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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 87: The Headmaster's Distress
"It's beautiful!" Ginny gushed while gently picking the dress robes up. "And heavy… did you really make these?"
"I did," Harry confirmed.
"Since when can you make dresses?" Ron was giving him a strange look.
"Since recently. I had to put a lot of effort into learning how to make female ones." It wasn't as hard as he initially thought it would be, because he already had a tremendous amount of experience in making his own clothes.
It was one of the few activities he had taken up to keep his mind occupied while trapped, and he had become quite good at it. Not that he would reveal that to his friends.
"This is basilisk skin." Charlie watched in awe. "Nowadays, that is even rarer than dragon leather. Those creatures went extinct in Britain almost a thousand years ago."
"The one from the Chamber of Secrets? You went back there for this?" Ginny asked in a soft tone, not wanting the others to hear.
"Are you crazy?. Why would you go back there?." Hermione asked with a mix of confusion and outrage.
"It seemed like a waste to leave the creature there to rot. I thought I could put it to good use. Unfortunately, it had been left in the water for so long that only its leather was still in good shape," Harry explained.
"That sounds like a waste indeed," said Bill. "I wonder why Dumbledore just left it there, knowing how valuable it was."
"Okay, enough about that creature." Molly didn't like to be reminded of what happened that year. She almost lost her daughter. "I'm sure the Headmaster had a good reason to let that monster rot in that blasted chamber."
Her eyes moved to Harry. "Why would you give her something like that?"
"Mom, it's okay," said Ginny. "It was never the basilisk that scared me. I barely even remember it. What scared me was that diary, and—"
"Miss Weasley," Harry spoke next. "Those robes could one day save her life. The woven enchantments, combined with the natural magical resistance of the basilisk scales, would be capable of stopping nearly every curse in existence."
"He is right, Mom," said Bill. "A set of dragon scale robes could cost you over a thousand Galleons. Ones made of an ancient basilisk… they have no price." The eldest brother glanced over at the robes. "Honestly, I'm kind of envious."
"That's not fair. Why didn't you make one for me as well?" Ron complained. "I also—huh?"
Suddenly, everyone at the table felt something strange, as if they had received a mild charge of electricity, and the hair on their bodies stood up. It was not painful or unpleasant, but it was enough to startle them.
"What happened?." Hermione sounded confused, as she didnt feel anything.
"Someone who is not part of the family has crossed the wards." Harry was the one who explained it to them, since he was the most familiar with the protections. "But it's not an intruder. Otherwise, the reaction would be much more intense."
Harry had purposely made two different levels for those tied into the wards. One was for the family, who could come and go without producing any reaction. But if someone on the 'guest level' came in by themselves, everyone else would be alerted by their presence.
However, right now, there are only three people on that level. And Harry was sure it couldn't be Sirius, as he was very busy today, and Hermione was already here.
"It's Professor Dumbledore."
"How nice, he must have come here to wish you a happy birthday, Ginny," Molly said with excitement.
"Molly… I don't think that is the reason." But her husband, Arthur, was not so optimistic. During these tense times, he didn't think the Headmaster would come here unannounced unless something important had happened.
The tension at the table rose immediately, and everyone was wondering about the motives behind the sudden visit.
They only had to wait a few seconds before they saw the main door open and the Headmaster walking inside.
When the Weasley family saw the man's expression, they knew that Arthur was correct… something bad had happened.
"I am very sorry to interrupt Miss Weasley's birthday, but…" Dumbledore adjusted his glasses.
"What is it, Albus? Another attack?" Arthur asked.
"It isn't Diagon Alley, right?" George asked.
"Yeah, we just opened our shop there," Fred added.
"Ehm… I cannot speak about it right now. I have scheduled a meeting of the Order for tonight at the usual location." Dumbledore glanced at Harry. "But right now, I need to speak with Mister Potter in private."
"Can't you at least tell us if it's about You-Know-Who?" Hermione wanted to know.
"Yes, please. Don't leave us hanging like that," Bill said.
Dumbledore sighed. "It is indeed about Voldemort. He has returned, and it's much worse than what we imagined…"
"Wait, how bad are we talking about here?" Ron asked.
"Harry…" Ginny grabbed his hand.
"It's going to be fine. I'll be back as soon as I can," Harry tried to reassure her.
"It would be best if you all remained in this house for the time being," Dumbledore suggested. "The wards on the property will keep you safe from any potential attack. So whatever you do, don't go wandering around."
After saying that, he turned around and left through the same door he had entered, not answering any more questions. Their answers would have to wait.
Harry followed behind the Headmaster as he walked away from the house until he was near the boundaries of the wards.
"Well, what's going on? What got you so shaken up?" Harry didn't remember ever seeing the Headmaster like this.
Dumbledore stopped and turned around, looking directly into Harry's eyes. "We have found the location of the Dark Lord's hideout. But it came with a heavy price…"
"What are y—"
"Severus is dead," Dumbledore said. His expression reflected how he felt at the moment.
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