he stared down at barty crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around barty crouch, binding him tightly. he turned to professor mcgonagall.

"minerva, could i ask you to stand guard here while i take harry and elara upstairs?"

"of course," said professor mcgonagall. she looked slightly nauseous, as though she had just watched someone being sick. however, when she drew out her wand and pointed it at barty crouch, her hand was quite steady.

"severus" — dumbledore turned to snape — "please tell madam pomfrey to come down here; we need to get alastor moody into the hospital wing. then go down into the grounds, find cornelius fudge, and bring him up to this office. he will undoubtedly want to question crouch himself. tell him i will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me."

snape nodded silently and swept out of the room.

"harry, elara?" dumbledore said gently.

harry got up and swayed again; he was shaking. elara gripped his arm and helped him out into the dark corridor.

"i want you to come up to my office first, you two," he said quietly as they headed up the passageway. "sirius and nymphandora are waiting for us there."

they nodded. the adrenaline was still pumping in elara's veins. she could still feel the power surges washing over her. forces pushed inside her palms, begging to be let out.

"professor," harry mumbled, "where are mr. and mrs. diggory?"

"they are with professor sprout," said dumbledore. his voice, which had been so calm throughout the interrogation of barty crouch, shook very slightly for the first time. "she was head of cedric's house, and knew him best."

they had reached the stone gargoyle. dumbledore gave the password, it sprang aside, and he, harry, and elara went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. dumbledore pushed it open. sirius and nymphie were standing there. their faces white. in one swift moment, they had crossed the room.

nymphie wrapped elara in an incredibly tight hug. for the first time that night, elara felt like breaking down and crying until she couldn't

"harry, elara, are you all right? i knew it — i knew something like this — what happened?" sirius was saying.

nymphie let go of elara. she helped her into the chair next to harry.

"what happened?" nymphie asked urgently.

dumbledore began to tell sirius and nymphie everything barty crouch had said. elara was only half listening. she was so tired that every bone in her body was aching. she peered over at harry, who looked the same. she laced her fingers through his, and began rubbing her thumb on his wrist in circles in a soothing manner.

there was a soft rush of wings. fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on elara's knee.

"'lo, fawkes," said harry quietly. he reached over to stroke the phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. there was something comforting to elara about his warm weight.

dumbledore stopped talking. he sat down opposite harry, behind his desk. he was looking at harry, who avoided his eyes. dumbledore was going to question him. he was going to make harry relive everything.

"i need to know what happened after you touched the portkey in the maze, harry," said dumbledore.

"its okay. i uh -- i actually can tell you," said elara nervously.

"what?" said harry, nymphie, sirius, and dumbledore at the same time.

"i was talking with hermione, and i got a really sharp pain in my head. i heard... i heard this call. it sounded like a siren. and then my vision went all blurry. i kept blinking, and then when i opened my eyes, i was with cedric in harry in a graveyard," elara drew in a shuddering breath as everything that had happened came back like one huge tidal wave.

"we can leave this till morning, can't we, dumbledore?" said nymphie harshly. she had put a hand on elara's shoulder. "let them have a sleep. let them rest."

elara felt a rush of gratitude toward nymphie, but dumbledore took no notice of her words. he leaned forward toward harry and elara.

"if i thought i could help you," dumbledore said gently, "by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, i would do it. but i know better. numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. you both have shown bravery beyond anything i could have expected of you. i ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. i ask you to tell us what happened."

the phoenix let out one soft, quavering note. it shivered in the air, and elara felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down her throat into her stomach, warming her, and strengthening her.

"alright... but harry, i'll need you to help," said elara uncertainly.

they each took a deep breath and began to tell them. elara began first, describing how she was frozen in spot from the waist down and had no voice. she told them of cedric's death, and her constant silent screams. she told them of the cauldron, and how wormtail had cut off his own hand.

once or twice, sirius and nymphie made noises as though about to say something, but dumbledore raised his hand to stop them, and elara was glad of this, because it was easier to keep going now she had started. it was even a relief; she felt almost as though something poisonous were being extracted from her. it was costing her every bit of determination she had to keep talking, yet she sensed that once she had finished, she would feel better.

when harry had told of wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger, however, sirius let out a vehement exclamation and dumbledore stood up so quickly that harry and elara started. dumbledore walked around the desk and told harry to stretch out his arm. harry showed them both the place where his robes were torn and the cut beneath them.

"he said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," harry told dumbledore. "he said the protection my — my mother left in me — he'd have it too. and he was right — he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

for a fleeting instant, elara thought she saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. but next second, elara was sure she had imagined it, for when dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as elara had ever seen him.

"very well," he said, sitting down again. "voldemort has overcome that particular barrier. continue, please."

elara picked up; he explained how voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and how she had fallen out of the enchantment that kept her still. she told them all she could remember of voldemort's speech to the death eaters. then she told how voldemort had untied harry, returned his wand to him, and prepared to duel. she explained how she kept trying to interfere, and it worked. how she had been able to throw a stone at voldemort. how she'd been able to speak.

but when harry reached the part where the golden beam of light had connected his and voldemort's wands, his voice grew thick. he tried to keep talking. nymphie broke the silence.

"the wands connected?" she said, looking from harry to dumbledore. "why?"

elara looked up at dumbledore again, on whose face there was an arrested look.

"priori incantatem," he muttered.

his eyes gazed into harry's.

"the reverse spell effect?" said sirius sharply.

"exactly," said dumbledore. "harry's wand and voldemort's wand share cores. each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. this phoenix, in fact," he added, and he pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on elara's knee.

"my wand's feather came from fawkes?" harry said, amazed.

"yes," said dumbledore. "mr. ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago."

"so what happens when a wand meets its brother?" said sirius.

"they will not work properly against each other," said dumbledore. "if, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle . . . a very rare effect will take place. one of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed — in reverse. the most recent first . . . and then those which preceded it. . . ."

he looked interrogatively at harry, and harry nodded.

"which means," said dumbledore slowly, his eyes upon harry's face, "that some form of cedric must have reappeared."

harry nodded again.

"diggory came back to life?" said nymphie sharply.

"no spell can reawaken the dead," said dumbledore heavily. "all that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. a shadow of the living cedric would have emerged from the wand . . . am i correct, harry?"

"he spoke to me," harry said. he was shaking again. elara squeezed his hand. "the . . . the ghost cedric, or whatever he was, spoke."

"an echo," said dumbledore, "which retained cedric's appearance and character. i am guessing other such forms appeared . . . less recent victims of voldemort's wand. . . ."

"an old man," harry said, his throat sounding constricted. "bertha jorkins. and . . ."

"your parents?" said dumbledore quietly.

"yes," said harry.

nymphie's grip on elara's shoulder was now so tight it was painful.

"the last murders the wand performed," said dumbledore, nodding. "in reverse order. more would have appeared, of course, had you maintained the connection. very well, harry, these echoes, these shadows . . . what did they do?"

harry described how the figures that had emerged from the wand had prowled the edges of the golden web, how voldemort had seemed to fear them, how the shadow of harry's father had told him what to do, how cedric's had made its final request.

at this point, harry could not continue. elara picked up, and began explaining how she'd been able to fire spells at the death eaters to protect harry. how she'd been able to touch voldemort and distract him while harry could run.

elara suddenly became aware that fawkes had left her knee. the phoenix had fluttered to the floor. it was resting its beautiful head against harry's injured leg, and thick, pearly tears were falling from its eyes onto the wound left by the spider. the skin mended. his leg was repaired.

"professor -- voldemort, when he was speaking of my parents, he mentioned me specifically. and crouch said that i was the weapon voldemort so desired... why? what can i do?"

"nymphandora, i suggest you have a seat for this," said dumbledore quietly. nymphie didn't even protest to the use of her full name. she conjured up a chair and sat down in it, face as white as a sheet. "you came to me after harry's name emerged from the goblet of fire, saying you'd had a dream just like it the night before. you gave me your dream journals. i grew suspicious then. you came to me again, with harry, later in the year. you had dreamed what harry dreamed, only weeks before. i knew then. and then, after tonight, after you told me that you were in the graveyard as the events took place. that you had been able to interfere..."

the room was so tensely quiet.

"you're a seer, elara," said dumbledore gently. "you're an incredibly rare type of seer, however. there have only been a few of your kind recorded in all of history."

"what -- what does that mean?" nymph's voice shook.

"it means elara can see into the past, present, and future. she's been getting stronger, and i don't know how, but she's able to interfere with present visions. voldemort's been after you the moment you were born, elara."

everyone remained quiet.

"i will say it again," said dumbledore as the phoenix rose into the air and resettled itself upon the perch beside the door. "you both have shown bravery beyond anything i could have expected of you tonight. you have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting voldemort at the height of his powers. you have shouldered a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it — and you have now given us all that we have a right to expect. you both will come with me to the hospital wing. i do not want either of you returning to the dormitory tonight. a sleeping potion, and some peace . . . sirius and nymphandora, would you like to stay with them?"

"but professor, first year -- "

"severus has made a recent discovery. when i had my suspicions of your power, i asked him to look into a solution for you. i can assure you that he's found one," dumbledore informed elara.

sirius had transformed back into the great black dog and walked with harry, nymphie, elara and dumbledore out of the office, accompanying them down a flight of stairs to the hospital wing.

when dumbledore pushed open the door, elara saw mrs. weasley, bill, ron, and hermione grouped around a harassed-looking madam pomfrey. they appeared to be demanding to know where harry and elara were and what had happened to them. all of them whipped around as harry, nymphie, elara, dumbledore, and the black dog entered, and mrs. weasley let out a kind of muffled scream.

"harry! oh elara!"

she started to hurry toward them, but dumbledore moved between them.

"molly," he said, holding up a hand, "please listen to me for a moment. harry and elara have been through a terrible ordeal tonight. they have just had to relive it for me. what they need now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. if they would like you all to stay with them," he added, looking around at ron, hermione, and bill too, "you may do so. but i do not want you questioning them until they are ready to answer, and certainly not this evening."

mrs. weasley nodded. she was very white. she rounded on ron, hermione, and bill as though they were being noisy, and hissed, "did you hear? they need quiet!"

"headmaster," said madam pomfrey, staring at the great black dog that was sirius, "may i ask what — ?"

"emotional support dog," elara answered immediately without thinking.

"this dog will be remaining with harry and elara for a while," said Dum- bledore simply. "as elara has just said, he is extremely well trained. nymphandora is to be staying with elara as well. harry, elara — i will wait while you get into bed."

elara felt an inexpressible sense of gratitude to dumbledore for asking the others not to question them. the idea of reliving it one more time, was more than she could stand. she had grown wearied and worried as she walked into dumbledore's office. the adrenaline had stopped pumping, and now elara was left with a craving for sleep.

"i will be back to see you as soon as i have met with fudge," said dumbledore. "i would like you two to remain here tomorrow until i have spoken to the school." he left.

as madam pomfrey led harry and elara to a nearby bed (she had pushed three beds together, sensing nymphie would refuse to move from elara's side), elara caught sight of the real moody lying motionless in a bed at the far end of the room. his wooden leg and magical eye were lying on the bedside table.

"is he okay?" harry asked. he must've seen moody too.

"he'll be fine," said madam pomfrey, giving harry and elara some pajamas and pulling two separate screens around them. elara took off her robes, pulled on the pajamas, and got into bed. harry asked before pulling the other screen back. ron, hermione, bill, mrs. weasley, and the black dog came around the screen and settled themselves in chairs on either side of the beds. nymphie settled herself on the bed between elara and harry. ron and hermione were looking at harry and elara almost cautiously, as though scared of them.

"i'm all right," harry told them. "just tired."

elara had a feeling they were going to ask how she's wrapped up in all this. "i'll explain later," she said. "i'm going to have to, anyways."

mrs. weasley's eyes filled with tears as she smoothed the bedcovers unnecessarily. madam pomfrey, who had bustled off to her office, returned holding a small bottle of some purple potion, another bottle of a light blue potion, and two goblets.

"you'll need to drink all of this, harry," she said. "it's a potion for dreamless sleep. elara, this is the potion you need to take unless you want to be tied down again."

elara took the goblet full of light blue potion and drank a few mouthfuls. she felt herself becoming drowsy at once. everything around her became hazy; the lamps around the hospital wing seemed to be winking at her in a friendly way through the screen around the bed; her body felt as though it was sinking deeper into the warmth of the feather matress. before she could finish the potion, before she could say another word, she wrapped her arms around nymphie, and her exhaustion had carried him off to sleep.

elara woke up, so warm, so very sleepy, that she didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. the room was still dimly lit; she was sure it was still nighttime and had a feeling that she couldn't have been asleep very long.

then she heard whispering around her.

"they'll wake them if they don't shut up!"

"what are they shouting about? nothing else can have happened, can it?"

elara opened her eyes blearily. mrs. weasley and bill were close by. mrs. weasley was on her feet.

"that's fudge's voice," she whispered. "and that's minerva mcgonagall's, isn't it? but what are they arguing about?"

now elara could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing.

"regrettable, but all the same, minerva —" cornelius fudge was saying loudly.