Chapter Sixteen

A/N: I do not own A Very Potter Musical or Harry Potter. I only own the plot of this story. Everything else belongs to Star Kid or JK Rowling.

*ducks projectiles* Okay, so I did not mean to keep this for a year. Only thing I can say in my defense is that I had some technical problems with my computer and had to get a new desktop. As well, my job keeps me pretty busy (10 hour work days are a drain, and sometimes I don't really feel up to staring at another screen when I get back).

I will do my best to keep updates a little more consistent around here. As well, if you haven't already, please be sure to vote on my poll as to which stories you'd like to see updated. You can pick up to five, so please vote!

Please let me know what you thought in a review or a PM! Enjoy!

(Harry and Hermione enter)

HERMIONE: Any idea why Dumbledore wanted to meet us so late at night?

HARRY: He's got some information to give us about Voldemort Did you bring the Invisibility Cloak?

"Since it's your cloak, why didn't you bring it?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not sure," Harry told her, a little perplexed at his character's decisions.

[Ron enters]

RON: Alright Harry this better be good, because I don't have a snack and I'm missing Wizards of Waverly Place for this Ok?

Hermione groaned at the mention of Wizards of Waverly Place yet again, wishing the entity that dropped them all here had included something with definitions. At least that way they could be in on the joke.

So what are we going to do that's so dang-Oh my gosh (as band member gives Ron Twizzlers) I love Redvines you want one?

"Ron, did you just take randomly appearing food from a person you didn't know?" Remus asked, concerned about the character portraying the boy.

"Apparently," Ron answered. "Don't worry Professor. You live with Fred and George long enough; you become suspicious about random food."

Remus nodded, satisfied with the answer.

HARRY: I love them! (Harry eats a Redvine)

HERMIONE: I'm leaving!

"Seriously?!" Harry groaned.

HARRY: NOOOOO you're not –when I said I needed your help –I meant both of you-you guys have to get over these bad feelings before somebody gets hurt (Harry knocks on the door).

"When did Harry become the sensible one?" Cedric asked.

"Dunno but it's kinda cute," Cho muttered in his ear, trying to kick-start the war between the boys. What? She liked the attention—and it helped to keep her mind off the possibility of her world delving into another war.

DUMBLEDORE: Hey Harry –Dang it – I told you to come by yourself –why did you have to bring the fatties?

Despite the tension in the room, everyone couldn't help but at least chuckle at that line. It was so out of character for Dumbledore that it brought back that it was just a fictional production. The likelihood of Voldemort coming back was slim if best.

HARRY: These are my best friends and if this information is as important as you say it is –they have a right to know!

"Because Harry would never share it if we weren't there," Hermione grumbled.

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yet," Hermione and Ron countered.

DUMBLEDORE: Well, I've been wrong before –get in here Hot Legs (as everyone follows him) I was talking to Weasley! (Exit, re-enter) Sorry, the place is such a sty! ( Gestures to the Framed photo of Zac Efron)

"When have you ever been wrong?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"Why would you refer to Ron as 'Hot Legs"? Harry asked at the same time.

"You're not going to tell Fred and George, right?" Ron turned to Ginny.

RON: Oh my gosh –That's a boss Zefron poster!

DUMBLEDORE: Every interview I've ever seen with him – he seems like such a charismatic humanitarian.

"Who cares about this Zefron person?! Did you all forget about Voldemort?!"

"Wow, Hermione seems worked up over something that hasn't happened," Ron muttered to Harry.

"In her defense, I'm a little frustrated with our characters too," Harry muttered back.

HARRY: You think you like him, wrong – I like him the most. Harry Potter loves Zac Efron better than anyone else on the planet! Anyway, that's not what we're here to talk about. We're here to talk about Voldemort.

"Thank you!" Hermione sighed.

DUMBLEDORE: We're not here to talk about Zac Efron cause everybody knows I like him the most! We're here to talk about the Dark Lord. In order to defeat this guy, you're going to have to know about Horcruxes.

"What's a Horcrux?" Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Cho, and Cedric asked. Malfoy was curious as well, but he didn't want to sound like he was just as curious as the others.

"Albus, why are you talking about Horcruxes?" Remus asked, shooting concerned looks at Sirius.

"I'm sure it will be mentioned," Dumbledore told him.

HERMIONE, RON, and HARRY: (all at the same time) What's a Horcrux?

DUMBLEDORE: A Horcrux is one of the most terrifying pieces of magic that a wizard can create. It happens when a wizard takes a piece of his soul and puts it into something else.

HARRY: Why would someone want to do that?

"To live forever," Sirius muttered darkly. He still remembered his father's lectures on them back when he was 15.

DUMBLEDORE: Harry, if you have a Horcrux, you can never truly die! Your body can be dead, but your soul can move on. He didn't just have just one Horcrux; he had six Horcruxes. I've already killed the first 5 for you, but you guys have to find the last one and destroy it with this.

"How did you find out what they were?" Ron asked.

"How did you destroy them?" Sirius asked over him, turning to Dumbledore. "I know about Horcruxes, Dumbledore. You weren't raised in the Black family without knowing about them. There are only two ways to destroy one of those things, and I don't think your character had Basilisk fangs on his person."

"I'm sure it will be revealed," Dumbledore told him, also wanting to know what items his former pupil had used as vessels to host his soul fragments in.

(Ron throws candy down –all three are examining the sword)

"Wow, this must be serious. Ron gave up food," Ginny said with a chuckle.

HERMIONE: The sword of Gryffindor! Godric Gryffindor was one of the four founders of Hogwarts. If anything can destroy a Horcrux, that thing is it.

"Why?" Hermione asked. "Isn't it just a sword?"

"Yes Ms. Granger," Dumbledore nodded, looking as though he would rather not discuss such things in front of his students. "However, and I think what the writers of this production are trying to get across, is that the sword was embedded with Basilisk venom during your Second Year. That venom would be what destroys the Horcrux."

"Oh, I see!" Hermione said.

"How did the sword get embedded with Basilisk venom?" Sirius asked, looking over at Harry, who seemed rather preoccupied with the production.

RON: This thing is so dang awesome! Every wizard should have a sword like this – not these stupid drumsticks! Forget about it - (Ron starts practice sword fighting)

"How would we use our magic if we had swords, Weasley?" Malfoy asked.

HARRY: Alright so we know what a Horcrux is, but how do we find them? Where's the last one?

DUMBLEDORE: To find them we need to use this which looks like a piece of BLING but it's really a Horcrux seeking medallion (Ron takes the necklace –―WOW‖ and starts swinging it around like he did when sword fighting)

HERMIONE: So if he has this medallion, then why are Ron and I even here?

RON: Yeah Voldemort isn't any of our business.

"Not me!" Ron exclaimed as Ginny glared at her older brother.

"Huh, we haven't heard that in a while," Harry chuckled.

"Not funny Harry!"

DUMBLEDORE: (agitated) Hermione Grainger – what are you thinking? Don't you know that if one of you has a problem, then all of you has a problem - what would Zac Efron say at a time like this (Sings ) We're all in this together!

"While I agree with the point, why did you just sing Headmaster?" Hermione asked.

"I honestly do not know, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore responded.

(Pause for music) Anyway, you gotta find the Horcruxes and destroy them – that's all there is to it. (Noise offstage) Oh, it must be the death eaters coming to kill me – kids put your beards on!

"How do you know that noise was from Death Eaters?" Ron asked.

"Why would we have beards?" Harry added.

"How do we destroy the Horcruxes if we were to happen to lose the sword of Gryffindor?" Hermione finished.

HERMIONE: We don't have beards.

"Why would we bring beards?" Ron asked. "Harry's got an invisibility cloak!"

HARRY: We brought the invisibility cloak

DUMBLEDORE: Oh alright –put the invisibility cloak on.

(Ron, Harry, and Hermione all get under the invisibility cloak)

DEATH EATER 1: Hey! Are you Dumbledore?

DUMBLEDORE: NOOOO! See! I've got this beard on.

"They won't buy that," Malfoy said with a smirk, which then slowly faded as he remembered just how dumb the Death Eaters were portrayed in this..thing. "I hope."

(More Death eaters enter)

DEATH EATER 2: Alright everybody spread out and look for Dumbledore!

(Death eaters look all around)

DEATH EATER 3: He's got to be here somewhere.

"Really?" Cedric asked. "I mean, it is his office, but he's the Headmaster. Plus the Ministry calls on him every day. He could be there."

"Ah but remember Voldemort has taken over the Ministry at this point in the production," Dumbledore reminded him, ignoring the several flinches at the sound of Voldemort. "He would not be asking for my advice."

DUMBLEDORE: Be careful with the Zac Efron poster –it's an antique!

DEATH EATER 1: Why do you care so much about Zefron?

"How do the Death Eaters know who this Zefron is?" Malfoy asked.

DUMBLEDORE: I just appreciate his charm! And his hair.

HARRY: Yeah, but everybody knows I like him best!

"HARRY!"

"That's not me!" Harry exclaimed, a little freaked out over Remus and Sirius' astonished looks. "I don't even know who Zefron is!"

(The Death eaters look around the room)

DEATH EATER 1: Who said that?

DEATH EATER 3: I wish I could say that it was me –because I feel I love Zac Efron the most! But it was definitely a voice from within this room

DEATH EATER 2: Was it an invisible man?

DEATH EATER 3: Could the predator be in the room?

DEATH EATER 1: Begin INVISIBLE MAN search (the death eaters spread arms out and start feeling around)

"That's a pretty good way to find someone in an invisibility cloak," Sirius said. "But of course they didn't need it with James because James kept his mouth shut!"

"That wasn't me!"

DUMBLEDORE: (Removes beard) It's me –it's Dumbledore!

DEATH EATER 1: Dumbledore –where'd you come from?

"Seriously?" Hermione groaned.

"They're Death Eaters, Hermione," Cho told her. "Not the brightest Lumos in the wand."

DUMBLEDORE: The man with the beard turned me in.

"They actually bought it," Snape sighed. If anything in this production was remotely accurate, it was how idiotic the Death Eaters could be at times.

DEATH EATER 2: Now we've got you right where we want you!

DUMBLEDORE: Yes but what I don't understand is how?

"Is 'how' really the most important thing to ask when you're about to be killed by death eaters?" Remus groaned.

DEATH EATER 3: WE had the help of a man on the inside – someone you trusted –someone you may have even loved,

DUMBLEDORE: Aberforth my brother?

"You have a brother?!" several voices called out as they all looked at Dumbledore in surprise.

"Ah yes Aberforth," Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "He runs the Hog's Head down in Hogsmeade."

"Huh," Sirius said. "I will chalk this up to things I did not know."

"Things you don't know could write an entire book, Black," Snape sneered.

(Draco enters the room)

DRACO: NO! It was me!

DUMBLEDORE: Malfoy –you little jerk!

"Is jerk really the right word to call someone who's going to kill you?" Remus asked.

"It may be the only word I can say in front the children," Dumbledore pointed out.

"Ah."

DRACO: That's right Dumbledore—I betrayed everyone! And now I'm going to kill you!

DUMBLEDORE: Oh, no you're not –Draco if you were going to kill me you would have already done it.

"This is true," Sirius nodded. If his cousin were anything like his family, especially his aunt, then Dumbledore would have been dead as soon as the blond twerp walked into the room.

DRACO: No, not necessarily true! No, I just wanted to offer you one more game of Connect 4 before I oft you!

"What's Connect 4?" Ron asked.

"We can play it after this is over," Hermione said with a smile. Ron always knew how to lighten the mood, even if he didn't mean to.

DUMBLEDORE: You know Draco, there are other options. It's time you looked inside yourself and figure out what you really want.

DRACO: I want Hermione Granger (and then adds really fast) and a rocket ship!

"Um, thank you Draco but now's really not the right time," Hermione said, looking disgusted at the thought.

"Don't flatter yourself, Granger," Malfoy sneered.

DUMBLEDORE: Then why didn't you just take the girl out for a happy meal or take her to space camp? Come on! Murder leads to despair and desperation. I know you're going to do the right thing!

"It's Malfoy," Ginny muttered under her breath. Malfoys never did the right thing.

(Snape enters)

SNAPE: What the devil is going on here?

"Never thought I'd be thankful to see Snape," Sirius muttered. If Snape really was on their side, that would be aid for Dumbledore.

DEATH EATER 1: We've got Dumbledore cornered

SNAPE: Well, what are you waiting for? Kill him – do it Draco.

I was right, Sirius thought but couldn't bring himself to say out loud. If Snape really wasn't on their side, then that would only mean one thing for a cornered and possibly disarmed Dumbledore—and it wasn't good for them.

DRACO: Well, I don't think I can.

SNAPE: COWARD 10 points from Gryffindor!

"That actually probably would happen," Ron said.

DUMBLEDORE: I don't understand – I gave you my letterman's jacket!

SNAPE: It never fit. (Points wand at Dumbledore in a menacing way)

"Seriously?" Remus asked, not wanting to ruin the moment but still alarmed that was the motivation Snape's character was given.

DUMBLEDORE: Why didn't you tell me – I could have shrunk it with magic! Severus, please don't kill me!

"Dumbledore wouldn't beg at that," Hermione whispered to Ron. "Remember what he told Harry in our First Year? Death was just another adventure."

"Well the muggles would have had to get something wrong," Ron whispered back, shooting a worried glance at Harry, who had not taken his eyes off the screen.

SNAPE: Avada Kadavra!

(The Death Eaters and Snape celebrate; Lights go out, then come up after death eaters exit)

HARRY: I hate him! I hate him –I'm going to kill him!

HERMIONE: It's not your fault Harry.

"Is it though?" Harry whispered, so low that no one heard him. If he wasn't Harry Potter, then Dumbledore wouldn't have been as big of a target for trying to protect him. Yes, Harry knew that as the leader of the Light, Dumbledore would have always been Voldemort's target. He was just a bigger one due to his relationship with Harry.

HARRY: It is my fault –Everybody's dying because of me –First Cedric now Dumbledore I can't do it anymore.

Hermione and Ron looked over at Harry, worry evident in their faces. If what happens in this play was real, what was Harry's character going to do?

RON: Come on –let's go to the Burrow.

HARRY: No don't you get it? I have to do this by myself – I did it once as a baby I can't have you guys near me You're at risk.

"Tough luck!" Ron and Hermione told him.

"Also, you're going to be hard-pressed to shake us off," Sirius said, gesturing to himself and Remus.

"I can think of some Hufflepuffs that would gladly stand with you," Cedric jumped in.

"Not to mention Ravenclaws as well," Cho said with a smile. Malfoy though sneered at the whole thing. However Dumbledore smiled at the support Harry was getting from (almost) everyone in the room.

HERMIONE: We don't care about the risk.

"We really don't," Ron nodded. "We're with you, Harry."

"So am I," Ginny told him with a smile. "Besides, who's going to get on you when you're being stupid?"

HARRY: No you don't understand. You have to get away from me.

RON: You can't mean that.

"No, he does," Ron sighed, remembering their first year. "Honestly Harry, even when muggles are depicting you, they still get the self-sacrificing git part down pat."

"Oi!"

"You know it's true Harry," Hermione told him.

HARRY: I do – Just leave me alone (Harry runs off, blackout)

"Well that was dramatic Potter," Malfoy sneered, but it didn't seem to have the same level of snark to it. Dumbledore was dead—even if the man was sitting right next to him, it still felt surreal. The muggles had gotten enough right about their time at Hogwarts (even their upcoming year) that it could be safe to assume that Dumbledore would die at some point.