Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. I'm not making any profit off of this.
What If Snape Died? – Chapter 29 – Wounded
It was a dark, starless night on this street of downtown London. Although there were a few empty lots there, most of the neighborhood consisted of structures that seemed more than ready to be condemned. There were streetlamps that no longer appeared to function, and graffiti that looked twenty years old on most of the buildings. The street was empty, except for several rats being chased by a filthy stray cat whose original color was impossible to tell.
It was in front of one of these buildings, a rather grim, square structure surrounded by high railings, that a loud 'pop' was heard, and three people holding hands appeared out of nowhere. The one on the left was a tall man with dark, unruly hair and glasses. He was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt that advertised a sports team. The one on the left was a woman with long brown hair wearing a pair of tan slacks and a button-up yellow shirt who appeared to be about four or five months pregnant. The man in the middle was tall, with extremely long white hair and a matching beard that went down to his waist. He was wearing a velvet purple suit with a white shirt and pink tie. He was wearing a purple beret and white jogging shoes to complete his look. He wiped his forehead in relief.
"Whew. It's been a long time since I side-along apparated two people at once."
"You could've just left one of us here and gotten the other," suggested Alice.
With a twinkle in his eyes, Albus replied with a grin, "I doubt that either of you would want me to leave the other alone in this neighborhood." He looked around and commented, "We're in luck. There are no muggles around that we'd have to obliviate. This is the place." He opened the iron gate with a loud creak and walked up to the building itself. He took out his wand and performed a silent spell. The door of the edifice glowed green for a moment. A smile crossed the headmaster's lips. "I was correct. Tom, at least we can safely assume it was Tom, has placed a few wards on his old orphanage. One is to keep it standing, and the other is to discourage muggles from going near it – either to break in or demolish it."
"There's only one reason he'd do that," declared James as he pulled out his wand.
"Precisely, which is why we must proceed cautiously." He performed a simple Alohomora spell, and the door unlocked, which made them all grip their wands tighter.
Alice followed Dumbledore, with James right behind her, as they entered the abandoned building. It was full of dust and cobwebs, with bugs crawling and flying everywhere. James couldn't tell what color the floor had been or whether it had been tiled or carpeted. Within moments, all three of them had performed a bubblehead charm so they wouldn't destroy their lungs breathing the filthy air.
"I believe that Tom would've hidden a Horcrux in his room – the place in which he learned he was a wizard. This way."
With his wand out, the aged headmaster led them straight to the first door in a long corridor and opened it. The room looked no different than the others. It was just as full of dust as every other room in the decrepit place. It had an old bed and wardrobe in it, just like every other bedroom. Yet, all three occupants could feel something ominous in the air.
"Is that the wardrobe?" asked James. Dumbledore had told them the story of how he'd delivered Riddle's Hogwarts letter and Tom had had stolen items in it. Albus silently nodded. They each knew better than to just walk up and open the wardrobe, so they simply stared at it for a few moments while Dumbledore waved his wand.
"The wards are tied to the wardrobe, which leads me to believe that the building will collapse the moment it's opened."
"Typical," commented Alice.
"Indeed," agreed James. "So what else will we have to face when we get past that?"
The headmaster performed more spells, and then sadly admitted, "I can't tell what spells are inside the wardrobe."
"All right," suggested Alice. "Let's put up our own wards to hold the building up and open the bloody thing."
Five minutes later, without touching the wardrobe, Alice pried the door open with a nearby piece of wood while standing to the side. "Ahhh!" shouted Alice painfully. A wide beam of light had shot from the center of the wardrobe. If she had opened it normally, it would've sliced through her stomach and killed her and the baby. As it was, it grazed her left arm, which immediately began gushing blood as she grabbed the wound with her right.
"Alice!" shouted James as Dumbledore pointed his wand at Mrs. Potter.
"I'm afraid you'll have to remove your hand from the wound before I can heal it, Alice," stated the aged wizard.
Slowly, she did that and Albus began muttering in Latin. After about a minute, he said, "You'll have to go to St. Mungo's. The wound isn't closing."
"I'll take her there," declared James. "We can finish this later." He grabbed his wife's good arm, and they both disapparated away, leaving Dumbledore alone.
-WISD-
Harry and Neville were with the four youngest Weasleys, swimming in the pond near the Burrow. It was Saturday morning. Harry and Neville had spent the night with the Weasleys. Fred and George had just pulled Neville under the water as a joke when Molly Weasley came running toward them with a panicked expression. The twins let go of Neville.
"Harry, Neville, your mum's at St. Mungo's."
"WHAT?!" they replied together.
"Is something wrong with the baby?" asked Harry as he and his brother made their way to the shore.
"No, dears, at least I don't think so. She got hit in the left arm with some kind of dark curse. Your father just flooed me. She's was admitted in the hospital some time last night. That's all I know."
"We've got to go see her," declared a breathless Neville as he got out of the water just before Harry.
"Yes. Your dad asked me to take you there."
"Who attacked her?" asked Harry, "and when?"
"I don't know," answered Molly. She then looked at the others, who were also making their way to the shore. "We're all going there once you dry off."
-WISD-
Alice was lying in a bed at St. Mungo's, with her husband sitting on a chair nearby. Her left arm had a large bandage on it. She had just woken up when the door opened and closed, revealing Albus Dumbledore.
"Hello, Albus," she greeted, waking up James and startling the headmaster.
"I apologize for waking you, Alice. I had planned on speaking only to James. However, since you're both up, I can inform you both of our success." He then put a privacy spell on the door.
"Success?" asked James groggily until his eyes widened. "You mean you got it?"
With a grin on his face, he answered, "I obtained and destroyed Hufflepuff's cup."
"That's great," responded Alice, "Now, we don't have to go back there."
He then removed the privacy spell. "Now, for the most important matter. How are you, Alice."
"I lost a lot of blood, but they've given me a blood replenishing potion. They managed to stop the bleeding, but they want to keep me here until tomorrow morning." Her head went down. "I'm going to have a scar near my shoulder."
"The baby wasn't affected, then?"
"No," answered James happily. "They said that the baby is perfectly fine."
At that moment, the door opened again, revealing several redheads along with Neville and Harry. "Mum!" they both shouted as they ran up to her.
"I'm all right, boys, but make sure not to touch my arm where it's bandaged," she instructed when Harry accidentally touched the spot where she was cut (which was still a bit sore) while hugging her.
"Thanks for watching the boys, Molly," said James.
"It's my pleasure," she answered. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore."
"Hello, Molly. As good as it is to see you all, duty calls. I have some matters to deal with at Hogwarts. Good day to you all."
-WISD-
They stayed at the hospital for about an hour, and then the Weasleys left the Potter family alone. They told the kids that she'd been hurt while they were getting another Horcrux like the diary, and that now there were only two left.
"Promise you won't go after another one until after you have the baby," asked Neville.
"I promise, honey," Alice vowed. "We already talked about it. Your dad hadn't wanted me to go this time, but I was insistent." She sighed. "I guess he was right. The baby could've been killed. So, no more fighting Voldemort while pregnant for me."
"Good," replied Neville.
"There's something I wanted to talk to you boys about, especially you, Neville. We're going to have dinner with Sirius and Draco next week."
"WHAT?" yelled Neville while Harry was quiet. "No! I don't want to see that kid, or eat with him! His dad…"
"I know what his dad did, and what he did, Neville. He was raised to hate everyone who disagrees with his father's philosophy. Your uncle Sirius is trying to help Draco change and become a better person. You want that, don't you?"
"Sure, he should get better, but that doesn't mean I want to hang out with him."
She sighed. She didn't feel that she should tell the boys about the torture Draco went through, because that would get them to pretend to like Draco when they really didn't. He needed real friends, not forced ones. "All right. I won't make either of you go if you don't want to. That wouldn't help anybody. I do want you to think about it. I'm just asking you to give Draco a second chance."
"I'll go," Harry decided.
"Thank you," she responded as she grinned at the boy who had become her second son.
"I'll think about it," Neville replied grudgingly.
-WISD-
Chapter end
