Blood of Enemies, Blood of Friends
Chapter 46 – Return to Hogwarts
Andrew and Luna were the first to appear in the entry hall of Hogwarts castle. "What are we supposed to do now?" asked Luna.
"I don't know. I think we are the first ones back," replied Andrew.
"I guess we should wait here until everyone else returns," said Luna. Even after the intense battle, her voice retained its dreamy quality.
"Maybe we should keep a headcount of everyone as they return," suggested Andrew. "It's what Giles would do."
Before Luna could agree, Xander joined the two teens. "Is Anya back yet?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"Not yet," replied Andrew, as he wrote their three names in the small notepad that he kept in his pocket at all times, in case there was something that needed documenting. Andrew looked up from the paper to see Xander pacing nervously, the look on his face the same as when they had escaped Sunnydale less than a year ago.
It seemed like hours to Xander, though only a minute or two had passed, before Anya appeared in the entry hall. Without hesitation, Xander pulled his wife into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Um, Xander, I escaped the battle completely unharmed. Please don't give me broken ribs now," said Anya. Xander loosened his hold, but did not let go of her. No words were spoken. Anya leaned into his embrace, as they moved off to the side of the hall in silence to wait for the others.
Xander and Anya had moved out of the way just in time to make room for the appearance of Ginny and Neville. As the two new arrivals moved toward the group, Professor Dumbledore approached them from a nearby corridor. "I am glad to see that the group is returning," said Dumbledore. "Did everything go as planned?"
Xander, still holding Anya to him, replied to the headmaster's question. "Not exactly everything," the Scooby answered. "The ritual was successful, but we didn't have time to get out before the Death Eaters got to our location."
Dumbledore looked solemn. "I had hoped that Voldemort would be too distracted with his own ritual to order his Death Eaters after you."
"He was," explained Xander. "Unfortunately, we got held up after the ritual was completed by a bunch of commandos that showed up." Before Xander could explain further, they were interrupted by the arrival of Robin and a group of Slayers. They cleared the middle of the entry hall just in time to avoid a collision with Faith and the remaining Slayers.
"Commandos?" questioned Dumbledore, more to himself than to the group.
"Yeah, apparently we can't go anywhere without running into Buffy's exboyfriends," quipped Faith.
"A group of muggle soldiers showed up just as we completed the ritual," explained Robin. "They held us at gunpoint until Buffy recognized their leader. By the time the soldiers stood down, the Death Eaters had arrived."
"Oh dear," said Dumbledore. "Muggle soldiers are not equipped to deal with a magical situation."
"This particular team usually deals in demons," Xander explained. "They were holding their own dodging curses, when we left."
"They were pulling out, when we left," added Faith.
Dumbledore nodded to the dark haired Slayer. "I suggest that we start to clear some of these people out of the entry hall," he said, looking around the hall at the numerous students.
"We'll take them up to the Scooby common room," said Faith. "We should probably all debrief before going out separate ways tonight." Dumbledore nodded his agreement.
"I'll go with you," said Anya. "Xander?" She turned to her husband questioningly.
"I'm going to wait for Buffy and Willow to get back," he replied. Anya nodded. She had expected nothing less.
"I'm staying too," added Andrew. "I'm keeping track of who got back and where they all go; so, we don't lose anyone." Dumbledore smiled at the older teen.
Faith, Robin, and Anya lead the Slayers and other students toward the staircase. As they left, Harry and Shannon appeared in the entry hall. Andrew added their names to his list, as Xander explained that everyone who had returned was waiting in the Scooby common room.
"Who's returned?" Harry asked. Andrew read off his list, and then Professor Dumbledore suggested that Harry and Shannon join the others.
"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, but I'm not going anywhere until I know that Ron, Hermione, and Dawn are safe," said Harry.
"And Draco," added Shannon. Harry shook his head. He was just getting used to the idea of Malfoy being on their side. He definitely was not ready to start caring what happened to the Slytherin.
"I understand," said Professor Dumbledore. "You may wait with Mr. Harris, who also refuses to leave until his friends have returned safely." Harry and Shannon smiled at Dumbledore, before taking their place against the stone wall next to Xander. The small group waited in silence for several long minutes. Each lost in his or her own thoughts.
Everyone was immediately alerted by Willow's frantic cries, when the next group arrived. She and Cat stood on either side of Wesley, who was holding the limp form of Tonks. Xander ran toward his best friend. "Hurry, Wesley, we have to get her to Madame Pomfrey," Willow called shrilly, as she began leading him to the hospital wing, even before Xander could get to her.
Cat abandoned her companions and pulled Xander aside. "What happened?" Xander asked.
"Kennedy hit Tonks from behind. She's unconscious," explained Cat. "Xander, I think Willow is going to need you."
"But Tonks is going to be alright. I mean, Madame Pomfrey can fix her right up," said Xander.
"Yes, but after Kennedy hit Tonks, Willow went up against her. I've never seen someone generate that kind of dark power without a wand."
Xander visibly paled. "Did her eyes turn black?" he asked, not wanting to know the answer.
"Yes, but it is worse than that. She knocked Kennedy to the ground. When Kennedy got up, Willow blasted her again – so hard, that Kennedy flew through the air and right into a killing curse. Afterwards, Willow was normal again. Right now, she's focused on Tonks, but. . ."
"She is going to need her best friend, if she is ever going to be able to handle what happened," Xander finished. He shared a look with Cat, and then took off at a run to the hospital wing to find Willow.
"Where is everyone?" asked Cat, after Xander had gone.
"Not counting those of you who just went to the hospital wing, everyone else who came back so far is in the Scooby common room," replied Andrew, never looking up from his notepad, as he added the names of the four recent arrivals and noted that three of them and Xander were in the hospital wing.
"I'm going to head to the common room then," said Cat, before walking toward the staircase.
Professor Dumbledore, Andrew, Harry, and Shannon continued to wait in silence. Shannon was the first to speak. "Where are they?" she asked. "Why aren't they back yet? Ron promised to be right behind us."
"It must have taken him awhile to find Hermione. I'm sure they will arrive safely any minute." Harry wasn't sure if he was trying to assure his girlfriend or himself. He was silently cursing himself for having left the battle without his friends. Suddenly a group of three people appeared. Harry was flooded with relief to see Ron, Hermione, and Charlie. They were all alive and conscious, though Hermione looked a little worse for wear.
"What happened?" asked Shannon, when she noticed that Hermione was holding onto Ron for support.
"That bastard Malfoy hit her with the Cruciatus curse," replied Ron bitterly.
"Draco? That doesn't make any sense," said Shannon, her mind spinning.
"No," said Hermione in a weak voice. "His father Lucius did it. Draco shielded me from a second curse."
"Where is Draco?" asked Shannon. "You didn't leave him there, did you?"
Ron blushed deeply, suddenly feeling very guilty. He had been so concerned about getting Hermione to safety that he had not even considered the danger they had left Draco in.
"They had to get me out," said Hermione. "I can barely stand now, let alone fight, and Draco told us to go, as his father was lifting the curse." Hermione was right, but her words did not make Ron feel any less guilty.
Ron asked Charlie to take Hermione to Madame Pomfrey. After promising his girlfriend that he would follow shortly, Ron approached Professor Dumbledore. "Is there any way, you can get me back there to help Malfoy?" Ron asked pleadingly.
"No need, Weasley," said Draco. He had just appeared in the middle of the entry hall, his body sore and week from the Cruciatus curse, clutching Dawn's limp body. "But I could use some help here."
Harry, Ron, and Shannon sprinted to Draco's side. "What happened?" asked Shannon, looking at her unconscious best friend.
Draco ignored the question. He was not sure that he could answer it. "Help me get her to Madame Pomfrey. I'm too weak to lift her."
Shannon bent down and with her Slayer strength easily picked up her best friend. Ron helped Draco to his feet, allowing the Slytherin to lean on him for support, as they followed Shannon and Dawn to the hospital wing. Harry trailed behind the group, staring at Shannon easily carrying her best friend like a small child and Ron supporting Draco. The image was surreal.
Professor Dumbledore and Andrew were left alone in the entry hall to wait for the others. "Who are we still missing, Mr. Wells?" Dumbledore asked to break the silence.
"Giles, Mrs. Malfoy, Spike, Genevieve, Angel, and Buffy," Andrew replied. "Oh and all of the aurors except Tonks are still there, but I'm not sure if they are supposed to come back here or not."
"Most likely they will not," explained Dumbledore. "I am sure they will have at least a few Death Eaters to take to Azkaban.
As the entry hall once again grew silent, Giles and Narcissa appeared holding a young woman between them that neither Andrew nor Professor Dumbledore recognized, though from her blood soaked fatigues she was obviously one of the commandos.
Narcissa immediately conjured a stretcher below the woman, and then flicking her wand the stretcher rose. Narcissa, turned to Giles, "I will take her to Madame Pomfrey. You can have the honor of explaining why we brought an uninvited muggle to Hogwarts." Giles smiled at her. She returned her attention to the stretcher and walked quickly down the hall, the stretcher just ahead of her.
"I assume that was one of the soldiers, that I was told about," said Professor Dumbledore to Giles.
"Yes, she is the wife of a friend. I know that I probably shouldn't have brought her here, but she has lost a lot of blood. She wouldn't have made it to a muggle hospital," explained Giles.
Dumbledore placed a hand on the Watcher's shoulder. "Any friend of yours is always welcome at Hogwarts."
Another group of three appeared. Spike and Genevieve immediately let go of their companion. "Where is she?" Riley asked, oblivious to his strange new surroundings. He only wanted to get to his wife's side.
"Follow me," said Giles. Riley did so in silence.
"Buffy and Angel were the only two I noticed before we came back," said Spike. "Is everyone else here?"
Andrew spoke. "Yes, everyone who is fine is in the Scooby common room, and the few who were injured and those who were helping them are in the hospital wing."
"Who was injured?" asked Genevieve quietly.
"From what I got, Tonks was knocked out by Kennedy," supplied Andrew. "Draco and Hermione are suffering the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Draco brought Dawn back unconscious, but he didn't really explain what happened to her. Oh, and that army lady that I don't know was bleeding a lot."
"Is Dawn ok?" asked Spike.
"Miss Summers is unconscious, but appeared to be breathing well enough," replied Dumbledore. "We don't know yet what happened, but I am sure that Madame Pomfrey is taking good care of her."
"We should go check on her," said Spike to Genevieve.
"She's fine," said Giles, who had made his way back to the entry hall with Charlie, after leaving Riley at Sam's bedside. "Madame Pomfrey says that she is stable, but most likely will not wake up for a few days."
"I still want to see her," said Spike.
"The hospital wing is really crowded right now," said Charlie, "and Madame Pomfrey is having a fit about so many people being in her way. She threw out everyone who did not absolutely have to be there. Ron, Harry, Shannon, Willow, Xander, and Wesley went back to the common room." Andrew overhearing this made another note. Charlie continued. "Riley, I think that's right, refuses to leave his wife's bedside, and Narcissa is sitting for awhile with Draco. Apparently, Lucius Malfoy was killed in the fight. Besides, when Buffy gets here, she will want to be the one to check on Dawn."
"What happened to Dawn?" The group turned to see Buffy and Angel standing in the entry hall. Charlie walked over and quickly embraced her. Buffy pulled away, looking at him seriously. "What happened to Dawn?" she asked again.
"She's unconscious but stable. No one is entirely sure what happened," replied Charlie.
Without hesitation, Buffy ran in the direction of the hospital wing. Charlie was not sure if he should follow her or not. He turned questioningly to Giles. "You should give her some time. She will have no patience for you right now. Check on her in an hour or so. By then, she will have it together enough to accept the company." Charlie nodded.
"We should meet with everyone in the Scooby common room," said Giles to the gathered group, "and let them know that everyone is safe." Professor Dumbledore excused himself. He wanted to check on the wounded himself. Those who remained in the in the entry hall proceeded to the staircase.