Harry lay in his bed that night with his mind spinning. He had told his friends what had happened in Dumbledore’s office. No one was exactly surprised that Draco had been mistreated since he was a baby - it explained a lot of things. Still, as Ron pointed out, “Draco’s responsible for his own actions, his own choices. Just like you are, Harry. Sure, there’s a prophecy that says you’ll kill V-V-Voldemort, or he’ll kill you, but in the end, you get to decide what you’ll do, just like you made the choice to ask the Sorting Hat to put you in Gryffindor when it said you’d do well in Slytherin.”
This statement had led to a fierce debate between Ron and Hermione, with Ginny pitching in on both sides. Harry’s brain had been aching, and he didn’t participate much �“ it was all he could do to keep up. Hermione had said that hearing a prophecy meant you were bound to fulfill it. She thought it had something to do with the “ancient magic” Dumbledore spoke of, kind of like keeping a promise, or the execution of a contract. Ginny called it fate. But whatever it was, Harry was tired of it occupying space in his head right now. He was so tired; he just wanted to sleep.
He finally fell into a fitful slumber, punctuated by dreams of Lucius and Draco Malfoy. When he awoke the next morning, he felt like he had not slept at all. After breakfast (during which Harry dozed off in his eggs), Hermione suggested heading back upstairs to finish their schoolwork. Neville had already hurried up to the library to look up something for McGonagal - they were supposed to turn a pig's ear into a silk purse when classes resumed. The rest of them moaned.
“Oh, Hermione,” pleaded Ginny, “ it’s such a lovely day outside. Couldn’t we have a walk first, before you sequester us away in that old tower?”
Hermione compromised, and agreed that they should bring their assignments outdoors into the sunshine. Soon they were all traipsing across the grass in the bright winter morning. They took a seat near the lake. The fresh air revived Harry a bit, and he tackled his potions essay first, careful to include what he knew about fluxweed. But he couldn’t help looking down to the lake, hoping he might see his old Divination teacher out for a stroll.
A few students had returned to Hogwarts early to get a leg up on their homework, too. There were small clusters of students also taking advantage of a warm day in January to be outdoors. As Harry looked around, he saw his friend Remus ambling across the grounds towards them. “Good morning, Gryffindors. Getting some last minute research in, eh?” he asked cheerily.
Harry was about to ask for Lupin’s help with his essay, when, without warning, he felt his scar ignite with blistering agony. He rolled over on the ground, retching and gagging. Remus was kneeling beside Harry in an instant. He felt cooling hands on his head. He forced emotion from his mind, focusing instead on the gentle fingers smoothing away the pain from his scar. He opened his eyes, expecting to see Lupin’s worried face, but instead he saw Ginny, her brown eyes filled with concern. Remus hovered behind her, his arms supporting Harry’s shoulders as he shook in the grass.
“Harry! Harry, are you alright?” Harry could see them, could almost hear them, but another sound was ringing through his head �“ a high, cold, cruel laughter. He was laughing, laughing like he was demented, like he was mad. “Harry! HARRY!" Strong arms pulled him upright, strong hands forced his head up �“ and slapped him smartly on the face. The ringing laugher stopped abruptly, and left Harry panting for breath.
“Voldemort,” Harry gasped; “Something's happened that he’s really pleased about! Where’s Dumbledore? Where’s Snape?”
Lupin pulled Harry to his feet; he could see Ron and Hermione’s white faces nearby. “I think they’re both in the headmaster’s office; they were going to try and get some information from Lucius . . ..”
Harry staggered towards the castle. “They need help,” he croaked. “We have to hurry!”
Professor Lupin grabbed the tottering Harry, and shouted instructions to Ron, Hermione and Ginny, who shot off across the lawn. He then pulled out his wand and muttered something, and a silvery shadow �“ Harry thought it resembled a wolf �“ flew out of the tip and disappeared towards Hagrid’s cabin. Harry was taking deep, calming breaths, trying to get the image of Voldemort out of his head. He and Lupin started as quickly as Harry could manage towards the school.
Hagrid met them at the door, armed with his crossbow, and Fang at his side. Harry remembered another time Hagrid had been summoned in the same way, and he seemed just as menacing now. “What’s the matter, Perfessor?” he growled.
“Trouble in the headmaster’s office, Rubeus. Keep quiet as you can, alright?”
They entered the great doors, slipped quietly through the entrance hall, and moved up the stairs. They met Ron and Hermione in the second floor corridor.
“Professor!” exclaimed Hermione. “We can’t find any of the other teachers!”
“Or students,” added Ron. “The castle’s deserted!”
“Don’ be ridiculous, Ron. A bloody great castle can’t be deserted!” Hagrid peered around them as if expecting to see a crowd of students hiding in the shadows.
“Really, Professor,” said Ginny earnestly. “We haven’t seen anyone!”
"I believe you, Miss Weasley. All keep together now, wands at the ready. Keep a sharp lookout, the lot of you. Harry, alright there?”
Harry had regained most of his balance, and his scar was only a dull ache. “Yeah, Remus, I’m okay. Let’s go!” They all stepped silently down the hall, Lupin in front, Hagrid bringing up the rear. Harry tried not to think about Hagrid’s loaded crossbow directly behind him.
They reached the stone gargoyle. Just as before, the statue had already moved aside. Harry knew their need for caution, but his desire for urgency was making his heart pound. Something was very wrong up those stairs.
Lupin had just climbed aboard the spiral staircase when a hand touched Harry’s arm. Startled, he leapt forward into Ron, who fell into Hermione, who stifled a scream. Harry quickly turned, his wand readied, prepared to do battle with Lucius Malfoy. But it wasn’t Malfoy. It was . . ..
“Perfessor Trelawney?” Hagrid asked. “What in blazes are you doin’ here?”
The former teacher opened her mouth, but a husky male voice spoke. “ I saw you run up to the castle; thought you might need some help.”
“Sirius!” Harry threw his arms around his godfather; he felt a tremendous sense of relief. Sirius would know what to do.
“S-Sirius?” rasped Ron. Hermione was standing on tiptoe, her mouth hanging open Ginny started to cry. Hagrid fainted. Remus stepped off the staircase and moved to embrace his old friend.
“Harry had an attack, Sirius. There’s something going on in Dumbledore’s office, and it appears the castle itself is empty.”
Trelawney’s glittering eyes focused with concern on Harry. “Harry, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Sirius, but the people up those stairs may not be �“ we have to get up there!”
“Alright, you three wait here, Moony and I will go up first. Wait for our signal before you follow us.” Sirius made for the revolving stairs.
“Uh, Sirius? Are you sure you can even do magic in that body? Professor Trelawney’s not exactly known for her skills as a witch,” Hermione asked, some of the color coming back into her face.
Sirius felt the around the folds of Sibyl’s robes and shawls, and finally produced a wand. He took aim at a nearby suit of armor and cried, “Reducto!” The metal exploded into dust. Professor Trelawney faced them with a triumphant grin. “Guess this’ll do, eh?”
“Wonderful, Padfoot. If anybody is up there, they surely know they have visitors!” Remus looked furious with his friend.
Sirius leapt over the sleeping Hagrid and on to the moving steps. “Better not keep them waiting any longer, then,” he said with a flourish. Lupin climbed on behind him. With a stern look at his young charges, he commanded, “wait here!”
Ron stared after them, still confounded. “That . . . that was really Sirius,” he stuttered. Hermione and Ginny were on their knees beside Hagrid, who was coming round.
“Oooo” Hagrid moaned, “did ya see that? Perfessor Trelawney sounded just like Sirius Black!” The big man got unsteadily to his feet.
“It was Sirius, Hagrid,” said Hermione as she tried to steady him. “Well, mostly....”
Harry could wait no longer. He jumped upon the winding staircase, straining his ears to hear any sounds of battle. All was silent. He stopped at the open door, careful to keep in the shadow as he peeked around the frame. What he saw stunned him.
The office was demolished. All of Dumbledore’s instruments, his furnishings, the numerous books and bookshelves �“ all destroyed. He stepped into the room with Sirius and Lupin, who were staring open-mouthed at the office walls. Harry looked up, and felt his jaw drop as well.
The portraits of all the former headmasters of Hogwarts hung silently over his head. The frames were intact, the canvases undamaged. But they were empty. Every one of them was vacant, their subjects vanished.
Sirius began calling their names. “Phineas! Professor Dippet! Everard! Where the devil are you?” he thundered.
Harry heard a collective gasp behind him as the others entered the room. He saw tears in Hagrid’s eyes, which quickly turned to fury. “Malfoy did this,” he rumbled.
“We don’t yet know who did this, Hagrid. We need to keep our heads, and try to figure out what has happened,” said Professor Lupin. His attempt at calmness was belied by the quaver in his voice.
Ron bent down to examine something he had found on the floor. “Professor, look.” He reached down to pick up a sparkling shard of glass on the floor. Then he vanished.
Hermione screamed. Harry ran over to where Ron had stood. Even though he had just seen his best friend disappear, he could not believe it had happened. He knelt down to see what Ron had been holding.
“Don’t touch those!” shrieked Ginny, as Harry’s fingers moved towards the broken glass scattered on the floor. He jerked his hand away from the strangely glittering slivers. “Don’t you see? Those must have come from that glass ball that Dumbledore was so interested in! I’ll bet Malfoy broke it while he was up here, and it made everybody disappear, just like Ron.”
Lupin looked skeptical. “I’ve never heard of any magic that can empty an entire castle with one spell, Ginny. We don’t even know that Lucius made it up here; he might still be in the Hospital wing.”
“No,” Sirius’ voice interrupted. “I checked the Hospital wing while I was looking for you. It was abandoned.”
Hermione joined the others kneeling on the floor. “That’s got to be it! Remember, Professor, when you were telling Ron about ‘new magics’ being invented all the time? Voldemort must have figured out a way to make a portkey that would transport everyone within a given area. That’s why people inside the castle are gone, but those who were outside were unaffected.”
“Sooo . . . if we touch one of these shards of glass, we’ll go where the others have gone?” Harry looked at his godfather. Trelawney’s face was set.
“Sirius, no!” Lupin had grabbed Trelawney’s shoulders and spun her around. “You can’t go. You have no idea what will happen to you in that body. I’ll go.”
“So will I,” said four voices at once. Sirius turned to Harry.
“Absolutely not, Harry! I forbid it.” The voice coming from Trelawney was fierce. “This can’t be anything but a trap for you. Lord Voldemort is counting on you finding a way to where ever he is. You cannot go.”
Remus agreed. “He’s right, Harry. You’ll have to stay. If we don’t come back, you’ll need to go for help. Use the fireplace to contact the Order; see if anyone’s at Grimmauld Place.”
Harry wanted to argue, but knew they were right. He also knew he wasn’t ready to face the Dark Lord and win. But his Gryffindor heart couldn’t bear watching his friends go to face dangers unknown while he just waited quietly.
Sirius and Harry watched the others kneel down, ready to take a shard of the broken sphere. His eyes met Ginny’s. “I love you,” she whispered.
Harry’s vision blurred. “I love you too,” he murmured quietly.
“We don't know what we might find when we get to where ever we're going, so be prepared. Wands at the ready,” said Lupin. “NOW!”
They were gone.