Hogwarts, Headmasters Office.
The air was as heavy as a sponge soaked in the chill of a tomb, pressing down on everyone's lungs; every breath carried the cold taste of rust and the dampness of despair.
The core members of the Order of the Phoenix were gathered here.
The magic-driven flames in the fireplace danced tirelessly, their golden-red glow reflecting on everyone's faces, yet failing to dispel the bone-deep gravity and gloom.
Professor McGonagall held a cup of black tea that had long since gone cold.
Her voice carried a raspiness and exhaustion she hadn't even noticed: "I'm sorry, everyone. Dumbledore seems to have a very urgent matter to attend to; he is temporarily away from Hogwarts."
"It's alright, Minerva." Sirius Black paced back and forth in the room like a restless beast trapped in a cage, the sound of his leather boots striking the stone floor exceptionally piercing in the dead silence.
"Lord Voldemort's lackeys are only gathering; they don't have the guts to launch a general offensive yet. We'll wait for Albus to return; he always comes back."
Despite his words, his anxious eyes swept across the heavy night outside the window again and again, waiting for that familiar tall figure.
Lupin leaned against a massive bookshelf, his face paler than moonlight. He nodded silently, but between his tightly furrowed brows, a premonition of great calamity—born from his Werewolf instincts—was winding around his heart like cold vines.
Just then.
"Voom—!"
A strange fluctuation of energy, a mix of scorching sun and ancient incense, exploded without warning in the center of the office!
A brilliant golden pillar of light, too bright for mortals to look at, appeared out of thin air, as if a corner of the sun had been forcibly stuffed into the room.
The light was warm and pure, accompanied by a high-pitched cry of a Phoenix that was sorrowful to the extreme, yet carried a sense of liberation!
"Fawkes!" Harry cried out. Everyone recognized it—that was Fawkes's aura, Dumbledore's power!
The light lasted for less than a second before it shattered and dissipated like a broken mirror.
"Bang!!"
"Crash—!"
The moment the pillar of light vanished, two figures were thrown as if from ten thousand meters high, slamming heavily onto the solid oak table covered with a purple velvet tablecloth!
The long table let out a painful groan of impending death, and the mountain of teacups on it was knocked into the air before crashing to the floor in a heap.
"Hermione!"
Ron's cry tore through his throat. He wanted to rush forward, but his legs felt as heavy as lead, paralyzed by the sight before him.
"Lia!"
Harry also sprang from his chair, his heart drumming frantically in his chest.
Everyone was pinned to the spot by this sudden scene, as if a divine punishment had descended.
On the table, Hermione Granger was soaking wet, as if she had just been fished out of the cold Black Lake, her black Wizard robes clinging tightly to her body.
Her signature thick, bushy brown curls were now messily stuck to her deathly pale face. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her brow was furrowed in pain, as if imprisoned by the deepest nightmare.
Even in her coma, a single tear escaped the corner of her eye, and her lips moved, letting out a faint whisper: "Li... a..."
Beside her was the Cat-girl named Lia.
Her condition could no longer be described as "bad"; she was like a broken doll that had been cruelly dismembered and then hastily patched back together.
Her Hogwarts school robes had long since shredded into filthy rags, and on her exposed snow-white skin, hideous and terrifying wounds swirled with black energy.
The gashes cut by Sectumsempra were deep enough to show bone, with jagged white fragments clearly visible.
Most heart-stopping of all, she was silent and still. That slender body, once full of explosive power, lay there stiffly, her chest showing no sign of movement.
Those eyes, which usually sparkled with agility and cunning like the purest sapphires, were now dull and lifeless, her pupils dilated, completely devoid of the spark of life.
"Quick! Call Madam Pomfrey!"
Professor McGonagall's voice became sharp and distorted from extreme shock; she could barely hold her wand.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was the first to react. He stepped forward, tapped his wand, and used a Levitation Charm to move the two girls from the messy table to the long sofa nearby.
Just then, as the echo of the Phoenix's cry completely faded, golden specks of dust slowly converged where they had fallen.
Within the light dust, an extremely blurred, semi-transparent figure flashed by—it was Dumbledore.
His form was ethereal, as if a gust of wind could blow it away, and his expression was grim.
He didn't look at any of the horrified faces in the room; a trace of unreadable, complex emotion flashed through his phantom eyes.
Finally, his gaze passed through everyone and rested deeply on Harry.
In that look, there was encouragement, apology, and the heavy burden of entrusting the entire world to him.
"Dumbledore!" Sirius shouted hoarsely, his voice carrying a childlike fear he hadn't even noticed.
The phantom figure's lips seemed to move as he gave a slight smile and departed: "I'm sorry, children, I'm afraid I won't be of much help anymore."
"Albus! What on earth is going on!" McGonagall's voice trembled.
"Was it Lord Voldemort?" Harry's voice shook violently with overwhelming rage. "Or was it Snape?"
He turned abruptly, his gaze murderous, and stared fixedly at the oak door of the office that had been suddenly pushed open.
Severus Snape stood there.
He was still in his perennial old black robes, as if he had turned himself into a walking shadow.
His face was gloomier than the specimens in the Dungeon, filled with undisguised malice and loathing.
His gaze quickly swept across the room, finally fixing on the two unconscious girls on the sofa.
"It wasn't the Dark Lord," Snape spoke, his voice as raspy as two pieces of rusty iron rubbing together.
His voice wasn't loud, yet it caused the temperature of the entire room to plummet. "It was them."
He raised his thin hand, his index finger pulled taut with force, pointing straight at Hermione and Lia.
"What the hell are you talking about, Snivellus!"
Sirius exploded instantly. His pent-up fear and sorrow turned into pure rage. He lunged forward like a madman, only to be held back by Lupin with all his strength.
"I'm talking nonsense?"
Snape let out a piercing sneer. Ignoring Sirius, he took a step forward and glared at Harry.
"Potter! How do you think your high-and-mighty Principal died? He died cleaning up the mess for your two foolish, arrogant little troll friends who were blinded by a false sense of justice!"
"Shut up!" Harry drew his wand and pointed it at Snape.
"Shut up?" Snape's mockery grew even stronger. "According to the original plan, Dumbledore was supposed to die by my hand! For a greater victory!"
With that one sentence, the room fell into a shocked silence.
"He was going to use my hand to trade for You-Know-Who's final and unreserved trust! He was going to use his 'death' to lull that madman into a false sense of security, to protect his most precious savior—you, you fool!
Everything was arranged: every detail, every step, even the expressions of every damn person!"
Snape's speech grew faster, as if he were spewing a century's worth of accumulated venom; it was both an outlet and a desperate wail.
"But!" He suddenly raised his voice, his bloodshot eyes staring at Harry as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
"Because of your two 'good friends'! Their unauthorized actions!
Their ridiculous and pathetic 'bravery'! Like two brainless moths, they flew straight into You-Know-Who's arms!
To save them, to keep the entire plan from collapsing at the last moment, Dumbledore died at the hands of that half-blood!"
"He exhausted his last strength to send these two pieces of trash back.
And he himself doesn't even have a corpse left! What can he do now? Turn into a shadow and teach you History of Magic Class?!"
[Dumbledore didn't actually die; becoming like Professor Binns should be acceptable... Heh~]
...Thank you all for your support. Since this is my first time using this, I just wanted to write a story at first. I only found out where to look at gifts after checking. Thank you very, very much for your support; you are truly my greatest motivation!
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