Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything

Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything (20)

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Chapter Twenty: Past Mistakes

Hermione had never been this scared in her life.

Over the course of the past year, she had come to look at her brother, Harry, her best friend, Harry, as nearly invincible. The mere thought of him being at any disadvantage was laughable. Harry had bested the entire Auror corps in training, and had even dueled Dumbledore to a stalemate. To her, as well as the rest of those who knew him, he was the Atlas who shouldered the entirety of the Wizarding world upon his back.

It was with this thought in mind that Hermione screamed at the sight of Harry falling roughly to the ground.

"HARRY!"

Hermione rushed towards the fallen hero as more Aurors moved to confront the still attacking dragon. Peter, hearing Hermione's frantic yell, turned again to look at the now prone body of his Master's arch-nemesis.

"HA! So, the great Harry Potter faints at the sight of my Master's pet. The Dark Lord had always intended to kill you himself in battle, but this opportunity cannot be wasted. I will savor the rewards he gives me all the more with the thought that I earned them by killing you, Potter. Do give my best to your parents and Sirius, won't you? AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Hermione was forced to take cover as Peter unleashed the Killing Curse that struck Harry dead center in his chest. The flash of green light seemed to illuminate the entire battlefield as the sound of rushing death nearly caused Hermione's own heart to stop beating. She was too late. Harry was dead, and it was all her fault for not reacting soon enough.

As the last glimmer of hope died out in Hermione's mind, Peter strode past the inert body of her brother on his way to finish her off the same way. His Master had not told them to kill the two of them off, but surely this would make the victory all the sweeter. The death of the Potter brat and the Mudblood nuisance would raise his status even further amongst his followers. Lifting his wand to point it at the shell-shocked teenager, Peter marveled at how easy a victory he had managed to attain.

"AVADA KEDAV..."

"AMPUTUS MORTALIS!"

Peters second casting of the Killing Curse was cut off by a sudden blizzard of razor-like projectiles. Having had his full concentration on murdering Hermione, the volley of blades tore through his flesh from the top of his head to the heel of his boots. His armor coating protected most of him, but the sheer volume of hits caused blood to spring from him like a fountain. Without the armor, he would have been dead.

Spinning to face his attacker, Peter at first could not see anyone around him. Looking back to where Harry's body lay, he noticed a small figure in a cloak attempting to raise him from the ground. Granger was still motionless with shock and nearly all of the others were occupied with trying to contain the dragon. As the cloaked figure placed Harry's arm around their shoulders and brought him laboriously to his feet, the hood covering her head fell back to reveal long blonde hair.

"Ah, you must be the Lovegood girl. I applaud you for being able to wound me, even if you did resort to attacking from behind. Unfortunately for you, my wounds are not life threatening. Your life, however, is about to end."

As Peter again raised his wand with the intent to snuff out yet another young life, Luna pulled something out from the pocket of her robe that glowed blue briefly before she threw it at the Death Eater's face. Instinctively catching it as she counted backward from three, Peter disappeared the instant his hand came into contact with the butterbeer cork turned Portkey.

Not taking any time to rest, Luna struggled to carry Harry's dead weight towards safety. After a few yards, she felt her load lighten substantially as someone took Harry's other arm around their own shoulders. Turning to see who it was, she gasped at the empty expression on Hermione's face.

"We can't leave him out here. We'll get him to the castle. We can't leave him out here."

Luna noticed that Hermione's eyes were vacant and that no trace of emotion appeared on her face. It did not appear that her friend was at all aware that a horrific battle still raged all around them.

"Hermione, are you ok?"

Hermione continued to trudge forward. She made no indication that she had heard Luna's question.

"Harry wouldn't want anyone to see him like this. He would want us to keep fighting. We can't leave him here."

A loud cry of warning sounded as Hagrid and Charlie continued to try and drive off the still circling dragon. Even with its powers for mass destruction, the dragon actually seemed to be intimidated by the half-giant. It would strike out at anyone else who came within range, but it appeared to avoid directly attacking Hagrid for some reason.

Heeding the warning, Luna maneuvered the three of them behind the shelter of one of the fallen goalposts. Upon reaching the makeshift bunker, she found both Ron and Neville there providing cover for students and parents to evacuate. When the two boys saw the three approaching, they immediately raised the strongest shield they could to protect them. When they had reached their side, Ron realized whom it was they were supporting.

"Harry! What's wrong? Hermione, what happened?"

When Hermione failed to respond, or to even appear to have heard him, Ron turned frantic eyes toward Luna.

"What's wrong with them?"

Luna shifted and placed her arms around Harry's waist to better support him.

"Hermione is in shock from seeing what Peter did to Harry."

Neville had an idea of what Luna was about to say but hoped he was wrong.

"What did he do, Luna?"

Now that they were close, both boys could now see the tracks of tears on Luna's ashen face.

"Harry was struck with the Killing Curse."

Ron and Neville both gasped. Harry was dead? A deluge of flame battering against their shield interrupted further questioning. Despite the magic holding, the temperature around them increased dramatically. It became evident that the shield would not withstand another assault. Taking action, Luna removed Harry's arm from around Hermione and moved her towards the two boys.

"Ron, Neville, you two watch over Hermione. She's in shock, but she will be fine. I'm going to get Harry back to the castle."

Neville stopped Luna's movement with a hand on her arm.

"Luna, you'd never make it! We should all stay together. If Harry really has been killed..."

Luna cut him off in a tone rarely heard from her. Anger.

"I AM GOING TO TAKE HARRY TO THE CASTLE! The two of you will look after Hermione and help out where you can. GO!"

Neville recoiled from Luna's outburst and nearly tripped over an equally stunned Ron. Without further protest, the two of them took hold of Hermione and headed towards the next area they could take cover in. Neither boy allowed their mind to think about what Luna had told them. They knew she could not be lying to them, but the truth was too horrible to even contemplate. If Harry really was dead, as he appeared to be, they were all doomed.

Luna continued to move towards the castle as quickly as she could manage under the circumstances. Since she had to both support Harry's weight and avoid confrontation with Death Eaters, her progress was painfully slow. Just as she was beginning to ascend the slope leading up to the castle doors, two large figures in black stepped in her path.

"Ooh, look what we got here, Loony and Potty. What's wrong with your boyfriend, Loony? Did our dragon scare him to death?"

The slightly shorter of the two boys laughed.

"Ha, good one, Goyle. Did Potty shit his pants when he saw it? Our Master didn't say anything about bringing him back, too. Still, I bet he would be happy with us. I guess we'll take both of you. You could provide us all with some entertainment, slut."

Both boys were now laughing. The sound of it was reminiscent of donkeys braying.

"You're right, Crabbe. If she'll fuck Potter, she'll drop her knickers for anyone. I think we should have a little sample now."

As the two boys began to move towards Luna, two red flashes struck them both between the shoulder blades. Luna was forced to step back slightly so that they did not knock her over as they fell unconscious to the ground.

"Are you all right, Miss Lovegood?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for rescuing me, Headmaster."

Dumbledore bound the two Death Eaters and ran his wand over Harry's head. A look of unbridled rage extinguished the usual twinkle in his deep blue eyes.

"Who did this to him?"

"Peter."

"Did anyone see him do it?"

"Hermione did. She's still in shock. We also came across Ron and Neville. I was asked specifically what happened to Harry."

"Which means you had to tell them the truth."

"Yes."

"I see. Were you confronted by anyone other than these two?"

Dumbledore pointed towards the two former students still lying at their feet.

"No, they were the only two. I did all I could to avoid detection, but I let my concentration slip in my haste to get to the castle."

"Very good, Miss Lovegood. This may actually work to our advantage. If Peter truly believes that he has killed Harry, and if we can keep the truth from Voldemort, we may be able to lull them into a false sense of security."

As Dumbledore pondered the possible implications of this new plan, he suddenly realized that Luna was struggling to keep Harry upright.

"Forgive me, Miss Lovegood. Let me help you on your mission."

Dumbledore flicked his wrist to conjure a stretcher before placing Harry upon it. He also charmed it to be weightless, so that pushing him could be done without effort.

"Please get Harry and yourself to the Hospital wing. Tell Poppy that I have given you permission to stay with him. Also, please inform her that we will likely be needing all of the burn and smoke inhalation potions that she has on hand."

Luna nodded and raced up the slope to the castle. Waiting to make sure she made it there safely, Dumbledore then turned to approach the newly arriving reinforcements from the Ministry.

"Kingsley, have your people focus on getting any of the remaining students to safety. The D.A. has gotten the bulk of them out safely, but there may be a few left. After that, we will all need to focus on dealing with the dragon."

Kingsley had been told that there was a dragon attacking Hogwarts and had his troops outfitted with dragon skin armor. Seeing that the entire Quidditch pitch was ablaze, he sprang into action immediately by signaling the others to follow his lead. The only person to remain behind was a slack jawed man wearing a green bowler hat.

"Dumbledore, what happened here? I thought that Hogwarts was completely safe!"

"No place is completely safe in a war, Cornelius. You should have learned that fact two years ago after the battle at the Ministry. There is no time to discuss this now. Meet me at my office later and I will answer what questions I can. Until then, either help us, or get out of our way."

The indignant Minister huffed at the abrasive tone the Headmaster had addressed him with. He did, however, do as he was told and got out of the way.

**********

By the time Dumbledore arrived to help them, Charlie Weasley, Hagrid, and Kingsley Shacklebolt had managed to contain the dragon's movements. They were fortunate that the dragon was a Norwegian Ridgeback. Although the Norwegians were far from docile, there were deadlier varieties out there. Had the dragon been a Hungarian Horntail or an Italian Deathbringer, there would have been little hope for any of them.

As the focus of the battle had now shifted to dealing with the dragon, Peter Pettigrew took the time to survey the carnage around him before raising his wand to the sky. In the next instant, the Dark Mark was seen hovering above them all.

"Enough of this! The Dark Lord has gotten what he wants. Brothers, activate your return Portkeys. Our Lord and Master shall lead us all into the final battle that is to come. Tonight, we shall rejoice in the fulfillment of the prophecy that ensures our complete and utter annihilation of all those that would dare to oppose us."

As the remaining Death Eaters vanished, Peter turned to leer at Dumbledore with a look of triumph on his rat-like face.

"You have lost, old man. I have taken the life of your only hope for victory. The Dark Lord's powers will be even greater now, and there will be no one to stand in his way."

Dumbledore forced himself to remain calm.

"Hope is never entirely lost, Peter. As long as there are those that oppose him, Tom Riddle will never attain the victory he seeks."

Pettigrew laughed.

"It no longer matters how many oppose him, fool! Despite all of your interference, the Dark Lord has already won. Even better, the Dark Lord owes some of the credit for his victory to you, Dumbledore. Because of your past mistakes, you have brought upon the darkest times that the Wizarding world has ever known. Your pathetic dream has died, along with your precious Harry. Soon, you will be joining him."

Pettigrew, still laughing, waved his wand and vanished. The dragon had also flown away into the darkening sky by this point. Now that the Death Eaters were gone, the silence was as deafening was the battle had been. Soon, however, the quiet was broken by the sounds of crying and orders being given. People were being asked if they were all right, or they were being asked if they had seen one of their missing family members. Names of unaccounted for loved ones could be heard being yelled out from all over the battlefield.

Amidst the chaos, Albus Dumbledore was surveying the once perfectly kept Quidditch pitch that had been the scene of enjoyable sport for generations. In the course of only a few hours, all of that had become overshadowed by intensive destruction and bloodshed. Watching as the Aurors and members of the Order set about helping the wounded and repairing the massive structural damage, he suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Dumbledore, what in blazes happened here? How did the Death Eaters get in? Was... was 'You-know-who' here? What was that Pettigrew said about the Potter boy? Where is he, anyway? I thought he was supposed to be trained for this sort of thing."

Dumbledore's calm façade crumbled as he turned to glare down at the still babbling Minister. If looks could kill, Fudge would have been added to the list of casualties.

"What does it look like happened, Cornelius? Even someone as obtuse as yourself should be able to grasp the severity of what has happened here, and yet you stand there questioning the obvious! As for Harry, he was cursed by Pettigrew."

Fudge stopped talking and was now standing there with his mouth wide open. Not only had he been yelled at, again, but also now the Potter boy had gone and gotten himself hurt. Wasn't he the one who had stood up to Lord Thingy all those times in the past? What had he gotten himself hurt for?

"Cursed? CURSED? My god, Albus! What condition is he in? What is being done for him? When was he sent to St. Mungo's?"

Dumbledore ignored the Minister's questions and began walking towards the castle. Fudge followed along behind him like a puppy hoping to be fed. When they reached the front doors, Albus turned to him and spoke in a voice that made it clear that their conversation, for now at least, was over.

"Minister, Harry has not been sent to St. Mungo's, nor will he be. He has been taken to the Hospital wing. He will remain there until he has recovered. If you will follow my earlier instructions and go up to my office, I will be with you once I have checked on him."

Fudge, never the fastest broom in the shed, failed to pick up on Dumbledore's intent to get the hell away from him.

"Staying here at Hogwarts? Have you finally gone senile, Dumbledore? St. Mungo's has the best healers in all of Europe. How will it look if the public found out that the boy was injured and not given the best treatment available? How will it reflect on me if...?"

Two aged but strong hands lifting him off the ground by his collar cut off Fudge's rant.

"Listen to me, Fudge. I love Harry as if he were my own. His condition is indeed grave, but he is already in the best hands possible. You will now go to my office and wait for me. If you speak another word after I release you, I will show you that I am still very much in control of my capacities."

Dumbledore then set the Minister back on his feet. Fudge nearly fell to the ground upon being released since his legs had gone quite weak in fear. Before he could turn to run up the stairs to the Headmaster's office, Albus stopped him with a hand on the arm.

"One more thing, Minister. If you ever refer to Harry as 'the Potter boy' again, you will regret it. Mr. Potter has not been a child for a long time. He is a man who has more maturity and strength of character than you will ever have. Now, I believe you know my password. Go."

Dumbledore then turned his back on Cornelius and sped towards the Hospital wing. Now that he was no longer venting his anger at the Minister, the feeling of dread for Harry was overwhelming him. If his theories about the prophecy and Luna were correct, Harry should be able to pull through. If he were wrong, Harry would be far beyond even his help. The added worry of Peter's mysterious conversation with him was pushed aside for now, so that he could focus on the wellbeing of the one person that he had truly come to look at as a part of his own family.

**********

"Harry...Harry...Wake up. Harry."

A voice that sounded as if it was coming from miles above him broke the utter silence that had enveloped Harry since the moment he had felt himself hit the ground. He could not tell how long he had been in the somehow comforting darkness. In fact, the idea of time itself seemed foreign to him now. A hand shaking his shoulder caused him to reluctantly open his eyes.

"Sirius, is that you?"

The smiling man looking down at him laughed as he helped Harry to stand up.

"Of course it's me, Harry. I saw the whole thing, lad. I'd love to have just five minutes with that overfed rat. I'd rip out his entrails and force them back down his throat!"

Sirius continued to fume while the reality of the situation set in with Harry.

"He... he killed me. I was supposed to be the only chance against Voldemort, and now I'm dead. I've failed everyone."

Instead of answering, Sirius yanked Harry's boxers up from his pants.

"HEY! Sirius, what he hell was that for?"

Sirius laughed at the angry expression on his beloved godson's face. It was the same one that James would have on when he did it to him.

"I was just showing you that you weren't dead. You should be, but you aren't. Well, technically speaking, you should have died a couple times before now. I tell you, you've got more lives than Merlin had robes."

Harry stared in confusion at his still grinning Godfather.

"But, if I'm not dead, why am I here?"

Sirius stopped laughing.

"You got hit with the Killing Curse, Harry. No matter how powerful you are those will do more than give you a headache. You were sent here until Luna can bring you back to the land of the living. If it weren't for the powerful link that the two of you have, you would probably have ended up staying in Limbo forever. That girl really loves you, Harry. She'll make you a fine wife and mother for your children."

Harry nodded absently before realizing what exactly his Godfather had said to him.

"Wait a minute, how did you know we were engaged? She only proposed to me a few hours ago!"

Sirius smiled.

"You'd be amazed at how fast word travels up here, Harry. And don't think for a minute that I won't be watching over the wedding. I promise I won't peek into your wedding night, though."

Harry blushed a deep crimson, which caused the former Marauder to laugh again.

"You're as easy to wind up as your father was, Harry. My time is almost up, son. Look after yourself, but don't forget to live your life. And don't worry, I'll always be here if you need me. Take care of Luna, and remember that I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Sirius."

The vision of his beaming Godfather faded out of his view as the darkness quickly reclaimed him.

The next sense to return to him was touch, as Harry felt delightful warmth surrounding him. The gentle feeling of it pressed against him from head to toe, causing him to feel as if he were floating on a cloud. It was, without doubt, the most comfortable he had ever been in his life.

His face was particularly comfortable. Harry likened the feeling to resting his head upon a warm pillow, although it was unlike any pillow he had rested upon before. This was softer, and smelled better. It also seemed to be moving slightly. Raising his hands to adjust the cushion, he felt a thin layer of cloth covering it's surface. As he continued to run his hands over the unknown item, another familiar voice caused him to put a halt to his explorations.

"Harry, as much as I am enjoying what you are doing and would prefer that you keep doing it, I'm afraid that we aren't alone."

Harry's eyes snapped open to see that the darkness surrounding him was due to the fact that his face was nestled snuggly between Luna's small but firm breasts.

"Luna! Oh, god! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I wasn't trying to..."

Luna cut off Harry's apologies with a passionate kiss, the intensity of which caused the both of them to become light headed. After a few minutes of quality snogging, the sound of a voice being cleared made them reluctantly pull back.

"Luna, if you could remove your tongue from Harry's throat I'd like to speak with him, if you don't mind."

Harry tore his slightly glazed eyes away from the woman he loved to see Hermione staring back at him with a very concerned look on her face.

"Hey, Hermione. What are you doing here?"

Hermione's eyes went quite narrow.

"What am I doing here? I thought you were dead, Harry! You got hit with the Killing Curse! There's no reason you should have survived, but you did...again! I was right there! I saw Pettigrew hit you with it!"

The instant Pettigrew's name escaped Hermione's lips, Harry's memory returned to him. He immediately released himself from Luna's arms and made to stand up. However, as soon as his feet hit the floor another excruciating pain in his head caused him to fall back into his fiancée's embrace.

"AARGH! MY HEAD! My scar hurts worse than ever! I have to get back outside! I have to help Dumbledore! Somebody help me up!"

Harry made another valiant attempt to stand and received the same result. Screaming again in horrific pain, he clutched Luna closer to him. Hermione jumped out of her chair next to his bed and helped the slighter girl hold him down.

"Harry, stop it! The battle is over! There's nothing you need to do now except rest, you hear me? You need to relax before you have a stroke!"

Harry gritted his teeth against the pain and made no further attempts at standing up. After a few minutes of hearing the calming words of both girls, the pain in his head lessened to the point where he could open his eyes again.

"I'm sorry. I just... I remember it now. I was looking up at the dragon, and then everything went black. What happened after I passed out?"

"You are the only person in recorded history that can ask what happened after they were hit with the Killing Curse, Harry."

All eyes in the room now turned to look at the aged looking wizard in the doorway.

"Professor Dumbledore! Is everyone all right? Where are Pettigrew and the rest of the Death Eaters?"

Dumbledore walked over to the bed Harry and the others were lying in and sat down heavily in a chair.

"Pettigrew and the rest of Tom's followers are undoubtedly far away from us by now, Harry. As for how everyone else is doing, I'm afraid not everyone made it out of the battle alive."

The breath in Harry's chest seemed to be sucked out from his lungs. His heart began to hammer wildly in his chest as he realized that only half of "the group" was present.

"No! Please, it can't be! Where are Ron, Neville, and Ginny? Did they... are they...?"

Streaks of magical energy began to rise off of Harry as he became more and more distressed. Fortunately, a voice from behind a nearby screen kept him from doing any accidental damage.

"Harry, is that you? It's me, Neville. I'm going to be fine, I promise. Crabbe's father hit me with the Cruciatus, but Justin managed to distract him. We were all more worried about you. We all thought you were dead."

Harry felt relieved that Neville was accounted for, but what about Ron and Ginny? Sensing his continued unease, Dumbledore placed a calming hand on the shoulder that Luna wasn't resting her head upon.

"Miss Weasley and Mister Weasley are also fine, Harry. Both were injured, but should have no lasting effects. The reason they are not here now is because they are at St. Mungo's. Fred and Arthur were more seriously injured in a confrontation with Crabbe and Goyle Senior."

Harry felt as though he may be sick. Mr. Weasley was as close to him as a real father, and Fred was like a brother to him. Sadly, even this news was not the worst of it.

"We have also lost another student because of Voldemort, Harry. Lucius Malfoy hit Ernie McMillan with the Killing Curse. Mr. McMillan and Miss Brown had been helping the students escape when they were both attacked. Miss Brown and Miss Abbott are both being treated for shock at St. Mungo's now. His parents have been notified and should have arrived by now from Aberdeen. Also, Draco Malfoy is missing. The last person who remembers seeing him is Angelina Johnson. The two of them were helping to subdue the dragon when Draco appears to have witnessed his father striking down Mr. McMillan. Miss Johnson says that Draco ran off in the direction of his father, and that is the last she saw of him. We have members of the Order looking for any clues to his possible whereabouts, but we fear that his father may have taken him back with them. If so, I fear Draco's life is in grave danger."

The feeling of extreme nausea washed over Harry again. Ernie could be rather pompous at times, but he had always been nice enough to him. He also felt great sympathy for Hannah. He had heard them talking about getting married once they had graduated. The situation with Draco worried him even more. Lucius had marked his only son for death and had now apparently kidnapped him. If Draco really was still alive, he almost certainly wouldn't be for much longer. Harry turned to see that Dumbledore's eyes were now as tear filled as his own.

"We are at war, Harry. More lives will be lost before this is all over, I'm afraid. I have to get to my office now and talk with the Minister. Voldemort may not have shown himself today, but that doesn't mean he won't next time. I also need to think upon something Peter said to me before he left. For now, all of you need your rest. It is my great hope that, for now at least, the worst is behind us."

**********

"Damn it, Albus! Parents from all over Europe send their children to Hogwarts because they believe it to be the safest school in the world! What will they think now, eh? How will this attack reflect upon the school? How will this reflect on me as the Minister?"

Dumbledore slammed his fist on the desk causing the Minister to jump.

"That is all you care about, Cornelius? How this will affect your image? A boy has died, Fudge! This makes the second student to have died needlessly because of this war! A war that might have been prevented is you had not been so pig-headed and obstinate!"

Fudge's face turned bright red in anger.

"How dare you try to blame this all on me? I was simply going on the information my advisors gave me! And what other death are you now blaming me for, eh?"

The Headmaster was now standing toe to toe with the Minister. Since the older man was a good eight inches taller, Fudge's glare did very little to intimidate him.

"Cedric Diggory! He was killed on the very night that Voldemort was reborn. If you had done your job in the first place, Peter Pettigrew would have been sent to Azkaban instead of an innocent man. If Sirius Black would have been free, Harry could have..."

Fudge, very foolishly, cut Dumbledore off.

"Oh, of course, I should have known! It all goes back to Potter, doesn't it? Why are you so obsessed with the boy, anyway? Is there something you've kept secret, Albus? Perhaps you and the fair Lily had a closer relationship than a student and teacher should have?"

This was all Dumbledore needed to snap. Shoving his wand into the temple of the now trembling Minister, the words of a curse were upon his lips when a sudden popping sound caused him to turn towards the source of the noise.

The sight that greeted him caused his grip on the Minister to slacken. Leaning heavily upon his desk was a goblin dressed in the uniform of the security chief at Gringotts. Only a very few house-elves had ever teleported themselves into Hogwarts before, and no other magical creature ever had. This piece of information, however, was overshadowed by the fact that the goblin was in the process of dying.

Goblin blood ran green, and there was a great amount of it running from the wounds that literally covered the dying creature. Taking a determined step forward, the goblin stumbled and fell into Dumbledore's now open arms. The Headmaster began to speak in what, to the Minister at least, sounded like grunts and snarls.

"What happened?"

"He attacked, Professor. He attacked Gringotts."

Dumbledore's face paled at the realization that the battle they had waged had merely been a diversion. This explained why Voldemort had not been there. A chill unlike any other he had felt in the past fifty years ran through his body like ink spilled upon parchment. The Minister noticed his reaction.

"What's wrong, Albus? What happened to this goblin?"

Fudge's voice surprised the Headmaster. In his shock at the arrival of the injured goblin, he had quite forgotten that the Minister was still there. Thinking quickly, he turned to look at the disheveled man and pointed his long finger at his office door.

"Go and alert Madame Pomfrey that I will be coming to the Infirmary with a grievously wounded goblin! NOW!"

Fudge jumped at the loudness of Dumbledore's voice and nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to run from the room. The Headmaster then attempted to direct the goblin towards the door but met with resistance.

"No, it is too late for me. I had to tell you, though. The rest of my men are dead, but I had to tell you."

Dumbledore was about to stun the goblin in order to get him to the Hospital wing when he looked into the creature's eyes. The light was fading rapidly from them. Knowing that any treatment would be futile, Albus stopped in his attempts at mobilizing the goblin. Instead, he now sat the creature down in his overstuffed chair.

"You have succeeded in your mission, friend. What is it you wanted to tell me?"

The goblin's breathing became more and more labored as a low rattle developed in his lungs.

"The worst has happened, Professor. The Dark Lord and a woman in black robes attacked just as the clocks struck noon. Some of the goblins managed to escape, but most were struck down. All of my men fought bravely, but we were massacred. The woman was the worst. She seemed to enjoy torturing anyone that stood in their way before finally killing them. It was horrible...horrible."

The goblin's speech was becoming harder to understand because of the blood accumulating in his lungs. Dumbledore was doing what he could to make his passing less painful, but nothing could save him now. The Headmaster stood closer to the goblin in an effort to hear him better.

"Are they still there? Are they attempting to loot all of the vaults?"

The fading goblin shook his head and placed his mouth next to Dumbledore's ear so that he could use his dying breath to whisper to him.

"They only went to one vault, Professor. Before he died, Griphook told me I had to tell you. I had to warn you."

The chill now wrapped itself around Dumbledore's heart. He knew what Pettigrew had meant now about his past mistakes coming back to haunt him. The goblin had been right, this was the worst thing that could possibly have happened.

"What is it Griphook wanted you to warn me about?"

The goblin's voice had now become little more than a faint murmur.

"It was vault one thousand, Professor. The dragons were all killed, as were all the other guardians. He forced the others to remove the wards before he killed them, too. When the vault opened, they all laughed. They laughed at all the death and destruction they had caused. The three of them left after that. They raised the Dark Mark and left. He's free, Professor. After all these years, he is free again. Grindelwald is free,"