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Chapter 1517: Death and Departure
🕑 Added 2025-07-01 06:58:16 +0000 UTCAt that moment, there were renewed sounds of scuffling from below and a voice shouted, “They’ve blocked the stairs — Reducto! REDUCTO!"
It was the voice of Mad-Eye Moody, who was not far below and was about to come up!
“Now, Draco, quickly!” said the brutal-faced man angrily.
But Malfoy’s hand was shaking so badly that he could barely aim.
"Do it!"
“I said, do it, do you hear me!"
“Draco, do it now, 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 three Death Eaters, 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 forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word, all looking at him.
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.
Time seemed to stop there, everything was frozen.
The colors disappeared quickly, and the sounds of the fight below were turned off.
The scene, at this moment, was only black and white!
Harry’s scream of horror never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air.
Snape's Killing Curse was too powerful. Dumbledore, along with the Twin Snake Staff gripped tightly in his hand, was hurled backward. For a split second, he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backward, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.
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; the squat brother and sister followed closely behind, both panting excitedly.
It was over, everything was over!
Dumbledore had said he was leaving this world tonight. This was part of the magic left by Salazar Slytherin. He would go to another world to fight the soul of Herpo the Foul. Dumbledore had said that he must see Snape before he left because he had something important to tell him. Dumbledore trusted Snape, trusted him completely. Dumbledore ...
Harry had imagined what might happen tonight and thought of many possibilities, but no scene would be like what was happening in front of him. He had thought Dumbledore would leave peacefully. He had never thought he would be murdered, killed by Snape. It couldn’t be true.
Great despair enveloped Harry. He didn't believe what had just happened.
Dumbledore was dead, killed by Snape, whom he trusted the most.
As Snape, Malfoy and the brother and sister vanished through the door, Harry realized he could move again.
Dumbledore's magic had lost its effect because he was dead!
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.
…………………………………………………………………………………
After dealing with Fenrir Greyback, Evan and Hermione got back on the broom.
They soared toward the Astronomy Tower — the highest point of the castle — as it was the fastest way to reach it.
As they flew, Evan briefly told Hermione about the situation tonight, all while worrying deeply. What worried him most was whether there was still time. He wasn’t sure how much longer Dumbledore could hold on. Now the castle was in chaos. If Snape did not get there in time...
A vanished Dumbledore and a dead Dumbledore were two completely different things.
"Oh my God, what’s that! Look at the tower, Evan, it's... Professor Dumbledore!"
Hearing Hermione's voice, Evan looked up as well. Under the eerie green light of the Dark Mark, he saw Dumbledore falling on his back.
He looked like a broken, lifeless doll.
Dumbledore was dead!
Evan stopped his broom and watched the scene silently.
Under the shining skull-shaped mark, the twin serpents on the staff in Dumbledore’s hand opened their eyes and slowly began to move. They coiled around his arm, and the air distorted.
The dark green energy gate, connecting to the shattered void appeared again. On the other side, Death was waiting.
Then, a flash of light passed through the sky.
Dumbledore's body vanished into thin air. He had left this world.
Death was the only path leading to the realm where the evil god resided, and now he would begin another great battle.
Goodbye, Dumbledore!
Goodbye, Professor!
"Evan ... Professor Dumbledore is dead?" Hermione murmured in disbelief.
"No, he just left," said Evan softly. "Ultimately one day, the professor will come back."
He paid his last respects to Dumbledore and hoped to see him again.
Then Evan turned his broom and flew toward the place where the Twin Serpent Staff had fallen.
A new battle had begun. ...
…………………………………………………………………………………
Inside the Astronomy Tower, Harry leapt the last ten steps of the spiral staircase.
He had to catch Snape, he had to catch Snape.
This was the last thought in his mind, and he firmly believed that everything would be reversed if he caught Snape.
Harry 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.
In the corridor, people were dueling in almost every place, and the melee was going on.
As Harry attempted to make out who was 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.
"Catch him, catch Snape!" Harry shouted loudly.
At that moment, the lumpy Death Eater Amycus rushed towards him, green light blazing at the tip of his wand.
He pointed at Harry and shrieked, "Crucio!"
Harry dodged just in time. Ignoring Amycus behind him, he run into the fight recklessly. 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. ...
