After Dumbledore's apparent death at the end of sixth year, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kathryn had struck out on their own to try and find the remaining Horcruxes. They journeyed first to Godric's Hollow, after a brief sojourn at the Dursley's to renew their magical protection. It had been hard for Harry and Kathryn to travel back to the place where their parents had been murdered; partially due to the fact that they had to keep their every move a secret. Apparition had made this easier, however, and they were able to take a long, convoluted and, hopefully, untraceable route that Moody would have been proud of.
The house looked just like it had all those years ago when that curse had rebounded. The top corner had been completely blown away. After a few charms to gain them entrance, they had walked in with a mixture of excitement and fear. There was no evidence of the horrors that had come to pass within its walls, it was as if their parents had just gone and left one day; everything was coated in a disgusting amount of dust.
Out of respect for the house's status as a monument, they pitched their tent in the wildly overgrown back garden and only went in the house during the day. Hermione did break down, however, when she opened a room that had been decorated for a child and was filled with dusty, faded toys. It was the sight of the cot that had caused it; knowing that Harry and Kathryn's mother had met her death here just as well as the two people standing behind her.
The house had proven to be a goldmine of information with a wealth of rare, leather-bound tomes relating to Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology. They had spent their summer flicking through these in the vain hope of finding anything pertinent to their cause.
When the first of September came around, they did not return to London to catch the Hogwarts Express despite receiving word that Mrs Weasley had taken the liberty of purchasing all of their school things. They remained there racking their brains for anything that could possibly help them until one day, in a fit of rage; Harry had kicked the aptly named kick plate that ran beneath the kitchen cabinets. After a few mice had scuttled away they saw, through the cobwebs and layers of dust, a book that they had missed.
After it had been wiped down, they sat at the kitchen table and flicked carefully through its brittle pages. Hermione had suddenly cried out in the silence.
"Stop! That parchment is new." They had turned back to the page in question to find a neatly folded piece of parchment addressed to the four of them in emerald green ink and in a style of handwriting they instantly recognised. It was from Dumbledore. They had opened it eagerly to read the note inside.
I knew you would come here, right to where it all began (in a sense), although I doubt that you discovered the location of this book on purpose and would more like to imagine its discovery to have been the outcome of an angry outburst.
Harry had chuckled at how right Dumbledore had been.
Though the books you will have found here are important, this is one you must guard beyond measure until your return to Hogwarts. All I shall say here is page 366. Be careful, this is the only record. Good Luck!
Albus Dumbledore.
Turning straight to page three hundred and sixty six, they found the instructions to a very ancient and very complex potion.
"What's it for?" Hermione had asked as she leant over Ron's shoulder to read.
"It's to reverse some charm that gives the appearance of death." Ron had told them. "Looks bloody complicated."
Realisation dawned in Kathryn's mind, thinking of what Snape had told the Order in a hurried letter after his disappearance. About the unbreakable vow and the reasons for doing what he did.
"Dumbledore's not dead." She had said in a quietly excited voice. "Do you get it? He knew about the vow Snape had made with Narcissa Malfoy, he knew what Snape had to do and he took measures to make sure it appeared real." She saw the same realisation dawn in their eyes too.
"Snape didn't speak when he cast the curse." Kathryn had whispered in excitement. "All we saw was a flash of green light and assumed the rest."
"We have to go back to Hogwarts." Hermione had said very quickly, taking a great gasp.
"Grimmauld Place first." Kathryn had corrected her. "We need our school stuff and some of the ingredients."
Their return to Hogwarts had caused uproar; with students and teachers flooding from their classrooms to see if it was true. They had accepted their welcome graciously before speeding off to the common room to prepare.
It had taken several weeks to do; brewing a large cauldron in secret was no mean feat and it had taken a lot to persuade Myrtle to flood the bathroom continuously. They had told no one of what they were doing, not wanting any word to reach Malfoy who, to their disgust, had been allowed to return to school after Harry and Kathryn's affirmations that he could not bring himself to kill Dumbledore himself. Lucius Malfoy had reared his head and, using his tried and tested Imperius defence, testified before the Wizengamot that his son had been under the control of the Imperius curse and was afraid to resist due to the threats against his mother. Like his father, he had escaped justice and was allowed to strut through the corridors once more; his status as a prefect and Seeker unsullied. In the eyes of many of the Slytherin girls; he was a hero who was prepared, at all costs, to protect his family.
The apparent death of Albus Dumbledore had also led to a major political upheaval; after less that a year in office, Rufus Scrimgeour was forced to resign after mass public uproar. To their great surprise, however, it had been Fudge that people wanted back as, so they said, at least under him they had not lost the greatest wizard of all time and Death Eaters had not been able to break into Hogwarts with such ease. Mere weeks into the holidays, Fudge was happily restored to his former office and was seen, on that very same day, having a long meeting with none other than Lucius Malfoy.
Snape had also been allowed to return to Hogwarts after, in a big announcement, Fudge had announced that Snape had not been the one to kill Dumbledore. Fudge knew nothing of his status as a spy and, they assumed with some heavy coercion from McGonagall, he was allowed to return, not too keen on informing their Potions Master what they were up to. They did not, however, oppose his return like many did; very much understanding that Snape was more useful on their side.
The most risky part had been stealing their final ingredients from Snape's store cupboard. That had been Kathryn's task as the other three would have fallen under suspicion too easily as Snape knew that Harry possessed an invisibility cloak but was unaware that Kathryn possessed one of her own too. One break, on the pretence of needing to do some research for potions in a quiet place, Snape had allowed her to use their usual dungeon. Once the Marauder's Map showed him well clear of the dungeons she had whipped out her wand and set to work breaking the charms protecting Snape's personal stock cupboard.
"Tut, tut Professor." She had murmured to herself as she heard the lock click open. "How lax, and after previous break-ins I'd have thought you would take wiser precautions." It had only taken her five minutes to gather everything they needed; Boomslang skin, Bicorn horn, six Bezoar's (she took eight for good measure), unicorn tail hair, one unicorn horn and dragon scales. She wasn't sure if Snape even noticed their absence, having rearranged everything to make it look as if nothing was missing; using one of Fred and George's fake wands that turned into a unicorn's horn to replace that rather obvious gap. Once all those ingredients were gathered, they only had to wait until the next full moon to add them.
Under the cover of both invisibility cloaks, they smuggled the steaming cauldron out into the grounds by the lake where they sat, hidden in the trees, watching as the potion bubbled away.
"Right." Hermione had stood up. "Now all we've got to do is add the final ingredients." She had pored over the list. Their last ingredient had been hand delivered to them by Charlie Weasley that morning; the heart of a dragon. A Norwegian Ridgeback to be exact. They knew it would upset Hagrid to know that they had killed Norbert but they also knew that he would give anything to have Dumbledore back. The potion had specified that exact heart and Norbert was the only male Norwegian Ridgeback Charlie had in the colony in Romania.
"Right." Hermione had read on. "First, two ounces of Boomslang skin." This was tipped into the cauldron, tuning it a vivid shade of pink as she stirred anti-clockwise three times.
"Now what?" Harry had asked, wishing almost at once that he hadn't.
"Blood." Hermione had told them in a small voice. "Of the person or people who stood beside him at his death."
"I guess that's us." Kathryn had said to Harry with a stony expression. "How much?"
"A pint, from both people." Hermione had spoken in a trembling voice, running her finger over the page. "Drawn with a silver blade." It was Kathryn who bared her wrist first.
"Just get it over with." She had said through gritted teeth as Hermione touched the blade to her skin and Ron held a beaker underneath. She had healed their wounds instantly and handed them both a small vial of a blood replenishing potion once they were done.
"Right." Hermione had added both beakers with trembling hands. "Now we need the unicorn hair. Wrapped around," she screwed up her eyes to read the small writing, "around the hair of those who have defeated the enemy before." She and Ron had trained their eyes on Harry and Kathryn at this point.
"Is anyone getting the feeling that Dumbledore actually wrote this recipe so that only we could manage it?" Ron had asked in the darkness.
"I'm beginning to think that." Hermione had agreed from behind the book. "Anyway, the hair." Harry and Kathryn had lifted the blood stained knife to their heads and sheared off a chunk of hair each before wrapping the brilliant white strands of unicorn hair around them and tossing the bundle in the cauldron. Then next things to go in were the Bicorn horn, a handful of Lacewing's and the six Bezoar's.
"We're onto the last couple now." Hermione had told them. "The dragon scales have to be mixed with the blood of a virgin." There had been some silence after she had said that. "Well, I guess I'd better do that."
"We resent that implication." Ron had complained.
"I didn't mean anything by it, just the other two have already given lots of theirs and we need yours later." She had said matter-of-factly as she drew the knife across her arm. Kathryn had swilled the contents of the beaker around a bit and tossed them into the cauldron, now an electric blue, as Ron and Harry repaired Hermione's arm.
"Thirty seven drops of Felix Felicis." Hermione had continued, counting out the drops of the gold luck potion. "Then," she read the book by the light of her wand, "the blood of one harmed in pursuit of the person's death. That's you Ron."
"OK." Ron then took his turn to draw the blade over his arm and let a small amount slosh into the cauldron.
"Phoenix tears." Hermione had continued to read.
"Thank you Fawkes." Kathryn had produced from the pocket of her cloak a small vial filled with a miniscule amount of clear liquid that she had managed to coax from Fawkes. She had dropped it in the cauldron, which took on a fiery orange glow.
"And, last of all, the heart of a dragon." Hermione had, at that point, withdrawn the glass jar containing Norbert's heart from her bag. "Thanks Norbert." She had whispered before upturning the jar into the cauldron. The contents of the cauldron had then turned a deep red and, after Hermione had given it the required number of stirs and spoken the words of the incantation, had changed to a brilliant white with a sparkling vapour floating on top. She had then produced four cups.
"We have to drink some." She had explained. "It uses our desire for the person to return to restore their strength." Once that had been ladled out, they each raised their cups in a toast.
"To Dumbledore." Kathryn said in the silence of the night.
"To Dumbledore." They had echoed before downing the surprisingly sweet potion, despite the odd ingredients.
"Right." Hermione had quickly taken charge. "Harry, Ron; lift the cauldron over here and we'll sort out the lid." They had done as they were told and followed Hermione and Kathryn over to the white tomb on the edge of the lake that held Dumbledore's body. Whispering an incantation, Hermione and Kathryn's wand tips blazed bright blue and they ran them around the sealed lid of the tomb several times; leaving a blazing mark where they had been.
"Wingardium Leviosa." Kathryn spoke and, at her command, the lid lifted into the air and settled on the grass a few feet away.
"Pour it in." doing as she told them, Harry and Ron had tipped the entire steaming contents of the cauldron into the tomb and Kathryn replaced the lid.
"Now we have to sit seven paces away from each corner for three hours." Hermione had instructed them, taking her place at one corner. They had counted their paces away and, once settled on the grass, waited patiently as the night progressed.
After three hours spent in near silence on the grass, something happened. In the pitch dark a brilliant white light had appeared at the gap created when Hermione and Kathryn had forcibly opened the tomb. All four of them had stood up, mystified by what was happening. Before she had time to motion to Kathryn to remove the lid again; Hermione had squealed in shock as the heavy lid was flung in the air and landed in the lake with a loud splash. The light was, by now, blinding them and they had watched through gaps in their fingers as a figure was lifted into the air as if by invisible strings. The bright light had continued to glow and, despite the light they were sure that they had seen long fingers flex.
The bright light had continued until the person had descended from mid air and was leaning against the now empty tomb. Cast completely into darkness, they could now no longer see the tall figure. Lighting their wands quickly, they had cast the thin beams of light across the ground until they reached a pair of feet poking out of a purple robe spangled with golden stars. Moving upwards they saw the end of a long white beard and a pair of hands with long, gnarled fingers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore appeared.
"I was wondering when I'd be seeing the four of you!" he had said in a weak voice but with a definite hint of a chuckle. Hermione and Kathryn had actually been moved to tears by the sight of someone they had all thought lost. Moving quickly, Hermione had flung the dark red cloak that they had brought with them about his shoulders and Kathryn had handed him a knobbly walking stick. The four of them had stood tentatively before him, unsure of what to say or do.
"I believe that I am now in great debt to you all." He had said softly, spreading his arms wide as he leant against the white tomb. Forgetting all their reserve, they had rushed forwards into his open arms and he had held them as if they were his own children.
"I take it you found my clue. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more explicit." He had apologised as they hugged him.
"You were right about the way we found the book!" Harry had laughed.
"I thought I might have been." Dumbledore chuckled softly. "Now, I suggest that we all go back inside as it is frightfully cold out here."
"A cup of tea will do you some good." Hermione had assured him as they started to walk.
"Or a large brandy!" Kathryn had added, laughing slightly. "Oh wait!" she had stopped dead in her tracks. "There was something I wanted to do. It does not feel fitting that you sneak into the castle without anyone knowing."
"Go ahead." Dumbledore had told her. Smiling, Kathryn brandished her wand in several directions and, with a few murmured words; they saw tiny flames glow everywhere. At least, that was until the grounds exploded with showers of stars they recognised as Fred and George's fireworks. Lights had instantly flicked on in the castle and faces appeared in windows; looking down on the group approaching the front entrance.
"After you." They had said to Dumbledore as they approached the great double doors which, by this time, had been flung open.
"No, no, after you." He bowed slightly to them. "I feel that everyone should know who is responsible for this." They strode up the steps as fast as Dumbledore could go; Harry and Kathryn on one side and Hermione and Ron on the other. They had first seen the harried face of Professor McGonagall at the door.
"You had better have a good explanation for this you four, Miss Granger I'd expected better of you. Out of bed at this hour!" she had shouted at them, wrapped in her tartan dressing gown. "Causing such a racket at this, oh." She had frozen as she saw the figure of Albus Dumbledore following behind them.
"It can't be true?" she had said in a small voice. "Dumbledore?"
"Yes, it is I Minerva." Dumbledore had confirmed, striding into the Entrance Hall as if he had never gone away. The hall had instantly fallen silent, with many students staring from the staircase.
"How…how?" McGonagall had stammered.
"A trail carefully followed by these four here." He had gestured to Harry, Kathryn, Ron and Hermione. "And much personal sacrifice on their part." McGonagall had given the four of them a curious, disbelieving look before fainting straight onto Professor Flitwick.
"Nah! It can't be!" Hagrid's voice had then boomed from behind them as Madame Pomfrey rushed to aid Professor McGonagall. "Merlin's beard."
"Yes Hagrid, it is perfectly true." Dumbledore had reassured him. "Anyway, it is well past your bed time," he had addressed the rest of the gathered students, ignoring the current commotion around Professor McGonagall, "so off to bed and I assure that this will all be explained to you in due course. Chop chop!"
Kathryn wandered back to the common room, feeling slightly less troubled, but now worried about the inevitable face off between good and bad; where would she be standing?