Luna stared around the Great Hall in a horrified sort of trance as the bodies of the dead, the dying, and the injured were brought in. The hospital wing had been overflowed, and the Great Hall was the next best place to treat patients.

Madame Promfery dashed around from stretcher to stretcher, handing out potions and ointments, casting spells, and comforting the families of the dead. Ginny was with her family, mourning the loss of Fred, and Luna hadn't quite felt like she belonged there, so she had left.

She scanned the Great Hall repeatedly looking for Neville's familiar figure, growing more and more nervous as the dead and the injured who had defended the hospital wing were brought in. After five minutes, there was still no sign of him.

Luna sat down alone at the end of what was once the Ravenclaw table and waved her wand in little circles distractedly. A spark shot out and left a tiny scorch mark on the table.

"Hey," said a hoarse but familiar voice.

Luna spun around and smiled. "Merlin's pants, Neville, where were you?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

"I was cleaning up the hospital wing," Neville explained, hugging her back. When they broke apart, he looked her up and down. "Are you alright?"

Luna nodded. "I'm okay," she replied. "My shoulder isn't too great, but it'll be fine eventually." Their eyes met and Luna felt the color rush to her cheeks again.

"Where's Ginny?" asked Neville, clearing his throat. "I promise Harry I'd make sure she's safe."

"She's fine," said Luna. "But..." But her brother is dead, she thought to herself.

"But what?" asked Neville.

"Fred's dead," Luna told him.

"Fred Weasley?" asked Neville, a frown creasing his forehead.

Luna nodded and felt tears stinging her eyes. "This is all so horrible. And now You-Know-Who is threatening to attack himself if Harry doesn't give himself up within the hour, but we can't let Harry do that!"

"Harry will think of something," said Neville. "Maybe he's found what he was looking for and this will all be over before the hour is up."

Luna shrugged doubtfully. "Maybe," she said.

A devastated Ginny, along with Oliver Wood, approached Neville. "Sorry to interrupt," said Ginny. "But we need help removing the dead from the grounds. Neville could you come with us?"

Neville cast a reluctant sidelong glance at Luna, but she nodded. "I'll come too," she said, hopping up from her sitting position.

Ginny shook her head. "You should get that shoulder looked at. You don't need to be doing any heavy lifting anytime soon."

"But-" Luna began to protest. This stupid war was getting in the way of everything.

"We'll be right back," said Neville. "All of the Death Eaters have retreated to the forest. The danger's past for the time being."

"Fine," said Luna reluctantly. Before she lost all of her courage, she stood on her toes and kissed Neville's cheek. "See you later."

And with that, she skipped off to go find Madame Promfery.

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