HARRY POTTER Book 4: Chapter 36
Chapter 36
TWO WAYS FORWARD
Dumbledore stands up. He looks down at Barty Crouch, Jr.. His face is hard and serious. Then he raises his wand. Ropes fly out and wrap tightly around Crouch’s body. They hold his arms and legs so he cannot move. “Minerva, could you stand guard here while I take Harry upstairs?” he asks. “Of course,” Professor McGonagall says. She looks pale, but her hand is steady as she points her wand at Crouch.
“Severus,” Dumbledore says, “please tell Madam Pomfrey to come. Moody needs help. Then find Cornelius Fudge and bring him to my office.” Snape nods and leaves quickly. His robes move behind him as he goes. “Harry?” Dumbledore says gently. Harry stands, but he almost falls. His leg hurts again now that the danger is over. His whole body is shaking.
Dumbledore takes his arm and helps him into the dark corridor. “I want you to come to my office first,” Dumbledore says quietly. “Sirius is waiting for us there.” Harry nods. He feels numb. He does not want to think. But the images come back again and again. The graveyard. The cauldron. Voldemort’s return. Cedric’s body on the ground.
“Professor,” Harry says quietly, “where are Mr. and Mrs. Diggory?” “They are with Professor Sprout,” Dumbledore says. His voice shakes slightly now. “She knew Cedric well.” They reach the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore says the password. The gargoyle moves aside. They step onto the moving stairs and go up.
The door opens. Sirius is inside. He moves fast across the room. “Harry, are you all right? What happened?” He helps Harry into a chair. His hands are shaking. “What happened?” Sirius asks again. Dumbledore begins to speak. He explains everything Crouch said. Harry listens, but only a little. He feels very tired. His body is heavy. He wants to close his eyes.
There is a soft sound of wings. Fawkes flies down and lands on Harry’s knee. Harry touches the bird’s feathers. They are warm and soft. It makes him feel calmer. Dumbledore sits down across from him. He watches Harry carefully. “I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey,” he says. “We can wait,” Sirius says quickly. “Let him rest.”
But Dumbledore shakes his head. “If I could take away the pain, I would,” he says. “But it will come back stronger later. You have been very brave. I ask you to be brave one more time. Tell us what happened.” Fawkes lets out a soft sound. Harry feels warmth inside his chest. He takes a deep breath. Then he begins.
He tells them everything. The graveyard. The potion in the cauldron. The Death Eaters arriving one by one. Cedric falling. His body on the ground next to the Cup. As he speaks, the memories return clearly. He sees them again, like pictures in his mind.
Sirius makes a small sound, like he is going to say something. But Dumbledore lifts his hand to stop him. Harry keeps talking. It is hard, but it also helps. It feels like something dark is leaving him. It is a great relief. When Harry speaks about Wormtail cutting his arm, Sirius shouts in anger. Dumbledore stands quickly. “Show me,” he says.
Harry pulls back his sleeve. There is a cut on his arm. “He said my blood would make him stronger,” Harry says. “He said he could touch me now. And he did. He touched my face.” For a moment, Dumbledore’s eyes flash with a strange look. Like Dumbledore is happy. Then his face becomes calm again. “Continue, Harry,” he says.
Harry goes on. He explains about Voldemort coming out of the cauldron. He explains Voldemort’s speech to the Death Eaters. He explains the duel. The spells. The bright golden light from his wand. Then he stops. He cannot speak. The memory is too strong. Cedric. The old man. Bertha Jorkins. His parents.
“The wands connected?” Sirius asks. “Why?” Dumbledore looks at Harry. “Priori Incantatem,” he says quietly. “The Reverse Spell?” Sirius says. “Yes,” Dumbledore says. “The two wands share the same core. A feather from the same phoenix.” He points to Fawkes. “My wand’s feather came from Fawkes?” Harry says. “Yes,” Dumbledore says.
“What happens when two wands like that fight?” Sirius asks. “They do not work normally,” Dumbledore says. “One wand forces the other to show its past spells. The spells come out in reverse order. The most recent comes out first.” Harry nods slowly. “That means Cedric appeared,” Dumbledore says. Harry nods again.
“He came back to life?” Sirius asks, surprised. “No,” Dumbledore says. “It was only an echo. A shadow of him.” “He spoke to me,” Harry says. His voice shakes. “Others appeared too?” Dumbledore asks. “Yes,” Harry says. “An old man. Bertha Jorkins. And… my parents.” Sirius’s hand tightens on Harry’s shoulder.
“They were the last spells the wand performed,” Dumbledore says. “What did they do?” he asks. Harry explains. They moved around him. They protected him. His mother told him what to do. Cedric asked him to take his body back. Harry stops again. He cannot go on.
Fawkes flies down once more. He touches Harry’s injured leg. Tears fall from the phoenix’s eyes onto the wound. The pain disappears. The skin heals. Harry’s leg feels strong again. “You have been very brave,” Dumbledore says quietly. “You have done more than anyone could ask.”
“I will take you to the hospital wing,” he says. “You need rest now. Sirius, will you come and stay with him?” Sirius nods, then he turns into a dog again. He walks beside them as they leave. They enter the hospital wing. Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione are there. They all turn quickly. “Harry!” Mrs. Weasley cries. She moves toward him at once.
But Dumbledore raises a hand. “Harry needs rest,” he says. “No questions tonight.” Mrs. Weasley nods quickly. She turns to the others and tells them to be quiet. “I will return after I speak to Fudge, Harry,” Dumbledore says as he leaves. Madam Pomfrey brings Harry to a bed. He changes into pajamas and lies down. He sees the real Moody in another bed. He is still and pale.
“Is he okay?” Harry asks. “He will be fine,” Madam Pomfrey says. Ron and Hermione sit near him. They look at him carefully, like they are not sure what to say. “I’m all right,” Harry says. “Just tired.” Mrs. Weasley’s eyes fill with tears. She fixes his blankets gently.
Madam Pomfrey brings a sleeping potion. “Drink this,” she says. “It will help you sleep.” Harry drinks it. He feels warm at once. His body becomes heavy. The lights grow soft. The room becomes quiet. He falls asleep. Later, he wakes again. The room is still dark. He hears voices. People are whispering.
Then the voices grow louder. Someone is arguing. “That’s Fudge,” Harry hears Mrs. Weasley whisper. “And Professor McGonagall…” The doors open loudly. “It was my decision,” Fudge says as he walks in quickly. McGonagall and Snape are behind him. “You should not have brought it inside the castle!” McGonagall yells angrily. “When Dumbledore finds out…” “Where is Dumbledore?” Fudge demands.
Dumbledore enters suddenly. “What has happened?” he asks. “I asked you to watch Barty Crouch.” “There is no need to guard Crouch anymore!” McGonagall says angrily. “He brought a dementor,” Snape says quietly. “I brought the dementor for my protection,” Fudge says angrily. “The moment it entered the room, it attacked Crouch and…,” McGonagall says. Her voice shakes with anger.
Harry feels cold inside. He knows what that means. The dementor gave a fatal kiss to Barty Crouch. It removed his soul. Crouch cannot speak anymore. “Crouch is no loss,” Fudge says. “He has already killed several people!” “But now he cannot give evidence,” Dumbledore says. “He cannot tell us why he killed those people.”
Fudge shakes his head. “We know why he killed them,” he says. “He was mad, a crazy lunatic!” “Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius,” Dumbledore says. “The death of those people was only to bring back Voldemort. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has his body now.”
Fudge freezes in surprise. “You-Know-Who is back? No,” he says. “He has returned,” Dumbledore says. Fudge shakes his head again. “I do not believe it.” “Crouch confessed to us earlier,” Dumbledore says. “He told us the whole story. The plan worked. Crouch helped Voldemort return. Harry saw it.”
Fudge looks at Harry. “You believe him?” There is silence for a moment. But the large black dog next to Harry’s bed begins to growl and show his teeth. “I do,” Dumbledore says. Fudge’s face has a strange smile. Suddenly, Harry understands. “You’ve been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge,” Harry says quietly. Everyone in the room is surprised. They did not know Harry was awake.
Fudge’s face turns red. He refuses to listen. “I saw Voldemort come back!” Harry shouts. “I saw the Death Eaters. I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy!” “Malfoy was cleared by the Ministry!” Fudge shouts. He looks offended that Harry has said Malfoy might be a Death Eater. Harry continues to give more names of Death Eaters. But Fudge does not believe him.
"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. “We must act now. We may be able to save the situation. But first, you must remove the dementors from Azkaban,” he says. “Impossible!” Fudge shouts. “The dementors protect all of us.” “The dementors will join Voldemort if he asks them. That must not happen,” Dumbledore continues.
“The second step is to speak to the giants,” Dumbledore says. “Madness!” Fudge replies. “Get their support now or Voldemort will convince them again,” Dumbledore says. “You must be crazy!” shouts Fudge. “I will lose my job if I ask the giants for help.”
“You are afraid,” Dumbledore says with strength in his voice. “You care more about power than truth.” Fudge steps back in shock. “If you act now, you will be remembered as one of the greatest Ministers ever. If you do not act,” Dumbledore says, “you will be remembered as the Minister who allowed Voldemort to return.” “You are insane!” Fudge yells.
Then there is silence. “If you are too blind to see what is happening,” Dumbledore says, “then we must go different ways. You will do what you think is right. And I will do what I think is right.” There is the sound of a warning in Dumbledore’s voice.
“I respect you, Albus,” Fudge says. “I did not always agree with your decisions - allowing werewolves to work here, keeping Hagrid at the castle. But if you work against me, then…” “I only work against one person,” Dumbledore says strongly. “Voldemort. If you are against Voldemort, then we are still on the same team.” Fudge is about to leave the room. “Madness!” he yells.
But Snape suddenly moves towards Fudge. He pulls up the sleeve to his robe. On his arm is the Dark Mark. “The Mark has been growing all year,” Snape says. “Karkaroff felt it too. That’s why he left tonight. Karkaroff is afraid of what the Dark Lord will do to him. We know he has returned.”
Fudge says nothing. He still does not believe what he is hearing. He moves quickly over to Harry’s bed. “Before I forget,” he says, “here is your reward for the Tournament. Two thousand Galeons.” He drops a heavy bag of coins on Harry’s bed, then leaves.
Dumbledore looks at everyone. “There is work to do,” he says. “Molly, can you help us?” he asks Mrs. Weasley. “Of course!” says Mrs. Weasly. “Count on us to help.” He gives orders. He wants to see Hagrid, and if possible, Madame Maxime. Messages must be sent to Arthur at the Ministry. People must be warned.
“Now, we need all the help we can get,” Dumbledore says. He looks at Snape. “It is time for you and Sirius to forget your differences.” As he says this, Sirius changes back into a man. Mrs. Weasley screams. “Calm down,” Ron says quickly. Snape and Sirius look at each other with anger.
“You must trust each other,” Dumbledore says. Slowly, they shake hands. They let go at once. Dumbledore gives them both instructions to find help. “I’ll be back soon, Harry,” Sirius says. Then they leave. Dumbledore looks tired now. “I must go,” he says. “I must speak with the Diggorys. Harry, drink the rest of your potion.” He leaves quickly.
Mrs. Weasley gives him the rest of the potion. “I don’t want the gold,” Harry says. “You can have it. Anyone can have it. It should have been Cedric’s.” “It’s not your fault,” Mrs. Weasley says. She hugs him tightly. Like a mother. Harry feels everything again. His parents. Cedric. The graveyard. He cannot hold it inside anymore. The potion begins to work. He falls into a deep sleep.
