Author's Note- Finally, chapter 25! And to think, we're only on Erika's
second year. This is going to be LONG. And I have every intention of
finishing it. So, continuing. Last chapter had a bit of a cliffie, which I
will take care of in this chapter. Read and Review!!!
Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing. EVERYTHING belongs to the Great Harry Potter people, who I personally think are geniuses. Don't sue me. I have NO money.
Erika - The Legacy of Lily and James
You could have let a bomb off in the Great Hall, and no one would have heard, that's how loud the screams are.
The Death Eaters began shooting off curses into the crowd of frightened students. Meg had gone completely white.
Anya and Professor McGonagall had come running down from the Head Table, trying to usher the younger students into a side room where we could hopefully be safe.
When they reached us, Anya shouted to us, "Erika! Meg! Are you two okay?"
We shouted "Yes" and allowed ourselves to be pushed with the rest of the crowd of younger students as the older ones set off to defend Hogwarts along with the Professors and Ministry agents.
We were all crowded in a small room off the Great Hall.
"Professor McGonagall and I are going to go out and fight. You'll be okay in here," Anya called out over the crowd of silent students, "Try to stay quiet."
We nodded, and they opened the door and had us lock it from the inside.
"Erika," Meg said after we had stood in the room for a few minutes, "Where's Adrienne? I don't see her!"
I turned around the scan the crowd of students.
"Adrienne?" I called.
"She's probably out joining her Death Eater friends," someone called back.
But another person told me what I needed to know, "No, she's not. She was hit with the first Stunning Spell, aimed straight for her by that . . .that person in the middle."
"Ruth," Meg whispered, "We have to help Adrienne."
I glanced around, thinking rapidly. If we left, we'd danger ourselves. But we couldn't just leave Adrienne to die if we could help. Besides, Dumbledore needed her for information.
"Okay," I said, "We'll help."
There was two windows looking out on the grounds of Hogwarts. We pushed our way towards them, and searched for the opening.
They easily swung open, and we climbed out.
It seemed ironic to me. During the last "battle" we'd crawled to safety through a window. Now we were crawling out of safety through a window.
But I kept my thoughts to myself. Meg and I ran across the grounds.
"She's probably inside. I don't think Ruth would just leave her there. She took her right away," Meg whispered to me.
I nodded, I understood.
We started towards the doors. A noise stopped us. I motioned to Meg, and we crawled behind a bunch of bushes. We could easily see the Whomping Willow from our hiding spot, and the doors to Hogwarts.
The doors were broken, like those of the Great Hall, splinters of wood everywhere.
Then, as we watched, Ruth appeared, walking down the steps and onto the grounds, and limp figure floating in front of her. Ruth was grinning.
The figure was small, with white-blond hair.
"It's Adrienne," Meg whispered.
I nodded.
We watched as Ruth turned back towards the castle, and started shouting to Death Eaters who were still outside the castle.
"Find them! Find them, NOW! I command you to find them!" she shouted, her eyes seething.
I had a good idea who she wanted to find. She probably had no idea that two of those people she was searching for were watching her.
As we sat there, I could hear the shouting and screaming coming from the Great Hall as the battle went on. I thought of the small room off the Great Hall were the younger students were. Were they still safe?
I turned to Meg, trying to make as little motion and noise as possible.
"What now?" I mouthed, hoping Meg would catch on.
She looked out at Ruth, down at Adrienne, and then turned back to me, and shrugged.
My thoughts ticked off numerous, stupid, ideas that would never work. Finally, it settled on one idea that, while incredibly risky, actually had the prospect of working.
I whispered as quietly as I could into Meg's ear, but she drew back, shaking her head.
"Too risky," she mouthed.
"It's all we've got," I mouthed back, and looked out at Ruth, standing there, waiting for her faithful Death Eaters to return with us.
Quietly as I could, I snuck down the bushes, until I was as far away from Meg as I could be, and still pretty well hidden.
Meg was completely out of my eyesight, but I could see Ruth. A moment later, I took a deep breath, and pointed my wand at bushes in the opposite direction of Meg, yet far from me.
I whispered a quick charm, and drew back into the bushes as the bushes ten feet from me went up in blue flames.
Ruth's attention immediately turned to the bushes on fire. I saw Meg sneak out of her hiding spot in the bushes, and, in the shadows, steal towards where Adrienne was kept.
"Come out and face me, you coward!" Ruth shouted towards the bushes, "I know you are there! But who is it? Anya Jones, or perhaps little Erika Potter. Better yet, maybe it is Megan Riddle, my long-lost sister. Come out and face me, and I just might spare your life, for now!"
Not a chance, I thought, and watched as Meg got closer to Adrienne.
Ruth began to walk towards the burning bushes. The fire had spread to another bush, and I had backed off a bit more, the heat still reaching me.
My eyes went from Meg, racing quietly towards Adrienne, to Ruth, walking slowly towards me, her wand ready.
And then Meg stepped on a twig, which cracked and broke under her foot. Ruth swung around, and her face widened into a grin as she saw Meg standing but six feet from Adrienne.
"I thought you'd come," Ruth said, "Never did like sacrifices, even if it was for your own good. I knew you'd come to get her. But where's Miss Potter, dear sister? Surely she is around here, somewhere. That was her in the bushes, wasn't it, dearest sister?"
Meg was silent, her face pale and yet set stubbornly.
But she didn't stand a chance against Ruth.
I don't know what made me do it, maybe because Meg was too much of a friend for me not to defend, or that it just felt right, but the next thing I knew, I had jumped out from the bushes, and was standing behind Ruth, my wand pointed at her head.
"Ah, there you are," Ruth said, "Now, if you would just go stand next to Megan. Oh, and Megan, do move a bit so that you're closer to Adrienne. It makes the entire task much easier."
I didn't budge, and neither did Meg.
Ruth rolled her eyes.
"I thought you'd do that. Fine, make me do more work. But you'll still die," Ruth said.
My mind raced through charms and spells, trying to find one that might help me. And then I returned to a lesson with Anya, where she had taught us how to disarm your enemy.
"Expelliarmus!" I shouted.
Ruth was knocked backwards, and her wand flew into the air. In the same moment, Meg ran to Adrienne, and hissed a spell over her. Adrienne, now awake, sat up, and looked over at Ruth and me.
"Erika!" Meg shouted.
Clutching Ruth's wand, I ran towards Meg and Adrienne.
"Expelliarmus!" Ruth's voice shouted behind me.
I was knocked off my feet, both my wand and Ruth's going flying. My breath was knocked from me, and I lay there a moment, a much-needed moment, trying to regain it.
I managed to my hands and knees, but before I could stand up and run, Ruth shouted something else.
Pain hit me, a pain I had never felt before. My entire body was on fire, my limbs were being stretched, and it felt like a thousand knives stabbing me, all of this at the same time. I sunk back to the ground, screaming.
Somewhere in the distance, far from my pain that I was wrapped in, I heard Meg and Adrienne screaming my name.
Suddenly, I was wrenched from the pain so quickly, it hurt, but not as much.
I struggled to look up, to see Adrienne, fighting Ruth for her wands (Ruth held three, her own two, and my one). Meg ran past me to Adrienne and Ruth. Three sisters, I thought, fighting for their own lives.
I managed to slowly stand, and hurried over. As soon as I was there, I launched myself against Ruth, knocking her to the ground. Adrienne straightened up, and turned to face Meg.
"I'm sorry, Megan, I'm sorry!" Adrienne cried.
"For what?" Meg asked, putting her foot down on top of Ruth's torso to help me hold her down.
"For getting captured, so you came after me," Adrienne said.
Before Meg could reply, Ruth grabbed her foot and knocked her to the ground. Meg groaned.
Ruth pushed me off her.
She stood, and raised her wand, pointing right at Adrienne, the only one of us still standing.
"Run! Run!" Adrienne started screaming.
Ruth shouted into the night, "Avada Kedavra!"
Green light pierced the darkness. I buried my face into my arms, and screamed as loud as I could.
* * *
Same Moment
The Great Hall
As told by Anya Jones
A scream louder than the screams in the Great Hall split my ears. A scream I recognized.
I turned to Professor McGonagall, who wasn't far from me, and shouted, "Where's Erika and Megan?"
"In the back room with the rest of them," Professor McGonagall shouted in answer, her face etched with worry.
But I had heard the scream, and I knew otherwise.
I fought my way towards the windows of the Great Hall, looking out over the grounds. And I saw green light.
"The Death Curse," I muttered, and pushed open the windows and climbed out, running towards the area where the light had come from.
* * *
As told by Erika Rose Potter
The green light diminished, and I looked up to see Ruth standing over Adrienne, slumped to the ground, her pale hair covering her equally pale face.
I stumbled into a standing position, and ran over to Meg, to help her up.
"Come on, we have to run. Ruth's going to kill us," I hissed.
Meg got to her feet, and we clumbsily ran towards the castle, aware that there was danger behind us and in front of us. We were miserably trapped. We could get into the castle. The Death Eaters held the enterance. And Ruth was behind us, chasing us, trying to kill us . . .
"Erika! Meg!"
I saw Anya running towards us, her robes billowing out behind her.
"Anya!" I shouted, "Ruth!"
Anya looked past us, and nodded, "Come on, run! We'll find a way to get you back inside!"
Just seconds after she said that, a cry pierced the air, a defeated cry. Ruth's pounding footsteps, which lay in pursuit of us, stopped. Anya allowed us to stop only for a second before leading us towards the windows of the Great Hall, one of which was wide open.
"Get in!" she shouted.
We climbed in, Meg first, then me, and finally Anya. When we entered, we found the Great Hall a mess. Stunned Death Eaters and students alike littered the floor. A few, I knew, were dead. But I ignored it.
The professors and remaining students, exhausted, leaned against tables.
But there were no awake Death Eaters.
"They retreated," Professor McGonagall said.
Dumbledore appeared behind her.
"The Order arrived, and with that added force, they were outnumbered. They retreated," Dumbledore said.
I looked up, and asked, "The Order's here?"
"Yes. Harry's looking for you as we speak. He is quite worried about you," Dumbledore said.
Meg, on the verge of tears, finally spoke, "Sir, Adrienne's outside, on the lawn. Ruth . . . killed her."
Meg finally succumbed to her tears. I hugged her, her tears wetting my shoulder. Anya put a hand on each of our shoulders.
"Erika!"
I let go of my embrace with Meg to look up.
Harry stood about twenty feet away, looking quite tired and worried. He immediately ran over, and hugged me.
An hour later, Meg and I were sitting on the ground of the Hospital Wing, leaning against the wall, side by side.
The wounded were brought into the Hospital Wing, along with the dead, who were laid in the back and surrounded by curtains. The Death Eaters had been rounded up.
There was no empty beds in the Hospital Wing, but Madam Pomfrey had insisted to see me, to make sure I was okay after having been inflicted by the Crutacius Curse.
Harry was getting a few cuts healed by some MediWizards who had immediately come to Hogwarts to help the overwhelmed Madam Pomfrey. When he was done, he came over to us.
"I was so worried you were dead," Harry whispered, "When you weren't with the younger students."
I looked up, and whispered, "Harry, I saw someone die. Someone died as I watched."
There was a silence, and then Harry sat down next to me.
"I did, too, once. You just have to realize, that no matter how much you wish you could have, there was no way that you could have stopped Ruth from doing what she did, not in your current state," Harry whispered.
"Maybe if we had done it differently, if . . ." I started.
Harry cut me off, and said, "No more ifs. It happened the way it happened. And you're alive to tell the story. That's what matters."
Yes, I thought, but Adrienne isn't.
One of the MediWizards came over quickly to make sure I was okay, and then sent Meg and I back up to the tower to with a flask of a sleeping potion each.
We had both talked to Dumbledore, and told him what happened. I was utterly exhausted, and hugged Harry good-night, before Meg and I went up to the tower.
Avery, Lucy, and Jewel were already there, but not asleep. They watched us as we walked in, but said nothing. I made no effort to make conversation, and simply climbed into bed still dressed in my robes. I shut my eyes.
Visions of Adrienne and Ruth and the battle were etched on the inside of my eyelids. I was glad for the potion, which I drank in two gulps. It was sour, and cold.
I set the flask down by my bed, and shut my curtains, aware of Meg doing the same as Avery, Jewel, and Lucy looked on. I refused to shut my eyes other than blink until the potion took affect five minutes later, and I slipped into a dreamless, nightmareless, sleep.
There were ten casualities from that night, and only one of them was Adrienne. Several of the dead were taken by their families, but Adrienne was buried on the school grounds, with a memorial service with the students and faculty.
Harry returned to London two days later, after making sure I was okay.
A week later the year ended. All the students had packed their things, and waited to take the carriages down to the station. When the first carriage arrived, I nearly fell over backwards.
Where usually there had been open space, there was a creature pulling the carriage.
Meg looked over at me.
"You see them now," she said, motioning with her head to the creatures.
I nodded, "Yes. What are they? They look strange."
"They're called thestrals. You can only see them if you've seen death. I've seen them since I was little. My grandfather liked to kill traitors in front of the entire family," Meg whispered, keeping her voice low.
I stared at the animals, until Meg and I climbed into our carriage, and were taken down to the station where the Hogwarts Express waited.
I sighed as I settled into my seat.
"It's strange, don't you think, that we've spent two years at Hogwarts, and we only have five left?" I asked.
Meg just nodded, and sat down in her own seat.
"Sometimes."
Author's Note- that's it. That's chapter 25. Hope you liked it. I tried to make it a bit better. Well, I actually wrote this in the course of two days. Well, now that you've read, there's only one thing left to do . . . REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!
Any additional comments or random thoughts can be sent to me at StarlightEve111@aol.com
Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing. EVERYTHING belongs to the Great Harry Potter people, who I personally think are geniuses. Don't sue me. I have NO money.
Erika - The Legacy of Lily and James
You could have let a bomb off in the Great Hall, and no one would have heard, that's how loud the screams are.
The Death Eaters began shooting off curses into the crowd of frightened students. Meg had gone completely white.
Anya and Professor McGonagall had come running down from the Head Table, trying to usher the younger students into a side room where we could hopefully be safe.
When they reached us, Anya shouted to us, "Erika! Meg! Are you two okay?"
We shouted "Yes" and allowed ourselves to be pushed with the rest of the crowd of younger students as the older ones set off to defend Hogwarts along with the Professors and Ministry agents.
We were all crowded in a small room off the Great Hall.
"Professor McGonagall and I are going to go out and fight. You'll be okay in here," Anya called out over the crowd of silent students, "Try to stay quiet."
We nodded, and they opened the door and had us lock it from the inside.
"Erika," Meg said after we had stood in the room for a few minutes, "Where's Adrienne? I don't see her!"
I turned around the scan the crowd of students.
"Adrienne?" I called.
"She's probably out joining her Death Eater friends," someone called back.
But another person told me what I needed to know, "No, she's not. She was hit with the first Stunning Spell, aimed straight for her by that . . .that person in the middle."
"Ruth," Meg whispered, "We have to help Adrienne."
I glanced around, thinking rapidly. If we left, we'd danger ourselves. But we couldn't just leave Adrienne to die if we could help. Besides, Dumbledore needed her for information.
"Okay," I said, "We'll help."
There was two windows looking out on the grounds of Hogwarts. We pushed our way towards them, and searched for the opening.
They easily swung open, and we climbed out.
It seemed ironic to me. During the last "battle" we'd crawled to safety through a window. Now we were crawling out of safety through a window.
But I kept my thoughts to myself. Meg and I ran across the grounds.
"She's probably inside. I don't think Ruth would just leave her there. She took her right away," Meg whispered to me.
I nodded, I understood.
We started towards the doors. A noise stopped us. I motioned to Meg, and we crawled behind a bunch of bushes. We could easily see the Whomping Willow from our hiding spot, and the doors to Hogwarts.
The doors were broken, like those of the Great Hall, splinters of wood everywhere.
Then, as we watched, Ruth appeared, walking down the steps and onto the grounds, and limp figure floating in front of her. Ruth was grinning.
The figure was small, with white-blond hair.
"It's Adrienne," Meg whispered.
I nodded.
We watched as Ruth turned back towards the castle, and started shouting to Death Eaters who were still outside the castle.
"Find them! Find them, NOW! I command you to find them!" she shouted, her eyes seething.
I had a good idea who she wanted to find. She probably had no idea that two of those people she was searching for were watching her.
As we sat there, I could hear the shouting and screaming coming from the Great Hall as the battle went on. I thought of the small room off the Great Hall were the younger students were. Were they still safe?
I turned to Meg, trying to make as little motion and noise as possible.
"What now?" I mouthed, hoping Meg would catch on.
She looked out at Ruth, down at Adrienne, and then turned back to me, and shrugged.
My thoughts ticked off numerous, stupid, ideas that would never work. Finally, it settled on one idea that, while incredibly risky, actually had the prospect of working.
I whispered as quietly as I could into Meg's ear, but she drew back, shaking her head.
"Too risky," she mouthed.
"It's all we've got," I mouthed back, and looked out at Ruth, standing there, waiting for her faithful Death Eaters to return with us.
Quietly as I could, I snuck down the bushes, until I was as far away from Meg as I could be, and still pretty well hidden.
Meg was completely out of my eyesight, but I could see Ruth. A moment later, I took a deep breath, and pointed my wand at bushes in the opposite direction of Meg, yet far from me.
I whispered a quick charm, and drew back into the bushes as the bushes ten feet from me went up in blue flames.
Ruth's attention immediately turned to the bushes on fire. I saw Meg sneak out of her hiding spot in the bushes, and, in the shadows, steal towards where Adrienne was kept.
"Come out and face me, you coward!" Ruth shouted towards the bushes, "I know you are there! But who is it? Anya Jones, or perhaps little Erika Potter. Better yet, maybe it is Megan Riddle, my long-lost sister. Come out and face me, and I just might spare your life, for now!"
Not a chance, I thought, and watched as Meg got closer to Adrienne.
Ruth began to walk towards the burning bushes. The fire had spread to another bush, and I had backed off a bit more, the heat still reaching me.
My eyes went from Meg, racing quietly towards Adrienne, to Ruth, walking slowly towards me, her wand ready.
And then Meg stepped on a twig, which cracked and broke under her foot. Ruth swung around, and her face widened into a grin as she saw Meg standing but six feet from Adrienne.
"I thought you'd come," Ruth said, "Never did like sacrifices, even if it was for your own good. I knew you'd come to get her. But where's Miss Potter, dear sister? Surely she is around here, somewhere. That was her in the bushes, wasn't it, dearest sister?"
Meg was silent, her face pale and yet set stubbornly.
But she didn't stand a chance against Ruth.
I don't know what made me do it, maybe because Meg was too much of a friend for me not to defend, or that it just felt right, but the next thing I knew, I had jumped out from the bushes, and was standing behind Ruth, my wand pointed at her head.
"Ah, there you are," Ruth said, "Now, if you would just go stand next to Megan. Oh, and Megan, do move a bit so that you're closer to Adrienne. It makes the entire task much easier."
I didn't budge, and neither did Meg.
Ruth rolled her eyes.
"I thought you'd do that. Fine, make me do more work. But you'll still die," Ruth said.
My mind raced through charms and spells, trying to find one that might help me. And then I returned to a lesson with Anya, where she had taught us how to disarm your enemy.
"Expelliarmus!" I shouted.
Ruth was knocked backwards, and her wand flew into the air. In the same moment, Meg ran to Adrienne, and hissed a spell over her. Adrienne, now awake, sat up, and looked over at Ruth and me.
"Erika!" Meg shouted.
Clutching Ruth's wand, I ran towards Meg and Adrienne.
"Expelliarmus!" Ruth's voice shouted behind me.
I was knocked off my feet, both my wand and Ruth's going flying. My breath was knocked from me, and I lay there a moment, a much-needed moment, trying to regain it.
I managed to my hands and knees, but before I could stand up and run, Ruth shouted something else.
Pain hit me, a pain I had never felt before. My entire body was on fire, my limbs were being stretched, and it felt like a thousand knives stabbing me, all of this at the same time. I sunk back to the ground, screaming.
Somewhere in the distance, far from my pain that I was wrapped in, I heard Meg and Adrienne screaming my name.
Suddenly, I was wrenched from the pain so quickly, it hurt, but not as much.
I struggled to look up, to see Adrienne, fighting Ruth for her wands (Ruth held three, her own two, and my one). Meg ran past me to Adrienne and Ruth. Three sisters, I thought, fighting for their own lives.
I managed to slowly stand, and hurried over. As soon as I was there, I launched myself against Ruth, knocking her to the ground. Adrienne straightened up, and turned to face Meg.
"I'm sorry, Megan, I'm sorry!" Adrienne cried.
"For what?" Meg asked, putting her foot down on top of Ruth's torso to help me hold her down.
"For getting captured, so you came after me," Adrienne said.
Before Meg could reply, Ruth grabbed her foot and knocked her to the ground. Meg groaned.
Ruth pushed me off her.
She stood, and raised her wand, pointing right at Adrienne, the only one of us still standing.
"Run! Run!" Adrienne started screaming.
Ruth shouted into the night, "Avada Kedavra!"
Green light pierced the darkness. I buried my face into my arms, and screamed as loud as I could.
* * *
Same Moment
The Great Hall
As told by Anya Jones
A scream louder than the screams in the Great Hall split my ears. A scream I recognized.
I turned to Professor McGonagall, who wasn't far from me, and shouted, "Where's Erika and Megan?"
"In the back room with the rest of them," Professor McGonagall shouted in answer, her face etched with worry.
But I had heard the scream, and I knew otherwise.
I fought my way towards the windows of the Great Hall, looking out over the grounds. And I saw green light.
"The Death Curse," I muttered, and pushed open the windows and climbed out, running towards the area where the light had come from.
* * *
As told by Erika Rose Potter
The green light diminished, and I looked up to see Ruth standing over Adrienne, slumped to the ground, her pale hair covering her equally pale face.
I stumbled into a standing position, and ran over to Meg, to help her up.
"Come on, we have to run. Ruth's going to kill us," I hissed.
Meg got to her feet, and we clumbsily ran towards the castle, aware that there was danger behind us and in front of us. We were miserably trapped. We could get into the castle. The Death Eaters held the enterance. And Ruth was behind us, chasing us, trying to kill us . . .
"Erika! Meg!"
I saw Anya running towards us, her robes billowing out behind her.
"Anya!" I shouted, "Ruth!"
Anya looked past us, and nodded, "Come on, run! We'll find a way to get you back inside!"
Just seconds after she said that, a cry pierced the air, a defeated cry. Ruth's pounding footsteps, which lay in pursuit of us, stopped. Anya allowed us to stop only for a second before leading us towards the windows of the Great Hall, one of which was wide open.
"Get in!" she shouted.
We climbed in, Meg first, then me, and finally Anya. When we entered, we found the Great Hall a mess. Stunned Death Eaters and students alike littered the floor. A few, I knew, were dead. But I ignored it.
The professors and remaining students, exhausted, leaned against tables.
But there were no awake Death Eaters.
"They retreated," Professor McGonagall said.
Dumbledore appeared behind her.
"The Order arrived, and with that added force, they were outnumbered. They retreated," Dumbledore said.
I looked up, and asked, "The Order's here?"
"Yes. Harry's looking for you as we speak. He is quite worried about you," Dumbledore said.
Meg, on the verge of tears, finally spoke, "Sir, Adrienne's outside, on the lawn. Ruth . . . killed her."
Meg finally succumbed to her tears. I hugged her, her tears wetting my shoulder. Anya put a hand on each of our shoulders.
"Erika!"
I let go of my embrace with Meg to look up.
Harry stood about twenty feet away, looking quite tired and worried. He immediately ran over, and hugged me.
An hour later, Meg and I were sitting on the ground of the Hospital Wing, leaning against the wall, side by side.
The wounded were brought into the Hospital Wing, along with the dead, who were laid in the back and surrounded by curtains. The Death Eaters had been rounded up.
There was no empty beds in the Hospital Wing, but Madam Pomfrey had insisted to see me, to make sure I was okay after having been inflicted by the Crutacius Curse.
Harry was getting a few cuts healed by some MediWizards who had immediately come to Hogwarts to help the overwhelmed Madam Pomfrey. When he was done, he came over to us.
"I was so worried you were dead," Harry whispered, "When you weren't with the younger students."
I looked up, and whispered, "Harry, I saw someone die. Someone died as I watched."
There was a silence, and then Harry sat down next to me.
"I did, too, once. You just have to realize, that no matter how much you wish you could have, there was no way that you could have stopped Ruth from doing what she did, not in your current state," Harry whispered.
"Maybe if we had done it differently, if . . ." I started.
Harry cut me off, and said, "No more ifs. It happened the way it happened. And you're alive to tell the story. That's what matters."
Yes, I thought, but Adrienne isn't.
One of the MediWizards came over quickly to make sure I was okay, and then sent Meg and I back up to the tower to with a flask of a sleeping potion each.
We had both talked to Dumbledore, and told him what happened. I was utterly exhausted, and hugged Harry good-night, before Meg and I went up to the tower.
Avery, Lucy, and Jewel were already there, but not asleep. They watched us as we walked in, but said nothing. I made no effort to make conversation, and simply climbed into bed still dressed in my robes. I shut my eyes.
Visions of Adrienne and Ruth and the battle were etched on the inside of my eyelids. I was glad for the potion, which I drank in two gulps. It was sour, and cold.
I set the flask down by my bed, and shut my curtains, aware of Meg doing the same as Avery, Jewel, and Lucy looked on. I refused to shut my eyes other than blink until the potion took affect five minutes later, and I slipped into a dreamless, nightmareless, sleep.
There were ten casualities from that night, and only one of them was Adrienne. Several of the dead were taken by their families, but Adrienne was buried on the school grounds, with a memorial service with the students and faculty.
Harry returned to London two days later, after making sure I was okay.
A week later the year ended. All the students had packed their things, and waited to take the carriages down to the station. When the first carriage arrived, I nearly fell over backwards.
Where usually there had been open space, there was a creature pulling the carriage.
Meg looked over at me.
"You see them now," she said, motioning with her head to the creatures.
I nodded, "Yes. What are they? They look strange."
"They're called thestrals. You can only see them if you've seen death. I've seen them since I was little. My grandfather liked to kill traitors in front of the entire family," Meg whispered, keeping her voice low.
I stared at the animals, until Meg and I climbed into our carriage, and were taken down to the station where the Hogwarts Express waited.
I sighed as I settled into my seat.
"It's strange, don't you think, that we've spent two years at Hogwarts, and we only have five left?" I asked.
Meg just nodded, and sat down in her own seat.
"Sometimes."
Author's Note- that's it. That's chapter 25. Hope you liked it. I tried to make it a bit better. Well, I actually wrote this in the course of two days. Well, now that you've read, there's only one thing left to do . . . REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!
Any additional comments or random thoughts can be sent to me at StarlightEve111@aol.com