Farewell to the Castle
"Alright, guys. Let's show Hufflepuff who's the best team in Hogwarts!" We yelled as one, and Lina put my hair in a ponytail for me before we exited the locker rooms and entered the field (I can't be good at everything, y'know.). We met in the middle of the field, where Madam Hooch was waiting along with Hufflepuff's team. I stepped forward, as did the Hufflepuff captain, a stocky seventh year boy. We shook hands, and wished each other luck before rejoining our respective sides. Madam Hooch spoke.
"I want a clean game, you lot. No spellwork." She glanced at me as she spoke, and I grinned before joining my fellow Chasers in the air around the centre of the pitch. She blew her whistle, and tossed the Quaffle into the air. I shot forward, grabbed the ball, and ducked down low under the opposing Chasers as Jessica and Lauren went over their heads. We met up as we streaked towards the hoops, me in the centre, noting that their Keeper was hovering in front of the left hoop. I put two fingers from my free hand in my mouth, and whistled one long blast, signalling to the two that we were going with the original plan. They nodded, and gained speed, ducking behind the hoops before pulling up and over them. I tossed the Quaffle straight up, Lauren grabbed it, and pulled out quickly in front of the hoops, dodging two Hufflepuff Chasers before sending it through the right hoop. The assorted Gryffindors and Ravenclaws below cheered, and I high-fived Lauren as I passed her, and nodded to Jessica. All of a sudden, a Bludger crashed into my side, knocking the wind out of me. I fell from my broom, grasping the front end with one hand, and waved for the other two Chasers to get after Hufflepuff's, who were harrying our Keeper. They streaked off, and I coughed, a waved of red-hot pain rolling over my left side where the Bludger had hit me. I grunted, swinging myself back onto the broom, and held my hand to my side, flying with one hand steering. I rose high, and shot down on the Chaser with the Quaffle, knocking it from his hands and grabbing it with my free hand. I steered the broom with my knees, shrieking when I rolled upside down, hanging down towards the ground, still streaking towards the Hufflepuff hoops. The crowd collectively gasped, and I lobbed the ball at Jessica before righting myself. She scored, and we flew back to the other end of the pitch. Amy shouted an apology at me as she flew by, smashing a Bludger at Hufflepuff's Seeker. I grinned, and turned to the approaching Chasers. The game progressed like this for a while, us scoring while almost effortlessly keeping the Quaffle out of our hoops, while the commentator shouted out the score with increasing incredulity.
"IT IS NOW ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY - NIL, AND HUFFLEPUFF'S ONLY HOPE IS TO-OH, RAVENCLAW'S SEEKER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! I REPEAT, RAVENCLAW'S SEEKER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! RAVENCLAW WINS!" I cheered, one hand still on my ribs, as we floated to the ground, Madam Pomfrey waiting by the entrance to the locker rooms. I celebrated with my team for a moment, before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see the Hufflepuff captain, a wry smile on his face.
"Bloody good game, that was." I smiled, and shook his outstretched hand before he continued.
"You could probably beat out Gryffindor, with your team." I smiled wider, and thanked him.
"Your team wasn't that bad. You just need to get your Keeper away from the left hoop." He shrugged before nodding to me and returning to his team. I made to turn back to my friends, but something struck my shoulder, throwing me into the ground and pinning me there as white-hot pain enveloped my shoulder. I gasped, and looked over at it, seeing what looked like a steel rod sticking through my shoulder and into the ground. I twisted my head as the people in the stands screamed, and saw the Dark Mark twisting above me in the sky. I groaned, and collapsed into the ground as my vision faded, pain dulling along with the voices around me.
~
I screamed, and sat up, in the Hospital Wing, surrounded by cards and tins of candy, but otherwise alone. I glanced around, hair swinging in front of me, long and red. I looked around, and saw that I was a boy again. I shrank my hair back, and threw back the covers, standing. I looked over the cards, all of them yellowed and fading, while the tins of sweets were rusted, and the candy inside was mouldy. I read the cards, most of them from Luna, detailing what had happened since the last card, eventually ending with a chilling entry:
Dugan,
Please help us. Please wake up. You-Know-Who is attacking the school, and we can't hold out much longer. I love you. Luna.
I gasped, and put the card down, the drops of red on it giving me an idea of what had happened to the school. I hurried to the door, noticing that all the windows were shattered, a cold breeze blowing through them. I shivered, tears forming in my eyes, and pushed the doors open, revealing a terrifying sight. Corpses, all surrounding the door to the Hospital Wing. Some bloodied, others clearly the work of the Killing Curse. I stepped over them, trancelike, and walked down the destroyed hallways, feet moving of their own accord as I gazed, openmouthed at the destruction around me. Painting were torn, burned, or missing, and every single statue was gone. Bodies lined the hallways, familiar faces staring into space, their owners no longer living. I realised where my feet were taking me, and winced as I entered the Headmaster's office. I entered, and saw Dumbledore, clad in all black, standing behind the desk.
"Dumbledore? What happened?" He looked up mournfully.
"I'm sorry, Dugan. I should have been at the Quidditch match to save you. A Death Eater had broken past the school's boundaries, and bewitched a steel pipe with a powerful curse before embedding it in your shoulder. You're dead." I gasped, and leaned against the wall.
"But... All of those bodies. What happened to the school?" He shrugged.
"After you died, we mourned you, and the year went on. The plan worked out, and Harry became the master of Death, stopping Lord Voldemort once and for all. But, these corpses... They would have been alive if you hadn't died." I growled.
"So you're saying I'm looking into the future?" He nodded grimly.
"And I'm here to collect their souls, as is my duty. I will also collect yours, I'm afraid." He stepped closer to me, and I felt a chill go through my spine. I stepped back.
"No you won't. I'm going back. I have to save these people." He chuckled sadly.
"You can't. There isn't a way back from death. Countless people have tried." I smirked, opening the door to the office.
"Yeah, well they weren't me." He sighed.
"If you manage to find my failsafe, it will take you back to your body, which has been in the hospital wing for some time. It's almost Christmas. But be warned. I will be chasing you, and if you escape, I will come for your soul one day." I winked, clicked my heels, and dashed out of the doorway and into the castle. I ran at random, rationalising what was happening. I was dead. I had to escape. Logically, the failsafe would be a way out in case he got trapped in this weird future-magical space, correct? So that must mean that it is a way out of the castle. I glanced at the entrance hall, and saw that the door was sealed shut. I rounded a corner, and ran on, knowing a surefire way out of the castle. I had taken Luna there what felt like only two weeks ago. I reached the witch, tingling feeling on my spine growing stronger, and, finding that I was without my wand, beat the hump with my hand, breaking through the thin stone. I dove in, shards of stone cutting my arms, and rolled to the ground before jumping up and sprinting off, following the passageway until I reached the stairs, the top of which had a bright white light at it. I took them two at a time, seemingly taking an eternity, and dove into the light when I reached it, feeling a hand graze my foot just before I made it through. I screamed again, and woke up, in the Hospital Wing once more, thoroughly startling Luna, who jumped up and hugged me tightly. I looked around wildly, and hugged Luna back. We stayed like that for a while, until I let her go, and swung my legs over the side of the bed.
"How long was I out?" She helped me up, and I leaned heavily on her as we walked slowly from the Hospital Wing.
"It's Christmas morning. You've been out a long time." I groaned, dragging a hand over my face as I remembered what had happened with the future, and the corpses. We entered the hall outside the Hospital Wing, and I was surprised to see a small campsite outside the doorway, with several people waiting anxiously. Once they caught sight of me, a shout rose up, and I was mobbed by the entire Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Quidditch teams, along with an assortment of seemingly random people. I smiled weakly, and endured the barrage of hugs, talking quietly to the people present.
"You should be dead, Dugan! We didn't know how you were still alive after Madam Pomfrey checked on you yesterday and said that you didn't have much left in you." I grimaced to the strained laughter of the crowd.
"Thanks for that, Hermione. I do need to see someone, though." They parted before me, and I walked slowly with Luna through them. Before we got too far, I turned to Lina, Luna stopping next to me.
"How have the matches been going?" She pulled a face.
"Not good. We had to find a substitute for you, and, well, she's not the best of players..." I nodded, and patted her shoulder before continuing onward, legs stiff from my prolonged sleep. Luna asked me where we were going, and when I told her that we were going to see Dumbledore, she looked at me strangely, but we continued on until we reached the gargoyle, me remembering that I didn't know the password, but it leapt out in front of me anyway. We entered, and I saw Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, looking worn. I spoke.
"We need to talk." I hugged Luna one last time, and she left me, standing uncertainly in the entrance to his office. He nodded.
"What do you remember?" I limped slowly over to the desk before leaning my arms on it.
"I remember everything. The castle, the cards, the bodies. Is that what's actually going to happen if I don't help?" He nodded, and sighed.
"I can see into the future at times of great calamity, only when the amount of people dead is incredibly high. I don't know how you escaped me, either. Usually no one can." He peered at me with those piercing blue eyes.
"You've been dead for the past month, Dugan. Your health was deteriorating, and then... You were gone. But, the strange thing was, you didn't start to decay at all. So, I traveled to the other realm, and found you there." I grimaced.
"Are there going to be any lasting effects from that?" He shrugged.
"The limp won't go away, because I managed to graze your foot as you jumped through my failsafe." I shuddered, and looked down at the leg.
"Why did you even tell me about that escape route?" His face twisted into an expression of confusion.
"I do not know why. My thoughts were quite divided on whether to give you that chance, but, at my core, I believe that I wanted you to save those people. I may be... You know who, but that doesn't mean I like my job." I nodded.
"Well, Merry Christmas, Professor Dumbledore. How is the hand?" He smiled, features returning to their usual benign appearance, and he shrugged.
"Still no pain." I nodded, and smiled as I exited. I found Luna waiting, and I took her hand.
"So. You've just woken up from an almost three month coma, the last month of which you were actually dead, and it's Christmas Morning. What would you do?" She put a finger to her nose in thought.
"I fancy another trip to Hogsmeade, myself. But this time, Hog's Head. I hear the Firewhiskey is stronger there." I chuckled, and limped towards my dorm, to get some gold, then the witch, intent on taking Luna to Hogsmeade for Christmas.
-
I stumbled two steps from the statue of the witch before falling flat on my face. I rolled over, and saw that Luna had fallen over out of the witch, the hump slowly closing behind her. I crawled over to her, and whispered into her ear.
"I-i thinnk tha' wiz stronger thin Three Broo." My head lolled on my shoulders, and I grunted as I pulled myself up.
"Com-on love, we need t'get to th' Hall." I gently lifted her, and we stumbled towards the Great Hall, entire room spinning violently around me. Luna put her arm around me, and we staggered back and forth in a zigzagging pattern down the hallway as we neared the doors to the Great Hall. We rounded the door, and I found that there was only one table in there, filled with people. I stepped onto the first step, Luna leaning on the doorframe behind me, and I tripped, falling down the stairs with a crash. I landed on the floor in a heap, giggling, as I watched Luna scoot down the steps on her rump, before ending up next to me, giggling as well. I heard people speaking, and rolled over to see Angel, Jessica, and Lauren approaching. I waved to them, and, when they reached me, Jessica spoke.
"Are you okay?!" I nodded several times, and spoke sluggishly.
"Yes, I-I m finee. Ar we lat to th' purty?" My vision began to go, and I waved at them again as I dropped into unconsciousness.
~
Two weeks later, I was completing my last detention for inebriation on school premises with Luna, in the Great Hall, scrubbing the floor. Thankfully, I had snuck my wand in, so I could enchant the brushes to clean by themselves. We finished quickly, and exited the hall, moving quickly up to the common room, where, to my surprise, I found Dumbledore waiting inside.
"Sir?" He leaned forward, peering around the chair he sat in, and, seeing me, beckoned. I walked over with Luna, and he spoke quietly.
"Dugan, I've heard from Severus that Lord Voldemort is planning another attempt on your life, and this one will prove fatal. You can't outrun death with a limp. So, I'm moving you to the Burrow, where you'll stay until the three arrive, at which point you'll leave with them. Alright?" I was shocked, and frowned.
"Why can't I just stay here?" He shrugged.
"Because, if they've found a way to get to you here before, they can do it again. The Burrow is the safest place for you now, as several people have placed protection spells on it as of late. And, when you arrive, you can as well." I scowled, and nodded.
"But what about finishing my sixth year?" He cracked a grin at this.
"I'm afraid that you've come down with a serious case of the Mongolian Pox, which is a very serious disease that can only be treated by rest and care. And, Molly and Arthur Weasley are the only people that have had it before, and thus have an immunity to it. We'll send you home with all of the classwork you'll have to do for the year, and you can send it back by owl." I sighed, and spoke grimly.
"I'll only do it to protect the people here, Dumbledore." He nodded gravely, and sighed.
"I took the liberty of packing your things for you. We can leave whenever you're ready, as soon as you use your Metamorphmagus powers to invent the Mongolian Pox." I nodded, and turned to Luna in the empty common room. We kissed, long and hard, me seeking to memorise the taste of her lips, the soft texture of her hair, and everything about her I possibly could before I left, and I sensed her doing the same. After a little, we broke, and I placed my forehead against hers.
"I'll keep in touch. Be safe. We will make it through this, Luna." She nodded, blue eyes meeting mine sadly. I placed a hand on her face before smiling.
"Alright, Dumbledore. Let's be off." He nodded, and waved his wand, my trunk rising up behind him, along with my basket for Ernest.
"Where is that cat, Dumbledore? I haven't seen him for a long time." He chuckled, and placed the basket back on the ground.
"He tends to sleep in my office." I nodded, and used my Metamorphmagus abilities to make the most disgusting face I could, pus-filled boils popping up all over me face and arms.
"Let's hurry before these pop." He nodded, and we exited quickly, stopping only to grab a huge sheaf of paper from McGonagal, who nodded to me curtly. I nodded back, and we hurried past the Great Hall, where everyone was eating dinner now, and into the grounds, moving fast towards the gate.
"I'm surprised you're still moving this quickly, Dumbledore, for an old man." He grinned wryly, and, all of a sudden, every plant around us in a circle died.
"Whoa. Okay, I'll drop it." He laughed outright, and grasped my robes as we reached the edge of the boundaries, Apparating to the edge of the Burrow's Fidelius Charm. I vanished the boils, and he handed me my trunk along with the sheaf of paper.
"Good luck, my friend. I'll send your owl to you as well." I smiled, and shook his proffered hand.
"Thanks, Dumbledore. Good luck." He smiled, and we released our hands, before he Apparated back to Hogwarts. I waved my wand, making the trunk rise up into the air behind me, and trotted towards the door to the Burrow, the haphazardly built building warm and welcoming. I rapped on the door, and I heard Molly Weasley's voice nervously speaking from the other side of the door.
"Wh-who's there?" I cleared my throat.
"It is Dugan Kehoe, a sixth year at Hogwarts, former captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, Metamorphmagus and Animagus, also a former Death Eater, who likes long walks on the beach, unicorns, and the Japanese art of origami. Who is this?" She responded more confidently.
"Molly Weasley, soon-to-be mother-in-law to Fleur Delacour." The door opened, and we embraced.
"I got the owl from Dumbledore an hour ago. You'll stay up in Ron's room for now. Fleur is staying here until the wedding, by the way." She added this last part a little sadly, and I chuckled as I carried my trunk up the stairs to Ron's room, setting it on the floor before dropping the papers on it. I went back downstairs to find Molly in the kitchen, humming slightly as she watched the dishes wash themselves.
"So what disease is it that you have? Dumbledore wasn't very specific." I shrugged.
"Mongolian Pox." She nodded, and we were interrupted by a throaty French accent.
"Dugan! What a surprise to see you 'ere!" I turned, and saw Fleur, sheeting blonde hair flying out behind her as she swooped down to peck both sides of my face.
"Yes, it's good to see you, Fleur. Congratulations on the wedding, by the way." She flashed a dazzling smile, which threatened to distract me from her speech, but I forced myself to focus by biting the inside of my cheek.
"Thank you, Dugan, eet ez a very exciting time for me and Bill. I even took a job et Gringotts to eemprove my English." I smiled, and she smiled back before turning on her heel, hair fanning out behind her as she spoke to Molly.
"I am going to work on hanging ze laundry outside, if you do not mind." Molly shrugged, and Fleur glided out of the room, leaving us alone. I whispered to Molly.
"I'm so sorry." She grimaced, and gestured upstairs.
"I really don't have much for you to do at the moment, so you can either work on all of the make-up work from Hogwarts," I pulled a face, "Or you can help Fleur with hanging the laundry out." I froze in the act of fake gagging, and spoke.
"I think I'll work on my schoolwork, Molly. I'll be upstairs if you need me, resting up from the Mongolian Pox and all." She chuckled knowingly, and I left her there, determined to finish all of the homework in a week at most to enjoy an extended summer.
-
I sent my parent's owl back to Hogwarts with the last scroll I had to write, and celebrated with a glass of Pumpkin Juice. It was a little over three weeks after I had arrived at the Burrow, thus annihilating my goal of one week, but I was happy anyway with what I had turned in. I sat downstairs with Molly, eating breakfast and swapping stories about our time at Hogwarts, as last year was likely to be my last year for a while, or forever.
"And so, we made it back to the painting, but none of us knew that the password had changed at midnight, so the three of us were stuck out there, each of us holding an empty bottle of Firewhiskey with Apollyon hot on our heels." I laughed, and shook my head, leaning back in my chair.
"Now, I haven't been caught with Firewhiskey in Hogwarts, but I did lead more than half of Hufflepuff on a chase across the castle after I drank an entire bottle plus a tankard of the stuff at the beginning of this year. You should have heard how long I kept them looking for me." She chuckled, and leaned forward.
"So, I've heard you're a class five Metamorphmagus. What does that exactly mean?" I shrugged, and cleared my throat.
"Basically it means that I can change my features to the point that I can become an entirely different person." She nodded.
"Interesting. So, I assume you're going to be an Auror, right?" I nodded, and stretched my arms over my head.
"Could you show me?" I shrugged, and, after a quick glance around, shifted into Fleur. Her jaw dropped, and she stared at me in surprise. I grinned, and heard a voice from behind me.
"Who eez zis?" I turned in my seat, and saw Fleur, her hair delicately pulled back into a ponytail. Her jaw dropped as well, and I laughed before shifting back into myself. Fleur stood there in silence for a moment, as did Molly, and I took the opportunity to eat the remainder of my breakfast. I stood, yawned, and spoke to the two women.
"I think I'll go for a short walk, if that's alright, Molly." She nodded numbly, and I chuckled as I exited the Burrow, changing into the dove and soaring high into the air, enjoying the feeling of the wind on my feathers. I swooped through the nearby trees, racing a sparrow to the top of the house before landing on the roof and watching the surrounding area, as I had been doing for the past week or so. After a few minutes, I switched sides, moving my sight from the nearby field to the copse of trees on the other side of the Burrow. By my reckoning, Dumbledore didn't have much longer until the curse overcame him, and before the year ended, I was certain that Voldemort would somehow force Draco's hand in the act of 'killing' Dumbledore, if Malfoy balked for too long. Then, if everything went according to the plan, Snape would 'become' the master of the Elder Wand. I ruffled my feathers, miffed, and pondered over who the second brother could be. It would have to be someone who misses one of the dead, but who didn't? I do, and I'd give anything to see my parents again with the stone, but Dumbledore had plans with it to smuggle it to Potter, as he had explained in the letter. I shivered, and took flight, circling the house in a large arc before landing and changing back outside the door. I entered it to find Molly still eating, and Fleur nowhere to be seen. I picked up a piece of sausage, and, with a nod to Molly, walked up to where I was sleeping for the time being.