Bye, Bye, Tom
Thanks for all your support during this story. It was great fun writing it. I hope someone else does something similar. If you do, or know someone who does, let me know. I love reading the book stories, but I hate the whole copy and paste thing.
Again, thanks.
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Dumbledore’s fall from grace was a hard one. Nothing he did, no one he talked to helped. No one wanted to touch his cause. It was a political nightmare. They all said that it would be political suicide to help him. Even those that had been his staunchest supporters, couldn’t help him. Such as the Weasleys. Arthur wanted too, but he needed his job, and was told if he stuck his neck out, it would be chopped off.
Albus Dumbledore was relieved of all titles, including Headmaster. The Board had no choice but to let him go because of the public outcry. They made sure to do it in his office. They didn’t want to publicly humiliate him anymore than he already was. Sirius decided to give him the news alone.
“Sorry, Albus, but we have to let you go,” Sirius said, though he really wasn’t upset over it at all. He knew it would come to this when he pointed Rita in this direction. Well, he had hoped it would be at any rate.
Rita was thinking about making the articles into a book, with many more details and interviews. She was even thinking of interviewing Grindelwald. She would make a killing. She had already exposed Fudge and Malfoy and was living in France at the moment. She couldn’t get any more people mad at her. Sirius wished her the best of luck.
Everyone ‘in the know’ had been doing their jobs. They had gotten rid of Dumbledore, Fudge, Umbridge, Malfoy, Snape, and countless other people. Either by their own hands, or by pointing the right people at them. Sirius had been overturning laws left and right, now that he didn’t have Dumbledore to contend with.
“Is there nothing that can be done? If Voldemort comes back, who will protect the children?” Dumbledore asked in a last ditched effort to save his last job. This had been his home for decades, almost a century. He had been here to see generations of children grow. Families that had bloomed under his guidance. How were they to grow if he were not here to guide them? They might get ideas, make changes, and do things that would radically make things different.
“You know that there has been no word, and that Voldemort has not been heard from since that night many years ago,” Sirius said, though he knew better. Even still, if he had his way, that man would be gone in a few days. If Bill was right, when they did the ritual, Voldemort would be just a memory. They were all prepared for that eventuality.
“You know that is not true,” Albus said, knowing that Harry told him of his prior years at school. “I know Harry told you of his last two years here,” he said, voicing his thoughts.
“Ah, but the public doesn’t know that. That would be your doing,” the other man said with a smirk. “You were the one who was so gung-ho at hiding what was going on in this castle, now it has come to bite you in the arse.”
“And if I were to go to the papers?” the old man asked, a twinkle in his eyes. He wouldn’t do that, so it was an empty threat, but he wanted to see what Sirius would say to that. It would put him in a bad light. It would show that he did not have control over the school.
“Do you think anyone would believe you? After you’ve lied to them all these years?” Sirius asked. “As it is, there is nothing that can be done to help you,” he said, holding out his hands in a ‘what can I do’ manner. “The demand for your resignation is too high. If you had not kept so many secrets, it might not have come to this,” he said with a small smirk. “You will have until the end of the week to clear out all of your belongings. There will be a new headmaster by then,” he said, trying to inject sympathy in his voice, but finding it hard.
“Minerva will not be taking that role?” Albus asked, a bit surprised since he had been grooming her to take over for him for quite awhile now. If she were headmistress, then he would have someone in power that would be able to tell him what was going on in the castle. He would not be left out of the loop, so to speak.
“After the way she handled being the Head of Gryffindor? No,” Sirius said, reminding him that she had slacked in her duties in reining in her house. That and there was no way one of Albus’s lackeys was going to be in charge of the school. They would just continue his indoctrination. For the greater good.
“I am sure that she would make a fine Headmistress,” Albus tried again, really wanting his friend in this position. She would make sure that things remained the same, or close enough to the status quo to his liking.
“The Board has spoken,” the dogman said with a note of finality. “There will be a new headmaster here in a week.”
“Very well,” Dumbledore said, knowing that Minerva will not be happy with this news.
“Again, I’m sorry it had to be this way. You will receive a retirement package for your years of devoted service,” Sirius said, getting up and making his way out of the office, a bit of a spring in his step.
“I understand,” Albus said, though his tone suggested he really did not understand any of what was happening to him. He looked around the office and sighed. He had so much packing to do. He called a house elf to help him get started.
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It was Halloween and the feast was going strong. The new headmaster was a good one. His name was McCloud for Scotland. He was fair and mostly openminded. He ruled with an iron fist when it came to bullying though. He hated the bullies and made sure they knew it. Other than that, they were told to keep an open mind and ask questions about everything. Hermione didn’t really like him, but Harry thought he was great.
Harry was a bit melancholy, but he was having fun with his friends anyway. He learned from having so many friends, that being sad on this day was not doing him any good. He loved his parents, and he respected the fact that they died for him. Now though, he was here and in the now. So, he was going to enjoy the company of his friends.
“Are you okay, Neville?” he asked his best friend. Ron had fallen from that spot, though he was still a friend. Neville hadn’t been the type to get angry over every little thing and stood by him whenever things got tight, though that hadn’t really been an issue this year. Unless you count the run-ins with Malfoy.
“Yeah, I just get bent out of shape this time of year,” Neville said, knowing Harry felt the same way.
“I know, me too. Just try and enjoy the feast, and we can light a candle or something later, yeah?” Harry said, clapping his friend on the back.
“Yeah,” Neville said, grabbing some of the pumpkin pie that littered the table. There were a lot of different treats all over the table now that the regular dinner had been eaten. However, Neville wasn’t the adventurous type, and he stuck with what he knew.
Harry, on the other hand, tried the creepy looking eyeball treat. It was actually pretty good. It tasted like watermelon. Salty watermelon, but watermelon, all the same.
The feast went on as planned and soon enough a bunch of stuffed kids went to bed. It was around eleven pm that Remus snuck into the Gryffindor dorms and woke Harry. “Come on, Harry. We have to go,” he said to the boy when Harry’s eyes opened from his shaking.
“Alright,” the tired boy said, groggily getting out of bed, not having gotten undressed knowing he was going to be getting up at this time. He shoved his feet into his shoes and stumbled out of the room.
Remus chuckled and followed.
They made their way to the Whomping Willow where they took the tunnel to the shack on the other side. Harry was fascinated with the tree and how you can touch a spot to make it stop from moving. He wished he had known that last year when the tree had almost killed him and Ron.
From the shack they disapparated to Grimmuald Place. Sirius met them at the door. “Harry, Remus,” he said, giving Harry a hug. “It’s good to see you both,” he said, releasing the teen.
“Professor Lupin said you were going to get something out of my scar,” Harry said, looking at the worn man, who nodded.
“Well, Bill will,” Sirius corrected, pointing to Bill, who nodded to the group standing in the doorway. “Come in,” the dogman said, ushering them inside and out of the cold. “I have some hot drinks. We have to wait for the witching hour,” he said, pointing to the clock, which read eleven fifteen.
“Why did you wake me up if we have so much time?” Harry grumbled, taking the cup of hot chocolate from his godfather.
“So we can tell you what’s going to happen,” Remus said, unrepentant.
“Don’t worry, Harry, you will be asleep for the ritual,” Bill said, making the boy perk up a bit at that. “I’ll be giving you a dreamless sleep potion. You’ll not remember a thing,” he added, hoping the boy didn’t wake during the ritual. It might be painful for him. They hoped not, but it could be. It had never been preformed on a living vessel before. He had adapted it to adjust for Harry, but it was untested.
“I trust you,” Harry said as if reading his mind. “You are one of the best, according to your brothers,” he added, taking a sip of his cup.
“Ah, but they are bias,” Bill chuckled, getting up and going to the door. “I have to double check everything. I’ll come and get you all when I’m ready,” he said on his way out.
“Everything is going to be alright, Harry,” Sirius said at the teen’s worried face. “We’ll get this taken care of, then you’ll never have to worry about that bastard Voldy ever again,” he added, his face like granite.
“Alright, I trust you,” Harry said, finishing off his hot chocolate. He was still worried; he didn’t know it was that serious. He thought it was just some dark residue. “How will this stop Voldemort?” he asked, wanting to make sure he understood what was going on.
“There are some trinkets that have the same residue,” Remus said, looking at Sirius, who nodded. “It’s a bit more serious than I explained. I just didn’t want to worry you. I didn’t lie, per se, just downplayed it. The residue is more like a bit of his soul,” he said, laying it all on the table. “And there are other bits. We plan on putting them all together and then destroying them. You will be asleep, so you won’t have to do anything,” he finished, putting his hand on the teen’s arm.
“What if I want to be awake?” Harry asked, never one to balk from a fight.
“You would move too much,” Sirius said, shaking his head in negation. “It’s better if you are knocked out,” he added, looking very serious. “That way there is less chance of messing it up,” he said, picking up the cups and taking them to the sink.
“I guess,” Harry said, his eyes wary. He didn’t like the fact that he would not be participating in the ritual. It felt like he would not be in control of something that was vital to the end of Voldemort. That felt wrong to him.
“You are still playing your part,” Remus said as if reading his mind. “Your face is an open book,” he explained. “You will be doing your part by letting us do ours,” he reiterated.
“Okay,” the teen said, still not mollified, however he would take what he could get.
Just then Amelia Bones, who Harry had yet to meet, and Alastor Mad-eye Moody, who Harry had met the one time, came through the door.
“Everything about ready?” the one-eyed man asked, looking at the teen with his magical eye.
“Yep,” Sirius said, getting another cup ready for Amelia, since Moody didn’t like hot chocolate. “Harry, this is Madam Bones, and Mad-eye Moody. Amelia, Moody, my godson Harry Potter,” Sirius said, doing the introductions with a nod of his head to each person as he handed Amelia her cup.
“Pleasure, ma’am, sir,” Harry said as politely as he could while trying not to stare at the scarred man. He looked even more creepy at night than he did the first time he’d seen him. The adults talked about the ritual for a little while, while Harry listened in.
Bill came in to get them. It was fifteen minutes until midnight. He led them to the ritual room, that was on the first floor. He had Harry lay down on the northern section of the circle that he had drawn. The other horcruxes were laid out around the rest of the circle.
The circle was drawn with golden chalk and had many goblin runes depicted throughout. Each horcrux had a rune next to it, including Harry’s head. The rest of Harry’s body was in the inner part of the circle to protect it from any outer magic. It was difficult to do, but Bill had figured it out.
Bill started chanting at the stroke of midnight in goblin tongue. He chanted for the entire twelve count and then started a new chant. As he chanted the horcruxes began to glow. The glows began to detach from the items they were occupying and soon were forming a ball in the middle of the circle, where another smaller circle was drawn. This circle was drawn with black chalk. The ball began to glow silver and grew bigger as all of the soul bits transformed into one.
Then Bill threw a silver ball into the circle. It landed into the black circle, and he changed his chanting. The ball of soul bits was drawn into the silver ball. It took only a minute, and it was done.
“Quick, break the circle,” Bill said, slumping down exhausted.
Sirius and Remus went to the chalk line and broke the circle and checked on Harry. He was still sleeping like a baby.
“He’s fine,” Sirius said after waving his wand over the sleeping teen. “Just sleeping,” he confirmed.
“Whew,” Bill said, wiping his sweaty forehead with a cloth he conjured.
“Is that it?” Amelia said, going to the silver ball. She didn’t touch it, just hovered her hand over it. She could feel the evil of it through her skin. It made it crawl, like an army of ants were making their way up her arm.
“Yes, when we destroy it, it’ll all be over,” Bill said, standing up and stretching his shoulders to get some of the kinks out.
“Who can cast Fiendfyre?” she asked, knowing she could not. She could not keep control over it.
“I can,” all of them said, though only two sounded very sure.
“I can keep it under control,” Moody said, holding his hand out.
“Me too,” Bill said, though he didn’t hold his hand out. He had done his part. He was even doing this for free. His contract was over as of last week. Sirius wanted to renegotiate, but he said he wanted to go back to Egypt. He was on vacation right now. It was up as of this night. He would return to work tomorrow, and he was glad of it.
“I’ll take it,” Moody said, stomping over and picking up the ball. He put it in his pocket and started out the door.
“Wait, I want to see it done. Use the fireplace here,” Sirius said, making the other man stop.
“You would risk this house?” Moody said, looking at Sirius like he had lost his mind.
“I hate this house,” Sirius reminded him. “I plan on leaving it anyway. Besides, I trust you,” he said, leading them to the living room, carrying the still sleeping Harry. “Wake up, Harry. You’re going to want to see this,” he said, trying to wake the teen.
“Alright,” Harry said, trying to open his potion induced sleepy eyes. It was hard, so Sirius made a quick detour to the loo and grabbed a pepper-up.
“Here,” he said, putting the vial to the teen’s mouth.
Harry drank it and grimaced. He was wide awake now though. “What’s going on?” he asked, getting to his feet.
“Moody is going to destroy Voldy,” Sirius said, leading the way to the living room again.
The silver ball was already in the fireplace and Moody was pacing in front of it. He snarled at the people around him. He felt like a circus performer. He barked out the spell and pointed the flame to the object to be annihilated.
It wasn’t even a big flame, just a trickle of one. But it was enough. The screams that came out of that ball were terrifying to those that were watching. They were also relieving, because that meant that Voldemort was now mortal and more than likely dead for good, since there was nothing holding his shade to the world.
“So, he’s gone?” Harry asked, looking at all the adults.
“Aye, lad, he’s gone,” Moody said, stopping the flames and sitting in a nearby chair.
“Thank goodness,” Harry said with heartfelt relief. Maybe his life would be normal from now on. He looked around the room and spotted some books with his name on them. “Sirius,” he said, pointing to the books, “what are those?”
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Deep in the forest of Romania a wraith of one Tom Riddle faded away. His last thoughts were ‘Damn you, Dumbledore.’
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Here is the end of the story. Yes, I left it with a bit of a cliffhanger, but it is the end. This was always going to be the ending from the start of the story.
I might come back and do an epilogue. I might not. Depends on my muse.