Wow, once again, there were a lot of divided opinions on the previous chapter. I knew that Harry's first kill was going to happen there, and it's something that he needed to go through. Now, the canon Harry never actually killed during the war, so there's no way to know whether or not he is in character. He is not going to fall into a complete depression for the rest of my story, though it will take some time for him to harden a bit.
Sirius returns in this one, and things might be a bit jumpy, because there is a lot of craziness going on as people try to figure everything out in the aftermath.
Remus strode quickly through the halls, making his way to his office, where he could Floo directly to Gringotts. His mind was going a mile a minute, and he thought back to when the day went to hell.
They were all in the staff room having their final monthly meeting of the term, debating things such as schedules for next term, the budget, and the curse on the DADA post. Then the door had slammed open, and they all jumped to their feet when Colin Creevy burst in, panting so hard he could not be understood.
Dumbledore was the first to reach the fourth year. "Take a deep breath, Mr. Creevy. Severus, a Calming Draught, perhaps?"
The Potions Master sneered, but took one from his robes and passed it down the table. Dumbledore held it to Creevy's mouth, and waited until his breath had evened out. "Now, what is it that you needed?"
"Attack!" Creevy cried, hyperventilating despite the Draught. "Death Eaters are in Hogsmeade! Harry gave me this," he said, holding up the pendent. "He said to have you get the Order, and that the DA will hold them off until you get there. Then I should run to his trunk and get his leather satchel to give to Madame Pomfrey, since she might need it."
Chaos erupted in the room, and Dumbledore silenced them all with a loud bang from his wand. "Minerva, Remus, contact as many of the Order as you can. Severus, I assume you did not know of this development." The two teachers were already in motion and out of the room. Colin had collapsed into a chair, the panic leaving him as the Draught did it's job.
Snape shook his head. He would have warned them if he'd known, but the Dark Lord tended not to tell him of several things in case Albus decided to Legilimize him. "No, Albus, he did not inform me."
Dumbledore nodded, thinking quickly. "Then get to the dungeons and begin brewing anything you think Poppy might need." Severus nodded and quickly left, already calculating the brewing times for blood replenishers, Skel-grow, burn paste, pain potions, and Dreamless Sleep. Dumbledore turned to the remaining professors. Poppy had been unable to attend the meeting, as one of the first year Ravenclaws had come down with Dragon Pox, so she was busy. "Cuthbert, tell Poppy to prepare for the injured, that we will be bringing her potions, and then to head to the Three Broomsticks. Charity, please go to the Gryffindor Tower and retrieve a black leather satchel from Mr. Potter's trunk and take it to Poppy." Binns had already flown out, and Charity left at a run. "Bathsheda, go to my office and retrieve the master list of students. We must ensure that all are accounted for by the end. Start with students in the school, and then Floo to the Three Broomsticks and continue there." She followed the others out of the room. "As for the rest of us, we shall Floo now. Prepare for anything," he warned, and the rest of them hurried out.
Remus Flooed straight into Gringotts; like so many others, he was on autopilot. He went straight to the main teller. "Lord Sirius Black is in a meeting with Director Ragnok. I need to speak with Lord Black, if at all possible," he said, forcing himself to remain polite, despite feeling as though all he wanted to do was scream and rage. He still wasn't used to using his friend's title, as it felt strange, but he knew that it would get the attention he needed.
The teller scrutinized him for a moment, before ordering him to wait, and left into one of the side hallways. Remus forced himself not to pace off his agitation, and hoped that the Director would not be furious at having his important meeting interrupted.
Sirius appeared, cloak billowing behind him as he hurried down the hall after the teller, looking confused and slightly worried, though his pureblood mask hid the worst of it. Dumbledore knew how important this meeting was, how long it had taken him to arrange, and now it might be for naught. He hoped that this was important. When he saw the look on his friend's face, though, his heart started pounding. He kept all of it hidden as he looked at Remus, who still had drying blood on his robes. "Am I coming back here shortly?" he muttered to him, and mentally cursed when Remus simply shook his head. He turned to the teller. "Please tell Director Ragnok that I must reschedule. Thank you."
The teller stared at him, aware what an insult it was to the goblins to leave a meeting unfinished, but he nodded, and went back to his duties. Sirius followed Remus to a corner of the room where they could talk undisturbed, though still near their Floo. "What happened?" he demanded.
"Hogsmeade was attacked," Remus said bluntly.
Sirius paled. He knew that Harry and his friends had been there that day. "Harry?" he chocked.
"He's in shock. He helped capture almost half of the Death Eaters, including Lucius, though… he's going to need you."
"What. Happened." Sirius bit out.
Remus hesitated for a moment, before answering. "Marcus Flint cursed Minerva. Harry killed him."
Sirius closed his eyes to fight off the pain from that statement. He knew exactly what he was going to be walking into when he arrived at the school. "Casualties?" he asked as they made their way to the Floo.
"Flint and three other Death Eaters were killed, Lucius and over 20 others were captured, but the rest escaped. Harry and twelve other students are in the Hospital Wing, and quite a few have already been sent to St. Mungo's, I'm sure. Harry sent a student by portkey to the castle, and we were able to mobilize the Order fast enough to avoid any student deaths."
"How injured is Harry?" he asked, but didn't wait for the answer before he took the Floo. Remus appeared next to him a moment later.
"Concussion at least, and exhaustion. He healed Minerva, as well as several others, not to mention the fighting he did."
They were in Poppy's office, and they could hear the screams, crying, and cursing from the infirmary. Sirius didn't wait, but burst into the room, and scanned it quickly. Two of the Order members, quite a few of the teachers, and the students were all being looked at, and it seemed that Poppy had sent for a trauma team from St. Mungo's to help.
He saw Harry being attended to by an unknown healer, though he was lying there, unconscious. Remus shook his head when Sirius motioned. "He needs you right now. I'll go and see if Dumbledore needs any help dealing with this."
Sirius nodded at him, and slowly walked over to his son. He was fighting the memories that were assaulting him from this sight. Hogsmeade had been attacked while the Marauders were in their seventh year, and the school infirmary had been filled to overflowing. This, though, was nearly twenty years later, though it was caused by the same people.
He walked over to the healer. "How is he?"
The healer barely glanced at him. "You are?" he demanded, not wanting to be interrupted. Albus Dumbledore himself had told him what would happen if the healer didn't do his utmost for this student.
"I'm his father. How is he?" he repeated.
"He's better than he should be. From what I was told, he used up a significant amount of his magic healing a professor barely an hour ago. He's on magical restriction for a few days, no exceptions. He'll have a nasty headache for a while, since he seems to have hit it quite hard, and has a few burns and scrapes, but I'll leave a salve for those. He's out for now, but I will also leave a Dreamless Sleep for him later."
Sirius thanked the healer as he finished his work and went on to the next patient. Sirius quickly conjured a chair and brought the curtains to cover them from view. He sat down and picked up Harry's hand, which was icy. He could tell that Harry wasn't going to wake up any time soon, but that was fine. Harry had earned the right to rest, that was for sure! It didn't mean, however, that he had any intentions of leaving him right then. He would stay until either Harry woke and they could talk, or until one of the healers kicked him out. Until then, though, his bum was fixed firmly on his chair.
Ron and Hermione were standing outside the Hospital Wing, and both were pacing. Both Blaise and Brianna had been injured, and they had absolutely no clue about Harry. As a result, they were both frantic with worry, on top of the terror filled hours before.
They quickly turned when the doors opened, and Remus stepped out. Immediately they began peppering him with questions.
"Who's hurt?"
"Have you seen Harry?"
"Where's Brianna?"
"Where's Blaise?"
"Is Neville alright?"
Remus held up a hand to stem the flow of questions, and gestured at them to follow him down the corridor a bit. When he saw that they were alone, he sighed. "I do not know about anyone else's health, but Harry is being looked at, and Sirius is sitting with him right now." He'd forgotten that Brianna was visiting Harry this break, and groaned. He'd have to find out what was going on with her, and then contact her parents. "Was Brianna injured?" he asked them.
Hermione turned to Ron, who had a grim look. "She had a few cuts, but nothing that looked too serious. She could have been a Gryffindor; she was completely fearless today."
Remus nodded, then turned to Hermione with a questioning look.
She nodded at him. "Blaise had a taken a curse to his leg, but he was fighting through it. I think Neville was under the Cruciatus, but I'm not sure. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, though."
Remus caught himself before he started groaning. He remembered what it was like, just as Sirius did, when Hogsmeade had been attacked when they were in their seventh year. Nine students had died then, so he was counting his blessings now. He just hated seeing his students in pain, emotional or physical. "Well, I don't know about the others; there were a lot of people in the infirmary. For right now, I would advise you to go back to your common room and wait. I'm on my way to the headmaster's office to see what I can do to help." Then his mind caught up with his mouth. "Wait, either of you injured?" he demanded.
Hermione shrugged. "I was at one point, but Daphne took care of it, so I'm fine now."
Ron nodded with her, still looking more serious than Remus had seen before. "Mostly just tired, you know? Didn't get hit with anything, though."
Remus was glad that they were alright. "Good. Now, you'll likely have to answer a lot of questions later, and I'm sure they'll be a late dinner," he said, looking at his watch. Dinner had ended a while ago, but there were likely next to no students that had eaten.
When they just nodded back at him, still looking worried, Remus fought for a moment before he turned at left. He wished that he could stay and help them through this, but there was a lot to be done, he was sure. He made his way to the gargoyle as quickly as he could, and practically ran up the steps.
Albus, Kingsley, Molly, Arthur, Tonks, Pomona, and Filius were already there. There was a grim silence, and Filius looked close to tears.
"What happened?" Remus asked, bracing himself.
Albus was the one that answered. "Roger Davies died."
Remus felt the words like a punch to his chest. Roger had just finished school, and had been set to graduate at the top of his class in most subjects. It was the second student from that class that had died in the last two years. He understood Filius' crestfallen expression now. It was the same one that Pomona had worn the year before. "How?" he found himself asking, wanting to know in a macabre kind of way.
Tonks, whose hair was a light blue in her sadness, sniffled as she looked up at him. "Apparently he bled out. His friends had given him one of the Harry's blood replenishers, so they thought they'd bought him enough time, but it wasn't long enough for one of the healers to get to him."
Remus decided that he needed to change the topic, uncouth though it may seem. "What's happening at the Ministry?" he asked Tonks and Kingsley.
"The Death Eaters that were captured have been taken to the Ministry holding cells," Kingsley answered, for once looking a bit rattled. "Fudge is freaking out, and trying to find a way to minimize this. He's worried about the bad press." The disgust was clear in his voice. He knew that so many of the ones arrested had bought their way out of justice during the first war. There was no way that was going to happen this time, and they all knew it.
Everyone scoffed at that, and Tonks picked up the conversation, her hair darkening quite a bit. "We need to interview the main kids that were involved in the fight as soon as possible. Quite a bit of high up Ministry workers were arrested today."
Remus nodded. "I know that Ron and Hermione are alright, I sent them to the Common Room, and Harry is unconscious in the Hospital Wing right now."
Tonks sighed. "And he was the one that captured most of them. We'll need to talk to him at the absolute soonest that we can. Meanwhile, can we go and talk to the others? The sooner we get their statements, the sooner they can try to heal from this."
Albus nodded, but before he could say anything, Remus spoke up again. "How is Minerva?" he asked, truly worried. He knew how much magic Harry had poured out to try and heal her, but there had still been a lot of damage.
"She's going to make it," Albus said, and everyone let out relieved sighs. "Poppy stated that she may not be able to use that arm for a few weeks, but she should make a full recovery. If Harry hadn't started healing right away…" he trailed off, and everyone shuddered at the thought.
"Until she can resume her duties, we need someone to step in as Head of Gryffindor," Filius said, trying hard to keep his emotions hidden. "Hogwarts decree states that students cannot be questioned without their Head being present."
Remus shifted. He would love to, but him being a professor was difficult enough for most parents. He would never be allowed. "What about Sirius?" he asked, as everyone was quiet. "He's respectable enough that parent's might not be as upset. I know for a fact that he would love to be here for Harry right now. Not to mention he's already here. I could sit with Harry while he helps with the interviews," he offered.
Everyone sat up at the suggestion, and Albus gave a tiny twinkle at that. "A very smart idea, Remus, thank you. Why don't you go to the Hospital Wing and ask him. Kingsley, would you like to go with him so that you can start the questions right away?"
The two of them just nodded and hurried out, leaving the rest of them to continue with their discussions. True, there were others that could be questioned in the meantime, as all of the Houses had fought, so Tonks was working on her own list. She hoped that Kingsley would be able to give her a better idea of who she needed to talk to when he was finished with Ron and Hermione.
Sirius wasn't happy to leave Harry, having vowed not to leave him until he woke, but it was clear there wasn't much of a choice. The healer that had healed him said that he might not wake until the morning, and that was the only reason that Sirius was willing to leave his side, that and the oath that Remus swore not to leave Harry's side until he woke, unless Sirius had come back.
As it was, he was following Kingsley to the Gryffindor Common room. They were going to use Minerv – no, his office, as they needed to question all of them separately, to make sure that their stories were straight. True, he wouldn't be official until he signed the papers, but knowing Albus, he would likely have them waiting for him, only requiring his signature.
Walking into the Tower was a frightening experience for Sirius, for once. He was used to it being the loudest room in the entire castle, but it was deadly silent, as every student that was in there, which was nearly every Gryffindor, was staring around, lost.
Sirius stepped inside, Kingsley a step behind him. "Can I have your attention, please?" he requested, raising his voice slightly, and they all turned as one to look at him. "My name is Sirius Black, as many of you likely know, and I am Harry's adopted father. For the foreseeable future, I am going to be your head of house."
The room erupted into exclamations and questions about McGonagall. He raised a hand, and they all fell silent, though some were slower than others. "Professor McGongall was injured during the battle, and will need time to recover. However, recover she will, as the injury was not fatal. Now, while I am on the topic of the battle, this is Auror Shacklebolt. There are several questions that need to be asked about what happened in Hogsmeade today, and what each of you were able to do. So, we will be talking to each of you individually. If you do not wish to speak with us without your legal guardians present, that is fine, please sign your name to a parchment, so that we know who to contact. Who would like to go first?"
Ron and Hermione, of course, were the first to raise their hands, so Sirius waved to Hermione, and they left the Tower together.
The three of them walked in silence through the hall until they got to Sirius's new office, where they walked in. Sirius saw the papers waiting for him, like he'd been expecting, and grabbed a quill, scribbling his signature on the four forms, and handed them to the owl that was waiting at the window.
He waved to the chairs, and they all sat down. "Alright, Herm, I mean, Miss Granger," Sirius corrected himself, wondering what on earth he was getting himself into. "If you could start from the beginning and tell us what happened today in Hogsmeade."
Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself. It had been a long day, and she just realized that she was getting hungry, which seemed like such a mundane thing compared to the rest of their day. "Harry, Brianna, Ron, and I were having lunch at the Three Broomsticks," she started, and told them about how Ginny and Luna had arrived, and the latter was injured. She explained how Harry had taken charge of everything, and then they all went out to bring as many students to safety as they could. She went on to tell them how Harry had split them up once Ron brought back news of where the Death Eaters were, and how she and Blaise were sent to guard the daycare until help could arrive, and how they had found Neville being tortured by Death Eaters.
She was in tears by the time she finished, saying that Tonks and Arthur had arrived, quickly subduing the last of the assailants.
"Thank you for telling us all of that," Kingsley said in his calm voice. "Now, where you able to distinguish any of the Death Eaters today? Did any masks come off? Anything that would help us identify them?"
Hermione thought about it. "I only remember that there was one female, and she was the one that was torturing Neville."
Kingsley made a note of that, and nodded. Sirius asked the next question. "I heard that you were injured during the battle. What happened, and when were you healed?"
"One of the Death Eaters blasted the side of the daycare, and a few of the shards hit me," she said, still distracted by the memories. "As soon as Tonks and Arthur arrived, we went back to the Three Broomsticks, which was overflowing with people trying to get to the Floo. Daphne didn't have much to do, because she was never professionally trained for the serious injuries, so she came over to look at me, and healed me."
"Who trained her, then?" Kingsley asked, curious.
"Harry did," Hermione said, chocking up slightly. She could only imagine how much worse things would have been today if Harry hadn't sacrificed so much of his time to help train Daphne and Clare. "He started learning at the start of the year. After he went to St. Mungo's with Madam Pomfrey, Daphne and Clare asked him if he would teach them, and he agreed. He told then which books to read, and spent a few hours with them once a week. I think he spent a few days a month with Madam Pomfrey to learn himself."
Kingsley nodded, thinking. It might be a good idea to have a healing class for those in their NEWT classes. It could at least be an option. Not to mention, it would be nice for St. Mungo's not to have to spend so much time and money training people. He would think on it later. "Is there anything else you wish to add to you statement?" he asked instead.
Hermione looked at them with pleading eyes. "What happened to Harry and Professor McGonagall? Or Neville?" she asked softly. "We haven't heard anything about the people that are in the infirmary. I don't even know where Brianna is, and Harry would be so upset with me for losing her, since she doesn't go to school here. Can you tell us anything about…"
Sirius gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Harry is going to be alright, but he has to stay in the infirmary until he wakes up and has a few more tests. Professor McGonagall was injured badly, but she will be back to teaching in the fall. I do not know where Brianna is, but I will find out, you have my word; the same goes for Neville. I'm sure they're both still getting looked at right now."
Hermione just nodded, and excused herself from the room, promising to send in Ron next.
Sirius sat back with a groan. This was going to be a long evening.
By the end of the night, Sirius and Kingsley had spoken with every Gryffindor who had been in Hogsmeade that day that wasn't currently in the infirmary. He had located Brianna, who had been so frantic to find Harry at the end of the fight, that Poppy had dosed her with a Calming Draught; given the fact that she was already injured and exhausted, both magically and physically, it knocked her out for several hours; by which time her injuries had healed, and the infirmary had actually emptied slightly. Neville was still rather shaky, but was released with instructions to eat quite well and rest.
The number of students that were ordered to refrain from magic until the end of term was so high, that Sirius wondered if there would be any magic performed at all. Most of the students were unable to use magic for over four hours straight, and performing such high level spells as well. Many students would be released from the restriction after twenty four to forty eight hours later, as it was just a precaution for some.
After finding Brianna, he had attempted to convince her to return home, but she dug her heels in, stating that she had no intention of leaving until Harry woke back up, and that her father could ground her when she returned. Sirius nearly groaned when he realized just how stubborn she was. He agreed, but had her Floo call her parents, letting them know that she was alright, that Sirius would be in touch with them later for the details, and then sent her to the Gryffindor Tower, with strict instructions to stay there until he came to get her. She was so relieved that he was letting her stay, that she quickly agreed, and then ran off. The house elves were serving a very late dinner to each of the common rooms, rather than attempting to have everyone in the Great Hall.
Sirius and Kingsley made their way up to Albus' office to compare notes with the others. Tonks was with Sprout, Dawlish with Filius, and Savage with Snape. When he got to the office, he found that the only one not back was Filius. Albus gravely told them that he was breaking the news about Roger to his classmates, and advised the rest of the Heads to do the same first thing in the morning, as most were likely asleep by now. Sirius had to suppress a scoff at that, knowing that there were likely very few people that would sleep soundly that night.
They all compared notes, and realized that the only person that they had yet to speak with was Harry. They knew that they needed his statement quickly, or they risked Fudge acting like the idiot he was, and finding some way to let the Death Eaters go, if he did speak with Malfoy.
Kingsley tried to assure them that they had the time, that Malfoy was in one of the highest security holding cells, given his use of an Unforgivable, but they all knew the power that he wielded. Therefore, he'd gone to speak with Madame Bones about his worries, and she quickly instituted a 'no visitor' policy for the arrested Death Eaters. Anyone tried to break it, she would be notified immediately.
Sirius told them that he would continue to sit with Harry, and as soon as the teen was able, he would be questioned. Albus nodded, and they all sat down, having many more things to go over.
Around three in the morning, Sirius managed to drag himself to the Hospital Wing. The meeting had lasted quite a while, and all he wanted to do was to sleep. He knew that he couldn't, but it was a nice thought.
He saw Remus reading a book by the low candlelight that was shining, and made his way over. "Anything?" he murmured.
Remus didn't even twitch, having heard him coming in. Heightened hearing was just one of the joys of being a werewolf. "No, he hasn't moved since I've been down here. Poppy came to look at him a few hours ago, and said that he should be waking up pretty soon."
Sirius nodded and drew up another chair, looking around the room. He could see that there were about ten others that were staying here, though he assumed that more had been transferred to St. Mungo's for treatement. Not only were there professors, students, and members of the Order that had been injured, but the townsfolk as well. He leaned back with a sigh. "You can go get some rest, Moons. I'll stay with him now."
Remus stood and nodded, closing his book. "I'll be in my rooms. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."
Sirius quickly assured him that he would, and settled in for a long wait.
Only a few hours later, with the sun beginning to peak in through the windows, Sirius looked down at Harry when he started to stir.
It started slow, with just his fingers twitching, but then it escalated quickly. His face turned into a look of pain, his breathing quickened, and the twitching turned into jerking.
"Harry," Sirius called, trying to bring him out of the nightmare as quickly but calmly as he could.
It took a few more tries, but Harry finally gasped, sitting all of the way up, and looking around, eyes wide and breathing erratic.
"Breath, Paws," Sirius soothed, holding his hands up. "It's just me."
"Sirius?" Harry demanded, trying to calm down a bit. He closed his eyes as he tried to slow down his breathing. "When did you get here?"
"Remus brought me here yesterday after you were brought into the infirmary," Sirius told him. He paused, knowing that he needed to get one of the Aurors, but was unwilling to have Harry questioned the second he woke up.
Harry, it seemed, had other ideas. "Do they need my statement?" he asked, looking at the far wall with a grim expression.
Sirius nodded stiffly. "Yeah, they do. But they can wait a little while if you want to rest."
Harry shook his head quickly. "No, I just want to get it over with." Then all of the memories came back, and his eyes widened again. "Is McGonagall alright? I did everything I could, but Remus pulled me back before I could finish healing! What about all of the other students? And the villagers? Did the Order get there fast enough?"
"You've been spending too much time with Hermione," Sirius noted with a sad smile. "Relax. I'll answer your questions, then I'll get the Aurors. First of all, Professor McGonagall is going to be fine." Harry let out a deep sigh, and Sirius realized how terrified he'd been. "Remus was right to stop you, because you were pouring the last of you magic into her, and would have continued on to your own life force if he hadn't stopped you. Yes," Sirius said sternly, seeing Harry stare incredulously at him. "Poppy is none too happy with you, so expect a lecture in the near future. Now, Minerva is going to be out for the rest of term and the summer, but she should be back by fall term. For now, I'm the Head of Gryffindor."
Harry snorted, trying to release the tension in the room. "I wonder what McGonagall would have said if you had told her that when you were in school."
Sirius couldn't help the bark of laughter at the thought. It had been one thing that James had been Head Boy, and Sirius had been astounded that Remus was a professor. Looked like the true Marauders had more responsibility in them than anyone could have thought. "A few of the villagers were killed, but far less than expected."
"What about students?" Harry asked, unsure if he wanted the answer.
Sirius sighed. He hadn't been to the Tower to tell the rest of the House yet, but he knew that Harry deserved an answer. "Roger Davies died."
Harry was stricken. He hadn't seen Davies that day, but he could see the teen clearly in his mind, especially after the Quidditch Final. He had been quite fair, that first time Harry sat at their table the next day. He had shaken Harry's hand, apologized for blocking him so hard during the game, and congratulating him on the catch. "How?" Harry asked, eyes closed.
"He bled out from a curse. A healer wasn't able to get to him in time," Sirius said quietly.
"Any others? What happened to Brianna? Is she…?" His throat closed up, and he couldn't even finish the thought.
"She's fine," Sirius said quickly, not wanting Harry to think otherwise. "She's in the Gryffindor common room. I spoke with Marco last night, and he's not too happy about what happened, but said that she could stay here until dinner, when she has to go home. Everyone else is alright. A few curses, quite a bit of magical exhaustion, and a few of them may have to stay in St. Mungo's for a few days, but they'll make it through recovery."
Harry nodded stiffly. "Can you get the Aurors? I want to get this over with."
Sirius considered, and decided that he wasn't going to be able to get Harry to open up just yet, and he nodded. "I'll be right back," he promised, and went to the Floo. A quick conversation later, and Kingsley stepped out.
Kingsley and Tonks had fought over who would interview Harry, and it was finally decided that Kingsley would be best, as he could keep everyone around him calm, plus he had been the one in charge of the Gryffindors' statements, so it only made sense.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter-Black," he said, pulling up a chair. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Harry said shortly. "How are we doing this?"
"Start at the beginning, and walk me through what happened. At the end, I may ask you a few questions just to help clarify something."
So Harry began with their lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and how he quickly assessed the situation. He explained why he had Ron take to the air to get an idea of their numbers and locations, and made sure that everyone knew that Daphne needed to hurry to get to the pub. He told them his reasoning in stunning Theo to save him from having to decide between his classmates and his father. How he'd sent Ron and Brianna around to help students get to safety, since they were the best shielder and dueler respectively. How he had sent Hermione and Blaise to protect the daycare, since he didn't want any of the young children to get hurt or killed.
He told them the details of his dueling of the Death Eaters he came across, and what happened when he was ambushed by Malfoy and Nott. He told them how the twins had saved him with their inventions, and then they continued on, trying to find more students to help.
He forced himself to stay clinical when he spoke of fighting with McGonagall next to him, how he'd failed to subdue his opponent that had cursed McGonagall, killed the Death Eater, then hurried to try to heal his professor until help got there.
"The rest of it is kind of a blur," he told them, looking at a spot on the wall to avoid the looks of the two wizards. "I remember Remus getting Pomfrey; I remember taking off Flint's mask. After that, the next thing I remember is Remus helping me up to the castle."
Kingsley was taking quick notes. The teen had been thorough in his statement, never giving his opinion, just the facts. "You mentioned that you gave Mr. Creevy a portkey to the castle. Where did you get one?"
Harry stiffened, remembering that Dumbledore had told him not to let the Ministry know that he had one to Dumbledore's office, but it was a bit late for that. "The headmaster had given me one to his office at the start of the year," he admitted. "I was on magical restriction, and was worried what would happen if I was ever ambushed alone, so he gave it to me. When I heard that there were at least two dozen Death Eaters, I knew that we were going to need the professors, so I took the youngest member of the DA that I could find and sent him to get help."
Kingsley nodded. "Well, sir, I believe that you should feel very proud. You trained healers to help, and you took charge at a time when many of the Auror recruits would have frozen."
Harry thanked him quietly, and started getting up, but Sirius stopped him with a look. "Poppy wants to look you over before you can leave," he reminded Harry quietly.
Harry knew that he was right, and decided not to fight him at all. After only a few minutes of silence, Poppy came out of her office and spotted the three of them, and hurried over.
"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked gently.
"I've got a bit of a headache, but other than that, I'm fine," Harry told her, and she nodded.
She waved her wand over him, and muttered under her breath. "You are alright to leave here, but I'd like you to come back tomorrow for me to take another look. Also, no magic for at least two days." She grew quite stern, giving him a glare. "When you come back tomorrow, we will be having a conversation on not draining yourself when healing. I should have discussed that with you when I first started teaching, but I thought you understood."
Harry just nodded. Even without Sirius's warning, he'd known that she wouldn't be happy with him for pouring so much of his magic into McGonagall, but he didn't regret it. A few days without magic was not the worst price to pay when it came to his professor's life. He stood. "Then I think I'm going to head to the kitchens and grab a bite to eat," he said.
Sirius stood as well, since it was time for him to go to the Tower. "I'll see you soon."
Harry just nodded at him and left. His body was on autopilot, and he found himself at the kitchens. He was quickly served, and the house elves seemed to realize that he didn't want their usual exuberance, so they just gave him a heaping plate of food and a goblet, then continued on with their usual tasks.
He forced himself to eat, knowing that he needed to, but the food just tasted like ash to him. Eating quickly to get it over with, he thanked the elves, and made his way back up to the Tower. He really needed to check on his friends, but then he was going to find something that he could do that would keep his hands busy and help. Maybe he could go brew for a while?
He gave the password to the Fat Lady, and was immediately engulfed in a hug. Hermione held him tightly. "Oh my gosh, we were so worried about you! Are you alright? What happened? Where have you been? Did you talk to the Aurors yet? Did Sirius tell you about Roger! I can't believe that!" She was crying into his shoulder, and he held her tightly, feeling that this was just a tiny thing that he could be doing. He looked over her shoulder, and saw Ron, who was white as a sheet, the twins who were looking grim, and Brianna, who just looked ticked. Sirius was in the corner, having just finished giving them the news.
"Hermione, I'm going to need to breathe soon," he muttered, and her hold loosened slightly. "Yes, I heard about Roger. I've talked with the Aurors, I've been in the hospital wing, and I'm fully healed. Let's have a seat, and we can talk."
Hermione nodded and pulled back. Harry went to Brianna, and gave her a tight hug, kissing her neck gently. He was so relieved that she was alright. He'd been worried that she'd been injured and Sirius just hadn't wanted to tell him about it, but she was perfectly fine. Physically, at least.
Colin and Dennis had been sitting on the couch, but they hurried to get up. Harry wondered why they were acting like that, but he really didn't have the energy to think about it. He and Brianna moved to the couch, but Harry clasped Ron's shoulder, looking him in the eyes. No words were needed for them, but Ron just nodded at him, and they all moved to sit down.
Most everyone started leaving for breakfast, but the four of them stayed, as did the twins. He had Ron and Brianna start, detailing their part of the fight, then moved on to Hermione and then the twins.
Everyone waited patiently for Harry to talk, but he found that he couldn't. Brianna tightened her hold on his hand, and Hermione placed hers on his knee, both silently encouraging him.
He started, and faltered every once in a while but made it through the point where McGongall had been cursed.
Suddenly, he was no longer in the common room. All of his senses were taken over in memories. The feel of spells whipping past, the sounds of the screams, the sight of Flint's unseeing eyes, the smell of burnt flesh, and the taste of McGongall's blood as it sprayed his face.
His stomach rebelled, and Fred hurriedly conjured a bucket just in time for Harry to heave his breakfast into it.
Brianna wished she knew what to do, but she couldn't think of anything, and looked around, eyes wide in panic. Ron leaned forward, and grabbed Harry's bicep.
"Harry, focus. You're here in the Gryffindor Tower. The battle is over. Smell the perfume your girlfriend is wearing, feel my hand, hear my voice. You're safe, and so is everyone else."
The rest of them were staring at the redhead, amazed at how well he was handling the situation, but he just waved at them, continuing to talk calmly to Harry until his eyes lost the glazed look.
His face burned in embarrassment. "Gods, I'm so sorry about that." He jumped up and tore out of the room before anyone could stop him.
They all watched him leave, some starting to get up, but Ron waved them back down. "He'll come back when he's ready," he said, with a defeated sigh.
The twins couldn't take it anymore. "How do you know how to handle him so well?" Fred demanded.
Ron bit his lip, wondering how to explain, before he shrugged. "Last summer, when Bill came back? He'd lost a friend of his to a cursed room they'd been working on. He had a flashback, and I just watched what Dad did. He was crazy embarrassed that I'd seen him break down like that, and took off, again, just like Harry did. He came back later that night, and the three of us talked about it."
"So, we should give him some time to cool off,"
"Then if he doesn't come back, we can go looking for him," George finished.
Ron, Hermione, and Brianna nodded. Each of them were wishing that there was something that they could do, but they knew there wasn't.
Severus entered his classroom, having heard from Daphne that she had seen Potter run in there earlier like the hounds of hell were after him. He stopped in his tracks, though, when he saw the teen.
Harry had five cauldrons set up, and they all appeared to be different potions brewing. He threw in a handful of beetles into one while he was stirring another clockwise. Then he hurriedly started chopping on one cutting board, before tossing the lot into a different one, and stirred two at once. Snape had never seen a student handle so many potions at once. It was idiotic to do so, as there was far too much that could go wrong if you didn't have your entire attention on the processes.
Harry lowered the flame on one cauldron, and took another off the flames completely, setting it aside to cool. Then he hurried back to another to continue stirring. Something caught his attention, and his head snapped up. "Who's there?" he demanded, as the person was in the shadows. Since he wasn't sure who it was, he grabbed for his wand. Restriction or no, he was going to protect himself.
"What are you thinking?" Snape snarled, stalking over. He gave a cursory glance to each of the cauldrons, and received a shock. They were all fifth year potions, and they all looked perfect.
"I'm brewing," Harry snapped back.
"What you're doing is dangerous and arrogant," Snape informed him coldly, taking over two of the cauldrons to help finish.
"I'm not going to blow up your precious dungeons," Harry growled, continuing with his work. "I'm not nearly as horrible at potions as you like to think, and I've done more than one potion at once before."
"Yes, and the fumes can mix together to create a toxic mess that could have killed you."
Harry stared at the man, but counted his stirs carefully. "I hadn't read about that," he said calmly, but was mentally berating himself. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"Of course not. It's mentioned in the seventh year books. Not many students before that will attempt more than two potions at one time," Snape told him, voice still cold. "At least you've thought ahead enough to have different knives and cutting boards for different ingredients. Granted, we did talk about that in second year, but it's a pleasant surprise."
Harry just shrugged. Once again, he really didn't feel like verbally sparing with the man, and was just going to continue brewing. They both looked up as the door opened, and Blaise walked in, eyes zeroing in on his Head. "Professor, Auror Savage said that he needs to speak with you again about something."
Snape nodded, taking one cauldron off the flames, and lowering the flame on another. "Very well, tell him that I will be right there."
Blaise nodded, giving them a strange look. It certainly wasn't a common sight: to see those two together and neither was yelling. He just shrugged slightly, and walked out.
"This has ten minutes to simmer before the next step," Snape reminded Harry with a raised brow. "I don't want to see you doing something this idiotic again. Use a ventilation charm, if you must. Place it at least three feet above your cauldron," he finished, then swept his robes around as he spun on his heel, and walked out.
Harry was a little surprised at the advice, since Snape would normally have yelled at him and taken points. He wondered what it was, especially since he must know that Harry had stunned one of his snakes before the battle started. He continued on with his work, deciding that he would likely never know what was going on with that professor.
After he'd finished with all of the potions, he started bottling them, trying to keep his hands and mind occupied. The last thing that he wanted to do was to think about how he'd completely lost it with his closest friends. How could he have done that? What would they think of him after seeing him break down like that?
The door opened again, and Harry's hand jerked up, ready to fling a spell, but it was just Blaise again. "Hey," he said, nodding.
"Hey yourself," the Slytherin said, barely disguising a limp.
However, Harry'd had leg injuries, and been around Brianna enough that first week to pay attention to that. "What happened? I thought you would have been healed by now."
Blaise shrugged as he leaned against one of the tables. "I was, but one of the major muscles was cut, and I didn't get a chance to have it looked at quick enough. Pomfrey thinks that I'll be good to go in a day or two."
Harry fought back the guilt. Logically, he knew that it wasn't his fault, and he needed to get used to this. He sighed, putting the finishing labels on things. "I'm glad to hear that," he said, finding two bags in the corner of the room.
Blaise was silent, studying his 'potions buddy' as he started packing half of the jars and vials in one, and the rest in the other. "Where are those going?" he asked.
"In my potions bag," Harry answered immediately. Poppy told him that she had already sent it back up to his dorm, after thanking him for it. "Everything in it was used at the pub, so it's completely depleted right now. It'll take a while to get it back up to where it was. I'm hoping to get at least the major healing potions in there before I go back home." He finished what he was doing, and looked up. He could tell that something was bothering his friend, and he just waited.
Blaise took a deep breath, and looked at the floor. "I killed Scabior."
Harry stood up straighter at that. "What happened?" he asked, just as quietly.
Blaise took a few minutes to tell him the story of what happened at the daycare. He gave the minute details (the ones that Harry wouldn't tell anyone, even on a good day) before he finally sagged against the desks, collapsing onto a chair.
"Your first?" Harry asked, taking a seat as well.
Blaise nodded. "That's not the only problem, though," he said, looking back up at Harry's confused face. "The Zabinis are infamous for staying neutral, not just in war, but all politics. Me killing a known Death Eater changes that. Permanently. My mum and new step-dad sent me a letter, and they really aren't happy with me."
Harry let out a gust of air as he chewed over that. "What about your father?" he asked, thinking it through.
Blaise shrugged. "We haven't spoken in a few years. Mum told me all kinds of stories about what a horrible guy he was. Lately, I've been wondering how many of them were true, or just her trying to poison me against him."
Harry nodded as he thought that through. "I'd contact him," Harry said honestly. "Maybe the two of you can talk a bit; both about the situation today, and all the years you've missed out on." Then he thought about a conversation that he and Sirius had during Christmas break. "If you need a place to stay for part of the summer, just let me know."
Blaise's eyes widened, almost comically. "You're serious."
"Of course," Harry said, trying to mask the scoff. He remembered having the same feeling when Ron offered, so he really had no place to judge. "I'll let Sirius know, and we'll work out some details just in case."
Blaise nodded and stood. "I'll go owl my father now, and let you know when I hear back from him."
"Take your time," Harry said, grabbing the two bags, which were heavier than he would have thought. He watched as Blaise limped towards the door, and started walking out, before another part of his brain caught up. "Hey, Blaise!"
"Yeah?"
"Tell Theo the offer is extended to him as well," Harry said seriously, and turned around again to have the cauldrons start floating back to the shelves.
Blaise thought about saying something, but decided against it, and walked out, even more on his mind then when he'd walked in.
One bit of explanation in case people get confused. I'll have more in the next update during Poppy's talk with Harry, but I know that I've used magical exhaustion quite a bit in my story. However, they are adolescents, and therefore, their magical cores are not up to using so much magic in such a short time frame. Harry has built his up quite a bit, though he was using a lot more advanced magic, as well as being injured. Like I said, Poppy will have a more complete explanation in the last one.
The reason for Roger Davie's death was that I could not believe that so many Death Eaters attacked with no innocent lives lost. The first and second years weren't there, and a lot of the third years ran into the pub at the start of the fighting, thus avoiding most of it.
There was no way, though, that I was going to have Hermione or McGonagall die during this fight, and one of our favorite lions will heal and return :-) The rest of the day will be on the next update, but this one was already lengthy.