²𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 ─ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲

𝟸𝟷 || 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙

And just as he'd done with Matilda, Sirus rushed to Harry, taking him into his arms, checking his face and arms to make sure he'd remained unscathed for the better part of what happened. His hands shook as he helped Harry into a chair in front of the desk.

"What happened?" Sirius asked urgently.

Dumbledore began to tell Sirius and Matilda everything Barty Crouch had said. Matilda only half listening as she kept a close eye on Harry, who'd she'd sat down beside. He was tired. His eyelids twitching as they threatened to fall close on him. 

There was a soft rush of wings. Fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on Harry's knee.

"Hello, Fawkes," said Harry quietly. He stroked the phoenix's beautiful scarlet and gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. 

Dumbledore had stopped talking. He sat down opposite Harry and Matilda, behind his desk. He was looking at them, but Harry avoided his gaze. Dumbledore was about to question him, making Harry relive everything. 

"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze, Harry," said Dumbledore.

"We can leave that 'til morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" said Sirius harshly. He had put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let him have sleep. Let him rest."

Matilda agreed with Sirius, but Dumbledore took no notice of Sirius' words. He leaned forward towards Harry. Very unwillingly, Harry raised his head and looked into those blue eyes. 

"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 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."

Suddenly, without thought Matilda reached over and took Harry's hand, lacing her fingers through his. They were cold and clammy, but she gave him a comforting squeeze and the best possible look of confidence she could muster for him. 

As he spoke, Matilda visualized his every word as if it was happening before her eyes. She saw the sparkling surface of the Potion which had revived Voldemort; she saw the Death Eaters Apparating between the graves around them; she saw Cedric's body, lying on the ground beside the cup. Harry's words became so vivid that they began to make Matilda feel sick to her stomach. 

It was as if she was feeling everything Harry had felt at that moment. His pain laced through their interlocked fingers and swam through her body so that she might take some of his sufferings. 

Once or twice, Sirius made a noise as though about to say something, his hand still tight on Harry's shoulder, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him.

When Harry told of Wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger, however, Sirius let out a vehement exclamation; and Dumbledore stood up so quickly that it startled both Harry and Matilda. 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, Matilda thought she saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second, Matilda was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Matilda had ever seen him.