Dumbledore\'s Folly

Chapter 5: They Died As Heroes

The training the three underwent was intense. Several hours everyday was devoted to dueling. The dueling training they underwent was often one of the three against more than a dozen of human-like training dummies that Harry had conjured. These dummies would be controlled by one of the non-dueling members of the three. The dummies would not, and could not, be defeated short of an immensely powerful Reductor Curse, which would blast them apart.

The dummies would attack using a vast array of non-lethal spells against their opponent. The purpose of this exercise was not to block the onslaught of spells cast by the dummies, but rather to dodge it.

For Harry this was fairly simple, as Harry had been a starting seeker for the past four years. His natural reflexes allowed him to dodge with ease, and usually could last up to an hour without being hit.

Ginny, too, was good at dodging the dummies’ spells, because she was naturally nimble and agile. It helped that she had spent the previous year taking over Harry’s seeker duties, as the training that was involved in being a seeker involved great agility and the ability to dodge bludgers. Ginny, on average, went a half-hour or so without being touched.

Bella, however, had some trouble with the dodging. She was older than the others, and as a result, not as quick or agile as she had been in her youth. Therefore she would not last more than a few minutes of dodging against the furious barrage of spells.

This was a constant source of fury for her, who saw Ginny and Harry last for half-hour or an hour at a time whereas she rarely broke the ten-minute limit.

While her strong suit was not dodging, she was particularly gifted at blocking and attacking very rapidly. She easily had the fastest and most powerful Protego shield charm of them all. Neither Harry nor Ginny had weak shields, nor was it difficult for them to erect a shield quickly, but unless Harry poured more of his magical energy into his shield, he had no chance of blocking the number of spells that Bella could.

As far as attacking went, Harry was easily the fastest of them to fire off curses, because he required neither wand movements, nor words to get a curse off. Ginny could fire off curses more quickly than Bella, but Bella’s curses were much more powerful than Ginny’s.

Ginny’s were by no means weak, but she paled in comparison to Harry and Bella. As far as attacking power was concerned, Harry was certain he was capable of casting stronger versions of spells than anyone, Voldemort included. This was mainly due to Harry being able put more ‘oomph’ behind his spells without the hindrance of a wand. The main downside to Harry pouring more power into his spells was the drainage factor. Harry maintained, however, that he would not yet be able to defeat Voldemort in a duel. Harry thought he could almost defeat Dumbledore, or perhaps stalemate him.

Bella, Harry reckoned, could cast spells of strength near or equal to Dumbledore, though he was not certain. Dumbledore would win a duel against Bella, that they agreed on, but Bella would most certainly hold her own for awhile.

Ginny, Harry thought, could defeat McGonagall in a duel, but would quickly be subdued by both Voldemort and Dumbledore. Ginny was an excellent duelist, with her nimbleness and casting speed she could defeat most opponents thanks to the vigorous training regimen Harry and Bella had put her through.

Ginny, although originally reluctant to learn them, quickly proved to have a gift for them the Dark Arts. She was learning the Dark Arts at a furious rate, one that could have perhaps rivaled Harry’s own during the beginning of summer.
She seemed fascinated by the Dark Arts. She quickly learned everything Harry and Bella (who was, after all, the resident queen of the Dark Arts) could teach her. They had yet to cover numerous spells, but they reasoned within another three or four weeks she would know as much as they did.

Amongst the Dark Curses they had yet to cover were the Unforgivables. Harry and Bellatrix both agreed that they should save them for last; even if only because they did not fancy becoming her test subjects.

Ginny was not ‘evil’, but she had a unhealthy fascination with the Dark Arts. Harry, too, was not evil. He used spells all in a neutral fashion. To Harry, there were no Light Spells or Dark Spells, there were just spells.

Not even Bella could be considered evil anymore, she had a similar mentality to Harry when it came to light and dark spells. She had told both Harry and Ginny numerous times that if she ever got a chance, she intended to beg forgiveness for her crimes against the Longbottoms on bended knee, if need be.

She was more than determined to find a cure for the Longbottoms so that she could ask for forgiveness from them, as well. She vowed to spend all of the money she had been left in the will of several of the Blacks to find a cure for the Longbottoms.

It was remorse of such an intense level, that neither Ginny nor Harry could hold against her the torment she put the Longbottoms through. Harry hadn’t been mad with her for what she had done from the start, he had always sensed something like remorse from her. But Ginny had been wary of her for a long time, due mostly to the crimes she committed against the Longbottoms.

There had been no word from Remus since he had created the mirrors, there was apparently no sign of an attack by Voldemort as of yet.

But one day, on what Harry, Ginny, and Bellatrix recognised to be 1 September, all training had ceased for the day. They knew that today would be an ideal time for Voldemort to strike. Perhaps Voldemort would strike at Platform 9 and ¾, perhaps against the Hogwarts Express, or perhaps even against Hogwarts itself.

Sitting in the main room of the Chamber of Secrets, everyone was at the same time surprised and not surprised to hear Remus’ voice say, “Harry!” through the mirror.

“What is it, Remus?” Harry asked quickly, having taken the mirror out of his robes’ pocket.

“They will be attacking Platform 9 and ¾ just before 11 o’clock. The Orders’ spy has just been informed. I have to go now, but I do ask that you stay out of harm’s way for the most part when you arrive. Yes, Harry I know you’re going to go, I couldn’t stop you anyway. All I can say is, ‘Good luck’!” Lupin said quickly.

“Alright, we’ll be there. Good luck to you too, Remus, stay safe.” Harry said before Lupin severed the link.

Looking down at his watch, Harry saw that it was 10:05, looking up at the other occupants of the room, he said, “We have twenty minutes before we must be there. Grab your wands, take your Portkeys and say ‘Departure of Innocents’ to go to the Platform. Be prepared for a fight the moment we get there. I don’t think we’ll encounter one so soon, but it could be any time, so we must be prepared. Constant Vigilance!” Harry said, chuckling at the last two words.

The other two laughed at his Moody impression and prepared to leave. Within ten minutes, all of the occupants of the Chamber of Secrets were prepared to leave. Before they did, however, Harry stopped them.

“The dummies of us will be arriving at 10:45, ready for action.” Harry said to them. Harry had not decided when to send the dummies until just a few minutes before-hand.

“Glamour Charms everyone?” Harry asked.

He looked up at them, both had nodded, but now instead of the redheaded Ginny Weasley, a curly blond haired, green eyed girl was looking at him. Where Bella had stood was now a woman with sleek brown hair, and brown eyes. They wouldn’t be recognised at this point.

Harry changed his appearance to that of a man with shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, and a long, crooked nose.

“Alright, let’s go.” Blond-Harry said.

“Departure of the Innocents!” three voices said, and they disappeared from the now dark Chamber of Secrets.


*~*


When they arrived at platform 9 and ¾ it was to find it packed, but without any signs of Death Eaters. Several people that Harry recognised as members of the Order of the Phoenix were rushing students on to the train extremely quickly.

“C’mon, you lot! Get on the train! It’s leaving a half-hour early today! C’mon!” Said someone who must have been a new-recruit to the Order, for Harry did not recognise him.

Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was 10:25 at the moment. The train would leave in five minutes. Perhaps the Death Eaters wouldn’t make it in time to attack the students boarding the train.

Just as soon as he thought this he realised he had jinxed it. At that moment dozens of popping noises were heard in quick succession, followed by the sickly green-light of the Killing Curse.

Order members along with some Aurors and Harry, Ginny, and Bellatrix all rushed into action. The Death Eaters were quickly picking off the Aurors as they stood out the most in their Ministry of Magic uniforms.

Before long, only five Aurors were still fighting. Harry noticed that Tonks was amongst them. Harry, who had been fighting three Death Eaters, quickly disposed of them with a Dark Flame spell and then ran over to fight at Tonks’ side.

It took only a moment for Harry, holding—but not using—joke wand courtesy of Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes, to take care of the Death Eater dueling with Tonks. Tonks stared at Blond Harry for a moment before Harry winked at her, intentionally releasing his scar from the Glamour Charm for a moment, and she nodded quickly, a look of relief on her face.

Harry saw Lupin fighting against four Death Eaters just a bit away from Harry was standing next to Tonks. Harry raised his completely useless wand and without an incantation or wand movement, used an enhanced version of the curse that was used on Hermione in the Department of Mysteries that swept from right-most Death Eater to the left and with the motion, they all fell to the ground, effectively cut in half.

Tonks stared at Harry in shock. He was a dark wizard! Dark, but not evil Harry’s voice said in her head. Ginny, Bella, and I are all dark, but we are not evil. It is a distinction not many can make, so don’t worry about it. Now watch as fake versions of us appear. Harry’s voice said in her head.

As if on cue, the Dummy Harry, Bella, and Ginny’s Portkeyed to the scene and began throwing curses at the Death Eaters rapidly. Upon seeing the three appear, most of the Order of the Phoenix stopped fighting and watched in awe as the ones who had disappeared without a trace began to fight against the Death Eaters.

All the Death Eaters turned toward the Dummies and began throwing everything from Avada Kedavra to Expelliarmus at them.

“NO!” Bill’s voice rang out as Ginny flung herself in front of a Killing Curse headed for Harry and promptly fell to the ground. Firing from her body was a modified form of the Flagrate spell. No one bothered to read what it had to say at the moment.

A Death Eater who wasn’t firing curses at the three saw his opportunity and threw a Killing Curse straight at Neville Longbottom. Seeing this as her chance to redeem herself in his eyes, Bella made her dummy-self jump in the way of the curse and was promptly hit in the chest.

Dummy-Harry was holding his own against the dozens of Death Eaters. Dodging out of the way of the curses that were flung at him, Dummy Harry was successfully fighting most of the Death Eaters.

That was when Dumbledore appeared and saw Harry dueling them all. Dumbledore stood in shock and awe, as did the entire Light as Dummy-Harry dueled the Death Eaters.

Dummy-Harry was casting Avada Kedavra Curses at a fervent rate. All the defenders of the station looked in shock at the curses Dummy-Harry threw. Most of them didn’t think it possible for Harry to be casting the most evil curse of all time, let alone without a wand!

Once nearly all the Death Eaters had been defeated by Dummy-Harry, Voldemort made his appearance.

“So, Potter returns. Come to defend your friends, Potter?” Voldemort asked.

“No, Tom. I am here to finish you.” Harry made Dummy-Harry respond.

“DO NOT CALL ME BY THAT NAME!” Voldemort shrieked at Dummy-Harry.

“What? You don’t want the wizarding world to know that you were named after your Muggle father, eh Tom Marvolo Riddle?” Dummy-Harry mocked.

“SHUT UP!” Voldemort shrieked at him. “I WILL KILL YOU, HARRY POTTER!”

“Really? You haven’t managed yet in what, five attempts? What makes you so grossly over-confidant now, Tom?” Harry asked mockingly.

Every defender of the light then heard in their heads; do not interfere, no matter what. Tom cannot yet defeat me. He knows it. DO NOT INTERFERE.

“Come now, Tom. Don’t you think it is time we began?” Harry asked in a tone of grossly forced polite and courteousness.

“Sectumsempra!” the Dark Lord cast at him.

With a wave of his hand Harry cast the Flagrans Eternus Centra Shield Charm. The flame shied promptly evaporated the Dark Lord’s Never-Ending-Cutting Curse.

Harry rebounded with a Conjunctivitis Curse, which Voldemort quickly blocked with a standard Protego Charm.

“Excrucio Maxima!” the Dark Lord shrieked at Dummy-Harry.

The Curse hit and the Order of the Phoenix waited for the seemingly never-ending pain it induces. It never came.

Harry simply laughed at the flabbergasted look on Tom’s face and said, “You spent weeks using that Curse on me, Tom, did you actually expect me not to find a way to block it?”

Harry continued to laugh as Tom cast the spell again. Once more, to no avail, “Come now Tom, you’ve gotten so predictable!”

“FINE! BLOCK THIS, POTTER! AVADA KEDAVRA!” Voldemort shrieked as the spell raced towards Harry.

He didn’t even try to move, instead he stood and let the Curse hit him. He fell to the ground, eyes lifeless and unseeing, his body spread-eagle on the ground. The variant Flagrate spell fired into the air.

Voldemort shrieked in glee as he saw Harry’s body hit the ground. He turned to Dumbledore, “Now see what has happened to your ‘aspiring Dark Lord’! You thought he had become evil, Dumbledore? You are more of a fool than I give you credit for!” Voldemort continued to laugh his high, shrill laugh in glee.

Remus looked pale and was shaking as tears coursed down his face, then he heard something impossible. He heard Harry’s voice in his head, Do not grieve, Remus. Appearances can be deceiving. Ask Tonks to explain it when you arrive back at Headquarters. I explained a bit of it to her before ‘I’ showed up.

Remus’ tears immediately stopped he looked as if in shock, which he was, but not because he had seen Harry’s body fall to the ground, lifeless, but because Harry was alive! He could not have done what he did unless he was alive.

As one, the Order of the Phoenix drew their wands on Voldemort and screamed dozens of curses at him. Voldemort’s face paled and he Disapparated.

The Weasley family ran over to the body of Ginny. The family wept as one, even Percy. Percy had come to the station on Ministry business and was there when the attack began. They cradled various parts of her body while the wept.

Dumbledore had run over to Harry to see what had become of him. He felt Harry’s skin, cold and hard. Dumbledore looked into the eyes of the true leader of the Light. The only one who could defeat Voldemort was dead. And Dumbledore wept bitter tears. For Harry, for himself, for the world. Dumbledore wept for his friends, old and new, who had lost their lives.

The other Order members went to either Harry or Bellatrix, wanting to give the Weasley family and Hermione their time with Ginny’s corpse.

The real Harry, seeing that no one was paying attention to what was written in the sky in the Flagrate letters shouted, “Look!”

High above the station, huge letters spelled out:

-GRIEVE NOT FOR THOSE YOU NEVER KNEW-
-WE’LL COME BACK AS FIRE TO BURN ALL THE LIARS-
-AS A PHOENIX FROM THE FLAME, WE SHALL RISE FROM THE ASHES-

The presumed enemies of the three escapees began to weep at the words. They knew it was directed at them. Even beyond the grave, the three were angry.

The Glamourised Ginny walked over to her family where they were weeping more than ever now for the loss of the youngest Weasley.
“She died amongst comrades. It is how she would have chosen to go. Remember her for who she was, and not whom she was perceived to be, that is how you may honour her best.” Ginny said to the Weasleys who looked up in shock and anger at this person they had never met who dare tell them how best to honour her memory.

Seeing the looks on there faces, she simply nodded and walked away.

The Glamourised version of Bellatrix walked to her own corpse and stood next to the confused looking Neville Longbottom. Sensing his thoughts, Bellatrix saw that he was confused by how he should feel about her death. She had tortured his parents into insanity, but had arrived with Harry and Ginny to combat the Death Eaters of which she was a prominent member. She had sacrificed herself for him.

“She defected. Harry Potter saved her from the Death Eaters during the beginning of the summer. He made her the only Portkey he had the power to create so that she might live. He was tortured for weeks on end, and did it all for an enemy. That says volumes about his character. He saved a woman he hated, a woman he wanted to see dead for her crimes. I can only imagine the devotion he must have shown his friends.” Bellatrix said, giving a small history lesson to Neville.

“She died for you because she owed you her life for having taken your parents from you. She knew you could never forgive her, so she did the only thing she could do to redeem herself. By saving the life of a great friend of Harry Potter, she canceled the debt she owed him for the death of his godfather. By dying so that you might live she did the best she could to repay the debt she owed you. She could do no more. Before she died, she did all she could to ensure that you might live on.” Bellatrix said. It was odd to speak of ones self as if dead.

Glamour-Harry, all the while, walked to his own corpse. Kneeling beside the sobbing Albus Dumbledore, Harry said to him, “Do not give up hope, Albus. Their message suggests they will return. You must assume they will. If you lose hope, the world shall be shrouded in darkness. Become a light in the darkness, for the darkness shall always flee from the light. The sun will always rise to expel the darkness. A lit torch can burn bright through the night, a beacon of hope in a dark world. They shall rise.” Harry said to Dumbledore in the most cryptic voice he could muster.

With that, the three unknown heroes stood together said as one, “They died as heroes.” and vanished.

9/11/05