ruins ; harry potter [1]

twenty two ; the potions master

"Yes, but I mean--"

"I know what you mean. Rufus is a man of action and, having fought Dark wizards for most of his working life, does not underestimate Lord Voldemort."

There was a brief silence in which Harry seemed to be picking his words carefully. "And...sir...I saw about Madam Bones."

Diana remembered the Daily Prophet article she had read.

"Yes," Dumbledore said quietly. "A terrible loss. She was a great witch. Just up here--ouch."

He had pointed with his injured hand.

"Careful, Albus!" hissed Diana like a worried mother. Dumbledore merely smiled at her, but Harry looked anxious.

"Professor, what happened to your--?"

"I have no time to explain now," he said. "It is a thrilling tale, I wish to do it justice." Dumbledore then turned back and smiled at Harry reassuringly.

"I promise you'll know soon enough," whispered Diana. "We'll explain soon."

He smiled weakly and nodded, and returned his attention to Dumbledore. "Sir--I got a Ministry of Magic leaflet by owl, about security measures we should all take against Death Eaters..."

"So did I," Diana scoffed quietly. "They sent one to me! Me! Of all people! It's a load of crap, if you ask me. If Voldemort wants to kill you, no mundane precautions will keep him out."

Dumbledore laughed quietly. "I got one as well," he said. "You have not asked us, for instance, what is our favorite flavor of jam, to check that I am indeed Professor Dumbledore and that Diana is indeed Diana Riddle and not impostors."

"I didn't..." Harry trailed off unsurely, but Diana laughed.

"Dumbledore's favorite jam is raspberry, for future reference. Mine is a trick: I don't like any kind of jam...although, if I were a Death Eater, I would have definitely researched that..."

"Well, on that leaflet, it said something about Inferi. What exactly are they? The leaflet wasn't very clear."

"They are corpses," said Dumbledore calmly. "Dead bodies that have been bewitched to do the Dark Lord's bidding. Inferi have not been seen for a long time, however, not since Voldemort was last powerful."

"It's very Dark magic," Diana added heavily. "He had to kill a whole army of people to create them."

"This is the place," Dumbledore said once they had reached a small, neat stone house. The approached the gate, but Dumbledore stopped abruptly.

"Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear."

Diana moved her gaze up that path. The front door was hanging off of its hinges. She pulled her wand out immediately and tightened her grip around it, ready to strike.

"Wands out and follow me," Dumbledore whispered. Dumbledore and Diana moved shoulder to shoulder up the path, creating a shield between whatever lay in front of them and Harry. They quieted their footsteps when they entered the threshold.

"Lumos," Dumbledore said. His wand tip ignited, and the narrow hallway lit up at once.

A scene of total devastation met their eyes. A piano was splintered on its side on the floor, and a broken chandelier lay limply in a corner. Cushions were deflated, slashed with feathers oozing out of them and onto the floor; fragments of glass and china littered the floors, and books and photos were scattered everywhere, obviously taken from the empty and cracked bookcases. A grandfather clock lay on its side, the clock face cracked. Diana stared at it.