"Wow"
Everyone turned to look at Ron, who had muttered this in a quiet voice. He looked back into the faces of the last remaining Hogwarts students.
"What?" He said, face turning a frightening shade of scarlet.
"That's it? Just 'wow'?" Ginny snapped.
"Well, I mean . it was . big" He trailed off and looked down at his feet. Harry had been the only one not to turn and look at him when he muttered this comment. He was looking at the remains of his home for the past six years, part of it was on fire, probably from the dragon. Was this even actually happening? It couldn't be, it was early September and the biggest worry on his mind was Snape's extra credit assignments, and then it all came crashing down . literally. The realization had not quite hit him yet.
"Look, just calm down, please?" Hermione was saying, standing between the feuding siblings. "This is .. just horrible, and it'll only get worse with arguing."
"Yes, listen to the Mudblood, she knows what she's talking about," Draco spat sarcastically, narrowing his gray eyes at her. Ron and Ginny both turned from bickering with each other to yell at Malfoy. All of this fell on Harry's deaf ears, however, he was much to busy reeling from this shock.
"Shut up, all of you," Came Snapes cool voice. He seemed to be breathing quite hard for someone who had been standing still for a while. "I need to think," The students immediately fell silent, except Draco who felt it necessary to step on Ron's foot rather hard, but this was done discretely, at least.
"What's going to happen, sir?" Hermione asked timidly after Snape didn't say anything for a few minutes. Her question pierced the silence and almost startled Ginny, who was looking at Harry worriedly.
"Most likely, you will be sent home, the nearest school in Britain is Alerckins School Of Sorcery, so it is highly probable you will be sent there." He said this as if it were nothing more than answering a question about Skirt Saplings for brewing purposes, not a question about the rest of their lives.
"I'm going to go into Hogsmeade and see if they have any owls for use, we need to call the Ministry." And he began to walk down the pitch where the party stood and towards the small town of Hogsmeade, Draco looked as if he was thinking of following, but decided against it. Harry finally turned around to face them, they were indeed a sight to see, five ex-Hogwarts students, faces and robes covered in dust and grime from the falling castle. They barely looked familiar, more like statues, or the frozen citizens of Pompeii.
It was an awkward silence that hung there above them, Hermione turned a rock over under her foot absently and Draco fingered his nails.
"Well, at least Snape's gone," Ron said, trying to sound up beat. Harry rounded on him, shoving his face in his.
"That's all you have to say? Hundreds of students and teachers die only FEET from where you are and all you have to do is comment on where Snape is?!" Ron looked taken aback, but said nothing in return. He was smart enough not to fight a grieving man.
Ginny stepped forward and pulled Harry back, he let her do this, though he never removed his eyes from Ron's.
"I think we need to get away from here," She said softly.
"Oh, that's a great idea, wow, who would have thought that the Weasley clan would spawn another kid even more idiotic than the first six," Said Draco, turning around in a semi circle.
"No one said you had to come, Malfoy" Said Ginny briskly.
"He'll probably just run back to Snape and tell him where we go." Ron muttered, matter-of-factly.
Draco bristled. "And what does that mean, Weasley?"
"Don't pretend you don't know!"
"Then I won't, I can not know all on my own, thank you"
"Shove it, Malfoy,"
Ginny stepped between them. "Both of you, Hermione's right, stop arguing, what'll it serve to do? The fact is Hogwarts just collapsed, we're on our own, and we don't need childish bickering."
"Ginny, get a grip," Reasoned Ron "You know what Snape is, and you know what Malfoy's father is, why do you think Malfoy's the only one besides us to get out?" Ron turned to Draco. "Why were you following him? Did he tell you to come?"
"He ..." Draco faltered. It was true, Professor Snape had asked him to come, but it was only because he needed help finding Potter. Right?
"There you go," Sneered Ron satisfactorily, as if he were a lawyer who had just won a case "You-Know-Who planned this, and since Malfoy's dad is such a big shot, he arranged for Ol' Snape to get his only son out, bet he didn't know he would end up saving Harry too."
Draco scowled and turned away. That was impossible, his father would tell him if anything that big were to happen, he had friends in there, a girlfriend, it was insane and ... probably true. No one else in the group said anything, too shocked at what Ron had said, it did make sense. Ron looked as though he had won a small prize.
"If that's true, we need to get away from here, fast, for all we know Snape could be calling the Death Eaters now," Harry said, addressing his fellow Gryffindors, his back to Draco. There was a general nod of a agreement but no one came forth with any ideas. Hermione brushed hair from her face and started speaking, the rest of the group, having no other ideas listened intently.
Behind them Draco was breathing hard looking with blind eyes at the forest before him. Could this be true? He knew his father could kill people, it came with the job ... but a whole school? With children as young as ten? His life as he knew it, whether he liked it or not, had ended. He was the son of a child murderer and even if Lucius could find a way to wriggle out of it, he would never be innocent in Draco's eyes. Child murderer. He felt dirty all over, and it was not just the debris from the school, it was as if something had torn his heart in two.
" I ... Didn't know .." His voice was calm, almost serene, but it held a note of pain that consumed him. He didn't look at them, his eyes remained fixed on a central point before him. For a moment Draco wondered why his heart didn't explode from his chest, it was beating so hard.
Hermione stopped talking, the group turned around and looked at him. Ron looked cynical and he opened his mouth to say something, perhaps something callous, but just then Ginny did something odd. She stepped forward and placed a hand on his back, in what could be mistaken for a gesture of comfort. Draco tensed. The hand was clumsy and unsure, placed on his back with just a hint of fear. Ginny seemed confused at herself on why she was doing this, but she spoke quietly and steadily nonetheless.
"I know, we .. know" After a moment she pulled her hand back and Draco relaxed. Harry looked stunned, had this been an emotion? Much less an emotion of pain and guilt from Draco Malfoy? Harry could remember times when Malfoy had poked fun at his parents murder without so much as a twinge of guilt, but now he was coming close to something, and Harry was unsure what it was. Perhaps ... repenting? Things had changed. In the short time when the castle fell and the smoke rose up, they had changed. It seemed like such a long time ago that the group had bickered over Quidditch or classes, none of that mattered. Like it or not, they were not the same people, and the sooner they realized this, the sooner they could begin to make sense of it all.
No one spoke. In the distance a bird cried and the trees swayed. A faint breeze ruffled Harry's hair. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity Ron stepped forward.
"So where do we go from here?" He asked, tentatively. "Do you reckon maybe some people might still be alive in there?" He jabbed his thumb in the direction Hogwarts once stood. Hermione surveyed the rubble. If it could even still be called that, the ground looked more like a war zone.
"I doubt it," She said, obvious pain in her voice "Whoever was on the ground floor was crushed by the top floors and whomever were in the towers were most likely killed somewhere on the way down." She gave a mirthless laugh "It was perfect, the Death Eaters did their job to the letter."
Ginny stepped forward, the dust on her face showing clean streaks where tears were falling. "We are Hogwarts students," She said, pride and pain in her voice "We were taught by the bravest, best, smartest, we attended with the honorable, the noble, the kind. We can make it through this, because we are Hogwarts students and something that Voldemort can't take away is the fact that we are from Hogwarts, and if nothing else, we fight in the name of our school." The faces of the students, bruised and battered and dirty all shone with pride. They were the last remaining Hogwarts students, and it was fitting, the dust and mortar had covered them, the patches that proclaimed their houses were covered. There was no such thing as houses anymore, just the students of Hogwarts, and they were not going to give up.
Draco looked at Ginny with respect and pride. It was true, they were all from the noble school of Hogwarts and that couldn't change. All at once the magnitude of the situation weighed on them and it was heavy. To break it, Ron spoke, and it did not go un appreciated.
"We need to get away from here, if nothing else, even if Snape is on our side, we don't know for sure, we need to get away and at least clear our heads."
Off to the side, Hermione brightened up. "Harry!" She exclaimed brightly "The ball!" Harry looked at her blankly, the realization dawned. Yes, of course, the crystal ball Dumbledore had given him. Harry reached into his pocket and withdrew it, despite the rocks and tumble it remained unbroken, to everyone's amazement. Draco, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry all crowded around the sphere, craning their necks to see. Harry shook it once, then looked up at Hermione, shrugging.
"Try squeezing it?" She suggested, helpfully. Harry squeezed. Nothing happened. Draco reached forward to grab it but Ron knocked his hand away.
"Oh no you don't, Malfoy." He said, angrily. Draco pushed him aside and reached for it again, this time Ron hit his hand away with such force Harry's arm was knocked. This caused him to loose control of the tiny sphere and drop it. Things seemed to go in slow motion as it fell to earth, a collective intake of breath before it hit. All at once the small spun glass orb shattered, emitting tiny pieces of glass all around. They heard the tinkling of glass and watched as the small hour turner inside came tumbling out and onto the stained grass. For a moment nothing happened, then time stopped. The group of five stood motionless, the same expression frozen on their faces. Then all of a sudden a bright white light exploded around them and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.
All that remained where they stood was the shattered remains of Harry's glasses.
Everyone turned to look at Ron, who had muttered this in a quiet voice. He looked back into the faces of the last remaining Hogwarts students.
"What?" He said, face turning a frightening shade of scarlet.
"That's it? Just 'wow'?" Ginny snapped.
"Well, I mean . it was . big" He trailed off and looked down at his feet. Harry had been the only one not to turn and look at him when he muttered this comment. He was looking at the remains of his home for the past six years, part of it was on fire, probably from the dragon. Was this even actually happening? It couldn't be, it was early September and the biggest worry on his mind was Snape's extra credit assignments, and then it all came crashing down . literally. The realization had not quite hit him yet.
"Look, just calm down, please?" Hermione was saying, standing between the feuding siblings. "This is .. just horrible, and it'll only get worse with arguing."
"Yes, listen to the Mudblood, she knows what she's talking about," Draco spat sarcastically, narrowing his gray eyes at her. Ron and Ginny both turned from bickering with each other to yell at Malfoy. All of this fell on Harry's deaf ears, however, he was much to busy reeling from this shock.
"Shut up, all of you," Came Snapes cool voice. He seemed to be breathing quite hard for someone who had been standing still for a while. "I need to think," The students immediately fell silent, except Draco who felt it necessary to step on Ron's foot rather hard, but this was done discretely, at least.
"What's going to happen, sir?" Hermione asked timidly after Snape didn't say anything for a few minutes. Her question pierced the silence and almost startled Ginny, who was looking at Harry worriedly.
"Most likely, you will be sent home, the nearest school in Britain is Alerckins School Of Sorcery, so it is highly probable you will be sent there." He said this as if it were nothing more than answering a question about Skirt Saplings for brewing purposes, not a question about the rest of their lives.
"I'm going to go into Hogsmeade and see if they have any owls for use, we need to call the Ministry." And he began to walk down the pitch where the party stood and towards the small town of Hogsmeade, Draco looked as if he was thinking of following, but decided against it. Harry finally turned around to face them, they were indeed a sight to see, five ex-Hogwarts students, faces and robes covered in dust and grime from the falling castle. They barely looked familiar, more like statues, or the frozen citizens of Pompeii.
It was an awkward silence that hung there above them, Hermione turned a rock over under her foot absently and Draco fingered his nails.
"Well, at least Snape's gone," Ron said, trying to sound up beat. Harry rounded on him, shoving his face in his.
"That's all you have to say? Hundreds of students and teachers die only FEET from where you are and all you have to do is comment on where Snape is?!" Ron looked taken aback, but said nothing in return. He was smart enough not to fight a grieving man.
Ginny stepped forward and pulled Harry back, he let her do this, though he never removed his eyes from Ron's.
"I think we need to get away from here," She said softly.
"Oh, that's a great idea, wow, who would have thought that the Weasley clan would spawn another kid even more idiotic than the first six," Said Draco, turning around in a semi circle.
"No one said you had to come, Malfoy" Said Ginny briskly.
"He'll probably just run back to Snape and tell him where we go." Ron muttered, matter-of-factly.
Draco bristled. "And what does that mean, Weasley?"
"Don't pretend you don't know!"
"Then I won't, I can not know all on my own, thank you"
"Shove it, Malfoy,"
Ginny stepped between them. "Both of you, Hermione's right, stop arguing, what'll it serve to do? The fact is Hogwarts just collapsed, we're on our own, and we don't need childish bickering."
"Ginny, get a grip," Reasoned Ron "You know what Snape is, and you know what Malfoy's father is, why do you think Malfoy's the only one besides us to get out?" Ron turned to Draco. "Why were you following him? Did he tell you to come?"
"He ..." Draco faltered. It was true, Professor Snape had asked him to come, but it was only because he needed help finding Potter. Right?
"There you go," Sneered Ron satisfactorily, as if he were a lawyer who had just won a case "You-Know-Who planned this, and since Malfoy's dad is such a big shot, he arranged for Ol' Snape to get his only son out, bet he didn't know he would end up saving Harry too."
Draco scowled and turned away. That was impossible, his father would tell him if anything that big were to happen, he had friends in there, a girlfriend, it was insane and ... probably true. No one else in the group said anything, too shocked at what Ron had said, it did make sense. Ron looked as though he had won a small prize.
"If that's true, we need to get away from here, fast, for all we know Snape could be calling the Death Eaters now," Harry said, addressing his fellow Gryffindors, his back to Draco. There was a general nod of a agreement but no one came forth with any ideas. Hermione brushed hair from her face and started speaking, the rest of the group, having no other ideas listened intently.
Behind them Draco was breathing hard looking with blind eyes at the forest before him. Could this be true? He knew his father could kill people, it came with the job ... but a whole school? With children as young as ten? His life as he knew it, whether he liked it or not, had ended. He was the son of a child murderer and even if Lucius could find a way to wriggle out of it, he would never be innocent in Draco's eyes. Child murderer. He felt dirty all over, and it was not just the debris from the school, it was as if something had torn his heart in two.
" I ... Didn't know .." His voice was calm, almost serene, but it held a note of pain that consumed him. He didn't look at them, his eyes remained fixed on a central point before him. For a moment Draco wondered why his heart didn't explode from his chest, it was beating so hard.
Hermione stopped talking, the group turned around and looked at him. Ron looked cynical and he opened his mouth to say something, perhaps something callous, but just then Ginny did something odd. She stepped forward and placed a hand on his back, in what could be mistaken for a gesture of comfort. Draco tensed. The hand was clumsy and unsure, placed on his back with just a hint of fear. Ginny seemed confused at herself on why she was doing this, but she spoke quietly and steadily nonetheless.
"I know, we .. know" After a moment she pulled her hand back and Draco relaxed. Harry looked stunned, had this been an emotion? Much less an emotion of pain and guilt from Draco Malfoy? Harry could remember times when Malfoy had poked fun at his parents murder without so much as a twinge of guilt, but now he was coming close to something, and Harry was unsure what it was. Perhaps ... repenting? Things had changed. In the short time when the castle fell and the smoke rose up, they had changed. It seemed like such a long time ago that the group had bickered over Quidditch or classes, none of that mattered. Like it or not, they were not the same people, and the sooner they realized this, the sooner they could begin to make sense of it all.
No one spoke. In the distance a bird cried and the trees swayed. A faint breeze ruffled Harry's hair. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity Ron stepped forward.
"So where do we go from here?" He asked, tentatively. "Do you reckon maybe some people might still be alive in there?" He jabbed his thumb in the direction Hogwarts once stood. Hermione surveyed the rubble. If it could even still be called that, the ground looked more like a war zone.
"I doubt it," She said, obvious pain in her voice "Whoever was on the ground floor was crushed by the top floors and whomever were in the towers were most likely killed somewhere on the way down." She gave a mirthless laugh "It was perfect, the Death Eaters did their job to the letter."
Ginny stepped forward, the dust on her face showing clean streaks where tears were falling. "We are Hogwarts students," She said, pride and pain in her voice "We were taught by the bravest, best, smartest, we attended with the honorable, the noble, the kind. We can make it through this, because we are Hogwarts students and something that Voldemort can't take away is the fact that we are from Hogwarts, and if nothing else, we fight in the name of our school." The faces of the students, bruised and battered and dirty all shone with pride. They were the last remaining Hogwarts students, and it was fitting, the dust and mortar had covered them, the patches that proclaimed their houses were covered. There was no such thing as houses anymore, just the students of Hogwarts, and they were not going to give up.
Draco looked at Ginny with respect and pride. It was true, they were all from the noble school of Hogwarts and that couldn't change. All at once the magnitude of the situation weighed on them and it was heavy. To break it, Ron spoke, and it did not go un appreciated.
"We need to get away from here, if nothing else, even if Snape is on our side, we don't know for sure, we need to get away and at least clear our heads."
Off to the side, Hermione brightened up. "Harry!" She exclaimed brightly "The ball!" Harry looked at her blankly, the realization dawned. Yes, of course, the crystal ball Dumbledore had given him. Harry reached into his pocket and withdrew it, despite the rocks and tumble it remained unbroken, to everyone's amazement. Draco, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry all crowded around the sphere, craning their necks to see. Harry shook it once, then looked up at Hermione, shrugging.
"Try squeezing it?" She suggested, helpfully. Harry squeezed. Nothing happened. Draco reached forward to grab it but Ron knocked his hand away.
"Oh no you don't, Malfoy." He said, angrily. Draco pushed him aside and reached for it again, this time Ron hit his hand away with such force Harry's arm was knocked. This caused him to loose control of the tiny sphere and drop it. Things seemed to go in slow motion as it fell to earth, a collective intake of breath before it hit. All at once the small spun glass orb shattered, emitting tiny pieces of glass all around. They heard the tinkling of glass and watched as the small hour turner inside came tumbling out and onto the stained grass. For a moment nothing happened, then time stopped. The group of five stood motionless, the same expression frozen on their faces. Then all of a sudden a bright white light exploded around them and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.
All that remained where they stood was the shattered remains of Harry's glasses.