HPWW491-500

Chapter 491

Tom Riddle stood there, naked, taking deep breaths of

fresh air into his lungs for the first time in almost fourteen

years. He allowed his fingers to wander over his body,

checking to ensure all was as it should be; smooth skin,

but with an underlying texture of snake skin to it.

After a long few moments of enjoying just being back in a

proper body again, he opened his eyes, not even realising

he'd closed them, and looked to Pettigrew.

He sneered, "Robe me."

As Pettigrew scurried forward with his rune enhanced

robes of old, he had only one and a half seconds of

warning before they were attacked.

Even with his enhanced speed and agility, it had been

almost fourteen years since he'd been used to it. He'd still

managed to duck one curse, but not the second.

He felt blinding pain and then... nothing.

Harry had been watching the nose-less bastard feeling

himself over. Then the man, if that was a true designation

for whatever Riddle had become, lowered his gaze to

stare at Pettigrew.

"Robe me," he'd demanded in a raspy, somewhat highpitched voice.

Just as Pettigrew moved forward, from slightly off to his

right Harry caught what he thought was movement. Then

spell fire launched almost as a barraged volley.

He'd barely had a chance to draw breath before he felt his

bindings dissolve and he was yanked sideways and down.

Then there was the feeling on a wand tap on the top of his

head followed by the feel of 'runny egg' wash down his

body. 'Disillusionment,' he thought.

Still without a chance to even make an utterance of sound,

he heard an almost whispered, "Unspeakables, Potter."

And he was half-dragged, half-carried, away from the

scene until they rounded a large tomb, where he was then

dumped on the ground.

Harry felt a charm impact him on the cheek where he'd

been cut by mini-Malfoy and the slight stinging sensation

he was feeling from the laceration disappeared. He raised

his hand and felt no sign of it.

Four Unspeakables suddenly materialised before him.

One firmly said, "Potter. Sit! Staaaayyy... Good boy."

Harry quietly snarked, "Woof."

Then the four, with matching grins, disillusioned again as

they clearly began heading back the way from which

they'd just come.

However, Harry could no longer see the reflection of

flashes of spell fire, or the sound of battle. Actually, he

couldn't hear a damned thing. Not even talking.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Bones had just walked out the gate after the Unspeakable

when the Unspeakable turned to her and offered her a

piece of parchment.

Not being the trusting sort, Bones drew her wand and cast

over it first; not finding any magic on it at all.

Taking it, she could see in the dim moonlight there was

something written on it. A quick Lumos and she could read

it.

As she finished, she noticed something off to the side and

turned to look. 'A tent, of all things,' she thought.

As the Unspeakable plucked the note back out of Bones's

fingers, Bones realised just what that slip of parchment

meant. "Fidelius," she muttered.

The Unspeakable nodded and led the way into the tent.

The following aurors saw their Boss stop to read

something, then turn to the left, walk forward and

disappear.

"Shit!" muttered young auror Watkins. "Hammer's going to

be pissed."

"Watkins," called the female Senior Auror with her. "Go

back and get Master Hammer or another Master and let

her or them know what's happened. Tell them I suspect

she's disappeared directly out the gate under what

appears to be a Fidelius. I'll wait here."

"Yes, Senior," she replied, before running back in through

the gates.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Inside the tent, the senior on-site Unspeakable

immediately greeted her. "Madam Bones." s/he said.

"What's all this?" she demanded.

"Monitoring," s/he replied. "You'll be pleased to know

we've already found your boy and dealt with the situation.

He'll be returned, soon."

"Potter's safe?" she demanded.

"He is."

"What happened?"

"A kidnapping, of course," replied the Unspeakable.

"Potter was taken to use his blood in a dark ritual to

resurrect the one known as Voldemort."

When Bones let out a small gasp, the Unspeakable

added, "Don't worry about it. The situation, as I said, has

been dealt with."

"Where?" she demanded.

"As I said, don't worry about it," replied the Unspeakable.

"As it was a muggle area, our people are dealing with the

scene and cleaning it as we speak."

Knowing she'd get no information the Unspeakables didn't

want her to have, no matter how much she tried to bluster

or threaten, Bones let out an annoyed sigh and said,

"When do I get Potter back?"

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---------------

Chapter 492

"After a short debrief," s/he replied. "I suggest you return

to where the Minister is currently berating the judging

panel of the Third Task and let him know."

"He's unharmed?" she asked.

"He received a small cut to his left cheek, which has since

been healed," s/he replied. "He might even be back by the

time you get back down there."

She gave a nod and muttered an almost unwilling, "Thank

you." Then spun about and walked back out of the tent.

As she cleared what was clearly the Fidelius boundary,

one of her senior aurors dispelled a disillusionment charm

and asked, "Ma'am?"

"I'm fine," muttered Bones. "Let's get back to the stage

and judges." Then put deed to word by walking back to

and through the gates.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

When an Unspeakable returned to collect Harry, it had

been about two minutes and Harry was getting a bit

'antsy'.

"Lord Potter," said the Unspeakable. "The situation is

resolved. It's now safe to move you. Please, follow me."

Harry climbed back to his feet and followed the person

back the way they'd come.

As they approached, he could see a few Unspeakables

doing various tasks. A couple were taking a very close

look at the giant cauldron, others were checking over what

were now clearly dead bodies, others were overseeing the

removal of marks and damage to the terrain and markers

caused by the very short and very one-sided battle.

Walking back past the grave marker on which he was tied,

one of those doing the overseeing turned to him and

asked, "Lord Potter, how's your fortitude?"

"It's fine," Harry replied.

The Unspeakable nodded back and gestured him over to

where four bodies laid under black sheets. He moved to

one at the end, the smallest, and asked, "Think you can

identify someone for us? We believe he was a student at

your school."

Harry took a breath and nodded. He already knew who it

would be.

With a flick of his wand, one part of the sheet was flicked

aside.

In barely a moment Harry recognised him. He immediately

said, "Draco Malfoy, Heir Primary to the Magical House of

Malfoy; a scion, but not an Heir, of the Noble and Most

Ancient House of Black."

The Unspeakable gave a nod and flicked his wand again,

causing the sheet to flick back over the body of Harry's socalled school yard nemesis.

"Thank you, Lord Potter," replied the Unspeakable. "We

already knew the identity of the other three from previous

records."

"Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew, I recognised," said

Harry. "But, who's the other? And, what happened to

Riddle?"

The Unspeakable hesitated a moment before he replied,

"The other is, or was, Walden MacNair, a ministry

employee in the Department for the Regulation and

Control of Magical Creatures. As for Riddle... we've

already taken him back to the Department. You no longer

need to worry about him."

Without even waiting for Harry to respond, the

Unspeakable looked over Harry's shoulder and said,

"Debrief him and send him back."

Harry turned to where the (wo)man had looked and saw

another of the Unspeakables. "This way, please, Lord

Potter."

Harry was led clear of what was going on and had a few

'facts' explained to him.

While he was grumbling about it, the Unspeakable

indicated to another, who brought over the Tri-Wizard Cup.

S/He offered it to Harry.

As he accepted it, the Unspeakable said, "Remember,

Lord Potter. Not a word of this to anyone. We don't want

any other wannabe dark lord or lady to know there exists a

revivification ritual they could use if they die."

"Yeah, yeah," he snarked. "I'll be a good little lordling and

use the story you lot have concocted."

The Unspeakable gave a nod back and raised their wand

to tap the Cup. "Execute."

And Harry was portkeyed away.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

At the starting point of where the maze existed, the

bleachers, the judges table and the now lonesome stage,

no one had left except for aurors who'd been sent off to

deal with unknown matters. Everyone else had been

forced to remain where they were.

Around the judges table, where even the judges except

Marchbanks were now standing, were Minister Brunt,

Master Auror Scrimgeour, two of his Seniors and four

Lords of the Seven - Sirius Black, Frank Longbottom,

Robertus Flack and Basil Clearwater. Around them were

others; including, Samuel Greengrass, Eugene Abbott,

Heathcliff Davis and other aurors; the last of whom were

waiting for further orders.

Hermione and Daphne were in the stands. The other

Heirs, now including Finch-Fletchley, formed a protective

human shield around the pair of them. They'd only

recently also been joined by Fleur, who'd hurried off the

lawns to her family first before joining them with her family,

who'd come with her. That then brought over the families

of the heirs to form an even bigger human protection

shield centred on Hermione and Daphne. Even

Hermione's parents were part of that.

As some tried to demand answers of the three 'Potter'

ladies, those shielding them snarled back ordering those

trying to demand information to back off or be... dealt with.

That left them alone.

While they waited and anxiously watched Sirius, Frank,

Samuel and the others, Hermione was in the process of

slowly worrying her bottom lip to shreds with her teeth.

Both Sirius and Frank were ripping verbal strips off

Bagman and Snodway. Flack and Clearwater were tagteaming the Minister.

There was a lot of bickering, but no action. Some, like

Bagman, were trying to lay the blame at the feet of

Headmistress Lady Marchbanks, who was simply ignoring

them back. She, for one, was calm.

Frank, seeing her lack of reaction demanded, "Why are

you so calm? One of the Seven has been kidnapped by

persons unknown."

"Because I expect this matter to be rectified within a few

short minutes," she replied.

"You know something," he accused.

Other arguments began to peter off as they all started to

realise 'news' was in the offering.

"I do," she replied. "However, I may not speak of it. Those

we do not speak of have forbidden it."

"The Unspeakables?" demanded Brunt. "What do they―"

That was as far as he got before there was the flash of an

arriving portkey in the middle of the stage. And Harry

appeared, holding the Cup, before he immediately fell

over.

"Oh, bloody Hell!" he irritably called. He had no idea a

Sonorus ward had already been cast on the stage.

Quickly climbing back to his feet he was about to say

something when her heard Hermione cry, "Harrison James

Potter!"

"Oh, poop!" he muttered, startled. Again, because of the

Sonorus, it was heard by all.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After having almost three dozen people then storm the

stage, all demanding information, he just stood there,

looking dejected.

It took Hermione breaking through the crowd that

surrounded him, with Daphne and Fleur in tow, for him to

stop ignoring folks. Instead, he just paid attention to them.

Thankfully, Hermione only demanded one question, saw

the look on his face and immediately blushed, looking

away as she hugged him.

Harry let the crowd burn itself out of questions, which had

gotten progressively louder until they finally realised he

was answering none of them and began to shut up, one

by one. That took about three minutes.

When he did finally have silence. He said, "Well, are you

all done being absolute idiots, yet?"

That immediately had people berating him and yell

questions at him again. And, again, he just stood there,

looking around.

Eventually, he raised a hand before his face, began

peering closely at his nails, before buffing them on his

chest and having another look at them. He made it as

obvious as he could get he was paying them no attention,

whatsoever. Only then did they finally realise he would not

be answering any questions, that way.

When they again shut up he asked, "Are you all done, this

time?"

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Chapter 493

Yet again, a couple of people arced up and again he

raised his hand before his face to peer at his nails. That

had those couple of people shut up again.

"For the third and final time, before I decide I'm done with

the fucking lot of you and simply leave, are you all done...

now?"

When no one said a word, he said, "Well, it appears the

witches and wizards of wizarding Britain can be taught.

Now, if you want to get information from me as to what

happened... get off this stage and give me and mine

room!"

As people, with some muttering imprecations, finally

moved to obey, he saw Madam Bones standing there, off

to one side, with an eyebrow cocked back.

"Madam Bones," he said, "Please use your supposedly

highly trained and capable aurors, supposedly trained in

handling crowds, to do their job by controlling this..." he

waved his hand at those still leaving the stage. "... rowdy

mob."

She gave a slight smirk back and set four aurors between

the stage and those who'd crowded him, getting them to

force people back and away.

When they finally had everyone complied, whether

willingly or not, he said, "Great. Now that I have a chance

to explain things, without having idiots wasting their

energy and breaths yelling questions at me, I can get on

with it.

"Firstly; you all saw me take to my broom and soar into the

air over the maze to spot the Tri-Wizard Cup. I soared into

the air and had the Cup spotted within a few seconds. I

immediately dived back into the maze where the Cup was

located. As I landed right next to it, I heard what I thought

was a gasp of noise. I hesitated with my wand drawn,

thinking I was about to be attacked.

"When I couldn't locate that threat I then moved to grab

the Cup, thereby being the winner of the Tournament. As I

reached for the Cup I was hit in the back by a stunner.

"Sometime later, I was enervated by Lucius Malfoy."

That had a lot of people gasp in shock before someone

yelled something at him.

Yelling back he said, "For failing to remain silent while I

explain what happened, that's a ten second delay of time

penalty!"

Then he flicked back the hem of his left sleeve by

thrusting his arm forward and brought his wrist up so he

could look at his watch.

Then he counted out the ten seconds.

As soon as it reached zero, he said, "The next interruption

will be a fifteen second penalty; and the next after that,

twenty! If you want to hear what I have to say, make sure

you stay silent and those around you also stay silent!"

He gave a wide sweeping glare, before he resumed. "As I

said, I was enervated by Lucius Malfoy. He was dressed in

full Death Eater regalia, including the mask. If you wonder

how it is I knew it was he, I remind you that the man has

long, straight, white-blonde hair. I then confirmed it was he

when he spoke to me.

"I was tied to a grave marker in what appeared to be an

old and disused cemetery. Looking past Lucy Malfoy I also

spotted who I knew to be his son, Draco, and Peter

Pettigrew. There was a fourth person there, also in Death

Eater regalia, but I did not recognise him at the time."

He then went on to tell them what had happened with the

modification the Unspeakables wanted him to make, that

the ritual had failed.

He only had to issue the fifteen and twenty second

penalties, one each on two further instances of being

interrupted, before he was interrupted no further.

Finally, he said, "So, their attempt to resurrect the dark

wizard Tom Marvolo Riddle, who self-styled himself Lord

Voldemort, spectacularly failed. Those who attempted the

ritual all died in the attempt. They are... or were... Lucius

Malfoy; his son, Draco Malfoy; Peter Pettigrew and

Walden MacNair.

"Because of the attempted necromantic ritual, the

Unspeakables have taken control of the scene. No one is

permitted there. Together with the components of the

ritual, I believe they have also recovered the bodies and

took them to the Department of Mysteries, where their

loved ones may collect them later for burial.

"That is all I have for you. I have now given you all the

information I have on this matter. Barking your questions

at me like cur dogs will gain you nothing, but a very pissed

off Lord of the Seven, with his wand drawn, in your face.

You do not want that, I do not want to do that. However, I

will if you push me.

"That is all."

Surprisingly, no one then arced up at him again.

Madam Bones then walked up and onto the stage with a

wry smile on her face.

She leaned in on Harry and whispered, "Take yourself and

your ladies and go to your apartment. I'll handle things

from here."

Harry gave a nod as she stepped back and softly called

for Dobby.

As soon as he appeared, he told the elf what he wanted to

happen. Dobby nodded back and got right on it.

Before everyone's eyes, Harry and his three all

disappeared, right off the stage. That had people utter

cries of dismay, shock or anger.

Then, others started to disappear, too - Hermione's

parents, the Delacours, Sirius, Moony and the

Greengrasses.

As Madam Bones, still standing on the stage, didn't seem

surprised by the disappearance of the 'Potter four' from

the same stage. People didn't, once again, panic.

She stepped forward and said, "That's it for the

information. As such, that's also it for the night. For those

who are current residents of the castle, please start

making your way there. For those who are not, please

start making your way to the main gates. Aurors, assist

them with that, please."

Then she walked off the stage, herself. As she did, the

Minister stomped over and barked, "Amelia! I have not

had a chance to present the boy with his prize money!"

"Do it tomorrow morning, Minister; in the Great Hall, here

at Hogwarts," she returned. "You'll have a greater chance

of you presenting Lord Potter with his winnings appearing

on the front page of the Prophet, if you do that instead.

Clearly, it won't if you try to do it tonight."

The Minister, thought about it for only a moment before he

said, "Merlin damn it; you're correct. Thank you."

She just gave him a nod before walking away. She had

lots more to do tonight. Part of that would be seeing the

Unspeakables to confirm the deaths of four 'upstanding

citizens', before then having to inform their remaining

families.

She just thanked Merlin it would only be Narcissa Malfoy,

as neither of the other two had remaining close family

members still alive.

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Chapter 494

Appearing in the Potter apartment, Harry immediately

dropped into the middle seat of a sofa and fell backwards

onto the backrest. He felt exhausted. Hermione was quick

to land next to him and cuddle in. Clearly, she'd been

worried she'd lost him.

"We'll soon have almost a dozen people turn up in here,"

he said. "Can you ladies get things ready for them?"

Before the girls could even reply, the two adult Grangers

found themselves appearing with the white flash of elvish

magic in the middle of the room. And let out a gasp of

shock.

"Sorry!" Harry called to them. "I told Dobby to grab you

and get you out of there before people figured out who

you were and gave you a hard time."

Betsy was called by Daphne and the ladies' elf popped

away to bring more seats.

"That felt... odd," said Wendell. "Like... all sorts of wrong."

Harry almost carelessly shrugged. "You broke the laws of

physics and I'd say your body didn't like that."

Then, before Wendell could say another word, the

Delacours appeared with Gabrielle; though they weren't as

surprised, having seen the Grangers disappear. Then the

Greengrasses. Then Sirius. Then Moony.

"Well," said Sirius. "That was interesting. I was right in the

middle of having a chat with Frank Longbottom―"

"He'll have a pretty fair idea what happened to you," said

Harry. "And, if not him, then Neville. I think we can

probably expect them, and others, along within about

fifteen minutes."

After first having to rise again to greet folks, Harry finally

received hugs off loved ones.

Dobby and/or Betsy had been busy in the kitchen. Soon,

there appeared a late night snack 'spread' with a large tea

serving on the coffee table.

Sirius finally asked, "How much of what you told us

happened after you were portkeyed away was the truth,

Pup?"

Harry smirked and replied, "I relayed exactly what the

Unspeakables told me I was to relay. I didn't embellish it

one whit. Other than what I told you, the Unspeakables

have made the whole event a matter of security of the

wizarding realm."

Sirius gave a snort of amusement and said, "In other

words, probably everything you told us that didn't mean all

that much, was true; but all the important points, weren't.

That would be typical of those bastards."

"I can't say," said Harry. "I promised I wouldn't. I'd rather

remember what happened, than have them remove those

memories either by finding a way to actually accomplish

what Dumbledore couldn't; or, getting rid of those

memories by getting rid of me."

Sirius stared back worriedly for a moment, before he

quietly muttered, "Good point."

With Betsy and or Dobby finding enough sofas and

couches to accommodate everyone, Harry asked Dobby

to see if they could find more and find a place for them in

the room.

"More guests?" asked the little elf.

"Yep," replied Harry; "Or, at least I think so."

He was right.

The next to turn up was, surprising Harry, Justin FinchFletchley. Harry was quick to introduce him to Sirius. He

came with Tracey Davis. Yet further proof they were

becoming a couple.

The Longbottom three, plus their extended families that

had come to see the Task, were only two minutes behind.

After them, Harry decided to just leave the door to the

apartment open as he knew aurors were outside to

monitor who arrived. As such, no one who wouldn't be

allowed would even be able to get to the door.

Finally, Madam Bones turned up with two more aurors.

By then the living room of the apartment was quite full.

They'd have been overflowing if they'd still been in the

previous apartment.

However, there were no others who 'warranted' getting

allowed in to visit. Harry should have realised that before,

but blamed it on being tired after a long night.

With Madam Bones's arrival Harry was yet again

'interrogated' about what had actually happened. He

simply reiterated what he'd told Sirius.

Though annoyed and showing her displeasure, Bones

didn't push it. She, too, understood what the

Unspeakables were capable of if they thought they had a

need to act.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After everyone not living in the apartment had left again,

Harry went to bed.

He'd only been gone for about two minutes when Fleur

looked to Hermione and asked, "'Ermione?"

From the look on her face, Hermione knew what Fleur was

asking, paused a moment and said, "Go. I slept with him

last night."

Without another word, Fleur rose and walked straight to

Harry's door. After a quick knock, she quietly let herself in.

However, when she moved to the bed expecting Harry to

welcome her, he was already asleep.

With a sigh of disappointment, she disrobed and climbed

in to snuggle up to him. She was naked, as she both didn't

bring a nightie in with her and hated sleeping in one

anyway.

It was some time during the early hours of the morning

when she woke up feeling almost uncomfortably aroused.

Harry was apparently awake and 'playing'.

"Oh... by the Gods... Harry!" she softly moaned.

Harry looked up and said, "Ah. You're awake. Do you

mind?"

"N-no," she replied. "De-definitely not."

He smiled back and, moments later, dropped his head

beneath the bedding.

Harry 'did something' and she moaned before she gave a

little 'Eep' sound. "Oh... oh... Ohh... OHH... OH, MON

DIEUX!"

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Chapter 496

Pup,

Ted Tonks and I have to make an emergency trip to Perth -

the one in Australia, not the one in Scotland - and may be

a few days. It's nothing for you to worry about; just House

business for Black.

I'll take my communications mirror with me so, if you or

Hermione need to get hold of me, you can do so. Just,

please be aware of the time difference. Perth is eight

hours ahead of Hogwarts. That means, if it's 8.00am at

Hogwarts, it's 4.00pm in Perth. So, if you want to contact

me, try to contact me in the morning, your time.

I'll let you know when we arrive back in wizarding Britain,

so you won't continue to think I'm on the other side of the

world.

Can you please give Hermione the same information?

Padfoot

~ # ~

Wondering what was going on, but knowing not to ask

even if he could, Harry quietly handed the letter to

Hermione.

After she read it, also frowning in some confusion, she

looked back and asked, "Any ideas?"

"None," he replied. "And, that's so unlike him. However, if

he wanted either of us to know, he'd have told us."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons contingents left almost

immediately at the close of breakfast and just before

everyone had to head off to class.

However, when Harry was making his own way out, he

received a note from Marchbanks asking him to pay her a

visit in her office.

Not as annoyed as he would have been if it was still

Dumbledore in that office, Harry made his way up to the

Head's tower. He went on his own.

When he got up there, passing through the gargoyle as he

knew the password and it was unchanged, he knocked on

the door and waited.

"Enter," he heard called.

He walked in to find Marchbanks sitting at her desk and

doing parchment work.

"Hello, Lord Potter," she quietly said, sliding what she was

working on aside. Then indicated the chair just on the

other side of her desk. "Please, sit."

"Headmistress," he returned, taking that seat and sitting

back.

When he was comfortable she said, "Thank you for

coming alone."

He gave a slight shrug and said, "Unlike that manipulative

old... so-and-so that used to sit where you now do, I have

no concerns you intend to do me harm."

"Thank you for you trust," she nodded. She hesitated a

moment before she said, "The reason why I asked you up

here, was for you to see something."

"Mmm?" he asked

With a slight smirk, she raised her wand and waved it at

one of her office walls. When he turned to look he could

see a portrait fade into existence. It was Dumbledore and

it was active.

By the way the portrait appeared annoyed and was trying

to speak, but no sound was heard, he could tell a silencing

ward had been placed on it.

"Dumbledore?" he asked. A moment later he realised what

it meant and snapped his surprised expression back to

Marchbanks.

She chuckled and said, "Yes, Lord Potter. It means Albus

Dumbledore is dead."

"But, that would mean―" he began.

"That would mean the Unspeakables killed him; yes," she

replied.

Glancing back at the portrait, which was trying to rant and

rave now, before he turned to look at her again, he asked,

"How long have you known?"

She smiled and replied, "I knew from the moment that

portrait appeared. That was the day before you met with

young Saul... Unspeakable Croaker... here, in this office.

"Once it appeared, with Dumbledore still asleep at the

time, I erected a disillusionment and silencing ward over

it."

"Did Mister... sorry, Croaker know?" he asked.

"Yes," she gave a firm nod. "However, I also told him I had

no intention of allowing that portrait to be seen by anyone,

but a select few, until the Unspeakables were ready to

make it public that Dumbledore was dead. I have been

assured they'll be doing that either later today or

tomorrow."

She then leaned forward and said, "I'm also aware that the

ritual, last night, was successful in resurrecting young Tom

Riddle. And that Croaker's boys and girls... reversed that

state, yet again."

Harry gave her a quizzical look and asked, "And how

would you reach such a conclusion?"

She returned, "Because Croaker will be here in about five

minutes to take you to the Department of Mysteries to

carry out a small task for him. He would not be doing that

unless I'm right about last night.

"Before you ask, though, I have no idea what that task

actually is; but I have a fair idea. I believe he is going to

ask you to do something so he is assured that a certain

prophecy is, indeed, complete."

Harry looked back at her for a moment before his light

smile turned into a full blown smirk. "You, Lady Griselda

Marchbanks, are not a daft moron."

She let loose a loud laugh.

It took her a few moments before she calmed enough and

replied, "No, Lord Harrison Potter, I am not."

"You knew about some of the little things that almost all

magicals seemed unaware of and I made known, didn't

you?" he asked.

"You mean; such as using the house elves to side-along

apparate someone or something through or within antiapparition wards?" she asked. "Yes. I've known of that for

many years."

He gave a little snort of amusement.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

When Croaker turned up via the floo, he asked

Marchbanks, "He's aware?"

"He's aware Dumbledore is dead and that his portrait

appearing here proves it," she replied. "And he's aware

you are taking him back to the Department of Mysteries to

accomplish something that will finish young Tom Riddle for

good."

Croaker gave a nod and turned to Harry. "Ready to go,

Lord Potter?"

Harry gave a nod and stood. "Ready when you are. Let's

get this done."

After stepping Harry through what he needed to do to floo

into the DoM, Harry followed the man through to an office

deep within the department. Once there, Croaker led him

through the corridors until they came to a room that had a

ring of stone tiers leading down to a floor that held a low

stone dais in the centre. On the dais and set back a bit

was a stone arch that had what appeared to be a tattered

filmy dark grey curtain hanging across the face of it.

Before that was a body lying on a table, draped in a black

sheet, with it's feet pointing towards the arch.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------

Chapter 497

There were four other hooded Unspeakables in the room.

One stood either side of what was the body; and two

stood either side of the stone arch.

As he and Croaker walked forward from one of the doors

leading into the room, Harry asked, "Riddle?"

Croaker hesitated just a jot before he softly replied,

"Indeed."

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"How good are you at the Banishing charms?" asked

Croaker.

"Depulso?"

"That one will do, yes."

"If I need to banish that," he said, indicating the body of

Riddle, "Through that arch, I believe I'm more than

capable."

As they'd reached the dais, Croaker said, "Then, please

do so." And gave a flick of his fingers telling Harry to go

right ahead.

Harry gave a nod back, drew his wand, made sure he was

lined up properly and firmly cast. "Depulso!"

Surprising even him - as he only aimed at what, from the

shape, was the head - the body, its covering sheet and the

table all shot away from him and directly through the

middle of the arch.

He blinked in surprise when nothing appeared from the

back of the arch.

"And... done," said Croaker, as the four Unspeakables all

stepped forward with wands drawn and cast diagnostic

charms over the arch. "From your expression it appears

you didn't realise the table was hovering about an inch off

the floor."

"Errr... No," replied Harry.

Croaker smiled and said, "Runes carved into the base of

each leg of the table that caused it to maintain a constant

repulsion from the floor."

"Ah!" muttered Harry. "Clever. I was also surprised to not

see the body and table appear out the other side of the

arch."

"That's because the arch is one way only," explained

Croaker.

He then waited a few moments before one of the

Unspeakables turned back and said, "No leakage. No sign

of a spirit of any form."

Croaker nodded back and turned to Harry. "That's it. No

more Voldemort, ever again."

Harry gave a sigh and quietly, but vehemently, muttered,

"Thank God."

Croaker then led him to his office and placed a small

crystal ball on his desk. Harry immediately recognised it as

the prophecy sphere he'd shown him in Marchbanks's

office back in early March, but it was now a dark grey.

"You can have that, if you like," said Croaker. "It's your

personal proof that Voldemort is done and dusted."

Harry was going to refuse, but finally said, "What the Hell."

Then reached out, picked it up and dropped it into a

pocket of his robes.

Croaker asked, "Before I take you back to the school, do

you have any questions for me?"

Harry thought for a bit before he replied, "Yes. When are

you going to make it public that Dumbledore is dead? I'd

like to get rid of my coterie of human-shaped attack dogs

Madam Bones has saddled me with. The ones she doesn't

know I know about."

Croaker chuckled and replied, "We'll be informing her and

the Minister before lunch. We'll then work with her and the

Minister on when to make it public. At that time I'll also be

informing them as to the truth of the final disposal of Tom

Riddle.

"I cannot say, however, when she is likely to withdraw your

auror guard. She may decide they need to remain in place

for a while."

Harry gave a nod and said, "Please ask them not to make

it known my part in all this that isn't already public

knowledge."

Croaker nodded back and asked, "You wish to avoid the

fame?"

Harry gave a snort and firmly replied, "Hell yes!"

"Then I shall do so," grinned the Unspeakable. Then his

expression harden a little and he said, "Now, as a...

reward... for your actions last night, I have some

information for you. A lot of it we gleaned from

Dumbledore and it's going to be a little shocking for you."

Harry also firmed up, nodded back and said, "Let's hear it

then."

Croaker was well over an hour telling Harry information he

thought the boy should know. For Harry, it was both

shocking, as expected, and unsurprising.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Harry flooed directly back to the Headmistress's office.

She'd left the floo open for him to return.

"All done?" she asked.

"Yes," he immediately replied. "Tom Marvolo Riddle, the

one known by the nom de guerre of Lord Voldemort, is no

more. There is no coming back for him, now. It's over."

She gave a pleased smile back.

"Headmistress," he asked. "Would you mind removing the

disillusionment and silencing wards on Dumbledore's

portrait? I want to show him and explain to him

something."

She smiled, gave a nod and silently waved her wand at

where Harry now knew Dumbledore's portrait to hang.

Turning to it he saw Dumbledore realise he could be seen

again. But, before the old man could speak, Harry got in

first.

"Hello, you manipulative old coot."

Dumbledore spluttered and said, "Now... Harry, my boy―"

"I'm not your boy," Harry cut in. "I asked Headmistress

Lady Marchbanks for this few moments to speak with you

to bring you up to date on a few matters. If you want to

know what's going on, shut the Hell up."

Dumbledore spluttered again, but didn't interrupt.

Harry then drew the prophecy orb out of his pocket and

showed it to the portrait. "Recognise what this is, you old

twit?"

Dumbledore looked shocked.

"I see, you do," said Harry. "It's a prophecy orb... a

completed prophecy orb."

He then used his wand to tap it to activate it.

Once it played out, he said, "As you can see, it's the

prophecy orb for the prophecy you've been using as an

excuse to manipulate my life. That it is dimmed tells you

that the prophecy is completed. It's over! Done!"

Dropping it back into his pocket he said, "I personally sent

the corpse of the very recently revived Tom Riddle through

a certain archway in the Department of Mysteries less

than an hour and a half ago. Unspeakable Croaker has

also informed me that his experts on prophecies and

divination are utterly assured the prophecy is complete.

"So, you bastard, your manipulations were pointless. You

screwed over my life for nothing!

"And now it's time I get my revenge on you."

When Harry fixed an evil grin on Dumbledore, the old man

said, "Now... Harry, my boy―"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------

Chapter 498

Harry cut in and roared, "That's 'Lord Potter', you rude and

ignorant white-whiskered wanker!"

Dumbledore immediately shut up.

"My revenge on you, I believe, will be both righteous and

reciprocal," said Harry. It was time to start to make use of

the information Croaker had only just recently given him.

"I am having cause to be written and printed a book all

about you," he started to explain. "I'm having history

experts go back through your entire life. There are still

quite a few people alive, including Headmistress Lady

Marchbanks here, who personally knew you when you

were a child. Two others, I believe, are Bathilda Bagshot

and Elphias Doge. I'm sure my researchers will find more.

"Once they've collected all that information, I will find a

ghost writer to write the entire sordid tale of your life down.

It will include how you and Gellert Grindelwald were

lovers. It will include how you killed your sister, when she

became an Obscurial. It will include how you and

Grindelwald planned to take over the world. It will include

your separation and why. And, it will include all your plans

to take over the wizarding world, then the muggle world,

by working behind the scenes; through manipulation,

blackmail, lying, deceit and every other dark method you

employed.

"And, once it is all written down, I will have it published.

And, once published, I will ensure that book will be

distributed world-wide. There will not exist a magical

community, anywhere, which will not receive plenty of

copies of the book.

"In other words, there will not exist a single wizard or witch

across the planet who, before very long, will not already

know or have ready access to the knowledge of you to

have been a vicious Dark Lord. I swear it!"

If it was possible for a portrait to pale and have a heart

attack, by the look on the face of the portrait of Albus

Dumbledore, this one would have.

"So, Dark Lord Albus Percival Dumbledore - yes, I know

about that, too - I hope you're currently enjoying your next

great adventure... by currently burning in everlasting

agony in the fiery pits of Hell."

Not even waiting for the portrait to respond, Harry spun

back to a smirking Marchbanks and said, "I'm done with

this fool. I'll never wish to speak to it, again."

Without a word, Marchbanks raised her wand.

"No! Wait!" cried the portrait of Dumbledore. That was as

far as he got before he was again silenced and

disillusioned.

That then had the other portraits openly laughing,

snickering or chortling.

Portrait Phinneas Black called, "Well said, grandson!"

"All that was true?" asked Marchbanks.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "Croaker just got through

explaining it all to me."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

By the time Harry had finished, the time was getting on to

morning tea. So, he made sure he had his potions

supplies for the double of Potions immediately after the

short break in his satchel and made his way down to the

Great Hall. He'd left it in the Headmistress's office when

he went to the DoM. Of course, he also escorted the

Headmistress down and she allowed him to escort her in

via the staff entrance.

On entering he found the other Heirs were already there,

sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

Joining them, he plonked himself down on the end, next to

Fleur. "Though I'm stating the obvious," he immediately

said, "I'm back."

"You were gone a while," said Hermione.

"Yep," he replied. "I'll explain, once we're back in the

Lords' Quarters and there's no chance of anyone listening

in."

That stopped any questions being asked.

"But, your business is concluded?" asked Neville.

"Yes," he firmly replied.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That afternoon after classes and back in the apartment,

Harry explained what he could of what happened. He

even pulled out the prophecy orb again and played it for

them.

When Neville went white, Harry calmly told him, "Yes,

Neville. It meant it could have been you. However, Riddle

chose me when he attacked my parents, first."

With Riddle now permanently dead he had no problem

telling that to Neville without his parents present.

"However, Dumbledore always had in the back of his mind

that you were the 'alternate'," he went on. "If anything fatal

was to happen to me, he believed he had you ready to

step in to deal with the situation."

"But," said Neville, "He didn't mark me."

"Not yet, Nev," Harry calmly replied. "Not... yet."

"It no longer matters, though," said Daphne. "As Harry has

shown us, the prophecy is complete. That means it was

him."

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"So, what happens now?" asked Hermione.

"We put it behind us," replied Susan. "It's done. It no

longer plays a role in either Harry's or Neville's life, from

this point on."

"Well said, Susan," said Harry, smiling at her. "That's

exactly what it means."

Then he went on to explain how Dumbledore was actually

dead; and not just an escapee from justice.

"Does Auntie 'Melia know this?" asked Susan.

"She will, by now," he replied. "Croaker told me he'd be

going to inform your aunt and Minister Brunt of just that

before lunch.

"Then, the three of them would figure out how to make it

all public. I figure we'll see news of that in the Daily

Prophet, very soon; probably tomorrow or Sunday."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

As reasonably expected, the next morning the Daily

Prophet had the stories.

~ # ~

DUMBLEDORE DEAD

In surprising news released by a combined media

statement of the Minister, Lord Gabriel Brunt, and Director

of the DMLE, Madam Amelia Bones, comes news that

Albus Dumbledore is dead. While information as to the

cause of that death is unknown, representatives of both

the Minister and the Director inform us it is confirmed 'at

the highest levels of government', writes Samuel Clemens,

political reporter for the Daily Prophet.

Madam Bones informed us, "Albus Dumbledore, whose

true full name was Albus Percival Dumbledore [no middle

names of Wulfric or Brian] is deceased. His body is not

available for burial, as the manner of his death has not left

one."

Minister Brunt added, "Citizens of wizarding Britain can

rejoice that the Ministry has finally dealt with the threat

that was the once-revered Albus Dumbledore. He will

trouble you, no more."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------

Chapter 499

Rumour from with the DMLE and the Minister's office has

it that Dumbledore was legally declared a Dark Lord some

weeks before his disappearance. However, that rumour is

unconfirmed. When we attempted to confirm it, we were

met with hostile responses. This leads us to believe the

rumour to be true.

So, for those worried Dumbledore might attempt to harm

or otherwise injure them in their homes, you can now live

safe in the knowledge he can no longer do you or yours

that harm.

The life story of Albus Dumbledore, page 3.

The fall from grace of Albus Dumbledore, page 3.

'Dark Lord or Misunderstood?' An opinion piece, page 4.

~ # ~

'Hmm...' thought Harry. 'Just enough to answer the

question without going into too much detail.'

~ # ~

'YOU-KNOW-WHO' WILL NOT BE 'HE-WHO-CAMEBACK'

In a surprising development, details of which were

released through the combined offices of the Minister and

the Department of Mysteries, it has been announced that

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will certainly not be making

a surprising comeback, writes Samuel Clemens political

reporter for the Daily Prophet.

The Minister announced, "Some members of our

community believe that the Dark Wizard, Tom Marvolo

Riddle, who went by the sobriquet Lord V*******, will one

day return. This is not true.

"Through the good offices of the Department of Mysteries,

their experts have now proven to me, beyond any shadow

of a doubt, that Mister Riddle is gone for good. Apparently,

the very dark necromantic ritual that attempted to resurrect

him [two night's ago] on the night of the third task of the

Tri-Wizard Tournament failed so spectacularly that there is

no longer any chance at all of him returning. The spirit of

the dark one was utterly destroyed in the attempt."

We can now all breathe a deep sigh of relief that the

darkness that enveloped our world right up until the night

our very own Boy-Who-Lived and now Lord of his Noble

and Most Ancient House, Lord Harrison 'Harry' Potter (15),

first destroyed him will never return.

Opinion has it that Lord Potter played more of a role in

what happened that night of the third task of the Tri-Wiz

than is being made clear. However, both the Minister and

the Unspeakables refute that; as did Lord Potter on the

night.

A history of the truth of Tom M Riddle, page 4.

~ # ~

"Hmmm, clever," muttered Harry. "Hopefully, that way

some idiot is not going to see if they can learn what the

'dark ritual' was and try to recreate it."

"Pardon, Harry?" asked Hermione, sitting next to him

again.

Harry just passed her the paper and pointed to the article.

After she read it she sighed and quietly said, "As you said,

clever. Hopefully, no one's going to try it again."

"I'm more hoping some of those masked idiots out there

are going to accept he's gone, but believe I had something

to do with it. I want them thinking I got rid of him again, so

they won't try to have a shot at me, themselves."

"Because, if you can kick the bum of their dark lord, then

you won't think them much of a trouble to do the same to

them?" she asked.

"Precisely," he nodded.

Hannah, sitting opposite, caught their attention and flicked

her chin towards the Slytherin table. She was sitting facing

that way. "They appear devastated."

Turning to look, Harry could see quite a few who were

looking distraught at what they'd read. However, he also

noticed quite a few who looked downright relieved and

were trying to hide it. Surprisingly, Pansy Parkinson was

one who was relieved and definitely wasn't trying to hide it.

Parkinson had broken down the night of the Third Task,

when Harry announced Malfoy the younger was dead.

However, she was almost right as rain the next morning.

When he quietly asked Tracey why, she carefully replied,

"Parkinson hated Malfoy's guts. She was very unhappy to

have been locked into a betrothal contract with the little

ferret."

Harry frowned and said, "She used to hang off him like a

handbag, when we first got to the school."

She nodded back and said, "That changed within days of

that little fffu-ferret getting old enough he could get his dick

to stay hard for long enough. He forced himself on her;

enough she had to spend the night in the Infirmary.

"From that moment on, she only gave the appearance she

was with him. In truth, she wanted him dead - horribly,

painfully and gruesomely."

"When did you find this out?" he asked.

"The night of the Third Task, when we all left your

apartment," she quietly replied. "When I got back she was

in our dorm, blubbering on Millie's shoulder in relief and

telling the other girls all about it. Alana told me what was

going on."

Harry remembered Alana Runcorn to be the fifth girl in his

year in Slytherin; which made her a dorm mate of Tracey

and Daphne. He also remembered her to be the quietest

of them all, never hearing her speak unless specifically

called upon in class to answer a question.

"Apparently, Malfoy ordered her not to speak of it with

anyone," she continued. "And, something in the contract

made her unable to. With the death of the little... well, the

conditions of the contract were rendered no longer

applicable. So, she could talk about it."

Harry nodded and was thinking how glad he was that

Malfoy the younger was now dead. However, he also felt a

little ashamed of how he'd interacted with the girl in the

past. It was now clear her actions were not entirely her

own choice.

He was absolutely appalled the so-called dark families

allowed such contracts to be written regarding their

daughters. So, while he was feeling a little guilty about

Pansy, his thoughts of her father and Lord were quite

murderous.

'Fucking purebloods,' he thought.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That night, Daphne climbed into bed with him.

Before anything happened, he asked, "Did Tracey tell you

about Pansy?"

She sadly nodded back.

"Is that part of the reason why you're in here, tonight?"

She hesitated a little before she, again, nodded back.

Firmly, he said, "Daphne. Please don't ever think I'd ever

do something like that to you."

"I know you won't, Harry," she replied.

With a sigh, he pulled her in for a cuddle and a short snog.

Pulling away he rolled onto his back and gently pulled her

until her head was lying on his chest. "Even when you

come in to sleep with me, it doesn't mean you have to

have sex with me, alright?"

"I know," she said. "But, what if I want to have sex?"

Harry smiled and said, "Well, if it's what you want... who

am I to say no?"

Daphne lifted her head, smiled at him, flicked back the

bedding and lowered her head again. This time, lower

down his body.

A moment later, he muttered, "Oh... sweeeeet. Merciful.

Merlin!"

Twenty minutes later, Betsy was throwing up a silencing

ward over Harry's bedroom door.

"Betsy wishes they'd get on with it and have babies," she

tutted and muttered. "Betsy wants little ones to look after."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------

Chapter 500

With school restarting after the weekend, the Third Task

'incident' quickly left the minds of students and staff. They

had exams.

Hermione almost had a panic attack when she realised

she hadn't been studying as religiously as she did in the

past. And then dedicated time to that.

On the third night of a very late night for her, Harry

stunned her, carried her to bed with him, stripped her and

laid her down. Then he quickly cast an enervate and a

sleeping, rather than stunning, charm on her and climbed

in alongside her.

When she woke in the morning, she ranted and raved at

him for a while until both the other girls verbally slapped

her down for it.

"You, Miss Granger," said Daphne, waggling a firm finger

at her, "Were on your way to either a nervous breakdown

or mental collapse brought on by a severe lack of sleep.

Harry did the right thing and you will not berate him for it."

Fleur added, "I just wish I 'ad thought of it, first. Too much

study and too little sleep is just as bad as not enough

study. You must give your mind a chance to relax. If you

do not, you will not be at your best for the eexams."

Hermione cooled and blushed in shame. Looking down in

embarrassment she softly muttered, "Sorry."

Harry gave a sigh of relief and said, "Hermione. I hereby

restrict you to no more than four hours study a night. Each

night you exceed that... no sex for a month."

Hermione's head snapped up and stared at him in shock.

"Y-you wouldn't!"

"I will if I have to," he firmly said right back.

"Th-that's―" she tried.

"A fair punishment," said Fleur, smirking.

"And four hours is even more than I'd allow you," said

Daphne. "This isn't our OWL year, Hermione. And these

are not our OWL exams. The results of these exams will

not appear on our permanent records. You can panic

about exams, next year; not this year."

Hermione sighed and nodded. The message was

understood.

Harry said, "We go home on Saturday, Hermione. Pace

yourself. Now, I believe we've got exams to get to. What's

up first?"

"Transfiguration," she immediately replied.

"Then, we'd best get to it," said Harry.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Once exams were out of the way, where Hermione did

restrict herself to a bare few minutes shy of the four hours

allowed per night, the next day they were on their way

back to London on the Express.

Because of the Third Task, all the exams for the non OWL

and NEWT years were all crammed into the final week.

This meant they did not receive their summer assignments

in the final week, as they should have.

When Headmistress Marchbanks stood for her final

announcements, she mentioned that holiday break

homework assignments would not be issued, that year,

due to the shortened break. Hermione was almost

devastated at the news.

Daphne, seeing her reaction, leaned over and said, "That

does not mean you cannot engage in independent study,

Hermione."

Fleur added, "And you can help me study for my NEWTs

in three weeks."

That perked the girl up again.

Also received during the week was an owl from Sirius. He

was back in London and had important news for both

Harry and Hermione.

He also asked that they meet with him on the second day

of their break at 'The Kennel'. (He still called it that,

although Remus was against it.)

The train ride turned out to be quite relaxing. No Draco

Malfoy coming to 'visit' to taunt them. No Ron Weasley

immediately jumping up and retaliating. No doe-eyes from

Ginny Weasley. No getting bothered by others.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Arriving at Kings Cross, the four Potters, the three

Longbottoms, Tracey and Justin all disembarked as one

group. With nine their compartment would have been a

little tight, if it wasn't for the girls occasionally sitting on

laps - that included Tracey occasionally sitting on Justin's

lap.

The poor boy, when it first happened, didn't know what to

do with his hands. Tracey solved that by firmly wrapping

one of his arms around the small of her back and placing

the other across her thighs to hold onto the outside of her

off-side leg. Justin blushed, but firmly held her.

As they disembarked various family members met with

them. There were the Grangers, the Greengrasses, the

Delacours, the Longbottoms, the Abbotts, the Davises, the

Finch-Fletchleys, Amelia Bones and Remus. They made

quite the large group and everyone else gave them a bit of

room. Harry barely noticed Sirius wasn't there.

By prior agreement, the 'Potter' group all split.

Fleur went home for the week to France to spend time

with her family. Harry and her had made sure she was

'recharged' the night before, so she'd have no problems

with the Veela life-debt bond during that time.

Hermione went with her parents to her home, although

she really didn't want to go. Harry reminded her of the floo

and said she could 'drop by' whenever she wanted to;

especially while her parents were at work. That brightened

her up again.

Daphne had calmly stated she'd be returning to Green

Fields and spending the time with her family. But, she did

make this big production of it by coming to Harry in

submission and begging, "With my Lord's permission, of

course." From where he was sitting on the sofa at the

time, studying for his Charms exam, Harry threw a wad of

parchment at her and followed it with a loud raspberry.

That had all three girls laugh.

As for Harry, he and Remus went to Pottermore. Once

there, the first thing Harry did was adjust the wards with

adding the full names of those from his now extended

family to full visitation rights. Daphne and Fleur were

added as full-time residents.

And there were five names Remus asked him to add as

temporary visitors. Harry gave him a look, but said nothing

and just did it. It was clearly a family of five.

Once he was done he let Remus know.

"It's not a good idea to allow so many people to have full

access, Harry," he warned.

Harry nodded and replied, "I know. However, these people

are all people I consider 'family'.

"Now, are you going to tell me who those other five are?"

"Sorry, no," replied Remus before he smirked.

If it wasn't for the smirk, Harry would have turned around,

gone back down to the basement and removed them

again.

"Alright," he drawled. "Why not?"

"That's news Sirius has demanded he be the only one to

tell you about," replied Moony. "He's the one who's been

investigating... this particular issue. That is, he's the one

who paid for the investigation."

Harry gave a pained sigh and grumped, "Fiiiiinnne."

Harry then called the Pottermore house elves and had

them bring the manor out of 'stasis' for an extended stay of

a few days.

Willy said, "Yes, Master Harry. We be gettings it done,

already."

"Thank you," he replied.

Moony said, "Don't forget, Harry. You need to visit Sirius

tomorrow."

"I won't," he replied.

"Then, I'll leave you to re-familiarising yourself with your

rightful home."

He was gone less than a minute later.