot,
trying to retrieve it; Malfoy jumped out of range of Hermione's
second Stunning Spell, and Ron, appearing suddenly at the end of
the aisle, shot a full Body-Bind Curse at Crabbe, which narrowly
missed.
Crabbe wheeled around and screamed, \Avada Kedavra!"
again. Ron leapt out of sight to avoid the jet of green light. The
wand-less Malfoy cowered behind a three-legged wardrobe as Her-
mione charged toward them, hitting Goyle with a Stunning Spell
as she came.
\It's somewhere here!" Harry yelled at her, pointing at the pile
of junk into which the old tiara had fallen. \Look for it while I go
and help R|\
\HARRY!" she screamed.
A roaring, billowing noise behind him gave him a moment's
warning. He turned and saw both Ron and Crabbe running as
hard as they could up the aisle toward them.
\Like it hot, scum?" roared Crabbe as he ran.
But he seemed to have no control over what he had done.
Flames of abnormal size were pursuing them, licking up the sides
of the junk bulwarks, which were crumbling to soot at their touch.
\Aguamenti!" Harry bawled, but the jet of water that soared
from the tip of his wand evaporated in the air.
\RUN!"
Malfoy grabbed the Stunned Goyle and dragged him along;
Crabbe outstripped all of them, now looking terri ed; Harry, Ron,
and Hermione pelted along in his wake, and the re pursued them.
It was not normal re; Crabbe had used a curse of which Harry had
631
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Chapter 31
no knowledge. As they turned a corner the
ames chased them as
though they were alive, sentient, intent upon killing them. Now the
re was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of ery beasts: Flaming
serpents, chimaeras, and dragons rose and fell and rose again, and
the detritus of centuries on which they were feeding was thrown up
into the air into their fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet,
before being consumed by the inferno.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had vanished from view: Harry, Ron
and Hermione stopped dead; the ery monsters were circling them,
drawing closer and closer, claws and horns and tails lashed, and
the heat was solid as a wall around them.
\What can we do?" Hermione screamed over the deafening
roars of the re. \What can we do?"
\Here!"
Harry seized a pair of heavy-looking broomsticks from the near-
est pile of junk and threw one to Ron, who pulled Hermione onto it
behind him. Harry swung his leg over the second broom and, with
hard kicks to the ground, they soared up in the air, missing by feet
the horned beak of a
aming raptor that snapped its jaws at them.
The smoke and heat were becoming overwhelming: Below them
the cursed re was consuming the contraband of generations of
hunted students, the guilty outcomes of a thousand banned exper-
iments, the secrets of the countless souls who had sought refuge in
the room. Harry could not see a trace of Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle
anywhere. He swooped as low as he dare over the marauding mon-
sters of
ame to try to nd them, but there was nothing but re:
What a terrible way to die. . . . He had never wanted this. . . .
\Harry, let's get out, let's get out!" bellowed Ron, though it
was impossible to see where the door was through the black smoke.
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The Battle of Hogwarts
And then Harry heard a thin, piteous human scream from
amidst the terrible commotion, the thunder of devouring
ame.
\It's|too|dangerous|!" Ron yelled, but Harry wheeled in
the air. His glasses giving his eyes some small protection from the
smoke, he raked the restorm below, seeking a sign of life, a limb
or a face that was not yet charred like wood. . . .
And he saw them: Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious
Goyle, the pair of them perched on a fragile tower of charred desks,
and Harry dived. Malfoy saw him coming and raised one arm, but
even as Harry grasped it he knew at once that it was no good.
Goyle was too heavy and Malfoy's hand, covered in sweat, slid
instantly out of Harry's|
\IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" roared
Ron's voice, and, as a great
aming chimaera bore down upon
them, he and Hermione dragged Goyle onto their broom and rose,
rolling and pitching, into the air once more as Malfoy clambered
up behind Harry.
\The door, get to the door, the door!" screamed Malfoy in
Harry's ear, and Harry sped up, following Ron, Hermione, and
Goyle through the billowing black smoke, hardly able to breathe:
and all around them the last few objects unburned by the devouring
ames were
ung into the air, as the creatures of the cursed re cast
them high in celebration: cups and shields, a sparkling necklace,
and an old, discolored tiara|
\What are you doing, what are you doing, the door's that way!"
screamed Malfoy, but Harry made a hairpin swerve and dived. The
diadem seemed to fall in slow motion, turning and glittering as it
dropped toward the maw of a yawning serpent, and then he had
it, caught it around his wrist|
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Chapter 31
Harry swerved again as the serpent lunged at him; he soared
upward and straight toward the place where, he prayed, the door
stood open; Ron, Hermione and Goyle had vanished; Malfoy was
screaming and holding Harry so tightly it hurt. Then, through the
smoke, Harry saw a rectangular patch on the wall and steered the
broom at it, and moments later clean air lled his lungs and they
collided with the wall in the corridor beyond.
Malfoy fell o the broom and lay facedown, gasping, coughing,
and retching. Harry rolled over and sat up: The door to the Room
of Requirement had vanished, and Ron and Hermione sat panting
on the
oor beside Goyle, who was still unconscious.
\C{Crabbe," choked Malfoy as soon as he could speak. \C{
Crabbe . . . "
\He's dead," said Ron harshly.
There was silence, apart from panting and coughing. Then a
number of huge bangs shook the castle, and a great cavalcade of
transparent gures galloped past on horses, their heads screaming
with bloodlust under their arms. Harry staggered to his feet when
the Headless Hunt had passed and looked around: The battle was
still going on all around him. He could hear more scream than
those of the retreating ghosts. Panic
ared within him.
\Where's Ginny?" he said sharply. \She was here. She was
supposed to be going back into the Room of Requirement."
\Blimey, d'you reckon it'll still work after that re?" asked
Ron, but he too got to his feet, rubbing his chest and looking left
and right. \Shall we split up and look|?"
\No," said Hermione, getting to her feet too. Malfoy and Goyle
remained slumped hopelessly on the corridor
oor; neither of them
had wands. \Let's stick together. I say we go|Harry, what's that
634
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The Battle of Hogwarts
on your arm?"
\What? Oh yeah|\
He pulled the diadem from his wrist and held it up. It was still
hot, blackened with soot, but as he looked at it closely he was just
able to make out the tiny words etched upon it; WIT BEYOND
MEASURE IS MAN'S GREATEST TREASURE.
A bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, seemed to be leaking
from the diadem. Suddenly Harry felt the thing vibrate violently,
then break apart in his hands, and as it did so, he thought he heard
the faintest, most distant scream of pain, echoing not from the
grounds or the castle, but from the thing that had just fragmented
in his ngers.
\It must have been Fiendfyre!" whimpered Hermione, her eyes
on the broken piece.
\Sorry?"
\Fiendfyre-cursed re | it's one of the substances that destroy
Horcruxes, but I would never, ever have dared use it, it's so dan-
gerous | how did Crabbe know how to|?"
\Must've learned from the Carrows," said Harry grimly.
\Shame he wasn't concentrating when they mentioned how to
stop it, really," said Ron, whose hair, like Hermione's, was singed,
and whose face was blackened. \If he hadn't tried to kill us all, I'd
be quite sorry he was dead."
\But don't you realize?" whispered Hermione. \This means, if
we can just get the snake|\
But she broke o as yells and shouts and the unmistakable
noises of dueling lled the corridor. Harry looked around and his
heart seemed to fail: Death Eaters had penetrated Hogwarts. Fred
and Percy had just backed into view, both of them dueling masked
635
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Chapter 31
and hooded men.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran forward to help: Jets of light
ew in every direction and the man dueling Percy backed o , fast:
Then his hood slipped and they saw a high forehead and streaked
hair|
\Hello, Minister!" bellowed Percy, sending a neat jinx straight
at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and clawed at the front of
his robes, apparently in awful discomfort. \Did I mention I'm
resigning?"
\You're joking, Perce!" shouted Fred as the Death Eater he
was battling collapsed under the weight of three separate Stunning
Spells. Thicknesse had fallen to the ground with tiny spikes erupt-
ing all over him; he seemed to be turning into some form of sea
urchin. Fred looked at Percy with glee.
\You actually are joking, Perce. . . . I don't think I've heard you
joke since you were|\
The air exploded. They had been grouped together, Harry,
Ron, Hermione, Fred, and Percy, the two Death Eaters at their
feet, one Stunned, the other Trans gured; and in that fragment
of a moment, when danger seemed temporarily at bay, the world
was rent apart, Harry felt himself
ying through the air, and all he
could do was hold as tightly as possible to that thin stick of wood
that was his one and only weapon, and shield his head in his arms:
He heard the screams and yells of his companions without a hope
of knowing what had happened to them|
And then the world resolved itself into pain and semidarkness:
He was half buried in the wreckage of a corridor that had been
subjected to a terrible attack. Cold air told him that the side of
the castle had been blown away, and hot stickiness on his cheek
636
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The Battle of Hogwarts
told him that he was bleeding copiously. Then he heard a terrible
cry that pulled at his insides, that expressed agony of a kind nei-
ther
ame nor curse could cause, and he stood up, swaying, more
frightened than he had been that day, more frightened, perhaps,
than he had been in his life. . . .
And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and
three redheaded men were grouped on the ground where the wall
had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as they stag-
gered and stumbled over stone and wood.
\No|no|no!" someone was shouting. \No! Fred! No!" And
Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them,
and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh
still etched upon his face.
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Chapter 32
The Elder Wand
he world had ended, so why had the battle not ceased,
the castle fallen silent in horror, and every combatant
laid down their arms? Harry's mind was in free fall,
Tspinning out of control, unable to grasp the impossi-
bility, because Fred Weasley could not be dead, the evidence of all
his senses must be lying|
And then a body fell past the hole blown into the side of the
school and curses
ew in at them from the darkness, hitting the
wall behind their heads.
\Get down!" Harry shouted, as more curses
ew through the
night: He and Ron had both grabbed Hermione and pulled her
to the
oor, but Percy lay across Fred's body, shielding it from
further harm, and when Harry shouted \Percy, come on, we've got
to move!" he shook his head.
\Percy!" Harry saw tear tracks streaking the grime coating
Ron's face as he seized his elder brother's shoulders and pulled,
but Percy would not budge. \Percy, you can't do anything for
him! We're going to|"
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The Elder Wand
Hermione screamed, and Harry, turning, did not need to ask
why. A monstrous spider the size of a small car was trying to climb
through the huge hole in the wall. One of Aragog's descendants
had joined the ght.
Ron and Harry shouted together; their spells collided and the
monster was blown backward, its legs jerking horribly, and van-
ished into the darkness.
\It brought friends!" Harry called to the others, glancing over
the edge of the castle through the hole in the wall the curses had
blasted. More giant spiders were climbing the side of the building,
liberated from the Forbidden Forest, into which the Death Eaters
must have penetrated. Harry red Stunning Spells down upon
them, knocking the lead monster into its fellows, so that they rolled
back down the building and out of sight. Then more curses came
soaring over Harry's head, so close he felt the force of them blow
his hair.
\Let's move, NOW!"
Pushing Hermione ahead of him with Ron, Harry stooped to
seize Fred's body under the armpit. Percy, realizing what Harry
was trying to do, stopped clinging to the body and helped: to-
gether, crouching low to avoid the curses
ying at them from the
grounds, they hauled Fred out of the way.
\Here," said Harry, and they placed him in a niche where a suit
of armor had stood earlier. He could not bear to look at Fred a
second longer than he had to, and after making sure that the body
was well-hidden, he took o after Ron and Hermione. Malfoy and
Goyle had vanished but at the end of the corridor, which was now
full of dust and falling masonry, glass long gone from windows, he
saw many people running backward and forward, whether friends
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Chapter 32
or foes he could not tell. Rounding the corner, Percy let out a
bull-like roar: \ROOKWOOD!" and sprinted o in the direction
of a tall man, who was pursuing a couple of students.
\Harry, in here!" Hermione screamed.
She had pulled Ron behind a tapestry. They seemed to be
wrestling together, and for one mad second Harry thought that
they were embracing again; then he saw that Hermione was trying
to restrain Ron, to stop him running after Percy.
\Listen to me|LISTEN RON !"
\I wanna help|I wanna kill Death Eaters|"
His face was contorted, smeared with dust and smoke, and he
was shaking with rage and grief.
\Ron, we're the only ones who can end it! Please|Ron|we
need the snake, we've got to kill the snake!" said Hermione.
But Harry knew how Ron felt: Pursuing another Horcrux could
not bring the satisfaction of revenge; he too wanted to ght, to
punish them, the people who had killed Fred, and he wanted to
nd the other Weasleys, and above all make sure, make quite sure,
that Ginny was not|but he could not permit that idea to form in
his mind|
\We will ght!" Hermione said. \We'll have to, to reach the
snake! But let's not lose sight now of what we're supposed to be
d{doing! We're the only ones who can end it!"
She was crying too, and she wiped her face on her torn and
singed sleeve as she spoke, but she took great heaving breaths to
calm herself as, still keeping a tight hold on Ron, she turned to
Harry. \You need to nd out where Voldemort is, because he'll
have the snake with him, won't he? Do it, Harry|look inside
him!"
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The Elder Wand
Why was it so easy? Because his scar had been burning for
hours, yearning to show him Voldemort's thoughts? He closed his
eyes on her command, and at once, the screams and bangs and
all the discordant sounds of the battle were drowned until they
became distant, as though he stood far, far away from them. . . .
He was standing in the middle of a desolate but strangely fa-
miliar room, with peeling paper on the walls and all the windows
boarded up except for one. The sounds of the assault on the castle
were mu ed and distant. The single unblocked window revealed
distant bursts of light where the castle stood, but inside the room
was dark except for a solitary oil lamp.
He was rolling his wand between his ngers, watching it, his
thoughts on the room in the castle, the secret room only he had ever
found, the room, like the chamber, that you had to be clever and
cunning and inquisitive to discover . . . He was con dent that the
boy would not nd the diadem . . . although Dumbledore's puppet
had come much farther than he ever expected . . . too far. . . .
\My Lord," said a voice, desperate and cracked. He turned:
there was Lucius Malfoy sitting in the darkest corner, ragged and
still bearing the marks of the punishment he had received after the
boy's last escape. One of his eyes remained closed and pu y. \My
Lord . . . please . . . my son . . . "
\If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault. He did not come
and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has decided
to befriend Harry Potter?"
\No|never," whispered Malfoy.
\You must hope not."
\Aren't|aren't you afraid, my Lord that Potter might die
at another hand but yours?" asked Malfoy, his voice shaking.
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Chapter 32
\Wouldn't it be . . . forgive me . . . more prudent to call o this bat-
tle, enter the castle, and seek him y{yourself?"
\Do not pretend Lucius. You wish the battle to cease so that
you can discover what has happened to your son. And I do not
need to seek Potter. Before the night is out, Potter will have come
to nd me."
Voldemort dropped his gaze once more to the wand in his
ngers. It troubled him . . . and those things that troubled Lord
Voldemort needed to be rearranged. . . .
\Go and fetch Snape."
\Snape, m{my Lord?"
\Snape. Now. I need him. There is a|service|I require from
him. Go."
Frightened, stumbling a little through the gloom, Lucius left
the room. Voldemort continued to stand there, twirling the wand
between his ngers, staring at it.
\It is the only way, Nagini," he whispered, and he looked
around, and there was the great thick snake, now suspended in
midair, twisting gracefully within the enchanted, protected space
he had made for her, a starry, transparent sphere somewhere be-
tween a glittering cage and a tank.
With a gasp, Harry pulled back and opened his eyes at the same
moment his ears were assaulted with the screeches and cries, the
smashes and bangs of battle.
\He's in the Shrieking Shack. The snake's with him, it's got
some sort of magical protection around it. He's just sent Lu-
cius Malfoy to nd Snape." \Voldemort's sitting in the shriek-
ing Shack?" said Hermione, outraged. \He's not|he's not even
ghting??"
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The Elder Wand
\He doesn't think he needs to ght," said Harry. \He thinks
I'm going to go to him."
\But why?"
\He knows I'm after Horcruxes|he's keeping Nagini close be-
side him|obviously I'm going to have to go to him to get near
the thing|"
\Right," said Ron, squaring his shoulders. \So you can't go,
that's what he wants, what he's expecting. You stay here and look
after Hermione, and I'll go and get it|"
Harry cut across Ron.
\You two stay here, I'll go under the Cloak and I'll be back as
soon as I|"
\No," said Hermione, \it makes much more sense if I take the
Cloak and|"
\Don't even think about it," Ron snarled at her.
Before Hermione could get farther than \Ron, I'm just as
capable|" the tapestry at the top of the staircase on which they
stood was ripped open.
\POTTER!"
Two masked Death Eaters stood there, but even before their
wands were fully raised, Hermione shouted \Glisseo!"
The stairs beneath their feet
attened into a chute and she,
Harry, and Ron hurtled down it, unable to control their speed but
so fast that the Death Eaters' Stunning Spells
ew far over their
heads. They shot through the concealing tapestry at the bottom
and spun onto the
oor, hitting the opposite wall.
\Duro!" cried Hermione, pointing her wand at the tapestry,
and there were two loud, sickening crunches as the tapestry turned
to stone and the Death Eaters pursuing them crumpled against it.
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Chapter 32
\Get back!" shouted Ron, and he, Harry, and Hermione hurled
themselves against a door as a herd of galloping desks thundered
past, shepherded by a sprinting Professor McGonagall. She ap-
peared not to notice them. Her hair had come down and there
was a gash on her cheek. As she turned the corner, they heard her
scream, \CHARGE!"
\Harry, you get the Cloak on," said Hermione. \Never mind
us|
\But he threw it over all three of them; large though they were
he doubted anyone would see their disembodied feet through the
dust that clogged the air, the falling stone, the shimmer of spells.
They ran down the next staircase and found themselves in a
corridor full of duelers. The portraits on either side of the ghters
were crammed with gures screaming advice and encouragement,
while Death Eaters, both masked and unmasked, dueled students
and teachers. Dean had won himself a wand, for he was face-to-
face with Dolohov, Parvati with Travers. Harry, Ron and Her-
mione raised their wands at once, ready to strike, but the duelers
were weaving and darting so much that there was a strong like-
lihood of hurting on of their own side if they cast curses. Even
as they stood braced, looking for the opportunity to act, there
came a great \Wheeeeeeeeeeee!" and looking up, Harry saw Peeves
zooming over them, dropping Snargalu pods down onto the Death
Eaters, whose heads were suddenly engulfed in wriggling green tu-
bers like fat worms.
\Argh!"
A stful of tubers had hit the Cloak over Ron's head; the damp
green roots were suspended improbably in midair as Ron tried to
shake them loose.
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The Elder Wand
\Someone's invisible there!" shouted a masked Death Eater,
pointing.
Dean made the most of the Death Eater's momentary distrac-
tion, knocking him out with a stunning Spell; Dolohov attempted
to retaliate, and Parvati shot a Body Bind Curse at him.
\LET'S GO!" Harry yelled, and he, Ron, and Hermione gath-
ered the Cloak tightly around themselves and pelted, heads down,
through the midst of the ghters, slipping a little in pools of Snar-
galu juice, toward the top of the marble staircase into the entrance
hall.
\I'm Draco Malfoy, I'm Draco, I'm on your side!"
Draco was on the upper landing, pleading with another masked
Death Eater. Harry Stunned the Death Eater as they passed. Mal-
foy looked around, beaming, for his savior, and Ron punched him
from under the Cloak. Malfoy fell backward on top of the Death
Eater, his mouth bleeding, utterly bemused.
\And that's the second time we've saved your life tonight, you
two-faced bastard!" Ron yelled.
There were more duelers all over the stairs and in the hall.
Death Eaters everywhere Harry looked: Yaxley, close to the front
doors, in combat with Flitwick, a masked Death Eater dueling
Kingsley right beside them. Students ran in every direction; some
carrying or dragging injured friends. Harry directed a Stunning
Spell toward the masked Death Eater; it missed but nearly hit
Neville, who had emerged from nowhere brandishing armfuls of
Venomous Tentacula, which looped itself happily around the near-
est Death Eater and began reeling him in.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sped down the marble staircase:
glass shattered on the left, and the Slytherin hourglass that had
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Chapter 32
recorded House points spilled its emeralds everywhere, so that peo-
ple slipped and staggered as they ran. Two bodies fell from the
balcony overhead as they reached the ground a gray blur that Harry
took for an animal sped four-legged across the hall to sink its teeth
into one of the fallen.
\NO!" shrieked Hermione, and with a deafening blast from her
wand, Fenrir Greyback was thrown backward from the feebly strug-
gling body of Lavender Brown. He hit the marble banisters and
struggled to return to his feet. Then, with a bright white
ash and
a crack, a crystal ball fell on top of his head, and he crumpled to
the ground and did not move.
\I have more!" shrieked Professor Trelawney from over the
banisters. \More for any who want them! Here|"
And with a move like a tennis serve, she heaved another enor-
mous crystal sphere from her bag, waved her wand through the air,
and caused the ball to speed across the hall and smash through a
window. At the same moment, the heavy wooden front doors burst
open, and more of the gigantic spiders forced their way into the
front hall.
Screams of terror rent the air: the ghters scattered, Death
Eaters and Hogwartians alike, and red and green jets of light
ew
into the midst of the oncoming monsters, which shuddered and
reared, more terrifying than ever.
\How do we get out?" yelled Ron over all the screaming, but
before either Harry or Hermione could answer they were bowled
aside; Hagrid had come thundering down the stairs, brandishing
his
owery pink umbrella.
\Don't hurt 'em, don't hurt 'em!" he yelled.
\HAGRID, NO!"
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The Elder Wand
Harry forgot everything else: he sprinted out from under the
cloak, running bent double to avoid the curses illuminating the
whole hall.
\HAGRID, COME BACK!" But he was not even halfway to Ha-
grid when he saw it happen: Hagrid vanished amongst the spiders,
and with a great scurrying, a foul swarming movement, they re-
treated under the onslaught of spells, Hagrid buried in their midst.
\HAGRID!"
Harry heard someone calling his own name, whether friend or
foe he did not care: He was sprinting down the front steps into
the dark grounds, and the spiders were swarming away with their
prey, and he could see nothing of Hagrid at all.
\HAGRID!"
He thought he could make out an enormous arm waving from
the midst of the spider swarm, but as he made to chase after them,
his way was impeded by a monumental foot, which swung down out
of the darkness and made the ground on which he stood shudder.
He looked up: A giant stood before him, twenty feet high, its head
hidden in shadow, nothing but its treelike, hairy shins illuminated
by light from the castle doors. With one brutal,
uid movement,
it smashed a massive st through an upper window, and glass
rained down upon Harry, forcing him back under the shelter of the
doorway.
\Oh my|!" shrieked Hermione, as she and Ron caught up with
Harry and gazed upward at the giant now trying to seize people
through the window above.
\DON'T!" Ron yelled, grabbing Hermione's hand as she raised
her wand. \Stun him and he'll crush half the castle|"
\HAGGER?"
647
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Chapter 32
Grawp came lurching around the corner of the castle; only now
did Harry realize that Grawp was, indeed, an undersized giant.
The gargantuan monster trying to crush people on the upper
oors
turned around and let out a roar. The stone steps trembled as
he stomped toward his smaller kin, and Grawp's lopsided mouth
fell open, showing yellow, half brick-sized teeth; and then they
launched themselves at each other with the savagery of lions.
\RUN!" Harry roared; the night was full of hideous yells and
blows as the giants wrestled, and he seized Hermione's hand and
tore down the steps into the grounds, Ron bringing up the rear.
Harry had not lost hope of nding and saving Hagrid; he ran so fast
that they were halfway toward the forest before they were brought
up short again.
The air around them had frozen: Harry's breath caught and
solidi ed in his chest. Shapes moved out in the darkness, swirling
gures of concentrated blackness, moving in a great wave towards
the castles, their faces hooded and their breath rattling . . .
Ron and Hermione closed in beside him as the sounds of ght-
ing behind them grew suddenly muted, deadened, because a si-
lence only dementors could bring was falling thickly through the
night, and Fred was gone, and Hagrid was surely dying or already
dead . . .
\Come on, Harry!" said Hermione's voice from a very long way
away. \Patronuses, Harry, come on!" he raised his wand, but a
dull hopelessness was spreading throughout him: How many more
lay dead that he did not yet know about? He felt as though his
soul had already half left his body. . . .
\HARRY, COME ON!" screamed Hermione.
A hundred dementors were advancing, gliding toward them,
648
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The Elder Wand
sucking their way closer to Harry's despair, which was like a
promise of a feast. . . .
He saw Ron's silver terrier burst into the air,
icker feebly,
and expire; he saw Hermione's otter twist in midair and fade, and
his own wand trembled in his hand, and he almost welcomed the
oncoming oblivion, the promise of nothing, of no feeling. . . .
And then a silver hare, a boar, and fox soared past Harry, Ron,
and Hermione's heads: the dementors fell back before the creatures'
approach. Three more people had arrived out of the darkness to
stand beside them, their wands outstretched, continuing to cast
Patronuses: Luna, Ernie, and Seamus.
\That's right," said Luna encouragingly, as if they were back
in the Room of Requirement and this was simply spell practice
for the D.A., \That's right, Harry . . . come on think of something
happy. . . ."
\Something happy?" he said, his voice cracked.
\We're all still here," she whispered, \we're still ghting. Come
on, now. . . ."
There was a silver spark, then a wavering light, and then, with
the greatest e ort it had ever cost him the stag burst from the
end of Harry's wand. It cantered forward, and now the dementors
scattered in earnest, and immediately the night was mild again,
but the sounds of the surrounding battle were loud in his ears.
\Can't thank you enough," said Ron shakily, turning to Luna,
Ernie, and Seamus \you just saved|"
With a roar and an earth-quaking tremor, another giant came
lurching out of the darkness from the direction of the forest, bran-
dishing a club taller than any of them.
\RUN!" Harry shouted again, but the others needed no telling;
649
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Chapter 32
They all scattered, and not a second too soon, for the next moment
the creature's vast foot had fallen exactly where they had been
standing. Harry looked round: Ron and Hermione were following
him, but the other three had vanished back into the battle.
\Let's get out of range!" yelled Ron as the giant swung its club
again and its bellows echoed through the night, across the grounds
where bursts of red and green light continued to illuminate the
darkness.
\The Whomping willow," said Harry, \go!"
Somehow he walled it all up in his mind, crammed it into a
small space into which he could not look now: thoughts of Fred
and Hagrid, and his terror for all the people he loved, scattered in
and outside the castle, must all wait, because they had to run, had
to reach the snake and Voldemort, because that was, as Hermione
said, the only way to end it|
He sprinted, half|believing he could outdistance death itself,
ignoring the jets of light
ying in the darkness all around him, and
the sound of the lake crashing like the sea, and the creaking of the
Forbidden Forest though the night was windless; through grounds
that seemed themselves to have risen in rebellion, he ran faster
than he had ever moved in his life, and it was he who saw the
great tree rst, the Willow that protected the secret at its roots
with whiplike, slashing branches.
Panting and gasping, Harry slowed down, skirting the willow's
swiping branches, peering through the darkness toward its tick
trunk, trying to see the single knot in the bark of the old tree that
would paralyze it. Ron and Hermione caught up, Hermione so out
of breath that she could not speak.
\How|how're we going to get in?" panted Ron. \I can|see
650
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The Elder Wand
the place|if we just had|Crookshanks again|"
\Crookshanks?" wheezed Hermione, bent double, clutching her
chest. \Are you a wizard, or what?"
\Oh|right|yeah|"
Ron looked around, then directed his wand at a twig on the
ground and said \Wingardium Leviosa!" The twig
ew up from
the ground, spun through the air as if caught by a gust of wind,
then zoomed directly at the trunk through the Willow's ominously
swaying branches. It jabbed at a place near the roots, and at once,
the writhing tree became still.
\Perfect!" panted Hermione.
\Wait."
For one teetering second, while the crashes and booms of the
battle lled the air, Harry hesitated. Voldemort wanted him to do
this, wanted him to come. . . . Was he leading Ron and Hermione
into a trap?
But the reality seemed to close upon him, cruel and plain: the
only way forward was to kill the snake, and the snake was where
Voldemort was, and Voldemort was at the end of this tunnel. . . .
\Harry, we're coming, just get in there!" said Ron, pushing him
forward.
Harry wriggled into the earthy passage hidden in the tree's
roots. It was a much tighter squeeze than it had been the last
time they had entered it. The tunnel was low|ceilinged: they
had had to double up to move through it nearly four years previ-
ously; now there was nothing for it but to crawl. Harry went rst,
his wand illuminated, expecting at any moment to meet barriers,
but none came. They moved in silence, Harry's gaze xed upon
the swinging beam of the wand held in his st.
651
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Chapter 32
At last, the tunnel began to slope upward and Harry saw a
sliver of light ahead. Hermione tugged at his ankle.
\The Cloak!" she whispered. \Put the Cloak on!"
He groped behind him and she forced the bundle of slippery
cloth into his free hand. With di culty he dragged it over himself,
murmured, \Nox," extinguishing his wandlight, and continued on
his hands and knees, as silently as possible, all his senses straining,
expecting every second to be discovered, to hear a cold clear voice,
see a
ash of green light.
And then he heard voices coming from the room directly ahead
of them, only slightly mu ed by the fact that the opening at the
end of the tunnel had been blocked up by what looked like an
old crate. Hardly daring to breathe, Harry edged right up tot he
opening and peered through a tiny gap left between crate and wall.
The room beyond was dimly lit, but he could see Nagini,
swirling and coiling like a serpent underwater, safe in her en-
chanted, starry sphere, which
oated unsupported in midair. He
could see the edge of a table, and a long- ngered white hand toying
with a wand. Then Snape spoke, and Harry's heart lurched: Snape
was inches away from where he crouched, hidden.
\ . . . my Lord, their resistance is crumbling|"
\|and it is doing so without your help," said Voldemort in
his high, clear voice. \Skilled wizard though you are, Severus, I
do not think you will make much di erence now. We are almost
there . . . almost."
\Let me nd the boy. Let me bring you Potter. I know I can
nd him, my Lord. Please."
Snape strode past the gap, and Harry drew back a little, keeping
his eyes xed upon Nagini, wondering whether there was any spell
652
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The Elder Wand
that might penetrate the protection surrounding her, but he could
not think of anything. One failed attempt, and he would give away
his position. . . .
Voldemort stood up. Harry could see him now, see the red eyes,
the
attened, serpentine face, the pallor of him gleaming slightly
in the semidarkness.
\I have a problem, Severus," said Voldemort softly.
\My Lord?" said Snape.
Voldemort raised the Elder Wand, holding it as delicately and
precisely as a conductor's baton.
\Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"
In the silence Harry imagined he could hear the snake hissing
slightly as it coiled and uncoiled|or was it Voldemort's sibilant
sigh lingering on the air?
\My|my lord?" said Snape blankly. \I do not understand.
You|you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand."
\No," said Voldemort. \I have performed my usual magic. I
am extraordinary, but this wand . . . no. It has not revealed the
wonders it has promised. I feel no di erence between this wand
and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago."
Voldemort's tone was musing, calm, but Harry's scar had begun
to throb and pulse: Pain was building in his forehead, and he could
feel that controlled sense of fury building inside Voldemort.
\No di erence," said Voldemort again.
Snape did not speak. Harry could not see his face. He wondered
whether Snape sensed danger, was trying to nd the right words
to reassure his master.
Voldemort started to move around the room: Harry lost sight
of him for seconds as he prowled, speaking in that same measured
653
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Chapter 32
voice, while the pain and fury mounted in Harry.
\I have thought long and hard, Severus . . . do you know why I
have called you back from battle?"
And for a moment Harry saw Snape's pro le. His eyes were
xed upon the coiling snake in its enchanted cage.
\No, my Lord, but I beg you will let me return. Let me nd
Potter."
\You sound like Lucius. Neither of you understands Potter as
I do. He does not need nding. Potter will come to me. I knew
his weakness you see, his one great
aw. He will hate watching the
others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it
happens. He will want to stop it at any cost. He will come."
\But my Lord, he might be killed accidentally by someone other
than yourself|"
\My instructions to the Death Eaters have been perfectly clear.
Capture Potter. Kill his friends|the more, the better|but do
not kill him.
\But it is of you that I wished to speak, Severus, not Harry
Potter. You have been very valuable to me. Very valuable."
\My Lord knows I seek only to serve him. But|let me go and
nd the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can|"
\I have told you, no!" said Voldemort, and Harry caught the
glint of red in his eyes as he turned again, and the swishing of his
cloak was like the slithering of a snake, and he felt Voldemort's
impatience in his burning scar. \My concern at the moment, Se-
verus, is what will happen when I nally meet the boy!"
\My Lord, there can be no question, surely|?"
\|but there is a question, Severus. There is."
Voldemort halted, and Harry could see him plainly again as he
654
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The Elder Wand
slid the Elder Wand through his white ngers, staring at Snape.
\Why did both the wands I have used fail when directed at
Harry Potter?"
\I|I cannot answer that, my Lord."
\Can't you?"
The stab of rage felt like a spike driven through Harry's head:
he forced his own st into his mouth to stop himself from crying
out in pain. He closed his eyes, and suddenly he was Voldemort,
looking into Snape's pale face.
\My wand of yew did everything of which I asked it, Severus,
except to kill Harry Potter. Twice it failed. Ollivander told me
under torture of the twin cores, told me to take another's wand. I
did so, but Lucius's wand shattered upon meeting Potter's."
\I|I have no explanation, my Lord."
Snape was not looking at Voldemort now. His dark eyes were
still xed upon the coiling serpent in its protective sphere.
\I sought a third wand, Severus. The Elder Wand, the Wand
of Destiny, the Deathstick. I took it from its previous master. I
took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore."
And now Snape looked at Voldemort, and Snape's face was like
a death mask. It was marble white and so still that when he spoke,
it was a shock to see that anyone lived behind the blank eyes.
\My Lord|let me go to the boy|"
\All this long night when I am on the brink of victory, I have
sat here," said Voldemort, his voice barely louder than a whisper,
\wondering, wondering, why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it
ought to be, refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for
its rightful owner . . . and I think I have the answer."
Snape did not speak.
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Chapter 32
\Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all,
Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret
what must happen."
\My Lord|"
\The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because
I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard
who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While
you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine."
\My Lord!" Snape protested, raising his wand.
\It cannot be any other way," said Voldemort. \I must master
the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."
And Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand. It did
nothing to Snape, who for a split second seemed to think he had
been reprieved: but then Voldemort's intention became clear. The
snake's cage was rolling through the air, and before Snape could do
anything more than yell, it had encased him, head and shoulders,
and Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue.
\Kill."
There was a terrible scream. Harry saw Snape's face losing the
little color it had left; it whitened as his black eyes widened, as the
snake's fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted
cage o himself, as his knees gave way and he fell to the
oor.
\I regret it," said Voldemort coldly.
He turned away; there was no sadness in him, no remorse. It was
time to leave this shack and take charge, with a wand that would
now do his full bidding. He pointed it at the starry cage holding
the snake, which drifted upward, o Snape, who fell sideways onto
the
oor, blood gushing from the wounds in his neck. Voldemort
swept from the room without a backward glance, and the great
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The Elder Wand
serpent
oated after him in its huge protective sphere.
Back in the tunnel and his own mind, Harry opened his eyes;
He had drawn blood biting down on his knuckles in an e ort not
to shout out. Now he was looking through the tiny crack between
crate and wall, watching a foot in a black boot trembling on the
oor.
\Harry!" breathed Hermione behind him, but he had already
pointed his wand at the crate blocking his view. It lifted an inch
into the air and drifted sideways silently. As quietly as he could,
he pulled himself up into the room.
He did not know why he was doing it, why he was approaching
the dying man: he did not know what he felt as he saw Snape's
white face, and the ngers trying to staunch the bloody wound
at his neck. Harry took o the invisibility cloak and looked down
upon the man he hated, whose widening black eyes found Harry
as he cried to speak. Harry bent over him, and Snape seized the
front of his robes and pulled him close.
A terrible rasping, gurgling noise issued from Snape's throat.
\Take . . . it. . . . Take . . . it. . . ."
Something more than blood was leaking from Snape. Silvery
blue, neither gas nor liquid, it gushed form his mouth and his ears
and his eyes, and Harry knew what it was, but did not know what
to do|
A
ask, conjured from thin air, was thrust into his shaking
hand by Hermione. Harry lifted the silvery substance into it with
his wand. When the
ask was full to the brim, and Snape looked
as though there was no blood left in him, his grip on Harry's robes
slackened.
\Look . . . at . . . me. . . ." he whispered.
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Chapter 32
The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something
in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them xed,
blank, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the
oor,
and Snape moved no more.
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Chapter 33
The Prince's Tale
arry remained kneeling at Snape's side, simply staring
down at him, until quite suddenly a high, cold voice
spoke so close to them that Harry jumped on his feet,
Hthe
ask gripped tightly in his hands, thinking that
Voldemort had reentered the room.
Voldemort's voice reverberated from the walls and
oor, and
Harry realized that he was talking to Hogwarts and to all the sur-
rounding area, that the residents of Hogsmeade and all those still
ghting in the castle would hear him as clearly as if he stood beside
them, his breath on the back of their necks, a deathblow away.
\You have fought," said the high, cold voice, \valiantly. Lord
Voldemort knows how to value bravery.
\Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist
me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen.
Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.
\Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat
immediately.
\You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat
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Chapter 33
your injured.
\I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted
your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall
wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that
hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then
battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry
Potter, and I shall nd you, and I shall punish every last man,
woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One
hour."
Both Ron and Hermione shook their heads frantically, looking
at Harry.
\Don't listen to him," said Ron.
\It'll be all right," said Hermione wildly. \Let's|let's get back
to the castle, if he's gone to the forest we'll need to think of a new
plan|"
She glanced at Snape's body, then hurried back to the tunnel
entrance. Ron followed her. Harry gathered up the Invisibility
Cloak, then looked down at Snape. He did not know what to feel,
except shock at the way Snape had been killed, and the reason for
which it had been done . . .
They crawled back through the tunnel, none of them talking,
and Harry wondered whether Ron and Hermione could still hear
Voldemort ringing in their heads as he could.
You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than
face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden
Forest . . . One hour . . .
Small bundles seemed to litter the lawn at the front of the castle
(?). It could only be an hour or so from dawn, yet it was pitch-
black. The three of them hurried toward the stone steps. A lone
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The Prince's Tale
dog, the size of a small boat, lay abandoned in front of them. There
was no other sign of Grawp or of his attacker.
The castle was unnaturally silent. There were no
ashes of
light now, no bangs or screams or shouts. The
agstones of the
deserted entrance hall were stained with blood. Emeralds were
still scattered all over the
oor, along with pieces of marble and
splintered wood. Part of the banisters had been blown away.
\Where is everyone?" whispered Hermione.
Ron led the way to the Great Hall. Harry stopped in the door-
way.
The House tables were gone and the room was crowded. The
survivors stood in groups, their arms around each other's necks.
The injured were being treated upon the raised platform by Madam
Pomfrey and a group of helpers. Firenze was amongst the injured;
his
ank poured blood and he shook where he lay, unable to stand.
The dead lay in a row in the middle of the Hall. Harry could
not see Fred's body, because his family surrounded him. George
was kneeling at his head; Mrs. Weasley was lying across Fred's
chest, her body shaking. Mr. Weasley stroking her hair while
tears cascaded down his cheeks.
Without a word to Harry, Ron and Hermione walked away.
Harry saw Hermione approach Ginny, whose face was swollen and
blotchy, and hug her. Ron joined Bill, Fleur, and Percy, who
ung
an arm around Ron's shoulders. As Ginny and Hermione moved
closer to the rest of the family, Harry had a clear view of the bodies
lying next to Fred. Remus and Tonks, pale and still and peaceful-
looking, apparently asleep beneath the dark, enchanted ceiling.
The Great Hall seemed to
y away, become smaller, shrink,
as Harry reeled backward from the doorway. He could not draw
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Chapter 33
breath. He could not bear to look at any of the other bodies, to see
who else had died for him. He could not bear to join the Weasleys,
could not look into their eyes, when if he had given himself up in
the rst place, Fred might never have died . . .
He turned away and ran up the marble staircase. Lupin,
Tonks . . . He yearned not to feel . . . He wished he could rip out his
heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside him . . .
The castle was completely empty; even the ghosts seemed to
have joined the mass mourning in the Great Hall. Harry ran with-
out stopping, clutching the crystal
ask of Snape's last thoughts,
and he did not slow down until he reached the stone gargoyle guard-
ing the headmaster's o ce.
\Password?"
\Dumbledore!" said Harry without thinking, because it was he
whom he yearned to see, and to his surprise the gargoyle slid aside
revealing the spiral staircase behind.
But when Harry burst into the circular o ce he found a change.
The portraits that hung all around the walls were empty. Not
a single headmaster or headmistress remained to see him; all, it
seemed, had
itted away, charging through the paintings that lined
the castle so that they could have a clear view of what was going
on.
Harry glanced hopelessly at Dumbledore's deserted frame,
which hung directly behind the headmaster's chair, then turned
his back on it. The stone Pensieve lay in the cabinet where it had
always been. Harry heaved it onto the desk and poured Snape's
memories into the wide basin with its runic markings around the
edge. To escape into someone else's head would be a blessed
relief . . . Nothing that even Snape had left him could be worse than
662
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The Prince's Tale
his own thoughts. The memories swirled, silver white and strange,
and without hesitating, with a feeling of reckless abandonment, as
though this would assuage his torturing grief, Harry dived.
He fell headlong into sunlight, and his feet found warm ground.
When he straightened up, he saw that he was in a nearly deserted
playground. A single huge chimney dominated the distant skyline.
Two girls were swinging backward and forward, and a skinny boy
was watching them from behind a clump of bushes. His black hair
was overlong and his clothes were so mismatched that it looked
deliberate: too short jeans, a shabby, overlarge coat that might
have belonged to a grown man, an odd smocklike shirt.
Harry moved closer to the boy. Snape looked no more than
nine or ten years old, sallow, small, stringy. There was undisguised
greed in his thin face as he watched the younger of the two girls
swinging higher and higher than her sister.
\Lily, don't do it!" shrieked the elder of the two.
But the girl had let go of the swing at the very height of its
arc and
own into the air, quite literally
own, launched herself
skyward with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling
on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through
the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly.
\Mummy told you not to!"
Petunia stopped her swing by dragging the heels of her sandals
on the ground, making a crunching, grinding sound, then leapt up,
hands on hips.
\Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"
\But I'm ne," said Lily, still giggling. \Tuney, look at this.
Watch what I can do."
Petunia glanced around. The playground was deserted apart
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Chapter 33
from themselves and, though the girls did not know it, Snape. Lily
had picked up a fallen
ower from the bush behind which Snape
lurked. Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and
disapproval. Lily waited until Petunia was near enough to have a
clear view, then held out her palm. The
ower sat there, opening
and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many-lipped oyster.
\Stop it!" shrieked Petunia.
\It's not hurting you," said Lily, but she closed her hand on the
blossom and threw it back to the ground.
\It's not right," said Petunia, but her eyes had followed the
ower's
ight to the ground and lingered upon it. \How do you do
it?" she added, and there was de nite longing in her voice.
\It's obvious, isn't it?" Snape could no longer contain himself,
but had jumped out from behind the bushes. Petunia shrieked and
ran backward toward the swings, but Lily, though clearly startled,
remained where she was. Snape seemed to regret his appearance.
A dull
ush of color mounted the sallow cheeks as he looked at
Lily.
\What's obvious?" asked Lily.
Snape had an air of nervous excitement. With a glance at the
distant Petunia, now hovering beside the swings, he lowered his
voice and said, \I know what you are."
\What do you mean?"
\You're . . . you're a witch," whispered Snape.
She looked a ronted.
\That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"
She turned, nose in the air, and marched o toward her sister.
\No!" said Snape. He was highly colored now, and Harry won-
dered why he did not take o the ridiculously large coat, unless it
664
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The Prince's Tale
was because he did not want to reveal the smock beneath it. He
apped after the girls, looking ludicrously batlike, like his older
self.
The sisters considered him, united in disapproval, both holding
on to one of the swing poles, as though it was the safe place in tag.
\You are," said Snape to Lily. \You are a witch. I've been
watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that.
My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."
Petunia's laugh was like cold water.
\Wizard!" she shrieked, her courage returned now that she had
recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. \I know
who you are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's
End by the river," she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone
that she considered the address a poor recommendation. \Why
have you been spying on us?"
\Haven't been spying," said Snape, hot and uncomfortable and
dirty-haired in the bright sunlight. \Wouldn't spy on you, anyway,"
he added spitefully, \you're a Muggle."
Though Petunia evidently did not understand the word, she
could hardly mistake the tone.
\Lily, come on, we're leaving!" she said shrilly. Lily obeyed her
sister at once, glaring at Snape as she left. He stood watching them
as they marched through the playground gate, and Harry, the only
one left to observe him, recognized Snape's bitter disappointment,
and understood that Snape had been planning this moment for a
while, and that it had all gone wrong . . .
The scene dissolved, and before Harry knew it, re-formed
around him. He was now in a small thicket of trees. He could
see a sunlit river glittering through their trunks. The shadows cast
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Chapter 33
by the trees made a basin of cool green shade. Two children sat
facing each other, cross-legged on the ground. Snape had removed
his coat now; his odd smock looked less peculiar in the half light.
\ . . . and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside
school, you get letters."
\But I have done magic outside school!"
\We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you o
when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven,"
he nodded importantly, \and they start training you, then you've
got to go careful."
There was a little silence. Lily had picked up a fallen twig and
twirled it in the air, and Harry knew that she was imagining sparks
trailing from it. Then she dropped the twig, leaned in toward the
boy, and said, \It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says
you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real,
isn't it?"
\It's real for us," said Snape. \Not for her. But we'll get the
letter, you and me."
\Really?" whispered Lily.
\De nitely," said Snape, and even with his poorly cut hair and
his odd clothes, he struck an oddly impressive gure sprawled in
front of her, brimful of con dence in his destiny.
\And will it really come by owl?" Lily whispered.
\Normally," said Snape. \But you're Muggle-born, so someone
from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."
\Does it make a di erence, being Muggle-born?"
Snape hesitated. His black eyes, eager in the greenish gloom,
moved over the pale face, the dark red hair.
\No," he said. \It doesn't make any di erence."
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The Prince's Tale
\Good," said Lily, relaxing. It was clear that she had been
worrying.
\You've got loads of magic," said Snape. \I saw that. All the
time I was watching you . . . "
His voice trailed away; she was not listening, but had stretched
out on the leafy ground and was looking up at the canopy of leaves
overhead. He watched her as greedily as he had watched her in the
playground.
\How are things at your house?" Lily asked.
A little crease appeared between his eyes.
\Fine," he said.
\They're not arguing anymore?"
\Oh yes, they're arguing," said Snape. He picked up a stful of
leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what
he was doing. \But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."
\Doesn't your dad like magic?"
\He doesn't like anything, much," said Snape.
\Severus?"
A little smile twisted Snape's mouth when she said his name.
\Yeah?"
\Tell me about the dementors again."
\What d'you want to know about them for?"
\If I use magic outside school|"
\They wouldn't give you to the dementors for that! Dementors
are for people who do really bad stu . They guard the wizard
prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're
too|"
He turned red again and shredded more leaves. Then a small
rustling noise behind Harry made him turn: Petunia, hiding behind
667
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Chapter 33
a tree, had lost her footing.
\Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but
Snape had jumped to his feet.
\Who's spying now?" he shouted. \What d'you want?"
Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. Harry could
see her struggling for something hurtful to say.
\What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at
Snape's chest. \Your mum's blouse?"
There was a crack. A branch over Petunia's head had fallen.
Lily screamed. The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and
she staggered backward and burst into tears.
\Tuney!"
But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape.
\Did you make that happen?"
\No." He looked both de ant and scared.
\You did!" She was backing away from him. \You did! You
hurt her!"
\No|no, I didn't!"
But the lie did not convince Lily. After one last burning look,
she ran from the little thicket, o after her sister, and Snape looked
miserable and confused . . .
And the scene re-formed. Harry looked around. He was on
platform nine and three quarters, and Snape stood beside him,
slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman
who greatly resembled him. Snape was staring at a family of four
a short distance away. The two girls stood a little apart from their
parents. Lily seemed to be pleading with her sister. Harry moved
closer to listen.
\ . . . I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen|" She caught her
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The Prince's Tale
sister's hand and held tight to it, even though Petunia tried to pull
it away. \Maybe once I'm there|no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once
I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade
him to change his mind!"
\I don't|want|to|go!" said Petunia, and she dragged her
hand back out of her sister's grasp. \You think I want to go to
some stupid castle and learn to be a{a . . . "
Her pale eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewling in
their owners' arms, over the owls,
uttering and hooting at each
other in cages, over the students, some already in their long black
robes, loading trunks onto the scarlet steam engine or else greeting
one another with glad cries after a summer apart.
\|you think I want to be a{a freak?"
Lily's eyes lled with tears as Petunia succeeded in tugging her
hand away.
\I'm not a freak," said Lily. \That's a horrible thing to say."
\That's where you're going," said Petunia with relish. \A spe-
cial school for freaks. You and that Snape boy . . . weirdos, that's
what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal
people. It's for our safety."
Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the
platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the
scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low
and erce.
\You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote
to the headmaster and begged him to take you."
Petunia turned scarlet.
\Beg? I didn't beg!"
\I saw his reply. It was very kind."
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Chapter 33
\You shouldn't have read|" whispered Petunia, \that was my
private|how could you|?"
Lily gave herself away by half-glancing toward where Snape
stood nearby. Petunia gasped.
\That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in
my room!"
\No|not sneaking|" Now Lily was on the defensive. \Sever-
us saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have
contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards
working undercover in the postal service who take care of|"
\Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" said
Petunia, now as pale as she had been
ushed. \Freak!" she spat
at her sister, and she
ounced o to where her parents stood . . .
The scene dissolved again. Snape was hurrying along the corri-
dor of the Hogwarts Express as it clattered through the country-
side. He had already changed into his school robes, had perhaps
taken the rst opportunity to take o his dreadful Muggle clothes.
At last he stopped, outside a compartment in which a group of
rowdy boys were talking. Hunched in a corner seat beside the
window was Lily, her face pressed against the windowpane.
Snape slid open the compartment door and sat down opposite
Lily. She glanced at him and then looked back out of the window.
She had been crying.
\I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constricted voice.
\Why not?"
\Tuney h{hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumble-
dore."
\So what?"
She threw him a look of deep dislike.
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The Prince's Tale
\So she's my sister!"
\She's only a|" He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy try-
ing to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him.
\But we're going!" he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration
in his voice. \This is it! We're o to Hogwarts!"
She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half
smiled.
\You'd better be in Slytherin," said Snape, encouraged that she
had brightened a little.
\Slytherin?"
One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no
interest at all in Lily or Snape until that point, looked around at
the word, and Harry, whose attention had been focused entirely on
the two beside the window, saw his father: slight, black-haired like
Snape, but with that inde nable air of having been well-cared-for,
even adored, that Snape so conspicuously lacked.
\Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't
you?" James asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him,
and with a jolt, Harry realized that it was Sirius. Sirius did not
smile.
\My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.
\Blimey," said James, \and I thought you seemed all right!"
Sirius grinned.
\Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if
you've got the choice?"
James lifted an invisible sword.
\`Gry ndor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."
Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.
\Got a problem with that?"
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Chapter 33
\No," said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. \If
you'd rather be brawny than brainy|"
\Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" inter-
jected Sirius.
James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather
ushed, and
looked from James to Sirius in dislike.
\Come on, Severus, let's nd another compartment."
\Oooooo . . . "
James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip
Snape as he passed.
\See ya, Snivellus!" a voice called, as the compartment door
slammed . . .
And the scene dissolved once more . . .
Harry was standing right behind Snape as they faced the can-
dlelit House tables, lined with rapt faces. Then Professor McGon-
agall said, \Evans, Lily!"
He watched his mother walk forward on trembling legs and sit
down upon the rickety stool. Professor McGonagall dropped the
Sorting Hat onto her head, and barely a second after it had touched
the dark red hair, the hat cried, \Gry ndor!"
Harry heard Snape let out a tiny groan. Lily took o the hat,
handed it back to Professor McGonagall, then hurried toward the
cheering Gry ndors, but as she went she glanced back at Snape,
and there was a sad little smile on her face. Harry saw Sirius
move up the bench to make room for her. She took one look at
him, seemed to recognize him from the train, folded her arms, and
rmly turned her back on him.
The roll call continued. Harry watched Lupin, Pettigrew, and
his father join Lily and Sirius at the Gry ndor table. At last, when
672
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The Prince's Tale
only a dozen students remained to be sorted, Professor McGonagall
called Snape.
Harry walked with him to the stool, watched him place the hat
upon his head. \Slytherin!" cried the Sorting Hat.
And Severus Snape moved o to the other side of the Hall, away
from Lily, to where the Slytherins were cheering him, to where
Lucius Malfoy, a prefect badge gleaming upon his chest, patted
Snape on the back as he sat down beside him . . .
And the scene changed . . .
Lily and Snape were walking across the castle courtyard, evi-
dently arguing. Harry hurried to catch up with them, to listen in.
As he reached them, he realized how much taller they both were.
A few years seemed to have passed since their Sorting.
\ . . . thought we were supposed to be friends?" Snape was say-
ing, \Best friends?"
\We are, Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging
round with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber!
What do you see in him, Sev, he's creepy! D'you know what he
tried to do to Mary MacDonald the other day?"
Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into
the thin, sallow face.
\That was nothing," said Snape. \It was a laugh, that's all|"
\It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny|"
\What about the stu Potter and his mates get up to?" de-
manded Snape. His color rose again as he said it, unable, it seemed,
to hold in his resentment.
\What's Potter got to do with anything?" said Lily.
\They sneak out at night. There's something weird about that
Lupin. Where does he keep going?"
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Chapter 33
\He's ill," said Lily. \They say he's ill|"
\Every month at the full moon?" said Snape.
\I know your theory," said Lily, and she sounded cold. \Why
are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what
they're doing at night?"
\I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as every-
one seems to think they are."
The intensity of his gaze made her blush.
\They don't use Dark Magic, though." She dropped her voice.
\And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the
other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomp-
ing Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down
there|"
Snape's whole face contorted and he spluttered, \Saved? Saved?
You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and
his friends' too! You're not going to|I won't let you|"
\Let me? Let me?"
Lily's bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once.
\I didn't mean|I just don't want to see you made a fool of|
He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!" The words seemed
wrenched from him against his will. \And he's not . . . everyone
thinks . . . big Quidditch hero|" Snape's bitterness and dislike
were rendering him incoherent, and Lily's eyebrows were travel-
ing farther and farther up her forehead.
\I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag," she said, cutting
across Snape. \I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber's and
Avery's idea of humor is just evil. Evil, Sev. I don't understand
how you can be friends with them."
Harry doubted that Snape had even heard her strictures on
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Mulciber and Avery. The moment she had insulted James Potter,
his whole body had relaxed, and as they walked away there was a
new spring in Snape's step . . .
And the scene dissolved . . .
Harry watched again as Snape left the Great Hall after sitting
his O.W.L. in Defense Against the Dark Arts, watched as he wan-
dered away from the castle and strayed inadvertently close to the
place beneath the beech tree where James, Sirius, Lupin, and Pet-
tigrew sat together. But Harry kept his distance this time, because
he knew what happened after James had hoisted Severus into the
air and taunted him; he knew what had been done and said, and it
gave him no pleasure to hear it again . . . He watched as Lily joined
the group and went to Snape's defense. Distantly he heard Snape
shout at her in his humiliation and his fury, the unforgivable word:
\Mudblood."
The scene changed . . .
\I'm sorry."
\I'm not interested."
\I'm sorry!"
\Save your breath."
It was nighttime. Lily, who was wearing a dressing gown, stood
with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, at
the entrance to Gry ndor Tower.
\I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening
to sleep here."
\I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood,
it just|"
\Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. \It's too
late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can
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Chapter 33
understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little
Death Eater friends|you see, you don't even deny it! You don't
even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to
join You-Know-Who, can you?"
He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.
\I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen
mine."
\No|listen, I didn't mean|"
\|to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth
Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any di erent?"
He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous
look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole . . .
The corridor dissolved, and the scene took a little longer to
reform: Harry seemed to
y through shifting shapes and colors
until his surroundings solidi ed again and he stood on a hilltop,
forlorn and cold in the darkness, the wind whistling through the
branches of a few lea
ess trees. The adult Snape was panting,
turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting
for something or for someone . . . His fear infected Harry too, even
though he knew that he could not be harmed, and he looked over
his shoulder, wondering what it was that Snape was waiting for|
Then a blinding, jagged jet of white light
ew through the air.
Harry thought of lightning, but Snape had dropped to his knees
and his wand had
own out of his hand.
\Don't kill me!"
\That was not my intention."
Any sound of Dumbledore Apparating had been drowned by
the sound of the wind in the branches. He stood before Snape
with his robes whipping around him, and his face was illuminated
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from below in the light cast by his wand.
\Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for
me?"
\No|no message|I'm here on my own account!"
Snape was wringing his hands. He looked a little mad, with his
straggling black hair
ying around him.
\I|I come with a warning|no, a request|please|"
Dumbledore
icked his wand. Though leaves and branches still
ew through the night air around them, silence fell on the spot
where he and Snape faced each other.
\What request could a Death Eater make of me?"
\The|the prophecy . . . the prediction . . . Trelawney . . . "
\Ah, yes," said Dumbledore. \How much did you relay to Lord
Voldemort?"
\Everything|everything I heard!" said Snape. \That is
why|it is for that reason|he thinks it means Lily Evans!"
\The prophecy did not refer to a woman," said Dumbledore.
\It spoke of a boy born at the end of July|"
\You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is
going to hunt her down|kill them all|"
\If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, \surely Lord
Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the
mother, in exchange for the son?"
\I have|I have asked him|"
\You disgust me," said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard
so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little,
\You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child?
They can die, as long as you have what you want?"
Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore.
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Chapter 33
\Hide them all, then," he croaked. \Keep her|them|safe.
Please."
\And what will you give me in return, Severus?"
\In|in return?" Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry ex-
pected him to protest, but after a long moment he said, \Any-
thing."
The hilltop faded, and Harry stood in Dumbledore's o ce, and
something was making a terrible sound, like a wounded animal.
Snape was slumped forward in a chair and Dumbledore was stand-
ing over him, looking grim. After a moment or two, Snape raised
his face, and he looked like a man who had lived a hundred years
of misery since leaving the wild hilltop.
\I thought . . . you were going . . . to keep her . . . safe . . . "
\She and James put their faith in the wrong person," said Dum-
bledore. \Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord
Voldemort would spare her?"
Snape's breathing was shallow.
\Her boy survives," said Dumbledore.
With a tiny jerk of the head, Snape seemed to
ick o an irk-
some
y.
\Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remem-
ber the shape and color of Lily Evans's eyes, I am sure?"
\DON'T!" bellowed Snape. \Gone . . . dead . . . "
\Is this remorse, Severus?"
\I wish . . . I wish I were dead . . . "
\And what use would that be to anyone?" said Dumbledore
coldly. \If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your
way forward is clear."
Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledore's
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The Prince's Tale
words appeared to take a long time to reach him.
\What|what do you mean?"
\You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in
vain. Help me protect Lily's son."
\He does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone|"
\The Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible
danger when he does."
There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of
himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, \Very well.
Very well. But never|never tell, Dumbledore! This must be
between us! Swear it! I cannot bear . . . especially Potter's son . . . I
want your word!"
\My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of
you?" Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape's ferocious,
anguished face. \If you insist . . . "
The o ce dissolved but re-formed instantly. Snape was pacing
up and down in front of Dumbledore.
\|mediocre, arrogant as his father, a determined rule-
breaker, delighted to nd himself famous, attention-seeking and
impertinent|"
\You see what you expect to see, Severus," said Dumbledore,
without raising his eyes from a copy of Trans guration Today.
\Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likable, and rea-
sonably talented. Personally, I nd him an engaging child."
Dumbledore turned a page, and said, without looking up, \Keep
an eye on Quirrell, won't you?"
A whirl of color, and now everything darkened, and Snape and
Dumbledore stood a little apart in the entrance hall, while the last
stragglers from the Yule Ball passed them on their way to bed.
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Chapter 33
\Well?" murmured Dumbledore.
\Karkaro 's Mark is becoming darker too. He is panicking,
he fears retribution; you know how much help he gave the Min-
istry after the Dark Lord fell." Snape looked sideways at Dumble-
dore's crooked-nosed pro le. \Karkaro intends to
ee if the Mark
burns."
\Does he?" said Dumbledore softly, as Fleur Delacour and
Roger Davies came giggling in from the grounds. \And are you
tempted to join him?"
\No," said Snape, his black eyes on Fleur's and Roger's retreat-
ing gures. \I am not such a coward."
\No," agreed Dumbledore. \You are a braver man by far than
Igor Karkaro . You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon . . . "
He walked away, leaving Snape looking stricken . . .
And now Harry stood in the headmaster's o ce yet again. It
was nighttime, and Dumbledore sagged sideways in the thronelike
chair behind the desk, apparently semiconscious. His right hand
dangled over the side, blackened and burned. Snape was muttering
incantations, pointing his wand at the wrist of the hand, while
with his left hand he tipped a goblet full of thick golden potion
down Dumbledore's throat. After a moment or two, Dumbledore's
eyelids
uttered and opened.
\Why," said Snape, without preamble, \why did you put on
that ring? It carries a curse, surely you realized that. Why even
touch it?"
Marvolo Gaunt's ring lay on the desk before Dumbledore. It
was cracked; the sword of Gry ndor lay beside it.
Dumbledore grimaced.
\I . . . was a fool. Sorely tempted . . . "
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The Prince's Tale
\Tempted by what?"
Dumbledore did not answer.
\It is a miracle you managed to return here!" Snape sounded
furious. \That ring carried a curse of extraordinary power, to
contain it is all we can hope for; I have trapped the curse in one
hand for the time being|"
Dumbledore raised his blackened, useless hand, and examined
it with the expression of one being shown an interesting curio.
\You have done very well, Severus. How long do you think I
have?"
Dumbledore's tone was conversational; he might have been ask-
ing for a weather forecast. Snape hesitated, and then said, \I can-
not tell. Maybe a year. There is no halting such a spell forever. It
will spread eventually, it is the sort of curse that strengthens over
time."
Dumbledore smiled. The news that he had less than a year to
live seemed a matter of little or no concern to him.
\I am fortunate, extremely fortunate, that I have you, Severus."
\If you had only summoned me a little earlier, I might have
been able to do more, buy you more time!" said Snape furiously.
He looked down at the broken ring and the sword. \Did you think
that breaking the ring would break the curse?"
\Something like that . . . I was delirious, no doubt . . . " said
Dumbledore. With an e ort he straightened himself in his chair.
\Well, really, this makes matters much more straightforward."
Snape looked utterly perplexed. Dumbledore smiled.
\I refer to the plan Lord Voldemort is revolving around me. His
plan to have the poor Malfoy boy murder me."
Snape sat down in the chair Harry had so often occupied, across
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Chapter 33
the desk from Dumbledore. Harry could tell that he wanted to say
more on the subject of Dumbledore's cursed hand, but the other
held it up in polite refusal to discuss the matter further. Scowling,
Snape said, \The Dark Lord does not expect Draco to succeed.
This is merely punishment for Lucius's recent failures. Slow torture
for Draco's parents, while they watch him fail and pay the price."
\In short, the boy has had a death sentence pronounced upon
him as surely as I have," said Dumbledore. \Now, I should have
thought the natural successor to the job, once Draco fails, is your-
self?"
There was a short pause.
\That, I think, is the Dark Lord's plan."
\Lord Voldemort foresees a moment in the near future when he
will not need a spy at Hogwarts?"
\He believes the school will soon be in his grasp, yes."
\And if it does fall into his grasp," said Dumbledore, almost, it
seemed, as an aside, \I have your word that you will do all in your
power to protect the students at Hogwarts?"
Snape gave a sti nod.
\Good. Now then. Your rst priority will be to discover what
Draco is up to. A frightened teenage boy is a danger to others
as well as to himself. O er him help and guidance, he ought to
accept, he likes you|"
\|much less since his father has lost favor. Draco blames me,
he thinks I have usurped Lucius's position."
\All the same, try. I am concerned less for myself than for
accidental victims of whatever schemes might occur to the boy.
Ultimately, of course, there is only one thing to be done if we are
to save him from Lord Voldemort's wrath."
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The Prince's Tale
Snape raised his eyebrows and his tone was sardonic as he asked,
\Are you intending to let him kill you?"
\Certainly not. You must kill me."
There was a long silence, broken only by an odd clicking noise.
Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone.
\Would you like me to do it now?" asked Snape, his voice
heavy with irony. \Or would you like a few moments to compose
an epitaph?"
\Oh, not quite yet," said Dumbledore, smiling. \I daresay the
moment will present itself in due course. Given what has happened
tonight," he indicated his withered hand, \we can be sure that it
will happen within a year."
\If you don't mind dying," said Snape roughly, \why not let
Draco do it?"
\That boy's soul is not yet so damaged," said Dumbledore. \I
would not have it ripped apart on my account."
\And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?"
\You alone know whether it will harm your soul to help an
old man avoid pain and humiliation," said Dumbledore. \I ask
this one great favor of you, Severus, because death is coming for
me as surely as the Chudley Cannons will nish bottom of this
year's league. I confess I should prefer a quick, painless exit to the
protracted and messy a air it will be if, for instance, Greyback is
involved|I hear Voldemort has recruited him? Or dear Bellatrix,
who likes to play with her food before she eats it."
His tone was light, but his blue eyes pierced Snape as they had
frequently pierced Harry, as though the soul they discussed was
visible to him. At last Snape gave another curt nod.
Dumbledore seemed satis ed.
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Chapter 33
\Thank you, Severus . . . "
The o ce disappeared, and now Snape and Dumbledore were
strolling together in the deserted castle grounds by twilight.
\What are you doing with Potter, all these evenings you are
closeted together?" Snape asked abruptly.
Dumbledore looked weary.
\Why? You aren't trying to give him more detentions, Severus?
The boy will soon have spent more time in detention than out."
\He is his father over again|"
\In looks, perhaps, but his deepest nature is much more like his
mother's. I spend time with Harry because I have things to discuss
with him, information I must give him before it is too late."
\Information," repeated Snape. \You trust him . . . you do not
trust me."
\It is not a question of trust. I have, as we both know, limited
time. It is essential that I give the boy enough information for him
to do what he needs to do."
\And why may I not have the same information?"
\I prefer not to put all of my secrets in one basket, particularly
not a basket that spends so much time dangling on the arm of Lord
Voldemort."
\Which I do on your orders!"
\And you do it extremely well. Do not think that I underes-
timate the constant danger in which you place yourself, Severus.
To give Voldemort what appears to be valuable information while
withholding the essentials is a job I would entrust to nobody but
you."
\Yet you con de much more in a boy who is incapable of Occlu-
mency, whose magic is mediocre, and who has a direct connection
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The Prince's Tale
into the Dark Lord's mind!"
\Voldemort fears that connection," said Dumbledore. \Not so
long ago he had one small taste of what truly sharing Harry's mind
means to him. It was pain such as he has never experienced. He
will not try to possess Harry again, I am sure of it. Not in that
way."
\I don't understand."
\Lord Voldemort's soul, maimed as it is, cannot bear close con-
tact with a soul like Harry's. Like a tongue on frozen steel, like
esh in
ame|"
\Souls? We were talking of minds!"
\In the case of Harry and Lord Voldemort, to speak of one is
to speak of the other."
Dumbledore glanced around to make sure that they were alone.
They were close by the Forbidden Forest now, but there was no
sign of anyone near them.
\After you have killed me, Severus|"
\You refuse to tell me everything, yet you expect that small
service of me!" snarled Snape, and real anger
ared in the thin face
now. \You take a great deal for granted, Dumbledore! Perhaps I
have changed my mind!"
\You gave me your word, Severus. And while we are talking
about services you owe me, I thought you agreed to keep a close
eye on our young Slytherin friend?"
Snape looked angry, mutinous. Dumbledore sighed.
\Come to my o ce tonight, Severus, at eleven, and you shall
not complain that I have no con dence in you . . . "
They were back in Dumbledore's o ce, the windows dark, and
Fawkes sat silent as Snape sat quite still, as Dumbledore walked
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Chapter 33
around him, talking.
\Harry must not know, not until the last moment, not until it
is necessary, otherwise how could he have the strength to do what
must be done?"
\But what must he do?"
\That is between Harry and me. Now listen closely, Severus.
There will come a time|after my death|do not argue, do not
interrupt! There will come a time when Lord Voldemort will seem
to fear for the life of his snake."
\For Nagini?" Snape looked astonished.
\Precisely. If there comes a time when Lord Voldemort stops
sending that snake forth to do his bidding, but keeps it safe beside
him under magical protection, then, I think, it will be safe to tell
Harry."
\Tell him what?"
Dumbledore took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
\Tell him that on the night Lord Voldemort tried to kill him,
when Lily cast her own life between them as a shield, the Killing
Curse rebounded upon Lord Voldemort, and a fragment of Volde-
mort's soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself
onto the only living soul left in that collapsed building. Part of
Lord Voldemort lives inside Harry, and it is that which gives him
the power of speech with snakes, and a connection with Lord Volde-
mort's mind that he has never understood. And while that frag-
ment of soul, unmissed by Voldemort, remains attached to and
protected by Harry, Lord Voldemort cannot die."
Harry seemed to be watching the two men from one end of a
long tunnel, they were so far away from him, their voices echoing
strangely in his ears.
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The Prince's Tale
\So the boy . . . the boy must die?" asked Snape quite calmly.
\And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential."
Another long silence. Then Snape said, \I thought . . . all those
years . . . that we were protecting him for her. For Lily."
\We have protected him because it has been essential to teach
him, to raise him, to let him try his strength," said Dumbledore,
his eyes still tight shut. \Meanwhile, the connection between them
grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth. Sometimes I have thought
he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters
so that when he does set out to meet his death, it will truly mean
the end of Voldemort."
Dumbledore opened his eyes. Snape looked horri ed.
\You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right mo-
ment?"
\Don't be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have
you watched die?"
\Lately, only those whom I could not save," said Snape. He
stood up. \You have used me."
\Meaning?"
\I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal dan-
ger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's
son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for
slaughter|"
\But this is touching, Severus," said Dumbledore seriously.
\Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"
\For him?" shouted Snape. \Expecto Patronum!"
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on
the o ce
oor, bounded once across the o ce, and soared out of
the window. Dumbledore watched her
y away, and as her silvery
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Chapter 33
glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
\After all this time?"
\Always," said Snape.
And the scene shifted. Now, Harry saw Snape talking to the
portrait of Dumbledore behind his desk.
\You will have to give Voldemort the correct date of Harry's
departure from his aunt and uncle's," said Dumbledore. \Not to
do so will raise suspicion, when Voldemort believes you so well
informed. However, you must plant the idea of decoys; that, I
think, ought to ensure Harry's safety. Try Confunding Mundungus
Fletcher. And Severus, if you are forced to take part in the chase,
be sure to act your part convincingly . . . I am counting upon you
to remain in Lord Voldemort's good books as long as possible, or
Hogwarts will be left to the mercy of the Carrows . . . "
Now Snape was head to head with Mundungus in an unfamiliar
tavern, Mundungus's face looking curiously blank, Snape frowning
in concentration.
\You will suggest to the Order of the Phoenix," Snape mur-
mured, \that they use decoys. Polyjuice Potion. Identical Potters.
It's the only thing that might work. You will forget that I have
suggested this. You will present it as your own idea. You under-
stand?"
\I understand," murmured Mundungus, his eyes unfocused . . .
Now Harry was
ying alongside Snape on a broomstick through
a clear dark night: He was accompanied by other hooded Death
Eaters, and ahead were Lupin and a Harry who was really
George . . . A Death Eater moved ahead of Snape and raised his
wand, pointing it directly at Lupin's back.
\Sectumsempra!" shouted Snape.
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The Prince's Tale
But the spell, intended for the Death Eater's wand hand, missed
and hit George instead|
And next, Snape was kneeling in Sirius's old bedroom. Tears
were dripping from the end of his hooked nose as he read the old
letter from Lily. The second page carried only a few words:
could ever have been friends with Gellert Grindelwald. I
think her mind's going, personally! Lots of love,
Lily
Snape took the page bearing Lily's signature, and her love, and
tucked it inside his robes. Then he ripped in two the photograph he
was also holding, so that he kept the part from which Lily laughed,
throwing the portion showing James and Harry back onto the
oor,
under the chest of drawers . . .
And now Snape stood again in the headmaster's study as
Phineas Nigellus came hurrying into his portrait.
\Headmaster! They are camping in the Forest of Dean! The
Mudblood|"
\Do not use that word!"
\|the Granger girl, then, mentioned the place as she opened
her bag and I heard her!"
\Good. Very good!" cried the portrait of Dumbledore behind
the headmaster's chair. \Now, Severus, the sword! Do not forget
that it must be taken under conditions of need and valor|and he
must not know that you give it! If Voldemort should read Harry's
mind and see you acting for him|"
\I know," said Snape curtly. He approached the portrait of
Dumbledore and pulled at its side. It swung forward, revealing a
hidden cavity behind it from which he took the sword of Gry ndor.
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Chapter 33
\And you still aren't going to tell me why it's so important to
give Potter the sword?" said Snape as he swung a traveling cloak
over his robes.
\No, I don't think so," said Dumbledore's portrait. \He will
know what to do with it. And Severus, be very careful, they
may not take kindly to your appearance after George Weasley's
mishap|"
Snape turned at the door.
\Don't worry, Dumbledore," he said coolly. \I have a plan . . . "
And Snape left the room. Harry rose up out of the Pensieve,
and moments later he lay on the carpeted
oor in exactly the same
room; Snape might just have closed the door.
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Chapter 34
The Forest Again
inally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the
dusty carpet of the o ce where he had once thought he
was learning the secrets of victory, Harry understood at
Flast that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to
walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he was
to dispose of Voldemort's remaining links to life, so that when at
last he
ung himself across Voldemort's path, and did not raise a
wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that
ought to have been done in Godric's Hollow would be nished:
Neither would live, neither could survive.
He felt his heart pounding ercely in his chest. How strange
that in his dread of death, it pumped all the harder, valiantly
keeping him alive. But it would have to stop, and soon. Its beats
were numbered. How many would there be time for, as he rose and
walked through the castle for the last time, out into the grounds
and into the forest?
Terror washed over him as he lay on the
oor, with that funeral
drum pounding inside him. Would it hurt to die? All those times
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Chapter 34
he had thought that it was about to happen and escaped, he had
never really thought of the thing itself: His will to live had always
been so much stronger than his fear of death. Yet it did not occur
to him now to try to escape, to outrun Voldemort. It was over, he
knew it, and all that was left was the thing itself: dying.
If he could only have died on that summer's night when he had
left number four, Privet Drive, for the last time, when the noble
phoenix-feather wand had saved him! If he could only have died
like Hedwig, so quickly he would not have known it had happened!
Or if he could have launched himself in front of a wand to save
someone he loved. . . . He envied even his parents' deaths now. This
cold-blooded walk to his own destruction would require a di erent
kind of bravery. He felt his ngers trembling slightly and made an
e ort to control them, although no one could see him; the portraits
on the walls were all empty.
Slowly, very slowly, he sat up, and as he did so he felt more alive
and more aware of his own living body than ever before. Why had
he never appreciated what a miracle he was, brain and nerve and
bounding heart? It would all be gone . . . or at least, he would be
gone from it. His breath came slow and deep, and his mouth and
throat were completely dry, but so were his eyes.
Dumbledore's betrayal was almost nothing. Of course there
had been a bigger plan; Harry had simply been too foolish to see
it, he realized that now. He had never questioned that his own
assumption: that Dumbledore wanted him alive. Now he saw that
his life span had always been determined by how long it took to
eliminate all the Horcruxes. Dumbledore had passed the job of
destroying them to him, and obediently he had continued to chip
away at the bonds tying not only Voldemort, but himself, to life!
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How neat, how elegant, not to waste any more lives, but to give
the dangerous task to the boy who had already been marked for
slaughter, and whose death would not be a calamity, but another
blow against Voldemort.
And Dumbledore had known that Harry would not duck out,
that he would keep going to the end, even though it was his end,
because he had taken trouble to get to know him, hadn't he? Dum-
bledore knew, as Voldemort knew, that Harry would not let anyone
else die for him now that he had discovered it was in his power to
stop it. The images of Fred, Lupin, and Tonks lying dead in the
Great Hall forced their way back into his mind's eye, and for a
moment he could hardly breathe: Death was impatient. . . .
But Dumbledore had overestimated him. He had failed: The
snake survived. One Horcrux remained to bind Voldemort to the
earth, even after Harry had been killed. True, that would mean an
easier job for somebody. He wondered who would do it. . . . Ron and
Hermione would know what needed to be done, of course. . . . That
would have been why Dumbledore wanted him to con de in two
others . . . so that if he ful lled his true destiny a little early, they
could carry on. . . .
Like rain on a cold window, these thoughts pattered against the
hard surface of the incontrovertible truth, which was that he must
doe. I must die. It must end.
Ron and Hermione seemed a long way away, in a far-o country;
he felt as though he had parted from them long ago. There would
be no good-byes and no explanations, he was determined of that.
This was a journey they could not take together, and the attempts
they would make to stop him would waste valuable time. He looked
down at the battered gold watch he had received on his seventeenth
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Chapter 34
birthday. Nearly half of the hour allotted by Voldemort for his
surrender had elapsed. He stood up. His heart was leaping against
his ribs like a frantic bird. Perhaps it knew it had little time left,
perhaps it was determined to ful ll a lifetime's beats before the
end. He did not look back as he closed the o ce door.
The castle was empty. He felt ghostly striding through it alone,
as if he had already died. The portrait people were still missing
from their frames; the whole place was eerily still, as if all its
remaining lifeblood were concentrated in the Great Hall where the
dead and the mourners were crammed.
Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and descended
through the
oors, at last walking down the marble staircase into
the entrance hall. Perhaps some tiny part of him hoped to be
sensed, to be seen, to be stopped, but the Cloak was, as ever,
impenetrable, perfect, and he reached the front doors easily.
Then Neville nearly walked into him. He was only half of a
pair that was carrying a body in from the grounds. Harry glanced
down and felt another dull blow to his stomach: Colin Creevey,
though underage, must have sneaked back just as Malfoy, Crabbe,
and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death.
\You know what? I can manage him alone, Neville," said Oliver
Wood, and he heaved Colin over his shoulder in a reman's lift and
carried him into the Great Hall.
Neville leaned against the door frame for a moment and wiped
his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked like an old man.
Then he set o down the stops again into the darkness to recover
more bodies.
Harry took one glance back at the entrance of the Great Hall.
People were moving around, trying to comfort each other, drinking,
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The Forest Again
kneeling beside the dead, but he could not see any of the people
he loved, no hint of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, or any of the other
Weasleys, no Luna. He felt he would have given all the time re-
maining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he
ever have the strength to stop looking? It was better like this.
He moved down the steps and out into the darkness. It was
nearly four in the morning, and the deathly stillness of the grounds
felt as though they were holding their breath, waiting to see
whether he could do what he must.
Harry moved toward Neville, who was bending over another
body.
\Neville."
\Blimey, Harry, you nearly gave me heart failure!"
Harry had pulled o the Cloak: The idea had come to him out
of nowhere, born out of a desire to make absolutely sure.
\Where are you going, alone?" Neville asked suspiciously.
\It's all part of the plan," said Harry. \There's something I've
got to do. Listen|Neville|"
\Harry!" Neville looked suddenly scared. \Harry, you're not
thinking of handing yourself over?"
\No," Harry lied easily. \'Course not . . . this is something else.
But I might be out of sight for a while. You know Voldemort's
name, Neville? He's got a huge snake. . . . Calls it Nagini . . . "
\I've heard, yeah. . . . What about it?"
\It's got to be killed. Ron and Hermione know that, but just
in case they|"
The awfulness of that possibility smothered him for a moment,
made it impossible to keep talking. But he pulled himself together
again; This was crucial, he must be like Dumbledore, keep a cool
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Chapter 34
head, make sure there were backups, others to carry on. Dum-
bledore had died knowing that three people still knew about the
Horcruxes; now Neville will take Harry's place. There would still
be three in the secret.
\Just in case they're|busy|and you get the chance|"
\Kill the snake?"
\Kill the snake," Harry repeated.
\All right, Harry, You're okay, are you?"
\I'm ne. Thanks, Neville."
But Neville seized his wrist as Harry made to move on.
\We're all going to keep ghting, Harry. You know that?"
\Yeah, I|"
The su ocating feeling extinguished the end of the sentence; he
could not go on. Neville did not seem to nd it strange. He patted
Harry on the shoulder, released him, and walked away to look for
more bodies.
Harry swing the Cloak back over himself and walked on. Some-
one eyes was moving not far away, stooping over another prone
gure on the ground. He was feet away from her when he realized
it was Ginny.
He stopped in his tracks. She was crouching over a girl who was
whispering for her mother.
\It's all right," Ginny was saying. \It's okay. We're going to
get you inside."
\But I want to go home," whispered the girl. \I don't want to
ght anymore!"
\I know," said Ginny, and her voice broke. \It's going to be all
right."
Ripples of cold undulated over Harry's skin. He wanted to shout
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The Forest Again
out to the night, he wanted Ginny to know that he was there, he
wanted her to know where he was going. He wanted to be stopped,
to be dragged back, to be sent back home. . . .
Ginny was kneeling beside the injured girl now, holding her
hand. With a huge e ort Harry forced himself on. He thought he
saw Ginny look around as he passed, and wondered whether she
had seen someone walking nearby, but he did not speak, and he
did not look back.
Hagrid's hut loomed out of the darkness. There were no lights,
no sound of Fang scrabbling at the door, his bark booming in
welcome. All those visits to Hagrid, and the gleam of the copper
kettle on the re, and rock cakes and giant grubs, and his great
bearded face, and Ron vomiting slugs, and Hermione helping him
save Norbert . . .
He moved on, and now he reached the edge of the forest, and
he stopped.
A swarm of dementors was gliding amongst the trees; he could
feel their chill, and he was not sure he would be able to pass safely
through it. He had no strength left for a Patronus. He could no
longer control his own trembling. It was not, after all, so easy to
die. Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air
on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years and
years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging
to each second. At the same time he thought that he would not be
able to go on, and knew that he must. The long game was ended,
the Snitch had been caught, it was time to leave the air. . . .
The Snitch. His nerveless ngers fumbled for a moment with
the pouch at his neck and he pulled it out.
I open at the close.
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Chapter 34
Breathing fast and hard, he stared down at it. Now that he
wanted time to move as slowly as possible, it seemed to have sped
up, and understanding was coming so fast it seemed to have by-
passed thought. This was the close. This was the moment.
He pressed the golden metal to his lips and whispered, \I am
about to die."
The metal shell broke open. He lowered his shaking hand, raised
Draco's wand beneath the Cloak, and murmured, \Lumos."
The black stone with its jagged crack running down the center
sat in the two halves of the Snitch. The Resurrection Stone had
cracked down the vertical line representing the Elder Wand. The
triangle and circle representing the Cloak and the stone were still
discernible.
And again Harry understood without having to think. It did
not matter about bringing them back, for he was about to join
them. He was not really fetching them: They were fetching him.
He closed his eyes and turned the stone over in his hand three
times.
He knew it had happened, because he heard slight movements
around him that suggested frail bodies shifting their footing on
the earthly, twig-strewn ground that marked the outer edge of the
forest. He opened his eyes and looked around.
They were neither ghost nor truly
esh, he could see that. They
resembled most closely the Riddle that had escaped from the diary
so long ago, and he had been memory made nearly solid. Less
substantial than living bodies, but much more than ghosts, they
moved toward him, and on each face, there was the same loving
smile.
James was exactly the same height as Harry. He was wearing
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The Forest Again
the clothes in which he had died, and his hair was untidy and
ru ed, and his glasses were a little lopsided, like Mr. Weasley's.
Sirius was tall and handsome, and younger by far than Harry
had seen him in life. He loped with an easy grace, his hands in his
pockets and a grin on his face.
Lupin was younger too, and much less shabby, and his hair was
thicker and darker. He looked happy to be back in this familiar
place, scene of so many adolescent wanderings.
Lily's smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair back as
she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his
face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him
enough.
\You've been so brave."
He could not speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought
that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would
be enough.
\You are nearly there," said James. \Very close. We are . . . so
proud of you."
\Does it hurt?"
The childish question had fallen from Harry's lips before he
could stop it.
\Dying? Not at all," said Sirius. \Quicker and easier than
falling asleep."
\And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over," said Lupin.
\I didn't want you to die," Harry said. These words came
without his volition. \Any of you. I'm sorry|"
He addressed Lupin more than any of them, beseeching him.
\|right after you'd had your son . . . Remus, I'm sorry|"
\I am sorry too," said Lupin. \Sorry I will never know
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Chapter 34
him . . . but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand.
I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life."
A chilly breeze that seemed to emanate from the heart of the
forest lifted the hair at Harry's brow. He knew that they would
not tell him to go, that it would have to be his decision.
\You'll stay with me?"
\Until the very end," said James.
\They won't be able to see you?" asked Harry.
\We are part of you," said Sirius. \Invisible to anyone else."
Harry looked at his mother.
\Stay close to me," he said quietly.
And he self o . The dementors' chill did not overcome him;
he passed through it with his companions, and they acted like
Patronuses to him, and together they marched through the old
trees that grew closely together, their branches tangled, their roots
gnarled and twisted underfoot. Harry clutched the Cloak tightly
around him in the darkness, traveling deeper and deeper into the
forest, with no idea where exactly Voldemort was, but sure that
he would nd him. Beside him, making scarcely a sound, walked
James, Sirius, Lupin, and Lily, and their presence was his courage,
and the reason he was about to keep putting one foot in front of
the other.
His body and mind felt oddly disconnected now, his limbs work-
ing without conscious instruction, as if he were passenger, not
driver, in the body he was about to leave. The dead who walked
beside him through the forest were much more real to him now
that the living back at the castle: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and all
the others were the ones who felt like ghosts as he stumbled and
slipped toward the end of his life, toward Voldemort. . . .
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The Forest Again
A thud and a whisper. Some other living creature had stirred
close by Harry stopped under the Cloak, peering around, listening,
and his mother and father, Lupin and Sirius stopped too.
\Someone there," came a rough whisper close at hand. \He's
got an Invisibility Cloak. Could it be|?"
Two gures emerged from behind a nearby tree; Their wands
ared and Harry saw Yaxley and Dolohov peering into the dark-
ness, directly at the place Harry, his mother and father and Sirius
and Lupin stood. Apparently they could not see anything.
\De nitely heard something," said Yaxley. \Animal, d'you
reckon?"
\That head case Hagrid kept a whole bunch of stu in here,"
said Dolohov, glancing over his shoulder.
Yaxley looked down at his watch.
\Time's nearly up. Potter's had his hour. He's not coming."
\And he was sure he'd come! He won't be happy."
\Better go back," said Yaxley, \Find out what the plan is now."
He and Dolohov turned and walked deeper into the forest.
Harry followed them, knowing that they would lead him exactly
where he wanted to go. He glanced sideways, and his mother smiled
at him, and his father nodded encouragement.
They had traveled on mere minutes when Harry saw light ahead,
and Yaxley and Dolohov stepped out into a clearing that Harry
knew had been the place where the monstrous Aragog had once
lived. The remnants of his vast web were there still, but the swarm
of descendants he had spawned had been driven out by the Death
Eaters, to ght for their cause.
A re burned in the middle of the clearing, and its
ickering
light fell over a crowd of completely silent, watchful Death Eaters.
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Chapter 34
Some of them were still masked and hooded; others showed their
faces. Two giants sat on the outskirts of the group, casting massive
shadows over the scene, their faces cruel, rough-hewn like rock.
Harry saw Fenrir, skulking, chewing his long nails; the great blonde
Rowle was dabbing at his bleeding lip. He saw Lucius Malfoy, who
looked defeated an terri ed, and Narcissa, whose eyes were sunken
and full of apprehension.
Every eye was xed upon Voldemort, who stood with his head
bowed, and his white hands folded over the Elder Wand in front of
him. He might have been praying, or else counting silently in his
mind, and Harry, standing still on the edge of the scene, thought
absurdly of a child counting in a game of hide-and-seek. Behind
him head, still swirling and coiling, the great snake Nagini
oated
in her glittering, charmed cage, like a monstrous halo.
When Dolohov and Yaxley rejoined the circle, Voldemort looked
up.
\No sign of him, my Lord," said Dolohov.
Voldemort's expression did not change. The red eyes seemed to
burn in the relight. Slowly he drew the Elder Wand between his
long ngers.
\My Lord|"
Bellatrix had spoken; She sat closest to Voldemort, disheveled,
her face a little bloody but otherwise unharmed.
Voldemort raised his hand to silence her, and she did not speak
another word, but eyed him in worshipful fascination.
\I thought he would come," said Voldemort in his high, clear
voice, his eyes on the leaping
ames. \I expected him to come."
Nobody spoke. They seemed as scared as Harry, whose heart
was now throwing itself against his ribs as though determined to
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The Forest Again
escape the body he was about to cast aside. He hands were swear-
ing as he pulled o the Invisibility Cloak and stu ed it beneath his
robes, with his wand. He did not want to be tempted to ght.
\I was, it seems . . . mistaken," said Voldemort.
\You weren't."
Harry said it as loudly as he could, with all the force he could
muster. He did not want to sound afraid. The Resurrection Stone
slipped from between his numb ngers, and out of the corner of
his eyes he saw his parents, Sirius, and Lupin vanish as he stepped
forward into the relight. At that moment he felt that nobody
mattered but Voldemort. It was just the two of them.
The illusion was gone as soon as it had come. The giants
roared as the Death Eaters rose together, and there were many
cries, gasps, even laughter. Voldemort had frozen where he stood,
but his red eyes had found Harry, and he stared at Harry moved
toward him, with nothing but the re between them.
Then a voice yelled, \HARRY! NO!"
He turned: Hagrid was bound and trussed, tied to a tree nearby.
His massive body shook the branches overhead as he struggled,
desperate.
\NO! NO! HARRY, WHAT'RE YEH|?"
\QUIET!" shouted Rowle, and with a
ick of his wand Hagrid
was silenced.
Bellatrix, who had leapt to her feet, was looking eagerly from
Voldemort to Harry, her breast heaving. The only things that
moved were the
ames and the snake, coiling and uncoiling in the
glittering cage behind Voldemort's head.
Harry could feel his wand against his chest, but he made not
attempt to draw it. He knew that the snake was too well protected,
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Chapter 34
knew that if he managed to point the wand at Nagini, fty curses
would hit him rst. And still, Voldemort and Harry looked at
each other, and now Voldemort tilted his head a little to the side,
considering the boy standing before him, and a singularly mirthless
smile curled the lipless mouth.
\Harry Potter," he said very softly His voice might have been
part of the splitting re. \The Boy Who Lived."
None of the Death Eaters moved. They were waiting: Every-
thing was waiting. Hagrid was struggling, and Bellatrix was pant-
ing, and Harry thought inexplicably of Ginny, and her blazing look,
and the feel of her lips on his|
Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to
one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he
proceeded. Harry looked back into the red eyes, and wanted it
to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost
control, before he betrayed fear|
He saw the mouth move and a
ash of green light, and every-
thing was gone.
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Chapter 35
King's Cross
e lay facedown, listening to the silence. He was per-
fectly alone. Nobody was watching. Nobody else was
there. He was not perfectly sure that he was there
Hhimself.
A long time later, or maybe no time at all, it came to him that
he must exist, must be more than disembodied thought, because
he was lying, de nitely lying, on some surface. Therefore he had a
sense of touch, and the thing against which he lay existed too.
Almost as soon as he had reached this conclusion, Harry became
conscious that he was naked. Convinced as he was of his total
solitude, this did not concern him, but it did intrigue him slightly.
He wondered whether, as he could feel, he would be able to see. In
opening them, he discovered that he had eyes.
He lay in a bright mist, through it was not like mist he had ever
experienced before. His surroundings were not hidden by cloudy
vapor; rather the cloudy vapor had not yet formed into surround-
ings. The
oor on which he lay seemed to be white, neither warm
nor cold, but simply there, a
at, blank something on which to be.
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Chapter 35
He sat up. His body appeared unscathed. He touched his face.
He was not wearing glasses anymore.
Then a noise reached him through the unformed nothingness
that surrounded him: the small soft thumpings of something that
apped,
ailed, and struggled. It was a pitiful noise, yet also slight
indecent. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he was eavesdrop-
ping on something furtive, shameful.
For the rst time, he wished he were clothed.
Barely had the wish formed in his head than robes appeared a
short distance away. He took them and put them on. They were
soft, clean, and warm. It was extraordinary how they had appeared
just like that, the moment he had wanted them. . . .
He stood up, looking around. Was he in some great Room of
Requirement? The longer he looked, the more there was to see. A
great domed glass roof glittered high above him in sunlight. Per-
haps it was a palace. All was hushed and still, except for those odd
thumping and whimpering noises coming from somewhere close by
in the mist. . . .
Harry turned slowly on the spot, and his surroundings seemed
to invent themselves before his eyes. A wide-open space, bright
and clean, a hall larger by far than the Great Hall, with that clear
domed glass ceiling. It was quite empty. He was the only person
there, except for|
He recoiled. He had spotted the thing that was making the
noise. It had the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground,
its skin raw and rough,
ayed-looking, and it lay shuddering un-
der a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stu ed out of sight,
struggling for breath.
He was afraid of it. Small and fragile and wounded though it
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King's Cross
was, he did not want to approach it. Nevertheless he drew slowly
nearer, ready to jump back at any moment. Soon he stood near
enough to touch it, yet he could not bring himself to do it. He felt
like a coward. He ought to comfort it, but it repulsed him.
\You cannot help."
He spun around. Albus Dumbledore was walking toward him,
sprightly and upright, wearing sweeping robes of midnight blue.
\Harry," He spread his arms wide, and his hands were both
whole and white and undamaged. \You wonderful boy. You brave,
brave man. Let us walk."
Stunned, Harry followed as Dumbledore strode away from
where the
ayed child lay whimpering, leading him to two seats
that Harry had not previously noticed, set some distance away un-
der that high, sparkling ceiling. Dumbledore sat down in one of
them, and Harry fell into the other, staring at his old headmaster's
face. Dumbledore's long silver hair and beard, the piercingly blue
eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the crooked nose: Everything
was as he had remembered it. And yet . . .
\But you're dead." said Harry.
\Oh yes," said Dumbledore matter-of-factly.
\Then . . . I'm dead too?"
\Ah," said Dumbledore, smiling still more broadly. \That is
the question, isn't it? On the whole, dear boy, I think not."
They looked at each other, the old man still beaming.
\Not?" repeated Harry.
\Not," said Dumbledore.
\But . . . " Harry raised his hand instinctively towards the light-
ning scar. It did not seem to be there. \But I should have died|I
didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!"
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Chapter 35
\And that," said Dumbledore, \will, I think, have made all the
di erence."
Happiness seemed to radiate from Dumbledore like light, like
re: Harry had never seen the man so utterly, so palpably, content.
\Explain," said Harry.
\But you already know," said Dumbledore. He twiddled his
thumbs together.
\I let him kill me," said Harry. \Didn't I?"
\You did," said Dumbledore, nodding. \Go on!"
\So the part of his soul that was in me . . . "
Dumbledore nodded still more enthusiastically, urging Harry
onward, a broad smile of encouragement on his face.
\ . . . has it gone?"
\Oh yes!" said Dumbledore. \Yes, he destroyed it. Your soul
is whole, and completely your own, Harry."
\But then . . . "
Harry glanced over his shoulder to where the small, maimed
creature trembled under the chair.
\What is that, Professor?"
\Something that is beyond either of our help," said Dumble-
dore.
\But if Voldemort used the Killing Curse," Harry started again
\and nobody died for me this time|how can I be alive?"
\I think you know," said Dumbledore. \Think back. Remember
what he did, in his ignorance, in his greed and his cruelty."
Harry thought. He let his gaze drift over his surroundings. If
this was indeed a palace in which they sat, it was an odd one,
with chairs set in little rows and bits of railing here and there, and
still, he and Dumbledore and the stunted creature under the chair
708
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King's Cross
were the only beings there. Then the answer rose to his lips easily,
without e ort.
\He took my blood." said Harry.
\Precisely!" said Dumbledore. \He took your blood and rebuilt
his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily's
protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life while he
lives!"
\I live . . . while he lives! But I thought . . . I thought it was the
other way round! I thought we both had to die? Or is it the same
thing?"
He was distracted by the whimpering and thumping of the ag-
onized creature behind them and glanced back at it yet again.
\Are you sure we can't do anything?"
\There is no help possible."
\Then explain . . . more," said Harry, and Dumbledore smiled.
\You were the seventh Horcrux, Harry, the Horcrux he never
meant to make. He had rendered his soul so unstable that it broke
apart when he committed those acts of unspeakable evil, the mur-
der of your parents, the attempted killing of a child. But what
escaped from that room was even less than he knew. He left more
than his body behind. He left part of himself latched to you, the
would-be victim who had survived.
\And his knowledge remained woefully incomplete, Harry!
That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to com-
prehend. Of house-elves and children's tales, of love, loyalty, and
innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing.
That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the
reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.
\He took your blood believing it would strengthen him. He
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Chapter 35
took into his body a tiny part of the enchantment your mother
laid upon you when she died for you. His body keeps her sacri ce
alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you and so does
Voldemort's one last hope for himself."
Dumbledore smiled at Harry, and Harry stared at him.
\And you knew this? You knew|all along?"
\I guessed. But my guesses have usually been good," said Dum-
bledore happily, and they sat in silence for what seemed like a long
time, while the creature behind them continued to whimper and
tremble.
\There's more," said Harry. \There's more to it. Why did my
wand break the wand he borrowed?"
\As to that, I cannot be sure."
\Have a guess, then," said Harry, and Dumbledore laughed.
\What you must understand, Harry, is that you and Lord Volde-
mort have journeyed together into realms of magic hitherto un-
known and unprecedented, and no wandmaker could, I think, ever
have predicted it or explained it to Voldemort.
\Without meaning to, as you now know, Lord Voldemort dou-
bled the bond between you when he returned to a human form.
A part of his soul was still attached to yours, and, thinking to
strengthen himself, he took a part of your mother's sacri ce into
himself. If he could only have understood the precise and terrible
power of that sacri ce, he would not, perhaps, had dared to touch
your blood. . . . But then, if he had been able to understand, he
could not be Lord Voldemort, and might never have murdered at
all.
\Having ensured this two-fold connection, having wrapped your
destinies together more securely than ever two wizards were joined
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King's Cross
in history, Voldemort proceeded to attack you with a wand that
shared a core with yours. And now something very strange hap-
pened, as we know. The cores reacted in a way that Lord Volde-
mort, who never knew that your wand was twin of his, had never
expected.
\He was more afraid than you were that night, Harry. You had
accepted, even embraced, the possibility of death, something Lord
Voldemort has never been able to do. Your courage won, your wand
overpowered his. And in doing so, something happened between
those wands, something that echoed the relationship between their
masters.
\I believe that your wand imbibed some of the power and qual-
ities of Voldemort's wand that night, which is to say that it con-
tained a little of Voldemort himself. So your wand recognized him
when he pursued you, recognized a man who was both kin and
mortal enemy, and it regurgitated some of his own magic against
him, magic much more powerful than anything Lucius's wand had
ever performed. Your wand now contained the power of your enor-
mous courage and of Voldemort's own deadly skill: What chance
did that poor stick of Lucius Malfoy's stand?"
\But if my wand was so powerful, how come Hermione was able
to break it?" asked Harry.
\My dear boy, its remarkable e ects were directed only at Volde-
mort, who had tampered so ill-advisedly with the deepest laws of
magic. Only toward him was that wand abnormally powerful. Oth-
erwise it was a wand like any other . . . though a good one, I am
sure," Dumbledore nished kindly.
Harry sat in thought for a long time, or perhaps seconds. It
was very hard to be sure of things like time, here.
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Chapter 35
\He killed me with your wand."
\He failed to kill you with my wand," Dumbledore corrected
Harry. \I think we can agree you are not dead|though, of course,"
he added, as if fearing he had been discourteous, \I do not minimize
your su erings, which I am sure were severe."
\I feel great at the moment, though," said Harry, looking down
at his clean, unblemished hands. \Where are we, exactly?"
\Well, I was going to ask you that," said Dumbledore, looking
around. \Where would you say that we are?"
Until Dumbledore had asked, Harry had not known. Now, how-
ever, he found that he had an answer ready to give.
\It looks," he said slowly, \like King's Cross station. Except a
lot cleaner and empty, and there are no trains as far as I can see."
\King's Cross station!" Dumbledore was chuckling immoder-
ately. \Good gracious, really?"
\Well, where do you think we are?" asked Harry, a little defen-
sively.
\My dear boy, I have no idea. This is, as they say, your party."
Harry had no idea what this meant; Dumbledore was being
infuriating. He glared at him, then remember a much more pressing
question than that of their current location.
\The Deathly Hallows," he said, and he was glad to see that
the words wiped the smile from Dumbledore's face.
\Ah, yes," he said. He even looked a little worried.
\Well?"
For the rst time since Harry had met Dumbledore, he looked
less than an old man, much less. He looked
eetingly like a small
boy caught in wrongdoing.
\Can you forgive me?" he said. \Can you forgive me for not
712
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King's Cross
trusting you? For not telling you? Harry, I only feared that you
would fail as I had failed. I only dreaded that you would make my
mistakes. I crave your pardon, Harry. I have known, for some time
now, that you are the better man."
\What are you talking about?" asked Harry, startled by Dum-
bledore's tone, by the sudden tears in his eyes.
\The Hallows, the Hallows," murmured Dumbledore. \A des-
perate man's dream!"
\But they're real!"
\Real, and dangerous, and a lure for fools," said Dumbledore.
\And I was such a fool. But you know, don't you? I have no secrets
from you anymore. You know."
\What do I know?"
Dumbledore turned his whole body to face Harry, and tears still
sparkled in his brilliantly blue eyes.
\Master of death, Harry, master of Death! Was I better, ulti-
mately, than Voldemort?"
\Of course you were," said Harry. \Of course|how can you
ask that? You never killed if you could avoid it!"
\True, true," said Dumbledore, and he was like a child seeking
reassurance. \Yet I too sought a way to conquer death, Harry."
\Not the way he did," said Harry. After all his anger at Dumble-
dore, how odd it was to sit here, beneath the high, vaulted ceiling,
and defend Dumbledore from himself. \Hallows, not Horcruxes."
\Hallows," mumbled Dumbledore, \not Horcruxes. Precisely"
There was a pause. The creature behind them whimpered, but
Harry no longer looked around.
\Grindelwald was looking for them too?" he asked.
Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment and nodded.
713
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Chapter 35
\It was the thing, above all, that drew us together," he said
quietly. \Two clever, arrogant boys with a shared obsession. He
wanted to come to Godric's Hollow, as I am sure you have guessed,
because of the grave of Ignotus Peverell. He wanted to explore the
place the third brother had died."
\So it's true?" asked Harry. \All of it? The Peverell brothers|
"
\|were the three brothers of the tale," said Dumbledore, nod-
ding. \Oh yes, I think so. Whether they met Death on a lonely
road . . . I think it more likely that the Peverell brothers were sim-
ply gifted, dangerous wizards who succeeded in creating those pow-
erful objects. The story of them being Death's own Hallows seems
to me the sort of legend that might have sprung up around such
creations.
\The Cloak, as you know now, traveled down through the ages,
father to son, mother to daughter, right down to Ignotus's last
living descendant, who was born, as Ignotus was, in the village of
Godric's Hollow."
Dumbledore smiled at Harry.
\Me?"
\You. You have guessed, I know, why the Cloak was in my
possession on the night your parents died. James had showed it
to me just a few days previously. It explained so much of his
undetected wrong-doing at school! I could hardly believe what
I was seeing. I asked to borrow it, to examine it. I had long
since given up my dream of uniting the Hallows, but I could not
resist, could not help taking a closer look . . . It was a Cloak the
likes of which I had never seen, immensely old, perfect in every
respect . . . and then your father died, and I had two Hallows at
714
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King's Cross
last, all to myself!"
His tone was unbearably bitter.
\The Cloak wouldn't have helped them survive, though," Harry
said quickly. \Voldemort knew where my mum and dad were. The
Cloak couldn't have made them curse-proof."
\True," sighed Dumbledore. \True."
Harry waited, but Dumbledore did not speak, so he prompted
him.
\So you'd given up looking for the Hallows when you saw the
Cloak?"
\Oh yes," said Dumbledore faintly. It seemed that he forced
himself to meet Harry's eyes. \You know what happened. You
know. You cannot despise me more than I despise myself."
\But I don't despise you|"
\Then you should," said Dumbledore. He drew a deep breath.
\You know the secret of my sister's ill health, what those Muggles
did, what she became. You know how my poor father sought re-
venge, and paid the price, died in Azkaban. You know how my
mother gave up her own life to care for Ariana.
\I resented it, Harry."
Dumbledore stated it baldly, coldly. He was looking now over
the top of Harry's head, into the distance.
\I was gifted, I was brilliant. I wanted to escape. I wanted to
shine. I wanted glory.
\Do not misunderstand me," he said, and pain crossed the face
so that he looked ancient again. \I loved them. I loved my par-
ents, I loved my brother and my sister, but I was sel sh, Harry,
more sel sh than you, who are a remarkably sel
ess person, could
possibly imagine.
715
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Chapter 35
\So that, when my mother died, and I was left the responsibility
of a damaged sister and a wayward brother, I returned to my village
in anger and bitterness. Trapped and wasted, I thought! And then,
of course, he came. . . ."
Dumbledore looked directly into Harry's eyes again.
\Grindelwald. You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me,
Harry, in
amed me. Muggles forced into subservience. We wizards
triumphant. Grindelwald and I, the glorious young leaders of the
revolution.
\Oh, I had a few scruples. I assuaged my conscience with empty
words. It would all be for the greater good, and any harm done
would be repaid a hundredfold in bene ts for wizards. Did I know,
in my heart of hearts, what Gellert Grindelwald was? I think I
did, but I closed my eyes. If the plans we were making came to
fruition, all my dreams would come true.
\And at the heart of our schemes, the Deathly Hallows! How
they fascinated him, how they fascinated both of us! The un-
beatable wand, the weapon that would lead us to power! The
Resurrection Stone|to him, though I pretended not to know it, it
meant an army of Inferi! To me, I confess, it meant the return of
my parents, and the lifting of all responsibility from my shoulders.
\And the Cloak . . . somehow, we never discussed the Cloak
much, Harry. Both of us could conceal ourselves well enough with-
out the Cloak, the true magic of which, of course, is that it can be
used to protect and shield others as well as its owner. I thought
that, if we ever found it, it might be useful in hiding Ariana, but
our interest in the Cloak was mainly that it completed the trio, for
the legend said that the man who united all three objects would
then be truly master of death, which we took to mean `invincible.'
716
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King's Cross
\Invincible masters of death, Grindelwald and Dumbledore!
Two months of insanity, of cruel dreams, and neglect of the only
two members of my family left to me.
\And then . . . you know what happened. Reality returned in
the form of my rough, unlettered, and in nitely more admirable
brother. I did not want to hear the truths he shouted at me. I did
not want to hear that I could not set forth to seek Hallows with a
fragile and unstable sister in tow.
\The argument became a ght. Grindelwald lost control. That
which I had always sensed in him, though I had pretended not
to, now sprang into terrible being. And Ariana . . . after all my
mother's care and caution . . . lay dead upon the
oor."
Dumbledore gave a little gasp and began to cry in earnest.
Harry reached out and was glad to nd that he could touch him:
He gripped his arm tightly and Dumbledore gradually regained
control.
\Well, Grindelwald
ed, as anyone but I could have predicted.
He vanished, with his plans for seizing power, and his schemes for
Muggle torture, and his dreams of the Deathly Hallows, dreams
in which I had encouraged him and helped him. He ran, while I
was left to bury my sister, and learn to live with my guilt and my
terrible grief, the price of my shame.
\Years passed. There were rumors about him. They said he had
procured a wand of immense power. I, meanwhile, was o ered the
post of Minister of Magic, not once, but several times. Naturally,
I refused. I had learned that I was not to be trusted with power."
\But you'd have been better, much better, than Fudge or Scrim-
geour!" burst out Harry.
\Would I?" asked Dumbledore heavily. \I am not so sure. I
717
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Chapter 35
had proven, as a very young man, that power was my weakness
and my temptation. It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those
who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.
Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take
up the mantle because they must, and nd to their own surprise
that they wear it well.
\I was safer at Hogwarts. I think I was a good teacher|"
\You were the best|"
\|you are very kind, Harry. But while I busied myself with
the training of young wizards, Grindelwald was raising an army.
They say he feared me, and perhaps he did, but less, I think, than
I feared him.
\Oh, not death," said Dumbledore, in answer to Harry's ques-
tioning look. \Not what he could do to me magically. I knew that
we were evenly matched, perhaps that I was a shade more skillful.
It was the truth I feared. You see, I never knew which of us, in
that last, horri c ght, had actually cast the curse that killed my
sister. You may call me cowardly: You would be right. Harry, I
dreaded beyond all things the knowledge that it had been I who
brought about her death, not merely through my arrogance and
stupidity, but that I actually struck the blow that snu ed out her
life.
\I think he knew it. I think he knew what frightened me. I
delayed meeting him until nally, it would have been too shameful
to resist any longer. People were dying and he seemed unstoppable,
and I had to do what I could.
\Well, you know what happened next. I won the duel. I won
the wand."
Another silence. Harry did not ask whether Dumbledore had
718
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King's Cross
ever found out who struck Ariana dead. He did not want to know,
and even less did he want Dumbledore to have to tell him. At last
he knew what Dumbledore would have seen when he looked in the
Mirror of Erised, and why Dumbledore had been so understanding
of the fascination it had exercised over Harry.
They sat in silence for a long time, and the whimperings of the
creature behind them barely disturbed Harry anymore.
At last he said, \Grindelwald tried to stop Voldemort going
after the wand. He lied, you know, pretended he had never had
it."
Dumbledore nodded, looking down at his lap, tears still glitter-
ing on the crooked nose.
\They say he showed remorse in later years, alone in his cell
at Nurmengard. I hope that it is true. I would like to think he
did feel the horror and shame of what he had done. Perhaps that
lie to Voldemort was his attempt to make amends . . . to prevent
Voldemort from taking the Hallow . . . "
\ . . . or maybe from breaking into your tomb?" suggested
Harry, and Dumbledore dabbed his eyes.
After another short pause Harry said, \You tried to use the
Resurrection Stone."
Dumbledore nodded.
\When I discovered it, after all those years, buried in the aban-
doned home of the Gaunts|the Hallow I had craved most of all,
though in my youth I had wanted it for very di erent reasons|I
lost my head, Harry. I quite forgot that it was now a Horcrux, that
the ring was sure to carry a curse. I picked it up, and I put it on,
and for a second I imagined that I was about to see Ariana, and
my mother, and my father, and to tell them how very, very sorry
719
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Chapter 35
I was . . .
\I was such a fool, Harry. After all those years I had learned
nothing. I was unworthy to unite the Deadly Hallows. I had proved
it time and again, and here was the nal proof."
\Why?" said Harry. \It was natural! You wanted to see them
again. What's wrong with that?"
\Maybe a man in a million could unite the Hallows, Harry. I was
t only to possess the meanest one of them, the least extraordinary.
I was t to own the Elder Wand, and not to boast of it, and not to
kill with it. I was permitted to tame and to use it, because I took
it, not for gain, but to save others from it.
\But the Cloak, I took out of vain curiosity, and so it could
never have worked for me as it works for you, its true owner. The
stone I would have used in an attempt to drag back those who are
at peace, rather than to enable my self-sacri ce, as you did. You
are the worthy possessor of the Hallows."
Dumbledore patted Harry's hand, and Harry looked up at the
old man and smiled; he could not help himself. How could he
remain angry with Dumbledore now?
\Why did you have to make it so di cult?"
Dumbledore's smile was tremulous.
\I am afraid I counted on Miss Granger to slow you up, Harry.
I was afraid that your hot head might dominate your good heart.
I was scared that, if presented outright with the facts about those
tempting objects, you might seize the Hallows as I did, at the
wrong time, for the wrong reasons. If you laid hands on them,
I wanted you to possess them safely. You are the true master of
death, because the true master does not seek to run away from
Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there
720
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King's Cross
are far, far worse things in the living world than dying."
\And Voldemort never knew about the Hallows?"
\I do not think so, because he did not recognize the Resurrection
Stone he turned into a Horcrux. But even if he had known about
them, Harry, I doubt that he would have been interested in any
except the rst. He would not think that he needed the Cloak,
and as for the stone, whom would he want to bring back from the
dead? He fears the dead. He does not love.
\But you expected him to go after the wand?"
\I have been sure that he would try, ever since your wand beat
Voldemort's in the graveyard of Little Hangleton. At rst, he was
afraid that you had conquered him by superior skill. Once he
had kidnapped Ollivander, however, he discovered the existence of
the twin cores. He thought that explained everything. Yet the
borrowed wand did no better against yours! So Voldemort, instead
of asking himself what quality it was in you that had made your
wand so strong, what gift you possessed that he did not, naturally
set out to nd the one wand that, they said, would beat any other.
For him, the Elder Wand has become an obsession to rival his
obsession with you. He believes that the Elder Wand removes his
last weakness and makes him truly invincible. Poor Severus. . . ."
\If you planned your death with Snape, you meant him to end
up with the Elder Wand, didn't you?"
\I admit that was my intention," said Dumbledore, \but it did
not work as I had intended, did it?"
\No," said Harry. \That bit didn't work out."
The creature behind them jerked and moaned, and Harry and
Dumbledore sat without talking for the longest time yet. The
realization of what would happen next settled gradually over Harry
721
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Chapter 35
in the long minutes, like softly falling snow.
\I've got to go back, haven't I?"
\That is up to you."
\I've got a choice?"
\Oh yes." Dumbledore smiled at him. \We are in King's Cross,
you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be
able to . . . let's say . . . board a train."
\And where would it take me?"
\On," said Dumbledore simply.
Silence again.
\Voldemort's got the Elder Wand."
\True. Voldemort has the Elder Wand."
\But you want me to go back?"
\I think," said Dumbledore, \that if you choose to return, there
is a chance that he may be nished for good. I cannot promise it.
But I know this, Harry, that you have less to fear from returning
here than he does."
Harry glanced again at the raw-looking thing that trembled and
choked in the shadow beneath the distant chair.
\Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all,
those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that
fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems
to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present."
Harry nodded and sighed. Leaving this place would not be
nearly as hard as walking into the forest had been, but it was warm
and light and peaceful here, and he knew that he was heading back
to pain and the fear of more loss. He stood up, and Dumbledore
did the same, and they looked for a long moment into each other's
faces.
722
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King's Cross
\Tell me one last thing," said Harry. \Is this real? Or has this
been happening inside my head?"
Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and
strong in Harry's ears even though the bright white mist was de-
scending again, obscuring his gure.
\Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on
earth should that mean that it is not real?"
723
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Chapter 36
The Flaw in the Plan
e was lying facedown on the ground again. The smell
of the forest lled his nostrils. He could feel the cold
hard ground beneath his cheek, and the hinge of his
Hglasses, which had been knocked sideways by the fall,
cutting into his temple. Every inch of him ached, and the place
where the Killing Curse had hit him felt like the bruise of an iron-
clad punch. He did not stir but remained exactly where he had
fallen, with his left arm bent out at an awkward angle and his
mouth gaping.
He had expected to hear cheers of triumph and jubilation at
his death, but instead hurried footsteps, whispers, and solicitous
murmurs lled the air.
\My Lord . . . my Lord . . . "
It was Bellatrix's voice, and she spoke as if to a lover. Harry
did not dare open his eyes, but allowed his other senses to explore
his predicament. He knew that his wand was still stowed beneath
his robes because he could feel it pressed between his chest and the
ground. A slight cushioning e ect in the area of his stomach told
724
--------------------------------------- 733
The Flaw in the Plan
him that the Invisibility Cloak was also there, stu ed out of sight.
\My Lord . . . "
\That will do," said Voldemort's voice.
More footsteps. Several people were backing away from the
same spot. Desperate to see what was happening and why, Harry
opened his eyes by a millimeter.
Voldemort seemed to be getting to his feet. Various Death
Eaters were hurrying away from him, returning to the crowd lin-
ing the clearing. Bellatrix alone remained behind, kneeling beside
Voldemort.
Harry closed his eyes again and considered what he had seen.
The Death Eaters had been huddled around Voldemort, who
seemed to have fallen to the ground. Something had happened
when he had hit Harry with the Killing Curse. Had Voldemort too
collapsed? It seemed like it. And both of them had fallen brie
y
unconscious and both of them had now returned. . . .
\My Lord, let me|"
\I do not require assistance," said Voldemort coldly, and though
he could not see it, Harry pictured Bellatrix withdrawing a helpful
hand. \The boy . . . Is he dead?"
There was complete silence in the clearing. Nobody approached
Harry, but he felt their concentrated gaze; it seemed to press him
harder into the ground, and he was terri ed a nger or an eyelid
might twitch.
\You," said Voldemort, and there was a bang and a small shriek
of pain. \Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead."
Harry did not know who had been sent to verify. He could
only lie there, with his heart thumping traitorously, and wait to be
examined, but at the same time noting, small comfort though it
725
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Chapter 36
was, that Voldemort was wary of approaching him, that Voldemort
suspected that all had not gone to plan. . . .
Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry's face,
pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest,
and felt his heart. He could hear the woman's fast breathing, her
long hair tickled his face. He knew that she could feel the steady
pounding of life against his ribs.
\Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?"
The whisper was barely audible; her lips were an inch from his
ear, her head bent so low that her long hair shielded his face from
the onlookers.
\Yes," he breathed back.
He felt the hand on his chest contract; her nails pierced him.
Then it was withdrawn. She had sat up.
\He is dead!" Narcissa Malfoy called to the watchers.
And now they shouted, now they yelled in triumph and stamped
their feet, and through his eyelids, Harry saw bursts of red and
silver light shoot into the air in celebration.
Still feigning death on the ground, he understood. Narcissa
knew that the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts,
and nd her son, was as part of the conquering army. She no longer
cared whether Voldemort won.
\You see?" screeched Voldemort over the tumult. \Harry Pot-
ter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now!
Watch! Crucio!"
Harry had been expecting it, knew his body would not be al-
lowed to remain unsullied upon the forest
oor; it must be sub-
jected to humiliation to prove Voldemort's victory. He was lifted
into the air, and it took all his determination to remain limp, yet
726
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The Flaw in the Plan
the pain he expected did not come. He was thrown once, twice,
three times into the air: His glasses
ew o and he felt his wand
slide a little beneath his robes, but he kept himself
oppy and life-
less, and when he fell to the ground for the last time, the clearing
echoed with jeers and shrieks of laughter.
\Now," said Voldemort, \we go to the castle, and show them
what has become of their hero. Who shall drag the body? No|
Wait|"
There was a fresh outbreak of laughter, and after a few moment
Harry felt the ground trembling beneath him.
\You carry him," Voldemort said, \He will be nice and visible
in your arms, will he not? Pick up your little friend, Hagrid. And
the glasses|put on the glasses|he must be recognizable|"
Someone slammed Harry's glasses onto his face with deliberate
force, but the enormous hands that lifted him into the air were
exceedingly gentle. Harry could feel Hagrid's arms trembling with
the force of his heaving sobs; great tears splashed down upon him
as Hagrid cradled Harry in his arms, and Harry did not dare, by
movement or word, to intimate to Hagrid that all was not, yet,
lost.
\Move," said Voldemort, and Hagrid stumbled forward, forcing
his way through the close-growing trees, back through the forest.
Branches caught at Harry's hair and robes, but he lay quiescent,
his mouth lolling open, his eyes shut, and in the darkness, while
the Death Eaters crowed all around them, and while Hagrid sobbed
blindly, nobody looked to see whether a pulse beat in the exposed
neck of Harry Potter. . . .
The two giants crashed along behind the Death Eaters; Harry
could hear trees creaking and falling as they passed; they made
727
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Chapter 36
so much din that birds rose shrieking into the sky, and even the
jeers of the Death Eaters were drowned. The victorious procession
marched on toward the open ground, and after a while Harry could
tell, by the lightening of the darkness through his closed eyelids,
that the trees were beginning to thin.
\BANE!"
Hagrid's unexpected bellow nearly forced Harry's eyes open.
\Happy now, are yeh, that yeh didn' ght, yeh cowardly bunch o'
nags? Are yeh happy Harry Potter's|d{dead . . . ?"
Hagrid could not continue, but broke down in fresh tears. Harry
wondered how many centaurs were watching their procession pass;
he dared not open his eyes to look. Some of the Death Eaters
called insults at the centaurs as they left them behind. A little
later, Harry sensed, by the freshening of the air, that they had
reached the edge of the forest.
\Stop."
Harry thought that Hagrid must have been forced to obey
Voldemort's command, because he lurched a little. And now a chill
settled over them where they stood, and Harry heard the rasping
breath of the dementors that patrolled the outer trees. They would
not a ect him now. The fact of his own survival burned inside him,
a talisman against them, as though his father's stag kept guardian
in his heart.
Someone passed close by Harry, and he knew that it was Volde-
mort himself because he spoke a moment later, his voice magically
magni ed so that it swelled through the grounds, crashing upon
Harry's eardrums.
\Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to
save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you
728
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The Flaw in the Plan
his body as proof that your hero is gone.
\The battle is won. You have lost half of your ghters. My
Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is nished.
There must be no more war. Anybody who continues to resist,
man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member
of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and
you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and
sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new
world we shall build together."
There was silence in the grounds and from the castle. Voldemort
was so close to him that Harry did not dare open his eyes again.
\Come," said Voldemort, and Harry heard him move ahead,
and Hagrid was forced to follow. Now Harry opened his eyes a
fraction, and saw Voldemort striding in front of them, wearing the
great snake Nagini around his shoulders, now free of her enchanted
cage. But Harry had no possibility of extracting the wand con-
cealed under his robes without being noticed by the Death Eaters,
who marched on either side of them through the slowly lightening
darkness. . . .
\Harry," sobbed Hagrid. \Oh, Harry . . . Harry . . . "
Harry shut his eyes tight again. He knew that they were ap-
proaching the castle and strained his ears to distinguish, above the
gleeful voices of the Death Eaters and their tramping footsteps,
signs of life from those within.
\Stop."
The Death Eaters came to a halt; Harry heard them spreading
out in a line facing the open front doors of the school. He could
see, even through his closed lids, the reddish glow that meant light
streamed upon him from the entrance hall. He waited. Any mo-
729
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Chapter 36
ment, the people for whom he had tried to die would see him, lying
apparently dead, in Hagrid's arms.
\NO!"
The scream was the more terrible because he had never ex-
pected or dreamed that Professor McGonagall could make such a
sound. He heard another woman laughing nearby, and knew that
Bellatrix gloried in McGonagall's despair. He squinted again for a
single second and saw the open doorway lling with people, as the
survivors of the battle came out onto the front steps to face their
vanquishers and see the truth of Harry's death for themselves. He
saw Voldemort standing a little in front of him, stroking Nagini's
head with a single white nger. He closed his eyes again.
\No!"
\No!"
\Harry! HARRY!"
Ron's, Hermione's, and Ginny's voices were worse than McGon-
agall's; Harry wanted nothing more than to call back, yet he made
himself lie silent, and their cries acted like a trigger; the crowd of
survivors took up the cause, screaming and yelling abuse at the
Death Eaters, until|
\SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a
ash
of bright light, and silence was forced upon them all. \It's over!
Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"
Harry felt himself lowered onto the grass.
\You see?" said Voldemort, and Harry felt him striding back-
ward and forward right beside the place where he lay. \Harry
Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was
nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacri ce them-
selves for him!"
730
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The Flaw in the Plan
\He beat you!" yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the de-
fenders of Hogwarts were shouting and screaming again until a
second, more powerful bang extinguished their voices once more.
\He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds,"
said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, \killed
while trying to save himself|"
But Voldemort broke o : Harry heard a scu e and a shout,
then another bang, a
ash of light, and a grunt of pain; he opened
his eyes an in nitesimal amount. Someone had broken free of the
crowd and charged at Voldemort: Harry saw the gure hit the
ground, Disarmed, Voldemort throwing the challenger's wand aside
and laughing.
\And who is this?" he said in his soft snake's hiss. \Who has
volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue
to ght when the battle is lost?"
Bellatrix gave a delighted laugh.
\It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been
giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, re-
member?"
\Ah, yes, I remember," said Voldemort, looking down at
Neville, who was struggling back to his feet, unarmed and unpro-
tected, standing in the no-man's-land between the survivors and
the Death Eaters. \But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave
boy?" Voldemort asked Neville, who stood facing him, his empty
hands curled into sts.
\So what if I am?" said Neville loudly.
\You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock.
You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind,
Neville Longbottom."
731
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Chapter 36
\I'll join you when hell freezes over," said Neville. \Dumble-
dore's Army!" he shouted, and there was an answering cheer from
the crowd, whom Voldemort's Silencing Charms seemed unable to
hold.
\Very well," said Voldemort, and Harry heard more danger in
the silkiness of his voice than in the most powerful curse. \If that
is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On
your head," he said quietly, \be it."
Still watching through his lashes, Harry saw Voldemort wave his
wand. Seconds later, out of one of the castle's shattered windows,
something that looked like a misshapen bird
ew through the half
light and landed in Voldemort's hand. He shook the mildewed
object by its pointed end and it dangled, empty and ragged: the
Sorting Hat.
\There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School," said Volde-
mort. \There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and
colors of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will su ce for ev-
eryone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?"
He pointed his wand at Neville, who grew rigid and still, then
forced the hat onto Neville's head, so that it slipped down below
his eyes. There were movements from the watching crowd in front
of the castle, and as one, the Death Eaters raised their wands,
holding the ghters of Hogwarts at bay.
\Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to
anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me," said Voldemort,
and with a
ick of his wand, he caused the Sorting Hat to burst
into
ames.
Screams split the dawn, and Neville was a
ame, rooted to the
spot, unable to move, and Harry could not bear it: He must act|
732
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The Flaw in the Plan
And then many things happened at the same moment.
They heard uproar from the distant boundary of the school as
what sounded like hundreds of people came swarming over the out-
of-sight walls and pelted toward the castle, uttering loud war cries.
At the same time, Grawp came lumbering around the side of the
castle and yelled, \HAGGER!" His cry was answered by roars from
Voldemort's giants: They ran at Grawp like bull elephants, making
the earth quake. Then came hooves and the twangs of bows, and
arrows were suddenly falling amongst the Death Eaters, who broke
ranks, shouting their surprise. Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak
from inside his robes, swung it over himself, and sprang to his feet,
as Neville moved too.
In one swift,
uid motion, Neville broke free of the Body-Bind
Curse upon; the
aming hat fell o him and he drew from its depths
something silver, with a glittering, rubied handle|
The slash of the silver blade could not be heard over the roar of
the oncoming crowd or the sounds of the clashing giants or of the
stampeding centaurs, and yet it seemed to draw every eye. With a
single stroke Neville sliced o the great snake's head, which spun
high into the air, gleaming in the light
ooding from the entrance
hall, and Voldemort's mouth was open in a scream of fury that
nobody could hear, and the snake's body thudded to the ground
at his feet|
Hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Harry cast a Shield
Charm between Neville and Voldemort before the latter could raise
his wand. Then, over the screams and the roars and the thunder-
ous stamps of the battling giants, Hagrid's yell came loudest of
all
\HARRY!" Hagrid shouted. \HARRY|WHERE'S HARRY?"
733
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Chapter 36
Chaos reigned. The charging centaurs were scattering the
Death Eaters, everyone was
eeing the giants' stamping feet, and
nearer and nearer thundered the reinforcements that had come
from who knew where; Harry saw great winged creatures soaring
around the heads of Voldemort's giants, thestrals and Buckbeak
the hippogri scratching at their eyes while Grawp punched and
pummeled them, and now the wizards, defenders of Hogwarts and
Death Eaters alike, were being forced back into the castle. Harry
was shouting jinxes and curses at any Death Eater he could see,
and they crumpled, not knowing what or who had hit them, and
their bodies were trampled by the retreating crowd.
Still hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Harry was bu eted
into the entrance hall: He was searching for Voldemort and saw
him across the room, ring spells from his wand as he backed into
the Great hall, still screaming instructions to his followers as he
sent curses
ying left and right; Harry cast more Shield Charms,
and Voldemort's would-be victims, Seamus Finnigan and Hannah
Abbott, darted past him into the Great Hall, where they joined
the ght already
ourishing inside it.
And now there were more, even more people storming up the
front steps, and Harry saw Charlie Weasley overtaking Horace
Slughorn, who was still wearing his emerald pajamas. They seemed
to have returned at the head of what looked like the families and
friends of every Hogwarts student who had remained to ght, along
with the shopkeepers and homeowners of Hogsmeade. The centaurs
Ban, Ronan, and Magorian burst into the hall with a great clatter
of hooves, as behind Harry the door that led to the kitchens was
blasted o its hinges.
The house-elves of Hogwarts swarmed into the entrance hall,
734
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The Flaw in the Plan
screaming and waving carving knives and cleavers, and at their
head, the locket of Regulus Black bouncing on his chest, was
Kreacher, his bullfrog's voice audible even above this din: \Fight!
Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of the house-elves! Fight the
Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!"
They were hacking and stabbing at the ankles and shins of
Death Eaters, their tiny faces alive with malice, and everywhere
Harry looked Death Eaters were folding under sheer weight of num-
bers, overcome by spells, dragging arrows from wounds, stabbed in
the leg by elves, or else simply attempting to escape, but swallowed
by the oncoming horde.
But it was not over yet: Harry sped between duelers, past strug-
gling prisoners, and into the Great Hall.
Voldemort was in the center of the battle, and he was striking
and smiting all within reach. Harry could not get a clear shot, but
fought his way nearer, still invisible, and the Great Hall became
more and more crowded as everyone who could walk forced their
way inside.
Harry saw Yaxley slammed to the
oor by George and Lee
Jordan, saw Dolohov fall with a scream at Flitwick's hands, saw
Walden Macnair thrown across the room by Hagrid, hit the stone
wall opposite, and slide unconscious to the ground. He saw Ron
and Neville bringing down Fenrir Greyback, Aberforth Stunning
Rookwood, Arthur and Percy
ooring Thicknesse, and Lucius and
Narcissa Malfoy running through the crowd, not even attempting
to ght, screaming for their son.
Voldemort was now dueling McGonagall, Slughorn, and Kings-
ley all at once, and there was cold hatred in his face as they wove
and ducked around him, unable to nish him|
735
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Chapter 36
Bellatrix was still ghting too, fty yards away from Voldemort,
and like her master she dueled three at once: Hermione, Ginny, and
Luna, all battling their hardest, but Bellatrix was equal to them,
and Harry's attention was diverted as a Killing Curse shot so close
to Ginny that she missed death by an inch|
He changed course, running at Bellatrix rather than Voldemort,
but before he had gone a few steps he was knocked sideways.
\NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"
Mrs. Weasley threw o her cloak as she ran, freeing her arms.
Bellatrix spun on the spot, roaring with laughter at the sight of
her new challenger.
\OUT OF MY WAY!" shouted Mrs. Weasley to the three
girls, and with a swipe of her wand she began to duel. Harry
watched with terror and elation as Molly Weasley's wand slashed
and twisted, and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile faltered and became
a snarl. Jets of light
ew from both wands, the
oor around the
witches' feet became hot and cracked; both women were ghting
to kill.
\No!" Mrs. Weasley cried as a few students ran forward, trying
to come to her aid. \Get back! Get back! She is mine!"
Hundreds of people now lined the walls, watching the two ghts,
Voldemort and his three opponents, Bellatrix and Molly, and Harry
stood, invisible, torn between both, wanting to attack and yet to
protect, unable to be sure that he would not hit the innocent.
\What will happen to your children when I've killed you?"
taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses
danced around her. \When Mummy's gone the same way as Fred-
die?"
\You|will|never|touch|our|children|again!"
736
--------------------------------------- 745
The Flaw in the Plan
screamed Mrs. Weasley.
Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius
had given as he toppled backward through the veil, and suddenly
Harry knew what was going to happen before it did.
Molly's curse soared beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm and
hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.
Bellatrix's gloating smile froze, her eyes began to bulge: For the
tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she
toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed
Harry felt as though he turned in slow motion; he saw McGon-
agall, Kingsley, and Slughorn blasted backward,
ailing and
writhing through the air, as Voldemort's fury at the fall of his
last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb. Voldemort
raised his wand and directed it at Molly Weasley.
\Protego!" roared Harry, and the Shield Charm expanded in
the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stared around for the source
as Harry pulled o the Invisibility Cloak at last.
The yell of shock, the cheers, the screams on every side of
\Harry!" \HE'S ALIVE!" were sti
ed at once. The crowd was
afraid, and silence fell abruptly and completely as Voldemort and
Harry looked at each other, and began, at the same moment, to
circle each other.
\I don't want anyone else to try to help." Harry said loudly,
and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. \It's
got to be like this. It's got to be me."
Voldemort hissed.
\Potter doesn't mean that," he said, his red eyes wide. \That
isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield
today, Potter?"
737
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Chapter 36
\Nobody," said Harry simply. \There are no more Horcruxes.
It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and
one of us is about to leave for good. . . ."
\One of us?" jeered Voldemort, and his whole body was taunt
and his red eyes stared, a snake that was about to strike. \You
think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident,
and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"
\Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" asked
Harry. They were still moving sideways, both of them, in that per-
fect circle, maintaining the same distance from each other, and for
Harry no face existed but Voldemort's. \Accident, when I decided
to ght in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself
tonight, and still survived, and returned to ght again?"
\Accidents!" screamed Voldemort, but still he did not strike,
and the watching crowd was frozen as if Petri ed, and of the hun-
dreds in the Hall, nobody seemed to breathe but they two. \Ac-
cident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled
behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to
kill them for you!"
\You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry as they
circled, and stared into each other's eyes, green into red. \You
won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I
was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people|"
\But you did not!"
\|I meant to, and that's what it did. I've done what my
mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how
none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture
them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes,
Riddle, do you?"
738
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The Flaw in the Plan
\You dare |"
\Yes, I dare," said Harry. \I know things you don't know, Tom
Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to
hear some, before you make another big mistake?"
Voldemort did not speak, but prowled in a circle, and Harry
knew that he kept him temporarily mesmerized and at bay, held
back by the faintest possibility that Harry might indeed know a
nal secret. . . .
\Is it love again?" said Voldemort, his snake's face jeering.
\Dumbledore's favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered
death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and
breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me
stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter|
and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time
and take my curse. So what will stop you from dying now when I
strike?"
\Just one thing," said Harry, and still they circled each other,
wrapped in each other, held apart by nothing but the last secret.
\If it is not love that will save you this time," said Voldemort,
\you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a
weapon more powerful than mine?"
\I believe both," said Harry, and he saw shock
it across the
snakelike face, though it was instantly dispelled; Voldemort began
to laugh, and the sound was more frightening than his screams;
humorless and insane, it echoed around the silent Hall.
\You think you know more magic than I do?" he said. \Than I,
than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore
himself never dreamed of?"
\Oh, he dreamed of it," said Harry, \but he knew more than
739
--------------------------------------- 748
Chapter 36
you, knew enough not to do what you've done."
\You mean he was weak!" screamed Voldemort. \Too weak
to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be
mine!"
\No, he was cleverer than you," said Harry, \a better wizard, a
better man."
\I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!"
\You thought you did," said Harry, \but you were wrong."
For the rst time, the watching crowd stirred as the hundreds
of people around the walls drew breath as one.
\Dumbledore is dead!" Voldemort hurled the words at Harry as
though they would cause him unendurable pain. \His body decays
in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle. I have seen it,
Potter, and he will not return!"
\Yes, Dumbledore's dead," said Harry calmly, \but you didn't
have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months
before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought
was your servant."
\What childish dream is this?" said Voldemort, but still he did
not strike, and his red eyes did not waver from Harry's.
\Severus Snape wasn't yours," said Harry. \Snape was Dumble-
dore's. Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down
my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you
can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you,
Riddle?"
Voldemort did not answer. They continued to circle each other,
like wolves about to tear each other apart.
\Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, \the same as my
mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the
740
--------------------------------------- 749
The Flaw in the Plan
time when they were children. You should have realized," he said
as he saw Voldemort's nostrils
are, \he asked you to spare her
life, didn't he?"
\He desired her, that was all," sneered Voldemort, \but when
she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer
blood, worthier of him|"
\Of course he told you that," said Harry, \but he was Dum-
bledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been
working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying
when Snape nished him!"
\It matters not!" shrieked Voldemort, who had followed every
word with rapt attention, but now let out a cackle of mad laughter.
\It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what
petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I
crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all
makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand!
\Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He
intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But
I got there ahead of you, little boy|I reached the wand before
you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you
caught up, I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder
Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dum-
bledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"
\Yeah, it did," said Harry. \You're right. But before you try to
kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done. . . . Think,
and try for some remorse, Riddle. . . ."
\What is this?"
Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any rev-
elation or taunt, nothing had shocked Voldemort like this. Harry
741
--------------------------------------- 750
Chapter 36
saw his pupils contact to thin slits, saw the skin around his eyes
whiten.
\It's your one last chance," said Harry, \it's all you've got left. . . . I've
seen what you'll be otherwise. . . . Be a man . . . try . . . Try for some
remorse. . . ."
\You dare|?" said Voldemort again.
\Yes, I dare," said Harry, \because Dumbledore's last plan
hasn't back red on me at all. It's back red on you, Riddle."
Voldemort's hand was trembling on the Elder Wand, and Harry
gripped Draco's very tightly. The moment, he knew, was seconds
away.
\That wand still isn't working properly for you because you
murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true
master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."
\He killed|"
\Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dum-
bledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended
to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as
planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it
had never been won from him!"
\But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!"
Voldemort's voice shook with malicious pleasure. \I stole the wand
from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's
wishes! It's power is mine!"
\You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't
enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't
you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard. . . . The El-
der Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, some-
one who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed
742
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The Flaw in the Plan
the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly
what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had
given him its allegiance. . . .
Voldemort's chest rose and fell rapidly, and Harry could feel the
curse coming, feel it building inside the wand pointed at his face.
\The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."
Blank shock showed in Voldemort's face for a moment, but then
it was gone.
\But what does it matter?" he said softly. \Even if you are
right, Potter, it makes no di erence to you and me. You no longer
have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone . . . and after I have
killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy. . . ."
\But you're too late," said Harry. \You've missed your chance.
I got there rst. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand
from him."
Harry twitched the hawthorn wand, and he felt the eyes of
everyone in the Hall upon it.
\So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry.
\Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed?
Because if it does . . . I am the true master of the Elder Wand."
A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above
them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest
window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that
Voldemort's was suddenly a
aming blur. Harry heard the high
voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing
Draco's wand:
\Avada Kedavra!"
\Expelliarmus!"
The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden
ames that
743
--------------------------------------- 752
Chapter 36
erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had
been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry
saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand
y high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted
ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the
master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it
at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of a Seeker, caught the
wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed,
the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit
the
oor with a mundane nality, his body feeble and shrunken,
the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing.
Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry
stood with two wands in his hands, staring down at his enemy's
shell.
One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment sus-
pend: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and
the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air. The erce new
sun dazzled the windows as they thundered toward him, and the
rst to reach him were Ron and Hermione, and it was their arms
that were wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that
deafened him. Then Ginny, Neville, and Luna were there, and then
all the Weasleys and Hagrid, and Kingsley and McGonagall and
Flitwick and Spout, and Harry could not hear a word that anyone
was shouting, nor tell whose hands were seizing him, pulling him,
trying to hug some part of him, hundreds of them pressing in, all
of them determined to touch the Boy Who Lived, the reason it was
over at last|
The sun rose steadily over Hogwarts, and the Great Hall blazed
with life and light. Harry was an indispensable part of the mingled
744
--------------------------------------- 753
The Flaw in the Plan
outpourings of jubilation and mourning, of grief and celebration.
They wanted him there with them, their leader and symbol, their
savior and their guide, and that he had not slept, that he craved
the company of only a few of them, seemed to occur to on one.
He must speak to the bereaved, clap their hands, witness their
tears, receive their thanks, hear the new now creeping in from every
quarter as the morning drew on; that the Imperiused up and down
the country had come back to themselves, that Death Eaters were
eeing or else being captured, that the innocent of Azkaban were
being released at that very moment, and that Kingsley Shacklebolt
had been named temporary Minister of Magic. . . .
They moved Voldemort's body and laid it in a chamber o the
Hall, away from the bodies of Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Colin Creevey,
and fty others who had died ghting him. McGonagall had re-
placed the House tables, but nobody was sitting according to House
anymore: All were jumbled together, teachers and pupils, ghosts
and parents, centaurs and house-elves, and Firenze lay recovering
in a corner, and Grawp peered in through a smashed window, and
people were through food into his laughing mouth. After a while,
exhausted and drained, Harry found himself sitting on a bench
beside Luna.
\I'd want some peace and quite, if it were me," she said.
\I'd love some," he replied.
\I'll distract them all," she said. \Use your Cloak."
And before he could say a word she cried, \Oooh, look, a Blib-
bering Humdinger!" and pointed out of the window. Everyone who
heard looked around, and Harry slid the Cloak up over himself, and
got to his feet.
Now he could move through the Hall without interference. He
745
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Chapter 36
spotted Ginny two tables away; she was sitting with her head on
her mother's shoulder: There would be time to talk later, hours
and days and maybe years in which to talk. He saw Neville, the
sword of Gry ndor lying beside his plate as he ate, surrounded
by a knot of fervent admirers. Along the aisle between the tables
he walked, and he spotted the three Malfoys, huddled together as
though unsure whether or not they were supposed to be there, but
nobody was paying them any attention. Everywhere he looked he
saw families reunited, and nally, he saw the two whose company
he craved most.
\It's me," he muttered, crouching down between them. \Will
you come with me?"
They stood up at once, and together he, Ron, and Hermione left
the Great Hall. Great chunks were missing from the marble stair-
case, part of the balustrade was gone, and rubble and bloodstains
occurred every few steps as they climbed.
Somewhere in the distance they could hear Peeves zooming
through the corridors singing a victory song of his own compo-
sition:
We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one,
And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!
\Really gives a feeling for the scope and tragedy of the thing,
doesn't it?" said Ron, pushing open a door to let Harry and Her-
mione through.
Happiness would come, Harry thought, but at the moment it
was mu ed by exhaustion, and the pain of losing Fred and Lupin
and Tonks pierced him like a physical wound every few steps. Most
of all he felt the most stupendous relief, and a longing to sleep. But
746
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The Flaw in the Plan
rst he owed an explanation to Ron and Hermione, who had stuck
with him for so long, and who deserved the truth. Painstakingly he
recounted what he had seen in the Pensieve and what had happened
in the forest, and they had not even begun to express all their
shock and amazement when at last they arrived at the place to
which they had been walking, though none of them had mentioned
their destination.
Since he had last seen it, the gargoyle guarding the entrance to
the headmaster's study had been knocked aside; it stood lopsided,
looking a little punch-drunk, and Harry wondered whether it would
be able to distinguish passwords anymore. \Can we go up?" he
asked the gargoyle.
\Feel free." groaned the statue.
They clambered over him and onto the spiral stone staircase
that moved slowly upward like an escalator. Harry pushed open
the door at the top.
He had one, brief glimpse of the stone Pensieve on the desk
where he had left it, and then an earsplitting noise made him cry
out, thinking of curses and returning Death Eaters and the rebirth
of Voldemort|
But it was applause. All around the walls, the headmasters and
head mistresses of Hogwarts were giving him a standing ovation;
they waved their hats and in some cases their wigs, they reached
through their frames to grip each other's hands; they danced up
and down on the chairs in which they had been painted; Dilys
Derwent sobbed unashamedly; Dexter Fortescue was waving his
ear-trumpet; and Phineas Nigellus called, in his high, reedy voice,
\And let it be noted that Slytherin House played its part! Let our
contribution not be forgotten!"
747
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Chapter 36
But Harry had eyes only for the man who stood in the largest
portrait directly behind the headmaster's chair. Tears were sliding
down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver
beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him lled
Harry with the same balm as phoenix song.
At last, Harry held up his hands, and the portraits fell respect-
fully silent, beaming and mopping their eyes and waiting eagerly
for him to speak. He directed his words at Dumbledore, however,
and chose them with enormous care. Exhausted and bleary-eyed
though he was, he must make one last e ort, seeking one last piece
of advice.
\The thing that was hidden in the Snitch," he began, \I dropped
it in the forest. I don't know exactly where, but I'm not going to
go looking for it again. Do you agree?"
\My dear boy, I do," said Dumbledore, while his fellow pictures
looked confused and curious. \A wise and courageous decision, but
no less than I would have expected of you. Does anyone else know
where it fell?"
\No one," said Harry, and Dumbledore nodded his satisfaction.
\I'm going to keep Ignotus's present, though," said Harry, and
Dumbledore beamed.
\But of course, Harry, it is yours forever, until you pass it on!"
\And then there's this."
Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron and Hermione looked
at it with a reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived
state, Harry did not like to see.
\I don't want it." said Harry.
\What?" said Ron Loudly. \Are you mental?"
\I know it's powerful," said Ron wearily. \But I was happier
748
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The Flaw in the Plan
with mine. So . . . "
He rummaged in the pouch hung around his neck, and pulled
out the two halves of holly still just connected by the nest thread
of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be
repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if
this did not work, nothing would.
He laid the broken wand upon the headmaster's desk, touch it
with the very tip of the Elder Wand, and said \Reparo."
As his wand resealed, red sparks
ew out of its end. Harry knew
that he had succeeded. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand
and felt a sudden warmth in his ngers, as though wand and hand
were rejoicing at their reunion.
\I'm putting the Elder Wand," he told Dumbledore, who was
watching him with enormous a ection and admiration, \back
where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death
like Ignotus, its power will be broken, won't it? The previous mas-
ter will never have been defeated. That'll be the end of it."
Dumbledore nodded. They smiled at each other.
\Are you sure?" said Ron. There was the faintest trace of
longing in his voice as he looked at the Elder Wand.
\I think Harry's right," said Hermione quietly.
\That wand's more trouble than it's worth," said Harry. \And
quite honestly," he turned away from the painted portraits, think-
ing now only of the four-poster bead lying waiting for him in
Gry ndor Tower and wondering whether Kreacher might bring
him a sandwich there, \I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."
749
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750
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751
--------------------------------------- 760
752
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Epilogue
Nineteen Years Later
utumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning
of the rst of September was crisp and golden as an ap-
ple, and as the little family bobbed across the rumbling
Aroad towards the great sooty station, the fumes of car
exhausts and the breath of pedestrians sparkled like cobwebs in the
cold air. Two large cages rattled on top of the laden trolleys the
parents were pushing; the owls inside them hooted indignantly, and
the redheaded girl trailed tearfully behind her brothers, clutching
her father's arm.
\It won't be long now, and you'll be going too," Harry told her.
\Two years," sni ed Lily. \I want to go now!"
The commuters stared curiously at the owls as the family wove
its way towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Al-
bus's voice drifted back to Harry over the surrounding clamor; his
sons had resumed the argument they had started in the car.
\I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!"
\James, give it a rest!" said Ginny.
\I only said he might be," said James, grinning at his younger
753
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Epilogue
brother. \There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in
Slyth|"
But James caught his mother's eye and fell silent. The ve
Potters approached the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over
his shoulder at his younger brother, James took the trolley from
his mother and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.
\You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked his parents im-
mediately, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother.
\Every day, if you want us to," said Ginny.
\Not every day," said Albus quickly. \James says most people
only get letters from home about once a month."
\We wrote to James three times a week last year," said Ginny.
\And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about
Hogwarts," Harry put in. \He likes a laugh, your brother."
Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forward, gathering
speed. As they reached the barrier, Albus winced, but no colli-
sion came. Instead, the family emerged onto platform nine and
three-quarters, which was obscured by thick white steam which
was pouring from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Indistinct gures
were swarming through the mist, into which James had already
disappeared.
\Where are they?" asked Albus anxiously, peering at the hazy
forms they passed as they made their way down the platform
\We'll nd them," said Ginny reassuringly.
But the vapor was dense, and it was di cult to make out any-
body's faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnat-
urally loud. Harry thought he heard Percy discoursing loudly on
broomstick regulations, and was quite glad of the excuse not to
stop and say hello. . . .
754
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Nineteen Years Later
\I think that's them, Al," said Ginny suddenly.
A group of four people emerged from the mist, standing along-
side the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when
Harry, Ginny, Lily, and Albus had drawn right up beside them.
\Hi," said Albus, sounding immensely relieved.
Rose, who was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes,
beamed at him.
\Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry. \I did. Hermione
didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She
thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."
\No, I didn't," said Hermione, \I had complete faith in you."
\As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Ron whispered to
Harry, as together they lifted Albus's trunk and owl onto the train.
\I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it, I can
use a Supersensory Charm for that."
Back on the platform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger
brother, having an animated discussion about which House they
would be sorted into when they nally went to Hogwarts.
\If you're not in Gry ndor, we'll disinherit you," said Ron,
\but no pressure."
\Ron!"
Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn.
\He doesn't mean it," said Hermione and Ginny, but Ron was
no longer paying attention. Catching Harry's eye, he nodded
covertly to a point some fty yards away. The steam had thinned
for a moment, and three people stood in sharp relief against the
shifting mist.
\Look who it is."
Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark
755
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Epilogue
coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat,
which emphasized the pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco
as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry,
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly, and
turned away again.
\So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. \Make
sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited
your mother's brains."
\Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, half stern, half
amused. \Don't try to turn them against each other before they've
even started school!"
\You're right, sorry," said Ron, but unable to help himself, he
added, \Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad
Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."
\Hey!"
James had reappeared; he had divested himself of his trunk,
owl, and trolley, and was evidently bursting with news.
\Teddy's back there," he said breathlessly, pointing back over
his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. \Just seen him!
And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"
He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack
of reaction.
\Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin!
And I asked Teddy what he was doing|"
\You interrupted them?" said Ginny. \You are so like Ron|"
\|and he said he'd come to see her o ! And then he told me
to go away! He's snogging her!" James added as though worried
he had not made himself clear.
\Oh, it would be lovely if they got married," whispered Lily
756
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Nineteen Years Later
sarcastically. \Teddy would really be part of the family then!"
\He already comes round for dinner about four times a week,"
said Harry. \Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have
done with it?"
\Yeah!" said James enthusiastically. \I don't mind sharing a
room with Al|Teddy could have my room!"
\No," said Harry rmly, \you and Al will share a room only
when I want the house demolished."
He checked the battered old watch which had once been Fabian
Prewett's.
\It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."
\Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Ginny told James as
she hugged him.
\Mum! I can't give a professor love!"
\But you know Neville!|"
James rolled his eyes.
\Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't
he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love. . . ."
Shaking his head at his mother's foolishness, he vented his feel-
ings by aiming a kick at Albus.
\See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."
\I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"
But James merely laughed, permitted his mother to kiss him,
gave his father a
eeting hug, then leapt onto the rapidly lling
train. They saw him wave, then sprint away up the corridor to
nd his friends.
\Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told Albus.
\They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Any-
way, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be
757
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Epilogue
going in the boats."
Ginny kissed Albus good-by.
\See you at Christmas."
\By, Al," said Harry as his son hugged him. \Don't forget
Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves.
Don't duel anyone till you've learned how. And don't let James
wind you up."
\What if I'm in Slytherin?"
The whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only
the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how
great and sincere that fear was.
Harry crouched down so that Albus's face was slightly above his
own. Alone of Harry's three children, Albus had inherited Lily's
eyes.
\Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny
could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving
to Rose, who was now on the train, \you were named for two
headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he
was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
\But just say |"
\|then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student,
won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you,
you'll be able to choose Gry ndor over Slytherin. The Sorting
Hat takes your choice into account."
\Really?"
\It did for me," said Harry.
He had never told any of his children that before, and he saw
the wonder in Albus's face when he said it. But now the doors
were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred out-
758
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Nineteen Years Later
lines of parents were swarming forward for nal kisses, last-minute
reminders. Albus jumped into the carriage and Ginny closed the
door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest
them. A great number of faces, both on the train and o , seemed
to be turned towards Harry.
\Why are they staring?" demanded Albus as he and Rose
craned around to look at the other students.
\Don't let it worry you," said Ron. \It's me. I'm extremely
famous."
Albus, Rose, Hugo, and Lily laughed. The train began to move,
and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, al-
ready ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving,
even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his son glide
away from him. . . .
The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train
rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell.
\He'll be all right," murmured Ginny.
As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly
and touched the lightning scar on his forehead.
\I know he will."
The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.
759
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The
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ter being transcribed from digital
camera captures of the book, origi-
nally posted on 4chan. Dark Miasma typed
around half of this work (chapters 1-15, 18-20,
28-30, 33-Epilogue). The remaining chapters were
taken from the DSB release, to whom we extend our
gratitude, and the text was processed using the stan-
dard Linux tools sed and awk. aspell was
used to spell check the document. In this
second release, most of the remaining
typos should be xed, thanks to a
combination of our reading
the book and helpful
comments. Thanks
toThePi-
rate Bay.
Adieu
