Part II: Regency

Chapter VIII: In Which You-Know-Who Officially Rises

That elsewhere turned out the be the hospital wing back at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey had numerous curtains up around beds that Corinna knew to be the others who had followed Harry into the Department of Mysteries. She only counted five curtains. Someone was missing and Corinna gave a jolt of fear.

Pomfrey managed to magic the glass out of Corinna's arm and heal the various scratches until they were nearly faint lines that should fade in a few days. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything she could do about Corinna's ruptured ear drum besides tape some sterile cotton to it to protect it and trap any liquids from getting everywhere. Any sort of magic near such a sensitive area could do more harm than good, according to Pomfrey, who had to talk to her on the left side so she could actually hear what was being said. The ruptured ear drum should heal on it's own, but it will be a painful few weeks of hearing loss and other unfortunate side effects such as a high-pitched ringing, nausea, and vertigo.

Since there wasn't much else that could be done, Pomfrey gave her a potion for the pain and sent her back to her dormitory to rest, telling her to come back if the pain becomes unbearable or if she passes out.

Before she left, she asked who was missing. Harry wasn't sent to the Hospital Wing like the others. She asked about Dora, but Pomfrey heard that she was sent to St. Mungo's as her injuries were too serious. Pomfrey hesitated a moment before telling her that Sirius Black was the only one killed on their side.

Corinna was surprised by her own lack of reaction to the news. Maybe she was just that exhausted and the reality of the situation wasn't able to settle in her addled brain.

Later on, she would learn that You-Know-Who had appeared at the Department of Mysteries and fought Dumbledore, who was figure standing above her and had magicked her back to Hogwarts. You-Know-Who had gotten away, but not before being spotted by the Minister of Magic and quite a few Aurors.

She also learned the identity of the man she had hit with the exploding charm: Rodulphus Lestrange. He was still alive and being treated for his injuries before getting carted off to Azkaban with Lucius Malfoy and a few other Death Eaters that were captured.

With a promise that she would go rest, she left the hospital wing just as the sun started to rise outside. She could not believe that they were gone all night. It didn't seem like it was that long. At least the early hour meant that she didn't run into anyone as she made her way to Gryffindor Tower, trudged up to her dormitory, and collapsed onto her bed.

She didn't think she had slept for that long, but when she opened her eyes again, it was the middle of the afternoon. There was a note beside her pillow, in Parvati's neat scrawl. It said that Terry was looking for her and to meet him in the library when she woke up.

The last thing Corinna wanted to do was go to the library when she felt like she was going to puke on top of feeling grungy. Ignoring the ringing in her head, she sat up and attempted to rub sleep from her eyes. It took her forever to change into some fresh clothes as it felt like her limbs were filled with cement.

As most people were either finishing up their exams or were taking advantage of freedom from revision outside, Corinna was thankful she did not run into many people. When she did, she glared at them and they smartly kept their distance. She could only imagine how bad she looked if she actually managed to scare people off.

Terry was the only one in the library when Corinna managed to get there. He looked like he had been sitting there awhile, camped out with a novel in his hands. In fact, he was so absorbed in the material, he didn't look up until Corinna was pretty much on top of him.

"You look like hell," he winced as he shifted so Corinna could sit down on the bench.

"I just got back."

Terry seemed at a loss as to what to say, and Corinna was not about to start the conversation. She folded her arms onto the table and placed her head down. She couldn't believe that she felt like she was going to pass out from walking from her dorm to the library. He must have decided to not ask her questions, as he opted to rub her back to help her feel better.

Once the nausea passed, she lifted her head back up and Terry seemed to study her closely, as if he was afraid she was going to disappear. His eyes lingered on the bandage against Corinna's ear and she turned away to hide it from view. He hesitated a moment before pulling something out of his bag and setting it down in front of Corinna. "Happy birthday?"

Corinna stared down at the package and swore loudly, causing Madam Pince to appear from somewhere in the stacks to tell them off. Once she was gone, after threatening that one more interruption from them would get them kicked out, she looked over at Terry. "Why does horrible shite always happen on my birthday?"

"I don't know," he said softly. Knowing she was going to have to do it eventually, she took the present and carefully unwrapped it. "You mentioned how you needed a new bag as your current one was falling apart. I hope you like it. It's purple, your favorite color. And now you should tell me to shut up so I would quit babbling."

Corinna shook her head and leaned over to grab Terry in a hug. "I love it," she said into his shoulder. "Thank you, Terry." She lifted her head and sniffled loudly.

"Hey, come on, when are you one to cry over a stupid present?" said Terry, trying to keep his tone light.

"I'm not," said Corinna as she looked over the bag. "Truth is, I don't even know what I feel right now."

"I mean, if the rumors are any indication, you lot had one messed up night," said Terry. "You're probably physically and mentally exhausted."

"Not to mention deaf in one ear," said Corinna flatly. Knowing that the Hogwarts rumor mill would eventually know everything that happened, she decided to tell Terry what happened starting with Harry having a fit during their History of Magic examination to what Corinna had found out in the hospital wing.

Terry, for his part, did not ask any questions while Corinna recounted the tale, but he did take delight in Corinna spitting in Umbridge's face and her well-deserved comeuppance in the Forbidden Forest. He seemed to have stopped breathing when Corinna mentioned Bellatrix. That was the hardest to talk about, even with Terry.

"So, she knew about you that whole time and still tried to use the killing curse on you?"

"Yep," said Corinna, ending the word with a sharp pop.

"That bitch!"

That was the final straw as Madam Pince kicked them out of the library after that. Since Corinna did not have the strength to walk around, they sat down on one of the stone benches. She kept the backpack on her lap.

"I actually called her that," she admitted after a moment. "And then she had the audacity to tell me off for it. As if we have had any sort of relationship for the last thirteen years."

"Fourteen," Terry corrected. "You're sixteen now, remember?"

Corinna leveled a glare at him.

"But you know what else this means?" asked Terry. When Corinna didn't answer, he said, "She cared more about keeping Harry Potter alive because of the prophecy he was holding than she cared about you."

"As if I needed another excuse to hate that woman," said Corinna, seething at this point.

"Do you even know what the prophecy is about?"

"No idea. All that, and I don't even know what it is. All I really understood was, if the Death Eaters wanted it, we were doing what we could to prevent that from happening."

Surprisingly, telling Terry about the events of that night helped her feel a bit better. Plus, it made him feel bad about what Corinna went through, so he promised to nick some food during dinner to bring to her so she didn't have to sit in the Great Hall with people asking her a million and one questions about their little Ministry escapade.

She went to bed early that night and slept through the whole night. Corinna couldn't remember the last time something like that happened. Everything still hurt, especially her ear, but at least she wasn't completely exhausted.

She went down to the hospital wing that afternoon to visit Ron and Hermione, who were still in the Hospital under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey. Hermione was sitting there, reading the special edition of the Daily Prophet about You-Know-Who returning and how Harry was now the Boy Who Lived again instead of a nutter. She could only hear about half of what they were saying, and she was tired of having to ask people to repeat themselves, so she just let herself get lulled by the mindless chatter.

Everyone was there that went to the Ministry that night. Corinna kept glancing at Neville, but he seemed to pointedly look away from Corinna. Aunt Andromeda's words came to mind and she left him be.

At least, she was okay with it until Harry announced he was going to go see Hagrid. Hermione's brows furrowed but he had rushed out without saying much else. He had seemed especially lost since they got back from the Ministry. Corinna wanted to chalk it up to him missing Sirius, but she wasn't so sure it was just that. Giving the excuse that she promised Terry they would meet up, she followed Harry down the grounds. As her body was still recovering, she felt winded by the time she stepped outside. She walked down the lawn towards Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forest when she saw Harry leave. He hadn't stayed long. His hands were shoved in his pocket and he looked lost.

She hung by the Entrance Hall to see where he would go when she saw him sit down on the edge of the lake, away from everyone else. She remained still a moment to see if he would do something else, but he had his knees drawn to his chest as he stared out at the lake.

With a soft sigh, she made her way to where he sat. He didn't look up when she sat down next to him, making sure to sit on the correct side so she could hear him if he wanted to talk. But, he seemed keen on just staring out into the lake. She remained silent, letting him talk if he wanted to.

They stayed like that until the sun set and a chill settled around them, and they made their way back to the castle.

The rest of the term seemed to blur together of attempting to do things with Terry and his friends, or trying to do things with the others that were growing to be friends. She was honestly quite relieved when Neville went up to her and said that he didn't care that her mother was Bellatrix. The fact that she was willing to stun her to prevent her from torturing him spoke more to him. At least she still had someone to partner up with next year. All she asked of him was to not tell anyone else. She was lucky that Ginny and Luna also hadn't overheard as they were unconscious at the time.

She went to the feast but didn't hear much of the speech, which she was quite alright with. Since she was so young when You-Know-Who fell the first time, she didn't have any memories of what life was like with him looming over the wizarding world. It was as if a shift had happened within the castle. Corinna didn't quite know it yet, but things were going to get very, very different around there.

The journey back to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters started off with an interesting one. According to Harry, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle tried to ambush him in front of the compartment that Terry and his friends were sitting in. Corinna should be proud as they did not resemble much more than slugs once everyone was done throwing hexes and jinxes at them. Corinna was, indeed, quite proud of her friend.

It was quiet in their compartment. Corinna was helping Ginny with a quiz in The Quibbler when Cho walked passed with her friend, Marietta. Apparently, she still had the word 'sneak' on her face as she had it hidden. She tried not to look to pleased with herself when Harry all but admitted that nothing was going to happen with him and Cho.

When they climbed off the train, Corinna was relieved to see Dora standing there with Lupin and Moody, looking much better than she had after Bellatrix was done with her. Apparently, she was there on Order business—kind of. The three of them along with Mr. Weasley had approached Harry's aunt and uncle—who seemed to be as mugglish as they come—and gave them a not-so thinly veiled threat that if they hurt Harry or they don't hear from him often, then they will have to answer to them.

"That was awesome," Corinna said to Dora as they made their way out of King's Cross.

"Just wait until you get home," said Dora, giving Corinna a look that indicated that she was not about to have as much fun.