The Fall of a Titan

They reached the room Dumbledore had been moved to, and Harry stared in surprise at the healers and nurses that were moving around the room, casting diagnostics spells and discussing possible cures and potions that might help. The whole situation rather surprised Harry, considering all the injured that had been brought in from the attack on the Order, and he stopped Healer Revan from moving in to join them. "There's so many healers here," Harry asked, "who's left to tend to the wounded in the main hall?"

Revan blinked in confusion before replying. "I think a half-dozen healers are handling the injured. We figured that taking are of a great mage like Albus Dumbledore would be much more important, since he's a more valuable asset to the fight against Voldemort."

Harry frowned. "A half-dozen? There must be thirty healers and nurses in here! Get them back to work on the injured in the grand hall, right now."

"But milord-"

"Dumbledore is stable, right?"

"Well, yes-"

"Then get them back to work!" Harry yelled.

"But-"

Harry lost control of his already frayed temper and grabbed the healer by the front of his robes. "Listen to me carefully. In fact, all of you listen carefully," he said loudly. "No one, I repeat, no one is more important than anyone else in this fight. Every single person is important, because if we begin to believe some are better than others, we're exactly where Voldemort is right now. Now get the hell back to the grand hall and take care of the injured like you swore you did when you took your healer's oath!"

The effect was immediate. The nurses and healers scattered and hurried out of the room, trying to get away from the irritated Lord Polairix. Revan himself took a step back, only to realize that Harry was still holding on to the front of his robes.

"Milord…" the healer began.

Harry didn't let go, taking deep, shuddering breaths until a woman's hand gently pried loose the fingers he'd clenched in the fabric of Revan's robes. "Shh. It's all right, Harry." Bella muttered into his ear.

"Bella?"

"I heard you yelling from the other side of the castle," the black-haired witch smirked.

"We were busy coordinating the strike teams at the Ministry with General Rotan and Shacklebolt with the new information Moody provided. I came as soon as I heard they'd brought in Dumbledore."

"Well, turns out he isn't quite dead, after all," Harry sighed heavily.

"That's a good thing, right?" Hermione asked from the sidelines.

Harry shrugged. "I hope so. I mean, I'm not particularly fond of him, but he's fighting for the right cause. And as much as I hate to admit it, we need his help. And he's the figurehead of the 'light,' so if we lost him…"

"Bad things would happen," Hermione agreed. "It's bad enough that he's in a coma and close to death. Voldemort must've done quite a number on him."

"Yeah, but he went down fighting. The room they duelled in was all but destroyed, torn down to the foundation, despite all the magical wards and supports in Number 12, Grimmauld."

"Uh… milord?" Revan made himself known again. The three turned towards the ice healer.

"Oh, right, the old man," Harry realized. "So, what's the state he's in?"

"Like I said before, milord, he's stable for now, and unconscious, much like a comatose state. The injuries he suffered are numerous, and mostly magical in nature. He is leaking magical energy slowly, and nothing we've tried so far has worked to stop it," Revan explained.

"So what happens if it keeps going?"

"He will eventually die. It's much like a slow wound that bleeds out and festers. When wizards loose their magical energy without being able to replenish it, it has much the same effect as bleeding out." Revan sighed. "It must have been caused by a very complex combination of dark curses, because even the most powerful healing potions and spells we have tried have had no effect. In fact, a wound like this is very rare. We have very little experience in it."

"How long does he have?" Bella asked, staring down at the old wizard, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hard to say." Revan shrugged helplessly. "If he were anyone else, anyone less powerful, he would've been dead almost immediately. As it is, he's somehow managed to slow down his vital functions enough that the leak has slowed down, as well. At the current rate, maybe two days. Three at most. It's really hard to tell."

"And there's nothing you can do?"

"Not at this stage, milady. I'm the only one out of the healers here who has seen such a condition before, and only once."

Harry turned around to stare at the healer grimly. "What happened to that patient?"

"He died wthin three hours."

"Any chance he's going to wake up before then?" Harry and Bella shared a quick glance. They both realized that Dumbledore had been their best shot at trying to figure out how to break through the ward surrounding the Rod of Dominion. "I'll get on it immediately," Bella told him.

"Take Hermione with you, she'll be able to help you," Harry added. The two women nodded and left the room, leaving Harry and Revan alone with Dumbledore's still body. Revan muttered a quick diagnostics spell before excusing himself to go look after the other injured, which left Harry alone in the room.

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