Chapter 167: 7-2
An explosion echoed.
"Eek!" A girl in the foreground ducked, clutching her head. The castle trembled. Someone's angry shout rang out. — The battle had begun.
Instinctively looking for a window, I bit my lip, remembering there were none in this room, and turned back to face what was right in front of me. Not yet—they shouldn't have broken inside yet. But at this rate...
"Maria, isn't it ready yet?!"
"Just a little more—a little more—once the runes form a circle—"
"The corridor's already packed! If they breach the room while we're stuck like this—is that thing really going to work?!"
"It will!! It definitely will!"
Yelling back at their frantic shouts, I reconstructed the spell array from scratch. This was a spell I had perfected through countless checks with my best friends. There was no way it wouldn't work.
The junk surrounding the Vanishing Cabinet had been shoved into the corners, and I engaged in trial and error before the grand double doors, wide enough for ten people to pass through at once.
"What's missing... what is it..."
"Potter!"
"Professor McGonagall..."
"We have barricaded the entire grounds. However, even with that, thirty minutes is our limit. By then... is it still not finished?"
I bit my lip at the touch of disappointment in Professor McGonagall's voice. Pathetic. Miserable. Unseemly. After talking such a big game... At this rate—at this rate—
My eyes locked with a girl tearfully hugging a younger student, likely her little brother.
No! Don't get anxious. Don't falter. Don't let it show on your face. If the adults waver, it will spread to the children. Even if it’s a lie, even if I have to force it—
"We'll make it in time!"
Smile!!
"I can see the completion. I'll make it in time. I won't let a single person die. On Dumbledore's name, I swear it."
"Maria..."
Once more. Take a deep breath. Don't panic. Carefully—cautiously—remember the voice of my best friend. The way she moved her wand.
"Thurisaz (ᚦ), Raido (ᚱ), Gebo (ᚷ)—"
Professor McGonagall's eyes widened as I chanted toward the doors without a wand. It was too late for surprise now. This was an all-out war. No more holding back.
"—Elder Futhark runes, I see."
Staring up at the three runes floating in midair, waiting to be etched into the ground, Professor McGonagall murmured quietly.
"The one among you who took Ancient Runes was..."
Her sharp eyes behind her spectacles fell upon Hermione.
"I see. 'Protection', 'Journey', and 'Gift'. By combining them and elevating them into a single spell array, you've minimized the strain on the caster. Truly magnificent. And yet—utterly reckless! This is an extraordinarily risky piece of invented magic! Should it accidentally trigger in an incomplete state, it could blow you apart from the inside out! I can hardly believe this was the idea of someone as cautious as her—which means, yes, there must have been someone nearby with extraordinarily outlandish ideas."
The witch's gaze shifted to Ron. The faces of the two being stared at by Professor McGonagall clearly read utter confusion. ...To see through it in a single glance—no matter how old I get, I really can't match up to professors.
"Now then, Miss Potter. By the way, what form is this ultimately supposed to take?"
There was a hint of intellectual curiosity in her expression, so reminiscent of Hermione when faced with a difficult problem, that I almost burst out laughing.
"It forms a circle. The runes connect to one another, changing shape..."
However, the rune characters dispersed before my eyes. They wouldn't connect. No matter how many times I tried, it failed right here. Why—?!
"—Could it be missing Wyrd (⛝)?"
"What?"
"The Blank Rune. The void. It is not a character. By placing Wyrd between them, it emphasizes the other runes. Formal Runic Magic would not ordinarily include it—as it is standard practice to omit it, after all."
Zap. A bolt of lightning flashed through my head.
"—'Omission'!!"
That was it. My Hermione had connected rune to rune, and then reduced their size. There was a blank space at the intersection. It had the meaning of 'the void'!
"That's it—Professor, thank you! Thank you so much!"
"W-Well... tee-hee."
When I impulsively took Professor McGonagall’s hands in both of mine, the old witch blushed with a soft, bashful smile, looking just like a young girl.
I can do it—it will work—we'll make it in time—!
"Thurisaz (ᚦ), Raido (ᚱ), Gebo (ᚷ)—with Wyrd (⛝) between them, shrink—form the circle—Open, door!"
The Cabinet doors... opened.
Whaaa! Cheers erupted. Restraining the children who were about to rush forward, we guided the first-years through first.
"I can't leave this spot until everyone is safely across. If I, the caster, move away, the doors will close. —Please, protect me and the children until the end."
" " "Of course!" " "
Three reliable faces nodded with bright smiles.
"Professor, thank you."
"Once unraveled, it was quite simple logic, Potter."
"Yes, it might be for you. Even if I spend my whole life, I'll always have much to learn."
"Even if one masters wandless magic—as long as we are human, we are forever students."
I let out a dry laugh at the professor's strict yet nuanced words. Hermione looked up at Professor McGonagall, her eyes shining.
"I had no idea you were so knowledgeable in Runes, Professor McGonagall. With such vast knowledge, why weren't you Head of Ravenclaw House?"
Puffing out her chest, straightening her spine, and tilting her head up with pride behind her glasses, the old witch smiled serenely.
"Surely for the very same reason you chose Gryffindor."
"Come on, next ten, go through—!"
Only two faces responded with bright smiles to my shouted call. Ginny and Luna. There was no one left behind them.
"We're the last. —It was perfect, Maria."
"Yeah. You were amazing. Thanks to Maria, everyone was saved."
"Ginny... Luna..."
The girls gave me appreciative hugs. As the last child remaining in Hogwarts, I stepped up to the Cabinet and looked back.
"Maria—I won't say goodbye. We'll meet again, won't we?"
"Ginny."
A tight pang in my chest reminded me of the pain of parting. I stared at her as if searing her image into my brain, into my soul. Ginevra Weasley was breathtakingly beautiful.
"...Goodbye, Ginny. I love you."
"Yes. I love you too, my sister Maria. —See you soon."
With that final exchanged farewell, I closed the door. I sealed the Cabinet. There is no 'later', Ginny. With this—no more—
"────Wait."
No one left? The sentimentality shattered in an instant.
Why aren't they here? —Where did Harry and the others go?
Without hesitation, I pulled out the Marauder's Map and unfolded it. Known names were scattered all over, and the situation inside Hogwarts Castle was too chaotic to make sense of. —Yes, inside the castle.
Outside the castle grounds. My eyes shifted to a shack on the outskirts—a place no one except the original Marauders would have bothered drawing on the map. Three names were clustered together, moving. Three names I knew all too well. And beyond them—
Severus Snape and 'Tom Riddle' were standing face-to-face.
I ran. I ran. I ran. Flames rose around me. Flashes of spell-light grazed my cheeks. Portraits roared, giants stomped their feet, and Devil's Snare entangled Acromantulas. Countless Patronuses swept away swarms of Dementors that filled the sky. Peeves flew around dropping chandeliers, uttering wild battle cries. Someone was down—I leapt over them. Someone had died—I leapt over them.
I RAN. I RAN. I RAN. I RAN. I RAN. ──────Severus Snape was about to close his eyes, leaving trails of tears upon his face.
"NO!!"
Shoving Harry aside, I desperately pressed down on the wound on Snape's neck.
"No, you can't die, you absolutely can't! I won't allow it—I'll never allow it! I won't let you get away with winning and dying!"
"Maria...?"
"No, live properly! Live, damn it! please! I haven't—I haven't even said thank you to you yet! I'll curse you, if you die here, I'll chase you all the way to hell!"
"Mari—"
"Let's go, Harry."
"But—"
"We have to go!"
Footsteps faded away into the distance. It didn't matter. None of that mattered. Weak as it was, the man's heartbeat was undeniably right here. We'd make it. I could pull him back. This time, out of the darkness—you.
Please—keep your promise, Dumbledore.
"────"
A song.
A song that would make every single human drop their weapons from their hands.
A song that made one forget how to fight.
A song.
The song that had once shaken a young boy's heart.
A song mourning its beloved master.
A song of love—and of farewell.
Fawkes landed beside Snape, tears streaming down his face. —And by his side...
"...Did you bring him here? —Hedwig."
My beloved, soft, and nostalgic pure-white companion let out an adorable Hoo.
A miracle. This was a miracle. You, who had once severed our bond—guided destiny itself.
Under Hedwig's watchful gaze, I pleaded to Fawkes, who turned his innocent eyes toward me.
"Fawkes. For this pitiful man who was so faithful to your master—please, cry for him."
Drop by drop, Fawkes's tears caressed Snape's wound, cleansing it. The phoenix wept to share his life with the man fading away. The hue of death—returned to the color of the living.
I couldn't stop my cheeks from loosening into a helpless smile. I was laughing. It was a feeling of pure relief. Because—finally—
"I will save your life with my own hands—the very hands you wished were dead. This is—my revenge against you, for leaving me behind and dying on your own while holding what I should have had."
Because I finally landed a blow against the man I hated so much.
I pulled out the communication paper from inside my robes. Words floated upon it: 'I kept my promise.'
Rough handwriting. Surely, right after leaving the note, he must have torn up such a piece of scrap paper. —I don't need it anymore, either.
For a moment, I thought his lips moved. Probably misheard it. Just the sound of the wind, or Hedwig's rustling feathers—there's no way you would call me Maria. ...It's definitely just my imagination.
Dumbledore did not cry. The man who had wept, begging not to be forgiven, was no longer here. Surely, he had taken it away just as Sirius had. Wrapped it up precious and swallowed it whole.
Between the one who leaves nothing behind and the ones left behind—I didn't think I would ever understand which was more cruel.
"Professor Dumbledore, I will do as you say. I will remain loyal to you. So please—grant me one as well. A 'promise'."
Hmm. Encouraging me to continue, Dumbledore's eyes were endlessly gentle. A clear blue. Eyes severing all lingering attachments. —A transparent beauty walking toward death.
"I want to be able to summon Fawkes to me when the time comes."
Hearing his name spoken, Fawkes turned his head with a rustle. His fluffy tail feathers fluttered like flames fanned by the wind.
"So that when the right time comes, I may die—so that it will not become a regret."
I locked eyes with that blue shimmer. It had a coldness and depth that Ron never possessed. And etched into it was a pain that no longer had anyone to share it with.
"Of course. When you come to the Headmaster's office, both Fawkes and I will always welcome you. —And yet, it seems that when that time comes, I may not be in a state to speak with you."
Naturally, my gaze drifted down to Dumbledore's blackened, dead arm. As if understanding completely, Dumbledore stroked his arm.
"Now then, you must forgive an old senile fool if my accuracy lacks a bit—but there is a rather amusing legend in my family. It is said that in times of desperate need for our kin, a phoenix will appear out of nowhere. Perhaps a very distant ancestor of mine shared a few peanuts with a phoenix chick once upon a time."
As if drawn by Dumbledore's mischievous chuckle, Fawkes took flight. Landing on Dumbledore's living arm, he gazed at me innocently.
"Surely—my brother shall grant the wish of our gentle co-conspirator."
He offered his arm. Flames billowed up.
"Dumbledore... I am your accomplice."
Perched upon my arm, Fawkes let out a soft trill.
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