“Yeh all righ’, Harry? Yeh all righ’?”
Hagrid’s huge, hairy face was swimming above Harry, blocking out the stars.
He shook Harry hard, and Evan asked him to be gentler. In Hagrid’s hands, Harry was like a doll. Even if he hadn’t just been stunned by Snape’s spell, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand that kind of shaking.
“I’m all right, Hagrid, I’m all right,” panted Harry. “What about you two?”
“Evan and I took care of those two Death Eaters in no ti,” said Hagrid. “A few spells hit , but it was nothin’ … take more’n that ter finish .”
“What about Snape?” Harry asked again, struggling to sit up.
In front of him, blood was trickling down Hagrid’s cheek from a deep cut under one eye, which was swelling rapidly.
Evan, who was standing nearby, leaning on the massive Twin Serpent Staff, seed unscathed.
“He’s gone,” said Evan, looking toward the wall shrouded in darkness, “with Draco Malfoy. As soon as they got out of the school, they Disapparated.”
“What happened? Why was Snape so eager to take Malfoy away? How’s the battle up there goin’? An’ Harry, who did yeh say died jus’ now?” Hagrid glanced uneasily back at the castle. “We should go back — the whole place is a ss tonight. Bu’ don’ worry, there’s nothin’ Dumbledore won’ be able to put righ’ …”
There was a mont of silence and stillness, and horror rose inside Harry. He didn’t even dare to look at Evan and Hagrid;
they didn’t yet know the terrible news.
“Evan, Hagrid …” Harry cleared his throat;
the ntion of Dumbledore’s death again made it dry. “He killed.”
“Killed? Snape killed? Was it a Death Eater? Who did he kill? What’re yeh on abou’, Harry?”
“Dumbledore,” said Harry. “Snape killed … Dumbledore.”
Hagrid simply looked at him, the little of his face that could be seen completely blank, uncomprehending.
“Dumbledore wha’, Harry?”
“He’s dead. Snape killed him. …”
“Don’ say that,” said Hagrid roughly. “Snape kill Dumbledore — don’ be stupid, Harry. Wha’s made yeh say tha’?”
“I saw it happen.”
“Yeh couldn’ have.”
“I saw it, Hagrid.” Harry repeated again, turning his head to look at the unusually quiet Evan, “Evan …”
“Yes, he’s gone,” said Evan. “Hermione and I saw him fall from the Astronomy Tower with our own eyes.”
“You saw it?” Harry pressed.
“We did. He’s dead. …” Evan paused for a mont, then continued, “I took so ti to retrieve his wand and the Twin Serpent Staff.”
There was another mont of silence, as if no one knew what to say.
“Evan, you … you found his wand?”
“Yeah!” Evan took out the Elder Wand. He had tried it earlier, and he couldn’t control it.
The Elder Wand only obeyed the strong. Right now, it belonged to Draco Malfoy, who had defeated Dumbledore before his death.
Hagrid stared at the wand in Evan’s hand in shock, then shook his head stubbornly, his expression full of suspicion.
“Wha’ on earth are yeh two talkin’ abou’? Sayin’ Dumbledore… Tha’s impossible!” he said loudly. “What musta happened was, Dumbledore musta told Snape ter go with them Death Eaters. I suppose he’s gotta keep his cover. Look, let’s get yeh back up ter the school. Co on, maybe the battle isn’ ove’ yet. There migh’ still be places where they need our help.”
Evan and Harry didn’t argue anymore. They followed Hagrid towards the castle.
Their pace was slow, because Evan was walking with the Twin Serpent Staff, and it made walking difficult. The staff was too large for him — even though it wasn’t heavy, it was still awkward to carry.
Hagrid wanted to help him, but was stopped by Evan. The staff couldn’t be touched without the Mark.
The fighting inside the castle seed to have ended. Many of the windows were lit now, and one could imagine, clearly, the scenes inside as people moved from room to room, telling each other that Death Eaters had got in, that the Mark was shining over Hogwarts, that sobody must have been killed. …
“Evan … Dumbledore …” Harry suddenly asked in a low voice, so that only Evan could hear,, “did he really… leave?”
“Yes, just as he told us, he left this world with the help of the Twin Serpent Staff’s power, and went to the world created by Herpo the Foul. He’s going to fight another great battle there.”
“But, I saw Snape kill him!”
“Death is the only path to that world,” said Evan.
“But it was Snape…”
“That doesn’t matter, Harry,” said Evan, stopping to look at him. “In fact, it was far better that Snape did it than anyone else — certainly better than Malfoy.”
“What do you an? Dumbledore trusted Snape, but he…”
“Snape killing Dumbledore will help him gain Voldemort’s trust, which benefits us,” said Evan. “Snape is part of the Order of the Phoenix.”
“You still trust him?” Harry clenched his fists and asked in disbelief.
“Of course, because Dumbledore trusted him,” said Evan “Harry, I know what you’re thinking, but the truth of the matter may not be what you see. Dumbledore trusted Snape, so we should trust him.”
“Even if he killed Dumbledore?!” Harry raised his voice. “You were not there, Evan, you didn’t see it. Dumbledore was begging Snape, but he was unmoved. That wasn’t part of so plan. Snape is a cowardly traitor. He killed Dumbledore for himself. He’s not as noble as you all think.”
“Maybe, ti will prove everything,” Evan sighed. Harry’s prejudice against Snape wasn’t sothing that could be erased with just a few words.
Just like Hagrid still couldn’t believe Dumbledore was truly dead — it was a belief deeply rooted in their hearts.
Snape … He was an outstanding double agent, soone who could even be called great. He had endured pains that ordinary people could never bear.
If Evan hadn’t learned the hidden truth, he might have doubted Snape just like Harry did.
“Listen, Harry, the most important thing for us now is to conceal the fact that Dumbledore left because of magic, and not let Voldemort know that he actually went to another dinsion. We have to tell others that he’s dead and was killed by Snape, that’s it!”
“Will he co back to life?” Harry asked.
“I believe there will be such a day,” said Evan, gripping the Twin Serpent Staff tightly. He looked up at the starry sky and said slowly, “If not… then we’ll go find him. …”
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