A/N Thanks again for reading. I owe a great debt to Dragonsbane and Lolua for pestering me into writing. It helped.
Lolua - this chapter is going to be one of my favorites. Just because. I'm evil. But then we already knew that. And I'm not that evil. Only a little.
Dementorchic - I don't think he's really in any condition to answer questions. But he will have to eventually. Thank you so much for reading. I do enjoy the reviews.
Draco-lover59 - So good to hear from you again. Glad you are enjoying yourself. Keep reviewing.
Lord John - Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Please keep reading. I love encouragement.
( Neville )
There was a stillness over everything for a long time. Everyone seemed transfixed by Lily kneeling next to Draco, covering his heart with her hands. Nothing moved, as if the world itself were holding it's breath. Someone was speaking in a low tone, but I could not make out the words. Then there was movement and Bane wrapped his arms around his father as Lily stood.
Chaos erupted as everyone tried to help everyone else. I was torn between trying to go to my daughters or helping Harry. One look at his ashen face and shallow breathing told me he needed it more. I scooted closer to him and lifted his shirt to inspect the wound. It was no longer bleeding though the edges were a strange purple color.
"Daddy?" Lily asked standing beside me.
I tried to cover the injury before she could see, but wasn't fast enough.
"Move." She ordered me.
I did and she knelt down, placing her hands over the hole. Before my eyes the purple color faded and the skin less inflamed, it was only a moment before she stopped and sat heavily back on her heels.
"I can't."
"Can't what?"
"It's to much." I knew she was trying to explain something to me, but for some reason I couldn't understand.
"He'll be okay. I promise." I whispered and tried pulling her away.
"Lily!" Ginny cried and scooped the girl up into her arms.
"Harry's …" I stopped, unable to think of something to say.
For a time she seemed torn between hugging her daughter and helping her husband, finally she set Lily on the ground and began tending to Harry.
I searched for my girls amidst the crowd of people and spotted them, still clutching each other tightly, off to the side. With a great effort I got to my feet and went to them, shaking just a little, but still able to gather them both up into a hug.
"Did you see?" Ivy asked pulling away to look at me.
I smiled a little, "Yes. I saw."
"I was scared." Lotus mumbled into my shirt.
"So was I."
Ivy frowned, "Why?'
"My little girls were running off to face a monster. That's scary."
"We're not that little." Ivy stated.
"Little enough."
"Can we go home?" Lotus asked still not looking at me.
"Soon." I smoothed her tangled blonde curls and tired not to think about how close I came to losing them.
"Neville." Ginny called.
I set the girls down and went back to see what she needed.
"He's lost a lot of blood. A lot of blood." She said and brushed his matted hair with her fingertips.
A lump rose in my throat at the thought of losing him. Somehow I couldn't breathe, "Will he?"
"He'll heal, but the wound has to remain closed."
"So he's not … he's not …" I couldn't bring myself to finish.
"No."
The sigh fairly exploded from me and my chest stopped tightening.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked timidly.
She looked up from his blood smeared face and frowned.
"Yes."
"What?"
"When we leave, carry him. If he walks, the wound could reopen and I don't think I can stop the bleeding again. Not out here."
I hesitated before answering and watched her fingers slip around his, "If that's what you need me to do."
"Stay with him a moment while I go and find my daughter."
"Okay." I answered and sat down on the grass beside him.
The others were gathered in a tight circle nearby and spoke in hushed voices about what to do with Draco. Ginny walked past them and went to her daughter's side, where she was sitting quietly near Bane. Ivy and Lotus were huddled together not far away from me, I watched them nervously, half afraid they might disappear.
Fear was growing within me at the prospect of going home. There would be no one to welcome me back victorious, no one to hug me and hold me. Whatever joy I would have had at going back was ruined by Harry's request that I stay away. These people were my family. The only family I had left.
"Neville." Hermione called hurrying over with Meshach cradled in her arms.
"Yeah." I felt stupid suddenly, unable to make a structured sentence.
"Is he?" She asked looking down at Harry's prone form.
"No. He'll heal."
"Ron said… I thought… what happened?"
"Draco attacked them on the path. Tried to kill Harry," I chuckled a little, "But as usual, it didn't work." I explained.
"But Ron saw him fall."
I nodded, "Harry can live through anything."
"Mum." Mab called running to her mother while dragging Mia along behind her.
Hermione patted her oldest daughter's head and didn't complain when Mia latched onto her pant leg.
"What are we doing with Draco?" I asked.
She shrugged a little, "Lily won't let anyone near."
"He's hurt a lot of people."
"I won't let anything happen to him in front of his son."
No matter how I tried, I could not hate my childhood enemy. The sight of him sprawled in the grass with his son clinging to his neck was to much. The only emotion I found was pity.
(Lily)
He was hollow. It was as if everything that made Draco himself had been shoved aside to make room for something else. Long gashes marred his memories, leaking them into the void. I felt his sorrow and his longing. There were bursts of happiness and a subtle flow of anger. Laughter, tears, spoken sentences in many voices. Nothing in this place made sense.
Choosing a wound I began to pull it closed, letting it heal, cutting off the flow of thoughts. It was slow work, but eventually the only marring of his soul was the gapping cavity left by my father's old enemy.
Through out all of my healing and exploration of his mind I had yet to discover his hiding place. Somewhere amidst his mess of memories he was buried, and looking down into the abyss I knew where. He resided at the very bottom. I would have to call for him and hope he answered, because if I entered that darkness I knew I would never escape.
"Draco." I called.
There came no answer.
"Draco?" I called again.
"I'm here." A faint response came.
"Draco."
He was silent, but I felt movement deep within.
"Draco."
"Wait."
"Draco."
Suddenly he surrounded me, a heavy presence. The gap remained and I knew I had to do something or he would forever feel uncomfortable in his own skin. Perhaps the evil could return, I needed to leave it no room to grow.
Very carefully I took a piece of myself, green and shining, and poured it into the space. When there was no more room I exited and found him staring at me.
"Draco?"
He nodded and I pulled back, calling to Bane who latched himself onto his father and refused to let go. I stood and looked at the madness around me. People milled about, wounded, bleeding. The missing piece was hurting me, but I knew that I would heal. I wanted my mother. I wanted my father. Someone, anyone to hold me.
Searching the crowd I saw where he lay, still as stone and nearly the same color. I shoved my way around the adults and a few of my cousins to come to his side. Neville was there, looking at the ugly wound and grimacing.
"Daddy?" I called hoping he would open his eyes and answer.
Neville tried to pull the shirt back down in hopes of shielding me.
"Move." I growled and pushed him away.
Placing my hands over the injury I closed my eyes and tried to see as I had before. There was infection and soon a fever. My jaw clenched as I concentrated and began flushing the disease away, praying it was not to late. The emptiness within me began to ache and I could not finish.
"I can't." I was near tears.
"Can't what?" Neville asked frowning.
"It's to much."
"He'll be okay. I promise." He whispered and tired to pull me to him.
I would have gone gratefully, but my mother hurried over then and gathered me gingerly into her arms. I noticed that one of them was bandaged tightly and held in a makeshift sling. Still she managed to hold me close. Eventually she set me down and began trying to help my father. Despite feeling lost I noticed that I had managed to remove the infection, he had a good chance.
My steps took me away from my parents and went to sit near Bane. He was still holding his father desperately and talking softly in his ear. Draco was nearly unconscious, so I was quiet as I looked down on his face.
"Try to rest." I said when he looked at me.
"What did you do?" He asked.
"You were hiding. I called for you." I stated simply, unable to describe it any other way.
"No. What did you do inside me. Something is different."
"There was a hole, so I filled it."
He made no response and I turned to find someplace to sit until we left. Choosing a piece of grass not to far away I waited. Mother came to me and brushed my hopelessly tangled hair with her finger tips.
"They want to hurt him don't they?" I asked quietly.
"Yes." Mother answered looking at Draco.
"I'm not going to let them."
"I didn't think you would."
(Hermione)
Ginny let me bandage her arm, which we were sure was broken. Immediately after I was finished she was off to find her daughter and her husband. I followed her lead and went looking for my children. Persephone and Mia were easy enough, they found me first. Hugging my legs and clinging tightly to my clothing I let them greet me.
"Mummy, you have to come." Persephone said urgently pulling me forward.
"Where's Meshach?" I asked worried suddenly.
"Come on." Mia said and led the way.
My son lay on his back weeping frenziedly and calling for me in a hoarse voice.
"Baby." I whispered and gently pulled him onto my lap.
He sobbed in my shirt and held on tightly while his sisters petted his hair and back trying to comfort him.
"I called and called for you. You never came. I wanted my mum. I was scared and you didn't come. I called." He kept saying.
I rocked back and forth feeling tears come to my eyes.
"I know. I know. I'm here now." I said soothingly.
The sound of my voice only made him cry harder until I thought he might fall apart from the shaking.
"Uncle Fred said, he said…he said…don't move…so I didn't…and you never came." His breathing was becoming erratic.
"Breathe Meshach." I told him
Very slowly his tears eased until they were little more than hiccoughs. My heart ached at the thought of what he had gone through, I wanted to go back and change it. I wanted it to have been me.
"Will Meshach be okay?" Persephone asked timidly as she touched her brother's shoulder.
"Yes." I answered still rocking back and forth.
"I want to go home." He whispered finally.
"I know. I do to."
"Is Uncle Harry alright?" Persephone asked pointing.
I looked up to see Neville sitting next to Harry's body. He was supposed to be dead. I remembered seeing him during the battle, but hadn't had time to think about it. The news of his death had been too new, it seemed right that he should be there. Now though, I needed to find out what happened.
Carefully I stood and lifted Meshach with me. He whimpered and griped my shirt in his little fists.
"Neville." I said, he looked up from Harry.
"Yeah?"
"Is he?"
"No, He'll heal."
None of this was really making sense.
"Ron said… I thought… what happened?" I stammered.
"Draco attacked them on the path. Tried to kill Harry," Neville shook his head and laughed half heartedly, "But as usual, it didn't work."
"But Ron saw him fall." I said simply.
"Harry can live through anything." He sighed and looked down at his friends body.
"Mum." Persephone called as she dragged Mia over to me.
I brushed at the elder girl's hair and smiled when the younger gripped my pants leg tightly in her fists.
"What are we doing with Draco?" Neville asked glancing at him across the way.
"Lily won't let anyone near." I explained watching the little girl stand with her mother, practically daring someone to come and try to hurt him.
"He's hurt a lot of people." Meshach moved a little in my arms and I knew Neville was right.
Somehow though, it felt wrong to leave him here. It felt wrong to hurt him.
"I won't let anything happen to him in front of his son." I answered quietly.
Not matter what Draco had done, Bane was still innocent. No child deserved to watch their father be hurt or die.
(Ginny)
We walked slowly, each person helping another along. The trip was long and no one had come out unscathed, so we tried not to hurry. There were cuts that might reopen and broken bones that badly needed to be set, but we kept our pace steady.
Hermione led the way, Meshach still in her arms. I could see the strain on her features as her arms grew weary of holding him, but she refused to put him on the ground. Mab and Mia followed close behind in silence. Occasionally the youngest of the two would cry a little and her sister would take her hand and squeeze it.
Close behind came Angelina and Fred, both of them shaken and blood spattered. I had tended to the cut on his shoulder, grimacing at the sight of the torn muscle. Angelina had given a quiet sob when I told my brother he would always have limited movement with that arm, some damage was to deep even for magic to heal. Somehow he had just nodded and asked about the baby. Angelina had been hit hard by a stunner and there as no way to check on the baby until we returned home. They leaned heavily on each other as they walked and I wished I had someone to lean on.
Remus followed them with his arm wrapped around Draco's shoulders. After being revived from what he called a "like dead spell" he had offered to help our attacker stumble out of the forest. The blonde man was nearly unconscious, but managing to put one foot in front of the other awkwardly, while the werewolf shakily supported him. Bane never left his father's side and Draco often whispered a word of encouragement to the boy.
Neville carried my husband like a child, cradled against his chest. He walked carefully, not wanting to hurt him, every so often glancing down to make sure the man in his arm was still breathing. Guilt rose within me as I watched them. My actions had torn apart something that was supposed to be eternal. They were bothers by more than blood, by choice.
Even coming from such a large family I knew the importance of friends. They were the people most essential to living. You chose them to be a part of you. By acting as I did I had ruined that for Neville and Harry.
Still he carried him, showing his love by such a simple act. There were lines of exertion at the corners of his eyes, but he kept moving.
"We'll get you home soon, I promise." He whispered.
Harry did not respond.
"We'll get you home and everything will be fine. You can see your daughter and all of your friends."
I frowned when he failed to mention me, but realized that Harry probably didn't want to see me anyway. I swallowed hard and reached for my daughters hand. She looked up at me curiously and then over at Lotus and Ivy. They were trudging along hand in hand, Ivy was crying.
"Come here." I whispered to her and she obeyed burying her face in my shoulder. I lifted her up and continued on like that.
Neville looked back once at me and nodded.
Soon we would be home. There were repercussions to be dealt with and I wasn't sure I was ready.
"Will Daddy be alright?" Lily asked quietly.
"Yes." I answered refusing to accept that he might not survive.
"Will he ever wake up?"
"Of course."
"I couldn't help him. I tried, but it hurt me."
I looked over Ivy's blonde head and frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I tried to help him and make the hurt better, but it was to much." She answered reaching for Lotus' hand.
"What did you do?"
"I looked at it and tried to fix it, he didn't get sick."
She was right of course, there had been no infection in the wound.
"You tried to fix it?"
"Like I did Bane's father. I fixed the burns and brought him back."
"You fixed him?" I questioned unsure of how to take her confession.
She smiled and nodded.
"How?"
She continued to smile but looked away and didn't answer me. As usual I found my daughter a mystery.
"How's he doing Neville?" I called up.
"We're okay." He replied turning a little.
"Breathing evenly?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"We're nearly there." Hermione shouted to all of us.
A mixture of dread and hope rose in me. We were going home.
Lolua - this chapter is going to be one of my favorites. Just because. I'm evil. But then we already knew that. And I'm not that evil. Only a little.
Dementorchic - I don't think he's really in any condition to answer questions. But he will have to eventually. Thank you so much for reading. I do enjoy the reviews.
Draco-lover59 - So good to hear from you again. Glad you are enjoying yourself. Keep reviewing.
Lord John - Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Please keep reading. I love encouragement.
( Neville )
There was a stillness over everything for a long time. Everyone seemed transfixed by Lily kneeling next to Draco, covering his heart with her hands. Nothing moved, as if the world itself were holding it's breath. Someone was speaking in a low tone, but I could not make out the words. Then there was movement and Bane wrapped his arms around his father as Lily stood.
Chaos erupted as everyone tried to help everyone else. I was torn between trying to go to my daughters or helping Harry. One look at his ashen face and shallow breathing told me he needed it more. I scooted closer to him and lifted his shirt to inspect the wound. It was no longer bleeding though the edges were a strange purple color.
"Daddy?" Lily asked standing beside me.
I tried to cover the injury before she could see, but wasn't fast enough.
"Move." She ordered me.
I did and she knelt down, placing her hands over the hole. Before my eyes the purple color faded and the skin less inflamed, it was only a moment before she stopped and sat heavily back on her heels.
"I can't."
"Can't what?"
"It's to much." I knew she was trying to explain something to me, but for some reason I couldn't understand.
"He'll be okay. I promise." I whispered and tried pulling her away.
"Lily!" Ginny cried and scooped the girl up into her arms.
"Harry's …" I stopped, unable to think of something to say.
For a time she seemed torn between hugging her daughter and helping her husband, finally she set Lily on the ground and began tending to Harry.
I searched for my girls amidst the crowd of people and spotted them, still clutching each other tightly, off to the side. With a great effort I got to my feet and went to them, shaking just a little, but still able to gather them both up into a hug.
"Did you see?" Ivy asked pulling away to look at me.
I smiled a little, "Yes. I saw."
"I was scared." Lotus mumbled into my shirt.
"So was I."
Ivy frowned, "Why?'
"My little girls were running off to face a monster. That's scary."
"We're not that little." Ivy stated.
"Little enough."
"Can we go home?" Lotus asked still not looking at me.
"Soon." I smoothed her tangled blonde curls and tired not to think about how close I came to losing them.
"Neville." Ginny called.
I set the girls down and went back to see what she needed.
"He's lost a lot of blood. A lot of blood." She said and brushed his matted hair with her fingertips.
A lump rose in my throat at the thought of losing him. Somehow I couldn't breathe, "Will he?"
"He'll heal, but the wound has to remain closed."
"So he's not … he's not …" I couldn't bring myself to finish.
"No."
The sigh fairly exploded from me and my chest stopped tightening.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked timidly.
She looked up from his blood smeared face and frowned.
"Yes."
"What?"
"When we leave, carry him. If he walks, the wound could reopen and I don't think I can stop the bleeding again. Not out here."
I hesitated before answering and watched her fingers slip around his, "If that's what you need me to do."
"Stay with him a moment while I go and find my daughter."
"Okay." I answered and sat down on the grass beside him.
The others were gathered in a tight circle nearby and spoke in hushed voices about what to do with Draco. Ginny walked past them and went to her daughter's side, where she was sitting quietly near Bane. Ivy and Lotus were huddled together not far away from me, I watched them nervously, half afraid they might disappear.
Fear was growing within me at the prospect of going home. There would be no one to welcome me back victorious, no one to hug me and hold me. Whatever joy I would have had at going back was ruined by Harry's request that I stay away. These people were my family. The only family I had left.
"Neville." Hermione called hurrying over with Meshach cradled in her arms.
"Yeah." I felt stupid suddenly, unable to make a structured sentence.
"Is he?" She asked looking down at Harry's prone form.
"No. He'll heal."
"Ron said… I thought… what happened?"
"Draco attacked them on the path. Tried to kill Harry," I chuckled a little, "But as usual, it didn't work." I explained.
"But Ron saw him fall."
I nodded, "Harry can live through anything."
"Mum." Mab called running to her mother while dragging Mia along behind her.
Hermione patted her oldest daughter's head and didn't complain when Mia latched onto her pant leg.
"What are we doing with Draco?" I asked.
She shrugged a little, "Lily won't let anyone near."
"He's hurt a lot of people."
"I won't let anything happen to him in front of his son."
No matter how I tried, I could not hate my childhood enemy. The sight of him sprawled in the grass with his son clinging to his neck was to much. The only emotion I found was pity.
(Lily)
He was hollow. It was as if everything that made Draco himself had been shoved aside to make room for something else. Long gashes marred his memories, leaking them into the void. I felt his sorrow and his longing. There were bursts of happiness and a subtle flow of anger. Laughter, tears, spoken sentences in many voices. Nothing in this place made sense.
Choosing a wound I began to pull it closed, letting it heal, cutting off the flow of thoughts. It was slow work, but eventually the only marring of his soul was the gapping cavity left by my father's old enemy.
Through out all of my healing and exploration of his mind I had yet to discover his hiding place. Somewhere amidst his mess of memories he was buried, and looking down into the abyss I knew where. He resided at the very bottom. I would have to call for him and hope he answered, because if I entered that darkness I knew I would never escape.
"Draco." I called.
There came no answer.
"Draco?" I called again.
"I'm here." A faint response came.
"Draco."
He was silent, but I felt movement deep within.
"Draco."
"Wait."
"Draco."
Suddenly he surrounded me, a heavy presence. The gap remained and I knew I had to do something or he would forever feel uncomfortable in his own skin. Perhaps the evil could return, I needed to leave it no room to grow.
Very carefully I took a piece of myself, green and shining, and poured it into the space. When there was no more room I exited and found him staring at me.
"Draco?"
He nodded and I pulled back, calling to Bane who latched himself onto his father and refused to let go. I stood and looked at the madness around me. People milled about, wounded, bleeding. The missing piece was hurting me, but I knew that I would heal. I wanted my mother. I wanted my father. Someone, anyone to hold me.
Searching the crowd I saw where he lay, still as stone and nearly the same color. I shoved my way around the adults and a few of my cousins to come to his side. Neville was there, looking at the ugly wound and grimacing.
"Daddy?" I called hoping he would open his eyes and answer.
Neville tried to pull the shirt back down in hopes of shielding me.
"Move." I growled and pushed him away.
Placing my hands over the injury I closed my eyes and tried to see as I had before. There was infection and soon a fever. My jaw clenched as I concentrated and began flushing the disease away, praying it was not to late. The emptiness within me began to ache and I could not finish.
"I can't." I was near tears.
"Can't what?" Neville asked frowning.
"It's to much."
"He'll be okay. I promise." He whispered and tired to pull me to him.
I would have gone gratefully, but my mother hurried over then and gathered me gingerly into her arms. I noticed that one of them was bandaged tightly and held in a makeshift sling. Still she managed to hold me close. Eventually she set me down and began trying to help my father. Despite feeling lost I noticed that I had managed to remove the infection, he had a good chance.
My steps took me away from my parents and went to sit near Bane. He was still holding his father desperately and talking softly in his ear. Draco was nearly unconscious, so I was quiet as I looked down on his face.
"Try to rest." I said when he looked at me.
"What did you do?" He asked.
"You were hiding. I called for you." I stated simply, unable to describe it any other way.
"No. What did you do inside me. Something is different."
"There was a hole, so I filled it."
He made no response and I turned to find someplace to sit until we left. Choosing a piece of grass not to far away I waited. Mother came to me and brushed my hopelessly tangled hair with her finger tips.
"They want to hurt him don't they?" I asked quietly.
"Yes." Mother answered looking at Draco.
"I'm not going to let them."
"I didn't think you would."
(Hermione)
Ginny let me bandage her arm, which we were sure was broken. Immediately after I was finished she was off to find her daughter and her husband. I followed her lead and went looking for my children. Persephone and Mia were easy enough, they found me first. Hugging my legs and clinging tightly to my clothing I let them greet me.
"Mummy, you have to come." Persephone said urgently pulling me forward.
"Where's Meshach?" I asked worried suddenly.
"Come on." Mia said and led the way.
My son lay on his back weeping frenziedly and calling for me in a hoarse voice.
"Baby." I whispered and gently pulled him onto my lap.
He sobbed in my shirt and held on tightly while his sisters petted his hair and back trying to comfort him.
"I called and called for you. You never came. I wanted my mum. I was scared and you didn't come. I called." He kept saying.
I rocked back and forth feeling tears come to my eyes.
"I know. I know. I'm here now." I said soothingly.
The sound of my voice only made him cry harder until I thought he might fall apart from the shaking.
"Uncle Fred said, he said…he said…don't move…so I didn't…and you never came." His breathing was becoming erratic.
"Breathe Meshach." I told him
Very slowly his tears eased until they were little more than hiccoughs. My heart ached at the thought of what he had gone through, I wanted to go back and change it. I wanted it to have been me.
"Will Meshach be okay?" Persephone asked timidly as she touched her brother's shoulder.
"Yes." I answered still rocking back and forth.
"I want to go home." He whispered finally.
"I know. I do to."
"Is Uncle Harry alright?" Persephone asked pointing.
I looked up to see Neville sitting next to Harry's body. He was supposed to be dead. I remembered seeing him during the battle, but hadn't had time to think about it. The news of his death had been too new, it seemed right that he should be there. Now though, I needed to find out what happened.
Carefully I stood and lifted Meshach with me. He whimpered and griped my shirt in his little fists.
"Neville." I said, he looked up from Harry.
"Yeah?"
"Is he?"
"No, He'll heal."
None of this was really making sense.
"Ron said… I thought… what happened?" I stammered.
"Draco attacked them on the path. Tried to kill Harry," Neville shook his head and laughed half heartedly, "But as usual, it didn't work."
"But Ron saw him fall." I said simply.
"Harry can live through anything." He sighed and looked down at his friends body.
"Mum." Persephone called as she dragged Mia over to me.
I brushed at the elder girl's hair and smiled when the younger gripped my pants leg tightly in her fists.
"What are we doing with Draco?" Neville asked glancing at him across the way.
"Lily won't let anyone near." I explained watching the little girl stand with her mother, practically daring someone to come and try to hurt him.
"He's hurt a lot of people." Meshach moved a little in my arms and I knew Neville was right.
Somehow though, it felt wrong to leave him here. It felt wrong to hurt him.
"I won't let anything happen to him in front of his son." I answered quietly.
Not matter what Draco had done, Bane was still innocent. No child deserved to watch their father be hurt or die.
(Ginny)
We walked slowly, each person helping another along. The trip was long and no one had come out unscathed, so we tried not to hurry. There were cuts that might reopen and broken bones that badly needed to be set, but we kept our pace steady.
Hermione led the way, Meshach still in her arms. I could see the strain on her features as her arms grew weary of holding him, but she refused to put him on the ground. Mab and Mia followed close behind in silence. Occasionally the youngest of the two would cry a little and her sister would take her hand and squeeze it.
Close behind came Angelina and Fred, both of them shaken and blood spattered. I had tended to the cut on his shoulder, grimacing at the sight of the torn muscle. Angelina had given a quiet sob when I told my brother he would always have limited movement with that arm, some damage was to deep even for magic to heal. Somehow he had just nodded and asked about the baby. Angelina had been hit hard by a stunner and there as no way to check on the baby until we returned home. They leaned heavily on each other as they walked and I wished I had someone to lean on.
Remus followed them with his arm wrapped around Draco's shoulders. After being revived from what he called a "like dead spell" he had offered to help our attacker stumble out of the forest. The blonde man was nearly unconscious, but managing to put one foot in front of the other awkwardly, while the werewolf shakily supported him. Bane never left his father's side and Draco often whispered a word of encouragement to the boy.
Neville carried my husband like a child, cradled against his chest. He walked carefully, not wanting to hurt him, every so often glancing down to make sure the man in his arm was still breathing. Guilt rose within me as I watched them. My actions had torn apart something that was supposed to be eternal. They were bothers by more than blood, by choice.
Even coming from such a large family I knew the importance of friends. They were the people most essential to living. You chose them to be a part of you. By acting as I did I had ruined that for Neville and Harry.
Still he carried him, showing his love by such a simple act. There were lines of exertion at the corners of his eyes, but he kept moving.
"We'll get you home soon, I promise." He whispered.
Harry did not respond.
"We'll get you home and everything will be fine. You can see your daughter and all of your friends."
I frowned when he failed to mention me, but realized that Harry probably didn't want to see me anyway. I swallowed hard and reached for my daughters hand. She looked up at me curiously and then over at Lotus and Ivy. They were trudging along hand in hand, Ivy was crying.
"Come here." I whispered to her and she obeyed burying her face in my shoulder. I lifted her up and continued on like that.
Neville looked back once at me and nodded.
Soon we would be home. There were repercussions to be dealt with and I wasn't sure I was ready.
"Will Daddy be alright?" Lily asked quietly.
"Yes." I answered refusing to accept that he might not survive.
"Will he ever wake up?"
"Of course."
"I couldn't help him. I tried, but it hurt me."
I looked over Ivy's blonde head and frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I tried to help him and make the hurt better, but it was to much." She answered reaching for Lotus' hand.
"What did you do?"
"I looked at it and tried to fix it, he didn't get sick."
She was right of course, there had been no infection in the wound.
"You tried to fix it?"
"Like I did Bane's father. I fixed the burns and brought him back."
"You fixed him?" I questioned unsure of how to take her confession.
She smiled and nodded.
"How?"
She continued to smile but looked away and didn't answer me. As usual I found my daughter a mystery.
"How's he doing Neville?" I called up.
"We're okay." He replied turning a little.
"Breathing evenly?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"We're nearly there." Hermione shouted to all of us.
A mixture of dread and hope rose in me. We were going home.