"He's over there, heading to the Department of Mysteries!" Headmaster Everard shouted from his portrait. I saw him… red eyes, long nose, ugly as sin… just like a snake!"
As his shouting echoed across the hall, more and more wizards pushed toward him.
Surrounded by his escorts, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, hurried over looking completely flustered.
"Mr. Fudge, I swear he was the Dark Lord!" Robards—the Auror who had fought Bellatrix Lestrange earlier—shouted in explanation. "Mr. Dumbledore and Mr. Moody just defeated him!"
"I think I know, Gawain… I know, I saw his shadow!" Fudge babbled, breathless and panting as if he'd run a marathon. His striped cloak was swaying, and underneath it he was still in his pajamas.
"Good heavens… here… here… in the Ministry?" The poor Minister was so nervous he could barely string a sentence together. "Merlin's beard… unbelievable… I mean… how could this…"
But what shocked Fudge even more… was seeing Lucius Malfoy tied up with ropes, his wand confiscated.
"How could they do this to you… Lucius, my friend… there must be some misunderstanding?" Fudge cried, stunned.
"Mr. Malfoy is their leader, Minister," said a blood-streaked Auror beside him, his face dark. "He led these Death Eaters. He nearly killed Williamson just now… Arthur took him down in time."
Arthur Weasley nodded at the Minister, the faintest smile tugging at his lips.
The poor Minister looked as though he might faint on the spot.
"Weasley… help me… Weasley…" he whispered weakly to his secretary.
Percy Weasley shot him a disdainful glance before silently edging closer to his father…
"Why are you here…" Fudge stammered, turning to Gawain Robards. "I mean… before we arrived, you were already fighting these Death Eaters, weren't you…"
"Professor Umbridge brought us here," Robards replied curtly, showing his Minister no courtesy at all.
"Dolores…" Cornelius Fudge clung to the name like a lifeline. "Where is Dolores… I must see her…"
"We didn't find her. She was probably killed by a Death Eater, then had her body destroyed…" the blood-smeared Auror said grimly. "Damn the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. We lost at least five comrades today… If we'd had any warning at all, it wouldn't have come to this…"
Still muttering, he shot Fudge a vicious glare.
Startled, the Minister staggered back several steps.
"Potter, is she your friend?!" A voice called out from the direction of the crystal-ball-filled chamber, cutting through the tension. It was a witch with jet-black hair and rosy cheeks—Hestia Jones—carrying a girl on her back.
"She's badly injured and can't speak. She needs to be taken to St. Mungo's immediately!" Hestia said seriously.
"Hermione…" Harry instantly recognized the girl slumped against Hestia. He rushed over, grabbing Hermione's hand. "What are you doing here?"
Hermione Granger used the last of her strength to pull her hand free… then collapsed unconscious against Hestia's back.
...
"I heard Professor Umbridge was hurt again, badly. She's in the hospital wing now…"
"No, I heard she died. The Order of Merlin plans to award her a posthumous Medal of Bravery…"
"Sounds like what Dumbledore and Potter said was true. The Dark Lord really has returned. They fought him at the Ministry just a few hours ago…"
After rumors spread of Headmistress Dolores Umbridge's "death," the Hogwarts students seemed far less afraid of Christopher Patrick—and some even dared to whisper in front of him.
Jon ignored them. He held a bag in his hand… inside it, a heap of charred remains. From the outside, you'd hardly guess they had once been a diary and a Diadem.
Jon saw Professor Minerva McGonagall striding down the corridor, her face unusually bright with a childlike smile.
Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout walked behind her.
"Professor Dumbledore is coming back…" Professor McGonagall said excitedly. "I just received word—he's been reinstated as Headmaster of Hogwarts… He'll be back on campus in just a few hours!"
Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout also broke into wide grins, clearly delighted—though not nearly as much as Professor McGonagall.
The three teachers passed Jon without noticing him.
Jon kept his eyes on the distant horizon beyond the window. He was waiting for Dumbledore to call for him…
Was everything finally ending? Voldemort must have been severely wounded tonight.
He just needed to tell Dumbledore about the Horcruxes and reveal the locations of the remaining ones. Then his mission should be done, right?
No… he should also accompany Dumbledore to retrieve Marvolo Gaunt's ring—make sure the Resurrection Stone didn't cloud his judgment and leave him with only a year of life.
As Jon pondered this, a golden halo slowly appeared beside him.
The Phoenix flew to Jon, nodded, then extended its tail toward him.
Jon gently took hold of Fawkes's tail feathers, and the world spun around him, swallowed by swirling gold and crimson—
...
When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find himself in Hogsmeade.
Fawkes had brought him from the Post Office on the main street to a small side path near a crossroads…
And standing before him was a small, shabby building: the Hog's Head Pub.
Even in June, the pub's barkeep—the odd, irritable old man—was wrapped head to toe in rags.
He looked up at Jon, seemed annoyed… then lowered his head again, continuing to feed his goats.
Meanwhile, another kindly old man stepped out of the pub, his blue eyes sweeping over the boy.
Albus Dumbledore spoke gently. "Long time no see, Jon."