Chapter 47: Coming to Terms
Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna and the rest of the able bodied DA and Order members were recruited to move the injured students, teachers and Order members to the hospital wing. They were also helping the healers portkey the injured to St. Mungo's. By 8 am they had everyone moved and the Great Hall looking like it normally did.
There were 20 who still needed beds in the hospital wing but 7 of them would be released in the next few days, including Harry who was getting stronger with every hour. Severus was released but told to stay close to someone at all times and that he wasn't allowed to touch any potions equipment or ingredients for at least a week and maybe longer depending on his recovery. Poppy would check him once a day to see his progress but as he was healthy there was no reason to keep him cooped up in the hospital wing.
Hermione had rushed straight to the library as soon as she finished helping move the injured. Ginny and Gabrielle had joined her and they were soon pulling down any book that had anything to do with silver, potions or werewolves and some others they hoped might have something. They had been working for a few hours when Madame Pince came in surprised to find someone in her library that she had sealed before going to the Gryffindor common room. "What are you three doing in here?" She asked them knowing they wouldn't be there without a reason after what had happened.
"Remus has silver poisoning," Ginny told her sadly. "We have less than 2 weeks until the full moon to find a cure for it!" Instead of clucking at them for messing up her library like she normally would have she did the unexpected and started pulling down more books and helped them look. The four women worked undisturbed and unsuccessfully until lunch when a house elf appeared with a tray of food. Pince surprised them all once again when she just reached for a sandwich and then continued flipping through her stack of books. The girls all just looked at each other for a moment before following suit.
The younger students were finally released from their common rooms for breakfast after the great hall was back to normal. Except for the scorch marks on the lawn and the number of people either missing or in the hospital wing it would be hard to tell the school had been home to a major battle the day before.
The students all filed into the great hall to join their classmates and the ministry and order members still at the school. The mood was somber and tense as they had not been informed of anything prior to that morning when they were allowed down to the hall. The students could be observed quietly making note of who was missing. It seemed every eye strayed toward the Gryffindor table where Harry and his friends usually sat. This morning there was a gang of very tired Weasleys in their spot along with Neville but the rest were absent. There were many rumors starting among the young ones on if Harry, Hermione and Ginny had survived. The rumors were only fueled by the devastated looks upon the Weasley family's faces.
Once everyone was seated Albus rose to speak. He smiled sadly out at the remaining student body. "It is with a sad but joyous heart that I am able to speak to you this morning. Yesterday a great battle, the greatest battle ever between light and dark, was fought here on Hogwarts ground. I am sad to say that many have lost their lives to this fight. As we mourn our losses it is imperative that we remember that their sacrifices were not in vain. We have won the war. Lord Voldemort is no more and the remaining death eaters have all been captured." He paused here to let the hall cheer. He saw many relieved faces among the students, so many of their lives had been touched in some way by the darkness.
"I want to thank every student who fought with the DA. Without your help this victory would not have been possible. The final fight between Voldemort and Harry Potter would not have been successful without his friends by his side. Harry is alive and well and resting in the hospital wing," he said and was met with a wave of relief from the crowd. "Harry along with 20 of his closest friends and family finally brought down Voldemort forever using a spell designed to channel love. Never let the power of love be doubted as it is what has finally won us our freedom."
"I also want to thank the Order of the Phoenix and the other ministry personnel who came to fight. Many aurors and law enforcement officers lost their lives to ensure our victory. In total we lost 12 aurors, 10 law enforcement officers and 15 ministry personnel during the fight. Since last night we have lost 3 more hit wizards and 2 more ministry officials due to fatal injuries sustained during the fight. It is now my sad duty to inform you that we lost 6 Order members and 6 students to the fight and we have one student and one teacher still in critical condition in the hospital wing as well as another 18 injuries that are being treated." The hall was silent as they absorbed the fact that their peers had died.
"The brave students that lost their lives defending what they believed in were Terry Boot and Michael Corner of Ravenclaw and Malcolm Baddock, Vincent Crabbe, Gergory Goyle and Theodore Nott of Slytherin. It was a privilege to teach these students and they will be honored forever here at Hogwarts. Before yesterday we had only had 2 student deaths in the past 100 years, both being murdered due to Voldemort (Cedric and Myrtle). We can now be content that no other students will loose their lives because of him."
"Memorial services for our fallen students and Order members will begin in a few days. Classes will resume 3 weeks from Monday. You may stay here at the school or go home to be with your families. A sign up sheet for students wishing to go home is at the back of the hall. The Hogwarts Express will be making weekly trips to London while we all greave our fallen and rejoice in our new freedom. All I ask is that you refrain from speaking with any reporters about what took place here. We will be coming out with an official statement at some point but we do not want to disrespect those who died to protect us by sullying their memories."
Luna approached Albus after breakfast. "Headmaster I know you are terribly busy but I thought about what you said about an official statement for the press." She told him quickly so as to not disturb him. He turned to her and motioned her to continue. "I was hoping you would assign me to that task sir. I will gather all the stories and write a brief tale for the press. I was also hoping you would permit me to write a book about the Order and the fight against Voldemort. Since it is no longer necessary to keep the Order a secret I could start at the beginning and chronicle all those who gave up their lives for the cause. Finally tell the real story that the press would never print."
"I think that is a perfect idea Luna," Albus said happy to have another task off of his hands. "I know you wish to write after school and this will be the perfect beginning for you. I will want to review anything you think should be released to the press before hand. I also think the book is a great idea; it is about time the real story came out. I am sure there will be many people willing to help you."
"Thank you sir, I will go get started on gathering the stories now." She told him with a smile before heading off towards the Weasley family.
"Excuse me Mr. Weasley, everyone," she said politely hating to interrupt the grieving family. "I know you are all hurting right now and may not want to talk, but I have been charged with gathering all the tales of the events of the battle. I thought I would start with your family and chronicle what each of you experienced during the battle."
"Well Luna you are just in time as we were all about to tell each other what happened before you walked up." Arthur told her and offered her a seat. She pulled out an enchanted quill that would write down everything they said (word for word not made up facts like Rita Skeeter). "I guess I'll start…" he said and proceeded to tell his battle story. 7 of them had been included in the spell to kill Voldemort (all but Molly and Percy) but after that their stories differed. Bill told about their fight to save Fleur and how Charlie had lost his arm and how Fleur was alright but in bad condition. They told her they were both saved by Hermione. Fred, George and Ron told the sad story of watching their brother Percy be killed in front of them while defending a group of injured ministry workers. Arthur saw Elphias Doge killed and watched Hestia Jones die of blood loss before he could get her to White squad. Molly told of the different injuries she treated and how she could do nothing to save Goyle when he stumbled in carrying a badly injured Minerva McGonagall. Luna went to find Fleur and Ginny next to finish off the Weasley's stories.
Luna found Ginny with Hermione and Gabrielle in the library researching a cure for Remus. The girls were willing to take a break and tell their stories. Hermione was the only one with a very interesting story of what happened to her before the show down between Harry and Voldie. "I ran after Sylvester Spinnet who had been dragged away by 3 death eaters. I was able to stun all of them but he was in bad shape. I gave him the blood replenishing potion I had in the stem part of my necklace and sent up white sparks. The sparks caught the attention of the death eaters and two of them grabbed me. Luckily Severus was near and tried to take me away from them but Pansy Parkenson was one of them and demanded to help take me to Voldemort." She then told the rest of her story up to where Voldemort was afraid of her.
"Why do you think he was afraid?" Luna asked her curiously. It wasn't like Voldemort to fear anyone and especially to show that fear.
"I don't know but it's a good thing he was or he would have noticed Harry's approach and the freezing spell wouldn't have worked as well." She told them. "After Voldemort was dead I headed off with Severus and we fought a group of Death eaters that were quite pissed that he had turned on them." She told them all about that fight and then about helping Bill and Charlie on her way back out. "If I did a correct mental count I believe I took out 54 death eaters from the start to the finish." She told them with a grim smile.
"That's the highest number I've hears so far," Luna told her with a small smile. "And you're the only one who was kidnapped for a bit too."
"I'm just upset that I didn't get to take out that cow Parkenson," Hermione told them. "She was already dead by the time I found her."
"Draco took her out," Gabrielle told them. "He saw her kill Kingsley and killed her."
"Won't he be in trouble with the ministry for casting an unforgivable?" Ginny asked concerned. "They checked all our wands after the fight!"
"He had Kingsley's wand," Gabrielle told them. "Over Christmas the two of them found out their wands were very similar and would work for each other.
Hermione remembered the tight grip Draco had on it after the battle. "That's good," she said surprising them all. "If I had a ministry wand that worked for me I would have killed those bastards too." The others nodded in agreement after thinking about it for a moment.
"Well I'm going to the hospital wing now to see who else's stories I can get. Good luck with the research." Luna told them with a smile. Ginny went with her to check on Harry and Charlie.
Fleur was resting in the hospital wing and was actually glad for Luna's visit. She hoped she could start to put everything behind her once she had told her story. She had been fighting alongside Terry Boot and Michael Corner when they were surrounded by a group of death eaters, she guessed around 10. They were getting hit pretty hard with some nasty hexes. She remembered killing the one that laughed after he killed Michael and that she and Terry were hopelessly outnumbered for a while. They fought the death eaters for almost a half hour before Terry was killed and they decided to play with her by drawing out her pain. That was when Bill and Charlie showed up. She said it was good they had or she would not be alive as she was barely able to raise her wand by that point.
The more stories Luna heard the happier she was that she was trusted enough to tell them. Everyone seemed relieved to tell their tale, like they could finally start the healing process now that someone else knew what they went through. She knew that she would have to be extremely careful with her writing so that the stories were completely truthful and yet would not make the heroes seem like the monsters the Death eaters were. She moved farther into the wing to talk with more patients.
"Luna, I want Draco here when I tell my story," Minerva told her weakly. "I'm not sure I'm up to telling it twice and he needs to hear it."
"I'll try and go find him," Luna told her with a smile but was saved the trouble when the blonde boy walked into the wing. "Draco, would you mind visiting with us for a moment or two please." She asked him, knowing he was still blaming himself for the loss of his friends. Draco nodded and with a smile at Minerva transfigured the uncomfortable chair next to the bed into a padded armchair so he could sit comfortably.
"Its time to tell my story," Minerva told him, "and I wanted you to hear it." She paused to gather her thoughts for a moment before continuing. "I was fighting with fellow Order members Emmeline Vance and Dedalus Diggle alongside a few ministry aurors. We were surrounded by death eaters and cut off from the rest of our side. There were only six of us and about 15 of the death eaters. One of the death eaters sent Crucio at Emmeline and when it didn't work they got frustrated and killed one of the aurors. The other two aurors quickly wore themselves out by killing 5 of the death eaters. The three of us Order members were sending every hex we could remember at the group and were making very little progress. Dedalus was the first one of us to go down. He was hit with a severing charm that decapitated him. Emmeline and I fought even harder at that point and I lost track of the aurors as they were fighting at our backs. The auror behind Emmeline must have fallen because she was hit with a curse from behind that knocked her down. The death eaters took advantage of that and hexed her legs so she couldn't stand or move them. She ended up bleeding to death when they sliced through her carotid artery." Minerva paused to wipe her eyes with her handkerchief.
"It was just me and the auror left at that point and at least 7 death eaters. They got through my shield and tossed me around a few times. That was when I heard a crack in my back and pain raced through my legs. They then broke all the bones in my left leg and killed the auror. I think they remembered me from when they were at Hogwarts because that's the only reason I can think of that they were playing with me. I was sure I was going to be killed when I heard Harry's phoenix song. The death eaters shouted out and watched Harry materialize next to their master. 5 of them ran off to help their master and I quickly stunned the other two while they were still distracted. I barely had enough strength left to send up white sparks." Minerva looked at the two students next to her bed and knew they needed to hear the next part but it was so hard to talk about.
"Misters Crabbe and Goyle were the ones who came to help me." She told Draco who immediately straightened in his chair. He had been trying to find anyone who knew how his friends had died. "They were an impressive team. Goyle was shooting offensive spells while Crabbe was keeping a protective shield around them. Goyle assessed my injuries and quickly splinted my leg to keep it stable during transport. He then apologized for not being able to conjure a stretcher, as it was too much work to try and maneuver it, before he picked me up and started carrying me back towards the school." She paused again to wipe her eyes. "That was when we were ambushed," she told them looking sadly at Draco. "I had nothing left to fight with; all my energy and magic were drained. Goyle set me down between them and they proceeded to try and fight off three death eaters on their own."
Draco looked down sadly. He knew his friends were not strong enough to take on more than one death eater at a time. He was so proud of them for fighting though. He would have thought they would have run instead of hold their ground.
Minerva knew she needed to continue her story before she got too choked up. "It was a brutal fight. Both Crabbe and Goyle were hit with multiple slicing hexes but they gave as well as they got. They took down one death eater that I'm sure did not survive and hurt the other two a fair bit. That was when Crabbe looked back at me and noticed that I wasn't doing well. I could feel my life force draining away and I'm sure I looked a sight. He yelled to Goyle to take me and go that he would hold off the attack so we could get away. I wasn't able to tell him no as I couldn't speak by that point. Goyle waited until Crabbe had him covered and picked me up again. He paused for a moment and smiled at Crabbe and said 'Give 'em hell Vince. You're the best mate I could ever have.' Then he hurried toward the school. He was limping and not moving very fast so I was able to keep track of Crabbe for a few more minutes. I saw him take out one of the remaining death eaters and was dueling with the other when a purple hex hit him in the gut and he crumbled. Crabbe had just enough energy left and cast the death spell at him. I saw the green light hit the surprised death eater before Crabbe fully collapsed."
She had to pause for a full minute to get her tears under control. Luna was wiping her eyes too and Draco was immobile with shock. "We barely made it into the school," she told them quietly. "I could tell that Goyle was hurt badly. Molly Weasley hurriedly put us both on a bed and went to tend to Goyle first. He refused and told her to help me first. He told her that Hogwarts just wouldn't be the same without me and that I had to survive." She blew her nose loudly after that. "Such a sweet boy and I never realized." She told them sadly. "I was able to croak out a weak thank you to him and he smiled at me. Molly quickly healed me but not quickly enough. Goyle bled to death in the bed next to me. Molly tried to calm me by telling me that he was beyond her help by the time he got to her but I don't know if it's true. I never expected two Slytherins to die to protect the head of Gryffindor. I can't tell you how sorry I am for your loss Draco. But I thought you should know that your friends died as heroes of the highest caliber. They were strong and fought bravely, never wavering in their determination."
Draco took his once hated professor's hand in his. "Thank you for telling me their story. I had thought that they just got caught in the crossfire." Luna left the two to sit there and talk about the boys. She needed a minute or two to compose herself for the next story. She hoped all of them were not that sad but knew they would be.
Draco found Gabrielle in the library to tell her that he had decided to go home to Malfoy manor for a few days to plan the memorial services for Crabbe and Goyle. He told her he needed some time away from everyone to sort out his thoughts. He promised the girls that he would see if he could find any additional useful information in his family library on silver poisoning. Gabrielle was reluctant to let him go by himself but she wanted to be close to Fleur in the hospital wing and to help research for Remus. "I love you," she told him giving him a hug. "Come back soon."
"I love you too," he told her giving her a soft kiss. "Owl me if you need anything."
"He's not handling this well is he?" Ginny asked Gabrielle once he was gone.
"No. I think he blames himself for involving all the Slytherins since we had the most losses out of all the students." She told them sadly. "I just hope he realizes that they made their own choices and that if he hadn't convinced them to join the light there would be a lot more gone to Azkaban or dead on the battle field."
"Is he upset about Pansy?" Hermione asked her having felt there was something more to his mood than sadness.
Gabrielle raised her eyebrow at her friend for being so perceptive. "I think that is a lot of it. He thinks he could have done more to turn her away from the dark. He also blames himself for not getting to Kingsley in time."
Their conversation was cut short by Molly Weasley walking in followed by Severus. "Hermione dear," she said relieved. "I've been looking all over for you."
"What can I do for you Molly?" Hermione asked trying not to look upset at how confused Severus still looked.
"We need you to watch Severus," she told her. "He is well enough not to need to hang out in the hospital wing but still confused and needs someone close by if he needs them."
"How did I get volunteered for this?" She asked her, "You know that I have lots of research to do!"
"We also know that you are going to be spending a lot of time down in the lab. We thought your research would be better off if you stayed in Severus' guest quarters so you were closer to the lab. This also allows you closer to him so you can keep an eye out for him." Molly told her. "There's no one else he would trust in his chambers other than Albus and he's too busy to watch him and we can't leave him alone."
"I'm standing right here woman!" Severus growled at her during one of his more lucid moments, earning a snicker from Ginny and a smile from Hermione.
"Severus, would it be ok if I stayed in your guest rooms while I research Remus' cure?" She asked him noticing that he seemed more focused at the moment.
"Fine," he told her and strode over to the potions section of the library.
"He has moments where he almost seems back to his old self but a few minutes later he is helpless as a baby." Molly told her to ease the confusion. "He'll walk into a room or start reading a book and then forget what he was doing or how he got there."
"We'll go downstairs after dinner," Hermione told her. "I'm almost through here anyway. There are more books in the lab that may have some info and after that I'm just going to start from scratch."
"Thank you," Molly told her and gave all three girls a hug before leaving. "Ginny we want to have a family meeting if you wouldn't mind joining us please." She said and led her daughter out of the room.
"I'll just keep looking here with Madame Pince," Gabrielle told Hermione. "Maybe we'll come across something while you're in the lab. There is nothing more pressing for me to do anyway." She told her friend, "Remus is the most important thing at the moment."
"Thanks Gabrielle," Hermione said with a smile. "I appreciate your help. I know everyone is busy right now but Remus' life is much more important to me than planning memorial services and speeches. The dead can wait because if we don't do this now then Remus will be with them."
"You'll find it," Gabrielle told her. "If anyone can find a way to help him you can. Just don't give up or get discouraged. You're trying to fit a lifetime of research into a few weeks."
"I won't give up," she promised. "Now let's see what else we can find before dinner!"