Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [189]
“You mean… Voldemort?” stuttered Harry.
“Yes…” it said.
“Yes, that is him,” said Harry, still in awe at the awesome beast.
“Throughout the entire existence of the Order,” said the phoenix, “something like this has never occurred. No one has ever stolen someone else’s Order.”
“Well… what can we do?” asked Harry.
“We cannot take the power of the Order away from him,” said the phoenix, still hovering there, slowly flapping its wings, “that is impossible. However, we can still do the next best thing… give you back your Order.”
“You mean,” said Harry, shocked and amazed, “that I can use my Order again?”
“Yes. Since you did not use it on who you desired before, it is only right that you get it back.”
“Th- thank you phoenix,” said Harry.
“I am sorry, Harry Potter,” said the phoenix, “but I must leave you now… my kind needs me. And I am even sorrier to say, that I cannot allow you to kill this… Voldemort.”
“But, why not!?” yelled Harry. The phoenix looked almost hurt by his response. “I am sorry, Harry. Even though he stole your Order, I cannot allow you to kill him. The Order was created to bring life, not to steal it.”
Before Harry could say another word, the phoenix disappeared, along with Voldemort. Instantly, they were gone, returning the ground and everything around them back to exactly the way it was before. All Harry could do was slowly bring himself down on the ground, sit down, lie down, close his eyes, and faint.
CHAPTER 31- The Surprise Order
“Harry! Harry!” yelled a voice. It rang through Harry’s head, bouncing and echoing all the way. It made his head hurt all over, and he felt as though his face his going to split open. Harry immediately snapped back into consciousness and sat up.
“Ah!” he yelled as soon as he sat up and started rubbing his forehead. Ron put his hand on Harry’s back to prevent him from falling over.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” groaned Harry. The pain was throbbing now, on and off every second or so. The only thing that helped was to rub it.
“What happened?” asked Ron, removing his hand from Harry’s back.
“I’m not really sure,” said Harry, “but I think the Golden Phoenix that started the Order appeared, and took Voldemort away.”
“Whoa,” exclaimed Ron. “Are you sure?”
“Arg,” winced Harry, trying to stand up. “I’m not sure… where’s Hermione? Maybe we can ask her what she saw?” At these words, Ron gave Harry an expression that was an odd combination of surprise, confusion, and sadness.
“Harry… Hermione’s dead,” said Ron slowly. “Remember?”
It was all coming back to Harry now. His Order failing, the duels with Voldemort, him being Dumbledore, and then the phoenix saving him… with Hermione and Lupin being killed in the process.
“Oh Ron… what are we going to do?” said Harry, covering his face with his hands. “She’s dead, we’re lost, and for all we know, Voldemort is just waiting for us to go back into that forest and walk right into another one of his traps.”
“Well I know one thing we have to do,” said Ron, looking more serious than Harry had ever seen, “We have to bury her, just like You-Know… Voldemort… did with Colin.”
“But Ron, don’t you think we should bring her back to her family?” asked Harry.
“No,” he said. “Harry, the chances of us getting back are slim to none. We got lucky that last time with the phoenix showing up, but we can’t count on it again. If we get killed, Hermione will never have a proper burial, and she will just be eaten by worms and birds. We have to do this.”
Harry looked at his friend, seeing him in a new light. He had grown up from the Ron Weasley he once knew.
“But if we’re going to bury Hermione,” said Harry, “we have to do the same for Lupin. After all, if it wasn’t for him, we may not even be alive right now. He died trying to save us.”
“Alright,” Ron said quickly and quietly. After a few seconds of just standing there, right in the middle of an