The Talisman of Monguk

Chapter 24: In the Coils of the Serpent

Angela peered through the bushes, watching Voldemort and Harry with rapt attention. She did not notice the dark figure silently creeping up behind her. A twig snapped. She spun around.

"Headmaster Dumbledore!" she exclaimed. "Thank goodness you've arrived."

But her hopeful expression quickly evaporated, as Dumbledore pointed his wand at her chest and uttered, "Silencio!" The spell rendered Angela mute. Her eyes opened wide in disbelief. She tried to scream, but no sound came from her lips.

Again Dumbledore pointed his wand at her and uttered an incantation. Cords erupted from the wand and bound her hands and feet. As the magical bonds tightened around her ankles, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Unable to break her fall, she slammed her head on the hard earth.

Dumbledore approached her and knelt down beside her in the grass. His hand snatched up her wand and pocketed it. Then he turned her over to look at her face. She felt an icy finger against her cheek and the hot breath of her captor on her neck.

"What a pleasure to meet you again, Miss Hawkins." He sniggered. "What? You don't recognize me?"

Angela shook her head. She stared into the piercing blue eyes, a dumbfounded expression on her face. Her mind raced, trying to comprehend what was happening. Who was this impostor in front of her? It was certainly not the real Dumbledore.

"No guesses?" he mocked. His long finger tapped his temple. "Then let me give you a little hint. For years, I've stood faithfully serving my beloved Umbridge and studying Dumbledore from the sidelines. This was the part I've always wanted to play. And tonight was my crowning performance. I was brilliant!" He crossed his arms modestly across his chest and gave a little bow. He smiled, accepting the accolades of an imagined audience. Then his face turned back to Angela with an unpleasant leer. "So sorry you missed it. Perhaps your little friends over there can fill you in on the details."

Nebulus Boggs! Her lips mouthed the words in silence.

"Very good!" Boggs sniggered and taunted her in a whisper. "Master will be so pleased with me, when he sees the lovely present that I'm going to bring him. As for your werewolf friend, I wouldn't expect to see him again. Even if you survive tonight, which is doubtful, I'm certain that he will not. For you see, my friend, Macnair, desperately wants a wolf skin rug for his den."

His words filled Angela with rage. She shouted every insult in her vocabulary at him. Her lips moved, but no sound could be heard. Then she twisted her neck to get away from him and writhed against the bonds that held her, hoping to wrest herself free. He watched her useless struggle with delight. He sneered.

"On second thought," he considered, running his hand through the snowy white beard. "Maybe I'll just take care of you myself. Why trouble the master with such an insignificant morsel."

From his position behind the yew grove, he glanced around the graveyard. He spotted the small country church close by and smiled disagreeably. Then he dragged Angela's body across the ground toward the church, huffing and puffing from the exertion.

Angela's lips never stopped moving, although she made no sound. In her silence, she cursed him for his stupidity. She wished that he'd thought to use a Levitation Charm. Every rock or stone in their path raked down her body, as he pulled her through the grass and weeds.

She jerked her head to avoid a low tree branch. It missed her cheek, but scratched her neck and then caught on the chain of her locket. With despair, she felt the chain break, as her locket and Lupin's ring fell from her neck to the ground. Her body twisted and her bound hands grabbed for the precious articles, but could not reach them. Hot tears of anger fell from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks.

At last, they reached the threshold of the church. It was an old country structure built of fieldstone. It had a thatched roof and a large, rough-hewn wooden door with a heavy iron knocker. Boggs approached the door and tapped it with his wand. The lock clicked open. The door opened with a creak. Then he dragged Angela inside the building and dropped her on the rough wooden planks of the floor just inside the doorway. Boggs fumbled around in the darkened interior of the building. Then he pointed his wand and lit a single candle to illuminate the inside of the church.

Angela lay still on the floor of the building, staring out of the door. She watched with horror as Voldemort began to duel Harry. Boggs approached her. Seeing her expression, he looked in the direction of her gaze. He stood over her transfixed and watched the spectacle outside.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Moments later, Molly reappeared behind the yew grove. She glanced around, looking for Angela, surprised to find her gone. A loud crack from the graveyard interrupted her search. She jumped, startled by the explosion. Then she crouched down and peered through the bushes. Voldemort's duel with Harry had begun.

Voldemort uttered a curse and a green flash of light zoomed toward Harry. As fast as he could, Harry scrambled for the nearest headstone and dove for cover behind it. The curse hit the headstone with a bang! The marble angel perched on the headstone flew off. The stone splintered in two with an ear-splitting crack, showering the crouched form of Harry with dust and pebbles. Voldemort swore in anger. Behind the headstone, Harry clutched his scarred forehead and winced with pain.

"I will not play hide-and-seek with you, boy," Voldemort hissed. "If you do not fight, then your friends will pay for your cowardice."

Then he pointed his wand at Ron and yelled "Crucio!" Ron screamed and his face screwed up with agony. Tightly bound to the tombstone, he pulled his legs up toward his chest and twitched.

Harry jumped from behind the gravestone, aimed Pettigrew's wand at Voldemort, and uttered a Disarming Charm. Red sparks sputtered from the wand, but little more. Harry shook the wand in his fist, his face registering a look of horror.

Voldemort's malice-filled eyes glared at Harry. His white lips fell open, emitting a mirthless cackle. Harry fell to the ground behind the cover of the gravestone with his head cradled in his hands and an agonized expression on his face.

Molly screamed and lamented for her son. Unable to rescue him, she became distraught. She ran from her hiding place toward the wall of flames, uttering curses at it. However the wall repelled her spells. Molly crumbled to the ground outside the circle of fire, weeping uncontrollably. Voldemort's cruel eyes looked over at her and he laughed.

"That was just a little teaser," Voldemort sneered, removing his wand from Ron. Ron's body relaxed.

"Don't do it, Harry," Ron yelled. "He'll kill you!" Ron was hoarse and panting, but still defiant.

Harry remained hidden behind the tombstone, searching the surrounding graveyard. He appeared to waver. His eyes stared back at the useless wand in his grasp. He laid it down and picked up a sizable chunk of the broken marble that had been blasted from the tombstone. His white fingers gripped the stone, waiting for the perfect moment.

"So you still won't come out. Crucio!" the Dark Lord shouted, training his wand on Ron for the second time.

Ron screamed. Harry straightened up and hurled the hunk of marble at Voldemort with all his might. The stone whizzed through the air with lethal accuracy. The Dark Lord's head spun around to face the incoming projectile. His long ghostly fingers flicked his wand, releasing Ron and aiming a hex at the marble. The spell hit with a deafening blast, disintegrating the rock in an explosion of dust and pebbles.

Ron's body went limp, his head lolling in unconsciousness against his chest. Molly watched the scene with horror, shaking with grief. Voldemort uttered a merciless laugh and turned toward Hermione.

"Hmmm!" Voldemort said, stroking his pale chin. "Let's try another one! You, Girl! Crucio!"

Hermione shrieked as the spell hit and writhed against the cords that bound her as Ron had done. With a tormented expression, Harry clutched at his forehead and convulsed on the ground. But then he struggled to his feet. Still holding his head, Harry rose to meet Voldemort filled with indignation and wrath. He jumped out from behind the tombstone and pointed Pettigrew's wand at his adversary.

"NO!" he screamed "LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!"

Instantly, a giant boa constrictor flew from his wand tip and wrapped itself around Voldemort, binding his arms to his sides. The snake tightened its grip, squeezing the Dark Lord between the bands of its undulating body as Harry's anger continued to rise. The boa constrictor raised its head and stared into Voldemort's snake-like face, which now registered a look of shock and surprise. Nagini hissed and rattled at the new snake, but stayed back.

Voldemort recovered his composure. With his wand still clutched in his fist, he moved his wrist and pointed the wand toward Harry. He uttered a curse, but only sparks spewed from it. The serpent was siphoning away his strength with each contraction of its muscles. The look of shock on Voldemort's face changed to alarm.

But Harry's expression changed as well, turning hard and cold with loathing. Harry's boyish face became suddenly ugly. Voldemort studied this transformation. His eyes narrowed with cunning. He taunted Harry.

"Go on! Do it! Kill me! Give in to the hatred! Give in to your rage!"

Harry stared at Voldemort, shaking with fury. His balled up fist clenched Pettigrew's wand, every muscle tense. Then Voldemort's body shimmered with a strange translucence, as if his soul were escaping it. Harry's face continued to transform as enmity consumed him. His eyes grew narrow. The boa tightened its grip.

"Give in! Give in!" Voldemort goaded. The voice echoed throughout the graveyard, originating from some disembodied source in the air.

Harry opened his mouth and laughed. But it was Voldemort's cruel mirthless laugh that came out of his mouth, instead of his own. Now it was Harry's turn to be shocked. His eyes opened wide with surprise.

"NO!" he screamed, his own voice returning to him and his boyish face again restored.

The boa constrictor suddenly froze, neither tightening nor releasing its hold on Voldemort. The translucence faded from the Dark Lord's body, its solid appearance restored. Then a look of something like pity flashed across Harry's face.

"NO!" Harry yelled. "I AM NOT LIKE YOU, VOLDEMORT! I AM NOT A MURDERER!" He pointed Pettigrew's wand at his adversary and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort's wand wrenched from his grasp and rocketed into the air, landing out of the Dark Lord's reach. At the same instant, Harry's wand also ripped from Voldemort's pocket and flew to him.

Voldemort now eyed Harry with an expression of utmost loathing. "If you won't kill me," he demanded, his voice arrogant and unyielding, "then what will you do with me?"

"I will turn you over to the Wizengamot," Harry yelled. "They can decide your fate."

Voldemort's snake-like eyes grew wide with shock and rage. "MERCY! PITY!" Voldemort screamed. "I WILL NOT BE PITIED!"

Harry gripped his head in his hands, as his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell to the ground retching and writhing in agony. At the same time, Voldemort's body glowed with a brilliant white light. He howled with fury. The white light enveloped him, consuming him along with the snake that bound him. Harry's friends shrieked and strained against their ropes, attempting to shield their eyes and their faces from the intense heat radiating from Voldemort. There was a blinding flash that flamed and then burnt out, taking the Dark Lord and the serpent with it. Only a large blackened scorch mark remained in the spot where Voldemort had been standing just seconds before.

The pain in Harry's head abruptly disappeared. He lay back on the grass, panting. His head was spinning.

The wall of flames suddenly vanished. Molly ran toward the students. With a slashing motion, she cast a spell at Nagini. Her spell hit and beheaded the viper, spattering the grass with its blood. The tail of the snake twitched and lay still in the weeds. Then Molly released the students from their bonds. She freed her son and sank down on the grass, holding him in her arms and sobbing.

Harry sat up, rubbed his scar, and straightened his glasses. "What happened to Voldemort?" he asked, looking over at the scorch mark.

"He's dead, I believe," said a familiar fatherly voice.

"Headmaster Dumbledore!" said Harry, beaming over at the headmaster with a look of surprise and delight.

Dumbledore approached. His eyes twinkled and he smiled back at Harry proudly. "You've done it, Harry! You've defeated Voldemort."

"But how, sir?" Harry replied. "I don't understand."

"You showed mercy," Dumbledore answered. "It was unbearable to him, so much so that he chose to die rather than live with the memory of it."

"So he killed himself?" Harry asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, so it seems," Dumbledore replied. "And now we need to return you to Hogwarts, where you belong. There will be time for more questions later."

As soon as they were released, Ginny and Neville ran to him, practically smothering Harry with hugs and cheers. Hermione made her way toward him more slowly, her legs still unsteady from her ordeal. But her face wore an enormous smile, as she threw her arms around him. Harry hugged her back, his glasses knocked askew and a jubilant grin on his face. Then he stared over at Ron, his expression turning serious again.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore approached Molly and Ron. He put his hand on Ron's forehead and waved his wand, reviving him. Ron's eyes fluttered open.

"Professor Dumbledore! Mum!" Ron mumbled, looking around with a dazed expression. "Where am I?"

Still sobbing, Molly stared up at Dumbledore with a grateful look. Then she resumed tending to her son.

Next, Dumbledore knelt beside Ravena and revived her. Ravena opened her eyes and stared up at Dumbledore's silvery beard and kind smile.

"Headmaster Dumbledore!" she exclaimed with surprise. She propped herself up on one elbow. Her face contorted with a pained expression. "Oh, my head!" she groaned, her fingers rubbing the large welt on her scalp. "I was talking to the students and then something hit me from behind. What happened?"

"It was Voldemort," Dumbledore answered. "But Harry dueled and defeated him."

"He did?" Ravena replied with amazement. Her eyes opened wide. "Well, he is my best student. And here I missed the whole thing."

Dumbledore chuckled. "There will be plenty of time for him to tell you the whole story himself. You just rest. We will get you to Poppy soon enough."

Ravena nodded. She lowered her head back down on the grass with a moan. Her eyes stared up at the sky, not focusing on anything in particular. She felt weak and disoriented from Voldemort's hex.

Dumbledore moved on to Pettigrew. He knew that Pettigrew was an Animagus and could transform into a rat at will. Thus Dumbledore left the Death Eater unconscious and bound him with a spell that would prevent him from Disapparating or transforming should he awaken.

When they were all gathered together, Dumbledore picked up the marble angel that had been blasted from the gravestone by Voldemort's curse. He tapped it with his wand and uttered "Portus!" The statue glowed briefly. Neville put one hand on the angel Portkey and held out his other hand to Ravena. She took it with a warm smile. Similarly, Harry and the others grabbed hold of the angel. Dumbledore himself took hold of Pettigrew. Then he activated the Portkey and they all disappeared from the graveyard to return to Hogwarts.

* * * * * * * * * * *

From his hiding place in the entrance of the church, Boggs watched the downfall of Lord Voldemort with a mixture of astonishment and disbelief. He was so entranced by the spectacle that he failed to notice the arrival of the real Dumbledore or that his own appearance was changing back to its original form. But Angela noticed. She watched the snowy white beard and startling blue eyes fade from Boggs' face. His small pointy nose, large ears, and cold dark eyes reappeared in their place.

She looked back out of the doorway. Her eyes glimpsed the majestic form of the real Dumbledore moving through the graveyard. Her mind raced, searching for any means of escape or any way to alert Dumbledore to her plight.

She twisted around in the doorway, glancing back into the church. The candle dimly illuminated the interior. She saw the rows of worn wooden pews and the pulpit at the far end. Dappled moonlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, many of which had broken panes and missing glass. Iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling fitted with electric bulbs. As she was bound, the switch was out of her reach. She spotted the candle that Boggs had carelessly left sitting on the floor.

While her captor was preoccupied with the events outside, Angela inched her body closer to the candle. She stretched her arms behind her and held the cords over the flame, trying to ignore the intense heat searing her flesh. Fortunately, the Silencing Charm prevented Boggs from hearing her screams of pain. The ropes fell from her wrists.

She glanced back up at Boggs. He stared out the door with a look of horror etched on his face, oblivious to her actions. His eyes followed the movements of Dumbledore through the graveyard.

Angela attempted to untie the ropes from her feet. But she could not work them loose. She shifted her position and held her ankles over the flames, trying to burn through those cords too. Suddenly, the flame flickered and ignited the hem on her dress. She gasped. She rolled to douse the flames. Her movements knocked over the candle, extinguishing the flame and plunging the inside of the church into pitch darkness. Angela threw herself under the nearest pew and lay perfectly still, holding her breath.

The disturbance attracted the Death Eater's attention. He spun around. His eyes searched in the blackness for her.

"Come out, my little captive," he hissed and then swore. "You cannot hide from me. I know that you are still here."

Boggs stared at the candle, considering it. He cast a furtive glance in the direction of the great warlock outside. He hissed, kicked the candle aside, and searched the church in the darkness. He pulled out his wand and circumspectly walked up the central aisle of the church. From under the pew, Angela saw his feet silhouetted in the moonlight filtering in through the open church door. She held her breath.

Angela could hear the shouts of the students. They were cheering and chattering excitedly. She listened to the commotion, hoping that someone would notice her absence. Her lips moved silently, praying that someone would come to look for her. But the voices outside went still in the night air, replaced by an eerie and forlorn silence. And Angela understood that she had been left behind. A sob escaped her lips, an audible puff of air.

Boggs froze, listening. He whipped around and walked quickly back toward the door. He stopped right beside her pew. He knelt down and peered under the wooden bench, looking directly at her with his cold steely gaze. She trembled with terror. Boggs laughed mirthlessly.

"It seems that your friends have forgotten you," he mocked. "How delightful! And now our little game is at an end. So say goodbye to your life." He pointed his wand at her chest and muttered, "Avada Kedavra!"

With lightning speed, Angela grabbed for his wand and forced it away from her chest. A bolt of fatal green light flew straight up into the air between them both. The spell hit the central support beam of the roof. The beam exploded, sending thousands of splinters flying around the room, like deadly darts. The whole building began to rumble and shake. The roof collapsed around them, showering them with wood, dried mud, and thatch.

Boggs panicked and ran for the doorway. He managed to travel only a few feet, when he was stuck down by one of the iron chandeliers falling from the remains of the wooden beam. He slumped to the floor, bleeding and unconscious.

Angela crouched under the shelter of the pew and covered her head with both her arms. She lay still and waited, while the roof of the church fell around her. The falling wreckage sent up great clouds of dust and dirt. She coughed and gasped for breath.

After what seemed like an eternity, the debris settled. Angela stirred under the pew, but she could not escape. She was entombed under the fallen roof, imprisoned under the rubble. She could not call for help, as she had no voice. She could not extricate herself either. So she waited, listening and praying for deliverance.