Chapter 1: Awakenings
Harry awoke with a moan and a wince, as he felt the pain radiate from his chest. He looked around the sparse room and realized he must be at St. Mungo's. He clicked the button at his left and a medinurse appeared in moments. "Mr. Potter, I see you're awake. Don't try to move…we're having a time of it, trying to re-grow a few of your
ribs, not to mention the fact that we are still working out how much "bleed less" to give you for the internal damage." Harry wondered how long he had been there, and what had happened to everyone else. Had Voldemort lived, or was it all over. He grabbed the hand of the medinurse, before she started for the door. He looked to her for answers to his musings. She merely gave a weak smile, before pointing her wand at him, and sending a sleep enchantment his way.
Hours later, Harry woke to feel a hand holding his own. His eyelids fluttered, before focusing on a silver-haired, distinguished woman. "P—Professor McGonagall," he said weakly. She looked down upon his cut and bruised face with sincerity and concerned. "You're going to be okay…it's all going to be okay. It's over. Voldemort is dead, and the death eaters have fled. You've defeated him Potter, and you've lived." His mind was racing, trying to form the questions that riddled his mind. "Professor…is everyone…I mean who…Is everyone safe?" McGonagall, herself, he now realized was not unscathed. She had a cane to her left, and a black eye. "I'm afraid that there were casualties, as with any war. Thus far, Fred, Percy, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Neville, and Cho are among the dead. I'm sorry. Some muggles have also been lost, through no fault of their own. The Ministry was destroyed in a massive explosion, taking with it a substantial portion of the London streets. I'm afraid, there are many feared lost, that have not yet been identified."
Harry's mind was reeling. He was to blame. Why had he not faced Voldemort sooner. Now, friends were dead, and the Order was severely crippled. Ginny, Ron, Hermione…McGonagall had not commented on them. Ron, Ginny, and the Weasley family must certainly be in pain. "Ginny, Ron, 'Mione?" Harry questioned. McGonagall looked to the side, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Ginny and Ron are with their family. I'm to report to them as soon as I'm finished here. Naturally, the family is devastated. Ginny has been marked. She was hit with a spell on the shoulder, and although Neville was able to reverse the spell, he could not repair the physical damage. It was in attending to her wound that Neville was killed…Bellatrix. Ginny's scar will never heal, though with time it may fade. Ron, is…well, he is stricken. He spent a day here at St. Mungo's, before returning to the burrow. He was hit with a nasty separating spell. His arm had completely detatched…and the doctors were barely able to reattach it. He is torn between staying with his family, and joining the search." Harry looked quizzically at McGonagall before realizing tears had begun to well in her eyes. "Harry…Miss Granger…we're not entirely sure." Panic struck Harry, and he began to try to sit up. McGonagall gently pushed him back. "She's not been found, amongst the dead or the living, though I fear the worst. She would have returned to the burrow if she had…" she didn't finish, and Harry didn't want her to. They sat for a moment before Minerva McGonagall got up and apparated from where she stood.
