Malfoy stared at Dumbledore.
‘But I got this far, didn’t I?’ he said slowly. They thought I’d die in the attempt, but I’m here… and you’re in my power… I’m the one with the wand… you’re at my mercy…‘
‘No, Draco,’ said Dumbledore quietly. ‘It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.’
Malfoy did not speak. His mouth was open, his wand hand still trembling. Harry thought he saw it drop by a fraction But suddenly footsteps were thundering up the stairs and a second later Malfoy was buffeted out of the way as four people in black robes burst through the door on to the ramparts. Still paralysed, his eyes staring unblinkingly, Harry gazed in terror upon four strangers: it seemed the Death Eaters had won the fight below.
A lumpy-looking man with an odd lopsided leer gave a wheezy giggle.
‘Dumbledore cornered!’ he said, and he turned to a stocky little woman who looked as though she could be his sister and who was grinning eagerly. ‘Dumbledore wandless, Dumbledore alone! Well done, Draco, well done!’
‘Good evening, Amycus,’ said Dumbledore calmly, as though welcoming the man to a tea party. ‘And you’ve brought Alecto too… charming…’
The woman gave an angry little titter.
Think your little jokes’ll help you on your death bed, then?‘ she jeered.
‘Jokes? No, no, these are manners,’ replied Dumbledore.
‘Do it,’ said the stranger standing nearest to Harry, a big, rangy man with matted grey hair and whiskers, whose black Death Eater’s robes looked uncomfortably tight. He had a voice like none that Harry had ever heard: a rasping bark of a voice. Harry could smell a powerful mixture of dirt, sweat and, unmistakeably, of blood coming from him. His filthy hands had long yellowish nails.
‘Is that you, Fenrir?’ asked Dumbledore.
That’s right,‘ rasped the other. ’Pleased to see me, Dumbledore?‘
‘No, I cannot say that I am…’
Fenrir Greyback grinned, showing pointed teeth. Blood trickled down his chin and he licked his lips slowly, obscenely.
‘But you know how much I like kids, Dumbledore.’
‘Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual… you have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?’
That’s right,‘ said Greyback. ’Shocks you, that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?‘
‘Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little,’ said Dumbledore. ‘And, yes, I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live…’
‘I didn’t,’ breathed Malfoy. He was not looking at Greyback; he did not seem to want to even glance at him. ‘I didn’t know he was going to come -’
‘I wouldn’t want to miss a trip to Hogwarts, Dumbledore,’ rasped Greyback. ‘Not when there are throats to be ripped out… delicious, delicious…’
And he raised a yellow fingernail and picked at his front teeth, leering at Dumbledore.
‘I could do you for afters, Dumbledore…’
‘No,’ said the fourth Death Eater sharply. He had a heavy, brutal-looking face. ‘We’ve got orders. Draco’s got to do it. Now, Draco, and quickly.’
Malfoy was showing less resolution than ever. He looked terrified as he stared into Dumbledore’s face, which was even paler, and rather lower than usual, as he had slid so far down the rampart wall.
‘He’s not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!’ said the lopsided man, to the accompaniment of his sister’s wheezing giggles. ‘Look at him — what’s happened to you, then, Dumby?’
‘Oh, weaker resistance, slower reflexes, Amycus,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Old age, in short… one day, perhaps, it will happen to you… if you are lucky…’
‘What’s that mean, then, what’s that mean?’ yelled the Death Eater, suddenly violent. ‘Always the same, weren’t yeh, Dumby, talking and doing nothing, nothing, I don’t even know why the Dark Lord’s bothering to kill yeh! Come on, Draco, do it!’
But at that moment, there were renewed sounds of scuffling from below and a voice shouted, ‘They’ve blocked the stairs — Reducto! REDUCTO!’
Harry’s heart leapt: so these four had not eliminated all opposition, but merely broken through the fight to the top of the Tower, and, by the sound of it, created a barrier behind them ‘Now, Draco, quickly!’ said the brutal-faced man angrily.
But Malfoy’s hand was shaking so badly that he could barely aim.
Til do it,‘ snarled Greyback, moving towards Dumbledore with his hands outstretched, his teeth bared.
‘I said no!’ shouted the brutal-faced man; there was a flash of light and the werewolf was blasted out of the way; he hit the ramparts and staggered, looking furious. Harry’s heart was hammering so hard it seemed impossible that nobody could hear him standing there, imprisoned by Dumbledore’s spell -if he could only move, he could aim a curse from under the Cloak ‘Draco, do it, or stand aside so one of us -’ screeched the woman, but at that precise moment the door to the ramparts burst open once more and there stood Snape, his wand clutched in his hand as his black eyes swept the scene, from Dumbledore slumped against the wall, to the four Death Eaters, including the enraged werewolf, and Malfoy.
‘We’ve got a problem, Snape,’ said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, ‘the boy doesn’t seem able -’
But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly.
‘Severus…’
The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Snape said nothing, but walked forwards and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.
Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.
‘Severus… please…“
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
‘Avada Kedavra!’
A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape’s wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry’s scream of horror never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air: for a split second he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backwards, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.
CHAPTER 28: Flight of the Prince
Harry felt as though he too were hurtling through space; it had not happened… It could not have happened…
“Out of here, quickly,” said Snape.
He seized Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest; Greyback and the squat brother and sister followed, the latter both panting excitedly. As they vanished through the door, Harry realized he could move again. What was now holding him paralyzed against the wall was not magic, but horror and shock. He threw the Invisibility Cloak aside as the brutal-faced Death Eater, last to leave the tower top, was disappearing through the door.
“Petrificus Totalus!”
The Death Eater buckled as though hit in the back with something solid and fell to the ground, rigid as a waxwork, but he had barely hit the floor when Harry was clambering over him and running down the darkened staircase.
Terror tore at Harry;s heart… He had to get to Dumbledore and he had to catch Snape… Somehow the two things were linked… He could reverse what had happened if he had them both together… Dumbledore could not have died…
He leapt the last ten steps of the spiral staircase and stopped where he landed, his wand raised. The dimly lit corridor was full of dust; half the ceiling seemed to have fallen in; and a battle was raging before him, but even as he attempted to make out who were fighting whom, he heard the hated voice shout, “It’s over, time to go!” and saw Snape disappearing around the corner at the far end of the corridor; he and Malfoy seemed to have forced their way through the fight unscathed. As Harry plunged after them, one of the fighters detached themselves from the fray and flew at him: it was the werewolf, Fenrir. He was on top of Harry before Harry could raise his wand: Harry fell backward, with filthy matted hair in his face, the stench of sweat and blood filling his nose and mouth, hot greedy breath at his throat -
“Petrificus Totalus!”
Harry felt Fenrir collapse against him; with a stupendous effort he pushed the werewolf off and onto the floor as a jet of green light came flying toward him; he ducked and ran, headfirst, into the fight. His feet met something squashy and slippery on the floor and he stumbled: There were two bodies lying there, lying facedown in a pool of blood, but there was no time to investigate. Harry now saw red hair flying like flames in front of him: Ginny was locked in combat with the lumpy Death Eater, Amycus, who was throwing hex after hex at her while she dodged them: Amycus was giggling, enjoying the sport: “Crucio — Crucio — you can’t dance forever, pretty-”