The first light of dawn rose slowly over the distant horizon.
Hogwarts Castle had settled back into uneasy stillness.
The students were back in their respective common rooms, fast asleep. The Aurors and professors had resumed their posts. Even the ghosts floated drowsily in midair, nodding off.
Only a faint acrid scent lingering in the air served as a reminder of what had taken place within the castle.
Professor Minerva McGonagall stepped out of Gryffindor Tower. At this hour, getting every Gryffindor student into bed had clearly taken no small effort.
She quickened her pace toward the eighth floor, catching up to the figure walking ahead.
"Professor Dumbledore…" she called softly.
"Minerva…" Albus Dumbledore stopped. His face, too, was lined with exhaustion. "Good evening… no—good morning, I should say."
Professor McGonagall allowed herself a brief smile before asking in a serious tone, "How is it? Have you extinguished those dreadful flames?"
"I believe so…" Dumbledore nodded wearily. "How are the students and professors? There were no casualties, I hope?"
"It could have been far worse," she replied. "The fighting on both fronts didn't affect the ordinary students. A few Aurors guarding the gates suffered minor injuries. And Hagrid—he appears to have been bitten by some strange magical creature, but it isn't serious."
"…The only one badly hurt is Horace. He's still unconscious, but Madam Pomfrey says he should recover soon," Professor McGonagall continued. "I was just on my way to the Hospital Wing to see him. Headmaster, would you care to join me?"
"No," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "I think I need to rest for a while. There's still a complete mess to sort out with the Order of the Phoenix…"
"The Order of the Phoenix…" Professor McGonagall's brow tightened at once. "I heard some terrible news… about Kingsley… Kingsley, he…"
"Ah—" Albus Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "You should get some rest as well, Minerva."
With that, he lowered his head and walked into the Headmaster's Office.
Professor Minerva McGonagall lingered for a moment before the enormous stone gargoyle. She lifted a hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes, then quietly departed.
...
Inside the Headmaster's Office, however, the atmosphere was far less bleak.
"Everything is unfolding exactly as planned…" a balding former Headmaster announced loudly. "Jon, just as you predicted, that boy Draco Malfoy left the school two hours ago. His current whereabouts are unknown…"
"I've been keeping an ear on the Hospital Wing. The Potions professor should wake up before noon. It was only a Stunning Spell…"
"I've also notified the Ministry at just the right moment. The Daily Prophet won't publish any details about the attack—but most Ministry officials will 'accidentally' come to know the truth…"
The portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses chattered animatedly.
Jon Hart dropped into the Headmaster's chair with a sigh.
"To be honest… I'd very much like to get some sleep right now," he said helplessly. "Unfortunately, there's still one more matter I have to deal with."
As he spoke, he took an unremarkable iron ring from his pocket and slipped it onto his finger.
"I truly don't understand… what was the point of staging such an elaborate performance?" Phineas Black's voice suddenly came from one side of the wall. "Do you honestly expect that Malfoy boy to accomplish anything?"
The once noisy office fell silent at once.
All the former Headmasters and Headmistresses pricked up their ears, though outwardly each pretended to be occupied with their own affairs.
"Phineas, have you forgotten our duty?" Dilys Derwent reprimanded, sounding displeased. "We are not required to know everything—only to carry out what must be done."
"I'm simply curious!" Phineas Black grinned shamelessly.
"There's nothing particularly secret about it," Jon said, shaking his head. "I did this because the current situation is extremely disadvantageous to us."
"Oh? And why is that?" Phineas Black immediately perked up.
"There's one harsh reality," Jon said calmly. "Every Fidelius Charm for which Albus Dumbledore acted as Secret Keeper has collapsed."
"What?" Phineas Black blurted, then hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Albus Dumbledore is dead. His soul returned to this world in another form. As a result, any spell tied to his soul has become invalid," Jon continued. "Take the Order of the Phoenix headquarters at 12 Grimmauld Place. Everyone who learned its address directly from Albus Dumbledore has now become its Secret Keeper."
"And not just the headquarters. Several other Order safe houses are now compromised as well."
"So that's why you…" Dilys Derwent murmured thoughtfully.
"Yes. I considered countless options, but I couldn't find an effective solution," Jon nodded. "If the Death Eaters realize this, they will immediately deduce that 'Albus Dumbledore' has died unexpectedly. Without Dumbledore as a deterrent, Tom would be free to appear openly. Hogwarts could very well fall into danger."
"So you manufactured this incident?" Phineas Black asked in a low voice.
"Exactly." Jon smiled faintly. "Gellert Grindelwald, escaping from Nurmengard, breaking Dumbledore's Fidelius Charm, and launching simultaneous attacks on the Order of the Phoenix and Hogwarts… It strains credibility—but it will suffice."
"And Tom hasn't been having an easy time lately. Faced with such an unexpected 'surprise,' I imagine he'll be quite content to sit back and watch the two sides clash, keeping a low profile for a while."
"But how long can you keep this hidden, Jon?" Dilys Derwent asked worriedly.
"I don't know," Jon replied calmly. "We won't need long to turn the tide."
As he spoke, he glanced at his watch.
"It's about time." He rose to his feet and murmured to himself, "Time to send our friend out of Britain."