Chapter Thirty-One
At that moment, there was an explosion over Hogsmeade strong enough to rattle the castle's walls. The wall sconces stuttered for a moment and most returned to their previous strength to illuminate the corridors, if a bit less than before. The few people on the Astronomy Tower looking for a quiet place to do assignments fell to the floor as the shockwave hit. Luckily for them, the ancient runework that generated a safety barrier preventing falls over the edge continued working without a hitch. It didn't save them from getting a good eyeful of what could have happened had they toppled over that edge and every one of the students breathed loud sighs of relief before scrambling back from the edge.
One or two happened to look up toward Hogsmeade. In the distance, they could see something indistinct high in the air over the village. None of them had a set of omnioculars, but there was a rather ancient telescope mounted on a freestanding stand. Since it was better than nothing, one of the older students scrambled over to it.
A voice called out from behind him.
"Mickey! Watch out for the sun! It's close to whatever that is! Don't blind yourself!"
Mickey grunted, acknowledgment of the warning clear. He didn't fancy going through life with an eyepatch. It might work for pirates but he wanted to keep both of his baby blues. A lot of girls loved them and he wasn't blind – so to speak – to the benefits of that. With that in mind, he changed to his left eye and adjusted his stance the best he could.
Carefully he swept the antiquated scope in a rather shaky arc, given the less-than-perfect condition of the swivels it was mounted with. Mickey zoomed in, cursing the rust on the handles. This scope was more a display piece than the ones that the first-year students got each year and it showed. A soft hand on his shoulder alerted him to another presence. Beside him stood Jenny, the owner of the voice that had warned him and someone he grew up with. For the last few weeks he had been trying to think of a way to tell her that he liked her for more than a longtime friend.
He may have liked the attention of the girls, but it was Jenny's safety he was the most worried about right now even as bits of stone wall and dust fell down as victims of the shockwave. He could see something through the telescope that made his jaw drop.
"Jenny! Take the others and get them inside the castle! Now!"
She jerked upright at the sudden fear in his voice.
"What about you?"
"Now!" He drew his wand and cast the strongest Protego Maxima he could. "I'll be right behind you! Get the kids inside!"
The note of fright in his voice convinced her and she turned to hustle them inside. Some dropped their books and wanted to bring them inside, still thinking about their assignments but she ruthlessly shoved them all ahead of her. They had to get inside and right now books didn't matter one bit.
There was another blast. She didn't know what it was – didn't know what the other one had been, either – but she could hear Mickey's voice chanting incantations stuffed full of power behind them even as she practically threw the last third year through the doorway. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Jenny risked a quick glance over her shoulder at Mickey, only to see his left hand begin to glow with the power of a wandless charm aimed directly…
At her.
It took a split second to realize that he was pouring everything he had into the split focus. Half was focused outward to deflect whatever was headed toward them. He wanted to keep it away from himself, and also away from… her.
Jenny saw the sweat dripping from his brow as one of his blue eyes looked back at her with something she'd never noticed before. A tender expression bloomed on his face that she suddenly realized that she'd seen more than once. After that his visage started hardening in the most determined expression she'd ever seen as he turned to do battle with whatever he'd seen in that telescope.
Thoughts battled up in her mind that she had been ruthlessly pushing down for a month now. Thoughts of the way he'd been acting and the long hugs that he had been giving her. The meanings that she wasn't sure she wanted to admit to before this moment. The gentleness that he had for her and the little things he did for her.
Jenny's breath caught as she saw the door slam in front of her and glow bright blue.
The younger kids saw her collapse and claw at the door, standing adamant against her efforts.
"MICKEY!"
-===(| - |)===-
The four phoenixes separated from their formation and shot off to different corners, each trailing magic related to their specific types. Flames for Fawkes, ice for the white and blue phoenix, gusts of air boosting the flight of the blue and light green phoenix, and nearly solid dark trails for the dark green and black phoenix.
Each continued to sing as they zoomed to their chosen points and started to wheel around once they'd gotten there. Faster and faster they flew, the colors of their feathers blurring into the dominant colors of each one. One sang in a countertenor to another's bass, but at that point no one could tell which bird was doing what.
To be fair, everyone was running for cover by then.
The castle was responding to the call of the ancient fliers and everyone could hear a deep hum of power from an unknown point. The closest that they had to localize it was somewhere far down in the castle's depths but there wasn't time to do more than a guess.
Hogwarts' wards activated, dropping into place. It sounded like the world's biggest stick of dynamite followed by the world's biggest gong as the wards threw off or deflected most of the incoming force.
Energies fought with every meeting with evil sounding cracks, hard pops and a series of hums that everyone felt deep in their chests. Anyone brave (or stupid) enough could see the magic of the wards systematically beating down the opposing energy that came from the same direction that Hogsmeade lay.
No one could see what it had been, but the phoenixes had not ceased and continued their protective songs. Hagrid stuck his head out of his window, his knitting long forgotten. Whatever it was had passed over his little hut.
"Wha' was that?"
It was a very good question with several variations throughout the castle, but no one had an answer of any kind that made sense. The wards had darkened into implacable darkness for now in the skies above Hogwarts. There was no real way to see anything that could answer the question. Torches, candles and Lumos spells popped up everywhere.
-===(| - |)===-
Hands snapped to weapons without a conscious thought on either part of Harry or Hermione. The moment that flesh touched the aged handles, both could hear phoenix song reverberating throughout their thoughts. It was confusing to them, to say the least.
"Harry, what's going on? Why can't I release this?"
"You're asking me? You're the smart one!"
She scowled at him for that remark but he didn't notice. One of Hermione's hands thrust out toward Harry with a firm grip on the Mace which worried him a bit. It was tilted slightly away from her, following the natural extension of her arm and wrist. She tried to tug it out of that hand's grip with her other hand but was unsuccessful. She noted that the hand holding the Mace felt like it wasn't even her hand. Every nerve impulse simply stopped at the wrist joint. No sensation or pain – just nothing there. Her eyes widened as the Mace illuminated and cast a soothing soft blue glow.
Harry wasn't having any more luck than she was. The Beak had fairly jumped into his off hand, which in itself seemed odd to him. He was right-handed. Wouldn't he carry a weapon in that hand?
His thoughts was interrupted by suddenly noticing the same things Hermione had. He heard the phoenix song and felt nothing in the hand that gripped the Beak. Considering the misadventures that he'd had up to this point, it was probably understandable that he would react the way that he did. Harry's eyes widened a bit more than usual when something unusual happened. Harry screamed.
"HERMIONE! GET THIS THING OFF ME!"
It took him another moment to realized that she couldn't move any more than he could. His feet seemed welded to the floor and while he was freaking out, he did somewhat note that she was in the same pickle he was when it came to freely moving.
"Harry! Harry, calm down!"
"HOW CAN YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO CALM DOWN? WHAT'S NEXT, A CRYING GIANT SINGING CLOWN IN WHITEFACE WITH A CARDBOARD GUITAR?"
Hermione did the only thing she could do as Harry raved at her. Her feet and one hand had been frozen by whatever the Mace was doing. Her other hand drew back and she threw what she had in that hand at Harry. It was all she could reach at that moment, really. The seventeen pound copy of Magicks of Eldritch Ceremonial Wonderments and Their Effectes, Twenty-First Edition with Concordances and Indices flew from her hand and clocked him right between the eyes.
Harry staggered as his eyes crossed several times and his glasses dangled from one leg. Idly, he wondered if the birds he was hearing along with the phoenixes happened to be whatever Hermione had been working up to with the Avis Oppugno she was known to use. The caw-caw-caw he was hearing didn't sound like anything his sweet Hermione would be likely to use. In fact, it sounded like the ugliest crow in the world. One that smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and drank a fifth of Firewhiskey every other day.
Hermione saw him stagger at the impact and gasped, her attention yanked off the weapons that had trapped them. As Harry was obviously sidetracked with his own attention problems, neither noticed that the weapons had moved close enough of their own accord to touch each other.
Harry and Hermione stiffened when they heard the weapons ringing as if striking something hard. His aching forehead was immediately forgotten and so was her chagrin at having caused it. There was something there, and neither was sure what to do about it. Harry tried to release the Beak, but there was no way to do that. He looked at Hermione, who'd had the same idea and the same result.
Neither could reach their wands at the moment.
They watched a form manifest itself into a female figure. Harry raised an eyebrow at the 'figure' part and Hermione narrowed her eyes. The two still couldn't move their lower bodies despite all efforts to do so.
"Are you two going to jerk around like that all day or be still and listen?"
They ceased their struggles and gaped at the woman standing there.
"And who are you?"
Harry's voice was even, surprising him quite a bit. He thought that it was about time for him to freak out, considering everything that had happened to him in the last few weeks. In fact, he wasn't too sure that he'd had enough freaking out for now and wanted to get it out of the way before the next surprise hit him. It was sure to happen, he knew.
He looked at Hermione and noted that she must have been thinking the same thing. He didn't like the idea that maybe she was thinking that about him and not herself. Harry didn't want to ask her for specifics since he really didn't want that answer.
The woman smirked at him.
"Oh, relax Harry. You can freak out tonight before you go to bed. For that matter, tomorrow morning before breakfast sounds good too. Works up a right appetite, come to think about it. Right now, both of you have things to do."
If his feet hadn't been stuck to the floor and his legs more or less stiffened, he would have fallen over from the surprise. Hermione didn't look much better. The woman went on, ignoring the looks on their faces.
"I'm one of the physical manifestations of Magic! I like this form, and so does Billy!"
Hermione looked at Harry with the same confusion on her face as he had on his. She mouthed the name to him, only to get a shrug in return.
"Who's Billy," he asked. Magic grinned at him.
"Oh, he's a sweet boy that needs a little help now and then – like you, actually. I step in to give him a hand every so often. He likes it when I give him a hand even if he doesn't admit it."
Harry thought about his current stance and how Hermione was half frozen to the floor. He felt bad for whoever this Billy person was. The silence wasn't even noticed as Magic went on with a frown on her face.
"The Sorting Hat gave you those weapons for a purpose, and neither of you followed up on why? It's not like I forgot to leave you a parchment full of instructions."
Harry suddenly remembered what she was talking about. From the expression on Hermione's face, so did she.
"Well, we've had a lot on our plates…" he trailed off. His voice sounded weak even to him.
Magic rolled her luminescent eyes.
"Okay, I'll grant you that even if some of it is your own fault. Still, the appearance of that demon should have told you something. From now on, don't go anywhere without those weapons."
"But what about classes? Won't we get into trouble?"
The question from Hermione made the eyes roll again.
"Those are magical weapons. How are you going to get into trouble if they can't be seen? And by the way, that means taking them to bed also. The bottom of each handle has to be in contact with the foot of your beds as a symbolic contact with the earth."
Harry eyed the vicious looking point on the Beak and shuddered. If he did that, then the point would be at a level right about… he shuddered again as the point practically sparkled at him. Hermione was regarding the Mace with her only thoughts locked away from an unreadable expression.
"Ah… what about…"
"...the point on the Beak?" Magic smirked at him. "I suppose you'll have to be sure not to kick it in the middle of the night, yeah?"
Well, that was obvious, he thought.
"Showers, too. Don't drop them."
They both paled for different reasons.
"Harry, Hermione, I realize that there have been things occupying you. However, it's past time to put those to the side for now. Arnhild's Mace and Nehemiah's Beak have reappeared to battle a menace that needs to be put down."
"What menace? You don't mean Voldemort, do you?"
Magic sighed. The sudden frown on her face was abrupt in its arrival and made the other two even more uneasy to see it.
"Yes, that – that…"
What followed was the most instructional course of swearing that either Harry or Hermione had ever heard. Harry made a lot of mental notes in case he ever needed them and Hermione resolved to look up some of the more descriptive ones for use on James if he ever pranked her with the itching powder in her knickers again.
Neither of the two knew how long the verbal volleys went on, but they did know that the phoenix song hadn't stopped. It warbled throughout the grounds and the Castle without ceasing, oddly in a counterpoint to what the physical manifestation of Magic was expounding on. By this time, Harry had lost count of the different languages being used in the detailed exposition of describing Tom Riddle although Hermione recognized several more. It didn't make either feel any better to know that.
There was so much vitriol being slung around that the lighting around them somehow attenuated but there was no way to discern how that happened. Harry swallowed hard and Hermione shivered as they felt the press from something fold into them. It was disconcerting, to say the least. They resolved to face it as best they could, considering their circumstances. It wasn't like they could escape to anywhere else.
The thought shared between them had flickered through their minds but a moment when the heavy atmosphere lightened up as quickly as it had darkened. Harry dared to glance over and saw that Magic was smiling. He still felt silly holding a medieval weapon without being able to move and in a more or less vulnerable position, but figured that it was safe enough to ask a question.
"What the hell was that all about?"
Hermione groaned from her spot across from him and rolled her eyes. Upon reflection, Harry decided that it was possibly not the best phrasing. It also occurred to him that so far there had been a lot of eye-rolling going on in this… conversation?
In any event, Magic smiled at him.
"Sorry. I had to let that out. As it is, the more sensitive of my followers will sense a great disturbance."
"As if millions of voices cried out in terror…" Hermione trailed off, blushing furiously as Harry glanced at her in confusion.
"Yes! Like that! And were suddenly silenced. They'll know something terrible had happened. Say, that was pretty good." Magic raised an eyebrow and regarded Hermione for a moment. "Say, do you want to learn the ways of the Jedi?"
Hermione couldn't decide whether to laugh, cry or cough up a lung in derision.
"Jedi? Jedi are fictional! It's a movie! A good movie, granted, but still! It's all a big bit of imagination. No, not big – it's huge!"
Magic smiled broadly. She leaned toward Harry and stage whispered, "That's what she said."
Despite himself, Harry laughed. He clammed up when Hermione shot him the most irritated look he'd ever gotten from her.
"No, my dear Hermione, Jedi exist and so do those Klingons of yours. Just not here… yet."
Hermione was gobsmacked. Harry was pretty sure he knew the feeling, although he wasn't completely how he felt about that information. He watched Hermione splutter.
"You mean the Force is real?"
Magic shrugged.
"Yes. That's beside the point since you and Harry have something to do for me first before you find out about the ways of the Jedi."
The pair traded glances with each other, unsure what to do or think about this.
"Now, while the two of you are stuck there like flies in amber for the next hour or so – and I hope you don't have full bladders," Harry moaned as something occurred to him rather suddenly, "the weapons that you have been entrusted to are using some of the methods the Sorting Hat uses to evaluate firsties in order to forge new synaptic pathways in your brains and condition new muscle fibers in your bodies. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it's necessary and it's going to hurt."
Even as she spoke, Harry felt a very hot and more than very uncomfortable feeling throughout his body. It was accompanied by the sensation of a very solid weight slamming into him behind his eyeballs, practically like a bowling ball sized up to a Sisyphean boulder. He couldn't look over at Hermione, but he heard a whimper come from her. It wasn't hard to imagine that she was feeling the same thing he was.
"Now, listen to me. When you're released from the instructional hold the weapons have on you, you need to eat a big meal and go to bed. As a matter of fact, tonight you need to maintain contact with each other and your weapons, but watch the pointy ends."
"M-maintain contact?"
"Sure! You know, touching, snuggling, cuddling, spooning, forking…wait, no, not forking, that's not right. I meant…"
"We got it!" Hermione yelped.
Harry very carefully looked anywhere but Hermione.
Magic rooted around in a very gaudy flower-print bag that Harry could have sworn she didn't have a moment ago and pulled out baldrics with fittings to carry each weapon. She carefully draped them over the shoulders of each teen and stepped back to regard them. She spoke up
"Nice! Now, you're going to have a few new abilities that relate to your weapon and that's what they're doing now. You're getting the new abilities burned into your brains, for want of a better term. Also, certain parts of your bodies are getting burned-in, too."
"Burned?" His headache sure felt like burning, that was for sure and certain. He didn't want to ask for specifics on what body parts were slated for the same treatment and he really hoped Hermione didn't either.
"Well, of course! A synapse is transmission of energy, right? Too much energy and you get burnt! And what luck, too. You're both getting thousands, if not millions of new pathways to use those weapons. It might be a little uncomfortable…"
Harry gaped at her. A little?
"… but it's working just fine. As a matter of fact, it's working better than when I tried this last time."
"Last time?" Hermione didn't sound like she was too sure she wanted to really know.
"Oh, let's see." Magic tapped her chin in thought as her brow screwed itself up in thought. "Sumerian bureaucrats decided to start dipping into the till for their own means and I had to let Ninazu and Siduri use this method to use the Beak and the Mace when those same fools got caught. Poor Ninazu. Such a handsome man but he had two left feet and one was a club foot."
"You mean he couldn't dance?"
"No, I mean he didn't have a right foot."
"So you mean he had something wrong. Was that the one with the club foot?"
"No, he literally had two left feet."
Silence fell for a moment, then Hermione spoke up with a good bit of hesitance in her voice.
"And this… Siduri, was it? What about…"
Magic clapped her hands.
"Oh, Siduri was a gem. She was a beauty to behold. In fact, this is her form but I can't dance as well as she could. She had all the men under her charms. Didn't have to pay for anything. What a flirt."
Magic batted her eyes at Harry and laughed at Hermione's suddenly dark face.
"Oh relax, dear. He's too young for me. In fact, this 'Young Stallion' is not my type."
It took a moment for Harry to get his free hand to work enough to facepalm. Magic continued on with her reminisces of Siduri.
"Once she got the Mace, every day there was at least two men seeking treatment."
"Treatment?" Harry asked.
"Well, of course. Just look at it. Men can't walk after it's been smashed into their testicles, and just look at that nice gouging point on the tip! Never goes dull!"
Harry groaned in pain, not all of it from the magical treatments. Hermione looked thoughtful. Harry saw this and quickly looked worried.
"Now, don't forget. Big meal, big sleep, big cuddles. Got that?"
They nodded, still stuck in their positions.
"Good! I've got more things to do, but I'll check on you at some point. There's still some loose ends to tie up. It's going to happen, I'll set my watch and warrant on it."
Her face was set as she said that, then she turned. They watched as she sauntered out, trying not to think about their bladders or what exactly Magic would use for a watch. Harry started to say something to Hermione, when the door opened again and Magic stuck her head in again.
"Oh, and mount that arrow, will you? That was such a sweet gesture from the Centaurs."
Magic disappeared in a riot of sparkles, leaving them gaping at each other as the door slowly closed and wondering how to explain this to their parents.
-===(| - |)===-
It took several hours before anyone could get to Hogsmeade, as damage assessments had to be done and the wards released to lighten up. The structure of the castle was not damaged aside from the top of the Astronomy Tower and a few windows, and that was quickly fixed. The door was stuck magically and others were working on it as time allowed. A hurried headcount in the castle revealed several missing students. Further investigation revealed that Professor Snape had been planning on short notice to take some of those students out of the castle. This was due to a project in his classes that he had set this group for some extra credit. The note on his quarters said "Gone to Hogsmeade." While succinct, it didn't help matters since no one was quite sure when he'd left.
Professor McGonagall walked out the large front doors of the castle after seeing to the students and delegating search parties for those still missing. Mister Potter and Miss Granger had been found stuck to the floor with the weapons that had come out of the Sorting Hat. It took a few minutes, but after hearing from them how they had come to be in that situation she dismissed it for other matters. It had helped that the Headmaster had related his own experiences with the woman in question. It sounded just as embarrassing for him as for the students. The Potters and the Grangers had been summoned, leading to further embarrassment but not for the adults, especially when the Magical order concerning contact came out.
She harrumped to herself. The 'woman' might be Magic herself, but surely the two Gryffindors could have been given another means to do whatever task they'd been given. It wasn't hers to reason why in any event, but she could still 'evaluate' it to her heart's content. Although, hadn't the younger Mister Potter (and the elder Mister Potter, for that matter) had enough to deal with in his life? They were all her cubs, no matter how old they were at any given point in their lives.
Or new lives, as the case may be.
As she set out down the path, she could see an unfamiliar gleam over the trees. It came from the direction that Hogsmeade lay, and it made her feel uneasy. It was a steady gleam, not flickering as flames would be and that steadied her a bit. There wasn't much to see from ground level, since no one had been able to use the Astronomy Tower until it was sure to be safe after that event.
Another thought occurred to her and she hoped she wouldn't find the Dark Mark. To be fair, she didn't know if she'd rather find that or everything about this Harry Potter harem nonsense that she'd been trying to stamp out for months now. This was a school, for Merlin's sake, not a… a blushing belles bordello!
Professor McGonagall stopped and shook her head. While the boy needed something good in his life after all the bad he'd endured, there was something called 'too much of a good thing.' Based on the little bit she'd been able to get from the deviousness of the students under her care, this 'harem' was exactly that.
"Groupies. It was always the same," she sighed to herself. Well, at least he had Miss Granger – or maybe she should be called Mrs. Potter – and his parents to help him with that.
The longtime teacher thought about the reaction of the boy's father to the news and what she considered to be rather excessive laughter and mentally decreased that list by one with a huff of annoyance.
As she turned the corner, McGonagall saw an unnerving sight. There, right in front of her about twelve feet or so away was a transparent dome with cerise, scarlet, and black swirls marching around in regular intervals. Each swirl was accompanied by a deep thrum-thrum that reminded her uncomfortably of war drums on a march.
She looked past the swirls, unwilling to approach closer to the edge of the dome but able to see past it well enough. What she saw made her nearly collapse in shock.
The village of Hogsmeade was unusually busy, with the noise that one would expect that came with such activity. People could be seen in the actions of going about their business buying and selling things. Gladrags had a door open as a witch bustled out with a small bag in her arms. The Post Office had a couple of wizards trying to get a rather unwieldy package through the doors without much luck as two others stood by laughing at them and not offering any help whatsoever. The window for Dervish and Banges showed a new model telescope that looked familiar, which someone still setting up the display.
Everyone was still and silent, frozen in their places.
Minerva moved around the dome with every care in the world, trying to see more and not come into contact with it at all. She could see a familiar cloak passing a barrel on the sidewalk outside the Hog's Head. It took her several minutes to jockey for a safe position among the tree roots and other debris and ground cover, but soon she could see what she'd feared.
Professor Severus Snape was leading several of his students down the street. Daphne Greengrass and two Hufflepuffs named Stuart Blanchard and Carlotta Tyler followed him with arms full of various items. Minerva remembered that note on his quarters and realized that he might not be back in the castle to remove it any time soon. The four of them was as rooted and stiff as everyone else in the village.
She started to turn back to report back to the Headmaster as quickly as she could, when something caught her eye. It was something to do with the lighter swirls in the dome, but there… there in an alley next to the Hog's Head. Someone was there, crouched down and watching. A moment passed as she waited for another swirl to pass over whoever it was, and she had her answer as the ethereal light shimmered from the blond hair of Draco Malfoy.
Professor McGonagall started in surprise. Young Mister Malfoy should have been in his common room, studying without permission to leave the castle. How did he get out and why was he here? Her eyes narrowed as she spied a box and a bag next to him, with his hand resting on the box. The bag she recognized as something that came from Borgin and Burkes.
That didn't make sense. That establishment was at Knockturn Alley in London. How did Draco Malfoy get to London and then Hogsmeade when he was supposed to be in the castle with everyone else? She resolved to find out if there was an impersonator in the castle. If this was not actually Draco Malfoy frozen with everyone else, then something sinister was going on. If it was, then Hogwarts could be in danger.
She took another look around the village from the edge of the barrier, despite her growing fear. The eerie quiet apart from the noise the swirls made as they passed gave her more than a bit of worry about what might be coming next. It reminded her all too much of a Christmas snow globe.
Professor McGonagall didn't want to reflect upon the fact that snow globes could shatter. She turned and hurried on her way back to the castle in her Animagus form.
-===(| - |)===-
Jenny sat up in her bed in the Hospital Wing, her heart racing. There was a sudden flurry of motion that had disturbed her, and the hushed voices caught her rather sensitive ear.
"It's a good thing you decided to roam the castle. We wouldn't have known otherwise as he was really the last one missing."
There was an answering murmur that sounded somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place it quite yet. The first voice went on.
"What happened to him? Where was he?"
That came from Madam Pomfrey, who Jenny knew was most likely directing someone into a freshly cleaned and made bed before waving her wand over the invalid's body in a healer's diagnostic spell. The tired girl expected to hear her voice since this was her domain, after all. The next voice was a surprise. What was said was no less a surprise.
"He was crumpled up against the door leading out to the Astronomy Tower," Lily Potter's voice came. "He had one hand on the door itself and the other clutching the remains of his wand, pointed outward. His wand was smoking and we could see burns on his hand, wrist and forearm."
Jenny didn't have time for the surprise that Lily Potter brought with her before the realization of who they found. Her anguished squeak made the voices stop for a moment and a set of footsteps could be heard. Soon she was gathered up in small but strong arms and she was being held. A voice whispered into her ear, trying not to wake up the other patients asleep in their beds.
"We found him, dear. He's in bad shape but he stayed behind and protected all of you. He wasn't totally conscious but he was saying 'Jenny' and some other things. I'm assuming that's you?"
She clutched at the other woman and sobbed as quietly as she could into the increasing sogginess of the blouse. One hand rubbed her back in a slow comforting motion.
"Let it out, honey. Madam Pomfrey will stay with him and do her best for him. She knows what she's doing."
Jenny couldn't say anything and the soothing voice went on after a moment.
"Have you told him how you felt?"
The sobs abated for a moment for an emphatic headshake, then resumed a bit more loudly. The woman gently shushed her and rocked her for a moment.
"He hasn't left us, but I think he'll need you as he recovers. Magic is truly wonderful."
Jenny nodded even as the tears continued unabated. A part of her wondered why she didn't feel any magic from this woman. That wasn't important right now as she was more worried about the fears for Mickey and the torrents of emotion that was raging throughout her.
The woman kept rocking her and soothing her, whispering to her to get her to calm down. It took about ten minutes but Jenny finally hiccuped and sat back. The woman smiled as she squeeze out a damp cloth left with a bowl.
"Feeling better?"
Jenny nodded, suddenly tired.
"Wipe your face and lay down. You need to sleep and Mickey will be here tomorrow for you to check on. It would be a good time to tell him how you feel."
Jenny nodded again, still wondering who this was, but far too tired to care much. Her head found her pillow again and the woman draped her covers over her. A couple of minutes later, Jenny was asleep.
"You handled her pretty well," Lily's voice said. "I only saw part of it."
"I have a daughter. I'm used to it. How's the boy? Mickey, was it? That was the name she was sobbing."
"Madam Pomfrey says he's got a good bit to go. Magically exhausted, burns, some broken bones, a couple of internal injuries from blunt force. Probably from hitting that door since we found a bunch of nasty splinters. She induced a healing coma. It'll be a few days, maybe a week, and he'll be up and about. From the damage he took, he saved all of their lives from whatever happened up there."
The other woman shook her head. Magic was amazing. They left to find their beds as the temporary residents of the Hospital Wing recuperated and Madam Pomfrey started on her patient notes.
-===(| - |)===-
Far away, a malignant smile creased a somewhat reptilian face as a large snake was stroked softly. Hogsmeade was now in his grasp, and it would serve as a distraction.