The Matrix Has You...

Harry Potter and the Matrix

A/N: My humblest apologies to JKR and the Wachowski brothers, but thanks all the same for some wonderful thought-provoking entertainment!

(Open: Computer screen, with flashing cursor.)

Draco Malfoy: Yeah.

Hermione Granger: Is everything in place?

Draco : You weren't supposed to relieve me.

Hermione : I know, but I felt like taking your shift.

Draco : You like him, don't you? You like watching him.

Hermione : Don't be ridiculous.

Draco : We're going to kill him, do you understand that?

Hermione : Dumbledore believes he is The One.

Draco : Do you?

Hermione : It doesn't matter what I believe.

Draco : You don't, do you?

Hermione : Did you hear that?

Draco : Hear what?

Hermione : Are you sure this line is clean?

Draco : Yeah, 'course I'm sure.

Hermione : I'd better go.

(She hangs up as we pass through the numbers on the screen, and outside the room she is in, as several Aurors advance towards the door with flashlights and wands. One kicks open the door.)

(Hotel room)

Auror: Freeze, Aurors! Hands on your head! Do it. Do it now.

Hermione : *slowly puts her hands on her head*

(Outside hotel)

(A black car with tinted windows pulls up beside the other police cars. Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew get out of the car, wearing dark suits and sunglasses.)

Lucius Malfoy : Avery...

Avery : Oh shit...

Lucius Malfoy : You were given specific orders...

Avery : Hey, I'm just doing my job. You give me that juris-my-dic-tion crap, you can cram it up your ass.

Lucius Malfoy : The orders...were for your protection.

Avery : *laughs* I think we can handle one little girl...I sent two units...they're brining her down now.

Avery : No Avery, your men are already dead...

(Hotel Room)

(The Auror holds handcuffs, ready to put them on Hermione, who is standing with her back to him, and her hands on her head. Suddenly she spins round, kicks him onto the ground, grabs his wand, and beats up the rest of them. She picks up the phone sitting on the desk.)

Hermione : Dumbledore! The line was traced, I don't know how.

Dumbledore : I know, they cut the hard line. There's no time, you're going to have to get to another exit.

Hermione : Are there any Death Eaters?

Dumbledore : Yes.

Hermione : Goddamnit.

Dumbledore : You have to focus, Hermione. There's a phone at Wells and Lake. You can make it.

Hermione : *sigh* All right.

Dumbledore : Go!

(Hermione drops the phone and bursts out of the room, just as Peter Pettigrew enters the hall, leading another unit of Aurors. Hermione races to the opposite end, exiting through a broken window onto the fire escape. She looks down, and sees Lucius Malfoy below, staring at her. She goes upwards, onto the roof. On the roof, Hermione is running as Pettigrew arrives after her, leading the group of Aurors in pursuit. Hermione begins to jump from one roof to the other, in one fluid motion, in comparison to the wild jumps of the Aurors. Peter Pettigrew, however, has the same unnatural grace. They reach a huge gap between two buildings, which Hermione jumps with no problem.)

(Rooftop)

Auror: That's impossible!

(They stare as Lucius Malfoy duplicates the move exactly, following her onto the next roof. She hides behind a chimney, as he looks around the rooftop, searching for her. Not far off, she sees a window, and makes a dash for it. She dives through the window, rolls down the stairs inside, and manages to land without much damage.)

Hermione: Get up Hermione. Just get up. Get up!

(Street)

(Hermione emerges from an alleyway, and at the end of the block, she sees a telephone booth. As she watches, the phone begins to ring. As it rings, a truck pulls up in front of it, its headlights pointing towards the phone. Hermione suddenly runs for the phone box, racing the truck as it almost manages to crush the phone booth, just as she answers the phone. She puts her hand out to the glass of the booth, just as the truck hits it. In a few moments, we see the remains of the phone box. Lucius Malfoy inspects the wreckage. There is no body.)

Pettigrew: She got out.

Lucius Malfoy: It doesn't matter.

Bellatrix Lestrange: The informant is real.

Lucius Malfoy: Yes...

Lestrange: We have the name of their next target...

Pettigrew: The name is Harry Potter...

Lucius Malfoy: We'll need a search running...

Lestrange: It has already begun.

(We are zoomed in towards the mouthpiece of the phone on the ground, closer, until we appear to travel down it and through the cable. We appear in Harry's apartment. He is asleep at his computer, with headphones on. On his computer screen, we see he is running a search on a man named Dumbledore. Suddenly on his computer screen appear the words 'Wake up, Harry.' He sits up, and stares at his computer screen)

Harry: What?

(On the computer, now appears 'The Matrix has you...')

Harry: What the hell?

(On the computer, now appears 'Follow the white rabbit...')

Harry: Follow the white rabbit?

(He presses the 'esc' key repeatedly, no effect. The computer comes up with one last message: 'Knock knock, Harry.' There is a loud knock at his door, and he jumps. He stares at the door and then back at his computer screen. It's now blank.)

Harry: .....Who is it?

Cho: It's Cho.

Harry: Yeah...yeah...you're two hours late.

Cho: I know, it's her fault.

(Cho gestures towards Marietta)

Harry: You got the money?

Cho: Two grand.

Harry: Hold on.

(Harry goes into his apartment, shuts the door, and opens a book, takes out a flask, and goes back to the door, handing the flask to Cho.)

Cho: Hallelujah. You're my savior; my own personal Jesus Christ.

Harry: You get caught using that...

Cho: Yeah, I know. This never happened, you don't exist.

Harry: Right.

Cho: Something wrong? You look a little whiter than usual.

Harry: My computer....it...You ever have that feeling where you don't know if you're awake or still dreaming?

Cho: Mm, all the time. It's called Pepperup. It's the only way to fly. Hey, it sounds to me like you need to unplug. You know, get some R and R. What do you think Marietta? Should we take him with us?

Marietta: *looks Harry up and down* definitely.

Harry: No, I can't, I got work tomorrow.

Marietta: Come on, it'll be fun. *looks Harry up and down again* I promise.

(Harry notices Marietta has a tattoo of a white rabbit on her shoulder.)

Harry: Yeah, sure, I'll go.

(Harry, Cho and Marietta arrive in a club. Harry is standing next to a wall, doing nothing. A woman walks up to him. The woman is Hermione.)

Hermione: Hello Harry.

Harry: How do you know that name?

Hermione: I know a lot about you.

Harry: Who are you?

Hermione: My name is Hermione.

Harry: Hermione..."The" Hermione? The one the broke the codes to Gringotts?

Hermione: That was a long time ago.

Harry: Jesus!

Hermione: What?

Harry: I just thought, um...you were a guy.

Hermione: Most guys do.

Harry: That was you on my computer. How did you do that?

Hermione: Never mind, right now all I can tell you is that you're in danger. I brought you here to warn you.

Harry: What about?

Hermione: They're watching you, Harry.

Harry: Who is?

Hermione: Please, just listen. I know why you're here, Harry. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, and why night after night you sit at your computer. You're looking for him. I know, because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him; I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Harry. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did...

Harry: What is the Matrix?

Hermione: The answer is out there, Harry. It's looking for you...and it will find you...if you want it to....

(Harry wakes up late in the morning and looks at his clock.)

Harry: Oh shit. Oh shit, shit, shit!

(Harry is standing in his boss's office at the company he works for.)

Severus Snape: You seem to have a problem with authority, Mr. Potter. You believe that you are special, that somehow the rules do not apply to you. Obviously you are mistaken. This company is one of the top makers of potions in the world because every single employee understands that they are part of a whole. Thus if an employee has a problem, the company has a problem. The time has come to make a choice, Mr. Potter. Either you choose to be at your workspace, on time, from this day forward - or you choose to find yourself another job. Do I make myself perfectly clear?

Harry: Yes Mr. Snape, perfectly clear.

(Harry is sitting at his bench, figuring out how much gillyweed he needs, when a voice says)

Seamus Finnigan: Harry Potter?

Harry: Yeah, that's me.

Seamus: Just sign here...

(Harry signs the paper)

Seamus: Ok, that's great. Have a nice day!

(Harry scowls at his back. He opens the parcel, inside is a cellular phone.)

Harry: Great. Another damned Muggle thing.

(As soon as he picks it up, it rings. He jumps, and picks it up.)

Harry: Hello...?

Dumbledore: Hello, Harry. Do you know who this is?

Harry: Dumbledore?

Dumbledore: Yes...I've been looking for you, Harry. I don't know if you're ready to see what I want to show you, but unfortunately you and I have run out of time. They're coming for you, Harry, and I don't know what they're going to do.

Harry: Who's coming for me?

Dumbledore: Stand up and see for yourself.

Harry: What, now?

Dumbledore: Yes, right now. Do it slowly. The elevator...

(Harry slowly stands up and looks outside his door. At the elevator, he sees Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange leading a group of cops. A female employee turns and points out Harry's office. Harry ducks.)

Harry: Oh shit.

Dumbledore: Yes.

Harry: What the hell do they want from me?

Dumbledore: I don't know, but if you don't want to find out, I suggest you get out of there.

Harry: How?

Dumbledore: I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say.

Harry: Okay...

Dumbledore: The workspace across from you is empty.

Harry: What if they....

Dumbledore: Go, now.

(Harry lunges across the hall, diving into the other office just as the Death Eaters turn into his row. He hides in a dark corner.)

Dumbledore: Stay here for just a moment. When I tell you, go to the end of the row, to the office at the end of the hall. Stay as low as you can...Go, now!

(Harry runs to the door, opens it, goes in, and shuts the door.)

Dumbledore: Now, outside there is a scaffold.

Harry: How do you know all this?

Dumbledore: We don't have time, Harry. To your left there is a window. Go to it...open it. You can use the scaffold to get to the roof.

Harry: No way! No way! This is crazy!

Dumbledore: There are two ways out of this building. One is that scaffold, the other is in their custody. You take a chance either way. I leave it to you.

(Dumbledore hangs up. Harry looks out the window.)

Harry: This is insane! Why is this happening to me? What did I do?! Nothing.

(He climbs out the window onto the window ledge. Hanging onto the frame, he steps onto the small ledge. The wind suddenly blasts up the face of the building, knocking Harry off balance. Recoiling, he clings harder to the frame, and the phone falls out of his hand. He watches as it is swallowed by the distance beneath him.)

Harry: This is insane. I can't do this. Forget it!

(Harry climbs back into the office, just as an Auror opens the door. The agents take Harry, handcuffed, out of the building, and into their car. Hermione is sitting on a motorbike in front of the car, watching them in her rear view mirror.)

Hermione: Shit.

(Harry is sitting at a table by himself in a small room. The door opens and the Death Eaters enter. Lucius Malfoy sits down across from Harry with a folder in front of him.)

Lucius Malfoy: as you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Potter. It seems you have been living...two lives. In one life, you're Harry J. Potter, antidote specialist for a respectable potions company....you have a social security number, you pay your taxes, and you...help your landlady carry out her garbage. The other life is lived in computers, where you go by the hacker alias 'Harry', and are guilty of virtually every computer crime we have a law for. One of these lives has a future....the other does not...I'm going to be as forthcoming as I can, Mr. Potter. You're here because we need your help. We know that you've been contacted by a certain individual, a man who calls himself...Dumbledore. Now whatever you think you know about this man is irrelevant. He is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive. My colleagues believe that I am wasting my time with you, but I believe you wish to do the right thing. We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start, and all that we're asking in return is your co-operation in bringing a known terrorist to justice.

Harry: Yeah...Wow, that sounds like a really good deal. But I think I got a better one. How about...I give you the finger...

(Harry does so)

Harry ....and you give me my phone call.

Lucius Malfoy: *glare* Mr. Potter, you disappoint me.

Harry: You can't scare me with this Gestapo crap. I know my rights. I want my phone call.

Lucius Malfoy: and tell me, Mr. Potter, what good is a phone call...if you are unable to speak?

(The question unnerves Harry and strangely, he begins to feel the muscles in his jaw tighten. The standing agents snicker, watching as Harry's confusion grows into panic. Harry feels his lips grow soft and sticky as they slowly seal shut, melding into each other until all trace of his mouth is gone. Wild with fear, he lunges for the door but the Death Eaters restrain him, holding him down onto the table.)

Lucius Malfoy: You're going to help us, Mr. Potter; whether you like it or not.

(Malfoy nods and Lestrange and Pettigrew rip open his shirt. From a case taken out of his suit coat, Voldemort removes a long, fiber-optic wire tap. Harry struggles helplessly as Malfoy dangles the wire over his exposed abdomen. Horrified, he watches as the electronic device animates, become an organic creature that resembles a hybrid of an insect and a person. Thin, whisker-like tendrils reach out and probe into Harry's navel. He bucks wildly as Malfoy drops the creature which looks for a moment like an uncut umbilical cord - Before it begins to burrow, its tail thrashing as it worms its way inside. Screaming, Harry wakes up in his bed, in his apartment, sweating. He puts his hand to his mouth, and finds it's perfectly normal. The phone beside his bed rings. He jumps, and picks it up, cautiously.)

Harry: .......Hello....?

Dumbledore: This line is tapped, so I must be brief. They got to you first, but they're underestimated how important you are... If they knew what I know, you would probably be dead.

Harry: What are you talking about? What is happening to me?

Dumbledore: You are The One, Harry. You see, you may have spent the last few years of your life looking for me, but I've spent my entire life looking for you. Now do you still want to meet?

Harry: .....Yes....

Dumbledore: Then go to the Adams Street Bridge.

(Harry stands under the bridge, as a black car pulls up and the door opens. It's Hermione.)

Hermione: Get in.

(Harry gets into the car, as the driver, a blond woman named Fleur, turns around in her seat and points a gun at him.)

Harry: What the hell is this?

Hermione: It's necessary, Harry. For our protection.

Harry: From what?

Hermione: From you...

Fleur: Take off your shirt.

Harry: What?

Fleur: Stop the car. Listen to me, Coppertop. We don't have time for twenty questions. Right now, there's only one rule: Our way - or the highway.

Harry: Fine...

(Harry starts to get out of the car....Hermione stops him)

Hermione: Please Harry, you have to trust me.

Harry is silent.

Hermione: Because you have been down there, Harry. You know that road. You know exactly where it ends. And I know that's not where you want to be.....

(Harry slowly gets back into the car. Hermione looks at the man in the passenger seat)

Hermione: Ernie, lights.

(She turns to Harry again)

Hermione: Lie back, lift up your shirt.

Harry looks at the device in her hand.

Harry: What is that thing?

Hermione: We think you're bugged....Try and relax...

(Hermione looks at the display on the device she's holding and presses it against Harry's abdomen, talking to herself as she attempts to remove the bug from him.)

Hermione: Come on...come on...

Fleur: It's on the move....you're going to loose it...

Hermione: No I'm not...clear.

(The bug appears in the jar attached to the device she was using, and she empties it out of the window into the street. It turns back into a human being and its 'eyes' fade and then go out.)

Harry: Jesus Christ, that thing's real??!!

(They arrive at a hotel, and Hermione takes Harry to a closed door. She turns and faces him.)

Hermione: This is it...let me give you one piece of advice. Be honest- he knows more than you can imagine.

(Harry opens the door, and walks in to see a dark figure staring out of the window. He turns and smiles at Harry.)

Dumbledore: At last. Welcome, Harry. As you no doubt have guessed, I am Dumbledore.

Harry: It's an honor to meet you.

Dumbledore: No, the honor is mine....Please, come, sit.

(Harry sits down in the armchair.)

Dumbledore: I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice...

Harry: .....?

Dumbledore: Tumbling down the rabbit hole? Hmm?

Harry: You....could say that.

Dumbledore: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees, because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth....

(Dumbledore sits down in the armchair opposite from Harry)

Dumbledore: Do you believe in fate, Harry?

Harry: No.

Dumbledore: Why?

Harry: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my own life.

Dumbledore: I know...exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life: That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there...like a splinter in you're mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Harry: The Matrix?

Dumbledore: Do you want to know....what it is....?

(Harry nods)

Dumbledore: The Matrix is everywhere. It's all around us, even in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to work, when you pay your taxes. The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, to blind you from the truth.

Harry: What truth?

Dumbledore: That you are a slave, Harry. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison...for your mind....Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is...you have to see it for yourself.

Dumbledore opens a container which holds two pills: a blue one and a red one. He puts one in each hand, and holds them out to Harry.

Dumbledore: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.....You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up and believe...whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill.....you stay in wonderland...and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

(Harry pauses for an instant then reaches for the red pill. He swallows it down with a glass of water, and looks at Dumbledore.)

Dumbledore: Remember...all I'm offering you is the truth : nothing more.

(Dumbledore half smiles at Harry.)

Dumbledore: Follow me.....

(They walk through double doors into a room with computer terminals and other machines. Dumbledore speaks to Ernie.)

Dumbledore: Ernie, are we online?

Ernie Macmillan: Almost...

(Hermione and Ernie are busy wiring a complex system of monitors, modules and drives.)

Dumbledore : Time is always against us. Please, take a seat there.

Dumbledore gestures towards another arm chair. Harry cautiously sits down, still looking at all the computer terminals and wires.

Harry: You did all this?

Hermione: Uh huh.

Dumbledore: The pill you took is part of a tracing program. It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signals so we can pinpoint your location.

(Harry looks confused.)

Harry : What does that mean?

Draco looks up from his computer terminal.

Draco : It means, Buckle your seat belt Dorothy...'cause Kansas...is going bye-bye.

(As Harry looks at the Mirror of Erised nearby, it appears to show his image twice. As he stares at it, he speaks to Dumbledore)

Harry : Did you....?

(Dumbledore ignores his question)

Dumbledore : Have you ever had a dream, Harry, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference, between the dream world...and the real world....?

(As Harry curiously reaches out to touch the mirror, it wobbles, and appears to stick to his hand.)

Harry : This can't be....

Dumbledore : Be what? Be real?

(As Harry pulls away, the strands thin like rubber cement as he pulls away, until the fragile wisps of mirror break, and only a tiny fragment of the liquid is left. He looks at it, and it begins to consume his hand, crawling up his arm. He squirms.)

Hermione : It's going into replication!

Dumbledore : Ernie?

Ernie : Still nothing...

(The liquid has covered all of Harry's right arm by now, and works it's way up his shoulder to his neck)

Harry : It's cold!! It's cold!

(Dumbledore takes out a cellular phone, and dials a number)

Dumbledore : Ron, we're going to need a signal soon.

(Harry begins to panic, as he tips his head up as if he's sinking into the mirror, trying to keep his mouth up.)

Hermione : We've got a fibrillation!

Dumbledore : Ernie! Location!

Ernie : Targeting, almost there!

(By now Harry is almost totally consumed by the liquid, squirming as it works it way up his face.)

Hermione : He's going into arrest!

Ernie : LOCK, I got him!

Dumbledore : Now, Ron! Now!

(The mirror liquid pours down Harry's throat, as he screams, and we travel down his throat with it, and then get swallowed by total darkness.

We emerge in a cocoon filled with a red gelatin-like liquid. Harry is attached to the sides of it by wires, tubes and things which look like IV lines. He struggles, air bubbles into the gelatin, but does not break the surface. As he presses up, the surface distends, stretching like a red rubber cocoon. Unable to breathe, he fights for stand, and eventually ruptures the surface, creating a hole which he uses to gasp for air. Tearing himself free, he emerges from the cell. Harry is bald and naked, and covered in the gelatin. He's dizzy, and unable to stand properly, as he waits for his vision to focus. He is standing in an oval capsule of clear alloy filled with red gelatin, the surface of which has solidified like curdled milk. The IVs in his arms are plugged into outlets that appear to be grafted to his flesh. He feels the weight of another cable and reaches to the back of his head where he finds an enormous coaxial plugged and locked into the base of his skull. He tries to pull it out, but can't. To either side he sees other tube-shaped pods filled with red gelatin; beneath the wax-like surface, pale and motionless, he sees other human beings. Fanning out in a circle, there are more. All connected to a centre core, each capsule attached to a black metal stem. Above him, level after, level, the stem rises seemingly forever. He moves to the foot of the capsule and looks out. Towers of glowing petals spiral up to incomprehensible heights, disappearing down into a dim murk like an underwater abyss. Below Harry, a petal detaches from the stem, bearing away the body of an old man like an automated barge even as a new pod rises up and plugs itself into the empty space. Inside the new capsule, its surface more translucent and pinkish in color, Harry sees a small baby. From above, a machine drops directly in front of him. He swallows his scream as it seems to stare at him. A black particle beam washes over Harry and he reacts in pain as the scanner seems to expose the nervous system wired to the coaxial cable at his cerebral cortex. At the back of the neck, the cable-lock spins and opens, disengaging. The cable pulls itself free, a long clear plastic needle and cerebrum-chip slides from the interior of Harry's skull with an ooze of blood and spinal fluid. The other connective hoses snap free and snake away as the back of the unit opens and a tremendous vacuum, like an airplane door opening, sucks the gelatin and then Harry into a black hole. The pipe is a waste disposal system, and Harry falls, sliding down it, screaming his lungs out. He falls out of the end of the pipe, into a body of water. As he begins to drown, he is suddenly snatched up by a machine. The metallic cable then lifts, pulling him up into a flying machine of some sort, as the doors close and we fade to black.)

(hovercraft)

(The metal harness opens and drops the half-conscious Harry onto the floor. Human hands and arms help him up as he finds himself looking straight at Dumbledore, Hermione and Ernie, along with others he doesn't recognize. Dumbledore smiles, and speaks quietly to Harry.)

Dumbledore : Welcome to the real world....

(Harry passes out. As he is unconscious, Dumbledore and Hermione talk in hushed voices.)

Dumbledore : ...We've done it, Hermione...we've found him.

Hermione : I hope you're right...

Dumbledore : I don't have to hope. I know it.

(Harry wakes up later on, and looks at Hermione and Dumbledore, who are standing watching him.)

Harry : ....Am I dead?

Dumbledore : Far from it...

(Harry passes out again. Later on, he wakes up. He sees his body pierced with dozens of acupuncture-like needles wired to a strange device.)

Bill: He still needs a lot of work.

Harry : What are you doing?

Dumbledore : Your muscles have atrophied, we're rebuilding them.

Harry : Why do my eyes hurt?

(Harry blinks)

Dumbledore : You've never used them before.

(Harry looks confused)

Dumbledore : Rest, Harry, the answers are coming.

(Harry passes out again. When he wakes up, he's lying on a bed in a room. He begins to examine himself. There is a futuristic IV plugged into the jack in his forearm. He pulls it out, staring at the grafted outlet. He feels his bald head. His fingers find and explore the large outlet in the base of his skull. Just as it starts to come unglued, Dumbledore opens the door and walks in.)

Harry : Dumbledore, what's happened to me?

Dumbledore : More important than 'what?' is 'when?'

Harry : When?

Dumbledore : You believe that it is the year 1996, when in fact is closer to 2003. I can't tell you exactly what year it is, because we honestly don't know. There's nothing I can see that will explain it for you, Harry...Come with me, see for yourself.

(Harry follows Dumbledore rather unsteadily through the door.)

Dumbledore : This is my ship, the Fawkes....

(Dumbledore gestures around him)

Dumbledore : It's a hovercraft. This is the main deck...This is the core, where we broadcast our pirate signal, and...hack into the Matrix.

(They enter a room where the other people Harry has met are all standing, or sitting at computer terminals.)

Dumbledore : Most of my crew, you already know.

(Hermione nods and smiles)

Dumbledore : This is Ernie, Fleur, and Draco.

Draco smiles

Draco : Hi.

Dumbledore : The ones you don't know, Ron, and his big brother, Bill...The little one behind you is Neville.

(Neville smiles at Harry and waves slightly shyly. Dumbledore looks at him, then turns back to Harry.)

Dumbledore : You wanted to know...what the Matrix is, Harry?

(Harry nods unsteadily; Dumbledore nods to Hermione)

Dumbledore : Hermione...

(Hermione approaches Harry, and helps him into an armchair, strapping in his feet, and leaning his head back against the head rest. Dumbledore looks at Harry)

Dumbledore : Try to relax...this will feel....a little weird.

As Dumbledore guides a coaxial line into the jack at the back of his neck, Harry screams and makes a few other disturbing noises. When he opens his eyes, he is standing in a totally white place. His hair is back, and he is wearing different clothes. As Harry spins around a bit, trying to see what's going on, Dumbledore appears in front of him.)

Dumbledore : This is the Room of Requirement. It is our loading program. We can load anything from clothing, to equipment, weapons, training simulations, anything we need.

(Harry is having a hard time getting a grasp of this.)

Harry : Right now....we're inside a computer program?

Dumbledore : Is it really so hard to believe? Your clothes are different. The plugs in your arms and head are gone. Your hair has changed.

(Harry puts a hand to his head and touches his hair)

Dumbledore : Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection...of your digital self.

(Two chairs appear in front of them, and Harry reaches out to touch one. He runs his hand along its back.)

Harry : This....this isn't real?

(Dumbledore looks at him)

Dumbledore: What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

(A television appears in front of the two chairs, as Harry sits down in the chair beside Dumbledore. Dumbledore picks up the television control and turns it on.)

Dumbledore: This is the world that you know. The world as it was at the end of the twentieth century. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation, that we call the Matrix.

(Dumbledore turns to Harry)

Dumbledore: You've been living in a dream world, Harry. This...is the world as it exists today.

(Dumbledore changes the channel on the television. The sky is an endless sea of black and green bile. The earth, scorched and split like burnt flesh, spreads out beneath us as we enter the television.)

Dumbledore : Welcome.....to the desert of the real...We have only bits and pieces of information, but what we know for certain is that some point in the early twenty-first century all of mankind was united in celebration. We marveled at our own magnificence....

(Harry looks confused)

Dumbledore : .....as we gave birth...to E.D.

Harry :E.D....You mean emotion destroyers?

Dumbledore : A singular consciousness that spawned Lord Voldemort; the first apocalypse We don't know who struck first - us, or him. But we know it was us that scorched the sky. At the time he was dependent on our life force and it was believed that he would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun. Throughout human history, we have been dependent on this power to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

(Harry stares at Dumbledore, with his mouth open.)

Dumbledore: The human generates more happiness and good emotions to power up to 25,000 BTUs of any task. Combined with a form of fusion, Lord Voldemort has found all the energy he would ever need. There are fields...endless fields, were human beings are no longer born. We are grown. For longest time, I wouldn't believe it...and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watch them liquefy the dead, so they could be fed intravenously to the living. And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth. What is The Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dream world, built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.

(Dumbledore holds up a battery to Harry, as Harry begins to panic.)

Harry : No....I don't believe it!! It's not possible.

Dumbledore : I didn't say it would be easy, Harry. I just said it would be the truth.

Harry : Noooo!! Stop!! Let me out!! I want out!!

(His eyes snap open and he thrashes against the chair, trying to rip the cable from the back of his neck. Hermione tries to calm him down.)

Hermione : Easy, Harry. Easy...

Harry : Take this thing off me!! Take this thing..

Dumbledore : Listen to me...

Harry : Don't touch me! Stay away from me! I don't want it, I don't believe it!!

(Draco rolls his eyes at Harry as he tries to get up out the chair.)

Draco : He's gonna pop.

(Harry gets up out the chair, and as he is dizzy, staggers about the room a bit, eventually falling onto the ground.)

Dumbledore : Breathe, Harry. Just breathe...

(Harry throws up on the floor and passes out. He wakes up later, in his room. Dumbledore is sitting beside him. Harry sits up slowly and looks at him.)

Harry : I can't go back, can I?

Dumbledore : No, but if you could, would you really want to?

(Harry isn't sure, so decides not to say anything.)

Dumbledore : I feel I owe you an apology. We have a rule...we never free a mind once it reaches a certain age. It's dangerous, and the mind has trouble letting go. I've seen it before, and I'm sorry. I did what I did, because...I had to.

(Harry listens)

Dumbledore : When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth: 'As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free.' After he died, the Oracle prophesied his return, and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix, end the war, bring freedom to our people. That is why there are those of us who have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him. I did what I did because...I believe that search is over.

(Dumbledore stands up)

Dumbledore : Get some rest...you're going to need it.

Harry : For what?

Dumbledore : Your training.

(As Dumbledore leaves and shuts the door, Harry lies down and goes to sleep. In the morning, Harry is awake, sitting beside his bed. Ron comes in, and smiles at Harry.)

Ron : Morning! Did you sleep?

(Harry shakes his head)

Harry : Not much...

Ron : You will tonight, I guarantee it! I'm Ron, I'll be your operator.

(Harry stares at his arm)

Harry : You don't...you don't have any...

Ron : Holes? Nope. Me and my brother Bill, we're both one hundred percent pure, old fashioned home-grown human, born free!...Right here, in the real world. Genuine child of Hogwarts.

Harry: Hogwarts?

Ron : If the war was over tomorrow, Hogwarts's where the party would be.

Harry : It's a city?

Ron : The last human city. The only place we have left.

Harry : Where is it?

Ron : Deep underground, near the Earth's core, where it's still warm. You live long enough, you might even see it!

(Ron smiles)

Ron : Goddamn, I...I gotta tell you, I'm fairly excited to see what you're capable of, if Dumbledore is right and all...We're not supposed to talk about this, but if you are...Damn, it's a very exciting time. We got a lot to do, let's get to it.

(Ron leads Harry onto the main deck, and plugs him in.)

Ron : Now, we're supposed to start with these operation programs, that's major boring shit. Let's do something a little more fun...combat training.

(Ron smiles as he sits down in his operator's chair, flipping through several disks. He picks one, and puts it into his computer. Harry looks at the screen.)

Harry : Jujitsu? I'm going to learn...Jujitsu?

(Smiling, Ron presses the 'Load' button. Harry's body jumps against the harness as his eyes clamp shut. The monitors kick wildly as his heart pounds, adrenaline surges, and his brain sizzles. An instant later his eyes snap open.)

Harry : Holy shit!

(Ron grins)

Ron : Hey Mikey, I think he likes it! How about some more?

Harry : Hell yeah...oh yeah.

(Hours later, Dumbledore walks in. Ron is blinking, trying to keep his eyes in focus.)

Dumbledore : How is he....?

Ron : Ten hours straight...he's a machine!

(Harry's training finishes, and he opens his eyes, breathing hard.)

Harry : *gasp* I know...Kung Fu!

Dumbledore : Show me...

(Dumbledore sits down in the chair next to Harry and nods at Ron. They appear in a very sparse Japanese-style dojo.)

Dumbledore : This is a sparring program, similar to the programmed reality of the Matrix. It has the same basic rules, rules like gravity. What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system...some of them can be bent. Others...can be broken. Understand?

(Harry thinks about it, and nods)

Dumbledore: Then hit me...if you can.

(Dumbledore assumes a fighting stance. Harry assumes a similar stance, cautiously circling until he gives a short cry and launches a furious attack. They move at high speed, fists and feet striking from every angle as Harry presses his attack, but each and every blow is blocked by effortless speed. Dumbledore punches Harry and knocks him over.)

Dumbledore: Good. Adaptation...improvisation. But your weakness is not your technique.

(While their minds battle in the programmed reality, the two bodies appear quite serene, suspended in the drive chairs. Ron and Neville monitor their life systems noticing that Harry's is wildly and chaotically lit up as opposed to the slow and steady rhythm of Dumbledore. Everyone is sitting in another room. Neville bursts in.)

Neville : Dumbledore is fighting Harry!

(All at once, they all bolt for the door to go and watch. Harry's fighting is gradually improving, and he almost manages to beat Dumbledore when he hurls Harry across the room, and he falls. Harry lies on the floor as Dumbledore casually walks up to him.)

Dumbledore : How did I beat you.....?

Harry : You...you're too fast...

Dumbledore : Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place?

(Harry just looks at him. Dumbledore stares back.)

Dumbledore : You think that's air you're breathing now?

Harry : ....

(Dumbledore looks surprised)

Dumbledore : *shrugs* Hmm.

(Harry stands up again)

Dumbledore : Again!

(Their fists fly with pneumatic speed. Everyone is gathered behind Ron and Neville, watching the fight. Harry is much faster now, matching Dumbledore' speed and blocking all his attempts to hit Harry.)

Neville : Jesus Christ, he's fast! Take a look at his neural kinetics, they're way above normal!

(Everyone stares. Dumbledore and Harry stop fighting for a second.)

Dumbledore : What are you waiting for?! You're faster than this. Don't think you are...know you are...

(They begin fighting again, Dumbledore keeps on trying to get Harry to improve)

Dumbledore : Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!

(Harry keeps on getting faster, and Dumbledore has to continue to work harder to block his attacks. The crew are still watching them fight, with increasing admiration for Harry.)

Neville : I don't believe it...

(Harry has Dumbledore pinned against the wall, his fist an inch from Dumbledore's face.)

Harry : I know what you're trying to do..

Dumbledore : I'm trying to free your mind, Harry...but I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it....Ron, load the jump program.

(Harry straightens as the dojo dissolves away like a curtain lifting, leaving the two men now standing on a building rooftop in a city skyline. Dumbledore turns to Harry, his long robes flapping in the wind.)

Dumbledore : You have to let it all go, Harry. Fear...doubt...and disbelief. Free your mind...

(Dumbledore spins, running hard at the edge of the rooftop. And jumps. He sails through the air, his robes billowing out behind him like a cape - He somersaults once and lands on the rooftop across the street.)

Harry : Woah.

(Harry looks down at the street twenty floors below, then at Dumbledore an impossible fifty feet away.)

Harry : Okie dokie.

(Harry takes a deep breath.)

Harry : Free my mind...no problem.

(On the main deck, the crew are transfixed.)

Neville : So what if he makes it?

Ron : No one's ever made the first jump...

Neville : I know, I know...but what if he does?

Ernie : He won't.

Neville : Come on..

Hermione : Come on....

(Harry takes another deep breath)

Harry : All right, no problem...free my mind. Free my mind...All right.

(Harry concentrates and runs. Summoning every ounce of strength in his legs, Harry launches himself into the air in a single maniacal shriek - But comes up drastically short. His eyes widen as he plummets. Stories fly by, the ground rushing up at him, but as he hits - The ground gives way, stretching like a trapeze net. He bounces and flips, slowly coming to a rest, flat on his back. He laughs, a bit unsure, wiping the wind-blown tears from his face. Dumbledore exits the building and helps him to his feet.)

(Inside the Fawkes, the crew are feeling kind of let down by Harry.)

Neville : Wha...what does this mean?

Fleur : It doesn't mean anything...

Draco : Everybody falls the first time. Right, 'Mione?

(But Hermione has left. Harry's eyes open as Ron eases the plug out. He tries to move and groans, cradling his ribs. While Ron helps Dumbledore, Harry spits blood into his hand.)

Harry : I thought it wasn't real.

Dumbledore : Your mind makes it real...

Harry : If you're killed in the Matrix...you die here?

Dumbledore : The body cannot live without the mind.

(Harry goes to his room and goes to sleep. In the morning, Hermione goes to his room to give him food. She sees him passed out on the bed. She sets the tray down and pulls the blanket over him. She pauses, her face close to his then inhales lightly, breathing in the scent of him, before slowly pulling away. She gets up and walks out the door, closing it quietly. Outside his door, Draco is standing with his arms folded.)

Draco : I don't remember you ever bringing me dinner...

(Hermione looks away)

Draco : There is something about him, isn't there?

Hermione : Don't tell me you're a believer now...

Draco : I just keep wondering...If Dumbledore is so sure, why doesn't he take him to see the Oracle?

Hermione : Dumbledore will take him...when he's ready.

(She walks away from him, and Draco smiles to himself.)

(When Harry wakes up, Dumbledore takes him into another program. They walk down a busy street, full of people going to work. Dumbledore casually walks through them, but Harry keeps on being hit or shoved aside. As they walk, Dumbledore begins to walk.)

Dumbledore : The Matrix is a system, Harry. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy.

(A woman walks by, standing out from all the people in suits, as she is wearing a bright red dress, and bright red lipstick. Harry stares.)

Dumbledore : You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependant on the system, that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me, Harry? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?

Harry : I was...

Dumbledore : Look again..

(Harry turns around, to see that the woman in the red dress has turned into a Death Eater, and is pointing a gun at his head. Harry ducks, covering his head with his hands.)

Dumbledore : Freeze it.

(The people and animals around them stop, frozen.)

Harry : This....this isn't the Matrix?

Dumbledore : No. It's another program, designed to teach you one thing: If you are not one of us, you are one of them.

(Harry looks at the frozen Death Eater.)

Harry : What are they?

Dumbledore : Sentinel programs, designed by Lord Voldemort. They can move in and out of any software still hard-wired to their system. That means that anyone we haven't unplugged is potentially an Death Eater. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one. We have survived by hiding from them...and by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later... someone is going to have to fight them.

Harry : Someone?

Dumbledore : I won't lie to you, Harry. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, everyone who has fought one has died. But where they have failed, you will succeed.

(Harry looks puzzled)

Harry : Why?

Dumbledore : I've seen a Death Eater punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied themselves of all magical spells, and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based on a world built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong, or as fast, as you can be.

Harry : What are you trying to tell me? That I can...dodge spells?

Dumbledore : No, Harry. I'm trying to tell you, that when you're ready... you won't have to...

(At that moment, Dumbledore' cell phone rings. He picks it up and answers.)

Dumbledore : Yes?

Ron : We've got trouble.

(They both come out of the program, and move towards the main deck.)

Dumbledore : Did Hogwarts send a warning?

Bill : No, another ship.

(The whole crew goes to the front of the ship, and sits down.)

Bill : Shit...Dementors sweeping in quick.

Harry : ...Dementors?

Hermione : A sentinel designed by Voldemort. Killing machines designed for one thing.

Bill : Search...and destroy.

Dumbledore : Set her down right over there....how're we doing, Ron?

Ron : Power offline.., Patronus armed and ready...

(Harry looks at the device in Ron's hand.)

Harry : Patronus?

Hermione : Good thoughts. Disables any Dementor within the blast radius. It's the only weapon we have against them.

Harry : Where are we?

Hermione : There are old service and waste systems.

Harry : Sewers?

Hermione : They used to be cities that spanned for hundreds of miles. Now these sewers are all that's left.

Dumbledore : Quiet!

(The Dementors arrive, grey ragged cloaked objects, flying towards their ship. One extends and long ghostly hands emerge from its cloak. Then it moves off in the other direction, and the rest follow. The crew all sigh in relief. During that night, Harry gets up and goes to see Draco, who is sitting monitoring the Matrix on monitors. Harry approaches him quietly, and when Draco realizes he's there, he jumps out of his skin.)

Draco : Woah, Harry! You scared the bejeezus outta me.

Harry : Sorry..

Draco : It's okay.

Harry : Is that...

Draco : The Matrix? Yeah.

Harry : Do you always look at it encoded?

Draco : Well, you have to. The image translators work for the construct program. But there's way too much information to decode the Matrix. You get used to it...I, I don't even see the code. All I see is...blond, brunette, redhead...

(Draco gestures towards the monitors.)

Draco : Hey, you uh...you want a drink?

(Harry nods)

Harry : Sure.

(Draco pours Harry a drink from a large jug. He hands it to him.)

Draco : You know, I know what you're thinking, because right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here....Why, oh why, didn't I take...the blue pill.

(Harry takes a sip and it almost kills him. Draco laughs)

Draco: Good shit, huh? Bill makes it. It's good for two things: degreasing engines, and...killin' brain cells.

Harry : *tries to breathe* Oh!

Draco : So...can I ask you something? Did he tell you why he did it?

(Harry nods, and Draco whistles)

Draco : Jee-zus! What a mind job...So, you're here to save the world...what do you say to something like that?! A little piece of advice...you see a Death Eater - you do what we do. Run...you run your ass off.

(Harry swallows down the last mouthful and looks a little apprehensive.)

Harry : Thanks for the drink...

Draco : Sweet dreams..

(Harry walks back into his room and goes to sleep. We appear in a restaurant, a piece of steak is on a plate, and someone is cutting it up. We see Lucius Malfoy sitting across from this person, and he takes his sunglasses off.)

Lucius Malfoy : So we have a deal?

(We now see the person sitting with him is Draco. He looks at his cut up bit of steak on his fork.)

Draco : You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain...that it is juicy...and delicious.

(He sighs)

Draco : After nine years, you know what I realize?

(Draco puts the bit of steak into his mouth, and sighs, as he chews it with his eyes closed.)

Draco : Ignorance is bliss.

Lucius Malfoy : Then we have a deal?

Draco : I don't want to remember nothing. Nothing. You understand? And I wanna be rich...you know, someone important. Like an actor.

Lucius Malfoy : Whatever you want...Mr. Malfoy...

Draco : Okay. I get my body back into a power plant, re-insert me into the Matrix, I'll get you what you want.

Lucius Malfoy : Access codes to the Hogwarts mainframe..

Draco : No, I told you, I don't know them. I can get you the man who does.

Lucius Malfoy : Dumbledore.

(Morning comes, and Harry is served disgusting looking goop for breakfast.)

Ron : Here you go, buddy. Breakfast of champions.

(He puts a bowl of it down in front of Harry, who just stares at it.)

Neville : If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs.

Ernie : Yeah, or a bowl of snot.

Neville : You know what it really reminds me of? Tasty Wheat. Did you ever eat Tasty Wheat?

Fleur : No, but technically, neither did you.

Neville : That's exactly my point. Exactly. Because you have to wonder now, how did Voldemort really know what Tasty Wheat tasted like, huh? Maybe he got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like, uh...oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken for example, maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything. Maybe they couldn't...

Ernie : Shut up, Neville.

Bill : It's a single celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs.

Neville : It doesn't have everything the body needs.

(He turns to Harry, who is fiddling with his food, picking it up with his spoon and dropping it back into the bowl.)

Neville : So I understand you've run through the Death Eater training program...you, uh, you know...I wrote that program.

(Fleur rolls her eyes)

Ernie : Here it comes...

Neville : So, uh, what did you think of her?

Harry : Of who...?

Neville : The woman in the red dress! I, I designed her. She, um...well, she doesn't talk very much, but...but if you'd like to meet her, I can arrange a much more personalized milieu.

Fleur : Digital pimp, hard at work.

Neville : Pay no attention these hypocrites, Harry. To deny our own impulses, is to deny the very thing that makes us human.

(Dumbledore walks in.)

Dumbledore : Bill, when you're done, bring the ship up to broadcast depth, we're going in. I'm taking Harry to see her.

Harry : See who?

Ron : The Oracle....

(Everyone gets into their chairs, and gets plugged in, as Ron sets everything up for them.)

Ron : Everyone please observe, the fasten seat belt and no smoking signs have been turned on. Sit back...and enjoy your ride...

(They arrive in a garage, next to a phone. Dumbledore takes out a cell phone, and calls up Ron.)

Dumbledore : We're in...we'll be back in an hour.

(He hangs up.)

(They all walk out the room, leaving Fleur and Ernie waiting for them to come back. As they head towards a black car, Draco drops a cell phone into the bin and it begins to ring. They get into the car, and Dumbledore begins to drive them to their destination. At a red light, he turns around to look at Harry, who is sitting in the back seat with Hermione.)

Dumbledore : Unbelievable....isn't it?

(Harry looks out at the street they are driving down.)

Harry : God...

(Hermione turns to look at him)

Hermione : What?

(Harry points to a restaurant.)

Harry : I used to eat there....really good noodles.

(He stops to think about it)

Harry : I have these memories from my life...none of them happened. What does that mean?

Hermione : That the Matrix cannot tell you who you are.

Harry : But an Oracle can?

Hermione : That's different.

Harry : Did you go to her?

(Hermione looks away from him.)

Hermione : Yes.

Harry : What did she tell you?

(Hermione smiles)

Hermione : She told me...

Harry : What?

(He looks confused. Just then, Dumbledore stops the car.)

Dumbledore : We're here. Harry, come with me.

(They walk into an apartment building, and into an elevator. Dumbledore is wearing his long cloak and sunglasses again.)

Harry : So is this the same Oracle that made the prophecy?

Dumbledore : Yes. She's very old. She's been with us since the beginning.

Harry : The beginning?

Dumbledore : Of the Resistance.

Harry : And she knows, what, everything?

(Dumbledore smiles)

Dumbledore : She would say, she knows enough.

Harry : And she's never wrong?

Dumbledore : Try not to think of it in terms of right and wrong...

(They get out of the elevator, and start to walk down the corridor.)

Dumbledore : She is a guide, Harry. She can help you to find the path.

Harry : She helped you?

Dumbledore : Yes.

Harry : What did she tell you?

(Dumbledore smiles. Harry is beginning to get a bit puzzled with this.)

Dumbledore : That I would find The One..

(They arrive at the door to the Oracle's apartment. Harry waits for Dumbledore to open the door. Dumbledore shakes his head.)

Dumbledore : I told you, I can only show you the door. You're the one who has to walk through it.

(Harry puts his hand on the door handle and is just about to open it, when a Priestess opens the door and smiles at him.)

Parvati Patil: Hello, Harry. You're right on time...

(She leads him and Dumbledore inside.)

Pavarti: Make yourself at home, Dumbledore.

(Dumbledore stays by the door.)

Pavarti : These are the other potentials...you can wait here.

(Harry looks around the room, and sees he is the only adult there. Most of the children's heads are shaved. Some are playing, others meditating, or practicing their gift. Harry watches in amazement, as a little boy levitates wooden alphabet blocks. He turns around, and sees a skinny girl sitting on the floor, holding a spoon, which sways and twists as she bends it with her mind. Harry crosses over to her, and sits in front of her, interested. The girl looks at Harry as he picks up a spoon and tries to imitate the girl's actions. Despite his best efforts, Harry cannot make it bend.)

Luna Lovegood: Do not try and bend the spoon...that's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth...

Harry : What truth?

Luna: There is no spoon.

Harry: There is no spoon?

Luna: Then you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.

(Harry gets the spoon and looks at it. This time he is able to bend it with his mind. It bends, curls round, and bends again. He is fascinated. Just then, the Priestess walks up behind him and he jumps.)

Pavarti: The Oracle will see you now.

(Harry loses concentration and the spoon stays bent. He smiles at Luna and gets up. He walks into the nearby room, a kitchen. A woman is huddled beside the oven, peering inside through the cracked door.)

Sybill Trelawney: I know, you're Harry. Be right with you.

(Harry looks around the room.)

Harry : You're the Oracle?

Trelawney: Bingo...

(She turns round to face him)

Trelawney: Not quite what you were expecting, right?

(She turns back to the oven.)

Trelawney: Almost done! Smell good, don't they?

(Harry smiles politely and nods)

Harry : Yeah.

Trelawney: I'd ask you to sit down...but you're not going to anyway. And don't worry about the vase.

Harry : What vase?

(*crash* Harry knocks it over.)

Trelawney : That vase.

Harry : I'm sorry.

Trelawney: I said don't worry about it. I'll get one of my kids to fix it.

Harry : How...how did you know?

Trelawney: Ohhh...

(she smiles)

Trelawney: What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything...

(She gets up walks up to him.)

Trelawney: You're cuter than I thought...I can see why she likes you...

Harry : Who?

Trelawney: Not too bright though.

(She grins at him.)

Trelawney: So what do you think, do you think you're the One?

Harry : I don't know, I honestly don't know.

She looks to the top of her door, where something is written in Latin.

Trelawney: You know what that means? It's Latin. Means 'Know Thyself'...I'm going to let you in on a little secret...Being the One is just like being in love. No one can tell you you're in love, you just know it. Through and through; balls to bones. Well, I'd better have a look at you.

(She holds onto the side of his face with her hands)

Trelawney: Open your mouth, say 'Ahhh!'

Harry : Ahhh.

Trelawney: Okay. Now I'm supposed to say..'Hmm, that's interesting', but then you say...

Harry : But...what?

Trelawney: But you already know what I'm going to tell you.

Harry : I'm not The One.....

(he looks sort of disappointed)

Trelawney: Sorry, kid. You got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something...

Harry : What?

Trelawney: Your next life maybe, who knows? That's the way these things go.

(Harry starts laughing in an ironic manner.)

Harry : Dumbledore...he, he almost had me convinced...

Trelawney: Poor Dumbledore...without him...we're lost.

Harry : What do you mean, without him?

Trelawney: Are you sure you want to hear this?

(Harry nods.)

Trelawney: Dumbledore believes in you, Harry. And no one, not even you, not even me, can convince him otherwise. He believes it so blindly, that he's going to sacrifice his life, to save yours.

(Harry is astounded.)

Harry : What??!

Trelawney: You're going to have to make a choice. In one hand, you'll have Dumbledore's life...and in the other hand, you'll have your own. One of you is going to die...which one...will be up to you...

(Harry is speechless with shock.)

Trelawney: I'm sorry, kiddo, I really am. You have a good soul...and I hate giving good people bad news....

(Harry looks down.)

Trelawney: Oh, don't worry about it...As soon as you step outside that door, you'll start feeling better. You'll remember you don't believe in any of this fate crap...you're in control of your own life...remember?

(She holds out a tray of oatmeal cookies to Harry)

Trelawney : Here, take a cookie...I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel right as rain..

(Harry slowly reaches out and takes a cookie, then walks out the door and meets Dumbledore. He puts his hand on Harry's shoulder and smiles at him.)

Dumbledore : What was said was for you, and you alone.

(They go back to the car, and go into the hotel. Back on the Fawkes, Ron is preparing to bring them back.)

Ron : They're on their way...

(He looks at the monitors with the Matrix code on them, and suddenly something on them jumps.)

Ron : What is that?

(In the hotel, they are on their way up the stairs. Harry looks at a cat as it walks past the doorway. He turns around again, and an identical looking cat.)

Harry : Woah, deja vu.

(Everyone spins around to look at him.)

Hermione : What did you just say?

Harry : Nothing, uh, just had a little...deja vu.

Hermione : What did you see?

Draco : What happened?

(Harry is puzzled by their interest in this.)

Harry : A black cat went past us...and then another that looked just like it.

Hermione : How much like it, was it the same cat?

Harry : *shrugs* Might have been, I'm not sure.

Dumbledore : Fleur, Ernie!

Harry : What is it?

Hermione : A deja vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix...it happens when they change something

(Ron realises what they changed.)

Ron : Oh my God...

(Neville is sitting in his chair in one of the hotel rooms, looking at a picture of the woman in the red dress. his cell phone rings it and he picks it up.)

Ron : They cut the hard line, it's a trap, get out!!

(Neville scrambles to his feet, and goes to the window. He opens the curtains only to find there is no window, only a solid brick wall.)

Neville : Oh no. Oh no..

(He opens a chest, and grabs a wand, just before the Death Eaters come in, and shoot until he's killed.)

(Meanwhile, Dumbledore goes to the window, and also finds that there's a brick wall there.)

Draco : That's what we changed, it's a trap, there's no way out!!

Dumbledore : Be calm.

(He turns to Hermione.)

Dumbledore : Give me your phone..

Hermione : They'll be able to track it.

(She hands it to him)

Dumbledore : We have no choice.

(Ron answers straight away, still very upset from Neville's death)

Ron : Operator.

Dumbledore : Ron - Find a structural drawing of this building. Find it fast.

Ron : Got it.

Dumbledore : I need the main wet wall.

(Lucius Malfoy pauses, as he is about to make his way up the stairs with the other agents. He touches his earpiece.)

Lucius Malfoy : Eighth floor.

Peter Pettigrew : They're on the eighth floor...

(Dumbledore and the others continue on their way.)

Dumbledore : Fleur, straight ahead.

Ernie : Harry...

Ernie hands Harry a gun.

Ernie : I hope the Oracle gave you some good news...

Ron : Another left, that's it.

Dumbledore : Good.

(Ron hangs up the phone, and Dumbledore puts it away.)

(Aurors flood the eighth floor, while Harry and the others are hiding in the walls. Dust falls, and Ernie starts to cough. He tries to hold it in, but eventually he has to cough, hard. All the Aurors spin around.)

Aurors: They're in the walls! They're in the walls!

(The Aurors start to shoot at the wall, as Harry, who has never used a gun before, tries to shoot, flinching every time he fires a shot. Lucius Malfoy takes over the body of one of the Aurors, and reaches through the wall, grabbing Harry by the neck.)

Draco : It's a Death Eater!

(With a cry, Dumbledore punches his head through the wall, freeing Harry from Lucius Malfoy's grasp. He comes out on the other side, and attacks Lucius Malfoy.)

Hermione : Dumbledore!

Dumbledore : You must get Harry out! He's all that matters!

Harry : No! No, Dumbledore! Don't!

Dumbledore : Hermione, go!

Hermione : Go!

(She begins to shove people down. As she tries to tear Harry away he yells.)

Harry : We can't leave him!

Hermione : We have to!

(She pulls him down, as they all go sliding down, and come out in a street outside. There are Aurors surrounding them, as they drop smoke bombs, and one by one, they go down the manhole. Draco is the last to go, hesitating as the Aurors train their guns on him.)

Hermione : Draco! Come on!

(She has to give up and leave him, as she goes down the manhole. Back in the hotel, Lucius Malfoy turns to Dumbledore...)

Lucius Malfoy : The great Dumbledore...we meet at last.

Dumbledore : And you are?

Lucius Malfoy : A Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy.

(Dumbledore growls)

Dumbledore : You all look the same to me...

(They begin to fight, as Lucius Malfoy easily beats him, smashing him into the walls, until he is barely alive. Lucius Malfoy nods to the Aurors, who rush into the room.)

Lucius Malfoy : Take him...

(Ron is watching this whole thing happening, back on the Fawkes, and can't do a thing about it.)

Ron : No...

(He gets an incoming call, and answers it.)

Ron : Operator.

Draco : Yeah, I need an exit, fast!

Ron : Draco?!

Draco: Yeah! There was an accident! God damn, a car accident. All of a sudden, boom! Somebody up there still likes me.

Ron : Gotcha.

Draco : Get me out of here fast!

Ron : Intersection of Franklin and Erie, an old TV repair shop.

Draco : Right.

(Draco hangs up the phone. Hermione, Harry, etc. are walking down the street, Hermione gets out her phone and calls Ron.)

Hermione : Ron, it's me.

Harry : Is Dumbledore alive?

Hermione : Ron, is Dumbledore alive?

Ron : Yeah, and they're moving him. I don't know where to yet.

(Hermione turns to Harry.)

Hermione : He's alive.

(She turns away from him again.)

Hermione : We need an exit.

Ron : You're not far from Draco.

Hermione : Draco?

Ron : Yeah, I know. He's at Franklin and Erie.

Hermione : Got it.

(Hermione hangs up the phone. Ron gets Draco out, and as he comes back to the real world, he grimaces.)

Ron : Got him.

(Draco stands up and walks towards Ron and the controls.)

Draco : Where are they?

Ron : Making the call.

Draco : Good...

(Harry etc arrive at Franklin and Erie, and the phone rings.)

Hermione : You first, Harry.

(Back at the Fawkes, Draco gets his wand out and stuns Ron, knocking him out. Bill stands up, as he thinks Ron is dead, and runs towards Draco.)

Bill : Noooo!

(Draco shoots Bill with a Killing Curse, and he dies. Draco gets into the operator's chair, and puts on the headset. Harry goes to lift the phone, and it suddenly cuts off. Hermione looks at him.)

Harry : I don't know, it just went dead.

(Hermione gets out her cellular phone, and calls the operator. Draco picks up.)

Draco : Hello, Hermione...

Hermione : Draco? Where's Ron?

(Draco goes to her body and moves up close to her face, staring at her. He speaks into the headset.)

Draco : You know, for a long time, I thought I was...in love with you...I used to dream about you...you're a beautiful woman, Hermione. Too bad things had to turn out this way...

Hermione: You killed them!

Ernie : What?!

Draco : I'm tired, Hermione. I'm tired of this war. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of this ship, being cold, eating the same goddamn goop every day. But most of all, I'm tired of that jack-off and all his bullshit.

He jumps onto Dumbledore's body)

Draco : Well, surprise, asshole! I bet you never saw this coming, did ya? God, I wish I could be there, when they break you. I wish I could walk in just when it happens. So right then, you'd know it was me.

Hermione : You gave them Dumbledore....

Draco : He lied to us, Hermione. He tricked us. If you'd have told us the truth, we woulda told you to shove that red pill right up your ass!

Hermione : That's not true Draco, he set us free.

Draco : Free? You call this free? All I do is what he tells me to do. If I had to choose between that, and The Matrix, well, I, I choose the Matrix.

Hermione : The Matrix isn't real!

Draco : I disagree, Hermione. I think that the Matrix can be more real than this world. All I do is pull the plug here. But there, you have to watch Ernie die.

(his hand reaches towards Ernie's plug.)

Ernie : Hermione...

(Draco pulls the plug, and Ernie collapses and dies.)

Fleur : No!

(Draco starts talking on the cellular to Hermione again.)

Draco : Welcome to the real world, huh baby?

Hermione : But you're out, Draco, you can't go back.

Draco : Oh no. That's what you think. They're going to reinsert my body. I go back to sleep, and when I wake up, I won't remember a goddamn thing. By the way, if you have anything terribly important to say to Fleur, I suggest you say it now...

Hermione : No, please don't...

(Fleur is crying, leaning over Ernie's body.)

Fleur : Not like this...not like this...

(Draco pulls her plug, and Fleur goes limp, collapses, and dies. Hermione is stunned, and looks like she's about to cry.)

Draco : Too late...

Hermione : God damn you, Draco!

Draco : Don't hate me Hermione...I'm just a messenger, and right now I'm gonna prove it to you. If Dumbledore was right, then there's no way I can pull this plug. I mean, if Harry's The One, then there'd have to be some kinda miracle to stop me. I mean... how can he be the One...If he's dead? You never did answer me before, if you bought into Dumbledore' bullshit...come on! All I want is a little yes or a no! Look into his eyes, those big pretty eyes. Tell me...Yes or No?

(Hermione looks at Harry, who is standing in the corner looking a bit lost. Hermione whispers to Draco on the cell phone.)

Hermione : ...Yes...

Draco : NO!

(Unknown to Draco, Ron is not dead, and gets up and finds his wand. Draco is still on the phone to Hermione)

Draco : I don't believe it!

(Ron comes up behind him and shoots him with a Killing Curse.)

Ron : Believe it or not, you piece of shit, you're still gonna burn..

(Draco dies, unknown to Hermione, and the cell phone goes dead. Hermione turns to look at Harry, who doesn't know what's going on either. The phone starts to ring again. Everyone jumps.)

Harry : You first..

(Hermione picks up the phone, and wakes up on the Fawkes. Ron helps her up, as she notices he has a large wound on his chest.)

Hermione : You're hurt..

Ron : I'll be alright.

Hermione : Bill?

(Ron shakes his head, and Hermione hugs him.)

(Dumbledore is in the office on the top floor of Loco, with 3 Death Eaters. He is handcuffed to the chair he's sitting on, and is pumped full of serum, alternately shivering and sweating. He is hooked up to various monitors with white disk electrodes.)

Lucius Malfoy : Have you ever stood and...stared at it? marveled at its beauty? Billions of people, just...living out their lives...oblivious. Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be..happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program, entire crops were lost. Some believed that we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world...But I believe, that as a species, human beings define their reality though misery and suffering. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this, the peak of your civilization. I say your civilization, because as soon as we started thinking for you, it really became our civilization, which is, of course, what this all about....Evolution, Dumbledore, evolution...like the dinosaur. Look out that window...you had your time. The future is our world, Dumbledore, the future...is our time.

(Bellatrix Lestrange walks in.)

Bellatrix Lestrange : There could be a problem..

(On the Fawkes, Ron, Harry and Hermione are standing over Dumbledore' body, looking at his life monitor.)

Harry : What are they doing to him?

Ron : Breaking into his mind through Legilimency. It's like hacking into a computer, all it takes is time..

Harry : How much time?

Ron : Depends on the mind. Eventually, it will crack and his alpha patterns will change from this....

(Ron punches a button on the screen.)

Ron : To this... When it does, Dumbledore will tell them anything they want to know.

Harry : Well, what do they want?

Ron : The leader of every ship is given codes to Hogwarts's mainframe computer. If a Death Eater got the codes and got into Hogwarts's mainframe...it could destroy us. We can't let that happen...

Ron : Hermione? Hogwarts's more important than me, or you, or even Dumbledore.

Harry : Well there has to be something we can do..

Ron : There is...

(Ron looks grim.)

Ron : ....We pull the plug.

Hermione : You're going to kill him? KILL Dumbledore?!

Ron : We don't have any other choice...

(Back in the office, the Death Eaters have found out Draco is dead, and are looking for a solution.

Lucius Malfoy : Never send a human to do our job...

Peter Pettigrew : If indeed the insider has failed, they'll sever the connection as soon as possible, unless...

Bellatrix Lestrange : They're dead in either case...

Lucius Malfoy : We have no choice but to continue as planned, deploy the Dementors. Immediately.

(On the Fawkes, they are getting ready to pull Dumbledore' plug..Harry looks horrifed.)

Ron : Dumbledore, you're more than a leader to us, you're...a father. We'll miss you always....

(As his hand goes to Dumbledore' plug, Harry says in a quiet voice.)

Harry : Stop...

(Hermione and Ron spin around to face him.)

Harry : I don't believe this is happening!

Ron : Harry, this has to be done..

Harry : Does it? I...I don't know! I...this can't be just coincidence. It can't be.

Ron : What are you talking about?

Harry : The...The Oracle, she told me this would happen. She told me that I would have to make a choice.

Hermione : What choice?

(Harry starts to walk away from them, towards his chair.)

Hermione : What are you doing?

Harry : I'm going in.

Hermione : No you're not.

Harry : I have to.

Hermione : Harry, Dumbledore sacrificed himself, so that he could get you out. There's no way that you're going back in.

Harry : Dumbledore did what he did because he believed I'm something I'm not.

Hermione : What?!

Harry : I'm not the one, Hermione. The Oracle hit me with that too.

Hermione : No. You have to be.

Harry : I'm not, I'm sorry. I'm just another guy.

Hermione : No Harry, that's not true...it can't be true.

Harry : Why?

(Hermione just looks away.)

Ron : Harry, this is Loco! They've got Dumbledore in a military controlled building. Even if you somehow got inside, those are Death Eaters holding him! Three of 'em! I want Dumbledore back too, but what you're talking about is suicide!

Harry : I know that's what it looks like, but it's not. I can't explain to you why it's not. Dumbledore believed something, and he was ready to give his life for what he believed. I understand that now! That's why I have to go.

Ron : Why?

(Harry starts to set up his monitor.)

Harry : Because I believe in something.

Hermione : What?

Harry : I believe I can bring him back...

(He stars to wire himself up. So does Hermione.)

Harry : What are you doing?!

Hermione : I'm going with you.

Harry : No, you're not!

(Hermione turns to face him.)

Hermione : NO? Let me tell you what I believe. I believe Dumbledore means more to me than he does to you. I believe that if you are really serious about saving him, you are going to need my help. And since I am the ranking officer on this ship, if you don't like it, I believe you can go to hell. Because you're not going anywhere else. Ron? Load us up.

(Lucius Malfoy is still questioning Dumbledore)

Lucius Malfoy : I'd like to share a...revelation I had, during my time here. It came to me when I tried to...classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but...you humans do not. You move to an area...and you multiply...until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to...spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet...and we...are the cure.

(Harry and Hermione have been loaded into the construct program, wearing boots, cloaks and sunglasses. Harry gets out his cell phone and talks to Ron.)

Ron : Okay.. So what do you need..?...Besides a miracle...

(Harry thinks about it.)

Harry : Guns...lots of guns.

(As he says this, hundreds of rows of assorted rifles appear, whooshing by Harry and Hermione as they stand in the centre. Harry picks out a gun.)

Hermione : Harry, no one has ever done anything like this.

(Harry turns to look at her, holding the gun.)

Harry : That's why it's going to work.

(He loads the gun.)

(Lucius Malfoy is back at the window of the office, staring out into the world. He turns to Peter Pettigrew.)

Lucius Malfoy : Why isn't the serum working?

Peter Pettigrew : Perhaps we're asking the wrong questions...

Lucius Malfoy : Leave me with him!

(Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange look at each other, surprised.)

Lucius Malfoy : Now!

(They hurriedly leave.)

(Ron is mopping Dumbledore's forehead with a damp cloth.)

Ron : Hold on, Dumbledore...They're coming for you. They're coming.

(Lucius Malfoy grabs Dumbledore' head with his hands.)

Lucius Malfoy : Can you hear me, Dumbledore? I'm going to be honest with you... I hate this place...this...zoo, this...prison, this...reality... whatever you want to call it. I can't stand it any longer. ...It's the smell. If there is such a thing...I feel...saturated by it. I can...taste your stink. And every time I do, I feel I have somehow been...infected by it, it's repulsive. I must get out of here. I must get free...and in this mind...is the key.

(He taps Dumbledore' head.)

Lucius Malfoy : My key...once Hogwarts is destroyed there is no need for me to be here, don't you understand? I need the codes...I have to get inside Hogwarts, and you have to tell me how. You are going to tell me, or...you are going to die...

(Harry and Hermione walk into the lobby of the Loco building, wearing trench coats, leather, and sunglasses. Hermione is carrying a hold-all. Harry walks towards the man besides the metal detecting thingy he has to walk though. He puts the bag through, and then walks through himself. The alarms go off.)

Guard : Please remove any metallic items you are carrying, keys, loose change...

(Harry opens his trench coat, showing his clothes are lined with guns. He just looks at the guard.)

Guard : Holy Shit!!!

(Harry and Hermione pull out guns, and kill everyone in the room, but not before the last guard sends for backup.)

Guard : Backup! Send backup!

(Hermione shoots him.)

(They move into the main lobby of the hotel, dropping their empty guns and pulling out new ones. As they walk towards the elevator, backup arrives. A whole bunch of Aurors run in, aiming their spells at Harry and Hermione.)

Guard 2: Impedimentia!!

(Harry and Hermione look at each other, and then dart to opposite ends of the room, and within the space of 5 minutes, manage to wipe out every man in the room. They continue to walk to the elevator, without a word, press the button, and get in. They leave the main lobby in pieces, literally, as pieces of the wall start to fall down.)

(Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange walk back into the office where Lucius Malfoy is 'questioning' Dumbledore.)

Bellatrix Lestrange : What were you doing?!

Peter Pettigrew : He doesn't know...

Lucius Malfoy : Know what?

(Lucius Malfoy plugs his earpiece back in, and looks at the other two agents. Bellatrix Lestrange turns to Dumbledore, who is barely aware of his situation.)

Bellatrix Lestrange : I think they're trying to save you...

(In the elevator, Hermione opens up the bag she has been carrying, and wires plastique and napalm bomb. Harry hits the emergency stop. He pulls down part of the false ceiling and finds the elevator shaft access panel. Harry ratchets down a clamp onto the elevator cable. Both of them lock on, holding on to one another. He looks up the long, dark throat of the building and takes a deep breath.)

Harry : There is no spoon...

(Harry whips out his wand and presses it to the cable, lower than where they attached themselves. The cable snaps. The counter-weights plummet, yanking Hermione and Harry up through the shaft as the elevator falls away beneath them, distending space, filling it with the sound of whistling metal, as they soar to the top. The elevator hits the bottom, and the massive explosion blows open the doors, and fire clouds engulf the elevator section of the lobby. The smoke alarm kicks in, and water sprays start, soaking the agents and Dumbledore in the office.)

Lucius Malfoy : Find them and destroy them!

(Hermione and Harry are up on the rooftop, attacking the various soldiers and guards placed there. They have Guns and knives, like extensions of their bodies used with the same deadly precision as their feet and their fists. Across the roof, the pilot inside the army helicopter watches the ferocious onslaught.)

Pilot : I repeat, we are under attack!

(As we watch him, the Pilot's whole body dissolves, consumed by a swarm of static as Bellatrix Lestrange takes over his body. Just as she kills the last solider, Hermione sees what's coming. She stares towards the helicopter, as Bellatrix Lestrange walks out. Harry looks at her, and from the fear in his face knows what's behind him. He whirls round, firing his guns at thought speed, each bullet missing Bellatrix Lestrange, as he dodges them, blurred with motion. Harry stops firing as his guns are empty. He yells...)

Harry : Hermione!....

(Bellatrix Lestrange aims her wand.)

Harry : ....help!

(Bellatrix Lestrange fires as we enter the liquid space of spell time. We are watching in slow motion as she fires, and the air sizzles, while Harry bends backwards, twisting and ducking just underneath them. Bellatrix Lestrange fires again, as Harry bends impossibly back, one hand on the ground. The magic bullet grazes his thigh, leaving a red groove. He screams and falls backwards. As he lies there, Bellatrix Lestrange aims her wand at Harry one last time.)

Bellatrix Lestrange : Only human...

(Hermione comes up quietly behind her, and before she knows it, she has her rifle pointed against her head.)

Hermione : Dodge this!

(She shoots her, as Bellatrix Lestrange falls slowly backwards, and turns back into the pilot. Hermione reaches out a hand, and helps Harry up. She looks at him curiously.)

Hermione : How did you do that?

Harry : Do what...?

Hermione : You moved like they do...I've never seen anyone move that fast.

(Harry looks at the wound in his side.)

Harry : Wasn't fast enough...

(He looks over the roof, and his eyes focus on the helicopter.)

Harry : Can you fly that thing?

Hermione : ...Not yet.

(She takes out a cellular phone, and calls Ron, who is back at the controls.)

Ron : Operator.

Hermione : Ron, I need a program for a V-212 helicopter...Hurry!

(Ron finds one, and presses load. Hermione's eyes flicker with REM for a few moments, and then snap open.)

Hermione : Lets go.

(Over the rushing water, and the alarms, Lucius Malfoy (still in the office) hears a sound, and suddenly realises the seriousness of the attack. He turns to the wall of windows, as the helicopter comes into view. Harry is in the back bay, aiming the mounted .50 machine gun, straight at him. Lucius Malfoy twists his face into a grimace.)

Lucius Malfoy : NO....

(Harry fires, and bullets explode through the windows in a cacophony of crashing glass, as the Death Eaters reach for their weapons. But Harry is too close, the machine gun too fast, and bullets are everywhere, perforating the room. Lucius Malfoy is hit first, his body falling back. Then Bellatrix Lestrange, her gun still firing as her body falls. And finally Peter Pettigrew. Harry stares at Dumbledore, as if trying to will him into action.)

Dumbledore : Dumbledore, get up! Get up, get up!

(With tremendous effort, Dumbledore regains control and yells out as he strains the handcuffs, and finally snaps them in two. He pulls the wires from his head, and stands up. He looks towards Harry, and starts to move towards the window. The Agents take over the bodies of the guards outside, and knife their way back into the room. They fire, as Dumbledore reaches the window, hitting his leg as he jumps for it out of the window.)

Harry : He's not going to make it!

(Harry jumps from the helicopter, grabbing onto Dumbledore just before he falls, and holds onto him as they fall until the rope ends and goes taught. Harry keeps a hold of Dumbledore' arm.)

Harry : Gotcha!

(Hermione is already pulling the helicopter up and away from Loco. But Lucius Malfoy grabs the gun from the nearest soldier, and targets the helicopter, hitting the fuel tank. The rear hull is punched full of holes.)

Hermione : Shit!

(Harry is pulling Dumbledore up to him, when he hears the engine begin to die. Hermione guides the helicopter towards the roof of the nearest building, as Dumbledore drops, landing safely on the roof. Harry soon follows, rolling free as the rope goes slack. Harry is about to detach himself, when he realizes Hermione is still in helicopter. As the helicopter begins to fall, Harry swings the rope, as it begins to pull him fast along the roof. Hermione gets out her wand and snaps the rope inside the helicopter, grabbing onto it as she swings out of the helicopter, held up by Harry, who is standing at the very edge of the building, almost falling off. He swings her out of the way of the helicopter, as it crashes into the glass windows of the opposite building, creating a huge ripple as all the glass blows out of the windows, and Hermione just misses it, as the helicopter explodes into flames, and she bangs into a lower window of the building Harry is on.)

(Ron stares at his Matrix monitor, his mouth agape.)

Ron : I knew it! He's the one...

(Harry pulls Hermione up into his arms. They both shake as they recover from the shock of what nearly happened. Dumbledore looks at Hermione)

Dumbledore : Do you believe it now, Hermione?

Harry : Dumbledore...The Oracle, she told me, I'm...

Dumbledore : She told you exactly what you needed to hear.. that's all. Harry, sooner or later, you're going to realize, just as I did, that there's a different between knowing the path...and walking the path...

(The phone rings, and Ron answers)

Ron : ...Operator?

Dumbledore : Ron.

(Ron grins)

Ron : Goddamn, it's good to hear your voice sir!

Dumbledore : We need an exit...

Ron : Got one ready! Subway station, State and Balboa.

(The Death Eaters exit the office and move onto the roof.)

Lucius Malfoy : Damn it!

Peter Pettigrew : The trace was completed...

Bellatrix Lestrange : We have their position.

Peter Pettigrew : The Dementors are standing by..

Bellatrix Lestrange : Order the strike!

Lucius Malfoy : They're not out yet...

(The phone in the phone booth starts to ring, just as Harry, Dumbledore, and Hermione arrive at the subway station. They stand outside it, as Harry puts a hand on Dumbledore' shoulder.)

Harry : You first, Dumbledore..

(Dumbledore goes into the phone booth, and picks up the phone. An old homeless man, lying on a bench nearby watches, as Dumbledore appears to visibly disintegrate in front of them, and the phone drops, dangling by its cord. His eyes grow wide and he stares. Hermione is about to answer the phone, when she suddenly stops and turns to Harry.)

Hermione : Harry, I want to tell you something...but I'm afraid of what it would mean if I do...

(Harry looks at her.)

Hermione : Everything the Oracle has told me has come true. Everything but this.

(She changes her mind, and walks into the phone booth. She picks up, just as the old man changes into Lucius Malfoy and aims a gun at the phone box. She puts her hand up, as she did in the beginning to stop the truck, and is pulled back into the real world, just as Lucius Malfoy shoots the phone.)

(Hermione sits up, as Ron stares at her.)

Hermione : Harry!

Ron : What the hell just happened?

Hermione : An Death Eater! You have to send me back!

Ron : I can't!

(Harry stares at the exit to the subway station, as Lucius Malfoy approaches him, smirking.)

Harry : Mr. Potter! We meet again...

(Hermione, Dumbledore, and Ron are watching him on the monitor.)

Hermione : Run, Harry! Run!

(Harry looks as though he may be about to do just that, but suddenly he spins around and stares Lucius Malfoy straight in the face, a focused look on his face.)

Hermione : What is he doing?!

(Dumbledore half-smiles to himself.)

Dumbledore : He's beginning to believe...

(Harry and Lucius Malfoy are standing at opposite ends of the station. Harry takes a deep breath, focusing. He clenches his hands into fists, and relaxes them, pushing his fingers outwards. Suddenly they both lunge for their guns, firing, as they run up the walls, and meet in the middle of the room, suspended in mid air, as bullets fly all around them. They fall to the ground, guns at each other's heads. Lucius Malfoy smiles.)

Lucius Malfoy : You're empty...

(Harry scowls at him.)

Harry : So are you!

(They stay there for a moment, as Lucius Malfoy's smile fades, and he stands up, throwing away his gun. Harry shrugs and follows suit, chucking his gun away to the side. Lucius Malfoy attacks Harry, fists flying at furious speed, blows and counters, Harry just ducks in time to miss Lucius Malfoy's fist slamming through the wall behind him. Harry attacks again with renewed strength, as he kicks Lucius Malfoy's head hard, knocking half of his sunglasses off.)

(Lucius Malfoy glares at him, grimacing.)

Lucius Malfoy : I'm going to enjoy watching you die...Mr. Potter!

(He attacks Harry furiously, punching him with incredible force and sending him flying across the room and into the wall. He falls, face down onto the concrete, as Hermione, watching the whole thing, rips up a piece of cloth, and daps the blood coming from his mouth.)

Hermione : Jesus, he's killing him.

(She holds the cloth against his mouth to stop the bleeding.)

(Harry lies on the floor, in pain. Lucius Malfoy smiles to himself, but Harry supports himself on his hands, and spits the blood in his mouth onto the ground, before getting up and turning round to face Lucius Malfoy. Harry attacks him again, and for a while it seems like he's going to win, he's much stronger and faster. But then Lucius Malfoy grabs hold of him, lifting him into the air, hurling him against the curved wall of the train tunnel, where he falls inches from the electrified third-rail. He jumps down beside Harry, who is lying on the rails, barely conscious. Lucius Malfoy grabs him by the neck and lifts him up, choking him. They hear the sound of an on-coming train.

Lucius Malfoy : Do you hear that, Mr. Potter? That...is the sound of inevitability...that is the sound of...your death. Goodbye...Mr. Potter.

(Harry manages to get enough air to speak.)

Harry : My name...is..Harry!

(With the last of his strength, he pushes Lucius Malfoy up into the air with him, slams him down onto the track, looks at the on-coming train briefly, and jumps up onto the edge, just in time to get out of the way of the train. Lucius Malfoy is flattened under the train. Hermione smiles as this happens, but the smile is quickly wiped off her face, as Ron turns around with a very worried expression on his face.)

Hermione : What happened?

Ron : I don't know. I lost him...oh shit...