There was a hardness to Harry James Potters eyes as he surveyed the ruin that was Hogwarts. Crumbling turrets, smashed greenhouses, some walls were completely toppled and a thick smog filled the air: hot ash on his face. They were still missing people.
As many students, staff members and house elves as could be found were assembled by the dirt strewn lake, some screaming, most crying, all terrified by the destruction of the once noble building. A little girl, only third year by the looks of her, and wearing the remnants of a gryffindor uniform was wailing for her brother, apparently a first year and of the same house, whom had not yet been uncovered from the rubble.
A familiar ginger head stood trembling at Harry's side and, despite wanting to maintain an air of professionalism, he could not help clutching James to his side. Some way off, curled in on himself beneath an old tree was Albus, seemingly still in shock and refusing to be touched.
Neville had been uncovered about an hour ago from the sharp remains of a greenhouse with a class full of thankfully unharmed second years and was now being checked for concussion by the school nurse Madam Tufflin.
Rose was fine and well, Harry's eyes had sought her out as soon as he'd ascertained that his own two were fine. Victoire, and Harry could not help but be proud of her, stood resolutely in the midst of the Ravenclaws with only her white face as a symbol of her distress and a mind to keep the house of the academics calm. She was succeeding too by the looks of it, for they were all sitting in little clumps of blue on the ground their minds quite focussed on the general knowledge test she was endeavouring to quiz them with.
Ron, with Rose hugged to his side was standing with a register and pen counting up wild eyed Slytherins and growing more grim each time a student failed to answer to their name.
As he finished with an answered call of "Mr Lavelle? Has a Charlie Lavelle arrived now?" he trooped back over towards Harry where the two of them exchanged edgy looks and sent the two red heads to go comfort Albus.
"What's it like? How many have we got?"
"Missing 12 Gryffindors and 8 Hufflepuffs, but the losses to Ravenclaw and Slytherin are larger, 32 and 27 unaccounted for respectively. Apparantly they had a joint third year lesson in the divination tower when it collapsed, the professor is missing as well, along with two others, transfiguration and astronomy. Only a handful of house elves are missing though."
"How about the ones that are accounted for?"
"Lots of them are hurt but only 17 of them seem to be in any serious state, most of them were the ones who we found in the dungeons. We were lucky. It could have been far worse."
"Yeh, I know." Blue and green eyes swept over the devastation, more aurors were trudging back and forth, to and from the wreckage of the school, and with a final glance at his two sons to ensure that they were safe and sound, Harry went to join his colleagues in searching for the missing children.
