The Only One He Ever Feared (OP)
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The Only One He Ever Feared is the thirty-sixth chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Contents |
Veil aftermath
Harry refuses to accept that Sirius has died (OP35). Remus, he thinks, does not understand: people hide behind that curtain; Sirius is simply lurking. Lupin struggles to contain the teenager, who keeps calling his godfather's name, and sadly tries to tell him that Padfoot is, in fact, dead.
The boy slowly realises that Sirius is not reappearing; he has never kept Harry waiting before, not when he could risk anything or everything to be there for his godson.
The duel goes on around him, and eventually Dumbledore groups most of the Death Eaters in the middle of the room, apparently immobilising them with invisible ropes. Moody walks off to a corner to try to revive Tonks, while Kingsley continues Sirius' duel with Bellatrix.
Neville, legs still dancing, expresses his condolences to Harry, asking if Sirius was a friend. The boy nods. Lupin says, "Finite" and the spell is lifted; he then wretchedly proposes to set out and find the other children. It seems as though every word costs him, and he consciously turns away from the archway. Neville reports that a brain has attacked Ron and that Hermione's unconscious.
Bellatrix
Suddenly, a loud bang comes from the dais, and Harry turns to see Kingsley falling to the floor. Bellatrix runs off and deflects a spell Dumbledore throws her way. "SHE KILLED SIRIUS," Harry bellows, now running after her. "I'LL KILL HER!"
They return to the room with the brains (OP34). She casts a curse over her shoulder, causing the tank to rise in the air and tipple over; Harry was covered in the green liquid and brains with long, coloured tentacles. He uses "Wingardium Leviosa" to levitate the brains away.
He passes by Luna, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and arrives at the circular room. Harry barely catches a glimpse of Bellatrix leaving the department and heading towards the lifts before she slams the door and the walls start rotating. When they stop, he desperately voices his wish to find the exit; the correct door immediately opens, and Harry runs out.
Entering the lift, he hammers the Atrium button; when he finally arrives in the large room, he sees Bellatrix is almost arriving at the telephone box (OP7). He sprints towards her; she hurls another curse at him, and he dodges behind the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The light hits the gates at the other end of the Atrium.
Bellatrix stops running, and chooses instead to mock the boy. "Come out, come out, little Harry," she calls out. "What did you come after me for, then? I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!"
"I am!" Harry shouts in reply, only to have her jeer, "Aaaah... did you love him, little baby Potter?"
The Fountain duel
Harry feels a surge of hatred inside him like none he has ever experiences before and comes out of the fountain, bellowing, "Crucio!"
The spell knocks the Death Eater off her feet, but it does little else; she does not express pain, but no longer laughs. Her counter-spell hits the head of the wizard of the fountain, having it land twenty feet away.
Bellatrix correctly guesses that Harry has never before used an Unforgivable Curse, and instructs him: one needs to really want to cause pain in order for it to hurt; righteous anger doesn't make it last long. She attempts to show him how it's done, but he dodges again and the curse hits the centaur's arm and it joins the wizard's head, far from the fountain.
"I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant. I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete —"
Harry tries to Stun her, but she uses Protego to deflect it—and the goblin statue's ear suffers the impact. The Death Eater then offers the boy a choice: if he rolls the Prophecy over to her right now, she will spare his life. Harry informs her that it's gone, and he suddenly feels soaring pain on his forehead, as well as a brand new surge of fury.
Harry laughs—a maniacal laugher to rival even Bellatrix's—when he realises the reason for his pain. "And he knows!" Harry yells. "Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is he?"
For the first time, Bellatrix demonstrates fear. He repeats that the orb was destroyed. With a mix of terror and anger, she attempts to Summon it, to no avail. Harry laughs again to spite her, but the pain in his forehead is almost too much to bear.
Bellatrix starts apologising, visibly terrified, for failing. Harry points out that Voldemort can't hear her there, only to be replied to by the Dark Lord himself. "Can't I, Potter?" he says coldly.
Harry opens his eyes.
Lord Voldemort
There is Lord Voldemort, wearing a black hood, his snakelike face white and gaunt. He appears in the middle of the hall, pointing his wand at Harry. The Dark Lord is, of course, disappointed that his Death Eaters have let Potter thwart him yet again. He gives Bella little attention, promising to deal with her later.
"I have nothing more to say to you, Potter," he says quietly. "You have irked me too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Harry had no more strength to resist. The headless wizard statue, however, springs to life, and moves to stand between the two duellers, absorbing the impact. Voldemort is puzzled for a second, but then he sees Dumbledore at the gates.
This chapter summary is not done yet. Please be patient.
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