Harriet Potter

Dumbledore's shrill screams echoed in the cave across the silent Black Lake.

I had dreams like that: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Remus... all around me, falling at my feet, I kneel in their blood, Voldemort stepped on them dead body looking down on me.But even in my worst dreams, Dumbledore is majestically engulfed in flames, or slowly toppled like a monument, like a silent film, symbolizing the end of an era.Not like this, twitching on wet rocks, interceding for someone I couldn't see between screams, with the voice of my mother holding me over my cradle.

When I poured him the seventh cup of potion, I wondered if this was the purpose of Dumbledore bringing me here, in the name of obeying orders, asking me to pry open his mouth and pour him a potion that would cause extreme pain, Because he knows I hate him and I would never do that to anyone just because I hate them.

By the time I downed the eighth cup, I was pretty sure.Dumbledore fell to the ground, screaming again and pounding the ground with his fists, while I scooped up the ninth cup.

Dumbledore began to beg for death when he drank the tenth cup, and he couldn't say anything except "Let me die" when he drank the No.11 cup. Stone basin for medicine.

"Finish—just finish this one!" I grabbed Dumbledore's shoulders, "Just this one...it's almost over...it's over!"

Dumbledore gulped down the last drop of the potion, and then, gasping for breath, he rolled face down on the ground.I threw the cup into the stone basin, knelt on the ground and stared at Dumbledore's still twitching body. Without the potion, the green fluorescent cave became darker and larger, and there was a slight slapping sound from the end of the surrounding lake, maybe it was The corpses under the lake sensed that the medicine basin was empty and began to move.I should have put away the locket on the bottom of the pelvis, or pulled out my wand to prepare for the attack, then I decided to turn Dumbledore over first, his glasses were askew, his mouth was wide open, his eyes were closed, see There is no vitality in it.Maybe Dumbledore lied to me, the potion was lethal and I poured it into his mouth.

"What should I do now?" I shook him, and my trembling voice came back from the cave wall, "What should I do? Wake up! Wake up! I—" I finally remembered my wand, "Recover vitality!"

Dumbledore's eyelids twitched, and he said hoarsely, "Water..."

"Water," I repeated, "OK..."

I grabbed the cup I had just thrown into the stone basin, only to find that the Clear Water Curse couldn't fill it.What happened next was entirely predictable, and Voldemort arranged that there was only one place where I could get water.Dumbledore gasped heavily again, and I jumped to the edge of the rock to scoop up a glass of lake water and poured it on Dumbledore's face.I couldn't have done better, dead men, women and children grabbed me, and slowly but without hesitation dragged me underwater with their white, sticky hands.I struggled, throwing all the spells I knew at random around me, knowing I couldn't get out.I'll be drowned, another Inferi guarding one of Voldemort's soul fragments... don't know if that's enough to destroy Voldemort's soul fragment...

But at this moment, flames appeared in the darkness.A bright, red-gold ring of fire surrounded the rock, and the Inferi that clung to me staggered and swayed one by one.They dared not go through the fire into the lake, so they left me.I fell on the rock, burning pain from the bruise on my arm, and saw Dumbledore standing up again, as pale as the Inferi around him, but taller than them all, with fire in his eyes beat.His wand was held aloft like a torch, and flames shot out from the tip of the wand, like a huge and warm noose, surrounding the Inferi.Inferi bumped into each other, dazed to escape the flames that surrounded them.

"Sir," I gasped, "sir, I forgot--forgot the fire--they sprang at me and frightened me--"

"Understandable," murmured Dumbledore, and I was horrified to hear the weakness of his voice.

Dumbledore put away the locket, and the boat we had squeezed in, skimmed the dark water back, away from the rocks still surrounded by the ring of fire.The Inferi that floated underwater seemed never to dare to show their faces again.With a soft bang, we reached the shore, and I jumped out of the boat first, and turned around to help Dumbledore.As soon as Dumbledore came ashore, the hand that held his wand dropped, the ring of fire disappeared, but the Inferi did not emerge from the lake again.The boat sank again, and the chain jingled back into the water.Dumbledore sighed heavily and leaned against the rock wall of the cave.

I took most of his weight, used the blood on my arm to open the archway, and swam him through the icy water before dragging him up to the top of the giant boulders.I was too tired to stand up, but Dumbledore was extremely pale and looked exhausted, and he had stopped talking, and the silence bothered me more than the feeble voice just now.

"It's going to be all right, sir," I said over and over, "it's almost there...I can Disapparate and take us both back...don't worry..."

"I'm not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, with a little more strength in his voice, "I'm with you."

I wished I'd drank Felicia on the way out when I Apparated, but I managed to focus on my destination and get us both back to Hogsmeade.Thanks Occlumency.We were standing on the dark road in Hogsmeade, shaking and dripping from our clothes.In a daze, I seemed to see another ghost coming out of some shops, pressing towards me step by step, but when I blinked, I found that there was no movement.There was silence all around, the night was very dark, only a few street lamps and a few lighted windows upstairs could be seen.

"We did it, Professor!" I whispered with great effort. "We did it! We got the Horcruxes!"

But Dumbledore collapsed on the ground, and I threw myself beside him, trying to keep myself from screaming for help.I thought of Aberforth, but the Hog's Head was a ways off—

"That's right... call God to protect you!"

As the stag dissipated into the air, Madame Rosmerta ran toward us down the dark street in plush high-heeled slippers and a silk dressing gown embroidered with dragons.

"I saw you apparating when I drew the bedroom curtains just now! Thank goodness, thank goodness, I don't know what to- eh, what's going on with Albus?" She stopped, her eyes widening, and she looked down at the Dumbledore.

"He's hurt," I said. "Mrs. Rosmerta, can you put him in the Three Broomsticks for a while while I get help from the school?"

"You can't go back alone! Didn't you see—didn't you see—?"

"Help him up, please," I said without listening to her, "I think we can get him in—"

"What's the matter?" asked Dumbledore. "Rosmerta, what's going on?"

"Black—Dark Mark, Albus."

I looked in the direction of her finger, and it was hanging over the school: a dazzling green skeleton with a snake-like tongue sticking out of its mouth, Death Eaters broke into a building whenever... wherever Killing a person...will leave such a mark...

"When did it appear?" asked Dumbledore, struggling to his feet, his hands gripping my shoulders painfully.

"Must have been a few minutes ago, the cat wasn't there when I let it out, but when I got upstairs—"

"What the hell is this?" said Aberforth gruffly, coming out of a side alley, wand raised, also in his dressing gown, his silver hair and beard fluttering in the air.Then he also saw the Dark Mark, cursed viciously, and walked over to Dumbledore.

"That's not an acceptable word," said Dumbledore.

Rosmerta and I stared at him with wide-eyed eyes. Aberforth seemed to be taken aback for a moment, and then cursed again louder, and this time I didn't fully understand its meaning.

"I think you're fine, old man. You're all right." He lifted Dumbledore up, cursing and complaining about his dressing gown, which was immediately soaked.

I stared at the two of them dumbfounded, and it wasn't until Dumbledore spoke again that I remembered again that the people in the castle were in danger.

"We need to get back to the castle at once," said Dumbledore, leaning on his brother, who seemed to be taking the initiative to control the situation, although he was still a little staggering on his feet. "We need transportation - broomsticks -"

"I've got two behind the bar," said Rosmerta, looking horrified, "shall I run and get them—?"

"No, Harry can do it."

I immediately raised my wand.

"Rosmerta's broom is coming!"

There was a loud bang, and the bar's front door was knocked open.The two brooms whized into the street, chasing each other to our side, and then suddenly stopped at waist height, trembling slightly.

"Aberforth, please send a message to the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore said as he rode on the broom closest to him, "Maybe people inside Hogwarts don't know what happened...Harry , put on your invisibility cloak."

I donned my cloak as I said, and mounted another.

"Riding this thing with such virtue? Don't say I didn't warn you when you broke your neck." Aberforth complained, watching his brother almost leaning on the broom.

"I promise you a picture then." Dumbledore smiled weakly. "Nice to meet you, Aberforth."

Aberforth muttered something more, and by the time we kicked off the ground and into the air, Madam Rosmerta was already stumbling towards her bar.The two broomsticks flew quickly towards the castle. I glanced sideways at Dumbledore, trying to help him if he fell, but the appearance of the Dark Mark seemed to give Dumbledore a shot in the arm. Eyes fixed on the Dark Mark, long silver hair and beard fluttering in the night sky behind him.I also looked at the skeleton, fear expanding like a poisonous bubble, squeezing my lungs.

I don't know how long we've been away, but judging by the situation in Hogsmeade, the people in the castle should also be asleep.Ron and Hermione won't be too worried if they know where I'm going, they'll take care of other people's questions, and there's no reason for Alvin to be out at this hour... but who happened to make the Dark Mark appear in the sky...?

Dumbledore had passed the jagged castle walls and was getting off his broom.Seconds later, I landed next to him, looking around.The walls were deserted, and the doors leading to the spiral staircase inside the castle were closed.There was no sign of a struggle, nor a body in sight.

"What does this mean?" I asked, looking up at the green skeleton in the sky, its snakelike tongue gleaming sinisterly above their heads. "Is this mark real? Someone actually was— professor?"

In the dim green light of the Dark Mark, I saw Dumbledore clutching his chest with that charred hand.

"Go and wake Severus," said Dumbledore weakly but clearly, "tell him what happened and tell him to come to me right away. Do nothing else, don't talk to anyone. Speak, and don't take off your invisibility cloak. I'll wait here."

"But--"

"You swear to obey me, Harriet—go!"

Driven by instinct, my body turned to the door leading to the spiral staircase, and then a thought poured down like a basin of ice water. "This is the time, isn't it? You want him to kill you?"

"Listen, Harriet—"

"No!" I yelled, throwing off the cloak, "I won't assist your stupid suicide plan! You won't die tonight! I'm going to Pomfrey—"

I was suddenly unable to move as I watched Dumbledore pounce on me at a speed I didn't expect him to do, and put the cloak back on me.He supported my stiff body to breathe for a while, tried to straighten up, and stepped back. At this time, I also heard footsteps coming from behind the door.

The door was knocked open suddenly, and a person broke in, shouting at the same time: "Disarm you!"

With the green light of the Dark Mark, I saw Dumbledore's wand draw an arc in the air and fly out of the wall.