Unexpected | Bill Weasley

~43~ Dumbledore's Death

"No!" Remus looked wildly from Ginny to Harry, as though hoping the latter might contradict her, but when Harry did not, Remus collapsed into a chair beside Bill's bed, his hands over his face.

Sirius looked shocked, and his hands started shaking.

"Dead?" I whispered, tears spilling from my eyes.

"How did he die?" whispered Tonks. "How did it happen?"

"Snape killed him," said Harry. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was...Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him —"

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned. Luna's mouth trembled.

"— more Death Eaters arrived — and then Snape — and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra."Harry couldn't go on.

Poppy burst into tears. Ginny shushed her. "Shhh listen!"

Poppy pressed her fingers to her mouth, her eyes wide. Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way I had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty. And I felt, as I had felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside me, not without: It was my own grief turned magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows.

Minnie entered the ward. Like all the rest, she bore marks of the recent battle: There were grazes on her face and her robes were ripped.

"Molly and Arthur are on their way," she said, and the spell of the music was broken: Everyone roused themselves as though coming out of trances, turning again to look at Bill, or else to rub their own eyes, shake their heads. "Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he — when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some —"

"Snape killed Dumbledore," said Harry.

She stared at him for a moment, then swayed alarmingly; Poppy, who seemed to have pulled herself together, ran forward, conjuring a chair from thin air, which she pushed under Minnie.

"Snape," repeated Minnie faintly, falling into the chair. "We all wondered...but he trusted...always...Snape...I can't believe it..."

"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens," said Remus, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. "We always knew that."

"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!" whispered Tonks. "I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't..."

"He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape," muttered Minnie, now dabbing at the corners of her leaking eyes with a tartan-edged handkerchief. "I mean...with Snape's history...of course people were bound to wonder...but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine — Wouldn't hear a word against him!"

"I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him," said Sirius.

"I know," said Harry, and we all turned to look at him. "Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead."

"And Dumbledore believed that?" said Remus incredulously.

"Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James..." continued Sirius.

"And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn either," said Harry, "because she was Muggle-born...'Mudblood,' he called her..."

My hand started shaking so bad I dropped the ointment. Tonks took it from me picked it from the floor, handed it back to Poppy, and helped me into a chair. I rubbed my hands over my face.