บท 26: When For One Everything Comes Together, For The Other Everything Falls Apart
[Daybreak of Monday — Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts]
{Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore}
"Ugh…"
"Are you alright?"
He fell on the ground, gripping his forearm and clamoring in pain.
Squatting down, it fell in my sight.
"By Merlin…"
Snape groaned, pain prominent in his voice. "H-He is back!"
His mark, his mark of being a Death Eater and one that should have vanished years ago with his demise. But it was glowing green and dark, it was puffy and exuding dark aura.
How was he back to power so early? How…
"Leniens!"
"Ugh!" The spell didn't work. The pain was still there, but Snape was stronger than he looked. "P-Professor!" He groaned, gripping on the table and trying to get up.
I extended my arm, letting him grab on as he stood up. His forearm was still in pain, it was throbbing and so was my heart with it.
"He is back…" I repeated what he said previously. "Stronger, like in the past."
For Death Eaters, the mark on their forearm did not simply mean that they were subservient to the Dark Lord, but it also told them about the state of the Dark Lord. And the color, the throbbing and the power it oozed —it meant that he was back, as strong as in the past and with a proper body.
No…
This wasn't good.
This was horrible.
"Come, my friend. You have to hide."
Snape needed to hide. No one but I knew his truth, and because of his link to mine, Tom… no, Voldemort would come for him.
I have to get him to safety.
"No…" But he groaned, "Forget me." He gritted his teeth, gripping his arm and standing in pain, "We need to protect Harry."
My heartbeat quickened. He was right, Harry was in danger. He could not be harmed in Hogwarts, but we never know what Voldemort has planned.
"You need to go to Pomfrey— No, I shall go." I suggested, "She can help with the pain."
She was trustworthy, but we still couldn't tell her about Snape's truth.
"I will tell her to provide you with something for the pain." I got close to the door, "You stay here!"
I need to find Fudge.
Protecting Snape and Harry and then immediately to Fudge. I have no time, I need to hurry.
Letting Snape lie on the couch, I had to rush out. Run through the corridor, ignoring everyone around me.
I need to find Harry.
I need to find Pomfrey.
But that wasn't simple.
"Professor!"
Another yell came from the side. I had no time to respond, but the shout seemed to have gotten louder.
"Professor!"
Minerva.
Why is she here?
"I am in a rush, Minerva." It was prominent in my walk.
"I-It's news from the ministry, sir."
She rushed to me, her eyes nervous.
"Tell me," I cannot stop.
Did the ministry learn of his return? It doesn't matter. They would have known one way or the other. And maybe for the good after Fudge hid the truth from everyone for so long.
"It's about Minister Fudge."
Fudge? Has he not revealed it?
"He…"
But what she said was not something I was expecting.
It was something that left me frozen.
"He was murdered."
My feet paused, my body went cold.
"Pardon?"
"He… He was murdered in his office."
And even before I could process, another horror followed.
A shout, no —two shouts.
Familiar shouts.
Pomfrey and Sinistra!
…
…
[Early Morning — Hogwarts' Emergency Ward]
{Aurora Sinistra}
"Ahhh!"
H-How… W-Why?
"N-No!" Professor Pomfrey fell on her knees, shuddering at the sight. "No! No! No! He is not breathing!"
He wasn't breathing. He couldn't breathe.
His neck was sliced, his neck was split open!
Oh Merlin!
Hagrid… Oh Hagrid…
"Pomfrey! Sinis—"
The Headmaster and Professor McGonagall, both came rushing in and froze on the spot the moment they walked in.
"W-What?" The Headmaster froze, his eyes fixated on the bloodied body in front of him. "W-What?"
"Ahhhh!" Professor McGonagall was not the same, she fell on her knees, horrified at the sight. "H-Hagrid!"
None of us could understand a thing.
All of us were left frozen, horrified and with a cold heart.
Why?
Who?
Who did this?
Why did they do it?
"Who…"
Professor Dumbledore's voice grew cold, his aura colder, scarier and his magic stronger.
"Who was it?"
His eyes roamed around us, his magic leaking, sending shivers down each of our spines.
"W-We do not know, Albus…" Madame Pomfrey said, calling the Headmaster by his name. "We do not know…"
She was broken. Her eyes still fixated on the lifeless body of the giant in front of us.
Hagrid, the most loved, the most respected member of Hogwarts.
Laid dead, on the bed. His neck sliced open, body left unmoving and blood still dripping.
His body was still warm, it had not been long since his neck was sliced.
It was a fresh murder. But who? When and how?
How did this happen? How can anyone do it with us nearby?
"T-The blood is fresh… very fresh." Madame Pomfrey said, "It hasn't been an hour, no, it hasn't even been half an hour."
She bit her lips, eyes fixated on the cut.
"He is here, the killer is still around here!"
And that's when the Headmaster's magic exploded —sending shivers down everyone's spine and making everyone fall on the ground.
Me included.
"Call…" His voice was cold, "Call everyone. We will find him…"
His eyes wandered around us before he roared out.
"CALL EVERYONE!"
…
…
[Morning of Monday — Ministry of Magic, Main Branch]
"We believe it is not the best idea to have a man unrelated to the matters of the ministry play a part in this discussion."
Objections were from every direction, quite a few annoyed while others angry at our presence.
"As for her, she no longer is even associated with the ministry. She gave up her position as an Auror and hence has no authority to be present in this meeting."
She was nervous, of course she was. She was a strong person but the people around us were much stronger, much more authoritative.
However, while the majority of the individuals in the room were against our involvement —The single most powerful one was all for us being here.
"And as the acting Minister of Magic, I invited them with my authority."
Minister West.
The man that had to step in as the Minister of Magic for a temporary period upon the death of Fudge, took his seat at the highest level.
"They have been my savior. During the Azkaban incident, if not for them, I too would have lost my life and given the constant attacks on the Ministers, this is a part of a big scheme." He was stern, much more authoritative and strong looking then the time we talked previously. "And considering the major probability of the events being connected, Darius Safar and Nymphadora Tonks are important for the progression of today's discussion."
Power, authority.
No matter where you lived, people with authority —people with power had the final say.
And Minister West held the highest level of power, even if temporary.
"But—"
Some protests still tried to make their way to him, yet it never reached.
"My word is final."
Silence fell on the room as the old minister sat straight on the throne sized chair.
"And gentlemen," he looked around. "This is the least of our concerns. I would appreciate it if everyone valued the matter at hand."
Two matters actually.
And both were severe.
"The death of Minister Fudge." He went through a document on his hand, "No. The murder of Minister Fudge is the first topic for today."
He stood as an acting minister of magic, which meant they had to choose a long term Minister of Magic soon enough.
But that could only be done after the solving of the matter at hand.
"At the start, there were suspicions that someone within the ministry had Minister Fudge executed." He said, going through heaps of documents. "Most have reasons. Be it for power, to permanently obtain this seat or to hide truths that he learnt of."
True. These were some possible motives.
However…
"Yet after examining all the possibilities, all these seem to have the least reason for his tragic death." He closed his eyes, as if mourning. "In your desks, there are a few files."
And true, there were some files.
Tonks looked at me, uneasy about the situation. I couldn't do much for her, but I did give a comforting smile.
"Go through them, and I believe that you will understand the situation a bit better."
Everyone was confused, but so were they equally invested.
While most of them stared at the document confused, and wondering what it might contain. I lost my patience and opened the file, revealing a bunch of letters and some mappings.
The letters were duplicate of originals, copied using magic like photocopying.
But going through them, I realized how messed up the situation was.
"This… this has to be fake…" A member of the Ministry muttered from the corner.
"I assure you," But Minister West had proof. "It is true. The writing is from Minister Fudge, the dates align with the events and we also have asked for a validation from Dumbledore, but you can be assured that it will be positive."
The whole room erupted in chatters, gossips and sheer looks of fear.
"How…"
Indeed, it drew that kind of reaction.
But why?
Simple, because the letters were conversations between Dumhledore and Fudge, going back and forth regarding a certain person and Fudge dismissing them each time.
Fudge did not expect their letters to be revealed as he did not expect to die. It was true that they had mechanisms to trace letters sent through and to the Ministry, and the Minister of Magic was no different. But only the Minister of Magic can have those logs, which Fudge did not expect to give up that early.
And not to mention, most of the letters were him dismissing Dumbledore.
Until he accepted in the final letter, but unfortunately—
"Sadly that last letter was never sent as it was incomplete."
Blood stains.
"It is believed that he died before the letter could be completed and if not for it dropping and getting stuck at the bottom of the table, we might never have thought of going through the letter logs this early."
So very interesting.
But for everyone else, this was horrific.
"But this just cannot be possible, sir."
"Gentlemen." Minister West took a straight stance, sitting straight and looking directly at everyone present. "While I admit this is hard to believe, quite horrific to even think of, but this horror is true."
The letters conveyed one simple message.
"Minister Fudge had hidden the truth for long, for reasons that we are still unaware of and probably will not understand for a while." His breathing was heavy, a sign of both old age and stress. "But even if he had reasons, even if he thought it was a lie at the start —he did admit that it was true by the end."
The end where he lost his life.
"There are proofs, cross referrals that I had to make but each word in those letters are the truth."
"I-If… I-If this is the truth then this is an XXXXX level situation, a nation wide threat."
How utterly undermined.
"Beyond that." Minister West knew that it was far messier than that. "This does not involve simply a nation, but the entire lands around us. This… This is a continental level threat." He took a deep breath, "Or one that can be of such level."
Why?
Simple.
"Notify all censor boards to prevent any news about it from spreading and beyond everything else, keep Rita Skeeter from publishing any of this."
He did not say to prevent her from learning about it. He knew well enough that she most likely had already figured out about it.
But the situation demanded that none but the ones in power knew about it for the moment.
Because chaos in public was the last thing any governing body would want.
"And with this, I declare this a XXXXXX level threat, the highest of the current time." He gulped thickly, "Prepare the Aurors and the scouts, increase the security around public places and make scouting duty mandatory for every Auror present."
Yes, this was simply that big of a deal.
"We will be taking the statements of everyone in the room, but for now… I declare the contents of the letter to be true and the instant implementation of Rule 366 under Section VII-A."
As for the rule—
"The Dark Lord subjugation mission is to be initiated right this instant."
Yes, it was about him.
"For he has returned."
"Voldemort."
…
…
[Afternoon — Hogwarts]
{Harry James Potter}
Why…
Why was this happening?
Why does everyone that I care about, that cares about me ends up hurt or… or dead.
Why does everyone that means something to me have to leave me?
"H-Harry?"
Should I leave?
Is it because of me?
"Are you okay Harry?"
"I… am not." I did not lie. At least not to them. They were my closest friends, "Why was he killed? What was his fault?"
What did he do? He was just a person that loved animals and the creatures that were shunned by everyone else.
"It… is horrible Harry." Hermione shared the same thoughts. "He was attacked by monsters and then…"
"But now he is at peace." Ron placed his hand over our shoulders. "He is at a better place, away from the pain and the fears."
Was he?
Were my parents also there?
"I heard tales that giants go to an Eden of endless happiness when they die." Ron took a seat between us, showing a cheerful expression but I knew it too —he was hurt.
When everyone, every prideful pureblood heir mocked him, Hagrid stood beside him, taking the mockery beside him to lower the embarrassment that Ron was made to feel.
"We are with you, Harry." With Ron's influence, Hermione too felt a little better. "We will be with you. Don't worry."
"Mhm." Ron nodded, "We will forever be friends and we will forever be with you."
That's…
I hope that is possible.
"And Professor Dumbledore called us, alone without telling anyone else." Hermione reminded, "We best not be late. He said it was important."
Yeah…
He did. If there was one person more heartbroken that I was, it was him. To him Hagrid was someone special, to most he was —but professor Dumbledore saw him as a child of his own.
He had known Hagrid for longer than I had been alive and I know he is hiding his pain in front of us, but inside, he is hurting the most.
Maybe… maybe he needs support too. Maybe he also needs someone to talk to him.
I have Ron and Hermione, does he have someone?
"Yeah," I slowly got up. "Let's go."
If he didn't, we could at least try to cheer him up a little.
Even if it meant cheering up myself first.
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