Fury ran through Harry as he looked back at how he had fought against Voldemort. He wanted power. If the muggle loving fools were too weak to get it, why should he be too?
The veil had been replaced by a black stone wall that looked impossible to ever walk through. The now clear figure of Lucius Malfoy came into view in front of it. Harry grinned apologetically to his fellow Death Eater, who looked as though he would very much like to hit Harry, but held back this urge. Hermione and Sirius turned to him, Hermione with an expression as though saying “You know I’m always right.” Sirius looked different somehow. His eyes were black, rather than their normal gray.
Many loud cracking noises came into the room, followed by the dark figures of Death Eaters, all standing on the benches made of stone. Harry was the only one left standing on the dais. Lucius slowly walked down the benches so that he was facing Harry on the first row.
“Now, Potter, that you have decided to see things in the proper way, you can help us greatly.” he said, ignoring the small snickers coming from the surrounding Death Eaters. “You see, you broke the Dark Lord’s prophecy when he only knew half of what it contains. The thing that he did know, however, was that you are the one who can kill the Dark Lord. So if you would just let the Dark Lord kill you, he could─”
“Be able to live without the lingering threat of the boy who lived,” came a cold voice from behind them all. Death Eaters scrambled out of the way to give their Dark Lord a clear path. Lucius stepped aside and the Dark Lord took his place.
“Stand before me Potter, for your death will be your greatest feat,” said the Dark Lord as he drew his wand from the air, and walked slowly towards Harry.
Harry looked at all the Death Eaters and then to Sirius, who had an odd expression, as though he didn’t want Harry to die. His eyes were now a bright gray colour; the same one Harry remembered when Sirius wasn’t a Death Eater. Harry had a small feeling from looking into his eyes, as though he was doing the wrong thing.
Sirius was inching to the back of the amphitheater out of sight from everyone but Harry. Why did he want power? What would he do with it? It was as though Sirius was asking him all these questions, making Harry realize he shouldn’t be there.
Behind him there was an odd ruffling noise. Harry turned his head to look at it. The veil was rippling back and forth rather than the stone wall. Harry tried to run for it, but any sudden movement simply replaced it with the black stone wall.
It happened all at once. Voldemort raised his wand to perform the curse. In the first row of benches Hermione made an odd jolting movement, as though trying to stop him but then changing her mind. In the very back of the amphitheater a great back dog had replaced Sirius and was sprinting down the benches. A get of green flew from Voldemort’s wand. Harry’s knees buckled but not from his own intention. The great black dog that was Sirius had grabbed the hood of his robes and thrust him into the veil. Harry’s back hit the fabric and fell through. Voldemort’s curse had hit the veil, causing it to catch fire.
Harry was freed from his thoughts. He stood from outside the flaming veil. Hermione too had been forced out of the veil, and watched it burn with amazement. They ran up the benches towards the door. There was an instant uproar behind the veil.
“BLACK!”
“THE DARK LORD TRUSTED─”
“KILL HIM! ” shrieked a cold voice over all of them.
A burst of green light could be seen through the burnt holes in the veil. Harry stopped running and looked back, about to sprint back down the benches. Hermione grabbed a handful of his sleeve, causing him to fall painfully on his knee. “Harry! We have to go! ” Hermione cried tugging on his sleeve. She was right. Sirius had just sacrificed himself for Harry’s life, and he wasn’t about to mess that up.
Death Eaters came sprawling out of the veil. Harry and Hermione managed to lunge through the door just before the room was lit up with red stunning spells. “Which door is the exit?” whispered Hermione. Harry looked around.
“I dunno,” Harry said, “It’s not any of the marked ones though.” Hermione opened a door and peered in. She shook her head and closed it, marking it before the walls turned.
The door knob to the room with the veil shifted. Harry motioned Hermione over. “Just pick one! ” he said opening a door and pushing her and himself in.
Somehow, miraculously, they had ended up in the Ministry’s Atrium. Harry nearly laughed in relief, but Hermione grabbed his arm. “This isn’t right Harry. This isn’t the Atrium.”
“But then where ─” Harry started.
“I don’t know, but this isn’t the Atrium. We should go back.” whispered Hermione.
No sooner than Harry agreed to this idea did the room start to change. The corners of the room rounded and the tiles turned to a black stone. The Atrium had turned into the circular room. Hermione looked around at it with fascination.
“Oh,” she whispered in a relieved tone, “it’s just like the Room of Requirements, except…” she examined the room. “Except it gives you the room you need rather than the item.”
Harry looked carefully into her eyes. “You sure?” he asked her. He didn’t trust the Department of Mysteries to have something that simple.
“Yes.” Hermione stated. Harry thought quickly about the room he had first come in. Immediately the corners over the room sharpened and grew white. Harry pulled Hermione over to the fireplace.
“Go to Professor Dumbledore’s office.” he told her, “I’ll be there after you.” Hermione stared strait into his emerald eyes. She looked as though Harry was saving her life in asking her to do so.
Hermione threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “Thank you.” she whispered in his ear, and then lost herself in the fire.
Something behind him clicked but no one was there. Harry reached out for the floo powder, but before he could, the room changed. The ceiling grew as high as a church, and the floor extended, turning an endless shade of black. Other than that the room was empty.
Harry gripped his wand and glanced around the room. A cold voice echoed from behind him. “Potter, you have proved to be nothing more than an embarrassment, a nuisance, in which I can finally say good bye to. AVADA KEDAVRA!”
Harry whipped around in time to see the unforgivable curse hurl towards him. Another figure appeared from nowhere. There was nothing there to block the curse from hitting Harry. Albus Dumbledore had just appeared into the room, looking wildly at the scene before him. He gave his wand an odd thrust forward and a large jet of deep purple light came in contact with the curse.
The curse and Dumbledore’s spell were momentarily suspended in mid air. Harry could feel a force from Dumbledore’s spell as it hit. It consumed the curse, leaving just an orb of deep purple glowing in between Harry and Voldemort.
Harry didn’t understand. There was no counter curse for the killing curse. Why had Dumbledore been able to stop it?
The orb imploded on it’s self. The moment it did Harry’s question was answered. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the frail figure of Albus Dumbledore fall to the ground. Mortified by the sight, Harry stepped backwards. Helpless was the last word to describe Dumbledore, but now it seemed that he was quite helpless.
Voldemort laughed triumphantly at his lifeless body. Harry wanted nothing more than to cause him more pain than was possible. Harry charged at him, no longer fearing his power. He pointed his wand strait at his heart. His wand was now the only outlet for his anger. He concentrated on everything that happened because of Voldemort.
His parents’ death, the Longbottoms insanity, Pettigrew’s betrayal, the Triwizard tournament, the death of Hermione’s parents, Mrs. Weasley’s boggart and his godfather’s thirteen years in Azkaban and death flashed before Harry’s eyes.
“LET THE ONE THING YOU FEAR CONSUME YOUR LIFE!” Harry bellowed, “AVADA KEDAVRA!” he cried, his voice cracking slightly. All of the pain Voldemort had caused him was compressed into one jet of green light, which burst from Harry’s wand.
Voldemort’s eyes widened. The curse hurdled at him, and there was nothing to save him. As the one thing Voldemort feared flew towards him, he fled, disappearing from the room entirely.
Harry was left alone in the room with nothing but Dumbledore’s lifeless body. “YOU CAN’T RUN FROM DEATH VOLDEMORT!” Harry screamed at the air, “I’LL MAKE SURE OF THAT! ONE DAY YOU WILL BOW TO DEATH, AND I’LL BE THE ONE TO DO IT!"
Harry looked around the room before collapsing to his knees. He was now responsible for the death of the greatest sorcerer in the world.
A horrible song drew nearer to the room. It sounded like a Phoenix song, but it couldn’t be. The phoenix song brought him hope, but this highlighted Dumbledore’s death. He looked up to the window and saw Fawkes fly through it.
The bird seemed to be dying before his eyes. Harry watched it as it flew across the church high ceiling. Just as it was directly over Dumbledore’s body it began to fall. The song died away as the once magnificent bird fell through the air.
It landed clumsily on Dumbledore. Frail and crumpled, it lifted it’s head into the air, and gave the horrible screech, just before bursting into flame.
Harry felt as though a thousand Dementors were in the room, sucking all hope from the world around him. He looked over to the ashes where the phoenix had once been. Nothing was reborn. The ashes lay still, finalizing Dumbledore’s death.
The door burst open. Harry lifted his wand to any Death Eater that chose to cross his path, but no Death Eater appeared. Lupin, Kingsley, Tonks, and Moody shuffled in and glanced around at the room.
“Dumbledore!” gasped Tonks. Everyone’s gaze fell to Dumbledore’s body. Everyone but Lupin, who’s expression was however grave, looked mortified.
Harry’s stomach lurched. None of them but Lupin knew about the prophecy. He was responsible for his godfather and Dumbledore’s death, and there was no Dumbledore to tell him otherwise.
Moody pulled out a coin from his robes and muttered “Portus!” and thrust it furiously into Harry’s chest, who took it just before a sharp feeling behind his navel transported him away from the scene.