Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines and scenes come from "Hornblower: Retribution" so you may find them familiar, and I certainly don't own them.
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.
NOTE 2: The next few chapters will be dark
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.
Thank you for your reviews!
Liz O'Brien- No, I don't mind you for trying to get over Terrence and Athena's deaths. I love them too, really...
Crystalunicorn14- Like I said to Liz, I love Wellard and Athena too but that's how the story goes.. Unfortunately, Athena IS dead and there is a reason why Athena has to die...and no, this is not the end. Achilles still has to make up with Minerva.
PrincessWitch- Err.. Like Dumbledore said in GoF, "No spell can awaken the dead." I love them too, (especially Wellard, he is so sweet in "Hornblower".) but I can't bring them back and like I said to crystalunicorn14, there is a reason why Athena has to die. Really, I would love to bring them back but I can't.
Chapter 24: Aftermath
Although the battle was over, the hospital wing was still very busy. After the fight in the Entrance Hall, the female teachers came to the hospital wing to help Poppy. The place was beyond recognition. The clean white walls were stained with dust (due to the bomb blast) and stains of blood. Students with injuries were all over the place and the amount increased as the Aurors brought them in. People like Bush who were badly wounded were attended by Healers from St Mungo's (they arrived after Pellew informed them about the attack a few moments later after the Death Eaters' surrender).
"Mandy, get some of the purple potion over here!" screamed Poppy as she examined a student who had a bad burn on his chest.
"There is not much of it left!" said Mandy frantically as she searched the cabinet for extra bottles of the purple potion. There was a long cut on her hand and she winced as she continued searching.
"I don't care, just get it here!" snapped Poppy.
"How bad am I?" asked a student to Minerva as she tried to comfort her. Her arm was severely damaged.
"It's okay, you are going to fine." said Minerva. Stains of dried blood were on her robes, but that was nothing compared to the wound on her arm.
"I don't want to die......" the girl whispered.
"You are not going to." said Minerva firmly.
"This one is too serious, let's get him back to St Mungo's." said a Healer to his colleague about Bush's injury. His back and chest were slashed by two Death Eaters.
Bush looked around weakly for Wellard. He didn't see him since the battle started; he didn't see him when it was over either, even though he did see Hornblower and the others. Now he was not even in the hospital wing.
"Excuse me, Sir, but did you see a young handsome Auror with a pale, slight freckled face, short brown hair and brown eyes? And oh yes, he has a bit of overbite too."
The Healer thought for a while. "Don't think so. Did you?" he asked another Healer.
"There are too many patients around, I can't remember all of them." said the other Healer simply. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
"Terrence can't be dead, can he?" thought Bush as the Healers lifted him gently to a stretcher.
Little did Bush know that he was damn accurate.
***
Poppy was busily wrapped another student's arm with a thick badge when Lupin called weakly, "M-Madam Pomfrey?"
"What?" asked Poppy absentmindedly.
"W-we, we lost another one." said Lupin sorrowfully. Tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks. There was blood on his robes and his cheek, where he got a small cut.
Poppy froze.
Lupin stared at her grimly.
Poppy turned around and saw him holding a girl's hand. The girl's eyes were closed and large amount of blood was on her neck, even though it was wrapped with badges. Poppy gave the girl a long stare before she swallowed and took a deep breath.
"T-take her over there." she said, her voice shook as she pointed at the pile of bodies at the corner.
Lupin nodded slightly and he carried the girl up with his arms. Trying not to cry out loud, Poppy returned to her work.
Lupin gently placed the girl neatly on top of the students' and Aurors' dead bodies, even though he knew that the girl couldn't feel anymore. He stared at the bodies at a long time and sighed deeply.
"The situation outside must be as terrible as here." he thought.
***
Lupin was half right, the situation was terrible, but it was twice as bad as inside.
The castle was hideous with its broken windows and collapsed walls and roofs. Students who couldn't escape from the Death Eaters' attack were found dead everywhere, even in the lake. Student who managed to escape from the Death Eaters' clutches were now sitting at the lawn near the lake, where Dumbledore, the other male teachers (except Lupin) and a few Aurors were standing. The Slytherins had disappeared, which was lucky for them because the whole school would kill them if they dared to show up.
Some of the Aurors were rowing out to the lake, scooping out bodies and hopefully, students who were still alive. Most of the students did not drown; they were killed by Death Eaters and threw into the lake. Blood was dying the lake red and there were so much bodies that the Aurors almost couldn't row through them.
Dumbledore sighed sadly and watched as the Aurors dragged another lifeless body out of the lake and into their boat. The students were silent with shock and sadness. Some of them couldn't even bear to watch the place where they used to call school. Matthews had brought the students back from Honeydukes and left them with the rest of the school.
"I am sorry that we didn't come earlier, Professor." said Pellew quietly. He looked okay, except that his robes were torn.
"At least you did come." said Dumbledore, who looked perfectly fine except for his robes, which looked crumpled. "How many casualties is there, Edward?"
After asking the question, he realized that he didn't need to know.
"Not sure, but judging by the state of this, I say, maybe about," Pellew swallowed. "200? Not counting the casualties inside."
"Oh Merlin." Dumbledore muttered as he watched Healers loading patients into their St Mungo's ambulances.
***
"All right, Achilles, you and your men searched this room. Archie, Horatio, I and our men will search this big room." said Edrington as two of his men walked past him, carrying an injured student to the hospital wing.
"Sure."
"By the way, can't you do something about your heel?" asked Edrington, indicating Achilles's heel, which blood was flowing out of his boot.
"Later. Besides, I won't die of it like the real Achilles." said Achilles and he grinned.
"Come on, Archie, hurry up." said Hornblower as Edrington opened the door of a room.
"Okay, okay......" said Kennedy as he walked in a faster pace, his arm was wound around his stomach tightly.
Once Edrington opened the door, he saw two dead Death Eaters.
"Oh great." he muttered sarcastically and mercilessly, he kicked them aside. Then he looked around the room before he saw something else.
"Uh oh." he mumbled, without any sarcastic note in his voice and he stared.
"What?" asked Hornblower.
As he did, Kennedy lagged along behind. He then leaned on the wall, panting heavily.
"What?" asked Hornblower again.
Wordlessly, Edrington raised his hand and pointed. Hornblower leaned forward to see. Kennedy (with great difficulty) followed suit.
The two Aurors' mouths dropped open at the sight of Wellard and Athena.
"Oh my, Terrence." whispered Kennedy.
"Who is that girl he was holding?" asked Hornblower.
"That must be Athena, you know, his girlfriend." said Kennedy weakly.
"Not only that. She is Achilles's sister." said Edrington slowly.
Hornblower thought for a while. "Oh shit, Terrence did tell me that Athena is in trouble. He must have slipped off from my group to save her and ended up......." he trailed off, wouldn't bear to continue.
"What were you doing when he told you?" asked Edrington.
"I was about to answer him when the Death Eaters attacked my group. We were fighting them off......."
"Well, let's get them out before Achilles sees........" began Edrington and two Aurors went forward to break Athena and Wellard apart so that they could put them on two stretchers.
"See what?" a voice asked from behind.
Edrington and Hornblower froze at Achilles's voice. They turned around quickly and ran to the entrance, blocking Achilles's view.
"Achilles, do not go in there." said Edrington seriously.
"Why?" asked Achilles in bewilderment. "Is it very horrible in there?"
"Um, yeah!" said Edrington.
Hornblower nodded vigorously in agreement.
Achilles stared at Edrington for a moment before he blew out a breath. "Oh please, if you can take it, so can I. You are the one who throw up at the sight of a beheaded wizard last year, remember?"
Edrington frowned at the memory. He hated to be reminded of it. "That was a long time ago, I am getting better now."
"Oh come on, let me see it." said Achilles impatiently.
"Sir, we couldn't tear them apart!" reported an Auror.
"Shush!" said Edrington sharply while Hornblower went pale.
"Them? So there are two or more bodies in there?" asked Achilles and he hopped in front of his best friend to get a clear view of what was inside.
"Yes, I mean, no!" said Edrington in panic.
Achilles raised an eyebrow at him. Edrington tried hard not to blink.
"Okay, fine." said Achilles and started to look disappointed.
Edrington gave a mental sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Achilles grinned and pushed Edrington and Hornblower to get them out of his way.
"Hey!"
"Ha! Didn't you know about Wronski Feint?" said Achilles happily as he looked at the stunned faces.
He turned around to see the reason why Edrington and Hornblower were so jumpy. His grin vanished immediately.
"I tried to stop you." said Edrington quietly.
THUD
Achilles's knees hit the floor as he stared at Athena and Wellard blankly. He reached out to touch Athena's pale face and it was stiff. Then he quickly put his hand on Wellard's wound. The blood was dry, which meant the both of them had been dead for quite a while.
"You are joking, right?" asked Achilles, trying to smile.
Edrington shook his head. "They were like this when we found them." he added.
Achilles turned his attention back to Athena and Wellard. "Oh Merlin, what will Mom and Dad say?"
"Sir, how are we going to lift them to the stretchers?" asked an Auror and Hornblower rolled his eyes in annoyance at the Auror's words.
"Try to separate them again, I guess." said Edrington.
"W-wait! Don't touch my sister!" snapped Achilles. "She won't like it."
"Achilles........" started Edrington helplessly and shut up when Achilles glared at him.
"I will do it." said Achilles and put his hand onto his sister's.
He turned his back to the rest of the Aurors so that they wouldn't see him weeping.
***
After a few minutes, Achilles managed to separate Athena and Wellard apart and he put them onto two stretchers.
"Hm, take them away, Sir?" asked an Auror timidly.
"Just a second." said Achilles and he gave Athena his first and last brotherly kiss. "I will make up with Mom, I promise, okay?" he whispered.
He stood up and watched as the Aurors covered Athena and Wellard with two white cloths.
"All right, one, two, three, lift!" ordered an Auror and they carried the two bodies up.
After some of the Aurors left the room, Edrington patted Achilles's shoulder.
"Achilles, are you okay?" he asked in concern.
"Yeah, I am fine." said Achilles as he blinked furiously to prevent himself from crying again.
"Go ahead and cry, nobody is stopping you." said Edrington.
Achilles stopped blinking and after a while, tears were streaming down his cheeks.
"I am sorry, Achilles, I really am." said Edrington and he put his arm around Achilles's shoulders and patted him.
Achilles just sniffed and didn't respond.
"Poor Achilles." Kennedy mumbled, who was still leaning on the wall and his arm had released his stomach.
"Yeah......" said Hornblower and frowned when he saw blood on his friend's robes. "Archie, is that your blood?"
Suddenly Hornblower realized how pale Kennedy looked. Beads of sweat were breaking out at his forehead.
"J-just a scratch......." Kennedy replied but his voice sounded weak and strange. "B-by the way, is this, the, the l-last room?" he asked, sounded as if he had difficulty speaking.
"I said is that your blood!" Hornblower demanded and ripped open Kennedy's robes.
Kennedy clutched his teeth in pain while Hornblower watched in horror at his wound. There were lots and lots of blood on Kennedy's stomach and it was staining his skin and robes. The cut was so deep that if it went any further, it might cut Kennedy into half.
"Archie, why didn't you tell us that............." began Hornblower.
Kennedy tried to smile. "It's not as bad as it looks." he said and gurgled.
Hornblower watched in shock as his best friend spat blood onto his shoulder, and he collapsed into his arms.
***
The female teachers came to the lawn and some of the students gaped at their awful state. Bloods were spattered onto their robes and they looked as if they had walked through the Forbidden Forest because of their messy hairstyles.
"I still didn't see Athena, where do you think she is?" whispered Hermione to Ginny (Ron found her along the way back to the Room of Requirement)
Ginny shrugged.
"How bad?" asked Dumbledore tiredly to Minerva.
"100 dead, 50 injured. Oh I just hope that the 50 of them will hang through, we have lost enough already......." said Minerva sadly. "By the way, where's Athena?"
Dumbledore frowned. "I thought she is with you."
Minerva went white. "No........" she turned her head sharply at the Gryffindors.
"Has anyone of you seen Athena?"
The Gryffindors whispered to each other when an Auror came to Pellew and reported, "Sir, we found two more casualties on the first floor classroom. One student and one Auror, they are dead."
"Oh God." whispered Minerva, looking as if she was going to faint.
"Who is the Auror?" asked Pellew.
"It's young Mr Wellard, Sir."
"Wellard?!" shrieked Mandy, Georgia and Minerva.
"Oh Merlin, Athena would be upset." said Dumbledore, shaking his head.
"And the student?" demanded Pellew.
"I don't know who she is, Sir."
"Professor, should I ask my man to take the student out so that you can identify her?" asked Pellew.
Dumbledore swallowed and nodded slightly.
"Well, go and bring her out."
"Yes Sir."
A few moments later, the Aurors carried a stretcher out to the lawn. As they brought the body closer, Minerva noticed a hand was hanging limply out of the cloth and there was some sort of bracelet around the wrist.
It was not until the Aurors lowered the body before Minerva realized what the thing around it was. It was a golden, thin bracelet with a red crystal heart dangling from it. Wait a minute, Athena had the same bracelet, Dumbledore gave it to her during her tenth birthday.......
Minerva stared at the white cloth and shook her head slowly. "Oh no, it can't be......." she said in fear.
"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.
Minerva ignored her husband and kneeled down beside the body quickly. With her hand trembling, she lifted the white cloth and pulled it slowly away from the girl's face.
After she did, she sat down on the grass while Mandy and Georgia gasped in horror. Some of the girls shrieked. Dumbledore was still. Pellew's eyes widened.
Athena was lying on the stretcher.
"Oh my Goodness......."
Just like Achilles, Minerva lifted her head to Pellew and asked, "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Professor, I would never joke about a thing like this!"
Minerva blinked at him. "You wouldn't?"
Pellew shook his head slowly.
Minerva stared at Athena's face for a while before she put her hand onto her daughter's shoulder and shook her gently. "Athena?"
Dumbledore swallowed and kneeled down beside his wife. "Minerva........"
"Athena, stop playing and speak with your mother......."
"Minerva, it is no use......." said Dumbledore, his voice breaking.
Minerva continued to ignore her husband. "Come on, Athena......." she said, her voice getting weaker.
"Minerva, it is no use," repeated Dumbledore, a drop of tear was rolling down his cheek. "She's gone."
"She's not gone!" snapped Minerva as she turned to look at him with tears in her eyes.
Dumbledore didn't respond and just stared at her.
Minerva turned back to Athena and slowly, she pulled Athena to a sitting position and hugged her. Her head just leaned onto her mother's chest lifelessly. "She's not dead........" whispered Minerva as she rocked back and fro.
Snape looked away. Pellew sighed. Hagrid was blinking furiously. Mandy's and Georgia's shoulders were shaking as they sobbed. Hermione and some of the students were crying. Even the sky showed its grief by darkened itself and a cold, gentle wind blew through the air.
Minerva kissed her daughter on the forehead, just like she always did when Athena was just a baby. As she wept, Dumbledore putted his arm around Minerva's shoulders and pulled her close while he used his other hand to hold his daughter's. He kissed it.
"Should we take her away now, Sir?" asked an Auror to Pellew.
Pellew glared at him which meant, "Shut up."
"Sorry, Sir."
"She's gone, Minerva." said Dumbledore sadly. "Y-you have to let her go now, the Aurors are going to take her away."
"No......." whispered Minerva and held Athena tighter. She sounded as if she had a cold. "I want to hold her longer."
With a word, Dumbledore let her while he continued to hold Athena's cold hand. After a long while, Pellew broke the sad silence. "Um, Professor......"
"Minerva, it's time." said Dumbledore, his voice choked with emotion.
He unwillingly let go of his daughter's hand and stood up. Minerva still refused to release Athena.
"Minerva, please......."
Minerva sniffed and kissed her daughter for the last time before she released her and lowered her back to the stretcher. She then put Athena's arms neatly back to her sides and pulled the cloth up to her chest, as if she was just helping Athena to get to bed.
"There." said Minerva quietly and she stood up.
Pellew cleared his throat and waved his hand at Athena, for he was unable to say a word. The Aurors understood him and walked forward to the stretcher. They silently lifted Athena up and everyone watched as they carried her away.
Dumbledore putted his hand onto Minerva's shoulder. Minerva turned to him and she put her arms around him and started sobbing, just like what she did when Poppy had cracked up years ago.
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines and scenes come from "Hornblower: Retribution" so you may find them familiar, and I certainly don't own them.
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.
NOTE 2: The next few chapters will be dark
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.
Thank you for your reviews!
Liz O'Brien- No, I don't mind you for trying to get over Terrence and Athena's deaths. I love them too, really...
Crystalunicorn14- Like I said to Liz, I love Wellard and Athena too but that's how the story goes.. Unfortunately, Athena IS dead and there is a reason why Athena has to die...and no, this is not the end. Achilles still has to make up with Minerva.
PrincessWitch- Err.. Like Dumbledore said in GoF, "No spell can awaken the dead." I love them too, (especially Wellard, he is so sweet in "Hornblower".) but I can't bring them back and like I said to crystalunicorn14, there is a reason why Athena has to die. Really, I would love to bring them back but I can't.
Chapter 24: Aftermath
Although the battle was over, the hospital wing was still very busy. After the fight in the Entrance Hall, the female teachers came to the hospital wing to help Poppy. The place was beyond recognition. The clean white walls were stained with dust (due to the bomb blast) and stains of blood. Students with injuries were all over the place and the amount increased as the Aurors brought them in. People like Bush who were badly wounded were attended by Healers from St Mungo's (they arrived after Pellew informed them about the attack a few moments later after the Death Eaters' surrender).
"Mandy, get some of the purple potion over here!" screamed Poppy as she examined a student who had a bad burn on his chest.
"There is not much of it left!" said Mandy frantically as she searched the cabinet for extra bottles of the purple potion. There was a long cut on her hand and she winced as she continued searching.
"I don't care, just get it here!" snapped Poppy.
"How bad am I?" asked a student to Minerva as she tried to comfort her. Her arm was severely damaged.
"It's okay, you are going to fine." said Minerva. Stains of dried blood were on her robes, but that was nothing compared to the wound on her arm.
"I don't want to die......" the girl whispered.
"You are not going to." said Minerva firmly.
"This one is too serious, let's get him back to St Mungo's." said a Healer to his colleague about Bush's injury. His back and chest were slashed by two Death Eaters.
Bush looked around weakly for Wellard. He didn't see him since the battle started; he didn't see him when it was over either, even though he did see Hornblower and the others. Now he was not even in the hospital wing.
"Excuse me, Sir, but did you see a young handsome Auror with a pale, slight freckled face, short brown hair and brown eyes? And oh yes, he has a bit of overbite too."
The Healer thought for a while. "Don't think so. Did you?" he asked another Healer.
"There are too many patients around, I can't remember all of them." said the other Healer simply. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
"Terrence can't be dead, can he?" thought Bush as the Healers lifted him gently to a stretcher.
Little did Bush know that he was damn accurate.
***
Poppy was busily wrapped another student's arm with a thick badge when Lupin called weakly, "M-Madam Pomfrey?"
"What?" asked Poppy absentmindedly.
"W-we, we lost another one." said Lupin sorrowfully. Tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks. There was blood on his robes and his cheek, where he got a small cut.
Poppy froze.
Lupin stared at her grimly.
Poppy turned around and saw him holding a girl's hand. The girl's eyes were closed and large amount of blood was on her neck, even though it was wrapped with badges. Poppy gave the girl a long stare before she swallowed and took a deep breath.
"T-take her over there." she said, her voice shook as she pointed at the pile of bodies at the corner.
Lupin nodded slightly and he carried the girl up with his arms. Trying not to cry out loud, Poppy returned to her work.
Lupin gently placed the girl neatly on top of the students' and Aurors' dead bodies, even though he knew that the girl couldn't feel anymore. He stared at the bodies at a long time and sighed deeply.
"The situation outside must be as terrible as here." he thought.
***
Lupin was half right, the situation was terrible, but it was twice as bad as inside.
The castle was hideous with its broken windows and collapsed walls and roofs. Students who couldn't escape from the Death Eaters' attack were found dead everywhere, even in the lake. Student who managed to escape from the Death Eaters' clutches were now sitting at the lawn near the lake, where Dumbledore, the other male teachers (except Lupin) and a few Aurors were standing. The Slytherins had disappeared, which was lucky for them because the whole school would kill them if they dared to show up.
Some of the Aurors were rowing out to the lake, scooping out bodies and hopefully, students who were still alive. Most of the students did not drown; they were killed by Death Eaters and threw into the lake. Blood was dying the lake red and there were so much bodies that the Aurors almost couldn't row through them.
Dumbledore sighed sadly and watched as the Aurors dragged another lifeless body out of the lake and into their boat. The students were silent with shock and sadness. Some of them couldn't even bear to watch the place where they used to call school. Matthews had brought the students back from Honeydukes and left them with the rest of the school.
"I am sorry that we didn't come earlier, Professor." said Pellew quietly. He looked okay, except that his robes were torn.
"At least you did come." said Dumbledore, who looked perfectly fine except for his robes, which looked crumpled. "How many casualties is there, Edward?"
After asking the question, he realized that he didn't need to know.
"Not sure, but judging by the state of this, I say, maybe about," Pellew swallowed. "200? Not counting the casualties inside."
"Oh Merlin." Dumbledore muttered as he watched Healers loading patients into their St Mungo's ambulances.
***
"All right, Achilles, you and your men searched this room. Archie, Horatio, I and our men will search this big room." said Edrington as two of his men walked past him, carrying an injured student to the hospital wing.
"Sure."
"By the way, can't you do something about your heel?" asked Edrington, indicating Achilles's heel, which blood was flowing out of his boot.
"Later. Besides, I won't die of it like the real Achilles." said Achilles and he grinned.
"Come on, Archie, hurry up." said Hornblower as Edrington opened the door of a room.
"Okay, okay......" said Kennedy as he walked in a faster pace, his arm was wound around his stomach tightly.
Once Edrington opened the door, he saw two dead Death Eaters.
"Oh great." he muttered sarcastically and mercilessly, he kicked them aside. Then he looked around the room before he saw something else.
"Uh oh." he mumbled, without any sarcastic note in his voice and he stared.
"What?" asked Hornblower.
As he did, Kennedy lagged along behind. He then leaned on the wall, panting heavily.
"What?" asked Hornblower again.
Wordlessly, Edrington raised his hand and pointed. Hornblower leaned forward to see. Kennedy (with great difficulty) followed suit.
The two Aurors' mouths dropped open at the sight of Wellard and Athena.
"Oh my, Terrence." whispered Kennedy.
"Who is that girl he was holding?" asked Hornblower.
"That must be Athena, you know, his girlfriend." said Kennedy weakly.
"Not only that. She is Achilles's sister." said Edrington slowly.
Hornblower thought for a while. "Oh shit, Terrence did tell me that Athena is in trouble. He must have slipped off from my group to save her and ended up......." he trailed off, wouldn't bear to continue.
"What were you doing when he told you?" asked Edrington.
"I was about to answer him when the Death Eaters attacked my group. We were fighting them off......."
"Well, let's get them out before Achilles sees........" began Edrington and two Aurors went forward to break Athena and Wellard apart so that they could put them on two stretchers.
"See what?" a voice asked from behind.
Edrington and Hornblower froze at Achilles's voice. They turned around quickly and ran to the entrance, blocking Achilles's view.
"Achilles, do not go in there." said Edrington seriously.
"Why?" asked Achilles in bewilderment. "Is it very horrible in there?"
"Um, yeah!" said Edrington.
Hornblower nodded vigorously in agreement.
Achilles stared at Edrington for a moment before he blew out a breath. "Oh please, if you can take it, so can I. You are the one who throw up at the sight of a beheaded wizard last year, remember?"
Edrington frowned at the memory. He hated to be reminded of it. "That was a long time ago, I am getting better now."
"Oh come on, let me see it." said Achilles impatiently.
"Sir, we couldn't tear them apart!" reported an Auror.
"Shush!" said Edrington sharply while Hornblower went pale.
"Them? So there are two or more bodies in there?" asked Achilles and he hopped in front of his best friend to get a clear view of what was inside.
"Yes, I mean, no!" said Edrington in panic.
Achilles raised an eyebrow at him. Edrington tried hard not to blink.
"Okay, fine." said Achilles and started to look disappointed.
Edrington gave a mental sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Achilles grinned and pushed Edrington and Hornblower to get them out of his way.
"Hey!"
"Ha! Didn't you know about Wronski Feint?" said Achilles happily as he looked at the stunned faces.
He turned around to see the reason why Edrington and Hornblower were so jumpy. His grin vanished immediately.
"I tried to stop you." said Edrington quietly.
THUD
Achilles's knees hit the floor as he stared at Athena and Wellard blankly. He reached out to touch Athena's pale face and it was stiff. Then he quickly put his hand on Wellard's wound. The blood was dry, which meant the both of them had been dead for quite a while.
"You are joking, right?" asked Achilles, trying to smile.
Edrington shook his head. "They were like this when we found them." he added.
Achilles turned his attention back to Athena and Wellard. "Oh Merlin, what will Mom and Dad say?"
"Sir, how are we going to lift them to the stretchers?" asked an Auror and Hornblower rolled his eyes in annoyance at the Auror's words.
"Try to separate them again, I guess." said Edrington.
"W-wait! Don't touch my sister!" snapped Achilles. "She won't like it."
"Achilles........" started Edrington helplessly and shut up when Achilles glared at him.
"I will do it." said Achilles and put his hand onto his sister's.
He turned his back to the rest of the Aurors so that they wouldn't see him weeping.
***
After a few minutes, Achilles managed to separate Athena and Wellard apart and he put them onto two stretchers.
"Hm, take them away, Sir?" asked an Auror timidly.
"Just a second." said Achilles and he gave Athena his first and last brotherly kiss. "I will make up with Mom, I promise, okay?" he whispered.
He stood up and watched as the Aurors covered Athena and Wellard with two white cloths.
"All right, one, two, three, lift!" ordered an Auror and they carried the two bodies up.
After some of the Aurors left the room, Edrington patted Achilles's shoulder.
"Achilles, are you okay?" he asked in concern.
"Yeah, I am fine." said Achilles as he blinked furiously to prevent himself from crying again.
"Go ahead and cry, nobody is stopping you." said Edrington.
Achilles stopped blinking and after a while, tears were streaming down his cheeks.
"I am sorry, Achilles, I really am." said Edrington and he put his arm around Achilles's shoulders and patted him.
Achilles just sniffed and didn't respond.
"Poor Achilles." Kennedy mumbled, who was still leaning on the wall and his arm had released his stomach.
"Yeah......" said Hornblower and frowned when he saw blood on his friend's robes. "Archie, is that your blood?"
Suddenly Hornblower realized how pale Kennedy looked. Beads of sweat were breaking out at his forehead.
"J-just a scratch......." Kennedy replied but his voice sounded weak and strange. "B-by the way, is this, the, the l-last room?" he asked, sounded as if he had difficulty speaking.
"I said is that your blood!" Hornblower demanded and ripped open Kennedy's robes.
Kennedy clutched his teeth in pain while Hornblower watched in horror at his wound. There were lots and lots of blood on Kennedy's stomach and it was staining his skin and robes. The cut was so deep that if it went any further, it might cut Kennedy into half.
"Archie, why didn't you tell us that............." began Hornblower.
Kennedy tried to smile. "It's not as bad as it looks." he said and gurgled.
Hornblower watched in shock as his best friend spat blood onto his shoulder, and he collapsed into his arms.
***
The female teachers came to the lawn and some of the students gaped at their awful state. Bloods were spattered onto their robes and they looked as if they had walked through the Forbidden Forest because of their messy hairstyles.
"I still didn't see Athena, where do you think she is?" whispered Hermione to Ginny (Ron found her along the way back to the Room of Requirement)
Ginny shrugged.
"How bad?" asked Dumbledore tiredly to Minerva.
"100 dead, 50 injured. Oh I just hope that the 50 of them will hang through, we have lost enough already......." said Minerva sadly. "By the way, where's Athena?"
Dumbledore frowned. "I thought she is with you."
Minerva went white. "No........" she turned her head sharply at the Gryffindors.
"Has anyone of you seen Athena?"
The Gryffindors whispered to each other when an Auror came to Pellew and reported, "Sir, we found two more casualties on the first floor classroom. One student and one Auror, they are dead."
"Oh God." whispered Minerva, looking as if she was going to faint.
"Who is the Auror?" asked Pellew.
"It's young Mr Wellard, Sir."
"Wellard?!" shrieked Mandy, Georgia and Minerva.
"Oh Merlin, Athena would be upset." said Dumbledore, shaking his head.
"And the student?" demanded Pellew.
"I don't know who she is, Sir."
"Professor, should I ask my man to take the student out so that you can identify her?" asked Pellew.
Dumbledore swallowed and nodded slightly.
"Well, go and bring her out."
"Yes Sir."
A few moments later, the Aurors carried a stretcher out to the lawn. As they brought the body closer, Minerva noticed a hand was hanging limply out of the cloth and there was some sort of bracelet around the wrist.
It was not until the Aurors lowered the body before Minerva realized what the thing around it was. It was a golden, thin bracelet with a red crystal heart dangling from it. Wait a minute, Athena had the same bracelet, Dumbledore gave it to her during her tenth birthday.......
Minerva stared at the white cloth and shook her head slowly. "Oh no, it can't be......." she said in fear.
"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.
Minerva ignored her husband and kneeled down beside the body quickly. With her hand trembling, she lifted the white cloth and pulled it slowly away from the girl's face.
After she did, she sat down on the grass while Mandy and Georgia gasped in horror. Some of the girls shrieked. Dumbledore was still. Pellew's eyes widened.
Athena was lying on the stretcher.
"Oh my Goodness......."
Just like Achilles, Minerva lifted her head to Pellew and asked, "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Professor, I would never joke about a thing like this!"
Minerva blinked at him. "You wouldn't?"
Pellew shook his head slowly.
Minerva stared at Athena's face for a while before she put her hand onto her daughter's shoulder and shook her gently. "Athena?"
Dumbledore swallowed and kneeled down beside his wife. "Minerva........"
"Athena, stop playing and speak with your mother......."
"Minerva, it is no use......." said Dumbledore, his voice breaking.
Minerva continued to ignore her husband. "Come on, Athena......." she said, her voice getting weaker.
"Minerva, it is no use," repeated Dumbledore, a drop of tear was rolling down his cheek. "She's gone."
"She's not gone!" snapped Minerva as she turned to look at him with tears in her eyes.
Dumbledore didn't respond and just stared at her.
Minerva turned back to Athena and slowly, she pulled Athena to a sitting position and hugged her. Her head just leaned onto her mother's chest lifelessly. "She's not dead........" whispered Minerva as she rocked back and fro.
Snape looked away. Pellew sighed. Hagrid was blinking furiously. Mandy's and Georgia's shoulders were shaking as they sobbed. Hermione and some of the students were crying. Even the sky showed its grief by darkened itself and a cold, gentle wind blew through the air.
Minerva kissed her daughter on the forehead, just like she always did when Athena was just a baby. As she wept, Dumbledore putted his arm around Minerva's shoulders and pulled her close while he used his other hand to hold his daughter's. He kissed it.
"Should we take her away now, Sir?" asked an Auror to Pellew.
Pellew glared at him which meant, "Shut up."
"Sorry, Sir."
"She's gone, Minerva." said Dumbledore sadly. "Y-you have to let her go now, the Aurors are going to take her away."
"No......." whispered Minerva and held Athena tighter. She sounded as if she had a cold. "I want to hold her longer."
With a word, Dumbledore let her while he continued to hold Athena's cold hand. After a long while, Pellew broke the sad silence. "Um, Professor......"
"Minerva, it's time." said Dumbledore, his voice choked with emotion.
He unwillingly let go of his daughter's hand and stood up. Minerva still refused to release Athena.
"Minerva, please......."
Minerva sniffed and kissed her daughter for the last time before she released her and lowered her back to the stretcher. She then put Athena's arms neatly back to her sides and pulled the cloth up to her chest, as if she was just helping Athena to get to bed.
"There." said Minerva quietly and she stood up.
Pellew cleared his throat and waved his hand at Athena, for he was unable to say a word. The Aurors understood him and walked forward to the stretcher. They silently lifted Athena up and everyone watched as they carried her away.
Dumbledore putted his hand onto Minerva's shoulder. Minerva turned to him and she put her arms around him and started sobbing, just like what she did when Poppy had cracked up years ago.
