word count: 419


"It's okay. It's going to be okay."

Hannah hears the words, but she can't really process them. The dungeon where she's been kept for what feels like years is dark, and she cannot see the speaker. The voice belongs to a boy; she knows that much for sure.

She blinks, confused, unsure what to say. Her mouth is so dry, and her lips are swollen, caked with dry blood, and doesn't think she could speak even if she had the right words to say.

"Hannah? Oh, Hannah! Thank goodness!" Someone's wand illuminates the area around her.

Squinting against the light, she can make out half a dozen figures. Susan is there, smiling, relieved tears in her eyes as she dashes forward, throwing her arms around Hannah. "I was so worried," she says.

"There will be time for reunions later." She recognizes the first speaker as Neville now. He's changed so much, grown from that awkward, fumbling boy she had met when she was eleven. "We have to hurry. It's only a matter of time before the enemy realizes…"

"You came for me," Hannah says, and it hurts to speak, but the words fall from her lips.

"Of course I did," Susan says with a soft chuckle. "That's what friends are for."

Susan makes quick work of freeing Hannah from her chains. Moving feels strange. Her body, weak after enduring countless curses, doesn't want to cooperate. But Susan is there, strong and kind, whispering that she will be okay; somehow, Hannah believes her, even though she hasn't felt okay in a very long time.

They free the others, a fifth year Ravenclaw girl named Darcy, and first year Gryffindor named Samuel. The poor boy cries, and Parvati Patil holds him close, shushing him.

"They have no right," Darcy whispers. "It's unlawful."

Hannah almost laughs. She doubts a pair of Death Eaters care what the laws once said because their master has rewritten them. There's no point in thinking of what is and is not fair. All they can do is move forward.

Susan helps keep her steady, guiding her along. For the first time in a long time, Hannah thinks that maybe everything will be okay, and they can make it through. She smiles, the movement making her cracked lips bleed. The blood doesn't bother her now. She is free, and she can keep fighting, and Susan is by her side to help keep her going.